imdb_id
stringlengths 9
9
| title
stringlengths 1
92
| plot_synopsis
stringlengths 442
64k
| tags
stringlengths 4
255
| split
stringclasses 1
value | synopsis_source
stringclasses 2
values | review
stringlengths 119
19k
⌀ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
tt0077402 | Dawn of the Dead | Tensions are running high in the United States. The recently deceased are returning to life as shambling, flesh-eating ghouls, and political dissidents are threatening social stability. In the city of Philadelphia, Fran (Gaylen Ross) an employee of WGON-TV and Radio learns that her program director Givens is broadcasting out-of-date information about rescue stations that have been overrun by the living dead. Fran's boyfriend Stephen (David Emge), who pilots the station's traffic helicopter, arrives at the station and tells her that they must escape in order to survive. He plans on stealing the station's helicopter and tells Fran to meet him on the roof at 9pm.Meanwhile, in another part of Philadelphia, the city's SWAT team is preparing to launch an assault on a low-income tenement building filled with refugees who refuse to leave their homes for emergency shelters; they also refuse to give up their dead, both deceased and re-animated, harboring them in the basement of the tenement. After gun battle with armed bandits on the roof, the police and National Guard soldiers break into the building using tear gas. Roger (Scott H. Reiniger) one of the SWAT troopers, becomes disgusted by the bloodthirsty behavior of some of their fellow SWAT members when one of them goes crazy and begins shooting at both zombies and innocent bystanders. A tall figure in a gas mask shoots the rogue officer dead. Roger retreats to the basement to escape the confusion, but the tall figure follows him. He removes his mask and reveals himself to be an imposing man named Peter (Ken Foree). They have talk for a few minutes and agree that the zombie plague will only get worse. Roger tells Peter about his friend who has a helicopter; he plans to leave with Stephen and Fran, and suggests Peter join their escape. A priest emerges from a room in the cellar; the man is missing a leg and walks with a crutch. He tells them that he has administered the last rites to the dead people in the next room, and that the soldiers may now "do what they will" with them. Peter and Roger kill all the zombies in the cellar, the gravity of the situation nearly overcoming them.Meanwhile, Stephen and Fran arrive in their helicopter at an abandoned police station pier on the Delaware River to refuel and wait for Roger to show up. They are surprised when four rogue policemen arrive and threaten them for looting the place. Roger and Peter arrive and the rogue cops back down allowing the four to go on their way. Stephen and Fran are surprised that Roger has brought someone with him, but they agree to take Peter with them. The four of them fly all night.In the morning, Stephen lands the helicopter at a small, deserted rural airport depot to refuel. While exploring the area, zombies attack them from out of nowhere. Stephen tries to prove his manliness before Fran -- who is carrying his child -- but he is both clumsy and a poor shot. Roger has to kill the zombies Stephen weakly shoots at, and Stephen nearly kills Peter when aiming for a zombie.Later, while in the air again, they see a deserted shopping mall. They land on its roof and break in through a skylight to rest and to collect supplies. The place is full of zombies milling about inside, drawn to a place that had meant so much to them when they were alive. Despite the growing number of undead outside, the four refugees realize that they could survive there for a long time. It even has a gun shop so they will be able to find weapons to defend themselves. Using the mall's floor plans and master keys, Peter, Roger and Stephen race around the mall, collecting the supplies they will need to make a home. They take these supplies to an upstairs area where they and Fran build a home in an annex of former offices and storage rooms. Fran is resistant to the idea; she thinks it is a bad idea to leave what is left of society, but perhaps because she is pregnant and wants to do what's best for her child, she stays.They realize they need to rid the mall of zombies. A decision is made to block the entrances to the mall with semi-trucks from a nearby warehouse. While Stephen watches from his circling helicopter, Peter and Roger hotwire the trucks and drive them to the mall. Peter is disturbed that Roger seems to be losing his grip on reality; he becomes arrogant and takes unnecessary risks in order to demonstrate his mastery of the situation. Unfortunately, he is bitten by zombies while trying to get into one of the trucks. They all realize that Roger's wound will prove fatal, as nobody can survive a bite for more than a few days. Fran is conflicted; she wants to take Roger to a medical facility, but the others won't hear of it. They are convinced Roger is doomed but decide to let the "disease" run it's course.Over the next several days, they begin to make the mall their home. They care for the ailing Roger as best they can, but his condition rapidly deteriorates until it is clear he is on the verge of death. Peter builds a fake wall in front of the only hallway that leads to their home, disguising it from any potential looters that may come through the area. They monitor a television to see if the zombie crisis ever ends but the news is dismal. Roger makes Peter promise to kill him if he comes back as a zombie, because he tells Peter he's going to try not to return. Roger does return, however, and Peter is forced to shoot his animated corpse in the head. They bury Roger inside of a large planter that houses decorative palm trees inside the mall.One night Peter prepares a romantic dinner for Fran and Stephen. When Peter leaves them alone, Stephen proposes marriage to Fran. Fran declines, saying that they can't make that kind of commitment given what has become of the world. "It wouldn't be real," she explains.Eventually, all television transmissions cease. The remaining three bicker as their sense of isolation gets stronger. Fran demands to learn how to fly the helicopter in case anything were to happen to Stephen. But when he teaches her how to fly it, they are spotted by a gang of motorcycle-riding survivalists.That evening, the survivalists/looters approach, coveting the supplies inside the mall. They try to contact Peter, Fran and Stephen by radio, but Peter is smart enough not to respond. He knows that they will be killed if the survivalists find them. His plan is to let the looters break in and take what they want, then leave, betting that they won't find the camouflaged entrance to their home. The looters break into the mall, and zombies flood in with them. Stephen, believing that the mall belongs to him and his friends, sneaks into the mall and tries to shoot the bikers, who return fire. With no choice but to help his friend, Peter creeps through air shafts, picking off isolated bikers and zombies. Unable to cope with both Peter and the zombies, the bikers decide to leave. Before they do, two of them enter the elevator where Stephen is hiding on top, and begin blindly shooting, severely wounding him. He is later attacked and bitten by zombies, and dies in the elevator. In the mall, the zombies corner and eviscerate several of the remaining looters.Peter returns to the hidden fortress and waits with Fran; they are unsure if Stephen has survived, but they know he will return either way. Now a zombie, Stephen remembers how to get through the hidden wall to the storeroom. He leads the horde of zombies up the stairwell. When Stephen appears, Peter kills him. He tells Fran to leave, but he refuses to go with her. He helps Fran onto the roof, where she prepares the helicopter. Peter stays in the storeroom, waiting for the zombies to flock in and planning to shoot himself before they can grab him. But at the last minute he decides he wants to live and fights his way through the zombies to the helicopter. Fran delayed taking off until the last possible moment, and Peter is able to hop into the helicopter. The two fly off to an uncertain future, with little fuel left. | comedy, suspenseful, grindhouse film, murder, cult, horror, violence, good versus evil, absurd, action, satire, claustrophobic, revenge, entertaining, sadist | train | imdb | Dawn of the Dead is one of the best zombie apocalyptic movies of all time, I highly recommend this film to any horror fan..
It's not just one of the towering horror films, or horror comedies (what will a poor dead fellow do when the escalator starts?!) but one of the great sequels, more ambitious and ass-kicking than its predecessor, with a filmmaker more confident and technically proficient with his abilities.Romero didn't originally want to do *any* sequel to his original 'Night', but after a visit by some friends to a soon-to-open mall nearby his hometown of Pittsburgh, it struck a chord as to who would be coming here – and what so much consumerism in one place would mean.
This was an important part of their lives," he responds.I don't think necessarily Romero meant to show the film as any sort of 'This is what will happen!" type of social horror thing.
Romero acts as both pessimist and optimist in this world though; past all the chopped limbs, exploding heads (oh yeah!), Tom Savini stunt and make-up and intestines ripped apart, what holds up the film for me is seeing these four characters come to grip with the horror they've made for themselves, holding up in this "paradise" of a mall.Balls-to-the-wall horror, social horror, and some genuine paranoid horror stuff (note to self, never try and fire a gun at a single zombie when in a dark room full of electrical wiring and pipes), and plenty of rock and roll attitude, this is a personal favorite and the most entertaining horror film of its time.
Thoughtful if unsubtle epic follow-up to Night of the Living Dead was one of THE influential movies of the late 70's; pity, then, that the people it influenced paid more attention to the amped-up gore than to the sense of contained hysteria that makes what should be tough going (there are basically three scenes in this movie: zombies attack people, people attack zombies, people stand around talking) a uniquely involving and provocative self-analysis of the zombie film.The symbolism is, well, not delicate.
Romero's no-budget horror movie Night of the Living Dead hit screens in 1968, the same year that had already given audiences the all time genre classic Rosemary's Baby, no one could have predicted the indelible effect it would have on the history of cinema.
The mall provides fodder not only for the film's well known social commentary, but also for some truly thrilling-if not terrifying-setpieces.With its graphic depictions of human evisceration, exploding heads, and gruesome flesh eating, Dawn of the Dead may well be the goriest American film of all time.
Dawn of the Dead is a truly stunning example of the horror genre's ability to produce works that are as socially relevant as they are terrifying, films which break free of the constraints of conventional horror movie elements and in doing so establish themselves as being truly timeless.
By 1978, that political anger is gone, and America has reverted to being a race of consumer zombies, congregating around massive shopping malls like they're the religious temples of the Incas, trapped there not by the freedom of choice of capitalist propaganda, but mindless instinct.the zombies are supposed to be the enemy, the Other in conventional horror terms, but the first thing the so-called heroes do on landing at the mall is substitute urgent survival for gleeful consumerism (compare with the very similar silent fantasy, 'Paris Qui Dort').
Reality ceases to exist; there are some beautifully surreal scenes, as our heroes make homes in showrooms.The mall sequence as a whole has a Bunuellian savagery about it, and the film builds up an aggression like the characters until all is chaos - tones, modes, genres all colliding, the 'reality' or 'integrity' or, even, 'seriousness' of the film as much in question as the modern world the protagonists live in, where even time seems to stand still, the weeks of the action compressed into the framework of a day, with the night of the living dead giving onto the dawn.
Romero's "Dawn of the Dead" is one of the chosen few, absolute greatest horror films ever made and it's fairly unimaginable that a powerful movie like this will ever come out again.
He already did that in "Night of the Living Dead" but "Dawn" is entirely different film all together, since it contains a lot more humor and intelligently subtle society-mockery.
For instance, the exploding head scene was revolting, and most of all, the intestinal feeding scene when a biker is torn apart was repulsive; I couldn't watch as his guts were graphically shown ripping apart.Aside from those two unfortunate aspects, I strongly encourage you, rather you HAVE to, watch "Dawn of the Dead." Thrilling and suspenseful thanks to extremely distinct characters, whose fate you hope a happy one, and grippingly socially relevant, this is a unique horror, or really of all genres, treasure..
OK I just got done watching this and it was great this is the first movie I have seen in the United States Of America that I had not seen in the United Kingdom I have seen "DAWN OF THE DEAD" I just never seen the Euoropean version under the tittle "ZOMBI" instead of the tittle "DAWN OF THE DEAD" this is the version done by Dario Argento and it was great I liked it a lot more than the other versions the music in this was different and the sound effects are different and there are some different scenes than the other version I first saw about a year or two ago.
Romero ("Night of the Living Dead") has with "Dawn" created the most ambitious and most satisfying movie of his entire career.
It succeeds on so many different levels that people who really don't even enjoy horror films all that much should like it, and yet there's a wealth of scares, suspenseful scenarios and bloody Tom Savini gore effects to keep the horror fans thoroughly entertained.
Romero's epic sequel to his classic Night of the Living Dead (1968) is an equally classic, and equally excellent film!As the zombie plague sweeps the nation, four refugees escape to a shopping mall where they plan to hide out.
But how long can they keep out the ravenous flesh-eaters or the outside world?With it's great direction, satirical humor, gripping story, and merciless gore, Dawn of the Dead ranks as one of the greatest horror films of the 70's.
Romero makes not only a terrific horror picture, but a clever social commentary with this film as he compares the zombies to the every-day shopper!
The exciting parts of this movie work because they don't move fast, allowing the protagonists to do things that fill the film with interesting possibilities, like what would it be like to live in a shopping mall with no customers and nobody charging you for anything?
Romero, main characters: Stephen, Peter, Roger and Francine.Plot: Four survivors trying to survive in a shopping mall amidst a living dead apocalypse.
It left me stunned and speechless and thoroughly convinced it was the worst film of all time; I've since seen worse movies (like George Romero's Knightriders and the Night of the Living Dead remake), but my distaste for Dawn remains unchanged.
Films like this achieve a kind of dark grandeur-- it's not easy to make movies this bad, but somehow Romero pulls it off again and again (something must have happened to him right after he made the great original Night of the Living Dead).
If the characters are going to casually, and easily, dispose of the zombies then I am not as hell sure going to feel scared whenever I see one.The make up & gore effects in this film is quite simply a joke.
The film stars Ken Foree, who went on to do more great things, but Romero alumnus John Amplas shows up (as well as his job as casting director and makeup assistant), and the DP is Michael Gornick, who went on to do directing of his own.Tom Savini tells us that a "drunken zombie stole a golf cart, drove it around the mall and crashed into a pillar".
This makes that point reasonably well but I actually preferred it in Shaun (but I know it could be because this is an older film).The horror of this film comes from the gore as the zombies are far too slow and easily avoided to be really truly scary.
It's a shame, because I usually don't like remakes but I do have to say that the remake is a lot scarier and Shaun of the Dead is a lot funnier and makes the same sort of comments on society.Overall this is still a good movie that uses the horror genre to make comments about a commercialist society that is (literally) eating itself with the pursuit of stuff for stuff's sake.
When first released George A Romeros' Dawn of the Dead was one of the most graphic and brutal films of all time.
This safety comes in the form of a mall in which they set up base.The four of them have plenty of run-ins with zombies and other survivors alike, which fill up this two-hour long movie with plenty of fun and exciting moments.Overall Dawn of the Dead is the greatest zombie, and possibly horror film, of all time.
When Pittsburgh-based auteur George Romero teamed up with Italian giallo genius Dario Argento to bring us the sequel to the seminal drive-in favourite 'Night of the Living Dead', a genre-defining classic was created which was to influence horror-movie makers for decades to come.
'Dawn of the Dead' is a deservedly revered masterpiece which intelligently mixes social commentary with nerve-jangling terror, black humour and buckets of gore; not many film-makers manage to do that!Since the first movie, the phenomenon that caused the dead to rise has continued unabated and zombies now threaten to outnumber the living.
At this point the blood really hits the fan and we are introduced to Tom Savini's inventive comic-book gore which is very gruesome and brilliantly shocking, with exploding heads, limb chewing and gut-munching aplenty.Two members of the SWAT-team decide that the time has come to head for safer ground, and together with a helicopter pilot and his pregnant girlfriend, they set off to find somewhere free of shuffling reanimated corpses.They eventually land their chopper on the roof of a huge mall to search for supplies, but soon realise that it might make sense to make the shopping centre home for a while, until they have a chance to make better plans.
It is in this setting that Romero makes his sly comments on consumerism (comparing shoppers to zombies) and the materialistic mentality of the average person.But all good things come to an end, and disaster eventually arrives in the form of an army of bikers who break down the mall doors, intent on laying their hands on some of the goodies within.
Romero first shocked moviegoers back in 1968, it was with "Night of the Living Dead", a dark, brutal zombie film saturated with atmospheric black and white cinematography and unflinching gore, which was quite unheard of at the time.So audiences may have been somewhat surprised when they saw Romero's follow-up, "Dawn of the Dead" in 1978.
This was an important place in their lives." Is there even any doubt as to what Romero was trying to say?But don't worry, horror fans, for while Romero was layering in all his clever little metaphors and commentaries, he didn't forget the one important little element that makes "Dawn of the Dead" so infamous: gore.
Whilst I love and admire the truly nihilistic ending to Night of the Living Dead (surely the bleakest ending to a film since Clouzot's Wages of Fear) Romero does right by his heroes and gives them an escape, a chance to run and try and stay alive some more.
However, they realise this paradise in a post-apocalyptic world has much more of a burden on them than they think.Dawn of the Dead has to be one of the most loved zombie films of all time and for good reason.
By today's standards, the film is hardly shocking at all, but Romero's up close and personal look at a nihilistic world simply crawling with the undead is the kind of movie that makes horror lovers stand up and cheer.
The blood, I might also mention, doesn't even look like blood - unless red corpuscles changed to orange corpuscles without anyone telling me.In the end, it comes down to this: Dawn of the Dead is one of the best zombie films ever made - more than that, it's one of the best horror films ever made.
The first time I saw it (I was 17), I could only think how cool it was and what a fantastic time I had seeing it with several of my best friends...Watching it again and again through the years, I began to notice the great camera work in spite of the low budget, the GREAT work of all the Zombie extras, and I think, the ultimate message (also in its great predecessor, NIGHT of the Living Dead) that humanity is on a course for disaster that we may not be able to control.
The movie not only works as a blood and guts horror film but it also works perfectly as a drama because Romero's screenplay gives us plenty of time to get to know the four characters and feel for them.
Gornick and Romero have chosen to the camera to have shots to be very set in place or have minimal movements as this adds to the frightening feeling of the zombies coming closer and keeps the audience feeling helpless in looking away from the gore and horror, which is a decision I admire a lot.Dario Argento and The Goblins are credited as the composers for this film and they did a pretty good job here.
Ken Foree was good playing as the badass protector but at the same time he does show hints of vulnerability that makes the character feel human and not just another killing machine like the zombies.
Foree and Emge showed a much better performance in their physical acting making the stressful scenes feel believable.Dawn of the Dead may be heralded as an instant classic for some and it's flaws that I see maybe seen as a great aspect of the film but it just didn't work with me..
With Dawn of the Dead, George Romero proves that you don't need to create a high budget, CGI movie that tries way too hard to scare an audience, when what really scares someone is a feeling of hopelessness without a way out.
George Romero began the modern zombie movie craze in 1968 with the black and white classic, Night of the Living Dead, made for a reported $100,000.
He followed up ten years later with Dawn of the Dead and $500,000, which allowed him better sets; mostly a shopping mall in Pittsburgh, and color film for all the blood and gore.
If you don't like horror films, or zombie movies, or anything to do with the apocalypse then you probably wont enjoy this piece too much, this ones for fans of the genre.-After watching this one watch "Day of the Dead" an amazing sequel (with none of the same characters unfortunately) and the OK final zombie film from Romero in the series so far "Land of the Dead"9/10 because it seems to be somewhat of a cult film and I think a 10 should appeal to all audiences.
"Dawn Of The Dead" is an acknowledged high watermark of late 70's horror movies in general and of zombie cinema in particular.
Dawn of the Dead is the first zombie movie I have seen and i thought it was very good.
It is what some people will call .."a thinking man's horror film."While Dawn of the Dead is not without its flaws, the shere determination and storyline overcomes the mistakes and makes way for one of the best experiences one could have in front of a television set.
I shudder to think what the zombies in The Night of the Living Dead would have looked like had the film been done in color, but they were effective largely because of their relentless, monotonous advance and because their make-up was so simple.
People are so used to going to the mall that they even flock there after they have been attacked by the walking dead and reduced to nothing more than walking zombies operating only on the primal instincts to feed and, apparently, shop.This movie is more a curiosity piece than anything else by now, since horror films have evolved so much (and, like humans, not necessarily all in good ways) and also because the movie has been remade into such a vastly superior modernization.
"Night of the Living Dead" (1968) is truly one of the best horror films of all time, but it is quite adequately directed - the movie succeeds on its own, not because of its director.
All the other zombies can't have such close attention paid towards them by Savini, so they often appear as if they've wandered out of a pool of gray paint.Many people consider "Dawn of the Dead" to be one of the finest horror films of all time.
Dawn of the Dead may in fact be the greatest horror sequel of all time even though it really doesn't feel like one.
There is just something enthralling about the Romero zombie movies, even the ones that were part of the original trilogy: "Night of the Living Dead", "Dawn of the Dead" and "Day of the Dead".
After a rather tedious majority of the film, this is when "Dawn of the Dead" becomes a classic for more than just turning a shopping mall into an iconic image of horror cinema.
For me Dawn Of The Dead is so much more than just a zombie movie.
Dawn of the dead will go down as one of the best horror movies ever. |
tt0128996 | Cinderella | "Once upon a time in a bustling village marketplace in a tiny, picturesque kingdom...," thus begins the fanciful fairy tale of "Cinderella," a classic story of sibling rivalry, love at first sight and beauty within. The story opens as Cinderella's Fairy Godmother (Whitney Houston) sets the stage for the journey about to unfold, explaining that nothing is impossible in this magical, mystical realm.
Following a busy day shopping in the village, Cinderella (Brandy) struggles under the weight of her heavy load, the numerous gaudy purchases of her imperious Stepmother (Bernadette Peters) and her spiteful and envious Stepsisters Minerva (Natalie Desselle) and Calliope (Veanne Cox). Cinderella, lost in the sights and sounds of the marketplace, lags behind and let's her imagination wander with the music of "The Sweetest Sounds." Disguised as a peasant, the Prince (Paolo Montalban) strolls through the very same marketplace, lost in wonderment at the same sights and sounds that so enthrall Cinderella.
Cinderella is nearly crushed by the wheels of the royal carriage that is frantically circling the village in search of missing royalty, but she is saved by the Prince's heroic intervention and is immediately charmed by his sincere, direct nature, just as he is drawn to her naive honesty and purity. This budding relationship is abruptly interrupted as the belligerent Stepmother retrieves and scolds Cinderella. As they scurry after the Stepsisters, the Prince reluctantly returns to the royal palace. Upbraided by his frantic loyal valet Lionel (Jason Alexander) for his clandestine venture into the village, the Prince unsuccessfully tries to explain his sense of isolation and sadness. Adding to the Prince's
frustration, his parents Queen Constantina (Whoopi Goldberg) and King Maximilian (Victor Garber) are making preparations for a special ball where he is to select a suitable bride from all the eligible maidens in the kingdom. Pleas by the Prince that he be permitted to fall in love the old fashioned way are dismissed by his parents, especially the Queen, and Lionel is dispatched to proclaim that "The Prince is Giving a Ball."
Stepmother, bound and determined to see one of her graceless, obnoxious and self-indulgent daughters chosen as the Prince's new bride at the ball, is frenzied making plans for their big night. Caught up in the excitement of the moment, Cinderella wonders if she, too, might go to the Prince's ball. Finding the idea humorous, Stepmother reminds Cinderella of her lowly station in this world, and warns against dreams of joy, success and splendor. Disappointed, Cinderella retreats to her chair in the kitchen, which doubles as her bedroom, where she loses herself in exotic and exciting dreams of a world away from her Stepmother, away from her Stepsisters and away from this cold and loveless life, in a world to be found only "In My Own Little Corner." In the royal palace, as last minute details for the ball are completed, the Prince pleads with his parents to cancel the affair, but the King and Queen are unconvinced that the Prince will ever find his true love and see the ball as their only solution. Using his diplomatic skills, Lionel offers a compromise that everyone can agree to...if a fitting bride is not selected at the ball, then the Prince may seek his true love in his own way. Calliope and Minerva are undergoing a crash course in the rules of etiquette and royal protocol under the strict tutelage of their mother. Thinking about her own lost opportunities, she drills her girls on tricks to impress the Prince, vowing that one of them will end the evening as his wife-to-be. She certainly has her work cut out for her trying to control Minerva's nervous itching and Calliope's uncontrollable snorting. As Cinderella questions the meaning of love and romance, Stepmother quickly reminds all three girls that going to the ball has nothing to do with finding love, but everything to do with getting a husband by any means necessary. Stepmother ridicules and mocks Cinderella's impossible and childish ideas about "Falling in Love With Love."
Stepmother, Minerva and Calliope, filled with giddy excitement, depart for the Palace in their bold, garish gowns, leaving Cinderella alone in her own little corner once again, imagining what it must be like to be one of the guests on this special night. Responding to Cinderella's tearful wish to go to the ball, the beautiful Fairy Godmother suddenly appears, full of sass and attitude with a life lesson or two to share.
Encouraging Cinderella to stop dreaming about her life and instead start living her dreams, Fairy Godmother shows her that
nothing is "Impossible" as she transforms a pumpkin into a gilded carriage, rats into handsome footmen, mice into regal horses and Cinderella herself into a stunning vision, aglow in a gorgeous gown, a bejeweled tiara on her head and glass slippers on her feet. Before sending the coach on its way, Fairy Godmother gives Cinderella two very important reminders. First, magic spells have time limits, and, therefore, Cinderella must leave the palace before the stroke of midnight, and second, only she can find the power within herself to make her dreams come true. Off to the Palace, Cinderella finally begins to believe "It's Possible."
Amid the hustle and bustle of the spectacular ball, King Maximilian and Queen Constantina greet their anxious guests, Lionel dutifully delivers eligible maidens to the Prince on the dance floor, Stepmother fiendishly schemes behind the scenes to win a wedding proposal for one of her daughters and the uninspired Prince dances with every woman in attendance, including Minerva, who breaks out in an itchy rash, and Calliope, who is even less dazzling as she snorts uncontrollably at everything the Prince says. Suddenly Cinderella appears at the top of the staircase, and a hush falls over the ball as the Prince has eyes only for her. Soon they are waltzing away in each other's arms thinking how odd that they were mere strangers just "Ten Minutes Ago," and leaving Minerva and Calliope to commiserate over their bad luck in a "Stepsisters Lament." The King and Queen are equally enchanted and intrigued by this mysterious princess, a potential new daughter-in-law. Embarrassed by questions about her family and background, Cinderella escapes to the garden in tears where Fairy Godmother magically appears for moral support. In a blink, she is gone and the Prince is at Cinderella's side. Once again finding their conversations relaxed and comfortable, the couple wonders "Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful?" Just as they share their first kiss, the tower clock begins its ominous midnight call. Remembering her Fairy Godmother's admonition, Cinderella flees, leaving behind a single clue on the steps to the palace, a sparkling glass slipper. Stepmother and the Stepsisters return home exhausted telling exaggerated stories about their glorious adventures with the Prince, who, according to them, was mesmerized by their many charms. They speak in envious tones of the mysterious stranger, "Princess Something-or-other" who they concede also captured the Prince's attention. Wishing to share her excitement, Cinderella recalls that her imaginary evening at the ball was "A Lovely Night." Stepmother refuses to believe her own instincts when she finds Cinderella's manners strangely familiar to those of "Princess Something-or-other" because, to Stepmother, some things really are impossible. Heading to bed, Stepmother coldly reminds Cinderella once again that she is common and should stop this ridiculous dreaming about a life she will never have. No longer capable of enduring such cruelty, Cinderella finally decides to leave and goes to her room to pack her meager belongings.
Again, a visit from her Fairy Godmother helps Cinderella find her inner strength and realize that she needs to seek her own happiness. She knows she has found true love with the Prince and is challenged by her Fairy Godmother to share her feelings with him. Lionel and the heartbroken Prince set out on a mission to find the one special maiden who lost the glass slipper, and the mood of the Prince continues to darken as woman after woman, foot after foot, fails to measure up. After trying the slipper on the endless supply of eligible female feet in the kingdom, the Prince and Lionel finally arrive at the Stepmother's cottage. Minerva, Calliope and even Stepmother herself try to fit their oversized feet into the delicate slipper, but to no avail. As the dispirited Prince prepares to leave, Cinderella has started down the path on her journey to freedom but is startled by the horses of the royal carriage waiting outside and drops her few possessions. As she kneels to retrieve them, she looks up into the eyes of her Prince standing beside her. He recognizes her from their recent encounter at the ball as well as their earlier chance meeting in the marketplace. Knowing that he has finally found his true love, he places the slipper on Cinderella's foot.....a perfect fit. In true fairy tale fashion, Cinderella and the Prince are married under the approving eye of the King and Queen. Fairy Godmother blesses the couple with the message that "There's Music in You" as they are cheered by their joyful royal subjects. The gates of the palace slam shut on Cinderella's Stepmother and Stepsisters, leaving them outside as the Prince and his new Princess head into the palace to start their lives of "happily ever after". | fantasy | train | imdb | null |
tt0113481 | Johnny Mnemonic | In the 21st century, information is the ultimate commodity. The most valuable of information is transported in mnemonic implants in the heads of professional mnemonic couriers like Johnny (Keanu Reeves - Speed) who offer both security and confidentiality for the right price.But Johnny has paid a heavy price of his own - He's dumped his own memories to make room for the programmes he smuggles. To buy them back he agrees to deliver priceless data, the most important data of the 21st century, data that has already set an army of professional killers on his trail. but the massive upload is too much for his brain and johnny must find the secret codes to download the information - or die.Intro pre-title, 2nd decade of 21st century. Scrolling script sets up the story, Loteks vs. corporations, and elite agents who smuggle data by wet-wired brain implants.A man (Keanu Reeves) awakes at 10:30 am, Thursday 17 Jan 2021. An attractive woman dresses as he scans thru the TV channels. After she leaves he uses the TV to dial a man Ralfi (Udo Kier), they have a video conversation. Johnny needs $1.5M to remove the implant device and return to normal but has to do one more courier run.In Central Beijing Johnny gets out of a cab in the midst of a riot. He enters a posh hotel and goes up an elevator. Taking a small device from his pocket he inserts a wired tether into a socket in his head and watches as the progress bar formats his head with a memory doubler and a voice warning he can only handle 160 GB safely.Entering a room full of asians he is greeted by pointed weapons. The young men in charge admit they are new at hiring a data courier. Johnny installs a motion detector on the door as the men discuss his memory limits. This trip will require 320 GB but Johnny acts nonplussed.Downstairs an ominous group of black coated Yakuza prepare to enter the elevator. Johnny sets up his upload equipment and instructs the clients to take three video screen shots as the counter approaches zero. Putting on a dark visor over his eyes and a teeth clencher the painful data upload begins. The client presses the screen shot device 3 times as the data stream ends, and three photos come out of a small printer. Johnny excuses himself to the toilet as one of the men goes to fax the photos to the end user in Newark, NJ. The photos are the encryption key to enable the data download.In the washroom Johnny has a slight bloody nose and he tidies up. Meanwhile the Yakuza charge into the room and start shooting. The leader has a monofilament wire whip that slices thru anything. Johnny outfights one assailant in the washroom. In the main room fight the three photo strip is sliced in two and the fax transmission is interrupted. The Yakuza leader Takahashi (Takeshi Kitano) recovers half the photo strip, the other half is burned. Johnny manages to escape but the clients are all killed.At the airport a security scanner detects Johnny's implant but it is listed as an approved dyslexia device by the Federal government. The scanner also detects a potential medical problem, synaptic leakage, and issues a verbal warning.In an office in Newark Takahashi greets a rich man Shinji (Dennis Akayama) and tells him the courier, Johnny escaped. Shinji accepts the partial photo key and dismisses the Yakuza.In a cab Johnny calls Ralfi, he is furious at the blown deal and demands to know what is going on. At a busy night club a man Spider (Henry Rollins) meets a woman Jane (Dina Meyer) and they discuss her medical condition. She then approaches Ralfi, sitting a table with his henchmen. Jane attempts to show her ability as a bodyguard. Ralfi makes her show steady her hands are as she suffers from NAS, Nerve Attenuation Syndrome, aka "Black Shakes".The cab drops Johnny off in a dark alley. Observers, J-Bone (Ice-T) and aide, above detects the memory implant but leaves him alone. Johnny meets two armed men but when threatened, escapes the building. In a confrontation outside J-Bone helps Johnny kill the two. Johnny then goes to confront Ralfi claiming he was set up, but is taken from behind with a knockout drug.Janes sees the henchmen carry the unconscious Johnny away. In a room Johnny is strapped to a bed as Ralfi gloats, Takahashi is there as they are prepared to remove the memory device. Jane is in the ceiling above and drops down and fights off Ralfi's gang. Johnny is cut loose and joins the fight and they escape. Takahashi slices Ralfi's upper torso in frustration. Outside J-Bone and several cronies protect Johnny and Jane as they stand-off the Yakuza.Johnny and Jane get away thru a deserted subway tunnel. Jane wants to get paid, Johnny has a severe head pain episode.Shinji dresses and watches a video of a young girl. The video is interrupted as an ethereal woman's face (Barbara Sukowa) comes on and tells him the courier's data can give him new purpose in life.Back in the tunnel Johnny asks for help to get the data out of his head. He admits he had to dump some of his own childhood memories to make space for the uploaded data. Johnny wants to get out of the courier business, and wants a computer. They break into an electronics store and Johnny gears up with a VR visor and gloves. In a 3D display environment he tracks down the fax number from the Beijing hotel room. The local Newark number is for a Dr. Allcome. An IT tech notices the hack and informs Takahashi of Johnny's location. As the cars approach Johnny chats online with a head figure who mentions PharmaKom is behind it. Once again Johnny and Jane escape.In the PharmaKom skyscraper Shinji makes a video call to a Street Preacher(Dolph Lundgren) a cross and candles pseudo cleric, and offers him a contract to get Johnny's head.At a phone booth Johnny hacks into the phone system with a repairman's device and offers the 320 GB of info to PharmaKom, hoping they will negotiate. Jane then goes into spasms and has a seizure, she still manages to direct Johnny to Spider. At a dark isolated warehouse Spider lets them in, he rants about information overload but begins to examine Jane. J-Bone and his cronies observe Street P striding down the street.Shinji gets a briefing about the woman's face in his video, she is Anna Kalmann, she died in 2015 and had been imprinted into a computer in Switzerland and is now a "ghost in the machine", advising the company from her present state.Johnny explains his situation to Spider. Street P approaches the bartender Hooky (Don Francks) and freezes his prosthetic hand in a liquid, torturing him to find out where Jane is.Spider stabilizes Jane and scans Johnny. Spider is not very confident, Johnny onvinces Spider to drive them to Dr. Allcome. Driving away they run over Street Preacher. In a crowded makeshift hospital Spider tells them Dr. Allcome is merely an emergency code word, the fax was meant for them, the NAS Underground. Spider hooks Johnny up to another device and reads the data in his brain. He offers to remove the implant but it would have some severe adverse effects. The data is the cure for NAS, which can save millions of people. Johnny refuses the removal. Suddenly the Street Preacher enters and causes havoc. Spider is stabbed and killed but Johnny and Jane manage to run away.Calling PharmaKom again Johnny offers to meet at the bridge, Landfill 5. He is talking to Shinji who is using a anglo-saxon avatar to talk to Johnny. As Shinji hangs up the face of Anna Kalmann reappears warning him he is running out of time.Johnny and jane arrive by garbage truck under the bridge, two guards watch them. A burning car falls and they narrowly dodge it. Johnny loses it and rants about his desire for normalcy. J-Bone descends beside them in an elevator device. Johnny begins to have flash episodes and collapses as the three ascend to the bridge deck, the busy Lotek HQ.Back at Pharmakom Shinji prepares a katana sword and pistol and directs an aide to have Takahashi meet at the bridge. At the bridge Jane comforts Johnny and the two kiss. J-bone takes them to a work area with several stacked video monitors and a dolphin in a glass tank. The Loteks send out encrypted data to the world. The white dolphin is rigged up with a helmet and wires and is to be used as the codebreaker. Takahashi and a large squad of Yakuza soldiers arrive below the bridge.Johnny is hesitant to link with the dolphin but finally agrees to put on the wired headpiece. The Yakuza use personal ascenders to raise themselves up. Shinji arrives by helicopter. The Yakuza start killing the guards. Johnny has a painful experience as the dolphin slowly tries to finds the encrytpion key. A woman with a shoulder launched missle launcher fires at the bridge from below until J-bone shoots her with a crossbow.The codebreaking is interrupted with the fighting with only one picture resolved. Shinji confronts Johnny with a pistol and sword. Anna Kalmann appears on the monitors, in a fury Shinji slices through a wire bundle. Takahashi shoots Shinji in the back and approaches Johnny with his wire device. Jane starts a distracting fight and Johnny tries to flee, chased by the Japanese man. They fall through wreckage and hang by their fingers high above the river. Johnny manages to get control of the monofilament wire device and kills Takahashi.Back on top Johnny meets a dying Shinji who gives him the half of the photo strip key. Street Preacher arrives and in a wild fight Jane and Johnny manage to defeat the big man, burning him alive. Johnny gives J-Bone the pictures and prepares to link with the dolphin again. Ann Kalmann comes on again and appeals to Johnny. J-Bone broadcasts to the world the cure is coming and the final painful data download commences. At the end of the data stream Johnny faints but recovers quickly. J-Bone, Johnny and Jane look out onto the lights of the city with the PharmaKom tower in flames in the distance. | psychedelic, violence, sci-fi | train | imdb | My review of the underrated cyberpunk film, Johnny Mnemonic(1995) starring Keanu Reeves, Dina Meyer, Ice-T, Takeshi Kitano, Denis Akiyama, Dolph Lundgren, Henry Rollins, Barbara Sukowa, and Udo Kier.
Johnny Mnemonic is a 1995 American cyberpunk sci-fi action film directed by Robert Longo.
It was loosely based on the short story "Johnny Mnemonic" by William Gibson.Keanu Reeves plays the title character, a man with a cybernetic brain implant designed to store information.
In my opinion The Matrix and Johnny Mnemonic are my top 2 best Action Sci-fi flicks from Keanu Reeves of the 90's.
It is believed that the change was due to the "Molly" character being attached to the rights for any possible future Neuromancer film adaptation.The script was rumored to have been dumped on the doorstep of Keanu Reeves' house, a tactic that piqued his interest and led to him accepting the role of Johnny.B.J. Rack, one of the producers, is still credited although he left the project due to creative differences with director Robert Longo First of all, the prologue is different and more poignant.
Age of terminal capitalism.The armored towers of multinational corporations rise above the ruins of the democracies that gave them birth.Soldiers of the Yakuza defend them.Hackers, data-pirates, LoTek media rebels are the enemy, burrowing like rats in the walls of cyberspace.A new plague convulses the cities: Nerve Attenuation Syndrome, incurable, fatal, epidemic, bringing fear and misery as old as the species itself.But the most precious data is sometimes entrusted to elite private agents, wet wired to function as human data banks.Mnemonic couriers."10/10.
Over 24 hours he jumps around in the city of Newark, trying to find a way to get rid of the data and the bounty hunters.A touch in this movie that many might recognize from the film 'The Matrix' is that in this movie they tend to hook themselves up to the internet, which has become a virtual reality like, àlà The Lawnmower man.
But in the end of the film, Keanu's character completly hooks himself up to the internet for a short amount of time, walking around in it and controlling his actions as if he was in another world.
Johnny Mnemonic could have been a wonderful movie, had William Gibson not strayed so far from his original story when writing the screenplay.
Reeves, contrary to popular opinion, is alright and has a few great scenes, most notably his angry breakdown on the pile of garbage under the bridge.Having read Johnny Mnemonic several times the character of Jane is one of the most annoying factors of the movie.
In the story they are the door guards at the club and Johnny claims that they are "bad news in a tussle." In the movie they are Ralfi's bodyguards and portrayed as pathetic and outdated rather than dangerous.
Johnny never accesses the matrix (the internet) in the story, but he does in the movie, for no apparent reason other than allowing director Longo to show off some CGI special effects.Longo also chooses to mimic Blade Runner in the opening scenes, and later on one character tells another that it's "time to die", a famous line from BR.
This is not a terrible film as claimed, but it had faults: poor pacing; weak atmosphere (visuals were there, but insufficient music track to back them up); and its largely unexplained universe.Ideally, you need to have read Gibson's short stories and "Neuromancer" first, and then all the props - cyberspace, 'black ice', grubby streets, brand-name hardware, Yakuza assassins, muscle grafts, etc - make sense.
Incidentally, many of these props appear cliched, but remember that Gibson more or less invented them; it's merely that this film appeared long after they had become standard movie fixtures.Gibson's written work has fairly sparse dialogue, and makes heavy use of precise and rather introspective visual description to convey character.
Probably, I wouldn't know another reason.Nobody says that this is a real block-buster, but it is definetely not as bad as everyone here wants to make it.It's a nice movie to enjoy (especially on DVD) and forget afterwards.
And, to make matters worse, I wasn't sure of what I was watching.There was a LOT of good things about the movie.
Oh well.Considering it was based on the short story of the same name by cyberpunk godfather William Gibson, the movie is a minor disappointment.
It's not that bad, but it could have been so much better.However, a lot of Gibson's ideas are still there, making it a solid cyberpunk movie.
if you wanted acting, WHY WERE YOU WATCHING A KEANU REEVES MOVIE?!
Keanu Reeves and Dina Meyer add to the cheese with their bland presence and occasionally funny/bad acting and we get some weird scenery chewing from Udo Kier and Dolph Lundgren, who is a Jesus freak bounty hunter also out for Johnny's head.
The film is based on William Gibson's short story "Johnny Mnemonic" and also draws heavily on his later novel "Virtual Light".
4 years later Keanu Reeves starred as a computer hacker who learns about "The Matrix".William Gibson is the writer of this movie and tries to shoehorn several of his concepts into the "Johnny Mnemonic" movie.
The story doesn't really tell anything deep or interesting about the future world.The movie is badly directed by Robert Longo who isn't a professional director , but a
painter (!).
After all, the future-present seems so dull, mundane and exploited when you're living in it (planes, cars, tanks, computers, internet).Specifically about this movie I like the stark opening on the Main Character.
Each step of the way he is always closer to getting that thing out of his head and renewing his childhood memories.I agree with the other comments regarding the Main Character's desires whil e standing on a garbage heap and his life looks like garbage -- he will never live to enjoy his childhood again, nor the physical comforts he thinks he wants.The lo-techs vs.
Although the manuscript could benefit from a few extra hours of work, the movie itself and the concept behind it, is the perfect school for Keanu Reeves to learn his role as "Neo" in "The Matrix".
Keanu Reeves stars as Johnny Smith a courier who gets chased around by corporate thugs who bring in the yakuza led by Takeshi (Takeshi Kitano) who brings in the help of Street Preacher (Dolph Lundgren) a born again assassin in this visually appealing yet empty headed cyberpunk actioner.
Its funny at times, with comments like calling Johnny "Just Johnny" (by character "spider" played by Henry Rollins)after Johnny (Keanu Reeves)says his name is just Johnny.
We were just realising that things were going to change drastically in the 90's, Cyberpunk reflected that.So, is Johnny Mnemonic a good film?
it's still a shot in the arm.Before it wears out its welcome in the last 1/2 hour (too many set-ups where people "break" and run off as though dance routine-ing, when someone had the upper hand on the other, guns incl.), this is a rich body of material come to life with recognizable actors who, one would think, would want to be part of the next generation of art/culture/thought: Ice-T and Henry Rollins in a William Gibson movie?
Needing the help of some street folks like Jane (Dina Meyer), Spider (Henry Rollins) and J-Bone (Ice-T), the courier learns his brain is way overloaded and he will die if he can't find someone to accept the data.
Everyone has been saying how bad this movie was, so I guess I was entitled for a great amount of suspicion before seeing it.Cyberpunk isn't really my cup of tea, but as an avid role-player I had some basic information about it.
I saw this movie on television the other day and I didn't know much about it, I had heard about it when it had come out and thought it would be quite good because it had Keanu Reeves in it.....boy was I mistaken.This could be a worthy contender for worst film ever.
But by working on the story and make changes you can make bad books great as movies.
You know, really, the cyberpunk genre is so slim for pickings (at least in film format), that even though I *knew* this movie was going to be bad, I still rented it and watched it.Having read the short story (and just about everything else William Gibson has written), I knew what to expect, but I found it interesting how elements from his other works were incorporated into Johnny Mnemonic, such as the bartender with the artificial arm (Neuromancer), the bridge (Virtual Light and All Tommorrow's Parties), etc, etc.I found the fact that they *totally* dumbed down Molly Millions (Jane's) charachter rather upsetting...
The idea is that Keanu Reeves plays a kind of Data Courier who carries the information inside his brain, having had it transferred there by a fibre optic link.The idea is not too bad, and could make a reasonable film with a decent scriptwriter and some actors.
When you go to watch a movie and have no clue what so ever what its about,most of the time your gonna hate it for sure..This film is based on the man who has been writing the best cyberpunk books ever to come out.He's coined the term cyberspace and talks about corporations and what is in store for the future..Well about that movie its basically a told story of a man named johnny who is a courier,but not any ordinary courier he has implanted inside his head a jack that can store lots of data.He is carrying a cure for the disease nas(another deadly disease like aids or etc.A corporation who has the cure is trying to find defectors who have taken all the data of the cure to be exposed to the world..The YAKKUZA is hired to retrieve the defectors and the data,but thats where johnny comes in..Not a great screen play but for its nature,its well thought out,not bad for a movie that was suppose to be black and white and less than a million dollar budget but turned into hollywood status overnight and began the movie..Brilliant costumes,sets,and actors playing roles ive never seen played before ..Good music and good fx..Matrix lovers should know that read all of william gibson's books and watch the matrix,farfetched plots are good but not as good as the future within our lifetimes..And seeing if the future is really about corporations and governments being in power,as they are right now,globalization i believe its called..Check out NEW ROSE HOTEL with Abel Ferrara directing the flick aobut gibson's short story from the same book as johnny mnemonic....
This Sci-Fi/Action/Thriller sure could have been about 10 zillion times better.Johnny Mnemonic certainly had oodles, and oodles of potential.
At this point, Johnny's information storage capacity is dangerously overloaded.Pursued by ruthless agents and deadly cyborgs, Johnny must deliver this all-important data to Newark within 24 hours, or else he must die.Johnny Mnemonic, most certainly, had a truly fascinating premise that if handled properly could've ranked it right up there with some of the best Sci-Fi films of all time.
In the 1980s, a writer named William Gibson wrote a short story called "Johnny Mnemonic" about a futuristic courier that uses his brain as an external hard drive.
In 1995, following Keanu Reeves's success as an action hero in Speed and right as the start of the dot com bubble, TriStar released a film adaptation of the short story.
I like Keanu Reeves a lot; his limited acting abilities make him paradoxically a great hero (as in "Speed" and "Matrix").
The story line is reasonable, but much better use of it could have been made.The 'technology' depicted in the film is laughable.Keanu Reeve's acting is awful.
Keanu Reeves (Speed, The Matrix) stars as Johnny a person in the future who has been given vital information which has been stored in his brain.
The film's action scenes are poorly done and you don't care for a second about any of the characters, especially Keanu Reeves.
I really wanted to like this movie, after all it is based on a William Gibson story.
Its only loosely based on the William Gibson short story, and whilst the look of the film isn't too bad, and there are a few ok performances (eg Henry Rollins as the doc), in the main the acting is poor.
Some blame Keanu Reeves, but I like him much more in this than in the overrated Matrix films.
A data courier (Keanu Reeves), literally carrying a data package inside his head, must deliver it before he dies from the burden or is killed by the Yakuza.Author William Gibson said, "Basically what happened was it was taken away and re-cut by the American distributor in the last month of its pre-release life, and it went from being a very funny, very alternative piece of work to being something that had been very unsuccessfully chopped and cut into something more mainstream." That is a fairly understanding position from the author.Truthfully, this is not that bad of a movie.
Dolph Lundgren is at his psychotic best as the mercenary Street Preacher, and Ice-T is righteous and driven as the rebel leader J-Bone.All in all, this movie tries to do a lot of things and fails.
Now, I realize that Gibson himself (who wrote the original short story "Johnny Mnemonic") wrote the screenplay for this piece of garbage, but what was he doing to his fans?
All I DO know is that not only did he write in the most ridiculously laughable bad guy I have EVER seen (Dolph Lundgren's "Assassin Monk Cyborg Moron"), but he replaced an important recurring character from his other works, Molly Millions, with some chick named "Jane" who, incidentally, acts a lot like Molly.
I'm afraid I'll have to say that the only believable part in this movie is that of J-Bone, played by Ice-T who portrays the thug-with-a-heart-of-gold quite well.The plot is neither anything special nor anything terrible; it's a fairly typical sci-fi premise with a bit of a neat twist: man has portion of his memory removed in order to smuggle data for shady corporations.
Maybe it's just a guy thing, but Angela Basset's character from "Strange Days" or Thandee Newton's perfromance from "MI2" is more of what I have in mind when I envision Molly.If you read the short story in the "Burning Chrome" anthology, stay away from the movie, you'll be very disappointed with the adaptation.
The thing that left all of us scratching our heads, was who's idea was it to cast Keanu Reeves as a guy, people want for his mind?
I just saw Johnny Mnemonic for the first time and I have to say I liked it a lot.
Based on the comic books by William Goldman, "Johnny Mnemonic" takes place in 2021, when the world looks like one big trash can.
Keanu Reeves has never been an actor who carry films on his shoulders, he needs bombastic productions like "The Matrix" and "Speed" to blend in better.
Everyone acted so freaken stupid in the movie, and most notably Keanu Reeves p**s poor acting, The Matrix made him look really good with the fighting.
"Johnny Mnemonic" is a really different film from "The Matrix" with a lower budget and a lower improvement from the side of technology.It's a nice movie with a good performance by Keanu Reeves as Johnny Mnemonic and wonderful Dina Meyer as Jane.
Ice-T as J-Bone and Takeshi Kitano as Takahashi made a good performances too.The story of this movie regards a man who use his mind as a hard drive and his self as a data courier to deliver packages from one man to another.
Director Robert Longo brings writer William Gibson's story to the screen with some arresting visuals; but, their "Johnny Mnemonic" is disappointing.
The bigger names in the cast seem unfocused, with only Mr. Lundgren and some of the minor characters providing focused characterizations.***** Johnny Mnemonic (4/15/95) Robert Longo ~ Keanu Reeves, Dina Meyer, Ice-T, Dolph Lundgren.
Anyway, Keanu Reeves is very good in the lead role, and there are interesting parts by Udo Kier, Dolph Lundgren, Henry Rollins and Ice-T.
"Johnny Mnemonic" is a bad B movie.
Johnny Mnemonic is another 'cyberpunk' thriller, from a short story by William Gibson.
The movie has a great cast (Keanu Reeves, Dolph Lundgren, Ice-T, Dina Meyer, Takeshi Kitano, Udo Kier, Henry Rollins) although I didn't like Reeves in his part, becuase I found him wooden and not very believable.
I've read the original short story too, (I like Gibson) and while this film is very different, it still sticks to the basic spirit of Gibson's works.
Keanu Reeves really doesn't give away a good performance and the other actors' performances aren't really mind blowing either.In the end this is a very uninspired and disappointing movie with a very dark view on our near future.
I haven't read William Gibsons version of the story, but I doubt that it is as bad as the movie.
Sure, I was 13 when I really liked this film and watched it whenever it was on USA (a cable channel) in the afternoon during my summer vacays--but this movie isn't so bad that it would make people cry our pain.
I think that, at the time, Johnny Mnemonic was an interesting film.
As a 13 year old who was getting to know what Cyberpunk was, Johnny Mnemonic was a great film (of course, at the same time I thought Tank Girl was off the hook too.huy :P).
This movie looked interesting in the TV programme, but I was utterly disappointed by the bad acting and the incoherent plot line, especially the illogical motives of the characters.The environment is a dark and gloomy future, with some cyberspace scenes.
Despite the brilliant work of Gibson in writing the story, the movie is not at all like it.
The movie goes somewhat like this, In the future, smugglers carry data through implants in their head. |
tt3631112 | The Girl on the Train | We meet Rachel (Emily Blunt) as she commutes on a train. She tells us her husband always said she had an overactive imagination. Rachel explains that she has been on this train for years and always sits in the same seat, three cars down, so she has the perfect view of a neighborhood. She says she is a new person now and thinks people can see that in her, as a man in a suit makes judgmental eye contact from a nearby seat. Rachel tells us she likes to imagine about the lives of all the people she passes. She wonders if people who live by the train even notice it when it goes by. We see her on various trips watching a blonde woman in her home with her husband. Some days, they kiss; other days, they have sex. She says they have the perfect marriage and she says that's the marriage she could have had. Rachel tells us that she herself was previously married and lived three doors down before her husband left her for another woman. Rachel wonders what the blonde woman's name is and, while Rachel sketches in a pad, imagines the woman to be some sort of artist.Its now one year earlier and we meet Megan (Haley Bennett), the woman Rachel has been fascinated with from the train, as she tells someone that she has had many different roles in her life including a waitress, a wife, a nanny, and a whore but not necessarily in that order. Its revealed shes talking to a therapist, Dr. Abdic (Edgar Ramírez). She says that her husband convinced her to take a job as a nanny to help convince her to become a mother, which she has no desire to be. The therapist asks if it helped and she says that when she gets home, she rushes to shower to get the smell of the baby off of her.We are then introduced to Anna (Rebecca Ferguson) who is washing her baby, Evie, in the bathtub while gushing about how her husband sang happy birthday to her that morning. The nanny comes in and its revealed to be Megan. She says that they've been getting more hang-ups on the telephone and they speculate its Rachel, who used to be married to Anna's husband. As Megan and Anna are folding a top sheet together, Megan says she the gallery called her back and shes going to leave the nanny job after that day. Anna tells her that's uncool since shell have to be alone the following day. Megan suggests she gets a job again and that a lot of mothers work. Anna complains that she has to go grocery shopping and whatnot and being a mother is a huge job, pointing out that Megan wouldn't know. Later, Anna has a flashback of Rachel stealing her baby from the house and wakes up, upset.Rachel checks the Facebook profile for her ex-husband, Tom (Justin Theroux) and sees a new pic of the baby he had with Anna. Moments later, Rachel is drunk and leaving voicemails at 1 AM. She is stopped short by Cathy (Laura Prepon), a friend who has let Rachel stay with her for over a year, following her divorce. Cathy pours the rest of the alcohol down the sink and advises Rachel not to call Tom anymore. Rachels phone reveals all of her recent calls have been outgoing messages to Tom.The next time Rachel rides the train, she sees Megan embracing another man on her balcony. She rushes further down the train to catch another glimpse, seeing them kissing. Rachel gets upset, saying it was a perfect marriage and this woman is destroying it. She gets off at Grand Central and drinks at the bar there, then fills her water bottle up with alcohol and drinks it for the rest of the day. She remembers how she used to read Toms emails after guessing his password and saw all the emails between him and Anna, the real estate agent. She thought they were business related until she realized all the XXXXXs at the bottom were kisses. She writes XXXXX on the mirror in a public bathroom and gets her friend to shout Fuck Anna Boyd! into her phone as it records video. She explains Tom posted another picture of his baby and goes into a wild monologue while intoxicated about how she is mad at the girl she saw from the train for cheating on her wonderful husband she says if she saw her in person, she would yank her hair back and attack her.That night, when the train stops at the neighborhood Megan lives (and that she used to live with Tom), a drunk Rachel gets off the train. The man in the suit begins following her, knowing her from the daily commute and knowing she doesn't get off there. Worried, Rachel rushes into the park and sees someone down a tunnel. We hear her shout Whore! and then hear a thud but don't see any activity.The next morning, Rachel wakes up at Cathy's, blacked out and covered in blood and bruises. She has no idea what happened. She goes into the bathroom to wash up and Cathy knocks on the door, asking what went on the night before. When Rachel tries to make up an excuse, Cathy tells her she can see the blood on the sheets and she isn't stupid.Cathy and Rachel talk and Rachel reveals that she got fired from her job a year ago. She says that she takes the train to New York City every day. Cathy chastises her for spending her alimony on train tickets to nowhere.The next time she rides the train, Rachel sees someone reading the news on his tablet and the lead story is about a missing woman named Megan Hipwell, the woman Rachel watches from the train whom she exited the train to yell at about cheating on her husband.In a flashback, we see Megan with her therapist again, talking about the aggressive relationship her husband, Scott (Luke Evans) and her have. Her therapist suggests its a form of emotional abuse but Megan says she likes it.Rachel goes to an Alcohol Anonymous meeting and admits its day one of sobriety. She recalls that she had fertility issues and that's when Tom drifted away from her, which led her to start drinking. On her way home, a woman (Lisa Kudrow) boards the train and Rachel gets nervous. She quickly exits before the woman can see her.When Rachel returns home, she is greeted by Cathy who cushions her from speaking; moments later, it is revealed that two police officers are in the living room waiting for her. Officer Riley (Allison Janney) does all the talking, asking where Rachel was the night before. Rachel admits to leaving the train at 6 PM in her old neighborhood to see Tom but that she changed her mind. Officer Riley points out she didnt get home until 11 PM and thats a huge chunk of time she was unaccounted for; she tells Rachel that Toms new wife, Anna, had seen Rachel in the area and wonders if Rachel asks if she killed Megan Hipwell. Obviously Rachel denies this but she isn't sure if she did or not.Rachel visits with the police and tells Officer Riley the truth, that she noticed Megan from the train and there was another man with her that morning. Officer Riley says that Rachel said she has been stalking Tom and her with phone calls and points out that Rachel once kidnapped Anna's baby. Rachel explains she went to visit once, drunk; the door was open and she went inside and saw the baby crying while Anna slept. Rachel picked up the baby and walked her outside after having some compulsion to do so but had no intention of kidnapping her. Anna woke up and became hysterical after seeing Rachel outside with her baby. Rachel is insistent they find the man on the balcony with Megan but they tell her to leave the people involved alone.Rachel goes to meet Scott, the husband of Megan. She claims that she knows Megan from the gallery (Rachel found out she used to work at one). She tells him that she saw Megan outside with another man and they were kissing. Scott wonders if its her therapist, Kamal Abdic, and brings up pictures of him on Google Images. Rachel confirms that, yes, in fact, it is.In a flashback, we see Megan meeting with her therapist. She talks about how she likes to touch herself and demonstrates but he chastises her for not really truly doing it. Megan continues to flirt with him and sucks his finger. He warns her he could lose his practice.Rachel now meets with Dr. Abdic and uses him as a therapist, to see if he can help her remember what happened when she blacked out. She said usually when she blacks out, her husband would tell her what she had done the night before so she knew what she had to apologize for. But they had been divorced and it was all her fault for drinking. She says this started after their attempts at in-vitro fertilization failed and she felt guilty for not providing Tom with a child he wanted. We learn that the woman Rachel saw on the train was Martha (Lisa Kudrow), the wife of Toms boss when they were married. Rachel flashes back to attending a party at Martha's house, then getting upset when enough people weren't eating her deviled eggs and throwing the platter against the wall. After theyre kicked out of the party, Tom chastises her, telling her that Martha is the wife of his boss and he could be fired but she is mean to him, still inebriated. Then, another night, also drunk, she takes a golf club and smashes a mirror in front of him. Rachel realizes her drinking ruined her marriage and led him to cheat on her.It is announced that Megan's body was found and her husband was brought in for questioning but was released due to lack of evidence security cameras caught him in a sports bar during that time. Rachel rushes to his house as he is released from jail. After reporters swarm Scott, Rachel walks away, spotting Anna pushing her baby in a stroller. Now confident, Rachel pushes past Anna.That night, Tom tries to have sex with Anna but she brushes him off, worried about why Rachel was in their neighborhood. He tells her Rachel didn't kill anyone; she is harmless. The next day, she tries to sign into Toms computer using various passwords first Anna, then Evie, then she tries Rachel. But none workAnna goes to Officer Riley and is adamant that Rachel is the killer, pointing out that shes been spotted visiting Scott and citing phone records that show all of the calls Rachel has been making to the house. Officer Riley points that these calls are listed as Unknown Caller and don't prove anything.Rachel goes back to where she is staying, having moved out of Cathy's place, and finds Scott waiting for her. He says the police now suspect him and that, after talking to her therapist, he told them everything Megan told him about Scott being emotionally abusive. Scott admits that Megan and him got in a fight right before she disappeared. Then he asks Rachel why she has an appointment reminder card for Dr. Abdic on her refrigerator. He accuses Rachel of being in cahoots with Dr. Abdic and attacks heA new piece of information is revealed Megan was pregnant during her murder but it wasn't the therapist or Scotts baby. Because Rachel claimed to be her friend, Scott demands to know whose baby it could be but she admits she didnt really know Megan.We learn Megan had had a baby at 17 years old where she lived in a shack with the father, who happened to have been the best friend of her brother before he died. On a cold night, she got in the warm tub with her baby in her arms and fell asleep, waking up to find her baby drowned.Rachel goes to the police station to report Scott's attack and is interrupted by Officer Riley who is dismissive of Rachel. On her way home, Rachel goes into a bar and sees the man in the suit from the train. She asks why he is following her. He says he can ask the same thing. She asks if he remembers anything about the night of Megans murder. He says he saw that shed fallen and cut herself near the tunnel and tried to help her up; she told him to fuck off so he fucked off. Rachel leaves, walking by the tunnel. She now remembers seeing Anna and calling her a whore before getting knocked out somehow. She remembers seeing Tom there, in a car with Anna, and the man in the suit asking if she was okay and her drunkenly telling him to fuck off.Anna continues trying to hack into Toms computer but is unsuccessful. She finds an uncharged phone in his drawer and plugs it into a wall to charge. She reviews it and sees tons of texts from Tom telling the user how much he misses her (similar to when he cheated on Rachel with Anna). Tom comes home and she is able to hide the fact that she is snooping, pretending to just be checking on their baby.Rachel sees Martha on the train again and now approaches her, apologizing for getting drunk and embarrassing herself at Martha's party. Martha said she had nothing to apologize for. When Rachel tells her the story of her throwing the deviled eggs, Martha reassures her Rachel simply got dizzy and went to sleep in their guest room until the party was over. Rachel points out that Tom got fired because of Rachel's behavior; Martha tells her Tom got fired because he couldn't keep his dick in his pants and was fucking everybody in the office.It becomes apparent to Rachel that Tom was planting false memories into her head he was actually the one that smashed the mirror with a golf club in anger when Rachel was drunk but then told her it was her fault the next morning.Anna waits until Tom falls asleep and then creeps out of bed, taking the now charged cell phone outside. She listens to an outgoing message and learns it is Megan's phone. Just then, Tom appears behind her and she tosses the phone over the fence. He asks why shes up and she says she heard a noise and he tells her she should have woken him up if she heard a noise.Now Rachel remembers what happened that night she saw who she thought was Anna and called her a whore. But it turned out to be Megan. Megan goes to the end of the tunnel, where Tom is waiting to take her to their secret rendezvous spot in the woods. Megan says Rache'ls down there (knowing her because she has been stalking Anna). Tom rushes towards Rachel and attacks her, knocking her down and causing her to black out.Rachel rushes to Toms house, trying to warn Anna. She tells her Tom is lying to her. Anna is nonchalant and says she knows he lies and that the two of them lied to Rachel. She seems to have enjoyed the cheating but realized Tom then cheated on her with Megan when she was supposed to be watching her baby (which we see in flashbacks). All the hang-ups Anna thought were coming from Rachel were actually Megan calling from an unlisted number.We now see in flashback when Megan found out she was pregnant. She called Dr. Abdic over for advice; Scott is an aggressive man and Megan is worried about letting him raise the child. Megan and Dr. Abdic go on the balcony and he hugs her affectionately and then gives her a friendly kiss on her face. We see Rachel watching this from the train, misinterpreting it as sexual.Scott attacks Megan after she reveals she was having an affair. This is the first time hes been violent with her and she storms out of the house, texting Tom to meet her. When he picks her up in the tunnel, we see her saying again Rachel's down there and Tom beating Rachel up.In present day, Tom corners Rachel and yells at her. Rachel tells Tom she knows he attacked her in the tunnel and that he got in the car with Megan. Anna admits to finding Megan's phone in his bag. Tom confesses to the affair and complains that both of them were weak women so he had to move on. Tom begins to accost Anna while Rachel grabs a corkscrew and then slips away, dialing 911. But before she can ask for help, Tom approaches and destroys her phone. Rachel is dragged and beaten up by Tom.In a flashback, Tom then takes Megan to the woods where he tries to have sex with her. But Megan stops him, telling he she took him there to tell him that shes pregnant with his child. He tells her he will help her get an abortion. She says she wants to keep the baby and when he is adamant it will ruin his family life, she gets irate and threatens to reveal their affair. Tom gets angry and stomps repeatedly on her face. As she is bleeding, he finds a large rock and smashes it on her face, killing her.Rachel is attacked some more by Tom and struggles to reach for the corkscrew. She cant find it with her hands but smashes a pot over his head, giving her just enough time to run outside. Tom follows and he begins strangling her to death, killing her. Anna watches from the house, not intervening. And then Rachel reaches up and stabs Tom in the jugular vein with the corkscrew she had reclaimed at some point in the earlier scuffle she stands up and its revealed a train has passed by during the attack. Tom is now bleeding to death. Anna marches out to the lawn but instead of attacking Rachel, she twists the corkscrew into Toms neck even deeper.Rachel is brought in by the police for questioning and she claims it was self-defense. Separately, Anna corroborates the story.Time has passed. Rachel now takes the train again but sits in a different seat, on the opposite side overlooking the Hudson instead of the neighborhood that she used to live with Tom, and that Megan used to live with Scott. Rachel now seems healthy and sober. | violence, murder, flashback | train | imdb | None of us have quite had a commute that changes our lives quite like Rachel Watson in The Girl on the Train though.Emily Blunt stars as Rachel Watson, an alcoholic divorcée who takes the same train to work each day.
On her journey, Rachel fantasises about the relationship of Scott (Luke Evans) and Megan Hipwell (Haley Bennett), who live a few doors down from her ex-husband, Tom (Justin Theroux), and his new wife, Anna (Rebecca Ferguson).Rachel's unstable state leads her on a downward spiral that sees her embroiled in a missing persons investigation that will change her life forever.Based on the best-selling novel by Paula Hawkins, The Girl on the Train is a mystery thriller that reminded me of David Fincher's Gone Girl, which is not a bad thing at all.
Now, while I don't think this is a better film than Gone Girl, I do think it serves up a worthy mystery that kept me guessing right up until the twist/reveal later on in the story.The narrative is told from the point of view of the three main female characters; Rachel, Anna and Megan.
Yes, it gets a little far-fetched in the final act but if you go with it, The Girl on the Train really is a suspenseful watch.Coming to the performances, The Girl on the Train features a great lead performance from Emily Blunt and a solid supporting cast, Haley Bennett and Rebecca Ferguson jumping on the paranoia train with Emily Blunt to great effect.
"The Girl on a Train" is the film adaptation of the best-seller by Paula Hawkins, transported from the London suburbs to New York's Hastings-on- Hudson.It's actually rather a sordid story encompassing as it does alcoholism, murder, marital strife, deceit, sexual frustration, an historical tragedy and lashings and lashings of violence.
When 'shit gets real' and a key character goes missing, Megan surfaces her suspicions and obsessions to the police investigation (led by Detective Riley, the ever-excellent Allison Janney from "The West Wing") and promptly makes herself suspect number one.Readers of the book will already be aware of the twists and turns of the story, so will watch the film from a different perspective than I did.
(Despite my best intentions I never managed to read the book first).First up, you would have to say that Emily Blunt's performance is outstanding in an extremely challenging acting role.
Although the film comes in at only 112 minutes, the pacing in places is too slow (the screenplay by Erin Cressida Wilson takes its time) and director Tate Taylor ("The Help") is no Hitchcock, or indeed a David Fincher (since the film has strong similarities to last year's "Gone Girl": when the action does happen it lacks style, with the violence being on the brutal side and leaving little to the imagination.It's by no means a bad film, and worth seeing for the acting performances alone.
First off, I will admit that I've not read the bestselling book that The Girl on the Train is based on so my thoughts are based purely on the movie adaptation.I usually love a fast paced thriller with twists and turns to keep me metaphorically on the edge of cinema seat.
I really struggled to warm to or identify with any of the characters in a film where all men are portrayed as controlling and deplorable and any sense of female empowerment is lost amidst the absurdity of the relentlessly twisting plot.I have to call out Emily Blunt's stunning lead performance - she steals every scene she's in with a nuanced, conflicted and honest portrayal of a complex and intriguing character.
Quality support performances from Luke Evans and Haley Bennet help but don't save the movie and most other characters are so slight and one-dimensional that they fade into the background.The Girl on the Train felt like Gone Girl without the tension, emotion or drama.5/10.
The book is a terrific and engrossing read, with a lot of tension and suspense, a clear timeline and while the characters are unpleasant you understand why they are.In comparison 'The Girl on the Train' is down there among the most underwhelming book-to-film adaptations, with everything that made the book so good being completely lost in translation in the film.
If anybody likes the film, that's absolutely fine and good for them, as a huge mystery-thriller fan this was one of the year's biggest letdowns while not quite being bad enough to be one of the year's worst.Comparisons to 'Gone Girl', which has a similar tone and a couple of similar themes, and almost universally negatively is understandable and inevitable.
This is an excellent mystery/thriller that had me 'grasping at straws' for a solid hour or so, trying to figure out who was 'good' and who was 'bad.' And...it's punctuated with a "killer ending!" (Yes, pun intended ~)Plot in a nutshell: An alcoholic loner subject to blackouts (Emily Blunt) immerses herself in a missing-persons case in which she becomes a prime suspect.(First let me state I have not read the novel on which this film is based.
It seems most of the negative reviews here are from people who read the novel, then apparently watched this film with a notepad in hand, already knowing the story and the outcome but eagerly marking down every area that doesn't match the book, and then coming here to write negative reviews to vent about it.
I occasionally browse over reviews once I finish a movie to see what others thought, and maybe be filled in on subtle details I may have missed.I was however disgusted reading a variety of reviews here of shallow minded people that not only put pieces of the puzzle incorrectly together, but couldn't appreciate the superb performance of the main roles.**Don't listen reviews saying "The book was better** Rarely can a movie pack the punch of a book with hundred's of pages into 2 hour movie.
a Great movie , it reminded me another great movie " Gone Girl " by David fincher, I didn't read the novel but the scenario was quiet good and the plot was nicely done, what made me like this book is Emily Blunt and her astonishing performance, I'm not saying that other members of the cast didn't perform, they REALLY did a great job, but Emily was the best.
Bitterly disappointing.It's the best way I could describe my feelings towards Tate Taylor's The Girl on the Train adaptation.A film so devoid of any imagination, life or characters worth caring for, this 100 minute thriller is one of 2016's biggest letdowns and the millions of fans of Paula Hawkin's popular (if somewhat polarising) book are likely to be left cold by this big budgeted wannabe Gone Girl.The comparisons to David Fincher's 2014 hit, that in many ways shares similarities to this tale of domestic (un)bliss, murder and intrigue were always going to be made and have been made by many in the lead up to Girl on the Train's release and now that we've been able to lay our eyes on Taylor's film, it pales in every department.Core to the failures when comparing the films is in both the tales characters who were interesting in Gone Girl and uninvolving here in Train while the most important aspect of a thriller of this nature being the mystery that draws us into the murky world is quite sadly bereft here as around 30 – 40 minutes from the films conclusion Taylor has played his reveal card far too early as any chance we had of being under illusion as who is who is taken away and the films rather grizzly final stanza feels worse off for it, despite the best efforts of the films talented and underused cast.Looking worse for wear and giving her all, Emily Blunt tries desperately to elevate the film around her in her portrayal of hard drinking and divorced Rachel who is our films focus but despite her commitment and dedication Rachel is not an overly appealing character and remains hard to watch for most of the films runtime.
It's a great showcase for Blunt's continual work to push herself as an actress but surrounded by the miscast Justin Theroux and Luke Evans and the misused Haley Bennett, Girl on the Train ends up delivering one of the years great crimes against talented cast members.At the end of the day there's not much more to say about Girl on the Train other than the fact this is a real non-event and an event that could've easily become the years big breakout thriller.So uninspired and against all the odds boring, Tate Taylor's film is not even worthy to be mentioned in the same sentence as Gone Girl or even other lesser thrillers of similar ilk, so disappointing for all who were involved in this "could've been" film.
This twisted relationship between memory and truth filters the story in ways that produce a novel viewpoint in a traditional thriller.Rachel's alcoholism started when IVF failed and it eventually ended her dream marriage.
All the time we are uncertain whether Rachel is sane or sozzled as, one by one, clues about what happened on the night of the murder are laid out with surgical precision in the finest tradition of a Hitchcock thriller.Emily Blunt's performance drives this film despite the incongruity of her unexplained Britishness in America.
The Girl on the Train boasts a (mostly) intriguing performance by Emily Blunt; she commits to this character as what appears at first to be a 'drunk mess' and is one of three major woman characters in this story of deception and murder.
So apart from Blunt's acting, and the mysteries surrounding her character's blackout drinking during the night of a girl's murder, the film doesn't do too much for me..
The fact that the film isn't really any good certainly won't prevent it from being a huge hit nor will it stop Emily Blunt picking up an Oscar nomination for Best Actress, (she certainly pulls out all the stops), and, of course, director Tate Taylor has already proved his worth where actresses are concerned with "The Help".
But the big sin here is it's all so boring.All the actors, aside from the lead, give bland performances shot in a bland TV movie fashion and with some very video looking slow motion effects trying to make things seem stylish, but just make you feel like you and the story will never speed up.A thriller without thrills, characters without depth.
The girl on the train (2016) - Having heard good things about the book I watched this fully expecting a real gripping thriller, but i was wrong.
"The Girl on the Train" is one of those movies that you watch and your drawn in with the mystery from the scenes and story as much of it is told thru flashback, and this picture is based on Paula Hawkins novel.
And while I didn't read the book still I like watching a good mystery on screen and for the most part "The Girl on the Train" did deliver as it's clear it's a film of wonder, tease, despair, and lust as these revealing secrets all lead to blood, and violence in which a crime is solved.
The story is pretty simple Emily Blunt plays Rachel a depressed lady who's full of rage and loss she's a divorced alcoholic who passes her time away by riding the daily train to the city from her New York suburb.
The premise itself is inventive, but the film failed to offer excitement that I so looked forward to.Emily Blunt gives a powerful performance as Rachel, a depressed alcoholic who rides the train everyday to Manhattan and back.
The story gets messy when Megan (Haley Bennett), who lived next door and is a nanny employed by Anna and Tom, goes missing and Rachel is suddenly personally involved in the chaos.Blunt has to sacrifice her beauty for this role and she was as compelling and real as she could be given the circumstances.
What follows is an investigation into what happened to Megan; there are many possibilities and Rachel is not the most reliable of witnesses; so much so that she doesn't even know if she was somehow involved in whatever happened.When I started watching this I was expecting to be reminded of 'Rear Window' but as the story played out the film this reminded me of most was 'Gone Girl'.
The Girl on the Train considers a missing woman being sought out by someone with no true business of doing so.Rachael Watson (played by Emily Blunt) is a sad alcoholic who spends most of her time riding a New York train back and forth while obsessing over her now over marriage to Tom (played by Justin Theroux).
She also watches Tom's neighbors, Scott (played by Luke Evans) and Megan Hipwell (played by Haley Bennett).When riding the train one day, Rachel witnesses Megan having an affair with her psychiatrist, Dr. Kamel Abdic (played by Édgar Ramírez), and immediately feels angry for this woman ruining a "perfect" marriage.
You can get people interested in a film by telling a good story, or you can admit that you have no plot by simply skipping through time, back and forth, skipping over important details, give us glimpses which are entirely false, and so on.
If you are in the mood for a toned-down pace of a mystery thriller with a lot of little things to look and listen for along with great acting watch this one on that day.
Paula Hawkins' 2015 novel "The Girl on the Train," wasn't a revelation, but was much needed after the immense popularity of "Gone Girl." Personally I read through it very quickly and found its twists and turns to be exactly what was needed to make for a good, enthralling thriller.
We had never read the book so it was going to be a mystery for us what sort of a film to expect.The pacing goes along nicely, while slow to start off...such as introduction to the characters etc, but it does take off quite well once it gets going.
I really hated the character of Rachel in the books and Blunt does nothing to really win me over with the performance in the film either.
I gotta admit I wasn't a fan of Blunt before this film but girl on the train has changed my mind .the movie is so twisted and the acting is outstanding .the director has done a great job with the setting .usually this kind of films is very hard to portray and hard to convey the real image on screen .I truly believe that Emily blunt deserves a recognition for this role as she came across as genuine and believable.
I don't understand why this movie is getting such a bad reviews.I was expecting something really average,but it turned out as a great movie.From the first second,with the first word , you are completely taken deep in the movie.You are using your brain almost like its you inside the movie and you are trying to help yourself.Drama,suspense,really good play by Emily Blunt,its gonna be a shame if you miss it.I felt sorry for her,almost like its a friend of mine who is telling me a sad story.I just didn't want to blink before i got all the facts right.It was almost midnight when i watched it,the drama was just on time and it was a perfect spent time with my friends.Yes,i agree some parts could be made better,but still i really recommend this movie.Maybe not as good as Gone girl,but still one to watch..
The only good thing I found in the movie that is the only thing you should watch it for is Blunt's performance which is a career high for her and also should Grant an Oscar nom for Best Performance by a Female.As speaking for the story I can't say much this being a spoiler free review but all I can say is story is actually great , its intriguing , characters are well portrayed , sex scenes are dull.So if you don't care about a lousy script then you can watch this mystery or if you care then well read the book.
Divorcée and alcoholic Rachel (Emily Blunt) catches the train to New York each day and the route takes her right past her old house where her ex-husband Tom (Justin Theroux) and his wife Anna (Rebecca Ferguson) are now living.
Even as a mystery film it never really gripped me as I didn't find any of the characters to be engaging or interesting and the convoluted way that the story was structured only help to increase my general disinterest in what was going on.There are a couple of good things about this film; 1) Emily Blunt - she was a class act here and was wholly believable as a dispirited alcoholic.
Comparisons with "Gone Girl," had turned me off to reading or seeing this earlier, because I didn't care for the movie "Gone Girl" and the book didn't hold my attention.I found this film to be technically excellent and the performances are Oscar worthy.
Seriously, Emily Blunt in particular, but the entire cast was perfect.The complexity of the story is put together so well, the inherent confusion of so many flashbacks and narratives from the book, is remarkable screen writing and the direction never fails.This film is the best movie I've seen in 2016, next to "The Witch," another critically slammed masterpiece of filmmaking..
Not just because I really love Emily as an actress but the film is really refreshing, nicely done, interesting, keeps you trying to follow (you might want to rewind it at certain points) a rather complex story, which is also good, it is not a shallow feelgood movie about nothing at all, it actually has a plot, which was developed perfectly by the director.
The Girl On The Train is a good movie for people who like to watch mysteries, where you try to figure out what really happened. |
tt2661044 | The 100 | Story is post nuclear, according to the narrator, the character Clark. There are 12 stations combined; now only the Ark is left: cobbled together from the original twelve."One from many". Another hundred years, four more generations. Prisoners are kept if they are under eighteen year old. They are incarcerated in a "skybox", every offense for adults equals death. Our narrator, Clark, is apparently in for a watch or the watch was her father's watch and she is in because of something he did, perhaps. One hundred kids are about to be sent to the ground. Clark sees her mother and then she gets darted in the back.
There is one small ship going down to earth. It turns out the guy sitting next to Clark is named Wells and he got himself arrested on purpose.
Second chance speech is given by Well's dad on a recording. 'You are the ones we send on this desperate mission for your crimes' is something he rambles on about in his speech which seemed to be going on in the background. There is a place called Mt weather that can sustain 300 people for two years. The parachutes deploy.
Back on station: "We have lost contact"
Back on ship "your father/my father OMG the ship is a hundred years old."
"listen no machine hum"
One guy is dead already from the crash and for getting out of his seat. Something about following the knife guy; who might have altered the course somehow.
"The air could be toxic" Clark says when they go to open the door now that they are on the ground.
This guy borrowed a guard's uniform and he is Tabia Blake's brother in a guard's uniform.
Tabia Blake steps out first. 'I'm Radioactive' plays and everyone cheers and rushes out.
Clark looks at a map and talks to some guy (with a knife) who calls her "princess" relentlessly.
"do you se that peak over there: mt weather. Radioactive forest. You dropped us on the wrong damn mountain." She says to him. Station: 'communications are down but the wrist bands are recording'. "two dead kids, dark tiles"
It seems there might have been fatalities from landing, lots of concern about radiation.
Back on Earth: Tabia and Clark argue about who is in charge and a twenty mile trek. "Chancelor" and "privileged" are mentioned by some guys.
Wells and some guys start fighting. Wells has one leg? Spacewalker breaks it up.
Tabia needs to have fun, Bell, right? Bell needs his sister's trust because they are going to kill him when they come down.
Spacewalker is the second guy 'dead' but only because he tried to take his wrist band off. Clark lectures him about it. Dr. Griffin goes to the OR for the Chancelor who has been shot. She needs O-NEG type and inordinate amounts of medical supplies and drugs to save the gunshot victim.
Five people trek out to the Mt. Weather talking about poison sumac conversation. Someone stole herbs from the garden. They see a mutant deer.
The OR scene used up too much blood and anethesia, breaking the law. "Keep us notified for news." "Bellany Blake did it (shot the Chancelor) for Octavia Blake." "All of this only buys us another month." "Start killing hundreds of innocent people." "First son first to dye" Bellany lectures the guys with the knife that were harassing Wells. "You are helping them by wearing those bracelets. Take em off so the ark doesn't follow."
Station: Murphy and Imbeggy are both named John and whom are dead (took off their bracelets). "It isn't radiation cuz they would all be dead and it would be 'bang' they are dead."
Forest trekkers: Clark tells them three months or four cuz the ark is dying. "Floated your old man the engineer against the council or else he would go public with the information that the Ark is dying."
Spacewalker. "we have to warn them, clark thats is what my father said"
Octavia undresses and jumps into a river to swim. Boy sees ripples. Octavia caught by some snakelike thing and dragged under.
Octavia escapes and her friends help her out of the water.
Night and everyone is removing their bracelets near a fire and cheering.
Wells confronts Bells about it. Bells is taking over and Wells is argueing about it.
They start chanting "whatever the hell we want" after bells says it.
Then a thunderstorm breaks and everyone cheers some more.
Back on the Ark: Griffin is arrested for using too much medicine.
Cain is temporary chancelor and sentences her to death the next morning. Griffin is locked up in her daughter's cell and sees the artwork. Clark wakes up the forest is glowing she walks off to (its very avatar) Spacewalker comes up says "pretty cool huh" and gives her a sip from a leaf and she follows him to see a weird track of something on two feet he guesses "monkeys". Station: Cain is confronted by one of his officers about his starting his killing spree. She says "please show mercy if not for Abby (Griffin) for me."
Bells wakes up Wells with a gun in his face and marches him off and tells him "I need them to think you are dead" and interrrogtes him about his dad (the Chancellor).
Wells gets jumped and they cut off his wristband by force.
Station Griffin stares out a window and then it is time. The officer who is her friend and tried to convince Cain says goodbye and they put her in an airlock and she tells Jackson to reverse engineer the wristband and to talk to Sinclair an engineer (like her executed husband). Suddenly Chancellor Wells shows up and pardons her.
The Hundred are listening to 'under a pale blue sky' and Fin Spacewalker almost swings out on a vine passes the vine to the other guy who says "see you on the other side" he dances around and cheers.
Guy on other side picks up a sign and holds it up and gets a spear in his chest and dies. Clarks says "we're not alone"
We see previews including images of masked mutants in the trees, more ships come down, iridescent butterflies and plenty of interesting plot twists in next week's episode. | romantic, murder | train | imdb | OK it's not perfect (sometimes the science makes me frown) but it does so much right I barely pay attention to the increasingly rare blips now.Heading towards the end of season 2, every scene is compelling and feels important and you care about what happens because they have built it in the right way.
Don't expect the fluffy love stories CW is famous for, this is in no way a show just for teenagers, it's not afraid to kill people, and deaths are permanent (thank goodness).
It's gritty and edgy with excellent production value and the only other program I'm getting the same level of epic from right now is Game of Thrones.I've never written a review before but I just had to support this show and want it to get past any stigma it created in the initial episodes.
If you like the show too, please spread the word as much as possible, the show can't survive without support and good ratings so encourage those around you.There are so many cool sci fi themes and issues in the show that it really keeps you interested in watching.
You have to accept that the premise of the show is that 100 teens get stranded on earth by their race of space people 100 years after a nuclear disaster.Sometimes television programs don't abide by standard rules of physics, or any kind of science for that matter.
If, however, you are someone looking for something exciting and (honestly) addicting to watch you might be in luck.In regards to the script I can honestly say that I suffered through 90210 cringing all the way and while some of The 100's script might be a little cringe-worthy to start, it is certainly much better than most (if not all) of the teen dramas on television.
Television shows are stories, not the real world, get over it for Pete's sake!First couple of episodes will leave you with a weird feeling of watching a teen drama poorly written.
I find the characters on this show a lot more interesting, probably because they are criminals, so you kinda want to know what each of them did.It also have that element of uncertainty that shows like the vampire diaries, teen wolf or the originals have, where even the main characters can be killed off, which makes the show even more interesting.
That bit is covered!It's not great but what I am starting to see coming through is a fairly sincere interlacing storyline between what is happening on the Ark (the big space station with the last of the humans on it) and those dumped back on Earth.Bottom line is that it's entertaining!
And it is getting better too, there are even moments which remind me of Battlestar Galactica (the remade series, not the original) as resources on the Ark start to dwindle and decisions have to be made.I'm enjoying it, and I think that anyone else who likes to watch throw away TV and just be entertained will enjoy it too!If I have any concerns about this show it's that it's a little bit too "high school" to start with and I don't see how this is going to last beyond a single series as the current plot (barring any miracles) pretty much means anyone left in space after a few months is dead?I'm just going to enjoy this for as long as it lasts and ignore the haters of which there appear to be many....
(A science-fiction series about teenagers sent on Earth to examine if it's finally livable again after a nuclear apocalypse that happened almost 100 years ago and forced the survivors to live in space stations.)In the beginning of season 1, the 100 was basically a cheesy teen show, but then at some point the tone changed.
I guess it's fun for the writers and the actors, as they get to do something new and play a different character every season, but this leads viewers to feel detached.
Which is pretty bad if you are watching a survival show.The choice to mix up relationships, dynamics and even personalities and writing the characters to betray someone just because suddenly "my people" is different than previously, makes all their bonds seem meaningless.
But when there's time to reflect what actually was shown, you probably start to feel like someone thinks you are a very stupid viewer to write something like this and thinking it's good enough.For a viewer who enjoys watching the development of the characters, it becomes a very frustrating show.
I just hope it doesn't have too many moral twists in it, but going back to watch ones that do is the norm too.I'm also in my late 40s so that, contrary to those negative and even fallacious reviews of the show claiming it's a "90210 remake" or "reviews use poor grammar,' even "positive reviews are written by idiots or teenagers," _The 100_ has the potential to continue as good sci-fi, and good, positive reviews abound.
So I was randomly browsing Netflix and started watching The 100, and what can I say...I got hooked to it.The show has a good plot to start with and now has multiple story lines (I'm talking about season 2 & I hope it's not a spoiler), which makes me more curious to know what's about to happen next.It might seem like it's a teen thing...but once you realize how all the characters grow with time and how they blend with the plot it's pretty entertaining.
And the earth based SciFi aspect is holding it all together unlike that space Ark joke in the beginning.If you bother to look at the individual episode ratings you will see this dramatic jump at the end of first season.
Some episodes go above 9.0 for all the right reasons.In summary I recommend skimming through first half of the first season to get some backstory and start really watching second half.
I like the way the story goes after the first 5 episodes ,they start off slow and then they hit you with a wave of elegance,mystery and performances that you will remember for ever.
If you'd asked me after the first few episodes what I thought of this show, I'd say that it had some good, dark and surprising moments, but was let down by underdeveloped characters, inconsistent writing quality and predictable plot points.
After the first few episodes, however, the show realises that it's trying to be a compelling, dark and intriguing survival story instead of a documentary on which guy Octavia wants to sleep with, and it becomes a very addictive show to watch.
It's actually a nice setup for a show, and the good CGI of the Arc as well as a genuinely capable performances by the cast set it off on the right foot, even if the start is a little too rushed (they're literally already being sent down to earth 3 minutes in, and you're introduced to characters in arbitrary ways that tell you nothing about them.
The characters all start to develop into believable people, the writing steps up a notch and the story lines start becoming more unique.
By the end of the season, I actually cared about these characters, their survival and what happened next, and that the show is suitable for all ages and not just teenagers.
don't judge it by the first episode, you got to give it time for the story to unfold.i look forward to Wednesday so i can watch a new episode, i think this show is great, its got a bit of everything, action,romance, attractive characters, and a good storyline, i do think that end of season 1 and season 2 is the best, but overall this show is greatgive it a chance!
I understand now that the writers probably wanted to show the personality changes from brainless teen idiots to more complex, dark characters due to their environment.Yep, there are holes here and there in terms of realism, but the fact is that we are utterly entertained, and there are many "WTF!" moments.
I was hoping that this would be an interesting new sci-fi show, but it is just a poorly scripted high school drama with all the clichés, pitting mean girls, bullies, cheerleaders, jocks, nerds and other one-dimensional characters against each other, but this time set in the future.The only reason I would watch another episode is if I were assured a large number of the obnoxious brats and bullies that were landed on earth would be quickly killed off -- and killed in some especially gruesome manner!.
On the other hand, others were saying that the first few episodes are boring but then it gets better with some amazing story, and plot twists that won't shame "game of thrones".
Another thing that gives quality points to the series is the really good casting the characters in it are portrait well from the actors and they made me care about them.
are the cherry on top.No the series is by no means perfect, especially the third season is in the middle all over the place but by the end it gets better so no major issues here.
Finally here unlike HUNGER Games or Divergent or Maze Runner (man there are a lot) there is no 100% good or bad ,for everyone is trying to do his or her best in order for his or her people to survive this world ,so go and think for yourself who has right and not been spoon feed by it, like with Catnis in the last two films.All in all it worth check it out if you are interested in that kid of genre ,but done good ,watch it.
How anyone can enjoy watching a TV-show populated with such characters, monsters, wretched people, is beyond me.Another thing, the science is so full of stupidities that you have to laugh, and lose the immersion.
I, myself looked forward to the series after reading the synopsis for the pilot episode, thinking that in the very least I might have a new sci-fi show to waste time on, but no.I can't even bare to watch anymore, as the plot is so unoriginal, see-through, predictable and done to death that it's frankly depressing.
What a crock of sh!t.It's basically a popularity contest between a bunch of immature idiots and I was wishing they were all killed by the end of the first episode.Instead of an intelligent script/plot about mortality and existentialism, we have a bunch of teenagers throwing hissy fits and acting like they have a lack of brain cells.You would think humanity might have advanced seen as they are living in space and this is set in the future, surely they are reasonable enough to send a small group of highly skilled people to scout ahead for whatever their plan is?
Once again, this is NOT a regular CW show, not even suitable for teens, most demographics for the show are much older and got hooked on it thru later episodes and then watched the show from the start.
As you watch first episodes and think that this a cliche, or if you like other CW shows, you are in for a dark twisted surprise and Sci-Fi here that is not too far fetched, as some of these technologies are in the process of development today.
The core characters will be forced to do really immoral things, and lots of 'cheese' from the the early episodes, will start slowly making sense and it will get rally emotional and bloody later too...
Now I only started watching this series earlier this year and I've only got up to the end of the first season and I have to say that 'The 100' is definitely my favourite series for a while.
I'm not sure exactly what point I realized that i began liking this show, probably around the 6th or 7th episode and then by seasons end I was quite satisfied with the way things were developing.
The 1st season ended with a solid 6.5 grade imo.Onto the Second season where it picked up where it left off and I noticed immediately the quality of the intro and sets had been upgraded significantly and as I got a few episodes into it I realized this show was becoming downright outstanding and it continued throughout the rest of the Season.Don't give up on this show even if the temptation to do so is difficult to resist because you patience will be thoroughly rewarded with a unique and intriguing completely original story line with a fantastically immersive world and great character development.
Perhaps it's aimed at teens but I thinks teens are probably too clever for this.I'm afraid that by episode 4 I'd had enough and could not continue watching this drivel.There's lots of better TV series around.
And YES, the main characters are a group of teenagers, but when you have watched it for a while you realize that the story is way more complex than that.
And in some cases its not impossible that a dead character might return somehow.These are all the things that makes the show so freaking good despite what many people say.
Say what you will about the show's science, or lack thereof, what it lacks in proof, it makes up for with compelling characters and a plot that continues to surprise me with each new episode.
To me this is just another series that wants to hop on the young adults train in the wake of Mocking Bird and similar.What you get:low budget sci fi (good CGI space station and animals, awful real scenes and props) a cast of young models, always looking good and with fresh make up 5-6 characters out of 100 youths, the rest is just cannon fodder or propsterribly simplistic and boring stereotypes, presented within the very first 15 minutes by bitching at each other to show who is white and who is dark an unbelievable repressive regime aboard the last space station centered around a single dictator like person (council president) a laughable attempt to find out if humanity can go back to Earth that has been poisoned by a nuclear catastrophe only a hundred years ago, so severe that almost all of humanity died...surely the planet is now habitable again...
nothing else like the arenas in the Hunger Games.lots of talking, bullying, languishing, envy and blah blah about oh so mysterious backgrounds or pastshalf of the main characters are children of major figures aboard the space station, what a coincidence and how very realisticThe pilot was a real downer and even if the series gets better later (I doubt that) I am done with it.
I think its b.s. people rate it one star when they only watch the first episode.
Good thing i gave this show a chance after watching few episodes, and i'll tell you this (as everybody is saying) -- it gets better and better after each episodes, starting with Season 1.
Not gonna win any Oscars but certainly what you can expect from a show like this Think of the show as Small Ville( or your average teen high school teen drama) meets lost, meets lord of the flies with a good dash of Sci-Fi, just to reach everyone you have the usual stereotypes the pretty girl with a brain, the rebel with all body, and so far no brain, the stoner, the geek.I will watch ep 2 and see if the show raises above the whole teen drama level, but I'm not holding my breath************************Warning spoilers************************** Its predictable, not weary realistic, but than again Sci-Fi is never meant to be.
The reason this show has survived and the reason it's been named one of the best shows on television that you're not watching, is because of it's terrific story lines, deep characters, and unique make up.
As I watched this show, I really felt as though I was a member of this camp and I knew everybody, only a great show can accomplish this.This is a show that is so much more than just another CW teen drama, it is a look into the new direction the network is taking with shows like Arrow & The Flash.
Great characters, good actors very fun to watch.
Yes it started out a bit like a teenage drama series but it gets SO much better.
If you still don't like the show by episode five, then you should probably give up, though the show continues to improve throughout the first season and the next.A constant theme of the show is characters choosing to do immoral actions in order to survive.
That teen feel and look is on purpose, believe me things get dark and serious pretty fast and those opening episodes make that more sense the more you watch.
I started by watching one or two episodes at a time and was just playing along, and glad I did.
If you can live with the occasional teen angst and face-palm-worthy moments here and there (more so in season 1) to be rewarded with gripping drama, great plot twists and character development, you will love this show.
It does start with a bunch of plot holes and a few terrible episodes in the first season, but it's getting much better later on.
I thought I couldn't stand the plot holes and the bad acting anymore but I thought I should at least finish season 1 but then the show suddenly turned around and started to get better.
I like how The 100 has a different view on the world and how it keeps you guessing through the episodes and seasons.
So is watching the first five or six episodes of season one.
And trust me, i am a big fan of sci fi series, i've watched them all, good and bad. |
tt0046045 | Marilyn | Marilyn is set in a small roadside garage and cafe in the quiet English countryside. Marilyn (Sandra Dorne) is the pretty but bored young wife of the garage owner George (Leslie Dwyer)- a dour hard-working with the typical views on women prevalent at the time, in other words Marilyn is expected to look pretty for him, do the things he wants her to do and not talk to handsome men!The film opens with George employing a new mechanic Tom (Maxwell Reed), a rugged quiet man. Due to the isolated location the job includes simple accommodation above the garage which next to the main building comprising the Cafe and George and Marilyn's accommodation.Marilyn, in her swirly skirts and and with a love of dancing is drawn to the quiet Tom, and when George has to go to London for a couple of days and refuses to take Marilyn with him, she goes after Tom and quickly gets the desired response! They are lying together discussing getting away from this backwater when George unexpectedly returns home late that first evening having had a few pints. When he discovers his marital bed empty and seeing the light burning in Toms window he goes looking and finds them together. An argument ensues and when George tries to attack Marilyn, Tom pulls him off and punches George, knocking him backwards and George strikes his head on the dresser as he falls and dies.As they are wondering what to do a car pulls up, Marilyn goes to see who it is and it met by charmer Nicky (Ferdy Mayne) looking for petrol who tries to chat up Marilyn. She sends him away but he promises to return. In panic they decide to put George's body at the foot of the stairs in the main house and claim he fell whilst drunk. Rosie (Vida Hope), Marilyn's maid is disturbed by the noise of the body being moved and hears Marilyn and Tom as they discuss the plan, although they are unaware they have been overheard.The Coroners jury return a verdict of accidental death on George following an accidental fall after the consumption of alcohol.Marilyn returns to the Garage and sets about spending Georges life insurance updating the cafe and talks about applying for an alcohol\liquor license to improve trade. True to his word Nicky reappears and soon works his charms on Marilyn with his sophistication and money leaving Tom feeling sidelined. Ferdy is soon talking about having to go to South America on business and taking Marilyn with him. Marilyn is captivated by idea of travel and telling Tom what they intend, an argument develops between them with Marilyn saying if you loved me you would want me to have things and go places. Tom tries to persuade her to come to London with him as an alternative albeit a poor one given his relative poverty.Rosie again overhears and realises that Marilyn will drop her her and disappear with Ferdy. Rosie confronts Marilyn who tries to wriggle out of the truth. Rosie storms out talking about getting even. The film closes with the police arriving to arrest Tom and Marilyn for the murder of husband George. | romantic, murder | train | imdb | null |
tt0084434 | An Officer and a Gentleman | Zachary "Zack" Mayo (Richard Gere) is preparing to report to Aviation Officer Candidate School. As he is doing so, he has brief flashbacks of his childhood. After the death of his unnamed mother (who committed suicide), an adolescent Zack was sent to live with his only living relative, his father Byron Mayo (Robert Loggia), who is stationed in the Philippines. The elder Mayo, a Navy Chief Petty Officer/Chief Boatswain's Mate, made no attempt to hide his heavy drinking and hiring of prostitutes from a young Zack. When Zack said he needed help, Byron said he did not ask to get married nor be a father, because he is always out on sea all the time. But seeing the look on his face, he decide to let him stay with him. Mostly Zack became a Navy brat and travelled with his father. The flashbacks advance to the present, where Zack has just graduated from college and informs his father he will be going to Aviation Officer Candidate School (AOCS). Byron, who hates officers, tells Zack that his dream of becoming an officer is as unrealistic as hoping to become President. Despite his father's discouragement, Zack is determined to go through with his childhood dreams of becoming a Navy pilot as well as prove to him that he can make it and in the end Byron would have to "salute" Zack.
Upon arrival at AOCS, Zack and his fellow AOCs are shocked by the harsh treatment they receive from their head drill instructor, Marine Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley (Louis Gossett, Jr.). Foley makes it clear that the 13-week program is designed to eliminate OCs who are found to be mentally or physically unfit for commission as an ensign in the U.S. Navy, which will earn them flight training worth over $1,000,000. Foley warns the male candidates about the "Puget Sound Debs"—young women in the area who dream of marrying a Naval Aviator to escape their dull, local lives. Foley claims they scout the regiment for OCs, and will feign pregnancy or even stop using birth control to become pregnant to trap the men.
Zack becomes friends with fellow candidates Sid Worley (David Keith), Emiliano Della Serra (Tony Plana), Lionel Perryman (Harold Sylvester), and Casey Seeger (Lisa Eilbacher). Zack and Sid meet two local young women—factory workers—at a Navy Ball. Zack begins a romantic relationship with Paula Pokrifki (Debra Winger) and Sid with Lynette Pomeroy (Lisa Blount).
Foley rides Zack mercilessly, believing he lacks motivation and is not a team player. When Zack's side business of selling pre-shined shoes and belt buckles is discovered, Foley hazes him for a weekend in an attempt to make him DOR ("Drop on Request", a Navy term for requesting termination of training), but Zack refuses. Foley states Zack will be declared unfit, which frightens Zack into admitting he has no options in civilian life. Satisfied that Zack has come to a crucial self-realization and realizing what he's made of, Foley decides to let him stay. He punishes Zack by making him clean all the urinals, but does not recommend attrition. Henceforth, Zack starts behaving like a team player.
Zack and Paula spend the next weekend together, and she takes him home for dinner to meet her family. Her stepfather behaves strangely, and when Zack asks why, Paula shows him an old picture of her biological father. He was an AOC who had an affair with her mother, but deserted her following his commissioning and refused to marry her when she became pregnant with Paula.
Zack is close to breaking the record time for negotiating the obstacle course, but Casey faces disqualification when she cannot negotiate the 12-foot-high wall (3.7 m). Zack abandons his attempt to break the course record in order to coach Casey over the wall, and she makes it.
Zack attends dinner with Sid and his parents and learns that Sid has a long-time girlfriend back home. Sid plans to marry her after he receives his commission. Meanwhile, Lynette has been dropping hints to Sid that she may be pregnant. Sid agonizes over this possibility, especially when Lynette tells him she will not have an abortion. After having a severe anxiety attack during a high-altitude simulation in a pressure chamber, Sid realizes he joined the officer training program out of a sense of obligation to his family, and he Drops On Request ("DOR"s, meaning he voluntarily resigns). He leaves the base without saying goodbye, so Zack and Paula go out to look for him.
Sid goes to Lynette's house and proposes marriage. She is elated until he tells her he DORed, and she would not be marrying a Navy pilot after all. Disgusted, she turns him down and confesses she was not pregnant. She says she thought he understood. She wants to marry an aviator, escape from her small town and live an exciting life overseas. She berates him for dropping out and gives back the engagement ring he bought her. Crushed, Sid goes to the motel where he and Lynette spent his free weekends, asks for their old room, and begins drinking.
Zack and Paula arrive at Lynette's shortly after Sid leaves and ask about Sid's whereabouts. Zack curses Lynette for trying to trick Sid, and he and Paula rush off to search for him. Zack goes to the motel and is heartbroken when he finds Sid has committed suicide out of grief. Paula tries to comfort Zack, but he rejects her and heads back to base with the intent to DOR himself. Foley will not let him quit so close to graduation and feels bad about what happened to Sid. Zack challenges Foley to an unofficial martial arts bout. Although Zack dominates for most of the fight, Foley wins by kicking Zack in the groin and then tells him he can quit now if he still wishes to do so.
Zack shows up for graduation and is sworn into the Navy with his class. Following naval tradition, he receives his first salute from Foley in exchange for a US silver dollar. While tradition calls for the drill instructor to place the coin in his left shirt pocket, Foley places the coin in his right pocket, acknowledging that Zack was a special candidate. Zack thanks him for not giving up on him and tells him he never would have made it without him. While leaving the base, he sees Foley initiating a set of new candidates for AOCS who are in the same position he was 13 weeks prior.
Zack, now Ensign Mayo with orders to undertake flight training, seeks out Paula at the factory where she works and declares his love to her. He picks her up and walks out with her in his arms to the applause of her co-workers, including Lynette. | violence, sentimental, romantic, flashback | train | wikipedia | 'An Officer And A Gentleman' is a brilliant film with great performances from Richard Gere, Louis Gossett Jr. and Debra Winger.
Richard Gere embodies the character of Zack Mayo, a troubled young man who, due to neglect and ill parenting by a military father, signs up with the Navy to get some direction in his misguided life.Mayo's life is made even harder by the ball-busting Sergeant Foley (Louis Gossett Jr.) upon his arrival at the barracks, and he struggles to find his place.
His will, as well as the love of the beautiful Paula (Debra Winger) and the guidance of Foley, makes him stay the course and lifts him 'up where he belongs'.Richard Gere is great in adding layers to what could have been a poorly drawn characterisation.
Gere has never been better on film than when he screams, `I got nowhere else to go!' at Foley in such a heartbreaking howl that the audience can literally feel his pain.Debra Winger is also good as Paula, a downtrodden factory girl trapped in a small-minded small town with a lack of opportunities for women.
Louis Gossett Jr. also stands out as the foul-mouthed, domineering Sergeant Foley who proves to be pivotal in Mayo's journey.With a great soundtrack, strong performances and the most rousing and emotional final scene in a film since 'Rocky', 'An Officer And A Gentleman' deserves its place among the classics of film history..
In "An Officer" the angry young man is Richard Gere as Mayo, the mentor is Louis Gossett Jr. as Drill Instructor Folely, the babe is Paula (Debra Winger), the craft is aviation basic training, the arena is a Naval academy and the Puget Sound area of Washington (shot on location) and the buddy is Sid Worley (David Keith).Thankfully, the film doesn't get bogged down telling the back-story of Mayo.
Excellent love story about a young man (Gere, in an engaging performance) who dreams of being a Navy jet pilot and a girl (Winger) who wishes to escape the life in a paper mill.
The film is strikingly rich, romantic and features stand out performance from Robert Loggia, David Keith and Oscar winner, Gossett, as a brass hearted drill instructor.
This film royally packs an emotional punch.The cast are uniformly excellent, Richard Gere as Mayo is pitch perfect and it pays to notice that he was a 32 year old man playing an early 20s rookie, it's a testament to his undervalued ability that nobody noticed.
Richard Gere plays Zack Mayo, a prospective Navy Officer training cadet who must decide to gain control over his direction-less life, helped by a no-nonsense Gunnery sergeant(superbly played by Louis Gossett Jr., who won an Academy Award) who berates Zack, but all in the effort of making him into a successful Naval officer.
They both have friends(played by David Keith and Lisa Blount) whose relationship mirrors their own, only with far different results.Entertaining and old-fashioned(in some ways!) film is well acted by its stars, and has stylish direction by Taylor Hackford.
Gere is supported by a great cast including Debra Winger as the young factory worker who yearns of a better life with Mayo, David Keith as a cadet who's not all that he seems, and the legendary Louis Gossett, Jr. as Gunnery Sgt. Emil Foley, Mayo's adamant and hard-edged drill instructor who remains Zach's total bane of existence.
An Officer and a Gentleman is a great movie with a simple storyline that is very easy to follow but still very enjoyable,a very talented cast and a really beautiful soundtrack.I really enjoyed the love story in this movie between Richard Gere and Debra Winger,it was very realistic and unlike most romantic movies,they didn't make it too sweet,they kept it a serious and dramatic relationship that had a lot of problems instead of making them just be in love with each other for the entire movie.The movie certainly deserved both Academy Awards,Louis Gossett Jr gave a fantastic performance and Up Where We Belong is a really nice song.I would recommend An Officer and a Gentleman to fans of both romance and war movies,it dosen't focus too much on one,it focuses enough on both perfectly and one of the sweetest endings i've ever seen in a movie.Zack Mayo (Richard Gere),an uptight man training to be a navy pilot finds maturity through the love of Paula Pokrifki (Debra Winger)..
Even though An Officer and a Gentleman came out when I was a year old I still recall seeing the film on video when I was about four or five because my mother is a huge Richard Gere fan.
The film which to this day Taylor Hackford has never topped gets great performances out of all it's actors especially Gere and Debra Winger as the two love birds in love and the odds they over come to be together.
What makes An Officer and a Gentleman work for me is the performances and we all know that even though Gere and Winger give great performances the film belongs to Louis Gosset Jr who won a well deserved Oscar for his role as Foley.
It brought forward young actors (Gere, Winger, Keith, Caruso) and older ones- Lou Gossett Jr.- with truly outstanding performances in an initially unknown film.
Gere shows he does have the right stuff, take careful note of the scene on the confidence course with Lisa Eilbacher where he shows he's not just about himself.Gossett casts so well in military parts, but this one set the standard for playing training sergeants.
In the years where all movies have a forced love story line, this film placed the love story into the plot without taking away from the growth of Gere's character.Excellent performance from Lewis Gossett Jr., David Keith, and Robert Loggia pulls this film into a category of film I reserve for the classics.
The movie made Richard Gere a star, John Travolta should have never turned down the role of Zack but he did,Travolta thought the movie wasn't going to be very good and his career at the time wasn't doing so hot either.Taylor Hackford was a nobody at the time and the Navy wanted nothing to do with the film the helicopter you see in the film was a friend of Hackford and did him a favor.
Debra Winger was fantastic also as Paula and people are saying that she was uneasy doing that love scene but the reason why is that she hated Gere, in her opinion he played the part so well because he was playing himself in real life and that she could never get through to him which makes her performance even better.
This movie is a classic that will make you cry every time.Though I have never been in through military training, I found Louis Gossett Jr.'s performance to be a very convincing as well as intimidating.
Not once did I feel that Sgt. Foley was too soft or unnecessarily hard on any of the Naval officer recruits.Debra Winger, though seemingly lost in some scenes, truly makes the viewer believe in her love of Richard Gere.
Gossett Jr. and Gere play great opposite each other.This movie is a great love story as well as an honest portrayal of a man being forced to deal with his mixed emotions in a search for inner peace and a life as a gentleman.
Perhaps not brilliant, but this justifiably popular military romance should be memorable if, for no other reason, than its wonderful inspiring Academy Award winning song, "Up Where We Belong".The movie tells the tale of Zack Mayo, an officer candidate at a Navy flight school training aviators.
Richard Gere is utterly is convincing in the role; I cannot imagine any other actor playing it.Louis Gossett Jr. is brilliant as the hard nosed, tough as nails, no nonsense drill sergeant, Foley, who must try to make an officer out of this candidate who, in his opinion, is clearly lacking.
Gossett deserved his Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.I personally really liked Zack's buddy, Casey Seeger, and found his military story and his romance with another factory girl an interesting plot line, especially for comparison with Zack and Paula.However, all that being said, for me this movie is made by the lovely Debra Winger.
The story supposedly relates the triumph and transfiguration of white trash Richard Gere into the naval aviator of the film's title, following his introduction to the usual hazards of cadet life: punishing training exercises, antagonistic drill sergeants, conniving debutantes, and so forth.
Otherwise it's a good movie, as Richard Gere's new recruit enlists in the US navy and experiences a grueling regimen at the hands of gunnery sergeant Louis Gossett Jr.
The whole part about the local women wanting to hook up with the navy men doesn't stick in my mind as much, but if you're looking for great shots of the Olympic Peninsula, this is the movie for you.The rest of the cast includes Debra Winger, David Keith (the dad in "Firestarter"), Tony Plana (the dad on "Ugly Betty") and Robert Loggia..
the fact that Debra Winger didn't like the way she was treated and did not get along with Richard Gere her performance is second to none.
The movie was a box office sensation in 1982 (a domestic grossing around $129 million against its $6 million budget) and catapults Richard Gere and Debra Winger onto leading material phenoms among their peers, and won Louis Gossett Jr. an Oscar for portraying the rigorous drill sergeant Foley.Directed by Taylor Hackford (Mr. Helen Mirren if it rings a bell to those unfamiliar with his works), it is only his second feature film, about a young man Zack (Gere), decides to join the US Navy to fly jets, so he must survive the 13-week training at Aviation Officer Candidate School with his fellow candidates, under the harsh supervision of Foley.
Meantime he engages in a romantic relationship with a local girl Paula (Winger) in spite of the warnings that some girls are determined with their own agenda, they will do everything to trick a promising future aviator into marriage, is Paula one of them?Confining the story within these 13 weeks, the film makes sure that we have no chance glimpsing some expensive action set pieces of naval aviation like in Tony Scott's TOP GUN (1986), contentedly, it buoys up the narrative with a feel-good camaraderie bonding during the training program among the cadets, Zack befriends with Sid Worley (Keith), a patriotic young man from a good family, who enrols to assume the lofty vocation of his late brother (a navy officer died in the Vietnam war).
To ensure its political correctness, apart from a black trainer, the assembly includes a black family guy Perryman (Sylvester), a homunculus latino Della Serra (Plana), even a female candidate Casey Seeger (Eilbacher), the only missing addition is an Asian.Dazzled by its faithful imitation of the training process, including a novel Dilbert Dunker sequence which disqualifies a very young David Caruso, nevertheless, audience will find out that the centre piece in the school resides within the dynamic relation between a self-assertive Zack and the despotic Foley, Louis Gossett Jr. enforces a bombastic gambit to the utter perfection during his first scenes, and establishes his prestige in spectators both in and off screen.
Lee Ermey's Sgt. Harman in Kubrick's FULL METAL JACKET (1987), and Mr. Ermey is in fact the acting coach for Mr. Gossett here; also it is an archetype of the love-and-hate mentor type, which has been portrayed with much more ambiguity and menace in another Oscar-winning performance, J.K. Simmons in Damien Chazelle's WHIPLASH (2014).On the romantic side, there are very erotic sex scenes between Zack and Paula, explicit and intimate, both Gere and Winger are no holds barred in their on screen commitment, especially Winger, "How can you resist?
Gere is smoking hot whether he is disrobed or suited with navy uniform, and a brief flashback of the past before the opening credits may suggest Zack's disturbed inner state, but as the story unwinds, he turns out quite well, an Alpha male imparted with street smart, only a bit little withheld, and don't make promises easily.But, tragedy lurks not far away, if Paula bespeaks a good-hearted girl who dares to love somebody unconditionally, the flip side is Sid's squeeze Lynette (Blount), who indirectly triggers a very unsound twist of melodrama only to drive Zack become more cynical and in turn, leave its patronising ending more uplifting when its Oscar-winning theme song UP WHERE WE BELONG swells as if Paula were the damsel in distress whose drab life could only be rescued by a handsome navy officer, that's the biggest mistake of this otherwise agreeable picture, Paula is a wholesome package (although the moment when she reveals the identity of her biological father, it is a rather cunning move to manipulate sense of guilty to advantage), it is Zack who is in the receiving end of a helping hand..
Even during his opening speech, Sergeant Foley (Louis Gossett, Jr, in an academy-award winning role), he tells them he will use methods fair and unfair to expose their weaknesses, and he expects more than half of them to D.O.R., military abbreviation for "drop on request".Zack Mayo (Richard Gere in his first acclaimed starring role), an Italian-American in the lower middle-class, has joined the Navy.
Richard Gere is a more nuanced character than most parts he plays, and Louis Gossett Jr. stands out as his harsh-but-fair training instructor.For my full review, see my independent film blog on Blogspot, Cinema Inferno: http://cinemainferno-blog.blogspot.co.uk.
AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN (1982) *** Richard Gere, Debra Winger, Louis Gossett, Jr., David Keith, Lisa Blount, Lisa Eilbacher, David Caruso, Robert Loggia, Grace Zibiriskie, Victor French.
Flawless in its execution and character development, "An Officer and a Gentleman" is essentially the story of Zack Mayo as he makes the long progression from troubled teen--conceited, uncaring, unstructured--to a true "officer and a gentleman." Performances in this movie are amazing, but Louis Gossett, Jr. tops them all for his portrayal of the commandant, for which he won an Academy Award.
Taylor Hackford is the same director who directed "The Devil's Advocate (1997)." Before I heard about this film, I never thought Hackford would have directed a romantic Richard Gere movie like this one.
Why I am saying this is because whenever I am in love with someone, I would picture my own father when he was all young and doing romantic gestures like Richard Gere.Now, about the film, rather than mentioning the real life situation (compared to this film), the ending was so good, when Richard Gere enters a factory to see his girlfriend, along with the music theme that was playing.
A few years ago Winger lamented on there not being roles for older female actresses, but perhaps those who were avoiding her merely saw her crapper of a performance in this film.As is this were bad enough, we wind up stuck with Lou Gossett Jr. as an academy award winner for his phoned-in performance as the stereotypical drill instructor, a movie with no real plot that is driven by poor characters, and total pandering to the female side of the audience that drives the box office.While not surprising that the movie was a hit, that doesn't improve its quality.
The characters are well developed, and the acting is superb all round from Richard Gere and Debra Winger to Louis Gossett(who won a best supporting academy award).
If "An Officer and a Gentleman" had been shown in 1969 or the early 70s, those who flocked to "Easy Rider" would have scorned its theme of salvation through military service the way they scorned "The Green Berets." Think of the contrasts between the two films, especially since Richard Gere and Lou Gossett, Jr. would have been perfectly capable of playing counter cultural heroes.
An Officer and a Gentleman (1982) **** (out of 4)Box office champ about a loser (Richard Gere) with an attitude who tries to become an aviator and once at the Naval academy gets involved with a local woman (Debra Winger), a new best friend (David Keith) and a gunnery sergeant (Louis Gossett, Jr.) who tries to get through to him.
Gossett certainly deserved his Best Supporting Actor Oscar as he turns in one of the more memorable roles of any military officer.Director Taylor Hackford really keeps the film moving at a wonderful pace but he smartly mixes in some laughs with all of the heavy drama.
The world is full of female factory workers waiting to be carried away from their assembly line stations by a stud in Navy uniform to the strains of a sappy Oscar-winning love song, and if you don't believe me, "An Officer and a Gentleman" exists to prove me right.Richard Gere became a star with this film, as did Debra Winger, though her fame would be more fleeting.
What can I say about 1982's "Officer and a Gentleman" clearly one of the better movies of the 80's and in my opinion the best film of 1982.
Zack will learn plenty along the way, most of all he learns character, discipline, and heart from a brilliant and iron fisted drill instructor by the name of Sgt. Foley(Louis Gossett Jr.) and in my opinion Gossett gives one of the finest supporting roles performance in film history as evidenced by his Oscar win for best supporting actor.
the stupid, unnessersary sex scenes take away from the real story......lou gossett makes richard gere's acting ability look like a BAD high school play....
I thought Richards character went through a rough time.The film stars Richard Gere, Debra Winger, David Keith, Robert Loggia, Lisa Blount & Louis Gossett Jr.The acting was quite good.
Mayo ends up becoming best buddies with fellow recruit Sid Worley (David Keith), and starts a relationship with Paula Pokrifki (Debra Winger).MY TAKE: A lot of people claim that this is a great film.
Louis Gossett, Jr. won an Oscar for his role as the drill sergeant, although I didn't think he was that great (although he still was good). |
tt1014759 | Alice in Wonderland | Alice Kingsleigh (Mia Wasikowska) is the daughter of Charles Kingsleigh (Marton Csokas), a wealthy man who planned to find profitable shipping routes through the world in the 19th century. When she tells him of her adventures in Wonderland (later to be revealed as 'Underland'), he declares her mad, but that all the best people are. However, many years afterward, Charles has passed away, and Alice misses his playful attitude.Now feeling trapped in a world of proper etiquette for one such as herself, Alice is taken to a garden party, where it is hoped that she will accept a marriage proposal from Hamish (Leo Bill), the son of one of her father's business partners. However, Alice soon grows distracted seeing a rabbit with a waistcoat nearby, and rushes after the strange creature.Following it, she finds her way to the trunk of an old tree some ways off, and falls down a hole. The hole leads her to a strange room, of which she finds a key, as well as a drink that makes her smaller, and a cake that increases her size. After getting the key and shrinking down to use a small door, she soon finds herself in an enormous garden area.Soon after, she comes across the White Rabbit (Michael Sheen), as well as the Dormouse (Barbara Windsor), a Dodo bird (Michael Gough), and the Tweedles (Matt Lucas). The White Rabbit explains that is sure he has found the right Alice this time, while the Dormouse believes he is mistaken. Alice explains that her name is Alice, but feels they are looking for another "Alice." They take her to Abosolom the Caterpillar (Alan Rickman), who consults a scroll, which contains details regarding the history of Wonderland, from it's birth onward. The scroll claims that on the Frabjous Day, Alice will return to slay the Jabberwocky. Alice sees this, and adamants that she is not the person in the scroll, when a commotion breaks out, and the Knave of Hearts (Crispin Glover) appears, along with some red-carded soldiers and a creature called a Bandersnatch. Everyone scatters, as the Knave takes the scroll, and captures the Dodo bird. Alice, when confronted with the Bandersnatch, stands her ground, convinced that it is just a dream. However, the creature scratches her, and Alice takes off running, but not before the Dormouse plucks out one of the creature's eyes.Some ways off, Alice encounters the Tweedles again, who attempt to help her, but are soon captured by a giant bird that takes them to the Red Queen's castle. At the castle, the Knave of Hearts informs the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter) about the scroll, and the prophecy of Alice killing the Jabberwocky (of which she possesses). The Red Queen orders Alice to be found, and the Knave utilizes a bloodhound named Bayard (Timothy Spall) to track her down, promising freedom for Bayard's wife and pups (a lie, meant as a way to get the dog to help the Red Queen).Meanwhile, Alice encounters the Cheshire Cat (Stephen Fry), who leads her to the Mad Hatter's place, where she encounters the Dormouse again, as well as the March Hare (Paul Whitehouse). The Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp) is pleased to see Alice, and is in rapture over the coming Frabjous day in which she will slay the Jabberwocky. Alice again insists she is not 'that Alice,' when the Knave of Hearts and Bayard close in. The Hatter stuffs Alice into a teapot, to hide her from the Knave. In secret, the Dormouse scolds the dog for bringing the Knave there, but Bayard explains why he came. He then attempts to lead the Knave off in a different direction.After they have left, the Hatter walks Alice through the nearby woods, where they come across the burned ruins of a small village. The Hatter then explains to Alice about how in the time she was gone, the Red Queen has taken over Wonderland, banishing the White Queen (Anne Hathaway) to her own domain, and taking her vorpal sword.As they talk, the Knave again approaches, and the Hatter places Alice on his hat, and flings it across a river, giving himself up to the Knave, who takes him to the Red Queen. Later on, Bayard finds the hat and Alice. Alice manages to convince Bayard to take her to the Red Queen's castle, to rescue the Hatter. Along with the hat, they find their way there, where Alice encounters the White Rabbit assisting with a game of croquet with the Red Queen. Alice requests to be made larger (she is still the size of a gerbil), and the rabbit gives her a cake. However, she eats too much and ends up almost 10 feet tall, disrupting the croquet game. The Queen does not recognize Alice, who says she is 'Um' from Umbridge, and wishes to help the Queen. The Queen, impressed by the size of Alice's head, declares her to be made part of her royal court.The Hatter is brought before the Queen and Alice, and is at first intended to be beheaded. However, the Hatter manages to stall for time, by requesting that he make the Queen a hat for her enormous head. Flattered by the attention, she gives into this request. Alice soon after finds out that the vorpal sword is on the grounds of the castle, but is locked away in a chest in the quarters of the Bandersnatch. After procuring the plucked eye from the Dormouse (who has broken into the castle to free the Hatter), Alice manages to return the eye to the creature. This allows her to gain access to the sword. Alice goes to the Hatter's room, and finds the Dormouse there. However, the Knave of Hearts shows up shortly, and when the Dormouse lets slip Alice's true name, he attempts to kill her. Alice manages to escape into the courtyard, where the Bandersnatch helps her escape from the castle. Bayard also accompanies her, as they head for the White Queen's castle.The Red Queen then orders that the Hatter and the Dormouse be executed the next day. However, the Cheshire Cat uses his trickery to take on the guise of the Hatter, and allows the Hatter, Dormouse, the White Rabbit, the Tweedles, and Bayard's family to escape. They all soon meet up at the White Queen's castle, where the Queen has used her potions knowledge to shrink Alice to normal size.The next day then dawns...the Frabjous day. Almost everyone is willing to take up arms for the White Queen. However, she hopes that Alice will fulfill the prophecy, but Alice rushes off to the Queen's garden, still upset over everyone pushing her into this task. It is there she encounters Absolom, cocooning himself. It is here that Absolom explains to Alice how she had been to Wonderland before, and suddenly, it all comes back to her, that what she thought originally was a dream was real. After her revelation, Alice dons the armor prepared for her by the White Queen, and takes up the vorpal sword.Both the White Queen and the Red Queen meet on a checkerboard field. Both Queens meet first, with the White Queen asking her sister to not do battle, but the Red Queen refuses to give into the pacification of her sister's plea. The White Queen brings forth Alice as their 'champion,' as the Red Queen' summons the Jabberwocky. As Alice faces off with the creature, the rest of the armies go to war. Alice plays a mind-game with herself, talking of 6 impossible things, as it is claimed her father would do before breakfast. In her mind-game, she manages to find the strength to slay the Jabberwocky. The Red Queen demands that her subjects kill Alice, but as the White Queen's champion has slayed that of the Red Queen, the Red Queen's subjects will no longer follow her commands.The White Queen orders the Red Queen banished to the Outlands, for the crimes that she has committed (due to a the White Queen's vow not to harm a living creature, she will not kill her sister), with noone to offer her sympathy. The Knave of Hearts is also chained to her, as punishment as well. However, the thought of being alone with the Queen causes him to try to kill her, before his dagger is taken from him by the Hatter.After the Red Queen and the Knave are taken away, the White Queen's army rejoices, with the Hatter doing a Fudderwupping dance, much to the delight of everyone. The White Queen then collects some of the Jabberwocky's blood, and gives it to Alice. The blood of the Jabberwocky allows Alice to return to her world, and she returns to the Garden Party.Alice then explains to Hamish that she cannot accept his proposal, as well as speaks her mind to a number of different relatives and acquaintances. Her forthright attitude catches the eye of Hamish's father, and soon, the two discuss plans to expand the shipping routes to China, a land that has not yet been opened to the west.Alice is then made an apprentice to the company, and sets off with a crew to open the shipping route to China, aboard a ship titled "Wonder". The last thing shown is a bright blue butterfly, none other than Abosolom. | fantasy, alternate reality, flashback, insanity, psychedelic, inspiring | train | imdb | What we end up with is a mid-point that fails to get to grips with what enchants people about the Alice story, and another chance to see a beautiful waif walk around twisted, quasi-Gothic landscapes to a score by Danny Elfman.Not that this isn't an enjoyable experience in itself, and as seen in the vast Screen 1 at the Empire it is at times breathtakingly pretty.
Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, Danny Elfman – they say familiarity breeds contempt, well that's a bit strong but it IS seriously lacking in surprises and you cannot help think that all three individually talented men could do with taking a break from each other for the good of their careers.
Truthfully i wanted to love this movie, I'm a huge Tim Burton/ Johnny Depp fan.
The proposed 'sequel' to Alice in Wonderland is literally a rehash of most of the finer points of the original, except a lot more Johnny Depp- a character who the audience is supposed to sympathize with and root for, but who i found a bit annoying and tiresome after awhile.
(It's very, very good, but strange things happen if you look somewhere the 3D doesn't want you to look and there's the odd moment of strangely stiff animation, especially when human(-like) characters are completely CGI-ed up.)Unexpectedly, it sometimes feels like one of the Narnia films (though makes those movies look like accountant-led spreadsheets that have been printed out on toilet paper and left out in the rain), but mainly it's exactly what you'd expect from Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland.
Right from the inclusion of Johnny Deep in a maddening avatar to Helena Carter as the tyrant witch witch an oblong head, Tim Burton yet makes another movie that is barely watchable and completely loony, in a bad way.Mia Wasikowska stars or rather pales as Alice, devoid of emotion or interest.
And I'm not a hater of Johnny or Tim Burton (loved Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, liked Timm's Batman, Johnny's What's eating Gilbert Grape?)Helena plays the Red Queen in a quirky fashion that gets customary and monotonous.
Tim's Ego. And yet again Tim Burton's ego gets in the way as it did with Willy Wonka seriously thinking that he can improve an age old classic by replacing what he refers to as a mere series of events a little girl stumbles through, with a trite paint by numbers good versus evil story a la: Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Chronicles of Narnia, Golden Compass.
Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland is a sequel and not a retelling of the original children's novels by Lewis Carroll.
There, she meets past familiar faces as the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp), the Blue Caterpillar (Alan Rickman), the Cheshire Cat (Stephen Fry), and eventually the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter), who has been terrorizing the land with her harsh rule and beheading of heads.
Along the way she meets up with all sorts of colorful characters.If you remember, Steven Spielberg's Hook was the live action sequel to Peter Pan. Similarly, Tim Burton's film is very much like a close cousin, except it's about Alice.
Chances are if one liked Hook, one will find many things to like about Alice.Tim Burton's version of the Wonderland's environments are gorgeous, imaginatively created, lots of colorful details, and breathes life.
This film is essentially Tim Burton's playground and even if there wasn't any story, it still would be plenty of fun to just watch the loony characters in their environment.
Tim Burton film version of Lewis Carroll's classic proves the special slickness of director to create weird worlds and strange characters .
Then she returns to the magical world from her childhood adventure, where she reunites with her old friends as Mad Hatter (Jhnny Depp), White Rabbit (voice of Michael Sheen), Chesshie Cat (Stephen Fry), Blue Caterpillar (voice of Alan Rickman) and learns of her true destiny: to end the Red Queen's (Helena Bonham Carter)reign of terror who helped by Knave of Hearts (Crispin Glover) is fighting her sister White Queen (Anne Hathaway)for the kingdom.Moving rendering of Lewis Carroll classic with gimmick of blending live action and computer generator puppets and 3D animation .
oh wait, the list ends here.If Burton had spent as much time writing the story, developing the characters and working on the dialogue, as he had on making sure that the dresses were spectacular, this movie might have been quite alright.
And he seemed to have thought that, if the story (or lack of it, to be honest) was not dreadfully bad enough, this could be fixed by carefully adding a cliché to almost every line in the dialogue, and by making sure that there was not a single funny (like laugh-out-loud funny, not a half-smile-OK funny) moment in the whole movie.Worst of all, he mercilessly murdered the essence and soul of the characters.
However, I disagree with reviews stating the movie had no "plot" or "substance" or was "too confusing." (For those of you who haven't seen it, be sure to pay attention to the beginning of the movie--everything that happens ties in with Alice's Wonderland experience.) Perhaps this is where people have become disappointed: you can't watch this movie thinking it's just like the book or a remake/live-version of the Disney animated film that was produced nearly 60 years ago.
You have to approach the movie for what it is--Burton taking familiar characters, a familiar setting and plot, then expanding on it with his own take (once again with the help of best friend Johnny Depp and long-time significant other Helena Bonham Carter); using superb animation technology and phenomenal costume design--I expect to see various "Alice"s this Halloween.I give this a 9/10...
and along with his regular star Johnny Depp, they both concocted this extension of Lewis Carroll's novels Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass (few of my favorite stories), for Disney.I saw the movie in 3D with my Dad, and it was the second film my Dad had ever seen in a theatre.
What I meant by extension of the story is that we get to see a 19-year-old Alice returning to Wonderland (or "Underland" as it is called), after escaping an possible wedding engagement to some poop-a-doop-spoiled-brat snob; to end The Red Queen's reign of terror and restore the White Queen (who is sister to the Red Queen) to the throne.So anyway I really love this film, and I love the film's musical soundtrack that unites Burton's regular composer Danny Elfman.
Pretty terrible sequel of sorts to the famous Lewis Carroll story that finds Alice returning to Wonderland years after her first adventure to do battle with the Jabberwocky and end the reign of the tyrannical Red Queen.A lot of money and some pretty decent actors are thrown up on the screen in a frenzy of special effects, production design and action sequences that are meant to distract us from how badly written and unengaging the whole thing is.
The only thing that occasionally roused me from my drowsy stupor was Helena Bonham Carter, who gives the film its only laughs as the Red Queen.At one time I thought Tim Burton had the makings of a great filmmaker.
Alice in Wonderland is one of those movies which shows Tim Burton still has what it takes to survive the world of cinema filled with huge special effects and action in almost every movie.
It has the usual dark tone which is seen in just about every movie Tim Burton makes while also being a fun and creative kind of crazy (even for Alice in Wonderland).I guess you could say it was kind of a sequel to the story of Alice in Wonderland we've all heard.
Watching Tim Burton's ALICE IN WONDERLAND was a lackluster experience, and stands for now as probably the most charmless film the director's made.
I enjoyed this film, I found it interesting that rather than a remake it was an extension of the Alice In Wonderland books which it seems that not a lot of people realize, the acting was fine, Wonderland was visually stunning, and the characters were good, although I do not understand that when Burton and Depp decided the Hatter's accent would change to reflect his emotions, why they chose a Scottish accent which at times is hard to understand, and the 3D was not really necessary for it only felt like a couple of scenes were coming out of the screen, this film met my expectations, it had Burton's bizarreness, darkness, colorfulness and energy, all in all, a good movie and classic Tim Burton..
The answer is Alice.Lewis Carroll would probably like Tim Burton's movie.
I was very excited about this film prior to it's release, it went something like this:Tim Burton's making Alice in Wonderland: "Sounds great!"Johnny Depp is playing the Mad Hatter: "Oh, that's alright; it's a small part"The majority of the film will be filmed on a green screen: "Oh...well that's can work.
Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland" is actually a sequel of sorts (think Steven Spielberg's "Hook", only much better) which again sees Alice go down the rabbit hole but imagines it in a completely different way.
She falls in and is thrust into the twisted world of Tim Burton, I mean Wonderland, or as the inhabitants call it, Underland.She is confronted by several characters, including Tweedledee, Tweedledum, the White Rabbit, the Dodo bird, and the Blue Caterpillar.
She seeks help from the Cheshire Cat, who leads her to the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp).Without going too far into the story, Alice is faced with several challenges dealing with her belief in Wonderland and her role in restoring order to the land.
Tim Burton's version is quite different to the classic Lewis Carroll and Disney versions in that the story is more or less completely different.The film follows Alice, now nineteen, as she returns to Underland, although she believes her first trip to the magical place was all a dream.
All the classic characters are there: Matt Lucas as both Tweedledum and Tweedledee, Stephen Fry as the Cheshire Cat, Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen, Anne Hathaway as the White Queen and, of course, the outstanding Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter.The film itself is pretty much 95% CGI, which gives it the 'Wonderland' look.
Wonderland and all it's inhabitants look just as you would imagine, complete with giant toadstools, a blue smoking caterpillar and a Mad Hatter drinking tea.The story is not a remake of the original but rather a 'what happened next' version based around a more grown up 19 year old Alice and this is what made the movie so enjoyable for me.
Mia Wasikowska made a very sweet Alice, Helena Bonham Carter hilarious as the Red Queen and Stephen Fry as the Cheshire Cat really stole the show.I agree with other reviewers when they say the storyline of the movie isn't edge of your seat stuff, but for me it didn't need to be.
But if you, like me, are enamored of the original Alice in Wonderland story as written by Lewis Carroll, do yourself a favor and avoid this movie at all costs.
Anne Hathaway didn't appear a lot in the movie, but enough for her character.As always, Tim Burton is creating extravagant and crazy things, and he is one of my favorites directors.
It's not quite how we remembered it to be, and Tim Burton also showed glimpses of how it would look like if he had played this movie straight, but that would be losing a lot of fun that had found its way to his vision, so much so that he provides such a trippy ride, you'd wonder who was more loony, Burton, or Carroll himself.In fact, every character here seemed a little mad or come with that tinge of insanity, even the White Queen (Anne Hathaway) herself seemed a little bit over the top in her all white goodness.
While there were plenty of specially crafted 3D moments to enhance the visual storytelling (the final battle scene involving Alice being the most outstanding I've seen thus far), kudos also went to the wealth of British talent roped in for roles both in the flesh, CG enhanced or providing voices to their graphical representation, with the likes of Stephen Fry, Michael Sheen, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall, Christopher Lee and even Michael Gough, who had collaborated with Tim Burton before.And this film, like most of Burton's others, comes the return of long time collaborators Danny Elfman in music, Helena Bonham Carter having a field day as the ridiculously evil Red Queen with her big head being the butt of most jokes, and Johnny Depp, who wows in yet another unorthodox role as The Mad Hatter, given more screen time and more depth compared to the novels.
We know how outlandish Depp can become each time he's in a Tim Burton film, and Alice in Wonderland is no different, but surprise surprise, Mia Wasikowska's performance as the titular character got curiouser and curiouser as the film went along, which is a good thing since she delivered enough not to be overawed by her co-stars, and stood her ground in making the character her own.She's quite the clotheshorse too, given the opportunity to showcase some Underland fashion sense no thanks to her changing body size.
I never thought that there would be an Alice in Wonderland as good as the animated version but with each viewing, I'm starting to get torn between which I like more and I love the animated version.I'm really surprised to see so many negative reviews for this movie.
Alice in Wonderland is another big budget exercise in eccentricity for eccentricity's sake from the team of Tim Burton and Johnny Depp, an overindulgent and unnecessary retelling of the Lewis Carroll tale full of the director's trademark Gothic grandeur and featuring another kooky performance from the top billed star designed to further his appeal with disaffected loners and weirdos (don't be offended: I include myself in those categories).Help is also on hand from pretty but wooden Mia Wasikowska as Alice, assorted well regarded thesps, a handful of cult names from the world of British TV, and of course, Burton's wife, Helena Bonham-Carter, whose weak impression of Queenie from Black Adder II is sadly the best performance of the whole film.The clumsy narrative, which focuses heavily on elements from the nonsense poem The Jabberwocky, rarely engages the viewer in a satisfactory manner, achieving neither suspense, tension, excitement or, perhaps most notably, a sense of wonder; instead, the story plays second fiddle to the polished CGI visuals, which offer up the usual, tired, trippy imagery associated with the stories, but fail to either add anything new or make full use of the 3D technology (Wonderland looks positively flat in comparison to Cameron's alien world in Avatar).Not quite as bad as Burton's re-imagining of Planet of the Apes (thank heavens), but still a long way from the genius on display in Pee Wee's Big Adventure, Beetlejuice and Mars Attacks (hey, I like it, so there!), Alice in Wonderland must have looked like the perfect project for all involved but the finished product is unlikely to have anyone grinning like the Cheshire cat.Oh, and anyone who that thinks Crispin Glover needs digitally altering to look creepy is seriously misguided..
This movie version of "Alice is Wonderland" is surprisingly intelligent.It takes the main elements of the classical story, set 13 years later against the tyrannical rule of Red Queen, thus setting up the archetypal "quest" story cleverly incorporating the book's Jabberwocky poem.Bookending this "quest" is the 'real world' story of a Victorian girl coming of age and gaining the courage to take control of her life against social pressures and expectations.In terms of literary ingenuity I think it's terrific - provided you're familiar with (and a big fan of) the original Alice story..
The acting was amusing and little details about the characters' personalities was made in a very smart fashion that will keep you entertained through out the movie.I give Alice in Wonderland a 10 stars for all the fun that I had watching it, I wished it was 1 hour longer..
Johnny Depp should try his hand at acting again instead of appearing in Tim Burton's movies as asinine characters who are completely obtuse, one dimensional, and boring.
But now...Tim Burton takes a new turn on a priceless classic movie everyone knows and love and that's Alice in Wonderland!
And newcomer Mia Wasikowska as Alice makes her part in the movie very well done and nicely.I've heard lots about this news for the movie since one year ago when they show trailers of it and it just blew me away, but when I saw it, I was surprised how differently it turn out to be.It's a little bit odd than most of Tim Burton's old work before, but you won't stop enjoying it till it's over.
It is an imaginative film presented magnificently.To backtrack a little, I didn't think I'd enjoy the prior Burton/Depp hook-up - Charlie and The Chocolate Factory - as much as I did, so I went into Alice In Wonderland with high expectations.
if you're older than that, there's so many layers you'll enjoy it the same, Johnny Depp was great, his mad hatter, brave and insane, and charming, wish he could get some recognition for this one, I liked him more than as Captain Jack.Mia, the girl is stunning, pretty and talented, her Alice is soft and delicate, yet she's a fighter, you can see she's not afraid at all, even if at first she hesitated, both as character as an actress you see a fresh face and lots of potential.Helena Bonham-Carter and Anne Hathaway did what they do all the time, both lost in the character, both amazingly well done.the effects and other creatures, even the furniture, were amazing, the first time you see this movie you feel you're inside that world, you want to follow the white rabbit and get lost in a world of insanity and fun. |
tt1424361 | Morrer Como Um Homem | Once upon a time there was a war In the darkness of the night, a young soldier goes AWOL. Tonia, a veteran transsexual in Lisbons drag shows, watches the world around her crumble. The competition from younger artists threatens her star status.
Under pressure from her young boyfriend Rosário to assume her female identity, the sex change operation that will transform her into a woman, Tonia struggles against her deeply-held religious convictions. If, on the one hand, she wants to be the woman that Rosário so desires, on the other, she knows that before God she can never be that woman. And her son, whom she abandoned when he was a child, now a deserter, comes looking for her. Tonia discovers that shes ill. To get away from all her troubles she travels to the countryside with Rosário, on the excuse of visiting his brother. Rosário takes the road of his childhood but will never find the right way. Lost, they find themselves in an enchanted forest, a magical world where they come across the enigmatic Maria Bakker and her friend Paula. And that meeting will turn their whole world on its head | murder | train | imdb | null |
tt0095875 | Plain Clothes | Undercover cop Nick Dunbar's (Arliss Howard) brother Matt (Loren Dean) is accused of killing his teacher, Mr. Bradwood (Mack Harrell) at Adlai Stevenson High School. Nick loses his temper with Hechtor (Larry Pine), the detective in charge, and gets suspended. Nick's partner Ed (Seymour Cassel) pretends to be Nick's dad to enroll him as a student. Matt gives Nick pointers to get people to talk to him. Nick deals with bullies, girls with crushes on him, teachers and staff who range from quirky to bizarre, and a teacher, Robin Torrence (Suzy Amis), to whom he is attracted who thinks he is a teen. The turning point in his popularity (and therefore his ability to get information) happens in the classroom metaphor scene, in which E.E. Cummings' poem she being brand new, is used in its entirety. The character Renard (Michael Huguenor), who had a large part in the script but was mostly edited out of the film, makes his only appearance in this scene.
Along the way, Nick and Ed narrow the probable motives down to jealousy (Bradwood was trading grades for sex with Dawn-Marie Zeffer (Alexandra Powers), the girlfriend of Kyle Kerns (Peter Dobson), the leader of the bullies) or self-preservation (Bradwood was blackmailing some staff about running a real estate scam on the other teachers). Nick's identity is discovered by Jane Melway (Diane Ladd), one of the con artist's gang, and it all comes to a head at the Pagan May Fest (the school's mascots are the Pagans). Nick and Ed find out that they are probably on the wrong track - Chet Butler (George Wendt), one of the gang's members is missing and an emotional confession from Melway points to Butler as the murderer - not to stop the blackmail, but because Bradwood was engaged to Melway, with whom Butler used to have an affair and whom he still loves. Bradwood also found the love letters in which Butler claims to have killed Melway's husband.
Butler appears and implicates himself with words and actions. A chase ensues, ending with Nick being cornered finding the evidence that cements Butler's guilt. Nick is saved twice in quick succession, once by a schoolmate's opportune distraction, and once by an excellent shot of Ed's at the perfect time. Nick makes a date with Robin Torrence, who now knows he is an adult, and the real-estate scammers are arrested. Hector looks very foolish. Matt is released from jail and can't wait to get back to school. | murder | train | wikipedia | The first time I saw Plain Clothes was a coincidence.
Changing channels on a Saturday night and finding (and sticking with) this movie.
It is an eighties high school comedy with a funny little cross over to thriller.Watching B-movies is fun and I do it lots.
I have no high expectations and I don't pay a fee to go to the movies and end up wanting my money back.
Film makers are trying to be noticed among the hundreds of B-movies made every year by going over the top making their movie "special".
But people don't seem to understand that one can make a nice movie without having the greatest script or actors of all time, or the money to do Star Wars-like gimmicks.
To me Plain Clothes is a perfect B-movie.
A nice, simple story, nice actors, funny here and there and quite entertaining.
I have watched it now a couple of times and it is still fun!
With the cop entering the school as a "thug" (as his little brother calls him).
George ("NORM!!!") Wendt as the insane teacher/bad guy.
the Shawshank Redemption, Schindler's List, etc., but that doesn't mean that a movie that isn't in this category flunks.
Plain Clothes is, plain and simple, a nice, ok movie.
Average, may be, but fun average and that is more than I can say of zillions of movies (starring "stars" like Pamela Anderson or Arnold Schwarzenegger)..
A light-hearted and completely enjoyable movie.
The constant flow of jokes and double entendres in the background make this a movie to enjoy again and again.
Some of the acting was a little soft but did little to take away from the fun.
Worth the time to watch and if you ever see it at your local video store - buy it.
Seeing George Wendt and Robert Stack hamming it up is a treat for those of us who watched these actors growing up.
The sexual situations were light and harmless and the violence was low-key.
Still not sure if this would qualify as a teen movie, crime drama, love story or something else.
This a movie that stuck with me, with the odd line of dialogue, or the iconographic facial expression popping into my head unsolicited for years later.
The humour is constant, but understated; the acting was all well-done, and the plot carried itself.
The viewer sees Nick start off clumsily, and practically cheers when he starts to be affected by the kids he's never got along with as he starts to understand them.Nick looks more developed than the bullies who try to intimidate him, but he always carries himself with a casually awkward air that could fit right in with a group of teens.
His and Ms. Torrence's attraction to one another is carefully done - believable, but not overwhelming, so you forgive other characters missing it.It is not easy playing a 'quirky' character in a movie like this.
The cast had to walk a line, never going so far that the movie became slapstick (the script would not have supported that), and did an excellent job.
And Abe Vigoda, with that fantastic face - looks like a basset hound when serious, like a game show host when smiling!
Seymour Cassel, Robert Stack, George Wendt, Suzy Amis, and Jackie Gayle all showed great comedic delivery.
Often such things are better implied than shown, and although there was some (it IS a murder mystery, and there are romantic entanglements to deal with), it was appropriate.
The music, montages, costuming and settings were all make for a believable a late-80s high school, although the dialogue was overblown for comedic effect.There was a slight glitch in the characterization when it is at first implied Nick (like his brother) has a hair-trigger temper, and then spends most of the more tense, humiliating scenes acting like he has (more than) adult control.
The clues dropped for the mystery are often disguised as humour; I do not think the audience will have an "Aha!" moment like Nick apparently does, but it worked well in this context.More than one fan has said they want this on DVD - well, me, too!
_Plain Clothes_ on digital!
(And, as an aside, what a useless title: when I tried to find this movie, the title was the thing I never remembered about it.)All said, a fun, light-hearted movie, full of human nature, nostalgia, and quotable lines..
This is one of those films that I watched on a Saturday afternoon when there was nothing else on, & man, am I glad I did.Arliss Howard plays a young detective who must go undercover at a high school in order to clear his younger brother of a murder accusation.
The movie is punctuated by its quirky sense of humour (look for the quick visual gag "Free at Last!" in Robert Stack's office!!) & a refusal to take itself seriously.
Adding to the charm of this are excellent performances by Robert Stack, Suzy Amis, Diane Ladd, George Wendt, Seymour Cassel, Reginald VelJohnson, & a howlingly deadpan performance by the great Abe Vigoda!This film will never win any awards, but the cast are solid & the script is funny.
It's a tad more grown-up & far less preachy than most of the '80s pap that garnered all the attention, & if anyone's looking for a good popcorn-muncher that'll give a few good laughs, try this one on for size..
A sweet little film that's fun to watch.
He is assisted by fine veteran actors who look as if they are having a whale of a good time.
A great, mildly funny obscure 80s comedy for us mildly amusing obscure 80s fans..
'Plain Clothes' is not great comedy, though it does, at least subtly, attempt stupid humor (such as the running gags with the school announcements and the Springsteen jokes).
And, as a b-comedy with a relatively unknown cast leading with Arliss Howard and Seymour Cassell (who is great, but doesn't often act in the mainstream circuit), this may be one obscure 80s comedy that could only really be best enjoyed by us fans of obscure 80s movies.
Familiar, name-escaping faces, a different story, high school in the 80s, it just might have what you're looking for.Plain Clothes is the story of a babyface young cop (Arliss Howard) who's younger brother is prime suspect in a teacher's unusual murder at his high school.
Convinced that his brother is telling the truth when he claims to be innocent, the cop goes undercover as a high school student to investigate.
You have your typical 80s teen movie elements, since this does take place in a high school and our main character does pose as one of the more interesting students.
Love triangles and social scuffles mixed with the suspense/action of the cop story angle.
It does quite a bit of shifting and does, as another viewer commented, culminate in a rather confusing climax.For this bit of narrative game playing and mild comedy treatment, this movie is perfect for just a certain kind of audience (if you love obscure b-80s movies) and a certain kind of day (lazy weekend noons are probably best).
By the way, Max Perlich fans should not miss him in his trademark leather jacket and buzz cut when he shows up (briefly) as Carter, one of the kids who befriends the undercover cop..
Arliss Howard (looking at home) stars in this enjoyably offbeat mystery comedy, which he plays a cop who goes undercover at his brother's high school when he's accused of stabbing a teacher.
Because how young he looks no one believes he's a cop, so why not go back to school to figure who committed the murder and helping is his partner (a terrific Seymour Cassel) who pretends to be his father.
But there's no escaping the daily grind of high school.Kind of surprised this is not more well known, bestowing an excellent ensemble cast (George Wendt, Diana Ladd, Suzy Amis, Larry Pine and Robert Stack) giving decent performances by presenting an odd assortment of characters and sharing great chemistry (especially Howard and Cassel).
The story moves between trying to connect the dots throwing out possible leads and red herrings (in predictably daft way), while also adjusting to school life.
These are the usual things (bullying, popularity and crushes), but it remains charming, authentically atmospheric and lightly humorous.
There's a certain mock seriousness attitude abound and there's neat running gag involving amusing quips over the school PA system and a memorable little poetry reading to explain the word metaphor.
It has snappy energy and frequent humour, while low-key it does balance out nicely against its murder mystery angle.Pleasing under-the-radar late 80s comedy..
i love this movie!yes some corny-ness,nothing major,,,no major stars,,,but cast has energy to make this a great 80's teen movie.george wendt,robert stack,harry shearer,,abe vigoda....very charming movie,..
Back to school.
Undercover cop Arliss Howard is used to Plain Clothes assignments, but usually those are indeed assigned.
He goes undercover on his own to find out the murderer of one of the high school faculty.
The victim falls dead in his classroom and the cops have arrested student Loren Dean for the murderer.
But Dean is Howard's brother and Howard starts his own investigation by going back to high school where he becomes popular when he accidentally punches out Principal Robert Stack.
There's a treasure trove of suspects among the faculty which includes Diane Ladd, Abe Vigoda, George Wendt, and Suzy Amis.
The students also have suspects such as school bully Peter Dobson.
Plain Clothes will yield a few laughs for most moviegoers.
The climax which was staged at a carnival seems to have been borrowed in part from Some Came Running and Abbott&Costello Go To Hollywood.I'll let you watch and see who the real murderer is and which film you think inspired the final chase scene..
I wouldn't give this movie an overall good mark, but I think in its niche it well deserves its average.
To be an eighties movie it contains enough for the younger viewer to enjoy.
I quite liked the small poetry incorporated.
Underrated 80s highschool movie.
"Plain clothes" is an overlooked 80s flick.
Nick Dunbar (Arles Howard (who reminds me of Allen Covert)) is a young 24 year old cop who's partner is Seymour Castle in a funny role himself.
Nick constantly is given undercover assigments working around kids.
"I hate kids!" Nick complains to his captain.
"It is g****mn unAmerican to hate kids!" his captain yells back.
"But kids and I never got along!" Dunbar replies.
Deal with it!" That's exactly what Nick does.
Then, Nick finds out how his brother Matt Dunbar is accused of stabbing and killing one of his teachers, Mr. Bradwood.
Nick knows his brother is innocent but he doesn't have enough proof.
His next assignment: to go undercover to highschool posing as a highschool student.
Nick goes to school posing as a student to look for more clues to try and prove his brother's innocence.
When in school, he encounters the usual highschool cliques.
Since he can't go with his last name Dunbar, or people will know he's Matt Dundar's brother.
He goes under the name Nick Springstien.
The bully Kyle Kerns is just another typical 80s highschool movie bully, just like in "Karate kid", " Just one of the guys", "Teen wolf", " The heavenly kid", " Like father, like son", etc.
Nick must talk to these kids to try and find out what he can about exactly what happened the day Mr. Bradwood was killed.
But getting straight answers from these highschool kids isn't easy because they just wanna act like, well highschool kids.
And Nick cannot ask anything too directly so no one finds out he's a cop.
Nick encounters several teachers too.
Suzy Amis as the young attractive English teacher, who kinda likes Nick's mature persona (such as Nick's metaphor in class) little knowing it's real.
Robert Stack as the principal, who we see in a humorous "visit to the principal's office" scene after Nick accidentally chucks him in the chin thinking he was one of Kyle's bully friends coming up behind him during a confrontation with Kyle.
I didn't know principals were still using the paddle in the late 80s.
Then there's Abe Vigoda who's an old teacher who's constantly walking down the hallway with notes (such as 'party naked') on his back, and is impressed with Nick being polite since none of the other kids are.
Then there's George Wendt as the shop teacher/school counsler who needs Nick to help finish his sentences while talking to Nick.
And at least one of these people has some darker secrets about them, but I won't say who just in case anyone reading this review has not seen the movie yet.
Oh, and listen to some of the funny comments made during the principal's constant ramblings over the school intercom..
Fantastically mystery comedy with the greatest actress in the world, Alexandra Powers..
Great Quirky Mystery-Comedy, a sleeper!.
"Plain Clothes" is a great quirky mystery-comedy.
Fans of the flick frequently lobby for a DVD release.Arliss Howard is perfect as Nick Dunbar, a 'young-looking' undercover detective who must go 'plain clothes' into an odd high school to find evidence to clear his brother on a murder rap.
Turns out the staff at this school are all a bit wacky and include the likes of George Wendt, Dianne Ladd, Abe Vigoda, Harry Shearer and Robert Stack (over a live PA system: "Is this thing on?
No shortage of suspects.Add to this: Nick doesn't like teens or kids - never did - never was one himself, apparently!
And watch for a hilarious scene in which Nick decides to convince everyone that he's for real by presenting his 'metaphor' homework.
The movie it self is kind of comfusing...but....
It has some very funny lines..and he isnt that bad too look at either...i think it was a 4 out of 10 ever all..
but i probable would watch it agin...I was just a little confused because i didnt watch it from the beginnign...so you really do have to watch the whole thing to underastand it...but it was good...no rotten apples here.!!!lol...ok..i have to have ten lines so...ill...talk...about ....somethin.....else....lol......
Not a bad movie but not a good one either.
It's one of those 80's movies you have to a least see once in your lifetime.Arliss Howard as Nick Dunbar: The 34yr old playing a 24yr undercover cop playing an 18yr.
While Howard was somewhat young enough to somewhat get away with it, I still felt he was miscast somewhat.
In some scenes he kinda fit in but in others, you could tell his age and it was more embarrassing than funny.
But still, he did an earnest performance.Suzy Amis as Robin Torrence: Now she I believed did a great job and was quite believable as the young teacher smitten by the Nick Dunbar character.
She really looked quite nice in this type of role.George Wendt as Chet Butler: Poor Wendt, he at 1st came on quite nicely as a somewhat loony teacher but by the end it was quite ridiculous for me to accept him as a invincible, crazy killer who even shoots dogs!
I quite expected him to just have a heart-attack with all that running around after Howard's Dunbar.
Complete miscast here.Diane Ladd as Jane Melway: Now she was quite believable in her role.
(At 1st I thought she was Dee Wallace!) Ladd did a great job in her little role.Seymour Cassel as Ed Malmburg: Was OK at best.
Playing Dunbar's partner and role-playing as the dad was OK.
I wish Collidge would have had a little more interplay with Cassel and Howard doing the "father & son" thing.
There could have been some more potential comedy there.Abe Vigoda as Mr. Wiseman: Was a complete miscast.
What a shame to have the late Vigoda in a thankless role in which all he had to do was walk around oblivious to the fact fact that everyday some student was putting a different note pinned to his back and he of course would not notice and walk around all day like a idiot.
Why would Vigoda take such a thankless role is beyond me.Robert Stack as Mr. Gardner: Stack as the principle was OK at best but still a misfire and not funny at all.
While it;s always great to see the late great Stack in a role out of the Untouchable mold, he just is too intense for a comedy and to me was just miscast in a throwaway role like Vigoda.Alexandra Powers as Dawn-Marie Zeffer: The beautiful Powers was very well cast as the cheerleader type.
Her little scene where she is trying to seduce Howard's Dunbar was really good.
I could see Howard having a hard time resisting this sexy little charmer but he had to have it under control for a lot of reasons.
I like at the end when she realizes he's a cop and she is still like saying in a devilish sexy way, "So, how old are you anyways?" What a shame this very cute actress gave up acting.
I wonder what she is doing now...Peter Dobson as Kyle Kerns: Great casting here.
Dobson as a bully on Dunbar's case was right on.
Very believable and a good job done by Dobson.Harry Shearer as Simon Feck: Complete miscast here for the great Shearer.
Just like Vigoda, a throw-away role that any extra could have done.
Don't understand why these greats would take such meaningless bit role role that are just basically cameos.Reginald VelJohnson as Captain Graff: Another meaningless cameo bit in which VelJohnson was just wasted.
A thankless throwaway role also.Max Perlich as Carter: Great casting here.
A very believable Perlich as a fellow student who befriends Dunbar.
Good job by Perlich.All in all, Coolidge has done better (Valley Girl) but OK in some respect.
Great ending song, "YOU CAN COUNT ON ME",written and performed by Billy Sherwood. |
tt0101507 | Boyz n the Hood | The story opens in 1984, focusing on three young black male youths, Tre, Doughboy, and Ricky, as they grow up in South Central, Los Angeles. Tre Styles is an intelligent young student of about age 10, but encounters disciplinary problems at his young age -- he mouths off to his teacher, who gives him the opportunity to lecture on a topic of his choosing. One of his fellow students antagonizes him and he fights with the boy, earning an ejection for the day. His mother Reva Devereaux (Angela Bassett), decides it would be best for her son if Tre were to live with his father, Furious Styles (Laurence Fishburne). Furious is a no-nonsense disciplinarian who teaches his son how to be a man. Tre begins his new life in South Central L.A. and reunites with old friends Doughboy, Ricky, and Little Chris though shortly after being reunited, Doughboy and Chris are arrested for shoplifting from a local convenience store.The film skips forward to seven years later in 1991 at a backyard picnic party. The three boys lead very different lives. Tre (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) is a high school senior aspiring to become a college man, Ricky (Morris Chestnut) an All-American football player at the same school, and Doughboy (Ice Cube) a crack dealing gangster and high school dropout. The film offers a keen insight on racial inequality, drugs, sex, and gang violence.Doughboy has just been released from prison and spends most of the time hanging out with friends Chris (now confined to a wheelchair), Monster and Dookie. Ricky is a star running back at Crenshaw High School. He has a out-of-wedlock son with his girlfriend Shanice (Alysia Rogers) and is being recruited by the University of Southern California, but needs to earn a minimum SAT score of 700 to receive an athletic scholarship. Tre also attends Crenshaw High School with Ricky and also has a girlfriend, Brandi (Nia Long). Tension exists between the two because he wants to have a sexual relationship with Brandi, who resists the idea because of her Catholic faith.Tre is torn by his desire to be a success and live up to his father's expectation and the pull of peer pressure to be more involved in the local gang culture of Doughboy and his crew. The climax of the film depicts Ricky's murder by members of a the local Crips, with whose leader he had a minor conflict, ironically after the audience learns that he has achieved the 700 SAT score necessary to attend USC. Doughboy, Monster, and Dookie intend to avenge Ricky's death. Tre, who is Rickys best friend, takes Furious' gun, but is stopped by him before leaving the house. Furious convinces Tre not to take the gun and seek revenge and Tre seems to relent, but he soon joins Doughboy and his friends on a revenge mission. Half way through the trip, Tre realizes his father was correct, asks Doughboy to pull the car over, and returns home. Doughboy and his two friends proceed and avenge Ricky's murder, gunning down his killers in cold blood.The film ends the following morning with a conversation between Tre and Dough Boy. Dough Boy understands why Tre left the revenge mission and both laments the circumstances that exist in South Central and questions whether or not they are locked in an unending cycle of violence. The end titles reveal that Doughboy was murdered two weeks later, and Tre went on to college with Brandi in Atlanta (with Tre enrolling at Morehouse, and Brandi at nearby Spelman).====================================Over a black screen the opening titles of the movie are show with voices heard during what sounds like a drive-by shooting. There seems to be some recognition between the participants and shots are fired from automatic weapons. A title card states "One out of every 21 Black-American males will be murdered in their lifetime", while a second title card states "Most will die at the hands of another Black Male". Police radio chatter is heard, reporting a "187", the police code for homicide. New voices are heard lamenting the deaths of people close to them. Suddenly a stop sign is shown, the frame slowly zooming in to a close-up.The story opens in 1984. A young African-American boy, Tre Styles, who lives with his mother, goes to school one day with a few of his friends. One of his friends asks the rest of the kids if they heard a shooting that had taken place nearby the night before. The boy invites the rest of his friends to see the crime scene in front of an abandoned garage. The garage door is riddled with bullet holes and a lot of blood has been spilled on the ground.The kids go to school and are in class listening to their teacher talk to them about the Pilgrims and Thanksgiving. Tre scoffs at the lesson and the teacher invites him up to lecture the class. Tre arrogantly accepts and begins to talk about the continent of Africa, showing an impressive amount of knowledge on the subject. When he suggests that all the races of the world first came from Africa, one of the other students is scornful -- the boy is one of Tre's friends that he walked to school with that morning. Tre strikes the boy with the pointer he'd been using and the two scuffle in the class.Tre is sent home. As he walks down his street he passes a bunch of teenagers beating up on another. We also hear, in voiceover, his mother, Reva, talking to his teacher, who says that Tre is quite intelligent and possesses a vast vocabulary but can't seem to control his temper. When the teacher asks if Tre's father lives with them and if Reva is educated, Reva becomes insulted and hostile and tells the teacher that Tre won't be coming back to school because he's going to live with his father, Furious Styles.Reva drives Tre to his father's house. On the way, she tells Tre that she doesn't want to see him end up poor, uneducated and living on the streets for the rest of his life. When they get to Furious' house, his mother talks to his father for a brief time and tells Furious that she can't teach Tre to be a mature adult. Tre finds his friends, Chris and Darren (called "Doughboy") hanging around his father's house, but isn't allowed to play with them as his father tells him to rake the leaves on the front lawn. Later, Tre and Furious go over the rules of the house and Furious tells Tre he's not being as hard on him as Tre believes, that he's simply trying to teach Tre responsibility. He also mentions that Tre's friends, who are fatherless, will wind up less fortunate than Tre.That night a burglar sneaks into Furious' house. Tre gets up to use the bathroom while his father, knowing the thief is in the house, load his Colt Python and jumps out of the bedroom, firing two quick shots. The leave gaping holes in his front door, and the thief escapes, leaving behind a sneaker. After calling the police, Tre and Furious wait nearly an hour for them to show up. One of the cops, a black man, seems to have a short temper and bristles when Furious tells him they'd been waiting a long time in the cold. Since nothing was actually stolen from the house, the black cop says there's no need to fill out a report. When he tries to be friendly toward Tre, Furious tells Tre to go back inside. The cop angrily asks if Furious has a problem with him; Furious' answer is "it's too bad you don't know what that is, brother."The next day, Tre goes to Doughboy's house. Dough's brother, Ricky, is one of Tre's best friends, however, the two brothers have different fathers and their mother clearly favors Ricky. While Tre waits outside, Doughboy's mother berates him, calling him lazy and stupid. Doughboy walks out and he and Tre wait for Ricky, who carries a football. They're joined by Chris, who asks them if they want to see a dead body. They go to where the corpse is laying and while they stare at it, a group of tough-looking teenagers walk up on them and demand Ricky's football, promising not to keep it. Scared, Ricky gives it to them and it's clear the boys are going to keep it. Doughboy walks over to one of the boys and demands the ball back. When he tries to take it and fails, he kicks the bigger boy in the leg. The boy backhands Doughboy and kicks him. Dough, Tre and Chris all begin to leave. When Ricky looks back at the teenagers, one of them relents and throws the ball back to Ricky. The three friends leave with Doughboy mumbling about going to the store. Ricky tells him he has no money but Dough says he's "going anyway."Tre goes fishing with his father. At the ocean, Furious asks his son if he's a leader or a follower. Tre enthusiastically says he's a leader. Furious also asks Tre what he knows about sex. Tre gives a crude explanation and Furious tells him that anyone can have a baby but it takes a "real man to be a father," relating his own experience at becoming Tre's father at the age of 17. He also talks about how he joined the Army and felt discriminated against and that Tre should never consider joining the Army. The two drive back home and see a police car outside Doughboy's house. Dough and Chris are being arrested for shoplifting.Seven years later a party is being held at Ricky and Dough's house. Dough has just been released from prison on a charge that isn't explained. Tre goes to the party and meets Dough. Dough and Ricky's mother, Brenda, talks to Tre and asks him to talk to Dough about staying out of prison. Tre finds Dough playing dominoes with Chris (now in a wheelchair) and another of his small gang, Monster. Also at the party is Brandi, Tre's girlfriend. Tre has his apprehensions about dating Brandi because she won't have sex with him. Tre also hasn't called her for several days and she leaves when a conversation about the subject goes nowhere. When the food is served, Tre suggests that the men at the party wait for the women to get their meals first. Ricky is also at the party and we see that he is now a father with an infant son. The child's mother lives with Ricky and his family at their mother's house.Tre heads home with a plate of food for his father. He notices a toddler playing in the street and takes her home to his drug-addicted mother, admonishing her for not watching her child and for not changing the baby's diapers. She offers him oral sex in exchange for money but Tre refuses. As he crosses the street, a red car stops abruptly in front of him. One of the back windows rolls down and an angry-looking gang member points a sawed-off, double-barreled shotgun at Tre. Tre, though frightened, stands his ground and the car peels off.At home, Tre gives his father the food he brought home and asks Furious to trim his hair. While he does, Tre bemusedly tells his father that he's getting older. Furious, also amused, reminds Tre that Tre is only 17 years younger than him. Tre jokes a bit about his future children bothering their grandfather for money and Furious becomes agitated, asking Tre if he's protecting himself if he's sexually active. Tre tells his father a fictional story about having sex with a teenaged woman he met and Furious scolds him for not using a condom.The next morning, Tre picks up Ricky and they head to school. Tre mentions the conversation with his father and reveals he's a virgin. Ricky laughs at first but apologizes after a few moments. After school, Ricky goes to football practice and Tre talks to Brandi. She still refuses to have sex with him because she's Catholic. Tre tries several arguments but Brandi remains steadfast. However, the two reconcile.That night, while Doughboy hangs out on his front porch with his friends, an admissions representative from USC talks with Ricky about entering the prestigious university on a football scholarship. The rep suggests that football should not be Ricky's only goal for college, that he should explore other academic majors like business or computer sciences. All that remains for Ricky to qualify for the scholarship is to take the SAT. After the rep leaves, Brenda tells him how proud she is of him.A few days later, Ricky and Tre take the SAT exam. After they finish, they go to Furious' office. Furious has built his own business where he assists people in finding low-cost loans to buy houses. He has Tre drive them to a very rough neighborhood in Compton. Under a large billboard advertising "cash for your home" Furious tells the boys about the process of gentrification, where the property value of run-down neighborhoods is reduced with the effect of forcing out the poor residents and then raising the property value to attract new, higher-income residents. Furious speaks further on the subject, talking about how rough neighborhoods like these have more liquor and gun stores than non-black neighborhoods. As he speaks, several young hustlers of the community walk over to listen to him. Furious' theory is that stores like those sell products that encourage poor people to kill themselves, either slowly (in the case of alcohol) or quickly (from murders). He also ties in the idea that crack cocaine is very rapidly creating too many addicts and causing too many deaths in poor communities. Furious suggests that black communities should work together to keep their businesses black-owned. When an old man who wanders into the group, he suggests that it the young people are the cause of all the trouble because they don't work, drink alcohol, deal drugs, smoke crack cocaine and kill each other in the streets. Furious counters, saying that black people don't supply the drugs that find their way onto the streets. One of the young men from the street says that he has no choice when someone approaches him in anger with a gun; he'll kill him before he'll be killed himself. Furious gravely tells him to think before he shoots.Tre and Ricky drive back toward home when Tre says they should catch up with Doughboy & his friends on Crenshaw Boulevard. They arrive and park their car and walk back to Dough's car. While they talk to Dough, a tall gang member deliberately shoulders Rick roughly. Rick is suddenly angry and begins shouting at him -- the gang member seems indifferent. Dough gets out of his car and shows off the pistol he carries tucked in his waistband. When the gang member's girlfriend suggests they all hang out without a single shooting happening, Dough insults her. More of Dough's friends rally behind him and the hood stalks off. Moments later, a burst of automatic gunfire is heard and everyone scatters. The hood, returning to his car, had fired into the air with a MAC-10 sub-machine gun.As they race away, Tre is upset, talking about how he feels the need to escape LA. He's soon pulled over -- one of the cops is the same cop that had responded to his father's call years before when their house had been broken into. The cop doesn't recognize Tre himself but assumes him to be a gang member. Angry at the thought of another gang member causing trouble on his beat, the cop pulls his pistol on Tre and threatens to shoot him. When another call comes in for a possible homicide, the cop lets Tre and Ricky go.Tre goes to Brandi's house and breaks down crying. She comforts him and the two go to bed together. The next morning, Tre finds Dough on his mother's front porch. Ricky is inside, watching television. An ad for the US Army comes on and he begins to think that service might be the answer to his financial concerns for going to USC. His girlfriend asks him to go to a store and buy some cornmeal. On his way out the door, his brother gives him a hard time about being domesticated by his girlfriend. Ricky dismisses Dough with an insulting remark and they begin to fight on the front lawn. Their mother comes out and stops the fight by slapping Dough across the face. While Dough protests, his mother tries to comfort Ricky, who stalks off, followed by Tre.The two go to a nearby convenience store. Ricky talks about how he'd like to join the Army however Tre tries to talk him out of it, citing his father's service & how it wasn't of much benefit to a young black man. On their return trip from the store, they spot the car belonging to the gang banger who'd started the fight with Rick the night before. The car begins to chase them and they break for an alley, slipping into a few back yards to throw off their pursuers. At home, Dough sees the gang bangers car rip around their block and immediately knows they're chasing Rick and Tre. He gets into his own car with some friends and roars off to find them.Emerging in another alley, Rick suggests he & Tre split up and meet back at home. Ricky is walking quietly toward another street, scratching a few lottery tickets he'd bought. Tre sees the gang bangers car pull up and yells for Rick to run. From the backseat of the car, one of the gang members shoots Rick twice with a sawed-off shotgun. One shot hits Rick in the thigh, the other rips through his lower chest. He falls to the ground as Tre runs to him and holds him.Doughboy and the others arrive too late to do anything and they bring Ricky back to his house where they tend to him. Doughboy, Monster, and Dookie intend to avenge Ricky's death. Tre goes back to his house and takes Furious' gun, but is stopped by him before leaving the house. Furious convinces Tre not to take the gun and seek revenge and Tre seems to relent, but he soon sneaks out and joins Doughboy and his friends on a revenge mission. Half way through the trip, Tre realizes his father was correct, asks Doughboy to pull the car over, and returns home. Doughboy and his two friends proceed and avenge Ricky's murder, gunning down his three killers in cold blood.The film ends the following morning with a conversation between Tre and Doughboy. Doughboy understands why Tre left the revenge mission and both laments the circumstances that exist in South Central and questions whether or not they are locked in an unending cycle of violence. The end titles reveal that Doughboy was murdered two weeks later, and Tre went on to college with Brandi in Atlanta (with Tre enrolling at Morehouse, and Brandi at nearby Spelman). The final shot shows the title with the caption "Increase The Peace". | comedy, cruelty, murder, dramatic, cult, violence, tragedy, revenge, storytelling | train | imdb | This is not a hip-hop film, nor a detached and dehumanized story about "gang violence" (the great over-simplified scapegoat of the issues treated in this film), its a story about growing up fatherless or motherless in a war zone with a faceless enemy, where people do not value each other's lives at all and value their own lives only slightly more.Laurence Fishburn leads one of the best casts of the early 1990s, in his memorable portrayal of Furious Styles, a father trying to raise his son (Cuba Gooding Jr) well in an environment where murder and substance abuse are day-to-day realities - South Central L.A. The film follows his son, Tre, and his friends, from the hardships of childhood in an irrelevant educational system and a neighborhood which doesn't allow kids to be kids, through to the realities of making decisions about the value of life and the development of responsibility and hope as young adults.The cast disappears into their characters and brings each one to life in a unique and powerful way.
Out of an era of gangster rap came a nationwide exposure of the issues within the Black and Latino communities, and directors like John Singleton and the Hughes Brothers follow in the footsteps of the great Spike Lee. The film Boyz n the Hood is an intricate examination of the archetypes and stereotypes of the hood, as well as an introduction to the survivors, both trapped in the violence and escaping the cycle.
Boyz N The Hood Directed by: John Singleton Country: USA Year: 1991 Running time: 107 minutes Starring: Laurence Fishburne and Cuba Gooding Jr."I watched the news this morning.
They didn't have sh-t on my brother, man." The mother of Tre Styles (Cuba Gooding Jr.) decides to send her son to live with his father, Furious Styles (Laurence Fishburne), after he gets into a fight at school.
An exemplary directorial debut from John Singleton, who managed to create an American classic with his first effort.As we follow Tre Styles from childhood toward becoming a young adult (as played effectively by Cuba Gooding, Jr.), and attempting to dodge, with the cautious guidance of his parents, the many dangers and risks associated with growing up in inner-city America, the sense of ever-present danger and, often, hopelessness associated with attempting to avoid falling into the cracks of society is abundantly clear.In the role of Tre's troubled friend Dough Boy, Ice Cube is something of a revelation, and his balanced performance, alongside Singleton's excellent script, prevent him from becoming merely another gangster caricature.
The building anger bristling beneath the surface in so many scenes is particularly resonant given the outburst of violence in the Rodney King Riots that took place in the very same city of the story just one year later.The film spawned several 'urban gang flick' imitations in subsequent years, but most glorified violence and placed an emphasis on a loud soundtrack and sexual explicitness at the expense of strong plot-line, good character development and a serious social message.All three are to be found in Boyz N the Hood..
We probably all have to agree that "Boyz n the Hood" was basically the first "growing up in the ghetto" movie, showing how these African-American youths are surrounded by violence during their childhoods - some perpetrated by the cops, some is their own doing - but they all have to find a way to keep going.
Seven years later, Tre (Cuba Gooding Jr.) is an educated teenager preparing to join the university; Ricky (Morris Chestnut) is an athlete, expecting to join the university with scholarship since he is a great football player; and Doughboy (Ice Cube) is a small time criminal that has been arrested several times.
Brothers Doughboy {Ice Cube} and Ricky Baker {Morris Chestnut} and best friend Tre Styles {Cuba Gooding Jr}, each have the usual worries that come with leaving the teenage years behind.
Here Singleton could possibly have bowed out of the story, but he goes further, expanding the aftermath and taking us, along with the characters, to it's final "Increase The Peace" dénouement.It's been called everything from an After School Special to the most important Black American movie made thus far.
Boyz 'N the hood is a thoroughly fascinating and deeper than you think look at life in Los Angeles around the early 1980s to early 1990s; what the film actually does is look at a life in one of these Los Angeles 'ghettos' and uses it as the backdrop for a wonderful series of filmic events revolving around growing up, relations with family and friends, racism and the constant threat of violence.
Not only this but the approaching sound of rap and R&B music as cars get closer when there are multiple unknown characters in a scene is heard; it can feel very threatening especially if our heroes are out on foot and you do feel like they are in danger.Boyz 'N the Hood is a fantastic debut film for John Singleton as many have already said.
No wonder Ice Cube continued his acting career and is pretty successful.Definitely a nice classic from the 90's that I recommend to people who want to watch a realistic and dramatic movie that makes one both think and feel.
I always thought that such films that were named like Boyz N the Hood, Hustle and Flow, and Menace 2 Society, normally titles like that are not promising to a good movie.
This is one of the better acted movies with stories of the ghetto and the thing that I loved about this film was that it had a good strong positive message to never let go of your dreams and don't let stupid people get you down.
But I think it was Lawerence Fishbourne and Cuba Gooding, Jr. that really steal the show and tell the story so well.Tre is having a hard time in the city where he and his mother live, he gets in trouble at school and she sends him to live with his dad, Furious Styles for the summer to teach him how to be a man.
He and his two best friends learn how to deal with the possibility of being killed or doing something they can never take back.Boyz N the Hood is a powerful movie that is very impressive, especially for a film that was made under a seven million dollar budget.
John Singleton's first and most successful film to date (and, I'm positive, his best work too) is an honest account of three black friends (played, in their teens, by Cuba Gooding Jr., Ice Cube and Morris Chestnut) growing up in a South Central LA ghetto.Ice Cube's song "AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted" partially inspired the story, which is also partially autobiographic.
Like the protagonist Tre (Gooding Jr.), Singleton lived with his mother (played by Angela Bassett in the film) for his first years, and was sent to his father's (Laurence Fishburne) when she felt the place she was living in wasn't suitable for the 10 year-old, and it was about time his dad taught him "how to be a man".
Singleton, who was only 23 when the film was made (he became not only the youngest ever Oscar nominee for Best Director, but also the first African American to be nominated in that category; only this year another African American would be nominated, Lee Daniels of "Precious", exactly 18 years later), told a story of how the reality of one's environment and upbringing are definitely huge factors in how one's personality and life choices are shaped and/or limited; yet, it still remains one's own struggle in the end.
Tre finds that the hood is full of traps for the young men therein and must decide how he wants to live his life with guidance and hindrance from his father and his friends.It's hard to remember now, but this film was the one that created a series of copies and spoofs, some of which were better or more hard hitting, but they all suffered because they held to cliches that this film created.
All those elements make Boyz N The Hood not only one of the best films of the 1990s and a classic of not only Black cinema but cinema in general and is John Singleton's best film.Set in South Central Los Angeles,California,Boyz N The Hood tells the story of Tre Styles(Cuba Gooding Jr.),a teenager who as a kid is sent by his Mother Reva(Angela Bassett)to live with his Father Furious Styles(Laurence Fishburne)who has been teaching Tre to grow up since Tre was a kid.
Along with living with his Father,he is best friends with brothers Doughboy(Ice Cube),a criminal and Ricky Williams(Morris Chestnut),a star High School Football athlete and young Father.
While living in their neighborhood,Tre,Doughboy and Ricky have to deal with violence,tragedy and coming of age in South Central.Boyz N The Hood is a brilliant and groundbreaking film in many ways because it's the movie that gave birth to the 'Hood genre in the 1990s and is The Godfather of this genre paving the way for other Hood movies such as Menace II Society(1993)and Juice(1992).
Boyz was also the film that gave movie goers a look into the world of South Central Los Angeles,showing the violence,tragedy and urban decay that was going on in 1991 and where there is danger and bullets in the air the kind of things that was being talked about on record by great Hip-Hop artists such as N.W.A,Ice-T and Ice Cube during the late 1980s and early 90s.
A wonderful song.In final word,if you love John Singleton,Hood Movies,urban films or cinema in general,I highly suggest you see Boyz N The Hood,an excellent,powerful and unforgettable classic that will stay with you after you watch it.
It was a film that showed a portrayal of social problems in inner-city Los Angeles, it is about a tale of three young black friends called Tre, Doughboy, and Ricky growing up together 'in the 'hood.
I thought that the film gave an excellent look at how life in in South Central Los Angeles and the problems that people face living there.
This movie relates to a lot of what really goes on in these types of communities.In the movie, there was one part that caught my attention which was when Doughboy(Ice Cube) was on the porch talking to Tre(Cuba Gooding Jr.)and said exactly "Either they don't know, it don't show, or they just don't care about whats going on in the hood." As of speaking for my past, I did believe that specific quote.
Ricky would like to get into college to pursue his football career the only way out for him and his young family to a better way of life.By the end of the movie you feel that if only friends would listen to one another more often and say the things that really matter in their relationships then when it's time to say goodbye you know how you feel about one another.A must see film if you have ever had a best friend who is no longer around.
John Singleton's portrayal of social problems in inner- city Los Angeles takes the form of a tale of three friends growing up together 'in the 'hood.' Half-brothers Doughboy and Ricky Baker are foils for each other's personality, presenting very different approaches to the tough lives they face.
The tough inner-city of Los Angeles is examined through the eyes of a young African-American man (Cuba Gooding, Jr. in his star-making performance) who has been forced to leave a middle-class existence living with his mother (Angela Bassett) to become part of the mean jungle that is the hood to live with father Laurence Fishburne.
Boyz n the Hood is an impressive debut from writer/director John Singleton and launched the film careers of Cuba Gooding Jr. and Ice Cube, who both are excellent here.
However "Poetic Justice" DID and when I finally came around to watching "Boyz n the Hood" I had extremely low expectations.I honestly thought it was going to be as absolutely pointless as "Poetic Justice" was.And, yeah, I did kind of like "Higher Learning," which I also saw before this, but I still kind of feel that he was pointing the finger at white people and telling the viewers that we are all evil and the cause of all the problems in the world.So I went in here thinking it was going to be a talented racist mess.However, it wasn't.
The first movie in which we see actors like Laurence Fishburne, Cuba Gooding Jr, Ice Cube, Angela Bassett and others in prominent roles.
And Boys n the Hood still stands up today.Set from 1984 to 1991 in South Central LA Boyz n the Hood follows three friends, Tre Styles (Desi Arnez Hines/Cuba Gooding Jr.), a smart kid who wants to lead a normal life, Ricky Baker (Donovan McCrary/Morris Chestnut), an aspiring American Football player and Ricky's gangbanger half-brother "Doughboy" (Baha Jackson/Ice Cube).The main characters three different aspects of black life - Tre is the academic, Ricky is athletic and Doughboy falls in with a bad crowd and serves as an example of what could happen to Tre and Ricky.
Two years later, young director John Singleton did his first film that has since been regarded as the mother of all hood movies.
It's certainly an intense, well-acted and surprisingly mature drama that explores life, liberty, family relationships, education, and of course gang culture, examining what makes people tick and what leads to the senseless violence and murder that's blighted the streets since forever.John Singleton is careful never to preach his messages, although there is a preacher of sorts in the movie: the excellent Laurence Fishburne as the mild-mannered but steely-eyed father who wants only the best for his kids.
Boyz N the Hood is one of many early films that bring awareness to the struggles of life "in the hood." Three boys grow up together in the Crenshaw ghetto of Los Angeles, and although they are all different in their own ways, they all have to deal with the problems that come with living in a dangerous, low-income area.
Although Boyz In the Hood deals with living in a violent world which some of us will never understand, the story is more of a coming of age film rich in character development.
Though certain parts have not aged especially well, the core of the film, about the relationship between a son and father, as well as how to operate in a neighborhood where violence is around every corner, does hold up and resonates well.It starts and has its first half hour spent (wisely) in 1984, when young Tre gets in a fight at school and his mother (Angela Basset, only in three scenes but essential to the story) takes him to live with his father (Fishburne, maybe his best/subtlest performance), who can "teach him how to be a man" as she puts it more than once.
And certainly again it's also about what effect, or lack thereof, parents have on their children in such an environment.Although at one point Singleton nearly stops the movie for a speech on gentrification - more distracting not so much for the speech but how immediately people gather around to listen and respond, which feels the most "screenwriter-y" of the movie - most of what he is showing really works: urban alienation and the sense that things won't get better (i.e. Doughboy's brother); the dangers of urban youth having children at a young age (lack of sex education is hinted at); and, of course, the lack of any real authority or leadership from those who "Serve and Protect." When it comes to the 'hood' of the film, it's often the opposite.The scene with the racist black cop is striking for how Singleton takes what could be just a very one-dimensional character - we don't really know his name - and fills him with real conflict.
Its cultural significance was recognized in 2002 with its induction into the National Film Registry.The story's central character is Tre Styles (Cuba Gooding Jr.), a young man living with his father (Lawrence Fishburne) in the Crenshaw neighbourhood of South Central.
I don't know how accurate this movie is to the gang life in the 1990s but I felt sympathy for all the characters living in that life and it is hard to believe people actually live like that in real life.The story follows the life of Tre, a really intelligent, black, man struggling with the life he lives in.
The tried but true "Coming of Age" theme is given a fresh perspective as childhood friends Tre Styles (Cuba Gooding Jr.), Doughboy (Ice cube), and Ricky Baker (Morris Chestnut) transcend adolescence and become young men.This film shows the importance of choices and how they can impact the rest of your life and the lives around you.
All three boys struggle to live their own lives in a town filled with hatred and gang violence.The main thing the film wants to show is that a strong father figure is very important in a young black man's life.
"Either they don't know, don't show, or don't care about what's going on in the hood." These are the words of Ice Cube's character in the powerfully emotional race film, Boyz n the Hood, a story about a group of black kids who grow up in an impoverished and violent inner city neighborhood.
Director John Singleton portrayed Tre Styles (Cuba Gooding Jr.), journey, along with two childhood friends, Doughboy (Ice Cube) and Ricky Baker (Martin Chesnut) as an exciting but to also show the social issues of young African-American males.
Boyz n the Hood is a story about a boy named Tre Styles (Cuba Gooding Jr.) who grows up in the ghetto of L.A. Tre is sent to live with his father, Furious Styles (Laurence Fishburne), and ends up becoming best friends with two brothers, Ricky and Doughboy. |
tt0091167 | Hannah and Her Sisters | The story is told in three main arcs, with most of it occurring during a 24-month period beginning and ending at Thanksgiving parties hosted by Hannah (Mia Farrow) and her husband, Elliot (Michael Caine). Hannah serves as the stalwart hub of the narrative; most of the events of the film connect to her.
Elliot becomes infatuated with one of Hannah's sisters, Lee (Barbara Hershey), and eventually begins an affair with her. Elliot attributes his behavior to his discontent with his wife's self-sufficiency and resentment of her emotional strength. Lee has lived for five years with a reclusive artist, Frederick (Max von Sydow), who is much older. She finds her relationship with Frederick no longer intellectually or sexually stimulating, in spite of (or maybe because of) Frederick's professed interest in continuing to teach her. She leaves Frederick after he discovers her affair with Elliot. For the remainder of the year between the first and second Thanksgiving gatherings, Elliot and Lee carry on their affair despite Elliot's inability to end his marriage to Hannah. Lee finally ends the affair during the second Thanksgiving, explaining that she is finished waiting for him to commit and that she has started dating someone else.
Hannah's ex-husband Mickey (Woody Allen), a television writer, is present mostly in scenes outside of the primary story. Flashbacks reveal that his marriage to Hannah fell apart after they were unable to have children because of his infertility. However, they had twins who are not biologically his, before divorcing. He also went on a disastrous date with Hannah's sister Holly (Dianne Wiest) when they were set up after the divorce. A hypochondriac, he goes to his doctor complaining of hearing loss, and is frightened by the possibility that it might be a brain tumor. When tests prove that he is perfectly healthy, he is initially overjoyed, but then despairs that his life is meaningless. His existential crisis leads to unsatisfying experiments with religious conversion to Catholicism and an interest in Krishna Consciousness. Ultimately, an unsuccessful suicide attempt leads him to find meaning in his life after unexpectedly viewing the Marx Brothers' Duck Soup in a movie theater. The revelation that life should be enjoyed, rather than understood, helps to prepare him for a second date with Holly, which this time blossoms into love.
Holly's story is the film's third main arc. A former cocaine addict, she is an unsuccessful actress who cannot settle on a career. After borrowing money from Hannah, she starts a catering business with April (Carrie Fisher), a friend and fellow actress. Holly and April end up as rivals in auditions for parts in Broadway musicals, as well as for the affections of an architect (Sam Waterston). Holly abandons the catering business after the romance with the architect fails and decides to try her hand at writing. The career change forces her once again to borrow money from Hannah, a dependency that Holly resents. She writes a script inspired by Hannah and Elliot, which greatly upsets Hannah. It is suggested that much of the script involved personal details of Hannah and Elliot's marriage that had been conveyed to Holly through Lee (having been transmitted first from Elliot). Although this threatens to expose the affair between Elliot and Lee, Elliot soon disavows disclosing any such details. Holly sets aside her script, and instead writes a story inspired by her own life, which Mickey reads and admires greatly, vowing to help her get it produced and leading to their second date.
A minor arc in the film tells part of the story of Norma (Maureen O'Sullivan) and Evan (Lloyd Nolan). They are the parents of Hannah and her two sisters, and still have acting careers of their own. Their own tumultuous marriage revolves around Norma's alcoholism and alleged affairs, but the long-term bond between them is evident in Evan's flirtatious anecdotes about Norma while playing piano at the Thanksgiving gatherings.
By the time of the film's third Thanksgiving, Lee has married someone she met while taking classes at Columbia, while Hannah and Elliot have reconciled their marriage. The film's final shot reveals that Holly is married to Mickey and that she is pregnant. | comedy | train | wikipedia | null |
tt0050146 | El ataúd del Vampiro | NOTE: Sequel to "El Vampiro" (1957)Doctor Mendoza [Carlos Ancira] has heard so much about the vampire encountered by his colleague, Doctor Enrique Zaldívar [Abel Salazar], at Marta González's [Ariadna Welter] hacienda that he and his henchman, ex-con Barraza [Yeire Beirute], went back to Sierra Negra and found the coffin. Mendoza knows that the corpse is that of a vampire because it has no reflection in a mirror...or rather, the flesh has no reflection. Although Count Lavud's [Germán Robles] body looks as fresh to the eye as the day he was destroyed, all that reflects in a mirror is his skeleton. Consequently, Mendoza is bringing the corpse to Louis Pasteur Hospital in order to conduct experiments on it and find out how much of the vampire legend is true. Are vampires really sensitive to the sun? Do they really need to drink blood? Can they really turn into bats? Are they really immortal?On the other hand, Enrique adheres to his original belief that Duval
is simply a normal person with a liking for blood. Enrique's almost
convinced Marta of the same. He's been treating her and is, in fact,
planning to release her from the hospital tomorrow so that she can go back
to the Teatro (theater) where she works as a dancer. That is, until
Mendoza brings Duval's corpse to the hospital. At first, Enrique is
outraged that his colleague would engage in grave-robbing, but he
eventually agrees to help on the condition that they burn the body at the
end of the experiments. When they leave the room in order to get the
instruments for dissection, however, Barraza climbs in the window, opens
the coffin, and attempts to remove an ornate brooch from around Duval's
neck. In doing so, he dislodges the stake, Lavud revives, makes a renfield
out of Barraza, and escapes.Marta's aunt María Teresa [Alicia Montoya], who witnessed Mendoza and Barraza carting
away the coffin and tried to stop them, comes to the hospital to warn
Enrique that Duval's body has been stolen. When she hears that the coffin
is actually at that very hospital, she especially fears for Marta because
Marta has already been bitten once by Duval. If she's bitten again, she
will turn into a vampire, so the three of them -- Enrique, María Teresa,
and Mendoza -- comb the hospital for Lavud. It is too late, however, for
Lavud has been wandering the halls and come upon a little girl lying
asleep in her hosital bed. As he bends over to bite her neck, she awakens
and screams. Lavud runs to another room and is surprised to see Marta
standing before him. Lavud sees fate knocking and hypnotizes her to obey
his will. By the time Enrique comes to her room, Marta is passed out on
the floor and Lavud has disappeared.Meanwhile at the Museo de Cera (wax museum), a tour group is being
introduced to the wax figures of murderers and instruments of execution,
such as the gallows, the guillotine. and the Virgin of Nuremberg, an iron
maiden fitten with eight inch spears embedded in the door. After the tour
is over and the group has left, the guide is surprised to see his old
cellmate Barraza standing among the wax figures. Barraza needs a place to
stay, and the basement of the Museo will do just fine, thank you, or else.
Shortly thereafter, María Teresa and Mendoza come knocking on the Museo
door, looking for Lavud's corpse. While Barraza and Mendoza search among
the figures, María Teresa makes her way down into the basement where she
finds Lavud's coffin. Unfortunately, Lavud has been following them, too.
When María Teresa finds the coffin and calls to Mendoza for help, Lavud
strangles Mendoza. María Teresa attempts to hide in the iron maiden, but
Barraza sees her shawl hanging out and closes the door on her, killing her
instantly.Meanwhile, back at the hospital, Enrique has been trying to explain
to the director about the vampire, but he is not believed, particularly
now that the body, the coffin, and Dr Mendoza have all disappeared.
Concerned for Marta's safety, Enrique makes her sit up with him, drinking
coffee and smoking cigarettes, waiting for dawn. Marta reveals that she
saw Duval in her room earlier that evening and wants to know what is going
on. As Enrique explains about Mendoza bringing the vampire's body to the
hospital, neither of them realizes that Duval is standing outside the
door, mentally calling to Marta. Fortunately, Enrique intercepts her as
she tries to leave the room. Thwarted and with dawn almost upon him, Duval
returns to his coffin in the basement of the Museo.In the morning, Marta is released from the hospital and returns to
the theater with Enrique in tow. That evening, Lavud locates the theater
where Marta is rehearsing and has a bite to drink from the cafe across the
street. Enrique is summoned to tend to Lavud's dinner and recognizes the
telltale bites on her neck. When he tells the police that the girl died
from a vampire's bite, they don't believe him. Meanwhile, rehearsal has
ended, and Marta is primping in her dressing room. Suddenly, Lavud
appears. He removes the brooch from his neck and swings it in front of
Marta's eyes, placing her in a trance, then places the brooch on her neck
just as Enrique returns. When Enrique sees the brooch on Marta's neck, he
realizes that the time has come for them to confront Duval. Marta has no
idea how, but Enrique has a plan. As he explains it to her, telling her
that she must not exchange the brooch for a crucifix, they do not realize
that Duval is listening.But first the show must go on. While Marta dances, Enrique searches
the theater for signs of Duval. Following a jungle dance, Marta is lifted
off the stage by a swing made of vines. When she nears the top of the
scaffolding, Barraza is waiting for her. Marta fights him off, but a raise
of Duval's hand places her in trance. As Duval carries Marta down many
flights of metal stairs to where the Teatro links with the Museo, Barraza
knocks out Enrique and follows his master, but Enrique recovers quickly
and pursues. Duval carries Marta down into the Museo basement where he
lays her on top his coffin. He lights some candles and places a ring on
Marta's hand in preparation for making her his bride as Enrique and
Barraza play cat and mouse upstairs among the wax figures. In their
struggle, Barraza attempts to trap Enrique in the iron maiden, but he
escapes.In the basement, Duval is about to bite Marta for the second time
when she suddenly comes out of the trance, screams, and races up the
stairs and out into the Museo proper. Enrique pounces on Duval, and
accidentally pushes Marta onto the rack of the guillotine, her neck
fitting nicely in the slicer. Duval uses all his vampire tricks, such as
disappearing and changing into a bat, but Enrique finally gets him by
throwing a spear, which impales the bat against the wall, where he turns
back into Duval. Marta comes out of her trance and sits up ... just in
time. She has no sooner lifted her head from the guillotine when the blade
falls.The police come barreling down the stairs and catch Barraza, but it's
all over except for the final kiss. [Original synopsis by bj_kuehl] | murder | train | imdb | null |
tt0484562 | The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising | Will Stanton (Alexander Ludwig) is a day away from his fourteenth birthday. As the Stanton children walk home, Miss Greythorne (Frances Conroy), the local mistress of the Manor, and her Butler Merriman Lyon (Ian McShane) invite the siblings to a Christmas party. Later, two farmers, Dawson (James Cosmo) and Old George (Jim Piddock), whom Will does not know, arrive at his house with a large Christmas tree ordered by the family. The farmers know Wills name, wish him a happy birthday, and predict bad weather despite the clear sky. Wills birthday is so close to Christmas that everyone in his large family ignores it except for his little sister Gwen (Emma Lockhart), who gives him his only birthday present (a Casio G-Shock Mudman wristwatch). The family has moved from the United States to a small English village and one of his brothers has arrived home for the holidays and displaces Will to the attic. For a Christmas present, Will buys Gwen an enigmatic stone pendant at the local mall. Two suspicious security guards accuse him of shoplifting and take him to their office. Alarmingly, whilst questioning Will under the room's flickering lights, the guards metamorphose into rooks. They attack Will, but he manages to escape, accidentally using his powers for the first time. Will begins to experience more odd incidents and receives a strange and Celtic-looking belt from his oldest brother, Stephen (Jordan J. Dale).At the Manor Christmas party, Will once again sees Dawson and Old George who seem to know him well. Miss Greythorne and Merriman debate about when and how to approach Will about his destiny. Maggie Barnes (Amelia Warner), an attractive local girl appears at the party and Will becomes upset when one of his older brothers approaches her and begins chatting to her. Will leaves the Manor, and an ominous figure mounted on a white horse and accompanied by dogs chases Will. As the ominous figure prepares to kill Will, who is currently no match for him, Miss Greythorne, Merriman, Dawson, and Old George suddenly appear and save Will. Merriman names the threatening figure as The Rider, who warns them all that in five days' time his power The Dark will rise. The four adults are the last of the Old Ones ancient warriors who serve The Light and take Will on a walk through time and space to a place called the Great Hall, which in the present day is the church the Stantons attend. Will is the last of the Old Ones to have been born: he is the seventh son of a seventh son whose power begins to ascend on his fourteenth birthday, though Will disputes this idea because he believes he is the sixth son. Will is The Seeker: the sign-seeker who must locate six Signs whose possession will grant The Light power over The Dark. The Rider is also seeking them. Will returns home to his attic room and falls and twists his ankle. The doctor who calls is The Rider in disguise but he is recognized by Will. The Rider demonstrates his powers on Wills ankle by alternately healing it and making it much worse before restoring it to its injured state. Will discovers he has a lost twin brother named Tom, who, as a baby, mysteriously disappeared one night and was never found. Merriman instructs Will on his powers, which include summoning superhuman strength, commanding light and fire, telekinesis, stepping through time, and the unique knowledge to decipher an ancient text in the Book of Gramarye.Will returns to The Great Hall, and learns the form each sign will take. Will reveals the first sign within Gwens pendant. As the sign-seeker, Will travels through time to find the next four signs. The Rider enlists a mysterious figure to help him get the signs from Will. When Will's brother invites Maggie to their home, she reveals some of her powers to Will. Will reveals his affections for her, saying he felt an instant connection with her. He tells her he has been thinking of her constantly. The Rider also tricks Will's older brother Max into helping him. The spell over Max is finally broken when Will uses his great strength to give Max a concussion. By the fifth day, The Dark that The Rider commands has now gained tremendous power and begins to attack the village with a terrible blizzard. Will locates the fifth sign but without the sixth sign, the Dark continues to rise. Maggie is revealed to be the mysterious witch helping the Rider in exchange for immortal youth. She is betrayed by him when she fails to get the fifth sign and ages rapidly, disintegrating into a flood of water. The Old Ones and Will seek sanctuary in the Great Hall, where the Rider cannot enter unless invited. However, The Rider's final trick (impersonating the voices of Will's mother and father, as well as Gwen) gains him access to The Great Hall. The Rider reveals that he has trapped Tom, whom The Rider mistook for The Seeker and kidnapped, within a glass sphere. He sends Will into an evil dark cloud. As he enters, Will solves the riddle of the sixth sign: he himself is the sixth sign. With all six signs identified The Rider cannot touch nor harm Will. Using his power over the dark, Will banishes both The Rider imprisoning the evil figure within one of his own glass spheres and The Dark. The sphere disappears into murky water. Will and Tom are reunited and return to their family. | paranormal, good versus evil, stupid, flashback | train | imdb | Key elements left out, characterizations gutted, the mythos it was based on trivialized.After such great adaptations as LotR, Narnia and the Potter books to see this classic ruined was a sad sight.The books concepts depend on British folktales and legends (Arthurian based) and the movie seems to have tossed that aside in an attempt to woo American audiences.
If you have been a fan of Susan Cooper's beloved book series since you were a kid, saw the preview and thought "Maybe it won't be as bad as it seems...", then I weep for your broken childhood love.
If so, he failed miserably because the massive changes made this look more like a bad Harry Potter knock-off than a separate film.
I suspect that the filmmakers were trying to make a Harry Potter-like film out of Susan Cooper's story so they could avoid copyright infringement.
My father, who has never read the books, said the movie was awful, and I would dearly love the home address of the people who destroyed my favorite fantasy series..
There were about 3 things about Susan Cooper's magnificent book that were preserved in this movie: a couple of names (but certainly not all of them--where was the difficulty in letting his father be named "Roger" rather than changing it to "John"??), a rook feather in the snow, and...
The last time a superb book-turned-rubbish-movie angered me this much was when I was forced to see Jim Carrey prance around as Count Olaf, who should've been one of the greatest villains to scare the wits out of little kids everywhere.I'd like to say I'm done with adaptations, but The Golden Compass is coming out, and that one looks like more than the gaffer actually read the bloody book..
Should one be surprised considering the director announced in the past that he thought the books did not give good movie material and that he dislikes fantasy/children's movies to begin with?
Well, Susan Cooper's book series the Rising of the Dark sequence was written long before Harry Potter and it has all the material for a good movie.
I wouldn't trust the writer nor the director to sit the right way on a toilet.If you ever read Ian Fleming's work you'd know that the books and film stories are totally different but they manage to convey the ruthlessness, the style and epic quality of the books and add their own style of fun to generate the longest running successful sequels in history.With the care and attention to detail put into the filming of the Lord of the Rings I honestly thought we were past the limitations that dogged fantasy films in older days but Fox proved us wrong, I can only surmise, that the financial and marketing people don't read, watch good movies or even have decent IQ's.How is this for a financial idea: Susan Cooper wrote a 5 book masterpiece that works for kids and adults alike.
Hmm who do we get to produce it, screen-write it and direct it for us.I know, how about we get a successful producer, can we get the one who did that massively acclaimed hit "Legally Blonde 2", a screenwriter who can't write for children and a director who admits he doesn't like the fantasy genre.I'm trying to work out if movies qualify under the Sale of Goods Act here in Britain.
What a waste of time and effort.I can't believe for one moment that Susan Cooper has authorised this movie which is supposed to be based on her book.
I just hope that people new to this series will want to read the books if the first taste they have is this abysmal looking film.It seems the studio which produced this film have come up with the golden goose egg of formulas for those too stupid to appreciate the myths and legends in the book.
Movie adaptations of much-loved books can rarely satisfy the fans, but even making allowances for that, this is a deeply disappointing film.
People not familiar with Susan Cooper's "Dark is Rising" cycle will find this simply another lackluster and occasionally bewildering teen fantasy film, while anyone who read and enjoyed Cooper's books would be well-advised to steer clear of the film altogether: it will simply make them angry.The attraction of Cooper's books is that they are both mythologically and psychologically powerful.
Even the quintessentially English character of the stories was apparently judged too threatening or complex for American audiences, so the protagonist has been Americanized and the setting reduced to some cutesy chocolate-box Hollywood vision of rural England.Probably the only bright point of the movie is Alexander Ludwig, in the part of Will Stanton.
It's educational to contrast the subtlety and effectiveness with which Cooper reveals her world in the books with the kind of ham-fisted lay-it-on-with-a-trowel exposition that the makers of the film considered necessary.The result is a rambling mess where the hero stumbles through his required tasks - all of which fall more or less into his lap without any great dramatic tension - until the predictable last-minute rout of the forces of darkness.
Screenwriter John Hodge must take much of the blame for his insipid and amateurish screenplay, yet his track record - including the excellently- written "Shallow Grave" and "Trainspotting" - makes me wonder if he contrived this disaster all himself, or if he was under pressure from director Cunningham (whose own resume might have led one to predict that he would make something like this) to dumb everything down for the benefit of some imaginary audience of American teenagers with single-digit IQs.There's no reason to waste time on this film (I saw it on an airplane).
If you know how to read, you'd be vastly better off spending the time and the money on the original books..
The reason why I ended up watching the whole thing is because I was at a friend's who rented it (she likes fantasy films) and I didn't want to be rude by walking out.
my guess is the movies producers were doing an experiment to see just how much you could change a book (a relatively short and easy book at that) and still keep the "based on Susan coopers: the dark is rising" in the by line.
when i read the book i thought wow this would make a great movie and hoped for one ever since i was ten.
As a consequence, the stories told on the screen never seem quite as complete as the stories we remember reading.Even when a story set in the past is updated to work within the paradigm of the modern world - as "The Seeker" has done to "The Dark Is Rising" - the movies themselves can sometimes be quite enjoyable.
It is instead a vile piece of trash that deserves no better than to be sealed inside a steel drum and buried in the middle of a mountain in a deep pit lined with 40 feet of lead.Even if you couldn't care less about offending the pedantic demands of the fantasy nerds and the nostalgia warriors - as the makers of this film have done - a good movie still demands a few essential qualities.1) The film must be acted well.
Here, each scene just barely gives you enough time to reflect on how bad the movie is or hate yourself for wasting time on it.Oh, I'm sure there's a lot more that could be said about just how awful "The Seeker" is, but if I spend any more time thinking about it I'll find myself stabbing holes in my leg with a pair of scissors.On the flip side, if you're the kind of person who likes to sit around and make fun of bad movies with your friends, there is some value to be had here.
My only wish is that this horror of a movie hasn't put off another production company from making sometime in the future a true-to-the-book version of 'The Dark is Rising', a version that will capture the true Englishness, magic and power of the original story..
Having read the book, like many others, I had hopes that this adaption would be well made and open the door to sequels of the complete series.
but setting aside the issue of this being a bad book adaptation, it was also a badly made movie.There were too many plot holes, and what plot there was made no sense and seemed rushed in the end.
I don't think you will see anymore of these made into movies, as the books are fun, but they follow a linear sequence in same way the Harry Potter series does.
My family and I like fantasy movies, but this one is a complete waste of time.
He's got days to find them, before the Rider who fights for the Dark comes to full strength....As I said, I've not read the novel, but seeing the movie several things spring to mind.
There are a couple of so-called twists in the mix, but they are too obvious to work effectively.The acting isn't too bad, with special mention going to Ian McShane, as one of the elder ones but try as they might, they can't save the movie.As the first of a trio of fantasy movies coming out, the others being Stardust and The Golden Compass, I hope this is not a sign of things to come..
So when I heard that a film was to be made, I was looking forward to either seeing it at the cinema or getting it on DVD, but having read several comments of people who are ardent fans of Susan Cooper as I am, it left me feeling a bit deflated that such wonderful book with lovely characters and gripping story lines could be ruined by people who are in the film business or like to think they are, just to make themselves a quick buck.
The Seeker:The Dark is Rising is an intolerable,pathetic and crap movie and I want the money I wasted to see this movie back.This crappy ''film'' tries to use a dark and sinister tone to make us forget we are watching a stupid movie specially made for very young kids.The main actor could not have been chosen worse.Alexander Ludwig does not have any charisma or grace.The Seeker is only worried in using special effects(very bad done,specially from a major movie,by the way) and there is not something which really justifies its presence and the things which happen on this movie do not have a logical connection.For example,the main character has a lot of powers which are not used on an intelligent way.As many other crappy movies,The Seeker is made by scenes which only happen and not by a story which is really developed.Also,this film criminally wastes three excellent actors like Christopher Eccleston,Ian McShane and Frances Conroy.The Seeker represented,for me,an enormous waste of time.This is my advice:do not waste money on this crap..
Anyone with epilepsy cannot see the movie as the final battle is nit so much a fight but lots of flashing lights while people move, it hurt my head a hell of a lot just watching it.The Dark is Rising is certainly not going to be the next big fantasy series, so for now Potter's crown is very safe.
I must've been nine or ten when I read "Over Sea, Under Stone" by Susan Cooper and I was immediately enthralled by it and subsequently ploughed right through the entire Dark Is Rising sequence."The Dark Is Rising" was certainly my favourite book and I remember how completely immersed I became in Will's fight against the Dark.As such, when this movie was announced I was desperately hoping it would capture the enchantment I felt as a kid while reading this book, much as Steve Kloves managed to do with the Harry Potter series.
Alas, this was not to be the case: The entire plot was completely abhorrent to Susan Cooper's original prose and somehow - and I'm not sure how given the material they had to work with - managed to stamp out and eradicate every bit of wonder, magic, excitement and mystery to the extent that the plot was barely fathomable, the characters distinctly lacking in depth and the dialogue simply felt kitch and unfulfilled.While I acknowledge there is always going to be some deviation between a book and it's screenplay, there is really no excuse for this level of sacrilege.
I had not read the books before seeing this film, but even then I could tell there was something definitely wrong.The film tells the tale of Will Stanton, an American exchange student in Britain (though by the scenery in the film it looks more like Germany) who discovers that he is the last of the Old Ones, a magical order sworn to fight off dark forces.
The camera-work pirouettes like a bad apprentice for Terry Gilliam, the editing is about as slapdash and rottenly patched as could be imagined by amateurs, and the actors look like they're either not equipped to know what to do with their characters, or if you're, for example, Ian McShane, just don't care (unless your Christopher Eccleston and you decided to quit Dr. Who to do snapping good work like this, as a...
Good marks for special effects, but that is about all the movie has going for it except that the actor portraying hero Will Stanton does a credible acting job.
I have never read the novels, and at 71 years of age would not have occasion to do so unless I wanted to make a comparison of the book and the movie.
Shame on Walden Media for allowing these hacks to gut and "rework" what was one of the greatest YA stories ever and deep-sixing what could have been a film series to rival "Narnia" and "Harry Potter" -- that is, if they'd only retained the original characters and their ages, had kept the English and Welsh settings, and had not excised the "non-Christian" pagan Celtic motifs and legends out of the story.This is one of the most crushing disappointments ever, and I doubt I'll ever pay any money to see a Walden Media production ever again (even the Narnia movies).
As to all those bellyaching because the film was different from the Susan Cooper series, I say, "Grow up!" Making a movie is completely different from writing a book.
The boy Ludwig was convincing and I should think will be in great demand from now on.To be able to create a thoroughly engaging movie without any sex, bad language or gratuitous violence in this day and age is remarkable.But then, I'm a simple man and love it when I can walk out of a theater with a 'clean' feeling, not having been shocked and violated.This was fun and I'd recommend it to anyone!.
I can understand why they made some of the changes they did, otherwise it would have looked even more like a Harry Potter clone than it already does (though in actuality the Harry Potter series is a "Dark" series clone, since the Cooper books came out a long time before Harry was a gleam in JKR's eye).I wish they hadn't made Will an American, and there wasn't any need to put in the love interest angle (it didn't add anything to the story, IMO) but in the end I don't think it matters.
I was lucky my husband noticed the poster for "The Seeker" when we were in the theater the other day to see "The Kingdom." He'd seen some publicity for "Seeker" a long time back and was surprised it had been released with no advertising and no critical reviews (at least here in Houston.) While some scenes are perhaps too scary for young children, it qualifies as a good family movie for those with preteens and above--one that even two adults like my husband and me can enjoy without kids.
Fire on the mountain will find the harp of gold...played to wake the sleepers, oldest of the old...should I continue?I've been reading this book since I was 14, at least once a year - and I'm now 45!!!I was amazed to know there was a movie.
The sad thing is, you can't watch this movie and possibly come out of it thinking that ANY book could be that horrible.
I read Susan Cooper's five Dark is Rising books as a teenager and loved them.
It was definitely worth my time and money(I might even go and see it again)and I would strongly recommend this movie, especially to all Harry Potter fans because even though it's not as good, it still takes you on a thrilling ride full of excitement.
The only good thing to say about this film is, it has Christopher Eccleston in it, so maybe next time when they re-make it better, set in England with out the stupid commercial, American-ness they'll have him again..
And I've just watched it, and prove to be rather satisfying with this story, although I have to admit, there's something amiss in this movie.I don't know how good the book is, 'coz I haven't read it.
If you have no recollection of the books, like me, its a good movie.
I have never read the book so i didn't really know what to expect but i watched this film and i looked it.
Yes, I read the books as a kid, and again before I saw this movie.
I did not read the book and maybe that is why I still enjoyed the movie.
Those who have not read the book like me would want to go and watch this movie for entertainment.
The story is like any fantasy movies.
Not the plot - I like fantasy stories and will try to get hold of a copy of Susan Cooper's book now I've read such great things about it on here. |
tt0443518 | The Girl in the Café | As powerful a film as I can remember, made more powerful by the subtle, gentle development of the two characters by Richard Curtis. Matters of the heart brought to the global stage so effectively that you cannot look away....cannot look away...cannot look away.
A couple both as shy as each other meet in a cafe. There are no other tables and so Lawrence, a timid, dedicated civil servant finds himself sitting not quite opposite Gina, a quiet, beautiful young girl. They begin to talk haltingly to each other. She is a mystery but stirs something in Lawrence for the fist time in a long time. In a stumbling attempt Lawrence asks Gina out for dinner. To his surprise she agrees .He works for the Chancellor of the Exchequer and has to go to Iceland for the G8 Summit. The year is 2005. He asks her to go with him. She says yes. As he has not made it clear he needs 2 rooms, they are together in the hotel room with one double bed. He begs her to believe he did not do this on purpose. He explains to her about how important it is to get the Summit to agree to a promise they made in the year 2000 in regard to world poverty. Whilst there she implores the Chancellor to do the right thing for the people who are dying in the world every 3 seconds. This, of course, does not go down well with Lawrence's boss. To compound the problem she again speaks out passionately at the formal dinner where all of the Heads of State are attending. She is asked to leave and Lawrence is disgraced. He takes her to the airport devastated. He has lost his job and the woman he could have loved. Neither feel worthy of the other and they part. Lawrence stands at the airport screaming and crying.But wait - he calls her and tells her to turn on her television just as the results of the G8 summit are being announced..for which he and his fellow English people have fought valiantly, trying to keep alive the promises made in 2000. That's the last scene!In this movie appears Wolf Kahler who played Ludendorff, chemist and close friend of Fritz Shimon Haber's in Haber. | romantic, psychedelic | train | imdb | null |
tt0360201 | Wimbledon | Peter Colt, a British professional tennis player in his thirties whose ranking has slipped from 11th to 119th in the world, has never really had to fight for anything, as his wealthy family allowed him to easily pursue his tennis ambitions. Though he earns a wildcard spot to the Wimbledon tournament, he feels it's time to admit he's getting too old to compete with fitter up-and-coming younger players and intends, after this last Wimbledon, to take a job with a prestigious tennis club.
As Wimbledon begins, he bumps into Lizzie Bradbury, the American rising star of female tennis. They fall in love and her interest in him changes his entire perception, even giving him the strength to win again. As their love grows, Peter's game becomes better and better. Lizzie's overprotective father-manager Dennis Bradbury is determined to nip their relationship in the bud, believing it detrimental to her career. One day, Dennis comes to Peter’s old flat and yells at him for spoiling his daughter's game. She overhears this and decides to leave him and focus on her game.
The night before their semi-final matches, Peter sneaks into Lizzie’s hotel room and persuades her to have sex. The next day, he performs quite well and wins in straight sets but Lizzie loses. Lizzie angrily breaks up with Peter, saying his selfishness made her lose, and decides to immediately return to the U.S. to train.
Peter has to play the final match against Jake Hammond, an arrogant American star, but finds himself outclassed. At the airport, Lizzie watches an interview on TV in which Peter apologizes and declares his love for her. She returns to Wimbledon.
As Lizzie reaches the stadium, Peter has lost two sets and is behind in the third. When the game is suspended due to rain, Lizzie appears in the dressing room and forgives him. She tells him the secret of Jake’s tricky serves and Peter recovers to win the title (3–6, 2–6, 6–4, 7–6(6), 6–4). He and Lizzie get married, and with his support, Lizzie goes on to win the U.S. Open and Wimbledon twice, ultimately achieving her dreams. In the last scene, Peter is with their youngest child, a boy, watching Lizzie and their eldest child, a girl, playing tennis together on a neighborhood court in New York City. | romantic, entertaining | train | wikipedia | Now with the prime of his life behind him, ranked number 119, Peter decides to throw in the towel and play his last ever Wimbledon tournament before gracefully bowing out of the gentleman's sport for good and going to work at a tennis club tending to clucky old ladies.
Be sure to keep an eye out for Bettany, who is more used to taking the back-seat supporting role in films (A knights tale, a beautiful mind etc...) but after Wimbledon, he has proven himself a more than capable and lovable leading-man.Kirsten delivers a some-what aggressive performance as Lizzie.
I think a lot of people who see the movie and are disappointed with the so called lack of Tennis scenes are forgetting the movie is also about the romance between the two tennis players (Paul Bettany and Kirsten Dunst.) I loved the movie, I thought it was quirky, romantic and fun.
Well it's actually got a few twists which are quite unexpected and although it does tread typical ground, the turns are enough to keep you guessing as to the outcome and keep you hooked.Neat the finals this really does come out and I was very surprised to find myself on the edge of my seat for some of the points, and indeed some of the matches.It's very funny too, and Paul Bettany shows a particular talent for timing, comedy and looks on camera.
It's Bettany that really carries this movie backed by strong performances by Kirsten Dunst, Sam Neill and some smaller British filled roles for Bettany's characters family.Bettany is totally believable from playing the tennis matches through to the romantic moments.
Neither is true.The picture is sharp and vibrant through the movie, clear and bright and very colour rich, it retains this look through even the more complex of special effects match shots.Extras Presented: Audio commentary with Richard Loncraine and Paul Bettany, 'Welcome To The Club' featurette, 'Ball Control' featurette, 'Coach A Rising Star' featurette, 'Wimbledon: A Look Inside' featurette, Trailers The featurettes are about how the tennis was filmed, how the actors were trained, looks inside Wimbledon itself, and some further looks into the movie.
Paul Bettany makes for a good romantic lead in the Grant mold without the latter's sometimes annoying cloying and also is convincing as a tennis player at the tail end of his career.
The basic story has been done - washed up pro finds romance with upcoming new star and gets his second wind - but that doesn't mean that it can't be done again, and done well.Paul Bettany was excellent and I was much happier to see him than Hugh Grant, and Kirsten Dunst played the competitive brat well.The script had some genuinely funny moments, with Jon Favreau stealing some of the best lines.We all know how the movie will turn out at the end, but this does nothing to detract from it on the whole.
Primarily a star vehicle for Kirsten Dunst (Spiderman, Bring It On) and rising star Paul Bettany (Master and Commander, A Beautiful Mind), the storyline is the stereotypic budding romance between Dunst who is the up and coming tennis star, and Bettany, the aging midline star who is trying for one last shot at being champion at Wimbledon.
The tennis scenes are somewhat fun with the stars putting their all in the physical matches, but the tennis balls are almost too perfect as the special effects become too obvious.Bettany is destined for more substantial roles and Dunst won't be hurt by this lightweight comedy/drama.
If you have ever seen a film starring Hugh Grant as the lead, you know now what Wimbledon is essentially like and how it is acted because Paul Bettany's tennis-playing character Peter is exactly like a Hugh Grant character--confused, witty and extremely English.
I go to great pains to point this out for the unsuspecting viewer who might think by renting Wimbledon they are about about to have unleashed upon them something as charming as 'Love Actually' or something as achingly funny as 'Four Weddings', when in fact all they'll get is all the charm and wit of a Zimbabwean politician.That Richard (Richard III) Loncraine directed this slap-in-the-face-with-a-wet-fish piece of drivel bears mentioning only as a contrast to what the difference between a good script and a bad one can mean to a director.Yoda says, 'Like the plague you should avoid this'Ugh..
I love Wimbledon (the tournament), I like Paul Bettany and Kirsten Dunst, but I could find nothing about this movie to like.
"Wimbledon" is a charming love-conquers-all romantic comedy set in the highly competitive world of professional tennis.Peter Colt is an aging player who has slipped to 119 in the world rankings; it is for this reason that he plans to hang up his racket after what he believes will be his swan song appearance at Wimbledon.
The problem is that, as Peter's game improves as a result of the romance, Lizzie's seems to be getting worse, a fact which threatens to put a serious strain on the young couple's burgeoning relationship.Although the story itself is rather innocuous and silly, Paul Bettany and Kirsten Dunst do achieve a genuine rapport on screen.
And director Richard Loncraine manages to generate some genuine suspense in the final showdown between Peter and the odds-on favorite he isn't expected to beat."Wimbledon" is pure Cinderella romantic fantasy crossed with a David and Goliath, underdog-takes-on-the-reigning-champ sports story.
This movie was better of what I expected, it was interesting and entertaining.I had seen Paul Bettany in " Gangster No. 1 (2000)" and I was surprised that he could do a romantic comedy so well too, he had a good chemistry with the beautiful Kirsten Dunst who is always good in this kind of movies.
Peter Colt is playing his last tournament at Wimbledon and there he will meet Lizzie a young tennis player with a great future with whom he will begin a romance behind her father's back ..........I recommend watching it if you like romantic comedy movies..
While Bettany give another excellent and solid performance as the charming Peter Colt, audiences have to tolerate Dunst, whose whiny voice and uncoordinated serve is so laughable that tennis buffs will be forced to yell at linesmen on screen and threaten the umpire to call this film out of the bounds and forfeit the audience's money.
It's formulaic as I expected but that didn't necessarily detract from it because sometimes it's nice to know that there is going to be a happy ending.The film is successful because of Paul Bettany and Kirsten Dunst, who are both so charming and so sweet that you feel the sugar rush as soon as the film starts.
Paul Bettany is a "Hugh Grant" figure par excellence (if they film Hugh's life story he could get the part, with a little hair dye) and his love interest Kirsten Dunst is sweet to look at.
Saying it's the best tennis film ever may not seem like much but I've never seen a baseball, football or basketball movie that I thought was any good at all..
And so it goes.The love affair between Wimbledon wanabees Lizzie Bradbury (Kirsten Dunst 'Spider Man 2') and Peter Colt (Paul Bettany, 'Master and Commander') is as lame as some of the competitors who fatefully twist ankles and wrists giving berths to lucky rivals.
This is a real fun movie to watch when you want to cheer, cry, and just feel great - lots of love, and lots and lots of tennis - all the actors are right for their roles with Bettany outstanding as the recalcitrant over-the-hill journeyman player who get a second lease of life when he fall in love with fellow tennis pro, Kirsten Dunst.
It is a passable rom-com starring an actor who is rather unsuited to the genre.Paul Bettany plays Peter Colt, a has been British tennis player about to call it a day.
He has a wildcard for Wimbledon and at his hotel he encounters rising American tennis star Lizzie Bradbury (Kirsten Dunst) who is coached by her father (Sam Neill.)What starts as flirting ends up being a bit more serious, the upside being Peter starts to win, he gains the attention of the British public and his agent (Jon Favreau.)It is a likeable film but it is rather bland and also by the numbers with very little comedy..
Overall I felt this was quite a good film that subtly redefined the mould of the British 'chick-flick' romantic comedy/drama.It almost lost me in the first few scenes when Robert Lindsay was introduced as the tennis club manager with stereotypical skinny moustache to let you know he is a bit of a sleaze, but work through that and the underlying sub plot of this being Peter Colt's last chance to not be one of the barely remembered, did not quite make it tennis club pro's works quite well.The Lizzie Bradbury character of the female lead also veered away from the stereotype for that role, although cute and very sexy her character is not particularly nice and it took me a while to get attached to her.
Paul Bettany worked well with a script that was clearly written for Hugh to the point that in the early shower scene if you shut your eyes (which I would highly recommend any red blooded male not to do) you would think it was him playing Peter Colt.I firmly expected a twist at the end which did not come, to the extent that the ending was quite a surprise, enough said without invoking spoilers.Also top marks to the old and new British character actors in the lesser parts who always bring an ironic smile to a local in this brand of movie..
He meets Lizzie (Kirsten Dunst), a major tennis star, when both are at Wimbledon.I only watched this because I somehow got the impression it was written by Richard Curtis.
Colt, from a well-off family, has just accepted a job as a tennis director at a country club, a nice retirement from the sport which will begin after his completes Wimbledon, his final tournament.Adding to Peter's problems are his parents, who have grown estranged to the point where Dad sets up shop in a treehouse, and his brother, who cheerfully wagers against him in the first round as if he were counting on the outcome to pay his mortgage.
Cinderella may win, or she may be valiant in defeat, but in this movie, the result is a logical one, and not the product of dumb luck or revenge-inducing superhuman strength (an incident where a ballboy is struck flips the bird at that idea).All in all, a truly great film and an excellent example of what can be achieved in a true drama that doesn't rely on gratuitous sexuality or special effects to pacify a dumbed-down audience, but which rather treats the viewer as intelligent and able to appreciate a good story, without making it so complex that only a tennis pro could follow it..
The strength of "Wimbledon" was in two areas: (1) the good chemistry between the lead performers Kirsten Dunst and Paul Bettany and (2) the lively tennis action sequences staged on the famed Wimbledon tennis courts in London.The romantic scenes between the two tennis players, Peter and Lizzie, as performed by Dunst and Bettany, were touching and sincere.
I loved how the movie gets into Peter Colt's mind during playtime, how they incorporated real life information with the movie's fiction, and how it adapted the "matrix-like" slow motion, making the match play exciting.If you are into romantic comedies, then this one is for you too.Go watch it with an open mind..
In an age where this country has seen the likes of 9/11 and where death appears everywhere from the TV to the newspaper to magazines, this movie arises out of the ashes to bring some hope, happiness, and smiles to one's face while watching it.Sure, this movie is a formula movie that came from Hollywood, much of it being predictable, but seeing that sequels and re-makes are dominating Hollywood these days, this movie provided what I was seeking, a good heart-felt movie.Kirsten Dunce and Paul Bettany had some excellent cinematic moments during this movie and I thought some of the camera angles were really fascinating to watch as it followed the ball on the court.
As it is, to this non-tennis-playing viewer, the tennis scenes seem convincing enough and since the majority of the story is set off-court, I think the film's producers made the right decision in casting actors in the lead roles rather than tennis players.Paul Bettany adds yet another fine performance to his list of credits (which include a great turn as Geoffrey Chaucer in Brian Helgeland's gloriously anachronistic "A Knight's Tale", "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World", "A Beautiful Mind" and "Gangster No. 1") and Kirsten Dunst is equally up to the task, despite having the harder job as her role is somewhat underwritten and gives her less to work with.
Movies like this depend on the charm of their two leads, and Paul Bettany holds up his end, but Kirsten Dunst's underwritten, underperformed character as little more than "the girl" prevents the movie from achieving romantic magic.
Paul Bettany is jolly good as Hugh Grant and Kirsten Dunst is a huge improvement on Andie MacDowell in the romantic-lead-to-sell-the-film-in-America role.
Wimbledon is a cute story where cute people fall in love, make great love, than have an inevitable and predictable fight in the middle of it all.Even though this movie follows the formula's of most romantic comedies, it is saved by above-average chemistry with its leads, (Kirsten Dunst and Paul Bettany) and the tennis aspect it is focused around.
The romance between Dunst and Bettany works because they share the commonality of their sport, which helps to ignite their relationship.If you're not a lover of cute sappy moments like barefooted walks in the park or 10 mile jogs resulting in a big cuddle-fest, than at least see this movie for its realistic tennis scenes.
WimbledonThe problem with dating a tennis player is that the subject of LOVE always comes up.Mind you, the competitive couple in this rom-com uses the term of affection both on and off the court.A British tennis player, Peter (Paul Bettany), nearing the end of his career takes one last kick at the can and lands a wildcard spot at Wimbledon.
An underdog English tennis star (Paul Bettany) falls for a strong-willed rising woman's champ (Kirsten Dunst.) The funny thing is, I think cultural differences between England and America really stifled this movie's appeal.
The main story could've probably been dealt with in a much more effective manner in almost half the time (I know this is not how the movie industry works but a girl can dream...) At its core, this film is a textbook rom-com disguised as a tennis flick to try and fool you into thinking you're seeing something new.Another reason I wasn't a fan was Kirsten Dunst.
"Wimbeldon" is a not very good movie about Pete (Paul Bettany), a battler on the mens tennis circuit who comes across women's champ Lizzy (Kirsten Dunst, in her finest role since "Spiderman 2").
I am looking forward to more of his films.Bottom line: good to watch with the girl, it contains nothing spectacular or some amazing twist, but it is a decent easy going romantic sports movie that makes almost no mistakes..
Not one of them has written anything very respectable in the past, but they go through Colt's mind and they handle all of the clichés of the romantic comedy, and they do it very well.It's Wimbledon, and it's Colt last professional tournament because of a "wild card", and he meets Lizzie Bradbury (Kirsten Dunst), a rising young player who's playing too, and they begin to win; in tennis and in
Because Paul Bettany is a great actor the romantic part is a perfect fit for him; even when he hasn't done romantic films.
Playing on the tennis term "love" added a couple of good lines to this feel-good romantic comedy/sports movie.
In fact, the dialog between Peter Colt and Lizzie Bradbury(Paul Bettany and Kirsten Dunst) was one of the well-done elements of this movie.
Paul Bettany and Kirsten Dunst have good on screen chemistry and that is all you really need for a quirky romantic comedy.
for me the movie was an entertaining one.in fact i loved the whole thing.the storyline was not so impressive,it was an average one for me.but the dialog's and screenplay were awesome.and the performance of the lead actor was simply outstanding.Paul Bettany,this guy can really act.Kirsten Dunst was OK.the camera work was great.the final match was shot in a way that seems so natural to me.it felt like i am watching a real match.i am not a critic.i don't know much of a movie.but i speak of what i feel.as an ordinary fan,all i can say about Wimbledon is that this may be the kinda movie that you will forget about after watching,but once you start the whole thing,you can not get up in the middle of it..
Kirsten Dunst and Paul Bettany both did a great job at acting out as professional tennis players.
If you love sport (especially tennis) this has enough action and comedy to make a great movie!.
Imagine Sharapova falling in love with some male tennis player during a Grand Slam.But yes, Paul Bettany is a real treat to watch in this film..
In this romantic sports comedy, Paul Bettany plays Peter Colt, a tennis player whose bad luck changes when he scores a wild card entry into the Wimbledon tournament.
Paul Bettany and Kirsten Dunst have enough chemistry between them to make you care about the film more while your watching it.
British tennis player Peter Colt (Paul Bettany), having fallen to the rank of 119 in the world, has decided that this year's Wimbledon championships will be his last. |
tt0995031 | Bhool Bhulaiyaa | Badri (Manoj Joshi) heads a Brahmin family whose ancestral palace is believed to be haunted by the ghost of Manjulika, a Bengali classical dancer. Siddharth (Shiney Ahuja) and Avni (Vidya Balan), the son and daughter-in-law of Badri's elder brother, return to their native village from United States and decide to stay in their ancestral palace. This leads to Siddharth's childhood love interest Radha (Ameesha Patel), becoming jealous but she immediately recovers. Siddharth is crowned as the king, his right to the throne.
The palace where Siddharth and Avni were staying was once occupied by Raja Vibhuti Narayan, who was Siddharth's ancestor. He had fallen in love with Manjulika, a dancer hailing from Bengal. But Manjulika was in love with Shashidhar, another dancer, who resided in a house just behind the palace and often met her secretly. On the night of Durgashtami, when the king gets to know of the affair and their plan to elope, he calls them to perform a dance one last time in the court. In the end, the king beheads Shashidhar and imprisons Manjulika in her room. Then on the day of the king's marriage, Manjulika hangs herself and swore that her spirit would not leave any king who lived in that very palace. Various omens started taking place after that, presuming that the "evil eye" may have befallen on the king. The king too dies under unknown circumstances. Soon, with the aid of powerful sorcerers, both Vibhuti's and Manjulika's spirits were locked up in a room in the third floor of the palace using a sacred talisman.
Events take a twist when Avni obtains a copy of the third floor room key and opens the forbidden locked room that contains the ghost of Manjulika. Unnatural events start taking place inside the palace. Avni falls in love with the place and learns about Manjulika and her tragic story. She becomes enamored with Manjulika. Badri and Batuk Shankar (Paresh Rawal) try to ward off the evil eye with the help of a priest, Shri Yagyaprakashji Bharti (Vikram Gokhale), but unfortunately the priest has gone to London and is unsure when he might return.
Siddharth starts suspecting Radha for all the strange occurrences. He thinks she has gone crazy since he was supposed to marry her, but married Avni instead. He calls his friend, psychiatrist Dr. Aditya Shrivastav (Akshay Kumar) from New York, to try to figure out what the problem is with Radha. Once Aditya reaches the palace, things become comical, as everyone thinks he is a fool, though he is very intelligent. Aditya eventually realizes that Radha is not at fault, and that someone else behind it all, and falls in love with her. One night, he encounters Manjulika and dares her to strike. The ghost angrily vows to take her revenge on the auspicious day of Durgashtami.
During the engagement of Nandini, Siddharth's cousin, and Sharad Pradhan (Vineeth), Avni spills food on Sharad and takes him away to get him cleaned. When Aditya and Siddharth search for her, they see that there is a struggle between Avni and Sharad, and quickly intervene. Siddharth thinks that Sharad was violating Avni, but Aditya tells him that Avni is the real culprit, not Radha as previously suspected. It is revealed that Avni has dissociative identity disorder, a disease that affects the person's identity, making them think they're someone else. Aditya explains that Avni is the one making all the strange things happen around the palace. He reveals that he visited Avni's hometown to gather information about her childhood and has factual evidence. He then tells the half-convinced Siddtharth to provoke Avni in order to make him realize that something is wrong. When Siddharth provokes her, Avni shows the dark personality of Manjulika before returning to her usual self, much to the horror and concern of Siddharth, who asks Aditya to save Avni.
During Durgashtami, Aditya and Siddharth see Avni consumed in Manjulika's identity, dressed as her and dancing to the tunes Manjulika had been dancing to with her love, Shashidhar, before the king murdered him. The tragic love story of the old king Vibhuti Narayan, who loved Manjulika, who in turn loved Shashidhar, is revealed. Avni imagines herself as Manjulika and Sharad as Shashidhar, dancing in the court of the king. Avni completely assumes the identity of Manjulika and tries to kill her own husband Siddharth; she sees him as the king who had killed Manjulika's lover.
To cure Avni, Aditya triggers Manjulika's personality and makes her promise to leave Avni if she gets the opportunity to kill the king and take her revenge. The priest Shri Yagyaprakashji Bharti arrives and with his help, during the ritual of Durgashtami, Aditya lays out an intricate plan to trick Manjulika into thinking she is killing the king when she is actually slaying a dummy. After the "murder", Manjulika, now content, leaves Avni forever. Avni is healed and everything ends well. Aditya tells Radha, whom he has taken a liking to, that he will send his parents over if she is interested in marrying him, to which a happy Radha gives her silent consent. | romantic | train | wikipedia | it's got all the best parts of the old Indian classic movies: lavish, luxurious sets and costumes; huge crowds that pop up out of nowhere for various odd and assorted reasons; extraneous music numbers (no particular reason why, but we'll both just jump on a bicycle that popped up out of nowhere and weave madly through the countryside singing); great dance numbers featuring crowds of ppl that were nowhere to be seen before and probably won't be seen in the rest of the film.special mention: the dance scene at the court of the evil king - i can't tell you how many times i've watched that just so i could wallow in the purity of line and the sheer crispness and clarity of expression.
you make your own determination as to the truth - no matter which way you see it, it will be correct.thriller, psychological drama, romantic thriller, horror, comedy, comic tragedy, chick flick, action film - no matter what your buzz, you'll find it in Bhool Bhulaiyaa!.
But this movie was really a welcome break from his side.Akshay Kumar, as he has already proved several time, has got a great comic timing.
This was a movie tagged as a comedy, one which featured the likes of Paresh Rawal and Akshay Kumar plus directed by Priyadarshan.
But like Priyadarshan's previous Bollywood movie Bhagam Bhag, this one also is a thriller.
The difference is Bhagam Bhag remains a comedy, whereas Bhool Bhulaiyaa is indeed a thriller.Vidya Balan gives a stellar performance, (I won't say why cause then you have too see the movie, I wont be giving out any spoilers) and so does Akshay Kumar, despite his so late entry almost an hour into the movie.
But end of the day this movie will definitely be remembered by Vidya Balan's performance which is nothing short of mind blowing.Keeping in the theme of the movie, very few songs have been used.
Priyadarshan is definitely the best Indian comedy director in my book, but this being his first complete horror/thriller he receives kudos in my book.9/10 !!!.
Despite the fact that the movie was promoted as a comedy, the film is a physcological thriller with a few comic situations.
In comparison with his previous films, he takes a leap as a director by making a movie with a genre of its own.In my opinion, Bhool Bhulaiyaa is way better than the original movie, Manichithrathazhu.
The supporting cast are first-rate, especially Paresh Rawal, Rasika Joshi and Manoj Joshi.The songs are good; Labon Ko is easy on the ears.All in all, Bhool Bhulaiyaa is a well-executed movie, though lengthy in parts!
It's not a superb film, But yet seems a decent remake of CHANDRAMUKHI and Manichithrathazhu (1993) Luckily some bad comic scenes of Chandramukhi were not retained The film isn't original as such, in fact the entire climax is a copy of the latter film while the rest is copied from Chandramukhi As usual, Priyadarshan always brings his south films here The first half is slowly and steadily well developed but things get boring soon, the hysterical scenes at times are stupid like the entire Paresh Rawal scene where he doesn't speak, the length is a problem Akshay's character comes 45 minutes late and then there is focus more on comedy and some scenes are funny, though the supernatural angle takes a backseat and resurfaces slowly The entire suspense angle does catch you unaware and is well handled but the climax is a copy of the latter inspired film and it some how looks too much Yet in all fairness, the film is better then DHOL, BHAGAM BHAG and emerges a decent film Priyadarshan handles the film well, though some scenes are repetitive and also some comic scenes fall flat yet he handles the genre very well Music(Pritam) is of hit variety, though Hare Ram comes at the wrong time Cinematography is decentPerformances Akshay Kumar despite emerging late is superb He not only excels in comedy, but also does a brilliant job in serious scenes, shocking his haters he is one of the best part of the film Vidya is ordinary till the suspense is revealed and then she does a good job, though Jyothika and Shobana were better then her in the originals, yet she does a good job Shiny Ahuja isn't in form, he hams and goes over the top so badly that he gets to your nerves Manoj Joshi is in form, thankfully he doesn't make loud sounds and runs around like he usually does in Priyan movies, He is excellent Paresh Rawal is funny in few scenes, overall the same thing what he does mostly Rajpal Yadav has 4-5 scenes and he does OK, he too is repetitive the rest are okay.
However, it does have it's moments and all characters played their role very well.A newly married couple Siddharth (Shiney Ahuja) and Avni (Vidya Balan) came back from America to live in Siddharth's inherited Palace, which is known to be haunted.
The locals blame the Avni for their misfortune, however, Siddharth thinks it Radha who has concocted these accidents to make Avni look bad and eventually be a threat to Avni's life.Siddharth thinks Radha is mentally ill and asks his friend Dr Aditya Shrivastav (Akshay Kumar) to investigate and help Radha.You will have to see the film for the rest and I'll tell you, it is very interesting.Akshay Kumar was a very mediocre actor during his early movies and has slowly blossomed into a great actor.
The Pedagogue of comedy has yet come again with a psychological thriller.One of the 2 main movies releasing in the week, this one is a clear winner.Set on the scenario of an NRI (Shiny)returning to India after some years along with Vidya Balan, they encounter some strange notions that villagers follow in their hometown.
Shiny , determined to find the true reason of the extra normal activities, he calls in his friend , akshay kumar, who deals with such paranormal activities.To add to this mystic they are presented with a caution to enter in a particular room which has remained closed for ever so long and sole cause of the activities.Priyan has by far given true justice to the script , and perfected the art of 'Thriller film making'.
It is a absolutely a different type of work gifted to us by the talented director.We all know that Priyadarshan is a master of comedy, he knows how to make people laugh anyhow.But if you are thinking this movie to be a comedy, you are mistaken.This is a good drama, thriller and 'get a clearer picture later' kind of a movie.I will not claim it to be a mystery since there is not anything confusing.All of the actors were just fantastic, but Akshay Kumar could do better.I would have appreciated more presence of the Rajpal Yadav.This movie surely deserves to be in your collection.Long Live PRIYADARSHAN !.
hardly I felt boring in few minutes but I got returns of those minutes in 2nd half which was damn damn damn interesting, gripping and psychological in last 30 mins.In short, I loved this movie so much and it is purely an entertainer and shown us great depth of human psychology and gave a hidden message to stay away from blind faith related to ghost and witches.I admire Bhool Bhulaiya.
If I am watching movies like Dhoom 2 , I really don't mind as the songs are as 'break a leg' melodious as they are in their right places ..
Actors like Paresh Rawal , Akshay Kumar , Asrani and Rajpal Yadav make sure that its not a Bhoot kind of a horror which aims at nothing but to induce horror in it.
Maybe I praised the movie a little too much for many people but hey the only 3 genres I like are horrors , thrillers and comedies ....
The screenplay is pathetically predictable.Talking of the cast, the film rests on Vidya Balan and she is a major disappointment (one should thank Priyadarshan for that).
However, Akshay's comedic scenes (which Priyadarshan probably intended to use as a gap filler) divert the film from being a thriller/horror (or whatever it tried to be) and appear completely out-of-place.
Note: Akshay and Rajpal have small roles so don't waste your time watching the film just for them..
There is something which is ever green in this movie and I just....I just love Bool Bhulaiyaa and trust me, I know it's been a long time till now when this movie was released but if you want to watch FFUNNY and HORRIBLE Bollywood picture with your family or friends....just go for it!!
while the malayalm original excels in its adept screenplay by Madhu muttam this film fails to mix the comedy and thriller tracks convincingly.
PJ!).Priyan you don't have to force-fit Paresh Rawal, Asrani and Rajpal Yadav in every movie of yours and constipate comedy out of them.Finally the weakest link:: The much applauded "to-watch-out" rising Parineeta star, Vidya Balan.
Because the original was in Malayalam and then came Aapthamithra in Kannada (AMAZING Performance by Soundharya), then Chandramukhi in Tamil (Okay movie but thanks to Rajini baba that it was worth watching it) and now is the Hindi version of it.If you haven't watched any of the other versions, I strongly advise you to have a bucket of Pop corn along with you while watching Bhool Bhulaiyaa..
Jaldi Se Bhool Jao. I had the luxury of seeing this movie with no expectations, the non-stop factory that priyadarshan runs is turning out one lacklustre comedy after the other, and the quality is only deteriorating after every shift.But this was not copied from an English movie (unlike all his earlier films which were supposedly remakes from south films but the fact that the south film was a remake was ignored), and the stellar cast that all his films contain is always good for some entertainment.The movie started out well enough with the obscure town in Rajasthan with some good cinematography (good because with a canvas like rural India/Rajasthan its impossible not to have good visuals).The regular cast returns with a few new faces namely Namely Vidya Balan, Shiny Ahuja and Amisha Patel.
Shiny Ahuja gave a convincing performance, while Amisha Patel could well have been a bystander, VIDYA BALAN LOOKED HIDEOUS, DRESSED BADLY AND TOWARDS THE SCENES AT THE END CROSSED OVER THE LINE IN THE DISGUSTING CATEGORY, the acting talent may be there but its discomforting to see a 35-40 looking actress doing the role she does.The movie gives us the regular Priyadarshan/Neeraj Vohra comic fare with a twist, after Akshay Kumar enters there's a bit of weird humour not unlike the one seen in sleepy hollow but half the flair.Yet the first half is enjoyable maybe even good, as you wait in anticipation for the climatic second one.The regulars do what they do, ie give stellar performances with varied forms of humour and drama ranging from the downright corny to the brilliant.
When i cried out in frustration (and much to the annoyance of my parents "Woh Jo Bhi ho bhaad me Gaya Pichar Khatam Karo Bh!@@(*d" the whole theater mirrored their agreement with a bout of laughter that far exceeded any in the movie.There are some really nice scenes specially in the earlier half like Akshays entry, Paresh Rawal pleading with the pseudo ghost, etc etc.But these scenes were supposed to be the filler for what was supposed to be a climatic, mysterious and maybe even funny second half, but ended up being the best part off this otherwise pathetic movie.Some social issues were touched but these were lost in confusing end.Even though Priyadarshans movies are degrading with time, this is the first time that a pathetic last half hour is making me tell people to avoid this movie unless they are hardcore fans.Watch at your own risk.-s pathetic last half hour, Vidya Balan, confusing and deteriorating second half, bad songs (the title song isn't being shown in many theatres).+/-s mystery or comedy ???probably fails at both.Have we had too much of Akshay in the same roles???.+s Stellar regular cast, some good scenes, good technically, lovely visuals.total 3.5/10 (and not factoring in my low/no expectations because any higher rating may be misleading, i cannot emphasize how bad the last half hour is, to add to that now we have people complaining about the Buddha statue so Adlabs isn't showing the title track.).
Vidya Balan did justice to her role & Akshay Kumar was also excellent.
Overall, I love the movie very much & it's a good thriller.
It was well directed by priyadarshan who generally makes comedy movies more..this movie really gave good role to Akshay and vidya..
Performances- Akshay kumar and vidya balan are excellent.
all songs are good.You should watch this movie for its story, representation, music and performances of akshay kumar, vidya balan.
i believe this is one of the best movies to have been made this yeareverybody is saying about bad comedy and marketing as a thrillerbut i feel that comedy was not only a strong point but one of the main reasons for the movie being goodhad it been fully horror and no comedy, the movie wouldn't have been successful due to many reasons1)Priyadarshan(the word says it all) 2)I wouldn't have been able to see the movie had it not been comic,but now even my 8 year old brother has seen it twice just because there is comedy to make you relaxed even in the most on-the-edge-of-your-seat moments 3)the concept of comedy plus horror is very novel and makes for a good watch for people like me who have never seen horror movies in their entire lifeThe best things about the movie was the climax, the dance, the bengali song, the vidya balan, and the akshay kumari just love his auto scenedo go and watch it.
The story starts with the revelation of the legend of the Haveli which seems to be haunted by the soul of a dancer who had committed suicide many years ago after her lover, a court dancer is murdered by the then king who was in love with this beautiful dancer.Paresh Rawal, Asrani, Akshay Kumar are the culprits of the movie who almost manage to turn this into a comedy but all praises to all of them as they have given their best works.
Vidya Balan does a decent role in the movie and does more than justice to her character towards the end of the movie.
Although a remake of a south Indian movie the performance is very original.I give it 6.5 out of 10.
if i was to rate those 2 movies ,i would give "Bhool Bhulaiyaa"-1.5/5 and "Manichithrathazhu" - 4.2/5...its mainly because of acting criteria, Vidya balan's acting is below "awful" compared with national award winning actress Shobana.Akshay kumar was also accompanying her .
Mohanlal-4/5 and Akshay kumar - 0.5/5.....many bollywood fans may not like this comment...because they haven't seen "manichithrathazu"....i know the truth about awfulness of its remake because i have watched both the movies....watch "manichitrathazu" and u will know the huge differences.
What a performance by Vidya balan and Akshay Kumar.
Director Priyadarshan keeps the movie pacy and intriguing from the start.It's a story of a avni(vidya balan)girl having multiple identity disorder,brought up in India with her grandmother listening to her fairy tales and believing that good wins over bad always,when forcefully his father takes her away with him to America she grows up and forgets but the disorder remains with her.Aftr a few years after getting married,she moves with his husband Sidhhart to a palace in India and there she hears the story of a dancer manjulika and her love interest shashidhar and brutality of king vimurtinarayan and eventually connects to her story and the disorder recalls again.How Akshay(aditya) will cure her forms the crux of the story.
Poor Shiny is sleep walking, Rajpal Yadav has never been more pathetic - and the guy can usually act so well - here completely wasted, Paresh should seriously consider retiring, Vidya is normal in the normal and completely stupid in the abnormal, Akki has to dress up as a weirdo to cue us into his comic role, and then in dress pants and shirt to tell us he is now a respected psychiatrist.
thriller,comedy,suspense,lil bit of drama(after the interval)all in all a great masala movie.
better than all the movies released by Priyadarshan after HUNGAMA.plot and summery were too good,there were some spoilers but the story fills there place.the only thing bugged me was the song"Hare Krishna Hare Raam,"comes with the end credits.A MUST WATCH MVOIE.10 OUT OF 10 STARS.
Omg i loved this movie what i expected which was a comedy turned out to be a thrilling amazing storyline with a fantastic script and wonderful cast that pull the movie off.
The lead character (Akshay Kumar) enters 45 mins into the movie and takes it to a completely different level.
Bhool Bhulaiya has just the right ingredients of a successful movie - adequate amount of comedy, suspense and thrill to keep you at the edge of your seats throughout.
Music is never really great in Priyadarshan movies but Bhool Bhulaiyaa is an exception.
Akshay Kumar is surprisingly good in emotional scenes and as always brilliant with his comic timing.Shiny Ahuja is good.
Paresh Rawal, Rajpal Yadav, Asrani are great in providing comic relief.my opinion Overall, Bhool Bhulaiyaa is an excellent movie.
Now let us proceed to the review:The good:-* Vidya's possessed act is quite convincing as her hair is all haywire and she looks as if she is a real ghost.* Akshay, even though is not is in the best form, is still likable as always.* The story with its twists and turns keeps you hooked to your place* The songs of the films, not surprisingly, by Pritam is great and catchy.
I especially liked the Bengali song.*The dance sequence in the end was fabulously choreographed.The bad:-*Shiney Ahuja, even though is a good actor, has done a terrible performance in this film as he goes hammy.*Akshay has very less role as he comes only before the interval*For a psychological thriller, it isn't exactly awe-inspiring.Overall, its a likable film. |
tt0083629 | The Beast Within | While driving through Mississippi on their honeymoon, Caroline and Eli MacCleary (Bibi Besch and Ronny Cox) are stranded on a deserted road when their car is stuck in the mud. Eli walks several miles to a service station they stopped at earlier to get a tow. Meanwhile, a strange creature, held captive in the cellar of a dark house, breaks its chain and escapes into the forest. As it nears the MacCleary's car Caroline's dog jumps out of the window to confront it. Caroline chases after the animal, but flees in terror when she stumbles across the canine's mutilated corpse. She knocks herself unconscious by running into a tree. The creature tears off her clothes and rapes her. Eli and the service station attendant find her lying alone in the forest. As they all drive off two gunshots are heard from the forest.
Seventeen years later, their son Michael (who was conceived as a result of Caroline's rape) has become gravely ill, and the doctors have no idea why his pituitary gland has gone out of control. Eli and Caroline confront the past and return to the small town of Nioba, Mississippi to discover some information about the man who assaulted her, in case Michael's illness is genetic. The local townspeople are reluctant to help; the town judge, Judge Curwin (Gordon) claims to have no information, while newspaper editor Edwin Curwin (Ramsey), a relative of the judge, is nervous and angry when Caroline finds a newspaper clipping about a man named Lionel Curwin who was killed seventeen years earlier. Eli and Caroline visit police station and ask Sheriff Poole (Jones) for information bout the death of Lionel Curwin for a book which they say they are researching. Poole tells them that Lionel, the town undertaker, had been intensely disliked by almost everyone in town, that his corpse was found partially eaten, that whoever was responsible had tried to burn his house down, and that the culprit was never apprehended.
That same night Michael (Clemens) escapes from the hospital and drives a stolen car to Nioba. He drives to an old, dilapidated house. Upon entering he goes to the cellar door, addressing something lurking underneath the floorboards. A voice calls to him, and he descends into the cellar. Sometime later Michael wanders to the house of Edwin Curwin and, under the influence of a malign presence, murders and cannibalizes the old man. He then stumbles in a daze to the home of a young woman named Amanda Platt (Moffat), where he collapses. Amanda calls the police and Michael is taken to the hospital. After examining him, Doc Schoonmaker (Armstrong) tells Michael's parents that he just needs rest.
The next day a horrified Judge Curwin discovers Edwin's corpse. Michael leaves the hospital again and goes to Amanda's house to thank her for helping him. The two go for a walk in the forest, and Michael discovers that Amanda is the daughter of Horace Platt, Lionel Curwin's cousin and he is a physically and emotionally abusive alcoholic. As the teens begin to kiss, Amanda's dog arrives with one of Edwin's severed arms. They alert the sheriff, who begins to search the area. A distraught Horace arrives to pick up Amanda, and angrily tells Michael to stay away from his daughter. Poole reveals that two years earlier Horace had caught his wife in bed with another man and killed both of them, but was never prosecuted because he is a relative of Judge Curwin.
Caroline and Michael go back to the hospital, while Eli, the sheriff and some volunteers search for clues. Soon they uncovered a swamp full of human bones which appear to have been gnawed on by human teeth. The doctor recognizes a bone as belonging to one of his patients, but the sheriff reminds him that the woman had been dead for many years and that he went to her funeral. Eli, Poole and Schoonmaker go to the mortuary and question Dexter Ward (Askew), who was Lionel Curwin's apprentice at the time the woman was prepared for burial. Ward denies that anyone else could have been buried in her place, as he personally embalmed her. The three men leave to exhume her grave. Ward calls the judge and demands blackmail money to continue to keep his silence. He is soon thereafter killed by a possessed Michael.
Eli, Poole and the doctor find the coffin filled with rocks. They then return to the mortuary to question Ward, but find his body. At the same time Michael, still under the influence of that angry spirit, finds a man named Tom Laws drinking in the street. The spirit in Michael addresses Tom as an old friend, and the alcoholic seems to believe that he is talking to someone named Billy Connors. Michael/Billy tells Tom that he used ancient shaman magic taught to them by Tom's father so that he could come back to wreak vengeance on the Curwin family.
The next day the judge tells Poole to do whatever is necessary to find out who is responsible for these murders. Tom tries to tell Poole that Billy Connors, who died seventeen years ago, is responsible for the deaths, having used old magic to resurrect himself in the MacCleary boy. The sheriff thinks he is drunk and gives him money to go get something to eat. Michael/Billy, who again escaped the hospital by knocking Schoonmaker unconscious, tracks Tom down and kills him for betraying him.
Caroline and Eli ask the doctor to tell them about Billy Connors. The doc says that Billy was a quiet young man who was handsome and loved the forest and animals.
Afraid of his own behavior, Michael goes to Amanda's house and warns her get out of town. He manages to convince her to leave, but while she is packing Billy takes over and approaches Amanda to kill her. Michael's personality reasserts itself and he throws himself out of a window in an attempt to protect Amanda from harm. Back at the hospital Michael begs to be killed, fearing it will soon be too late to stop Billy, who has gone insane in his desire to kill the Curwin bloodline. Michael tells the sheriff and Eli to go to Lionel Curwin's house and look in the basement. When they descend the cellar steps they find a skeleton with a chain wrapped around its leg, and they assume the remains to be those of Billy Connors.
At the hospital Michael dies and Billy is gruesomely reborn, bursting through Michael's dead tissue into a powerful flesh-and-blood being. He kills Horace Platt, who had arrived at the hospital with murderous intentions, and then starts to hunt the judge. Judge Curwin makes his way to the sheriff's station, where Poole, Eli, Caroline, Schoonmaker and one of the sheriff's deputies have taken shelter after witnessing Billy's resurrection. Curwin at first professes ignorance, but after Eli threatens to throw him to the creature, he confesses that, contrary to popular belief, Billy did not run way with Lionel's wife Sarah. When Lionel found out about their affair, he went berserk, killed Sarah, and chained Billy in his cellar. Lionel kept Billy imprisoned for years, feeding him the corpses of the dead and weighting the coffins down with rocks instead. Lionel's relatives did not discover the truth until Dexter found his body. The judge tells them that after Billy broke his chain they went after him and shot him, thinking they had killed him, not knowing about his encounter with Caroline. Poole advises Curwin that Billy managed to make it back to the cellar before dying.
At this point Billy attacks the police station, kills the judge, and is pursued into the forest. He comes across Amanda, whose car had broken down, and rapes her. Soon afterwards he is discovered by Eli and Caroline, and after a brief struggle Caroline blows his head off with a shotgun. At the end of the film it is implied that Billy could potentially have impregnated Amanda after she was raped like Caroline 17 years ago, thereby resurrecting himself yet again. | cult, grindhouse film, murder | train | wikipedia | If you analyze the plot too much the holes become big enough to drive a truck through, but just ignore the urge to do that, and you'll find you're watching an near-classic of transformation horror.A newly-wed (Bibi Besch) is raped by a mysterious beast on her wedding night.
One of the better, and most overlooked, monster films of the 80's is this fun and effectively creepy B horror film.On a dark and stormy Mississippi night, a woman is attacked and raped by a mysterious monster.
Now, seventeen years later, her ill teenage son is starting to display some murderous behavior that keeps getting worse...The Beast Within (based on the Edward Levy novel of the same title) is too often bashed by critics.
Supporting performances from Don Gordon, R.G. Armstrong, Katherine Moffat, and L.Q. Jones are good too.The Beast Within is one under praised horror film.
"The Beast Within" was a staple of TNT's MonsterVision many years ago, and its unique (yet often convoluted) premise reveals why: how many movies have featured a bloodthirsty cicada monster?
Based on the novel by Edward Levy (adapted by future "Child's Play" director Tom Holland), the plot has happy newlyweds Ronny Cox and Bibi Besch running afoul of terror along a backwoods Mississippi road, where Besch is raped by some vague, subhuman creature; 17 years later, son Paul Clemens is exhibiting some extreme growing pains that include the occasional ghastly murder when his parents return to the scene of the crime looking for answers.
While the plot never really comes together as well as it should, "Beast" is a model of B-movie efficiency that utilizes atmosphere, location, and some supremely grotesque special effects to leave the viewer rattled (director Philippe Mora also has an excellent grasp of light and shadow to create mood).
A strong visual stylist, he's struggled with poor choice of material such as the infamous sequel Howling III: The Marsupials.The Bug - sorry, BEAST Within is definitely worth a look for horror buffs, but when you watch the big transformation scene two-thirds of the way through, I guarantee you'll be scratching your head afterwards.
Bibi Besch is raped by a monster on a Southern road,and 17 years later,her son(very convincing Paul Clemens)begins showing signs of change.Pretty soon,he's rampaging through a small town of Nioba killing people,and(in an excellent transformation scene)changing into a slimy fanged beast.The acting is great,the music is really spooky,and the special effects by Thomas R.Burman("Prophecy","Invasion of the Body Snatchers")are simply outstanding.Tom Holland("Fright Night")wrote the screenplay from an Edward Levy novel.Director Philippe Mora creates a fair amount of suspense and atmosphere,and there's enough gore and violence to satisfy all the gore hounds.So if you like horror genre,check out this gory shocker.Cult classic indeed!.
What wasn't so great was some of the acting and some of the things people do to get themselves in trouble.The film starts off with Ronny Cox and his wife traveling down some lonely Mississippi road in the dead of night.
Perhaps people will say that it is dated because now a days they use computer graphics to make everything look real but let me tell you, give me guys like Rick Baker, Stan Winston and Thomas Burman and I would rather watch them at work than a chip and a computer program that does the same thing.
But Michael is slowly changing to a monster himself and there's no turning back.Directed by Phillipe Mora (Howling 2 & 3, Communion, Mad Dog Morgan) made an entertaining if graphic horror film with plenty of shocks and gore.
The highlight of this film is the transformation of Michael, which it's still look good after all these years.
His parents, played by Ronny Cox and Bibi Besch, try to learn more about what happened seventeen years ago and venture to the town where she was raped by the monster: a sleepy, backwoods Mississippi community.
The Beast Within (1982) based on the novel by Edward Levy, is a very scary movie right out of the starting gate through to the end of the film.
I like the small town with a secret stories though so that is probably why overall I enjoy it and there are some good makeup effects near the end of this one, it just needed twists that fitted the situation better..
The character of Amanda, Michaels' sort-of girlfriend, was annoying - not through any fault of her own, but simply because she seemed like a nice girl and went through the entire film cringing from everyone, and with good reason, as she is repeatedly slapped, yelled at, humiliated and ultimately, horribly violated.It is not a pleasant movie to watch, to say the least, as the movie comes full circle and the "beast" seems to triumph.
This horror film, about a woman brutally attacked one night, and years later has to relive the memory when her son becomes the suspect in a series of brutal murders, is appalling trash, utterly without value.
Good actors wasted in this junk, further ruined by some dreadful F/X, especially the big transformation sequence in the hospital, which looks like it was made for 25 cents, so unintentionally laughable is the end result.Directed by Philippe Mora, who would go on to direct the equally bad "Howling II & III"..
Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the young man in the film isn't struggling with transforming into a werewolf, but into some sort of mutant swamp-creature that has a knack for rape!
Well, seventeen years earlier his mother was raped by some other swamp creature, and lo and behold, this poor young man is going through the cycles of maturing into such a thing now.The good: --Special effects aren't too shabby for 1982, today, however, they're a little dated.--Monster-on-woman rape scenedidn't see that coming!--Decent atmosphere.--Some gore, good for horror fans (like me), though nothing even remotely comparable to a Romero film.Didn't hurt it, didn't help it--The acting is pretty averagetakes place in the American south with thick accents everywhere.--The music is very average, nothing special, nothing really gooddoes an alright job with the atmosphere.--Unique story that quickly reveals that the werewolf you likely thought you were going to see is something else entirely.--Ronny Cox plays a good guy, Paul Verhoeven fans will recognize him as playing a villain most of the time.The Bad:--Let's face itthe story is all over the place.
Where they were going with this is beyond me.--Music is occasionally annoying.The Ugly:--While attempting to solve the murders (which occurs in every horror film of this nature), the kid's Dad (Ronny Cox) is always with the cops helping themnever once is he mentioned as having any reason to help, and for the most part, his son isn't even suspected of the murders!
Acting: 6/10 Story: 5/10 Atmosphere: 6/10 Cinematography: 4/10 Character Development: 4/10 Special Effects/Make-up: 6/10 Nudity/Sexuality: 2/10 Violence/Gore: 6/10 Music: 5/10 Direction: 5/10Cheesiness: 3/10 Crappiness: 4/10Overall: 5/10Good for horror fans looking for some filler.
so so flick has its moments but is very uneven and suffers from dull stretches and bad acting but has lots of gore and a creepy looking monster or werewolf whatever lol the transformation is downright creepy gave me the willies this is worth a rent though ** out of 5.
In the beginning, Bibi Besch gets raped by a giant cicada monster (which actually looks more like a giant pickle).
Fast forward a number of years, and Bibi and Ronny have a son, Michael, who is starting to exhibit some very anti-social behavior, like killing various people around town.
The off-color-orange blood looks like it just came out of the Dutchboy can, and the climactic transformation scene where Michael turns into a giant pickle is an air bladder-induced laugh riot.
The doctors notice several strange things about the boy and the mother and father decide to try and find out more about the man who raped her in order to ascertain the problem with their kid...The film does have plenty of problems; mostly owing to the story as huge chunks of it don't make a lick of sense.
The last 30 minutes of 'The Beast Within' turned this film from being a poor to an OK horror movie.
The husband (Ronnie Cox) runs off for help, leaving the wife (Bibi Besch) to be ravaged and raped by an unseen monster.Flash forward 17 years and the child offspring of this non- consensual mating is very sick and on life support.
But there's no werewolves here; the 'beast' of the title is somehow a cicada, something that, due to studio butchering (when will they learn?), remains unexplained and confusing, putting a bit of a downer on what is a perfectly passable 80's horror.The movie begins with happily married couple Eli (80's rent-a-b*****d Ronny Cox) and Caroline MacCleary (Bibi Besch) breaking down near a small town in Mississippi.
17 years later, and Michael MacLeary (Paul Clemens) is the result of that rape, and is in hospital dying from a strange condition that has left the doctor's baffled.
Michael escapes hospital and, apparently driven by an external influence, murders and cannibalises Edwin Curwin (Logan Ramsey), a man possibly involved in what happened 17 years previously.It will hardly give the likes of John Carpenter, David Cronenberg and Sam Raimi sleepless nights, but Beast is very well-made, with care taken to develop an intriguing plot and a creepy atmosphere.
Although directed by Philippe Mora, the genius (detect any sarcasm?) behind trashfests Howling II: Stirba - Werewolf Bitch and Howling III: The Marsupials, early 80s creature-feature The Beast Within is, surprisingly, a rather watchable effort.The plot, based on a novel by Edward Levy, sees newlywed Caroline MacCleary (Bibi Besch) raped whilst on her honeymoon.
Seventeen years later, her son Michael—the result of the assault—mysteriously falls ill, and so Caroline, accompanied by her understanding hubby Eli (Ronny Cox), attempts to track down the boy's genetic father to see if he is able to shed any light on the problem.What they discover is terrible beyond their imaginations: Michael's 'real' father was Billy Connors, a man encarcerated against his will and driven crazy by the relatives of the woman with whom he had been having an affair.
Completely deranged, but possessing supernatural knowledge passed on to him by the insects with which he would often commune, Billy escapes and, by impregnating Caroline, ensures that he is able to wreak revenge in the future, using Michael as his host.Sure, the story might be a tad preposterous, and the direction rather stilted at times, but with a likable cast and some impressive make-up effects courtesy of Tom Burman (Happy Birthday to Me, My Bloody Valentine), the good marginally outweighs the bad.
Michael's painful metamorphosis into a mutant cicada thingy is generally regarded as the films highlight, and the scene is certainly memorable, making good use of that 80s favourite, the bladder effect; but also watch out for the bit where a dog drops a mouldy severed hand onto the face of pretty southern gal Amanda Platt (Katherine Moffat) as she makes out with Michael (for some reason, that bit made me chuckle), plus the really cheesy decapitation of one of the film's many unscrupulous characters.*that I am aware of..
Years later in a breakout from the basement Bobby killed Lionel and then while out in the woods found a stranded motorist Caroline MacCleary, Bibi Besch, who's husband Eli, Ronny Cox, was away looking for help, and raped her.
Michael like a Cicada insect who after 17 years started to morph into a new Bobby a monstrous like creature and began to go out at night to kill all those in the town of Nioba who did him in.
In a short time Michael goes on a gory rampage and murders against all the people involved in his suffering as Bobby Conners including Judge Curwin, who he decapitated, but ends up getting shot to death by his mother Caroline when Michael is just about to kill his father Eli!Meanwhile the person whom Michael raped Amanda, and who's father Horace was one of those that he killed, had in fact impregnated her with himself who's, the coming blessed event, now well on his, or its, way to be born in and start the ball rolling all over again.
It kinda added to the atmosphere, THE BEAST WITHIN was MADE for nights like this!Good taste being the furthest thing from Mora's mind (it usually IS!) it was almost fun watching Paul Clemens mutate into Mr Nasty and go about his business in backwoods US of A, dismantling helpless young things during his "Oh damn, its happening again" period.
Some say that the film's premise is ludicrous but legendary Horror author H.P. Lovecraft used similar ideas of degenerative mutation in his classic story "The Lurking Fear." Beast features a strong cast with top acting honors going to Ronny Cox and Bibi Besch while excellent support comes from top character actors R.G. Armstrong and L.Q. Jones.
And the film has a nice sense of symetry as Clemens, reborn as the monster who raped Besch is in turn killed by her at the film's end while Moffat who suffered the same fate as Besch is now going to carry the next beast.
A monstrous humanoid creature appears and rapes her.Seventeen years later...Cox and Besch have a seventeen year old son (Paul Clemens) who is suffering from some mysterious illness.
17 years later, and the now teen aged product of that rape is going through some pretty ugly growing pains, periodically killing and eventually transforming into a monster himself.
The movie takes place years later when the child that returns to the town of the original creature and begins metamorphing into a slimy Cicada-like creature, and begins going on a killing spree and killing people that knew about the original creature that attacked his mother, almost twenty years ago.
"The Beast Within" isn't all that bad a creature feature.**SPOILERS**On their honeymoon, Eli, (Ronny Cox) and Katherine MacCleary, (Bibi Besch) are assaulted along the way by a strange creature.
Years later, Michael MacCleary, (Paul Clemens) their teenage son, is under attack by a strange virus that no one can figure out where it came from or how to treat it, leaving them to decide whether or not to admit the attack happened.
The plot:Conceived after his mum was raped by a strange beast (what a cheerful way to start the film!) 17 years ago, Michael MacCleary finds himself becoming very ill.
Something is growing inside of Michael, something that hates the entire Curwin family and wants to destroy them.The Beast Within is an excellent little horror film, based on a novel by Edward Levy.
The plot, involving a pregnancy with a monstrous origin resulting in a seemingly normal but still unusual child, and the small town conspiracy to keep the crimes of the Curwin family a secret are all quite Lovecraftian in nature.On a note of parenthood, I liked how Eli accepts Michael as his son even though he isn't.
I am giving this a 2 out of ten only because it's fun to watch for the bad effects.This starts out with the a rape then later the boy is like a cicada and goes through the change every 17 yeas, and his parents go back to this odd town to find out his true heritage.It is difficult to watch as most of the time with the bad acting, and the boy for the most part when he "gets angry" to kill this particular family, he just looks upset with bad teeth and super strength.It really is a slow film and only worth watching if you want to see the bad effects.
If given a extra 10 or 15 minutes to explain itself better and give more depth to some of the characters, this movie could have been something memorable.The story starts off with a woman being raped by a creature from the woods.
This uneven mess was all over the place and it didn't help when they finally revealed the actual: BEAST WITHIN.In fact, when they did show it
any sensible person would laugh their ass off, though any sensible person probably wouldn't have even bothered with such trash in the first place.Let's see if I can sum up this mistake of a film: Newlyweds Eli (Cox) and Caroline (Besch) take the typical horror wrong turn in the woods (17 years ago, sorry, Plot Point) and while Eli goes after a tow truck after the inevitable crash, Caroline gets attacked by a man-beast.
Attacked by means of..rape?Yeah, it's the typical "werewolf" or "man-turned-beast" story – the creature did kill their dog first, after all – but when he got to the victim in the deep-dark-woods, it actually surprised me that the first thing it would do was: eat out verses eating her.
Somehow – and this is where I began my journey of being lost in this movie – the mom/dad/son trio made their way back to the scene of the original crime and Michael's going after a particular family, but as a rabid "beast." Actually more like a salivating drug addict.Either way, the small town's concerned and haven't the slightest clue on the obvious culprit.
Paul Clemens (as Michael, the son) came across as a bit wooden to me, but aside from that, things were pretty good in the acting department.
Basically, though, it's a decent B-movie sort of production which features an interesting creature (a cicada-type monster) and an equally interesting transformation scene.
The couple wonder if perhaps their teen is not actually the husband's progeny but that of the monster-like thing that raped the wife those many years ago.
Well, 17 years later Eli MacCleary (Ronny Cox) and his wife Caroline (Bibi Besch) are having their son Michael (Paul Clemens) checked out at the hospital after he starts having health issues.
If your looking for a reason to watch this film than that would be a pretty good one. |
tt0116692 | Jenseits der Stille | Jenseits der Stille is film about a musically talented girl growing up in a house with deaf parents, and the struggles that ensue from that as she matures. The main character, Lara, has many responsibilities as the only one who can hear in her house. Her mother and father constantly depend on her to assist them with everyday things such as bank meetings and answering the phone. Thus, she falls behind with her schoolwork. Her father detests music, because of a bad childhood experience with his clarinetist sister, Clarissa. Clarissa acts as the antagonist when she encourages Laras musical talent. Laras dreams of perusing the clarinet herself and moving away cause tension with her father, Martin. Despite the fact Martin and Kai have had another child who can assist them, they have always counted on Lara. Lara moves to Berlin, in attempts to enter a conservatory. While there she falls in love and her mother dies, leaving her father devastated. In the midst of sadness, love, and family quarrels, Lara struggles to find who she really is.
The film begins under a block of ice in which a child and a grown woman are ice-skating on top of. The woman is skating in front of the young girl and is performing all sorts of turns. The young girl is hardly moving and is learning how to ice-skate. The woman turns and falls on the ice and the young girl works her way towards the woman to help her. They both laugh and the woman throws her hat into the air and suddenly the film cuts to the same little girl alone in be, and is really scared by the thunder and lightning. The little girl is scared so she goes to her parents room. Once in the room she communicates to her father in sign language that there is thunder and lightning and it is keeping her up. The father signals for her to get in bed with them. The next scene takes place at the breakfast table and the little girl is getting ready for school and the phone rings. It is her grandmother asking if they will come for Christmas. The girls parents signal her in sign language that they will. Lara and her father leave the house. It has just snowed and it is very cold. As they walk through the town Lara says hello to everyone. Walk to the fathers office and print a poster that Lara needs for school. As she is walking out everyone says hello. One man ask Lara if she told her father that there would be no Christmas bonuses this year and she said if it is bad news to tell him yourself. The next scene take place at Laras school in the classroom. Lara is reciting her homework very slowly. The teacher stops her and asks if she has been practicing at home, and a student named Uli makes a joke about her probably reading it to her deaf father. Everyone laughs, the teacher gets up and tells Lara that if she does not do her homework she will have to stay after school. Uli takes up the rest of the reading and Lara just smile and looks outside where it has just begun to snow. As Lara is day dreaming out the window we see her mother trying to get her attention. Lara suddenly realizes and sees that her mother is asking how much long she will be there because she needs to go to the bank. Lara signals her that they are practicing reading. Her mother says study hard and that she is proud of her. Lara has a worried look on her face. When Lara turns her mother is still out there telling her that she will wait. The teach asks an other student what is wrong because he is distracted. The other student tells the teacher that Laras mother is outside the window. The teacher says what? Again? The next scene Lara and her mother are walking in the snow and Lara tells her that this is the last time. Laras mother tells her that life is the best teacher not school, and Lara laughs and says, Tell that to my teacher.
Lara and her parents are at the bank with the banker. Lara is translating everything both sides say. The father is getting upset because he needs money and Lara is not translating everything he says. The father asks if there is any money that they could receive from the accident. Lara never translates that and tells her father that the man said no. Then she tells him to stop begging. She tells the man thank you and they all stand up. The banker is going to shake Laras hand but she says that her parents are the customers not her. Then he offers her candy and she gets a frustrated look. Lara is at home with her parents later that evening. Her father is trying to fix the antenna on an old radio and Lara is practicing her reading. He asks her if she hears anything. She doesnt. Suddenly we hear a faint sound of music and she tells him. The father eventually looks over at Lara again and she fell asleep with her book. We see a green car drive up the snowy driveway of a large house. It is Lara and her parents. Lara runs out calling her grandma. Her parents stay in the car for a second and kiss and tell each other merry Christmas.
Lara her mother and her grandmother are in the kitchen preparing food. Lara is sitting at the window speaking with them. Lara and her mother are speaking to each other, and her grandma tells Lara that she is lucky that she can speak with them. Family begins to arrive at the house. It is Laras aunt Clarissa and uncle Gregor. The grandmother tells them how nice it is to have them there. Gregor jokes around and says that he only came for the goose. They all laugh and exchange hugs. The grandfather comes in and says to Clarrisa, Why are you so late? She turns around and says merry Christmas. She says hi to Laras father Martin. At that moment there is a bit of silence when suddenly Laras uncle Gregor comes bursting in from the other side of the room. He has put on a beard and another green coat and has a sack and a staff. He comes in and gives Clarissa a big kiss and asks (Jokingly) Where are all the children? Lara runs out from hiding and says that he is not Santa Clause. Uncle Gregor says if you say that then you dont get any presents. He dumps the sac upside down and all the wrapped gifts fall out. Lara is so excited. Laras parents are standing in the corner watching Lara when Martins father comes over and hands him an envelope. He wont accept it at first but then the father in law says take it I know you need it. Lara received a new book and her grandmother just called her to help set the table. As Lara sets the table her grandfather and Clarissa begin to play music and Lara enjoys it. The father is waiting for Lara, because they were going to read the book but Lara is focused on the music. Martin asks if they are going to read the book and Lara says wait until Clarissa is finished playing the music. Martin is angry because Lara did not sign him she just spoke to him. He just watches Lara as she watches Clarissa. Martin begins to remember back to his childhood and sees himself watching Clarissa playing the Clarinet at a family function. Then he snaps out of it.
Lara is in the kitchen with her mother and grandmother putting away the dishes. The grandmother asks Laras mother if they are going to stay the night because the weather is bad. She says no.
Clarissa gives Lara a gift. It is her first Clarinet. Lara is very excited, her mother walks in and signals to Lara that it is time to go. Clarissa tells Lara to ask her mother if she could stay the night and she would drive her home in the morning.
Lara, Clarissa, and Gregor are riding on bikes singing. They are riding on ice in the area where the movie began with Lara skating with Clarissa. Lara and Clarissa are back in the house in one of the rooms. They are in front of a mirror. Clarissa is putting make-up on Lara. She tells Lara that her hair was really short when she was her age. Clarissa asks if Lara wants her to cut her hair, Lara says no. Clarissa pulls out an old photo of all of her family when they were children. Lara tells Clarissa that she did not like her father. Clarissa says that is a lie. When they were young they were very close. However as they got older Martin became more stubborn. She tells Lara that they made up their own sign language to speak but the doctors said that is what kept him from learning to speak. Lara is sitting in the back of the car crying. She is holding her things along with the picture of her father. Lara walks into the house and flickers the lights to let her father know that she is home. He asks her what happened because he said to be there in the afternoon and it was now nighttime. She showed him her hair that Clarissa cut. The father said why are you crying now you look like her isnt that what you wanted? They start playing around and hug. Laras mother comes into Laras room and turns off the radio. Lara is laying in bed with her new clarinet and asks why she cant ride a bike. The mother says that because of her ears she has a bad sense of balance. Lara asks her mother to learn how to ride a bike. The mother tells her she promises she will once the baby is born. We now learn that the mother is pregnant. Lara kisses her mothers stomach and tells the baby she will play her a song on her clarinet when he is born.
There are a bunch of children playing musical instruments. There is also a teach trying to instruct them. They are not very good but they are practicing. Lara walks in and tells Mr. Gartner that she was sent down there. She says she plays the clarinet, and Mr. Gartner asks if she reads notes. The same kid from before yells out that she cannot even read a book. The teacher tells him that all things take time. He signals to Lara to come forward.
Mr. Gartner is sitting at the piano alone in the room with Lara. He is teaching her how to play the clarinet. Lara is at home practicing the clarinet in front of her father. He asks her if she finished her homework. She says yes and he checks and sees that she has not done her homework. He gets mad and Lara tells him that the music is more important. Martin tells her to do her homework and it is more important. Lara says he does not know what is important because he is deaf. Martin slaps her and she says he and mother never cared about her homework before, they just dont want her playing the clarinet. Lara runs out leaving the father alone and feeling bad.
The mother and father are laying in bed under the covers and having a discussion. Martin feels that he is losing Lara. The mother says because he wont accept her for what she is. Lara can hear and they are deaf.
We see their car driving along the river into town. They pull into a church and everyone knows sign language. It is a church for the deaf. As the entire church is singing with their hands Lara hears her mother gasp in the back of the church. Lara is sitting up front with all of the other children. She runs to the back and sees that her mothers water just broke.
Lara is sitting at the window in the hospital just waiting. The father comes out and tells her that it will be a while. Lara says she doesnt mind staying until the baby comes. They stare out the window and the father asks if the flags waving in the wind make noise. Lara says they sound like bells. As they sit there, there is a little boy who keeps staring at them. Lara yells boo, and the boy gets scared. Lara asks if her father was happy when his sister Clarissa was born. He says he was at first but then it changed. He went on saying that she gave a concert to very important people when she was about 10 or 12 years old. She practice a really long time. During the concert he started to laugh and they dragged him out of the room and locked him in his room. From the point on she never played when he was in the room, and for every concert he had to be in his room. The bell rings for class to let out and Mr. Gartner asks Lara to stay. He hands her a piece of difficult music and says it will be her first time with triplets. She must count. Lara is playing with her new sister Marie when her mother comes in and puts her to sleep. The mother tells her that the baby is tired and needs to rest. Before she leaves she tells Lara not to bother her. After she leaves Lara begins to talk to Marie again. Marie does not respond so Lara grabs the clarinet and plays it in Maries ear and she begins to cry. Lara is happy because she just figured out that Marie can hear.
Lara is translating a sop opera for her mother. It is a love story and they both laugh.
It is the morning and Laras father says that they are going on a bike ride. Lara is happy because her mother is going to learn how to ride. She learns how in an open area in the country.
Lara is back at school practicing the clarinet with the rest of the students. They are dismissed. Laras parents are meeting with her teacher and Lara is translating. The teacher is telling them that Lara is going to fail if she does not improve her reading. Lara is telling her parents that her reading is improving. The teacher also says that she cannot be dismissing Lara early anymore. Mr. Gartner walks in and is very happy to see Laras parents. He tells them that she is great and he saved them two seats in the front row for their concert that they will have. Lara tells her parents the he says it is a shame that they wont allow her to play the clarinet.
Lara is sitting at home with the clarinet telling her dad how to play, but he cannot hear her. Her dad asks if she finished her homework and she tells him that she did it on the bus. Lara asks her dad if he is going to the concert tomorrow. He says he needs to stay and take care of the baby. Lara is in her room trying on a dress in front of the mirror. She looks up and stares at the picture that Clarissa gave her.
It is the night of the play and all of the children are on stage. They are reciting their lines and Lara looks in front to see two empty chairs in the front row next to the teacher. The audience claps and Mr. Gartner comes and tells Lara it is her turn and she will do well. Lara begins to play and does very well. As we hear the song time moves on and it is an older Lara playing. Her aunt Clarissa comes in through the back to watch her play. When she finishes everyone stands up and applauds. Lara is sitting at a table with Clarissa. Clarisssa tells Lara to go to the best school in the world. Lara hesitates because she feels that it is too expensive. Clarissa offers to house her for the summer and they would practice all summer long and go to concerts. Then she says that she cant take care of her parents forever.
Lara comes home and her parents are kissing. Lara flashes the lights to let them know she is home. Her mother asks her to help her make some calls. Lara says cant Marie do it. Lara pauses and says that she will be right there. Her father asks where she was, and Lara says that she was having a drink with some friends. The father tells her that she should bring them around some time. Lara is about to leave but stands at the door. The father comes over and starts talking with her about how beautiful the night is. He asks her what snow sounds like. Lara tells him that Clarissa was at school and that it is going to be her birthday. The father turns around and walks away. Lara says that grandpa wants to take them out for dinner, and begs her father to go.
Lara is in her room studying when and older Marie runs in with her friend Bettina. They want to use her clarinet because they are bored. Marie is screaming for her mother to help her but she does not hear. Bettina does not believe her parents are deaf. They are testing her. Lara walks in and thinks Marie is hurt. Marie explains and Lara gets mad and their mother walks in and says whats wrong. Lara tells her what they are doing and she laughs and says when she was younger she would make things up to.
All of the family has gathered for dinner at their grandparents house for Clarissas birthday. The grandfather is making fun of Clarissa because she does not work. He says she is living off of her husbands money. Gregor says that she will be busy enough when Lara comes to stay with them. There is a pause for a moment and Lara quickly tells Marie not to translate that. Lara had not told anybody yet. Her grandmother asks if there is a closer school then the one over in berlin. They tell her parents and Martin is becoming upset. Clarissa says that they will pay for it. Martin says that it is none of her business. Then Clarissa says that Lara has a lot of talent and should not be handicapped just because her parents are. Martin stands up and yells that Lara is his daughter and throws a glass of wine at Clarissa. Their grandparents get mad a Clarissa. Clarissa says he throws wine in my face and you blame me?
Lara and her father are out side. Lara begins to explain to her father. He begins to walk away. She tells him that she has not even applied yet. Then Lara asks if they would be alright if she left. Martin says that she treats him like a baby, that she is 18 and free to leave when ever she wants. Then Lara wants to know if that is the case why is he so upset. He says because he ruined another evening for his parents. He drives off, leaving Lara in the middle of the street.
Lara is in her room packing and talking with Marie. Marie tells her that she is mena for leaving because now she has to translate all of her mothers movies. Their mother comes in and tells Marie to go do her homework. She begins to help Lara pack. She begins to tell Lara that when she was small she believed that she would be able to sing when she grew up. Then she hands her two pieces of paper, they are tickets to a clarinet concert that she knew Lara read about in the paper. We see a white train with a red stripe on the side speeding down the tracks.
We see Gregor pick up Lara at the station he says that Clarissa is sick.
We see Lara and Clarissa walking into a bar where Clarissa introduces her. Clarissa kisses a man that she know and proceeds to go on stage and prepare to play. She calls for Lara to come up, they both start to play on stage. Lara makes a mistake but laughs it off. We see shots of Lara and Clarissa diving all over town taking pictures and then go back to the bar. They finish playing and get applauded. Clarissa and Lara ride their bikes down an empty road. They arrive at a lake that reminds them of back home. Clarissa takes off her clothes and goes for a swim. Lara is worried that someone might come and see her.
We hear the clarinet playing but see Gregor typing in his study. The camera moves down the hall and we see Clarissa sitting on the couch watching Lara play. Lara finishes and asks what Clarissa thinks. Clarissa looks like she is in a trance and snaps out of it. She tells Lara that she hates that kind of music because it ruins her day. She says she will find her other music to play. Lara says she loves that kind of music and is getting up set. Clarissa tells her that she will not be accepted to the school with music like that. Lara begins to tell her about the great composers and Clarissa cuts her off and says believe me or try it alone. Then Gregor walks in and gives a look at Clarissa and leaves.
Lara is walking down the street by herself and eating an apple and holding some papers. She looks up and sees Gregor and Clarissa across the street fighting. Gregor gets into the car and takes off. Lara turns around and walks away.
Lara walks to a street market and sees a man speaking sign language with a little girl. She follows them to a toy store. There the man sees her and she signs him. Funny being starred at right, Ive been watching you. She walks into the store. She walks in and introduces herself and finds out that he is not deaf. The little girls name is Johanna and the mans name is Tom.
They are at the park and just got ice cream. Tom tells Lara that his father is deaf and raised him and now he is a teacher at a school for the deaf.
They are walking through a big park and are crossing a little water fall. Tom tells Lara that he is leaving to go study. He says that Americans recognize sign language as an actual language and the deaf can study any subject. Lara says that it is 6:30 and she has to go. Tom tells her that she can visit him at the school.
Lara is lying in bed and seems to have a bad dream.
Lara is walking down the hallway of the school for the deaf, there are many children signing in the hallway. Lara enters a room were the children are slapping the floor with their hands. Tom stands up and introduces her to the students. He tells her to lye down on the floor on her stomach. All of the children begin to lye on their stomachs. Tom begins to play music and the children are feeling the rhythm on the floor. Once they have the rhythm they get up and dance. Lara remains on the floor smiling, Tom joins her and asks her to the movies. She agrees.
Lara walks into the kitchen, all of the lights are off and she grabs something to drink. She sees a note from Clarissa that says she is at the lake, to came and join.
Clarissa and Lara are at the lake at night. There is a fire going and they are both talking and sharing a cigarette. Lara asks where Gregor went, Clarissa told her he is looking for an apartment. Clarissa begins to tell Lara that she did everything wrong. She says that Laras father has a family and that she has nothing. Lara tells her that is not true. She has a lot and Lara has always wanted to be like her. Clarissa begins to cry on Lara, and she comforts her.
Tom and Lara get out of the movies. Toms asks if she liked the movie she said she does not like love stories, they make her sad. Tom tells her to stop feeling bad for herself. Lara jumps on his back and motions for him to go like a horse.
Lara is still on Toms back and they are walking down a dark street in front of a wall covered in graffiti. He puts her down and she runs forward making her shadow look a lot smaller than him. They play around with their shadows making him look like a giant that is controlling her like a puppet. Lara takes off running saying that she wants a schnitzel. They arrive at a man with a stand who is making schnitzels and has a radio playing music. Then Gloria Gaynors song, I will survive came on the radio. Tom begins to sign it and sing it. They dance to the song and then grab their schnitzel and leave running.
Lara comes home to Clarissas apartment and finds Gregor there. He walks towards her and stops. He tells her to come closer and grabs her and hugs her. Then he slowly says that her mother had an accident on her bike yesterday and died. Lara begins to cry Gregor holds her, and Lara is about to fall to the ground and Gregor holds her tight as she cries.
The camera comes into the room of Martin where he Lara, and Marie are lying in bed together. Martin has one daughter in each arm and no one is moving. Lara is taking clothes out of her mothers closet. And smelling them and crying. Lara is sitting at the window watching the sun come up and her father comes and asks what she hears. Lara tells him that there is no sound, and she runs off. Lara is holding her stuffed animal, and her father says that she should not have been riding a bike. She had a problem with her balance. Lara asks angrily if he is saying it is her fault, and he does not reply he just walks away. Lara, her father and Marie are eating breakfast. Lara turns on the radio and Martin tells her to turn it off. He says that he does not want any music in his house. Lara stands up and walks away, Marie turns off the radio.
Lara is putting make-up on in the bathroom. Marie is sitting on the toilet watching. Lara is telling her that she will be home late around 11. That is if the bus is on time. Marie does not want her to go. Lara plans to go to the concert that her mother bought her tickets for. Marie wants to go but Lara says someone must stay with dad to put him to bed. Marie says he can do it himself. Marie gets into the bathtub.
Lara arrives at the concert early and speaks with a man in English about music. The concert begins and the man whom she spoke with is playing the clarinet. He comes from the back of the crowd playing and walks to the stage. The band begins to play with him. Lara begins to remember when her mother was learning how to ride a bike. There is a projector in the background of the musicians. Lara walks to her house and finds Tom waiting for her in her front yard. Lara is really excited after seeing that concert. She really wants to get into the school, and asks Tom if he thinks shes good enough. He has never heard her play so they go into the house and she plays for him. She plays for him a piece that she just made up. She did not turn on any lights because it is all in her head. Her father and sister are asleep. She plays for Tom. As we hear the music she takes off Toms shirt and begins to kiss him. They begin to make love. Lara and Tom are asleep in the living room naked and Martin walks in and sees them.
Lara and Tom are talking outside. Lara wants to stay at Toms apartment to study for the exam. She wants to leave but Tom has rented the apartment to a friend. Tom is leaving to school, and Lara does not want him to go. She is tired of always saying good-bye. Lara enters her house her father and sister are eating breakfast. Martin asks what time she got home. They get in an argument because she brought home a man and slept with him in the living room. Lara tells him that she does not want to be here anymore. She cannot stand him or his looks or the way he reads his newspaper. He stands up grabs her and throws her out of the kitchen.
Lara gets off of the train and walks with her luggage.
Lara knocks on her aunts door and the man that she kissed earlier answers. He has moved in. Clarissa tells Lara that she is glad she stayed and her father was just holding her back. Lara tells Clarissa that she is not fare because she never tried to understand Martin. Lara tells Clarissa that the only reason she doesnt like her music is because she wants Lara to be good but not better than her. She gets up and walks away.
Lara is sitting at a café and atarring out the window when Gregor walks by and knocks on the window. They are in Gregors new apartment and he tells Lara where she can sleep. He tells her that she can practice whenever she needs to. Lara asks if he regrets moving out and he tells her no but one day he might. Lara then asked why he left and he said because she doesnt need me. Gregor is typing and Lara is lying on the floor listening to music. As the music keeps playing we now see Lara playing that song. As the music continues we see several shots of Lara practicing.
Lara gets a call, it is from Marie, she is somewhere in Berlin. Marie came to visit Lara. She left a note for her dad that said she was going to a party after school. They are at a restaurant eating and Lara is asking Marie what her father says about her. Marie tells Lara that she does not have a return ticket and that she does not have enough money
Gregory is on the phone with Clarissa and tells her that there is a problem. Clarissa comes to pick up Marie. Gregor asks how she is and she does not respond.
Lara is in the bathtub making sings. She is repeating, other fathers are proud of their daughters when they are successful.
Clarissa and Marie arrive at Martins house. Marie does not want to go in because her father will be mad. Lara goes inside Martin is at the window. Martin and clarissa begin to speak to each other through sign language. He asks how Lara is and why she didnt come. Clarissa tells him she does not have the time right now. They say good-bye. Marie wants to know why he didnt go to see Lara. He tells her if she ever runs away again he will spank her. Lara is in bed and her alarm goes off.
Lara is standing outside the school and walks in. Lara walks into the building and sees many students waiting in the hall. See walks up to a table and they ask what instrument. She says Clarinet. She signs in and waits
Lara hands the pianist her music and proceeds to answer questions. The interviewers ask her why she chose traditional Idezmer music as her choice of interest. She says because she can relate to it. As she prepares to play she looks up and sees her father walk into the rooms. She pauses and the interviewers want to know what is wrong with her. Martin tells her that he just wants to wish her luck and watch. She begins to play. Her father watches her intently. When she finishes she puts down her clarinet and looks at her dad. He says he cant hear but he will try to understand her music. Then he asks her if he has lost her. Lara smiles and says that she has loved him since the day he was born and he will never lose her. The father turns and walks to the door. He opens it and looks at her. Lara smiles and says thank you for coming. | romantic, flashback | train | imdb | German films are like a tombola.You pull a lottery ticket and mostly its waste money.
Caroline Link,the director,from Bad Nauheim,my home town,is with Tom Tykwer and Hans-Christian Schmid the only hope for the german film.
The mood of the movie simply progressed with ease and gentleness, and at the same time hurled you into a world many never would have thought of.
The world of a normal young girl, who has to go through an unusual dilemma, because both of her parents are deaf, and at the same time face the difficulties of life, experiencing her own true self.
Becoming a musician, despite the fact that her parents are deaf, gives a very clear and pure image, of how children tend to disobey their parents and create their own identity.
As the child of a single parent who is deaf, Beyond Silence is, in most aspects, a very true portrait of how I grew up.
For those who live or work with deaf or hard-of-hearing people, this is a must see; for those who don't, you should definitely see it as well and cherish your good sense of hearing -- being able to communicate easily is not a gift for everyone as most people take for granted..
One person asked whether German Sign Language is the same as American Sign Language, and, knowing just a bit of ASL, I can tell you that it appears to be the same.
(French SL is almost identical, and I presume it's similar throughout the western countries.)As for the movie, it's one of the best I've seen.
The story is so well written around the main character, Lara -- she herself has many facets to her personality, but no other character sees all of them.
This creates conflicts within the character, which the actresses do a great job of expressing.What a terrific movie..
i do not have deaf parents, i have a daughter (and the father daughter relationship was very touching for me, personally)but i just surrendered and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
i'd like to take this opportunity to thank my video store for having a foreign film library.
i couldn't help but think of two things while watching this movie; 1.(and apparently many of you were thinking the same)is sign language the same in all countries?
i will watch jenseits der stille again, as i do most subtitled films and enjoy it again.
Young Lara is in a most unusual situation: her parents are both deaf-mute, so she has to communicate for both of them.
It's sort of a constraining situation, and when a relative gives Lara the chance to become a musician, her parents try to keep her at home.
She will have to choose.The idea of the daughter having to speak for her parents is not something that I ever would have thought about, but "Jenseits der Stille" (called "Beyond Silence" in English) made me think about it.
It's always good to be able to see such intellectual stories, especially when Hollywood makes so many pointless blow-'em-up movies..
A very touching story between Lara and her parents.
The Deaf culture is one very few of us take time to understand, but I think through films we can at least try.
I HIGHLY recommend this film to anyone who is interested in Deaf culture, or just a great foreign film..
It is true that American Sign Language and French Sign Language are quite similar; this is because one of the first teachers of the deaf in the United States was a Frenchman, Laurent Clerc.
However, at the the present time, French and American Sign Languages only have about 50% lexical similarity.
Additionally, although German Sign Language is somewhat similar to other European sign languages, it is not related to ASL at all.The sign language used by the little girl in this movie is German Sign Language.
Her father is played by an American deaf man and her mother is played by a French deaf woman; their signing in German Sign Language is understandably accented.For the record, I am a certified interpreter in American Sign Language..
A warm, sincere look at a musical prodigy's struggle with her parent's handicap.
"Beyond Silence" is a tender look at the rift which develops between a young girl and her deaf parents as she and her interest in the clarinet grow.
The film delivers it's story with a soft touch, avoiding extremes while maintaining an earnest sense of legitimacy.
Excepting a few minor glitches, the film is technically and artistically well done, the acting good, the directing superb, and the story warm and thoughtful.
Although the focus of the movie itself is on Lara, the audience is also able to get to know each character's personality (e.g. Lara's parents, and her aunt and uncle).
I personally found the reconciliation scene of Lara's Father and his sister very touching (though a bit too quick).This movie encourages people to go and search for their own ideals and ambitions, and at the same time let them know that despite every kind of fame and riches in the world, nothing can be more important and precious than the love from your own family.
Very touching indeed.The music used in this movie is breath-taking as well.
i first saw this movie over 5 years ago when i was working at walt Disney world.
and the comments that i heard from others that saw it - they thought that it was just as good as i did!coming from a background in Deaf education i can tell you that German sign language and asl are not the same.
enough for me to know most of what was being said after watching the movie for a while.i lived at a deaf school for a year and so to see the relationships between lara and her parents...
Jenseits der Stille (Beyond Silence) is an excellent film.
I am a big fan of German cinema and have worked closely with the Deaf community in Canada.
Realistic look at life with deaf parents....
I recently rented the movie, "Beyond the Silence," and I thoroughly enjoyed it.As a sign language interpreter, I have read many books about CODA's (Children of Deaf Adults).
I think that "Beyond the Silence" does a pretty good job of showing the difficulty and extra responsibilities that a child with deaf parents experiences.If you enjoyed this movie, I would suggest reading the book "At a Loss for Words." It's a very touching story about a girl growing up with deaf parents and coming to terms with her feeling of guilt and anger and also love for them.I'm not trying to be "preachy," but PLEASE don't call deaf people "mute." That term is negative and out-of-date..
Lara grew up with two deaf parents.
The separation between child and parents grows which is exacerbated by the conflict between the aunt and the father.
The girl becomes a young woman midway in the movie.
Lara, A hearing girl with deaf parents, is struggling to be an adult before her time.
Lara, now 18, has become torn between the desires she has for her own life and the needs of her family.The more I think about this movie the more it reminds me of `The Little Mermaid'.
I'm not trying to be funny, it just kept striking me about the girl who longs to be part of that world' of music and yet is drawn to the world of silence where her parents live.I should have read the box on this a little more carefully.
In the case of Jenseits der Stille, the milieu that is examined is the Deaf world, specifically in Germany.
By following the coming of age of Lara, a hearing child of Deaf parents, we are led through one woman's experiences with and in the Deaf world.
That the film is also a touching story of family relations and can be seen as a drama, a family movie, etc.
does not exclude it from also functioning in this realm of 'problem film.' Rather, it can be seen to convey information and insight into a broader concept or community through the experiences and insights of one individual.
As the hearing daughter of Deaf parents, she is often placed in interpreting situations, and expected to relay messages that surpass her scope as child.
Instances such as her father's colleague's implication that she tell him of the non-existent Christmas bonus or her role as interpreter at the bank quickly convey the ways in which she is forced to grow old before her time.
These feelings of isolation, difficult communication and difference are expressed mainly through Lara, although her parents and extended family exhibit them as well.
This film presents a great deal of verifiable information about the Deaf community through Lara and her family.
In this way, without the film being didactic or expository in its conveyance of Deafness, hearing viewers are still educated as viewers about the very real situations that many Deaf families must negotiate.
Obviously the lexical difference of spoken and signed languages plays a large role in the film as well.
This difference becomes important within the film as hearing viewers are attuned to different ways of seeing.
Within the medium of film this is often the goal of filmmakers, to create new ways of viewing, of reading images.
Once this is understood, all movement on the screen has the potential to create atmosphere and convey information that far surpasses what a hearing viewer might normally require of a film.
Ultimately this film engages with the social milieu of Deaf communities through both presentation and representation.
That is, Deafness is represented and explored diegetically, while the medium of the film itself also serves to further explore that realm.
Thus, Jenseits der Stille also functions to instrumentalize Deafness for the means of understanding image.
Slice of Life German Film.
Entertaining film about a young girl whose parents are mute and depend upon her to communicate to the speaking world for them.
Definitely a rare and wonderful find for a movie which includes a cast of REAL (instead of hired hearing-actor-pretending-as-a-deaf-person actors that you see sometimes in films!) deaf actors in the movie world nowadays....
When saying that because FSL, GSL, and ASL appear the same so they must be similar, is like saying because you can speak French, German, or English it is all similar, as you know isn't the case.
But really, a Deaf person who signs ASL would have a VERY hard time communicating with someone who signs GSL.
Sorry to be giving you an educational piece, but you wrote it so I had to comment it and I didn't want you to look bad to the Deaf Community.
The story was beautiful and provoked deep emotions in many sections, but I felt that much of the talent was aimed at displaying the ordinary communication within the family rather than the love of music or whatever passion the main characters may have had for their chosen lives.
I wish there had been more about the music or more about the parents and their internal lives..
Outstanding German Movie.
What makes it an exception is: no overdoing morality, no sentimentality beyond realism, GOOD ACTORS (all of them newcomers, so nepotism didn't do it as in many other German movies), an original story.
Beyond Silence is a beautiful film that you never forget.
Her beautiful scenes and her story make an excellent movie.
Her director,Caroline Link,make a sence film about life and love.Her music is wonderfull,including the Klezmer music with the actress,Sylvie Testud,touched in a scene.The rest of actors have a perfect performance.Presented in Mar del Plata Film Festival in 1997,the movie is one of the best pictures of this decade in Argentina.
My opinion:The best german film of every times.Please,don´t forget see.Is an order..
I am a high school German teacher and my kids absolutely love watching this movie!
They always ask to watch it over and over when I can't be there and they have to have a sub.I have learned some A.S.L. and can say that there are similarities but A.S.L. and German Sign Language are definitely different!
I can appreciate the struggles Lara goes through and she does a good job, for her, at trying to balance in all 3 worlds.
Deaf, Hearing and Music.
There is that one sad moment in the film that gets me every time, something I can relate to but, overall, the entire film is captivating and leaves you wanting to know what happens with Lara, her career and her relationship with her family and Tom afterward!
A wonderful chance to look into a world you seldom see mentioned in film or on TV.
"Beyond Silence" is a film co-written and directed by Caroline Link--the same lady responsible for "Nowhere Out of Africa"--a film that won the Best Foreign Language Oscar a few years ago.
Yet, oddly, her parents are deaf and cannot really enjoy her music--nor do they really understand why this is important to her.
So, a film that talks about issues pertaining to a family with deaf and non-deaf family members is naturally something that would appeal to us--and it would have many aspects to it that would be more important to us than the average viewer.Here are some things an American deaf audience would probably like to know about the film.
First, the sign language in this film is sometimes pretty easy to understand--German sign language is a but more like American sign language than is the British system.
Sure, a few words here and there were different (that's to be expected), but some was identical or very similar and you should be able to follow what they are saying if you know American Sign Language.
Plus, the same issues facing the deaf and hearing family members are the same throughout the world, so it won't matter that it takes place in Germany.
That's because although the German being spoken is translated (as is MOST of the sign language), when in a few tiny cases people speak English, this is NOT captioned if you choose option #1.The film is about a dilemma I know about but have never seen on TV or in film.
It's the story of a hearing child who has deaf parents--and there are many complications as a result of this.
First, the hearing girl is the window to the world for the parents.
This tiny kid ends up translating and even doing very adult conversations for the parents because the parents are not skilled at communicating any way other than sign language.
I thought it was fascinating that she chose the clarinet--an instrument deaf parents would have difficulty enjoying (had she chosen the bass or drums, the parents could have readily enjoyed along with her).The film also brings up a lot of practical information that the typical person would not know.
The fact that the parents (in their 30s to about 50 in the film) would only use sign language and have VERY limited vocal skills might surprise some.
What might be more surprising is that the father's own family never really learned to communicate with him!!
Sadly, only about 10% of the families with deaf kids learn sign language--the vast majority simply point or leave them out of what is happening.
And so when this happens in the movie, I wasn't at all surprised but know it would be shocking to many to see family get togethers where NO ONE spoke with the deaf folks except their own child!
And when the father becomes enraged because he is left out, you certainly can understand this--though his family just thinks he's an angry person or make excuses to baby him instead of addressing the problem.As a result of these aspects of the film, it's obvious the folks who wrote the film grew up in such a home or know people who struggled with some of these same issues.
That's rare, as some times I have seen deaf characters, it's as if they were written by people who have no idea of the problems they face...or their kids (the vast majority of whom are hearing).
I would hope non-deaf and deaf audiences alike would enjoy the film--I know I did.
A quality production throughout.*As you can see in the film, a teachers' conference with the parents where the child translates is a very BAD idea!
The same can be said for when the parents were dealing with the bank and their daughter simply interpreted what she wanted to interpret and nothing more!.
"Jenseits der Stille" is an almost 20-year-old German movie by Caroline Link.
A girl has deaf parents and helps them with coping in everyday life as good as she can, but her ability to hear makes her long for a more meaningful life.
She becomes a musician and longs for the support of her family, especially her dad's, but he cannot really accept and appreciate what his daughter does as he cannot hear it.
He says in one scene that he would actually have preferred her to be deaf as well.During these roughly 105 minutes, we also meet some other family members and watch how the protagonist has to deal with the loss of a beloved person.
She won a German Film Award for her performance here.
That is possibly her most famous movie.Anyway, I have to say I enjoyed this film and there is really not much wrong with it.
I especially enjoyed the first 45 minutes because the child actress Tatjana Trieb is very good and the writing is excellent there as well when we get to watch how she constantly interprets between her parents and everybody else or helps her mother in watching old romance movies.
There is a very successful French movie named "La famille Bélier" out right now and there are really quite a few parallels between these two films.
If you saw this new film, give the old one "Jenseits der Stille" a chance as well. |
tt0282267 | WrestleMania X-Seven | WrestleMania X-Seven is the 17th annual WrestleMania, promoted by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, until it became the WWE after losing a lawsuit to the World Wide Fund in 2002), and it took place on April 1, 2001, at the Reliant Astrodome in Houston, Texas. The attendance record was a record-breaking 67,925 and it grossed $3.5 million.This WrestleMania is considered to be the best WrestleMania of all time, because of the thrills and memorable moments of the matches (mostly the main event matches). However, WrestleMania X-Seven is considered to be the conclusion of the Attitude Era, due to "Stone Cold" Steve Austin joining forces with his long-time nemesis, the Chairman of the WWF/WWE, Vince McMahon, as well as WWE's acquisition of long-time competitor WCW.Match Card:(c) - refers to the champion prior to the matchSunday Night Heat: X-Factor (Justin Credible and X-Pac) (with Albert) defeated Steve Blackman and Grand Master Sexay at 2:46. Credible and X-Pac hit their X Marks the Spot finisher on Blackman enabling X-Pac to score the pinball.1. Chris Jericho (c) defeated WWF commissioner William Regal at 7:08 to retain the WWF Intercontinental Championship. Jericho pinned Regal after a Lionsault.2. Tazz and the APA (Bradshaw and Faarooq) (with Jacqueline) defeated the Right to Censor (The Goodfather, Val Venis and Bull Buchanan) (with Steven Richards) at 3:52. Bradshaw pinned the Goodfather after a Clothesline From Hell.3. Kane defeated Raven (c) and the Big Show in a triple-threat hardcore match at 9:17 to win the WWF Hardcore Championship. Kane pinned the Big Show after performing a leg drop off the stage on him.4. Eddie Guerrero (with Perry Saturn) defeated Test (c) at 8:30 to win the WWF European Championship. Eddie Guerrero pinned Test after hitting him with the championship belt.5. Kurt Angle defeated Chris Benoit at 14:04. Angle pinned Benoit after a roll-up with the help of his opponent's tights for leverage to win the match.6. Chyna defeated Ivory (c) at 2:39 to win the WWF Women's Championship. Chyna pinned Ivory after a Gorilla Press Drop.7. Shane McMahon defeated Vince McMahon (with Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley) in a Street Fight with Mick Foley as the Special Guest Referee at 14:12. Shane pinned Vince after a Coast-to-Coast dropkick on Vince while a trash can was placed against his head.8. Edge and Christian (w/Rhyno) defeated The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D-Von) (w/Spike Dudley) (c) and the Hardy Boyz (Jeff Hardy and Matt Hardy) (w/Lita) in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs II match at 15:47 to win the WWF Tag Team Championship. Edge and Christian climbed up the ladder and retrieved the title bets after pushing Matt Hardy and Bubba Ray off the ladder and through 4 tables.9. The Iron Sheik last eliminated Hillbilly Jim at 3:07 to win the Gimmick Battle Royale. Sheik threw Jim over the top rope to eliminate him and win the match. Afterwards, in revenge for being eliminated, Sgt. Slaughter performed the Cobra Clutch on The Iron Sheik. The other participants were: Luke Williams, Butch Miller, Duke Droese, Doink the Clown, Nikolai Volkoff, Tugboat, The Goon, Earthquake, Gobbledy Gooker, Brother Love, Michael Hayes, One Man Gang, Kamala, Kim Chee, Jim Cornette, Repo Man, Hillbilly Jim and Sgt. Slaughter.10. The Undertaker defeated Triple H at 18:57 to extend his undefeated streak to 9-0. The Undertaker pinned Triple H after a Last Ride. The two would later rematch at WrestleMania XVII (27) and WrestleMania XVIII (28), which was a "End of a Era" Hell in a Cell match with Shawn Michaels as the Special Guest Referee, in which Undertaker won both matches, becoming 19-0 and 20-0, respectively. As of WrestleMania 29, The Undertaker is still undefeated at WrestleMania, with a undefeated streak of 21-0.Main Event:
11. Stone Cold Steve Austin defeated The Rock (c) in a No Disqualification match at 28:07 to win the WWF Championship. Austin pinned The Rock after hitting The Rock sixteen consecutive times with a steel chair, that was given to him by Vince McMahon (who had just been defeated by his son, Shane, earlier).After Stone Cold won the WWF Championship, he approached Vince McMahon, a man he was considered his mortal enemy, face-to-face and they shook hands, thus cementing Austin's heel turn (a heel, is a term used professional wrestling to describe the bad guy character) and they celebrated their new alliance with sharing beers. Stone Cold "sold out" (sold out in professional wrestling means that he turned on his fans as well anybody that was close unexpectedly) his fans as well as his friend, Jim Ross (the commentator). | cult | train | imdb | null |
tt0107840 | Poetic Justice | Justice (Janet Jackson) is a young woman living in South Central, Los Angeles. She was named Justice by her late mother, who gave birth to her while attending law school. After the shooting death of her boyfriend Markell (Q-Tip), Justice falls into a deep depression. She spends the majority of her time in the house she inherited from her grandmother, with her cat White Boy, only going out to her job at a local hair salon. Justice is a talented poet, she reads many of her poems throughout the course of the film, both to other characters and in voice over.
Justice is at the hair salon working one day when a young postal clerk named Lucky (Tupac Shakur) comes in and begins flirting with her. She rebuffs his advances with the help of her female boss; the two women pretend to be lesbians and mock Lucky with their "relationship".
Lucky has also had tragedy in his life: his main focus is caring for his young daughter Keisha. He had to forcibly remove her from the care of her mother, Angel, a crack addict who was using drugs and having sex with her drug dealer while leaving the child unattended in the apartment. Lucky dreams of a professional career in music and shows considerable promise, but he insists his cousin is the true talent.
Justice's friend Iesha (Regina King) manages to talk Justice into taking a road trip to Oakland with Iesha's boyfriend, Chicago (Joe Torry), Lucky's co-worker at the post office. Justice warily accepts, mainly because she has to go to Oakland for a hair show, and her car dies at the last minute. Unbeknownst to Justice, Lucky is Chicago's co-worker also on the trip, and she will now be sharing a postal van with him and their two mutual friends. Initially they argue, but over the course of the film soften towards each other as they discover their similarities.
The foursome make a couple of detours, the first being a family reunion barbecue they see signs for on the road. Here it becomes apparent (although there were ample hints earlier) that Iesha and Chicago's relationship is troubled. Iesha openly flirts with other men at the barbecue, while Chicago broods watching her behavior. Iesha and Chicago argue in the mailtruck until Justice talks to Iesha about her behavior with alcohol. Iesha throws up and cries on Justice and apologizes to her. The second stop is a beach where each of the four characters contemplate their separate situations in internal monologues. Next, they stop at an African Cultural Fair where Lucky and Justice grow closer as they discuss their lives. After leaving the fair, the friction between Chicago and Iesha explodes when Iesha informs Chicago she has been seeing someone on the side and he physically attacks her. Lucky initially decides not to get involved in the fight until Justice defends Iesha by kicking Chicago in the groin, and Chicago turns his physical brutality at Justice in retaliation. Lucky, Justice, along with a bleeding and shaken Iesha leave Chicago by the side of the road and continue on their journey.
Lucky stops the postal van at a beach, and Justice goes to see what's wrong. She begins opening up to him about her life and Lucky becomes sympathetic. They share a kiss and Justice walks away apparently unsure of her feelings for Lucky. She goes back to him and they share another kiss.
When the now-threesome arrive in Oakland, they are met with the news that Lucky's cousin, with whom he had been working on recording music, has been killed. Lucky blames himself for not being in Oakland sooner, believing he could have prevented the shooting had he been in town. He turns his anger on Justice, angrily blaming her for distracting him while they were on the road. Jessie gives Justice and Iesha advice about men before the hair show. Lucky's uncle and aunt give Lucky his cousin's recording equipment. Lucky decides not to come back to work and to take care of Keisha.
Some months have passed, and Lucky and Keisha meet up with Justice again back at the hair salon, just at the moment Lucky brings in his daughter Keisha. Lucky is remorseful over his conduct in Oakland and the cruel words he said to Justice there, and apologizes. She smiles at him and they share a passionate kiss. Justice smiles coyly, and then turns her attention to Keisha, fussing over her hair. Justice and Lucky's eyes meet over Keisha's head and they smile, their connection as strong as ever. | violence, murder | train | wikipedia | null |
tt0095889 | Poltergeist III | After battling the Reverend Kane and his long-deceased followers in the first two Poltergeist movies, an unnerved Steven and Diane Freeling (Craig T. Nelson and JoBeth Williams) ask Diane's sister, Patricia Gardner (Nancy Allen), to take in their youngest child, Carol Anne (Heather O'Rourke). Carol Anne is soon shipped off to live with her Aunt Pat and Uncle Bruce (Tom Skerritt), and teenage cousin Donna (Lara Flynn Boyle), in their ultra-modern Chicago skyscraper, which Bruce owns.About a month into her stay with her Aunt Pat and Uncle Bruce, Carol Anne befriends a friendly window-washer. One morning,the window-washer starts washing Carol Anne's bedroom window. When he's done wiping all the soap from the window, the window-washer waves to Carol Anne, and then presses a button on his window-washer-rig, and the rig descends a few flights. Carol Anne goes over to her bedroom window, presses her hands onto the glass, and looks down at the window-washer. The rig has stopped, and the window-washer looks up, revealing the face of the long-deceased Reverend Kane. Carol Anne backs away from her bedroom-window in horror and sits on her bed, when Aunt Pat walks into the room. Carol Anne then turns on her red Speak-N-Spell toy, and the Speak-N-Spell asks Carol Anne to spell the word 'parakeet', but Aunt Pat spells the word 'bird' instead, and aunt and niece share a laugh. Uncle Bruce walks into the room and asks Pat to get cousin Donna out of Pat and Bruce's bathroom. After Pat walks out, Uncle Bruce tells Carol Anne not to call her Aunt Pat 'Trish', after he overhears Carol Anne call Pat that. Eventually Carol Anne and Bruce get up and go off to make breakfast, as its Carol Anne's turn to pick out the family's breakfast for the day. Meanwhile, Pat checks on Donna and finally gets Donna to unlock the door. Carol Anne and Bruce go to the kitchen to pick out the family's breakfast, and while Bruce looks in the refrigerator, Carol Anne looks in the cupboard and pulls out a box of cereal, while Pat and Donna share a laugh about Donna's makeup in Pat and Bruce's bathroom, Donna asking her step-mother, Patricia,if she could use Patricia's makeup compact, before leaving the bathroom, once she's done putting on her makeup.Once everyone's dressed and ready to go, Carol Anne and her relatives walk out of the apartment and down the hall towards the elevator. Donna remarks about how Carol Anne's dressed like she's going on an arctic expedition, as everyone's all bundled up, as they're under the impression that it's freezing-cold outside, due to have cold it is in the building. While waiting for the elevator, Donna asks her parents what they plan to wear for Aunt Patricia's art gallery opening party for tonight, and after Bruce tells Donna that he plans to wear his wedding tux to the party, Donna, Patricia,and Carol Anne all end up joking about how Bruce looks in his wedding picture with Pat,who he married only a year ago,as Patricia's really Donna's step-mother. Once the elevator comes,and he sees that the elevator's full, Bruce pulls out his pass-key, gives it to Carol Anne, and they all run off to take the stairs and then a freight elevator.Once inside the freight elevator, Carol Anne puts the pass-key in the key-hole, to start up the freight-elevator. Bruce then makes a crack about Donna's putting on too much make-up,when the lights in the elevator go off,and the elevator grinds to a halt, and shakes,but only temporarily, as we hear disembodied laughter,as the elevator lights go back on and the elevator starts moving again. Eventually the family gets off the freight elevator, and gets into a regular elevator that's just a bit less packed. Bruce eventually gets off on the floor where his office is situated,gives Donna and Patricia a kiss,thanks Carol Anne for 'the lift',and then gets off the elevator,passing a man who then notices a crack in the mirror in-between two elevator shafts.Bruce then runs into one of his workers,Bill,and has him check out the freight elevator that he,Patricia, and the girls were just in. When Patricia,Donna,and Carol Anne reach the garage,to meet up with Donna and Carol Anne's ride to school, they notice that Mrs. Moyer (Paty Lombard), the shrewd mother of Donna's friend, Martin (Paul Graham), has just driven off with Martin, Martin's sister, Marcie (Catherine Gatz), and Donna's boyfriend Scott (Kipley Wentz). Carol Anne is happy that she missed her ride, as she's not looking forward to going to her school for 'emotionally disturbed children'.But, Patricia then gets the idea for them to go meet Mrs. Moyer and the gang right outside the front of the building,so she,Donna, and Carol Anne run through the indoor mall, flying down a couple of flights of escalators,and then they make it outside,just in time for Mrs. Moyer to pull up right in front. Donna notices how warm it is outside, and starts undoing the buttons on her jacket, when Patricia spots Mrs. Moyer's van, so Patricia,Donna,and Carol Anne race to catch the mini-van,just as Carol Anne's about to undo her coat and scarf,and once they catch the mini-van,Donna and Carol Anne climb aboard. Patricia then apologizes to Mrs. Moyer for being late,again,and then Mrs. Moyer drives off,and Patricia goes back into the building,and eventually arrives at her art gallery,where she meets up with her partner, Mary (E.J. Murray), and Takamitsu (Dean Tokuno), as they get the gallery ready for tonight's grand opening.Patricia checks with Mary to make sure that everything is going as planned for tonight's grand opening, then Patricia goes off to sit down,in front of a mirror,and next to a statue,to watch Mary, Takamitsu, and the art students Mary hired to help move some of the art-work into place, for the opening,and while Patricia's sitting down, in front of this huge mirror,a couple of art students almost drop a priceless statue,but catch it just in time.When Patricia sits back down,next to this statue, which is also right in front of this huge mirror, the statue's reflection moves its head towards Patricia,while in reality, the statue hasn't moved at all.While on the ride to school, Carol Anne looks out the window,and sees the face of Reverend Kane reflecting in the window,while Martin asks Donna why she can't come to his birthday party,scheduled for that evening,but Martin's snotty little sister, Marcie, tells everyone that Donna has to stay upstairs and babysit Carol Anne,while Patricia and Bruce are at the art-gallery opening that evening. A bit later, Marcie asks Carol Anne why she goes to Doctor Seaton's school for 'weirdoes', but Carol Anne corrects her. Mrs. Moyer then pulls up in front of Carol Anne's school and Carol Anne climbs out of the van,when a school bully plays a prank on Carol Anne,but Donna and Scott stick up for Carol Anne,before Mrs. Moyer drives off. Carol Anne waves 'good-bye' to Donna as the van pulls off, and the bully jumps out at Carol Anne again, and Carol Anne walks into the school.Doctor Seaton (Richard Fire), sees all this from the teacher's lounge,and isn't too happy to see some of the other kids picking on Carol Anne because word had gotten out about Carol Anne's past encounters with ghosts,including the deceased Reverend Kane and his followers in the first sequel. Mrs. Moyer then pulls up in front of Donna, Scott, and Martin's school and after climbing out of the Moyer family van, Donna and Scott discuss possible dating plans for the weekend,while Martin passes them.Once Scott walks off,Donna's friends, Sandy (Meg Thalken), and Melissa (Stacy Gilchrist),come up to talk to Donna about Scott's being in love with her.Donna takes out the makeup compact she asked her step-mother,Patricia,if she could borrow for the day,and when she opens the compact, the compact's mirror is broken.A bit later that afternoon,Carol Anne's teacher, Deborah (Meg Thalken), has the class listen to Chopan's second piano concerto,while giving a lesson to the class.Doctor Seaton and 3 observers are watching the class during the lesson.One of the observers sees Carol Anne staring at the one-way mirror in the classroom and feels intimidated by Carol Anne's staring,so he asks Doctor Seaton about 'that little blond girl',and Doctor Seaton starts telling the observers about Carol Anne's case,as they leave the observation room.After they leave the observation-room,we get a brief glimpse of the Reverend Kane's reflection in the one-way mirror.Then,out in the hall,Doctor Seaton tells the observers about Carol Anne and her story,which obviously Doctor Seaton doesn't believe for a minute, dismissing the whole ghostly story about the deceased Reverend Kane and his followers as 'mass hypnosis',as he claims that Carol Anne has some supernatural powers to make people believe that they're seeing things that aren't really there.Then,in Deborah's classroom,Carol Anne sees Reverend Kane's image in the one-way mirror,standing right outside the classroom window,but when Carol Anne looks out the classroom window,she sees no one there,then she turns back to the one-way mirror,and sees Reverend Kane's image backing away from the classroom window.Meanwhile,thousands of miles away,Tangina Barrons (Zelda Rubenstien) is enjoying some tea with a couple of elderly lady friends when she gets an image that the Reverend Kane is stalking Carol Anne again,and now must leave to fly to Chicago to help Carol Anne do battle with Reverend Kane,once again,so she gets up, grabs her purse,and walks off to catch a flight to Chicago. Meanwhile,Carol Anne is under hypnosis in Doctor Seaton's office. She has been hypnotized and Doctor Seaton asks Carol Anne about what she has just seen while under hypnosis, and then starts asking her about why the Reverend Kane and his followers are after her and want her to "lead them into the light". Carol Anne explains that the ghosts in the first movie kidnapped her because they were angry about the homes Carol Anne's father, Steven's real estate company built over their graves,and so are the Reverend Kane and his followers who decide that Carol Anne must lead them into the light,into heaven, if they are to be saved. When Carol Anne sees the tree eating her brother, Robbie (Oliver Robins), while under hypnosis,she screams and Doctor Seaton rushes to snap her out of the hypnotic trance she was put into by him. Doctor Seaton then asks Carol Anne a few questions,including if she misses her parents, Steven and Diane,and she says that she does, and then starts looking for Reverend Kane's image in this one-way mirror in Doctor Seaton's office,the three observers who were with Dr. Seaton earlier, watching this through the one-way mirror in Dr. Seaton's office. Dr. Seaton asks Carol Anne what's she's looking for, but Carol Anne refuses to tell Dr. Seaton who she's looking for, in the mirror in his office, until she sees a grotesque hand come up out of the reflection of Dr. Seaton's desk,in the one-way mirror,and picks up the reflection of Doctor Seaton's coffee-mug. Carol Anne then jumps out of the seat she's sitting in,and runs out of Doctor Seaton's office,just as the grotesque hand throws the coffee-mug's reflection at the mirror,making the mirror shatter into millions of tiny pieces,and making Doctor Seaton duck for cover.One of the observers asks Doctor Seaton if he's okay,and why the mirror broke,which Doctor Seaton explains is just another demonstration of Carol Anne's powers of manipulation,explaining that Carol Anne someone got this observer to smash the mirror with her own coffee mug.Later that night, Uncle Bruce and Aunt Patricia are getting ready for the art-gallery grand opening.While getting ready,Uncle Bruce comes into Carol Anne's room to talk to her about what happened at Doctor Seaton's school.
Carol Anne is sitting at her bedroom-window's little padded ledge,clad in her red,button-up, footed blanket sleeper pajamas, as its still very cold in the building,despite the warm weather from earlier in the day. Bruce tries to get Carol Anne to tell him what happened at Doctor Seaton's school, but Carol Anne refuses,and Bruce gets up and walks off to finish getting ready.He goes back to his bedroom, where his wife,Patricia,is putting the finishing touches on her dress for the party.Patricia and Bruce talk about Carol Anne and what happened at the school,and while already,Patricia seems to be siding with Doctor Seaton's explanation for what's happening, Bruce isn't convinced,and tries to urge his wife not to buy into any of Doctor Seaton's hair-brained theories.He then goes off to get finished getting dressed,but as he leaves,his image/reflection in Pat's mirror doesn't leave, until Patricia turns to look in the mirror,and sees Bruce's reflection still staring at her.Once he has his whole tux on, Bruce comes back into Carol Anne's room and gives her a 'good-night' kiss, and then goes to give his daughter, Donna, a kiss ON HER LIPS!!!!! as well.Once done with that, Bruce and Patricia leave, but as they walk down the hallway, which is lined with these large mirrors going from the floor to the ceiling,the reflections of the doors of the other apartments open,and out steps the Reverend Kane's image out of all three doors. Meanwhile, Carol Anne goes and fixes herself a sandwich,and then goes to spy on her cousin,Donna,whose on the phone with her friend Sandy.Carol Anne overhears Donna call her 'sort of a relative, but not really'. After Donna gets off the phone, she sees Carol Anne standing in her door-way.Carol Anne comes in and sits down on the floor of Donna's bedroom, and then urges Donna to sneak out and go to Martin's party. At first,Donna is reluctant,but Carol Anne then convinces her to go.Donna then apologies to Carol Anne for calling her 'sort of a relative', but Carol Anne forgives Donna and they both hug each other. Minutes later, Patricia and Bruce arrive at the party and are greeted by Mary and some friends of Bruce and Pat's. Patricia goes off with Mary, while Bruce just checks out the scene. Meanwhile,upstairs,Donna's finishing up getting ready for Martin's party. Then, the bathroom door opens,and Donna sees Carol Anne's reflection in the mirror telling her how pretty she looks, but when she repeats a phrase that Aunt Patricia told Donna that morning,Donna hears a knock at the door, and turns to open it,and there Carol Anne stands,and she repeats what her reflection said to Donna a few seconds ago. Donna looks dumbfounded, not understanding why she saw Carol Anne's reflection just seconds before the real Carol Anne came to the door,but she walks out of the bathroom,and though she has second thoughts about leaving Carol Anne alone, Carol Anne urges her to go,so Donna grabs her jacket and Bruce's pass-key,so she could sneak downstairs to Martin's party through the emergency stairs to avoid detection. Donna then tells Carol Anne to be good,and gives her a kiss, before walking out. Once Donna closes the Gardner apartment door,the Reverend Kane's reflection goes inside the apartments, as the apartment doors in the mirror slam shut,while the actual doors were always closed.Carol Anne hears the slamming doors from out in the hall,and starts backing up into her bedroom, and eventually she slams her own bedroom door closed.When Donna arrives at Martin's party,Martin informs her that her parents canceled their plans for the evening after Mr. Moyer got sick, so they allow Martin to have his party,but he can't play the music too loud.Donna is bummed that she risked getting into trouble so she could go to this lame party,but she's happy that she gets to see her boyfriend, Scott,anyway,but her friends,Sandy,Melissa,and their boyfriends Jeff (Joey Garfield), and Dusty (Christian Murphy),have other plans,as Sandy first suggest that they go to Donna's apartment,but she's not too comfortable with that,and then Melissa suggests the mall downstairs,but of course,Donna can't go down there,either,because of Patricia's art gallery opening is taking place there,so Dusty suggests the indoor pool upstairs,and Donna,knowing that she has her father's pass-key, and that no one's there,due to the pool being locked-up,takes out her pass-key,and she, Scott,and the others run off to go sneak into the indoor-pool area.Meanwhile, Carol Anne's upstairs on her bed, playing with her Speak-N-Spell. Eventually,she hears the Reverend Kane's voice,very faintly calling her name,so she looks out her window, and then at the large mirror(s) that cover(s) the whole wall on the other side of her bedroom from her bedroom-window, including the back of her bedroom door,but sees nothing,but she still can hear Kane calling her, so Carol Anne climbs off her bed,and goes to her window.She then climbs on the window-ledge, and puts her hands on the window,to look to see if she could find Kane out her window,but she can't, but she still hears Kane calling her,so she gets off the window-ledge,and slowly walks to her mirror and puts her hands on the mirror. A hand bursts through the mirror and grabs Carol Anne's hands.She looks at her reflection,and her face in her reflection is distorted and she hears Kane say "We're back!", and then he drags her up the mirror. Carol Anne struggles to free herself, kicking the mirror with her blanket sleeper-encased feet,until she finally makes her possessed reflection let go of her,and Carol Anne goes flying and lands on her bed.She then slowly sits up and climbs off her bed,while Kane laughs at her,thinking that he's got her trapped. Carol Anne tries to open her bedroom-door,but it won't open,Kane has it locked,but then Carol Anne hears Tangina's voice,from a far-off place, telling her to break the mirror,if she wants to escape her bedroom,so Carol Anne grabs a pair of ice-skates on the floor, and swings them at the mirror on the back of her bedroom door,and the mirror breaks,unlocking the door. Carol Anne grabs the knob,turns,and runs out of the bedroom,closing the door behind her.Meanwhile, Tangina tries to call Dr. Seaton to get him to go help Carol Anne, but he thinks its only Carol Anne pranking him, so he tries to call the Gardner apartment, but after he dials the number, he soon hears an ear-piercing static-sound coming out of the phone, and hangs up the phone and decides to go complain to Aunt Patricia and Uncle Bruce about Carol Anne's antics, while Patricia's having her art gallery opening. Carol Anne meanwhile,tries to get Donna, but Mrs. Moyer tells her that Donna's not there, so Carol Anne hangs up and decides to try to go back to her bedroom to see if Reverend Kane's still in there, while Donna and her friends are sneaking into the indoor pool-area.When Carol Anne gets to her bedroom door, she puts her ear to the door to see if she could hear anything,and then tries to open her bedroom door, but the door then flies open,and out comes a blinding light and a howling wind that throws Carol Anne backwards,slamming her back against the opposite wall,where a mirror is hanging from the wall, falls to the floor,and when Carol Anne looks into the mirror,she hears Kane calling to her through her reflection,so she gets up,walks out of the apartment,and down the hall.She then runs to the nearby elevator and is about to go in,when she sees Kane's reflection in the mirror in the back of the elevator-cab,so Carol Anne runs to the emergency stairs and goes through them,while the front door to the Gardner apartment slams shut on its own.While Carol Anne's running from Kane,Donna and Scott let the rest of the gang into the pool-area,and then they go off to turn off the security-camera monitoring the pool-area,Donna telling Sandy,Melissa,Dusty,and Jeff to wait for her to turn off the security-camera for the pool-area, before they go to change into some swim-suits.Once Donna and Scott get to the security-room,once they find out that the security-room is empty,they sneak in and go to turn off the pool-area security monitor. Scott glances at a monitor for the grocery-store that's also located in this big, expansive, post-modern skyscraper, and suggests that he and Donna go get some beer,and though Donna fears that they might get into trouble, Scott convinces Donna to change her mind,and eventually they run off to go get some beer and chips, all while Carol Anne's running from Kane, hiding in the emergency stairwell.She sits in a corner of the stairwell, until she hears Kane coming,so she gets up and runs down another flight of stairs,until Kane and his followers are able to corner Carol Anne by blocking off her escape routes, snow and ice coating everything, both the descending stairs and the ascending ones.Carol Anne backs up away from all the snow and ice, until she hits a door with her back. She then turns, opens the door,and runs out of the stairwell,and once the door closes and Carol Anne runs out,the snow and ice disappear from the stairwell completely. Meanwhile,Donna and Scott come back with their beer and chips from the convenience store and sneak back into the security-room. Once she and Scott sneak back into the security-room, kissing each other on the lips before putting their beer and chips on the console, Donna then turns on the security-camera and she and Scott start talking into the microphone,to scare Sandy,Melissa,Jeff and Dusty.Once they realize that its Scott and Donna,the other kids started laughing and clowning around in the pool.As Donna and Scott are laughing at their friends' antics,Donna looks at one of the security monitors covering the seven or eight levels of garages at the bottom of the building,and Donna sees her cousin, Carol Anne, running through the garage,and she takes off to go find Carol Anne, with Scott taking off right behind her. Carol Anne is still running from Kane and his followers. She eventually starts running down a ramp in the garage, as Kane's voice is getting louder and louder,asking her to lead him and his followers into the light.Carol Anne keeps backing up,oblivious to the puddle at the end of the ramp,until she backs into the puddle, and once she does,Carol Anne looks down at her blanket sleeper-encased feet, submerged in the puddle,and seconds later,grotesque hands rise up out of the puddle, which then turns into a pool with a bright light coming up out of it.Just then,Donna and Scott arrive at the garage-level where they saw Carol Anne, and when Donna calls Carol Anne,she and Scott hear her scream,and come running. Eventually they find Carol Anne, completely submerged in what used to be a puddle,so they run down the ramp to go help Carol Anne and start fighting with these grotesque hands to try to free Carol Anne.Eventually,one of these hands rises up,grabs Scott by the top of the head,and pulls him into the puddle. Donna screams for Scott, and then tries to help Carol Anne,only to get pulled into the puddle herself,as both Donna and Scott disappear out of sight. Now without anyone to help her,the hands grab a-hold of Carol Anne and pull her under until she disappears out of sight, and then the pool,or tank that used to be a puddle, closes up and turns back into a puddle.A little later as the party drags on, Uncle Bruce has a nagging feeling that something just isn't right and he gets that feeling confirmed when a security-guard comes to the party and tells Bruce that some of Donna's friends were caught in the swimming-pool, so Bruce leaves the party and goes upstairs to question Donna's friends about her and Scott's where-abouts, since Sandy and the gang told the security-guards that Donna and Scott had let them into the pool-area and then went to go turn off the security-camera.When he gets to the pool-area,Bruce questions Sandy,Jeff,Dusty,and Melissa,but Sandy tells Bruce that they have no idea where Donna and Scott went after they turned off the cameras for them,so Bruce tells the security guards to take Donna's friends to a holding area,where he can notify their parents about their breaking into the pool-area without authorization,and then after the guards and the kids leave,Bruce walks around the pool-area, and when he's about to leave, a bright flash of light comes up from the pool, making Bruce turn to see where that flash of light was coming from, and when he looks back at the pool, Bruce sees that the pool's surface has turned into a sheet of ice. Then, he sees a figure pop out of a hole in the ice. The figure stumbles to his feet, and runs towards Bruce,smashing into a glass partition, the figure covered in this white,gelatin-like substance, but eventually Bruce notices that it's Scott. Scott starts mumbling about someone having Donna and Carol Anne,but when Bruce questions him, Scott won't say who he's referring to. Then, the door to the pool-area opens and in steps Patricia and Doctor Seaton. Patricia asks Bruce what happened,and as Bruce is explaining about the ice in the pool, he turns, and sees that the pool is completely normal and ice-free.He then tells Doctor Seaton to take Scott home,while he and Pat goes upstairs to see if Carol Anne and Donna are in the apartment,where they should've been all along,but when Pat and Bruce get upstairs,they see that Carol Anne's door has morphed into some living creature,the door bulging up and down as if it was the chest of a creature with two hearts.Bruce and Pat run to the door to see if they could open it,when Carol Anne's hand burst through the middle of her bedroom door.Pat grabs Carol Anne's arm and his almost swallowed whole by the door, but Bruce tries to prevent Pat from getting sucked into the door,but just as it looks like Patricia's going to get sucked through the door,Tangina arrives and helps Bruce and Pat out, separating them from what's actually Carol Anne's evil clone, which then gets sucked back into the door, and then the door turns into a normal door again. Tangina tries to explain to Bruce and Pat, who are both very skeptical about what's going on, what's happening and tells them in order to get Donna and Carol Anne back,they had to find out how they got to 'The Other Side',in the first place, so they go to Scott's apartment,where Doctor Seaton is sitting with Scott in his bedroom.After Bruce, Pat, and Tangina get to Scott's apartment, Scott's mother shows them where Scott is, in his bedroom with Doctor Seaton. When Tangina walks into Scott's bedroom,to observe the proceedings, she has Doctor Seaton hypnotize Scott to find out what happened,while Bruce calls his security-guards to have them look for Donna and Carol Anne,as Bruce thinks that Donna and Carol Anne are just roaming around the building together. Scott eventually tells Doctor Seaton and Tangina about the puddle and the grotesque hands that grabbed him and the girls and pulled them in under the surface of what was once a puddle. When they finally find where this puddle is, Tangina's able to talk to Carol Anne through the puddle and she tells Carol Anne to go back to her room to try to come out from 'the other side', somewhere in her room, with Donna, but Doctor Seaton has had enough and calls Tangina a fraud,and while Patricia stays skeptical,and is starting to believe that Doctor Seaton may be right,that Carol Anne's behind all of this,Bruce is starting to believe Tangina, that Carol Anne and Donna really are in some alternative dimension.They start heading back upstairs to see if Carol Anne and Donna have been able to get back to 'this side', from 'the other side'. When Bruce,Pat,Tangina, and Doctor Seaton get back upstairs, Tangina tells Pat and Bruce why this is happening,and why Kane still wants Carol Anne to lead him into the light,but Doctor Seaton scoffs at this,but Bruce tells him to shut up. Once they get to the door, Bruce opens the door and eventually they hear Carol Anne's Speak-N-Spell.At first,they only hear the toy,but then Bruce sees Carol Anne's reflection come out of her bedroom, in the mirror,in the hallway,but when they turn to look into the apartment, Carol Anne's not there, only her reflection is. Tangina talks to this reflection and tries to coax Carol Anne to come out through the mirror,but she starts sensing that something's not right.Eventually Bruce decides to do something and tries to lunge toward the mirror to grab Carol Anne's reflection and make her come out of the mirror, but Tangina stops him and Carol Anne's reflection's face morphs into Kane's, and he grabs Tangina,turning her into a corpse.Bruce throws the rotted corpse to the floor and Donna bursts out of the dead body.Once he realizes that its his daughter, Bruce grabs Donna and lifts her out of Tangina's dead,rotten corpse, and then they bring her into the apartment and put her in the tub to wash all that rotted flesh and slime off of Donna. Bruce then carries Donna over to his and Pat's bed that they both share together every night since before their marriage, for sleeping and for having passionate hot steamy sex all night long, and puts her down on the bed and KISSES HER ON HER SWEET LIPS AGAIN!!!!!! Donna then gets hysterical, calling out to Carol Anne and Pat runs off,as she's starting to 'loose it'. Bruce takes off after Pat,while he has Doctor Seaton watch over Donna. As he's talking to Pat, as Pat starts talking of running off with Bruce and Donna,while leaving Carol Anne behind for Doctor Seaton to deal with,Bruce sees Carol Anne run past him and Pat and out of the apartment. Bruce takes off after Carol Anne and walks out the apartment,and sees Carol Anne go into the emergency stairwell, so he takes off after Carol Anne, and Pat eventually follows. Meanwhile, Donna has Doctor Seaton go find Bruce and Pat, so he starts looking for them. Dr. Seaton sees the apartment door open,walks out into the hall, and sees Carol Anne running towards the elevators at the end of the hall,so he takes off after Carol Anne,calling her name. When he gets to the elevator, Dr. Seaton sees Carol Anne, but only her reflection in the mirror at the back of the elevator.Dr. Seaton fights to keep the elevator doors from closing completely,but when he finally opens the doors, there's no elevator-cab there,just an empty shaft.Then, someone behind him gives him a shove,and Dr. Seaton falls down the elevator-shaft to his death, as we see that the murderer is Donna, but when the elevator-cab comes back up, and the doors open, out comes Scott and he and Donna start laughing, until they start kissing,and while kissing her, Scott peels a layer of skin off Donna's face and we see that Donna and Scott are really just evil clones of the original, as the clones walk down the hall and go back into the Gardner apartment.Meanwhile, Bruce is still chasing after Carol Anne in the stairwell. Just as he sees Carol Anne go through the door leading out to the floor of the building that has this fancy restaurant on this particular floor, Bruce follows Carol Anne out of the stairwell, but then he looses her again. Patricia finally catches up to Bruce,still thinking that Carol Anne's behind all of this,but Bruce isn't convinced, and they follow Carol Anne into the dining-room. They then see,in a mirror, Carol Anne's reflection run into the kitchen, so they run after her, into the kitchen. Bruce and Pat walk around the kitchen,until they come to this meat-locker. They see the door to the meat-locker swing open,so Bruce and Pat step into the frozen, dark, meat-locker, and Bruce flips on the light-switch, and the locker-door slams shut, locking Pat and Bruce into the locker. Bruce and Pat turn to try to get out of the locker, but can't. They start banging on the door, to try to get someone's attention, and Bruce tries to push in the escape-lever, but the door won't budge. Then, water starts rushing out of the ceiling on the other side of the meat-locker,and Pat and Bruce start banging on the locker-door even harder. The water starts filling the meat-locker, as it continues to pour sideways, from the walls,getting closer and closer to Bruce and Pat,until Bruce hears Tangina's voice,turns and starts lunging for Tangina, whose emerging from the water.Just then,as Bruce grabs Tangina's squash-necklace that she always has around her neck, and the locker-door bursts open, and Bruce and Pat find themselves in the garage, which is now completely covered in snow and ice.Bruce and Pat embrace, as they sit on the floor of the garage, and try to keep their composure and sanity,when they hear what sounds like a growl. They look in the direction of the noises,and see that the headlights on the cars in the garage turn on and then they hear the starting of car-engines and then the parked cars start coming out of their parking-spaces and start driving at Bruce and Pat, the cars completely caked in sheets of snow and ice,so that Bruce and Pat can't see if anyone's in any of these cars,as if these cars have come alive and morphed into some sort of car-monsters.Bruce and Pat run from the cars and try to avoid getting hit, eventually leaping over one of the car-monsters. Bruce and Pat then struggle to their feet and see one car in particular come at them. This car isn't like the others in that there's a huge hole in the windshield,on the driver's side, where a bright light's coming out,and Bruce sees a figure through this hole in the windshield and asks the person behind the wheel who he is and what he wants, but Kane just has the other two cars next to him 'lunge' at Pat and Bruce,and Bruce shoves Pat out of the way. Then, another car comes at Bruce, whose now on the floor, so he gets up,just in time, as this car passes him, and then slams into one of the monster-cars which was overturned when it crashed into a parked car, and when this second car smashes into this overturned car, the gas-tank ruptures,as oil and gas starts pouring out of this car. Bruce crawls around on the snow-covered garage floor to get away from the car-monsters when he feels something wet in the snow,and realizes that its gasoline, so he takes a match out of his pocket, lights it, and throws the lighted match on the gasoline, as the gasoline erupts into a huge fire. Kane tries to ram his car into Bruce, to prevent him from throwing the lighted-match on the gasoline,but it's too late, and Kane's car crashes into a parked car, as Bruce dodges out of the way before Kane can hit him. Bruce and Pat get up and try to run away, but the resulting explosion from the lighted gasoline sends Bruce and Pat flying.Eventually they get up, as water from the sprinkler system rains down on them. When they get up, Pat and Bruce see that the garage is now normal.The cars are normal,still parked in their same usual spots and all the ice and snow is gone as well. Pat and Bruce then start running down a couple of garage-ramps, until they're a good enough distance away from the sprinklers, where there's no water anywhere. Eventually they stop and Pat notices that it's not freezing cold in the building anymore and Bruce and Pat embrace and start kissing,until Mary, in her purple car, roars up in front of them. Pat and Bruce look, and when they see Mary come out of the car, they breath a sigh of relief. Mary then informs them that the party has ended and everyone's gone home,and that Donna called to have Mary tell Pat and Bruce that they and Doctor Seaton are waiting for them upstairs in the apartment, and then she drives off.Minutes later, Bruce and Patricia get to the lobby, come out of one set of elevators to get into another.A middle-aged couple comes out of the other set of elevators, and Bruce,noticing that the other couple is looking at them,wondering how they (Bruce and Patricia), got all wet, makes a crack about doing some maintenance work on the building, to explain why his tux and Pat's dress/gown are all soaked, as the elevator doors close. Bruce and Pat, thinking that everything's over, start talking about what to do once they get upstairs and Pat tells him that she wants to get Carol Anne's things together and ship her right back home, tonight, as she still blames Carol Anne for all that has happened, still believing that this was all just some evil game that Carol Anne was playing on everyone, all that happened,but then Kane's image appears in the mirror right behind Pat and Bruce, at the back of the elevator. Pat and Bruce turn, and the elevator comes to a halt, and then Kane makes the elevator start plunging, as he's taken over the elevator.The elevator then stops on the fifteen floor, but as Bruce and Pat are about to get up, the elevator starts coming alive, and now starts rapidly rising up the elevator-shaft, faster and faster as the numbers climb. Bruce manages to get up and press the emergency stop button, right before the elevator reaches the top of the shaft. Bruce then gets up and tries to open the elevator doors, as the elevator's stuck between floors. Bruce climbs up and is able to get out on the 97th floor and then helps Pat up out of the elevator. They then embrace, until Pat sees Doctor Seaton's dead body on the top of the elevator-cab. Once they see that it was,in fact,Doctor Seaton, Bruce and Pat run off. Bruce, remembering what Tangina told him while he and Pat her locked in the meat-locker 'outside-in', gets an idea, he and Pat will get into Carol Anne's room through the window-washer-rig, Bruce grabbing a metal shovel that he happens to find as he and Pat are making their way to the washer-rig,and then they climb up on the washer-rig.Once on the rig, Bruce makes the rig go out, and then down the side of the huge skyscraper, the whole Chicago skyline off in the background. Once they finally get down to Carol Anne's bedroom window, Bruce stops the rig, hugs Patricia, and then grabs the shovel, or hoe, and starts swinging it at the window. At first, the window doesn't break, and Bruce and Pat here a growling sound each time Bruce hits the window. Finally, when Bruce swings the shovel the third time, he's able to break the window, but then gets sucked into the bedroom by this huge vacuum, and ends up lost to 'the other side'. Then, Carol Anne comes out, sits on her bedroom window-ledge and starts trying to convince Aunt Pat to turn around and go away,and suggests that she go with Reverend Kane, while giving Pat Bruce and Donna, but Aunt Pat insists that Carol Anne not go with Kane, that she (Pat), and Carol Anne's parents love her, but Carol Anne still insists that Pat go away, and when she turns to go back inside the room, Carol Anne turns, and her face morphs into Kane's, yelling at Pat to go away, before hopping back into the bedroom. Pat then decides to take off after Carol Anne. When she gets into the room, after jumping from the washing-rig, Pat gets up, and notices that the bedroom-window is now fixed, the huge hole from Bruce smashing it with the shovel, is gone. Pat then calls to Bruce, Donna, Carol Anne, and even Tangina, but no one answers, furniture all overturned and in pieces, all about the bedroom. Pat eventually walks to the other side of the bedroom,and tries to open Carol Anne's bedroom-door, but the door won't budge. Pat then turns and calls for Kane, and starts searching for him, her back to the large mirror covering the wall opposite the bedroom window, until something grabs Pat from behind. She turns, to see that it's just her reflection.Eventually Kane then walks up to Pat, and slaps her across the face, making her fly backward, into the rotted corpse of Donna. Pat then gets up, and then stumbles across the rotted, frozen corpse of Bruce. Pat recoils in horror, until she picks up the shovel, which Bruce's rotted corpse is still holding onto, and swings it at Kane,chopping his head off. Kane's head falls to the bedroom floor and starts rapidly decomposing. Pat watches the whole grotesque process, until she hears Kane laughing, so she turns and sees Kane heading towards her, his head still on his shoulders, but then Tangina appears and tells Kane to stop and let Carol Anne, Bruce and Donna go, and that she could lead Kane into the light instead, sacrificing herself for Pat and her family. Pat tries to discourage Tangina from doing that, using Tangina's squash necklace, but Tangina insists that this is the only way, turns and walks Kane into the light. Moments later, Bruce's silhouette appears and then Pat sees that Bruce has Donna and Carol Anne with him. Bruce and the girls slowly walk towards Pat and Carol Anne's bedroom, until they finally reach the mirror and Pat's reflection turns and embraces Bruce and the girls, causing a flash of light and the whole room to fog up. Once the fog and smoke settle, Bruce, Patricia, Donna, and Carol Anne find themselves all safe and sound in Carol Anne's bedroom, which now looks normal again. Pat looks around Carol Anne's bedroom, sees that Tangina has saved her, Bruce, and the girls, as everything's back to normal, and then they embrace again. | paranormal, haunting, good versus evil, insanity, psychedelic, revenge | train | imdb | null |
tt0454082 | Black Christmas | On a snowy winter night on Christmas Eve, in the Alpha Kappa Gamma sorority house, Lauren (Crystal Lowe) is getting changed into her pajamas. In the next room Clair Crosby (Leela Savasta) is writing a Christmas card to her half-sister, Leigh (Kristen Cloke). Suddenly she hears something from her closet. She goes over to the closet door and looks inside. Nothing but clothes. She goes back to her card and sees that her fountain pen is missing. Suddenly a figure wraps a bag around her head. In the struggle, the figure stabs the pen into her eye.At a mental institution not far away, Billy Lenz (Robert Mann) is being served his Christmas dinner. He is locked away, rocking back and fourth in his rocking chair, safely in his cell that is decorated with Christmas lights. The orderly serving the food gets a scare from a volunteer dressed as Santa who is looking for the children's ward. Security guard J. Bailey (Ron Selmour) makes jokes to the orderly about Billy trying to escape every year. The orderly and Santa walk away, leaving the security guard alone in the hall. Billy opens the small window on his cell and places a present wrapped in newspaper on the ledge for the security guard. The security guard opens it to find nothing that interesting, except on the newspaper is written "I'll be home for Christmas." The security guard looks into the cell to find it empty and Billy's chair rocking back and fourth. He quickly opens the cell and goes inside, to find a hole in the wall. He takes his flashlight and looks into the hole, as Billy comes from under the bed and stabs him in the neck with a candy cane. Billy leaves the cell and kills the man dressed as Santa. He steals his outfit, stuffs his body in a bag, and leaves the institution, dumping the bag in the dumpster with the man's hand sticking out from the bag.Outside of the sorority house, Kelli Presley (Katie Cassidy) and her boyfriend Kyle Autry (Oliver Hudson) are talking in his car. She tells him that she is going to spend Christmas with her roommates but that she will make it up to him. He is disappointed because this is their first Christmas together. She kisses him goodbye and goes inside the house. As she does her fellow sorority sister Megan Helms (Jessica Harmon) calls Kyle on his cell phone. Meanwhile, Megan is in her room, watching an old home made porn movie that features her and Kyle. Kyle hangs up the phone. Kelli goes inside and greets everyone, including Melissa Kitt (Michelle Trachtenberg), her best friend. Heather Fitzgerald (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Dana Mathis (Lacey Chabert), Lauren Hannon and Ms. MacHenry (Andrea Martin), the house mother who loves all of the girls and accepts their flaws.They have a "secret santa" gift giving thing going and Ms. Mac wants to know who got Billy. According to her, Billy (Cainan Wiebe) killed his family here. When Billy was born, he has a liver disorder that makes his skin yellow. His father loves him regardless but his mother is disappointed and wants nothing to do with him. They live in the house that is now the sorority house. As Billy gets a bit older he is treated even worse by his mother, who has become an alcoholic. On Christmas his mother tells him Santa was shot down by the Russians. His father, however, tells him he has a present for him hidden in a stow-away space in Billy's closet. Billy goes into his room, which will become Eve's in the present day, and finds a telescope, maing him very happy. A few years later his mother and father are not getting along very well, and his mom is having an affair. Billy hears them arguing and looks under their door to witness his father with a bag over his head and his head being bashed in with a hammer. Billy runs back to his room as his mother and her lover take the body outside and begin to bury it in the crawl space under the house. Billy is watching this and is discovered. His mother chases him into the attic and locks him in there.All of the girls are horrified by this story but Ms. Mac assures them it is all true. Heather says she was the one who drew Billy's name for secret Santa but she thought it was wrong to buy him a gift because he was a murderer and it was offensive to the birth of Jesus to make a mockery of gift giving. Heather starts to go upstairs to her room but runs into Eve Agnew (Kathleen Kole). Eve has been upstairs the whole time and is leaving to go visit her family. She gives Heather her secret santa gift, a crystal statue of a unicorn. Heather is less than impressed and bids Eve farewell. Eve goes towards the door but Ms. Mac tells her she has a present for her. Before she can find it, Eve leaves, obviously disappointed by Heather's reaction.Kelli and Lauren go upstairs to tell Clair and Megan they are going to open the presents. Clair obviously doesn't answer. Lauren pounds on the door and says she is going to steal her presents if she doesn't get down here. Laughing, Kelli does this on Megan's door. Megan tells them to go away and she doesn't want to open presents. They leave and Megan hears a snow globe tune playing in the attic. She goes into the attic and asks if someone is playing a joke. She gets more then she bargained for when she finds Clair's body by the window in a rocking chair. Someone comes from behind and smashes the snow globe into her head. She falls onto the ground as a bag is put over her head. She fights back, but the figure rips out one of her eyes with their bare hand!The home phone rings, Melissa answers it and puts it on loud-speaker. The caller is making all sorts of weird noises. Lauren teases him, and the caller threatens to kill Lauren before hanging up. Heather says someone is obviously sick in the head and doesn't need to be provoked by Lauren. Melissa checks the caller ID and is surprised to see it's coming from Megan's cell. They assure themselves it's just a joke.They open their presents, with Ms. Mac getting some lingerie as a gag gift. Everyone laughs and Kelli goes back upstairs to check on the girls. Kyle suddenly pops out of Megan's room. Kelli screams and the other girls rush upstairs. Kyle apologizes and says he wanted to surprise her. Ms. Mac asks if Megan is in her room and Kyle says he doesn't know. Lauren asks him how he could have just been in her room and not know if she is in there. He explains that it's really dark in there. He makes a joke about Billy getting her. He then tells everyone another story about Billy's past.Billy was kept in the attic for many years. His mother and stepfather lived happily without him. Everything was wonderful except his mom couldn't get pregnant by his step-father...so she crept into the attic and had sex with Billy, her own son! Nine months later she gave birth to a baby girl named Agnes (Dean Friss). As Agnes grew older, Billy became jealous. One Christmas, Agnes got a doll for a present. A jealous Billy releases a tantrum and breaks the attic door open and rushes to the living room, attacking Agnes and pulling out one of her eyes, stabbing his stepfather in the face and beating his mom to death with a dough roller. When the police arrive on the scene, they find him eating a cookie made from his mother's flesh. Agnes was put into an orphanage and no one knows where she is today.The girls are freaked out by the story. Kelli goes inside Megan's room and finds the porn video on the computer. She breaks down and Kyle tells her it was from a long time ago. Kelli screams for him to leave the house and he becomes enraged, calling the women "spoilt bitches." Ms. Mac goes off on him about treating Kelli like that, pushing him towards the stairs. As Kyle leaves, a figure is standing by the tree looking at the presents. Ms. Mac asks who the person is. Clair's half-sister, Leigh tells the girls that Claire never called her, telling her she was ready to be picked up and she is worried. Dana says she even had no idea Clair had a sister. Leigh explains they are only half-sisters and are trying to get to know each other.Suddenly the power goes out in the house. Dana says the circuit breaker is under the house and she will go turn it on. She goes outside and smokes, dropping her cigarette into a hole on the porch. She hears someone underneath it. Taking her flashlight she opens the door to the crawl space and looks inside. Suddenly someone grabs her, pulling her in. The two struggle as the figure grabs a gardening tool and stabs Dana in the head. Lauren is beyond drunk now, having been drinking booze the whole night. Melissa tells her she smells and needs to shower. As she showers, someone watches from a broken tile in the floor. After the shower, Lauren goes to bed.Everyone starts asking where the other girls are, since Clair, Megan and Dana have disappeared. Kelli questions what is taking Dana so long, and is even more startled when someone calls from Dana's cell number and hangs up. The rest of the girls go outside to look for Dana. Heather and Leigh find Eve's car still parked outside. They open the car door and scream as Eve's severed head rolls out. The girls scream and run back into the house, locking the door behind them. Kelli calls the police but because of the snow it may take over two hours for them to arrive. Ms. Mac tells everyone that they can pile into her car and try to find help. Kelli says that they won't get far and that they need to stick together. Heather says she wants to leave, and Ms. Mac tells the girls that they can stay and she will go with Heather to find help. The two go outside and get in the car. Ms. Mac gets out of the car to scrape the ice off of the windshield. As she begins to scrape Billy's yellow eye comes into view inside the car. Ms. Mac gasps as he kills Heather, her blood spraying all over the windshield. Ms. Mac falls against the garage door, causing an icicle to fall from above which impales her head.Leigh notices that Ms. Mac hasn't left yet. She decides to go see what's going on. Kelli decides to go out with her, leaving Melissa and a sleeping Lauren behind. As they leave the house a figure grabs Heather's unicorn statue and walks down the hall. In the garage, Leigh slips on Ms. Mac's blood and screams. Upon hearing this Melissa rushes towards the stairs. A figure grabs wraps a bag over her head, slamming her into a wall. She rips the bag off and rushes through the house and into her room. She grabs a stick and hits the figure with it. Melissa opens a window and is going to climb out but the figure throws an ice-skate at her, cutting off the back of her head.Kelli and Leigh rush inside and call for Melissa. There is no answer and they go to Lauren's room, closing the door behind them. But someone is on the other side of the door and kicks it open. It's Kyle. Leigh attacks him and he throws her against Lauren's bed, causing the covers fall off of Lauren, who is very much dead with her eyes gouged out! Everyone screams and Kyle insists he isn't the killer. Kelli calls Lauren's cell phone and hears it ringing in the attic. She explains that the killer might be in the attic with her phone. Kyle opens the attic door and is pulled inside. Kelli and Leigh try to get into the attic but the door is slams shut. Kyle fights back as a bag is put over his head. Kelli breaks the door open and witnesses Kyle being stabbed with the unicorn statue, then one of his eyes being ripped out and eaten! Leigh attacks the figure and is thrown across the attic, discovering her half-sisters body still in the rocking chair. The figure attacks Kelli and Leigh tries to help but is knocked into a hole in the floor. A bag is put over Kelli's head but she grabs a fork and stabs the figure in the eye. She gets up and sees the figure has a glass eye. It's Agnes. Kelli tells Agnes everything is okay and she doesn't have to do this. She tells him her brother isn't here, he is still locked away. Agnes tells her that she doesn't have a brother, only a father. Billy comes from behind and lights a candle.Agnes attacks Kelli but is knocked into another hole in the floor that pins her between the walls! Billy pushes Kelli into the same hole, accidentally knocking over the candle. Kelli has grabbed onto a string of Christmas light attached to a small tree, trying to keep from falling completely in. She screams for help as Agnes starts to crawl up the hole. Leigh comes to her rescue, smashing open the wall. Agnes grabs Leigh's head but she manages to fight her off. Leigh runs through the house and smashes out another wall, finally reaching the spot where Kelli is trapped. Billy is climbing into the hole and Agnes is crawling up it! Leigh grabs Kelli and pulls her to safety as the Christmas tree catches fire (along with the rest of the attic) and falls into the hole, burning Agnes and Billy. The two survivors rush outside.At the hospital Kelli is going to have some tests done to make sure she is okay. Leigh has a present in her hand from Clair. She tells Kelli she wants to open it now because she won't be able to open it in front of her family. She says that she is glad she got to know Clair before all of this happened. She opens the present and finds a watch engraved with "Family Forever." She starts to cry as a nurse comes in and tells Kelli they need her for some x-rays.Some time later Leigh goes back to Kelli room to see if she is back from the x-rays. A body with blonde hair lays in the bed, but as she approaches the person turns over to reveal Agnes. Leigh screams as Agnes grabs her by the throat and snaps her neck.Kelli comes back into the room and feels something is wrong. She finds Leigh's new watch. She sees blood on the ceiling above her and starts to leave the room, but Agnes grabs her from behind the curtain and starts to strangle her. Kelli grabs a defibrillator paddle and shocks Agnes in the head with it, killing her. This is the ending for the UK version. The US version continues from here when Billy comes down from the ceiling, as Kelli rushes from the room. She grabs some crutches that are in the hall and starts to beat him with it. She turns to run, thinking he is unconscious but he grabs her foot, causing her to fall over a medical cart. Billy grabs a scalpel from the pile of medical supplies now on the floor and takes chase. Kelli rushes to the stairs as Billy comes from behind, slashing her with the scalpel. She grabs him and throws him over the stairway, causing him to fall on top of the Christmas tree below, impaling him. His intestines spew out, he is very much dead, and Kelli is left to look on in shock as the credits start... | dark, cruelty, murder, violence, flashback, revenge, sadist | train | imdb | And, for a slasher film coming in the wake of "Scream" and its kindred, "Black Christmas" just shows a general lack of common sense when an obvious threat is lurking (can you really feel sorry for a security guard who lingers in a maniac's room long enough to get knocked off?).
But in an odd way, "Black Christmas" avoids the oblivion of crappy horror remakes due to Morgan's impassioned, assured sense of visual stylethat being said, it's nowhere near as good as its predecessor.4.5 out of 10.
Earlier this year, I tore the re-make of When A Stranger Calls apart, and said at the time, that if Hollywood won't bother making new horror movies, but instead simply re-make old or foreign ones, then just stop.
If I have a problem with them is that the film is maybe a little over-edited so at times, you aren't sure if certain characters have been killed or not.This movie has been getting a critical mauling in certain areas.
If Kyle isn't a red herring, and his only purpose is to bring up some sex tape which was not important to the story (despite being shown again and again), then what the hell was he doing in the movie at all?Other great elements from the original were toned down: the police station scenes, the drunk girl (who now passes out right away).
And, of course, you simply cannot beat the original "Black Christmas", one of the best horror films ever made..
You'll be better served for your DVD dollar.A final editorial comment: I have yet to see a 200X horror film remake that came close to the original in spite of all the FX technology.....e.g. The Haunting.
It isn't scary but the over the top kills and gore make this film enjoyable to watch with friends.The acting is pretty good and the film tries it's best to establish each character before the main bloodshed begins.
Sorority girls are terrorized on Christmas Eve by the psychotic murderer that once lived in their house.Black Christmas 2006 isn't anything like the classic 1974 original.
There's little surprise in this slasher outing, you've got all the clichés on display – a group of girls with attitudes, some background on a killer with a bad home life, lots of false scares, and plenty of gory over-the-top killings.
Things started off with a bang in January with Eli Roth's Hostel and then came to a perfect close with the great fun of Black Christmas, a remake of the 1974 original.
While many think that John Carpenter's 1978 flick Halloween was the movie that kick-started the slasher genre, Black Christmas was made four years earlier and used nearly the same premise.
This remake is directed by horror veteran Glen Morgan (of the Final Destination trilogy), and features several up-and-coming actresses; Michelle Trachtenberg, returning to the horror genre after her three-year run on Buffy the Vampire Slayer; Lacey Chabert of 2003's Mean Girls; Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Crystal Lowe, both from this year's amazing Final Destination 3; and Katie Cassidy of this year's horrible When a Stranger Calls remake.
It fits perfectly with the mold of a great horror film: interesting premise, good characters, realistic gore and deaths, scary killers, a hint of black humor, a likable heroine, and a decent ending.
A boy who isn't wanted by his mother, turns into a sadistic killer, after witnessing his mother at a very young age kill his step-father, the mother proceeds to lock him in the attic for a very long time, now billy 21 or older now , starts to get revenge on the mother, and the sorority girls who now live in his house.
I saw this last month with my family, we have this semi-morbid tradition of watching the original 1974 movie every year during the holidays, so naturally I wanted to see this remake - and I was surprised!
The original film is better in terms of a classic, quality horror movie, but this remake is just as good, but in a different way.
I wanna start by saying that this remake of Black Christmas is Excellent!First- The story was brill, the gore had it's great moments and it was a scary movie with enough deaths to keep all those death lovers out there amused.Second- I thought that some of the acting in this film was absolutely outstanding, but there was a few who were not as good.
If you are a fan of the original like I am--I believe it to be the best horror film EVER made--you may want to stay clear of this remake unless you can have an open mind.
It definitely has some good humor and a lot of character.The movie may not be perfect like the original, but for a remake, it definitely has more pros than cons!
Before watching the remake of BLACK Christmas I told myself that I would view it as if it is an original film so I can give an opinion that isn't based on a ton of comparisons, because if you look at an original film and a remake you're still watching two completely different films despite any possible similarities.While watching this remake and seeing what they have done here, I couldn't help myself by saying this is going to slap fans of the original 1974 classic in the face, its like Glen Morgan took the original, tore it apart and put it back to together as a hack and slash fest that would've been better if it were another SILENT NIGHT DEADLY NIGHT sequel, this remake is basically a slasher through and through, it even contains all the trademarks of a slasher such as despicable stuck up characters that you wish would die just so the film would end, it has a main villain whose gone psycho from growing up in messed up household, it even as an 80's slasher type of score that lets you think about the good old days of horror.My recommendation for watching this film would be not to take it seriously and try not to compare it the original 1974 classic, otherwise you might find yourself speechless..
Boo these constant remakes filling modern horror features
well actually to tell the truth, for most part I actually didn't mind this recent remake (although some like to call these a re-imaginative) of the 1974 Canadian seasonal slasher 'Black Christmas', which was directed by Bob Clark.
If there's one thing to be learned from failed remakes of movies like "Psycho" and "Halloween" (among others), it's that remaking a slasher classic (a.k.a. a film that still holds up today) is usually a terrible idea to begin with and almost always ends up a bust.
While Bob Clark's original film might not be fit for the hip, younger audience that this remake was built for, it certainly holds its own in the league of classic slasher fare, making the choice to modernize it a sketchy one from the get-go.
If "Black X-Mas" aims to be a slightly average slasher flick that numbs the mind for 90 minutes, then mission accomplished.The story is about a deranged killer, abused by his mother and recently escaped from a mental institution, who makes his way to a sorority house on Christmas Eve to pick off its residents in rather gruesome manners.
this sequel to the 1974 original,is quite different than its predecessor.for one thing.it's much gorier and there are a couple pretty tasteless scenes,even for this genre.the kills are nothing spectacular,and even pedestrian(read:boring)at times there is lots of blood,if nothing else.one of the women in the sorority house(which most of the movie takes place)gets naked for a shower scene,but it's pretty lame.you won't get any long lingering shots,but you can tell this chick has one hot body(which is why she had the shower scene,of course)there is another huge difference between this film and the 1974 version.in the 1974 version,there is almost no back story.in this one there is,but too much.they give too much history of the nut job and what led to his psychotic behaviour.the movie tend to spend more time in the past than in the present.that didn't work for me.also,there gaps in logic,even for the genre.you will roll your eyes a few time in this one.this movie is nowhere near the worst movie i have seen,nor the wost horror movie,but i isn't great either.for me,"Black Christmas" (2006)is a 5/10*.
Obvious plus of the movie is what is called 'dream cast': sorority is filled with beautiful starlets like Katie Cassidy 'When A Stranger Calls'), Michelle Trachtenberg ('Buffy' TV-Series), Lacey Chabert ('Mean Girls'), Crystal Lowe and Mary Elizabeth Winstead (both from 'Final Destination 3').
However, compared to the remake, the original is an absolute masterpiece of terror.Black Christmas '06 is typical of the current trend for rehashing old scary films: it dispenses with what made the original effective, throws in some good looking teens and a splash of gore and sits back as undemanding audiences lap it all up.In typical slasher style, a group of ridiculously gorgeous, but still rather bland teens/twenty somethings, who are spending Christmas in their frat house, are killed off by an escaped lunatic named Billy.
The film is also extremely dark, with no-one pausing to turn on the lights in the house (eventually, there is a power cutbut up until that moment...).Black Christmas '06 is obviously aimed at teens: the vapid cast look good (Michelle Trachtenberg and Lacey Chabert are clearly a couple of honeys, but unfortunately their acting ability is severely limited); there is quite a bit of gruesome gore (they've got to compete with the Saws and Hostels, after all); and the silly ending is your typical 'sole survivor vs.
the bad guy' set-up.Admittedly, the makers do try to add the occcasional original and rather twisted moment (the incestuous mother, the killer's inexplicable eyeball fetish, and the fact that Billy is yellow!), but on the whole, this is lazy, by-the-numbers film-making that deserves to be vilified by horror fans worldwide..
"Black Christmas" is a thoroughly entertaining and quite surprisingly good remake.**SPOILERS**Stuck in their sorority house, Kelli Presley, (Katie Cassidy) Melissa, (Michelle Trachtenberg) Heather Fitzgerald, (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) Dana, (Lacey Chabert) Lauren Hannon, (Crystal Lowe) Megan Helms, (Jessica Harmon) Clair Crosby, (Leela Savasta) and Eve Agnew, (Kathleen Kole) as well as House Mother Barbara MacHenry, (Andrea Martin) try to make the best of the snowed-in situation.
But getting back to the point, this was the film's major redeeming factor along with the death scenes (which are over-the-top and gory).Knowing that each character wasn't really based on a stereotype made me forgive their stupid mistakes (like going out alone to turn the power back on, etc).
It doesn't hold a candle to the original for the fans but even though I liked the first one, the remake is the movie I'd prefer to watch.
I'd recommend this film to slasher/horror movie fans but if you don't like the genre, this isn't going to change your views on it..
Which the killer once lived in that house.Written and Directed by Glen Morgan (Willard "2003") made an amusing if somewhat unexpectional remake of the cult classic Canadian horror film of the same name.
Which Martin appeared in the original movie as one of the sorority girls.The picture didn't play well at the box office and writer/director:Morgan (Although it's rumored) that he didn't liked the final product of his own film.
I was really disappointed with the whole "let's make the killer mean something to the story", it does work for certain movies, but for a good slasher film, I like it when the killer doesn't have a certain motive, they're just a crazy psychopath, it makes them a little more scary like Michael Myers, no soul, no conscience, just kill for the sake of killing.
The story was just weak and lacked the originality of the first Black Christmas, even if it is a remake.It's the Christmas season, some sorority girls have decided to stay on campus in their house rather than go home.
When a few of the girls go missing, Katie, one of the girls left over, decides to find out what's really going on, but she may not wanna find out what's going on in her own sorority house.Over all the movie does deliver on the gore, it's not completely terrible, but the problem is that it just made the original story not as much fun.
But the death scenes were pretty cool, a little bit cooler than the original some aspect, I know I'll get a lot of hate for that, but you gotta love a little gore, it's a scary movie after all.
I feel that a remake should only be justified if you can add something that wasn't in the original, and instead of playing on the theme of the movie in 1974 but they've taken all the fun out of this movie, the suspense that makes horror movies so good.
The original BLACK Christmas by Bob Clark is basically the template for all slasher films of today.
While this film is no classic, and certainly doesn't come close to matching the original, it should satisfy its audience -- those craving lurid, gruesome shocks amid the otherwise feel-good fare playing during Christmas.From the start, the film abandons its predecessor's subtle, suspenseful approach to the story of a maniac preying on unsuspecting sorority sisters.
This film seems like the stolen identity of the original film called "Black Christmas", oh how original, as well as a sad combination of plot/characters and conclusion of "I Know What You Did Last Summer" for the continuous murdering of friends and cheesy murder sequences, and the stalking and for "Halloween" a nut-job gets locked up and time passes by when he escapes and relives his previous murder as a life style.
The inclusion of Billy's sister, Agnes, is so out-of-left-field that it feels like Morgan was simply trying to throw in a few extra kills and pad out the movie's already spare running time.
The story features some really poor and lame written elements, that you just don't learn in film-school.Yes, so it's still a remake of the 1974 horror movie with the same title but there are lots of differences.
I won't profess to be a big fan of the original Black Christmas - although I like it better than Halloween and it probably would find itself high up on my list of favourite slashers...if I ever were to make one.
It kind of reminds me of the trilogy Saw. Its a really good movie although the ended could have been better than it was.It wasn't the best horror film made, but it will get you your money's worth.
But for some people, Christmas time is merely another way to think up a plot to another slasher film, like this trainwreck of a movie, 2006's version of "Black Christmas".
Before I go any further, let me say that I have seen the original 1974 version of "Black Christmas" and while I can't say it was the greatest horror film I ever saw, at least it was better than this.
Here, the skin of the character is so bright yellow that he looks like a live character from "The Simpsons"!In Bob Clark's '74 version, we never knew who the killer was since we only saw thing from his point of view or if we were lucky his shadow and occasional eyeball, thus making the film all the more spooky.
I like bad horror and this is really the only reason why I would keep watching this movie over again just because I do kind of get some enjoyment of seeing the characters die in this one as I have very little emotional attachment to any of them...except for one so I can't really reveal who as it would be a spoiler.
I do like horror movies revolving around a holiday, it doesn't happen that often but it really should.This film is a loose remake of the original, that takes place in a sorority house.
Overall I'd say to those looking for a good entertaining horror movie: there are worse scary movies out there to watch, and there are certainly ones that are a hell of a lot better than Black Christmas (2006).
Black Christmas remake here is pretty much straight forward on delivering the blood and hot chicks getting slaughter one by one rather than building up the scare like the original film.
The original Black Christmas was just so good that its hard to top being extremely creepy and atmospheric and also with the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre the first slasher film.The remake makes numerous changes to the story but I don't want to spoil anything so I'll leave that for you to find out (basically they just wanted to expand on the story of the original) its just a gorier,more straight forward less eerie version of the original and it also makes it exclusively clear who the killer is which is a real shame since one of the original film's great innovations was to make it a total mystery that never gets solved (although I understand they had to do something different from the original).
There's no denying it's a feast for the eyes.It's a shame because Black Christmas is such a beautiful looking, sleekly filmed movie, I WANT to like it.
This movie is somewhat scary but lacks the originality is predecessor had, the mysterious killer you never see, the execution-style deaths and the whole concept of killing at Christmas.
But it was all in good fun and I appreciate that.The acting was bad, but like all other remakes of horror films, I'm not surprised.
Incidentally, Andrea Martin who played one of the victims in the original BLACK Christmas appears here as the house mother (whereas Bob Clark himself figured among the remake's myriad producers!)..
Except that Glen Morgan gave birth to a terribly bland and boring horror movie, and to a horribly bad remake of "Black Christmas". |
tt0191133 | The Fighting Temptations | In the year 1980, a young boy named Darrin Hill (Cuba Gooding Jr.) and his mother, MaryAnn (Faith Evans), are run out of their hometown of Monte Carlo, Georgia, after MaryAnn is soon discovered to be singing secular music when she sings in a church choir also. Aunt Sally Walker (Ann Nesby), Darrin's great-aunt, attempts to defend MaryAnn but fails, and the church's pastor, Reverend Paul Lewis (Wendell Pierce), is too afraid of the other church members to let her stay. MaryAnn and Darrin are last seen on a bus saying goodbye to Aunt Sally, as they sadly wave to each other.
In 2003, Darrin has grown up to become a successful advertising executive in New York City with a bad habit of lying. His only true friend and secretary, Rosa Lopez (Lourdes Benedicto), does a good job at keeping his credit problems under control. However, Darrin has achieved so much under false pretenses, having faked his college degree and high school diploma and lied about being the son of a congressman. Eventually, his lies soon catch up with him and get him in trouble with his paranoid boss (Dakin Matthews) and Darrin loses his job. After being tracked down by a private investigator, Darrin soon finds out that Aunt Sally has died.
Darrin returns to his hometown of Monte Carlo, Georgia, and on the way, looks back on both comical and heartwarming memories of MaryAnn (who is later revealed to have died in a car accident when Darrin was a teenager) and the experiences they had together. When Darrin arrives, he finds a new friendship in Lucious (Mike Epps), the town's happy-go-lucky, womanizing cab driver. At Aunt Sally's funeral, Shirley Caesar makes a cameo appearance as a character who was an old friend of Sally and sings at the funeral. After the funeral, Darrin soon learns from the Reverend that Aunt Sally had stated in her will that he must direct the church choir and enter the annual "Gospel Explosion" competition and win the prize money of $10,000 and in doing so, will inherit Aunt Sally's stock in the company that produces the show which is currently worth $150,000.
Upon taking charge of the once-powerful choir, Darrin discovers that it has fallen into decline over the years, with only a handful of members remaining. He also faces opposition from Reverend Lewis's sister, Paulina Prickett (LaTanya Richardson), the church's high-strung and wicked treasurer, and the same woman who led the townspeople into driving Darrin and his mother out of Monte Carlo years before. Paulina holds a grudge against Darrin because of his mother and for "stealing" her spot as choir director, as she was next in line and had waited for years for Sally to pass away.
After several setbacks, Darrin eventually recruits many new members, most of which he does so by promising half of the competition's prize money to them (though he has no intention of paying anyone). He also reconnects into his old childhood friend and crush Lilly (Beyoncé), who has faced ostracization from the townspeople similar to MaryAnn's, due to her being an R&B nightclub singer, and having a son, Dean, out of wedlock. Lilly initially refuses to join the choir as she is both put off by Darrin's romantic advances and because she doesn't want to put up with the townpeople's criticism of her, but with some assurance from Darrin, she ultimately relents and becomes the new lead singer of the choir, causing Paulina to quit in retaliation.
Several weeks later, Paulina reveals that Darrin forgot to enter the choir into the auditions on time. Luckily, the audition judge, Luther Washington (Faizon Love), who is also the town's prison warden, lets them perform in a show for his prisoners when their booked act cancels. Thanks to Lilly's beautiful looks and voice, the choir performs well and Washington lets them into the competition. Washington also lets Darrin borrow three convicts who can sing. The three convicts are Bee-Z Briggs, Lightfoot, and Mr. Johnson (T-Bone, Chris Cole, and Montell Jordan). After weeks of success, the choir has become more popular, as more people have joined both it and the church. Lilly starts to trust Darrin and develops romantic feelings for him as well. However, Paulina takes a message for Darrin in a phone call from Rosa and learns of his past troubles, and intends on exposing him the first chance she gets. The next afternoon at a church barbecue, Paulina deliberately reveals Darrin's secrets with a polite demeanor, in order to make herself look innocent. Lilly, furious and heartbroken about this, tells Darrin that she doesn't care what he does; she was only using him because he was using her, and the people whom he promised money to begin to panic.
Since Lilly wants nothing to do with him, Darrin decides to quit and returns to New York, where he has been offered his job back. However, when Darrin goes back and gets a new condo and a promotion, he comes to realize that none of these things mean anything without Lilly and the choir. Darrin quits his job and returns to Monte Carlo to reconcile with Lilly. The two then recruit Lucious and the Reverend and all of them rush down to the Gospel Explosion to join the choir for the performance.
When Darrin and Lilly arrive, Paulina tries to keep them out, citing that Darrin forfeited his inheritance when he left Monte Carlo. However, Reverend Lewis finally stands up to Paulina and calls her out for being a selfish, conniving, hypocritical individual. He then reveals to the choir that her husband, whom she previously had claimed was deceased, is alive and remarried to a better woman. Lilly scolds Paulina for insulting Sally's will and wishes, which gave Darrin the choir. They manage to convince the others to vote Paulina out of the choir, giving Darrin his position as director back. Before their performance begins, Darrin tells Lilly that she inspired him to name the choir The Fighting Temptations.
After an outstanding performance, the choir wins the competition, but before ending his acceptance speech, Darrin surprises Lilly with an unexpected marriage proposal, to which she accepts. Eighteen months later, the two are shown to be happily married with a baby of their own. In addition, the church is about to undergo an expansion, and a reformed Paulina rejoins the choir, having become more open to those who join. | romantic, flashback | train | wikipedia | null |
tt0098384 | Steel Magnolias | Annelle Dupuy (Daryl Hannah), a reserved beauty school graduate, is hired by Truvy Jones (Dolly Parton) to work in her home-based beauty salon in northwestern Louisiana. At the same time, in another part of the neighborhood, M'Lynn Eatenton (Sally Field), and her daughter, Shelby (Julia Roberts), are preparing for Shelby's wedding, which is taking place later that day. They arrive, along with Clairee Belcher (Olympia Dukakis), the cheerful widow of the former mayor, to have their hair done. Suddenly, Shelby, who has type 1 diabetes, falls into a hypoglycemic state, but recovers quickly with the help of her mother's quick thinking. Later that afternoon, short-tempered, grouchy, and sarcastic Louisa "Ouiser" Boudreaux (Shirley MacLaine) arrives in the salon and questions Annelle about where she has moved from, forcing Annelle to reveal that her husband has recently left her while fleeing the police, taking all their money and their car. Moved by Annelle's emotional confession, Shelby invites her to the wedding, where Annelle meets Sammy (Kevin J. O'Connor), who is tending bar.
Several months pass and Shelby returns to town to celebrate Christmas. During the festivities, she announces that she and her husband, Jackson Latcherie (Dylan McDermott), are expecting their first child. Shelby's father Drum (Tom Skerritt) is thrilled, but M'Lynn is too worried to share in the joy. Truvy, Annelle, and Clairee had originally thought that Shelby couldn't have children, but on the night of the big announcement, M'Lynn clarifies for them that the doctors said Shelby shouldn't have children because of her health. It becomes clear that Shelby could actually die due to pregnancy complications related to her diabetes. Unable to give her any words of wisdom, Truvy suggests they focus on the joy of the situation: Jackson and Shelby's first child, as well as Drum and M'Lynn's first grandchild, as well as their sons, Jonathan (Jonathan Ward) and Tommy's (Knowl Johnson), first niece or nephew. M'Lynn agrees, saying that nothing pleases Shelby more than proving her wrong.
Shelby successfully delivers a baby boy, Jackson Jr., but begins showing signs of kidney failure and starts dialysis around the time Jackson Jr. turns one. M'Lynn successfully donates a kidney and Shelby seemingly resumes a normal life. Clairee and Ouiser offer to make sure that M'Lynn's husband, Drum, Jonathan, and Tommy have enough food to last until M'Lynn returns home after the transplant. Later, on Halloween, Ouiser, Clairee, Truvy, and M'Lynn throw Annelle a surprise wedding shower, as she is now engaged to Sammy. Shelby is unavailable to attend due to a conflicting schedule with her nursing job, and is later found by Jackson unconscious on the porch of her house. Shelby is rushed to the hospital, where it is determined that her body rejected the new kidney, and she is now in a coma. The doctors inform the family that Shelby is likely to remain comatose indefinitely, and they all jointly decide to take her off life support. At the funeral, after the other mourners have left, M'Lynn breaks down in hysterics in front of Ouiser, Clairee, Truvy, and Annelle, but is comforted by them.
Later, at the wake, M'Lynn begins to accept her daughter's death and focuses her energy on helping Jackson raise Jackson Jr. Annelle, now married and pregnant, asks M'Lynn if she could name her own baby after Shelby, since Shelby was the reason Annelle and Sammy met. M'Lynn gives her blessings and assures Annelle that Shelby would've loved it. Months later, on Easter morning, Annelle goes into labor during an Easter egg hunt, is rushed to the hospital by Truvy and her husband Spud (Sam Shepard), and another life begins. | cult, humor, cute, sentimental | train | wikipedia | Another movie that is part of my permanent video collection and never get tired of watching, STEEL MAGNOLIAS is the beautifully expanded version of Robert Harling's play about the relationship between six women who frequent the same beauty parlor.
I am pretty sure the first phrase that comes to mind for most people when this film is mentioned is "Chick Flick", but, as a male, I happily admit to loving to watch this movie over and over again, not just because of the six charismatic performances by the actresses, but because this film also has one of the funniest screenplays ever written.
Everyone was great: Sally Field as M'Lynn, a mother who still worries about her very grown up daughter; Julia Roberts as Shelby, a special young woman who feels that having a baby is worth risking everything; Dolly Parton as Truvy, a lonely beautician who brightens like a light bulb when her little shop is full of "hens" : ) ; Olympia Dukkakis as Clairee, the town bigwig who loves to gossip; Daryl Hannah as Annelle, a very religious young woman who drives her friends crazy with her sudden fits of prayer; and of course who can forget Shirley McLaine as Ouiser, the grouchy old wretch who tows her pathetic dog around and mercilessly cusses out the equally obnoxious Drum (Tom Skerrit)???
The film gives us a glimpse into their daily lives over a period of several years, their laughter, their joy, and their tears, all through the lens of their enduring friendship.Here are the six magnolias...M'Lynne (Sally Field)...perhaps the steeliest of all the magnolias, who has a bittersweet relationship with her grown daughterShelby (Julia Roberts)...everyone's favorite girl next door, M'Lynne's endearing, diabetic daughter; we see her planning her very pink wedding (wait till you see the groom's cake!) and charting a difficult path, given her medical history Truvy (Dolly Parton)...the married but lonely hairdresser with the heart of gold, who owns and operates Trudy's Beauty Parlor, center of social life for these ladies, site of gossip, teasing quips, and comfortOuisser (Shirley MacLaine)...the sarcastic spinster and cantankerous comic relief who is frequently seen carting her little dog around and exchanging barbs with her Old Nemesis, M'Lynne's husband, Drum Clairee (Olympia Dukakis)...the charming, gossiping widow and town bigwig Annelle (Daryl Hannah)...the shy, awkward new girl in town, who has a mysterious past and lands a job at the beauty parlor, under Truvy's mentoring Through these six, we see the strength that lies behind the legendary Southern lady's charm (well, maybe Ouisser's not that charming!) and supposed flower fragility, their humor, their optimism, their faith, and above all, their banding together and supporting each other in the face of adversity.I understand that this movie is based on a well known play by a famous Louisiana playwright.
This is by far and away, her best role and performance she ever snagged, and nailed, and I rank her performance in this as one of my top five best performances in motion picture history of all time.All the characters and performances in this are excellent, including one such, by Daryl Hannah, who I don't care for, but love in this movie.
In fact, her character Anell, is the only role I've ever liked her in, and applaud her work in it.Among the cast there are very few men, but my favorite is Tom Skerrit, who plays Sally Field's husband, and father to Julia Robert.
Although not the whole movie is set in the hair salon, a good portion of the film is, but it is done in just the right amount, and is written very well.I recommend it for girls of all ages, and men who want to impress their girlfriends with a great flick for a Friday night.
It is one of the best films of all time, and if for no other reason, you should watch this merely to see the performance Sally Field gives, because it is amazing..
With Julia Roberts the superstar she is today, it's an excellent time to enjoy the film that contains her best performance, Steel Magnolias.As the doomed but optimistic daughter of Sally Field and Tom Skerrit, she holds her own in a cast of movie divas, including Shirley MacLaine, Olympia Dukakis, Dolly Parton, and (in her best film work, as well), Darryl Hannah.The film is basically a warm, upbeat character study of a group of women friends, played out in a beautiful Louisiana bayou town.
The men in the story are secondary characters, and occasionally come across as a bit selfish (Roberts' husband), or buffoons (Hannah's boyfriend), yet one of the joys of this movie is that you come to love the women so much, you don't mind the men's shortcomings, and start liking them, too!The standout performances of the film are from Roberts, and MacLaine, as a spinster with a sarcastic tongue, and, ultimately, a heart of gold.
An extremely episodic story of several smalltown southern women whose social lives revolve around meetings in the local beauty parlor, STEEL MAGNOLIAS' script and performances are dogged by an aura of artificiality--but it scarcely matters, for the film is a tremendous amount of fun.Some of the performances are more successful than others, with Shirley MacLaine, Olympia Dukakis, Julia Roberts, and Darryl Hannah coming out on top (I am greatly surprised that so many other reviewers dislike Hannah's performance, which seems to me considerably less artificial than many others--but perhaps since I'm actually Southern I have a different perspective).
Perhaps most surprising in a film which focuses on women are the brief but impressive performances from the male supporting cast, which includes effective performances by Tom Skerrit, Sam Shepherd, and Dylan McDermott, and which serve to ground the film with a sense of the broader community in which the women live.The script abounds in zinging one-liners ("If you can't say something nice, come sit by me!") and often hilarious situations (imagine Olympia Dukakis surrounded by naked men in the highschool football team's locker room); it also contains some very touching segments sure to choke up all but the most heartless viewer.
"Steel magnolias" is a chronicle of a small circle of friends .The actresses get the lion's share ,which has become unusual ;that alone is cause for celebration,mainly when the cast includes a grumpy sullen Shirley McLaine who overplays as hell,Sally -never without my daughter-Field,A holier-than- thou but good -hearted Daryl Hannah wearing horrible glasses ,a very young Julia Roberts who was more endearing than she is now in such parts as "Brockovich" and of course Dolly Parton -too bad she does not sing-.The dramatic plot -Shelby's illness- is kept to the minimum,at least in the first hour.Then when the tragedy strikes,Herbert Ross avoids pathos and melodrama (it's not the return of Douglas Sirk).And the last scene is wonderful,Easter meaning a renaissance .As usual,Georges Delerue's score superbly enhances the film :he's so good a musician that even when the movie bores you (Godard's "le mépris" for instance,as far as I'm concerned),his tuneful work survives..
I only watched this film because I read a commentary on Julia Roberts where it noted that she had made it to be a massive star but had a questionable collection of films behind her, without the quality you would expect from her specifically it mentioned Steel Magnolias so I thought I'd give it a stab to see if that was a fair dig or just a comment by someone who doesn't like the genre anyway.
None of it really engaged me because I felt it was going through the motions but, like I said, if this is your type of thing then by all means.The characters are also pretty by the numbers female friends including the bickering ones, the serious one, the hopeful one, the uptight one etc; they are acted well enough but that is basically what they come down to and none of the cast can do enough to make them more than that.
I can think of two scenes in particular--one where the town-big wig Clairee (played by the noted-Southern belle Olympia Dukasis) buys the local radio station so that she can do the color commentary on the local football games (the scene features the same guy filmed bare from the back waist-and-lower view as he walks in front camera in the locker room three times.) In another scene, the Darryl Hannah (hard to recognize) committed Christian character argues with her boyfriend over his repeated taking of the Lord's name in vain.
Sally Field has a pretty good scene near the end, she and the story make you think a little about the motives of the main character (Julia Roberts as Shelby).Overall, I thought that Steel Magnolias was a relatively embarrassing depiction of life in the beautiful town of Natchitoches, LA.
Based on the Robert Harling stage play, and adapted by Harling himself, the film features Shirley MacLaine, Dolly Parton, Olympia Dukakis and Darryl Hannah in the other principal roles.
Even watching it now in 2019, it remains such high quality acting and screen adaptation - while there are some really good films today, this holds a rare quality you don't come across often now.Lines are well delivered, Every single actress was amazing and I love how Sally Field portrayed Shelby's mother M'Lynne.
There are so many reasons to watch Steel Magnolias, and once you've watched it, you can cross it off your "classics to watch" list and move on to the next one.You'll appreciate the large cast (Shirley MacLaine, Dolly Parton, Olympia Dukakis, Sally Field, Daryl Hannah, Tom Skerritt, Sam Shepard, Dylan McDermott) and you'll get a kick out seeing Julia Roberts in the movie just before she donned knee high boots for Pretty Woman.
Based on Robert Harling's play, which is inspired by his own life story, the film version of STEEL MAGNOLIAS is directed by the schmaltz-brewing old-timer Herbert Ross.
Emboldened by a pronounced female-centred cast, its narrative gaily situates in a Louisiana parish, where a palsy- walsy clique of (all-white) residents builds up rapport and strong support during the twist of fate, befalls the central Eatenton family.The film starts from the perspective of an outsider, an gauche young woman Annelle Dupuy (an uglified Hannah) arrives in town on the wedding day of Shelby (Roberts), the eldest daughter of M'Lynn (Field) and Drum Eatenton (Skerritt, a delightful comic relief), to work for Truvy Jones (Parton) in her beauty salon.
If the couple wants children, adoption might be a wiser option, but no, that never gonna happen, Shelby is opinionated in her regressive determination to have a child of her own with a side-note faintly insinuates that perhaps, it is also what her husband Jackson (McDermott) wants despite the huge risk, their marital undertow only alluded during the women folk's regular saloon gossip, and any slant from their opposite sex has been maximally sidestepped (the original play has no male characters in the plot), and Jackson evidently doesn't come off as a model husband, but what comes to fore is the relationship between M'Lynn and Shelby, a mother's completely-selfless affection to her daughter (including donating one of her kidneys) Vs. a young woman's death-defying conviction to become a mother on her own term (latently also to ameliorate her marriage snag), although in hindsight, the latter descends to borderline injudiciousness, but quite tallies with the ethos of its time.Thankfully there are more upbeat subplots, which include a coruscating widow-duo, a graceful Clairee (Dukakis), once was married to the late former mayor, and a cantankerous Ouiser (MacLaine, a salient transformation in her appearance to enhance her senility), they banter, change repartee, bicker, make up, both are sprightly and wonderfully larger-than-life; whereas Annelle also says goodbye to her own troubled past, and finds solace in religion and soon a new husband with a baby on the way; only the relation between a generically spirited Truvy and her offish hubby Spud (Shepard) doesn't pan out effectively in the final product.STEEL MAGNOLIAS is a springboard to leapfrog Julia Roberts into stardom, earns her the very first Oscar nomination at the age of 22 over the more prestigious distaff thespians, still, how can one not be petrified to watch Field's mind-blowing flare-up in the cemetery one-take and in the next second, not get wryly bemused by Dukakis' off-kilter humor to swerve the mood back from abysmal heartbreak?
Steel Magnolias (1989) tells the story of a group of southern women, including Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Julia Roberts, Shirley Mclaine.......
The ladies frequently meet together at Dolly Parton's beauty salon where many subplots are planted: the typical madness and joyfulness Sally Field and Julia Roberts share in light of a wedding taking place, Daryl Hannah developing self-confidence amidst a trial, the apparent solidity in Shirley MacLaine and Olympia Dukakis's friendship..
The story tells about Life: its philosophy (a journey that each one must do with people), its best moments (the give of life) and its worst (the loss of life).The lead characters are the mother (played by Sally Field), her daughter (played by Julia Roberts) and her close friends.
Sometimes the six women are putting out several of these emotions at one time.The best thing I can say about Steel Magnolias is that it is the kind of film you can watch over and over and be moved by it and maybe pick up an emotion you should have felt before in a particular scene.
"Steel Magnolias" has a fabulous cast of ladies taking the lead roles - Dolly Parton as the beautician/hairdresser who is friends with all and keeps the place going, Sally Field and Julia Roberts as mother and daughter, Daryl Hannah as Parton's assistant, Shirley MacLaine and Olympia Dukakis as two old broads in-fighting, and then some.
Its blend of emotion (laughter through tears, for example) and intellect (dramatizing the ramifications of diabetic complications, such as kidney failure) combine to make it a movie worth watching over.In addition, the ensemble cast is a unique pairing of three actual southerners (the misses Roberts, Maclaine, and Parton) and three non-southerners (the misses Field, Dukakis, and Hannah)..
Sally Field (Roberts' mother), Olympia Dukakis, Shirley MacClaine, Dolly Parton and Darryl Hannah are all along as southern women who experience triumphs and tragedies together.
My favorite quotes: M'Lynn: "That church looks like it's been hosed down with Pepto-Bismol." Truvy: "When it comes to pain and suffering, she's right up there with Elizabeth Taylor." Truvy: "Oh, Sammy's so confused he don't know whether to scratch his watch or wind his butt." Ouiser: "I'm not crazy, I've just been a very bad mood for the last 40 years!" There are so many great lines that you must see the movie.
I love Julia Roberts, Shirley MacLaine, Sally Field, Dolly Parton and Daryl Hannah.
Sally Field, Julia Roberts, Dolly Parton, Shirley McClaine, Daryl Hannah and Olympia Dukakis star in what was at first to be perceived by the public as a feel good drama comedy but is now becoming a cult classic for slasher film fanatics around the world.
The women make funny jokes and laugh with each other, but when something terrible happens they are always there for each other to make each other feel better.The reason I like the movie "Steel Magnolias" so much, is because it is such a good movie that makes me laugh, but at the same time makes me cry.
Now, in conclusion, I highly recommend this excellent tearjerker which is also very funny at times to any Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Shirley Maclaine, Olympia Dukakis, Daryl Hannah, or Julia Roberts fan who hasn't seen it.
Steel Magnolias is the type of movie that just practically SCREAMS "Woman Picture!" as you have the star-power of the century here, what with a then-unknown Julia Roberts, Shirley Maclaine, Sally Field, Olympia Dukakis, Dolly Parton, and Daryl Hannah all competing to tug the heart strings.
With an all-star ensemble cast, witty dialogue and a drama-driven, comedic story line, 'Steel Magnolias' is a classic that will make you laugh and cry - and sometimes make you laugh UNTIL you cry!The story line revolves around a Louisiana family - The Eatentons - played by Sally Field (as M'Lynn - the mom), Julia Roberts (Shelby - the daughter), Tom Skerrit (Drum - the father) and Tommy & Jonathon - the younger brothers.
With the talent of little-known-country-girl at the time, Julia Roberts and experts of the screen Sally Fields, Olympia Dukakis, Shirley MacLaine, Daryl Hannah, and Dolly Parton you can't miss on this movie.
Field refuses to let the sentimentality of the script overshadow her performance -- it's a terrific piece of acting.The film also features that tireless work horse, Tom Skerritt, hopelessly under-appreciated as an actor, along with a female cast that includes Shirley MacLaine, Olympia Dukakis, Dolly Parton, Daryl Hannah and Julia Roberts, Oscar-nominated for her performance as Field's sick daughter.Grade: B+.
Set in the South, the film is a study of a group of female friends' relationships with each other and their individual experiences in life, love and death.Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Shirley MacLaine, Olympia Dukakis, Darryl Hannah and Julia Roberts are beautiful and exceptional in their roles, playing off of each other like they were all best friends.
Dukakis and MacLaine get most of the big laughs in the movie as a pair of wacky elderly women who share a love hate relationship, and Julia Roberts shines as Shelby.The musical score to this film is beautiful and each scene and story is as wonderful as the next.
Everyone in the film from Shirley MacLaine, Sally Field, Julia Roberts, Olympia Dukakis, Dolly Parton, Daryl Hannah, they are all so good.
Of all the Sally Field movies I've seen, I liked her best in Steel Magnolias.
Dolly Parton, Sally Field, Olympia Dukakis and Shirley MacLaine are all great actresses in this fully emotional film.
Shirley Maclaine is also witty, and Sally Field is beautiful like the mother of Julia Roberts. |
tt0821640 | Ghosts of Girlfriends Past | Connor Mead (Matthew McConaughey) walks into a building where his assistant, Melanie, meets him and gives him all of his messages and such. He stops behind a camera and takes one photo of a bunch of women in their underwear. He and his assistant keep walking and run into more women in their underwear, who invite him to dinner. He says hes booked and as they walk away, he tells his assistant to book them too. He walks behind a curtain and meets a singer who is supposed to be on the cover of Vanity Fair. He strips her down and puts an apple on her head and tells a lady with a bow and arrow to shoot the apple and he takes the picture.Connor and the singer are making out when the assistant comes in. She tells him about three messages he has from various women hes been seeing and that he needs to leave soon to make his brothers wedding rehearsal. He asks his assistant to break up with the women for him, but she refuses. He tells her to put them on a conference call. She puts all three on the computer and he proceeds to break up with them. The singer says that Connor is as bad as they say and that she knows he wont do that to her. He says he broke up with those women for her. They continue to make out.Connor is driving to his brother's rehearsal when he passes some swings that seem to hold significance. He gets to the venue where the rehearsal is taking place. He knocks on the window and the groom, Paul (Breckin Meyer), is really excited that he came. The bride, Sandra, is not as happy. Jenny (Jennifer Garner) is a bit nervous also. Sandra reveals that all but one of her bridesmaids has slept with Connor. The venue turns out to be Connor and Pauls uncle Waynes (Michael Douglas) karate dojo. Connor tells Paul that its not too late and if he changes his mind, he can take his car and leave. Paul laughs until he sees that Connor is serious. Sandra sees Connor giving Paul keys and asks Jenny why hes giving him keys. Jenny tries to cover by saying he may be giving them a car. She goes over to the guys and confronts and threatens Connor to be supportive. Paul introduces Connor to his wife and her bridesmaids and his groomsmen. They are honored to meet Connor after hearing the stories about him. The minister turns out to be Sandras dad and a sergeant.Connor goes upstairs where there are pictures of uncle Wayne with various women along the wall. He gets to his room where there are flowers and lavender scented candles everywhere. Connor picks them up and throws them in the fireplace. Jenny explains that the wedding scent is lavender. Connor says that uncle Wayne is rolling over in his grave. He explains that when he was alive, his uncle used that room for week-long orgies. Jenny reveals that people were taking bets to see if Connor would even show up. He seems a little hurt that people would think he would miss his brothers wedding. Jenny says she knows that Connor is not really a jerk and he only acts that way to get women to sleep with him; deep down, hes really a sweetheart. She tells him that his secrets safe and she wont tell anyone that he has feelings.At the dinner, Connor wants the drinks to keep coming and someone asks him if hes going to photograph his brothers wedding. He says no, hes not a wedding photographer. Jenny says hes not used to taking pictures of people with their clothes on. Paul and Sandra come over and Sandra starts freaking out because there are no figs in the arugula salad. Paul calms her down and everyone says that the salad is fine. Paul says that Sandra and he want Connor to make a toast at their wedding. Theres a funny scene where Sandra tries to get Connor to say no. Connor says he cant toast a wedding and that he doesnt believe in marriage. He says love is a myth and leaves, but not before saying that some figs in his salad would have been better.He goes to the bathroom where he sees his dead uncles ghost at the urinal. He asks Wayne what hes doing there and Wayne says hes here to warn Connor to not waste his life like he did. Connor is confused because Wayne had a great life and he is a legend. Wayne says Connor shouldnt want to be like him but hes on the path of becoming like him. He says Connor will be visited by three ghosts and will be forced to feel things he hasnt felt in a long time. Wayne disappears and Connor is freaked out and calls Melanie and leaves her a message. He leaves the bathroom and walks up to the bar where he sees a woman and thinking she is a ghost he reaches out for her breast and says they feel real and she says they are and that she likes to be bought a drink first. She turns out to be Sandras mom, whos been divorced eight years and hasnt talked to the sergeant since. He rants about how single people get a bad rap and that casual sex shouldnt be treated like a crime. He asks if theyre off limits and she says definitely. She tells him that the blonde bridesmaid that he hadnt slept with has been eyeing him the whole time they were talking. The bridesmaid comes up to Connor and asks what he and Sandras mom were talking about. He says casual sex and then apologizes to her for making her feel left out because shes the only bridesmaid he hasnt slept with. But before sending her up to his room asks if she was the same one that slept with Paul.Meanwhile Sandra tries to hook Jenny up with a handsome single doctor named Brad. Sandra makes it really awkward so Jenny and Brad leave and run into Conner at the bar. Jenny sees the blonde heading up the stairs and Conner and Jenny immediately bicker with each other.Connor goes up to his room where he hears a woman under his blankets. He thinks its the bridesmaid, but its a girl in a 1985 style outfit and braces. He remembers her name is Allison and she gets excited. She tells him that shes is the ghost of girlfriends past and he runs out of his room. She appears in front of him outside and he runs back inside the room. She is there waiting and he says that shes not real and shes only a repressed memory activated by all the alcohol hes been drinking. She says shes going to take him to visit all his past girlfriends. They fly off on the bed turns into a portal for time and land when he was young, the time of his first relationship. Young Connor is running toward the swings that Connor had passed in the beginning of the movie. Young Jenny is running behind him and Young Connor says that he beat her. She says no, she let him win because its his birthday. He points out that theres a gift next to the swings and she gives it to him. Its a Polaroid camera and he tells her shes the best. She asks what else he thinks of her. He takes a picture of her and when it comes out, he says it doesnt look like her because it looks like a girl. Young Connor says hes going to keep it forever. Allison starts swooning and Connor claims he never said that. He asks if Allison edited the moment or if its his brother. Allison keeps rewinding the moment where young Connor says that hell keep it forever. Young Connor and Jenny look like theyre about to kiss when he jumps up and starts running and she calls him a cheater. An older man picks up young Connor. We find out that the man is Connors dad and it is the summer before the car accident that took their life. Connors dad and mom are walking arm in arm and kissing and Connor remarks about how happy they look. Fast forward to the summer after and young Connor, Jenny, and Paul are at a funeral and Allison explains that Wayne, Jenny, and Paul were all he had left after the accident. Jenny was the only person who knew him before he became a womanizer. At the funeral, young Jenny takes young Connors hand.Fast forward to Junior High School. They arrive at a homecoming dance where Connor and Jenny are there together talking about how lame the dance is. Allison explains that this was the time where they were trying to figure out if they were going to take their friendship to the next level. A slow song starts playing and young Connor and Jenny are looking at each other. Connor tells his young self to ask her to dance. Just as he is about to, Jennys friends come up to her screaming and tell her that a jock, Pete Hastings, wants to dance with her and probably will make out with her. She turns to look at young Connor whos looking down at his feet. She turns around and says OK and walks off as young Connor looks after her. Connor tries to console his young self, who cant hear him. Allison says at least Pete didnt choke and starts fake gagging. Connor claims he was just being a gentleman. Young Jenny and Pete start making out on the dance floor and young Connor runs off and gets into his uncles car. Wayne notices that hes crying and Conner starts venting about how Jennys first kiss was with the jock. Wayne says that he dodged a bullet because he shouldnt want to be anybodys first or last kiss. Connor and Allison are in the backseat listening to the whole conversation. Young Connor says he doesnt know what to do and it sucks feeling this way and he hates girls. This prompts Wayne to slam on the brakes and demands young Connor to stop talking like a sissy. He says he cant teach young Connor algebra or camping or ethics but he can teach him about girls. Young Connor is excited and says hell do anything to never feel like this again. Wayne speeds off and takes young Connor to a bar, which he calls a classroom. Wayne orders two scotches and tells him the rules. Young Connor is looking around at all the women and Wayne says rule #1: dont look at them. Young Connor takes a sip of scotch and spits it out. Rule #2: Dont soil your wing-man. Wayne explains that women love to laugh, especially at men because it makes them feel powerful, which in turns makes them feel comfortable, which makes them prone to errors in judgment, like having sex with strangers. Young Connor says hes not allowed to talk to strangers. Wayne says thats good no talking, no phone numbers, no first or last names. Allison yells for someone to call child protective services. Connor shushes her and says let the prophet speak. Wayne explains to young Connor that an ugly woman doesnt always have a shot with a man, but a man always has a chance because cool comes from the inside. Connor is listening with a smile. Wayne gives young Connor tips like give a girl two compliments above the neck, and then insult her to flip the power dynamic. Young Connor says that Jenny doesnt like games and Wayne tells him to forget about her because his feelings for her are killing his game. Wayne says the one thing young Connor has to learn is that the power of a relationship lies with whoever cares less. He also says that one day, if Connor wakes up with a woman spooning him, he must run out of the room because sometime in the future, hell be crushed again. He then asks young Connor how he would approach the ice cold blonde behind him. Young Connor says he would talk to the girl next to her to make her jealous. Wayne says he never felt like Connor was his son until that moment. Wayne gets up to leave, but young Connor wants him to try to pick up the blonde. Wayne says he should throw small fish back to the sea, but young Connor wants to see his uncle in action so Wayne goes to pick up the blonde. Connor tells Allison to watch his uncles move. Wayne talks to the blondes friend and gets slapped in the face. He walks over to young Connor and says thats how its done and young Connor asks what he means because he struck out. Wayne tells him to wait and see and that when the blonde walks up behind Wayne and tells him that just because her friends not into whatever he said, that shes not like her. Young Connor smiles. Allison says Connor was never the same and they leave.Fast forward to 16 years old. Theyre in a basement and young Jennys there. Allison explains that he hadnt seen her for years while he was at the hand of his master. Young Connor arrives and walks down the stairs. The group of girls that Jennys with start talking about all the rumors theyve heard about him like he was home schooled in Vegas or was it Bangkok? Jenny is looking at him and smiling and he sees her but he walks away to another group of people. Connor yells after his young self saying nice move. Young Connor looks back at a dejected Jenny and her friends are laughing and telling her that he doesnt want to talk to her. They comment that he looks like both members of Duran Duran. Young Connor starts making out with a girl and Allison is excited because its HER younger self. Jenny walks out of the room. Allison tells Connor that they dated for 39 minutes and he didnt get the girl he really loved, but he did get all the other girls in high school. She asks if he remembers his first time with her and that he didnt last very long. She compares being his first to being like Neil Armstrong.Cut to a few years later and young Connor is an adult with long hair. He is now a photographer and hes explaining to a bunch of women how he is inspired by women. Jenny walks by and the younger Connor gets up to say hi. He excuses himself to buy a drink for the girl who blew him off for Pete Hastings. She says she didnt blow him off, he choked and he admits it. She asks what hes doing with all those women and he says that he works for a famous photographer. She says that shes a doctor (first year resident) and he talks about how he makes $150K a year and orders drinks in Spanish. She is turned off by his actions and asks if hes going to try to get her into bed now. He says yeah and he didnt buy her a drink just to see how shes been. He asks her how shes been anyways and she says she and Pete are madly in love and live in a house and there a lot of slow dancing in her red dress. Younger Connor corrects her says it was a hot pink dress. Just then Jennys friend comes to get her to leave and younger Connor wants her to give him her number. She says no, and he says that he has a medical condition and by law she has to see him. She asks what his condition is, and he says broken heart. She laughs and he says he wants a little dinner and sex and she says just dinner and hes reluctant. She walks away and he says dinner is good. She comes back to him and he wants to have dinner right now. She says OK but only if he buttons up his shirt because he looks like a gay pirate. They are walking down the sidewalk after dinner and laughing. Jenny cant really walk straight but they reach her house. Connor and Allison arrive to see younger Conner make fun of himself and Connor says he should put the self deprecation back in his play book. Allison says shes concerned that he may be missing the whole point of this trip down memory lane. Younger Jenny tries to say good night, but younger Connor tries to get into her house. She says no and that he has to woo her for his own benefit. Connor asks Allison whats next and she says theyre going to watch a montage of younger Connor and younger Jenny while listening to Time After Time. There are various scenes of them playing Foosball, taking pictures, going on dates, etc. After several weeks of wooing younger Jenny, younger Connor gets to go to her bedroom. They are in bed and Connor and Allison are there too. Younger Connor says that the sex was amazing and younger Jenny says its because they had 20 years of foreplay. Younger Connor gets up and gets dressed and younger Jenny asks what hes doing. He says he has work early in the morning and she says her alarm is already set. He explains that he doesnt stay over and she says there are two types of women ones you shag and leave and ones you shag and snuggle with. She gives him three seconds to get back in bed with her or he is to never call her again. He gets back into bed after ..2.. and spoons her. Allison tells Connor that this is the moment he truly fell in love with Jenny and the moment he realized he was spooning. Younger Connor gets up and leaves. Younger Jenny wakes up the next morning to no one next to her and Connor says he doesnt want to watch. The phone rings and younger Jenny picks up her phone and tells the person shell be right there then starts to cry. Allison tells Connor that was when he officially became Connor Mead. Allison pushes Connor out of the room and tells him shell buy him a drink.Allison and Connor arrive at a place with all the women hes had relationships with. She tells him that after Jenny, his relationships became shorter and shorter. Hes walking through a very long row of women who tell him where they had sex and how long they dated and that he never called them again. He asks Allison how many more there are and she says a lot. He looks down into a seemingly never ending line of women. Suddenly, all the women start grabbing at him and saying they miss him. He yells get off and then you see him in his uncle Waynes room wrapped in a blanket and falling off the bed.Downstairs, the sergeant is showing off his seating chart and Jenny sees Connor. Connor is in desperate search for alcohol and goes into the kitchen where he finds a box of champagne. He pops the cork off and it flies across the kitchen and knocks one of the stands for the tiered wedding cakes off. He doesn't pay any attention and starts drinking when he notices the wedding cake tipping over. He catches the the cake, but the stand is out of his reach so he has to keep holding the cake. He looks for a replacement and sees the bottle of champagne and tries to get it with his foot. In the other room, Jenny is organizing the wedding dance when Brad asks her to dance. She is reluctant, but Sandra tells her to dance. She and Brad start to dance and hes a very good dancer. She asks him where he learned to dance and he says he spent some time in Colombia; Sandra adds that it was with Doctors without Borders. Suddenly Conner screams. Jenny comes rushing in and Connor is on the floor with the cake on the ground. Sandra comes in and devastated she falls on her knees. The rest of the family comes in and Connor says that the cake wasnt very good. Sandra is upset that he had a piece and he says it just splattered in his mouth. She starts going off on him and her dad holds her back. Jenny tries to calm everyone down and Connor tries to sneak out.In another room, Sandra is getting massaged to calm down. The bridesmaids start saying that Connor is ruining the wedding and "Operation Sex for Every Bridesmaid".Back in the kitchen Connor is on his hands and knees cleaning up the cake mess while Jenny is watching him and laughing. He apologizes for how things turned out between them. Jenny takes some of the blame because she was always attracted to men she thought she could fix, but after Connor, she vowed to only date adjusted, fully functional men. He asks how strong that vow is and tries to kiss her. She pushes him away and he tells her that hes changed and he sees things in a whole different way and that he thinks he loves her. She tells him to stop and that she knows him and when she wakes up tomorrow, he wont be there. He begs her and says he doesnt want to be alone because there are ghosts in his bedroom.He goes up to his room where he hears a voice underneath the covers. He thinks its a ghost and runs out, but it was just one of the bridesmaids. He gets into his car, but it wont start. Melanie is there and hes happy to see her and tries to give her a hug, but it turns out that she is the Ghost of Girlfriends Present. ?? She explains that shes the only consistent woman in his life. She asks if hes ready and he braces himself. She asks what hes doing and he says he thought they were going to fly off. She says she the ghost of the present and that theyre there already and gets out of the car.They enter the room where everyone is laughing and making fun of Connors shallowness. Paul comes to his defense and says that he basically raised him (touching scene). Jenny walks in as one of the bridesmaids is says that Connor has Jenny so twisted that she isnt taking advantage of Brads interest in her. Jenny walks out and Connor follows her into the kitchen, where shes crying and trying to fix the cake. Brad comes in and Connor is irritated. Brad jokes that he used to be a pastry chef and asks if she wants to talk. She says that she hasnt seen Connor in a decade and the moment she sees him, its just like it was before. Brad says that the doctors joke is that they never break up; they just go into remission, which makes Jenny laugh. He says the only way doctors get over someone is by finding someone else to love. Connor is upset because hes bringing them together. Melanie says its time to go, but Connor wants to see what will happen. She slaps him and they transported to a room with the three women he broke up with in a conference call. It turns out that its Melanies apartment and she tells the women that hes not worth it.He walks out and sees his uncle who asks how hes holding up. Connor says he doesnt understand why all those women hate him. It starts to rain and Wayne explains that the rain is all the tears that the ladies hes slept with cried. Tissues start to fall and Wayne says those are all the tissues used to wipe away all the tears. Then he says these are all the chocolates youve sent them. Connor braces himself, but nothing falls and his uncle laughs and says that Connor doesnt send chocolates. Then Wayne says these are all the condoms you used. Connor starts screaming and running then wakes up in his car.He walks into the room where Sandra is throwing the wedding decorations in the fireplace. Connor says that they wont believe what just happened to him and they all stop. He asks if all the fuss is about the wedding cake and Jenny tells him no, its about the fact that Conner told the blonde bridesmaid how Paul slept with one of the bridesmaids and Sandra found out. Apparently, Paul and Sandra were dating at that time. Paul apologizes over and over and Connor says Paul clearly loves Sandra and if HE can see that, then it must be real. Jenny asks how Sandra can trust Paul anymore and Connor asks if shes talking about Paul or HIMSELF. He also points out that the bridesmaid is also to blame. Sandra storms out and Paul asks Connor to leave because all hes done is make things worse.Connor leaves and starts yelling for the ghost of girlfriends future. He claims that this was the ghost he was most looking forward to because he wants to see his future girlfriend. A floating figure appears and it manifests into a gorgeous blonde. He asks her if she is his future girlfriend and she shakes her head No. He then asks her if she wants to be, and she turns around and walks away. He follows her. They end up in the woods and walking towards a church where a wedding is taking place. Connor is shocked because he thinks hes getting married. Jenny walks down in her wedding dress and Connor is OK with it until he sees that the groom is Brad. Connor keeps yelling NO but no one can hear him. He tries to break Jenny and Brad apart by jumping on them, but he flies through them. He stands up and the church is empty except for Paul sitting alone in pew looking scruffy. Conner approaches him and sees Paul doesn't have a wedding ring. It turns out that he didnt get married because of Connor. Connor follows Paul outside and Paul turns into an old man. He follows Paul to a funeral where Paul is the only person present. It's Connors funeral. Wayne appears and says that no one really misses him. Paul gets up to say a few words saying that Connor was a great brother. Wayne pushes Connor into his grave and all the women that hes slept with start shoveling dirt into the hole.Connor wakes up in his bed screaming. Hes happy to be alive and opens up the window and shouts to a boy who is shoveling snow if its Christmas. The boy says no, its Saturday. Connor is excited because he hasnt missed the wedding yet. He runs down the stairs where nothing is happening. He sees Paul and asks if he missed the wedding and Paul says no, that Connor got his wish and Sandra called off the wedding. Connor says they cant split up because theyre meant to be together and Paul says Connor is being a sarcastic prick. Connor says hes not being sarcastic and asks where Sandra is. Paul says that the sergeant is taking Sandra and the bridesmaids to the airport and that its over.Connor runs outside and sees all the cars have been buried under snow. Conner gets an idea, and you see a car bust out of the garage and it's Waynes old car. Connor follows the sergeants car and flies past them when he slides in the snow. He tries to brake, but he slides even worse so he jumps out of the car and the car crashes. He runs back to the road where the sergeant and the girls see him. The sergeant brakes and gets out of the car and Connor says that he needs to talk to Sandra. The sergeant refuses and Connor punches him which knocks him out. Sandra gets out and Connor locks the bridesmaids in the car but they crack a window open. He apologizes for destroying the wedding cake, going to second base with her mother, punching her dad, and breaking up her wedding. He begs her to not run away because she and Paul have something rare and wonderful. She yells that he cheated and Connor says to get over it because it was years ago. He points out that shes not mad at her friend because she doesnt actually care because shes so in love with Paul that she forgave him the moment she heard and thats what scares her. Sandra says that he doesnt know how she feels. He says he knows exactly how she feels because he was in her shoes. He says he thought what if "she" hurt him or left him or died; it would have been the end of him. Inside the car Jenny realizes he is talking about HER. He says thats why he cut it short, but it was the biggest mistake hes ever made and that Sandras making the same mistake. He tells her to risk love because if she doesnt shell end up like him. He tells her that she may get hurt, but any pain she feels will never be as bad as the regret of walking away from love. Sandra says that she thinks Connor might be right and that she wants to get married. The bridesmaids cheer in the car.Paul is packing when Sandra comes in and hugs him. Downstairs, Jenny is going through a check list and she calls for a photographer and Connor volunteers. The wedding turns out perfect. At the reception, Connor gets up to give his toast. He says that someone once told him that the power lies with the person who cares less, and while that may be true, power doesnt mean happiness; happiness happens when people care more, like his brother, who gives love and doesnt expect any in return. He says he wants to be more like Paul so that Paul can be proud of him again. He also tells Sandra that his mom and dad would have loved her.The bridesmaids come over and tell Connor that they want to hook up with him but he declines. Outside, Jenny is on the swings and Connor sneaks up behind her. He congratulates her on pulling off a great wedding. She asks what happened last night because yesterday, he was his usual awful self, but today he became the guy she used to know. He declares his feelings for her and she says she wishes she could believe him, but shes been through this before. He takes out his wallet and pulls out the Polaroid picture he took when he was really young. She is shocked and happy that he kept it. He asks for one more chance and hes in for the wooing and spooning. He promises to be there every time she wakes up in the morning. They kiss and he sees his uncle in the window. The song from the dance when he was in Junior High starts to play at the wedding and they can hear it outside. Connor asks Jenny to dance and she jokes that it's about time and they dance outside. Inside, Melanie arrives and catches the eye of Brad. Wayne hits on the ghost of the future and she throws a drink in his face. He hits on Allison and she says ewww shes only sixteen and walks away to which he says, theyre ghosts so theyre ageless.End credits:Sandras mom and dad dance and congratulate each other on a good job raising Sandra. She calls him Mervis and one of the guests overhears. The sergeant threatens to kill him if he ever repeats that.Sandra throws the bouquet but an arrow comes flying out of nowhere and pins the bouquet to the wall. The women turn and its the lady from the photo shoot with the apple. | humor, flashback | train | imdb | Matthew McConaughey as womanizer Connor Mead is type cast as a rake waiting to be changed into a loving human being, The plot with returning dead lovers to teach him a lesson about having feelings is not quite as exotic as it sounds, for it is a device mainly to show him as a callow youth squiring and losing the love of his life, Jenny Perotti (Jennifer Garner).
Following the party line about scoundrels getting what they deserve is ghost of Uncle Wayne, a sort of Gordon Gekko gone good, an oily ex-Lothario played with relish by another spot-on bit of casting, Michael Douglas.
After being the root cause of his kid brother's wedding being called off, Connor Mead (Matthew McConaughey), a noted womanizer who sees male-female relationships as a strategic game to be enjoyed without becoming ensnared, is visited by the "ghost" of the first girl he ever had sex with.
There are reasons abound why some are either commitment freaks, or just plainly wanting to chalk up a list of conquests to show off, and for top fashion photographer Connor Meat, erm I mean Mead (Matthew McConaughey), it's a run from responsibility, and the fear of never ever wanting to be hurt again.I'm pretty sure many who have gone through a break-up would admit to having it leave some bad aftertaste, that you'd just want the upper hand the next time around when dealing with that painful, negative emotion, should and if it happens.
Then comes the whole shebang of A Christmas Carol proportions where Connor is visited by his dead uncle, Wayne (Michael Douglas), responsible for imparting his techniques to getting laid, who tells him that he'll be visited by three ghosts before the night is up.
And for the home run, it's a determination if Connor would become a changed person and end up with the girl of his dreams (the future ghost did look hot though).Those expecting comedy, you'll be disappointed as the jokes come off rather half-baked, making fun of best mens as nerds and bridesmaids who are horny all the time.
Those in for romance, unfortunately both McConaughey and Garner exhibit no sparks nor chemistry, perhaps the latter being all settled already as a real mom, that she's miscast as the mid-30-something still out there looking for love, and holding a candle for her childhood friend.Director Mark Waters would be an old hand at handling ghostly apparitions in a romantic comedy, after all he had dealt with Resse Whiterspoon and Mark Ruffalo in Just Like Heaven.
But his only saving grace in this movie with little surprises, is that of Michael Douglas' performance as the old-swinger Uncle Wayne, hamming it up as the adult version of Will Smith's Hitch, but with some pluses in not just wanting to establish that first hello, but going all the way for that one night stand, sharing some tips and tricks that you probably might just get lucky with.
Ghosts of Girlfriends past is the typical movie about a man in love with his all-time girl friend but he can't accept it and becomes the man that scores with all the women and dumps them the day after.
The cast is good, the performances not so much, Matthew McConaughey is good but unfortunately he is repeating the same role over and over and its beginning to bore, Michael Douglas is great and so funny but I think he is being wasted with so little participation and Jennifer Garner is convincing enough in her role as Jenny Perotti.
The successful fashion photographer Connor Mead (Matthew McConaughey) is a womanizer without feelings that has casual sex with every possible woman and worships his deceased wolf Uncle Wayne (Michael Douglas).
"Ghosts of my Girlfriends Past" is a funny and entertaining version of Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol" and "Scrooge", with feelings and love replacing greed and money.
A good idea that quickly goes nowhere, It's not all funny, but mildly amusing at times.Connor Mead(Matthew McConaughey) a famous photographer that has pretty much slept with a lot of women, some are clients.
My wife and I just came back from viewing the "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past." We went because she is both a big fan of Jennifer Garner from her Alias days, and she finds Matthew McConaughey charming.
I think it's safe to say that Emma Stone (who plays the ghost of girlfriend's past) is going to have a bright future in the movie industry.
Bridesmaids and ushers were nothing really special and just were there as place holders, but I got a laugh out of the one usher who reminded me of an older McLovin' just by appearance.It was a bit strange seeing the same girl playing the younger version of Garner's character in 13 Going on 30 and in Ghosts of Girlfriend's past (and both characters' names are similar: Jenna and Jenny).
I guess they really liked her for the role the first time around, so why not make her play the younger version of Garner again (with similar horrible 80's clothes).Overall, I thought this movie was a great movie you can sit down with friends and just thoroughly enjoy a good laugh.
It isn't that the story of unrequited love between McConaughey's Connor Mead, (I'm a bit perturbed that it never does get explained why Uncle Wayne calls him Dutch), and his childhood love Jenny, (Jennifer Garner), resonates at all—sadly it doesn't—but because of the cornucopia of supporting players that outshine the story itself.
And DeWulf, in a role that seemed a throwaway at the start, adds some sophistication to the world of Connor Mead as the one woman in his life he has not tried to bed—his assistant.Rounding out the rest of the cast is Breckin Meyer, (more subdued than usual, I would have liked to see more from him), as Mead's brother getting married; Lacey Chabert as the bride, having fun with many over-the-top sequences and reactions; and her parents played by Anne Archer and Robert Forster.
Fans of romantic comedies will not be disappointed.Jennifer Garner and Matthew McConaughey,did a good job with their roles as they always do.
A mix of modern-day Charles Dickens classic A Christmas CAROL along with man-whoring, GHOSTS OF GIRLFRIENDS PAST is a no-brainer with a pretty powerful cast that really does nothing with a script that rehashes this very old theme: regret and redemption.The cast drew me in to see this (that and the fact that I was stuck on a flight with nothing else to do but watch an inflight film!) Matthew McConaughey (TROPIC THUNDER) is the lead as Connor Mead, a guy who's sexual exploits might make a Congressman blush.
Like I said, no-brainer.The sad thing about this film is that they try to make it light and fun, but fail miserably in almost all its attempts (some of you may be familiar with the falling wedding cake scene that has been used as a trailer ...and even that isn't really funny).
Not once in the film do you get any idea why McConaghey's Connor Mead character is so irresistible to women, nor do you ever believe that he could be related to his screen brother, but I guess I'm looking too deeply into the wrong end of what was a shallow pool to begin with.As for the acting, McConaghey in the lead radiates precisely zilch in the charm and humorous stakes, while I found myself unwittingly judging a Botox competition between Anne Archer and Jennifer Garner.
Predictably, Connor's childhood sweetheart and of course his true love Jenny (beautiful and spirited Jennifer Garner) is the Maid of Honor at Paul and Sandra's (Lacey Chabert) Wedding.
Jennifer Garner is as hot as always and is the perfect support.The high budget of the movie throws funny moments, great atmosphere (loved the 80's settings!), and good punch-lines.I really like Emma Stone's performance.To be honest I liked the movie very much because I'm a ladies man.
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past uses elements from the classical book A Christmas Carol for dressing a typical romantic comedy which has nothing special to offer.There are two reasons why it is appropriate to use the supernatural subject : first,because director Mark Waters obtained some economical success using a ghost premise with the movie Just Like Heaven; and second,because the unreal addition of ghosts complements the forced fantasy which works as a basis for the story : a happily single man who discovers he has wasted his life on quick relationships,when the true happiness is on the marriage.When I say that Ghosts of Girlfriends Past uses elements from the book A Christmas Carol,I am talking about the visits of ghost to make the main character to think about his life.Let's leave aside the message about conformism and the fantasy that the woman redeems the man thanks to her love and perseverance.What it matters is that Ghosts of Girlfriends Past is a very mediocre film whose main fail is its total lack of any ambition.Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner do not seem to be too interested on their characters,so their performances lack of energy and conviction.But the supporting cast is solid,and it added some points to this movie.My favourite performances from this movie come from Michael Douglas,Lacey Chabert and the always entertaining Robert Forster.I think that female spectators are going to appreciate this movie much more than me.But,from the narrative aspect,I did not like this movie,because it is full of clichés and it gets quickly boring.On Waters' filmography,there are two very competent comedies (Mean Girls and Freaky Friday),but the irreverent humor which made them very entertaining is completely absent on this movie.Instead of irreverent humor,Ghosts of Girlfriends Past offers us recycled jokes (like the wedding pie which was accidentally destroyed),romantic clichés (the obligatory gesture which solved everything at last moment) and generic characters.So,in sight of so many negative elements,I cannot recommend Ghosts of Girlfriends Past..
In this case, Matthew McConaughey's character, Connor Mead, is the hokey womanizer who isn't interested in tying himself down with a ball and chain (figuratively of course, there's no Ghost of Jacob Marley covered in chains) but is attending his brother's wedding at his dead Uncle's spooky mansion.
Though it faces stiff competition this is one of the weirder adaptations (albeit loose) of Dickens's 'A Christmas Carol'.This film wastes its cast by serving them up a weak script that apart from Emma Stone's wonderfully daft character does nobody any favours.They spend so long making the Matthew McConaughey character horrible that they then don't spend long enough trying to prove to us why he is worthy of Jennifer Garner's heart.It's an odd film in general, and not an overly convincing one.
Ghosts of girlfriends past starring Jennifer garner and Matthew Mconahey is actually a pretty cute Romantic comedy with good acting and funny lines of comedic dialogue.
It comes to many young men, or middle age men to be like the main character in the movie (Conner meed) Matthew McConaughey, to have many womens around, having only FUN with them, be successful and so on.
It comes to many young men, or middle age men to be like the main character in the movie (Conner meed) Matthew McConaughey, to have many womens around, having only FUN with them, be successful and so on.
A talented photographer but a mistake from his past and because of the influence of his womanising uncle (Michael Douglas) he lives for the moment, sex with many women and avoid any long term relationships.On the eve of his brother's wedding day Matthew is visited by three spirits who want to show him that his shallow life is not as great as it sounds and might lead him to die alone and we seem him as a youth regretting the loss of his love (Jennifer Garner).The film is not really very romantic, Matthew might live for the moment just like his beloved uncle, but no one focuses on the women who fall for his cheesy moves and pick up lines.
GHOSTS OF GIRLFRIENDS PASTI am not a huge romantic comedy fan
but I don't mind Matthew McConaugheys films.
9 times out of 10 they are not better than the original, so why bother?The casting was alright
The films stars Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner and Michael Douglas.
"Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" had a chance, it started out with so much personality and pace that you could not help but get hooked in by the characters...then as the movie progresses, the acting starts to outpace the story and leaves you feeling like you are watching a Disney movie from the late "60's.
The main story revolves around the weekend wedding of "Connor Mead's" (Matthew McConaughey) little brother "Paul Mead" played by Breckin Meyer.
That being said, the director does a nice job of doubling back through the life of Connor Mead to show him just what his life looked like through his own eyes...a nice moment in the film is when Mead(McConaughey) sees his parents in a flashback scene...a dream sequence that anyone can relate to after their folks have passed on.The freshest performances in this film are by three of Hollywood's finest...Michael Douglas plays "Uncle Wayne" who raised Connor and Paul Mead after their parents died..."Uncle Wayne" is the mirror image of what Connor Mead is headed for later in life unless something changes.
The movie however, was a unexpected series of cliché characters, such as the guy who is against marriage, the girlfriend who stays single up to this moment but of course he sees her future, and the former girlfriend and his uncle who are the ghosts in the story.The story was more of a letdown than I could have expected, because it appears to center around the one girl Jenny Perotti instead of numerous former girlfriends.
Jennifer gets a few lines and she is kinda good, but all in all, the movie mostly works, either when Matthews character is "mean" (because it's funny) or when Michael Douglas appears.
Matthew McConaughey seems to have given up on the idea of making any decent films, instead riding on a treadmill of banal and pointless chick flicks.The basic principle seems to be:(a) McConaughey starts out as ultra-cool, probably gets his shirt off a few times for the repressed housewife viewers, and shows himself to be a heartless and immature cad and bounder.(b) The second act has him being even more caddish, and driving away the female lead, leaving him seemingly with no chance to find his true love.....(c) And then some kind of epiphany happens and he gets the girl, her friends all swoon with vicarious happiness and the credits roll.If this were a TV series it would be cancelled.I can't believe there is still a market for this trash, but I suppose being the good looking dude he is he could probably pull in the Oprah audience doing an entire movie wearing a thong and humming a Cole Porter song..
I enjoy Charles Dickles's A Christmas Carol a lot by a book, and Adaptions from TV special or TV movie and Movie versions, However decide to make a Romance-Comedy version of A Christmas Carol called Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, it was Ulitmate big mistake, Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner, and other actors who acting in this film were awful, Matthew Mcconaughey's character shouldn't been mean, misery and who hated love, Instead being a Womanizer, Hollywood have ruined a good adaptations of this good Dickles's classic, If all Descendants of Charles Dickles family had watch it, They gonna sued Warner Brothers, Movie writers, Entire Cast and Crew for damage of their Ancenstry's work.
Sure, there's this whole cliché orphan kid raising his baby brother and being there for him all his life thing that feels a little dubious, but Waters does very well to make Lucas and Moore's characters feel worth caring for and that's what separates Ghosts of Girlfriends Past from your average romantic comedy; it actually feels real.
having watched Jenifer Garner in P.S I Love you i expected a lot from her in this film, but instead of being a leading role as she was a vital part of the plot she felt a lot like an addition to the thin story line, most of the time she looked like she was tripping over her tongue when Connor Mead was mentioned.
Romantic comedies sure are predictable and lack a shocking ending but sometimes that's what I want.Matthew McConaughey plays the suave and sleazy debonair, Connor Mead who has a new girl not everyday, but every hour!
A boy (selfish with every girl on his feet) ruins his brother's wedding, while 3 ghosts try to turn him back in the good guy he used to be...the boy manages to solve things up and to take back the love of his life.End.I watched this movie thinking it would be a funny comedy...and a romantic one, of course.
He never truly has a turn around and after all you see him do I don't think you believe he will change making the romantic aspect of the film kind of pointless.Hollywood hunk Matthew McConaughey plays notorious womanizer and single guy Connor Mead.
As uncomfortable as that might be he is taken back in the past to show where he went wrong and what needs to happen to change his life around.Uncle Wayne (Michael Douglas) I think looks a lot like McConaughey and is fun to see them together in a movie.
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009): Dir: Mark Waters / Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner, Michael Douglas, Breckin Meyer, Lacey Chabert: Here is an interesting take on the Christmas Scrooge films only this one regards one's disregard for relationships.
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past is a romantic comedy film whose plot is based loosely on Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.It stars Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner together with Michael Douglas.It features a wedding day and the day before, rather than the familiar Christmas and Christmas Eve from A Christmas Carol. |
tt0212720 | Artificial Intelligence: AI | The story takes place in the future where the greenhouse gases have caused the polar icecaps to melt, flooding coastal cities. To combat over-population, people wishing to have children must apply for a license.The film starts in the offices of a company called Cybertronics, where its owner, Professor Allen Hobby (William Hurt), wishes to push mecha (aka robotic) technology, to make a creation that can love. When his colleagues mention their 'love units' Hobby corrects them: he is not talking physical love, but emotional love, such as that of a child for its mother.The narrative then moves 18 months into the future where the Swintons, whose son Martin (Jake Thomas) is currently in cryostasis until a cure can be found for a debilitating disease he is stricken with. His mother Monica (Frances O'Connor) has not held up well emotionally under the conditions that have taken her son from her. Hoping to help her cope, her husband Henry (Sam Robards), a Cybertronics employee, takes part in a test wherein they would be able to be a family to the company's newest mecha: David (Haley Joel Osment), the culmination of Hobby's research to make a robot that can 'love.'At first, Monica is angry, believing her husband is trying to 'replace' Martin. However, Monica tries to adapt to David. Henry also informs her that if they choose to keep David that she must 'imprint' herself upon him. However, if there was ever to come a time that she chose not to want him, due to the imprinting being permanent, David would need to be sent back to Cybertronics to be destroyed. After some time, Monica decides to perform the imprinting process; she reads a list of words that will activate David's emotional simulation. When she does, David calls her "mommy" and begins to act like a real child. To provide David with another form of companionship, she gives him a robotic teddy bear called Teddy, which once belonged to Martin.Things appear to be going well for the Swintons, until one day, a cure brings Martin back to health. Martin looks upon David not as a human, but more as a 'supertoy' or a 'doll.' One day, Martin asks their mother to read them 'Pinocchio,' to which David becomes enamored by, in which the wooden puppet becomes a real boy thanks to the story's Blue Fairy.Martin then tries to get David into trouble in a number of ways. First, he cajoles David into eating spinach, which causes David to malfunction and need cleaning. Another time, he tells David to cut off some of Monica's hair while she sleeps as a gesture of love, but the incident makes Henry think that David was trying to attack his wife.At Martin's birthday party, one of his friends decides to test David, to see if he has a way to prevent himself from pain. The 'test' causes David to grab onto Martin, crying 'keep me safe.' The two fall into the Swinton's swimming pool, where it seems that David was attempting to drown Martin.Henry decides that David is no longer safe, and convinces Monica to return David to be destroyed. Monica tries to take David to Cybertronics under the cover story of going on a picnic. However, she cannot bring herself to take David directly to Cybertronics and abandons him in a forest, along with Teddy. David becomes frightened and confused and he questions why he is being forced to leave his mother.Meanwhile, a male-prostitute mecha, Gigolo Joe, arrives at the apartment of a woman he sees regularly. He changes his appearance to suit her and, entering the bedroom, finds her dead. Her husband appears and kisses his wife, saying "I might have killed you but you killed me first". Joe retreats, realizing that the woman's husband is framing him for the murder. Joe rushes out of the apartment building and cuts off his registration tag to avoid detection by the police.Still in the forest, David concludes that his abandonment was because he is not real like Martin, and that if he were to find the Blue Fairy like in the story 'Pinocchio,' she could make him real, and he would then be able to go home. Journeying through the woods, he comes across a number of abandoned, obsolete and broken-down mechas searching through Cybertronics' junk piles for spare parts to repair themselves. The mechas are rounded up by a man named Lord Johnson-Johnson (Brendan Gleeson), and taken to a 'Flesh Fair' where mechas are destroyed for the amusement of anti-mecha fanatics. David is brought into the ring along with the mecha named Gigolo Joe. When a few buckets of acid are to be dropped on both himself and Joe, David cries out, showing fear like a real boy. The crowd revolts against Johnson-Johnson and amid the resulting riot, David and Joe are set free and leave.Escaping into the nearby woods, David tells Joe of his search for the Blue Fairy. Joe is confident that they'll find her in a place called Rouge City. Hitching a ride with some teenagers, they make it to the city: a mecca of adult entertainment that rivals Las Vegas and Disneyland. Their journey takes them to a place where a knowledgeable computer representation of Einstein, called Dr Know (voiced by Robin Williams), tells them that the Blue Fairy can be found "at the end of the world where the lions weep". Joe explains to David that Dr Know must mean a place called 'Man-hattan,' as many mechas have gone to the end of the world and have never come back.David is all for going to 'Man-hattan' despite the danger. However, Joe tries to deter him, saying that it could be a trap. As David and Joe leave the building, Joe is accosted by officers, who have come to arrest him for murder, a fact David is unaware of. Seeing a vehicle sitting nearby called an Amphibicopter,' David takes the controls, and manages to release Joe from the clutches of the officers. Joe gets in and takes the controls, guiding them to 'Man-hattan.'Their journey leads them to the flooded New York City where they find the Cybertronics building, on which sit statues of lions weeping water from their eyes. David enters a room, where he finds another mecha that looks just like him. However, feeling this duplicate could be planning to take his mother away from him, David destroys it in a jealous rage. It is then that Professor Hobby reveals his presence, telling David that he used Dr. Know to lead him 'home,' telling David that the Blue Fairy is only a myth. Hobby leaves David alone, to fetch the team members who designed him. David wanders around Hobby's office, finding the different mechanical items that were instrumental in his creation, as well as fully-boxed 'David' and 'Darlene' units for consumer purchase. The sight of them makes David feel even worse, in that his journey to become human has yielded no way for him to become human to regain his mother's love.David makes his way outside the Cybertronics building, and then jumps off into the waters below. As he floats in the water he suddenly sees something glowing in the distance. Before he can move further, a claw from the Amphibicopter snares him, dragging him out of the water. Above the water, David tells Joe that he saw the Blue Fairy, and that she is down below. However, before Joe can help David, another Amphibicopter appears and captures Joe. Before he is pulled skyward, Joe activates the Amphibicopter for David to go underwater.David and Teddy pilot the vehicle deep into the submerged city, finding themselves in the remnants of the Coney Island amusement park. David guides the craft to the park's Fairytale Land, and within a 'Pinocchio-themed' area, finds a statue of the Blue Fairy. However, maneuvering the craft causes a nearby Ferris wheel to collapse, trapping the Amphibicopter near the statue. David is not at all concerned, but is elated that he has finally found the Blue Fairy. He then begins to 'pray' to her, wishing to become a real boy.Two thousand years pass in which the world has become blanketed in a new ice age, and humans have all but died out. Excavating the ice are evolved mechas of the future, trying to unearth and study the remnants of the culture and species that created them. An excavation team working amid the Coney Island amusement park comes across David and Teddy, frozen in the Amphibicopter.Searching through David and Teddy's memories, they are amazed to find that he had once lived among humans. Using David and Teddy's memories, they concoct a fabricated reality of the Swinton's house, in which David meets a creation resembling the Blue Fairy. David wishes to be a real boy, and to see Monica again. The blue fairy explains that she cannot make him real, and that since 2,000 years have passed, she is no longer living. The blue fairy tells David they can bring back other humans, but David only wants Monica. Explaining that they need a hair sample or other human tissue, Teddy reveals the strands of hair that David had snipped from Monica's head. David demands that since he has Monica's hair, the blue fairy should now be able to bring her back. The Blue Fairy says that she can make this so, and David is taken to his room.After some time, one of the future mechas comes to talk with David, concerning his 'wish' to have Monica brought back to life. The mecha explains that in the past the resurrection of humans have proven to be non-lasting, that any such 'resurrectees' would only live for one day. Even with this revelation, David still wishes to meet Monica again.The future mechas grant him his wish, and the resurrected Monica and David, along with Teddy, spend an entire day together, doing all sorts of things. When it finally comes time for them to go to sleep, the resurrected Monica tells David that she loves him. With this knowledge, David himself also goes to sleep, content and happy at last. | fantasy, cruelty, boring, depressing, allegory, sci-fi, sentimental | train | imdb | null |
tt1152398 | Beastly | Kyle Kingsbury, rich, handsome, and popular, is also selfish, shallow, and cruel. He plays a mean "practical joke" on an outcast girl in his class. The girl is really a witch named Kendra in disguise. The witch then curses him for his cruelty. He is turned into a beast; however, because he performed a small act of kindness shortly before his transformation when he gave an unwanted rose corsage to a girl working a ticket booth, she gives him two years to break the spell, or remain a beast forever. The only way he can turn back to normal is if he truly loves a girl and gets her to love him in return, proving the love with a kiss. Kendra later offers Kyle further aid by giving him a magic mirror that shows him whomever he wishes to see. He is locked in a mansion-like apartment by his shallow, image-obsessed father. His only company is his housekeeper, Magda, and, at his request, a blind tutor named Will. Kyle finds solace in a greenhouse for roses that he tends himself. After a year of being in this state, and trying and failing to find love, Kyle changes his name to Adrian, meaning "the dark one", to reflect his feelings of being a completely different person from the conceited, materialistic boy he used to be. When a robber stumbles into his garden Adrian offers him a deal; he will not report the robber to the police if the robber brings Adrian his daughter, Linda. She is Adrian's last chance to break the spell before his two years are up.
Adrian realizes that Linda is the same girl to whom he gave the rose corsage. He fixes up a room for her, leaving roses and books for her to amuse herself with. When she arrives, she at first wants nothing to do with him as she feels he kidnapped her. As time passes, she slowly warms up to him and he finds himself falling in love with her. The two begin to have tutoring sessions together and during winter they go to a lodge. Shortly before the last year is up, Linda wishes to see her father once more. Adrian lets her see him with the magic mirror and she finds that he has become sick through drug use. Adrian quickly lets her go to him and offers for her to return to the apartment in the spring if she desires, this time as a friend and not a prisoner. On the last day of the second year, Adrian looks for Linda in the mirror and sees her being dragged into a building by a man. He rushes to her rescue and is shot in the process. As he lays dying, he asks Linda for a kiss. She kisses him, breaking the spell and turns him back to normal. He explains everything to Linda and the two go back and live in the apartment together. Adrian had also made a deal with Kendra, and because of which, Will regains his sight and Magda is allowed to return to her family. Kendra reveals that she was Magda, punished to remain a servant forever because of her careless spell but she can now return home as well. | romantic, fantasy, boring | train | wikipedia | I was expecting this tragic love story, just like the original movie, with plenty of tear-jerking moments, but it just wasn't there, in terms of script and acting.The plot was rushed, and therefore the audience didn't have enough time to appreciate the story line, even though we all know it like the back of our hands.Our Beast, Kyle, was more of a brat than a beast, and even after transforming, I was expecting this monster of rage, and he just whined and moaned and was more comedic than anything else.Lindy, who was our Beauty, really only stood as a placeholder for a gorgeous woman.
I didn't see a role model to young girls in her, I just saw a pretty face.However, there were some exceptions, Neil Patrick Harris was impeccable with his comedic timing, and really saved this movie from otherwise getting a 1 star.
Didn't knew it's based on a novel before I saw the movie, and didn't know it's such a teen movie - pretty faces, college scenes - it makes me relate to Twilight, the storyline starts with how perfect the leading boy looks and leading girl seems to be mediocre only.I didn't expect anything before the movie, I just saw the poster and found it interesting, thought it'd be some kind of a romance to have a girl falling in love with such a scar-faced man.
Beastly once again shows teen longing relieved by the workings of magic, not old-fashioned getting-to-know you stuff their grandparents labored through.Kyle (Alex Pettyfer straight from his boring turn as a hunk with little affect in I am Number Four) learns from his distant dad that looks are what count in life.
As he imputes this "aggressively-unattractive" characterization to Goth Kendra (Mary-Kate Olsen), she condemns him to being all he hates, largely ugly, until someone says "I love you" to him.Beauty waiting to be rescued, Lindy (Vanessa Hudgens), falls into the protective custody of now ugly Beast, Hunter (Kyle).
and of course we should not expect 100% similarities from book to movie which happens most of the time.finally this film is for targeted audience which are the teens so don't be too critical otherwise you will not enjoy the ride watching this awesome movie which for me is recommended not only for its target audience but adults alike.it is fun to watch, simple, straightforward and most of all heartwarming.and what i also love is the musical score and the songs used in this movie..
A creature who likes to feed birdies, reveal libraries and much more-leave it.Beastly is based on the fairy tale of the beautiful girl who falls in love with a monster and breaks a curse meaning instead of a minging hairy beast, she gets to live forever in a palace with a hottie who's rich.
My girls begged me to take them to see this movie as they are big fans of Vanessa Hudgens, Alex Pettyfer and Mary-Kate Olsen.
Unfortunately, calling "Beastly" teen trash would be a generous understatement.The film's screenplay is no better than the work of a high school student trying to write a short story during their creative writing class.
We all know that in the real world this is not the case and it's a fairy-tale.Going into the movie i did not have high hopes and i must admit i was surprised not because the movie is that good, but because it's not that bad either, the story has been done 100 times and has been done better than this but something about the main actors makes you feel pleasantly entertained and if you have 1½ hour which have to be spent on something this movie is not the worst thing to throw on the DVD.Just don't expect to be wowed or see anything new and anything that hasn 't been done before.Therefore i cannot in good will give it more than a 2..
I saw I am Number Four and I loved it so i thought i should check out Beastly, was expecting a bad romance, especially because i didn't even like romances, Im more of a sci-fi action kind of guy, but i was very surprised!
Newcomer and heart throb Alex Pettyfer plays Kyle Kingston a very popular student in his school (who also due to his looks and popularity is also very conceited) Upon winning school valedictorian and announcing that he is there for the better looking people of the school, he mistakenly takes it upon himself to centre out and make fun of an outcast Kendra (played very well by Mary- Kate Olsen) in front of everyone pretty much announcing to everyone how ugly she is and then apologizes only to invite her to the school dance, which in turn only to make fun of her once again.
The movie was terrible for the following reasons: it didn't follow the book at all, the acting SUCKED, the script was crappy, and I had more fun laughing at Neil Patrick Harris than watching this terrible film.
Kyle is transformed into a 'beast' by a witch called Kendra (Mary-Kate Olsen) after publicly embarrassing her, but not before he meets his love interest Lindy (Vanessa Hudgens).
yada, yada, love triumphs over hate, the inside is what counts, the nerds are also cool, the good looking are not smart and whatever other "underlaying deep CLICHÉ message" you have to deliver.I don't want to spoil the content, but, you tell me, is that the way, a guy with a psychological profile as depicted at the beginning of the film, would fight a curse by a witch?
I am not the biggest Vanessa Hudgens fan, but the chemistry between Pettyfer and Hudgens soars across the big screen, making this film one of the best I have seen this year.The true diamond in the rough of this film has to be Neil Patrick Harris, who plays a blind tutor.
He delivers hilarious comments at just the right time and really helped carry this film.Beastly is a modern fairytale of "Beauty and the Beast." I have not read the book, but there is no need.
Even if it comes on the TV, switch it off and run out of the house.It could have been so much better, as "Beastly" is supposed to be a modern day re-telling of the old story of "Beauty and the Beast".
The irony is that whilst the film aims to promote the sentiment that real beauty is on the inside, the only reason that most girls will watch this 'vacuous drivel' will be to drool and giggle over the looks of Alex Pettyfer.First of all, some of the cast let the side down.
The acting was good, Alex Pettyfer was sexy and sweet, Neil Patrick Harris was funny, Vanessa Hudgens was cute, all in all a great movie.
In this clever modernization of the timeless tale of "Beauty and the Beast", high school student Kyle (Alex Pettyfer), the most popular guy in school, has been raised to believe that it is good looks that make people like you.
And despite its intertwined love story, the film focuses more on Kyle's struggle to find himself in a brilliant performance by Alex Pettyfer, who gets so lost in his character and under the intensely incredible makeup effects that were horrifically beautiful.
I liked the movie, Alex Pettyfer did very well with what he had to work with, and Neal Patrick Harris was even funnier than the teacher in the book...The music was nice and correlated well with the movie...I would of personally re-caste the parts of Vanessa Hudgeons and the Mary Kate Olson, she always looks like a "witch" so no stretch there imo...If you are a VH fan, then you'll like her fine in the movie, her character in the book was much more humble, so maybe that is what the script writer avoided in the movie or just how VH played the role...but those were my only two exceptions to the movie...Get some popcorn, take your girlfriends or make you boyfriend go...He'll like it too (maybe:).
I guess teen girls will enjoy looking at the male star.This isn't really all that bad of a movie - but it's just so simplistic and obvious and it's been done many times before - and better.I really do feel this is geared towards 12 to 15 year old kids - and not particularly smart ones.
This is not an average movie that would go by me with a ½ rating, this is a good movie that deserves one star more.Title: Beastly Directed by: Daniel Barnz Starring: Alex Pettyfer, Venessa Hudgens, Neil Patrick Harris, Dakota Johnson & Mary Kate Olsen Rated: PG-13 for language including crude comments, brief violence and some thematic material Rating: 06/10 86 Minutes.
Nevertheless, the affluent freak in this romance is more concerned with his former gorgeous self.Blessed with beauty and a news anchor father (Peter Krause), Kyle (Alex Pettyfer) rules his school.But when a teen-witch (Mary-Kate Olsen) curses him with scars, Kyle is cast out by his superficial father and sent to a remote condo.Now, he has a year to get someone to love him, or he'll remain this way.Knowing he can't get the same girls as before, he hones in on a former classmate/plain Jane (Vanessa Hudgens).A modernization of Beauty and the Beast, Beastly is exactly that: the leads are terrible, the lines are cringe worthy and the plot is insulting.Besides, women don't care about a man's looks if he's rich.
Though I would praise Vanessa Hudgens for portraying a good & tolerable 'Lindy' and her acting somehow improves in this one, and for the fact that I become interested to watch this movie is because of her.
And also to Mary Kate-Olsen who nailed her character which includes a crazy wardrobe and Alex Pettyfer for being such a good 'Kyle Kingson' & I love how the modernized 'Beast' of the story looks like.
Like the lead character in the movie the film is pretty light weight and superficial.Pettyfer plays Kyle, the son of a wealthy news anchor named Rob Kingston (Peter Krause).
He begins stalking her and gets it in his head that she's the only person that can cure him of his curse.The movie has some somewhat interesting conversations about the nature of our looks obsessed society and how it plays a dramatic effect on people's lives early on in the film but then quickly turns into a routine teen romdram (romantic drama).
In fact, if you even just read the plot summary, you know what happens in the movie.NONE of the characters are likable, except one, and that is a blind man played by none other than Neil Patrick Harris, which is literally the only redeeming quality of this film.
I am easily moved.I especially liked that Alex's character was not the big furry beast as seen in the original fairy tale or the Disney movie.
It seems that these days unless the movie is a big name title (ie: Twilight, LotR, Harry Potter etc) movies like Beastly are not given enough running time to tell the story the way it should be and so it ends up feeling rushed.
i read the book afew weeks ago and when i saw the trailer for this film i was so excited,unfortunately after watching the film i was really disappointed.for some strange reason the director has changed the names of some of the characters and the whole film feels very rushed there was no chemistry between the two main characters although they are both fantastic actors normally.the ending was terrible and not at all what i expected the book is far better and this film doesn't not live up to it.The trailer for this film makes it look far far better then it really is, if your a beauty and the beast fan then give this film a go it does have some good qualities like looking at Alex the male leading actor is never a bad thing lol..
Its got a weird touch of comedy to it, (which isn't even funny) and the characters, the performances, and the scenes are all overdrawn to the brink of insanity.Kyle, (Alex Pettyfer) a good looking but mean spirited pretty boy, has a curse placed upon him by a goth "witch", (Mary-Kate Olson), who turns his face into a monstrous looking deformation.
What a career this guy has had and going to have..I really don't care(most times?!) who's in the movie because the SCRIPT ,for me,comes first and it was exactly the kind of movie that I like.Special effects are third on the list for me..but when it all comes together, you should feel something inside your body that "moved you" and this movie did it for me.Alex is perfect , in every way..OK, I have to add more to the review, well I don't give anything anyway with the fact it is named "BEASTLY" and Alex is the BEAST and done by a witch but I will not say WHY he has changed and will he ever changed back..but that journey from point A to point Z, involved some pretty unique things that he must learn first, like all of us in life.Not all children today,especially with the Internet and TV, are taught HOW to properly handle themselves in a relationship, in your classroom etc.You must be taught from he "GROUND UP"!!
the acting was great i guess , all the actors were perfect for their roles and the movie was really cool even if it was just like the Disney movie beauty and the beast but i found it more interesting to watch.....
The two hours were wasted, and the relationship between the two leads was monotonous and shallow, again ironic for the story it is meant to tell.At the start, I kept thinking they were somehow going to throw in interesting twists, like maybe a botched surgery as a result of a re- emergence of the brain cancer he said he had causing his "ugliness" or making use of symbolism to hint at things like whichever Olsen twin it was being a witch or even his vanity, but it was all in-your-face and not at all thought-provoking, and the script barely gave the characters enough time to develop feelings for each other, it was all a very forced relationship.The only part that I found interesting was their version of the "beast" in terms of appearance, which was perhaps a little too interesting to be "ugly" but worked fine for the film.
I am hoping someone will be more clever with the Beauty and the Beast story and make a better film version one day, but until then, avoid this movie and go watch the classic Disney animation again..
It's horrible stuff indeed, sort of a modern-day riff on THE UGLY DUCKLING but with some truly repulsive morals behind it.Alex Pettyfer - forever stuck making embarrassingly poor teen films due to his supposed good looks - plays a vain narcissist - hardly a stretch then - who is cursed by a witch into becoming a repulsive beast.
I really like the story of "Beauty and the Beast" and am therefore very disappointed of this movie..
The only thing I kept hoping was that was almost over.Not a big fan of Vanessa Hudgens or Alex Pettyfer, and this film did not help that.More could have been made of a live action version of Beauty and the Beast, but the filmmakers here just threw this mess together like a bad lunch.
People who compare the movie to the book or the Disney film (Beauty & The Beast) are obviously going to be disappointed with it.
You know you'd come to expect true love that will eventually take over, but somehow that rang quite hokey and convenient, since Alex Pettyfer made it seem like he's really the master manipulator, scheming and planning for sparks to fly and chemistry to be exploited in order to work toward Kyle's selfish objectives.So the redemption didn't actually feel sincere, and that's why this film failed in its wanting to tell a moral story that all that matters is the beauty in one's heart and intention.
You know you'd come to expect true love that will eventually take over, but somehow that rang quite hokey and convenient, since Alex Pettyfer made it seem like he's really the master manipulator, scheming and planning for sparks to fly and chemistry to be exploited in order to work toward Kyle's selfish objectives.So the redemption didn't actually feel sincere, and that's why this film failed in its wanting to tell a moral story that all that matters is the beauty in one's heart and intention.
I thought this movie was going to be good but to my disappointing it really wasn't it was to some extent like beauty and the beat other then the fact there was no real look into the story.
The only real good bit is learning how real the dad only likes his son ( Alex) when he's handsome and will do anything to get him beautiful again which made feel quite sad that's how the dad see's him.The beast really didn't look much like a beast almost like some one with lots of tattoos also he still had a six pack so it made him look even less ugly.So I wouldn't see this movie unless you in there with a child or want to watch some boring romantic film..
I thought this movie would be interesting as it is a modern version of the popular story of Beauty and the Beast, touching and romantic down to every point but it turned out it was uninteresting due to its bad and even silly plot and poor performance from the actors who did not play their role well.Kyle Kingston (Alex Pettyfer) is a handsome, rich, popular, self-centered teenager who believes that looks are everything. |
tt0054953 | The Guns of Navarone | The year is 1943, and 2000 British soldiers are holed up on the island of Keros in the Aegean. Rescue by the Royal Navy is impossible because of massive guns on the nearby island of Navarone. Time is short, because the Germans are expected to launch an assault on the British forces, to draw Turkey into the war on the Axis' side.Efforts to blast the guns by air have proven fruitless, so a team has been hastily assembled to sail to Navarone and blow up the guns. Led by Major Roy Franklin (Anthony Quayle), they are Capt. Keith Mallory (Gregory Peck); Andrea Stavros (Anthony Quinn), a Colonel in the defeated Greek army; Corporal Miller (David Niven), an explosives expert; Greek-American street tough Spyros Pappadimos (James Darren); and "Butcher" Brown (Stanley Baker), an engineer and expert knife fighter.Disguised as Greek fishermen on a decrepit boat, they sail across the Aegean Sea. They are intercepted by a German boat and boarded. On Mallory's signal, they attack and kill all the Germans and blow up the patrol boat. Afterwards, Mallory confides to Franklin that Stavros has sworn to kill him after the war, because he was inadvertently responsible for the deaths of Stavros' wife and children.Their landing on the coast that night is hampered by a violent storm. The ship is wrecked and they lose part of their equipment, most notably the food and medical supplies. Franklin is badly injured while scaling the cliff, the injury later becoming infected with gangrene. They find that the cliff is in fact guarded after all. Miller, a friend of Franklin, suggests that they leave Franklin to be "well cared for" by the enemy. Mallory, who assumes command of the mission, feels that Franklin would be forced to reveal their plans, so he orders two men to carry the injured man on a stretcher.After Franklin tries to commit suicide, Mallory lies to him, saying that their mission has been "scrubbed" and that a major naval attack will be mounted on Navarone. Attacked by German soldiers, they split up, leaving Andrea behind with his sniper rifle, while they move on to their next rendezvous point. They contact local resistance workers, Spyros's sister Maria (Irene Papas) and her friend Anna (Gia Scala), who was supposedly rendered mute by the trauma of the Germans' torture.After meeting up with Maria and Anna, the team's mission is continually dogged by Germans, eventually being captured by Lieutenant Muesel (Walter Gotell) when they try to find a doctor for Franklin. Muesel and later Captain Sessler (George Mikell) of the SS fail to persuade the commandos to tell them where Miller's explosives are. Stavros pretends to betray the others and instead attacks the Germans, allowing the group to overpower their captors.They take the Germans' uniforms and escape, but leave Franklin behind so he can get medical attention. Franklin is injected with the truth drug scopolamine by Sessler and gives up the false "information", as Mallory had hoped. As a result, German units are deployed away from the guns and in the direction of the supposed "invasion" point.While making final preparations, Miller discovers that most of his explosives have been sabotaged and deduces that Anna is the saboteur. Not only is she the saboteur, but she can speak, and was never tortured by the Nazis; instead, she agreed to become an informer in exchange for her release. She pleads that she was coerced by the Germans into treachery, but while Mallory and Miller argue over her fate, complicated by Mallory's feelings for Anna, Maria shoots her dead. The team splits up. Mallory and Miller go for the guns, while Stavros and Pappadimos are to create a distraction in the city; Maria and Brown are assigned to steal a boat for their escape.Mallory and Miller make their way into the heavily fortified gun emplacements. Locking the main entrance behind them -- which sets off an alarm alerting the Germans to their presence -- Mallory and Miller set obvious explosives on the guns and hide more below an elevator leading to the guns. The Germans finally cut through the thick emplacement doors, but Mallory and Miller make their escape by diving into the sea. Despite Miller's inability to swim, they make it to the stolen boat, but learn that Pappadimos and Brown have been killed. Stavros is wounded and has difficulty swimming, but Mallory manages to pull him in.The destroyers appear on schedule. The Germans remove the explosives planted on the guns and fire. The first salvo falls short. The second brackets the lead ship. However, just as the guns are prepared to fire again, the elevator descends low enough to trigger the hidden explosives. The guns and fortifications are destroyed in a spectacular explosion. Franklin hears it from his hospital bed and smiles.Stavros, who has fallen in love with Maria, decides to return to Navarone with her and shakes hands with Mallory, having given up his planned vengeance. | cult, suspenseful, action, violence | train | imdb | null |
tt5127076 | Unsolicited Material | Shot with Eds home video camera, Ed opens the documentary explaining that he is an aspiring comedian who videotapes his life 24/7 to share if following a childhood dream was the meaning of life or an unrealistic waste of time.Made from the 10000 tapes he left behind, this documentary explores the illusion of fame in society, the role of money in happiness and the dilemmas of artistic ambition.Ed explains his intention was to create a reality sitcom where an exaggerated version of himself interacted with the public, shot with his home video camera. He played videoblogger The Madness Magnet who attracted madness- like sleeping in bedshops.Called Peter Pan on Acid by the media, Eds blind spot is that he genuinely hasnt grown up. With the camera always on, the lines between Eds performances and real life become blurred. The project evolves into a demystification of showbusiness; the lows behind the highs of paydays and fan interactions.Ed needs the show to succeed to support his family- a predicament he tries and fails to confront himself about in the mirror. When its rejected by hundreds of companies who refuse unsolicited material, publicity attempts become ridiculous- like filming intros on the roof of a furious neighbours house. Two scenes are so insane we wont describe them, but youll laugh like never before.The second half is an emotional introspection on why the seemingly unrelated sketches from the first half happened. Psychoanalysis of why comedians feel compelled to perform was something he explored publicly with fellow comics on his radio show.Eds family are so used to being recorded, they are unaffected in the way that other documentary subjects may be by the presence of the cameras. Eds intention when the project finished was to share cocktails on the beach with his wife. The documentary alternates between Eds journey from childhood to adulthood and footage of his last month chasing fame in London, narrated by a talk with his childhood influence Andre.How can an ending so sad also be so happy?This isnt a mockumentary, but creates a new genre: reality-satire. Real footage of a real life, edited satirically. A satire on reality TV, done in a genuine way. | satire | train | imdb | Euphoric to tragic to satire: a category of its own. I couldn't have predicted an outcome as truly unique as this.Over the years the project has captured some comedic moments that are pure gold.But the vast amount real life experiences which vary from the euphoric to sometimes tragic prove to be an ingredient that just doesn't exist in anything I am aware of.This, coupled with a satirical edge puts Unsolicited Material in a category of its own.I don't know how they came up with this concept, but all I can say is well done. |
tt0048728 | To Catch a Thief | John Robie (Cary Grant) is a retired infamous jewel thief or "cat burglar", nicknamed "The Cat", who now lives in a hilltop villa in the French Riviera growing grapes and flowers. The modus operandi of a recent series of robberies leads the police to believe that Robie is active again; they attempt to arrest him, but he gives them the slip.
Robie visits a restaurant. The staff are his old gang from his French Resistance days, paroled based on patriotic war work as long as they keep clean. Bertani, Foussard, and the others blame Robie, because they are currently all under suspicion while the new Cat is active. Still, when the police arrive at Bertani's restaurant, Foussard's teenage daughter Danielle (Brigitte Auber), who has a crush on Robie, spirits him to safety.
Robie can prove his innocence if he can catch the new Cat in the act. He enlists the aid of an insurance man, H. H. Hughson (John Williams), who reluctantly obtains a list of the most expensive jewelry owners currently on the Riviera. Widow Jessie Stevens (Jessie Royce Landis) and her daughter Frances (Grace Kelly) top the list. Robie strikes up a friendship with them. Jessie's delighted but Frances offers a pretense of modesty. When Robie and Frances run into Danielle at the beach, Robie keeps up the mask of being a wealthy American tourist, despite Danielle's jealous barbs about his interest in Frances.
Frances sees through Robie's cover as an American industrialist. She seduces him, dangling before him her jewels, teases him with steamy tales of rooftop escapades, and offers herself as an accomplice who might share his crimes. Fireworks fill the night sky.
The next morning, Jessie discovers her jewels are gone. Robie is accused by Frances of being merely a distraction so he could steal her mother's jewelry. The police are called, but Robie has disappeared.
To catch the new Cat, Robie stakes out an estate at night. He struggles with an attacker, who loses his footing and tumbles over a cliff. It is Foussard, who dies in the fall. The police chief publicly announces that Foussard was the jewel thief, but, as Robie points out privately in the presence of the abashed Hughson, this would have been impossible because Foussard had a wooden leg, and could not climb on rooftops.
Foussard's funeral is marred by Danielle's loud accusation that Robie is responsible for her father's death. Outside the graveyard, Frances apologizes to Robie and confesses her love. Robie needs to continue his search for the Cat. He asks Frances to arrange his attendance at the masquerade ball the coming weekend, when he believes the Cat will strike again.
At the ball, Frances is resplendent in a gold gown, Robie unrecognizable behind the mask of a Moor. The police hover nearby. Upstairs, the cat burglar silently cleans out several jewel boxes. When Jessie asks the Moor to go get her "heart pills", Robie's voice tips off his identity to the authorities. Upon his return, the police wait out Frances and the Moor as they dance together all night. Finally, Frances and the Moor go to her room, and the mask is removed: it was Hughson, a switch to conceal Robie's exit.
On the rooftop Robie lurks. His patience is finally rewarded when he is joined by another figure in black. But just as his pursuit begins, the police throw a spotlight on him and demand he halt. He flees as they shoot at him, but he manages to corner his foe with jewels in hand. Unmasked, his nemesis turns out to be Foussard's daughter, Danielle. She slips off the roof, but Robie grabs her hand before she can fall. He forces her to confess loudly to the police of the father-daughter involvement, and that Bertani was the ringleader of this gang.
Robie speeds back to his villa, and Frances races after to convince him that she has a place in his life and home. He agrees, but looks less than thrilled when she says, "Mother will love it up here." | murder, atmospheric | train | wikipedia | Enjoyable and riveting comedy-thriller by master of suspense , the great Alfred Hitchcock .On the French Riviera a retired jewel thief nicknamed ¨The Cat¨ (Gary Grant) falling for a gorgeous American girl (Grace Kelly), a high society woman accompanied by her mother (Jessie Royce Landis) , she suspects he's up to his old jobs when a rash of jewel thefts happen.
This seems to be an excuse for bringing together John and Frances, a beautiful and elegant woman who makes a point to show how much she hates having even a conversation with Robie, who will display all his charm and ultimately win her over.The best asset in the film is the elegant and ravishing Grace Kelly, at the height of her beauty.
Ms. Kelly, dressed by the incomparable Edith Head shows an innate elegance and a great flair to carry clothes in such a wonderful manner.Cary Grant, as John Robie, was at his best portraying the debonair former jewelry thief, a man with a past that had not committed a robbery for many years now, but whose fame preceded him everywhere.
There is much to like about Hitchcock's TO CATCH A THIEF: Cary Grant and Grace Kelly at the height of their appeal, a witty script that offers Jessie Royce Landis one of the funniest roles ever seen in any Hitchcock film, and excellent cinematography designed to show off the beauties of Monte Carlo--all packaged in a lightweight tale that is two parts romance, two parts travelogue, one part comedy, and just enough classic Hitchcock suspense to keep this lighter-than-air confection from flying apart.The well known story concerns a string of jewel robberies along the Riviera which lead local officials to suspect that a famous and long retired cat burglar (Grant) is once more on the prowl--but rather than hope the authorities will find the real culprit Grant elects to protect himself by unmasking the thief for himself.
In the process he encounters an icy beauty (Kelly) who takes considerable pleasure in tantalizing him with her charms, her jewels, and her knowledge of his criminal past, and her mother (Landis), who is perhaps the best of the "clever matrons" to appear in any Hitchcock film.
As the police close in, the three of them devise a plot to expose the thief and clear Grant, with whom Kelly has now fallen in love.Unlike most Hitchcock's most famous films, TO CATCH A THIEF offers nothing dark to trouble our thoughts, and it is perhaps best regarded as a romantic fantasia, the director's vacation from his more typical material.
Robie is innocent of course (we are led to believe) and to prove his innocence he is motivated to find the real thief.Grace Kelly plays Frances Stevens, the slightly naughty nouveau riche daughter of the widow of a Texas-style oil millionaire.
It is interesting to note that by this time Cary Grant (51 when the film was released) had become such a heart throb that directors liked to have the women (who were always noticeably younger; Kelly was 26) chase after him.
Hitch makes his de rigueur appearance as a passenger on the mini-bus that Robie takes to get away from the gendarmes early in the film.See this for Grace Kelly whose cool and playful demeanor and statuesque beauty form the heart of this somewhat languid romantic thriller.(Note: Over 500 of my movie reviews are now available in my book "Cut to the Chaise Lounge or I Can't Believe I Swallowed the Remote!" Get it at Amazon!).
But the color photography which won an Oscar of the French Riviera is breathtaking and Cary Grant and Grace Kelly play the whole thing with such style that you really don't care.My favorite in the film is Jessie Royce Landis who is Kelly's mother.
What I DO care about is the fantasy of it all: the beauty of the two stars, their clothing, the surroundings, the sets, and the way this movie just takes a (female) viewer away to a place and time that she will never have experienced but would love to experience: the South of France in the '50s; healthy, witty people with unlimited funds; sunshine, flowers, villas; amusing intrigue involving stolen jewels; the sparkle of the Mediterranean.
In between his suspense masterpieces,Alfred Hitchcock sometimes liked to work on less intense projects,and this is one of them.There isn't much opportunities for palm-sweating tension or balletically-composed thrills as you'd expect from old Hitch,but in TO CATCH A THIEF this seems quite deliberate.The intention from the very start is partaking in a light comedy-thriller,and on this level it is very enjoyable.And accomplished performers such as Cary Grant,Grace Kelly,Jessie Royce Landis and John Williams further help to give it further resonance and quality.The one disappointment in the film is it's slow pace.There are some parts in the film that drag and produce lethargy,but the beautiful locations,photography and cast save it,including a witty and sometimes surprisingly risqué script which caused some concern from censors at the time.Grant and Kelly rank as one of the best romantic couples ever on screen,and rub genuine sparks off each other.Even at 50 years old,Grant is as handsome,if not more handsome,than he ever was previously,and also looks amazingly lithe,agile and fit,as befits a retired cat burglar,and despite being almost double Grace Kelly's age,is wholly convincing as her suitor.Grace herself never looked more alluring and ravishing,and Jessie Royce Landis and John Williams provide fine support.Williams himself is barely a year older than Grant,yet you wouldn't suspect that at all when they're together on screen,and how ludicrous it is compared to Grant when towards the film's end Kelly puts a relieved head on his shoulder(even Williams himself seems embarrassed!).Such is Grant's eternal youthfulness that Miss Landis played his mother in the superior NORTH BY NORTHWEST(1959);the fact is she's a few months younger than Cary!
There's a well-known tragic coda to the film;the later titled Princess Grace of Monaco lost her life in a car accident on the very same stretches of road that Hitchcock filmed a chase sequence,but barring this sad fact TO CATCH A THIEF is still very decent Hitchcock,not great Hitchcock.But very decent Hitchcock is still far better than 95% of other directors,so there's no problem in watching and enjoying this film..
I would have given it 7 out of 10, but the incredible visuals of the French Riviera increased my rating.This movie doesn't measure up to some of Hitchcock's other movies, "To Catch a Thief" is good light entertainment, but the story was simple and I found the ending somewhat lacking in depth compared to "Rear Window", or "Vertigo".Cary Grant, as "The Cat", is a reformed jewel thief trying to go clean, and Grace Kelly, as an American fascinated by "The Cat", are a great romantic couple.
It is beautifully photographed and what better subjects for photography than Grace Kelly and the South of France?"Notorius Cat Burgular meets Wealthy American Heiress" is a plot that only Hitchcock and few others could make into a picture that would hold up for nearly 50 years.
In truth, he was both, but his mysteries (of which this is one of the most delicious) were frequently not thrillers - and visa versa.TO CATCH A THIEF, with Hitchcock's two favorite STAR stars, Cary Grant and Grace Kelly, backed by one of his best supporting casts of great character actors from John Williams' insurance detective (superb earlier work for Hitchcock in a similar role in DIAL M FOR MURDER and later in his TV series) to Jessie Royce Landis as Kelly's drolly amusing mother who sees through everything (she would go on to play GRANT's mother in NORTH BY NORTHWEST, but this may be her best role), and the spectacular scenery of the French Riviera is as good as romantic comedy/mystery gets.
Technical nits may be picked - the "day-for-night" shot where "John Robie" is nearly trapped and killed might have been more effective with today's faster film and real night filming, the elaborate masquerade ball may seem like a scene out of an earlier era to todays's elegance starved youngsters and the film's weakest moment may be the cut away from a moment of romantic "fireworks" to the real kind through the window in the background - but the "ball scene" has a great bit of trickery that always fools new audiences and the "cut away" has become a much quoted icon of romantic film making.Yes, this is the film where Philadelphia's superb high society actress Grace Kelly met her husband-to-be, Prince Ranier of Monoco, and yes, the roads on which she is "shown" dangerously speeding with Grant in their open top roadster are the very cliff-hugging roads where she would eventually suffer her fatal stroke and crash, but that is all subtext to be appreciated or ignored as the modern viewer chooses for one of Hitchock's best mystery films.I've been teaching a university course on Mystery Writing on the Stage and Screen for the better part of a decade now, and I always give over one session to the consideration of Hitchcock - the only DIRECTOR we spend that much time with.
It's always a hard choice which of his later mysteries to focus on - the strong stage-linked DIAL M FOR MURDER (also Kelly showing her unexpected range), the excellent gimmickry of REAR WINDOW or the haunting double life of VERTIGO, the superbly acted intrigue with historical overtones of NOTORIOUS or even FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT (the brilliant PSYCHO isn't in the running since it shines brighter as thriller than mystery), but I always come back to TO CATCH A THIEF.
Other Hitchcock films made in the 50s like Vertigo, Dial M For Murder and Rear Window (Grace Kelly being in the last two) have strong story lines, brilliant camera-work and suspense.
Still, it is an entertaining movie and shows Hitchcock's versatility.Grace Kelly seems to be at the height of her beauty during this film, she looks absolutely stunning.
I would recommend To Catch a Thief to anyone wanting to see two of Hollywood's brightest stars, the French Riviera and generally just a charming, light Hitchcock film..
Along the way, he finds time to flirt with Danielle, the attractive daughter of a local waiter, and to carry on a more serious romance with Frances Stephens, a glamorous American oil heiress.Hitchcock is not, perhaps, a director whom one would normally associate with visual beauty, but as another reviewer has pointed out, this is perhaps his most visually beautiful film, with plenty of tourist-brochure shots of the Riviera.
Like "Charade", "To Catch a Thief" is highly enjoyable as a light, glossy romantic comedy, but lacks the tension and psychological depth of Hitchcock's best work.
Whereas most of his movies were all about suspense and camera angle, this one is mostly about aesthetics, at least as far as I could tell.Cary Grant plays John Robie, an ex-cat burglar now living in retirement in Nice, France.
From there, we start to become intrigued about which of the various characters is doing what.One of the undeniable aspects in this movie is how it makes use of Grace Kelly's incomparable beauty: no matter from which angle they film her, she and her clothes always light up the screen.
When Jessie's jewelries are robbed, Frances blames John, but her mother believes in his innocence and decides to help the retired burglar to catch the real thief."To Catch a Thief" is a delightful romantic comedy and one of the last movies of the gorgeous twenty-six year-old Grace Kelly that is astonishingly beautiful in the role of a spoiled daughter of a millionaire.
Cary Grant and Grace Kelly, two of the most gorgeous stars in film history, as a suave thief and his equally stunning love interest.
Cary Grant and Grace Kelly combine well, making it a pleasure to watch, and a film I smiled all the way through.
You can sense that Hitchcock wasn't really interested in the plot about John Robie (Cary Grant) who was a notorious but retired jewel thief or "cat burglar," nicknamed "The Cat," who now tends to his vineyards in the South of France.
The story and the action are almost secondary to the cool interplay between Hitchcock's two favourite actors (united for the only time), Cary Grant and Grace Kelly.A series of daring jewellery burglaries on the French Riveira are suspected as the work of "The Cat", a.k.a John Robie (Cary Grant).
As the noose tightens, with the police pushing hard to track down and apprehend the innocent Robie, he enlists the aid of beautiful Francie Stevens (Grace Kelly) and her mother (Jessie Royce Landis), to help him trap the real thief.Although this was a surprisingly conventional film for Hitch, it remains an enjoyable experience.
......and sexy too.Having just purchased this film on DVD and watching it about 3 times in a row i must say that it is one of the better films of it's type.The cast is truly wonderful with Cary Grant well cast as the master thief[I have always thought that this role inspired James Bond creator Ian Fleming]and I fell in love with Grace Kelly for oh about the millionth time watching this film again.Not one of Hitchcock's best but very entertaining.The supporting cast is excellent and it has only lost a rating point due to the fact that the story at times is rather confusing and contrived.
The suavity of Cary Grant, the glamour of Grace Kelly, and the wit of Alfred Hitchcock are all on fine display in a film that may not represent a career peak for any of them, but reminds you why they are still treasured more than half a century later.Grant is John Robie, an apparently-reformed cat burglar now growing grapes off France's Mediterranean coast.
Even with Grant and Kelly, it's more about how they look than what they say."To Catch A Thief" reminds me a lot of Hitchcock's previous film, "Rear Window", with its arresting viewscapes, May-December romance, and overall theme of crime as background noise to building a relationship.
Cary Grant is perfectly debonair as the cat burglar John Robie, who here has to catch a thief because he is the chief suspect for a spout of robberies on the French Riviera.
The story, in which reformed cat burglar John Robie (Cary Grant) tries to discover who is behind a series of jewel heists on the French Riviera, has potential for mystery and suspense, but this goes largely unfulfilled.
The film is livelier when it focuses on Robie's romance with heiress Francie Stevens (Grace Kelly), told in an escapist, sophisticated style."To Catch a Thief" is a beautifully filmed movie; many scenes seem to be there just to take advantage of the Technicolor and Vistavision (widescreen) technology.
This isn't the most typical movie to expect from the master of suspense, but it has to be one of his most enjoyable ones.Two specific reasons make this a real pleasure to watch: 1) Grace Kelly, who looks astonishingly gorgeous, 2) the striking cinematography, which is equally breathtaking as Kelly.It's interesting to notice that Jessie Royce Landis (who plays Kelly's mother) would play Grant's mother in "North by Northwest"!.
Now it's time for Robie himself to find out who is the real thief...Typical Hitchcock movie, with a man accused falsely and a pretty blonde (Grace Kelly in what could be her best role).
The Stars Make This a Must See. To Catch a Thief (1955) *** (out of 4) John Robie (Cary Grant) was at one time the greatest cat burglar working in Paris but he turned his life around after becoming a hero in the war.
His luck runs out when someone starts to rob jewels in the same fashion that he did so obviously the police think he is up to his old tricks so he must try and find out who the real thief is while at the same time courting a rich American woman (Grace Kelly).Alfred Hitchcock's TO CATCH A THIEF isn't one of the director's best films but it's certainly a good, solid little gem that manages to work best because of its two stars.
Nice is nice--certainly in the 50's when Hitchcock filmed a tame little tale about a cat burglar (Cary Grant) outsmarted by a dazzling Grace Kelly (who hooked up with Prince Rainier after this movie was made).
Still, it's a good story, and Hitchcock livens it up over the book with a much better and suspenseful ending.The time is 1951 and Cary Grant plays an expatriate American, John Robie.
The chemistry between Cary Grant and gorgeous Grace Kelly (oh, they don't make movie stars like that anymore) is just fantastic experience to watch.
Hitchcock, Grant, Kelly, the French Riviera, this film had so many great things going for it that I was sure to enjoy it.
In what appears to be a film made for its location alone, To Catch a Thief was an interesting installment in the standard Hitchcock fair of an innocent man being blamed for crimes he did not commit.After retiring from the lucrative profession of cat burglary, John Robie's (Cary Grant) life is interrupted by a copycat robber.
a film like many others but different for its sparkles - the costumes, the atmosphere of South France, the admirable performance of Jessie Royce Landis, the same Cary Grant and a little different manner to do her role by Grace Kelly.
It's Alfred Hitchcock, Cary Grant and Grace Kelly.
I mean this though as a compliment; Hithcock's film is lavish and lush with colors of those beautiful locations and settings on the French Riviera, and made as a fantastic vehicle for its two stars, Cary Grant and Grace Kelly.
It is what really sets the film apart from the majority of his later work.Cary Grant stars as John Robie, an American living in France who was once an infamous burglar known as 'The Cat'.
Frances is played by Grace Kelly in her third and final appearance in a Hitchcock film and, much like Grant, she provides the charisma needed in spades. |
tt0080465 | Borderline | The film follows a United States Border Patrol Agent in Charge, Jeb Maynard (Bronson), who is forced to track down the killers of a young Mexican boy and his colleague and friend, a veteran Senior Patrol Agent, "Scooter" Jackson, portrayed by (Wilford Brimley). Jeb Maynard is the Patrol Agent in Charge of the "fictional" Otay Border Patrol Station, located in the hills east of San Diego, CA. Otay Station is a composite of the actual El Cajon, CA and Brown Field, CA Border Patrol Stations. He is helped by the young boy's mother, Elena Morales, (Karmin Murcelo) and a rookie Border Patrol Agent, Jimmy Fantes, (Kirby).Senior Patrol Agent Jackson and the young boy are murdered by Hotchkiss, a ruthless alien smuggler, also called "the Marine" by the aliens, portrayed by (Ed Harris). The murders take place when a truckload of illegal aliens being smuggled by Hotchkiss is stopped by Senior Patrol Agent Jackson while on routine road patrol. The truck has boxes of tomatoes on top of a hidden roof on the back of the truck. Under the roof is a hidden compartment containing the load of illegal aliens. Hotchkiss shoots "Scooter" from a concealed position in the back of the truck with a sawed-off shotgun at close range. The Mexican boy is badly wounded by stray buck shot so Hotchkiss finishes him off with another blast from his shotgun. Hotchkiss drags the bodies into the bushes along the side of the road and conceals the Border Patrol sedan in the same bushes. The other alien smuggler driving the truck with Hotchkiss becomes very nervous about the murders so Hotchkiss later kills him to keep him silent after they drop off the load of illegal aliens at a local fruit ranch, owned by well to do fruit farmer Carl Richards, and used as a front to smuggle aliens. Hotchkiss later abandons the truck used to smuggle the aliens along a rural road. Hotchkiss leaves the body of the other alien smuggler who was driving the truck the night of the murders, along with the truck, and conceals some small bags of marijuana in the truck to make it appear to be a drug smuggler's vehicle. Other Border Patrol Agents find the bodies of Agent "Scooter" Jackson and the boy, and the Border Patrol car later in the morning. Agent Fantes finds some fresh tomatoes near the bodies. Agent Maynard notices some boot prints in the dirt among all the other foot prints at the crime scene. These particular prints were made by a pair of military style boots with some odd markings in the soles. One of a veteran Border Patrol Agent's professional skills is "sign-cutting." "Sign-cutting" is the skill to examine, analyze, and interpret tracks and marks made in the ground. Patrol Agents use this skill to track groups of illegal aliens crossing the border. Maynard has Fantes take the tomatoes to the Agriculture department of a nearby university for analysis. The F.B.I. is called to investigate. The F.B.I. has primary juridiction investigating the murder of any federal agents. A couple of days later the abandoned truck is found with the drugs. The F.B.I. agents investigating the murders wrongly conclude that Agent "Scooter" Jackson stopped some drug smugglers that night and was shot because of it. Hotchkiss is running a sophisticated and highly profitable alien smuggling operation between Mexico and the United States. Maynard and Fantes start checking the trails in the hills that the smugglers use to bring in illegal aliens and drugs. They find the same military boot prints along a trail where a Border Patrol electronic ground sensor has been dug up and disabled. Hotchkiss is a former U.S. Marine who had been trained on such equipment while in the Marine Corps. He discovered the sensor and disabled it on a prior smuggling run.Jeb Maynard thinks that "Scooter" Jackson was murdered by alien smugglers and tries to convince the F.B.I. that the marijuana in the truck was merely a ruse. The F.B.I. does not believe him. After "Scooter" Jackson's funeral with full honors, Jeb tells his boss, I&NS Commissioner Malcolm Wallace, about his suspicions. Commissioner Wallace cautions Jeb to proceed carefully in the matter. So Jeb begins his own investigation of the murders with the assistance of Patrol Agent Jimmy Fantes. Maynard had found a piece of paper with a San Diego address on it in the murdered Mexican boy's clothes. Maynard goes to the address and finds the boy's mother, Elena Morales, working at a well to do family's home as their nanny. Maynard takes Elena to the morgue so she can identify her son's remains. Maynard then asks for her help in finding her son's killers. Elena is brave and she agrees. Maynard goes undercover posing as the woman's cousin. They cross into Mexico and she introduces him to an alien smuggler in Tijuana, Mexico who brought her over the border when she last crossed. This smuggler is Hotchkiss's partner in Mexico. Maynard's physical features are such that he can pass for Mexican. Elena tells the smuggler that her cousin is simple minded and doesn't talk much. Jeb Maynard cannot speak Spanish well enough to pass as a native Mexican. Elena pays the smuggler with money Jeb gave her.They are smuggled across the U.S.-Mexican border and through the hills east of San Diego into the United States along with a group of thirty illegal aliens. Maynard hears the smuggler guiding the group talking about "the Marine" who runs things" to Elena. But then the group is ambushed by bandits who want to rob the group. Jeb and Elena escape unharmed. Jeb and Elena walk back towards the suburbs of San Diego. Jeb gets Elena home and thanks her for her help. He tell Elena that she should stop by his office the following week and he will try to help her straighten out her immigration status in the United States.Maynard gets home, cleans up, and tries to get some sleep. Jimmy Fantes stops by Maynard's home to report to him that the agriculture report came back on the tomatoes found at the crime scene. These particular tomatoes were treated with a particular new brand of pesticide. Fantes checked with the local office of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and only a few large farms in the local area use that brand of pesticide. Maynard and Fantes meet later at the Border Patrol station to plan their next move. They put on their Border Patrol uniforms and drive in Jeb's Border Patrol S.U.V. to check the local fruit farms that use that pesticide. They finally end up at Carl Richards's large fruit ranch. Jeb knows of Richards's reputation for hiring illegal aliens for poor wages to harvest his fruit. Hotchkiss is in the main ranch house when Maynard and Fantes arrive. Hotchkiss stays inside the house and Richards goes outside to speak to the Border Patrol Agents. While talking to Richards, Jeb Maynard notices the same style military boot prints in the dirt near the main house that he detected at the crime scene.Jeb Maynard and Jim Fantes set up a surveillance of the Richards Ranch with the assistance of Border Patrol Agents Lambert and Monroe. While using binoculars they see Hotchkiss wearing his combat boots and camouflage marine field jacket departing the house with other smugglers, including the Mexican smuggler who was guiding the group that Jeb and Elena had infiltrated. Maynard has found "the Marine". Hotchkiss is planning a large alien smuggling run soon that will bring hundreds of illegal aliens into the U.S. in one evening. Then he plans on shutting down operations for a while until things cool off.From what he witnesses on the surveillance of the ranch over the following days Jeb Maynard deduces Hotchkiss's plans. Maynard get all his agents together at the station and plans an operation for the following evening. The Border Patrol is going to raid the Richards Ranch. Jeb Maynard and his Border Patrol Agents raid the ranch in the late evening/early morning capturing all the illegal aliens and the smugglers bringing them into the ranch's main barn. At dawn Hotchkiss arrives at the ranch with the last load of illegal aliens. As the Patrol Agents attempt to arrest him Hotchkiss pulls out a model MAC-10 nine millimeter machine pistol and fires a burst at the agents. The agents take cover and Hotchkiss jumps in a car and speeds away. Jeb Maynard pursues him in a Border Patrol four wheel drive truck. Hotchkiss attempts to lose Maynard on an old dirt road. The road dead ends and Hotchkiss runs on foot into the surrounding trees and bushes. Maynard draws his Smith and Wesson Model 28 .357 Magnum revolver from its holster and starts tracking Hotchkiss through the forest. Hotchkiss cirlces around back to the vehicles thinking he has given Maynard the slip. Just as Hotchkiss is about to get back in his car Maynard emerges from the treeline with his revolver pointed at Hotchkiss and says, "the end of the road." Hotchkiss wheels about and starts firing his MAC-10 machine pistol at Maynard. Maynard is a better shot and kills Hotchkiss with a single shot from his .357 Magnum.The film ends with Maynard and Fantes watching Richards leaving the United States Court House in San Diego, CA after he has been sentenced to three years in federal prison for alien smuggling. Fantes laments that Richards will probably go right back to smuggling aliens within a month of his release from prison. Jeb Maynard responds by saying, It's okay kid, we'll be there waiting for him. | murder | train | imdb | Charles Bronson has a long-listed filmography that has undeserved sleepers mixed among the favourites, but also there are quite a few standard vehicle efforts.
Entertaining for the odd 97 minutes, but nothing really there to make it overly memorable.
Maybe to see a steely Ed Harris make his first real dent in the major film industry, but other than that there's very little to it.The subject at hand (illegal immigration of Mexicans crossing over the US border) is very topical and naturally integrated, as Charles Bronson plays the chief border patrol officer.
The human drama is too black and white (lacking an emotional punch), but also suffering was that it never gained any real sort of assured brunt when it came to the action.
But this being the case it doesn't stop it from being effective, just it leaves a no real agreeable imprint.During the nights Chief Border Patrol Officer Jeb and his overworked men take in many illegal aliens trying to cross over the border.
After the killing of a border patrol officer and a young Mexican boy too.
The FBI is brought on to the case and believes it to have something to do with drug running.
However Jeb along with the deceased boy's mother go about trying to figure out what really happened and he has his true suspicions.What I liked was how director Jerrod Freedman gives the film quite an organic look, as the camera follows the action in a documentary-style.
Gil Mellé's rousing score is on the mark.The cast do the best with what the script allows.
Bronson alone gets through it with such genuine conviction.
Harris' on-screen charisma evidently features with a well-comprised performance and Karmin Murcelo gives a wonderfully warm turn of heart-broke.
There's an well-fitted supporting cast with Bruno Kerby, Michael Lerner, Wilford Brimley, Kenneth McMillan and Charles Cyphers.Workable, if indistinguishable..
I remember when I was in grade 8, people where starting to buy VCRs, and owning one was a big deal.
Borderline was one of them, I thought it was pretty cool.
Watching this film 19 years later I found it predicable, and a little lame.
simple flick but so many popular seventies actors involved.
This is just a flick with a simple story but it's still watchable towards todays standards.
It's all about the borderline between America and Mexico and the business that is going on to 'help' Mexicans cross the line.
For a flick of 1980 it is very low on brutality.
It was a time that had a lot of blood, nudity and gore in it's flicks but this here just hasn't any of that.
The main lead is done by Charles Bronson, you love or hate him but I love him even as he isn't an actor with great abilities he still delivers.
It was made at a time that Bronson was more in rough flicks or revenge flicks starting with the Death Wish franchise (1974).
But there's also Ed Harris (Hotchkiss) here to see in one of his first major roles.
He got his first taste of critical acclaim, playing astronaut John Glenn in The Right Stuff (1983).
Also Bruno Kirby (Jimmy Fante ) made it in blockbusters like Good Morning Vietnam (1987).
There are more popular faces to see in smaller roles like Charles Cypher.We have seen this story a few times in other flicks but as I said earlier, it still works and is in fact still actual.Gore 0/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 0/5 Story 3/5 Comedy 0/5.
A Bit Too Low Key But a Good Bronson Film.
Borderline (1980)*** (out of 4)Jeb Maynard (Charles Bronson) works the U.S.-Mexico border and is dealing with a large number of illegal immigrants sneaking into the country.
One day his partner is brutally murdered in the line of duty so Jeb sets out to find who's behind it.
The Federal boys thinks it's related to drugs but Jef feels there's another motive.BORDERLINE is a film that never gets discussed.
You could gather up a thousand Bronson fans and question them on any movie in his long career and I'd say very few would have even seen this one.
It's really too bad because while the movie isn't a complete success it's at least entertaining enough that fans of the actor should give it a chance and especially since it offers him up a different type of role.I'm going to guess this film isn't all that popular because there's really not much of a violent streak to it.
There's one brutal murder shown but it's not overly graphic since it's basically just a shotgun blast.
I think the 'revenge' aspect people love with Bronson means they want to see him go out and blow away people and that doesn't happen here.
Instead what we're treated to is a low-key movie about a simple man trying to solve a murder.
There aren't any shoot outs or a high body count.I think the film moves a bit too slow for its own good and there's no question that a higher speed would have helped things.
Outside of that I think the film is mostly a success.
Bronson turns in yet another quiet but good performance and you can't help but think he liked being able to play a more serious part here.
The supporting cast includes a nice turn by Bruno Kirby as well as Wilford Brimley in a small bit.
Ed Harris really stands out here as the cold-blooded killer.
He doesn't say much but you can feel the coldness of his character just by looking at Harris' eyes.It's doubtful this film will ever have a great number of fans and that's understandable but at the same time more Bronson fans should give it a shot..
A decent Bronson vehicle..
"Borderline", admittedly, is fairly undistinguished in terms of presentation.
It's passable as an action flick, and entertains reasonably well for 100 minutes.
It purports to shed light on the problem of illegal immigration, which in this day and age is more of a hot button issue than ever before.
Characters are mostly thinly drawn, but writer Steve Kline and writer / director Jerrold Freedman aren't completely insensitive to the plight of the good, honest, hard workers like Elena Morales (Karmin Murcelo) who feel they have no choice.The movie does benefit from giving its star, Charles Bronson (playing Jeb Maynard), a worthy adversary: a particularly ruthless and cold blooded smuggler named Hotchkiss (Ed Harris, in the role that "introduced" him), who sealed his fate when he killed Scooter Jackson (Wilford Brimley), one of Jebs' co-workers.
Jeb and Scooter are among those on Border Patrol detail, and when Scooter gets murdered, Jeb takes it upon himself to solve the case.
He doesn't trust the ignorant agents of the FBI, who think the whole case is about drugs.
Jeb must also break in a new employee, Jimmy Fante (Bruno Kirby), an eager beaver rookie sent from NY.What gives "Borderline" some stature today is its truly superior supporting cast.
Bronson does what he usually does (which, of course, he is very cool at doing), but it's Harris and others that truly bring this to life.
You can't go too wrong reading through this cast list: Bert Remsen, Michael Lerner, Kenneth McMillan, Norman Alden, John Ashton, Charles Cyphers, Virgil Frye, Luis Contreras, et al.
Although the environment is very much male-dominated, Ms. Murcelo is appealing and touching as the illegal alien who reluctantly provides Jeb with the assistance that he needs.This is worth noting for a striking music score by Gil Melle and cinematography by the consistently dependable Tak Fujimoto.
Murder on the Border.
Don't expect to see Chuck murder men by request, shoot punks or grow watermelons.
This time Bronson is Jeb Maynard, a tough and experienced chief border patrol officer investigating the cold-blooded murder of one of his men who is just two weeks away from retirement.With the aid of a newly transferred young officer from New York, Maynard tracks down the ruthless killer who is seemingly as elusive as the masterminds behind the crime.BORDERLINE, a lesser known and often forgotten Bronson's film (at least to me), plays like a pilot episode of a TV series.
Not much tension is delivered and not much action either, but this crime drama keeps viewers, especially fans, interested.
Unfortunately, the distinctively catchy music during the opening credits is underplayed, which renders some key scenes emotionally bland.Compared with other Bronson's films - Cold Sweat, White Buffalo, Love and Bullets - which are rather disappointing, BORDERLINE quite delivers the goods.
It's always a pleasure for Bronson's fans to see him take up a different role: here we see more of his acting and charisma while less of his machismo (Not saying that this side of Bronson's acting style is unwelcome) During his long acting career, Charles Bronson only had several memorable films which made him an iconic action star.
BORDERLINE is certainly not one of them.
For his fans, this minor entry is worth watching regardless..
This was the third turkey in a row for Charles Bronson, after "The White Buffalo" and "Love and Bullets".
There is little plot, no action, no emotion, no humor and generally nothing to engage your interest in any way; even the supporting characters are colorless.
One of the few feature films to have illegal aliens Borderline has Charles Bronson in charge of a border patrol station in Arizona.
It's a thankless task he has because as is made clear a lot of these illegals are just pursuing the American dream.
They read about the Statue Of Liberty and if they get to New York they see the lovely Ms. Liberty in our harbor with those words about "bring me your tired, your poor.....etc." But what Borderline says is that illegal smuggling is a more organized racket than we think and Bronson has no doubt that it was those smuggling illegals who murdered his partner Wilford Brimley and a young Mexican kid Panchito Gomez.
The FBI says it was drugs, Bronson says it was human smugglers.
Therein lies the story.Although he did some television and a few bits in some feature films, Borderline gives an 'introducing' credit to Ed Harris who plays a former Marine and killer of Brimley.
He's not at the top of the villainy food chain here, but his skills make him a dangerous foe for Bronson.
He's a coldblooded piece of work.Also note Bruno Kirby as a new trainee from New York as if that speech pattern would have him from anywhere else.One thing I didn't like was the business where Bronson goes undercover with a group of illegals using Karmin Murcelo the mother of the deceased boy as a guide because she is Spanish speaking of course.
In real life he would have taken her information and I'm sure the Border Patrol has any number of Spanish speaking female agents for such work.
Just ridiculous.It's a complex topic, but Borderline dealing with smuggling illegal aliens will find favor with Charles Bronson fans..
I can't understand why Bronson would choose to appear in such a low-key and predictable movie (unless it was for the money).
There's almost no action, there's almost no investigating of the mystery, and you can tell what's going to happen next in almost every part of the movie.
Even if you are a Bronson fan, you shouldn't bother with this entry in Bronson's filmography..
Passable actioner with fairly serious themes..
Borderline is a reasonably serious and sincere Charles Bronson movie, made at a time when the stone-faced actor was most commonly found in sleazy and violent potboilers (e.g Death Wish II, Ten To Midnight, The Evil That Men Do, etc.) There is little about Borderline that is violent or sleazy; in fact, it is probably the tamest film he made at that period of his career.
It takes its basis from the very real problem of illegal Mexican immigrants crossing the American border in search of a better life.
When the film was made, the number of aliens crossing into the US without authority was incredibly high and was a real issue of concern for the Border Patrol officers, so in some ways this is quite a topical movie.
However, it is made in a basic, workmanlike fashion by director Jerrold Freedman, and has neither the explosive action to satisfy the gung-ho crowd, nor the thematic weight and power to satisfy those looking for something more morally complex.Jeb Maynard (Charles Bronson) is the chief at a Border Patrol station some 20 miles east of San Diego.
Every day (and night) his small, overworked staff patrol an area of thousands of square miles looking for Mexican nationals who have illegally crossed the border in their sector.
One of Jeb's closest buddies is Scoot (A.
Wilford Brimley), an old, long-serving Border Patrolman.
On a dark evening, Scoot is unfortunate enough to pull over a truck full of illegal aliens being smuggled into the US by ex-Vietnam vet Hotchkiss (Ed Harris).
Hotchkiss works as part of a major smuggling operation which is making millions of dollars a year by helping paying immigrants across the border.
Scoot is shot dead by Hotchkiss, who also fatally wounds one of his aliens - a young boy - at the same time.
The FBI believe that Scoot and the kid were killed by drug smugglers, but Jeb is less convinced.
Aided by Elena, the dead boy's mother (Karmin Murcelo), he attempts to get to the bottom of his best friend's brutal murder.It's quite interesting to see Harris in his movie debut playing second fiddle to Bronson.
Harris went on to become a greatly-respected star, and even here in this simple and under-written role you can see his charisma trying to break through....
which contrasts markedly with Bronson's inexpressive, silent-man-of-action approach.
The story has the potential to be very powerful, but most opportunities are missed and the film plays out in a very ordinary and unremarkable manner.
Everything comes across as earnest and simplistic, and this approach seems rather too pat for a movie with such a topical theme.
Borderline is nothing special, but neither is it particularly terrible.
There are a thousand better and a thousand worse movies out there..
Great Bronson, again....
OK now what the hell is wrong with this great film, I've seen hell of a lot worse nowadays that make money too.
Bronson shines again with what he has to work off, i never really under-stud people slagging him off, rubbish actor....
No way, Charlie always proved he could act and he did action movies for big money, so why not, stick to what works.
We all remember Charlie and miss him now we have actors that ain't worth watching.
Its a little movie that deserves a nice DVD release, so why no one bother, cause they'd prefer to release rubbish instead.BRONSON 10/10.
Worthy and underrated Bronson vehicle.
Weary, but tough and dedicated border patrolman Jeb Maynard (a fine and credible performance by Charles Bronson) investigates the murder of his crusty partner Scooter Jackson (a pleasingly grumpy cameo by Wilford Brimley) at the hands of the ruthless Hotchkiss (Ed Harris, who's chilling and excellent in his first substantial film role), who makes his living smuggling illegal Mexican immigrants into America.Director Jerrold Freedman, who also co-wrote the taut and involving script with Steve Kline, grounds the topical premise in a plausible workaday reality, keeps the absorbing story moving along at a steady pace, makes nice use of dusty'n'desolate rural locations, maintains a gritty serious tone throughout, and handles the central issue of illegal immigration with taste and sensitivity (those exacting a typically trashy 80's Bronson schlockfest will be greatly disappointed, as this is probably one of Charlie's more earnest and less sensational pictures made in the 1980's).
Karmin Murcelo contributes a touching turn as helpful and distraught illegal Elena Morales while Bruno Kirby makes a likable impression as Jeb's eager new rookie partner Jimmy Fante.
Moreover, the sterling cast of reliable character actors gives this picture an extra lift: Bert Remsen as crooked rancher Carl J.
Richards, Michael Lerner as corrupt businessman Henry Lydell, Kenneth McMillan as sympathetic fed Malcolm Wallace, Norman Alden as the jolly Willie Lambert, Charles Cyphers and John Ashton as fellow border cops, and Luis Contreras as an odious bandit.
Tak Fujimoto's sharp cinematography provides an impressive polished look.
Some Stuff That Happened.
I love Charles Bronson, and I really wanted to love "Borderline," but it's about as exciting as a trip to the grocery store.It's the story of a criminal syndicate that smuggles Mexicans into the US like they were cattle, abusing and under-paying them as illegal laborers.
It seems that some shady companies will pay big bucks for employees they can treat like slaves, and as a Border Patrol Officer it's Bronson's job to stop the flow of immigrants at the source.Except no one seems to care.
None of the characters have any personality, there are no surprises and not really any action, either.
The actors move from scene to scene because the script tells them to...
The movie is filmed without any sense of the fantastic...
the Director seems to believe that it's all really happening, but the problem is he doesn't find any of it exciting in the least.Charles Bronson is almost invisible as the lead...
he's looks like he could barely keep from falling asleep.
Wilford Brimley, Bruno Kirby, and Ed Harris show up in supporting roles, but they too are in mellow comas, low-energy and reciting their lines quietly...
The cinematography is awful, and call me old-fashioned by I much prefer a beautiful girl to look at in a film than dozens and dozens of mustachioed Mexicans.
There are no women in the film.It's a good thing I wrote this review immediately after seeing the movie, because I can already feel it slipping from my memory like a daydream on a summer afternoon.
There's nothing to see here, even for Bronson die-hards.
This isn't a movie...
it's just some stuff that happened.GRADE: C- |
tt1485096 | The Prodigy | Is Prevalent's latest wonderfully creative animatedfeature film. It highlights the story of a lovely yet
humble young girl in Ancient China who is an exceptional champion. Her name is "KG" - the "Kung-Fu Girl" with a big heart. Although she is an underdog, and the odds are against her; she discovers that there is no limit to what she can accomplish when she believes in herself. With the help of her brave yet zany Master Panda, KG sets off on a journey to restore justice to her beautiful kingdom and rescue her beloved prince. A hilarious
side-splitting animated feature, THE PRODIGY delivers Non-Stop Kung Fu Fun! [D-Man2010]This animated adventure for kids tells the story of a girl in ancient China named KG - which stands for Kung-fu Girl.
Unfortunately, KG is not always as heroic as her name suggests, despite her good heart and kind nature. But when
she finds herself right in the middle of an adventure to rescue her prince and save her kingdom, she discovers that she can accomplish anything she puts her mind to. [D-Man2010] | psychedelic | train | imdb | Horrible.
This was by far one of the worst movies my son and daughter have ever picked out.
The animation on the DVD cover and stating it was from the artists and animators of Shrek and Sharktale on the cover seemed like a straight out lie.
I have seen video games with better graphics and story lines.
I am a huge fan of indie movies but this was beyond horrible, the panda was creepy, the music was even worse and the plot and dialog in the movie was deplorable.
I would definitely not recommend anyone this movie, even at renting it for a week for a $1.00, I feel like it was a total waste of money.
Don't waste your time or money.
This movie is terrible.
The graphics are reminiscent of an early nineties video game.
The characters are flat, the "plot" seems like it was written by 10 year old kids.
During the fight scenes, the characters' arms and legs go THROUGH the other character's body.
And yeah, the panda is creepy and sounds like like his voice is done by R2D2 if he could actually speak.
The "lovely yet humble" KG has purple hair and a Barbie body.
If that makes her lovely, more power to her, but she really seems like a 12 year old boy's idea of anime perfection.
The music is just as terrible as the rest of it.
I can't believe that people actually paid money to see this.
I'd get my money back if I hadn't just borrowed it from a friend who didn't warn me about how awful it is..
The worst.
The absolute worst..
Anybody that gave this movie more than two stars is trolling.
I have seen many films derided as the worst in existence, and let me tell you: This is the absolute worst.
There are literally no redeeming qualities in this movie whatsoever.Animation: Looks like it was done in Poser.
The cut scenes in Final Fantasy VII had better graphics.Plot: Dumb, predictable and boring.Voice acting: Stiff and lifeless.Characters: Differing between bland and annoying as f***.
Jar-Jar Binks cannot hold a candle to the panda master.The ONLY possible redemption this movie might offer is some of the set pieces, but that will be squandered completely when you see the complete void of inspiration that are the jade, silver and gold rooms, one of which, I kid you not, is decorated with a giant down-to-the-details ripoff of the Mortal Kombat logo.The ONLY reason anyone should watch this is to increase your tolerance for pain.
All of my friends question how I can sit through Battlefield Earth, The Last Airbender, Movie 43 and 2016: Obama's America without ever once wanting to gnaw my own leg off, and the truth is that those movies are all masterpieces compared to The Prodigy.IT IS THAT BAD..
As bad as "The Little Panda Fighter".
Oh great, another Kung-Fu Panda rip-off.
This is the worst animated movie I have ever seen.
I cannot believe this trailer of the movie appeared on my 2009 DVD of Donkey Xote.
The animation is poorly done.
It looks like it was taken off from a PlayStation 2 game.
It even makes Foodfight look like Reboot.
It's even worse than Video Brinquedo's animation.
The voice acting is nitrous.
The panda is this film is creepier than the panda on the Little Panda Fighter.
KG looks like a character from some anime.
The plot is hideous.
The characters are lame.
The setting was a rip-off to Kung-Fu Panda's setting.
This is one of the worst of the worst animated movies I've ever seen in my entire life.
If you value your life stay away from this movie.
Watching this movie was the equivalent of your eyeballs committing suicide.
The poor sound and voices is similar to sticking your head in a jet turbine.
If you are old enough to understand the story line then you will probably not make it past minute 5 intact.
This movie reminded me of nuclear devastation.
The panda drumming scene was probably less realistic than lipsinking without moving your lips.
I phoned 911 and reported massive head trauma after watching.
I know neighborhood lemonade stands more deserving of the profit this movie made.
The day after I watched this I woke up to find out that a third of my internal organs had abandoned me.
I enjoy even the worst of movies but my life has forever changed.
Please spend a few dollars on your friendly neighborhood lemonade stands or something but do not support this movie.
★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆..
More Kung-Fu-Rubbish than Kung-Fu-Tastic.
Not the worst animated movie I've ever seen, but it does come close and is among the worst seen recently.
As a huge fan of animation, even if the execution is wanting in several areas, this viewer does try to not be too harsh in her judgement as long as it's clear that effort was made.
And that is the problem with The Prodigy, not only does it look cheap but it insults the intelligence and really does feel like little effort was put into it.The Prodigy is very poorly animated, not quite as bad as the Video Brinquedo and Spark Plug Entertainment output as far as computer animation goes.
But does that excuse the flat colours, the sloppy editing in the action, the very, very sparse backgrounds (which are one-dimensional and restricted to about three or four objects a background on occasions) and the very ugly and sometimes creepy designs with the movements of a video game dated from twenty years ago?
The problem with the soundtrack is that not only is an overly loud and plodding soundtrack that has very little memorable about it but the style it is composed it completely jars with the setting.In terms of writing, the dialogue and jokes are enough to make one cringe, so dumbed down, awkward and forced that the probability of getting sore eyes from rolling your eyes so much is a certainty.
The story really struggles to sustain the running time and pads it with overlong scenes and scenes that are little more than unnecessary filler.
It is also far too simplistic and very predictable.
The action is poorly animated to start with, and the unexciting choreography, weird sound efforts and the lack of momentum hurt it further.
The characters fail to engage, with a blandly written female lead, underwritten and confusedly written villains and a truly obnoxious panda.
The voice acting is very stiff, most of the characters speak in monotone while on the other end of the spectrum the panda speaks in a higher-pitched Italian-sounding accent that sounds out of place with the rest of the voice actors.All in all, could have been Kung-Fu-Tastic, but ended up being more like Kung-Fu-Rubbish.
1/10 Bethany Cox. Unbelievable.
My mom bought this movie in Canada because it was cheap and we needed some movies to entertain us on the long ride home to Minnesota.
I was about 11 when I watched this but even then did I figure that this movie sucked ass.
It was so poorly animated and the movements were so choppy and just embarrassing to watch.
The plot was SO predictable and the panda was very disturbing to watch/listen to, it seemed slightly perverted..
My sister (who was 6 at the time) loved the movie, but what did she know-- she can't tell the difference between a cherry and apple, but one thing she experienced were nightmares because of the panda.
I'm telling you, the panda is satanic or something.
Anyways, the effects were really corny and low quality and just everything about this movie was just sad to watch.
The scenes weren't at all detailed, just some pots and statues.
I cringed throughout the movie except I enjoyed the ending song during the credits, it was catchy but that's about it..
If your child asks you to buy this in Poundland, don't..
The title, which you see above you, is intended as a warning to exactly what happened when my little sister asked to get this in Poundland.
Join the "animators and artists of Shrek" as you journey through ancient China, represented in glorious mid-90s video game graphics.
Meet a bunch of characters who you'll grow to know and want to strangle, voiced by people whom I imagine were paid less than £5 for their respective parts, and I doubt it will ever be enough for them to be able to live with what they've done.
They will embark on an epic quest to stop some irritating person from doing something or another.
You won't care by the time this film ends.
Your mind will only be concerned with snapping the disc.
The bottom line is: don't buy this, unless you plan to use it as an instrument of torture..
Not so great.
I am a character animator and cg artist.
Seeing this movie was difficult to bear.
The movements were done for the sake of moving, without any sense of acting, or intent.
As well as it feeling floaty and lifeless.
The models were unappealing.
The rigs were very restricted and pinched with any extreme pose.
The lighting felt OK, but still not so great.
Texturing was in the same category.A different style could have been trialled to hide some of the flaws, but considering the budget, there is little wonder as to why this movie felt so dead.As for story, it had potential, but requires a whole heap of refining.
I commend the attempt, but at best, I would suggest it remain an idea.
Hahah out of this world.
One on the worst best animated movies ever.
It's so bad that it is fun.
You need to watch this with your friends(maybe drunk) and you will laugh like never before.
Animation is awful,story is jumping, you don't really know what is happening in the movie but nevermind all that because this is masterpiece of comedy.
P.s. They wrote on cover and internet that this is from creators of Shrek hahah whick is of course false but nice marketing trick..
Cute little indie film.
I knew going in that this was not a big studio big budget animation.
It was likely made on a limited budget.
Everybody likes different things; my kids and I love martial arts and Kung Fu. So we were into it.
My 5 and 7 year old kids were glued to it.
The animation was colorful and full of action.
It had some interesting mix of far eastern music and western pop style, and the characters were cute.
The kids were really laughing at the silly panda character, and liked the battles through the story.
I could see why young girls would like the lead character, KG.
She's really cute, and nice, but she's a pretty tough fighter.
She's got the girl power thing going, and has a sweet love story..
The Best most exciting Movie in existence.
In the movie "The Prodigy" True art on a level unimaginable by human intellect was performed.
The voices were a symphony in my head.
Animation so flawless I almost thought it was real.
Finally, the plot truly revealed the message, kept the watcher engaged, and made true romance."The Prodigy" is about a panda who raised a girl to fight since she was young.
She is now a teenager and falls In love with This boy who's father is very over-protective of his child.
Unfortunately, a brother and sister united capture the boy to try and rule.
Will The boy's father ever let them couple be?
Will They save the soon to rule before his father gives in?
You will have to watch to find out.The voices really got my attention.
Every word as if the actor was really that who they were being.
The emotion takes you to another world with the perfect lines to fully sum up the feelings in the moment.
The metaphor in the lines, wrapped in the beautiful acting styles of those in "The Prodigy".
Out of everything this with the animation took my soul and drenched it in a sea of tears along, with occasional humour along the way.As far as animations go even today, "The Prodigy" is still one of the top of the scale.
The movement style was so delicate and careful.
The fighting was, fast, intense, and kept you in your seat the whole way through.
Such immense graphics with beautiful movements that even a human could not possibly pull off in that perfection that "The Prodigy" has accomplished.
When you see the animation you will be even more surprised to see how much better things can possibly get with the plot.The plot truly made "The Prodigy" the hidden gem that is and will always be one of my favourite movies of all time.
It deserves a Oscar for the work and dedication taken into the story line that stands up for woman and reveals you can do anything if you believe.
many are offended from the rating it has currently received and some even go as far to blame something like a glitch or a group or 'trolls'.
'Trolls' for all of you less informed about the internet is a term referring to people who try to trick people for a cheap laugh.
The plot truly symbolizes the romance between the boy and girl.
The conflicts were things expected from Shakespeare yet, took the form of a children's "The Prodigy".
You will love "The Prodigy" for it's creative humour.
their have so much more to be said about the plot but, to continue I might unveil the best parts.
Out of all "The Prodigy" should be named a classic for people of all ages.I would recommend "The Prodigy" to anyone with it's flawless sound, excellent animation, and brilliant plot..
Hottest movie on earth.
This movie really got my heart racing, my palms sweating, and forcing me to get the lube out for every scene I see in this movie.
The way the characters move in this is like the equivalent of a porno, since the actors in pornos are very decent.
I got this for Christmas yesterday, and my body sped up with joy, knowing that my sorry ass life was complete once I opened it up.
To: Sean From: Mom Thank you, Mom.
Now normally I don't go into full detail with what I do once I find movies like this, but the outrageously gorgeous HD from my Sony made the experience of "THE PRODIGY" a lot more enjoyable.
The scene when Master Panda gets nervous and starts passing gas made me so throbbing hard, that I could barely hold my incoming semen rockets, but thankfully, I didn't make a mess.
But my favorite moment has to be when Master Panda dances.
I got so hard from that scene.
The jam session was also pretty hot, but I felt was unneeded from this film.
Still, this movie is a masterpiece either way.
I suggest watching this film.
You'll love it, and get hard.
- Sean the Mouse.
Silly Wacky Animation.
This animation was a trip.
I really dug it.
Especially to see my boy jumping around and laughing his little butt off.
I bought him the DVD, didn't pay that much for it, so what the heck.
There was some cheesy jokes and the panda teacher was a nut; but it made us laugh.We liked the princess.
She had blonde hair, pretty, but really mean.
She got what she deserved.
The panda always tripped her up in some accidental way.
Without giving away too much - it had a love story, where KG, the prodigy, had to rescue her prince who was kidnapped.
They had to journey through a lot of traps, and battle their way to the enemies castle.
It was cool to see animated characters doing Kung Fu. We watched the bonus features and there was a couple interesting docs about creating animation and characters; it was simple enough for a kid to understand, which is good..
Kung Fu and Animation.
My daughters really liked the love story and KG, the Kung Fu girl.
Every time KG would kick, the girls cheered and screamed.
They really got into her and they usually don't jump around and do Kung Fu. My 4 year old loved all the colors and kept watching without interruption.
It was a bit silly IMHO, but all cartoons are to me.
The panda character was totally different from the KF Panda movie; this one is short, old, like a crazy wise old teacher.
He had a funny accent and was always playing pranks and tripping people up on accident.
I liked this little guy and his jokes the most.
The dark castle at the end was cool, with all the traps and monsters at each level.
They had to fight their way to the top..
Good but I don't understand.
why that Panda's voice went between a Chinese man with a bad accent (speaking English) and Mario (or some other Italian accent).
Most of that characters have very good animations except this one extra guy, but he was removed from the screen very quickly.
All the music is original and I couldn't tell who made it.
I also didn't get the part where the main girl character gave a werewolf flowers?
And when they went to some haunted mansion with the greatest looking ghosts possible.
The voice acting was also the best voice acting I heard in awhile.
It was way better than Shrek or shark tale.
The plot of a totally original story was nothing I could of ever thought of!!!!!! |
tt1610996 | Absentia | As the film begins we see Tricia removing old posters and replacing them with new ones. When she comes home, she finds that her younger sister Callie has arrived. She comes to live with her as the pressure mounts to finally declare Tricia's husband, who has been missing for seven years, 'dead in absentia.' Tricia is pregnant, but refuses to tell her sister who the father is. Tricia and Callie talk about Callie's road to recovery, as she has been addicted to drugs for quite some time.Tricia is reluctant to declare her husband dead, always holding out hope, but Callie is practical and wants her to move on. Detective Mallory helps Tricia to fill out the paperwork and she and her sister visit a lawyer to get the ball rolling.Callie likes to take a run and takes a tunnel which leads to the park. On one of her runs, she sees a man lying in the tunnel. He asks if she can see him and tells her his name is Walter. Callie promises to bring him some food later on, which she does, only to find the man has mysteriously vanished. She leave the food by the entrance of the tunnel, only to find that when she returns home, she has received a mysterious gift of keys, earrings and all kinds of small change. She tries to take it back to the tunnel, but the small pile keeps appearing in her house.As Tricia comes to terms with her husband being declared death, she starts to move on with her life, finding a new apartment with Callies help, and cleaning out her husbands clothes. She even agrees to go on a date with Detective Mallory, who says to Callie he's been trying to get her to go out with him for some time. As the leave for their date, Tricia sees her dead husband standing on the street. As she has had numerous hallucinations of her husband before, she ignores him, only to be overwhelmed as Det. Mallory sees him as well and calls to Tricia to call an ambulance.Daniel, Tricia's husband, is being examined at the hospital, but is unable or unwilling to provide any information about where he's been. When they take him home at the later time, the site of the tunnel causes him to pee himself. He later tells Callie she shouldn't have traded with it, but gives no information about what it is. Callie an Daniel hear strange sounds coming from the bathroom and when Callie goes to check it out, she's hit on the head and blacks out for a second. When she comes to, Daniel is being dragged out of the room and down the stairs. Callie follows and sees impressions of his hands and body in the ceiling above her. Daniel then falls out of the ceiling and is dragged outside. Callie tries to follow him only to see him being captured by an insect like creature, who drags him into the wall of the tunnel.She tells all this to her sister and the two detectives, but they refuse to believe her and think she is under the influence of something. Later when Tricia and Callie are alone, Tricia searches Callie's room and finds a small box with drugs in them. When Tricia leaves, Callie goes online to research missing people in tunnels. She finds that there have been at least 20 people which have gone missing from the neighborhood over the last 50 years.She shows her findings to Tricia, who has a hard time believing this could be something supernatural as reality is often as simple as it is. Later a detective comes to the door, asking if Callie could identify a body. It turns out Walter has turned up dead. Walters son, who has been trading with the force in the walls as well, goes insane when he sees his dad.A while later Tricia and Callie are home again and have just turned out the lights to go to bed. They here a noise coming from the darkness of the living room and Tricia peers to see what's happening. Callie sees her being dragged out the door towards the tunnel. She tries her best to hold on to Tricia, but when their fingers slip, Tricia is being dragged into the darkness of the tunnel.After relating this story to the detectives, who don't believe her, she goes home. She prints out all of her research and puts it in an enveloppe, addressed to det. Mallory. She then goes to the tunnel, demanding a trade. The walls around her come alive with screaming men and women and hands are being pressed into the concrete from the inside out. She tries to run out of the tunnel only to be snatched at the last minute, leaving only a sneaker behind.The detectives find her research and her shoe, but don't give much credit to the story. They think up other courses of action which have Tricia and Callie leaving apart or together, to live off the grid. Detective Mallory is hanging missing posters in the neighborhood, when he sees a female figure standing at the entrance of the tunnel. When he approaches the tunnel however, there is no one to been seen. As he is walking away, we see a female figure looking through a haze at the disappearing detective, as a bug moves its paws on her shoulder. | fantasy | train | imdb | This somber yet deeply unsettling film managed to give me the willies even in the less-than-ideal Horrorhound Weekend screening.Not soon after a pregnant woman (Katie Parker) declares her missing husband (Morgan Peter Brown) legally dead, she begins to having terrifying visions that hint that maybe she spoke too quickly.
When I simply think about the title, I hear in my head its stark, two-note funeral organ score and my chest wells up with emotions not usually incurred by watching a horror movie: grief, loss and perhaps the most terrifying of all
the dread of inevitability.Toss in a pitch perfect cast, including a heart-wrenching cameo from the always delicious Doug Jones, and BOOM!
every aspect of it from the story, acting right through to a wonderful soundtrack guarantees you will have a great time with it.I'm hoping that the director, Mike Flanagan gets noticed in a big way as a result of Absentia and someone throws him a team and a budget.
I am very pleasantly surprised and think it certainly belongs to one of the best horror movies of 2011.The only bad thing I have to say about it is that a few times I found it hard to follow the dialogue (mumbling) and had to rewind to listen to it again.
Hopefully the director will continue the good work on his next film, from the decent way the characters were written and top notch direction (for what I guess was a small budget)this is a truly excellent movie.
Not your "slasher" flicks though
but well crafted Gothic horror like Robert Wise's original THE HAUNTING.Creepy atmospheric films that get you thinking and make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.
(http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117945387/)The low budget only proves that a cool story, some nice direction, well paced editing and a more than capable cast don't need to come from a big Hollywood studio
and they rarely do these days!
Mike Flanagan's first horror feature is an effective psychological thriller, packed with surprising moments, good performances and clever scares..
Summary: Mike Flanagan's first horror feature is an effective psychological thriller, packed with surprising moments, good performances and clever scares.
The year has just started, but if the past years have taught me anything, it is that great movies are rare.The movie takes its time to explain the background story to you early in the movie by having our lead character, Tricia, put up missing person posters.
Unlike most supernatural / psychological horror movies out there this works strictly with the atmosphere, the story, the mood and the emotions, and it couldn't possibly do a better job.
But it gives the scares a more subtle tone which helps building the atmosphere yet again, so it's really a double-edged sword."Absentia" is an important movie, it shows what good thinking can do compared to good effects.
They've been cheated out of the explicit, exploitative B-horror film the art sells, and instead are given a thoughtful, meditative, quiet, slow-burn of a supernatural drama that is an inspiring example of no-budget, independent filmmaking that seems entirely wasted on some viewers.
I never would have picked it up based on the covert art, and imagine the type of viewer that would will certainly have a hard time.The story is simple and understated - a young woman is coming to terms with finally declaring her missing husband dead.
Big fan of horror films and I'm absolutely not a credible person to critique any movie with confidence; but the only reason I watched the entire length was for the hope that Something!
I will say that I do have hope for the future films Of mike Flanagan, I believe this movie could have been better with a larger budget and the premise was great, it just never really pulled me into to the storyline or the characters..
Good idea, I can dig it, but missed the mark completely, there are way too many unanswered questions and parts of the movie that just don't make sense and with no elaboration on the many of the minor themes, you're just confused and bothered that you just wasted a short 80 minutes.At one point they mention atoms and how everything is just space and then change the subject after like 30 seconds.
If your idea of a good horror movie is watching 90 minutes of murder and/or cruelty then you will absolutely hate this.
The script even takes the risk of presenting multiple audience-identification characters among its leads, which in less careful hands could run the risk of alienating viewers used to having a single, simple narrative point of view, but the differing perspectives - psychological and emotional - of the two leads are well-balanced and complementary.There are a couple of effective jump scares early on, but, as the story progresses, the thrust moves entirely to the slow burn, with the carefully maintained atmosphere and psychological implications of the scenario serving as the locus of the horror..
She returns later that night to bring him food, a gift that sets in motion a dark and surprising series of events.The acting in this film is subtle, the relationships between the characters both believable and engaging as new secrets and twists are revealed, and the quiet little neighborhood takes on a satisfyingly sinister cast as things start to deteriorate between the sisters and Tricia's newfound peace of mind.Less smooth is the last 1/3 of the story- I am still in the dark about WHAT it was exactly that caused Daniel's disappearance and why his warnings to his family and the police go un-deciphered.
Together, they discover that missing doesn't necessarily mean dead, and that being dead isn't necessarily the worst thing that could happen in this taut and compelling horror film.Absentia is a low-budget, independent film that needs no apologies.
Usually when you hear the phrase 'indie horror film' you automatically think 'Oh, crap – another low-budget slasher movie.' Well, at least I do, but that's just me.
But when I saw Mike Flanagan's intelligent, well-scripted and very scary film ABSENTIA I was willing to forget everything I had anticipated and more.This tale of two sisters, one of whom is about to declare her 7-years-missing husband 'dead in absentia', is a real find – a film that genuinely scares without the addition of oodles of gore and screaming.Flanagan's script is tight, well-controlled and multi-layered, and with the addition of crisp editing and a very talented cast creates an atmosphere of dread.
With ABSENTIA, the audience is allowed to feel, to think and to react without anyone else telling them how to do so.The cast is uniformly terrific, especially the two leads, Katie Parker and Courtney Bell as the sisters, who add great humanity and chemistry to the film.
But still, it was quite nice.The story is about Tricia Riley (played by Courtney Bell) whose husband Daniel Riley (played by Morgan Peter Brown) has been missing for seven years, and now ready to have the death certificate issued and brought the case to a closure, something unexpected happens...The movie is slow paced, but that actually works out well enough in favor of the movie, as it helps to build the setting and set up the mood for the entire story.
The director, Mike Flanagan, is great at adding little bits to the story while building up a good sense of mystery and dread, and at the same time leaving almost everything up to the imagination of the viewer."Absentia" was really brought to life on the screen by the people they had cast for the various roles.
So despite it being a smaller budget movie, the end result was far better than what I had expected.If you like movies that are thick on suspense and a dire mood, then "Absentia" is well worth checking out.
And the fact that Absentia achieved all this with a minimum budget makes it even more admirable.I definitely have huge interest in watching Flanagan's next films, with the hope of finding out that Absentia wasn't a product of chance, but of huge talent and genuine artistic vision.
Some viewers may be put off by the fact that the film's just too subtle in places - it could easily be described as one of those movies where "nothing much happens", like THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT - but like BLAIR WITCH it knows what it's doing.There are flaws here, not least a slightly overwrought script and some particularly unsympathetic characters who do little to gain the viewer's sympathy or indeed attention.
.. Absentia, Mike Flanagan's first horror film, seems to have a very low budget.
Absentia was a big surprise, actually one of the better horror movies I've seen in a while.
The plot is ridiculous, the acting sub-par, and the even someone that only has 10% of his attention focused on the movie will be able to predict what happens next...Give this a miss, but if you happen to see it and agree that it is as bad as I say, write a review yourself and let's save others from watching it.On another note, I just noticed my original review, which was one of the first for this movie, was deleted years ago because I stated that most of the positive reviews at the time were certainly from people involved with the production, so they went so far as to try to get rid of negative reviews by any means possible..
Some parts of it are not the most original; it seems like Mike Flanagan, the director (also of the rather good if imperfect Oculus), likes certain tropes from horror movies of old, such as a haunted place with a history (this house which is in a "Bad" neighborhood, nevermind what specifically it is, but in this case it's near a spooky and ominous tunnel that's been a place where people have gone missing for a century), and that scene where the cases that precede what's going on in the story are revealed.
While in Absentia this happens at a point when we're already on our toes about what's to happen next, it feels familiar - maybe too familiar.I also might have liked Flanagan to delve a little more into the faiths of these women: one of them seems to be a committed Buddhist or other (the pregnant one Tricia, played by Courtney Bell, who sadly hasn't been in many films since this), and hits a gong in her bedroom and prays and...
It's unusual to see a horror/supernatural movie that isn't packed full of clichés, but Absentia makes a good attempt to be something a little different.
This could have been a recipe for disaster, but, I'm glad to say the writer/director pulled it off.The film is about two sisters who investigate the disappearance of one of their husbands and find it may be connected to a mysterious (and sinister) tunnel nearby.In some ways the film plays out pretty conventionally, ala the Ring, the Grudge and all those other horror films where a woman investigates something creepy, only to discover some dark supernatural force at work.
Writer/Director Mike Flanagan doesn't dish out a single scare moment until well into the first act, setting a brooding tone and letting the audience know and love the main characters.The story has the great simplicity of a horror premise (folks disappear beneath a creepy local bridge) and the complexity that can only come from experienced screen writing.
Absentia is a creepy and subtle horror flick that starts out like a traditional haunting movie and turns into quite something else.
Absentia is a very effective low budget chiller from writer/director Mike Flanagan who not only crafts an interesting tale of missing people and what might happen to them but, also touches on the emotional struggle of those left behind.
"Absentia" (2011) it's a Horror-Suspense Thriller written and directed by Mike Flanagan: the movie tells the story of a woman, Tricia (Courtney Bell) who has her husband mysteriously disappeared for 07 years and is in the process of declaring it dead legally, by "Absentia" (unexplained absence for an extended period), to continue her life.
Outside the sounds related to the history, the general mood of the movie is of silence, with the appearance of a music only in appropriate situations, consisting of a funeral organ, with a two-tone sad melody, which is perfect to translate the feeling of desolation and loneliness that the film conveys.The dialogs and acting, mostly by semi-unknown actors are great in comparison with many other low budget films that were successful in their time, and that, in my opinion are regular to bad thrillers, like Paranormal Activity and The Blair Witch.The story with all the elements that I said, has a general mood of melancholy, loneliness, anguish and mystery, and will develop gradually, but do not expect too many action in the film, it has a more quiet development, without action scenes.
but it is perfect, keeping the atmosphere of mystery that the film wanted to show.There are almost none scenes with blood (only once, a brief one), or shocking and unnecessary scenes, in contrast to todays low-budget Horror and Suspense productions, with a high degree of appeal - this it is a lesson to be learn by many other writers and producers.It is an excellent movie, which I think should be watched by anyone who is a fan of Thrillers suspense / horror films, and undoubtedly deserves the awards the movie had.I hope that it have as much or more attention as the other two films I mentioned, because it have a much higher quality than them, in my opinion.Congratulations to Mike Flanagan for his work, I hope to see more movies by this author, very soon: My score: 8.3 / 10.0..
Written and directed by Mike Flanagan, Absentia finds Tricia (Courtney Bell) and Callie (Katie Parker) as two sisters who come to believe that the underpass nearby could be linked to the many disappearances in the area.A slow burn indie horror is not everybody's idea of a good time, but Flanagan has crafted a smart atmospheric chiller, one with a nifty fairy tale fantasy bubbling away under the surface.
The formula scares are kept to a minimum, Flanagan choosing to imbue the story with a sense of dread, toying with the sisters and us the viewers that there just may be something truly awful lurking just out of the eye line.This is not a creature feature, like The Relic or Mimic, this is a different horror film to those.
After suffering through the vast majority of low-budget indie horror films whose only motivation seems to be to make a quick buck on distribution deals, it is truly a delight when you stumble on to something wonderful like writer/director Mike Flanagan's Absentia.
After talking to Daniel, Tricia's younger sister Callie (Katie Parker) begins to suspect that something supernatural and rather nasty lurking in a nearby freeway underpass might have been responsible for Daniel's disappearance, but being a drug user, no-one will take her seriously.Kudos to the makers of Absentia for trying something a little different, and for successfully conjuring up a reasonable amount of creepy atmosphere on a budget, but this slow-burning low budget chiller is only a partial success, suffering from a cheap SOV aesthetic, a few weak performances (mostly from the male members of the cast), and a script that would really have benefited from a bit more polishing.
I liked the fact the this was a low budget movie, a small production that actually had a really good cast, directing team, along with editing and script writing..
"Absentia" is a good little film from writer / director Mike Flanagan about a young woman, Tricia (Courtney Bell) whose husband Daniel has been missing for over seven years.
Uninformed and lazy movie-goers who decide to write reviews end up destroying the perfectly good name of a movie, and Absentia is such a one.Please support genuinely good, independent, original, well-directed, low budget, well- acted films like Absentia.
Time was taken to develop characters which meant the movie had a very real feel, which is so important in a low budget movie like this.No, the special effects aren't stunning, but they are adequate and enough to back up the creepy atmosphere of this film.
As I watched this movie I became aware that this film has good development of story with believable characters (except the police--who show no real instinct and thus loses a star).
After having disappointment from many horror films I was compelled to write a review about this movie.
Her sister Callie (Katie Parker) shows up and suggests something strange about a tunnel, but she is ignored because of her history.Writer/Director Mike Flanagan managed to put together a solid movie despite the almost nonexistent budget.
Created on a low budget, they had some good acting, the music set the tone perfectly for just about every scene and it has a few decent jump scares.Now for the bad stuff: The ending.
At times I forgot Absentia was even a horror movie at all, so immersed was I in the plot that I felt as if I was going through the same confusing and unfortunate events that the characters on the screen were.
The extremely annoying music with the bad acting and god awful story line mix together to make one of the most boring horror movies out there.
Tricia's husband Daniel has been missing for the past 7 years and is effectively declared dead, and Callie appears to be trying to get on her own feet by staying with her sister for a while.Truth is, given this is a horror picture, that summary is about enough plot as, naturally, things get 'darker' with time.Absentia is an independent movie, reasonably low budget but this barely matters - as the true nature of the story, and the horror begins to emerge, the scares are in what you can't see, as opposed to what you can. |
tt1758610 | Unconditional | Samantha Crawford's life is like a storybook: she's happily married, living on a beautiful ranch where she keeps her beloved horse, and the stories she's told and illustrated since childhood have become published books. She senses God's love all around her-just like the little bird in the next book she's working on.In an instant, however, everything changes when her husband Billy is killed in a senseless act of violence. With the police writing off the case, Sam can't come to grips with Billy's murderer roaming the streets as a free man. Her faith-and her will to live-is quickly fading.As she prepares to take matters into her own hands, a death-defying encounter with two children changes everything. Coming to their rescue not only begins a new friendship, it also leads to an unexpected reunion with Joe, her oldest friend from childhood.Once a vibrant dreamer, Joe is now plagued by extreme health issues that have forced him to live on disability in a low-income neighborhood. Despite his difficult circumstances, Joe puts his heart and (dwindling) energy into caring for and loving the fatherless kids on his street. He has become their "Papa" Joe.Seeing the impact Joe has on so many people begins to open Sam's heart to the possibility that she can rebuild her life. But when evidence indicates Billy's killer is too close for comfort, Sam's fragile newfound hope is severely tested.Inspired by true events, UNCONDITIONAL stars Michael Ealy (Think Like A Man, Barbershop) and Lynn Collins (John Carter, X-Men Origins: Wolverine). It is the first feature film from Harbinger Media Partners, which creates and produces high-quality theatrical films to inspire moviegoers to pursue God and serve others.Partnering with scores of ministries and non-profit organizations around the country like the one run by the real-life Papa Joe Bradford, UNCONDITIONAL is encouraging people to ACT on the needs in their communities. Details are available at UnconditionaltheMovie.com.When Sam comes face-to-face with a decision that will shape the rest of her life, she begins to realize that no matter the circumstances, God's love is always reaching out to us. | realism | train | imdb | Through a seemingly random encounter with two girls, she is reunited with one of her oldest friends, Joe Bradford.I'm not sure whether or not the character of Samantha exists, but the parts about Bradford are all based on the actual man, who was involved in the production of the film.
He is a truly inspiring figure, and the representations of his compassion and love for the impoverished neighborhood he lives in do not feel at all forced.In fact, none of the film did, except for a small scene toward the end, and each character was well-written and well-portrayed.I definitely recommend this movie.
It has many of the hallmarks of great movie-making.The cinematography is terrific and a lot of thought is given to symbolism in the story.The opening sequence is riveting; showing three lost souls each experiencing their own trials and turmoil.A woman, whose husband was murdered, considers suicide in the alley where he was killed.At the same time, two children are stealing from a store and must flee when spotted by security.Finally, a man stumbles into his house in great pain.While each character is suffering his or her trial, a storm is raging outside in the night.Each character is on his or her own path and must face the storm in his or her own way.Throughout the movie we learn a great deal about these characters through flashbacks as well as about the joys and hardships that bring each of the characters to where he or she is in the present.
A ray of sunshine breaks through the clouds when a character makes a choice that is generous or brave.A child......heard.......but off camera......simultaneously warns his little sister and the main character NOT to make a choice."I wouldn't do that!" his voice calls out.It is clear to us as viewers, that as far as the child character is concerned, he is only warning his little sister.But the director makes it clear to us that the warning is somehow meant for BOTH characters.And now each character must make a choice whether to pursue the action that he or she is considering pursuing.This very brief, but powerful scene, hints at a hidden unity to the human spirit and whether each character, major or minor, heeds this warning plays a significant part in forwarding the theme of the movie which is that while we have free choice, our choices can lead to devastation, sorrow and ruin or they can lead to enlightenment, joy and success.And with each choice that a character makes, the cinematographers alter the scenery and the lighting of the surroundings to match the path that each character takes.I can't offer enough praise to the writers and the cinematographers of this film.
The movie had the right balance of story, theme and scenery to ensure that the viewer did not come away feeling preached at or advertised to.I showed this movie to a group of students who have faced numerous trials of their own, whether in school or at home.They were a bit hard to the idea of the movie at first, but after ten minutes, they were hooked and the hardness in their eyes had vanished.This movie can speak to anyone going through a trial and I highly recommend it..
There are numerous life lessons to be taught from this movie.This movie is inspired by a true story and I love that at the end it directs you to check out their website www.unconditionalthemovie.com/act to look for ways that you can also make an impact on children in your own community.The movie moves your heart and then gives connections on how you can help.
As you get to the middle of the movie, there are some funny scenes, a little action and an attempt to build a complex storyline based on the interconnectedness of the main characters and the supporting cast of children.6/10 - Definitely worth a watch, it might make you feel good - but does leave some annoying questions that go unanswered, some stereotypical characters that do exist to further the storyline, but all in all it is an enjoyable second half - wouldn't recommend for children solely because it is a complex storyline that might be a bit tough to follow..
The movie begins with the main character (Sam) entering an ally way and attempting to pull a gun on herself, it then quickly jumps around from her to these small children one of which doesn't stop talk the other doesn't talk at all which I understand it was setting up a plot point for later on in the movie but I didn't see it as anything but a pointless addition with the intention of making the story hard to understand anyways I'm getting off track, it then transferred to joe trying to get into his house so he could get his dialysis but that wasn't explained if it wasn't for someone telling me that I wouldn't have had a clue I just thought it was someone trying to break into a house then he fell and I was just confused.
It's a very stupid way to introduce the characters anyways it jumps back to the kids running after trying to steal food and the mute one gets hit by a car Sam sees this connecting the two side plots into one they go to the hospital where Sam runs into joe who is the local caregiver of the children in his area the child who was hit is one of his so that's all three stories connected as well as joe and Sam are old friends who haven't spoke since they were young.
Matthew Jones Mrs.Dean Expository writing 2/4/2016 Unconditional Unconditional came out back in 2012 and this was my very first time watching it.The movie brought in a lot of money over 2 million dollars to be specific so clearly it was popular movie when it was released and I'm a little upset it took me this long to watch it so let me give you a few details about this movie.So this movie takes place in the projects.There are mainly two main characters in this movie Samantha and Joe they were childhood friends that got split apart but a terrible tragedy brings them back together and opens up a new chapter in both of their lives.Michael Ealy played the role of Joe Bradford and in my opinion he did an amazing job playing his character.Lynn Collins also did a very good job playing her role in the movie as Samantha Crawford.You can tell she takes pride in her acting and was a very consistent actor.So what I love about this movie is you can't always predict what was going to happen next.This movie is very unpredictable and exciting.There was very few things I didn't like about the movie but one was the theme music I feel like they could had done a better job with the music.The lesson I took from this movie was that no matter how hard times get even if you lose your way in life you can alway get back on track even if it takes a while you can always change.People that would enjoy would be people that enjoy and intense film and mainly people that like a good emotional movie as well I would give this movie a rating of 3 out of 5 stairs so i watched this movie in one of my high school classes.School isn't my favorite place to be but I can deal with it.I get some what okay grades.
I think people forget it's okay to have a peaceful story, and learn from it as well as be inspired.Michael Ealy shows his ranges as any actor in a brilliant way, and I think this movie would be one of my favorites with him in it.Please, if you want to know about overcoming your obstacles, giving yourself another chance at knowing life, give this movie a try and ignore the critics.
Unconditional is a true story about Sam (Amy Parker), played by Linn Collins and (Joe Bradford) played by Michael Ealy.
The actor Michael ealy who played papa Joe portrayed the real life man very well, he seemed to really understand the struggles the real man went through.And the actor who played Samantha, Lynn Collins, portrays her very well, acting perfectly for the part, making the story flow very well.
If you're looking for a very emotional real life drama and love story, look no further.I would recommend this film if you're looking for a tear jerker, a good emotional ride.
As an example Sam was very believable from the emotion that she showed throughout the whole movie.as for papa Joe was the most believable because of the facial expressions, tones of voice, and his passion for the role was amazing.
The music was a very big part of the movie it adds a lot of emotion to the movie.it helps tell the story from the happy and sad parts in the film.
Little does she know what he's going through right now both of his kidneys gave up on him and is basically "running on fumes".Review: In these dramatic film stars Michael Ealy playing a emotional heart felt role of Joe Bradford.
The fact that it actually happened to someone and put in a movie makes it sad to think of the events that happened; but also seeing the good things that happened in the movie made me want to share this with people; so they can learn what happened and share the story message of love.
The two main characters, Sam and Joe, did an excellent job in showing true moments of emotion.
May 8th 2018Unconditional Jerks Every Tear!This film revolves around the life of children in the projects, but the two main characters, Joe and Sam, cross paths again after a tragic accident, which saved Sam, and led her to learn the truth about T.
I liked most of the characters Joe and Sam where played very well by Lynn Collins and Michael Ealy.
I like that they showed scenes with young Sam and Joe, the characters really demonstrated the bond of best friends well.
Michael Ealy (joe Bradford) and Lynn Collins (Samantha Crawford) did an incredible job in demonstrating love between two best friends.
I really liked the child actors and actresses, they were very good for the age and added lots of emotional and touching aspects to the movie.
The setting, the background story will just touch your heart like it did mine, the film just shows a great view of how things in life can just tear you apart but you need to have faith cause when bad things happens, good luck is on the way.
This film can open your eyes to events that are happening in everyday life that you might not even think can happen to someone, someone in this world doesn't have it like others do and this movie shows you that.
What I like about the film was it was real emotions, you can feel the pain of Sam's lost one, the hurt in her voice makes you just wanted to cry.
They then become friends and at the hospital where they were taken she runs into an old friend named Joe. All in all the movie takes something bad that happened and turned it into something happy, beautiful and almost unbelievable.From the hospital Sam learns the Joe, her friend from school has lived a pretty interesting life.
And in a thrilling turn of events the Joe goes through everything becomes a happy story with a very happy ending.I really enjoyed the actors of the film and how they played the scenes out.
The actors played the parts as if they were Sam and Joe. I liked the situation and how honest and loyal the characters were with right and wrong.
The movie unconditional is the perfect, cliché love story of two kids struggling, two best friends catching up and learning to forgive an innocent person.
The movie unconditional is the perfect, cliché love story of two kids struggling, two best friends catching up and learning to forgive an innocent person.
A lot of the flashbacks helped explain a lot about the backgrounds of the characters, Like Sam and Joe. Thanks to the flashbacks we can better understand their friendship.
A lot of the flashbacks helped explain a lot about the backgrounds of the characters, Like Sam and Joe. Thanks to the flashbacks we can better understand their friendship.
So if you're going to watch this movie and want to enjoy it, first understand that it's based off a true story and has a good message behind it, and you'll have to get passed the overused and exaggerated orchestra music scoring, and the cheesy lines and acting.
Since it is based off a true story, I can't understand why they used a different name for Amy Parker, because in the movie, she goes by the name Samantha Crawford, yet Joe uses the same name as he does in real life.
I like the character Sam and the person that played her was pretty good at it.
While the story does focus on how God's love is unconditional, it goes past the obvious message and suggests that people make the changes in the world that they want to see.
While the story does focus on how God's love is unconditional, it goes past the obvious message and suggests that people make the changes in the world that they want to see.
As you get to the middle of the movie, there are some funny scenes, a little action and an attempt to build a complex storyline based on the interconnectedness of the main characters and the supporting cast of children.5/10 - Definitely worth a watch, it might make you feel good - but does leave some annoying questions that go unanswered, some stereotypical characters that do exist to further the storyline, but all in all it is an enjoyable second half - many viewers might not fully understand the second portion of the film, unless they're really paying attention and if they haven't really missed any key concept parts..
There are mainly two main characters in this movie Samantha and Joe they were childhood friends that got split apart but a terrible tragedy brings them back together and opens up a new chapter in both of their lives.
The movie Unconditional was about experiences Papa Joe went through, I think, in the begging of the movie and for the majority of the film we were focused on Sam Crawford which turns out to be one of his old best friends.
In the movie I enjoyed how fate brought Joe and Sam back although the reasoning as to why is sad, it seemed very fitting for what the story was telling.
I loved the movie so much, the characters were great, the plot was good, and the setting also.
One thing I did not like about the movie is how good of a man Joe was but faced terrible problems.
The movie is about a woman named Samantha Crawford (Lynn Collins) who loses what she loved most, a portion of the movie is about Samantha trying to recover from this loss and finding her way through dark times when she met an old friend by the name of Joe Bradford (Michael Ealy) whose life Samantha had saved a few times in the past.
Unconditional starring Lynn Collins (Samantha Crawford) and Michael Ealy (Joe Bradford) is a story of two childhood friends who grew up in a time of racial discrimination.
They reunited but through tragedy with Sam. One of the characters that play a big part in this movies saves two kids life in this film.
Joe was a good & true friend to Sam. I think all the actresses in this film did a good job but one thing I didn't like about this movie was the actor Anthony (Cedric Pendleton) played a big part in the movie and I think he should have been more involved.
I didn't like about the movie was Sam's husband Billy (Diego Klattenhoff) wasn't played enough and we didn't know enough about him before he died.One thing I learned from this movie is never give up or lose hope.
The details about this movie is that Sam and Joe were friends when they were little kids.
The story is about Sam and Joe getting back together and being better friends.Sam is a great actress because she explains what she does and why and you cant tell she acts it out it looks like it is really happening.
Joe who is played by Michael Ealy was Sam's best friend as a child and grew up to become a mentor to children living in the projects.
I also enjoyed how Keisha's character changed throughout the story and the role she played in Sam's life.
Joe Bradford played by Michael Ealy was a main character as without him Sam wouldn't have found her way in life again.
Denise showed loved by taking time out of her life to help Joe with the kids and his dialysis.Another big part of the movie is when Sam overcame the tragedy.
The actor that played the roll Sam did a great job acting at the part when the tragedy happen but not as good when she meet the kids for the first time.
My first thoughts on this movie was that it was kind of a girls movie like a love story Because of the title and the beginning of It but once I started watching it it turned out to be a pretty good movie .the beginning wasn't the best but I t got better towards the end.
The two main characters which are Joe Bradford and Sam Crawford played their characters like it was real life.
I liked how they all played a part in the movie and how they showed the emotions of the story. |
tt0492486 | Shrooms | American student Tara and her college friends visit Ireland to meet with local resident and friend Jake, and go camping in woodlands surrounding a long-disused children's home. Whilst collecting psilocybin mushrooms for later consumption, Tara ingests a deathcap mushroom and suffers a seizure after which she experiences dream-like trances in which she begins having premonitions of future events.
Around the evening camp fire, with Tara resting in her tent, Jake tells a ghost story of the empty children's home nearby, and of a violent sadistic monk who survived an assault by one of his charges, as revenge for killing his twin brother. Overhearing this causes Tara to have premonitions of the murders of her friends one by one, and ultimately herself.
After a deathly row with his girlfriend and the others, aggressive jock Bluto drinks some of the hallucinogenic tea (supposedly for all to share in the morning) and experiences a trip which culminates in his murder, seemingly at the hands of the rogue monk from the children's home.
The following morning, unconcerned by Bluto's disappearance – the others consume the mushroom tea, only to become separated from one another in the woods whilst under its effects. The three women, arguing and squabbling, get lost until they themselves are split, and Holly and Lisa are violently murdered – in accordance with Tara's continuing visions – after an encounter with local woodsmen Ernie and Bernie.
Jake and Troy locate Tara on the inside of the bank of a river, and instruct her to meet them in the abandoned dead people's home to summon help. Upon investigating the property, Troy is apparently killed by the monk, and Jake makes good his escape by leaping from a high window, breaking his leg as he lands. Tara finds him and the two flee the haunted scene. Then, whilst resting his leg, he is murdered.
Tara awakes as a Garda helicopter hovers over the camp, and is dispatched into an ambulance as the sole survivor. As her mobile phone rings, she experiences a rapid flashback and realizes that the hallucinogenic deathcap mushroom caused her to murder all of her friends. She asks the paramedic for help. Everything becomes quiet until we see her bloody hands holding a pair of bloody scissors which suggests that she has killed the paramedic. The film ends with Tara running in the woods. | horror, murder, flashback | train | wikipedia | I am not surprised by the polarized opinions regarding this movie, although I do think there is a lot of overreaction.Shrooms is simply a decent little movie that seems promising when you first begin to watch it, thanks in great part to solid direction tricks.
However, eventually it fails to deliver because of a very, very weak story and a failed attempt at defying genres.When you first start to watch, the movie grabs your attention with what seems like good characters and the remote set is also well showcased.
But a mediocre story is much better off sticking to a proved formula.One other fault of this movie is its derivative nature, borrowing tricks from a great many flicks such as Deliverance, Blair Witch and too many slasher flicks to name.Finally, I have no idea if the director attempted a "plot twist" or not but I could see the plot twist almost as the seed was planted.
Shrooms is not a bad movie, it has some nice modern elements like the typical washed out colors, some nice tripping ideas like a speaking cow mixing in with the classic campfire story and haunted woods themes.
Shrooms boiled down to its basic level, is your standard slasher movie.A group of young people head off into a forest in Ireland, to sample the magic mushrooms to get high.
It does have a couple of jump shocks as things loom into view and such, but there's not really a scary atmosphere to the movie.The cast do okay, although the characters are a bit clichéd.
Not the most original it has to be said, but a good one.It's nice to see a horror movie from Ireland for a change, even if most of the cast are American, although I wish they had made a better one.
The whole back story seems to be a relatively regurgatated camp fire tale that is used in most films "a bad house, kids are abused, one messed up kid left"- come on this just isn't scary.Admittedly the ending is clever, but again not the most original.The potential this film had is wasted on what seems to be a boring storyline.
I cannot remember the last time a horror movie irritated me to this degree...SHROOMS is about a group of American friends (who actually don't appear to like each other much) who go to Ireland for vacation.
It's up to her to save her friends from the ominous backwoodsmen, the creepy black-hooded ghost that pops up between people legs and/or above their heads, and the obvious overused plot twists in the script.It seems like every line of dialogue spoken by the obnoxious 20-somethings in this movie features the word "shrooms." And you thought JUNOisms were annoying!
I am however a fan of cinema and horror movies and take offense when a 'popular' director picks a 'popular' genre and makes a total pigs ear out of it, when I then in turn am expected to shell out premium prices for someone else's vanity and back-clapping.
This is the appealing premise around which Shrooms builds its story and it's a good one.When a group of American students camping in a remote part of Ireland (a strange choice of location really - once the main characters reach their destination they could be anywhere) begin indulging in the pleasures of shrooms only to start perishing, is it the work of local ghosts...
Firstly, I'd like to say that although this movie has flaws - the acting (with the exception of lead actress Lindsey Haun) is only adequate, the characters could have been better defined (you get the jock, the "Jay from Jay And Silent Bob" style stoner, the two bitchy girls and the pretty virgin) and the ending is highly derivative of another, better horror movie - there is still a lot to love about Shrooms.The main reason that this movie worked for me is down to the direction of Paddy Breathnach.
I like the concept as it is easy to make some scares out in the woods, and while the characters are drugged by mushrooms its hard to know if its real or not.
i thought this movie was good until i realized it was meant to be a horror film.
The plot was nigh on skull-numbingly poor and the scares relied almost totally on sound effects and offered precious little on the visual front.In its favour, the plot was not entirely predictable, but I was left not really caring what happened less than a third of the way through.The thin pretext of a 'shroom'ing holiday could have quite easily been left out and all of the visions etc.
otherwise the slightly bland acting and story line engulfs the fact that its a film about KIDS IN THE WOODS TAKING SHROOMS!, i mean come on, it has to be watched at least once doesn't it?Not a great plot, but the fact that it's a bit of a crazy film could make up for it if you are in the right state of mind.
the name of the movie wasn't very convincing but i took a chance to watch it and i was surprised about it much better than i though i think this is one of the best horror movies from 2004-2007 quite a lot special effects and actions is held in the forest which i like more than people getting killed somewhere else, forest gives some mystery to the movie which makes u wonder a little.
anyways despite the shockingly unauthentic accents, (well just the Irish ones that is), and the massive (and that is an understatement) clichés, all thrown at me full force within the first EIGHT MINUTES (ladies and gentlemen we have a winner), I proceeded no further in my investigation of this 'film' (and it was an investigation...I didn't fathom that a film by the name of "shrooms" would be in any way a thought provoking or groundbreaking affair).Usually a movie like this would be seen out of sheer entertainment in a 'so bad its good' vein of things.this was actually so bad...that it was switched off (precisely eight minutes later).
The only thing, is that anyone whos seen this type of film, and you'll know what I mean when watching, you'll have the ending figured out the second things start going wrong.
The flashback or vision sequences (nothing like an actual shroom trip but) look cool, but soon begin to occur a little too often and begin to lack substance to move the story along.
So the premise of this film is flawed.What's good about this movie is the beautiful cinematography and the scary story attached which spawns the killers!
SHROOMS is a nice Irish horror flick that in spite of not adding anything new to the genre is quite interesting and good.
Also the story it is quite original about Magic Mushrooms or "Shrooms", which does make it interesting to watch as its a new concept.BAD Following on from the story.
Also the ending (which anyone with half a brain can figure out EARLY in the movie) is pretty much a direct rip-off of another modern horror film (no spoilers) My Grade: D+.
Or is someone else responsible for their deaths?With nasty desaturated colours, irritating performances from most of the cast (who over-act in a desperate attempt to show the world what they are capable of), frequently fuzzy visuals (used to try and simulate being whacked out of your gourd on drugs), blatant cribs from other horror films (The Blair Witch project and many an Asian ghost film), and virtually no gore or gratuitous nudity, could this mess be any more annoying?Of course it could.Rather than tell a straightforward scary story, Breathnach unwisely chooses to blur the line between what is reality and what is merely a figment of a drug-addled mind.
what is not fair...the film is not so bad as its rated, it is like some others underrated, and some other really really crap is higher rated then this, so give it a chance, its a nice way of passing the time, it it is written right ,-) ???
A standard run-of-the-mill campy horror flick, complete with a horror movie starter-set cast; the smart and relatable lead female character, the annoying idiot jock, the goofball stoner, the b*tch, the outcast female, and the handsome nice guy (who also is occasionally, like in this case, the foreigner).
I especially like the 2 "locals," their characters aren't new to this genre, but they're fun and quite creepy and add an interesting flare to the movie.
Some of the effects are well done, and the story is entertaining enough to keep you interested, and the very end gives the movie a nice touch.However, the movie is riddled with clichés, the predictable jumps scares, and the gore effects aren't as good as they could have been.
The idea that one of the first people these tourists encounter on their trip to Ireland are forest-dwelling, goat eating freaks a lá 'The Hills Have Eyes' turned me off the film right from the beginning.
It just makes it look bad - real bad.There could have been some humor thrown in to make this a good film...especially since the shrooms were supposed to make you laugh...but no.
another reviewer seems to think this is a propaganda movie against the dangers of taking mushrooms a la 'reefer madness', well that's absolute rubbish.Finally this film gets 2 extra points from me because I didn't see the ending coming, and the last time a film surprised me with a twist was Fight Club.Know you're gonna get a standard slasher film, but without the gore of the big budget US films and you shouldn't be disappointed..
This is another of those teen slasher horror flicks from a genre that should have died in the eighties, a sure thing for the box office, perhaps, but it isn't real horror, and it isn't even any good.They make the best of what appears to be a very low budget by shooting in some very atmospheric locations, with some interesting shots, and a well paced introduction but the characters are the same boring stereotypes I've seen a million times before, the jock, the slut, the blonde catholic girl with psychic inclinations.
Admittedly, a story that involves hallucinations is as good as any to be filmed in such a way, but that doesn't make it any less annoying.The result is an incomprehensible mishmash; ugly (not so much because of gore, as there is surprisingly little, but the direction), dumb and, in the end, just dull.
But I will give it one thing.It's the first time I've ever seen a horror film with a talking cow..
Of course most people have heard all the talk and clichés about tripping even if they haven't actually experienced it for themselves but I think the fear factor is much more believable if you have actually experienced it first hand.Of course that doesn't bode well for the films ability to reach out to it's audience when the ones that will really "get it" are in the minority but I found the film entertaining and thought it did a really good job with the cinematography and conveying the visuals of tripping with out going to far over the top.I also enjoyed the music and thought it was well matched to the mood of a psychedelic horror film.Will.
However, as things tend to do in horror films, things go bad when the wrong type of mushroom is ingested and a scary local "true story" might still have consequences today.
Shrooms contains all the things that should be in a good horror movie, including good plot, convincing scare elements and a twist in the end.
After that however, I'm scratching around to say anything positive about the film.The main problem for me is the characters,they are just so unlikeable!As a group they are the objectionable 'Hey we're cool because we take drugs'student type that think they know everything about the world,but know nothing,so it's actually a pleasure seeing them get killed off.Maybe this is a young persons horror film not really suited to old fogeys like me who enjoy character development,and a bit of depth to their movies.Surely the whole teenage gang going somewhere and getting bumped off one by one has really reached the end of it's weary path,and film makers should be looking for fresh ideas..
Crowd of unknowns in cheap and miserable alleged horror which fails to achieve any single objective a horror is responsible for.In summary, a group of teens/early 20s pop into the woods in Ireland (why Ireland) and are chaperoned by their 'host' (a sort of 'ex' of one of the group) for the purpose of taking magic mushrooms in lieu of searching for the ultimate high.Two events then have things taking a turn for the worst; a ghost story about the surrounding area, plus one of the group (the afforementioned one) taking a particularly powerful mushroom.And thereafter it is basically the young beautiful people being picked off, one by one while 'flashback' slideshows interlude featuring all manner of creepy looking entities.This movie is garbage, truly awful.
There was some good potential in the "ghost story around the campfire" told at the outset of the trip, but the rest of the film wasn't spooky at all, and you can't shake the feeling that the director has seen too many scary effects in other films and tried to rip them off.If you are a fan of Japanese horror (Ju-on, Tale of Two Sisters, The Ring etc.) you will be familiar with the stilted, juddery movements, use of black and white and eerie groaning.
All absolutely terrifying in the aforementioned films, but sadly without the build up and minimal usage these effects need, any atmosphere was totally lost.The characters are boring clichés, and you never really feel like you want them to escape a bloody and torturous death, especially as they are clearly lightweights when it comes to any psychotropic party drugs.I spent the last 20 minutes hoping it would end soon, and even the twist (which you could see coming a mile off)just left me feeling a bit cheated of something that would have made the rest of the film worthwhile.If you do watch this movie, check out the in-bred locals, certainly worth a chuckle and the best thing about the entire film..
"Shrooms" like the title obviously implies is a prototypic slasher movie that takes place in Ireland whilst the main characters are experiencing outrageous drug-trips brought on by mushrooms.
The ending is pretty much identical to at least two other recently released (and far better) horror flicks, so if you've seen your share of genre movies, you'll quickly figure out the denouement and won't be the least bit impressed.
Okay, they're in Ireland instead of the US, home of the road movie, teen flick, etc, That being said, there is nothing original so far, but add to this shrooms, which appears to be an abbreviation for not-so-magic mushrooms, and what do you have?
I was hoping that this would happen during my viewing of Shrooms and that the experience would dovetail in interesting ways with the events of the film, given that the film is about some idiots in the woods having a seriously bad time on the titular hallucinogen.
Given that five of them have flown all the way from America for the occasion (don't they have shrooms in the States?) it's rather unfortunate that they manage to pick woods that are not only peopled by drooling, inbred, axe-wielding halfwits (like Irish zom-com Dead Meat, Shrooms does as much for the tourist trade to Ireland as Hostel does for Slovakia) but also happens to house the crumbling shell of an abandoned borstal for young offenders, which was run by a group of evil, black clad monks until one of them ate a bowlful of deathshead mushrooms and killed everyone else.
The film is based around a group of American teens visiting Ireland with one purpose to take magic mushrooms & have a good time.
i like how the movie had an eerie feel, so u know this wasn't going to be a "good trip".
Also, for a film whose central premise is about drug taking there is very little drug usage in Shrooms although there are some 'tripping' scenes including a funny talking foul mouthed cow.Technically Shrooms is fine, in fact it's very impressive & much better looking than most recent low budget horror crap.
The acting is variable but the leading lady Lindsey Haun is actually rather good.Shrooms isn't brilliant by any stretch of the imagination & I have absolutely no problem in saying that but I am a little bit fed up with all the 'this is the worst horror film ever' type comments on here because it's simply not true & it's as simple & straight forward as that.
Yeah, that works...) and it was a tad predictable but come on I think calling it rubbish is a bit harsh.I mean, the girl playing the main character looked TERRIFIED throughout the film.It's not a film that's going to win any awards (unless you count a Razzie?), but all in all I enjoyed it.So just sit back and watch terrified kids high out their boxes.
I actually watched this movie last night expecting a load of rubbish with a load of undeveloped characters killing each other high on shrooms..but i was quite pleasantly surprised.
With its adequate camera technique and editing delivery, Shrooms is also paying homage to the Asian horror genre, but in Irish style, and not a bad job too, it works, and with this all in toe, a bad trip can make for an interesting movie.We have our cast, we have our setting, and we have our motive and we have our plot; but do we?
Shrooms falls into the rather typical horror plot of a group of good lucking teens in the middle of the woods with a killer running amok. |
tt0964587 | St. Trinian's | Annabelle Fritton (Talulah Riley), an uptight daddy’s girl, unwillingly transfers to St Trinian’s from the distinguished Cheltenham Ladies’ College at her father’s (Rupert Everett) request. Annabelle is clearly different and doesn’t fit in, telling her father, Carnaby Fritton, that the school is "like Hogwarts for pikeys". She is taken around the school by Kelly Jones (Gemma Arterton), the head girl, who introduces her to the various cliques within the school.
On her first night at St Trinian’s, Annabelle is pranked by the girls, resulting in a video of her running around the school naked being broadcast live on the internet. She calls her father to pick her up, but he pretends to have bad phone reception so he can stay at a bar. Annabelle is drafted to the hockey team when she hits her phone with her hockey stick, smashing a statue. The girls of St Trinian’s are involved in business with Flash Harry (Russell Brand), who pays them to make cheap vodka. Flash is shown to be romantically interested in Kelly, who initially turns him down.
The Cheltenham Ladies’ College hockey team arrive at St Trinian’s, along with Education Minister Geoffrey Thwaites (Colin Firth). Thwaites is shown to have romantic history with the headmistress of St Trinian’s, Camilla Fritton (Rupert Everett). Annabelle is forced to face her former bullies, including captain Verity Thwaites (Lucy Punch). The hockey match is violent, ending in Kelly shooting a winning goal for St Trinians, which is followed by a brawl between the two schools. As the match is being played, Geoffrey Thwaites inspects the school, finding the illegal vodka-making business and the chatline being run by the Posh Totty clique.
The following morning, a banker arrives at the school and serves Camilla with a foreclosure notice, as the school owes the bank in excess of £500,000 and has ignored six previous final demands. A subsequent meeting between Camilla and Carnaby is watched by the girls using hidden cameras, in which Carnaby confesses his distaste towards his daughter. Annabelle is clearly upset, despite Camilla defending her. Carnaby encourages Camilla to turn the school into a boutique hotel, telling her that "when this school closes down, you'll have lost everything. More importantly, so will I."
Kelly and Flash work with the students to devise a plan to save the school. They must get into the final of School Challenge, a TV quiz show held in the National Gallery in London, as a cover for stealing Vermeer’s “Girl With a Pearl Earring”. Chelsea, Peaches and Chloe (the Posh Totty clique) are chosen as the School Challenge Team. By cheating in every round, they make it to the grand final. As the final is being filmed, Kelly, Taylor and Andrea manage to steal the painting, with help from the Geeks, as well as Annabelle and Camilla.
Camilla paints an exact copy of the painting and has Flash, posing as a German art dealer, sell it to Carnaby in a black market deal. The school then receives a further £50,000 reward for returning the real painting to the National Gallery. The loans are able to be repaid and the school is saved. | comedy | train | wikipedia | null |
tt1038919 | The Bounty Hunter | The movie opens with Milo Boyd (Gerard Butler) driving down a freeway in his Blue Delta 88. He realizes there is smoke coming from the trunk of his car and he starts calling out Nic? Nicole? before pulling over on the side of the road. He opens up the trunk, which is billowing smoke, and Nicole Hurley (Jennifer Aniston) punches him in the crotch before jumping out and dropping the road flare that was making the smoke. She takes off running and Milo takes after her. Freeze frame of Nicole Felon and then Milo Bounty Hunter, then Ex Husband and Ex Wife. Milo tackles Nicole and on screen it then shows 24 Hours Earlier"..Cut to a 4th of July parade and Milo looking for someone in the crowd. Another shot of a menacing looking brute - Dwight - also making his way through the crowd. Milo spots someone and says Bingo while Dwight says Jackpot. Milo is after a man on stilts dressed as Uncle Sam in the parade, while Dwight is after Milo. Just as Milo is about to grab his man, Dwight confronts him and says, You owe my boss money. Milo replies that he owes everyone money and after a brief scuffle, head butts Dwight and takes off after Uncle Sam. A chase ensues through an apartment building and onto the rooftop before Milo tackles the man and they go off the building and onto the top of a police van. The officers take in both men after Milo and one of the policemen get into some verbal sparring over Milo being a bounty hunter and not having a real job.Next scene shows Nicole arriving at her job at the Daily News. She asks a co-worker if they got the info she requested on a suicide and he gives her some next of kin info. As she arrives at her desk, there is a print out of her mug shot taped to her monitor with a note for her not to forget court the next day at 9am. Nic was arrested for assaulting a police officer. A cheesy coworker, Stuart, tries to get info about the story she is working on and asks to work with her on it, wanting to also work on their relationship. Its revealed that the two made out at the office Christmas party and Stuart has an obvious obsession with Nicole. Although Nic makes it clear she has no interest, it doesnt deter Stuart.Escaping to the womens restroom, Nic calls an informant, Jimmy, who is a working as a bartender. She asks him to ask around about the suicide of Walter Lilly on 06/23 and he agrees. Nic mentions that she knows there was a black SUV with stolen plates at the scene. Stuart is listening in on the conversation from the next stall and once again tries to get Nic to let him work with her on the story.Nicole goes to the rooftop where Walter Lilly committed suicide and gets a call from her mom, Kitty. (Christine Baranski). When she asks her moms opinion about jumping off a roof into trees or onto concrete, Kitty misunderstands and thinks Nicole is contemplating suicide. She tells Nicole that although her life is a mess and the marriage to Milo was a mistake, those arent reasons enough to kill herself. When Nicole explains she is working on a story, Kitty is relieved. They agree that someone committing suicide would jump towards the concrete, not into trees.Next we see Milo being bailed out of jail by his friend, Bobby, and then the two having lunch. Bobby mentions that he knows its a tough time of year for Milo and how bad he feels that he is the one that set up Milo and Nicole. Milo insists that hes not bothered by the divorce and doesnt miss her at all.The next day, Nicoles lawyer is waiting outside the courthouse while leaving a message on her voice mail. She arrives with 4 minutes to spare and assures her lawyer it will all be fine. As they are walking in, Nic gets a call from Jimmy. He found something out that cant wait and already thinks he may be in trouble. Tells her to meet him in a half hour at Dunkin Donuts or else hell sell the info to someone else. Nicole tells her lawyer that shell meet him inside and takes off to meet Jimmy. When her case is called inside the courtroom, the judge revokes her bail and issues a warrant for her arrest.At Dunkin Donuts, Jimmy is waiting for Nicole in his car when someone smashes the window with a crowbar and drags him out of the vehicle. Nicole arrives by taxi just in time to see a black SUV speeding away from the parking lot.Milo is sleeping on the couch in Sids Bail Bonds when Sid arrives. He asks what plans Milo has for the weekend, other than getting drunk and punching things. He finally tells Milo about the warrant for Nicole and maybe Milo isnt the right person for the job, as he gets nuts around her. Milo responds that he wont break a sweat and is giddy at the thought of earning $5000 for bringing his ex-wife to jail. That, plus what he earned for bringing in the man from the parade scene, will help him get out of the hole with his bookie.Milo prepares for the job and breaks into Nicoles apartment. He tracks mud on her carpet, eats some food, drops her toothbrush in the toilet (then puts in back), before settling down on her bed, eating cheese Doritos and deleting the shows Nicole had recorded on Tivo. Cut to Nicole opening the apartment door, and apparently sensing something is wrong, she explores each room. At the same time, Milo hears the door open and, after wiping his hands on her pillow, grabs his gun and creeps down the hallway. As they each near a corner, Nicole picks up a picture frame and jumps around the corner, hitting a cat with the frame. At the same time Milo points his gun, startling Stuart. Milo and Nicole are in different apartments. As Milo quizzes Stuart, Nicole is at Jimmys apartment, looking for clues to what he found out about the suicide. Caught by Jimmys mom (?), she says she is Jimmys girlfriend, LaQuisha, and is trying to find him. Lying on the floor of the bathroom is a pair of pants, and Nicole finds a coaster in the pocket with a note that says Audit Evidence Depository. Missing shit. Nicole calls Bobby and tells him that Jimmy is missing. Bobby is at the evidence locker when she calls and he says he will let her know what he finds out.Back at Nicoles apartment, Milo hits redial on her phone and the call goes to Borgota Hotel in Atlantic City. Home to momma he remarks.In Atlantic City, Milo visits Kitty at the hotel/casino where she is a performer. After slapping Milo for messing up her daughters life, the two talk and its clear that Kitty likes Milo and tells him that Milo & Nicole shouldnt have divorced and the two would have had beautiful children. He asks where Nicole is and Kitty says she doesnt know, but that Nic had cancelled their lunch date to suck up some luck. With a knowing look in his eyes, Milo takes off.Nicole is sitting at the racetrack, working on her story when Stuart calls her cell phone. He lets slip that he knows shes at the racetrack and as shes asking how he knows that (he has been following Milo), hears Hello Nic. Milo is sitting next to her. As they talk we find out that this is the first time theyve seen each other since the divorce, that Milo was kicked off the police force, and he reveals that he is a bounty hunter, there to take her in. He gives her a head start and after catching her several times and letting her go again, finally picks her up and puts her in the trunk of his car. Stuart sees this and continues following the pair.Meanwhile, Jimmy is being threatened by his kidnapper at a tattoo parlor. Afraid for his life, he reveals that he was asking about the suicide for Nicole and that she knows about the SUV with stolen plates. Still in the trunk, Nicole takes a phone call from Jimmy. Relieved that hes alive, she tries to get more info from him. With the man holding a gun on him, Jimmy tries to convince her that it was all nothing and to drop the story. Before she can learn anything, the bad guy hangs up Jimmys phone.This brings the movie to the opening scene of the smoke coming from the trunk of the car and Nicoles attempted escape.Dwight is shown walking into his boss office - Irene. He has two black eyes and Irene has had enough of Milo being a deadbeat. She has Ray look up his account and he is over $11,000 in debt. She instructs Ray and Dwight to bring him in, break something on his body, and get the debt collected. Meanwhile, with Nicole handcuffed to the door of Milos car, he is explaining how he tracked her down and she is surprised he knows so much about her. He tells her he has a great girlfriend and loves his life (all lies). Nicole offers him $500 to let her go and he laughs, since he will get $5000 when he takes her in. She remarks that the Milo Boyd she knew could walk into any casino and turn $500 into $5000, even $10000.The two arrive at the Taj Majal casino and Milo says that if he can win $10000 he will let her go. Stuart is still following them and sees the car at the casino. Nicole tells Milo the background on her suicide story and he tells her that any cop would know that someone going head first off a roof isnt a suicide, that suicides go feet first. She asks why a cop would sign the report saying it was suicide, then? Milo says he doesnt know, that she should ask that cop. She also tells him that Walter worked for the NYPD as an evidence clerk and was afraid of heights.Stuart, thinking that Nicole is still in the trunk of Milos car, finds the car in the parking lot and is opening the trunk when Ray approaches him and knocks him out by slamming his head into the car.Milo wins $8000 at the craps table before losing it all. He handcuffs Nicole to the bed in their hotel room and takes his check from Sid to try and win again. Instead, he loses everything and drags himself back to the room, drunk. Nicole tries to get his gun off the nightstand when she thinks Milo is asleep, but is unsuccessful. We find out that they dated six months before they were married and the marriage only lasted 9 months.Back at Irenes, Stuart is being held hostage by Irene and Ray. When Dwight arrives, Irene hands him a golf club and he whacks Stuart in the knee. After saying he feels better, he asks Irene where Milo is. Irene sends them back out together to find Milo.Housekeeping arrives at the hotel to find Nicole handcuffed to the bed. Completely unfazed, the maid gives Nicole her bag when asked and Nicole takes something out. When Milo comes out of the shower, she asks if he will uncuff her so she can go to the bathroom. Although suspicious, Milo lets her. When he walks into the bathroom, Nicole zaps him with a taser and escapes. As she is getting on one elevator, the bad guy who was torturing Jimmy gets off the other elevator and they make eye contact.Nicole calls one of her co-workers to find out who signed the police report for the suicide. It was her friend, Bobby Jenkins. Without transportation or money, she hijacks a bicycle carriage and heads out of town. Milo catches up with her and gets her back into his car. She breaks down in tears after spying a billboard for Cupids Cabin bed and breakfast. She tries to get him to take the situation seriously, but he discounts everything she says - until the black SUV pulls up beside them and the man starts shooting at them. Milo shoots back and after a short chase scene, the SUV careens off the road and rolls several times. Before Milo can capture the man, he car jacks a vehicle and escapes. Milo and Nicole search the SUV and find a Starbucks cup with the name Earl and a set of barely used golf clubs with a tag from Castle Hill Golf Club.They head to the golf club and manipulate their way into the private club so they can try to find out more about Earl. Milo says they need to ask the only people there who know everything about everyone - the caddies. When they approach a group of caddies and ask about Earl, one of the young men takes off running. After a chase across the course and a crash into a pond, they catch the caddy and he says he doesnt know anything about the drugs and money. He doesnt know Earls last name, but shows them a tattoo he got as a tip from Earl, done at the Blue Ink tattoo parlor.Back on the road, Milo calls the tattoo parlor and asks for Earl. When the receptionist says he isnt there, Milo leaves a message from Walter Lilly. He then gets a call from Bobby, telling them to lay low as ½ of New Jersey is looking for Milo and the other half is looking for Nicole. Milo drives to Cupids Cabin so they can figure out what to do. The owners of the B&B remember the couple, even though its been three years since they were there on their honeymoon and comment how they made such an impression because they were so in love and the perfect couple. Since their clothes are dirty from the crash into the golf course pond, they are loaned clothes and enjoy dinner together. At dinner, they both apologize for mistakes they made and it is clear they still have feelings for each otherBack in their room, Nicole is in the bathroom, talking to her mom on the phone. When she says that Milo apologized and that she no longer remembered why she didnt like him, her mom advises her to go for it - few people ever get a second chance. Nicole declares that she will and gets naked. In the other room, Milo is lighting candles when the rest of their champagne from dinner is brought to the room. Looking for a tip in Nicoles purse, he finds a wedding picture. Confused, he calls Teresa and Sid at the bail bonds office for advice. Sid tells him its nothing, while Teresa says it means Nicole still loves him. Nicole comes out of the bathroom just as Milo tells Sid that even if he gets laid, its not going to change anything and hes still bringing Nicole into the police. Nicole goes back into the bathroom, heartbroken.After a tense evening, with Milo being totally confused at Nicoles turnaround in attitude, Milo wakes up handcuffed to the bed and Nicole taking the car keys and leaving. She heads to the Blue Ink tattoo parlor. Milo breaks the headboard to escape and pretends to be a valet at the bed & breakfast in order to get a car.Nicole pretends to be interested in getting a tattoo to gain access to the parlor. While snooping upstairs she finds a picture of Earl and Bobby on a police bowling league and then finds Jimmy tied up in the closet. They escape just as they hear the receptionist downstairs saying Oh, a Walter Lilly called for you and Earl soon discovers that Jimmy is gone. Jimmy tells Nicole that Earl is a cop, and a drug dealer, and that he overheard him making an appointment to meet with Bobby. When they get back to the car, Ray & Dwight are in the back seat and tell Jimmy to get lost.Milo spots his car in a parking lot just as he gets a call from Nicole. She is in a strip club with Irenes goons and is pissed that Milo has a gambling debt, and he needs to pay so theyll let her go. Milo tells Dwight to keep her. Milo sees Dwights car and pops the trunk while talking to Nicole. He finds a bag of cash and tells Nicole to go to the bathroom and to tell Dwight hell be there in 20 minutes. As the two men wait for Nicole outside the restroom, Milo starts dumping the cash around the club, causing a riot as everyone tries to grab the bills. Dwight and Ray realize whats happening and try to get some of Irenes money back. During the commotions, Milo and Nicole escape.Back on the road, Milo calls his friend Kenny at the police department and finds out that Bobby is at the depository and that the department is in the process of moving all the evidence there to a new facility. Nicole tells Milo that maybe its not what it looks like and Milo responds that its almost always what it looks like.Earl is at the depository, putting bags of drugs into a bag, when Bobby arrives. When Earl realizes Bobby is there to stop him, he shoots Bobby. Milo and Nicole hear the gunshots and Milo forces the guard to open up the gate so they can go in. They find Bobby in the elevator, bleeding from the gunshot. He tells Milo that Earl has his gun. Milo goes after Earl. Nicole cant stand waiting and goes into the warehouse as well, ignoring Bobbys pleas to stay put. Earl has a gun to Milos head when Nicole takes a shotgun out of an evidence box and shoots at Earl after he calls her girl. When Earl turns to fire at Nicole, Milo knocks him over and out.The next scene is outside the building with police cars and ambulances on scene. Bobby explains that Walter Lilly had been helping Earl steal things from the depository and when he wanted out, Earl had killed him. Bobby had been tracking Earl for several weeks but hadnt been able to find evidence against him until Nicole found out about the SUV with stolen plates. Stuart calls Nicole while limping down the road, moaning that his leg is broken and he was tranquilized by the track vet with horse tranquilizers.Driving once again, Nicole tells Milo that she wants to blow off the story and take him home, but she cant. He says he understands that sometimes her job needs to come first, just like sometimes his job will have to come first. He pulls up in front of the police station and Nicole cant believe he is really taking her in. She is taken into custody and uses her one phone call to call in her story. Leaving the police station, Milo is confronted by the police officer who antagonized him at the parade and punches him in the face so he can be taken into custody.The movie ends with the couple in adjacent cells, kissing through the bars.Source: themoviespoiler.com | comedy, action, murder, romantic | train | imdb | The action is cliché for the small amount of time it graces us with its presence, and most of the humor falls flat, maybe because you've already seen/heard the jokes before, from other, better movies.For all their likability, both Gerard Butler and Jennifer Aniston seem to be on auto pilot.
The Bounty Hunter is no exception, as its charm lies solely in the joint presence of Gerard Butler and Jennifer Aniston, rather than in the fact that Andy Tennant (Hitch) is directing.
Of course, even two fine actors such as those in this film are no good if the material is beneath their talent.The story goes like this: Butler is an ex-cop who currently works as a bounty hunter.
The tonal inconsistencies are reflected in the acting, as well: supporting performances range from passably straight (Jeff Garlin) to borderline ridiculous (Christine Baranski), whereas the leading duo does generally fine when they're together, less so separately, with Aniston being clearly more at ease with the less physically demanding stuff, while the opposite is true for Butler.In short, The Bounty Hunter is an inconsistent picture that doesn't have enough laughs for a comedy, nor the appropriate direction for an action flick.
Milo Boyd (Gerard Butler) is the titular cop who tries to take his ex-wife Nicole Hurley (Jenifer Aniston) to jail because she's jumped bail.
I laughed not even once given that the film is paint by numbers plot about exes who still love each other and fight almost to the end to disprove that situation.Aniston's only observable talent here is to display a well-tended body in tight short skirt (even though she plays a reporter, most of whom could not go the News Awards looking half as good), and Butler shows he still has his 300 abs, muscular arms, and seductive lisp.
It's far too elementary and simple-minded to be taken seriously, even on an un-serious comedy level.Jennifer Aniston plays an investigative reporter who has skipped her court date one too many times and finally gets a bench warrant under her name for failing to appear before the judge.
Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler looked like they would make a good duo and this movie looked promising in the fun factor.
But if you have a film with a fresh concept, two major stars, and a pretty lengthy running time, just enough for slick action and chemistry, how could you mess it up?The Bounty Hunter revolves around Milo, who's a bounty hunter, that is taking his ex-wife to jail.
While nothing plausible, they aren't bad.Overall, "The bounty hunter" is a disposable action comedy that lacks momentum, the requirements of a good movie, and a good script.
From disgusting nose-picking to psychological and verbal abuse of his ex-wife, his character exhibited no characteristic likely to make me want to shell out the price of a ticket to his next movie.Jennifer Anniston is getting too old to succeed on "cute," "spunky," and "vulnerable." She plays all three to the hilt in this film, but maybe she should have read the script all the way through before agreeing to appear.Why did we not demand our money back and go to something with more class and wit and plausibility, such as maybe "The Last Airbender?" Christine Baranski.
But Nicole is pursued by the criminal that she is investigating and Milo by the henchmen of the takers and they get into trouble.I expected much more from "The Bounty Hunter" since I like the sexy Jennifer Aniston and the efficient Gerard Butler.
Hollywood continues to find vehicles - and a lot of them - for both Jennifer Aniston (Nicole) and Gerard Butler (her bounty hunting ex).
When broke bounty hunter Milo (Gerald Butler) gets the opportunity to collect a price on the head of his ex-wife Nicole (Jennifer Aniston), he hopes to stun two birds with one stun gun, i.e. pay off his mounting gambling debts and anger his journalist ex-wife.
Unbeknownst to him, however, is the fact that Nicole is actively pursuing leads in a high-profile murder case, which means she must avoid jail–and the bad guys–long enough to file her incriminating article.A disorientating hodgepodge of action movie machismo and romantic-comedy antagonism, The Bounty Hunter's problematic premise is made even worse by its lead actors, limp script and lack of ingenuity.As for tracking down ex-wives who fail to appear in court, that's bush league.
At least some of the worst movies of all time are memorable in their own twisted way; this latest 'romantic' 'comedy' is the cinematic equivalent of a NyQuil and Lunesta slurry.Growing into two of the biggest rom-com stars, Gerard Butler's and Jennifer Aniston's latest joins the likes of films like Night at the Museum 2 and Land of the Lost that are just grinding torturous slogs; seemingly never-ending and without merit.
Laughs and originality are left to putrefy and the plot is so wincingly predictable you could likely guess the entire story arc from the title alone.Surrounding Butler and Aniston are supporting characters that range from forgettable to utterly obnoxious and are as perfunctory as the events through which the players are moved.
The jokes are funnier, the plot doesn't consist the drama which isn't needed in a romantic comedy, and the chemistry between Aniston and Butler is far-far better.
Butler and Aniston don't make a very good screen couple, and the story is too dependant on their lack of chemistry and rapid fire excahange of sarcastic banter to work, but it does not sustain the film for a hundred plus minutes.
The bounty hunter 2010A chick flick with nothing unique or special
one has seen such films countless times before and will continue to see them in future
the only thing I can say in its praise is that it's better than the story less chick flicks bollywood seems to be churning out nowadays
Gerard Butler is an ex cop bounty hunter whose ex wife is a hot shot reporter who is suspicious about an open and shut case
she starts to investigate a lead and hence doesn't turn up in court for her parking tickets' hearing
the court is sick of waiting for Ms. Jennifer and puts out a warrant for her arrest
a bounty hunter is employed to get her and he happens to be Mr. Butler
he arrests her without delay but now starts a sort of road movie with the 'killer' out to get Ms. Aniston
the bounty hunter turns saviour as the ex-couple sets out to find what the hell is happening
and in the process re-discover their love.The film could have been funny and romantic and dramatic but it seems insipid
its like taking your girlfriend out and treating her to Maggi noodles
you expect so much but all you gets is something limp and soggy but not bad to taste
Gerard was way better in The Ugly Truth.
I saw "The Bounty Hunter" today, with a few friends, and we all weren't disappointed.It was interesting too see Aniston and Butler under the same title and we were all curious, which is strange, because there wasn't a girl among us.Nonetheless we went in and we enjoyed it, more or less.As a fan of Gerard Butler i have to say he looks quite well and is portraying his character very good.The plot is predictable, but that's not that important, when it comes to this genre.Jennifer Aniston was also good, it was interesting to see her, considering she is a big name in the rom-com genre.There were some new ideas as well as some fresh moments, but i won't ruin it for you.I went in with no high expectations, as the only thing i was interested in was Gerry Butler.But in the end i was surprised and happy i saw it.And the chemistry Aniston/Butler worked out very interesting and convincing.I think most of You will enjoy it as well, not the critics of course, but those movies aren't about critics, so don't listen to them.My rate: ***1/2 out of *****P.S.That's my real note, i have been forced to rate higher :).
Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler play ex husband and wife Milo and Nicole.
It's hard to imagine how Butler and Aniston's characters Milo and Nicole ended up married in the first place as they act like two petulant children who don't know how to grow up not to mention that are cruel to each other like he sticks her in the boot of his car and she tasers him.
There are some good laughs but they mostly comes from smaller characters within the film like Adam Rose who plays Jimmy whose Milo's boss and Christine Baranski who is Kitty Hurley playing Nicole's mother.
The Bounty Hunter is one of those pieces of crap which were made with the only purpose of showing two popular and attractive actors, and without even the minimum effort in the screenplay and the direction.However, it would be simpler to describe this movie as what it is NOT: it is not funny, it is not exciting, it is not entertaining.In summary: it is absolutely nothing.It is simply 110 minutes of Gerard Butler and Jennifer Aniston discussing without any passion and running without a purpose.So, it should not surprise us that there is not any ingenuity on the screenplay or credibility in the performances.However, I do not think they could be considered as "performances".This is not the first time Aniston tries to buoy a bad movie with the bright of her "star" (Along Came Polly and Rumor Has It are two examples which come to my mind in this moment).However, I think this is the first time she brings us such a horrible performance with the mere hook of her charisma and physical attractive.As for Butler, the least I say, the better.His dramatic development is generally competent (like, for example, in 300 and Law Abiding Citizen); however, it is obvious he lacks of talent for the comedy because, as he made in The Ugly Truth, he exaggerates his dialogs and attitudes too much.And if we combine those two pathetic performances with the inexistent substance from the characters and story, we have as a final result a disaster which first of all, provokes embarrassment, and then irritation for having invested time and money on this piece of junk.The screenplay is even worse than the performances: an absolutely flat screenplay, without any energy or the most elementary narrative push to make the spectator to get interested in the story.Finally, I have to mention the soundtrack, which puts effort in convincing us we are having fun; needless to say that the only thing the use of songs gets is making the torture worse, because even though the songs are not inherently bad, they feel as weak distractions which are incompatible with the dull tone from the movie, so they end up stressing its antipathy on their intention of disguising it.I recommend you to stay very far away from this movie.It is obvious this movie was made with reluctance, so it is natural that my answer was exactly the same.In summary, The Bounty Hunter is an execrable movie which truly damages the cinema..
If you're a kind of woman or guy liking romantic comedies you should expect more than you do because the movie ends up with romance and is not boring.
Bounty Hunter Milo (Butler) is tasked with bringing in his ex-wife Nicole (Aniston).The reason many of these Romcoms don't work is because we either don't like both leads,or like one lead and not the other.
Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler play a divorced couple but when she skips a court-order, he jumps at the chance to bounty hunt her down.There are some funny moments, and the situation on the whole is humorous, but not laugh-out-loud.
It is better than the crash-em-up, over-the-top nonsense displayed in all the big-budget action flicks.This brings us to the main problem with "The Bounty Hunter", they tried to give us a plot with a story, and comedy, romance, drama and action and of course sex appeal.
"The Bounty Hunter" could be crowned as the worst movie of 2010 simply because of horrible acting from the Lead Pairs of Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler and poor and predictable storyline.The story is so boring that I don't want to go into this.
However, despite some striking production values, an intriguing concept and decent individual performances from Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler, the trailer shows all the best parts.The story is a big problem, it starts off intriguing but as the pace slackens the events become more predictable and mundane, and as an overall story the film offers nothing new.
'THE BOUNTY HUNTER': Two and a Half Stars (Out of Five) Gerard Butler once again wastes his talent starring in yet another romantic comedy that's beneath him.
Jennifer Aniston (also wasting her talent but it seems like she almost always does) plays the bounty hunter's reporter ex-wife who skipped a court appearance, for grazing a police horse, in order to follow up a lead on a suicide story.
Milo Boyd (Gerard Butler), a down-on-his-luck bounty hunter, gets his dream job when he is assigned to track down his bail-jumping ex-wife, reporter Nicole Hurly (Jennifer Aniston).
But is that really what the audience waited for?!!In this movie, Gerard Butler portrays Milo Boyd, a bounty hunter who hunts wanted felons down for rewards.
Milo finds out that his next target is none other than his ex-wife Nicole (Jennifer Aniston) and from there, the wild adventures begin.As much as the idea sounds so promising for a good comical ride, writer Sarah Thorp decides to add a twist of action to the story and surprisingly flaws what could have been a much more enjoyable film.
this is probably the first time I've watched a film starring Jennifer Aniston and not thought it were a nauseating performance, but this was great, her performance with co-star Gerald Butler was more than good the chemistry between the two was out-standing..
and I'm so glad that I didn't.The film is about Milo (Butler) you is a former cop turned bounty hunter trying to capture his ex-wife Nichole (Aniston), obviously it was never going to be as simple as that.
Nichole is working on a big story involving a murder.The movie is charming and is an excellent Action-Comedy, I think a big reason for the poor reviews is the film being marketed as a Rom-com, despite being virtually the opposite until near the end.
As it tries to bring elements of what was memorable about those two films, and it really misses the boat.The story begins with Milo(Gerard Butler) an ex cop, who is now a down on his luck bounty hunter, is told that he will be set for life if he brings in his ex-wife Nicole(Jennifer Aniston) who jumped bail, and she is a journalist, working on a story that might get her killed.
In fact, it's probably one of the worst films of 2010.Jennifer Aniston plays Nicole, the bail-jumping ex-wife of Gerard Butler's Milo, a fired cop who has since become a bounty hunter.
Action-Sequences are average.Performance-Wise: Jennifer Aniston & Gerard Butler are the life of 'The Bounty Hunter'.
Gerard Butler's prior performance in The Ugly Truth (2009) along with Katherine Heigl finds a sequel in The Bounty Hunter (2010) with co-acting of non-aging Jennifer Aniston who for herself has a long term of comedy-romance performance e.g. the NBC TV show Friends (1994-2004) which is a perfect example of her tireless performance carrier in this genre.
At the end The Bounty Hunter is an amusing movie which can bring joy at the time of watching it and can make your day after hours of work..
With Jen squeezed into a figure hugging dress for the duration, making the most of her fine tits and ass, and Butler baring his chest for the ladies during a shower scene, there's something for both sexes, making the film the obvious choice for a 'date movie'.But as lovely as I, and presumably most men, find the delectable Ms. Aniston, and as irresistible as I am sure Mr. Butler must be to many women (despite his wonky mouth), the stars share very little on-screen chemistry, and as a romantic comedy/thriller The Bounty Hunter is a complete failure.
Imagine that: she should really try to get a role more like that.Any ways, another problem with this film besides been done a million times was that Anniston and Gerard Butler had little chemistry.
In the film, The Bounty Hunter, Milo Boyd (Gerard Butler) a bounty hunter who was given an assignment to bring his ex-wife Nichole Hurley (Jennifer Aniston) to jail for skipping out on her court appearance.
I thought that it could be pretty good considering Gerald Butler as the lead male as a bounty hunter and Jennifer Aniston as the lead female.
And currently, we get Jennifer Aniston with her latest, Gerard Butler ("Phantom of the Opera," "Nim's Island," "300"), in what is basically nothing more than a remake of a bad episode (okay, EVERY episode) of "Dog, The Bounty Hunter" mixed with "Mr. and Mrs. Smith (starring another real-life couple) and "Midnight Run," the classic comedy from 1988 with Charles Grodin and Robert DeNiro.If this film were a) slightly interesting, b) somewhat novel and/or c) remotely funny, then I might have enjoyed it - a tad.
The film stars Gerald Butler as Milo, an ex-cop who's now a bounty hunter.
I love the occasional romantic comedy thriller and was quite keen to see this, but the reality was disappointing.Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler are completely wasted in this terrible film.
If you like the pairing of Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler, you'll enjoy The Bounty Hunter.
The job of bringing her back gets handed to Nicole's former-cop-now-bounty-hunter ex-husband, Milo Boyd (Gerard Butler), who reacts to this assignment like he won the lottery.
I absolutely love romantic comedies and I am a huge fan of Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler but after waiting for the release of this movie for several months unfortunately I was disappointed.The storyline seemed promising and quite original. |
tt0096895 | Batman | In a back alley of Gotham, a tourist family is mugged, and the mother and son threatened. Shortly thereafter, the crooks who swiped the husband's wallet are accosted by a costumed vigilante, that resembles a giant bat. The vigilante tells one of the crooks to tell his friends about him. When the crook pleads to know 'what' this creature is, the costumed man replies, "I'm Batman."When the two crooks are found by the Police, Lt. Eckhardt shows up at the scene, dismissing their description of a man dressed up like a bat. However, the crime scene is soon found by Alexander Knox, a reported for Gotham City's newspaper, who has been following the 'bat attacks.' Knox has so far counted 8 sightings in under a month, and asks Eckhardt if it's true that Police Commissioner Gordon has opened a file. Eckhardt just dismisses the 'oddball' reporter.Meanwhile, the Mayor of Gotham City has held a press conference, introducing the city's new District Attorney, Harvey Dent. Harvey promises to clean up Gotham, and make it a place for respectable people once again. This press conference comes just weeks before the 200th Anniversary Gala celebrating the birth of Gotham City.Back at the Gotham newspaper, Knox meets one of the paper's new photographers, Vicki Vale. Knox is mildly interested in her, but then grows even moreso when she tells of her interest in trying to find out who Batman is. Knowing that Commissioner Gordon has a file on this vigilante, Knox intends to get into a charity benefit at Millionaire Bruce Wayne's mansion, where Gordon will be attending. Vale also decides to accompany him.Meanwhile, Crime Boss Carl Grissom is angered at the persistence of Harvey Dent, figuring that the new District Attorney could find out about their connection to the Axis Chemicals plant. One of Carl's men, Jack Napier, nonchalantly suggests they break in and steal the files that could incriminate them. Carl takes to this idea, and recommends that Jack is the man for the job. Jack is reluctant, but Carl insists, calling him his "number one guy."Meanwhile, at the charity benefit, Knox attempts to get information from Gordon, but fails, with the Commissioner denying that there is a Batman on the streets. Vicki, meanwhile, meets up with Bruce Wayne, who seems a little shy. Bruce eventually excuses himself when his butler Alfred requests his presence. In a secret command center, Bruce reviews video footage of the party, and catches Gordon talking to an associate, who has received a tip that Jack Napier is going to Axis Chemicals to 'clean it out.' Lt Eckhardt is handling taking care of him, but Gordon goes there to take charge.At Axis Chemicals, Napier's men find the plant's safe...only to find the documents they came for are gone. Suspecting a setup, Jack cautions his men to watch out. Shortly thereafter, they are ambushed by Eckhardt and his officers. Gordon shows up shortly after the gunfire, and demands that Jack Napier be taken alive. During the chase, Batman eventually corners Napier, and catches him just before he falls into a vat of chemicals. However, Batman lets go, and Jack falls in. Gordon sees Batman, and orders him to halt, but the Caped Crusader gets away. Gordon then instructs his men not to mention what they saw.The next day, Napier's death is ruled as a suicide, but Knox suspects that Batman ended up taking care of Grissom's man. Knox asks Vicki to help him further investigate the case, but she blows him off, saying she has a date with Bruce Wayne.Meanwhile, Jack Napier has managed to survive, and makes his way to a seedy doctor to have his face repaired. However, the chemicals he fell into have permanently bleached his skin white, and turned his hair green. As well, his face seems frozen in a permanent grin. Jack then returns to Grissom's penthouse, having concluded that he had Eckhardt tip off the Police, and that Carl set him up to die. Revealing his newly-changed face, Jack claims to now be The Joker, and kills Grissom.Meanwhile, Vicki and Bruce share a rather quiet evening in Wayne Manor. While Vicki is rather intrigued by Bruce, she finds that the large Manor does not seem to reflect much on him. When she invites him to an outing, he declines, saying he has to leave town for certain reasons.Back in the criminal underworld, the Joker claims that Grissom has gone away for awhile, and has left him in charge, Claiming to oversee all of Grissom's affairs, the other crime bosses are not convinced, and still fail to acknowledge this, even when the Joker electrocutes one of their own.Meanwhile, Vicki grows curious about Bruce, and follows him as he leaves his mansion. Though he said he was leaving town, she finds him staying close to Gotham. Following from a distance, Vicki sees him walk into an alley, and lay two roses on the pavement. She soon after calls Knox, asking to find any information regarding the street location.Eventually, one of the crime lords attempts to go public, holding a press conference saying that Grissom has left him and his associates (not including the Joker) control of Grissom's Empire. It is then that the Joker appears, and stabs the crime lord in the throat, before driving off.During the press conference, the joker dispatched one of his men known as Bob, to snap pictures of people there. One of them is of Vicki Vale, whom the Joker soon grows infatuated with.Also of interest to the Joker is the Axis Chemicals plant. Using an unknown(to the viewer) combination of chemicals, the Joker creates a chemical known as 'Smilex.' Combined with any normal household product, it causes a person to die of laughter, leaving a permanent grin on the victim's face. Because of this, the public stops using any form of beauty and hygiene products, as so far, noone knows what is causing this.Shortly after this, Vicki Vale receives a request from Bruce Wayne to meet him at the Gotham Museum of Art. When she gets there, she finds a table reserved, and receives a gift box containing a gas mask. Within seconds, the museum begins filling with sleeping gas. Vicki puts on the mask, only to see the Joker (flesh-tone makeup covering his white complexion) enter, and vandalize the art pieces before sitting at her table. It soon becomes apparent that the invitation was sent by him, for a rather twisted romantic evening for two for them.Suddenly, Batman swoops in through the skylight, and makes off with Vale. The Joker's goons give chase, following the Batmobile through Gotham. When traffic blocks their way, Batman and Vicki get out and run away on foot. Batman eventually distracts the goons, while Vicki finds a hiding place. During his confrontation, a couple bullets hit Batman's chest and he goes down.As the goons examine the body, one begins to remove the Batman's mask. Vicki attempts to snap a picture of his identity, but her flash catches the goon's attention. This gives Batman time to take them out, before summoning the Batmobile, and both he and Vicki head to the Batcave.Once there, Batman reveals that he has found the source of the 'smilex' drug, and gives Vicki the information to take to the press. However, before she can ask more questions, she blacks out, and finds herself in her apartment...minus the film in her camera from the previous night. Noting the time and the file that Batman gave her, Vicki calls Knox, and the 'smilex' information makes the front page, and puts Batman at the forefront of the people's minds, including the Joker.Bruce soon after pays Vicki a visit, and she angrily reprimands him for lying to her about leaving town. Bruce tries to explain more about who he is, but their conversation is interrupted when the Joker appears. Bruce attempts to threaten the madman, to which the Joker asks him a question: "Ever dance with the devil in the pale moon light?" Bruce is offput by this, but has almost no time to react as the Joker shoots him. Vicki watches as he and his men leave, but when she returns to Bruce's body in the next room, she finds it gone, with a silver serving tray with a bullet in it (Bruce was wearing this under his shirt as protection when the Joker shot him).After this ordeal, Vicki returns to the newspaper, where Knox reveals the information he found regarding the street where Bruce was. According to the newspaper, this was the area where Bruce's parents were gunned down by an unknown gunman. Vicki soon begins to realize a bit more about Bruce through this.Meanwhile, the Mayor and his aides hold a press conference to cancel the 200th anniversary gala for Gotham. However, their broadcast is interrupted by the Joker, who declares that Carl Grissom is dead, and that he is in charge of the crime syndicate in the city. Much to the delight of the common people, the Joker announces that a party will be held that night, with $20million in cash given out to the crowd, and promising that Batman will also appear.Bruce has been watching the entire event unfold, and thinks back to the words that the Joker had said. The night his parents were murdered, the man who gunned them down also used the 'dance with the devil' line, and Bruce is certain that the Joker killed his parents. It is then that Vicki appears in the Batcave, having been let in by Alfred. Bruce tries to admit his feelings for her, but knows that there's little time for words, given what the Joker is planning.Batman first sends the Batmobile to Axis Chemicals, in hopes of blowing up all of the Joker's activities. While he destroys the facility, the Joker was not in the building at the time.Shortly thereafter, several giant balloons and floats make their way down the streets of Gotham, with the Joker playing music and giving away free money. Batman appears soon after, flying his Batwing plane. When the Joker sees this, he and his men put on gas masks, and let loose smilex gas in canisters attached to the balloons.Batman shortly thereafter swoops in, and flies off with the balloons, saving most of the citizens. Once he has let them go, he returns in an attempt to take out the Joker. The Joker has other plans, and takes out the Batwing with one shot of a comically long pistol. The Batwing crashes, and Vicki (who was nearby covering the parade for the newspaper), rushes to the cockpit, only to find noone there.It is then that she is accosted by the Joker, and taken up to the top of a nearby cathedral. Batman follows shortly afterward, just as the Gotham Police arrive and lock down the building. However, they are unable to ascend the stairs when the Joker uses an acid flower to cause one of the cathedral's bells to drop down and destroy the wooden stairway.At the top of the tower, Batman confronts the Joker, blaming him for the death of his parents. However, before Batman can properly take care of the Joker, the clown ends up two-timing both Batman and Vicki, and soon the two are dangling from the top of the cathedral.Shortly thereafter, the Joker's helicopter appears, and the Joker attempts to get away. However, Batman uses a grappling hook that gets entangled on the Joker's leg, and on a stone gargoyle. The weight of the gargoyle ends up causing the Joker to fall to his death.In the aftermath of the ordeal, The Joker's men are captured, and it appears that Gotham is now safe. Batman has also sent a signal to the Gotham Police, to use if they ever need to call on him.Meanwhile, Knox is surprised that Vicki isn't covering the event, and that she seems to have given up on trying to find out more about the Batman. As she walks away, she is greeted by Alfred, who is there to escort her to Wayne Manor, with the caveat that Mr Wayne will be 'a little late.' | comedy, dark, gothic, murder, suspenseful, realism, bleak, mystery, cult, violence, atmospheric, flashback, good versus evil, insanity, action, satire, tragedy, revenge | train | imdb | A gangster named Jack Napier (Jack Nicholson) was dropped into a vat of chemicals which leaves him disfigures with paint-like white bleached skin and ruby-red lips plus green hair which makes him clown-like as he now calls himself Joker, he begins to terrorize the city of Gotham and stalk a sexy photographer named Vickie Vale (Kim Bassinger).
Bruce Wayne who is Gotham's richest man falls in love with Vickie yet she doesn't know his true secret that he's Batman, but can Bruce deal with romance and battling with Joker at the same time?Batman is a 1989 American superhero film directed by Tim Burton and produced by Jon Peters, based on the DC Comics character of the same name.
The film stars Jack Nicholson, Michael Keaton in the title role, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl, Pat Hingle, Billy Dee Williams, Michael Gough, and Jack Palance.The Dark Knight of Gotham City begins his war on crime with his first major enemy being the clownishly homicidal Joker.This is definitely my favorite classic Action film from the 80's it was always my favorite childhood movie and it will always be.
Gotham City is created in incredibly detailed comic-book style, which adds to the overall quality of the movie.Director Tim Burton does an amazing job bringing this unreal world to reality, and Kim Basinger is excellent as Vicky Vale, the film's main female presence.
Batman would be a serious film (well, as serious as a comic book movie can be) and Keaton was perfect in the Bruce Wayne/Batman role.
His eagerness to find Batman and win his Pulitzer prize is well done and is a very down to earth performance, which I guess is what the movie needed.As for Tim Burton's direction, he handles the actors very well and as for the technical work, I have mixed feelings about that.
In 1989, Tim Burton created the very first Batman movie with great stars like Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson.
Kim Basinger is kind of annoying at times, but she's not the worst damsel in distress ever seen on screen.Tim Burton has a unique way of doing Batman, and I think most people can agree that it fits the characters and the story.
Tim Burton corrected all that by giving us a dark, sinister and Gothic world with rich production design and a great score by Danny Elfman (who has made a career out of recycling the same old generic cues in nearly every movie he has scored).
Jack Nicholson was born to play that role, he lives and breathes that part in his daily life, so all they had to do was add some makeup and a facial prosthetic to increase the size of that already huge grin and he was ready to go.To start with thats where the Burton films have an edge, beyond that there's Batman himself.
Michael Keaton (besides Adam West) is the real Batman to me, his Bruce Wayne character was excellent and he played the Dark Knight beautifully.
Tim Burton did an excellent job in portraying a dark, gloomy, Gotham City and he made the characters come to life and almost jump off the screen at you, great stuff by a great director.
Nicholson has some of the best lines of his career so far as The Joker, and Keaton turns in a performance as Bats/Bruce Wayne that other Batman actors should envy to this day.
Plus the story telling (as said for example, the tone of the movie is very similar with the animation series or comic book) Jack Nicholson deserves all the titles as Joker.
After seeing it, I enjoyed it.I thought Michael Keaton did an excellent job portraying Batman/Bruce Wayne and Jack Nicholson portraying the Joker.
It was announced that they were going to film a "Batman" movie.The last time I remembered seeing "Batman" was from the 70s-the early 80s.The show was campy and really dumb to watch and the comics seemed to be more darker than the television series.At that time,the "Superman" films were dying,thanks to "Superman III" and "Superman IV:The Quest for Peace".It was hard for me to accept that a film like "Batman" was coming to the big screen.My only thought was how corny it was going to be.Almost a year later,I realized that I was wrong."Batman" works on all forms.It is a wonderful film which captures the darkness and the imagination of what I did not expect from the film.Tim Burton directs the film with such glee that I was having a good time just by looking at the film.The casting for "Batman" is appropriately well made for the screen.The art direction and costume design are given a 1940s noir style and the cinematography gives "Batman" a comic book look to the film.Michael Keaton is fierce as Bruce Wayne/Batman and Jack Nicholson is gruesomely hilarious as The Joker."Batman" is a dark film with fantastic special effects with a totally different look that had me feeling that I was being part of the movie."Batman" is a film that is fun to watch..
Filled with Amazing Action,Excellent performances,great direction and a brilliant score,Batman is one of my favorite movies of all time,a true classic and is Tim Burton at his best.Set in the fictional town of Gotham City,Batman tells the story of Bruce Wayne(Michael Keaton),who is a Billionaire by day,but,at night he is Batman,a masked avenger who stalks criminals and bad guys in the night gives them his own brand of justice.
Jerry Hall(Alicia),Tracey Walter(Bob The Goon),Lee Wallace(The Mayor)and William Hootkins(Lt.Eckhardt)give good performances as well.The direction by Tim Burton is amazing with Burton constantly moving the camera and giving the film a dark,Gothic and brooding feel to it and giving the film a lot of energy and also does a great job with the Action and fight scenes.
This dark and brooding film stands for me as what Batman is and should be: the most complex and intriguing of all superheros.The story concerns Batman as he faces his immortal arch enemy...The Joker (played superbly by the one and only Jack Nicholson).
This is by far the best Batman movie ever made (better than Batman Begins if you ask me), Jack Nicholson was the perfect choice for the Joker was he ever amazing portraying the character perfectly as the sadistic short fused man garbed as a clown, right out of the pages of the comic book he was sensational.Michael Keaton was the best actor to done the cape, he was so suttle, as Batman rarely would he speak making him very mysterious and un-revealing, never exposing himself, brilliant he was the best Batman far none.
Dark and Gothic, the way Gotham was designed making it so bleak and almost ugly yet, this was the way it was almost meant to be.The best Batman Movie ever made and Burton's best in my sight I loved it never gets old..
The film is brilliantly acted by its perfectly-chosen cast, which includes Jack Nicholson (the Joker), Michael Keaton (the Batman), Kim Basinger (Vicki Vale), Micheal Gough (Alfred Pennyworth), and Robert Wuhl (Alexander Knox).
Tim Burton makes perfect use of his wonderful directorial talents, Anton Furst designs a Gothic, beautiful Gotham City, and Danny Elfman's classic musical score further help make this a unique, thought-provoking, and very powerful modern classic, a masterpiece of film noir and grand opera.Michael Keaton's Batman is dark, brooding, and tormented.
From the flashy, campy nature of the 60s movie, to the cornball, over the top manner of the Joel Schumacher films, to the dark, brilliantly animated atmosphere of the "Timmverse" films, Batman has had his share of makeovers throughout the years, but none can come close to the thrilling, Gothic quality of Tim Burton's 1989 masterpiece.
Despite the sequels and the fanfare of the reboot, this remains my favorite Batman movie.I admittedly had initial concerns over Michael Keaton in the role, but I quickly warmed up to the actor as Bruce Wayne, and once the suit went on, his performance was spot on.
Nicholson as the Joker was solid casting, and he gave a brilliant performance.This movie was just fun, and a completely different feel from "The Dark Knight".
Burton makes an interesting decision by combining the original Bob Kane/Bill Finger comics from 1939 and the early '40s, Frank Miller's work on Batman from the '80s, and his own take on the character.The film's plot is about Batman battling his first major villain, the Joker.
Although the 80s did NOT require directors to push things beyond atrocious nor gratuitous for the sake of acquiring young adult's attention, this film was well balanced in coolness, ground breaking, dark, mainstream and humorous all wrapped up into one.Many many thanks to Tim Burton or else you kids would never have gotten your Batman Begins, today.And I personally still believe that the 89 primal looking bat suit, is still the best looking bat suit around.
Christopher Nolan's Gotham city was dark and modern, Tim Burton's one was probably more fantasy but there was still something eerie and lonely about it which I like.Comparing Christian Bale and Michael Keaton as Batman.
The simplicity of the story of having just Joker as the bad guy, batman and the simple love story between Vicki Vale and Bruce Wayne was an added bonus as compared to Dark Knight which has too many plot lines and characters which could lead to confusion and diversion from the main plot line.Don't get me wrong though, The Dark Knight is still a wonderful film but this one is irreplaceable for me..
Sometimes it's hard to imagine the Batman franchise without Christopher Bale and co, let alone with someone other than Heath Ledger as 'the Joker.' However, many years before Bale donned the famous black cowl, Michael Keaton was the 'Dark Knight.' And, believe it or not, he didn't do a bad job (at the time).Although, despite Keaton being reasonably well-known, top billing – naturally – went to Jack Nicholson as the Joker.
recently i voted this movie an 8/10*.however,it had been some years since i had seen it.well,after just watching it,i have to change my vote.this movie is better than i remembered it being.it's a much more stylistic movie than the recent"Batman Begins" and certainly much darker in tone,i think.i mean no disrespect at all to the latest movie.this is just a different movie.there is less backs story,in fact that aspect this minimal,but it works here.i think we are given enough to get immersed in the story.the character of Batman retains more of a mysterious air.i also really liked Batman's costume in this version.it seemed to have a bit more realism to it.and the fighting scenes were well done,also fairly realistic.of course,Jack as the Joker was an inspired choice.he really had fun with the character.he does go over the top at times,but it doesn't seem to matter.the film doesn't suffer from it.Michael Keaton was very credible as both Bruce Wayne and the bat.he was very understated,but you could tell there was a lot more going on than first appeared.as for the music,i loved Danny Elfman's score.it was pure genius.i didn't mind the songs by Prince,but i didn't love them either.many people have probably said that the character of Batman is two dimensional in this movie.i don't know if that's the case.i think he has many dimensions,but they are not blatantly obvious.you have to look beneath the surface a bit.i may be out to lunch with that statement,but that is just what i think.i said at the beginning that i would have to change my vote of 8/10.and i am.i think it's as good in its own way,(maybe even a bit better in some aspects)as "Batman Begins".this is not something i ever thought i would say.nevertheless,i give "Batman" 10/10.
This movie had a lot of dark comedy that was lacked in the Dark Knight, which brought it to life I think.Michael Keaton really impressed me as Batman/Bruce Wayne.
By far 1989's original "Batman" from director Tim Burton is without a doubt the best film made of the franchise even though it's very dark and moody.
One of the things I find especially good about this film is how Burton makes separate the two characters of Bruce Wayne and Batman.
The villains are good in it i think jack Nicholson does a great joker he does it awesome in this batman movie.
This and batman returns and the first couple of Superman's are the finest super hero movies i have scene, Michael Keaton had the same impact as Christopher reeve had with the superman series,when i was a little kid i use to think that batman returns was the best batman,but until a year ago i watched the first batman, and jack Nicholson was a sensational joker, the way he portrayed him was brilliant,Michael Keaton was a great Batman,(i coined't believe he was controversially Joice for the role)the music is great especially in the finally finale,i know heaps of people who hate Batman because he dosen't have superpowers, well this movie shows why Batman is the greatest hero.Why Keaton left the Batman franchise i will never know..
The late 80s were a dark time for comic book movies, after Superman IV killed the Superman series, There wasn't any hope when Tim Burton, who had directed the hit 'Beetlejuice' had announced that he was going to bring Batman to the big screen, even more lukewarm, was the casting of Michael Keaton as the Dark Knight himself, many angry fans wrote letters to Warner Bros, fearing that Keaton would just be a repeat of the campy 60s TV show with Adam West, but when the lights went down in 1989, boy were they wrong.Batman is a dark, psychotic adventure that sees Batman (Keaton)going head to head with the Joker (played non other than Jack Nicholson)whilst his alter ego Bruce Wayne is in an romantic relationship with Vicki Vale (Kim Basinger) The plot is good and the actors brilliant performances are the main pros of the film, but the cons are a few of Princes songs that were used in the film such as 'Partyman' which plays when the Joker and his goons are demolishing the museum, 'Trust' which plays during the Jokers parade and 'Scandalous!' which plays over the end credits, although the songs are good to listen on their own, as part of the movie, they feel out of place, but Danny Elfmans score makes up for that.Batman revolutionized the comic book genre and was followed by three sequels, 1992s BATMAN RETURNS, which was darker and more bleaker than its predecessor, 1995's BATMAN FOREVER, which went for a more lighter, kid friendly approach, and 1997's BATMAN AND ROBIN, which killed the series until 2005..
Of course, Jack Nickholson steals the show as the psychotic, cackling Joker in a role he seemed born to play.Overall, this film really brings the character of Batman back to its dark, brooding roots.
Batman is a great movie with a very well developed storyline and a terrific cast.Its a fun and enjoyable action with some very dark elements,but it dosen't take itself too seriously,there is a Tim Burton atmosphere throughout,but he certainly tones down his usually creepy directing style.It is quite different from the Batman films that would follow (particularly Christopher Nolan's trilogy),we are actually given shockingly little detail about Bruce Wayne's personal life and what possessed him to become Batman,he can be scene fighting crime and wearing the suit within the first five minutes of the movie,which I don't think was a clever decision,it didn't to give the audience more build up and excitement that I think is very necessary for superhero movies.It is very clear throughout that Burton was more interested in the Joker than Batman, admittedly he is a great character and Jack Nicholson shines in the role,a lot more than Michael Keaton does,but the film is called Batman and the fact that Jokers origins are told, and he definitely has more dialogue than the title character,is unusual,although it definitely makes for a different experience in the Batman universe.Action packed with very interesting characters and entertaining performances,I would recommend Batman to all fans of the franchise and to anyone looking for a good action or adventure film.
In the modern cinema lacks myths and imaginations, they are always real and gloomy.Although the new Batman movies are good, but they have not the Charm from Michael Keaton's Bruce Wayne or Jack Nicholsons Joker's madness,Heath Ledger played it very well, but Jack Nicholsons "Joker" is for me the perfect opponent to Bruce Wayne.Christopher Nolan's version for me is not really a Batman movie, it's a James Bond with wings.Everything is great here, the Gothic-style from the City, costumes, settings, actors, the play of light and shadow, and last but not least make the music that all of the best Batman movie of all Time for me.10/10.
Michael Keaton is my all time favorite Batman and Jack Nicholson makes a fantastic Joker as well.Tim Burton is one of my favorite directors and this film shows of his style.
I recently came across this movie and thought, "I need to but this." I hadnt seen it in a few years but i remembered liking it, though i think it swept me away even more so this time, Jack Nicholson was outstanding, Michael Keaton was possibly the best Batman ever, Kim Basinger was fantastic, and Michael Gough was flatout great as Alfred, the only thing i didn't necessarly get swept away by was questionable choice of having so many Prince songs in there, though this is a Tim Burton film and he is quite an eccentric filmmaker.
He had to fit into Burton's vision of my favorite superhero .Jack Nicholson as Joker was the best part of this movie and he was so good .
Michael Keaton is terrific as Batman/Bruce Wayne; Kim Basinger shines as the beautifully seductive reporter Vicki Vale; and Jack Nicholson gives arguably the craziest performance of his career as the Joker.
Directed by Tim Burton, "Batman" is one of the best looking movies that I've ever seen. |
tt0088814 | The Black Cauldron | In the land of Prydain, Taran is an "assistant pig-keeper" on the small farm of Caer Dallben, home of Dallben the Enchanter. Dallben learns that the Horned King is searching for a mystical relic known as the Black Cauldron, which is capable of creating an invincible army of undead warriors, the "Cauldron-Born". Dallben fears the Horned King may try to steal his pig Hen Wen, which has oracular powers, and use her to locate the cauldron. Dallben directs Taran to take Hen Wen to safety; unfortunately, Taran's foolish daydreaming causes Hen Wen to be captured by the Horned King's forces.
Taran follows them to the Horned King's stronghold. Along the way, he encounters the small, pestering companion Gurgi, who joins Taran on his search. Frustrated by Gurgi's antics, Taran leaves the former to sneak into the castle and rescues Hen Wen, but although Hen Wen escapes from the castle, Taran is arrested and thrown into the dungeon. A fellow captive named Princess Eilonwy frees Taran as she is trying to make her own escape. In the catacombs beneath the castle, Taran and Eilonwy discover the ancient burial chamber of a king, where Taran arms himself with the king's sword. It contains magic that allows him effectively to fight the Horned King's minions and so to fulfill his dream of heroism. Along with a third prisoner, the comical, middle-aged bard Fflewddur Fflam, they escape from the castle and are soon reunited with Gurgi. Upon discovering that Taran has escaped, the Horned King orders his dwarf companion Creeper to send the Gwythaints to follow Taran and bring him back alive.
Following Hen Wen's trail, the four stumble into the underground kingdom of the Fair Folk who reveal that Hen Wen is under their protection. When the cheerful, elderly King Eiddileg reveals that he knows where the cauldron is, Taran resolves to go destroy it himself. Eilonwy, Fflewddur, and Gurgi agree to join him and Eiddileg's obnoxious right-hand man Doli is assigned to lead them to the Marshes of Morva while the Fair Folk agree to escort Hen Wen safely back to Caer Dallben. At the marshes they learn that the cauldron is held by three witches—the grasping Orddu, who acts as leader; the greedy Orgoch; and the more benevolent Orwen, who falls in love with Fflewddur at first sight, which causes a frightened Doli to abandon the group. Orddu agrees to trade the cauldron for Taran's sword, and he reluctantly agrees, although he knows that to yield it will cost his chance for heroism. Before vanishing, the witches reveal that the cauldron is indestructible, and that its power can only be broken by someone who climbs in under his own free will, which will kill him. Although Taran feels foolish for aspiring to destroy the cauldron alone, his companions show their belief in him; and it seems that Eilonwy and Taran will kiss. Suddenly, the celebration is interrupted by the Horned King's soldiers who have finally reached the marshes themselves. They seize the cauldron and arrest everyone but Gurgi, and take their prisoners back to the castle. The Horned King uses the cauldron to raise the dead and his Cauldron-born army begins to pour out into the world.
Gurgi manages to free the captives and Taran decides to cast himself into the cauldron, but Gurgi stops him and jumps into the cauldron himself. The undead army collapses. When the Horned King spots Taran at large, he infers the turn of events and saying that Taran has interfered for the last time, throws the youth toward the cauldron; however, the cauldron's magic is out of control. It consumes the Horned King in a tunnel of fire and blood, as well as destroying the castle, using up all its powers forever. The three witches come to recover the now-inert Black Cauldron. However, Taran has finally realized Gurgi's true friendship, and he persuades them to revive the wild thing in exchange for the cauldron, forcing him to give up his magical sword permanently. Fflewddur challenges the reluctant witches to demonstrate their powers by the revival, and upon hearing Fflewddur's remarks, the witches honor the request, restoring Gurgi back to life. The four friends then journey back to Caer Dallben where Dallben and Doli watch them in a vision created by Hen Wen, and Dallben finally praises Taran for his heroism despite the fact that he prefers to be a Pig-Boy. | fantasy, paranormal, cult, horror, good versus evil, psychedelic, romantic | train | wikipedia | "The Black Cauldron" certainly doesn't fall into the genre of animated Disney family favorite, but instead feels much like the more grim and complicated fantasy films that were made in the eighties.
Well, although not as complex as the aformentioned, this film is not without its charm.The story of Taran, the pig-keeper's journey from gawky boy to gawky boy-hero apparently works better as told through the course of five books, and indeed it is the plot that feels put together, with a lot cut out of it for it's slim 1:20 running time.
This is especially true for the cutsey character of Gurgi, who is much more tollerable than almost all other Disney sidekicks and especially more tollerable than a certain J*r J*r B*nks that we have all been over exposed to lately.So I would recommend "The Black Cauldron", it's a fun and well animated adventure film.
At the same time, Disney Studio's full-length animated features continued their descent from the heights scaled in 1959's "Sleeping Beauty", at first downscaling the subject matter, then progressing to less and less impressive animation, and finally combining the first two trends with boring storytelling (see "The Fox and the Hound" - 1981).It was in this context that pre-production began on "The Black Cauldron" in the late 1970s.
Lloyd Alexander's "Chronicles of Prydain" are fantastic works of fantasy for the young adult - I loved them as a middle-schooler in the mid-80s, and the choice to film the story in 70mm widescreen harkened back to the glory days of "Sleeping Beauty." Unfortunately, not much else worked.
Maybe not as good as I thought as a kid, but still great.Sure, some of the animation isn't as polished and crisp as the likes of 'The Little Mermaid' or 'Beauty and the Beast' (2 of my favorites) but it still looks great (especially the cauldron scenes near the end).
I owned the Gurgi and Hen Wen plushes, got excited by the preview on the "Pinocchio" video, etc.,etc.After seeing the movie, I remember being entertained (maybe not enthralled) by the film and was saddened by Gurgi's sacrifice at the end.Years passed.
And people seemed to have forgotten "Black Cauldron" in the wake of "Little Mermaid" and her successors.I must admit that I became somewhat obsessed with finding out why Disney thought of the film so poorly and why everyone gave me "blank stares" when I mentioned it.
No, Disney's film does not even begin to compare to the books, but what movie does?On its own terms, "Black Cauldron" stands as a remarkable achievement in animation, and a film for those people who don't just think cartoons are "babysitters for kids.".
This is a grade A Disney animated film from the so-called Dark Ages of the studio and I feel that is an unfair label overall but is especially unfair when it comes to this film which is one of the studio's darkest and most enjoyable.The plot concerns would-be warrior Taran who sets on a quest to stop the evil Horned Kig (voiced magnificently by John Hurt) from getting his hands on a mysterious object which could unleash all supernatural hell on Earth.
People who have a problem with the darkness of the film let me put it this way, "Don't watch it and don't show it to your young children!" If you think they can handle it later on than go ahead but don't knock the movie just because it's not what you think Disney should be.The Black Cauldron is geared more towards a male audience but I am sure some girls may enjoy it as well.If you haven't seen The Black Cauldron and your a big Disney fan at least give it a shot..
The books had been based deeply on mythology, but the movie took the first two books, sprinkled bits and pieces of them into a script, and added a ton of fairy tale and fantasy cliches.I've always wondered what it is with Disney writers that makes them feel it necessary to screw around with anything and everything (witness the amount of "creative license" taken with Pocahantas or Mulan.) I'm sorry, but you don't have to have cute characters or happy endings on everything.
And despite what some nay-sayers here may have typed about it, I believe in and can take it for what it is, regardless of whatever changes are made and differences there are from the books, because it wouldn't really be much of an adaptation nor could one truly call it that if it followed the original source as it is, that's how I look at and think of it except for maybe depending on what was changed, and to what degree.Anyway, I like how it stood out from most other, Disney animated films that were the norm at the time and it was groundbreaking in a sense, but at the cost of being a win-lose situation: On the one hand, it attracted some teen audiences as it was intended.
The Black Cauldron, probably Disney's most interesting and worst grossing film, tells the story of Taran, a young pig keeper who dreams of fame and glory as a famous warrior.
Although characters like the Horned King and his undead army, may frighten younger viewers, the movie's dark side may be appreciated by some children (we forget that they too may appreciate the darker sides of things).The story is slow-moving for a Disney movie, but involving nonetheless.
Although it is not the best movie, it is different from their usual gooey-mess of a film, while still having a fantasy-theme and does not seem like a Disney movie whatsoever (in a good way!)..
Indeed, the second time I watched the DVD I threw the English subtitles on, and not just for Gurgi.Other problems with voicing include an exceedingly dull lead actor for Taran (he simply can't emote), and an overly chirpy female lead for Eilonwy.Most other elements of the film proved passable if predictable in the Disney mold of plot, hero design, sidekicks, etc.
Although it has been edited many many times, in fact i believe that it is the first movies to be edited my Disney, the dark part is still there, but not to scare the kids away, just to make them aware of the kind of evil lingers there.
I found this to be an excellent film!The voice acting was brilliant.The music was brilliant.The main characters (good and evil) were brilliant.The action was brilliant.Capable of making you feel emotion - happy, sad, baleful, hilarity, you name it.And I do love the fact that this is one of Disney's darkest.It's my favorite Disney film ever.And if you're gonna tell me "Read the Books!" don't bother.
Even though the series of books that The Black Cauldron was based on, the Prydain series by Lloyd Alexander, is one of my favorite childrens series, I was disappointed with this movie.
If I were a child, he would give me nightmares.Of course it had the typical humorous sidekick on both the villain side and good side (what Disney movie doesn't have one?) and the happy ending.I can't say that I have ever read the books, and I am sure that had I read them, I might have been somewhat disappointed in the film.
(I'm not too fond of movies like Lion King or Little Mermaid, well until the Toy Story series, but that's another story.) I first heard of the Black Cauldron when my younger brother got this on a book and tape, and I found that I loved the story so much, I memorized the book and sometimes snagged it.
When I heard it was coming out on video, I got really excited.The Black Cauldron does have a deliciously "dark" theme to it, which makes it so much better than a normal Disney "light and happy" film, and the cast of characters is much better than usual.
Man, why can't Disney make more films like "The Black Cauldron"?
They made a few interesting choices, like reviving multi-planing (a very good idea) and using widescreen for the first time since Sleeping Beauty, but these don't make up for all the other blunders made by this film.The story is quite typical of Tolkien-inspired fantasy.
Lloyd Alexander's series of adventure books (Including "The Book of Three, "The Black Cauldron", "The Castle of Llyr", "Taran Wanderer" and "The High King") are a kind of "introduction" for younger people into larger and more adult and complex fantasy/adventure authors like Tolkien.
And also I have read the "Chronicles of Prydain" book series too from which this film is based on; well actually book #2.I love Princess Eilonwy, she is beautiful, cute as button and a brave young woman; her kiss with Taran at the end knocked me for a loop.
I will agree with over reviewers that the film is dark and mature but it is a film that kids CAN watch - there is nothing vulgar within the film - but it does have an adult feel to the movie.If you liked Disney's "Sword in the Stone", "Fantasia" or "Alice in Wonderland" then you might enjoy this film.Live-action films similar to The Black Cauldron: "Eragon", "The Brothers Grimm", "The Sword and the Sorcerer", "Maleficent" and "Dragonslayer".9/10.
"The Black Cauldron" is the fascinating, stunning tale of a brave but foolish boy, a precognitive pig, and an evil Horned King who will stop at nothing to become immortal.I always include this with my "Best of '80s Fantasy" marathons-- "Ladyhawke," "Willow," "Krull," and so forth, with no "Excalibur" or "The Neverending Story"-- because it was such an amazing, imaginative movie that it deserves recognition as such.
Now I chose to watch the film for some reason, and I must say: Don't.The animation has not withstood the test of time and the story is very poorly written.That's not even mentioning the fact that I want to maim and kill every last bastard on the writing team for so completely ruining the best piece of children's literature in the world.Read the books..
I disagree.Although i have nothing per say against light princess stories or the animal fun Disney usually goes in for: The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, The Fox and the Hound, The Jungle Book, Cinderella...
From the moment the film opens you see this terrifying black pot with this deep dark voice over which is then contrasted with the introduction of Taren, the central character and his pig, Hen.It turns out the horned king is searching for the black cauldron which will give him the power to raise an army from the dead and to find the black cauldron the king will come looking for Hen, a pig with strange divining powers so Taren (who dreams of adventure and the like) must take Hen to the cottage on the other side of the wood and keep her hidden there.On the way however Hen is stolen by some terrifying flying dragon monster things and Taren had to follow them to the horned kings castle and get hen back.The Horned King is as frightening as for once he should be and voiced by the immensely talented John Hurt.
Taran ( voiced by Grant Bardsley)is an assistant pig-keeper who lives with his mentor Dallban ( voiced by Freddie Jones) with a magical pig who can create visions especially of the Horned King's desire for the mysterious Black Cauldron leads Taran to go on the adventure of a lifetime with new friends like a beautiful princess named Ellionwy ( voiced by Susan Sheridan), a lovable hairy critter named Gurgi ( Voiced by John Byner) and a broken down musician named Ffluder Flem ( voiced by Nigel Haththrone) as they search for the legendary Black Cauldron and must destroy it before the Horned King gets his hands on it.Considered the biggest flop in the history of Disney films, this movie was given a "PG" rating for dark content and themes and took 9 years in the making for a dark animated fantasy adventure flick.
While it doesn't exactly follow the books well but it does have stunning animation, some early CGI for it's time and offers a lot of great fun for older viewers but not really for younger kids.Also recommended: "The Dark Crystal", "Sleeping Beauty", " The Great Mouse Detective", " The Fox and The Hound", "The Last Unicorn", "The Secret of NIMH", "Fire & Ice", " Bambi", "Rock & Rule", "Heavy Metal", "Starchaser: Legend of Orin", " Oliver & Company", " Pinocchio", " The Wizard of Oz", "Return to Oz", " The Princess Bride", "Willow", "Wizards", " The Lord of the Rings ( 1978)", "Harry Potter movies", "Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory", "Charlie and The Chocolate Factory", "Conan The Barbarian", " Mulan", "Aladdin", " Beauty and The Beast", " The Aristocats", " The Emperor's New Groove", " Atlantis The Lost Empire", " The Hunchback of Norte Dame", " The Lion King", " Lord of the Rings Trilogy", "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe", "Vampire Hunter D", "Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust", Princess Mononoke", " Spirited Away", "Howl's Moving Castle", "Castle in the Sky", "Nausicca: Valley of the Wind", " Hercules", " Army of Darkness", " The Hobbit", "Return of the King", " Blade Master", " Conquest", " Legend", " Record of Lodoss Wars", " Excalibur", "King Arthur", " The Fifth Element", " The Iron Giant", "Transformers The Movie" and "The Prince of Egypt"..
After his beloved pig is kidnapped, a young boy enters the kingdom of the dreaded Horned King, he meets a princess and must save everyone from the King's wrath.The Black Cauldron deviates entirely from any other film from the Walt Disney Animated Studios canon.
Knowing the story behind the film would lead me to believe that Disney's biggest mistake was condensing the plot line to an extent were it lost heart and depth, it unfolds too quickly so that character relationships aren't properly developed (especially between the Princess and Taran), I also felt no connection to the protagonist.
The 'Horned King' also didn't live up to the usual terrifying standards of a Disney Villain, using a skull-faced, cloaked figure is a far too obvious move, other more successful figures such as Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty, evokes fear through her malevolent aura, and ability to charm others as opposed to the blatant attempt in this film to create an evil character by giving them the face of a skull, the most stereotypical imagery of fear and death.
This film had so much potential, they had a great story and could have created a dark, twisted tale that audiences connected with as much as the books, looking now at the success of the Lord Of The Rings movies, it just shows how badly Disney missed the mark in this poor attempt to reach out to teenage fantasy fanatics..
There was very little frightening about it that was actually supposed to be, and I have to agree with the quote I heard from someone that it was the first animated Disney feature to be "completely without heart".This movie is good for one thing, however: if you're really interested, watch this, then watch The Little Mermaid (again, I'm sure), and marvel at the fact that those two movies were made only a couple of years apart (Little Mermaid was apparently already in the production pipeline when Black Cauldron was released; otherwise, we might never have seen it!).
I love this movie, the storyline is from one of my favorite books, the animation is good and its what I like, fantasy.
The story feels like a rushed epic, but in the end, the movie remains as something that, in the world of animated films, Disney never attempted again, and it is a shame..
It's fitting that it's the first (and since, the last) time since Sleeping Beauty that was released on 70MM, the prestige film format, since it is a spectacle to behold and full of the kind of widescreen dark sorcery that a full widescreen gives a story like that or this.It's interesting for me to see the star rating I give this and then for Sleeping Beauty as they're almost the same, but it's about expectations: SB has one of the highest pedigrees in all of Disney, so to see it and be a little let down is where that comes from.
Hell, Disney just barely was able to maintain it on a razor's edge with Snow White, and here the problem is that the main characters (the young man on his quest, the princess of wherever who joins up with him midway through) are really dull and not given much personality.So mostly what you're left with are some charming animated scenes, but sparingly (the little fairy characters or whoever they are are nice to see, but are a little familiar too), and then a lot of (for kids) dark stuff involving the Horn King (voiced brilliantly by John Hurt) and a character like the talking dog.
Instead, it is based on a novel by Lloyd Alexander, a story about pig-keeper Taran who attempts to find his future-foretelling pig so that the evil Horned King would not capture and use her to pinpoint the whereabouts of the Black Cauldron.
The Horned King plans to use the Black Cauldron to spread untold evil and power.The film has splendid hand-drawn animation and a catchy music score.
Bad. Need to say, the only good thing about The Black Cauldron it's good quality of backgrounds animation, a quality that was not seen in the Disney studio since "Sleeping Beauty" (1959).
The thing about The Black Cauldron is that it was shown to be dark and scary, but I think they could've have given the Horned King (John Hurt) a better portrayal evil.I enjoyed the characters, mostly.
Yes, of course it's a classic Disney cartoon, however it is rather dark and there are some moments in there that may actually creep out really young children in a way that other similar films like Snow White and Cinderella don't.However, if you're looking for purely great animation and a decent enough little fairy-tale then this is definitely worth a watch. |
tt0114069 | Outbreak | Motaba, a fictional virus which causes a deadly fever, is discovered in the African jungle in 1967. To maintain the virus as a viable biological weapon, two U.S. Army officers, Donald McClintock and William Ford, destroy the camp where it was found after taking blood samples from the dying victims.Twenty-eight years later, in 1995, the virus resurfaces in Zaire. Colonel Sam Daniels, a USAMRIID virologist, is sent to investigate. He and his crew, Lieutenant Colonel Casey Schuler, and new recruit Major Salt gain information about the virus and return to the United States, where Daniels asks his superior, now-Brigadier General William Ford, to put out an alert. Ford knows that the virus is not new, but he tells Daniels it is unlikely to show up. Daniels' ex-wife and former crew-member Roberta Keough, has left USAMRIID to take the lead role of a similar team at the United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia and is convinced by Daniels to recommend an alert from the CDC, but her superior balks as well.Meanwhile, we learn that the virus arrived via a host animal, a white-headed capuchin monkey, that was smuggled into the United States. James "Jimbo" Scott, an employee at the Bio-Test animal holding facility, bribed a security guard and took the monkey to Cedar Creek, California, to sell on the black market. During the drive, Jimbo is infected with the virus through facial contact with the monkey's saliva.Jimbo unsuccessfully tries to sell the monkey to a crooked pet store owner, Rudy Alvarez Before parting ways, however, the monkey scratches Alvarez and infects him, and shares a banana with another monkey already in the store, infecting that monkey as well. Not able to care for the monkey, Jimbo releases it into the woods. Jimbo starts to show signs of infection while flying to Boston, where he gets off the plane and kisses his girlfriend Alice, infecting her as well just before collapsing. They are both hospitalized. Keough investigates the infections but finds that no one other than Jimbo, his girlfriend or Rudy all three of whom die of hemorrhagic fever in the Boston area was infected.Meanwhile, the technicians at a Cedar Creek hospital run tests on Rudy's blood. But Henry, one of the technicians, accidentally breaks a vial, splattering the contents, infecting and killing him, but not before visiting a movie theater. The virus mutates into a new strain, capable of spreading like flu, and numerous Cedar Creek citizens are exposed to Motaba at the theater. Daniels learns of the infection and flies to Cedar Creek alongside Schuler and Salt, against Ford's orders, joining Keough's team.As Daniels and his team begin a search for the host animal, a state of martial law is declared in Cedar Creek, and the U.S. Army has quarantined the town to contain the outbreak, including preventing an attempt by civilians from breaking quarantine. During their research, Schuler is infected when his suit tears. Keough follows after she accidentally stabs herself with a contaminated needle while collecting samples due to Schuler suddenly convulsing. A mystery serum, E-1101, is introduced to those suffering from Motaba. Daniels soon realizes that the serum is not experimental, but was designed to cure Motaba, and that Ford knew about the virus beforehand. However, the serum does not help the residents of Cedar Creek, who are infected by a mutated strain. Daniels confronts Ford, who admits that he withheld information on the virus due to national security and Motaba's potential to be turned into a biological weapon.Daniels learns from Ford of Operation Clean Sweep, a plan by the military to bomb the town of Cedar Creek, with approval from the President of the United States. Now-Major General Donald McClintock plans to use the bombing to cover up the virus's existence to protect his secret biological weapon project. To prevent Daniels from finding a cure, McClintock has him arrested by implicating Daniels as a viral carrier. This leads Daniels and Salt to search for the host animal to save the town by escaping custody by helicopter. After the animal holding facility who had been aiding Daniels by tracking down how the host animal got into the country learns what happened from the security guard about what Jimbo did, the two are able to track down the ship that carried the host animal and Daniels obtains a picture of Betsy and broadcasts it on the news. Mrs. Jeffries realizes that this is the animal her daughter Kate is playing with in their backyard. She calls the station, and the two men arrive at the family's house, though Colonel Briggs intercepts the call and informs McClintock of Daniels and Salt's location who heads out to intercept them by helicopter. Kate coaxes out Betsy, whom Salt tranquilizes. Learning from Daniels that the host animal is captured, Ford delays the bombing.Flying back, Daniels and Salt are confronted by McClintock who tries to force them to head to their local air force base, only for Daniels to refuse. While McClintock's helicopter chases theirs, Daniels has Salt fire two rockets into the trees to trick McClintock into thinking they crashed so they could escape by flying low enough to avoid being detected by radar. Returning to Cedar Creek, Salt mixes Betsy's antibodies with the E-1101 to create an anti-serum in time to save Keough, but not Schuler, who has already succumbed to the virus. McClintock arrives back at base and has Operation Clean Sweep resumed, refusing to listen to Ford who now wishes to call off the bombing. Daniels discovers this and realizes that McClintock will not call off the bombing. He and Salt take it upon themselves to fly in the way of the bomber, commanded by a pilot with the call sign of Sandman One, to stop it. With support from Ford, Daniels is able to stay in the way of the plane long enough to convince Sandman One and his co-pilot that information was purposely withheld from them and that they can now cure the remaining townsfolk. Heeding Daniels' warnings, Sandman One deliberately detonates the bomb over water instead of the town. Before McClintock can order another bombing, Ford, having had enough of McClintock's single-minded obsession, relieves McClintock of his command and places him under arrest for deliberately withholding information from the President, though while being taken away by Col. Briggs, McClintock promises he'll take Ford down with him. Daniels and Keough reconcile, and the remaining residents of the town are successfully cured. | suspenseful, romantic | train | imdb | Dustin Hoffman is stupendous as always, Rene Russo plays Robbie with realism, Kevin Spacey makes for a good humor man, Cuba Gooding Jr. pulls off the green man trying to earn respect, and being a bad-ass at the same time.
Col. Daniels wants to look into it but General Ford denies his request so he turns to his estranged ex-wife (Rene Russo) , who works at the Center for Disease Control or CDC to look into and they discover it's the African disease but since it kills very quickly, Col. Daniels feels that it's been contained until another outbreak and learns the virus makes the bubonic pest look like a cough .
Nice performance for all-star-cast as Hoffman , Russo , Morgan Freeman as a good general , Cuba Gooding Jr as intrepid official expert on helicopters , Kevin Spacey as helper and many others .
Good direction by Petersen who does have its thrilling moments , most of them in the first half , though the second half degenerates in a superhero movie in which Hoffman turning into an one army man -almost caricature and barely credible- against the military intelligence represented by nasty Donald Sutherland .
It is a real treat of a movie to watch which not only acts as pure entertainment but also a deeply involving film which involves great performances and some real thrilling moments.
However things seem abnormally calm, and I got fed up of main stars getting infected just to add to the pressure to Dustim Hoffman's character.But overall this film is brilliant, I strongly advise everyone tries to watch this.
With the politicians planning the destruction of the town to stop the virus spreading, Col Sam Daniels and his team race to find some other way of stopping it.Whether you viewed in back in 1995 or now, where the threat of viral attack doesn't seem so unlikely, this film should be gripping on the basis of the material.
But then the writing generally isn't up to the task and the heavy dialogue is pretty average at best with clichéd lines and far too much 'personal' stuff between the main characters.Even the main 'bad' guy is a fudge as it just paints everything black and white.Another reason that this doesn't live up to its potential is the sheer numbers of faces in the film.
My only qualm about the movie is the helicopter chases near the end, as I don't believe they fit the overall story arch.Wolfgang Petersen's film is about how a fictional disease from Zaire called the Motaba runs rampant in a small California village.
We also get great supporting turns from Kevin Spacey and the villainous Donald Sutherland.Overall, Outbreak is an excellent movie that raises the question "what if?" If any town gets an outbreak of a deadly virus, would the government and the military take the same course of action as they did in this film?
Warner Brothers shrugged its shoulders and decided to make a competing killer disease film NOT based on the book; and so they got together a script, director and cast as quickly as possible in the hopes of getting "Outbreak" to cinema screens first.
Headed by Dustin Hoffman and Morgan Freeman (who also do well) the movie also included names like Rene Russo, Kevin Spacey, Cuba Gooding, Jr., and Donald Sutherland.
Hoffman played Col. Daniels - an Army doctor trying to figure this out; Freeman was his friend and superior Gen. Ford.When the focus of the movie was on the fight against the disease, this was pretty good.
I found the fight against this disease more gripping than the battle in "Contagion." The two movies also share a similar plot point about the motives of the government.Where "Outbreak" fails is at the point that it chooses to become little more than an action thriller (basically the last 30-40 minutes) which eventually gets reduced to little more than an extended helicopter chase.
Get the producer of PLATOON and the director of DAS BOOT to cast Hoffman , Freeman , Sutherland , Gooding Jnr and Spacey in a thriller about a killer virus and you`ll have a sure fire blockbuster hit .
Despite having an all star cast and massive budget and despite the very good pre titles sequence OUTBREAK is a bad movie.The main culprit for this debacle is Dworet and Pool`s script , it`s far too talky .
Despite being an extremely unpleasant film THE CRAZIES made far better use of this speculative plot and its moral consequences unlike here where Donald Sutherland is the bad guy because he wants to firebomb a town to stop the virus spreading .
Ah but there`s a plot device that does show Sutherland`s character to be the villain of the piece so out goes any intelligent subtext as to what would be the right or wrong thing to do in such a situation .So just to sum up : despite its great cast and production team OUTBREAK is nothing special and at times feels like an overblown TVM.
I actually enjoyed Outbreak from the start although form the first few minutes you could tell it's a B+ movie at the very best.However the enjoyment diminished dramatically when the good old fashioned Hollywood recipe of the one man army/hero who ignores laws, regulations, procedures, and simply does what comes to his head prevailed.It did not come as a surprise because it seemed rather odd the fact that you have a VERY GOOD cast (Hoffman, Sunderland, Spacey, Gooding) and whilst I was holding the case at the DVD retailer I noticed the complete lack of press appraisal
or at least there's none in the UK packaging of the film.
Hard to believe that Dustin Hoffman, Kevin Spacey, Morgan Freeman, Donald Sutherland, Cuba Gooding Jr. and several more excellent actors could be assembled in a very fine production under Wolfgang Petersen's direction, all at the service of a script so utterly preposterous.
Spacey acquits himself rather well too, and I don't really blame Sutherland, Gooding, Rene Russo or JT Walsh for having to say the lines they were paid handsomely to say, but this is one of the great embarrassments of Hoffman's career, and really it's a mystery to me how a terrific storyteller like Petersen could have made it..
Dustin Hoffman, Kevin Spacey, Morgan Freeman, Donald Sutherland and Rene Russo are old hands at playing in slanted political stories.
And whilst it would be a while before he actually played God. The man was amazing in everything he did.) Any movie became promising, just by having his name in the cast.Rene Russo was here too and she was establishing herself as a top actress after good performances in 'Lethal Weapon 3' and 'In The Line of Fire'Kevin Spacey squeezed this movie in, inbetween 'The Usual Suspects' and 'Seven' Cuba Gooding Jr has a good role too.
Only it seems that for some reason the powers that be – among whose numbers are Billy (Morgan Freeman) and McClintock (Donald Sutherland) – ain't listening, despite all the evidence, scientific graphs, diagrams and powerpoint charts that practically demand to the audience that they should.By the way all of the above have perfectly legitimate army ranks, but in a film this silly I like to refer to them as Sam, Billy and co
Sam thinks that this new virus is reeeeeelllll bad, he tells his ex Robbie (Rene Russo), who is now a civilian scientist.
Billy arrives on the scene to demand no more talk about this bizarre cover-up, and a cast of mostly good (and in many cases award winning) actors wallow in this mediocrity for another 90 minutes of ennui.As Sam and Saul go to increasingly great lengths to solve the case and find the cure things get altogether nonsensical, especially once they realise the 'carrier' is a tiny illegal immigrant monkey from Africa, lost somewhere in one of the 50 some landlocked states.As the virus mutates, morphs and generally becomes more aggressive, the 'management' spout speeches and assorted tripe with buzzwords like 'quarantine', 'containment' and 'eradication', and even if Cuba Gooding Jr said "Show me the monkey!" I wouldn't have been surprised.Alas he didn't, as it might have given me my one and only chuckle in this interminably long and exponentially sillier dross.
I'm a big fan of disaster movies, this one is a classic mostly due to the outstanding cast attached (Donald Sutherland, Dustin Hoffman, Kevin Spacey, Morgan Freeman, Rene Russo, Cuba Gooding Jr.) and an (almost) realistic story.It's a decent movie for the most part although does get a bit hokey and over the top where the government conspiracy angle is concerned.
Patrick Dempsy was a surprise here, playing Jimbo the young grunge dude who steals the monkey.The cast is fantastic with Hoffman as the lead expert on contagious diseases trying to stamp out a killer virus in a small California town.
Morgan Freeman is a General caught in the middle, trying to cover up the fact that he and Donald Sutherland bombed the hell out of an African village in the 60's to halt the same disease.Sutherland's character becomes too much, almost comical towards the end in his sublime efforts to stop Hoffman from finding out the truth and to complete his (personal) mission of eradicating the infected town.
We get a personal POV of the small speckles traveling through the air, where they curve around, drifting around distorted images of humans, and eventually the speckles get sucked into the mouth of a woman laughing, eating popcorn merrily, not realizing what has happened.Soon the word is breaking out, and General Morgan Freeman sends in Dustin Hoffman and his colleague, Kevin Spacey, to eliminate the virus, against the wishes of sinister General Donald Sutherland.
Throw in an awesome cast (I mean Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo, Morgan Freeman, Cuba Gooding, Donald Sutherland, and ,oh yeah, Kevin Spacey) and it doesn't get any better.
Lets put it this way, if a serum could be developed as quickly as all that, it would not make for much of a biiological waepon would it?If you suspend your grasp on reality it is a very entertaining film with good performances, especially from Donald Sutherland as the 'military nasty'.
Rating: ***** out of 5.Movie InfoDirector: Wolfgang PetersenCast: Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo, Morgan Freeman, Donald Sutherland, Cuba Gooding Jr., Kevin Spacey.Writers: Laurence Dworet, Robert Roy PoolRunning time: 127 min.
There are a nice mix of different types of characters and relationships so they can add humor, dramatic elements and everything they want and make it work.Dustin Hoffman, Renee Russo, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey, Donald Sutherland and Cuba Gooding Jr. This movie features a bunch of good actors and none of them are having a bad day.
Outbreak is a taut,nerve-wracking thriller.Wolfgang Petersen has proven himself one of Hollywood's most capable action/thriller directors,and with Outbreak he delivers a real doozy!A movie about a killer virus that makes Ebola look like the chicken pox and a military bioweapon conspiracy to boot!I first saw this movie during a "Free HBO Weekend".It totally blew me away,so much so that I went out the next day to Blockbuster and got the VHS video.Dustin Hoffman.Rene Russo,Morgan Freeman,Cuba Gooding,Jr.,Patrick Dempsey,Kevin Spacey and Donald Sutherland all give terrific performances.I wish I'd seen this in the theatres.
For those who need some realism and credibility to like a movie, this can be a problem.Dustin Hoffman is a good actor, but I think he allowed that his character was emptied of all the personality that he could have had.
Rene Russo, Morgan Freeman, Cuba Gooding Jr., Donald Sutherland (in yet another military villain character)...
Patrick Dempsey plays a smuggler who unknowingly brings in a monkey that is a carrier of the contagion, and starts a new outbreak that Daniels tries desperately to contain and cure, while two generals(played by Morgan Freeman & Donald Sutherland) disagree sharply on how to fight this threat, whether to use martial law or not, or to destroy the area it is in to stop it spreading, even if it means killing thousands of civilians...
Wow I remember this so long ago....Rarely has there been such a collection of acting talent in one film -- Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey, Cuba Gooding Jr., Donald Sutherland .
Even the monkey survives, at least I think he does, but I haven't seen the film in a while.So if you've always wanted to see a bizarre movie hybrid of; The Satan Bug, Blue Thunder, Dunston Checks In and Love Story, then Outbreak is your best bet.
People are killed very quickly when they get infected this virus and the military must find a way to stop it before it spreads on and creates chaos and panic.The story is very relevant to some of the 'outbreaks' we see to this day with both SARS, the bird flu, Swine flu etc, it shows how rapidly a disease can expand throughout the entire World.
Regardless, I was left hanging by a fairly unoriginal disaster movie.Plot holes, cheesy action sequences and unrealistic depictions of human behavior during an outbreak aside, the film managed to keep my attention for two hours, though this wasn't necessarily a good thing.
As the disease makes itself known, rapidly infecting a small Californian township, army scientist Colonel Sam Daniels (Dustin Hoffman) and his crew must try to find a cure before despicable general McClintock (Donald Sutherland) carries out his plan to firebomb the area and its inhabitants.Being something of a germaphobe, I find Outbreak to be a genuinely scary movie, depicting the horrific scenario of a deadly viral epidemic hitting small-town America; the mere idea of microscopic bugs that can enter the body unseen and liquefy the internal organs really gets under my skin (pun intended), and if such a virus did hit the civilised Western world, I don't fancy the chances of Cuba Gooding Jr. cooking up a batch of anti-virus in time to save our collective ass.Extreme liberties are taken with medical facts and the film is pretty implausible at times, with a traditionally sappy happy Hollywood ending, but it still manages to be hugely entertaining nonsense: Director Wolfgang Petersen effectively feeds on his audience's paranoia, depicting 'Joe Public' succumbing to the illness in the the most innocuous of places, most notably in a movie theatre (a scene that really made me want to cover my mouth when I saw it on the big screen); he also shoehorns in a cool conspiracy subplot—a government cover-up—making this perfect fodder for those with overactive imaginations.
"Outbreak" is the star-studded story of an infectious disease expert for the army (Dustin Hoffman) who is fighting a super-deadly, fast-moving virus which his own employer seems to have had some role in creating.
This is it's main weakness, as a minority of the plot is actually about the virus, as it spends so much time dwelling on corrupt generals and the boring romantic back-story."Outbreak" is weakened because it tries to be three or four different kinds of movies when really the only thing it approaches doing a good job at is the disease outbreak plot.
J.T. Walsh played in a lot of crap but also a lot of spectacular movies but in that small little role, him and Dempsey were really my favorites and made Freeman, Hoffman and Gooding in their roles throughout the film just look average of what they usually display on screen!
Dustin Hoffman is great as the intense scientist risking it all to fight the bug and Rene Russo and Cuba Gooding Jr. both providing strong supporting characters.
Soon the virus becomes airborne and is infecting everything in its path.Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo, Morgan Freeman, Cuba Gooding Jr., and Donald Sutherland are all terrific in this film, which was extremely well-directed by Wolfgang Peterson.
Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo, Kevin Spacey, Cuba Gooding Jr, Morgan Freeman and Donald Sutherland all work together to tell a great tale.
Wolfgang Petersen's typical intriguing screenplay and the top-notch performances from Dustin Hoffman, Kevin Spacey, Rene Russo, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Morgan Freeman and Donald Sutherland all add a real tension and fear in this surprising thrill-ride that will keep you on the edge of your seat until its finale.
Military Doctor/Virologist/Researcher Sam Daniels (Two-Time Oscar Winner:Dustin Hoffman) finds out, there's an new deadly virus from Africa is been captured in a small rural California town.
Now his team (Oscar-Winner:Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Two-Time Oscar-Winner:Kevin Spacey) comes to help Sam to find the host of the virus, including Sam's ex-wife (Rene Russo).
***Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo, Morgan Freeman, and Cuba Gooding Jr.An ex-couple must stop a very contagious disease from spreading from the United States, to the whole world.
But can they contain it?The cast is to die for: Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo, Kevin Spacey, Morgan Freeman, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Donald Sutherland.
The story involves a CDC team led by Hoffman, which includes Rene Russo, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey, and Cuba Goding Jr., trying to track down the source of a deadly new virus in order to develop a vaccine.
Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey, Cuba Gooding Jr., Patrick Dempsey, and Donald Sutherland, all of them in a movie??
However the cast is great including stars like Dustin Hoffman and Morgan Freeman.This movie is about a doctor in the military who is supposed to control deadly diseases.
We've had the scare of bird flu since and if you let yourself think too much, well, don't!There's quite a cast - Dustin Hoffman, who is/was married to Rene Russo, Kevin Spacey, Morgan Freeman and Cuba Gooding Jnr. Oh, and Donald Sutherland crops up creepily as a military chief with a nasty streak.
It soon becomes evident to US Army doctor of Infectious Diseases Sam Daniels, Dustin Hoffman, and his good friend Gen. Billy Ford, Morgan Freeman, that this virus is something that was developed in secret by the CIA With the help of Gen. Donald McClintock, Donald Sutherland.
It has an all star cast which includes Donald Sutherland, Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo, Morgan Freeman, Dale Dye, J.T. Walsh, Cuba Gooding Jr. Patrick Dempsey, and Kevin Spacey! |
tt0365929 | Whiteout | It's 1957 and the movie opens inside a Russian cargo plane flying over freezing airspace. Two Russian pilots are in the cockpit talking about the cargo they are carrying. The co-pilot comments that he will go to the cargo hold and take care of things saying it's now or never. The co-pilot enters the cargo hold where three other Russians are looking at American nude magazines and offers them a bottle of vodka. The camera lingers on a padlocked box in the cargo hold that they are using as a card table. Purposely dropping the bottle of vodka so his comrade is forced to bend over to pick it up, the co-pilot then quickly pulls a gun and shoots him in the head. A gunfight ensues between the co-pilot and the cargo hold Russians. In the middle of the gunfire, the pilot is shot and the plane begins to plummet. Eventually everyone is dead as the plan crashes into the ice of Antarctica.Present Day. We see shots of the frozen desert of Antarctica. We follow a warmly clad figure through a heavily populated international research center. The figure walks past various scientists outside including a group of streakers. The figure enters the building and several scientists are clad in Hawaiian luau apparel, getting ready for the end of the season party. Everyone is packing up to leave the center before the six months of winter sets in. We see more shots of the center as the figure walks through to a bedroom.In the bedroom, the figure begins to take of layers of protective clothing and we see that it is Carrie Stetko (Kate Beckinsale). Carrie undresses, hangs her US Marshall badge near her bed and climbs into a warm shower. While showering, Carrie's name is called. She leaves her shower, walks into her room, and is greeted by Doc (Tom Skerritt). They talk about the fact that everyone is leaving and that Carrie is giving up her post instead of wintering through again with the Doc. It's at this point that a discussion of a whiteout is first had and that in a whiteout you can't see more than six inches in front of your face and a person can freeze to death in seconds.More random events follow as well as the revelation that a hurricane-style storm is rolling in and that the entire research facility will have to be evacuated. Carrie bumps into a towel-clad, just showered Russell Haden (Alex O'Loughlin) in the hall and Russell solicits a body search from Carrie. She comments that he was one of the streakers and based on what she saw, she's not interested. Carrie is informed by Shaun Doyle (Sam Murphy) that a body may have been discovered in a remote area. Carrie says she'll check it out.Carrie and Doc hop on a plane flown by Delfy (Columbus Short) and fly to the location. Delfy is former military and has only been flying in Antarctica for a year. The plane lands and Carrie and Doc find a frozen body that looks like he fell from a cliff while climbing. They turn the body over and find a security badge identifying the body as McGuire, another scientist. They theorize that he fell while climbing but can't figure out why he was out in such a remote area. They take the body back to the lab.Carrie and Doc wheel the frozen body through the middle of the luau, disgusting everyone they pass. They go into the medical facility and perform an autopsy. They notice that McGuire has a badly stitched wound on his leg with a distinctive loop at the top of the thread. They also can see that he has been stabbed in the chest by an axe, which leads Carrie to believe that there is a murderer on the loose. She says she will have to investigate.Carrie reviews logs of science groups and determines that McGuire belonged to a group of three scientists including Mooney (Steve Lucescu) and Rubin (Jesse Todd). The three of them were looking for meteorites. Carries attempts to contact the remaining scientists and manages to reach Mooney who asks that she come to Vostock (an old Russian station) and Carrie obliges.Carrie and Delfy fly to Vostock. They search the Cold War era facility and find no one. Carrie says that she will need to check one last building and dresses in her extreme weather clothes. As she opens the door to go outside, her coffee falls off a bench and immediately freezes. Carries clips herself into a safety rope system and heads to the out building. She enters the building and takes off her gloves. She walks into a room and sees Mooney lying on a couch. She walks up to the couch and Mooney is gushing blood from a neck wound. Suddenly, a black-clad killer appears behind Carrie. She dodges the killer's axe and runs out of the building and back outside. She clips herself into the safety line, but the killer follows, also clipping himself in. He continues to swing his axe at Carrie, but Carrie manages to evade him. When Carrie gets to the door, she turns the metal handle without her gloves and her fingers stick to the handle, pulling off her skin. She makes it inside and manages to keep the killer out and then passes out.Carrie has a feverish dream of her time as an agent in Miami where she and her partner had brought in a suspect. Her partner tells her to take a nap and the scene forwards to her washing up at a basin where the suspect attacks her and she screams for her partners help but no avail. She wakes to Delfy at her bedside catching her flailing arms. They rehash the attack and Carrie decides to go back to the outbuilding. They get there and see Robert Pryce (Gabriel Macht), a UN security agent. Pryce is examining Moody's body and he and Carrie square off. Carrie doesn't trust him but they agree to take the body back to the facility together. At the facility, they conclude that the third party in the research group, Rubin, is missing and must be the killer. They decided to head out to the groups most recent research site.Carrie, Pryce, and Delfy climb into a Caterpillar snow vehicle and head to the science groups last know research grid via GPS. At the grid, Carrie notices that the ice has been worked and begins to walk around. She suddenly falls through the ice. She looks around and sees a trail of blood on the wall and the door to the Russian cargo plane. Delfy and Pryce climb down by rope and they all enter the plane. They begin to look around and Carrie figures out how the gunfight took place. They notice the locked box has been opened by a large crowbar and six cylinders removed. This is how McGuire cut his leg that he later stitched up. Carrie figures out that the plane was the real reason Pryce was sent to Antarctica. Suddenly, the tunnel collapses, snow rushing into the plane, trapping the group. When all seems doomed, Pryce remembers that Russian plans from the 1950's had exploding roof hatches and is able to explode the hatch with the battery from Carrie's GPS. The three climb out and share a bottle of vodka in the snow cat as they plan their next move.The group returns to the facility where Carrie informs Sam that a serial killer is on the loose. Carrie then goes to see Doc about her fingers. Doc examines Carrie's fingers, which are black with frostbite. Carrie has no feeling in her fingers and Doc tells her that they will have to be amputated. Doc and Carrie talk about happier times while Doc preps Carrie for the amputation. We hear the clip as Carrie's pinky finger is amputated off screen.Carrie returns to her office to retrieve her gun and after a visit by Pryce where she reveals her past in Miami she confronted by Rubin. Rubin explains that they had found the plane on the meteorite search and that they had taken the canisters. Rubin explains that someone is trying to kill them. Carrie says she will escort Rubin to the plane that is leaving and will ensure that the killer is caught. As Carrie gets Rubin ready to leave, an outside door opens and the killer appears. The killer bashes Rubin onto the ice, swinging his ax then snaps his neck. Carrie knocks the killer out with a shovel.Carrie and Pryce reveal Russell as the killer. Russell explains that he has the Russian canisters with him. All of the other scientists are boarding the plane as there is only a few minutes until the huge winter storm hits. Carrie and Pryce lock Russell in the brig and discuss the need to find the canisters.In the confusion of the evacuation, Carrie and Pryce cannot find the canisters. Carrie then discovers that Delfy has been stabbed and Doc attends to him. Carrie and Pryce find out that Russell has escaped and see him escaping and trying to get to his plane on the ice. As the larger plane leaves, Carrie and Pryce chase Russell across the ice. The chase continues when the whiteout hits. For several minutes the three chase each other on the ice, using the system of security ropes. Just when it looks as if Russell is about to kill Carrie, Pryce appears and cuts Russell's rope, sending him flying into the cold killing him. Carrie and Russell return to the base, open Russell's bag and find the missing canisters. When they open the canisters they find only jelly beans.Carrie decides that the original contents of the canisters were hidden in the cargo on the plane. Carrie contacts Sam who is searching the plane for any missing cargo. He says he will send Carrie a manifest. Carrie retrieves the cargo manifest from the fax machine and notices that three packages from the science center were not loaded on the plane. Carrie goes to the science center and determines that the missing packages are the bodies of Rubin, Mooney, and McGuire. She opens each body bag, but finds nothing. While searching through McGuire's body bag, she notices the distinctive stitch on his leg wound matches the ones on her amputated fingers. She opens McGuire's chest wound, reaches inside and retrieves several bags of large diamonds. As she turns to leave, she sees Doc in the doorway.Doc admits his role in the diamond smuggling and says that Russell got greedy, leading him to murder the others. He says that he has nothing to go home to and the diamonds would give him a new life. Carrie says she feels betrayed by her friend, and would have to turn him in.The Doc makes a final drink and remarks to Carrie, "The Aurora Australis is pretty special this time of the year. You haven't really watched it, have you? I'd like to see it one last time. You owe it to yourself to see it sometime, it's a he** of a show." He moves to the exit door, opens it and struggles out into whiteout conditions and disappears. Carrie stands there, seemingly stunned, but allows him to exit to his death. For some time she just stares out the door while the storm blows in and snowflakes melt on her face.Six months later. Carrie, Pryce, and a recovered Delfy have wintered through at the facility. Pryce and Delfy are bowling in the hall with the canisters and a huge rubber band ball. Carrie chats with them and goes to her office where we see her transmit an email to her director for a new post.Then we see her starting to go somewhere and and the others ask where she's going. She indicates she needs to take a look around. She puts on her cold weather gear and goes outside. She hasn't gone far before she is struck by the beauty of the Aurora lights in the sky, finally taking the time to look.The end. | suspenseful, mystery, murder, flashback | train | imdb | It's definitely watchable and fairly entertaining, but it could have been a film to remember with that type of setting and the plot, and unfortunately I guessed the twist at the end halfway through the movie.
Kate Beckinsale makes for a very good lead, while being believable at the same time, and that's very important for a film like this.
But luckily, the best performance came from Tom Skerritt, (who managed to maintain a level of quality the rest involved could not) and his presence near the end saved a lower rating (yes, its true, parts of this film deserve lower than the overall 4).No need to spend you hard earned money on this at the box office mess.
This movie suffered from insufficient character development and over-reliance on several action-thriller-slasher scenes, which, although exciting and well-executed, were not enough to sustain WHITEOUT at a solid 8* for its duration!
I didn't know a lot about it, and i have found that that is the best way to see a movie, because if you watch all the previews and get too hipped up about it, then you are most likely going to set your self up for disaster.
U.S. Marshal Carrie Stetko (Kate Beckinsale) is three days from the final of her tour at an international research station in Antarctica in which the sun is about to set for six months , after which she'll resign .
It's a good thrilling and spooky film which begins with an US Marshal who investigates a murdered corpse at tundra and , soon finds more and more bodies ; furthermore , the climate's deadly elements add suspense to the flick .
Kate Beckinsale was producer Joel Silver's first choice for the role of Carrie Stetko .Support cats is pretty good such as Gabriel Macht , Tom Skerritt as an aging physician about to retire , Columbus Short ,Shawn Doyle and Alex O'Loughlin , pre-Hawaii 5.0.
Not that Kate Beckinsale wasn't good in the movie, but the script catered on the gore instead of on the quality of the plot..
It feels in many ways like any other FBI/CIA international mystery thriller involving lots of brutally murdered people, with the exception of the setting.Nice FX and a sort of gore horror film element (that axe murderer story lovers will greatly appreciate) add something beyond the FBI melodrama to create some excitement, thrills, and disturbing moments..
The most predictable way to make it fresh is to make the setting fairly interesting, and Whiteout certainly goes for that.Kate Beckinsale stars as Carrie Stetko (with an impeccable American accent I should add), a US Marshall with a 'troubled' past, assigned to Antarctica.
When Kate Beckinsale's character says she wants out of Antarctica, you could almost hear the actor speaking the same of "Whiteout." No wonder, as Dominic Sena's south pole-set whodunnit based on a graphic novel by writer Greg Rucka and illustrator Steve Lieber is of the dull sort, where tension is conveniently sapped by proceedings so insipid and a narrative arc so obvious one could easily compute for the trajectory.Beckinsale plays Carrie Stetko, a US marshal haunted by a partner who double-crossed her years earlier, and finally ready to get back to civilization after holing herself up in a scientific research facility in Antarctica.
Yet just as she's about to leave for warmer weather, dead bodies pile up and she's forced to look into the case through the Antarctic winter, getting stranded for another half-year with a shady UN investigator (Gabriel Macht), her pilot Delfy (Columbus Short), and a doctor (Tom Skerritt).Intermittently kept alive by a couple of frantic action sequences amid the titular condition, whatever little success those moments achieve is ultimately diluted by Sena's standard direction, the pedestrian script, and a twist as clear as a spring sky.
this is a nifty little thriller/murder mystery that takes place in Antarctica at a research station just as the six month long winter season is beginning,in which the sun will set for the full six months.Kate Beckinsale plays a U.S. Marshall trying to track the killer,while a raging storm roars.while i liked the movie,i did think the killer was revealed too soon.but there are plenty of other twists and turns to keep you on your toes right to the end.is wasn't expecting the ending at all.and that's a good thing in this kind of film.it wasn't predictable at all as the film moved along,i thought i had thing figured out.but i was wrong.for me,Whiteout is an 8/10.
This is one of the movies that by watching the trailer you expect something good to spend a night out in the movies, and this is what you get, but you wish you had a bit more.OK, one point for starring Kate, she has done a lot of movies and has given good performances, and this one is not bad either, not one to be nominated for, but does OK.One point for the scenery, there are shots that are breathtaking to watch.One point for the decent overall acting of the supporting cast, not that bad.One point for the story, we have seen better, we have seen worse too, so although this is quite easy to predict, it still manages to captivate you until the end.I would give half a point for the intensity of the fight scenes and all, because they were sort, had no real suspense though i have to admit, the conditions are well taken into account to portray in the fights, so i give one point.Thats it, nothing else, this one is not going on my recommendation list for friends to watch if they have something better to do or spend their money to..
In fairness I'm not sure this was a big budget film, but artificial snow may have been better (if only a little bit) How expensive could that be?I don't think Whiteout is quite as bad as the majority of people say it is, but I can perhaps see why it has generated negative reviews.
The shootings of the landscapes offer something special for the eye.Second, the introduction is very well done and its relation to the later content of the movie is an interesting idea.Third, the suspense and fight scenes in the movie are very special and exploit the arctic atmosphere in a senseful way.Fourth, the actors are doing a quite well job, especially Kate Beckinsale who is fighting some demons of her past.Of course, there are also some negative aspects about this film: First, I personally think that the ending is quite predictable.Second, the first aspects provokes that there is somehow a lack of suspense and the "who's done it"-fever.But that's already all that is negative about it.
Nearing the end of her tenure in the great white south, she gets sucked into a murder mystery when a body is found on the ice.I have never read the graphic novel, and if it was as poorly done as this film, I never care to.
Starring The Ever-Gorgeous Kate Beckinsale In The Lead With Other Relatively Unknown Cast, The Movie Leaves You Breathless With Its Locations Or Rather Sets.
I enjoyed the film, as the acting was good, even if the plot was a little predictable, and the action/scenery was enjoyable as well.
This film is action thriller with Kate Beckinsale and Tom Skerritt, been on Antarctica after it was the first murder happened and the body was found.
The dead of winter setting makes for a decent thriller, but the fact that the movie is a little predictable and offers no real juicy ending.
Kate Beckinsale is good as usual, although the story could have used a little more work.The basic plot about this movie is: Carrie Stetko, the lone U.S. Marshal assigned to Antarctica, is investigating the continent's first murder, which draws her into a shocking mystery.
Directed by Dominic Sena.9/10 Grade: A Studio: Warner Bros., Dark Castle Entertainment, StudioCanal Starring: Kate Beckinsale, Tom Skerritt, Columbus Short Gabriel Macht Director: Dominic Sena Producers: Joel Silver, Susan Downey, David Gambino Screenplay: Jon and Erich Hoeber, Chad Hayes, Carey Hayes Based on Whiteout by Greg Rucka, Steve Lieber Rated: R Running Time: 1 Hr. 41 Mins.
Now I've watching it a second time I figured I better write this review before I totally forget it yet again.It's pretty damn forgettable.Beckinsale plays a U.S. Marshall who's stationed in Antarctica and uncovers the continent's first murder.
I just stumbled on to this movie at the local rental shop and was surprise to see Kate Bekinsale was in it, then I reckon why hadn't I heard about this film since it has such a well known leading lady and when I found out a little more I discovered it was directed by Dominic Sena, who also called the shots on GONE IN 60 SECONDS and SWORDFISH and then I found out it didn't perform so well at the box office.Well, the good news is its really not that bad of a thriller although the ending was somewhat uneventful, the cast play their parts really well and the direction and cinematography are top class, sure the plot has a few holes in it but so do a few of the more popular films of the genre, its not going to win any awards but it is worth checking out, provided you set your expectations to neutral.Overall, I 've seen better and I 've seen worse, at least its not a waste of 90 minutes give or take, however I can't guarantee you won't be disappointed with the ending, that is one part of the film that could 've and should 've been better..
This is all set against the backdrop of a coming storm that will trap everyone in Antarctica for the rest of the winter.There is a good mixture of action, suspense and light-hearted moments that keep the movie moving and interesting.
The film opens well: some Russians on a plane during the cold war have a shoot-out only for the aeroplane to lose control over the endless white landscape of the Antartic.Fast forward to modern day and Kate Beckinsale strips to her underwear in a particularly unerotic and pointless scene, before her shower probably disappointed a lot of men by revealing nothing.And, unfortunately, the film continues plodding along at this seemingly pointless, uninspiring and by-the-numbers pace, as if someone thought that an isolated setting and Save the Cat beat-sheet were enough to make a good film.
Well, that person was very wrong.Beckinsale's character moves from dull "suspense" scene to the next, as flashbacks reveal her inner turmoil (sigh) and an ice pick wielding killer falls over constantly like something out of Scream.Seriously, it's god-awful and 20 minutes from the end, I really couldn't suffer it any more and turned it over, hence the score of a 1.To be so close to the end and to not care about anyone, their motives or how it ends sums this film up perfectly: please don't waste your time on it..
As an example of how much I wanted to like it, I hate cop movies and cop shows - so I was working hard to appreciate this one.**POSSIBLE SPOILER HERE** The other reviewers have hit many nails on the head, but the nail in the coffin for me was a stupid character choice with no possible motive.After the first action scene, the "suspicious cop" wants them to leave a location to go investigate a science station - right after the protagonist has been attacked by a murderer!
I didn't get the over long shower/strip scene opening for Kate Beckinsale and no its not because I am female as if you read the other reviews you will see that although the men enjoyed seeing her strip it carried no relevance or meaning to the film, story or plot.
This film is about an emotionally wounded US Marshall stationed in Antarctica, who has to solve a series of murders on the isolated, cold and hostile continent.I think "Whiteout" is pretty good at giving viewers an idea what life is like in a science station on Antarctica.
I enjoyed watching "Whiteout", and it is a good film to keep the adrenaline going and to pass time..
Kate Beckinsale wasn't a bad choice for the lead, but she just had crappy material to work with, I honestly feel sorry for every one of the actors that were involved in any way shape or form with this movie.
U.S. Marshal Carrie Stetko (Kate Beckinsale) is three days from leaving Antarctic research station Amundsen-Scott Base for the last time.
Kate Beckinsale is hot.Even in the Underworld films - which were amusing but lightweight disposable rubbish - she was dressed all in leather and still hardly rated a gasp, despite getting her kit off in the second film.Yet here she is in Whiteout, which I can best describe as "a film in which things happen".' This stupid and pointless statement tells you nothing about the film, but in fact that is because there is nothing of any worth in the film, it is in itself stupid and pointless
and for some reason perfect as the throwaway filler in any movie marathon.Now two days after watching Whiteout I can tell you exactly what happened from beginning to end with no emotion, as the film elicited no other response from me than "then this happened", "then that happened", "then it finished".After an inexplicable shower scene that has nothing to do with anything
we continue.More specifically, Beckinsale plays a Marshall based at a research station in Antarctica.
Her name is Kerry Stetko, and she has handed in her resignation after a three year contract and will finally move back to the US, her best bud on the site is the Doctor, played by Tom Skerritt in a bitzer role.Due to some Treachery at Sky decades earlier (you can say "treachery at sea", why not "treachery at sky"?) there is some sought after cargo buried under the snow at a plane crash site.Long story short the once word gets around that the cargo is present, many people decide that they want in, and in the process a few of them get bumped off and Stetko and an FBI guy get involved.It is worth noting just how clumsily this film was put together, and how certain events and plot points make absolutely no sense, so rather than describe the rest of the tedious events here are the lowlights: I.
But don't expect much.Final Thought – Kate Beckinsale can't carry a film, regardless of how hot she is.If you liked this review (or even if you didn't) check out oneguyrambling.com.
Alex O'Loughlin was annoying - he thought he was all that in this film but really he was trying to cover for the fact that he couldn't act.My one complaint is - it's so cold and snowy and the wind is blowing so hard where they are yet whenever Kate Beckinsale comes in from outside she looks like they just prepped her for Oscar night.
When the main female character starts the film with a shower scene, ok the expectations for the movie goes down.
When a body is found in the Antartica, Marshall Carrie Stetko about end her tour sets out to investigate, and uncovers a mystery involving a crashed Russian plane from the 1950's......Whiteout is yet another movie based on a graphic novel.
Instead it's a thriller with a rather unusual setting.The cast, led by Kate Beckinsale as Marshall Stetko are all good.
Kate Beckinsale is decent as the lead brining what she can to the role of tortured U.S Marshall Carrie Stetko who tracks a killer in Antarctica with a massive "whiteout" storm approaching their research base.
If they were improved somehow this movie wouldn't have been half that bad because even Kate Beckisnales star power can't help Whiteout feel like anymore more than a disappointment compared to other superior thrillers out there..
The best act occurred when Kate Beckinsale's character first encounters the killer (who always seems to be in the right place at the right time) and the chase through a snow blizzard, but other than that it's rather anticlimactic, especially the film's closing revelation.
It looks like once the film was completed, it went through lots of post production editing to salvage something that could be released hence why Stuart Baird is listed as a supervising editor.Kate Beckinsale plays a US Marshal at an international research base in Antarctica.
WHITEOUT is a snowbound thriller that sees the unusually-cast Kate Beckinsale playing a US Marshal on the track of a killer who's left a frozen body in deepest Antarctica.
All in all Whiteout is not a terrible movie, It's not great either but it's not terrible.Kate Beckinsale(who I think is great to look at but not much of an actress.)Tries her very hardest and does do well in the second and third act of the film but she can't save this movie from being plain old ordinary.
This movie itself is just a typical action-thriller where U.S. Marshal Carrie Stetko (Kate Kate Beckinsale is investigating a serial killer at an international research station in Antarctica.
So, it's basically a cop-trying-to-catch-killer story with a pretty predictable plot element and lack of intriguing subplots.The acting was OK, and there is a good deal of gore, action and mystery to keep the movie at least mildly suspenseful, letting the audience wonder who the perpetrator is.
Along the way it was all making sense, it has history, some of thriller, if you could call it like that, it got my attention but it gets to a point when you think the most interesting is gonna happened and the movie finishes.
I think one of the things that really hooked me was that I didn't know "who dun it" until the end - not a twist or surprise ending, but a really good procedural story.Watch with an open mind and you'll enjoy this movie.. |
tt0137494 | Entrapment | Virginia "Gin" Baker (Catherine Zeta-Jones) is an investigator for "Waverly Insurance". Robert "Mac" MacDougal (Sean Connery) is a professional thief who specializes in international art. A priceless Rembrandt painting is stolen from an office one night, and Gin is sent undercover to investigate Mac as the chief suspect. She tries to entrap him with a proposition, claiming that she is a professional thief herself, and promises that she will help him steal a priceless Chinese mask from the well-guarded Bedford Palace. Before agreeing, Mac tells Gin his 'Rule Number One': "Never carry a gun: You carry a gun, you may be tempted to use it." They travel to Scotland and plan the very complicated theft at Mac's hideout, an isolated castle. Aaron Thibadeaux (Ving Rhames), apparently the only ally that Mac trusts, arrives with supplies for the heist. While Mac is busy making final preparations, Gin contacts her boss, Hector Cruz (Will Patton), from a payphone, and informs him of Mac's whereabouts. Little does she know that the island is bugged, allowing Mac to eavesdrop on their conversation. Mac also makes sure to keep Gin's romantic advances at bay, unsure if she is a true partner in crime or an ambitious career woman on a mission.
After they have stolen the mask, Mac accuses Gin of planning to sell the mask to a buyer in Kuala Lumpur and then turn him in. Gin convinces him that her insurance agency job is the real cover and that she has planned an even bigger heist in Kuala Lumpur: $8 billion from the "International Clearance Bank" in the North Tower of the Petronas Towers. During their set-up, Cruz and his team (with the guidance of the stealthy Thibadeaux) track down Gin and confirm that she is still on mission to bring Mac in. Despite the presence of Cruz and other security watching the building, the theft takes place in the final seconds of the new 2000 millennium countdown. Gin pulls the plug on her laptop prematurely and sets off alarms. They narrowly escape the computer vault and are forced to cross the lights hung from the bottom of the bridge linking the two towers. Following a death-defying escape when the cable breaks, Gin and Mac make their way to a ventilation shaft, where Mac explains "Plan B." Using mini-parachutes, they were going to escape down the shaft. Gin has lost her parachute earlier in the escape, so Mac gives her his. He tells her to meet him the next morning at the Pudu train station.
Gin arrives at the station waiting for Mac. He shows up late with Aaron Thibadeaux, who reveals himself with fellow FBI agents. He explains that Cruz is here and that the FBI has been looking for her for some time. Two years ago when Agent Thibadeaux caught and arrested him, Mac made a deal to help the FBI arrest Gin, as she was the primary target all along. However, the aging thief has another plan: to help her escape. Mac slips Gin a gun and quietly explains that he returned only seven of the eight billion dollars they had stolen electronically in the heist. Gin then pretends to hold Mac hostage at gunpoint, threatening to shoot him if the agents follow her. She boards a train and the FBI heads to the next station. Gin jumps trains mid-station and arrives back at Pudu. She tells Mac that she needs him for another job and they both board a train. | neo noir | train | wikipedia | However, while Connery is one of a handful of men who have retained their looks and masculine appeal beyond middle age, the likelihood that the luscious Catherine Zeta-Jones, who is at the peak of her beauty here, would fall for him tests the bounds of credibility.
If theft were as easy and casual as Connery and Zeta-Jones make it seem to be, we could all have a lot more fun in life plotting and executing heists instead of commuting and staring at computer monitors..
The women in the office went to go see it after hearing all the fuss, many going just to confirm that "she isn't all that." In a way, it's a bit of a shame because it's a decent heist movie with a good plot and pretty good acting.
It all gets overshadowed by the Catherine Zeta-Jones laser scene that guys will be thinking about for days (Years?).Does any of this make the movie any less entertaining to watch?
Catherine Zeta-Jones is really nice to look at in every way...Connery is an art thief who is able to pass the best security systems, stealing the painting and making fun of the security people by changing the original painting with a picture of Elvis.
The best aspect of Entrapment is the wonderful understated romance between Sean Connery's "Mac" and Catherine Zeta-Jones' "Gin." I thought this was far more moving than many of the swoony full-blown love affairs I've seen in other movies.
Sean Connery, naturally, does his usual outstanding job, but Catherine Zeta-Jones steals the show.
The actors are good, the plot is interesting, the machinery is nice and the close-ups of Catherine Zeta-Jones' butt are great.
While she does struggle trying to keep down her natural Welsh accent, Zeta-Jones makes for a lively sidekick to Connery, and despite the ballyhooed age difference, they work together just fine.Despite a lackluster and forced final, "Entrapment" works better than you may think.
Sean Connery usually is good, Catherine Zeta-Jones was a hot, new commodity at the time, and I usually enjoy heist films.
"Entrapment" tries to accomplish too much and ends up leaving such huge plot holes that the film feels rushed and absurd.Gin (Catherine Zeta Jones) takes on the role of an insurance agent/undercover thief who hooks up with Robert (Sean Connery) a rich career criminal to execute a couple of huge international heists.
A certain sunny sloppiness almost redeems Jon Amiel's throwback caper flick.Connery and Zeta-Jones not only look great together, they work well together, too.Connery and Zeta-Jones are such fun to watch together it almost doesn't matter how little sense the movie makes -- and their relationship is far more gleefully perverse, weirdly chivalrous and surprisingly interesting than the trailer makes it look.Cleverly updates the formula with a sprinkling of fun, fin-DE-millennium touches.Entrapment luxuriates in the best Hollywood big bucks can buy: superb sets and cinematography, spectacular locations, expensive stars.
Sean Connery cashes a check, and Catherine Zeta-Jones becomes an early front-runner for a Razzie worst-actress-of-the-year award in this unimaginative and often laughable movie.While there are a couple mildly interesting heist scenes, the movie throws most of its energy into trying to build sexual tension between its two uninteresting lead characters who--as in so many bad movies of recent years--were born half a century apart.
Apparently, the writers felt that they could make up for writing a by-the-numbers heist script by ending with the tired thriller cliche of a-half-dozen-pointless-plot-twists-that-make-no-sense.On the plus side, there were several things I learned about the business of cat burglary from this movie: (1) If, after you steal a piece of art from a museum that is swarming with police, you and your partner feel it necessary to stop outside and scream at each other at the top of your lungs, don't worry.
Confusing, derivative, and underwhelming teaming of two attractive stars, Sean Connery and Catherine-Zeta Jones, who look good while encased in this glittery, shallow box.
Okay, okay - let me admit right off that I had no expectations for this film (it had been so universally panned) and saw it on the cheap merely to ogle Catherine Zeta-Jones for a few hours (does that make me a bad guy?) However, within a very short amount of time I became hooked - this is just a really entertaining story, well told, well shot, and totally enjoyable from start to finish.
The heists in this movie were all meticulously thought out and grippingly presented - and the extended middle sequence where Connery is training Zeta-Jones is just really interesting.
It reminded me, in a weird and distant way, of those Yoda-Luke Skywalker sequences in Empire Strikes Back, and emphasizes how seldom Hollywood movies (particularly action ones) ever show anyone in the process of learning something: characters either know what they're doing ahead of time, or pick up skills with alarming speed, usually in the heat of conflict.
Entrapment is no mere Grandpa romances the baby-sitter movie (like Bulworth, or Six Days Seven Nights, or just about any Woody Allen film) simply because the focus of their relationship is always the cat-and-mouse game of accomplices in crime (who don't trust one another) not the mating dance of horny singles.
Both stars are certainly attractive, of course, and the filmmakers know it and emphasize it, but the fundamental relationship takes its cue from Mac's (Connery's character) advice early in the film to the effect that there can be no romance between thieves.
(If only the other heist film this past summer, the inferior but far more lavishly praised The Thomas Crown Affair, had stayed true to this maxim, we might have had more great sequences like the beginning and the ending, and been spared the long, looooong middle section where nothing happens save for Rene Russo and Pierce Brosnan getting it on, improbably and boringly, in as many situations as possible.)To sum up: tight plot, exciting action sequences, great looking stars, and some nifty twists and turns along the way - all without the curse of a boring and improbable romance slowing everything down.
Most of them had vivid memories of Sean Connery playing the always charismatic 007, and Catherine Zeta-Jones exchanging sparks with Antonio Banderas in The Mask of Zorro.But is chemistry between a man and a woman just, physical, sensual, and sexual ?I find the movie entertaining, as it shows 2 people enjoying doing what they like best.
While, at the same time, she turns from intellectually admiring him to actually liking him on her side.Admittedly, it is an uneasy chemistry between Connery, the Scott gentleman and Catherine, the Welsh with long brown hair and eyes, but the film offers enjoyable action moments interspersed with occasionally good dialogue and exchanges between the two leads.Watch "Entrapment" !
(You saw it all in the previews.) The only compelling aspects of the completely 2-dimensional characters were due to the fact that he's Sean Connery and she's Catherine Zeta-Jones.
And Sean Connery is FAR to old to get anywhere with Catherine Zeta-Jones, if you know what I mean.And the ENDING.
One of the worst endings I have ever seen in a motion picture (the train goes by and they disappear into thin air) which completely ruined the mood of the film and left me feeling like I had been watching a fantasy or sci-fi movie.
Then it turns into this utterly silly movie with Connery and Zeta-Jones as super-thieves who slink around in black stealing things...
The action takes place on (not in) New York skyscrapers, beautiful castles, high tech museums and all over Kuala Lumpur and Catherine Zeta-Jones and/or Sean Connery are in every single scene.
It seems like Connery's character was a father figure for Zeta-Jones and was proven in several scenes throughout the film.
"Entrapment" is a movie for people who like a good suspenseful thriller that makes you think and doesn't have a resolution until the end.
Furthermore, it contains a surprise ending that will the audience will enjoy."Entrapment" worked for me because it showed Sean Connery at his best and Catherine Zeta-Jones as a star on the rise..
It has two excellent actors - that I thoroughly enjoy watching - in the leading roles: Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones, but it could just as well have been Michael Douglas/Sharon Stone or Tom Cruise/Nicole Kidman.
Sean Connery and Zeta-Jones had no chemistry, and the action wasn't thrilling or convincing.
Saw this at the cinemas in 1999 and was pleasantly surprised, plus have watched again a bunch of times.The movie revolves around Mac (Sean Connery), a brilliant art thief.
I loved the chemistry between Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones and they were very believable characters.
The ridiculous age difference between Catherine Zeta-Jones and Sean Connery makes the film totally unbelievable.
If the Connery/Zeta-Jones "romance" weren't such a turn-off to begin with, the characters fail to retain any sympathy throughout the film.
"Entrapment" is strictly a star-vehicle for Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones in which they play a pair of world-class, super-cunning, art thieves.
There are a couple of well-choreographed and photographed heist scenes, and the film moves along as a passable caper flick (although the developing sexual chemistry between Zeta-Jones and Connery is a little creepy, and thankfully short-lived).
Sean Connery, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Will Patton, and Ving Rhames star in one of the best movies I've seen all year.
Sean Connery, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Will Patton, and Ving Rhames star in one of the best movies I've seen all year.
Sean Connery is Robert MacDougal a jewel thief; Catherine Zeta-Jones is Virginia "Gin" Baker, an insurance investigator sent to capture him.
Sean Connery is Robert MacDougal a jewel thief; Catherine Zeta-Jones is Virginia "Gin" Baker, an insurance investigator sent to capture him.
It seems like Connery's character was a father figure for Zeta-Jones and was proved in several scenes throughout the film."Entrapment" also includes great support from its co-stars Will Patton and Ving Rhames.
Patton and Rhames are so good it is difficult to tell whether or not they are part of a conspiracy to steal the mask or they are really tracking Connery and Zeta-Jones.This is a movie for people who like a good suspenseful thriller that will make them think and doesn't have a resolution until the end.
In this movie ,Connery is a jewel thief , that Catherine Zeta Jones wants to capture.
But that said the films real saving grace is the two fantastic lead performances.Sean Connery is great (as usual) as the aging cat burglar, and has charm and charisma to spare, spreading both around in good measure, but the real surprise here is Catherine Zeta-Jones who gives a head turning performance and is every bit the match, both in character and screen charisma, for Connery in her best, and most natural performance yet.
Zeta-Jones seems to be going from strength to strength and handles her role here with ease and skill and is a definite talent on the rise.Supporting players Will Patton and especially Ving Rhames both give good support, while Maury Chaykin is passable, if a touch cheesy, but this is really a two person show, with both Connery and Zeta-Jones igniting the screen and dominating the film to great effect.Overall Entrapment is nothing remarkably new, but that said it still makes a good bet for good, old fashioned entertainment and has enough thrills, twists and charm to more than sustain it's length, plus two top notch performances, and as such is a hell of a lot of fun at the end of the day.8/10 One Man's Opinion..
Entrapment casts Catherine Zeta-Jones as an insurance investigator anxious to earn her spurs in the business by capturing notorious thief Sean Connery.
Here we have a movie that's made without anything remotely shocking, exciting or surprising about it.The only thing worthwhile about it is Zeta-Jones in a body stocking.Connery looks too old and tired to be a 1st class burglar and he probably should stick to less physically challenging parts in the future.A mainstream film with no surprises whatsoever..
Before I went to see the over-advertised movie Entrapment that attempted to attract male viewers with Zeta Jones' body shot, I was excited for a fast paced action thriller similar to the early James Bond films with a romantic edge with the spicy Zeta Jones.
The version I saw was a never ending string of cliches embedded into a plot so flimsy it couldn't stand up if it were not for Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones.
For example, in the well advertised scene of Catherine Zeta-Jones wriggling her way through the fake laser beams I couldn't stop thinking "Why doesn't she just crawl" or "What was the point of that move?" It's indicative of the whole movie.
Since the only trailer I had seen focused mainly on Zeta-Jones' body, I expected a mindless mental thriller.As the movie progressed, I was actually impressed by the plot, which held quite a few unexpected twists, although some of the nuances of the script seem quite contrived (the scene on the castle roof is an example.)However, the actors let this film down.
Not even the beautiful Zeta-Jones and the sexy voice of Sean Connery can carry this cookie-cutter type action adventure film.
Sean Connery sleep-walks through his part and Catherine Zeta-Jones was just there to look pretty (the story sets her up as extremely smart, yet her character plays dumb the whole movie).I couldn't even swallow the storyline - tallest building in the world, millenium bug testing, corrupt 'cops', old master-thief and young beauty in a love tryst...I mean, come on!
Sean Connery is a very handsome sexy man but really............Catherine Zeta Jones???
The chemistry between Catherine Zeta-Jones and Sean Connery is magnificent.
Afterall, Sean Connery has long been hailed as one of the most sexiest men alive, despite the fact he's now in his 70's, and Catherine Zeta-Jones is, well, just breathtakingly beautiful.It is not just the steamy connection that the two have on screen that makes this film worthwhile.
In one sequence Connery and Zeta-Jones are dangling from a cable that's about to snap at the top of the world's tallest building while Millennium New Year's fireworks are going off.I would definitely recommend this film to anyone who enjoys an action movie laced with charm and sophistication..
Yes, Catherine Zeta-Jones is good looking and Sean Connery used to be The James Bond.
Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones in a cat-and-mouse thriller.
But then the way Catherine Zeta- Jones and Sean Connery make their generation gap work is incredible.
Entrapment takes us back to the good old movies where elegant, charming thieves stole the money and our hearts.The two charismatic actors, Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta Jones, bring a lot to this movie in addition to action: humor, romance, charm.The movie keeps you on the edge of your seat.
Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones are sexy and suave as a pair of art thieves who find themselves falling in love.
Sean Connery stars with Catherine Zeta-Jones (Mark of Zorro) in this Thomas Crownish heist adventure.
There are surprise twists throughout, but they come off more as blunders than plot turns.Catherine Zeta-Jones, known now for "Chicago" and being Michael Douglas' wife, got her big break in this film, playing a cat burglar who works for the FBI, who goes on an undercover mission to arrest another cat burglar, Sean Connery, only to surprise him by telling him she's a cat burglar as well, and to pull off a heist together with the sixty-year-old, for there to be only one more crucial plot twist that I'm assuming you've guessed by now."Entrapment" is one big headache.
The film is basically one long excuse to see Catherine Zeta-Jones sliding across floors and bending her rear in tight-fitting leather outfits, and for Sean Connery to act as if he is still sixty.
But there are some things I don't believe, as well.I don't believe Catherine Zeta-Jones would fall for Sean Connery's aging body.
It is possible for Sean Connery to do a bad movie.and the #1 thing I learned from Entrapment.1.
There is nothing good in this movie, in which the cliches are only outnumbered by the glaring plot-holes.Basic plot summary: Sean Connery plays a 70-year-old cat burglar (no giggling, now) named Mac who is being pursued by a number of people, including the young maybe-a-cat-burglar-maybe-a-cop played by Catherine Zeta-Jones.But is he really being pursued?
Gin, an insurance agent with the curious skills of a cat burglar (Catherine Zeta-Jones), is sent by her employer (Will Patton) to wiggle into the company of aging British master-thief "Mac" MacDougal (Sean Connery).
It truly is only a product of its times.For a basic plot summary, "Entrapment" sees insurance agent Virginia Baker (Catherine Zeta- Jones) on the trail of notorious art thief Robert MacDougal (Sean Connery).
I have to say that Zeta-Jones and Sean Connery are trying very hard to do something out of paper thin screen play and not very interesting plot.I tries to like this film but I could not.
"Entrapment" is a heist-cum-thriller movie concerning an aging but agile thief Mac (Sean Connery), who along with a beautiful femme fatale crook Gin (Catherine Zeta Jones) commits robbery worth billions, but with lots of deception and betrayals and twist along the way.Cast-wise, Astounding.
Golden Globe winner Ving Rhames, as seen in M:i trilogy as well as Dawn of the Dead is star in this film surprisingly.Frankly speaking Catherine Zeta-Jones is too young to match with Sean Connery.
The chemistry between Sean and Catherine Zeta Jones was believable, and acting above par for all.
In the best tradition of Hitchcock's "To Catch a Thief" it's a well balanced movie.Sean Connery is in his top form when mixing duty with humor.Catherine Zeta-Jones is amazingly subtle in her role.
This time with Connery playing Mac (a master thief who doesn't like "complications"), and Zeta-Jones as a resourceful yet petulant insurance fraud agent.
Sean Connery plays a master thief thought to be long retired while Katherine zeta jones is his foil, an insurance investigator assigned to his case.It's a great action film with plenty of twists and turns. |
tt0084509 | The Plague Dogs | A black dog (Christopher Benjamin) almost drowns, but at the last second he is rescued at some sort of scientific laboratory. The scenery outside that facility is grim and desolate. Dogs are kept onto cages, and when one of them dies, they are shoved aside with pales. Tyson (Warren Mitchell) is a hand workers who treats animals roughly. He throws Rowf to one side of the cage and some food carelessly on the other. Cage 732, the cage of the almost-drowned dog is left open by the careless feeder. The black dog is very weak, but another dog howls like a wolf and that makes Rowf mad. Snitter (John Hurt) sneaks into Rowlfs's cage. Rowf eats his food and he leaves with Snitter, who wears a kind of green cap.The laboratory is a scary place, even for a human. They have monkeys, rabbits, mice... imprisoned, unable to move. Regardless of what they are trying to research, it looks that Dr. W. Goodner likes torturing animals. A monkey makes noise, scaring the escaping dogs; they throw a glass mouse cage, and the mice immediately run away. They soon find a lock door, but they manage to get into the incinerator, which they consider a death place. Snitter is the first to jump, and Rowf feels that he has not other option than to go behind him. There is only ash and bones there. They rest and sleep there for a while. Snitter dreams of an owner in the city; that person died to push him out of a lorry's way. A female voice accuses Snitter of having killed the person. Snitter wakes up startled and he has trouble waking Rowf up. He can feel that fresh air comes from another opening, so they go through that hole on the wall when the doctor throws a dead dog to the incinerator and is about to turn it on. Suspense because Rowf has got stuck, but he and Snitter escape in the last second. They are free now.They stare at the stars. Snitter stares at the burnt black dead landscape, and wonders how the men destroyed the city and all the masters. He still thinks that there have to be masters somewhere, although Rowf doubts it. Rowf is hungry, but Snitter still thinks about the landscape and the stillness of the night.They reach a village. Snitter wants to be adopted, but Rowlf splashes the rubbish bin contents all over the place, so the man throws a stone at him. Snitter tells him that they have to behave properly if they want to get anything from masters. Their mouths water at the sight of a supermarket, but they see a butcher sharpening a knife, and they run away. Snitter tries to attack the white lines of a road. The driver of the car who has just run over Snitter stops to pick him up, but Rowf prevents it. Snitter thought they were beloved masters, but Rowl tells him that their green coats showed that they wanted to put Snitter back onto the prison/laboratory.Dr. Boycott (Nigel Hawthorne) and a laboratory assistant (Brian Stirner) think that the two dogs which are constantly running after the village sheep must be the dogs which escaped from the lab. Snitter sees a "master", a shepherd who uses sheep dogs; Snitter thinks that this master will take care of them pretty soon. They try to behave like the sheep dogs, but they become trampled by the flock of sheep and the sheep dogs () accuse them of spoiling their good work, as they make all the sheep run away. Snitter wants to prove humans that he can be a good dog, after all, he didn't kill his master on purpose. Rowf and Snitter wander around the land. Rowf is more aggressive, although the terrified Snitter confuses some molds with threatening bear-like silhouettes.October 18 - Day 4Blood spilling over the rocks and into a river: the two friends killed a sheep. Rowlf got quite a beating anyway, and he wants to give up. Snitter tells him that he can't stay there in the open. Snitter travels on his own until he finds an abandoned mine. Snitter has faith that, in that secret place, they will be safe and nobody will be able to find them, although Rowf tells him that there's no hope in that god-forsaken place. So the two dogs start killing sheep; there is a stream nearby where they can drink to their content. Rowf can feel that humans are a danger to them still. Rowf is a good hunter.Once, they see a fox who tells them that they have no chance without him. Snitter thinks that The Tod (James Bolam) can help them survive, but Rowf looks at him suspiciously, as he can be a vulgar thief. Tod tells them that if they keep on killing sheep that way, people will catch them soon.October 26 - Day 12Snitter scratches himself and finally gets rid of the green cap, probably contaminated with some disease; Snitter bites the cap. Meanwhile, Rowf and Tod run after a sheep. Snitter push the sheep down a cliff, killing it; he almost falls behind it, but Tod and Rowf tell him he has done good. Rowf inquires about Snitter's head, and he licks the wound.Ducks and ducklings are swimming in a pong and fighting over some green algae. Tod catches one. The three of them kills many hensAt the Crown bar, the villagers comment on the intelligent wild creatures who are killing all their poultry. They feel powerless to stop them. Tod still thinks that the sheep are still too much of a risk - humans will get really mad at them if they keep of killing their sheep. Tod decides to leave them, and Rowlf thinks it's just as well.November 1 - Day 18Snitter still believes in the master who will take care after them. The scientists raid the area with hunting dogs. The Tod comes back asking for the remains of the food; in exchange, he tells them about the dogs which are all over the place. Tod takes the two friends deep onto the mine. Bats fly by when humans reach the entrance. The three allies leave through a broken hole on the wall. They cross a stream and they let a herd of reindeer be.Meanwhile, the scientists are arguing about the dogs. Williamson (John Franklyn-Robbins) calls the research facility inquiring if they have lost any dogs, but the person who picks up the phone refuses to give a straight answer. The monkeys are still imprisoned and suffering. Rowf has learned to hunt like a wild animal, and the Tod laughs about it.November 8 - Day 25They sleep at the ruins of a derelict village home. The hunt against them continues; one of the hunters spots Snitter through his binoculars and calls at him as though he were his dog. Snitter is a bit reluctant, but he's dreamed so much about having a master... He wags his tail and tries to show his happiness licking his "master's" face, but by accident, his leg gets stuck in the trigger of his shotgun, killing him. Snitter runs away.Rowf is also spotted, but he manages to run away.November 9 - Day 26Rowf and the Tod look for Snitter, as Rowf doesn't want to leave him behind. A thunderstorm breaks.Robert Boycott (Malcolm Terris) phones the experimental station. Finally, Rowf finds Snitter, who thinks that he's destroyed every possibility they had of a happy ending. They are at an abandoned haystack. Snitter says that not even death will finish their pain, while Rowf tells him that he'll kill before being killed.November 15 - Day 32A journalist says that ecologists will oppose the hunt if they hear about it; however, they want to have the Army involved. Snitter and Rowf eat rubbish. Two female voices comment that they seem to like to eat it. One of the ladies tries to scare them away with a broom. Snitter feels depressed once again. The lady catches Snitter and puts him inside a warehouse - he thinks that he's in a place of torture once again, but then, immediately starts daydreaming about him and his master by the fireplace. Rowf runs away and finds the Tod. They try to rescue Snitter, who doesnt want to leave, as he can imagine himself in a happy place. The woman has called the police. Snitter bites a man who tries to catch him.A Pekignese (Judy Geeson) is peeing at an oil station all over the place, and she tries to call her master's attention, but the human is so stupid that doesn't bother looking down. The Pekignese gets away running after some wild birds. The owner, Lynn Driver (Penelope Lee) hears that the dog which had suffered a brain operation is thought to be dead - he was experimented upon in a mind-confusing surgery, and that's why Snitter seems to be unable to distinguish the real world from his dreams. Lynn and his companion, her cameraman and editor (Bill Maynard) think that it's a pity that now, they will never know if the surgery was successful. They drive into the Coniston Animal Research (Scientific & Experimental) facility carelessly.A hunter arrives at the derelict house the three friends have been sleeping in, but they are not there. At Coniston, they are more worried about their reputation than anything else. The villagers create a state of panic as Lynn Driver speaks about the news. Snitter is constantly scratching his head - he is dreaming about an island; Rowf licks the wound, but Tod doesn't believe that. Tod insists that they have to stay ahead of humans all the time. They try to kill a deer and its offspring; Tod mocks them when the deer wins the fight with his antlers.Tod catches a fish and a frog: For Rowf and Snitter, that is something much more difficult.November 21 - Day 38They approach a home with lighted windows in the night. Tod has drunk all the milk, and Rowf is angry, because they are really hungry. They are so desperate, that Rowf decides to enter the home to eat, although Snitter thinks that this is a bad idea. They take away a hen. The farmer's wife (Barbara Leigh-Hunt) convinces her husband not to shoot the dogs, in case they pass the bubonic plague onto them. The farmer pushes the body of the dead hen onto Rowf's mouths.It's increasingly cold - snow is everywhere now. The dogs are bony and hungry all the time.November 23 - Day 40Now, it looks that they are in the North Pole, although they are supposed to be still in the Lake District. They sleep rough, covered by the remains of a wall.On the radio, Jeffrey Westook retells how he was attacked by the dogs -- or rather his car. Lynn Driver keeps on reporting from the Lake District. A farmer sees his own sheep dog talking to the two dogs. The sheep dog says that humans are afraid of the sickness within the two dogs.A hunter keeps after the two friends, and The Tod keeps after the hunter. The dogs are more and more tired. The hunter prepares to shoot the two exhausted dogs - a vulture has begun to fly in circles above them. The Tod distracts the hunter, so that he falls from a hill - his shot only succeeds in breaking Rowf's green collar. Now, the army and the police use even helicopters to follow the tracks of the animals: they find the eaten dead body of the hunter.They walk alongside a stream. Rowf says that he owes his life to the Tod.Dr Boycott can't deny that the green collar is one of theirs. The Major (Patrick Stewart) wants him to accept what happened. He says that the researchers didn't want to admit that the dogs may have infected with the bubonic plague; now, they are trying to kill all animals. The Minister of Defense sends two companies to catch the dogs.Rowf gets clumsy because of the weakness. Sheep keep on munching and chewing. They use dogs, helicopters, lorries, shotguns... The Tod thinks that if they manage to cross the valley unseen, they will be free forever... but it may be too late for Rowf and Snitter, they are so weak. The Tod opens the way and comes back for them. They have no other option than try to run for it. A helicopter sees them but loses them from sight soon.The dogs enter a train which has stopped for maintenance while the Tod lures the hunting dogs away. However, he gets hurt. When the train starts to move, Snitter and Rowf prefer to think that the Tod has managed to run away somehow, although we can see that he was killed.The train arrives at Ravenglass. They, the dogs can smell the sea. A helicopter spots them outside a tea bar. They run like crazy until they reach the shore. They stare at the beach, the sand, and they sit to rest for a while. Meanwhile, at the facility, the monkey keeps on hearing human voices.Snitter starts swimming towards the island of his dreams. Rowf hesitates, but the approaching soldiers push him to swim.Shots are heard. There is a thick fog which hides the helicopter and the two dogs.Rowf and Snitter swim and swim; they keep going and going within the thick fog. Snitter looks to be the more exhausted, and it's Rowf who encourages him saying "Stay with me", deep into the thick fog.CAPTION: Martin Rosen's production of The Plague Dogs and end credits. The summits of three mountains in an island can be seen against the horizon.---written by KrystelClaire | tragedy, violence, cruelty, sadist, flashback | train | imdb | As far away from fluffy Disney films as one could imagine, this is a disturbing account of the hardships of two dogs who escape from an animal testing lab.
The animated version of The Plague Dogs, released four years after the acclaimed Watership Down, never quite achieved the kind of success its predecessor had; not because it wasn't as good, but because of pretty much the same reasons for the novel's limited success.
Therefore, movie-goers didn't quite know what to make of the film; it didn't seem right for an adult to go watch an animated film about animals - and a parent who takes his little child to this film would face an even bigger problem of explaining to them why the bad people do such horrible things to the poor dogs.Fortunately, today we know that animation isn't just for kids, and we can fully appreciate this masterpiece.
The story is that of two laboratory dogs, voiced brilliantly by John Hurt and Christopher Benjamin, who escape from their cages and from the lab seeking the freedom of the outside world, and finding out that surviving in the wilderness isn't as easy as that.
The story of two infected dogs who escape from a containment facility is the most heart wrenching story I think I have read, and the film recreates that world perfectly.
As everyone else has already said - this is not a movie for kids,at least they should watch it with an adult.I first saw it at the cinema maybe 19-20 years ago and it has never left my mind.I remember crying in the end of the movie and when I hear "time and tide" it still makes me cry.It is very well made yet disturbing and as said before it has nothing in compare with Disneys animated musicals.
There is nothing funny in this movie.Nothing to laugh at and it makes you feel very sad and depressed and ashamed of being a human.It is very sad that most people have never ever heard of it.It deserves a far better destiny than to just fade away in to the past.The only animated movies I can think of that is almost as touching (but still far from) as "Plague dogs",is perhaps Watership Down,Secret of NIHM,An American tail and Grave of the fireflies.I really hope that animators nowadays could watch Plague dogs and get some inspiration.Disneymovies are nice but they are far to sentimental in my opinion.Thats just one of the great things about Plague dogs - Its dark,grim and depressive but it NEVER EVER gets sentimental.Why cant anybody re-release it on VHS and DVD?"Memories is only about the past,the present time will never last, the future lies within your heart.I left this cruel world behind and I found my peace of mind.I don't feel no pain no more...".
simply the best animated film i have seen.nemo's great but this one hits you in places others won't and probably never will again..i watched this back in the early 80's and never forgot it..its great that it has been released on dvd as i have been after it for years..for all those who have not seen it i recommend you to see it as it will always stay with you..its not your average kids animated movie and many were shocked when it was first released..there is one particlar gory scene with a farmer and a shotgun, say no more don't want to spoil it..and this scene could not have been animated and script better...beats watership down every time!
Once the narrative is under way I defy anyone to find the animation detrimental to the experience.Certainly in regards to the genre of animated films this is superior to anything Disney have ever done, both in respect of visual and intellectual content, and stands alone as a benchmark of what can be achieved in the genre.From the creators of 'Watership Down', this film shares the same author and production company, but despite its PG certificate you should be warned that some scenes may be upsetting, not specifically for younger viewers but for everyone - this is a genuine tear-jerker of a film.Highly recommended.
The movie is a kind of cycle from water to water, the dogs try to make sense of a world they can never totally understand, they're constantly searching for some kind of mythical human affection, I could ramble on...This film, unlike Watership Down, actually improves on the book by refining and/or removing many of the more tedious sections which dealt with people and politics.
This tale of two dogs's adventues to try and stay alive and stay out of the testing center they were in at the beginning and while many wouldn't agree with me, this film ends the only way it could (though you have to read the book to understand it).Much like Watership Down, the things they had to cut out are minor, but there are times you'll scratch your head wondering why they said that, but I can tell you, if you want to know, READ THE BOOK!!!This is one of the finest flicks ever made, simple as thatP.S. one of the soldiers is voiced by Patrick Stewart, not brought up on the earlier screens.
While making a serious animated film about rabbits might sound like more of a challenge, and is a great film, I would be more inclined to people I know for them to watch The Plague Dogs to see how truly brutal Rosen could be as a filmmaker.
Adapting from a book by Richard Adams, who also wrote Watership, this is a movie that a kid might be inclined to see right away just by the picture of dogs running around on the front cover - some may not understand the word 'Plague' and even if they do they'll want to see it anyway...
Not all of the animation syncs up completely (albeit this may be sour grapes as I have only seen the 82 minute severely censored version that may have cleared up a couple of gaps- as far as I could tell it wasn't a flaw on Rosen's part), but everything in terms of atmosphere, or provoking a certain place of dread brought about when humanity is at its worst, and dogs at their most vulnerable, that you can't help but be moved.
Hell, we even get one of Hurt's best performances, voicing a bi-polar dog who should already be dead or past the point of no return, and at one point even asks for it in a moment that had me floored (the bit about not having to worry about eating if one is dead).The Plague Dogs isn't a 'for-everyone' animated adventure - for the love of all that is sacred do NOT show it to your dog-loving first-date - but it's entirely successful, and criminally underrated, as a mature work of art, a precisely sorrowful story that should appeal to anyone looking for a good, warranted cry and a look at dogs that is the sort of clear version of some diluted movie made at the same time like The Fox and the Hound.
While most animated films have allowed us to admire aesthetic beauty, many times of nature, "The Plague Dogs" is a cerebral experience that hits home even more through the fact that animation is usually used for more uplifting stories.
These days, with computer graphics, there is another option, but the animation is so excellently done that it's a pleasure just to watch.This is a story about two dogs that escape from a kennel of some sort and begin to wander the British countryside, looking for...they're not sure.
The movie is amazing in it's realism and messages.The story of two dogs who end up escaping from a laboratory and trying to adapt and survive to the outside world.
And with such strong writing and a heart-felt message, I can only nit-pick at minor things to down-grade this unique film.Plague Dogs isn't only one of the most powerful films I've seen in a long time, but it's also one of the best.
Martin Rosen's THE PLAGUE DOGS is one of the most moving and downbeat animated films ever made, almost rivaling the incredible (original black and white) "Calimero" TV series for its depressed tone.No need to synopsize, as that's already been done, but try to get your paws on a copy of this gem because it is a step up from the brilliant animation of WATERSHIP DOWN (from the same director) and is an intensely moving experience.All DVD's of the film currently available (as of January 25) are, unfortunately, cut...there is no drowning in these versions..
This subject is the theme of Martin Rosen's animated film The Plague Dogs.Based on the novel by Richard Adams who also wrote "Watership Down," The Plague Dogs is a disturbing movie that pulls no punches and is heartbreakingly real in its depiction of the sad effects of animal experimentation.
In the film, a black Labrador named Rowf (John Hurt) and a fox terrier Snitter (Christopher Benjamin), subjected to endless tests of endurance as well as undefined brain surgery, make a daring escape from an animal research facility in Coniston, but find the outside world less welcoming than they remember.With no specific destination in mind, the two wander through the English Lake District hoping to find a master that will take care of them (Snitter is racked with guilt, thinking he caused the death of his previous master in an accident).
Thematically similar to Watership Down, The Plague Dogs tells the story of two dogs who escape from a animal testing laboratory in Coniston in the Lake District.
Whilst the film is not so fondly remembered as Watership Down, The Plague Dogs still represents a piece of pure animation that does not shy away from confronting very disturbing and emotional issues.
Martin Rosen ("Watership Down " )makes another excellent animated movie inspired in the book of Richard Adams .
"The Plague Dogs " is one of the most artistic and beautiful animated movies that I have seen and ts'one of my all -time favorites ..
The Plague Dogs is impressively animated (especially in the opening scenes) and, for a cartoon, remarkably downbeat.While the book suffered from a "tell, don't show" attitude, spending much of its time in an impassioned and sometimes overwrought critique of animal experimentation (perhaps justified; the horrific and generally ludicrous experiments in the book were apparently based on actual horrific and ludicrous animal experiments), the movie is content to show you what happens and let you be horrified on your own.
What I like about the human's is there role in the movie, instead of being cowardly villains, they are scientists that do experiments on animals and they won't stop until they capture the two runaway dogs."The Plague Dogs", is a movie definitely worth watching if you're looking for a good animated film to watch.
At first they are eager to escape the experiments performed upon them and get to the outside world, but they soon find that it is extremely hard to survive on the outside since they have no familiarity with the wild and their handicaps received from experiments performed upon them make life even harder (because of the drowning experiments performed on Rowf, he is constantly weak and possesses very little energy, and because of the brain experiments performed on Snitter, he has a very poor and misguided grasp of reality and is prone to psychotic episodes, especially when his open head sore begins to "act up").Plague Dogs, simply, is a very affecting film, and one that I would recommend to almost anyone to seek out (but there are some people who could possibly get bored, and others who would get too depressed by the film).
Titles like "When the Wind Blows", "Animal Farm" and "Watership Down" easily rank amongst my all-time favorite movies and I could narrowly add "The Plague Dogs" to this list as well.
From Martin Rosen and Richard Adams, the same geniuses that brought us the aforementioned "Watership Down", comes the slow-brooding and saddening tale of Snitter & Rowf; two very different lab dogs that manage to escape from the research facility where they are being held captive under miserable circumstances.
The main reason why "The Plague Dogs" is such a tragic and heart-wrenching film is because you get to know Snitter and Rowf like entirely innocent and timid animals and they remain so throughout the entire film.
That is at it should be given the 90 minute-length.A synopsis: Snitter and Rowf, two dogs in an animal research facility, escape from their tormentors and tortured existence into the wilds of the English Lake District.
Although you have to listen carefully in the film to catch the human world reprecussions of the dogs' escape, the situation spins out of control as it becomes known that the research facility was doing experiments with bubonic plague and the fear that the dogs might be carriers (their actions at the beginning of the film show they are not).This is a wholly remarkable animated film -- a cartoon that is a DRAMA in the truest sense, not a comedy or cheesy Disney-esque reinterpretation of the original work.
There are plenty of disturbing and/or shocking scenes as well as moments that will move some adult viewers to tears.Stunning animation, excellent vocals from top English actors (including a voice cameo by Patrick Stewart), a good story, and likable "heroes" tops off this film as a must see if you are an animation buff, or simply a taste of something different from usual movie fare for the average viewer..
Let me get it out of the way now, Plague Dogs suffers from only pace, at times slow and prolonged, but just like that of Watership Down, redemption is found and something magical is created.
More brutal and violent than I expected, tapering away from a family film, The Plague Dogs is a social commentary on what we thought we knew and will give you a new perspective on the world of animal testing.
The Plague Dogs is a beautifully animated film that I can't rate highly enough.
The story follows the escape from an animal testing facility and subsequent adventure of two dogs, Rowf and Snitter as they battle against the environment for survival.
I came to him by casuality: a couple of months ago I had to get away from my dog for a while (first time in 10 years) and so I came across this film, there I saw that the main voice was John Hurt (Snitter) and called even more my attention.
I like that Martin Rosen did animated movies of both the Watership Down and Plague Dogs novels of Richard Adams with a more adult oriented tone to them, because neither of them are kids movies.
The dialog in itself is engaging, but the animators could have made it more touching than it already is with more charisma added to the main character dogs Snitter and Rowf and perhaps a little more graphic scenes.
I watched The Plague Dogs and Felidae, as a huge fan of animation and of Watership Down, and I was very impressed with both features, especially this.
The Plague Dogs is obscure admittedly with a very grim beginning, but that isn't a bad thing, I actually like obscure movies.
There are some horrific animated scenes in this movie, such as a graphic drowning of a dog while two cold-hearted humans look on making comments.
Plague Dogs is an animated film simply telling a great story without a single limitation placed upon it because it belongs to a genre.
Like Watership Down, Plague Dogs was written by Richard Adams, his statement against the horrors of vivisection.The story follows Rowf and Snitter, two dogs who escape from an animal research laboratory (just outside the Lakeland village of Coniston), and their attempts to evade capture, at first by farmers for killing sheep, and later by soldiers for reasons more sinister.By today's standards the animation does not look at all smooth - though I prefer this handmade quality, and I also appreciate the synthesised soundtrack, though it lapses into silliness at times.
They escape into the wilderness, and after the deaths of livestock and humans, it is believed that they carry the bubonic plague, putting the Lake District, and the entire UK at risk, leading up to a search by teams to destroy these two dogs.The film is not for the faint of heart, there is a lot of violence in it, including some animal abuse.
it's kind of hard to describe why this film is so good, because of all the things it manages to execute to near perfection.The animation, for it's time, is amazing, especially seeing that Martin Rosen's approach to this and "Watership Down" (another great) was to make the world and the animal characters in it seemingly realistic to a key (to an awkward point, when they draw out the dogs "package").
Nonetheless, the settings are dreary and threatening for our characters Rowf and Snitter (voiced by John Hurt, who also voiced Fifer in Watership Down) to traverse, and both the animals and even the humans are very well done.Such a provocative story as well, one that makes this more of an adults film rather than a children's (given a PG-13 rating for a few bloody reasons).
Wherever you stand on the issue, this film still manages to prove its point well, and makes you think about the aspects of animal experimentation/cruelty in labs.To top it off with dark story elements, such as the dogs trying to revert to the "wolf" ways to kill to survive, and bloody details of injuries, attacks on both animals and humans (one in particular that Snitter did not mean the cause may very well scar you for life), "The Plague Dogs" never ceases to amaze in my eyes.This film is definitely one to see at least once in your life, and many times thereafter if you truly grasp what the film attempts to evoke to its audience. |
tt0091954 | Sid and Nancy | The film opens on 12 October 1978, with several police officers dragging Sid Vicious (Gary Oldman) out of the Hotel Chelsea following the death of his girlfriend, Nancy Spungen (Chloe Webb). Sid is soon driven to a police station and upon arrival is asked to describe what happened. Police officers become frustrated when Sid is visibly troubled and unable to speak.
A little more than a year earlier, in 1977, close friends and band members Sid and Johnny Rotten (Andrew Schofield) meet Nancy, a heroin-addicted groupie who had come to London to bed the Sex Pistols. Sid dismisses her at first, as her sexual intentions are obvious, but begins dating her after feeling sympathy for the rejection she faces from fellow punk stars and after she sells him heroin; it is implied that she introduces him to the drug. The two fall deeply in love, but their self-destructive, drug-fueled relationship frays Sid's relationship with the rest of the band, which eventually breaks up on 17 January 1978, in the midst of a disastrous American tour which features Sid strung out of his mind, often drunk or on meth, and physically violent. Although several of his friends and acquaintances warn him of Nancy's devastating effect on his life, Sid stubbornly ignores these warnings.
Sid, now living in New York, attempts to start a solo career with Nancy as his manager, only to be dismissed as a has-been. By now, both he and Nancy are heavily addicted to heroin, and Nancy has spiraled into a deep depression. Sid loses interest in Nancy sexually and wants out of a suicide pact he made with her. Their love affair ends tragically one night when, during an argument in which Sid announces his plans to stop using heroin and return to England to re-start his life, a suicidal Nancy begs him to kill her. She attacks him and they fight in a drug-induced haze, leading to him stabbing her, although whether or not it was intentional is left to interpretation. They fall asleep and later Nancy awakes and stumbles into the bathroom, where she collapses and dies. Sid is bailed out temporarily by his mother who is also a heroin addict. After getting a pizza, some kids convince him to dance with them. Meanwhile, a taxi with Nancy riding in the back seat picks Sid up and drives away as the two embrace. The postscript then says that Vicious died of an intentional heroin overdose, and they were buried together. Their gravestone read: "R.I.P. Nancy and Sid." | cult, murder | train | wikipedia | Gary Oldman plays Sid Vicious, the bassist for British punk rock group the Sex Pistols.
Filled with all sorts of sex, drugs, and rock and roll, Sid and Nancy is a seriously wild ride.If there's anything that makes this film, it's Gary Oldman and Chloe Webb.
Instead, I only want to learn about it in vulgar detail from a great film like Sid and Nancy..
Finally upgraded from VHS to the special edition DVD of this Alex Cox film about the ill fated Sid Vicious & his honey Nancy Spungen.Watched it twice in fact , just had to hear the commentary from Cox because he is a director who I admire for trying to tap into the conscious of the subject he tackles.As an old punk myself it would be easy for me to be biased and lean with a nostalgic slant with the film, but truth is this film doesn't glamorise the duo because they are portrayed as the pathetic self destructive couple they were.
The film perfectly captures the time frame of what is indisputably the music and cultural phenomenon known as Punk Rock, the only blight on this great piece of work is the ending, which as Cox agrees is far too romanticised after the harshness the viewer has just sat thru.
Yet this film ranks as one of the most honest and frank music biography movies out on the market, and I urge anyone who stays away from it because of an aversion to Punk and it's offshoots to seek it out ASAP.The acting from Gary Oldman & Chloe Webb is nothing short of amazing, the photography from Roger Deakins is very impressive.........witness a scene as Vicious leaves a New Jersey prison and walks across a deserted scrap heap with New York prominent in the background, the twin towers cloaked in cloud .
I personally believe at least part of the discomfort comes from the fact that at some level, we DO understand Sid and Nancy, their love for each other, and the choices they make beneath the haze of addiction.I realize, seeing it with adult eyes, why my parents were so shocked I was watching this film in 1987.
The supporting cast deserves accolades as well - in particular, Andrew Schofield turns in a seamless portrayal of Johnny Rotten, who, unlike Sid, knows full well Malcolm MacLaren created him.Having read "And I Don't Want To Live This Life" by Debora Spungen, and having seen more than a handful of documentaries with live footage of the band throughout the years, what impressed me most was the consistency of tone that Oldman and Webb bring to their performances.
The movie's ending was unique among biopics where the truth is in dispute, in that it did not profess to know the answer to that burning question (did Sid kill Nancy?) any more than Sid knew himself.Why watch a film about a couple of junkies who came from unremarkable backgrounds and disappeared into the bleakness of drug addiction?
The brilliant performances of Gary Oldman and Chloe Webb in the title roles propel this bleak and depressing look into the calamitous relationship between Sex Pistols bass player Sid Vicious and American punk rock groupie Nancy Spungen.
These are two tortured souls in communion who seem at odds with just about every facet of society -- even the extreme punk rock counter-culture to which they both ostensibly belong.A major problem with the film (and all the more reason to tip our hats to the two leads) is that Sid and Nancy are written as such abrasive and disagreeable characters, one is hard pressed to relate to them on any meaningful level.And while the re-creation of their reckless and volatile rebelliousness is quite detailed and credible, we never get a sense of how they came to be so angry and tortured to begin with.
I think there are moments of visual poetry in this film, I think Gary Oldman's performance is excellent, but the script is a Hollywood hackneyed attempt to reduce the Sex Pistols to every stereotype and narrow prejudice those who were never punks have always harbored about the punk movement.
I was pleasantly surprised to find a coherent, energetic but ultimately melancholy study of co-dependency, with two terrific central performances.We get to know Chloe Webb's child-woman Nancy to a greater extent than we do Gary Oldman's wild-man Sid. Not the actors' fault.
Recent social history is very hard to capture through drama and Alex Cox must be grateful to have such a good plot device (a far from standard love story) to carry us through this difficult and much misunderstood period of history.Punk rock was born to be a cult.
A life consisting of drugs, sex and TV - often consumed all at the same time.Alex Cox's direction (possibly because he knew the punk movement first hand rather than through the papers) is first rate - like Quentin Tarantino lite - but he is just as much a flash-in-the-pan as Sid and Nancy himself.
This vivid recreation of the last, not quite desperate days of Sex Pistol Sid Vicious and his junkie/lover Nancy Spungen celebrates all the pathetic excesses of punk rock anarchy, but without the overwrought clichés Oliver Stone would later use to embalm kindred rock martyr Jim Morrison.
Gary Oldman brilliantly captures the ignorant anger (and sometimes disarming innocence) of the man described by Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren as a "fabulous disaster", and Chloe Webb is equally fine as the ugly duckling drug addict Nancy..
If you just watch the movie as the story of two tragic lovers and don't compare it to reality it's alright; I liked it a lot when I was a 14-year-old punk, heh.
I last saw this movie when it came out in the mid-1980s, and as a long-time aficionado of punk rock, one had to say that 'Sid and Nancy' was awful.
Check 'The Punk Rock Movie'; Sid actually could play, albeit in a basic 'Dee Dee Ramone' manner, and if you'd like to listen to the live bootlegs, they bear little resemblance to the incompetent racket served up by the 'Sex Pistols' in 'S & N'.
Gary Oldman, good actor that he is, does his best impersonation of Sid's lugubrious, cockney drawl but he's a little too healthy looking, in truth.Even as a depiction of 1977, the film fails to convince.
This starts with the death of Nancy Spungen (Chloe Webb) leaving Sid Vicious (Gary Oldman) catatonic as the police question him.
Interestingly, John Lydon also describes himself as being the only talented member of the Sex Pistols, and this is borne out by his musical output after their breakup, so it would be interesting to see a biopic about him.Not having seen any original footage or performances of the real Sid Vicious, I am not going to comment on whether Gary Oldman captures the character or not.
When people tell me they don't make films like Sid And Nancy anymore, I think it's a damned shame..
Alex Cox got the basic details correct: Sid and Nancy were low-life junkies; Sid was a replacement bass player for the Sex Pistols and couldn't play a lick; everyone hated Nancy; they lived in squalor; Sid ended up on Riker's Island, and Nancy ended up dead on a bathroom floor.Nearly every other detail in the movie was terribly inaccurate, everything from Sid and Nancy first meeting to how Nancy was positioned when she was found dead.
Sex Pistols bassist and Punk Rock icon Sid Vicious (Gary Oldman, in a staggering performance) is being questioned by police about the apparent murder of his girlfriend and world famous rock n' roll groupie Nancy Spungen (Chloe Webb, Twins, TV's China Beach).
After a brief first encounter there is no chemistry between these two classic lovers, but soon Nancy sees Sid at a Sex Pistols gig, jumping around on stage freely showing his lack of musical ability and its love at first sight.
The problem, unfortunately, is the protagonists.Although Oldman and Webb are very good in their roles, ultimately the film suffers from the fact that neither Sid Vicious nor Nancy Spungen were especially sympathetic figures.
Oldman, Webb and Schofield are fantastic as Sid, Nancy and Rotten alike and it's invigorating to watch the cast sing, spit and curse their way through the Pistols back catalogue.
Love and Cobain would end up being one of those tragic couples like Sid and Nacy, and John and Yoko.Gary Oldman stars as Sid Vicious.
OK, so seeing this film as a young "wanna be" punk-ster in my day I was enthralled by the free living, F the world, "no one cares anyway" lifestyle Sid and Nancy lived.
Watching 'Sid and Nancy' as somebody who has seen her fair share of great biopics and being a huge admirer of Gary Oldman, to me it didn't disappoint at all.
It is unflinching, uncompromising and at times depressing, but it's a riveting watch.Gary Oldman and Chloe Webb are absolutely outstanding in the lead roles, especially Oldman who gives one of his best performances from personal opinion here.
The characters are pretty vile at times but there is enough to make one feel sympathy for them.'Sid and Nancy' is atmospherically filmed and there is a real sense of authenticity to the costumes and setting.
'Sid and Nancy' is a depressing, devastating motion-picture, that works for 2 reasons: Gary Oldman & Chloe Webb.
Both of the actors are Mesmerising in their portrayals.'Sid and Nancy' portrays the life of Sid Vicious, bassist of the seminal punk rock band the Sex Pistols, and his relationship with girlfriend Nancy Spungen.
But anyway, its my all time favorite movie, and very romantic, like the garbage scene, and a good anti drug film too..
This powerful and mesmerising biopic centred around the life and times, and general demise and downward spiral of The Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious and his drug addicted American girlfriend Nancy Spungen is nothing short of harrowing and moving in equal measure.
Writer-director Alex Cox admirably gets a lot of mileage out of the short-but-not-sweet, doomed relationship between real-life British punker Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols and heroin-addict Nancy Spungen, his American girlfriend, played impeccably by Gary Oldman and Chloe Webb.
The shrewish, whiney, manipulative and very tragic Miss Spungen has found a soulmate in Sid Vicious (Oldman), the ultimate punk-rocker from the Sex Pistols.
To me the two standouts of this film was Alex Cox's symbolism and Gary Oldmans incredible( the word incredible just doesnt justify) performance as Sid. I could identify with Sid but not Nancy, and in Sid i saw fleeting glimpses of a scared little boy, lost in a big bad world.
Good acting by Oldman and Webb captured the chaotic drug-infused lifestyle of Sid and Nancy, Most of the time it was hard to watch their self-destructiveness which knew would end badly.
Sid and NancyLike EDM musicians, Hip-Hop artists and Pop vocalists, Punk rockers can make millions without ever knowing how to play a musical instrument.Case in point, the maladroit bassist in this drama.At the height of the Sex Pistols' popularity, crusty punker Sid Vicious (Gary Oldman) is introduced to American groupie Nancy Spungen (Chloe Webb).
The volatile union inevitably destroys the band before terminating the star-crossed lovers themselves in true punk fashion.While Oldman's acting début manages to electrify, auteur Alex Cox' 1986 adaptation of the 1978 events marginalizes lead singer Rotten's importance in the band's success, while glamourizing Vicious' drug abuse and his bad musicianship.
These two perfectly embody the Sid and Nancy we "knew." It's a great film to watch for style inspiration as well- fashion, art, music.
style) with a dead person and then tells the story of how they got there.The dead woman is Nancy Spungen, paramour of Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious (Gary Oldman).
Oldman's punk rock appearance looks so much like the real Sid Vicious, it's uncanny.
Sid and Nancy lived like pigs, one scene has them sitting up in bed, accepting their fate as they watch their hotel room go up in flames, played to a haunting music score.
This is the Story of Sid and Nancy and not of Punk Rock or the Sex Pistols.
Don't let the Movie put you off Punk Rock because it doesn't Portray the Essential Energy, Evolution, or Embryonic Essence of the Music and the Movement.It is a Great Film but can be a Hard Watch at Times.
Being this way I don't particularly enjoy seeing a realistic portrayal of a life of a person who is a violent junkie living a gutter-like life.I rated this a one because I personally believe movies should be entertaining unless they're rated educational, and I don't think this is.However based on what you find entertaining you may feel extremely different about this film.
I don't have a problem with anyone making a film about a love affair between two down-and-out junkies, but the heroin chic of some scenes (particularly the one where Sid&Nancy are kissing on some alley, while sickly-sweet sentimental music plays and garbage falls out of the sky) made me sick.
Is taking heroin and throwing your life away really so cool and romantic?The first half of the film is actually not that bad, but as soon as the Pistols break up and Nancy shows up and starts her screeching, all we are left with are with endless fighting and screaming, followed by tearful reconciliation and (god forbid) sex scenes.
The story itself is more focused on the self-destructive life of Sid Vicious, who was the popular bass player of this group and his girlfriend Nancy Spungen (played by Chloe Webb).
As Sex Pistols' bassist Sid Vicious and his junkie/groupie girlfriend Nancy Spungen, Gary Oldman and Chloe Webb do such a chillingly good job of climbing inside the roles and reliving their pitifully wasted lives, that documentary footage (available on the Criterion DVD version) is that much more eerie to watch, making it seem as if they were channeling the very souls of these damned and doomed lovers, rather than just role-playing.Perhaps a larger part of the tragedy of this story is that in the telling, the audience never really does come to understand what the hell all the fuss was about, as if being a part of the punk movement wasn't so much a way of making a statement about rebellion against anything specific, as it was against living life itself; embracing the doctrine of "live fast, die young and leave a beautiful corpse," with the "beauty" part completely ripped from the equation.In spite of the overall bleakness of the subject matter, director Cox does manage to throw in several stunning visuals and set pieces; scenes that have the startling effect of suddenly finding a sunflower growing from a pile of dog feces.
Gary Oldman is on superb form as punk icon, Sid Vicious, with Chloe Webb being just as good, as the screwed-up New York junkie, Nancy Spungen.
I definitely agree with others on here, the book "And I don't wanna live this life" by Nancy's mother, Deborah, is a powerful look into her daughter and the effects of drugs and Sid had on a great deal of people.
If Nancy Spungen was anything at all like Chloe Webb portrays her here, it's no wonder Sid Vicious stabbed her to death.
But then what is the point of filming this if not to remind us of how great and important the band seemed to contemporaries?Sid and Nancy is an incredible bummer to watch because it fails to deliver the goods musically and never conveys the frenzied excitement that greeted the first wave of punk.
(We know it was drugs.) Surely there is some connection to the Sex Pistols' own spectacular act of self-immolation - they lasted less than two years - but the film doesn't provide answers.Gary Oldman comes across more restrained than usual, an odd choice.
Even after he meets Nancy Spungen (Chloe Webb), he still seems like he wants nothing more than to be bad, living the most self-destructive lifestyle imaginable.
While both Sid and Nancy seem real enough, the rest of the band (and their performances) look nothing like the real Sex Pistols.
As such, Oldman makes Sid Vicious out to be the tragic punk, representing the adversity of the then burgeoning neo-conservative era.In all, a film worth watching..
Having been a fan of the Sex Pistols and Sid Vicious for only a few months the first time I watched this movie, I took it all as fact, which it clearly is not.
Gary Oldman gives what is probably his most convincing performance as Sid Vicious, the doomed punk rocker.
Chloe Webb is fascinating as the manipulative, manic Nancy and Gary Oldman gives his best performance ever as the talentless, witless Sid Vicious who was lucky (or unlucky) enough to be there at the right time when punk and the Sex Pistols took off.
If I'd seen this film without knowing anything about punk rock, or the lives of sid and nancy I could have probably appreciated this film a lot more.
Where Do I start, this movie has the storyline close to the real facts.The tale of Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen is played brilliantly by Gary Oldman and, stage actress Chloe Webb.Gary Oldman is highly believable as the punk rocker.But there's something that I can't really put my finger on, all I know is once you've seen this movie, Gary Oldman's charm and Andrew Schofield's(playing Johnny Rotton)dry sarcasm will make you want to watch it over and over again.It's just that good.
I can't recall ever seeing a better feel-bad movie, especially not one with two blistering lead performances like those of Gary Oldman and Chloe Webb.
The story of Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen is a brutally tragic testament to the punk attitude.
The story of Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols and the drug-addicted groupie Nancy Spungen is well-known in popular culture. |
tt0107207 | In the Name of the Father | Story of Gerry Conlon, purported ringleader of the Guildford Four, a group of three Irishmen and one English woman wrongly imprisoned for the 1974 IRA bombing of a pub in Guildford, England, that left five people dead. Conlon's father Guiseppe was subsequently imprisoned along with six other Conlon relatives who became known as the Maguire Seven.=====================================The story opens with a flash-forward to the bombing of a pub in the Guildford suburb of London. The pub, frequented by British soldiers, was targeted by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) as an act of terrorism.A woman driving a car listens to a cassette recording of Gerry Conlon, a Northern Irish political prisoner. Gerry speaks of his younger years living in Belfast where he'd steal lead sheets from the roofs of row houses & sell them. One day, while holding a piece of piping, he's shot at by British soldiers who mistake him for a sniper, believing the pipe is a rifle. Gerry runs into the streets and through several homes while being chased. He inadvertently starts a small riot and joins the mob throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails. Members of the IRA, who'd been using one of the houses Gerry runs through as a munitions cache, find Gerry and threaten to shoot him in the leg. Gerry's father, Giuseppe, told by his daughters that their brother is in trouble, rushes to the scene and talks to the IRA leader, who tells Giuseppe that they are just trying to scare Gerry into behaving. Giuseppe decides to send Gerry by boat to London in the hopes that he'll find work & avoid the Troubles in Belfast.On the boat to London, Gerry meets his friend Paul Hill. The two arrive in London & go immediately to a squatter's house where their friend Patrick Armstrong lives with a small group of hippies. Gerry and Paul also visit the home of his aunt, Annie MaGuire. Gerry and Paul seem to enjoy their time in London until one day one of Patrick's British friends, Jim, acts hostile toward them & they decide to leave the squat. They wander through London, finally settling on a bench in a park where they're accosted by a homeless man, Charlie Burke, who's carved his initials into the bench. Charlie is Irish and they talk for a time. Paul and Gerry continue to walk through London until they pass the house of a prostitute. She refuses to talk to them when they try to return the wallet she drops. Gerry walks into her unlocked apartment and finds a stash of money in her bedroom. Gerry takes the money and the two spend the night in a hotel.In Guilford, the bomb goes off in the soldier's pub, killing five people, four of whom are in the military. The British police begin to hunt for suspects. Not long before, legislation, the Prevention of Terrorism Act, is passed in Parliament that allows the British police to hold potential suspects for seven days before they are formally charged.Gerry returns to Belfast and rejoins his family. In London, Jim, who'd been hostile to Gerry and Paul talks to the police and identifies the two as troublemakers. Paul, who'd remained in London, is arrested & Gerry recognizes him on TV by his shoes. A few days later the Brits invade the Conlon home and arrest Gerry, taking him back to London. Gerry is held without formal charges and is tortured and interrogated, being kept awake for seven days straight. He is beaten severely and forced to look at the forensic photos of the victims. His interrogators also tell him that his aunt Annie is being charged as well with bombmaking, operating out of her home.
Eventually, Paul is brought to Gerry, having confessed himself, and he tells Gerry to do the same. Gerry still refuses to cooperate until one of the policemen threatens to kill his father. Gerry relents and signs his name to a false statement of confession to the bombings.Gerry and Paul, Paddy Armstrong and their friend Carole Richardson, known collectively as the Guildford Four, are charged with the bombings. While in a processing facility awaiting trial, Gerry's father is also brought in, accused of being part of the bombmaking conspiracy involving Annie Maguire. Giuseppe talks to Gerry, who feels that his rough relationship with his father turned him to thievery and that he was destined to get into trouble like this. Gerry has a minor, brief breakdown but his father is able to calm him.The trial begins under heavy security. The prosecution contends that Gerry, Paul, Patrick and Carole committed the bombings, however solid evidence is lacking and they only have the confessions made by the accused, which the police commissioner, Dickson, claims were not obtained under duress. Annie Maguire & her family are accused of bombmaking, a group that includes her youngest son, who was also beaten into confessing. On the witness stand, Gerry admits that he robbed the hooker's home and that he & Paul met Charlie Burke in the park. The prosecution claims no knowledge of Burke's existence.The trial ends with the Guilford Four being found guilty. All are given lengthy sentences, Gerry's is a minimum of 30 years. The judge makes a point of stating that he'd give Gerry the death penalty for treason if Gerry had been so accused. Giuseppe is also sentenced to 15 years for smuggling explosives to Annie Maguire. Gerry himself develops an intense hatred for lawyers.In voiceover we hear Gerry speaking on the tapes that he's made up for an attorney named Gareth Peirce. She goes to the park where Paul and Gerry met Charlie Burke & even finds his name carved into the bench.Giuseppe & Gerry are sent to Park Royal, a maximum security prison. Barker, the prison's warder, makes Gerry & his father wear blue outfits with yellow stripes, branding them as the worst criminal population. The prison is mostly inhabited by English convicts and any Irish prisoners are ostracized and persecuted. Gerry falls in with a small group of Jamaicans who have a large supply of LSD disguised as a jigsaw puzzle. Gerry spends time getting stoned with them but his father disapproves. Gerry promises to stay off the drugs, even after Giuseppe dies.Gerry meets another Irish convict named Joe McAndrews. Joe reveals that he and his people were responsible for the Guilford Pub bombings and for smuggling the explosives used in the attack. McAndrews informs the police that they're holding innocent people for the crime but British police still refuse to let them out. McAndrews is shunned and persecuted like every other Irish prisoner, even starting a fight with the minions of a hulking Brit named Ronnie Smalls. McAndrews threatens to kill Smalls' family since he knows their address. Smalls backs off. McAndrews and Gerry also stage a protest to call attention to the Conlons' innocence, seizing control of the cellblock for a brief period until Barker sends in a riot squad to retake the prison by violent force. After the seizure is quelled, during a screening of The Godfather for the prison population, McAndrews sprays Barker with lighter fluid and sets him aflame. Gerry, shocked by the horror of McAndrews' violent methods, separates himself from his fellow countryman. McAndrews is remanded to a different prison.Gareth Peirce becomes the Conlons' attorney through Gerry's mother's influence. Gerry instantly dislikes Gareth but is gradually convinced she means to help him and his father. A campaign to prove the innocence of the Conlons & the Guildford Four and the Maguire Seven begins to gain popularity. Giuseppe, despite increasingly debilitating respiratory problems, manages some of the campaign from his and Gerry's cell. After the burning of Barker, Gerry tells his father he'll help with the campaign. Peirce gives Gerry a tape recorder and tells him to recount every detail of his life.One night Gerry notices his father has stopped breathing. He's able to revive Giuseppe long enough to have him transported out of the prison for medical care, however, Gerry is not permitted to accompany his father. A priest later visits Gerry to tell him that his father died.Gerry continues to meet with Peirce, developing a tremendous amount of trust for her. He continues Giuseppe's campaign work in earnest. The British government tries to transfer him to a Scottish prison to prevent him from working the campaign and meeting with Peirce but the effort fails.Peirce reviews the judiciary files of the Conlons court case. She's only allowed to view Giuseppe's files on the orders of Dickson. One day she visits the court archives and inadvertently passes a nasty cold on to the court clerk. A few days later she visits the archives again and finds a man substituting for the clerk. The man behind the counter asks Peirce if she wants the files for either Giuseppe or Gerry Conlon. Peirce seizes the opportunity to view Gerry's files and finds a folder containing the statement made by Charlie Burke that could vindicate Gerry himself. Attached to the statement is a handwritten note from Dickson himself that reads "Not to be shown to the defence". Peirce steals the file and begins to build a new case and trial for Gerry and the members of the Guilford Four.The Four are brought back to London. Gareth leads their defense and, following an impassioned recounting of the sentences handed down to the Four and Annie Maguire's family, presents Charlie Burke's statement to the court. She accuses Dickson openly of destroying the lives of the defendants and of their complicity in the death of Giuseppe Conlon. The judge calls for order and reviews the evidence and declares that the Four are innocent and free to go. However, the judge refuses to charge Dickson or his accomplices with any misconduct and also does not declare the late Giuseppe innocent. Gerry and Paul refuse to be escorted from the building by the bailiffs. Gerry, standing with his family, makes a statement to the media in front of the court building saying he'll carry on the campaign to clear his father's name. | tragedy, dramatic, violence, historical, realism | train | imdb | Based on a true and very touching story, the film recounts the story of Gerry Conlon (Day-Lewis) who is wrongly accused as an IRA terrorist.
Although there have been some minor modifications for the purpose of the film, the backbone of the story is left completely intact.The two protagonists, Daniel Day-Liewis and Pete Postlethwaithe are delivering powerful performances, and they both deserved the Oscar hands-down.
The Conlons had the terribly bad luck to be at the wrong place, in the wrong time, and with the wrong nationality; the also have the great misfortune to be captured by people who in their quest to show results were shamelessly willing to risk indicting people who could possibly be innocent."In the Name of the Father" is a fantastic film, which one should not miss.
Gerry Conlon is a small time Belfast thief who gets excluded from Northern Ireland by the IRA for anti-social behaviour and goes to live in England with his old school friend Paul Hill.
Of course the material also helps from a great cast that deliver well and do their bit to keep it edgy and not sentimental.Day-Lewis is a very good actor and he does well here making his Gerry go through the stages of being a cheeky young man, frightened, shell-shocked, defeated, angry and then driven without us ever thinking he is a different character.
Some terrific scenes include the beginning, when Gerry and his friends are chased by British soldiers after being mistaken for IRA snipers, the trial in London, the prison scenes (which expose the loneliness and honesty of the characters rather than the crude violence and gang rapes of so many other pathetic prison movies), and of course the powerful ending, where the marvelous dramatic talents of all the actors are evinced in a final crescendo.
He spends 15 years in jail, fighting for his innocence and for truth.After working with Daniel Day Lewis in "My left foot", director Jim Sheridan teams again with the actor for this drama.
Day Lewis performance in "My left foot" was awarded with an Oscar, but the actor could have been given the same prize for his play of Gerry Conlon.Strong screenplay, actors and soundtrack -with music of Gavin Friday and Maurice Seezer and songs of Irish stars Bono and Sinead O'Connor..
It still remains very impressive and the idea that injustice in the name of protecting the country should be allowed is awful and so it is good that at least some movie makers aren't afraid to protest against it.The movie tells the story about Gerry Conlon and his old school friend Paul Hill.
Despite some liberties taken with history, the film still makes a strong point, however.Daniel Day-Lewis plays Gerry Conlon, a young man falsely accused along with several other friends and family members, of bombing a London pub in 1974.
Pete Postlethwaite is another example of fine acting as he is the best actor in England since who ever was the last greatest actor.Daniel Day Lewis plays Gerry Conlon who is a seventies hippie who doesn't want to grow up.
But when Gerry gets there he might as well wish he never went there in the first place as the trouble from Belfast follows him and before you know it a bomb goes off in a pub near to where he is staying and is not long arrested for the bomb along with his friends and family including his father.From there we are taken into this grieving story of strength, hope, tragedy and family.
Jim Sheridan's astonishingly fantastic 'In the Name of the Father' tells the brutally direct story of a wrongfully accused family who are tortured into making a false confession and imprisoned by the British justice system.
Daniel Day-Lewis delivers a suitably explosive performance as he breathes fire into the role while Pete Postlethwaite is sublime and equally outstanding as Gerry's father, Giuseppe.
I do not see this film as being political nonsense at all.Rather it serves as a warning of what can happen when blanket stereotyping is allowed to influence the course of justice.As Gareth Peirce (impressively portrayed by the excellent Emma Thompson) points out, the only reason Giueseppe Conlon and Co were tried in the first place was on the shaky premise that "they were bloody well Irish".
As Irish people living in England in the 1970s, they must therefore have been terrorists.Logical?I thought not.The authorities never thought for a second that they might actually have been trying to escape that nonsense through carving out a new life for themselves in England.With a British public baying for blood, the police capitulated by picking up the first "paddies" they found and making an example of them, without making any serious efforts to root out the real perpetrators and ensuring they were rendered incapable of causing more harm through doling out lengthy imprisonments to them, as opposed to ruining the lives of an innocent family.Ironically of course such actions could well have served to make terrorist sympathisers out of the Conlons through the horrific treatment meted out to them!It didn't of course but there is always the danger in that type of case that a person could become embittered to that extent.Obviously given the unstable climate of the time Irish people in England were sometimes regarded with suspicion,yet the fact remains that the events portrayed in the film were unacceptable in a supposed western democracy committed to the rule of law.While neither side was entirely innocent the fact remains that England was undeniably culpable in this instance, and the judiciary involved in the case must bear full responsibilty for the devestating effects of their knee-jerk ruling, given to appease an irrational and hysterical public.In this respect the Conlons and Co can viably be seen by some as "Irish martyrs".
While I am no fan of Hollywood fare which seeks to glamourise Irish terrorists at the expense of England who is invariably portrayed as the cold and unrelenting oppressor (inaccurate and unfair in the present day I feel) I strongly believe that in this case the criticism and negative portrayal of the English legal system is justified to a considerable extent.The film has especial resonance and significance for us today in the wake of al-Quaeda and the resultant perceptions of Muslims as a whole as being "the enemy" in certain quarters.The recent incarceration of an innocent Syrian who had lived his entire adult life in Canada, and who was imprisoned purely on the basis of his ethnicity, only serves to remind us of the perils of "judging a book by its cover" and making snap judgements, a danger which is admirably illustrated in this well-acted film..
IRA plays indeed an important rule in the events, but the main thing is that this movie is the true story of a family that has been destroyed by the madness of the time, by the need of a scapegoat to pay for all the crimes that were committed.
Containing brilliant performances from Pete Postelthwaite & Daniel Day Lewis as father & son Conlon respectively, In The Name of The Father is a truly great film that demands not only your head, but also your heart.
Only thing that can be fair in this world is your HEART !!Though Daniel Day Lewis' character is not your typical role model from the start, you know that the Heart within isn't black (more so from a scene just before he says 'In all my godforsaken life, I've never known what it was to kill somebody until now')..The transformation of Day Lewis' character from a man who wasn't responsible enough to take care of himself to a man who vows to fight for his father's name is brilliantly heartwarming!It just pains me to see how cruel 'WE' as a species can be to not accept our mistakes, even when we know that it can make someone's life miserable than HELL!!In all the movie is good till the time you don't think of it as someone's life being played out in front of you.As soon as you realize that,it transforms into something you cant just think of as just another brilliant movie.Instead your heart goes out to the people who actually had to go through all this..Well directed, superbly acted, brilliant,heart breaking and heart warming at the same time !!Those who found it beautiful can go for 'Conviction' as their next choice of another heartwarming 'eye treat' !.
Based on real life events following Gerald Conlon ( Daniel Day-Lewis) a carefree wild youth who is accused of the Guildford bombing and imprisoned after coerced confession.
Daniel Day-Lewis is reliable as ever playing a real-life character that goes through a transformation from an energetic wild youth to an introspective determined son.Terrifying but biased premise with a superb performance by Pete Postlethwaite.
After all, it has a lot going for it: great acting (particularly from its headlining stars: Day-Lewis, Postlethwaite and Thompson), solid and assured direction as well as, obviously, a thought-provoking story about four individuals who were wrongly imprisoned for over 15 years for a crime they did not commit (as well as seven others sent to prison on separate charges).
Pete Postlethwaite's and Daniel Day-Lewis' incredible reenactment of father and son wrongly convicted for the 1974 Guildford pub bombings and their different approaches on trying to get the case appealed.
Gerry Conlon (Daniel Day-Lewis) is a rebellious young Irishman who ends up being wrongly accused of the crime, and gets life in prison along with three other friends.
I always thought the actions of Daniel Day-Lewis better than the own film, more in this film we have a different case, the actions of Daniel Day-Lewis is good as the film in the Name of the Father is a film that portrays a great injustice, the cast is very good, Daniel Day-Lewis in my opinion is his second best performance, losing to Lincoln only Pete Postlethwaite, Emma Thompson, Beatie Edney, Corin Redgrave, Mark Sheppard, etc., the direction is the competent Jim Sheridan, the soundtrack is excellent, the costumes is very good, the pace is good, the more times the pace gets a little slow, in the Name of the Father is one of the best films of the glorious decade of 90, with a great cast and an impeccable performance of Daniel Day-Lewis.
He manages to have a film with an important message, but it draws you in with complex, real characters and grippingly beautiful storytelling.And of course it has a stellar cast with nothing but excellent performances from Daniel Day Lewis, Emma Thompson, Pete Postlethwaite.
I was sailing when I got this DVD , I dint have anything else to watch so I just played it to get my free time handled,I was totally blown when I was halfway through the movie,It starts with Daniel day Lewis playing as Gerry being this carefree guy and living life to the fullest, but something happens and he gets arrested ,till here the story was just normal ,but at a critical point there comes a person in the prison unexpectedly who changes his life forever.
Besides the story, which is good (and even better when you keep in the back of your mind that it really happened), the best of this movie is Daniel Day-Lewis' acting.
After I watched the movie , I spent hours contemplating on Gerry Conlon and the loss he suffered.Daniel Day Lewis is simply stunning .
He stays in the character, he does what he needs to do to be in the character and completely shows on screen which he has a very strong presence.At the same time, not to forget Pete who plays Gerry's father and they share the same prison cell in the movie.
In the movie In the Name of the Father, we get a story involving injustice - people who are accused and found guilty of crimes they didn't commit - but why it works is centrally two things: even if you don't know a thing about the IRA (though it might help to know just a little) or the struggles in Belfast in the 1970's and how it involved the United Kingdom, people see injustice happening every day, with many races.
But trickier, and what works greater, is the father son element of the story, where Daniel Day Lewis is Gerry Conlon is in prison for life along with his father (a very innocent man) Giuseppe, who is there for the simple reason of accused corroboration.In a way it's probably the most accessible film that has been made, that I can think of off the top of my head, about the controversies and "war" of the IRA over the years.
Led by magnificent acting performances and great direction, In the Name of the Father offers the audience a terrific reenactment of one of the most infamous miscarriages of justice in the history of Britain, as it portrays the story of Gerry Conlon and his father, and the false accusations made against them in regards to the Guildford pub bombings in 1974.
Daniel Day-Lewis and Pete Postlethwaite give extremely passionate performances, as they serve as the centerpiece for a film that strikes a strong balance between exploring the estranged father-son relationship and the surrounding political issues.
Daniel Day Lewis gives an unsurprisingly good performance but the crown goes to Pete Postlethwaite in his role as Patrick "Giuseppe" Conlon, Paul's father.
He is without a doubt one of the best actors of our time.Gerry Conlon (Daniel Day Lewis) grew up in Belfast in the 70's when the IRA terrorist attacks were at its peak.
In prison, Gerry and his father continue to fight to prove their innocence with the help of an attorney named Gareth Pierce (Emma Thompson) and the more she digs into the story the more corruption she finds in the police procedures.The film manages to draw you in and make your blood boil due to all the injustices suffered by these characters.
Based on the true events surrounding the IRA bombing of 1974 in England, In the Name of the Father tells the story of Gerry Conlon; a small time thief who, along with his friends, is falsely accused of committing the heinous crime & after being coerced into confessing guilty by the British police during the brutal interrogation is sentenced to prison life along with his father who is also implicated in the crime during the trial.
The real-life character of Gerry Conlon is magnificently brought to life by Day-Lewis & he was simply at his best during the interrogation scene, making it the film's most intense sequence.
When it comes to In the Name of the Father, it was like being reminded of how powerful a performance could be and how films can truly reach into your heart and affect you.I don't know what makes Daniel Day-Lewis' performance so effective but I thought it was very much so.
This probably has little to do with this film in particular but as Roger Ebert has said (roughly), movies should be about emotions and ideas not facts.So, I think what makes In the Name of the Father so effective is that its a personal film with a very talented cast, a good story and a director that knows how to let the magic happen.
Sheridan hit a bulls-eye with Daniel Day-Lewis in the key role of Gerry Conlon (which I think most directors do when they choose to hire one of our greatest cinematic heroes), but it was the surprise performance by the typical secondary character actor Pete Postlethwaite that shook me to the core.
Pleading their innocence to an unsympathetic jury and public had got them nowhere, so they were left to fight for their freedom from the inside.As father and son Giuseppe and Gerry Conlon, both Pete Postlethwaite and Daniel Day-Lewis give passionate and outstanding performances as they struggle with both their failed relationship and the battle to prove their innocence.
The tragic, moving story of how the "Guildford Four" lost their freedom, and fifteen years of their lives, for something they were never a part of makes for a most upsetting and aggravating film.The powerhouse performances from leads Day-Lewis and Postlethwaite are sensational, as is Emma Thompson's showing as compassionate lawyer Gareth Pierce.Not seeing this film would almost be as grave an injustice as was that which befell these innocent people.Monday, June 12, 1995 - Video.
Gerry has to deal with pent-up aggression that he has built up against his father for years while also trying to survive in a British prison as an accused IRA member.Even after Joe McAndrew (Don Baker) is arrested and confesses to the police that he was behind the Guildford bombing and the people they have in prison were innocent, Gerry and Giuseppe remain in prison suffering more and more by the day.
Based on the true story of Gerry Conlon who in 1974 was falsely accused of blowing up an IRA bomb in an English pub, being tortured and coerced into signing a confession of a crime he did not commit, resulting in his imprisonment along with his father.
In the film, Gerry Conlon (Daniel Day-Lewis) is a trouble young man who would rather explore free love and dope than get a real job.
After several hours of torture and torment, Gerry is forced to sign confessions and, eventually be sent to jail along with his family for the accused making of the bomb.A great father-to-son relationship is developed throughout the Conlon's time in prison.
Instead, In The Name of the Father, the audience is exposed to a beautifully crafted film portraying the injustice of the Guildford Four trial, with the central focus regarding the emotional conflict between father and son."In the Name of the Father" remains faithful to the story of Gerry Conlon (Daniel Day-Lewis), a man wrongfully accused of the Guildford pub bombing in London, 1974. |
tt0062185 | Reflections in a Golden Eye | At an Army fort in Georgia, bordering a forest reserve, are Major Weldon Penderton (MARLON BRANDO) and his wife Leonora (ELIZABETH TAYLOR); their neighbors, Lt. Col. Morris Langdon (BRIAN KEITH), his wife Alison (JULIE HARRIS), and their Filipino houseboy, Anacleto (ZORRO DAVID); and Private Williams (ROBERT FORSTER), assigned to the post stables. One October 1948 morning, Major Penderton summons Private Williams to clean up the lawn of his house at the fort. Leonora is off riding on her stallion, Firebird, accompanied by Colonel Langdon. They romance in the woods. Returning home, Leonora finds Private Williams, who usually cares for her horse, has completed his yard task. She engages him in idle chatter as she writes invitations for an elaborate party she is giving That evening. the Pendertons entertain the Langdons. The atmosphere is strange: Penderton, who has no sexual relationship with his wife, seems to condone the obvious interest of his superior officer. Alison, who suffers through the evening's by-play, has been ill since the death, three years prior, of her malormed baby. Her chief consolation now is the companionship of her effete houseboy, Anacleto, who shares her cultural interests, while disdaining the crudities of her husband. Tonight, they are being observed by Private Williams, hovering in the darkness outside, fascinated by Leonora's attention that afternoon. The next morning, Leonora goes riding, accompanied by both Langdon and her husband. To their amazement, they see Private Williams, stark naked, also riding through the woods. When the Pendertons are asleep that night, in separate bedrooms, Williams returns, squats besides Leonora's bed, staring at her until dawn, then returns to his barracks. When he leaves the house, he is observed by Alison. Alison questions Leonora, next day, when she comes to borrow Anecleto to work at her party that night, but the idea strikes Leonora as being ridiculous. Penderton now decides to prove himself by secretly taking out his wife's horse. Firebird runs away, with Penderfon getting badly scratched by trees in the woods. He beats the horse before dropping with exhaustion. To his horror, Penderfon discovers that he has been observed by Private Williams, sunbathing on a rock. Leonora's party in progress, Penderton returns to the stable, stares, fascinated, at Williams caring for the horse's cuts, before tending to his own wounds. Penderfon returns home with a phony story that causes Leonora to go to the stables to learn the truth. She returns to the party and whips her husband across the face with a riding crop. Alison, meanwhile, is in her sickbed across the way, visited briefly by Captain Weincheck (IRVIN DUGAN), who is being forced into retirement by Penderton, for his lack of "leadership qualities." Unable to sleep, Alison again thinks she sees a figure standing near the Penderton house. Anacleto sits with her, after, and talks about his dreams. In the following days, Penderton's fascination with Williams grows more intense. The Major has difficulfy with his lectures, cutting one short to ride out in search of the sunbathing soldier. After a boxing match, Penderton sfalks the boy, picking up his discarded candy wrapper to add to his secret collection of fetishes, including an antique silver spoon stolen from Captain Weincheck. That night, Alison awakes and from her window sees somebody stealthily enter the Penderton house. She puts on a coat, rushes after the dark figure. Bursting into Penderton's study, she tells him her husband has gone up to Leonora's bedroom. She rushes upstairs, sees Williams instead. Not doubting her, but hoping to avoid a direct confrontation, Penderton eases her back to her own house, where they are greeted by her husband and Anacleto. Alison confronts her husband with the news that his mistress is deceiving him with an enlisted man. With the assistance of Anacleto, she begins packing, planning a separation and divorce. Langdon is convinced that Alison, gone mad, hasn't seen anybody in Leonora's bedroom. The doctors concur and the next day Alison is taken to a sanitarium in Virginia by Langdon and Anacleto. Before Langdon can return to the post, Alison dies of a heart attack and Anacleto vanishes. Langdon and Leonora have difficulty renewing their passion, with Alison dead. They go out to the woods, leaving Penderton to exercise with his barbells. Pressure mounts within Penderton. The strain finally shows on Private Williams, as well. He provokes a fight in the barracks latrine. Unable to control his voyeur instincts any longer, he later gets up from bed, makes his way through a thunderstorm to the Penderton house and Leonora's bedroom. This time, standing by an upstairs window, Penderton sees him. He takes his pistol and shoots the young soldier as he squats by Leonora's sleeping body. The shot startles her awake; Langdon rushes across from his house. | pornographic, murder, storytelling | train | imdb | If one comes to it cold, hearing only that it is only a movie about "a closeted homosexual in the military", which is true of the Brando character, and expects some kind of serious dramatic narrative experience - like for example in "The Sergeant" which also came out in 1968 - the approach of "Reflections", which I think is not unlike that of a Beckett play, will be a surprise, and one might say, "this is a weird movie - it's not a good drama." But I believe that would be a mistake.
Marlon Brando took his place and in my opinion gave a very underrated performance as the repressed latent homosexual Major married to Elizabeth Taylor.Brando and Taylor dusted off a couple of southern accents previously used in films, Brando from Sayonara and Taylor from Raintree County.
What we have here is a good drama whose story is based on a book by Carson McCullers, featuring superb performances from Marlon Brando who plays a U.S. Army Major in an isolated military fort somewhere in the south, who gradually discovers his homosexuallity and Liz Taylor, simply great here in the role of his cheating wife.
There have probably never been two more incompatible married couples in the movies than the brooding introverted officer played by Brando and his bawdy, outgoing wife, a fine part for Elizabeth Taylor at her funniest and most natural.
The time is late 1948 and the setting is a U.S. Army post in Georgia, bordering on a forest preserve
A Southern amoral wife called Leonora (Elizabeth Taylor) finds a way for her stream desire in an adulterous affair with Lt. Col.
Langdon (Brian Keith), carried on almost openly
Leonora gives aperture to her forcefulness and vigor in a passion for horses and riding
She is attached to a handsome white horse she calls Firebird and she provokes her husband by telling him that the animal is indeed a stallion with the emotional nature of man...Leonora's husband (Marlon Brando) is a devious, insecure, impotent Army major, a hidden homosexual preoccupied with an unsociable, lonely rider who canters around the field in the nude and whose sexual emotional stress is diminished, secretively, at the bedside of the major's wife holding her clothes and looking fixedly at her marvelous hot body
Private Williams (Robert Forster) is another lonely man fascinated by the fiery Leonora and her thoughtful and gentle comments to him
He takes to visiting the Penderton house at night looking attentively in the windows, observing with total recall and complete joy Leonora's nakedness, but also watching the Major in his study
Keith's neurotic wife (Julie Harris) is well aware of her husband's affair with Leonora but she only feels well from her close friendship with her houseboy, Anacleto (Zorro David), an affected companion who shares her penchant for the arts and is in every way the opposite of her abrupt, strong husband
Flavored with bitter insinuations and insulting sarcasms, Brando and Taylor's few scenes have enough flames to burn the silver screen
He's a tormented human being while she's delicious but shrill and insensitive
Aware of her physical beauty she fights back when she's rejected, instigating him with her impudent, insolent, shameless manner that offend his very being.
Marlon Brando as the macho Major she calls "prissy" does an amazing job with a role that requires him to be all emotionally buttoned up while just barely keeping a lid on an obsession he has with a serviceman (Robert Forster).The real standout in the cast is Brian Keith.
It's really about Marlon Brando as a sexually-repressed major, married to flirtatious belle Taylor but secretly lusting for stud-soldier Robert Forster (who rides his horse "barebacked and bare-assed").
She is married to a major (Marlon Brando) but has an established affair with a colonel (Brian Keith) since her husband seems not to accomplish with his marital duties, being a repressed homosexual feeling himself attracted against his will to a private soldier (Robert Forster).
Pseudo-smut can come off quite boring, sometimes laughable, if not handled properly.Set on an army base in the Deep South, the story revolves around Captain Penderton (Marlon Brando), a morose high-commanding officer and pent-up homosexual who disguises his humiliation with sadomasochistic acts.
Meanwhile, the Captain's shrewish, adulterous wife, Leonora (Elizabeth Taylor), a spoiled slob of a socialite who, after the death of her son, decides to make life a living hell for her husband, sexual distraction with Major Langdon (Brian Keith), her neighbor, while his crackpot invalid wife, Alison (Julie Harris), a walking suicide just waiting to happen, seems to find her only source of joy in the company of her devoted, extremely prissy houseboy who gets off on spouting poetry passages and flouncing around the room like `Tinkerbell.' God, love it-- is this America or what?The first and foremost problem with Huston's film is that its interest is derived not from the sordid characters but from the high-profile stars who play them.
A totally bizarre miscalculation on his part to achieve the shocking effect he was going for.You WILL stay with `Reflections in a Golden Eye' but be warned: it will leave you as empty as the film's characters, and you'll probably hate yourself in the end for caving in to your primitive, prurient curiosity.
Married major, Weldon Penderton (Marlon Brando), realises that he is actually a homosexual and his marriage to the beautiful but cruel Leonora (Liz Taylor) is nothing short of a sham.
Meanwhile, Leonora has been having an affair with another C.O, Lt-Col Langdon (Brian Keith), whose wife Alison Langdon (Julie Harris) recently miscarried during pregnancy and, in a bout of depression, mutilated her own breasts with a pair of garden shears (!) This complex situation comes to a head when Weldon starts to fantasise about a gay relationship with a young private, Williams (Robert Forster).
A homosexually repressed major (Marlon Brando) is unhappily married to his fun-loving wife (Elizabeth Taylor).
Since mostly everyone involved in this film is either dead or retired, I think it is safe to say that looking back, Reflections in a Golden Eye can be seen as the turning point in many of the careers of those involved, particularly director John Huston and actor Marlon Brando.
There are also some nice supporting roles from Julie Harris as the sick wife of a loveless husband and a young Robert Forster as a mysterious private with a fetish for horses.Again, this is a very bizarre tale and perhaps a second viewing is required to understand exactly what is trying to be said here.
Welcome to the world of Southern Gothic, a genre in its own right as director John Huston adapts Carson McCullers novel.The breakdown of the Hays Code only allowed such a picture to be released in the mid 1960s with a daring depiction of sexual mores and sexuality in an army base along with some nudity and repressed emotions.The film deals with a group of grotesques in a Southern army base after the second world war.
Elizabeth Taylor plays the slutty wife, Leonora of Major Penderton (Marlon Brando) who loves her horse, Firebird and as an affair with her neighbour Lt Colonel Langdon (Brian Keith.) There is a touch of the Cat on the Hot Tin Roof about Taylor's character, very much a spoilt rich girl on heat.A more subtle but also visceral performance is given by Brando.
Yet Penderton is a repressed homosexual maybe why he is prepared to turn a blind eye to Leonora's infidelity.Langdon's only solace is his time with Leonora, his own wife played by Julie Harris has had a traumatic breakdown resulting in self harm and he also has to deal with an effeminate Filipino houseboy who brings great comfort to his wife.Robert Forster is the final piece in the jigsaw.
A voyeur who has a perverted desire for Leonora and sneaks into her bedroom and watches her.Huston uses subtle use of light and visual tricks such as reflection in Private Williams golden eye to infuse the film with some artistic pretensions as well as various symbolisms.Its a steamy, hothouse melodrama from the south, it imbues carnage, a tragic ending.
He brings machismo and sympathy to a complicated character.The film just feels too pretentious though, Taylor is kind of replaying A Cat in a Hot Tin Roof and would go on to play a more better known role a year later dealing with the breakdown of a twisted, bitter married couple in Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf.Its Brando thats makes the film watchable and gives it a sort of quirkiness but I felt that this adaptation never gained full steam..
The film is full of sexual titillation and deeply erotic suggestion to tickle everyone, and presents us with striking and memorable visual imagery here and there.Marlon Brando's performance is not as masterful as some of his other roles, and I found his dialect, in this film, almost impenetrable in spots, but in the more violent emotional scenes, he delivers all the intensity you expect from him.The story itself concerns a web of related people, all trapped in relations where none of them get what they really want--husbands who look for sex outside of their marriages, youths and men who seek sexual satisfaction in fetishistic attachments to the belongings of a desired woman or man, and everybody wanting something from some person who cannot provide it--and somehow not finding companionship and fulfillment.
There is some attempt at an irony, setting these messy relationships in the context of an army-base, where (presumably) all people have clear roles to play within an efficient super-organism, in turn echoed in an early scene in which Major Penderton orders Private Williams to trim the woods near his home--and is then dismayed that his wishes are not carried out as he wishes--however, one doesn't get the feeling that the drama is well-crafted and organic.
Marlon Brando is just amazing in this intelligent film.Most people don't understand Brando's career choices during the sixties.But I think that as years go by,they will.His ideas were way ahead of his time.His talent and range were unbelievable.Every actor tries to imitate his intensity (deniro,penn,nolte,.....) with no success.Definitely the king of acting..
Marlon Brando and Elizabeth Taylor have a right old time, he as an army major at a fort in the Deep South where, the prologue tells us, a murder has taken place and she as his Southern Belle wife whose affair with another officer, (Brian Keith, brilliant), has lead his wife, (a stunning Julie Harris), to cut off her nipples with garden shears.
'You call that normal', says Taylor, 'with garden shears?' Brando is latently gay and lusts after Private Robert Forster who likes to go riding naked through the woods, while Forster likes to climb into Taylor's bedroom and watch her sleep.Huston also knows how close to being preposterous it all was and tried to give it a softer, more poetic edge by filming it in 'desaturated' colours but the studio felt that would put audiences off and released it in a full-colour print.
A mysterious young soldier named Pvt. Williams (Robert Forster), who rides naked on horseback, and who stealthily creeps into Leonora's bedroom at night to contemplate who knows what, is the object of Major Penderton's implied fantasies.What makes this film so maddening is the unspoken passion, the tacitly erotic obsessions that drive the entire narrative.
Marlon Brando, as Major Penderton, nasally mumbles his lines, as if he had marbles in his mouth.Best remembered perhaps as one of the 1960's films that brought about the MPAA ratings system, "Reflections In A Golden Eye" is stodgy and dull by today's standards.
Elizabeth Taylor delivered the performance of her life the previous year with Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, and this feels like a reversion to a more classical, palatable Liz (palatable in looks and style; the character is a bitch, but it's nothing new).
Elizabeth Taylor, (Leonora Penderton) is married to Marlon Brando,(Major Weldon Penderton) who has trouble trying to please his wife in their bedroom so Leonora gets into bed with Brian Keith,(Lt. Col Morris Langdon) who's wife, Julie Harris,(Alison Langdon) is gone a bit mental after losing their first child.
Then there's the strange, voyeuristic, repressed Private Williams (Robert Forster)...Directed by John Huston, starring Marlon Brando and Elizabeth Taylor.
Interesting enough, but not overly engaging or satisfying.Solid performances by Marlon Brando, Elizabeth Taylor, Brian Keith, Julie Harris and Robert Forster.
"Reflections in a Golden Eye" begins with a quote from the original novel's author Carson McCullers, "There is a fort in the south where a few years ago a murder was committed." Elizabeth Taylor, Marlon Brando and Murder!
He reflects the title with a peacock's eye, and Forster brings it home by being both an exhibitionist and a Peeping Tom. Whew...All of the above sounds better than it appears.**** Reflections in a Golden Eye (10/11/67) John Huston ~ Marlon Brando, Elizabeth Taylor, Robert Forster, Julie Harris.
Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon Brando play a married couple and so do Brian Keith and Julie Harris.
***SPOLIERS*** Ground-breaking performances by not only the films top stars Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon Brando as the beautiful southern belle Leonora Penderton and her tortured and sexually suppressed husband Maj. Weldon Penderton but its supporting cast of Brian Keith and Julie Harris as the adulterous Lt. Col Morris Langdon and his neurotic wife Alison who's slowly losing her mind as well as her life.The film starts out with Maj. Penderton working out with bar bells and later giving a lecture to his students at the military school about the great men, Caesar Hannibal Napoleon Rommel and McArthur, in military history.
To this viewer, "Reflections In A Golden Eye" is nothing more than a wanna-be pretentious character study (based on what I thought a rather boring novel by literary great Carson McCullers)with eponymously cast actors (Elizabeth Taylor as Leonora, Marlon Brando as Weldon, and so forth...) and a fairly well-known director.
Elizabeth Taylor is the shrill, buxom wife of Major Weldon Penderton (Brando), and Brian Keith plays the Colonel, with whom she is carrying on a torrid affair.
Marlon Brando One Of Hollywood's Veteran Actor Star Of "The Godfather", "On The Waterfront", "The Wild One" And "A Streetcar Named Desired" Now Plays a Role Like No Other in An Deeply And Powerful Performance As Army Officer Who's Battling With His Own Demons And Hollywood Actress The Beautiful Elizabeth Taylor in a Strong And Excellent Performance Who Stars And Plays The Wife Of Marlon Brando's Character Who's Also Having An Love Affair With Another Character Played By Brian Keith And introducing a Young Robert Forster in a Strange And Odd Of a Character That He Plays.
Homosexuality is not what dooms Penderton, but in fact it is his inability to accept who he is that dooms him right from the start.Reflections in a Golden Eye, 1967, Starring: Marlon Brando, Elizabeth Taylor and Julie Harris.
Morris Langdon (Brian Keith) and Leonora Penderton (Elizabeth Taylor) and one non-conformist spouse, e.g, Weldon Penderton (Marlon Brando) and Alison Langdon (Julie Harris).
Huston and the cast made a good job out of difficult material, but the mediocre box-office should not have surprised anyone; audiences brought up on films filtered by the production code simply weren't ready for the themes portrayed.Liz Taylor does a master turn as a a southern virago penned up in a patently unsatisfactory marriage with Marlon Brando's insipid Major Wendel.
You co-star with Marlon Brando and Elizabeth Taylor and you're directed by John Huston!
Reflections in a Golden Eye. Major Weldon Penderton(Marlon Brando)is grappling with buried homosexuality that awakens lustfully when he becomes enamored with an enlisted soldier(Robert Forster) working as a stable-hand for his horses.
they balance each other out perfectly and fit like pieces in a puzzle.The movie is filmed with a golden tone, in muted colors that reflect Brando's repressed sexuality, giving it a dreamy, hallucinatory look...
Brando is an Army Major married to Liz Taylor who is having an affair with Brian Keith whose wife cut off her nipples with garden shears after her baby died.
Take a look at how life truly is.Liz Taylor (Leonora Penderton), Brian Keith (Col. Langdon) and Robert Forster (Pvt. Williams) were genuinely convincing in their roles....all highlighted by the mastery of Brando.
There's big trouble at a southern Army base: The colonel (Marlon Brando) is a closeted wacko married to a beautiful but cruel woman (Elizabeth Taylor); she's having an affair with his best friend (Brian Keith) while a mysterious, horse-loving, enlisted man is a freaky prowler.This story of endless domestic turmoil is in the style of Tennessee Williams' work, but the script is confusing, shallow, and pointless with no likable characters to root for.
That filmization would have to wait for the newly liberating mores of 1967, when famed director John Huston brought Carson's controversial novel to theatres, and with most winning results.In the film, we make the acquaintance of six fairly befuddled characters who are living on an army base in the Deep South, in what we must infer is the early 1940s: Major Wendel Penderton (extremely well portrayed by the great Marlon Brando), who becomes obsessed with a young private on the base; his wife Leonora (Elizabeth Taylor), who is having an affair with Colonel Morris Langdon (Brian Keith, who had just started his five-year run on TV's "Family Affair," and who underplays his role nicely here); Alison Langdon, the colonel's wife (Julie Harris), who had recently cut off her nipples with a garden shears (ouch!) after losing her infant; Anacleto, her effeminate Filipino houseboy and nursemaid (Zorro Davis; whotta great name!); and the soldier who is the object of the major's sublimated lust, and who had recently taken to sneaking into Leonora's bedroom to watch her sleep, Private Elgee Williams (Robert Forster, here in his first role, and strongly resembling the young Charles Bronson, back when he was called Charles Buchinsky).Huston's film is a fairly slow-moving affair, but a fascinating one, and trying to puzzle out the various characters' motivations is a stimulating challenge. |
tt0443706 | Zodiac | On July 4, 1969, an unknown man attacks Darlene Ferrin and Mike Mageau with a handgun, at a lovers' lane in Vallejo, California. Mageau survives; Ferrin dies.
One month later, the San Francisco Chronicle receives encrypted letters written by the killer calling himself the "Zodiac" and taunting the police. Political cartoonist Robert Graysmith is not taken seriously by crime reporter Paul Avery or the editors and is excluded from the initial details about the killings despite his interest in the case. When the newspaper publishes the letters, a married couple is able to decipher one. At a local bar, Avery initially makes fun of Graysmith before they discuss the coded letters. Graysmith interprets the letter, which Avery finds helpful, and Avery begins sharing information. The Zodiac killer attacks law student Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard at Lake Berryessa in Napa County on September 27, 1969. Shepard dies two days later, and Hartnell survives. One of Graysmith's insights about the letters is that the Zodiac's reference to man as "the most dangerous animal of them all" is a reference to the story and film The Most Dangerous Game (which features General Zaroff as a man who hunts live human prey). The fact that both Zaroff's surname and the name "Zodiac" start with a "Z" also seems significant.
Two weeks later, San Francisco taxicab driver Paul Stine is shot and killed in the city's Presidio Heights district immediately after dropping the killer off. The Zodiac killer mails pieces of Stine's blood stained shirt to the Chronicle, along with a taunting letter. San Francisco police detectives Dave Toschi and his partner Bill Armstrong are assigned to the Stine case, and work closely with Vallejo's Jack Mulanax and Captain Ken Narlow in Napa. The killer, or someone posing as him, continues to toy with authorities by sending more letters and speaks on the phone with lawyer Melvin Belli when he makes an appearance on a television talk show. Avery and Graysmith form an alliance, delving deeper into the case as time permits.
In 1971, Detectives Toschi, Armstrong, and Mulanax question Arthur Leigh Allen, a suspect in the Vallejo case. Allen behaves suspiciously during the interview. They ask to see his watch and notice that he wears a Zodiac brand wristwatch which has the same logo used by the killer. However, a handwriting expert insists that Allen did not write the Zodiac letters, even though Allen is said to be ambidextrous. Avery receives a letter threatening his life; becoming increasingly paranoid, he turns to drugs and alcohol. At one point, he shares information with the Riverside Police Department, angering both Toschi and Armstrong. The case's notoriety weighs on Toschi, who is bothered when Graysmith shows up at the theater where Toschi is watching a Hollywood film, Dirty Harry, loosely based on the Zodiac case, with his wife.
In 1978, Avery leaves the Chronicle, and moves to the Sacramento Bee. Graysmith persistently contacts Toschi about the Zodiac murders, and eventually impresses the veteran detective with his knowledge of the case. While Toschi cannot directly give Graysmith access to the evidence, he provides contact names of other police departments in other counties where Zodiac murders occurred. Armstrong transfers from the San Francisco Police homicide division, and Toschi is demoted for supposedly forging a Zodiac letter. Graysmith continues his own investigation, which is profiled in the Chronicle, and he allows himself to be interviewed on television about his book-in-progress concerning the case. He begins receiving anonymous phone calls with heavy breathing. Because of his immersion in the case, Graysmith loses his job and his wife Melanie leaves him, taking their children with her. Graysmith acquires more information that points to Allen as the Zodiac, and although circumstantial evidence seems to indicate his guilt, the physical evidence, such as fingerprints and handwriting samples, do not implicate him.
In December 1983, Graysmith tracks Allen down to a Vallejo Ace Hardware store, where he is employed as a sales clerk. The men have a brief encounter before Graysmith leaves. Eight years later, victim Mike Mageau meets with authorities and identifies Allen from a police mugshot. As the authorities walk by an airport book store, copies of Graysmith's book Zodiac are shown. Final title cards inform the audience that Allen died in 1992 before he could be questioned further. A DNA test performed in 2002 on an archived autopsy sample did not match a partial DNA sample gathered from the postage stamp on one of the Zodiac letters, but this does not rule him out as a suspect. | neo noir, cruelty, murder, violence, cult, suspenseful, sadist | train | wikipedia | null |
tt0092641 | Best Seller | The movie opens in 1972 as a group of gunmen wearing Richard Nixon Halloween masks steal evidence from a police evidence storage unit, killing several officers in the process. Officer Dennis Meechum (Brian Dennehy) is seriously wounded after stabbing one of the robbers. He survives and publishes a book titled Inside Job based on his experience. Years later, Meechum, who by now has become an acclaimed author and a much decorated detective, is working on his next novel. He now suffers from writer's block, and is a widowed father raising his daughter, Holly (Allison Balson).
On a case at the docks, a suspect runs as Meechum gives chase. A man named Cleve (James Woods) joins the chase. The suspect hides in an overhead crane and attempts to shoot Meechum, but Cleve kills the man, then mysteriously disappears.
Cleve arranges a meeting with Meechum, and tries to convince him to write a book about his history as a paid assassin for a corporate empire, Kappa International. Cleve intimidates Kappa's founder, David Madlock (Paul Shenar) about Meechum's next book, and promises Meechum to show evidence to back up his claims. They proceed to take trips to New York and Texas where Cleve tries to convince Meechum of his history of hits. While they are in Texas, it is revealed that Cleve was the injured masked gunman that Meechum had stabbed years earlier. Madlock, through his legal representatives, tries to bribe Meechum but fails.
When an enforcer tries to steal a manuscript of Meechum's novel and attempt to kill Holly, Cleve intervenes by killing him. When Cleve attempts to keep Holly safe by sending her to Meechum's agent, Roberta Gillian (Victoria Tennant). Madlock, however, manages to kidnap Holly. Meechum decides to have a meeting with Madlock at the latter's oceanfront estate. Cleve storms into the house, and guns down all of Madlock's bodyguards. Cleve then sacrifices his own life to save Holly from Madlock. Meechum arrests Madlock, before comforting a dying Cleve. Cleve reminds Meechum about the book and says "Remember I'm the hero". At the end of the film, it is revealed that Meechum has published the book titled Retribution: The Fall of David Madlock and Kappa International and it has had 28 weeks on the best seller list. | violence, neo noir, murder, flashback | train | wikipedia | Twenty years ago Woods starred in one of my all time favourite movies David Cronenberg's stunning 'Videodrome'.
Even so I highly recommend underrated 1980s Woods movies like 'Cop', 'The Boost' and this one, 'Best Seller', for some of his greatest performances.
Director John Flynn had previously made the seriously underrated revenge classic 'Rolling Thunder', and the movie was scripted by exploitation legend Larry Cohen ('Black Caesar', 'Q', 'Maniac Cop', 'The Stuff').
'Best Seller' isn't quite as good as 'Rolling Thunder', but it's a must see because of Woods, who is just terrific.
Brian Dennehy is also very good, and Paul Shenar (Sosa from 'Scarface') makes a great villain.
I can't say that 'Best Seller' is one of the greatest thrillers I've ever seen, but it's definitely worth your time, and James Woods playing misunderstood psycho hitman Cleve is an experience not to be missed!.
perfect casting of james woods and dennehy make it work.
The casting of woods and brian dennehy is perfect which helps to make the story of an ex-hitman telling his story to cop-turned-author believable.
Director John Flynn's 'Best Seller', which was written by Larry Cohen (who makes a crackerjack combination), is actually a stark, stinging and darkly witty and violent crime caper with an out-the-shadow concept.
Knowing that it heavily relies on the performances to be successful, Flynn sets-up the film around the pairing of James Woods and Brian Denneby.
"Best Seller" is essentially a two character movie.
On one hand there is Brian Dennehy as a veteran cop who also writes crime novels based on real events.
The first part of the movie involves Woods trying to convince Dennehy that his story is on the level.
Woods is cold and calculating as the hit man and Dennehy is torn between his sworn duty as a cop and his desire to get to the truth.
The film is worth a look if for nothing else than to watch two veteran performers at their best..
Woods plays Cleve, a brilliant and perhaps psychotic former hit-man, who wants Dennis, a cop turned author (Brian Dennehy), to write his story.
Cleve ensures Dennis that the book will be a "Best Seller" and begins taking Dennis on a lurid tour of his former hits.Like most films, this doesn't transfer quite as well onto the small screen, but it is still well worth the viewing; (plus you get to hear James Woods warble a tune in French).
Actually, Woods is way cool in this film, and delivers some of his most compelling work ever.
Brian Dennehy pulls off the tough task of making the writer character equally interesting and compelling.
6. BEST-SELLER (action, 1987) In 1972, Policeman Meechum (Brian Dennehy) survives an armed robbery, which in turn inspires him to write a book about his ordeal.
Cliff knows many personal things about Meechum's life and tells him that he can provide him with another assured best seller.
It has a good, entertaining premise (a rogue assassin on the loose), the moody cinematography (another Adam Greenberg job), and displays a strong performance from the always reliable Brain Dennehy.
This capriciously underrated 1-time character-actor has given excellent performances in many films including: the sleazy TV-producer in David Cronenberg's interesting, albeit obscured masterpiece 'Videodrome' (1983), his red-neck southerner in 'The Onion Field' (1979-his breakthrough film), and in Oliver Stone's sadly neglected 'Salvador' (1986- for which he received an Academy Nominee).
What better actor to give us a tour through the life of a criminal, hit-man, sleaze-ball, all-nice guy?QUOTES: Cliff: "Will power is what distinguishes the amateur from the professional.
Best Seller is directed by John Flynn and written by Larry Cohen.
It stars James Woods, Brian Dennehy and Victoria Tennant.
Cop Dennis Meechum (Dennehy) survives being shot during a robbery at the police evidence storage and writes a well received book about the events.
Into his life comes Cleve (Woods), a mysterious man who saves Meechum's life and announces that he is a paid assassin and wishes Meechum to write a book about his work for a top name in industry......Only in America Dennis.It's a lovely hook is this, a cop and a killer paired together, their relationship explored via an uneasy buddy buddy formula, where the fruits of their partnership will bring very differing rewards.
Along with the crackerjack turns from Dennehy (lovable burn-out) and Woods (cold-blooded calm), it's the smart screenplay from Cohen that makes Best Seller worthy of a rental at least.
Violence flits in and out to add some bloody pulp to proceedings, but ultimately it's the dialogue, the suspicious mood crafted by Flynn and characterisations that give the film its vitality.Released in the same year as Lethal Weapon, it appears that Best Seller got lost in the slip-stream of that higher octane fuelled picture (in fact Dennehy gets to say the same "too old for this" line that Glover trademarked in Lethal Weapon).
It's not on a par with Donner's movie, and it's far from perfect; the ending is a bit tamer than we would perhaps like and Paul Shenar's villain is a standard suit job, but there's good craft here on the page and on both sides of the camera.
Writer Larry Cohen concocts this interesting, entertaining movie that mainly hinges on the often antagonistic relationship between two strong personalities.
Brian Dennehy stars as Dennis Meechum, a cop who also writes books based on true crime stories, who is approached by Cleve (James Woods), a professional hit-man for an unscrupulous businessman, David Madlock (Paul Shenar).
The hit-man feels inadequately compensated for his years of service, and is now an incredibly disgruntled ex-employee, enough to approach the cop / author to propose writing a book that reveals all the ugly details of the businessman's rise to the top.
Capably directed by action specialist John Flynn ("Rolling Thunder", "Lock Up", "Out for Justice"), "Best Seller" tells a pretty good story in slick enough fashion, with some effective moments of very nasty violence.
Yet, for a man who most of the time comes off as pure scum, he has definite intelligence and a real presence, and in the end does have a redemptive quality; it's the kind of role meant for an actor of Woods's abilities, and he plays it for all it's worth.
Appealing Allison Balson plays Dennis's daughter, although supporting players Shenar and Victoria Tennant ultimately end up with not that much to do, and Shenar's character is not what you'd call subtle.
James Woods is brilliant as is Brian Dennehy and they work extremely well together.
Both James Woods and Brian Dennehy seem uncomfortable with a script that appears to be underdeveloped.
Dennis is convinced after an attempt on Cleve's life and begins to spend time with Cleve to interview him and get material for the book, however the relationship is never an easy one.Kudos to the film for trying to have a talky character driven script at its core but sadly it never really works.
Not as interesting as I would have liked though, which did somewhat take away from the tension at the end of the film because I didn't get the feeling that there was a head of steam built up.
The action sections also undermine it; they are not that well done but nor do they fit into the narrative that well and they just seem to be another force holding the film from being smarter than it was.The central performances don't really help much either, although they are both good enough to hold the interest.
Woods occasionally suggests he will go deeper into his character but mostly he is happy with hit-man cool with a touch of twisted humanity in him.
Best Seller has both that, although Wood's kill count does get a bit annoying, or is too much.
If you can remember Dennehy and Woods worked on another film years earlier, Split Image.
Both fine actors, real good friends off set, work well together, yet in this cop tale with an almost unique spin put on it for it's time, here they're enemies who do slowly become friends, of course Dennehy taking longer time to warm up to Woods.
Cleve (Woods, great as usual) was was involved in a police heist, where Dennehy's partner, was killed.
Cut several years later, Dennis (Dennehy) now an ex cop, who's also a novelist, is approached by Cleve, who wants revenge, against the guys who screwed him.
Somehow, I found this movie, utterly enjoyable from beginning to end, on the account it's different, although I enjoyed Wood's other film at the time, Cop, more.
James Woods spends most of the movie convincing block-headed Brian Dennehy that the conspiracy is real, and that quarrel gets old fast.
An 80s and I do mean very 80s movie about a cop who doubles as an author who has his life invaded by a professional hit man who wants him to write a memoir of his life.
This movie did not feel like a Larry Cohen film.
This felt like a generic action film from the 80s with a very genial performance from James Woods.
This is hokey and then it takes a meta moment where James Woods asks Brian Dennehy to make him sympathetic in the book and eventually he becomes a more sympathetic person in the movie itself.
The other performances in the movie leave a lot to desired including Brian Dennehy.
James Woods plays a hit man named Cleve, who contacts a successful true crime author & former cop Dennis Meechum(played by Brian Dennehy) who got his start after he was the sole survivor of a deadly holdup at the police evidence department years earlier.
Cleve wants Dennis to write his life story, which he feels is most interesting, and as a way to get back at his former employer, a powerful corporation he helped build.
Dennis learns that Cleve has a deeper connection to him than he realizes, and that some powerful forces don't want this proposed book published...Little-seen thriller is quite well done, with fine acting by the leads, and efficient direction and story.
"Best Seller" is yet another movie that had good potential, theoretically, but the final product just doesn't meet our expectations.
The casting certainly appears promising, and James Woods gives a magnetic performance as a brutal, vicious yet also vulnerable and three-dimensional professional killer, but the movie seems to lack a clear purpose (and a point), maybe because the story is SO thin.
A good cast, James Woods in particular, and an intriguing premise were the main reasons for seeing 'Best Seller'.
Seeing it a few days ago, 'Best Seller' turned out to be a good film with many great things with a few elements that bring it down somewhat.Woods himself is the film's best asset.
Brian Dennehy is dependably solid as rocks, a great performance that is more than up to Woods' level.
Another reason why 'Best Seller' works as well as it does is the chemistry between Dennehy and Woods, which is electric.
For a film that did such a good job with its atmosphere, 'Best Seller' was deserving of a much better ending than the rushed and too pat and safe one here.While a vast majority of the cast are fine, there is one exception...that exception is a rather annoying Alison Balson.Overall, a good film that sells well.
Hit man Cleve approaches writer Dennis about a story for his next book: how he made a living, working for one of the most powerful politicians in the country.
To get the story right, they travel around the country to gather statements and evidence, while strong forces use any means they can to keep the story untold.Larry Cohen wrote the original script, inspired by the film "Strangers on a Train" (1951) and wrote it with Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas in mind for the lead roles.
This is of course the intention of the writers, and there is no other way to end the film in regard to James Woods' character, but her character needed a lot of work.
It`s still worth watching though if only for the always good performances of Woods and Dennehy.
1987's "Best Seller" is not my type of movie, I'll say up front, as it's a little too violent.
I do like Larry Cohen, who wrote the script, and the casting of Brian Dennehy and James Woods is great.
Woods plays an assassin for hire who approaches cop/author Dennehy about doing an expose about his work for a new book.
Dennehy seeks to find out.This was one of Paul Shenar's last films.
Luckily, it ended up being awesome for all the right reasons.Cleve (James Woods) is a hit-man who reaches out to Dennis (Brian Dennehy), a cop and author, with an idea for a new book, the story of Cleve and his life as a hit-man.
First and foremost, the film is only as strong as it is for 2 important reasons; James Woods and Brian Dennehy.
Instead of a cop investigating a series of crimes or murders, you have a cop/author who's investigating a supposed hit-man and his past deeds to basically call bullshit to his claims of high profile murders, yet Cohen plots the film in such a way that it feels like you're watching an old school detective thriller about a cop tracking down a serial killer.
But much like John Flynn's direction, Ferguson's score serves as yet another character to the film, giving it a moody atmosphere that screams 80's synth, but in the best possible way.
Also, paralleling the American Psycho, James Woods' character and his cruel and vain antics come across almost comedy-worth funny in this otherwise intentionally serious and dramatic movie.
'Best Seller' is A Well-Acted Film!
Lead Stars James Woods & Brian Dennehy pitch in great performances.
'Best Seller' tells the story of A career hit-man, who wants to turn his life story into a book written by a veteran police officer and best-selling author.'Best Seller' is an above-average film.
John Flynn's Direction is good.James Woods & Brian Dennehy are the life of 'Best Seller'.
Woods is fantastic as the hit-man, while Dennehy is matured as the veteran cop/author.
Decent thriller , but mainly thanks to Dennehy and Woods.
This interesting movie mainly hinges on the often antagonistic relationship between two strong personalities – Ex-cop who is famous writer ( Brian Dennehy) and ex-hit-man ( James Woods).The chemistry between them is exquisite.
Both Dennehy and Woods gave quite possibly the best performances of their lives.
The premise is there , but without Dennehy and Woods it would be a weak movie.
This is like an old time cop movie, very well served.
Woods and Dennehy bring really rounded, deep characters to a shallow little cops and robbers story.
A veteran cop(Brian Dennehy), who narrowly escaped a hold up shootout in '72, tired and worn down(the loss of his wife to cancer especially draining, not to mention debts because of her long term sickness)after years of undercover work, also a notable best-selling author, is visited by a hit-man(James Woods)who has quite a history he wishes to reveal for a novel as revenge for his dismissal.
He's been a hired killer for a considerable amount of time, and, thanks to a supposed falling out with the boss, all of a sudden he wants this cop to write a best seller about their notorious "business relationship".
Cleve spends time trying to convince Dennehy' cynical cop, Dennis Meecham, that he's a legitimate killer for Madlock(Paul Shenar)..of course, Dennis has a right to be skeptical.
When cigarette burns and a knife wound reveal Cleve as the man who shot him in '72, Dennis decides to punch him in the chops a few times before writing the novel.
Sure, Dennehy and Woods work well with what they are given.
But there is every indication that this film wants to be a believable thriller.Cleve's (James Woods) story would best be told from behind bars, but for some reason Dennis (Brian Dennehy) allows Cleve to drag him all over the country in an attempt to prove that he was once a hit-man working for David Madlock so that Dennis can write a book about it.
Apparently so.There are many other examples, but my main point is that Best Seller is a cheesy 80's thriller with its share of plot holes along with decent performances by most of the cast (with the exception of Allison Balson - her acting was fine for Little House on the Prairie - but not so much here).So if you sit down to watch this movie, don't bring your disbelief or high expectations with you.
If you're like Brian Dennehy's Officer Dennis Meacham, naturally you would be suspicious of these claims.
In this underrated action thriller, the unlikely partnership of Dennehy's Meacham to James Woods' brutal former hit man Cleve provides an unusual take on the traditional "buddy cop" film.
Woods' performance as the brash, snarky and revenge-seeking Cleve contrasts with the methodical and ethical performance of Brian Dennehy as Dennis Meacham, keeping the polar opposite cliché of past buddy cop movies intact.
As Cleve, Woods mixes brutal unflinching violence with his trademark charm and sarcastic wit, but he does not make Cleve one dimensional instead he endows the hit man with emotion, an ability to reach out and attempt to connect with the cop he shot at years earlier.
The steely hit man is James Woods, unflappable under any circumstances.
This thriller is a better than average action film.
"Best Seller" tells the story of Cleve (James Woods), an ex-hit man who decides to do the dirty on his old boss by telling his story to cop/author Dennis Meechum (Brian Dennehy).John Flynn's film is not a great deal better than average though, and it is only the entertaining action sequences that are really worth the wait.
Dennehy and Woods are enjoyable, but unfortunately one never believes that killer Cleve is ever really genuine about anything, which was something that both John Flynn and James Woods tried hard to convey. |
tt0077713 | Day of the Woman | Jennifer Hills (Camille Keaton) is a short story writer who drives out of her home in New York City to an isolated cottage by a lake in the countryside of upstate New York to write her first novel. The arrival in town of the attractive and independent young woman attracts the attention of Johnny (Eron Tabor), the local gas station owner, and his two friends Stanley (Anthony Nichols) and Andy (Gunter Kleemann), two unemployed youths who hang around the gas station. Jennifer receives a grocery delivery from Matthew (Richard Pace), the local simpleton who is shy and apparently mentally retarded, and befriends him. Matthew is friends with the other three men and reports back to them about the beautiful woman he met, claiming he saw her breasts.The next day, Stanley and Andy start cruising by the cottage in their speedboat and surreptitiously prowl around the house at night while keeping themselves hidden from view. One day, while Jennifer is relaxing in her canoe, they surprise her in their speedboat and tow her to shore. As she tries to escape, she's met by Johnny, while Matthew hides in bushes nearby. She realizes they planned her abduction so Matthew can lose his virginity. Jennifer puts up a fight by punching Johnny, but is chased by the men through the forest. Matthew refuses to have sex with her so Johnny rips off Jennifer's bikini and rapes her. They allow her to escape but track her down shortly afterward and Andy brutally rapes her anally. Matthew again refuses to participate. The four guys flee from the scene of the crime in their speedboat.A little later, after Jennifer crawls back to her house they attack her again. Matthew finally rapes her after drinking alcohol, but says that he can not reach orgasm with the other men watching. The other men ridicule her book and rip up the manuscript, and Stanley sexually assaults Jennifer and rapes her too. When Jennifer scratches at Stanley's face, she is savagely beaten. She passes out on the floor covered in mud from the woods as well as her own blood. With that, the men leave the house. Johnny realizes she is a witness to their crimes and orders Matthew to go back and stab her to death. Matthew cannot bring himself to do it, so he dabs the knife in her blood and returns to the other men claiming he has killed her. The four then take off in their speedboat.Over the next two weeks, a traumatized Jennifer pieces both herself and her manuscript back together. She silently sits around her house, chain-smoking, and avoids looking into mirrors to avoid seeing her maimed face now sporting some permanent scars and ugly bruises from her beating. She goes to a church and asks for forgiveness, vowing to kill all four of the men who violated her. One day, the men learn Jennifer has survived and they beat Matthew up for lying to them about killing her.Jennifer then begins spying on her assailants first by following Matthew home from the local grocery store to his parents house, and the next day she follows Johnny home from the garage to his house where he has a wife and two young children.One day, Jennifer calls in a grocery order knowing Matthew will deliver it. Hearing that it's from Jennifer's address, he takes the groceries, and a knife he steals from the grocery store butcher unsure of what Jennifer plans to do with him. At the cabin, Matthew arrives where Jennifer entices him to have sex with her under a tree. As he becomes oblivious to his surroundings, she strings a noose around his neck and hangs him. Matthews struggles, but is slowly strangled to death as Jennifer watches with a wicked-looking facial expression. Jennifer cuts the rope and drops the dead body in the river. She then pushes his bicycle into the river and the groceries he brought as well. Jennifer then phones the grocery store to report that Matthew never arrived with her order.The next day, Jennifer drives over to the gas station and seductively collects Johnny from the place and entices him to join her in her car. She stops on the road halfway to her house where she gets out of the car, and points a gun at him, ordering that he remove all his clothing. The clearly misogynist Johnny insists the rapes were her fault because she enticed the men by parading around in revealing clothing. She feigns belief in Johnny's ludicrous rant, lowers her gun, and invites him back to her cottage for a hot bath.While taking a bath together, Jennifer manually stimulates him in her bathtub. When Johnny says that Matthew has been reported missing, Jennifer says she killed Matthew. Johnny thinks she is joking. As he nears orgasm, Jennifer takes the butcher knife Matthew brought with him from its hiding place under the bathmat and severs Johnny's genitals. He screams in terror while bleeding to death. Jennifer calmly leaves the room and locks Johnny in from the outside. He dies from blood loss. Jennifer dumps Johnny's dead body in the basement and burns his clothes in the fireplace.The following day, Stanley and Andy learn that Johnny is missing from his wife. They take their speedboat to Jennifer's cabin aware that she might have killed him and Matthew. Andy goes ashore with an axe looking for Jennifer, while she swims out to the boat and climbs aboard before Stanley realizes what she is doing. She pushes him overboard and Stanley has trouble staying afloat for he is not a good swimmer. Andy tries to attack her when she speeds past him in the boat, but she escapes with the axe. Andy swims out to rescue Stanley but Jennifer plunges the axe into Andy's back, killing him. She backs the boat up to Stanley who grabs hold of the motor to climb aboard, begging Jennifer not to kill him. Looking down on her former assailant with very cold eyes, Jennifer instead smirks at Stanley and quotes what he said while assaulting her: "Suck it, bitch!" and starts the engine, disemboweling him underwater. As Andy and Stanley's dead bodies sink beneath the surface of the water, the murderous Jennifer smiles slightly as she speeds away in the boat. | suspenseful, cruelty, murder, realism, mystery, violence, cult, revenge, sadist | train | imdb | These guys all get what's coming to them, and Jennifer makes sure that the punishment fits the crime, turning the men into the helpless, pleading victims and feeding their own sadism right back to them.Okay, so not all of the plot points make sense, and not everyone is going to agree with Jennifer's decision to kill the men, but it's still a powerful film.
It simply tells the story and lets you decide - is Jennifer an insane psycho-killer who ought to go to jail for her crimes, or is she an angel of vengeance delivering poetic justice?Scaredy cats like me might prefer to watch this film with the audio commentary by Joe Bob Briggs turned on.
In essence, films of this type ARE exploiting the subject of rape (and sadly, often presenting it in a sexually ambiguous way) but does this mean that they are not able to condemn the subject matter, or offer a powerful criticism of the behaviour of many men towards women?
I believe so, and I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE is a triumphant example of this, putting forward more powerful a message about violence of rape and the attitudes of some men towards it than any other movie I care to mention.
I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE offers a truly subjective message in that it presents gritty reality and leaves the viewer to make up their mind on the matter.Much is made of the fact that the rape scenes last for around forty minutes.
Lets just forget the title "Day of the Woman", the alternate title for which this movie is much better known for; "I Spit on Your Grave" is a far better one and part of the reason why this has become a sort of a cult-classic over the years.
The second part of the movie focuses on the woman, taking revenge on her rapists, Charlie Bronson style, that on its own right is also pretty extreme as well.This movie features the longest rape scene out of movie history?
I don't know but the entire first halve of the movie is basically about the woman getting raped by 4 different guys, multiple times, in various violent ways.
It's something pretty extreme for a movie to feature, even for an '70's exploitation flick.Also the way the woman takes revenge upon her rapists is pretty extreme and mostly original as well.
I especially liked the way the second halve of the movie worked out, in which the woman starts her revenge.
These days, as proved by the likes of 'Irreversible', films tackling rape in a shocking and disgusting way are more readily accepted, and even gain a strong reaction from many critics.
The film plays out like a revenge thriller, with the protagonist getting her own back on the men who raped her.
I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE is a straightforward rape/revenge drama with the tone of a documentary.The coverage is plain, there is no music, there are no "stars", there are no concessions to a mainstream audience.The exploitation film audience may be served, although the rape sequences are neither dynamic nor stylish.Camille Keaton (Buster's granddaughter), a writer, drives to the country to stay at her house on the river.
The humiliated and abused Jennifer does not report the sexual assault to the police and a couple of weeks later, she is physically recovered and has just plotted revenge against the rapists."Day of the Woman" is extremely realistic and violent; therefore the simple and scary story is absolutely credible.
First at all, this movie is not for all the audiences, but the fans of Wes Craven's "Last House on the left", Sam Peckimpah's "Straw Dogs", or Jorge Grau's "Coto de Caza" can find a good piece of sexual horror in "Day of the woman".The story is simple, Jennifer, a beautiful girl came from New York to a cabin in the Connecticut woods with the intention of writing a novel in the summer.
The atmosphere, the silence, and the loneliness of the character and the absolutely explicit scenes of the rape, and a great amount of blood are the elements for creating the tension and the sensation of anguish that makes this movie special.
One of the most controversial and notorious exploitation films ever made and it's certainly not hard to see why either!Vacationing woman is savagely raped by four country boys and left for dead.
Zarchi also chooses to add no music to the film, only natural sound.Camille Keaton is a silent force as the rape victim.
"I Spit on Your Grave" (also known as "Day of the Woman, among other titles) is one of those infamous cult-classic exploitation films that has been hailed and hated, and is a very controversial piece of cinema - and deservedly so.
After recovering from the horrible incident, she decides to seek revenge on the men who hurt and violated her so relentlessly, one by one seducing them, and taking bloody revenge.Probably one of the most infamous exploitation films of all time, "I Spit On Your Grave" is a grueling and disturbing movie.
I had a similar feeling after seeing Wes Craven's "The Last House on the Left", but the violence (particularly the rape) is depicted much more graphically in this film, so I felt even more disgusted.
The group of degenerate men in this film are depicted as slummy pigs, and they prove their stereotype by so savagely raping and beating a young woman like they do.
This film does a good job and showing how horribly human beings treat each other.After the horrible mauling and violation, Jennifer takes a little revenge of her own, and cleverly (and brutally) murders each of the men involved.
This film doesn't need music to help carry it, and it makes it feel even more gritty.Overall, "I Spit On Your Grave" is a nasty, raw, and brutal revenge-themed horror movie.
Really, these were some of the most boring slayings I've ever seen in a horror film.In the end, it's all about the rape, and you find yourself left with the feeling that this film is actually geared toward men who secretly find the visual image of rape kind of hot, and eases the guilt by letting the lady have her revenge, so they can pretend that's actually what they came for.
Having only recently seen the original 1978 film and then the 2010 remake for the first time, the review and comparison here is untainted by having an unrealistically nostalgic view of the original.As a long term horror film fan, I have always found sexual violence especially difficult to watch.
It is a pretty well made "rape-revenge" movie, about an attractive young female writer who is going to spend some time alone in an old house in the countryside.
It's often referred to as a grind house film of the female rape/revenge genre, but I feel this is an unfair depiction of Zarchi's intent.
This is the movie everyone loves to hate.Now fast forward a quarter of a century and compare the above with Ebert's comments on another film involving the horrific rape and beating of a young woman and an equally graphic act of revenge -- I'm referring to Gaspar Noe's "Irreversible" (2002): "it is therefore moral", "it is unflinchingly honest about the crime of rape.
It is ridicolous how people that affirm they can handle any amount of gore or violence get so upset when they face movies like this or Men Behind the Sun. This movie is not only a great rape and revenge, but it's way better than the recent Irreversible, which while a good movie, it has been unreasonably praised by the so called intellectual public, not to mention they added the raper's penis through computer graphics.
If you approach this film as a low-budget genre film and don't expect the production values of a James Cameron blockbuster or the acting of Hollywoods finest you'll get a lot out of this.The acting is better than most low-budget movies I've seen (Camille Keaton and Eron Tabor are especially good) and the story is logical enough to get the directors ideas over.
The production values must have been low, but that's not a significant reason to call I Spit On Your Grave (I've never seen or heard it be called Day of the Woman before) a bad movie.The cinematography is strange.
Ebert has observably made it known that the violence in this movie, at least in his eyes, serves no purpose and lacks any sort of redemption, but perhaps he has missed some crucial elements of the film.First of all, I Spit on Your Grave is not the original name of Meir Zarchi's film; the movie's original title was Day of the Woman.
The revenge murders are predictable and not graphic (ie, not gory in the tradition of slasher or giallo horror films).Clearly the sole reason this film was made was to make money from mentally ill individuals who enjoying watching a woman being raped, beaten, degraded.Is this film the cause of sexism?
But this movie I can't imagine anyone enjoying unless they get some slight thrill from watching a woman being raped, whether or not they want to admit it.
Shocking and disturbing, if you are not repulsed by this movie then you may need to see a psychiatrist.It's one of those films that was hyped up as a slasher movie when it was released in the US in 1978 (and subsequently banned in the UK until 2001) alongside the Halloween's and Friday the 13th's, but it is anything but.A lone writer is mentally and physically raped and seeks revenge, there is no hero, there is only despair and pain, there is no happy ending, just hurt and repulsion.The violence is never glorified it just shows the depths of human pain and despair..
If you hadn`t seen it you`d heard about it due to its reputation of ultra graphic violence but the film was banned before I managed to see it .It was only last year I saw it for the first time when it was released on DVD with several minutes of rape scenes cut .
I can respect any B-movie 'Schlock' film, as long as it knows it is just that.This is where 'I Spit On Your Grave' shows its ugliness, as it tries to pass itself of as a piece of neo-feminism, when it is low budget, crude exploitation cinema.What makes 'I Spit On Your Grave' so awful is that the rape of its lead character is just a plot device to show 'off the wall' murders and gory set-pieces.Unfortunately the notoreity of this film (banned in several countries) has given it a 'mystique' that it doesn't deserve.
As a result, the only atmosphere in this film is that you're watching some amateur footage of a real event, though even that idea is destroyed by appalling acting and ludicrous characterisation.According to the video cover, the film is about one woman's trail of revenge on the men who raped her.
I was really freaked when I watched this movie, I even felt bad for poor Camille Keaton when she was being abused in the film..
I honored her by watching a movie she's known for, the original rape and revenge exploitation flick, I Spit on Your Grave.
The rape/revenge storyline is hard to take but (1) that's better than other revenge flicks that are easy to take, thus glorifying or cheapening (if not justifying) violence (2) the basic simplicity actually leads us to know a bit about these characters instead of other films that are just excuses to see people get killed.
This is probably the most controversial movie ever made and the 23-minute rape scene has a large part to do with that but in my opinion this film has been mistreated for many years now.
Also, the revenge the woman exacts on her rapists isn't really that impressive...pretty much exactly what you would expect from a standard slasher flick, complete with the obligatory cut-off-the-bad-guy's-penis scene you just knew would be in a movie as tasteless as this one.
REVENGE OF THE WOMAN might have been better or even "LET'S SEE IF YOU LIKE IT?" At no stage does she "spit" on anyone's grave...no-one gets as far as a funeral!Little more than a home movie, no that is incorrect..it IS a home movie!
And what's even more offensive is that Zarchi and his actors, if one could call them that, don't even accomplish the wretched exploitation goals they set out to do.People may seek out I Spit on Your Grave for more wicked though personal reasons (eg, this is for the most part half rape porn and half woman revenge massacre flick), but even on these ends its so stupidly put together; a scene of rape in the woods, for example, should be easy enough to put together, yet it's all for not, with the intended realism coming off like, well, I can't even describe it (is it the locomotion or an ass-f***, pick one and stick with it).
Scenes involving a castration - the lead up to this, by the way, may be one of the dumbest in all movie history - it's not fun this time to yell at the screen, but rather the feeling kicks in to smash your own head into a mirror over the idiocy presented, two lake killings, and the aforementioned forty-five minute long rape, go on an on, soon fizzling out and then lacking out on the delivery.
And above all else, what I Spit on Your Grave is, aside from being obnoxious in its "hey, this is like Last House on the Left reality" style and ultra crude in its bad horror movie way, it's often quite boring.
The story is forced, the direction heavy-handed, the plot is ridiculous, and it feels like the makers decided to change it from a porno to a horror film in the second act.
The film does not disappoint--it is brutal beyond compare, to the point where Roger Ebert could justifyably label it the worst movie ever made.And yet, the problem is that some scenes, especially the gang rape, have an air of truth to them that forces a reconsideration.
Originally released in 1978 as "Day of the Woman" and re-released in 1980 with the more popular title (which writer/director Meir Zarchi hates), "I Spit on Your Grave" is a low-budget film telling a simple story of rape-and-revenge.The film is notorious.
The rape/revenge scenes are a turn-off rather than a turn-on.After viewing the film I saw it again with the director's commentary.
"I Spit on Your Grave" is one of the classic horror movies and this has to do with a woman who has been raped, humiliated and hurt by a gang.
Then they left her for dead but she has survived and she will take her revenge about all of that.It's a very nasty film that shows us the real face of some things such as rape.
I have tired to watch this ones before but I did put on last in day to watch also this movie dose take while to getting.The first 20 mins were a little boring and nothing much really happened but after half hour into movie, the rest of the movie very well paced, no boring moment in last hour of the movie.This movie did seem borrow little from The Last house on left, as revenge after being raped scene was not gruesome but it was still hard to watch at times.The deaths scenes were not bad but I did expect more painful deaths in this movie and some bloody moment in this movie nothing really gory.The acting was really good from the whole cast, I felt sorry for the girl and I hated those guys, wanted them suffer more then they did.
So this is it, the infamous Day of the Woman a.k.a. I spit on your grave, banned in several countries and considered the worst movie ever made by Roger Ebert.
It's a movie that deserves to be seen by the curious and those who also like exploitive low-budget horror films.
Writer-director Meir Zarchi has fashioned himself a low-budget exploitation horror film that you'll either love, hate yourself for loving, or end up really hating it and hating yourself for even watching it.I don't feel bad after watching this feature, but the one thing that bothers me the most about "I Spit on Your Grave" is its disappointing third act.
(Let me say this: Camille Keaton has to be one of the bravest actresses to ever appear in a movie - period, especially after this film.)Zarchi (who was later married to Keaton for three years between 1979 and 1982) is good in building up the tension of these early scenes with no musical score or anything to really signify or suggest the horror he is about to unleash upon Jennifer and the audience.
A brutal film that remains the most notorious of the incredibly controversial "rape/revenge" horror sub-genre, I Spit on Your Grave makes The Last House on the Left look like The Benny Hill Show.
But worry not, her assailants soon get their just desserts, and if any women feel outraged by the acts performed in the previous scenes and want the male audience to squirm just as much, your wish is granted.While this film is far from enjoyable, it is not your average exploitation movie and the uneasy feeling you might have while watching it is exactly what is intended in a film displaying the horrific experience of a rape, and it is not surprising that writer/director Meir Zarchi never broke into the mainstream.
Now I liked the movie, it had a good story to it, and it was a very emotional film, in a way.
The movie concerns a woman off in a quiet town, where she is raped, repeatedly, and the film is careful to linger long on scenes of incredible violence.
I've also read that the woman's whole character is pretty 2D - she gets raped, exacts her revenge, the film ends. |
tt0204626 | The Watcher | Retired FBI Special Agent Joel Campbell (James Spader) lives in Chicago, where he is struggling to come to terms with his failure to capture a serial killer back when he was working in Los Angeles. Campbell attends therapy sessions with Dr. Polly Beilman (Marisa Tomei), but otherwise has no other friends or social life.Campbell learns that a girl who lived in his apartment building has been killed. He does not pay it much attention until he opens his mail and finds that a picture of the girl had been sent to his apartment three days before the murder. He brings this information to the attention of the detective on the case, Det. Mackie (Chris Ellis), and comes to the conclusion that the same serial killer has arrived in Chicago. FBI Special Agent in Charge Ibby (Ernie Hudson) tries to persuade Campbell to return to the case, but he refuses.One night Campbell receives a phone call from David Griffin (Keanu Reeves), the serial killer, who reveals that he followed Campbell to Chicago and wants to rebuild the "rapport" they once had. Griffin tells Campbell that he will send a photo of a girl in the morning, and Campbell has until 9.00 at night to find her. Campbell tells Ibby that he wants back in on the case, and his request is granted.Campbell works together with Mackie and the rest of the team in getting the word out on finding the girl before the deadline. However, by the time Campbell gets her house number and calls, Griffin is already there, and has strangled her to death. Griffin suggests they continue with a different girl. The next day similar events follow as Campbell and his team try to find the next girl before the 9:00 pm deadline. They corner and almost catch Griffin, but he manages not only to kill the second girl but also escape. Campbell is injured during the car chase.The next day, another photo arrives, but it turns out to be the image of Lisa Anton (Yvonne Niami), Campbell's former lover who was killed indirectly because of Griffin back in Los Angeles. Campbell goes to Lisa's grave, where Griffin is waiting for him. Griffin explains that he has Beilman hostage somewhere, and only wants to talk with him. Campbell negotiates for Beilman's safety, and Griffin eventually agrees to bring Campbell to see her. During the drive, Griffin explains that he cares a great deal for Campbell, and considers him a "good friend". Campbell secretly uses his cell phone to call Mackie, cluing him in on the situation.Griffin and Campbell arrive at an abandoned warehouse, where inside Beilman has been tied up and gagged and surrounded by flammable materials and candles. The two men face off as the police arrive outside. The struggle culminates with the place catching fire. Campbell unties Beilman and gets them both to safety before the place explodes, killing Griffin. | suspenseful, neo noir, murder, flashback | train | imdb | Joel rejoins the police in an effort to save his potential victims as well as catching him.I, like many others, wasn't too bothered by this film when it was released - it looked like it would be yet another serial killer movie, and it was!
The action scenes are not great and the film never really has a real air of menace or tension, but it is still slick enough to watch - even if it is almost impossible to be emotionally involved.The director managed to get his timing right to get Reeves in the midst of a reasonable cast; he shot a few videos for Reeves' band years prior in exchange for Reeves doing this film which, despite hitting it big with The Matrix, was a promise he honoured.
After being identified and harassed by the elusive serial killer David Allen Griffin (Keanu Reeves), the distressed FBI agent Joel Campbell (James Spader) moves to Chicago from Los Angeles in order to secure his own safety and peace of mind.
This choice weakens The Watcher's attempts to establish realism around both characters' past connection, and loosens the otherwise tight pace of the plot.The watcher hits on both a realistic level, and an entertaining level never before reached with a movie starring Keanu Reeves..
He literally "left" his home base in Los Angeles, defeated, because of a particularly hairy case involving an unusually devious, crafty and risk-loving serial killer who went by the name of David Allen Griffin (Keanu Reeves).
Griffin is able to play the games he does only because so many people are faceless and ignored.Charbanic films The Watcher with a unique visual style can be "arty"--especially during the flashbacks--and conventionally build suspense at the same time.
The interaction between Keanu Reeves, James Spader and Marisa Tomei make this film.
I would have liked a little more elaboration on what happened in the past between James Spader and Keanu Reeves.
Also, I wish the movie had shown part of the session between the Psychologist, played by Marisa Tomei, and the serial killer, played by Keanu Reeves.
It's hard to decide what exactly is the worst thing about this attempt at a crime mystery movie: the jerky, indecisive cinematography; the intrusive "alternative" soundtrack; terrible acting; the completely cliched script or the general frustration one has in trying to watch this movie that is truly an insult to one's intelligence.The story follows a burned-out, pill-popping ex-LAPD cop played straight out of the cliche handbook by James Spader.
After taunting James Spader with two more young women who quickly become victims, and extending the movie length during the first forty minutes, Keanu finally makes it personal by targeting Spader's psychiatrist played by a confused, and noticeably weary, Marisa Tomei.
Joe Charbanic's "The Watcher" is another rehearse in Hollywood's obsession with serial killer films that call for big stars and bloody murders.
The main character, Joel Campbell (James Spader), is an FBI agent who recently moved from Los Angeles to Chicago to escape the stress and recollections of his experiences tracking down psychotic murderers, specifically David Allen Griffin (Keanu Reeves), who's trademark includes strangling young women with piano strings.
He's fine, but there isn't much to work with here.Maybe the filmmakers knew they had a weak movie (though that does give them a lot of credit) because there are some face-saving gestures that also painfully fail, like inserts of jerky footage, or other footage in a digitally processed excess that ends up each time being one of Spader's dreams.
Some people don't like Keanu as an actor, but I love a lot of the movies he's done (Matrix, Street Kings, Speed, Bill & Ted, Constantine & Devil's Advocate off the top of my head).
Where can I start with this visual and mental trash - the acting was bad (except for the police partner), Spader gave his acting the energy level of a slug, Reeves acted as if he was performing in his first high school made-at-home movie with his best friend and their very first video cam.
I'm not huge fans of James Spader or Keanu Reeves; however, that didn't stop me from watching this film.
I'm glad I went because not only did I enjoy this film, I have come to enjoy Spader and Reeves as actors.Keanu Reeves takes a departure from his usual good guy persona to portray a serial killer.
He does such a great job, I asked myself why was this the first movie he portrayed a villain because he was so good at it."The Watcher" offers nothing new in way of plot but it does have performances turned in by Reeves and Spader that will keep viewers on the edge of their seats.
James Spader as a sympathetic character and Keanu Reeves as a psychotic one indicates that whoever made this movie put their balls to the wall.
At that point, you're hooked--much as you are to a cheesy drama or daytime soap--and the end pays off.Spader and Reeves both play well against type, giving them both points for true acting chops, and Tomei takes her career a step further very quietly in this role.
Dog food.Everything sucks in this so-called movie:a screenplay so hackneyed the average viewer must have seen the story a hundred times or more,flashy directing,poor acting from the leads,poor-as usual- female part whose only raison d'être is screaming.James Spader's wooden acting is absolutely awful.At the beginning of the movie,he's a deeply depressed man,living on acebutolol ,seconal ,you name it,unable to find the way back home (that's what he says to his analyst)and the following day ,he turns into a dashing,dynamic elegant cop.As far as the analyst is concerned,her only purpose is to provide the movie with an "intellectual" side.Keanu Reeves is totally unconvincing as the villain,,particularly when he "dances".Some would be terrifying scenes look like spoofs on thrillers .Do not watch!.
Joel Campbell (James Spader) and David Griffin (Keanu Reeves) are like binary stars that revolve around a common center of gravity.
Actually, it's a rather tired film concept.In Chicago, Campbell introduces the story premise about serial killer Griffin who preys on young women, and uses his killings as a game to be played out with Campbell, who has no choice but to participate.
"The Watcher" tells of a serial killer (Reeves) who plays cat & mouse with a burnt out FBI agent (Spader) by stalking him and sending him photos of his next victim, all young women, 24 hours before killing them.
The direction ranges from tired to inept, the script is generic, the dialogue is banal, the casting is ridiculous (Keanu Reeves), the characters two-dimensional and completely under-explained and Marisa Tomei, an actress whose work generally runs from workmanlike (The Paper) to wonderful (Unhook The Stars, My Cousin Vinny) is reduced to playing the damsel on the train tracks - the role shouldn't even have been first billed as it barely rates a cameo.Bottom line?
The story concerns a burned out F.B.I. agent (James Spader) who seeks refuge in Chicago when he fails to apprehend Griffen (Keanu Reeves) a demented serial killer.
The hero and villain are truly defined by two driven actors,James Spader and Keanu Reeves, and with every twist and turn, their characters pull you further into their struggle to win over the other.
Is this worth watching?(Bad pun I know) yes.The Watcher is about a serial killer that tormented a L.A. detective for months and killed his girlfriend.
Formulaic stalker thriller stays afloat by the thankful participation of James Spader, playing a cop tracking a serial killer who stalks his victims, who, in any role, always manages to breath life into even the most vapid of lines.
Very contrived flick as former FBI agent, James Spader tracks down serial killer, Keanu Reeves who has a slight obsession with Spader and a serious obsession with killing women with piano wire.
For the most part, "The Watcher" is another serial killer movie: there's a psychopath killing people and a detective has to stop him.
But the three-way relationships between the killer (Keanu Reeves), the detective (James Spader) and his psychiatrist (Marisa Tomei) add an extra, more interesting dimension to it.I probably should remind you that this is NOT a movie for the squeamish.
Because the things happening in the movie,they are all directed by the killer.He pulls the policemen where he wants,he lets them know what he wants.But still we don't really understand what's the point of the murders.Actually we don't know anything about how and why the killer made Joel Campbell such an obsession like this.What we see is a chase (Another question:Who's chasing who) in which killer puts his reasons into a psychology about the cop.And the scenes that we see things in the eyes of the killer,I don't think they're enough to build the connection.That's the biggest missing point.
First,there is a rhytm in the movie.It's not long so it doesn't make you bored much.I think the writer couldn't keep the screenplay longer.So for a simple watcher it's satisfying.And the color and the technical stuff like this is good.Because Joe Charbanic is a music video director,it's clear that he knows well about this side.
Then,the cast is surprisingly good.It seems like Keanu Reeves played in this movie just because he knows Joe Charbanic from a video of his group;Dogstar.I don't think he really wanted to play in this movie.and there is not much chance to watch James Spader and Marissa Tomei in the big screen,especially in big productions.There is not an acting-feast but but it's nice to watch them,especially together.
While I truly believe that Reeves is a good actor who has really shone in previous movies ('Much Ado About Nothing', 'Speed' etc.), here he fails to convince.His nemesis is Campbell, played by James Spader.
David Allen Griffin (Keanu Reeves) is a serial killer who has developed an obsession with Joel Campbell (James Spader), the cop who has been pursuing him.
and led to the final obvious ending.I didn't feel that he played a realistic serial killer at all his acting was very bad and it just is not the role for him I would never have compared this to the shining the shining is a cult classic and actually an interesting movie.this is one of the worst movies i have seen i would compare it to the wicker man from Nicholas cage this past year that was also a stinker.If you want a good scary movie with a big Hollywood star try gothica at least there was some sort of plot switches.in my opinion this was his attempt to get out of his cookie cutter roles..
Despite the participation of Keanu Reeves, James Spader and Marisa Tomei, there's just no reason to watch this whatsoever: The screenplay is wincingly terrible, the acting is barely emotionally ambulant, and the music choices are distracting and obstructive.
A prevailing thought while viewing The Watcher was that Keanu Reeves is an odd choice to play a lone wolf serial killer, but he actually suits it pretty well.
The novelty angle of "The Watcher" is that it tries to underscore the point of how invisible people are in this fast paced and uncaring world - and even the breakthroughs of modern technology can't save the future victims of "The Watcher" despite him sending a picture of his would-be-victims a whole 24 hours beforehand to the police.Therein lies the killer's fascination with an FBI detective (James Spader) who's come the closest to catching him.
The killer (Keanu Reeves) thinks he's made a friend of sorts in that Spader needs him to continue what he's doing in order for his existence to have some meaning.
In the beginning of the film it's actually Reeves, who's relocated to the city the agent has moved to, who is responsible for Spader's resurrection of sorts when he starts killing again.Lofty ideas and solid social commentary may have been part of the aim in "The Watcher" but a clumsy script with some very silly dialog at times, huge loopholes, a very unconvincing performance by Reeves, cardboard supporting characters, annoying frenzied editing, way too experimental photography and a rushed ending keep the film from achieving anything special.Reeves can be quite good when the material suits him but here the primary focus seems to be making him look cool and hip (and very dashing) rather than authentic.
***SPOILERS*** Despite actor Keanu Reeves being against the part he was forced to play, or end up getting sued by the studio for millions, of serial killer David Allen Griffin his performance is far better then the many previous roles that he had including his 1999 multi million dollar blockbuster "The Matrix".A number of young women end up getting murdered in Chicago under the exact same circumstances that 11 women were murdered in L.A a few years earlier.
When FBI agent Spader burns out in LA & moves to Chicago, he enlists the help of a psychoanalyst Tomei, who turns out is being stalked by serial killer Reeves.This plot line has been done so many times in the 90's that it's become predictable.
There's no way that anyone who's a fan of these types of movies can't guess what's in store for each of the main characters.But the surprising part of this film, to me, is who plays the roles.
When I first heard of the movie coming out and who was starring in the film, I thought James Spader would have the dark, brooding, bad-guy role, such as the part he played in "Secretary," or "Bad Influence," and I thought Keanu Reeves would play the good guy, like he did in "Speed." So that switch, in itself, was a nice change of pace to where, if you like either of these actors, you'll like the movie, in turn..
I think the movie would have been better if Keanu played the good guy and Spader played the bad guy, i think maybe.I would like to see a prequel, it could be called THE WATCHER: IN THE BEGINNING..
I felt that the movie could have been a little better if Keanu Reeves and James Spader had switched parts.
Reeves could have done the intensity of the cop beautifully and Spader could have played the killer with a coolness and that would have made the character more chilling.
First off, Keanu Reeves could play not a serial killer character.
As the movie moves along it becomes very evident that the serial killer wants to be caught to renew his special kinship with Spader's FBI character.
although i did not think that he could do it...keanu reeves pulls off a villain in this latest attempt at a serial killer thriller that leaves nothing to the imagination.there was nothing surprising about this film and although movie moguls are coming up with new and twisted ways to kill people and create deadly villains, the stories are all the same and the watcher is no exception.the story ended itself right in the beginning because right away it was so predictable.
you knew who the killer was, you knew his motives and you knew whom the last victim would be and why right in the first twenty minutes of the film.true it was gory at times, but even the "watcher" would not waste his time watching something like this.
Wannabe serial killer Keanu Reeves watches women and kills them apparently for no other reason than the attention from traumatized-former-killer-hunter James Spader.
James Spader and Keanu Reeves give EXCELLENT performances.
i thought this movie was well filmed, the actors were amazing, especially keanu reeves who was charming, creepy, and made you hate him and be intrigued by him all at the same time.
David Allen Griffin (Keanu Reeves) is a meticulous serial killer.
In this film, Keanu Reeves plays a very "twisted" and "stalker to the extreme" kind of Serial Killer.
The film follows Keanu (as the Serial Killer) hunting victims.
In an unexpected and surprisingly great performance, Keanu Reeves has turned evil in "The Watcher." I'm not huge fans of James Spader or Keanu Reeves; however, that didn't stop me from watching this film.
In an unexpected and surprisingly great performance, Keanu Reeves has turned evil in "The Watcher." I'm not huge fans of James Spader or Keanu Reeves; however, that didn't stop me from watching this film.
I'm glad I got the chance to rent this movie because I did not enjoy this film, I have come to enjoy and appreciate Spader and Reeves as actors.Reeves' departure from his usual good guy persona to portray a serial killer was outstanding.
I'm glad I got the chance to rent this movie because I did not enjoy this film, I have come to enjoy and appreciate Spader and Reeves as actors.Reeves' departure from his usual good guy persona to portray a serial killer was outstanding.
"The Watcher" offers nothing new in way of plot but it does have performances turned in by Reeves and Spader that will keep viewers on the edge of their seats.
"The Watcher" offers nothing new in way of plot but it does have performances turned in by Reeves and Spader that will keep viewers on the edge of their seats.
A deranged serial killer(Keanu Reeves) plays cat-and-mouse with a burned out detective(James Spader)by sending him photos of future victims.
keanu reeves is not that good in this movie.
Keanu Reeves' and James Spader's characters both advanced through the story, and there were several wonderful lines.
Spader would have been a better choice as the charming Serial Killer and Reeves would have been more at home with his limited Acting chops as the Detective.It is not bad but nothing memorable.
Detective Campbell (James Spader) must track serial killer, David Allen Griffin (Keanu Reeves) who has been playing a cat and mouse game with him even going so far as to move to Chicago after Campbell does so.
James Spader does a credible job as the tortured FBI agent Campbell, but Marisa Tomei sleepwalks through her role as his concerned (and pretty!) psychologist, and Keanu Reeves is laughably bad as the scary serial murderer. |
tt1922777 | Sinister | The film opens with Super 8 footage depicting a family of four standing beneath a tree with sacks over their heads and nooses around their necks. An unseen figure pulls at a rope attached to a partially sawed-through branch of the tree, causing their deaths by hanging.
True crime writer Ellison Oswalt (Hawke) moves into a home with his wife Tracy (Juliet Rylance) and their two children: 7-year-old Ashley (Clare Foley), an artist who is allowed to paint on her walls and 12-year-old Trevor (Michael Hall D'Addario), who suffers from night terrors. The local sheriff pays a visit, indicating his dislike of Ellison and his career; his books have often criticized law enforcement for mistakes. Ellison has moved his family (unbeknownst to them) into a home where a family was murdered, all hung by ropes on a tree in the backyard. Ellison intends to use the case of the murdered family as the basis for his new book and hopes that his research will reveal the fate of the Stevenson family's fifth member, a 10-year-old girl named Stephanie who disappeared following the murders. Later that night Ellison discovers Trevor in a box, naked and screaming, having experienced another night terror.
Ellison finds a box in the attic that contains a projector and several reels of Super 8 mm footage that are each labeled as innocent home movies. Ellison discovers that the films are actually murder footage depicting different families being murdered in various ways by an unseen person holding the camera. Ellison notes the appearance of a mysterious symbol in the films as well as a strange masked figure. Consulting a local deputy (James Ransone), Ellison discovers that the murders took place at different times, beginning in the 1960s and in different cities across the country. He also learns that a child from each family went missing following every murder. The deputy refers Ellison to Professor Jonas (Vincent D'Onofrio), whose expertise is the occult, to decipher the symbol in the films. Jonas tells Ellison that such symbols are that of a Pagan Babylonia deity named Bughuul (Nick King), who would kill entire families and then take one of their children in order to consume his/her soul, leaving the symbol behind.
One night, Ellison hears the film projector running and finds the missing children seated in the attic watching one of the films. Bughuul suddenly appears on camera before physically appearing before Ellison, causing him to fall off the ladder. Ellison takes the camera, projector and the films outside and burns them with petrol. His wife meets him outside and he tells her that they're moving back to their old house immediately.
At his old home, Ellison receives a video-message from Jonas, who sends him scans of historical images associated with Bughuul, including the symbol seen in the murder movies; the images have been partially destroyed by the early Christians, who believed that images of Bughuul served as a gateway for the demon to come from the spiritual realm to the mortal world; children who saw the images of Bughuul could be possessed and even abducted into the images.
Ellison discovers the projector and films (from the previous house) in his attic, along with an envelope of film labeled "extended cut endings". The deputy calls and informs him that every murdered family had previously lived in the house where the last murder took place and each new murder occurred shortly after the family moved from the crime scene into their new residence. By moving, Ellison has placed himself and his family in line to be the next victims.
The extra footage depicts the missing children coming onscreen following each murder, revealing themselves to be the killers, before suddenly disappearing. Ellison becomes light-headed, and notices a bright green liquid mixed with his coffee in the cup, along with a note reading "Good Night, Daddy" under the cup before losing consciousness. Ashley appears behind Ellison, revealing herself to be the drugger, under Bughuul's possession. Ellison awakens to find himself, Tracy and Trevor bound and gagged on the floor of the parlour next to the lit fire. Ashley approaches filming him with the 8 mm camera. Ashley then decapitates Ellison with an axe before killing Tracy and Trevor off screen, using their blood to paint images of cats, dogs and unicorns on the walls. Ashley then views the film of her murders while drawing the murder in the lid of the home movies box. The missing children stare at her through the camera, but flee when Bughuul appears. He lifts Ashley into his arms and disappears into the film with her.
The film concludes with an image of the box of films in the Oswalt family's attic, now accompanied by Ashley's reel, labeled "House Painting '12". | tragedy, violence, horror, murder | train | wikipedia | The movie debuted in this same town's SXSW Film Festival in March.Ethan Hawke is Ellison Oswalt, a true crime author and devoted family man with a what-have-you-done-for-us-lately fan base and editor anxiously awaiting his next blockbuster.
As the film opens, the Oswalts are moving into yet another new house, but Ellison swears this is the last time, and selectively informs his family of his intentions.In the process of unpacking, Ellison discovers a box of the previous owner's old home movies in the attic.
The imagery is great and so are your jumpy moments even if it does contain a few of the horror Clichés.The plot is simple and follows true-crime writer Ellison (Ethan Hawke) as he discovers a box of home movies "found footage" of murders that put his family in danger.
The ending is one of the most disturbing things I've ever seen in a horror film and I've seen many!"Sinister" is a ghost story of Japanese proportions.
I was dying to see "Sinister." It looked like one off those great psychological horror films that isn't so much interested in blood and guts as it is freaking you out, and that's just what it is.
Hawke makes for an interesting main character and even the creepy house and creepy killer off the movie are expanded to be something way more."Sinister" is bloody terrifying.
The scares stick with you and you will go back to being just as tense as you were before the scare.Another way 'Sinister' differs from most modern horror movies is that it actually focuses on plot.
The film's director Scott Derrickson spends just as much time focusing on plot development as he does on scaring us, much like he did with 'The Exorcism of Emily Rose'.
However Sinister manages to find ways to break free of these leashes that the horror genre is becoming tied down to.Ethan Hawk stars as a true crime writer known as Ellison who moves into a new home with his wife, Tracy (Juliet Rylance) and his two children, Ashley (Clare Foley) and Trevor (Michael Hall D'Addario) near the site of a local crime in order to get inspiration for his novel.
It gave me goosebumps just thinking about it.One thing that I feel about SINISTER was that Derrickson (together with Young) brought us back to that atmospheric terror of the unknown that is truly nostalgic of horror films of the 70s.The feel of the movie was so scary that this was how THE AMITYVILLE HORROR should have been remade.In short, I'd highly recommend you (or better still DARE YOU) to see SINISTER.
I say an Oscar is deserved for Christopher Young who has outdone himself with sublime arrangements which bring depth and real terror alongside the visuals.By instilling fear from the outset and implying a dreadful fate to the protagonist (which the viewer is hoping can be avoided but ultimately knows is lurking at the end), Sinister takes its influence from The Ring and keeps the tension building throughout the movie.
I am a horror fan and it was a great scary movie and disturbing, good disturbing if you know what I mean.
Because there's not many movies that freaked me out that way and all of the people in the theater were scared as hell like me, and it was a good feeling overall.
With that beginning, the 1st minute you know it's gonna be hard sometimes to watch and i love how obsessed the character of Ethan Hawke is and who really looks like a writer and reminds me sometimes of Johnny Depp in Secret Window.
The movie is very thrilling and breathe taking horror.I was scared while watching.Especially the short clips were very thrilling,terrific and dangerous.The direction was good.The screenplay and editing was nice.The story is brilliant.The acting were superb from all the characters.The ending scene was really really very scary.And the main things were the clips that were terrific.The bogeyman was very horror and dangerous.I think that horror movies fans will never get disappoint while watching this movie.They will definitely like this.A must watch for horror movies lovers.I think this is the finest horror film I have watched till date.
And yet, I feel it rises above many other films because of one thing- expert building and payoff of atmosphere.We follow the story of true-crime writer Ellison Oswalt (Ethan Hawke), who moves his family into a new house...
While I have taken issue with some of director Derrickson's films in the past (including the woefully misjudged "The Day the Earth Stood Still" remake), I've very much admired his work in the field of horror, in addition to his recent return to the mainstream with the delightful "Doctor Strange." And despite a limited budget, he shines through with wicked visual direction and a wonderfully disturbing sense of dread in "Sinister." This is one eerie, unsettling film, and his keen use of darkness, composition and suggestive camera angles lends a lot of fear to the proceedings.
Also the ending isn't what I expected at all and I feel there could have been more action but it did fit in with the rest of this movie which can be quite slow at times, but you hardly notice because of the way this film draws you into it's world.
From start to finish it was the most unimaginative, badly directed, uninspired trash have seen in a long time.It's like someone has taken pieces from a 'make your own horror movie' kit and pasted them together until they all seemed to fit together and then presented the finished result as an original piece of work.
Finding a box of film reels and a projector in the attic, Ellison sifts through the footage and begins to uncover a shocking history of gruesome violence.Ellison is an interesting character due to his flawed nature and instances of unlikeability, which then ultimately blend well with the scenes depicting him as a good man at heart and a caring father.
Ellison's dual nature also gives the typical "nagging wife" archetype a justifiable reason to bitch and Rylance's Tracey does so in a way that makes us root for her, for him, both or them and them as a collective family.When it comes to idiocy in horror films, Sinister as does an admirable job of avoiding, if not masking, the tendency.
A true crime writer picks the wrong murder mystery for his next book in "Sinister," a horror movie that balances the contemporary horror movie formula with mystery thriller elements and a solid leading performance.Ethan Hawke plays Ellison Oswalt, a successful writer who has just moved his family to a town in Pennsylvania where a family was found hung from a tree in the backyard except for the third child, who was reported missing.
Ellison realizes he's on to something big, but eventually things take a supernatural turn.If the film weren't titled "Sinister" (a title that seems to have been subjectively chosen for marketing purposes) and you went in without knowing anything, you might actually convince yourself you were watching an eerie true crime thriller and be a bit surprised to watch the film take a contemporary horror flick turn equipped with creepy ghost children, freaky old movies and a pagan deity.
Director Scott Derrickson ("The Exorcism of Emily Rose") uses classic suspense techniques and the creepy Super8 videos for that slow-building dread effect reminiscent of a more classic horror-thriller, while also employing the slow- walking-through-a-house-at-night-that-ends-in-a-jump-scare techniques of today's horror movies.
Hawke allows us to empathize with his character despite knowing full well that we would not have handled things the same way he does at various points in the film.The ending has some issues along those lines and some information that seems obvious to the audience is not obvious to the characters, and that can be frustrating, but on the whole, "Sinister" leaves you with a jaw-dropper of an ending, a perfectly freaky culmination of all the classic suspense and minutes upon minutes of wondering when it's all going to blow up."Sinister" will more likely win over viewers who don't always like scary movies than it will avid scary movie watchers who love the genre precisely for its conventions and clichés, but it successfully reaches out to both.
It tells the story about a crime writer who moves into a house with his wife and two children and one day when he goes up to attic he finds a box full of videos when he watches them,the movies are of family's dying.
Bagul exists in images of himself and runs the risk of making Ellison's family the latest casualty of the house.Director Scott Derrickson cleverly used a variety of different camera angles on several key occasions in the film to express the fear and shock of the victims, and the use of sound to depict this was done in a horrifying way.
Its scary as hell, right from the start of the movie the hair on your arms will stand up, because the footage that are going to see in this film, really lives up the name of the movie "sinister" it has the feel like the old horror films, when the suspense comes creeping and ends up so intense, go see this with your girlfriend, or a girl you like, i grantee you that she will be hiding her eyes into your shirt.
If a horror movie can make you feel appropriately uncomfortable, then it's done its job.The cast is actually small, and it is led by A-list performer Ethan Hawke as Ellison.
James Ransone also stars as a town deputy, providing some great humor to help the audience breathe before the big "BOO!" And Vincent D'Onofrio goes uncredited as a professor who provides Ellison with a hefty amount of information about the events behind these home movies.The jump scares of "Sinister" are perfectly executed, and there are no cats waiting to falsely freak you out.
Am writing this Review as a fan of Horror flicks.Most of the horror movie will be emphasized with the Sound effects, blood splitting scenes and with CG and they will be weak in the story line but sinister is an exceptional from other horror movies.Solid story line which carry's the whole movie without any blur, and appropriate sound effects which scares the hell out the viewers.The reasons why the movie is good are: i) Ethan's performance adds additional strength to the plot and is acting was perfectly matched.
Sinister has the former: inventiveness, which is increasingly difficult to create in a genre as enormous as horror.The invention with Sinister is not the combination of fairly standard elements - horrible crimes, the occult, ancient ritual, children as mysterious victims, 'haunted' house, an investigating character - but it's how they are woven into the story and how the story unravels.Best of all, Ethan Hawke lends his talents as a facial actor to a film in which his character, Ellison the writer of real crime, is not only central to the story but part of it - unknowingly.
The acting was also good, though mainly by the rest of the cast (for instance Michael Hall D'Addario and Clare Foley as the two children, or Fred Dalton Thompson and James Ransone as the Sheriff and Deputy), I don't really appreciate Ethan Hawk's obvious overacting in this one (though I guess his acting is like pineapple as a pizza topping, you either like it or you don't).As for the ending, I always enjoy Horror more when a clever plot twist is applied, enhancing the feeling of suspense and the using the element of surprise to increase the overall sensation of fear (very much like psycho-thriller films).
In Sinister, the ending doesn't involve such a twist per se, but it definitely binds together many pieces of information and succeeds in being unpredictable and horrifying (even when watching for the 2nd time!)One of the best features of this film is the original soundtrack, which is dark and eerie and definitely takes the overall feeling of discomfort to a new level.
I never saw myself so in-tuned , captivated, disgusted, and riveted by a news story in all my life.Thankfully, I never experience an obsession with a case or past events like the one our lead character Ellison Oswalt (Ethan Hawke) in Sinister immerses himself into.
It abandons much of the "jump-scare" cliché, and uses it cautiously and with great effect, it focuses on characters, disciplined and rational, it shows Ellison's descent into obsession effectively and realistically, relies on setting, sound, and tone to invoke fear in its audience, and pulls out an engaging story to tie everything back together.The film's best scene comes shortly after the hour mark and involves Ellison and Tracy angrily spitting words with venom and hate back and forth, Ellison saying how his book, while potentially sacrificing his family's safety, will buoy them financially, and Tracy saying how he has become such an unrecognizable man being buried and eaten alive by his work.
"Sinister" is a dark and spooky horror movie with a creepy ghost story.
I mention this because if Saw or Hostel are your bag then maybe this one won't suit, but if you like a good thriller with added chills then you're at the right movie.Established but hasn't had a hit for a while author Ellison Oswalt (Ethan Hawke) is moving his family to a new home to research a true crime case that he hopes will get him back on the best sellers list.
There are a few jump out of your seat moments and also more subtle, uncomfortable viewings of the super 8 footage that put a horrendous spin on the found footage narrative where you can't help but watch for clues with Ellison as they sear off the screen.In a perfect world the build up to the film could have been a little more secretive ideally, as trailer footage can unfortunately give the audience major deja vu when a couple of scenes are building to a big scare you'll have seen it already but there are plenty more where they came from.All in all an effective and tense thriller that will have some of you sleeping with the lights on for a couple of nights and a new found fear of attic space!More reviews at wherewolftherewolf.com.
I was hooked from the first scene till the last good watch I give it a high 7 not a lot of gore maybe 2 deaths had good brute to them I don't like Ethan Hawke but I liked him in this he didn't over act like he seems to do and when he needed to angry or scared he did a good job I hope he does more of this type of movie or maybe science fiction.It has a artsy kinda fairy tale feel once you put the whole story together it was not predictable.
After moving himself and his family into a new house that was the scene of a horrendous crime, true-crime writer Ellison Oswalt (Ethan Hawke) finds a box of 8mm "snuff" films that suggest the murder he is currently researching is the work of a serial killer whose career dates some way back still further...It is becoming the un-reviewable genre, horror that is, there are just too many splinters of horror to choose from and so many people to cater for.
I love this sub-genre of horror, and I feel Sinister is one of the best films of its type in recent years.
Even a hardened horror film fan like myself, I am having second thoughts about seeing this movie again.
The trailer looked interesting and the story sounded alright, but the movie itself was just far from scary and actually turned out to be somewhat of a joke.Sure it was better than the recent crap that has flooded the horror genre, such as the "Paranormal Activity" series, but then again, it doesn't take much from a movie to do that.What made "Sinister" bearable to watch was the acting performances.
A lot of good camera work and great angles, but ultimately it was all struggling to best a horrible storyline and a lack of scares.The story does start out nice and does have a certain appeal, but it all takes a turn for the worse when you are let in on what is actually going on, and when you see the dead children in the house for the first time it all goes downhill fast.I had expected "Sinister" to be a lot more than it turned out to be.
"Sinister," is a great old school, supernatural horror movie, and is a great example of how, if you are going to do it, to correctly make a movie involving the overused fad of "Found Footage." It's the story of a true crime writer,Ellison Oswalt (Ethan Hawke) that moves his family into a house formerly owned by a murdered family whose daughter is still missing.
In many ways it is much in the style of the old classic, "The Shining," mixed with the more new school of films such as "The Ring." There is no corny element to it which too many movies put in today, and it makes it a delight, at least for me, to watch.Ethan Hawke was excellent as the crime writer and father who is seeking that next big book, yet feeling himself slip away from his idealistic views of why he chose that genre in the first place are fading.
However, I must make an exception to "Sinister." I had heard very good things about this film making it a must-see for a horror movie fan like me.
OK, there are horror clichés here like the house in seemingly perpetual darkness, or the sudden scares that lead nowhere, creepy children drawing on walls, and so on, but in this movie, these things actually work well to work up the audience's heart rates and goosebumps.
I highly recommend horror film fans to watch "Sinister." It is as it is entitled.. |
tt1654523 | Night Train to Lisbon | Walking over a bridge in Bern, Raimund Gregorius, a Swiss professor of ancient languages, notices a young woman in a red coat standing on the railing, about to leap. Dropping his briefcase, he runs and pulls her down. She helps him gather the papers that have spilled from his briefcase and accompanies him to the school where he teaches. But instead of waiting to talk, she leaves during the middle of his class, without her coat.
Concerned, Raimund grabs the coat and runs after her, but in vain. He checks her pockets for identification. All he finds is a small book, a memoir of sorts, by Amadeu do Prado. It is stamped with the address of the bookstore, so he goes there. The bookseller remembers the girl's purchasing this obscure book and, as he leafs through it, a train ticket to Lisbon falls out. The train is, in fact, leaving in 15 minutes. Confused and doubtful, Raimund rushes to the station, but the woman is nowhere in sight. At the last moment he decides to use the ticket himself, and during the journey he reads the book.
Amadeu do Prado lived in Lisbon, so Raimund searches for him, hoping that this will lead to the woman. He finds Amadeu's home, where the writer's sister, Adriana, welcomes Raimund; she gives the impression her brother still lives there. Raimund learns that Amadeu was a doctor, and that only 100 copies of his book were printed. When Raimund asks what happened to their father, Adriana's reaction is hostile. As Raimund is leaving, the maid informs him that he can find Amadeu in the town's cemetery. Raimund finds the tomb: Amadeu died in 1974.
In the street, a bicyclist runs into Raimund and smashes his glasses. While obtaining new glasses from a local optician, Mariana, Raimund narrates his experiences. When he returns to collect the glasses, Mariana tells Raimund her uncle knew Amadeu de Prado well and is willing to talk to Raimund.
Raimund and Mariana both go to the nursing home where her uncle João Eça resides, and Raimund learns João and Amadeu were both in the resistance against the Salazar dictatorship, which story is told in continuing flashbacks as the film continues. Raimund then visits the priest who taught and later buried Amadeu de Prado. The priest explains that Amadeu, a smart young boy from an aristocratic background, befriended Jorge O'Kelly, another bright boy in the school though of lowly means. The boys bonded through their love for knowledge, particularly the philosophical and political knowledge not permitted under Salazar. Amadeu gave a graduation speech that reflected his contempt for the regime, much to the chagrin of his father, a well respected judge.
Raimund returns to Adriana and asks for her side of the story, and then he revisits João to obtain more information. Raimund learns that Amadeu died of an aneurysm, which he knew he had, but had not told Adriana about. As a doctor, Amadeu never refused a patient, and when Mendez, a powerful member of the Salazar regime, called "the Butcher of Lisbon", was brought to Amadeu's clinic, he saved the man's life. Amadeu's friends were shocked by this, especially Jorge, who at that time was already in the resistance. Later, Amadeu confronted Jorge and declared that he too would join the resistance. Jorge introduced Amadeu to João and to Estefânia, a beautiful woman who helped the resistance by memorizing people's names and contact information, and whom they were both attracted to. When the revolution against Salazar began, Amadeu was able to smuggle Estefânia to safety in Spain. Raimund learned where she went and went there to see that she was still alive.
Raimund finally meets the woman from the bridge again, in Lisbon; she had felt suicidal because she had just learned from the book that her beloved grandfather was the Butcher of Lisbon, but she is learning to accept this.
The events become a catalyst to Raimund's life, in a gentle sort of way. He informs the school that he is now returning to his job. Mariana goes to the railway station with him and, at the last moment, suggests he could instead stay. | romantic, atmospheric, flashback | train | wikipedia | There's so many layers, so many subtle metaphors, so much poetry in the imagery and storytelling, that despite being such a straightforward story you can't help feeling like you're walking through a maze, a labyrinth of emotions and thoughts, where present, past and future merge into a vast uplifting eternity.
This is an Europudding co-produced by Germany/Switzerland/Portugal , it deals with Raimund Gregorius (Jeremy Irons) , a Swiss Professor, abandons his lectures and buttoned-down life to embark on a thrilling adventure that will take him on a journey to the very heart of himself .
Having saved an enticing Portuguese girl from leaping to her death, Gregorius stumbles upon an attractive novel by a Portuguese author, as he figures out the destination of a certain writer named Amadeu (Jack Huston) , a doctor and poet who fought against Portuguese dictator Antonio de Oliveira Salazar.
Gregorius acts as an investigator, pulling together pieces of a puzzle that involves suspense , twists and the highest possible stakes to lead unexpected consequences .It is a correct adaptation based on the international best selling novel written by Pascal Mercier from the award winning director Billie August .
This moving film contains suspense , plot twists , a love story , thrills , emotional intrigue and political events .
The flashback technique has been used and re-used from ¨Citizen Kane¨ (1941), known by some as the best movie of all time, it gave the world the first plot device by means of flashbacks , following to ¨The Godfather¨ and recently ¨The hours¨ until today we are faced with ¨Night Train to Lisbon¨ (2013), a film destined for repeated use as schedule filling on inventory-building, loved by some attracted by the name of Jeremy Irons and ignored by everyone else .
Very good acting from Jeremy Irons as an aging Swiss professor of classical languages , Jack Huston a young Amadeu , gorgeous Melanie Laurent as a mysterious revolutionary girl , Martina Gedeck as Mariana and August Diehl as Young Jorge O'Kelly .
And special mention to Charlotte Rampling , though Vanessa Redgrave was originally cast for the role of Adriana De Prado, however Rampling replaced her.The motion picture was well directed by Billie August who repeats similar formula to ¨House of the spirits¨ as German production , Lisboa filming , international cast and Jeremy Irons as main starring .
I just saw it this evening in Rome-- Well done--and although I was not familiar with the book--I will read it now.The style of "movie within a movie" reminds one of Fowles "the French Lieutenants Wife" and Truffaut "Day for night" but MUCH better done than both of those.Wonderful story of the randomness of life---and how that random event allowed three close friends during the dictatorship in Portugal to finally discover what had happened to each other.
It took a stranger to complete --and resolve--the major event of their lives.Jeremy Iron was as usual terrific---and reminded me of his role in House of the Spirits--in a similar political setting of the fascist times in Chile.Deeply intense, dramatically fulfilling--it kept me on the edge of my seat.Bravo.
I am not a book fanatic but I love movies based on the novels especially movie like 'Night Train to Lisbon' I won't miss.
Gregorius search makes him discover the life of the author, the relationships of the author with his entourage and with the political context in which Portugal was immersed at that time (the dark and awful years of the dictatorship of Salazar).
"Night Train to Lisbon," an especially engrossing 2013 film now appearing on Netflix, may not be everyone's cup of tea, but for those hungry for a movie without flying cars that instead pulls you in with an unusual plot and thoughtful, incisive performances by an exceptionally capable cast, this one's for you.The film was nominated for six Sophia Awards _ the national film awards of Portugal _ including best picture, and won three, for best supporting actress (Beatrice Bartarda), best art direction and best make-up.
Directed by Bille August ("Pelle the Conqueror"), "Night Train to Lisbon" was adapted from a philosophical novel by Swiss author Pascal Mercier.Mercier's quotations are spoken in voice-over by the film's protagonist, Raimund Gregorius, played by Oscar winner Jeremy Irons, a quiet, lonely classical studies professor working in Bern, Switzerland, who rescues a young woman about to leap off a bridge and after she disappears, finds himself on a quest to Lisbon, not only to find her but to fully understand the story of a doctor-turned-poet whose book he discovers in the pocket of the coat she leaves behind.The story isn't as dense or contrived as it sounds, thanks to the deft screenplay by Greg Latter and Ulrich Herrmann, and the uniform commitment to character and plot by Irons and a cast that includes veterans Tom Courtenay, Charlotte Rampling, Christpher Lee and Lena Olin.
Once in Portugal, Irons' Gregorius sets about on a quest for the author but instead finds his sister, Adriana (Rampling as the mature version, Batarda as the younger), and learns that Amadeu died in 1974 and that only 100 copies of his book were printed.
Thus, a tenuous but all-important bond is formed between the soft-spoken, insightful professor and the poet's sibling.The movie intersperses Raimund's investigation with flashbacks to a past in which we meet the young Amadeu (a superb Jack Huston), a member of the resistance to the dictatorship of António Salazar.Through Adriana, Raimund meets the priest (Lee) who taught Amadeu, Amadeu's best friend, Jorge (Bruno Ganz in the older version, August Diehl in the younger), and learns of Estefania (the fiery Mélanie Laurent), a resistance fighter who was Jorge's girlfriend until she met and fell instantly in love with the handsome Amadeu.After Raimund breaks his spectacles, he meets a sympathetic optician Mariana (Martina Gedeck) who by happenstance has an uncle named Joao (Courtenay as the elder version, Marco D'Almeida as the youthful one) who was also a member of the resistance and fills in the story.
Late in the film, the strings of the plot are pulled together when Raimund finally meets the mature Estefania (a stunningly beautiful and completely believable Olin).As I said, "Night Train to Lisbon" isn't for everyone, especially for those accustomed to tons of action and instant gratification via computer wizardry and slam bang eye-for-an-eye retribution, but it did it for me.
It's extraordinarily literate and sumptuously photographed to boot, and it's not a stretch to say it contains threads of David Lean's wonderful 1965 film version of "Doctor Zhivago," albeit on a much smaller scale.I was especially drawn to Irons' professor, a sensationally muted performance that holds the whole thing together.Since you'll probably be watching this in your living room, "Night Train to Lisbon" is rated R (under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian) for a scene of violence and brief sexuality (which really aren't all that bad)..
In Bern, Switzerland, the teacher Raimund Gregorius (Jeremy Irons) saves a young woman from committing suicide jumping off a bridge and brings her to the school where he works.
My opinion does not take away from this beautiful film because of course, events can be viewed in many different ways.Jeremy Irons plays Raimund Gregorius, a Swiss Professor.
He registers at a hotel, buys some clothes, and starts asking questions and looking for Amadeu.What he finds is a fascinating story that took place during the Portuguese resistance to the dictator Salazar, It concerns some young people, Amadeu (Jack Huston), his best friend Joao (played as an adult by Tom Courtenay), Jorge (August Diehl/Bruno Ganz), and Estefania (Melanie Laurent/Lena Olin), and their lives then and now.
The beauty of Portugal is ever-present in this film, underlying the emotional and suspenseful scenes as Raimund learns the different threads of the story.
This movie was one of the most captivating stories told in film that I've seen in a long time.
The years prior to and after the revolution, were told through the memories of Amadeu de Prado (played so perfectly by Jack Huston) who sister collected and published his writings in a book called "Um Ourives das Palavras" (not a real book but one created by the author of Night Train to Lisbon).
The book was found by an older man, a teacher Raimund Gregorius, (wonderfully played by Jeremy Irons) when he rescued a young woman attempting suicide.
It is the hauntingly compelling and intriguing story in the book, which begins this journey and introduces the viewer to the lives of so many of the movies characters.
Discovering who the author of the book, Amandeu, was and all the lives that were touched by his existence (including that of Raimund, the girl he rescues Catarina, Amandeu's sister, his lover Estefania, the resistance fighters he knew and the butcher of Lisbon).
The story unfolds slowly, like a slow courtship, so it is not a movie for the impatient or those looking for a quick thrill - and it is all the better for that.The contrast between the aging Professor Gregorius whose life has been safe but uneventful, and the story of the youthful revolutionaries who are living life on the edge of life and death is well done, with some subtleties that can easily be overlooked by the less aware.Both Jeremy Irons and Charlotte Rampling are superb, bringing a wisdom to their roles that was missing from some of their earlier work, and Jack Huston as Amadeu and Melanie Laurent as Estefania have real charisma.This is a film to savour..
Throughout the story, Gregorius struggled with the Portuguese language in the novel, while in the film, everyone speaks in English.
Perhaps a film that is not for 'younger gore and sex motivated audiences' but definitely a film for any who enjoy playing with the plot themselves.Superb acting at all levels.Photography that transformed the banal and tinted the ordinary with interest.Direction that delicately unwound the many intrigues at a pace that was intellectually and emotionally exquisite.The film seems almost down-played, low key, unsure of itself.However, this is far from the case as appearances are usually deceptive and building character recognition with an audience takes patience, especially if the characters are 'out of the box' originals.This is one of those films I know I will happily watch many times.There was a comforting 'humanness and humanity' about it and a sense of acute reality often denied in more brash and gawdy films.I'm happy I got on this train..
Don't be put off by critics who thought "Night Train to Lisbon" was old-fashioned, too talky and lacking in tension, because there is something unique about this movie; by the end, it's quite an experience.Raimund Gregorius, played by Jeremy Irons in his slightly detached manner, is a teacher in Switzerland.
When he saves the life of a woman, she disappears leaving behind a small book written by a man named Amadeu do Prado, and a train ticket to Lisbon.
Admittedly, all this setting up of the story is pretty contrived, but the important thing in the plot was to get Raimund on that journey to discover more about Amadeu.He meets many people who knew Amadeu including his sister played by Charlotte Rampling, always an intriguing screen presence, she still seems to get plenty of roles with absolutely no loss of mystique.
As Raimund delves deeper and deeper into the story of Amadeu, and his relationship with revolutionaries during the Salazar regime in Portugal, he becomes aware that much is missing from his own life.Amadeu's story is told through extensive flashbacks, with younger actors playing the parts of the older storytellers - maybe it's this element that some thought outmoded.
I'm sure there are plenty of other examples.It wasn't until near the end that I realised "Night Train to Lisbon" had similarities not so much to old movies, but to a much older story: Raimund is inspired by the wisdom and profound sayings of a man who seemed better than other men, who spoke out against evil, became a healer and saves the life of a man whom he had every right to think of as an enemy.
It is sometime since I have felt so moved by the acting and characters and felt drawn into this movie like a good book that begs you not to leave.
I like Jeremy Irons as an actor, but his character here is dull and his modern-day scenes don't deserve to occupy more than half the running time as they feel irrelevant.The historical story is better, as it has some fine actors in crucial parts, not least the continually underrated Jack Huston (BOARDWALK EMPIRE).
Stephen Holden in his New York Times review Dec. 5, 2013 has proved himself a rather dimwitted critic with not an iota of perspicacity in his soggy cerebrum to grasp, even on a basic level, the brilliance of Bille August's film adaptation of Pascal Mercier's profound and poetic novel, 'Night Train To Lisbon'.
Based on the novel "Night Train to Lisbon" by the Swiss writer Pascal Mercier, this film, directed by the Danish Bille August, offers an international cast with actors from the USA, the UK, Germany, Sweden and France.
The historical context (Salazar's dictatorship and his Estado Novo) provides a particular background to the story as the public witnesses how Raimund Gregorius finds a new sense to his life thanks to the adventures of the resistance of that period.
Through several encounters and beautiful flashbacks, we gradually discover Amadeu de Prado's life, the charismatic Portuguese doctor and philosopher whose story awes the teacher.
August needs to be credited with the casting of Charlotte Rampling, Lena Olin, Tom Courtenay, Bruno Ganz, Christopher Lee, Martina Gedeck, Jeremy Irons, and Melanie Laurent (in that order) with a critical flaw--Olin and Laurent don't look the same, especially when Laurent has so many visible moles and Olin doesn't and they are playing the same person, with only age as a difference.
The movie is better off abandoning all the flashbacks and simply go back to the 70's to tell Amadeu's story.
And it does have lots of drama in the 'past events' scenes and the professor goes through a fair bit of drama and soul-searchin of his own.It has a top notch cast, great scenery and high production values.If you want a real story populated by real characters and are not averse to a little philosophical input, you'll love it..
It is just I can't remember the last time I saw Irons in a film and he always seems to be very English so maybe a less typecast actor would have been better in that role.
The last class the teacher Jeremy Irons held in Bern was about Marcus Aurelius and his philosophy, and the book left behind is very much in the mood of the philosophic emperor, so much that Jeremy Irons gets obsessed by it and goes to Lisbon just to continue delving into more matter for the story he obviously has stumbled upon by accident.The film is throughout held at a very low key and pace but at the same time remains inescapaby intense, as a very complicated love story in the shadow of the revolution in Portugal 1974 unravels.
This movie involves twin plot lines: Jeremy Irons' character sloughing off his boring his life in Bern, and his making connections among people that lived through a traumatic era of Portugaul's history; facilitating some healing and understanding among them.I thought Irons' journey of self-discovery was by far the more effective story line, though it probably took up less screen time.
Jeremy Irons has such a beautiful appearance and manner that it is difficult to imagine him as a boring high school teacher, but if you can make this leap then the rest follows.A mysterious sequence of events results in his finding himself on the train platform at Bern, looking for a young woman who will possibly be catching the night train to Lisbon.
The teacher (Irons) follows a trail of clues laid out in the book from Bern to Lisbon, unfolding a story from the past of romance and revolution underpinned by eloquent passages of philosophical thought.
There is a mild not quite mystery as the teacher delves into the life and death of the author.The good points of this movie are:The story isn't confusing even though a lot of it is told in flashbacks.
That man is Raimund Gregorius (Jeremy Irons), a Latin teacher in Bern, Switzerland.
This book was written by one Amadeu de Almeida Prado, a Portuguese poet, medical doctor, and philosopher who lived in Lisbon from the early 1930s to 1974.
Outside the fact that Amadeu's story plays out against the historical facts of the dictatorial regime in Portugal during his lifetime, all else is fiction, including the existence of Amadeu himself.Gregorius is so taken with what he reads in Amadeu's book that he feels compelled to meet the author and drops everything and goes to Lisbon to see if he can find him.
I can see why Gregorius was so taken with Amadeu's book--the readings presented are quite elegant and I re-watched the movie so I could better appreciate them.
Adaptation of the original novel of the same name by Pascal Mercier, chronicling the life and times of a young Portuguese doctor named Amadeu de Prado during the years of the oppressive Salazar regime.
Many a great character actor is encountered as the movie progresses through the various view points of Amadeu's inner circle, including Charlotte Rampling, Christopher Lee, Bruno Ganz and Tom Courtenay.
In the case of Swiss professor Jeremy Irons, the chance encounter with a book leads him to Portugal where he finds the sister of the book's author and ends up involved in a mystery concerning the 1974 Carnation Revolution, disturbing several people who are still willing to share the memories, even though it is a past that they would rather forget.Veteran actress Charlotte Rampling plays the aging sister of the one time writer who became a hero to her years ago by saving her life, making her overprotective of him and controlling in her efforts to thank him. |
tt0080678 | The Elephant Man | London Hospital surgeon Frederick Treves finds John Merrick in a Victorian freak show in London's East End, where he is kept by a Mr. Bytes. His head is kept hooded, and his "owner", who views him as retarded, is paid by Treves to bring him to the hospital for exams. Treves presents Merrick to his colleagues and highlights his monstrous skull, which forces him to sleep with his head on his knees, since if he were to lie down, he would asphyxiate. On Merrick’s return he is beaten so badly by Bytes that he has to call Treves for medical help. Treves brings him back to the hospital.
John is tended to by Mrs. Mothershead, the formidable matron, as the other nurses are too frightened of Merrick. Mr. Carr-Gomm, the hospital's Governor, is against housing Merrick, as the hospital does not accept "incurables". To prove that Merrick can make progress, Treves trains him to say a few conversational sentences. Carr-Gomm sees through this ruse, but as he is leaving, Merrick begins to recite the 23rd Psalm, which Treves did not teach him. Merrick tells the doctors that he knows how to read, and has memorized the 23rd Psalm because it is his favorite. Carr-Gomm permits him to stay, and Merrick spends his time practicing conversation with Treves and building a model of a cathedral he sees from his window.
Merrick has tea with Treves and his wife, and is so overwhelmed by their kindness that he shows them his mother's picture. He believes he must have been a "disappointment" to his mother, but hopes she would be proud to see him with his "lovely friends". Merrick begins to take guests in his rooms, including the actress Madge Kendal, who introduces him to the work of Shakespeare. Merrick quickly becomes an object of curiosity to high society, and Mrs. Mothershead expresses concerns that he is still being put on display as a freak. Treves begins to question the morality of his actions. Meanwhile, a night porter named Jim starts selling tickets to locals, who come at night to gawk at the "Elephant Man".
The issue of Merrick's residence is challenged at a hospital council meeting, but he is guaranteed permanent residence by command of the hospital’s royal patron, Queen Victoria, who sends word with her daughter-in-law Alexandra. However, Merrick is shortly kidnapped by Mr. Bytes during one of Jim's raucous late night showings. Mr. Bytes leaves England and takes Merrick on the road as a circus attraction once again. Treves confronts Jim about what he has done, and Mrs. Mothershead fires him.
Merrick escapes from Bytes with the help of his fellow freakshow attractions. Upon returning to London, he is harassed through Liverpool Street station by several young boys and accidentally knocks down a young girl. Merrick is chased, unmasked, and cornered by an angry mob. He cries, "I am not an elephant! I am not an animal! I am a human being! I ... am ... a ... man!" before collapsing. Policemen return Merrick to the hospital and Treves. He recovers some of his health, but is dying of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Treves and Mrs. Mothershead take Merrick to see one of Madge Kendal's shows at the theatre, and afterwards, Kendal dedicates the performance to him. A proud Merrick receives a standing ovation from the audience. Back at the hospital, Merrick thanks Treves for all he has done, and completes his church model. He lies down on his back in bed, imitating a sleeping child in a picture on his wall, and dies in his sleep. Merrick is consoled by a vision of his mother, who quotes Lord Tennyson's "Nothing Will Die". | avant garde, cruelty, gothic, depressing, dramatic, violence, cult, atmospheric, psychedelic, historical | train | wikipedia | null |
tt0120744 | The Man in the Iron Mask | France is under the reign of the militaristic King Louis XIV (Leonardo DiCaprio), who is bankrupting the country with his unpopular wars. When starving peasants in Paris start rioting for food, he responds by ordering his chief adviser Pierre to send them rotten food - although he later orders Pierre executed for this and all rioters killed. Meanwhile, the king continues to wallow in hedonistic luxury and seduce a parade of women. The legendary Three Musketeers have retired from their posts: Aramis (Jeremy Irons) is now a priest of the Jesuits; Porthos (Gérard Depardieu) is a frequent visitor to Parisian brothels; Athos (John Malkovich) has a son named Raoul (Peter Sarsgaard) who has just returned from the war and signifies his application to join the musketeers, like his father who once served with pride and honor. Meanwhile, Athos gives Raoul his wife's ring, saying that the only lady worthy to wear it is the one that Raoul loves. The lucky girl he loves is Christine Bellefort (Judith Godrèche) whom he intends to propose for marriage. At a festival, the two lovers are greeted by an older D'Artagnan (Gabriel Byrne), who is still in the service of the King as Captain of the Musketeers, striving to retain the esprit de corps of the old days. D'Artagnan wishes Raoul and Christine luck, but just before Raoul can propose, the king's eyes fall on Christine. He arranges for Raoul to be returned to combat, where he is killed by the Dutch cannons while leading ground troops in an attack en-masse. The news of his son's death reaches Athos, who, in a fit of rage, proceeds to the king's palace to seek vengeance. He injures two musketeers before D'Artagnan overpowers him on the Palace grounds. This puts a severe strain on Athos's friendship with D'Artagnan, who he now sees as a traitor for siding with his son's killer.In the wake of Raoul's death, Louis invites Christine to the palace where she sleeps with him, grateful for the medical assistance his doctors have given to her mother and sister. When Louis orders Aramis to find and execute the secret leader of the Jesuit order, Aramis sets in motion a plot to overthrow the king with the help of his old comrades, for this secret leader is none other than Aramis himself. Only Athos and Porthos agree to the plan; D'Artagnan refuses to betray his oath of honor and allegiance to the king. The three former Musketeers sneak into an island prison and arrange the escape of a mysterious prisoner: a man in an iron mask. They replace him with a corpse in a matching iron mask and, pretending it is plague ridden, burn it so the guards will not know the face behind the iron mask. They take the young man to a safe house in the countryside and unmask him: he is Philippe (Leonardo DiCaprio), the identical twin of King Louis. While he is identical to his brother, Philippe is compassionate and gentle. Aramis reveals that Philippe was sent away by his father, King Louis XIII, to save France from dynastic warfare. Later, when Louis discovered Philippe's existence, he was too superstitious to have his own brother murdered; so instead, he devised a way to keep him hidden: the iron mask. Aramis, at time still serving as a musketeer and clad in black uniform, the only thing Philippe remembers, was the one who took him away to prison, an act which has haunted him ever since.Meanwhile, King Louis succeeds in seducing Christine completely, claiming that he ordered Raoul to be placed far from the battlefront. Christine receives a letter from Raoul, predicting his death and saying that he forgives her for becoming the king's mistress. Whilst in bed with Louis, Christine admits that she still loves Raoul and that she is not in love with him. Enraged, Louis forsakes Christine.Athos, Porthos, and Aramis teach Philippe how to act like royalty, so he may replace Louis as king. Together they abduct Louis during a fancy dancing ball. Before his absence is revealed, Philippe takes his place. However, Philippe's good nature gives him away when he helps one of the dancing ladies up from the floor after she falls over and spares Christine's life when she storms in and openly accuses him of murdering Raoul (having learned this from a letter sent by Louis' General), promising to make amends for wronging her. D'Artagnan realizes something is amiss, orders all palace musketeers to be on full alert, and personally escorts Philippe to the underground dock. They arrive just as Athos, Porthos, and Aramis are about to sail for the Bastille with Louis. The men collectively decide to make a trade for the brothers' lives; however, Philippe is re-captured in the ensuing chaos of their escape.Afterwards, D'Artagnan is stunned to learn that Philippe is Louis' brother and pleads with Louis to spare his life. Louis at first refuses, but Philippe bluffs that he is more terrified of the iron mask than death itself, begging to be executed rather than sent back to prison. Louis orders him placed in the Bastille and once again in the mask. In the aftermath, Christine is found to have hanged herself from her bedroom window.Athos, Porthos, and Aramis brush off their old musketeer uniforms, becoming The Three Musketeers again and, with D'Artagnan's help, break into the Bastille prison and escape with Philippe. Louis, however, has prepared an ambush. Fortunately, the narrowness of the corridor and the guards' respect for D'Artagnan, their captain, prevents them from overwhelming the four Musketeers with their numbers, although the five men eventually end up trapped against a barred door at the end of the corridor with no way out. Determined to save his friends, Philippe offers to give himself up in exchange for their lives. D'Artagnan refuses, revealing to everyone's astonishment, that he is actually the twins' father, having had an affair with Queen Anne, and that it was out of fatherly devotion that he served Louis, not loyalty. D'Artagnan adds that he feels the pride as a father for the first time upon learning that Philippe is also his son.The four Musketeers and Philippe make a final charge at Louis' front line. Their "magnificent valor" stuns the soldiers into immobility, angering Louis and forcing him to repeatedly shout orders to fire. He lays his hands on one of the soldiers' muskets and it goes off, setting off the rest, with many of the men shutting their eyes or looking away out of reluctance. The smoke clears to reveal the five men still standing; all the shots, barring a few flesh wounds, missed.An enraged Louis lunges toward Philippe and tries to stab him. D'Artagnan jumps between them and is fatally wounded when Louis stabs him in the back. Philippe knocks Louis down and begins to strangle him, but D'Artagnan, with his dying breaths, reminds Philippe that Louis is his brother. Philippe's mask is removed so that D'Artagnan can see his face one last time. Saying the musketeer call, D'Artagnan dies as Philippe comments that D'Artagnan was the one wearing the mask all along. Closing his eyes, Philippe embraces his father one time only as he starts to mourn over his death. D'Artagnan's right-hand man, Lieutenant Andre, is furious at Louis for killing D'Artagnan and upon finding out Philippe was brother to Louis and of royal blood, orders his men to close the door and swears them to secrecy. By the time another battalion breaks in, the three Musketeers and Lieutenant Andre have made Louis and Philippe swap clothes and locked Louis in the iron mask. Philippe introduces Athos, Porthos, and Aramis as his royal council and truest friends. Posing as the king, Philippe orders the guards to take Louis and lock him away. The Musketeers give their respect and kneel before Philippe, honoring him as their true King.Philippe, Athos, Porthos, Aramis, and Queen Anne attend D'Artagnan's funeral, in which The Three Musketeers are finally redeemed. After the funeral, Philippe asks Athos to love him like a son and Athos accepts, kissing Philippe's hand. Afterwards, The Three Musketeers walk away through the long line of proud saluting musketeers under the helm of Lieutenant Andre as new captain, while the elite group chants their battle cry "One for All, All for One". Louis (whom Philippe granted royal pardon being his brother) now lives in a country house, where he is often visited by his mother. Thereafter, France was reformed under Philippe (under the alias of Louis XIV) who gave his people food, prosperity, and peace. He is remembered as the greatest ruler in the history of his nation. | violence, action, boring, flashback | train | imdb | I never saw this movie in the theaters (it seemed like another Leo-mania "no REAL talent" type of film), but I remember a friend recommending it to me one night about 5 years back.
I almost had to ask myself if this was the SAME actor playing Phillipe!The plot was good (eh...might have been predictable, but still...great), the cinematagraphy was awesome, the music was moving, the sword fighting/action was cool!
The Man in the Iron Mask, fresh off the massive success of Titanic, we got the next movie starring huge heart throb Leonardo DiCaprio along with some of Hollywood's strongest male leads.
Including a couple of my favorite actors John Malkovich and Jeremy Irons, so this was a movie I was looking forward to seeing, not to mention I was 13 at the time of this release and was totally in love with Leonardo DiCaprio, oh yes, good times.
Jeremy and John together with Leonardo had great chemistry and made The Man in the Iron Mask a really good watchable movie.France is under the reign of King Louis XIV, who is bankrupting the country with his unpopular wars.
While he looks indistinguishable from his brother, Philippe is compassionate and gentle and the plan is to replace Louis with Philippe.While I've expressed my love for John and Jeremy, the true talent comes out in Gabriel Byrne's performance as well as Leonardo DiCaprio.
While the movie could have had a little better direction, in some ways this felt more like a made for TV film at times, just with the big names.
Without ever attaining indisputable literary merit, Alexandre Dumas, succeeded in gaining a great reputation first as a dramatist and then as a historical novelist, especially for such works as 'The Count of Monte Cristo,' and 'The Three Musketeers.' He was among the first, along with Honoré de Balzac and Eugène Sue, who fully presented a rich, detailed picture of life in early 19th century - France, creating characters of formidable individuality and willpower...'The Man in the Iron Mask' takes place in 1662, where a spoiled young king rules in decadent luxury while his subjects are starving in the streets...
This mysterious young man has been thrown into loneliness and pain in a dungeon for six years, forced to wear an affixed iron mask so no-one can notice how much he looks like the king...In a risky maneuver to save France, the 'Three Musketeers' break the title character out of prison, teach him to behave exactly like the king, and then set off to make the 'switch' in a masquerade ball...As their plan unfolds, they must confront their friend, the great D'Artagan, one-time "fourth Musketeer," now head of the king's bodyguards, who has sworn an oath to protect the king with his life...DiCaprio plays two characters so distinctly and effectively that you absolutely hate one and love the other...He is King Louis, a non-caring leader who lets his subjects starve and riot in the streets of Paris...
In one moment, Jeremy Irons (an Oscar winner for 1990's "Reversal of Fortune"), dignifies the true mission of a Musketeer when he states: 'When we were young men, and we saw injustice, we fought it!'Gabriel Byrne is the faithful D'Artagnan who carries a mysterious secret with him...
Anne Parillaud is the twins' mother, Anne d'Autriche, torn between her passion and her maternal love toward a son completely far from the path of compassion and honor...Judith Godrèche is the damsel in distress, the beautiful Christine torn between being faithful to her dead love and helping out her poor family by basically selling her body to a lusting king...The film's authenticity and visual presentation are as glorious in the decadent luxury surrounding the King of France as grotesque in the terrible place occupied by the man in the iron mask...Randall Wallace (Oscar-nominated for "Braveheart's" script) brings the great palace of Versailles to life with elegance and finesse...
The musketeers were incredibly well-cast, Irons making up for my original hostility for Aramis and Malkovich, Depardieu, and Byrne giving me greater reason to respect these four men of chivalry and honour.
It has a star-studded cast, and all of them did an excellent acting job (DiCaprio, Byrne, Malkovich, Depardieu and Irons).
Leonardo DiCaprio is "The Man in the Iron Mask" and also King Louis XIV in this re-telling of the famous Dumas story.
He is surrounded in a sumptuous production by a stellar cast that includes Gabriel Byrne, John Malkovich, Gerard Depardieu and Jeremy Irons.
When the poverty and the uprisings become too much, Aramis (Irons), who knows of Phillipe's existence, breaks him out of prison with the help of Porthos (Depardieu) and Athos (Malkovich) with the idea of having him replace Louis at an upcoming masquerade ball.
Here the emphasis is on the old Musketeers, which works well - Porthos who feels his age and misses the old lusts, the grieving Athos and Aramis, given an impossible job by Louis, which means that Louis must go; and, of course, D'Artagnan, fiercely loyal to his King and insisting that he can be molded into a great ruler, despite evidence to the contrary.
The acting is fabulous - there really isn't a standout among the four men as they are all so good.Leonardo DiCaprio creates two completely different characters with Louis and Philippe and does an excellent job.
This 1998 movie provides everything a swashbuckling cape-and-sword flick should - legendary heroes, a cruel villain, noble sentiments, touches of love and sex, some slapstick, picturesque scenery, sumptuous interiors and of course dashing swordplay (the last perhaps a little limited by the maturity of some of the principals).It has also some reasonably intelligent dialogue, provided by writer/producer/director, Randall Wallace, and spoken in part by two of the finest voices in the business - Jeremy Irons (Athos) and John Malkovich (Aramis).
Gerard Depardieu (Porthos) and Gabriel Byrne (D'Artangnan) are the other two of the original 3 + 1 Musketeers.The villainy of the young King Louis 14 is provided by Leonardo DiCaprio, who may be too wishy-washy for some tastes, though he certainly has the veneer of elegance needed for the part.
One niggle I have is, that it would have been better if he had been instructed to pronounce Athos either with a short a or a long a (preferably the former) and not alternate between the two.The plot, like the Dumas novel on which it is based, has no less, and no more, credibility than is appropriate for this type of film - for anyone interested in the real events and rumours surrounding the Man in the Iron Mask, I recommend this website - http://www.royalty.nu/legends/IronMask.html One aspect of the film I find amusing is that in this version of a quintessentially French story, the only French actor in the quartet of heroes, Gerard Depardieu, plays the part of a uncouth, lecherous buffoon; while an Englishman, an American and an Irishman provide the grace, heartfelt speeches and depth of character.
I can only hope that the French members of the cast, including Gerard Depardieu, didn't realize just how bad their dialogue was.My personal favorite was Byrne's statement to Queen Anne (Anne Parillaud): "I know that to love you is a crime against France, but not to love you is crime against my heart." I literally rolled off my chair laughing.
This absurd remake reveals Mr. Wallace is not only a multi-talent-less director, writer, and producer, but he is also someone with an uncanny knack for transforming mature but nonetheless top talents Gerard Depardieu, Gabriel Byrne, Jeremy Irons and John Malkovich in this case into automaton-like hacks.
In all honestly, the clearest assessment of Mr. Wallace's version of the Man in the Iron Mask is best summarized early on in the film by the loud and resounding flatulence hilariously delivered by Mr. Depardieu's character.
He doesn't put enough heart in the action and doesn't inspire strong performances from some of the greatest actors working today.Instead of wasting time on this boring remake, rent "The Three Musketeers" from 1973.
The twin had been unjustly imprisoned and put in an iron mask for years.The film has an interesting cast of international actors: DiCaprio and John Malkovich from the United States; Jermey Irons from Britain; Gerald DePardieu, Anne Parillaud and Judith Godreche, all from France and Cabriel Byrne from Ireland.Malkovich, as usual, plays the most interesting character.
Parillaud plays Louis' mother and she's too young-looking for that role.This is a fairly long movie and doesn't have an overabundance of action but doesn't need to, to keep one's attention.
Without it being the best movie I have ever seen, I actually liked this film.
Instead I got a fun film, with flaws, but it was enjoyable enough.Starting with the many good things, the cinematography is superb, as is the lavish scenery and costumes.
Gabriel Byrne is surprisingly good as D'Artagnan(much more suited to the part than Chris O'Donnell-the worst D'Artagnan, though I actually liked the movie- was).
Leonardo DiCaprio was somewhat uneven in his performance but he was good on the whole, personally I felt he was better as Phillippe in alternative to Louis, he never quite convinced me playing an arrogant king whereas he succeeded with Phillippe because of that spontaneous boyish charm he has.However, the film is a little too long and the pacing is also uneven, I felt the film dragged in the middle and then it felt a tad rushed at the end.
After the three musketeers Disney movie, a horrible new version of the classic Dumas story, I was hesitant to go see this movie, starring Leonardo, but with a great supporting cast.
The picture is a new version of Alexandre Dumas novel and is set in 17th century French court , where two twins , one evil monarch , Louis XIV (DiCaprio) of France , and the other , Phillippe , (DiCaprio in a dual role) is imprisoned in the Bastilla as an incarcerated inmate , number 6943800 , that hides his identity wearing an iron mask .
The King falls for a beautiful girl (Judith Godreche) and while Athos (Peter Sarsgaard) leads to the summit of the dreary musketeers , thus : the brave Dartagnan (Gabriel Byrne) ; the responsible father Athos (John Malkovich) ; the joker (though with flatulence) Portos(Gerard Depardieu) and the Priest Aramis (Jeremy Irons).
The Four Musketeers have gone their separate ways, Aramis (Jeremy Irons) is a Jesuit priest, Porthos (Gérard Depardieu) is a fat old man who is depressed and visits brothels, Athos (John Malkovich) has raised a son, Raoul (Peter Sarsgaard) who want to be a musketeers and D'Artagnan (Gabriel Byrne) is the captain of the musketeers for the king.
They plan is to free Louis' identity twin brother, Philippe was held prison with an iron mask over his head, and replace him to be a good king.There are some good things about The Man in the Iron Mask: there are some nice costumes, nice scenery involving the palace of Versailles with a fitting score and Irons was pretty good in the film.
DiCaprio sucked, the lines were ludicrous, the ending was not true to the book nor history, and the action scenes (especially at the end with Leo running around with that mask on) were filmed so badly it made me laugh.
Leonardo too made a great performance,he really had to work hard on this movie because he had two characters to play.I am not going to comment on the others(John Malkovich,Gerar Depardeu,Jeremy Irons,Anne Parrillaud,Judith Godreche)because all of them were just great..
The script was written to perfection staying as true to the original Dumas story as it possibly could.The performance from Jermey Irons was good.
The same goes for John Malkovich(which surprising considering how talented he is.) On a whole despite some dismal performances, The Man In The Iron Mask is an engrossing tale that should be viewed at least once in your life time..
Dumas knew his stuff when he wrote the novel(s?), and Randall Wallace did a good job(as far as I can tell; anyone who's read the work of Dumas, feel free, in fact, even encouraged to correct me here) of compiling it into a two-hour Hollywood movie.
But besides the acting done by Gabriel Byrne, Jeremy Irons, John Malkovich and Gerard Depardieu the movie is only okay.
Sure the movie was supposed to be a show-off for Leonardo Di Caprio but in my mind, Jeremy Irons and Gabriel Byrne stole the show.
Gabriel Byrne, Jeremy Irons, Gérard Depaurdie and John Malkovich were fantastic, and also Leo Di Caprio(you know Leo is a novice and the others have more experience, I´m not saying Leo is a bad actor, but the others have more experience).
Wonderful actor, very nice music, very good costumes, in fact is a movie to recommend..
I never knew what a great actor Leonardo DiCaprio was until I saw this movie.
I know that there are a few people who do NOT like this movie but I think it is GREAT!!
Congratulations to Mr. Wallace and the main actors, including Leonardo DiCaprio, who has a very good act by differing Louis and Phillipe.
So this movie was with really good acting by Leo DiCaprio, John Maclchivic, and Jemery Irons.
This was the first role for Leonardo DiCaprio post Titanic, and possibly the greatest collection of actors ever assembled to portray the Three Musketeers (Gabriel Byrne, Jeremy Irons, John Malkovich, and Gerard Depardieu).
He also looks great in the period costumes, long hair style and thin mustache.Leonardo DiCaprio plays a dual role of both the wicked king and the title character.
It has a great cast; it is amazing that Jeremy Irons, DiCaprio, John Malkovich and Gerard Deperdieu were able to all star in the same movie.
Paris is starving under the rule of King Louis XIV (Leonardo DiCaprio) The musketeers played by Jeremy Irons, John Malkovich and Gerard Depardieu devise a plot to save France from the tyranny of the king, only D'Artagnan (Gabriel Byrne) stands in their way.The production value is very high, and this is reflected in the cast and the appearance of the film; the story works nicely and has a strong script.
Randall Wallace did not have to make movie exactly like the book was, so this is a great idea, so as the film!
Leonardo is great as the spoiled, selfish, and wicked King Louis XIV, who doesn't take care of his people and plays a part in all the deaths in the film, and as Phillippe, the king's tender and sweet natured twin, who spent six years in prison in an Iron Mask and does not now why till he is rescued by Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, ("The Three Musketeers", brilliantly played by John Malkovich, Gerard Depardieu, and Jeremy Irons) and then must take his brothers place as king.
Gabriel Byrne plays the noble D'Artangan, who was once one of "The Four Musketeers", and is a good man but is loyal to the evil king for a reason that we don't know until the end and I won't give away.
Leonardo DiCaprio is amazing, John Malkovich is passionate all through the movie, Gerard Depardieu is touching, lovable, and funny, Jeremy Irons is noble and wise, Gabriel Byrne is so good.
I'm not a huge fan of his (Romeo & Juliet was pretty good) but I can't believe the waste of such talented actors as Irons, Depardieu, Malkovich, and Byrne.
The Man in the Iron Mask is one of those films that few saw and even fewer know about, but is still a terrific movie experience.
Great performances abound, especially those of John Malkovich and Gabriel Byrne, and even a more than adept turn by Leonardo DiCaprio as the boorish Louis XIV.
Never have the three Musketeers been played out so briliantly.The movie has a great story, excellent acting, beautiful settings,exciting action,good humor, and a wonderful music score.
Leonardo Dicaprio does a fine job in dual role and the four musketeers are tremendously very well portrayed by Jeremy Irons, John Malkovich, Gérard Depardieu and Gabriel Byrne.
Moreover, Gabriel Byrne (as D'Artagnan) essays an excellent modern musketeer, Mr. Wallace's plot "twist" interests, and the production is beautifully shot.****** The Man in the Iron Mask (3/13/98) Randall Wallace ~ Leonardo DiCaprio, Gabriel Byrne, Jeremy Irons, John Malkovich.
DiCaprio showed a lot of promise in his duel roles in The Man in the Iron Mask and seems to have paid of with his recent film works (The Departed and Catch Me If You Can).
The Man in the Iron Mask is not a great film by any means.
I thought Leonardo DiCaprio handled his dual role quite well; unlike Gabriel Byrne, John Malkovich and Jeremy Irons, who all have and bring a special magic to their performances, Leo still effectively conveyed the differences in his characters, not only in tone and affect, but in the way he was able to transform his eyes from the "sad puppy" eyes of Phillipe to the cold, steely eyes of Louis.>I found the story very interesting (not having read the novel first, I wasn't thrown off by the relationship between D'Artagnon and Queen Ann) and the scenerey & costumes were wonderful.
Leonardo is always great in whatever he does,but this movie had an all out grand cast of acting.The story keeps you intrigued, and routing for the good guy.It's a chilling love story and a story of true loyalty, of the 3 Musketeers ,towards their real king vs what's right and wrong.Now!
I agree that John Malcovitch, Gerrard, and Jeremy Irons' performances were good - a few scenes were great - but Leo!
He shines like a beacon here putting even the great Jeremy irons in the shade The script in this film is just awful and while Depardieu and Malkovich also struggle manfully with their thankless roles the whole thing just sinks into a miasma of blandness.
How good actors like Jeremy Irons, Gerard Depardieu and Gabriel Byrne could accept to "play" in stays a mystery for me.. |
tt0110598 | Muriel's Wedding | A socially awkward, fat, naïve "ugly duckling", who is obsessed with the music of ABBA, Muriel Heslop (Toni Collette) is the target of ridicule by the more fashion-conscious girls she considers her friends. She also is a perpetual daydreamer who yearns for a glamorous wedding and marriage to a man who will help get her out of the fictional dead-end seaside tourist town of Porpoise Spit, Queensland, improve her personal life, and free her from a tedious life dominated by her demanding and often psychologically abusive father Bill (Bill Hunter), a corrupt politician who verbally lashes out at his weak and subservient wife Betty and their unambitious children at every opportunity. Her former friends Tania, Nicole and Janine shun Muriel because they see her as a directionless no-hoper, as well as due to embarrassment over her past awkward antics. They proceed to continue planning a holiday to Hibiscus Island, without her.
While at dinner with some property developers, Heslop runs into her father's mistress, Deidre Chambers, who has done well in a cosmetics pyramid marketing scheme and she recruits Muriel. The following day Muriel's mother writes a blank check to cash intending for the money to let Muriel buy into the scheme. Instead, Muriel uses the blank check to defraud her parents, draining their bank account of $12,000, which she uses to go follow her former friends to Hibiscus Island. While on the Island, Muriel's former friends confront her over her stalking, requesting that she leave them alone. Later in the evening, Muriel runs into Rhonda Epinstock (Rachel Griffiths), a fellow social outcast from her high school days who is also more outgoing. Rhonda confronts Muriel's former social-group who also bullied her in high-school. As Rhonda and Muriel catch up, Muriel invents a grandiose fantasy of a fiancé.
At the end of her holiday, Muriel returns home only to be confronted by her mother over the fraud. Muriel immediately leaves the house and moves to Sydney where she shares a flat with Rhonda and changes her name to 'Mariel'. Several months later on a typical night, Rhonda and Mariel go to a nightclub. Rhonda meets two American sailors while Muriel takes a nice man, Brice Nobes, she met at her minimum wage job in a local video store. Later, while engaged in foreplay, Muriel and her companion break a window. The sailors that were in Rhonda's bedroom go out to investigate and assume that Muriel's companion is attempting to rape her. It is during this episode that Rhonda falls down, apparently paralyzed.
While waiting overnight in the emergency room in Sydney, Muriel calls her family home where she learns that the Australian Federal Police are investigating her father for corruption. Rhonda discovers she has a malignant tumour pressing on her spine and requires urgent surgery. Muriel then co-opts Rhonda's health crisis as the basis of a deception to obtain a free photo shoot from a bridal shop. During one of Rhonda's rehab sessions, Muriel promises that she will take care of Rhonda and that they will never need to return to their hometown. Rhonda discovers that Muriel has tried on every wedding dress in Sydney and confronts her, forcing Muriel to confess the depth of her deception.
Rhonda's cancer returns, necessitating more severe surgery and leaving her permanently paralyzed. Desperate to get married, Muriel enters into a conspiracy to commit visa fraud marrying South African swimmer David Van Arkle so that he can stay in Australia and compete in the upcoming Olympics. Muriel agrees to marry David for $10,000 hoping to pay her father off. At Muriel's elaborate wedding, her former friend group serve as the bridesmaids, while Rhonda bound to her wheelchair is relegated to being a guest. Muriel had asked Rhonda to be a bridesmaid but Rhonda turned her down. Muriel's father is accompanied by his mistress and Muriel's mother arrives late to the wedding, missing the actual ceremony. Muriel doesn't notice her mother at the back of the church and just walks past. Rhonda moves back to Porpoise Spit with her mother as she can no longer live in Sydney without any help, as Muriel moves in with her new husband.
After the ceremony, Muriel and David return to David's apartment and he gives her a perfunctory tour of place. After showing Muriel to her bedroom, David makes his contempt for Muriel known asking "what kind of person marries someone they don't know?" to which she replies "you did." His face shows contempt when she says that she too wants to win. Realizing that their relationship will always be platonic, Muriel sits on her bed and contemplates the view.
Meanwhile, back in Porpoise Spit, Muriel's distraught mother accidentally shop-lifts a pair of sandals from a supermarket. Bill arranges with the police for the charges to disappear and takes Muriel's mother home where he announces his intention to divorce Betty and marry his mistress, Deidre Chambers. Betty sets the backyard on fire, then commits suicide by taking sleeping pills.
Realising that Betty lived only for her family and that her constant marginalization and being married to a man that didn't really love her broke Betty's will to live, Muriel breaks down and realizes that all the frauds, falsehoods and lies only lead to pain. David comforts Muriel and they finally consummate their marriage. Muriel realizes that she can move beyond her family-of-origin issues, that her actions have consequences and that her choices matter. The next morning Muriel asks David, who has decided that he likes having her around, for a divorce. However, she leaves him at the hotel wishing him good luck in the games.
Bill asks Muriel to stay and help raise the kids; she refuses and returns to Sydney. She repays $5,000 of the $12,000 she stole, saying that she will repay the rest when she gets a job back in Sydney. She also states that she will no longer put up with his rude and emotionally abusive treatment of her and her siblings. Although a little taken aback by her new more assertive personality at first, he nonetheless respects her decision and gives her his blessing to move back to Sydney.
Muriel visits Rhonda at her mother's house and offers to take her back Sydney. Rhonda accepts who in turn tells off Muriel's former friends. When one of them tries to make an insulting comeback Muriel and Rhonda just laugh it off as Muriel with her more confident attitude no longer cares about what they think of her. They take a taxi cab to the airport and along the way they say goodbye to various Porpoise Spit "attractions" (such as the shopping mall, the beach, the tourists, and the condos) and ride off to a more promising future. | cult, comedy, psychedelic, humor | train | wikipedia | null |
tt0274546 | Hellraiser: Hellseeker | Kirsty Cotton and her husband, Trevor Gooden, are driving in a car, joking and laughing. Trevor states they are going to work out an issue and she agrees. They kiss, Trevor taking his attention away from the road long enough to nearly hit another car. Instead of a head on collusion, their car crashes over the edge of a bridge into the river. Trevor manages to get his seat-belt off, swimming up for air, and screaming for help. He realizes immediately that Kirsty is not with him. He swims back down to the car to find both the doors shut and Kirsty still stuck in the car, having been unable to release her seat-belt. He is helpless, trying and failing to get her out of the car, leaving him to witness her drowning.Trevor wakes up in the hospital, suffering from headaches and amnesia. Kirsty is said to be missing, and her door in the car was open despite the fact that Trevor claimed it was locked. Trevor has nightmares about a surgeon performing painful surgery on him. He watches a tape and sees that he gave the Lament Configuration to Kirsty as an anniversary present.Trevor is in love with his boss, Gwen. But at one point, he has a nightmare where a camera that is recording the room shows (though this is not happening in the room) two Cenobites killing Gwen. Trevor is also in love with two other women named Tawny and Sage, and he has a nightmare where he finds Tawny lying dead in a chair. Pinhead appears and gives him a note saying "All your problems are solved", and the body is gone when next he enters, before he wakes up. When next he sees Tawny, she doesn't remember being with him at all, and is with another man.Trevor soon realizes that Dr. Allison, whom he is talking to, is really a hallucination, when the janitor doesn't see her.It soon becomes apparent that Trevor was not a good man, and was conspiring with his friend Bret to kill Kirsty for her inheritance of Larry and Frank's money. Gwen is said to be dead, and Trevor is suspected for the murders. Only Detective Lange believes he is innocent. Later, Trevor has a nightmare about Bret getting angry at him because their plan was to kill Kirsty and make it look like a suicide, but instead he drove the car into the river to drown her. Bret shoots himself before Trevor wakes up. Later, he has another nightmare about Sage trying to kill him, and when awake he finds her dead, stabbed in the head.Detective Lange enters the room and tells Trevor that it is not his lucky day, because a body was found in the river and Lange takes him to the morgue to see, in the process revealing that he and Detective Givens are the same person, created by Pinhead. Trevor enters the morgue and sees a dead body with a sheet over it. He is about to remove the sheet when Pinhead traps him with hooked chains and shows what really happened. When Trevor made Kirsty solve the Lament Configuration so Pinhead would kill her, finding Trevor bland compared to one who escaped him before, Kirsty offered him five souls in exchange for her own. She killed Gwen, Tawny, Sage, and Bret all by shooting them in the head, and Pinhead took their souls. Pinhead says that only four would not satisfy the deal, and reveals that in the car Kirsty shot Trevor in the head, which was what caused him to crash, and Kirsty was the one who survived. Trevor removes the sheet and finds his own body lying there, and realizes he was the fifth soul, and was in hell the entire time.Back in the real world, after the car crash, Kirsty says Trevor shot himself, and he is believed to have killed the others when the bullets will be matched to the gun. Everyone from Trevor's hell exists in reality, including Allison and Lange, and the surgeon from his nightmares is really a coroner. While discussing the accident and the murders, supposedly done by Trever, Detective Lange pulls out a baggie stating that they found it in the car. Inside it is the Lament Configuration. Detective Lange asks her what it is and she tells him that is was an anniversary gift from Trevor. He says he was going to put it in evidence, but since it was an important and sentimental gift, he will give it to her instead.Kirsty hesitates to take the Lament Configuration, clearly showing how much she does not want it. When Det. Lange looks at her strangely she realizes that if she doesn't take it, it will look suspicious. In the end, Kirsty turns and walks away from the scene, gripping the Lament Configuration tightly. | good versus evil, murder | train | imdb | What I'm trying to say here is that my expectations were low.Although _Hellseeker_ isn't as good as _Hellbound_, it's very satisfying because it's the first sequel since that has actually catered to fans of the original two films.
In his commentary, director Rick Bota says that Kirsty and the other elements from the previous films have been minimized so as not to alienate people not in the Hellraiser fan base.
Characters in Hellseeker behave in ways that telegraph to the audience that some kind of twist is in the offing, and while it is a good twist, it is just an example of the fact that up to a point, hell works best when it is subtle.Doug Bradley is back for the sixth time as everyone's favourite nail-headed character.
I would NOT have been able to keep my cool with this guy though, who was hugely overacting and throwing harsh accusations which were not necessarily unfounded but definitely a little too confident and, if accusations can be this, a little too accusatory.The best thing about this installment in the Hellraiser series is that it works on a psychological level with the main character.
There are a lot of horror series' that are well past their time to pass away, but as long as they keep putting this much thought and creativity into the Hellraiser films, I say there is infinite opportunity for sequels..
Hellseeker moves away from being another low budget, direct-to-video Hellraiser installment and instead provides an original spin on a dying franchise.This sequel doesn't need cheap gore effects to create a good Horror atmosphere, it also shows Pinhead doesn't need to physically harm his victims to make them suffer, at least not straight away ;) this makes Pinhead a more calculated character, watching him toy with his victims emotions!highly recommended!.
What I saw was certainly an effort at originality, and yes, it was better than some of the other sequels to the franchise, but that said it was still a below par screenplay, borrowing heavily from other, cleverer, more original films.Ironically Hellraiser:Hellseeker shares some of the same flawed plot concepts as the movie it borrows most heavily from: Jacob's Ladder.
Where Mickey Rourke excels as the confused protagonist in Angel Heart, Dean Winters sleep-walks his way through the role in Hellseeker, and where DeNiro gets all the best lines, poor Pinhead gets some of the most forgettable I've ever heard him utter.Granted, compared with the other Hellraiser sequels (all bar Hell on Earth, which I have to say I enjoyed more than I or II) this tries something different, and maybe with a better lead role there'd be something there worthy of a couple more stars.
It takes an original plot for the Hellraiser series, having Pinhead and friends off screen whilst building up a good suspenful atmosphere which keeps you guessing till the very end!
A lot of fans may complain its not a Hellraiser film with the lack of screen time Pinhead makes, but would you rather the Hellraiser sequels be "original and enjoyable whilst still keeping the serious creepiness" or just "crap rip-offs packed with gore, bad acting and no plot!" I know which I prefer ...
In directing Hellseeker, the sixth film in the series, Rick Bota returns to Barker's original for inspiration; something that is evident throughout this surreal and brilliantly twisted piece.Much has been made about Ashley Lawrence's return as Kirsty Cotton and some may be disappointed in the small amount of screen time she actually has; however by the films end you can fully appreciate her importance and the final twist should rectify any misgivings you may have had.As with the first two and Inferno this is a movie about ideas and not gore or monsters.
Rick Bota's "Hellraiser:Hellseeker" is a straight-to-video horror film that offers plenty of morbid atmosphere.Kirsty Cotton(Ashely Laurence)is married to Trevor(Dean Winters).This guy knows very little about Kirsty's past.He also sees really strange things and is slowly losing contact with reality."Hellraiser:Hellseeker" is easily among the best three "Hellraiser" films.It's surpassed only by the first two films.Unfortunately there is only a little bit of gore,so splatter freaks will be disappointed.In many ways "Hellraiser:Hellseeker" has a similar look and feel to "Hellraiser:Inferno",in which we find ourselves watching a stark reality that is very much our own.Of course there is also the matter of Pinhead,the Cenobites and the famous puzzle box.However they only make a token appearance toward the movie's end.Still this film is quite good,so if you're a fan of "Hellraiser" movies give it a look.8 out of 10..
I'm a GIANT fan of the original story by Clive Barker and I think the first two Hellraisers were the greatest horror films ever to be produced.
The story of Hellseeker has got nothing to do anymore with the original characters Clive Barker created and they might as well could have given this movie a completely new surrounding.
This sequel in the Hellraiser series is clearly a very good horror movie.
As Pinhead says at the end, `Welcome to the worst nightmare of all- reality.' If you think I'm pretentious for speaking of directing a horror movie as an art film, go rent 1 & 2 (the unrated version) to see why so many fell in love with the series before it turned into a Cheap Horror Franchise, and why we keep hoping that another movie like them could be made.
Let's face it, sequels seem better with more familiar faces; "Halloween" and Jamie Lee Curtis being prime examples (although I thought 'H20' and 'Resurrection' weren't very good, she definitely brought them up a few levels).This franchise is so strange, it keeps continuity: the building in part 3 returns in part 4; part 4 occurs way in the future, making all other sequels after it flashbacks, but the series never screws the viewer over by trying to pretend the events of the previous films never happened (take that "Halloween", "Friday the 13th", and "A Nightmare on Elm Street"!).
Kirsty ties this movie together so nicely because she brings the past back to the present, and we feel for her because we know her already.Acting-wise, I think this is the best of the series, followed by the first two.
Yes, most movies nowadays don't have much of an original plot, but I think the real problem is that too many people expected a completely different movie than they got.In the very first Hellraiser movie, Pinhead and the other Cenobites only appear in 3 scenes TOTAL!
The complaint "not enough Pinhead" is the exact same complaint movie execs at Miramax had of the legendary (unreleased) version of Bloodline, causing the original director to quit a great movie and have someone else sloppily film a lot more Pinhead scenes and throw it all together.The This movie was FAR better than Inferno, which reduces Pinhead to basically a mafia boss (Pinhead would NEVER refer to himself as "The Engineer" because as any true Hellraiser fan knows, they are two completely different entities within Hell).
While lacking perhaps in the imagination of the original two, the story at least holds up better than Bloodline, so I would have to say that it is about par with that movie, as it has its faults also.Excellent acting by Dean Winters throughout the movie, even though I had figured out a majority of the mystery revolving around Trevor's amnesia I was actually surprised by the twist at the end.
The soundtrack was a little uninspired (as are most these days) and there was a few corny bits within the movie, particularly the "good cop, bad cop" routines with the detectives investigating Trevor's past.Watch Hellraiser and Hellbound again to get back into the mood of the original concept, and never, NEVER forget: Hell is NOT about who you'll meet or by what means you get there, it is forever ONLY about "the sweet suffering!".
This is like watching pinhead meets Jacbo's ladder,sublime,butterfly effect.The same old scene again,leaving us puzzle to the very end.Good old pinhead show up to help the poor soul to solve the mystery of his illusion nightmare..Jacbo's ladder is best for that.But on the other hand,i was please to say,it's better than the last 4 Hellraisers.This one have a good story of guessing how or why he being played by pinhead.If you like Jacbo's ladder,sublime.butterfly effect type movies with a touch of pinhead,then this puzzle solving no gore blood flick will do the work for your mind on a good Saturday night rundown.But you figure it out after the accident if he still alive or dead..see Jacbo's ladder instead.
Like all the other horror movie "monsters" emerging from the late70s and 80s, I think Pinhead and the Hellraiser franchise has hadits day.
There is always room for Pinhead, the pope of hell in those kind of movies, and I hope that this great effort will be continued in the following two Hellraiser sequels.
Like the previous film, Hellraiser: Inferno (2000), Hellseeker feels like a stand-alone script with Barker's world of sadomasochism shoehorned in so that Dimension Films can retain the rights to a series that can be clumsily and cheaply churned out, and can be almost guaranteed to at least make its money back.One of the few things worthy of note in Hellseeker is the return of Ashley Laurence as Kirsty Cotton, who went A.W.O.L. after the third entry, Hell on Earth (1992).
If you love Hellraiser, and pinhead, and Kirsty and people torn apart by chains, while having a coherent plot, watch the first 2 movies.
Pinhead is also cooler than in inferno and he is not a judge anymore.Perfect,great movie.It has also a terrific ending.The acting was also better than in ifnerno but one problem:were are the cenobites???They come quit less in the story and when they come they look horrible!!Also another negative point is the dreams:there are so many dreams and flashbacks!But for the rest it is a good movie.
I haven't had a chance to see the fifth movie, ("Inferno") yet, but it looks as if director Rick Bota decided that the series had gotten stale and winded by "Bloodlines", and decided that the smaller budget he undoubtedly had for this DTV movie would work better with a more intimate, creepy film.
Things start off badly, with an auto accident that results in the seeming death of Winter's wife (Ashley Laurence, returning as "Kirsty" from the first two films), and go downhill from there, as reality itself becomes more and more tenuous and increasingly disturbing visions, hallucinations and flash-backs reveal more and more about his true history and eventual fate.
And it must be mentioned that the sound design is extremely effective here, right down to little things like the menacing death metal/techno music playing on the boom box in the first bus scene (maybe Skinny Puppy or Type O Negative??).As I said, the Cenobites don't get a lot of screen time in "Hellseeker".
With each successive episode, we see Pinhead evolve from the dark pope of "the further regions of experience," to some kind of cackling, one-liner spouting "satan" figure whom we are supposed to revile, when it seems as though Barker wanted us to almost sympathize with him instead(eg: the last 15 mins of Hellbound).While the third and fourth installments are more subtle in their leanings toward the Christian idea of hell (note the prominent use of fire throughout the third and the constant argument against "men of reason" in the fourth), Inferno & Hellseeker are nothing more than outright attempts by some frustrated & confused Christians to preach to the film-viewing public and fill the pews.Think about it: You have Pinhead, a character who demonstrated in the first two films that he didn't give a damn if you were black or white, good or evil, tall or short, fat or thin: you opened the box, you were going to get what they offered.
You have a sadistic "demon" who at first takes great pleasure in ripping apart those who want to endeavor into the "further regions" of experience who is suddenly an expert on morality, and is endowed with the means to punish "evildoers." Hellseeker & Inferno are some of the preachiest films I've seen in years.My only hope is that if the Hellraiser film series continues to grow, it will somehow harken back to its roots without becoming a remake, present something new in and of itself, and steer clear of what everyone expects "hell" to be..
I've been a big fan of the first 3 movies in the Hellraiser (Hell on Earth being my all time favorite) series for almost a decade now, and I must admit, I enjoyed this one.
Hellseeker sees the return of Ashley Laurence to the series in the role of Kirsty, and the good news is that she still has the charming good looks that made her role in the first two films so good.
While Pinhead's greater presence in this one than in the last is a welcome change, the Hellraiser movies were never originally about him or the Cenobites, even though they seemed to have evolved in that direction, which, with proper directing and writing, could have been a good thing.Where to start?
It was with 'Inferno' where the franchise went down south in quality, although that was not a terrible film and the best of the sequels post-'Bloodline'.Although the later sequels were worse, 'Hellraiser: Hellseeker' just didn't work for me and it felt pointless at the end of the day.
Even better is Doug Bradley who is as frightening as ever, despite having far too little to do, it is not hard to see why Pinhead is an iconic character in horror.Despite a twist that renders the rest of the film pointless, the last 15 minutes are the best part with there being urgency and an unsettling vibe.
Instead feeling like a dull, bland and paper thin psychological/mystery/horror, playing as basically in the first half a series of unimaginative and long-winded hallucinations and dream sequences, with Pinhead and the Cenobites thrown in with little to do and not much relevance to what has come before their appearances, pretty much as an afterthought.
I was really confused, as the movie kept on going, I just kept on getting more and more confused..I did not understand what the hell was going for most of the movie, I just found the whole movie to be very bizarre.I did not find that boring, there were some dull parts that drag on bit but that really, found this sequel well worth watching.I Clad that Kirsty returned in this movie to have a connections to the early movies in the seriesI really liked the the ending, it really took me by surprised as did not seeing coming at all,Over I thought it was very decent sequel but it did not have many bloody moment in this at all, i thought it even less gory then one before, which had very little gory in it.I give this 5 out of 10.
Hellraiser: Hellseeker (2002)** (out of 4) Sixth installment in the series has Trevor (Dean Winters) and his wife Kristy Cotton (Ashley Laurence) driving in the car when they run off the road and into a river.
I really don't mind the HELLRAISER title being used to sell a film that pretty much has nothing to do with the series or the original characters but sadly the story they give us here just isn't strong enough to carry it through to the end.
HELLRAISER: HELLSEEKER isn't nearly as effective as the previous film but it's still better than the third and fourth parts whatever that's worth..
Memory flashback stories demand great actors and stories and that is not the case here.There is TOO little time involving CENOBITES in Both movies!They also fail to build on H1 which they could have done when they have Ashley back in the film.
reminds me of old times (but in the deleted scenes on the DVD there is more to the scene that connected this film to the others in the series) and a strange ending that I liked (and shows a different side of Kirsty's character).
I won't give out anything of the storyline because it is somewhat complex, and you almost need to watch it more than once to intake the maximum effect.If you are only looking to rent Hellseeker i highly recommend finding it on DVD first, there are some alternate/deleted scenes that are great, especially for Hellraiser fans.The ending to this film leaves open a door for another sequel, and i think if it is made with a well-written script and also well-filmed it would be a welcome addition to the saga.In short...if you've never seen a Hellraiser film before this one you may be confused a little, but i think you'd still enjoy it.
"Hellraiser: Hellseeker" (the sixth film in the horror series) is a marginal improvement over the last few sequels, but I still found it incredibly lacking.
Not really something that first the character, since Pinhead is of course a character that is not supposed to age at all.The movie got directed by Rick Bota, the same person who also directed the other two later sequels in the Hellraiser series.
However, it's not a Hellraiser film and because of that, I would recommend you watch the original movies.
Before that you have, just like Inferno (2000), a rather strong story but it's so low on pinhead and there are almost no cenobites that I can't say that is a good Hellraiser flick.
This movie is not like the original films, and this may be a turn-off to fans of the series.
Ashley Lawrence, Kirsty herself, gave the same level of performance to this installment as she had to the original Hellraiser...which I think is good, but that's in the eye of the beholder.I liked the ending a lot. |
tt0054152 | Our Man in Havana | In the first shot, a quintessentially British man in a dark suit and hat, tightly rolled umbrella, and immobile face, strides along Havana streets besieged by grinning musicians and hawkers. Hawthorne (Noel Coward) is a Secret Service official based in Jamaica charged with recruiting a group of secret agents to report on Cuban military activities for a monthly stipend. Hawthorne approaches Jim Wormold (Alec Guinness), an expatriate Englishman living in Havana in the late 1950s with his beautiful teenage daughter Milly (Jo Morrow), who is attending a Catholic all girls school. Jim has lived in Cuba for fifteen years, and despite the rocky political climate, considers it home. Wormold's spare time consists of drinks with German Dr. Hasselbacher (Burl Ives) and fawning over his daughter, who has reached that precarious threshold between childhood and adulthood.Milly is being trailed by police captain Segura (Ernie Kovacs), who is friendly with the nuns at Millys school, and is looking for a traditional and pretty young woman to be his wife from among the graduating students. Milly, a dazzling blonde, is his target. When the very conspicuous Hawthorne shows up, Segura guesses that something of interest to the police may be going on, and makes inquiries hoping to use the information for blackmailing Jim in his favor, if necessary.Jim owns a vacuum cleaner shop but isn't successful enough, as he wants to provide greater luxuries for Milly, such as finishing school in Switzerland, and Milly has some expensive expectations of her own, such as owning a horse.Jim says yes to Hawthorne because of his money needs, but he has no clue about spying. Hawthorne shows him how to encode messages for telegraphing his reports and gives him general pointers. Hawthorne just tells him to approach people he knows, but that gets Jim nowhere. Jim approaches one of his trusted employees but the man misunderstands and thinks Jim is asking for prostitutes. Several times during the rest of the movie, a prostitute is brought to him by this employee.Prodded by Millys wishes to have a horse, Jim gets the Secret Service to pay for his membership in a hugely expensive country club, with the excuse that he needs access to a place where he meets important people. When he approaches members of the country club, his social ineptitude creates confusions and they think he is trying to come onto them. Instead of spying, Wormold spends most of his time drinking at the country club, which he can finally afford.Jims closest friend, a former German army officer, Dr. Hasselbacher, suggests that the best secrets are known to no one, so Jim decides to pretend to have a list of agents and provide fictional tales for the benefit of the bosses in London. Hasselbacher opines that Jim would not be doing anything immoral because countries feel obligated to play a game and spy on each other, and it might has well be him who gets paid.As he does nothing real to report, Jim pretends first to recruit agents and then that they discover secret constructions. In order to have a semblance of credibility, the names and professions he gives his fake agents are names and professions of real people.When London messages demand some information beyond lists of names, Jim notices that images of his vacuum cleaners, if enlarged and doctored, look like odd buildings having a scientific or military purpose. He sends drawings to England, and the spy boss C (Ralph Richardson) is deeply impressed. Some other reports are inspired by comic strips. He is seen as the best agent in the Western Hemisphere, and the spy agency decides to send him support staff.Soon Beatrice Severn (Maureen O'Hara) arrives in Havana, sent by C to be his "bookkeeper" and assistant. Beatrice finds Jim romantically attractive. When she begins to catch on to the deceptions, she keeps quiet despite misgivings.There are others who get suspicious of Wormold at the Agency. One agent comments to C that the drawings look like parts of a vacuum cleaner, enlarged. Hawthorne hears this while he is behind C, and realizes what Guinness is sending, but he keeps quiet.Captain Segura is aware, after hearing of Jims approaches to local fellows, that Jim was recruiting spies, but he bides his time, as his interest is getting Jim's consent for him to marry Milly. Milly accepts some courting, but her interests are rather with her horse rather than marrying.Dr. Hasselbacher, tempted by Jims reports of easy money in exchange for false information, also starts to sell lies, judging that no significant harm results from the deception.Wormolds originally harmless fraud eventually becomes dangerous. As British Intelligence agencies begin to take his work seriously, so does the other side, and thus Wormold is a wanted man, dead or alive.Spys from the other side begin to decode his cables and start disrupting his network. One of the men whom Wormold pretended was one of his agents dies in a suspicious accident. An engineer named Cifuentes (Grégoire Aslan) whom Jim approached multiple times at the country club is kidnapped and dropped off at Jims doorstep bound and gagged. These events give London the impression that Wormold's networks are under attack.Hawthorne has Jim go to Jamaica for consultations, where he warns him that Jim's discovery of military secrets is so impressive that the other sides agents have decided to silence him by assassination, most likely by poisoning at a banquet Jim has to attend as part of his vacuum cleaner business. Hawthorne instructs Jim in a variety of techniques to avoid being poisoned by food or drink.Jim manages to figure out the assassin is none other than a friendly man he met on the flight to Kingston, but he is unable to prevent the murder of his friend Dr. Hasselbacher.In seeking to avenge his friend, Jim arranges to have a meeting with Segura, ostensibly to discuss the possible courtship of Milly. Jim must get Segura so drunk that he passes out, so he can steal a loaded gun. As both of them are avid checkers players, he arranges a game of checkers to be played with miniature bottles of liquor. Each time one is captured, it must be opened and drunk immediately. As the captain is in fact a better player, the Captain gets totally, drunk, and Jim takes the gun to kill the would be assassin.Pretending friendship, he has made arrangements to go out on the town with the assassin, using himself as a decoy, assuming that the assassin will use the occasion to have him ambushed and killed by others somewhere. He tells the assassin they will be going to a couple of semi clandestine night clubs, giving their names, but in fact he goes to others, so the ambushers are sent to the wrong place, the assassin is isolated, and Jim shoots him with Seguras gun at the door of a brothel.Captain Segura wakes from his drunken binge unaware of what happened. The next day, however, after Jim and Milly attend Hasselbachers funeral, the captain orders Jim deported, and he must return to London.He tells all details of what he has done to Beatrice, who decides to quit the spy business and return to London with him. Meantime, Beatrice and Milly have become friends, Milly accepts Beatrice as a future stepmother.Accompanied by Beatrice and Milly, Jim goes to a meeting with C and other spy bosses in London. While he is waiting to be seen, the officials discuss what they should do with him. To reveal to the Prime Minister and the other top brass that Jim concocted all his intelligence would have a damaging effect on the intelligence aparatus, so they come up with a solution. A story is fabricated, claiming the hardware that Jim's agent had seen had since been dismantled. Wormold is told he is to receive an O.B.E, and the secret service offers him a position teaching espionage classes to new recruits in London. With this money, he can afford to send Milly to the fancy school in Switzerland. | comedy, murder | train | imdb | No, tonight will be Our Man in Havana, the blackest of black comedies, directed by Carol Reed from Graham Greene's novel.
I liked Ernie Kovacs as Segura, the brutal police chief; he had a nice vulgarity blended with sensitivity that worked for me.Now my pleasure would be complete if this picture were available on DVD, and if IMDb would give us the memorable quotes this film abounds in.
This superb noir comedy has wonderful depth and balance -- based on a fine novel, well-scripted, spectacularly well-lit and photographed, and vwey well performed, particularly by Alec Guiness and Ernie Kovacs, who was virtually as good an actor as he was a comedian.
This afternoon I chanced upon this terrific film on Channel 4.I had seen it years ago as a child,and couldn't understand why my father kept referring to the brilliant " Our Man in Havana" Now I know what he meant.Alec Guinness hit the perfect note in the part,as he invariably did.Havana is rendered almost tangible by director Carol Reed, a difficult feat to achieve.The rest of the cast shine too.Ernie Kovacs makes a human being out of his police-thug character.The script seems almost improvised,so fresh , pointed and witty.Compare this movie to the bulk of today's garbage,and prepare to feel very let-down by what you can see at your local Multiplex.This strange and sharp movie has re-affirmed my intention to spend some time in Havana.Buena Vista Social Club first whetted my curiosity.This movie is timeless and a great 2 hrs of entertainment/art.Enjoy!
Wormold is a vacuum cleaner salesman in Havana who is approached by a fellow named Hawthorne (Noel Coward), alias Agent 59200, who wants Wormold to serve the British Secret Service "for $150 a month and expenses" as his subagent, 59200/5, collecting secret information regarding pre-Castro Cuba.Encouragement for this comes not only indirectly from his love for his spendthrift daughter Milly (Jo Morrow) but more directly from his best friend, a castoff German doctor named Hasselbacker (Burl Ives), whose advice forms the heart of the message from screenwriter Graham Greene, adapting his own novel:"That sort of information is always easy to give.
Director Carol Reed famously made a spy film, "The Third Man," which blended tragedy and comedy in equal measure.
"Our Man In Havana" struggles at times with what kind of film it wants to be.Perhaps Guinness's own difficulty with his part contributes to this confusion.
Ives is especially heavy for the film's most delicate part, making it oppressively sad; I wish that Reed's collaborator Orson Welles could have taken this part and invested it with some of his trademark cunning and craft.Much of "Our Man In Havana" does work, and well.
Ernie Kovacs, a hero of early TV comedy, gets a lot out of a thanklessly straight part, the menacing but sensitive Segura, who lusts for Milly and explains his position with real sensitivity even though he never loses the cruelty of the character."Do you play checkers, Mr. Wormold?" he asks."Not very well," answers Wormold."In checkers, one must move more carefully than you have tonight."Wormold isn't kidding; he only knows enough to lose.
Some of the film is even set in Fleming's own Jamaican stomping grounds; one can imagine the creator of James Bond must have enjoyed this send-up of his work before it was a gleam in Albert Broccoli's eye."Our Man In Havana" plays with your mind and conscience for an hour and a half.
Filmed on the eve of Castro's revolution in Cuba, this movie is noteworthy simply as a timepiece to Havana in the late 50s and as one of the last great British comedies from the Ealing Studios era.
Guinness is perfect as Wormold the bumbling vacuum cleaner salesman turned spy who's invented intelligence reports become only too real.The casting of Burl Ives and Ernie Kovacs (as German doctor and Cuban police chief respectively) are inspired genius.
The director is the legendary Carol Reed (The Third Man) and between Guiness and him (and Greene), the movie has a British tilt--indeed, it was filmed mostly in Havana with followup work in Shepparton Studios, London.
Director Carol Reed, who had worked with the author on two previous occasions – on 'The Fallen Idol (1948)' and 'The Third Man (1949)' – masterfully brings Greene's story to life, with an extraordinary liveliness only enhanced by the on-location filming in Havana, Cuba.Jim Wormald (Alec Guinness) is a British citizen who has lived in Cuba for fifteen years, and now, despite a rocky political climate, considers it home.
Meanwhile, corrupt Cuban dictator Captain Segura (Ernie Kovacs), who covets the virginal Milly, begins to suspect that Wormald isn't as harmless as he had always seemed.In post-revolutionary Cuba, Greene's novel was looked upon favourably for its depiction of the corrupt dictatorship of former leader Fulgencio Batista, but Fidel Castro complained that it didn't accurately capture the brutality of his reign.
"I had not wanted too black a background for a light-hearted comedy, but those who suffered during the years of dictatorship could hardly be expected to appreciate that my real subject was the absurdity of the British agent and not the justice of a revolution." It is, indeed, the British who come off second-best in Greene's satire.
"Our Man in Havana" has all of the elements of a sure-fire classic: a cast that includes Alec Guinness, Burl Ives, Noel Coward, a very lovely Maureen O'Hara and Ralph Richardson; a screenplay by Graham Greene adapted from his own novel; and direction by Carol Reed, who had tackled Greene before and made one of the best films in history ("The Third Man").So why doesn't "Our Man in Havana" entirely work?
Guinness plays a vacuum cleaner salesman living in Havana who gets recruited by the British secret service to do spy work for them.
The usual way this happens is through love or lust, but this movie has a subtler and darker theme--an amusing fantasy, in a dictatorship, turns into something seriously and horribly real.Attracted by the money that secret-service work will bring, but clueless as to how to do it, Wormold (Alec Guinness), a vacuum-cleaner salesman, makes up reports inspired by comic strips.
Wormold's spy stories result in misunderstanding, then embarrassment, then murder, until he is put in a position where, though it's the last thing he wants, he has to become a hero, perhaps a dead one.An irony that went unappreciated at the time was of Alec Guinness expressing his disgust of homosexuals in one scene and, in another, being comically mistaken for one (in a maneuver shown him by Noel Coward!).Not many big laughs, but lots and lots of knowing and rueful smiles are what this movie inspires--it's a very dry martini in a world of brightly coloured alcopops..
Alec Guiness is a not so bright vacuum cleaner salesman living in Havana recruited as a spy by British operative Noel Coward.
Coward is particularly funny as he keeps insisting that Guiness will make a great spy even though the only thing he seems to be able to produce are vacuum cleaner blueprints he passes off as bomb making instructions.
Instead of spying, Guiness spends most of his time drinking at the country club, which he can finally afford to join!Guiness is great and the terrific supporting cast includes Burl Ives as a wily American ex-patriot, Jo Morrow as Guiness's infinitely understanding daughter, and Ernie Kovacs, looking very Fidel-like, as a lecherous Cuban cop.
Graham Greene's novel "Our Man in Havana" was well adapted by him for this 1959 film of the same name.
It stars Alec Guinness, Burl Ives, Maureen O'Hara, Ernie Kovacs, Noel Coward and Ralph Richardson - quite a cast.
The acting is excellent, though some have mentioned that Maureen O'Hara was too much star power for the role she plays - that's really a minor criticism.Another great Guiness film..
If you can get past the absurd storyline that has ALEC GUINESS pretending to be a spy and even inventing his fellow agents so that he can pose as the real thing for NOEL COWARD and RALPH RICHARDSON--well, it's a tall order.
It's an odd mixture of acting styles and it all seems more than a little foolish by the time Alec has become such a valuable "spy" that the Russians want to assassinate him.The best scenes are after Guiness realizes that things have gone too far and someone actually intends to kill him at a banquet he is forced to attend.
Unfortunately, RALPH RICHARDSON is completely wasted in a nothing role but NOEL COWARD has a fine time with an amusing part as the man who recruits Guiness.ERNIE KOVACS is surprisingly well cast as a member of the police force during the last days of the Battista regime, before the revolution.
ALEC GUINESS gives a marvelous performance as the reluctant spy who finds himself in hot water when he decides to play the game the way Ives told him to.
MI6 always on the lookout for agents and they can be recruited in a variety of ways spots expatriate vacuum cleaner salesman Alec Guinness living in Havana with his daughter Jo Morrow is scraping by on his job and it's expensive sending Morrow to a Catholic Convent school.Along comes Noel Coward from British Intelligence with a proposition some extra income to work for them and recruit other agents and send back reports on loose information he picks up.
Yet though some laughs are here, it gets deadly serious when the other side expresses an interest in killing Guinness because his reports to British Intelligence are giving the reputation to Our Man In Havana as one of the best they have.One thing the British take pride in is their spy service.
The film is called " Our Man in Havana " and is the story of the British secret service prior to the first James Bond movie.
Finding one Jim Wormold (Alec Guinness) a British subject, running a vacuum sales shop, he enlists him to create a spy network complete with agents and code names.
Before the revolution in Cuba, a vacuum cleaner salesman is recruited by the British Secret Service for the title role.
A marvelous cast is wasted, including Guinness as the recruited spy hoping to make a quick buck, Coward as his recruiter, O'Hara as his devoted secretary, and Richardson as a befuddled Secret Service superior.
Revolution or not, Carol Reed here takes a holiday from directing serious films and along with Graham Greene as screenwriter concentrates on sending up espionage thrillers.
Alec Guinness is comfortably at home in the role of as Wormold, a vacuum cleaner salesman for Hoover who suddenly has the role of secret agent thrust upon him.
The lovely Maureen O'Hara as the agent sent from London to assist our man in Havana seems lost, or at least as if she is in another movie, a romantic spy drama perhaps.
Ives was not much of an actor, but his role here is minor.Looking back at it now, this film seems to fall in the Ealing comedy tradition - little man triumphs over the powers that be - though of a glossier and more expensive kind than usual as Columbia was paying the bills.
Set in pre Castro Cuba, vacuum cleaner retailer Alec Guinness is recruited by the inept British Secret Service, in the form of the wonderful Noel Coward, to create and run a spy ring for them.
#1 make it as a comedy with slapstick humor and sarcastic lines and comedic actors and do so in the vein of Hot Shots or Police Squad.#2 make it in a serious manner more akin to the later Alec Guinness films such as the Spy who came in from the Cold.
Carol Reed echoes the musical score and, at least latterly, the dynamic compositions of earlier Graham Greene collaboration The Third Man in this 1959 Cuba-set spy outing.
Alec Guiness is well cast as Wormold, a vacuum cleaner salesman covertly recruited by a British Intelligence agent (Noel Coward).
Reed's film version isn't realistic, not the situation and not the characters.I never, for a moment, believed in Alec Guiness' Wormold; not in the easy-going way in which he took to the task in hand like a duck to water nor in his later development of a conscience.
Alec Guinness, a vacuum cleaner salesman, is forced to be a British spy for his country while he is living in Havana, but has nothing interesting to offer, (why me he asks) when good friend Burl Ives tells him to embellish his accounts of peoples' activities and spice up his reports.
Ralph Richardson, Noel Coward, and Ernie Kovacs costar in this amusing little story, which goes a long way with the stars' credible acting and the charm and irresistible personality of Sir Alec Guinness.
Alec Guinness as ever, is excellent, as is Noel Coward and Ralph Richardson.The re-voles around Jim Wormold(Alec Guinness) as a vacuum cleaner salesman in pre-revolutionary Havana.
As described here previously by McVouty, this movie is a true gem - I had the pleasure of seeing it projected at a local art house theater, and was blown away by Alec Guinness' performance, as well as the excellent black & white cinematography, by none other than Robert Krasker; the same writer/director/cinematographer team that created "The 3rd Man", here again created a wonderful film.
The running gag -- vacuum cleaners as secret weapons -- frames the comedy that turns black.Noël Coward and Ralph Richardson, who plays "C" before there was an "M," are suitably farcical.
Alex Guiness, (Jim Wormold) is a vacuum cleaner salesman and he gets involved with a spy system which originates from London, England who need a man to operate from Havana and Jim Wormold is their man.
Greene believed in the Christian version of treating mankind, not a Godless secularized version.I recently saw this film on TCM, and the introduction of the role played by Alec Guiness was that he was a "clueless" vacuum sweeper salesman.
The whole of the British Secret Service is played for a fool when Guiness, at the suggestion of his friend, a German Doctor played by Burl Ives, suggests that he invent agents for his spy ring.
Ives moralizes that Guiness will not be doing anything immoral because countries feel obligated to play a game and spy on each other, and it might has well be him who gets paid.Ernie Kovacs plays the authority figure for the Batista dictatorship that was about to fall to Castro.
Set in Cuba shortly before the revolution (and filmed there after), Our Man in Havana stars Alec Guinness as a man reluctantly persuaded to spy for Britain.
But that just makes the drama weaker; Burl Ives character is never properly explored, and a romance late in the film flowers out of virtually nothing.The movie is well-filmed (at times it's reminiscent in style to director Carol Reed's masterwork The Third Man) and has some good performances (Ernie Kovacs is quite good as a genial yet brutal police captain), but much of it feels like a lost opportunity to push it's brilliant satirical premise to the dark comedy it seems so capable of..
Jim Wormold (Alec Guinness) is an expatriate Englishman living in pre-revolutionary Havana with his teenage daughter Milly (Jo Morrow).
So he takes a job from British secret agent Hawthorne (Noel Coward) to recruit people for his spy network.
Keeping this in mind one easily has the situation in OUR MAN IN HAVANA.Alec Guinness is Wormold, an Englishman who runs a vacuum cleaner agency in Havana, Cuba in the late 1950s (actually before Castro seized power).
He and director Sir Carol Reed (THE THIRD MAN's director) disagreed on how Guinness should play Wormold (his character), and Sir Alec said he lost interest in it.
He was capable of clunkers too, like "The Public Eye." This one is somewhere in between but probably closer to "The Third Man." At any rate, it's light years ahead of most of the junk showing up on screens today, though they cost a million times more.Alec Guiness, in a performance both effective and casual, runs a vacuum cleaner shop in Bautista's Havana.
Helped by an outstanding script and the magnificent Noel Coward, this is one of Guinness' more underrated performances.Jim Wormold (Guinness) is a vacuum cleaner salesman in pre-Castro Cuba.
As British Intelligence agencies begin to take his work seriously, as do their enemies spies and soon Wormold is a wanted man, dead or alive.Packed full of classic lines and moments (a 'Made In Japan' moment bringing particular pleasure), 'Our Man in Havana' is an entertaining affair with countless different twists and turns on route to it's eventual conclusion.Helped primarily by an on form Guinness, the film is expertly written by Graham Greene, delivered by Carol Reed and consistently enjoyable.
This was the right decision to make because it's questionable whether the film's tension could have been so good otherwise.Led from the front by Alec Guinness, 'Our Man in Havana' is a superb piece of cinema.
OUR MAN IN HAVANA is a fairly typical British satire of the spy genre, with Alec Guinness playing his usual hapless character whose supposedly clever plans lead him into hot water.
Guinness plays a salesman living in Cuba who is tasked with becoming British spy, but when he starts making up fake identities to impress his employers, he soon finds the situation spiralling out of control.
Jo Morrow is pathetic as Guiness' daughter and quickly disappeared off the cinematic radar; Ernie Kovacs is fine as Segura, the nearest thing to a heavy, Burl Ives is competent and Ralph Richardson would have walked away with the movie were it not for Coward.
Carol Reed (both author, director and the main actors were British, by the way), beautiful black-and-white cinematography, especially impressive since the film was shot in Cuba on authentic locations.
The checker game with the whiskey and bourbon between Alec Guiness and Ernie Kovacs is one of the great "dark" comedy scenes of all time.
Guinness is in the lead role as the British secret service's recruited man in Havana. |
tt0137523 | Fight Club | We back out of the webbing of neurons and brain cells as the title credits appear, finding ourselves emerging from the sweat-glistened skin of the protagonist: our narrator (Edward Norton), as he looks down the barrel of a gun that's been stuck in his mouth. The gun is held by a man named Tyler (Brad Pitt) who checks his watch, counting down to 'ground zero' before he asks if the narrator has anything to say. The narrator mumbles through the gun before it's removed and reiterates that he can't think of anything. As Tyler looks out of the high rise window to the dark city below them, the narrator recalls just how he met Tyler before stopping himself and bringing us to the very beginning.In six months, the narrator hasn't slept. His job as a traveling product recall specialist for a car company doesn't help his insomnia since he must travel often, experiencing bouts of jet lag in addition to the everyday stress of his position, admiring the 'tiny life' of single-serving soap and shampoo at every location. If he can't sleep, he surfs the channels or browses through Ikea catalogs purchasing the next piece of decor to add to his apartment; he's a self-proclaimed slave of consumerism. He goes to his doctor seeking help, but all the doctor can do is suggest that he visit a support group for testicular cancer to see real pain. There, the narrator meets Robert 'Bob' Paulson (Meat Loaf), the 'big moosie' and an ex-bodybuilder and steroid user who suffers from an extreme case of gynecomastia due to hormone treatment after his testicles were removed. Stuck between Bob's enormous breasts, the narrator finally finds peace and bursts into tears. The emotional release allows him to sleep and he subsequently becomes addicted to support groups, mapping out his week attending different meetings and feigning illness. However, the appearance of a woman named Marla Singer (Helena Bonham Carter) throws the narrator's 'system' out of whack. He recognizes her as a 'tourist', having seen her at multiple meetings, and he is disturbed by her lies to the point where he can't sleep anymore.After one meeting, he confronts her. She argues that she's doing exactly what he does and quips that the groups are 'cheaper than a movie and there's free coffee'. Instead of ratting each other out, they agree to split up the week and exchange numbers. Despite his efforts, the narrator's insomnia continues. On a flight back from one of his business trips, the narrator meets Tyler Durden. Tyler offers a unique perspective on emergency procedure manuals in the plane and they strike up a casual conversation. Tyler is a soap salesman, if he's not working nights as a projectionist and slipping bits of porn between reels. The narrator arrives at the baggage claim to discover that his suitcase has been confiscated, most likely due to a mysterious vibration, before he taxis home. However, home, a fifteenth story condominium, has been blasted into the night by what was theorized to be a faulty gas line ignited by a spark on the refrigerator. Having nowhere to go, the narrator finds a business card for Tyler and calls him up. They meet in a parking lot behind a bar where Tyler invites the narrator to ask to come live with him...on one condition: that the narrator hit Tyler as hard as he can. The narrator, though puzzled, complies and they engage in a fist fight before sharing a couple of drinks. The experience is surprisingly euphoric.Tyler and the narrator engage in more fights over the coming days and they soon attract the attention of other 'tough guys'. Finding their little fighting group growing, Tyler establishes a formal 'fight club' in the basement of the bar where they had their first fight. Membership quickly increases and Tyler and the narrator fashion a series of rules, the first two being 'you do not talk about fight club.' The rules are consistently broken. Time and again, Tyler proves his insightful, if unorthodox and immoral, views on life.The narrator meets up with Marla by chance, telling her that he hasn't attended any other meetings because he's joined a new support group for men only.While he still treats her with mild contempt, it's clear that he considers her with interest. When she overdoses on Xanax, she calls the narrator who, tired of her rambling, sets the phone down. He discovers later that Tyler picked up the phone, followed the call to Marla's home, and brought her back to the house where they engaged in vigorous sex, much to the narrator's disgust. The next morning in the kitchen, Marla finds the narrator, who is astonished to see her in his house. After she leaves, Tyler enters the kitchen and reveals that he and Marla had sex the night before. He also gravely makes the narrator promise that he'll never mention Tyler to Marla.That night the narrator joins Tyler while he steals human fat out of the dumpster of a liposuction clinic. Tyler says that the best fat for making the soap he sells comes from human beings. Back in their kitchen, Tyler shows the narrator how to render tallow from the fat. After explaining a bit about the history of soapmaking, Tyler plants a wet kiss on the back of the narrator's hand and dumps pure lye on the spot, causing a horrific chemical burn. Tyler refuses to let the narrator wash the lye off his hand, saying that water will worsen the burn, and tells the narrator that the burn is a rite of passage -- Tyler has burned his own hand in an identical way. Tyler also forces the narrator to accept allegiance to him and then neutralizes the burn with vinegar. Later, when they meet with a cosmetics salesperson at a department store, the narrator remarks that Tyler's soap sells for a very high price.With the narrator, he holds a college dropout (Joon Kim) at gunpoint and threatens to kill him if he doesn't pursue his dream of becoming a veterinarian. He allows Lou (Peter Iacangelo), the owner of the bar where their fight club is held, to beat him up before coughing blood all over him and demanding to stay in the basement. Horrified, Lou agrees.After a period of days, Marla leaves and Tyler introduces the narrator to his newest hobby. Using his proficient skills in soap-making, Tyler has turned the basement of the house into a laboratory where he uses soap and other ingredients to make explosives. Tyler and the narrator continue managing fight club, but this time, at a much different frequency. Receiving flack at work, the narrator finally confronts his boss (Zach Grenier) with knowledge about substandard practice and negotiates to work from home with increased pay to keep his mouth shut. When his boss objects and calls security, the narrator begins to beat himself up severely so that, by the time security arrives, they are led to believe that the narrator's boss did that to him.Tyler eventually assigns homework to his recruits and preaches to them about the detriments of consumerism and relying on society and authority figures. He proposes to revert back to the time where a man's worth depended on the sweat on his back and where he only used what he needed. This philosophy evolves into what Tyler calls 'Project Mayhem,' and the fighting in basements turns into mischievous acts of vandalism and destruction. Their actions do not go unnoticed, but Tyler manages to show the lead investigator that the very people he's hunting are those that they depend on; waiters, bus drivers, sewer engineers, and more. The dilapidated house where Tyler and the narrator live turns into Mayhem central, where each new recruit is put through a rigorous period of initiation and training and where the latest plans are hatched. While Project Mayhem grows, the narrator begins to feel more and more distant from Tyler and jealousy sets in, making him go so far as to beat up and disfigure one recruit (Jared Leto) because he 'wanted to destroy something beautiful'. When Tyler disappears for a while, the narrator is left at home with an ever increasing band of Mayhem members who watch television and laugh at their publicized acts of vandalism. When Bob, a member after being introduced to Fight Club, is killed during a botched sabotage operation, the narrator seeks to disband the group before things get out of control. He tries to find Tyler and discovers a list of phone numbers he recently used. The narrator trails the list all over the country, discovering that fight clubs have sprouted everywhere.At one particular bar, the bartender addresses the narrator as 'sir' which prompts the narrator to ask if he knows him. The bartender, after being assured that he's not being put through a test, tells the narrator that he is Tyler Durden. In shock, the narrator returns to his hotel room and calls up Marla, asking if they've ever had sex. Though irritated, Marla confirms their relationship and states that she knows his name as Tyler Durden. Marla hangs up and Tyler suddenly appears in the room and confronts the narrator, confirming that they are, indeed, one person. The narrator has insomnia; he can't sleep so, whenever he thinks he is (or at random parts of a day), Tyler's persona takes over. The epiphany causes the narrator to faint. When he wakes up, he finds another phone list beside him with calls from all over the country.He returns to his home to find it completely empty but one billboard yields a display of folders detailing certain buildings within the financial district. He finds that each one has been infiltrated by members of Project Mayhem and that Tyler is planning on destroying them, thereby erasing credit card company records and 'wiping the slate clean'. In a panic, the narrator grabs all the information and reports himself to the local police. However, after telling the inspector everything he knows and being left with two officers, the narrator discovers that the officers are Mayhem members and they tell him that they were instructed by him to 'take the balls' of anyone who interfered with Project Mayhem...even him. The narrator manages to escape and runs to one of the buildings set for demolition. He finds an unmarked van in the parking garage filled with nitroglycerin and attempts to disarm the bomb. Tyler appears and goads him but the narrator successfully disarms the bomb. He and Tyler engage in a fierce fight which appears oddly on the surveillance cameras since the narrator is only fighting himself. The Tyler personality wins and the narrator 'brings himself' to another building where they can safely watch the destruction.This brings us back to where we started. The narrator, with the gun in his mouth, mumbles again and tells Tyler, "I still can't think of anything". Tyler smiles and says, "Ah, flashback humor". The narrator begs that Tyler abandon the project but Tyler is adamant. He professes that what he's doing is saving mankind from the oppression of consumerism and unnecessary luxuries and that there won't even have to be any casualties; the people who work in the buildings are all Mayhem members, completely aware of the plan. Near breaking point, the narrator comes to realize that whatever Tyler does, he can do. He sees Tyler with the gun in his hand and realizes that it's actually in his hand. He puts it up to his own chin and tells Tyler to listen to him. He says that his eyes are open and then puts the gun in his mouth and pulls the trigger. The bullet shoots out of the side of his jaw and Tyler is 'killed' with a gaping wound to the back of his head. As the narrator recovers, members of Project Mayhem arrive with snacks and Marla in tow (Tyler had previously instructed her to be brought to them).Seeing 'Tyler's' wounds, the Mayhem members leave Marla alone with him to fetch some medical supplies. 'Tyler' stands with Marla and tells her that everything's going to be fine as the first detonation ignites the building in front of them. The others on the block soon follow suit and 'Tyler' takes Marla's hand in his as the buildings collapse and the film reel ends. | dark, comedy, cruelty, neo noir, mystery, psychological, thought-provoking, cult, violence, storytelling, atmospheric, flashback, clever, insanity, psychedelic, action, satire, philosophical, plot twist, entertaining, sadist | train | imdb | I will say that I cannot recall *ever* having been "asked" by a film to both suspend my disbelief the way this film asks in its third act AND at the same time come to terms with an understanding that there is no room--or need--for disbelief.Perhaps these comments will not make sense to the average movie goer who will dismiss this film--and, unfortunately, its premise--as another hollywood flick filled with gratuitous violence.
Fight Club makes many bold statements against the modern consumer-driven society, and produces Norton's best performance and Pitt's second best (12 Monkeys).Norton plays an average-Joe who is living a dead-end life.
The plot lured you in before turning you upside down, the acting was nothing short of perfect (has there ever been a more memorable character than Brad Pitt as Tyler Durden?), the music, the screenplay (based on what is now my all-time favorite book), the lighting, the pacing, the everything!
Despite the risky 'cutting edge' nature of the film, Fincher got a huge budget for this and it shows: the camera effects and the whole production design are amazing.This movie has a raw energy that grips me every time I watch it.
"Fight Club" is a $50+ million studio film that remains true to its anti-consumer, anti-society, anti-everything message -- right up to the last, sneaky subliminal frame.
"Fight Club" openly rejects this tired, clearly outdated structure in favour of a stylized frenzy of jump cuts, freeze frames, slow motion and every other film technique in the book that only reinforces its anarchistic message.
The film is a cinematic punch to the head as it challenges the status quo and offers a wakeup call to people immersed in a materialistic world where those who have the most stuff, "win." I think that Fincher's film wants us to tear all that down, reject corporate monsters like Starbucks and Blockbuster, and try to figure out what we really want out of life.
And it is these thought-provoking ideas that makes "Fight Club" a dangerously brilliant film that entertains as well as enlightens..
I was seriously hoping the movie would receive Oscar nominations for Best Actor (Norton), Best Screenplay, Best Director, Best Cinematography and Best Picture.So, how is it that the film received no nominations?
This is the point around which the whole film revolves with Norton and Pitt forming an underground club which draws more and more disillusioned young men to join it.
Faithfully following Chuck Palahniuk's acerbic satire, Fight Club presents the vast emptiness of modern existence- ridden as it is with shallow values, rampant consumerism, empty of meaning, feeling and life itself- in a slick and ironically consumer oriented fashion.
Fight Club is definitly Fincher's best movie even better than se7en.
When I had seen it for the second time I could see this movie with the knowledge of the conclusion which is really fascinating as you'll see Fight Club in a totally different perspective.
Also great about Fight Club is its soundtrack performed by the Dust Brothers and especially the song 'Where is my mind' by the Pixies which really fit to the end of the movie.
Unfortunately Fight Club didn't have much success in Germany but anyway the movie got best reviews of the German press.
Bradd Pitt gives his best performance to date, he is definitely an excellent coworker with David Fincher, they seem to share a common thread when it comes to film making I suppose.
It is rather one of the most thought provoking movies I have ever seen.I unleashed my own Tyler Durden 10 years ago, not violently or illegally, but I did turn my back on my serf-like existence as a well- paid corporate slave.
The leading actors of this movie are chosen very carefully and I guess this is Edward Norton's best actor performance.You can watch "Fight Club" more than once and you would never get bored of it..
I look at the Fincher's movies like a film school .
Brad Pitt and Edward Norton were the perfect choice to lead this movie.
This movie's charades of insurrection are exhilarating to the clinically demented (Otherwise known as the fight club) The less I know, the better off I will be I think!!
In short, Fight Club is a movie that attempts to give a distorted portrait of society as an evil in order to facilitate showing violence and yet more violence.
We have no Great War. No Great Depression." is both romanticizing over events in Western history, that made absolutely no sense to the people living it, and at the same time mocking our grandparents and the life and society they fought for, ours.The main character continues: "We were raised on television to believe that we'd all be millionaires, movie gods, rock stars, but we won't".Well, learning to differentiate between yourself and "movie gods [and] rock stars" and learning that life is not all beer and skittles is what growing up is about today.So, Brad Pitt et al., grow up.
And go read a book or something.The rubbish quote sums it up pretty good: "I see in fight club the strongest and smartest men that have ever lived.
The film follows the book through most of its plot, incorporating much of Palahniuk's clever and bitter commentary on our material society into Edward Norton's jaded voice-over narration, which is unnerving for the five seconds it takes to get into the rhythm of the story.
That's how good this plot is adapted- we can settle right into a rhythm and a dark tone that match those of the book perfectly.Edward Norton is the perfect choice for Fight Club's bored protagonist, as is Brad Pitt as Tyler, the enigmatic man that encourages Norton's character to join him in starting a fight club.
Tyler has a plan to change the very fabric of their society and in the process changes the very fabric of Norton's character's life- more than he realizes at first.For the entire movie, Fight Club is about man's slavery to society and his escape from it.
From the moment the credits were on screen I instantly fell in love with it.Fight Club has changed our lives and the way we look at it.
Making both perfect.The film has 3 parts to it, studying the character in which called the Narrator played by Edward Norton.
Seeing Fight Club , I realized you can have great ideas for films , but unless you use them well , and find just the right note , great ideas do not necessarily make great movies ..
Also, for a movie that was so preachy about consumerism ("You are not your car, your khakis," all that hackneyed nonsense), did anyone else notice that all the tired young execs at Fight Club proper seemed to spend alot of time at the gym?
All in all, Fight Club is not a bad movie, but I really wished it had ended as good as it started....
The problem here isn't acting- he is still good in a demanding role that merited top billing(rather than being put under Pitt), and the rest of the cast does admirably as well, although Brad Pitt has played a role much like this before(see 12 Monkeys) and Helena Bonham Carter's role is pretty much as demeaning to women as it gets.
Answering questions, Edward Norton joked about how working with Brad Pitt was easier for him because he could always rag on him about Pitt's bad movies- "Whenever he'd get on me, I'd just have to say 'Cool World'"- and also said he thought he had yet to be part of a "stinker".
Brad Pitt, the star of the movie, played his character (Tyler Durden) flawlessly.
Throughout the movie, Ed Norton's character (the narrator) was trying to fight his inner demons which were preventing him from getting any sleep.
I feel I would have enjoyed the movie much more had not my brother spoiled the damn ending before I watched it, but even without the surprise ending, Fight Club still makes my top 10..
This movie wasn't building any character or atmosphere but what it was building is total BOREDOM.I didn't want to watch this movie till the end but then I thought about the high points that people have given it and some of the reviewers were talking about its great twist ending.
I saw this film at a free preview about a week before it was released and two years later I can still remember how angry I was wasting an evening on this drivel.The whole premise that these guys can't feel any emotion unless they're beating the hell out of each other is ridiculous and boring.I can't remember one thing I liked about this movie.Not the script,none of the performances,the editing or cinematography,nothing.Maybe this film taps into the current anarchist views and aspirations of whatever generation we're up to,but who cares?If there was a score lower than one,I wouldn't hesitate to mark it on my ballot..
Ed norton and Brad pitt were outstanding, all time great must see movie..
I decided to watch some of the films on that list and I wanted to watch Fight Club first because it just attracted me in ways I can't explain.
Edward Norton and Brad Pitt have oscar worthy performances in this film, and they are very different and unique characters.
Helena Bonham Carter has very good acting in this film as well, and her and Brad Pitt are the funniest things in this movie.
Fight Club is one of David Fincher's best films, and it is probably one of my top 5 favorite films of all time..
If you don't know what that means, it's just a small taste of how sardonic this whole film is.At first, I assumed Fight Club was just a movie about a bunch of guys beating each other up.
Acting is great; Edward Norton, Brad Pitt, and Helena Bonham Carter are effectively perfect in their roles.
I've spent significant time in the USA and never saw one fight.It was a dull and boring movie, and I suggest Eddie Norton takes a good hard look at himself before being involved with a script like that again.
Fight Club is directed by David Fincher and stars Edward Norton, Brad Pitt, Helena Bonham Carter, Meat Loaf, and Jared Leto.
However, once he meets cool guy Tyler Durden (Pitt), he, along with Tyler, start a "fight club," a place in which men who seek fulfillment may find it through beating each other up.
In my humble opinion, however, Fight Club is easily one of the best films ever made.
The flawless script contributes to my liking of this movie, due to amazing dialogue and great detail upon the current setting.If anyone has ever read the script for Fight Club, it's just shy of 200 pages, and that is magnificently impressive.
Without spoiling anything, Fight Club has one of, if not the, best plot twists in film history.
Fight Club is a rare type of film in which contains a better experience watching it for the second time than watching it for the first.
The twist is perfectly built up to, and flawlessly executed in every way.Overall, Fight Club is one of my favorite films of all time, and I like to say that it's one of the best movies ever made.
Fight Club is an extremely violent film, but I don't think it's gratuitous because the movie really works as a satire and raises several philosophical questions about how enslaved we've become under the capitalist and advertising system, but it also points out the danger of anarchy as well.
Based on Chuck Palahniuk's novel of the same name, and adapted for the screen by Jim Uhls, Fight Club is a masterpiece thanks to Fincher's direction and the performance from the excellent cast which includes Edward Norton, Brad Pitt, and Helen Bonham Carter.
Fight Club is a must see film for all.The movie begins with a scene where the narrator (Edward Norton) has a gun forced down his throat by Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), to which the narrator begins to tell the viewer what has led him to this point through voice over narration, and so the film is told in flashback.
Edward Norton appeared in the big movie screen during the 90's and this was when he made his best films (American History X, Primal Fear, The People vs.
The performance from the cast is one of the best things about Fight Club which works in every level.
I have also read Fight Club book and honestly and liked the movie better - this doesn't happen often - David Fincher did excellent job - the film has very unique and accordant style without exaggerations and the crew was very successfully build, actor play is faultless, there is nothing you would want to change..
When you finish watching Fight Club, what do you remember most about the film?
However, Fight Club goes a step beyond and then some, taking a look at how this lifestyle obsession invades every aspect of life, sinking into our personal lives, making it impossible to find a woman who doesn't despise your guts outside of the physical side of your relationship, where being clever and funny are the only things you have to keep yourself sane, and where a generation of MTV-raised, Saturday morning cartoons, post-Reagan politics, Hollywood-worshiping, McDonalds and 7-11 Slushees men are being turned into demasculated raving psychotics trying to find any escape from their misery.Fight Club comes along at a time in history where it's perfect.
A film that speaks for an entire generation of men and the future of our lifestyle obsessed society, Fight Club is an all-time favorite for me and I would recommend it to absolutely anyone.
It is a very clever story and it only dipped in quality at one point for me where the clubs first begin to become something more sinister (more!) and move into terrorism.Part of the reason it was so well watched is the stars but also the very cool direction that made it stand out to the student generation as something deep (even if they didn't get the film).
The film is preaching to us about this (and the other) extreme but most people watching and making it will be living that exact life!
I was not going to watch this movie because the pre-views did not appeal to me and I am probably the only woman living who does NOT think that Brad Pitt is sexy.
I also understand the concept of Ed Norton's character having everything but feeling so lonely and depressed that he starts fight club with Brad Pitt in order to get attention and feel wanted.
Many of the others commented (and other people who've seen this movie) think that Tyler Durden is somehow the voice of good, a positive role model, if you will.
Many of the others commented (and other people who've seen this movie) think that Tyler Durden is somehow the voice of good, a positive role model, if you will.
As such, it presents the conflict between two characters Tyler Durden played by Brad Pitt and someone who is called Jack, Rupert or Cornelius and who is played by Edward Norton.Jack is quite a consumer, or at least at the start of the movie he is.
For me this is just worth a one time watch and is a decent 7/10 movie at best.I thought this was supposed to be FIGHT Club, well there was very little fighting or action.
It also has themes of violence but at the same time has elements of black comedy.The acting throughout is superb - great performances from the 3 main character played by Brad Pitt, Edward Norton and Helena Bonham Carter.***Spoilers*** You may have to watch this movie several times before you fully understand it and pick up on all the nuances but I outline some below.When I first saw this I thought there was something wrong with the DVD because at a few points is seems to flicker (and does) not until I put it on super-slow motion did I realise it was intended.
There's no doubt that Fight Club is one of my favorite movies.
Fight Club is without a doubt in my top 5 movies of all time.
Thethemes and events in the film are indescribable.Also, this is one of the few films that has PERFECT actors for its characters.Edward Norton is frighteningly convincing as the narrator, and Brad Pitt plays the incredibly strange character of Tyler Durden absolutely flawlessly.If you haven't already seen this movie, I would strongly recommend it.
This is a good example of what happens when people who've been reading comic books and watched better movies all their lives get to make their own.
I'd rather see that movie twenty more times rather than see 5 minutes from Fight Club.
I saw it again on television a few years later and thought it was a bit better and not quite as horrible, but still didn't enjoy it much.However I was convinced into buying the DVD and seeing it again just because it had been rated the 37th best film of all time on IMDb (it's now #41).Well I'm happy to report that I found "Fight Club" utterly brilliant on third viewing.
In a year of some really good movies "Fight Club" was probably the best and is one of my all-time favorite films.It's easy to see how this might be considered the next "Taxi Driver" thirty years from now..
Luckily, like The Fly, both movies were incredible, and Fight Club was definitely the better of the two.
He gets that chance when he meets Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt in one of his best roles), an increasingly insane soap maker who creates the fight club of the title.
Fight Club is the most over-rated movie I have ever seen (barely beating out Gladiator). |
tt0427152 | Dinner for Schmucks | Tim Conrad is a mid-level financial executive, who comes up with a way to invite wealthy Swiss businessman Martin Mueller to become a client of his firm. Impressed by Tim's ingenuity, his boss Lance Fender invites him to a "dinner for winners" in which he must find and bring an eccentric person with a special talent; the winner earns a trophy and the executive that brought him or her gets glory. He learns it is more of a "dinner for idiots", and the partygoers will be mocked. Tim's girlfriend Julie lands a curator deal for eccentric artist Kieran Vollard and Tim unsuccessfully proposes to her. After learning of the cruel nature of the dinner party, Julie becomes upset and asks him not to attend and he agrees.
Tim accidentally hits IRS employee Barry Speck with his car when Barry tries to retrieve a dead mouse in the road. Witnessing Barry's bizarre behavior, Tim realizes he is the perfect loser for the dinner. Barry shows up at Tim's apartment and accidentally invites over Darla, who had a one-night stand with Tim years ago and has been stalking him. Barry decides to guard Tim's apartment from Darla to make up for inviting her. When Julie arrives at his apartment, Barry mistakes her for Darla and sends her away, giving Julie the impression that Tim is cheating on her. Barry calls Vollard and finds the number saved in the phone. While talking to him, he and Tim think they hear Julie in the background and head to Vollard's apartment. Barry tosses Tim's keys through Vollard's apartment window and must break in, only to find Kieran preparing to make love to two girls dressed like animals (neither are Julie) and head back home.
Barry opens the door to find Darla waiting outside. Julie calls and asks Tim if he's having an affair and Darla steals the phone and stuffs it down her pants. While Tim hides in his bedroom, Darla and Barry get into a bar-styled fight, scaring Darla away. Julie left her phone at Tim's apartment and a voice message from Vollard reveals that Julie is leaving for his ranch. Barry works for the IRS and offers to take Tim to work to find Vollard's ranch address, where they meet up with Barry's boss and rival, Therman Murch, who stole Barry's wife. Tim leaves the next day for his brunch with the Muellers but Barry crashes, with Darla pretending to be Julie. Tim is pushed into asking Darla to marry him by Barry and Julie walks in during. Tim and Barry chase Julie down to Vollard's ranch, where Tim accidentally offends Barry.
To his surprise, Tim found Barry already at Fender's dinner party. Barry is a hit with the group and is a shoo-in for the trophy, but unexpectedly, Therman arrives, embarrassing Barry with his mind control. Tim then tells Barry everything and, after some encouragement, gets Barry to win with "brain control", before causing his boss and fellow executives to reveal the truth. A guest reacts badly to the news and causes chaos in the process, with Mueller losing a finger. Tim is fired, as is Julie after Barry makes Vollard realize it would be a problem to have her continue working for him. Tim marries Julie, Barry enters into a relationship with Darla, does some artwork with Vollard, and hosts a monthly "breakfast for champions" for all of the losers. Therman writes a book in the mental hospital and Tim gets a new museum started in Switzerland for Mueller. Fender's company goes into a big loss and he is named "Wall Street's Biggest Loser". | psychedelic, humor | train | wikipedia | "The idiot" is funny because he is clumsy, do some stuffs too quick without thinking of the aftermaths, but he is not in any way somebody that look like he escape from an asylum with 10 of IQ like Carrel character in this remake..Very hard to go to the end of this movie..
My English isn't good enough to express what i fell about this movie but for me its a waste, a shame consedering the original material, as i said its my first review her but i had to warm people.
An IRS worker, with a passion for creating art from taxidermied mice, Barry might just be the perfect man to help Tim win the competition.The US version of The Office has shown us that Carell can do awkward better than most and Anchorman proved his capabilities of making stupidity funny.
Paul Rudd, on the other hand, is given little opportunity to make us laugh, playing two-dimensional straight man, Tim. Director Jay Roach's previous franchises (Austin Powers, Meet the Parents/Fockers) may not have been the greatest comedies of the past fifteen years, but delivered as and when expected.
On the night where Pierre and his "schmuck are supposed to go to dinner Pierre hurts his back and is unable to attend the dinner, therefore the evening takes a very strange turn of events including his wife's ex-husband an I.R.S inspector and a car accident.When David Guion and Michael Handelman put there hands on this script not only did they change the whole idea of the movie they also transformed it's meaning, the original version had a deeply ironic tone in which Francois Pignon (Tim) trying to do the right thing makes everything worse whereas in this version everything finishes well.In the American remake the movie is filled with an insane artist, a crazy ex-girlfriend and a psychic nemesis.
The only positive note is the act of both Steve Carell and Paul Rudd who despite a shaky scenario manage to pull off a great performance.To sum-up I highly recommend the original version and advise you to stay away from the American re-make..
As a fan of Steve Carell and Paul Rudd (not to mention Jermaine Clement and Zak G) and sometimes of director Jay Roach, it's hard to reckon how none of these talented people noticed how strained, mean-spirited and downright ridiculous this comedy is.
He has a way of saying and doing the most outrageous things while maintaining a demeanor that lets us believe that he hasn't the slightest clue that his behavior is the least bit odd, even his hobby of making cute dioramas with dead mice.The first half of the film is genuinely funny, as it observes Barry and his world as he looks out with wide eyes, a goofy smile.
Once we get to know Barry, the movie tries to mix a riot of slapstick comedy with moments of sentimentality that are mostly made up of half-baked speeches about the value of friendship.The third act gets the film back on track somewhat as we finally arrive at that dinner party.
Paul Rudd and Steve Carrell are amazing actors...with that said this film gave nothing for either of them to work with.
This film may be a good reason to carry around a can of mace to hit yourself in the eyes and think to yourself, Hey I could be watching this movie instead!.
With two likable and talented actors like Steve Carell and Paul Rudd at the helm one hoped that the American remake wouldn't be a complete disaster.
Any film I spend the money on viewing, I anticipate greatness from, 2010 has not fulfilled my desire up until Inception and Dinner For Schmucks, Jay Roach has put together a masterpiece, with brilliant actors and a brilliant (Originally French) script!
From the Previews, i must say this movie looks like it would fall before is even tried to walk, but Schmucks is surprising in every way, including a touch of romance, and it's heartwarming tendencies!.
Dinner for Schmucks is one of the funniest movies I have seen in a long time.
Can't understand any of the bad reviews - if you like Steve Carell, Paul Rudd and Jay Roach movies - then this is for you - one of the funniest projects any of them has been involved in..
Also, speaking of movies such as the hangover, the jokes were generally a lot more involved and some even required some thinking to get(such as when Therman, the mind controller states how "the brain, like all other muscles, have pressure points which can be pushed," which becomes pretty hilarious after you realize the brain isn't a muscle.
He serendipitously meets a naturally outrageously funny character, played by Steve Carell, and complexity and a laugh until you hurt story unfolds..
The witty theatrical screenplay is intelligent and hilarious and I laughed a lot along the 80 minutes running time.Unfortunately I have decided to see this American remake expecting a funny comedy but the plot is so ridiculous that I did not laugh.
The clumsy character of Steve Carell is extremely annoying, stupid, irritating and never funny and there is no explanation why the clever Tim stays with him after the initial mess with Julie.
I liked Steve Carell, as Barry, because surprisingly of all the over the top characters in this movie, he was the most believable and lovable and I'm not a fan.
The dialogs were more tongue in cheek than laugh out loud funny and I really feel sorry for people who think this is the funniest movie ever
I was also very disappointed that the actual dinner wasn't in the movie, because I expected the French to outshine the remake in it.
So if you like Steve Carell you'll love this movie and as a remake I think it did improve on the original even though they gave it a typical Hollywood ending.
going back to the original movie, which was so good, so funny and became so popular in France, that you would know the lines coming up next as you watched the movie so many time, it is such a disgrace that Americans butcher the whole movie like that.
With such a great cast, I was really looking forward to watching this film, I love both Rudd and Carrel's work and think they are great in most comedies they star.Unfortunately this film must be one of the worse films I have watched in a long time, its so terribly bad it didn't get a single laugh out of me for the whole film, in fact I had to commit myself to watch it to the end, and it took me 3 days to finish the viewing.
(Then again, I'm not exactly a movie critic, am I?) I think you have to like a certain kind of humor to enjoy this movie.The actors were great and overall I thought it was hilarious.
Offbeat, but I laughed.) Dinner for Schmucks is obviously not a movie for everyone, but I honestly believe this is a comedy that can be appreciated more by yourself, rather then having company over.
Let's also hope this isn't a sign of things to come for Jermaine Clement, whose cult television hit Flight Of The Conchords is in a completely different league to this offering.Dinner For Schmucks has somehow managed to be worse than any fan of the original could possibly have feared when the remake was announced.
Dinner for Schmucks it's not only a clever, well-acted and hilarious comedy, it's comedy with lots of heart and although it's a bit stupid it's definitely my 6th favorite movie.
Sow, Dinner for Schmucks is a terrific movie, it's not for everybody but it is for me, it's a light-hearted hilarious and stupid comedy that I just have re-watched thousands of times and I can't seem to get tired of.
Tim was definitely not going, but later, he has second thoughts when he accidentally runs over Barry (Steve Carell), a harmless guy who's work is at IRS and who's hobby is to make sets and pictures with dead mice.
The chemistry between Steve and Zach was fantastic and the scene where they both imaginary fight is a movie classic.Overall, Dinner for Schmucks is my 6th favorite movie without any doubts, it's funny, heart warming, very well-acted, hilarious, entertaining, fun, very well directed, very well written and still, I don't know how is it so much underrated- Highly recommended.
I admit i didn't expect much, because, there were too many dumb comedies out there that were way too overrated, but Dinner For Schmucks made me cough from laughter.The interesting thing about this movie is that if you go through the reviews, half of them hate it & half of them love it.
i mean there must be a review like mine on the stupid overrated comedies i hated.Even though The 40 Year Old Virgin was one of the worst, not funny( 1 or 2 giggles in 2 long hours of stupidity) overrated comedies i have ever seen, Steve Carrell is one of very few actors who can really act funny & for me , Dinner For Schmucks was his best work since The OfficePaul Rudd always brings this nice warm feeling into a film.
Steve Carrell's character is so annoying that it really was impossible to feel sorry for him by the end which I think was what the movie was going for.Once you finally make it to the dinner (if you haven't walked out by then) which I mistakenly expected to be a more prominent part of the film based on trailers and that the movie title is, in fact, DINNER for Schmucks, the movie actually is quite entertaining with only a few instances of groan-inducing "humor." Then, 15 minutes later, the movie is blessedly over.
I left feeling that I would have been better served had the dinner scene been a skit on SNL and saved me the money and time of the rest of this steaming pile.In case you're skimming reviews: Avoid This Movie..
An Americanised remake of the French comedy Le Diner De Cons (1998), Dinner For Schmucks puts together an admirable cast of comics, including Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, Jemaine Clement (of Flight Of The Concords fame) and Zach Galifianakis.
I understand that his star is growing rapidly, but his name is just too hard to type, so for the rest of this article he will be 'Fat Jesus.' Nonetheless, this film delivers laughs and emotion in satisfying doses, and something I would definitely recommend.Paul Rudd plays Tim, who works a nothing job in Generic Financial Firm #17, until his superiors offer him the chance at a promotion.
In fact, his character is reminiscent of Russell Brand as Aldous Snow (Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Get Him To The Greek), but Clement comes right out of left field with excellent line delivery and tone, coupled with some fantastic physical comedy.Paul Rudd may receive top billing, but make no mistake
Steve Carell drives this film.
Nah.Instead, watch the movie that "inspired" this one, called The Dinner Game (Le Diner De Cons) (7.7): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119038/ It has the finesse, subtlety and humor that characterize good French movies.I laughed out loud many times during The Dinner Game.
Me and anyone else who was fooled into hoping that a movie by such comedic powerhouses as Steve Carell and Paul Rudd would be worth the $14 ticket price.
This movie after all is a message to us, to inside the good inside each one of us, to respect those good people who look like idiots, we have to take about them and stop making fun and jokes out of them, because God gave them limited skills and minds doesn't mean to make fun out of them, we have to respect them and know how they are extremely good people.I rated this movie 8 out of 10 not because it is bad, but because I believe that they should have done better filming and more scenes that can make more fun..
I thought it was good idea for Paul Rudd and Steve Carell to team up because they are a funny pair and their chemistry proves it.
This movie has some funny jokes but it has a heart and you feel for the main characters.Jay Roach's film is about a rising executive who realizes that the only way to get a promotion at his job is to find the biggest buffoon out there and invite him to his boss's dinner so he could win the promotion.This film has a talented cast led by the excellent Paul Rudd and Steve Carell.
The supporting cast is great with such likes as Bruce Greenwood, Lucy Punch, Jeff Dunham, and of course the scene-stealing Zach Galifinakis.Overall, this is a pretty funny movie that has some solid jokes.
dumb guy, classic humorous dynamic, in this movie doesn't work, because the idiot is too annoying and unlikable so when the normal guy don't kill him it just looks forced.for the other hand, there's a couple of good characters.
and i can assure you all that i really wanted to like this, i wanted to spend a good afternoon with a funny movie, but is just impossible to laugh at this painful experience, i have to ask for forgiveness of my brother, whom i invited.
Steve Carell is great in all his movies, but he owned this film!.
I was hopeful that a new Steve Carell movie was out and when I started to watch this thing I just kept getting more and more angry and frustrated with the characters.
Dinner for Schmucks, a movie starring Paul Rudd and Steve Carell, is about a loser business guy that supposed to take a dumb ass to lunch and make fun of him.
When Paul Rudd hits this dumb ass, he decides that Steve Carell is the dumb ass he wants to take to this stupid dinner for idiots.
If you want to spend two hours of your life trying to figure out why people think this movie is funny, good luck because the answer is simple.
Paul Rudd is among the funniest out there in terms of deadpan and everyday man humor, while Steve Carell is easily one of the brightest comedy talents in Hollywood.
Instead, Dinner for Schmucks is about an aspiring rising executive (Tim, played by Paul Rudd) and his complications after accidentally meeting the idiotic but unselfish and sweet IRS employee (Barry, played by Steve Carell).
The script was easily the weakest part of the movie, because the material presented just wasn't good at all.Steve Carell and Paul Rudd are among my favorite actors in Hollywood.
I am totally recommending this film to my parents and other people who i know that love comedy movies..
Tim (Paul Rudd) is a budding executive who happens to be at the right place at the right time during one of his company meetings that has the ever so hard to please boss Lance Fender (Bruce Greenwood) actually liking his pitch so much that he asks him to attend a dinner where they are to find the most eccentric and crazy person (ok a loser if you will) that they can as to which himself along with the major bigwigs of the firm can laugh at them only they have to be so much of a loser that they do not really catch on that they are being roasted not toasted.
Tim (Paul Rudd) needs to bring an idiot to his boss' dinner of laughing at idiots and Barry fits the bill.
I highly recommend this movie, whether you need a good, hard laugh, or if you're just into the comedy scene.
Thank goodness I didn't go to the theater to see it, because I wouldn't have been able to throw things at the screen like I did at my T.V.Anyway, the movie is essentially about a crazy guy who follows the hero around accidentally ruining his professional life and his love life through a series of ridiculous coincidences.As for the actors, Paul Rudd is OK, but all he has to do is act exasperated.
I vowed that this would be the very last Steve Carell movie I would watch if there was nothing funny in here.
I did also say that, perhaps, the only funny thing in here would be the title.And, after about a half hour into the movie when Carell showed up and acted the way he did in his character (as the idiot), I knew I could not watch the rest of the way.
I went into this movie thinking it would be a bizarre farce, but it turned out to be so much more.While I laughed often during this film, I was shocked by the subtle empathy Steve Carell was able to bring to his character.
And there're nights for movies like Dinners for Schmucks.
Dinner for schmucks is not the clever but nasty French version, it is an American comedy with reasonable comedy value without the really mean character of the original film.
Steve Carell is hilarious as a dimwitted simpleton, and Paul Rudd plays his character well.
maybe Rudd's role seemed a bit too dumb to be following Carrells advices.Basically, I like watching a movie where the actors seem to be having fun and it was obvious that everyone, especially Carell, was having fun in this one.
Steve Carell and Paul Rudd are very funny actors with some very good work done in both of their careers.
And it does not do Steve Carell, Paul Rudd or the original film any justice..
It was okay for Barry's situation, like it was understandable and at a good amount, but for Paul Rudd's character, it was too much for me.
The thought of inviting people to dinner just so you can have a few laughs and make fun of them is extremely cruel, and you may think that that is what the movie is fully about. |
tt0978762 | Mary and Max | A narrator (Barry Humphries) introduces us to Mary Daisy Dinkle (Bethany Whitmore), a charming and personable 8 year-old girl living in Mount Waverly, Melbourne, Australia. She resides in a quaint house with her mother, Vera (Renée Geyer), a dissheveled kleptomaniac who is addicted to sherry and includes it in nearly all of her dastardly cooking, and her father, Noel, who spends much of his time locked away in an outdoor shed drinking and performing taxidermy on birds that he's found dead on the freeway. At school, Mary is often made fun of for an unfortunate birthmark on her forehead. With no friends besides her pet rooster, Ethel, and the lack of support from her parents, Mary finds solace in food, including condensed milk, and her favorite television show, the Noblets. She creates her own toys and fantasizes about one day marrying a man named Earl Grey, after her favorite tea, and living in a castle in Scotland.Max Jerry Horowitz (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is a 44 year-old, morbidly obese man living in New York City in a small apartment. He also enjoys watching the Noblets but suffers from social anxieties and has no friends besides his goldfish Henry VIII, who has sadly just passed away. Max decides to quickly buy another fish and name him Henry IX before indulging in another chocolate hotdog to help him sleep.One day, while accompanying her mother as she 'borrows' envelopes from the local post office, Mary decides to write a letter to someone in America, after wondering what the country was like. She happens upon the name 'Max Horowitz' from the directory just as Vera is caught stuffing envelopes up her dress. Mary grabs the address from the book as her mother grabs her and flees the post office. At home, Mary writes her introductory letter to Max and includes in her package a drawing of herself and a chocolate bar as a token of friendship.Meanwhile, Max has just arrived home from his weekly Overeaters Anonymous meeting particularly disturbed due to unwanted flirtations from a woman in his class. Max doesn't understand most social cues and finds people perplexing and complicated. Upon finding and reading Mary's letter, Max becomes even more unsettled and resorts to swaying in a corner, something he does to calm himself in the face of a stressful event. However, after calming himself, Max sits down to his typewriter and begins writing out a reply to Mary. He answers all of her questions to the best of his ability while describing his life. Besides his fish Henry, Max shares the apartment with a few snails, a parakeet, a one-eyed cat, and an imaginary friend named Mr. Ravioli who spends his time reading in the corner since Max's psychiatrist informed Max that he didn't need him anymore. Max writes that he was born Jewish but has since become an atheist, although he still wears his yarmulke since it keeps his head warm. He sends out his letter and encloses some photos and the recipe to his chocolate hotdogs.The letter arrives on Mary's doorstep a few days later, only to be picked up and read by Vera, who is not impressed by whom she thinks is a nutcase writing to her daughter. She promptly throws the letter in the trash. The next morning before school, Mary helps bring the trash out to the curb and, when it is accidentally knocked over, discovers the crumpled letter from Max. She hides it from her mother and reads it in private later on, savoring every word. She writes back and informs Max to mail his letters to her elderly neighbor so that her parents don't discover them. Mr. Len Hislop is a WWII veteran who lost his legs while being dangled over a school of pirahna as a prisoner of war. Since then, he's been confined to a wheelchair and suffers from agoraphobia, so Mary delivers his mail for him. In her letter, Mary describes how she is teased at school and asks Max for any advice and if he's ever been teased. This question is unsettling to Max to a severe degree since it brings supressed memories to the surface of when he was bullied as a child. After calming down, he writes a reply and attaches the pompom Mary made to the top of his yarmulke. He suggests that Mary tell her teasers that her birthmark is actually made of chocolate, which means that she will be in charge of all of it when she gets to heaven. Mary's reply, which includes a happy conclusion to her bullying and a proclamation of love for her Greek neighbor Damien Popodopolous (Eric Bana) leaves Max with an anxiety attack that renders him emotionally and psychologically numb. He is institutionalized for 8 months and given advanced treatment (cue electric shock therapy) while Mary waits and wonders what's become of him. Eventually, she falls into a depression, as Max is diagnosed with his own, and tries to erase all evidence of their friendship.Mary and Max continue on with their lives for some time, each trying to cope with their troubles. While Mary pouts in self-loathing, Max finds himself facing manslaughter charges when his air conditioning unit falls out of his window and crushes a mime. However, due to his mental deficiencies, he is pardoned. Shortly after, Max is astonished to see that he's won the lottery and puts his newfound wealth to good use. He buys the entire collection of Noblets action figures and a lifetime supply of chocolate. He gives the rest of his wealth to his elderly and nearly blind neighbor, Ivy, who indulges in every personal luxury before passing away and willing her fortune to a local cat shelter whose owner pockets every cent. Despite his wealth in chocolate and Noblets, Max feels unfulfilled until he figures out that his friendship with Mary, while unsettling, was incomparable and, with the encouragement of his psychiatrist, writes another letter. He apologizes for his absence and explains that he was recently diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. He lists the various traits along with a lamentation for being unable to cry properly. Elated to have finally received another letter, Mary responds and encloses a vial of her own tears as a gift to Max. Over the years they continue to write and Max learns to deal with the slightest hint of anxiety that Mary's letters might encourage.However, while Max's world continues as normal, if not in an improving manner, Mary's life bec0o11111111mes more complicated. First comes the passing of her father who is swept away by a rogue wave while metal detecting on a beach, this coming shortly after he quit his job at the tea factory. Mary is left a sum of money and uses it to go to university to study mental disorders. Over time, she tries to gain the romantic attention of her neighbor Damien, to no avail and often with embarassing consequences, leaving her to sob alone in her room. Her failed attempts at romance leave her to lament that she wasted her savings to have her birthmark surgically removed and resigns herself to the fact that love is not for her. Meanwhile, Vera, after suffering prolonged grief and remorse for her husband, accidentally swallows a bottle of formaldehyde, mistaking it for her sherry. Still, this tragedy encouarages Damien to comfort Mary and the two soon fall in love and are married.Mary (Toni Collette) writes that her life is now perfect with Damien, who has a pen-pal of his own in New Zealand. Her self esteem is blossoming and her studies at university have culminated into a goal to cure the world of mental illness. She writes her thesis on Asperger's Syndrome and uses Max as a case study, eventually writing her own book on the disability. She sends her first copy to Max but, upon seeing it, he is flung into an uncontrollable rage. He never thought he had a 'disability' and finds the matter surrounding his difference offensive. Unable to put his thoughts coherently to paper, Max sends his 'M' key to Mary just as she is about to visit him in New York. His silent but powerful message sends Mary into a deep depression and she takes all of her book copies to an industrial shredder and destroys them. She finds solace in two-minute noodles and sherry and wallows in her self loathing until one day she suddenly notices that Damien has left her, explaining in a letter that he's fallen in love with his pen-friend Desmond and has gone to live with him on his sheep farm.Meanwhile, Max has since overcome his anger and decides to write Mary back. He sends her his entire collection of Noblet figures as a sign that he's forgiven her and, as he counts the stars after sending his package, suddenly feels complete.As the package arrives on Mary's doorstep, Mary prepares to hang herself, unaware that she is pregnant. Her neighbor, Len, notices her package on the doorstep and, with a burst of confidence and purpose, wheels himself outside and across the street to ring the doorbell. The sound catches Mary off guard and she takes the noose off her neck to answer the door, finding a gleeful Len and her package. Len returns to his home triumphant as Mary finds Max's letter and his Noblet collection. Some time later, and with her new baby, Mary travels to New York and climbs the stairs of Max's apartment building. She finds his apartment and opens the unlocked door. Within, she finds the Noblets playing on the tv and Max leaning back on his sofa, having passed away peacefully that morning. As she sits beside him, Mary follows his gaze upward and is astonished to see that Max has pasted her letters all over the ceiling. She cradles her baby as she notes to herself that Max smells of licorice and old books while tears roll down her cheeks. | comedy, psychological, psychedelic, humor, philosophical, romantic, entertaining, sentimental | train | imdb | There's a constant stream of humour (ironic, black, childish), and I really enjoyed the small perfect touches on growing up in an Australian suburb in the 70's and 80's, and the depiction of grey New York, as it appears to the easily frightened Max. The animation is constantly a joy to watch, and I highly recommend seeing it on the big screen where it can be properly appreciated in all it's hand-made glory..
This is made even more remarkable not only as it's made using stop motion animation but also because of the characters and subject matter it tackles.Mary is an 8 year old outcast living in the suburbs of Melbourne.
It meant that in a critical moment I was thinking of Kate Winslet up to no good instead of connecting with Mary & Max. But this is more a personal concern and if that's the weakest thing about the film, it's doing pretty well.
Gradually, as they send each other letters, Mary and Max's relationship develops and we begin to learn more about their past and their heartache and insecurities of being alone.Following the short animated film, Harvey Krumpet, director Adam Elliot has constructed his first full feature claymation picture, displaying as much skill as many of the major mainstream studios.
Yet there are moments of poignancy too, such as where Mary describes her difficulty at school as she is teased for the birthmark on her forehead, that provide the film's screenplay with a subtext - no matter how simple – about isolation and the need for friends.The use of Barry Humphries' voice over to convey much of the story is initially highly annoying and intrusive.
You don't Find Much stuff like this.Its would get a rating of Pg-13 because of sex related material but I think every Children of 10+ should see this because the sex related material is kept very implicit.I hope It will get Nominated for best Animation for year 2011, Best screenplay and best picture as well.I have much more to say but since I have to review lot more movies I will just tell ya: I just Love It.9.5/10.
Oscar winning (and proudly gay) animation artist Adam Elliot's acclaimed clay-mation feature film "Mary & Max" is astoundingly rewarding wonderful entertainment on the big screen.
It's an intriguing tale, starting in the mid seventies, of the ongoing true friendship of two long distance pen-pals, younger Mary in rural Australia and older Max in the rat-race of New York City.
A significant element of the story involves Max's experience of living with Asperger Syndrome, knowing painfully full well that he senses the world in a radically different way to most.
Mary and Max is a brilliant, entertaining work of visual art combined with depth and grace.There was a couple of moments when I raised eyebrows at certain things that didn't fit correctly for the late seventies, such as the mention of Stephen Hawking as well as cigarette patches (which debuted in the early 90's) but otherwise this laugh out loud, tear to the eye unique celluloid experience is one of the standouts of the year..
It's therefore refreshing to witness the Australian film Mary and Max (the feature film debut of Adam Elliot, who won an Oscar for his short film Harvie Krumpet), which was created using this claymation method to tell a bizarre, sweet and mature story.
If American Beauty director Sam Mendes collaborated with Aardman Animations, the product would be something like Mary and Max.Based partly on Elliot's own life experiences, Mary and Max is a feature about two people leading a mundane existence on the fringe of society; finding solace only in their heartfelt pen-pal letters to each other.
Thus begins a 20-year correspondence, with their friendship surviving more than the average diet of life's ups and downs.There's plenty of playful narration (almost constant) courtesy of Aussie legend Barry Humphries which gives the film the feel of a children's tale, but Mary and Max is not for kids.
Mary and Max spent a total of five years in the making, with six dedicated animation teams working under Elliot's direction in a converted factory in Melbourne, and each team creating an average of 4 seconds of footage per day.
Adam Elliot's ambitious first feature- length claymation movie is an absolute delight, merging witty laughs with heartfelt emotion to generate this genuinely moving slice of animation.
"Mary and Max" is a difficult movie to review.A good place to begin is by pointing out that Adam Elliot painstakingly created a broken world here.
It is a world not governed by a loving God, but by chance.By chance, Max Jerry Horovitz has asperger's syndrome.By chance, Mary Daisy Dinkle was born with a birth mark that looks like a poo stain, has an alcoholic mother, and stumbles upon a stray rooster.By chance, the two become pen pals.Mary and Max's lives and relationship with one another are at the heart of movie.
War, poverty, alcoholism, bullying, obesity, mind-numbing careers, distrust, distorted body images, suicide, mental illness, loneliness, half-hearted self-help books - heck, even siphoning off charitable donations is covered in a quick 80 minutes.One of Elliot's most impressive accomplishments in the movie is the pace: we feel the sluggishness and lethargy of the two main characters.Yet, Elliot also treats us to many disarmingly hilarious scenes.
I honestly don't know what to make of it.In my opinion, "Mary and Max" is a work of high art and one of the finest movies I have seen in a long time.
The film is somewhat grim, funny, and heartfelt, something that this type of animation is rarely scene with.Five years later, Elliot comes back with his first feature film Mary and Max. As impressed as I was with Harvie Krumpet I was doubly impressed with this one.
He uses colors to define the two different continents, giving Australia brown and earthy tones while New York is black, white, and everything in between, with the exception of a red pompom that Mary sends Max. Much like their separate worlds, they both blend in as if no one else would notice them.
A beautiful, funny and touching story that delivers on all fronts of meaningful film-making.In comparable style to Wallace and Gromit, the film uses it's charming and silly style to great effect by relating two unique characters.
Now, with Elliot's latest film, I have a chance to finally watch a feature-length version of his wonderful and very strange work.The film begins in Australia and concerns a very lonely girl named Mary.
It does it by a masterful combination of uncannily perfect story telling, imaginative self-deprecating characters, well-managed timing in plot development, a fair amount of humor balanced with endearing bittersweetness, and wonderful animation that serves the story's needs perfectly.The story is one of contesseration by a young girl in Australia of a randomly chosen older man in the USA.
I think the movie didn't receive the publicity it deserved, unlike other animation films produced by bigger companies (and advertising budgets).I was extremely touched and so I suggest that everyone should watch it and reflect on the matters it refers to..
Through the events in Mary's life, the movie sets up what could have been a moving message about accepting your own flaws, but the impact is spoiled when they hit you over the head with the message, via narration by both Damien and Max. Towards the end, Max's lengthy letter about being happy with yourself is so heavy-handed that it eliminates any possibility of thought-provoking subtlety.
If you just want something out of the ordinary, you can enjoy Mary & Max, but if you expect true depth (not phony depth where the filmmakers comment "oh, loneliness sure is sad!") or richness of writing, you will come away disappointed..
The characters add a lot to the film as well, the title characters are sweet, emphatic and engaging, with Mary very cute and Max endearing in his own way, and the audience sympathises with them and their predicaments, while the writing is both funny and poignant and the haunting, affecting and personal story packs a real emotional punch on its own and is thematically quite deep.
It tells the story of a lonely girl named Mary who lives with her problematic parents and who creates a friendship with a man named Max who lives across the world from her.
The stop animation has that new-generation of clean and smooth action similar to Coraline and it it very well executed here.So the story in a nutshell is about a dumpy little girl in Australia whose life is made miserable by a Sherry-saturated mother and garage-dwelling taxidermy hobbyist father who by their lack of interest, leave poor Mary to her own imagination and devices.
While the story is not intended to be a comedy, there are some very original and funny comic elements, especially those of poor Henry the goldfish.Anyhow, we later see Mary's futile attempt to understand Max's Asperger's through the lens of wanting to "fix the world", as many a young adult wants to do and we see a rift come between the two as Max, content to accept his life but resentful for Mary wanting to "fix" him, recedes into himself.There is a resolution to their rift and the ending is rather touching.
An Australian stop-motion animated film about a dumpy little girl (voiced by Toni Collette) who randomly chooses a name in a New York phone book and writes him a letter.
A beautiful script with some amazing characters, depicting the most expressive situations with ease and sometimes triumphing over the real human emotions as well.i never thought an animation( clay model) movie can create so much of an impact as far as depicting emotions, but now i would rate it as the best i have ever seen.i have known characters like Mary , and tears roll down the eyes remembering them.A Blizzard wrapped in sunshine is what you can expect.
This film is a genuine masterpiece; a unique, stark aesthetic as framework for an engaging exchange between two incredibly complex and lovable characters, the socially awkward Mary and Max, who communicate via letter across different countries.
It pleasantly reminds me of Forrest Gump, in the sense that we fall in love with these characters and their naivety because they make us laugh and feel elated, so that when misfortune befalls them the empathy coupled with drastic change of tone hits you like a wrecking ball.Although many people claim there is no such thing as a perfect film, I don't believe so.
The visual gags are good and often surprising, and the story enters areas usually left untrodden by animation.The technical aspects themselves are below Aardman or Laika standard, but efficient; what keeps this film from getting a better grade from me is the drab colour palette and overall depressing tone - don't get me wrong, those are parts of life, too - but you can overdo everything and nearly 90 minutes are a bit much for my taste.
I love animated movies but when I saw the posters it was not quite the way that I expected But when I saw the whole tale about marry and max I got amazed.
Mary and Max is a story of two lonely people residing miles away from each other and become unlikely friends through constant letter writing.
The voice-actors also did fine job especially Philip Hoffman as Max. I liked the movie but it felt kind of repetitive after 1-2 conversations though the letters between Mary and Max. Also it tries to pity its characters a bit too much.
Well, let's just say that after five minutes, I was entranced by its beautiful ugliness and if I had one intimate conviction is that it would not disappoint me and that every second of it was to be savored like a tiny bite of my favorite chocolate.That film is Adam Elliott's "Mary and Max", and it's so profoundly and deeply human that it drowns you into its story.
Little did she know that she had just started a twenty-year correspondence and one of the most beautiful on-screen friendships, and friendships are never as believable and solid as when they're slowly built by the passing of time, and step by step, the letters Max will receive from Mary will become an indispensable part of his life.
Elliot calls his films Clayography, a portmanteau for 'clay animated biography', each taking 5 years to materialize.In short, the story is a bittersweet tale of friendship that will have you in a mix of emotions come the movie's end.
"Mary and Max" is an animation movie in we watch two pen friends Mary who is a lonely girl living in the suburbs of Melbourne and Max who is an obese man living in New York.
One more thing that I liked in this movie was the beautiful voice of Philip Seymour Hoffman as Max Jerry Horovitz who I believe that his voice fit so well in this character.
One more thing that it had to being mentioned is about the direction made by Adam Elliot and it was really good.Finally I have to say that "Mary and Max" is a must see animation movie from which I believe everyone can gain something because after watching this movie you reconsider many things about life in general and not only..
Mary an 8 year old girl living in Australia strikes upon a new friendship with 44 year old Max Horowitz, a lonesome dweller of noisy suburbs of New York in a very peculiar manner.And they share their lives, problems, solutions, chocolates, ups and downs with each other and us.The movie is simple yet persuasive stop motion animation with a strong narrative and strong portrayal of emotions.The narration is simple, jolly yet intense.
This amazingly detailed clay-animated (á la Wallace & Gromit with a grayish twist!), but QUITE adult fairy tale is one of those: Unhappy 8-year-old Mary in a small Australian town, writes a chance letter in the 1970's to middle-aged obese man, Max in NYC, USA - and so an unlikely pen-pal-correspondence begins...
When he receives Mary's letter, he is enchanted by it and both start a friendship that lasts more than twenty years.The story seems a bit silly, but the film story deals with a lot of deep issues such as anxiety, depression, suicide and even Asperger Syndrome - black-humor is also present.
Mary's life is brown because it is uninteresting and boring; Max's life is gray because it is depressing, sad and without any hope or perspective of getting better.So, with no colored images and no happy characters, this is not the kind of movie to show to children – most of them wouldn't understand it.
The plot revolves around their notes to each other and how their lives change because of their friendship with each other, so the movie does have slower parts about halfway through and can get a bit boring.Either way Mary and Max is a beautiful film that will most likely depress you after watching it.
The story continues for at least 15 to 20 years for Mary to grow up, go to college, write a thesis on Max's affliction, and publish a book.The movie is not all fun, in fact it has some dark aspects to it, but in the end is a statement on relationships and how two strangers can often reach out to each other and something good can come of it.I enjoyed it more than I thought I would..
I watched the film " Mary and Max " ,beautiful Australian animation by Adam Elliot, based on a true story.
Even so, once I started watching this movie, it pulled me in like a close friend I had known for all my life, and told me to let my tears flow and be content.It's hard to explain what makes Mary and Max different from other tragedies or tragicomedies.
The animation, the Australian references, the black humor, all combine to create one of the most sentimental films of all time.Mary And Max truly is an original film.
A tale of friendship between two unlikely pen pals: Mary, a lonely, eight-year-old girl living in the suburbs of Melbourne, and Max, a forty-four-year old, severely obese man living in New York.At the outset, I was a bit skeptical of the high praise this film has received and how it continues (in 2015) to stay on the IMDb Top 250, despite competing with so many classics and the disproportionately-rated superhero movies.
Telling with great humor, warmth, insight, and a certain darkness, and above all a unique style, it is the story of a small girl in suburban Australia, who is desperately lonely and an outsider, who, by random chance, befriends as a penpal a middle-aged Jewish Asperger: Max.This is not a charming film (though it has heart) it is a film about radical honestly, and a stark reminder that contact is what makes us human.The fact that it is also a true story just tops off a truly original piece of work.
Telling with great humor, warmth, insight, and a certain darkness, and above all a unique style, it is the story of a small girl in suburban Australia, who is desperately lonely and an outsider, who, by random chance, befriends as a penpal a middle-aged Jewish Asperger: Max.This is not a charming film (though it has heart) it is a film about radical honestly, and a stark reminder that contact is what makes us human.The fact that it is also a true story just tops off a truly original piece of work.
But what I really like about Mary and Max is that it explores the lifelong questions of friendship, loneliness, anxiety and even suicide in a way that is as accessible to young teens as it is ground shaking for adults - it is rare that you find a film that is so honest and good natured.. |
tt0036342 | Shadow of a Doubt | Couples in costumes in a room with 1900 décor are dancing to the music of The Merry Widow waltz by Franz Lehar.A man dressed in a suit is lying on a bed, deep in thought. Money bills are on his dresser and tumbled on the floor.The landlady, Mrs Martin (Constance Purdy) knocks, opens the door and tells "Mr. Spencer" (Joseph Cotten) that two men were asking for him but she had followed his instructions, told them he was out. They are waiting outside at the corner. Spencer, whose real name is Oakley, gets off the bed, picks up the money, goes out past the men, who do not react, but begin to follow him at a distance. He walks quickly, turns corners, loses them as he goes up a building and watches them from the rooftop, making sure he has lost them.Oakley is at a pay phone booth, sending a telegram to Santa Rosa, California, telling his sister that he is coming for a visit and will arrive in a couple of days. He signs the telegram Uncle Charlie.In Santa Rosa, a teen living in a two story house is lying in bed. Charlotte "Charlie" Newton (Teresa Wright), is frustrated by boredom, complaining to her father, Joseph "Joe" Newton (Henry Travers) because nothing interesting ever happens in her life or that of her family.Charlotte decides to improve things by inviting her favorite Uncle Charlie to come for a visit. She not only shares a nickname with her mother's youngest brother, but a special bond. At times she feels the charming man is the only one who understands her need to be extraordinary, that there is more to her than her small town allows.At the telegraph office she learns that he has just announced by telegram that he is on his way. She hums a tune, over and over again.Her mother Emma "Emmy" Oakley-Norton (Patricia Collinge) is radiant with pleasure at the prospect of seeing her youngest brother. She picks up the humming of the tune. Neither she nor Charlotte are able to identify it.Oakley, on the train towards Santa Rosa, has kept out of sight behind Pullman curtains. As he gets off the train he walks looking downward and uses a cane as an old frail person might. The train clerk (Clarence Muse) offers to help him, as do a doctor (Edward Fielding) and his wife (Sarah Edwards) but Oakley pretends to be a grumpy person and rejects everybody's help. However, as he sees the family coming, his walk becomes completely normal and he is effusively greeted. Emmy is not there, but the father, young Charlie, and her siblings nerdy Ann (Edna May Wonacott) and Roger (Charles Bates) are there waiting for uncle Charlie.There is much joy as he arrives at the Newton house and gives presents all around. Charlotte gets a special ring with a large emerald. Young Charlie says that her mother is right when she says that she and uncle Charlie are so similar, like twins. She makes a comment that he always keeps a secret side of himself, and he tells her that she shouldn't guess everything about him. She notices some engraved initials inside the ring and asks her uncle about it, but Oakley claims no knowledge the initials were there, alleging that the jeweller lied to him, selling a second-hand ring instead of a brand new one.At dinner, Charlotte keeps humming her tune and asks around whether anyone recognizes it. Her father says it's clearly a waltz, Oakley says he thinks it's The Blue Danube, but when she starts to say the right title, The Merry Widow, uncle Charlie spills a glass of wine onto the mantel. [NOTE: The tune is The Merry Widow]Two men, Herbert "Herbie" Hawkins (Hume Cronyn) and Joe, young Charlie's father, discuss what they would do if one of them would desire to kill somebody. One says that he would do it disguising the murder as a suicide.Oakley picks up the newspaper and begins reading. He notices a story that has special significance, takes out the pages, and calls the younger kids, Ann and Roger, to see how he can fold the double sheet so it looks like a house, tearing out rectangular holes for a door and a window. They reassemble the paper without the pages used for the house, since the father hasn't seen the paper yet, and he hides the torn page in his coat pocket.Later, young Charlie notices the hidden newspaper pages. She tells him that now she will know what his secret is, as she believes that he appeared in the newspaper. He tells her that the worrying news story was not about him, but about somebody he used to know. Young Charlie steals the cut outs from her uncle's coat pocket. She unfolds them and starts looking for something significant, but uncle Charlie becomes a bit violent, tugging her arm. She gets scared, but uncle Charlie dismisses it alleging it was not a nice story about a friend of his.Soon after, Oakley learns that his sister has made an appointment with two men, one younger, one middle aged, who claim to be making a census type survey for an agency, claiming that the Newtons are a typical American family, and that they would be coming later to ask questions and take photographs. Emmy tells him with excitement about their upcoming fame. Emmy mentions the only existing photograph of uncle Charlie when he was much younger. She tells young Charlie how her uncle had to stay in bed for a long time when he was a child, and when he recovered he started to behave like a troublesome boy.Oakley has announced that he might stay a long while in Santa Rosa and goes to the bank where Mr. Newton works to make a deposit. At the bank his personality changes abruptly. He makes loud embarrassing jokes about embezzlements and crooked accounting. He deposits forty thousand dollars he is carrying in cash [enough to buy a nearly luxurious home in those days], still making aggressive unpleasant comments all around. The bank director, Mr Green, (Edwin Stanley) laughs it off, altogether with his wife, Mrs Margaret Green (Isabel Randolph)Oakley gets unusually upset at the prospect of being asked questions and even photographed, refusing to see the two visitors, calling his sister names for being so naïve as to believe them. The two visitors come anyway. They are the same two men who were thrown off his track by Oakley back at his apartment. They ask a few questions and take some pictures, but their focus is clearly Oakley, who avoids them, refuses to answer questions alleging privacy rights. When one of them takes a picture of Oakley by surprise, Oakley gets very angry and successfully insists that the negative roll be handed to him.The younger of the two young men, requests that young Charlie act as his guide around town later. She reluctantly agrees, only to please her mother. That evening he speaks to Charlotte away from the house, identifying himself as Detective Jack Graham (Macdonald Carey) and telling her that her uncle is one of two men who are suspected of being the serial killer known as the "Merry Widow Murderer" because his mode of operation is seducing wealthy widows and murdering them for their money later, by poison.The next day, young Charlie sleeps all day long. Ann tells her mother that she doesn't want to sit close to uncle Charlie anymore. The mother says that the children would take turns to sit alongside uncle Charlie, because they fought to sit close to him.Charlotte at first refuses to consider that her uncle could be a killer, but she cannot help remembering how strangely he acted on several occasions. She starts to suspect that the uncle she once idolized is not what he appears. Particularly chilling is a family dinner conversation during which Oakley reveals a total contempt for rich widows, comparing them to fat animals readied for slaughter. Herbert appears during dinner, and observes that the family is having dinner later and later each time. Young Charlie suffers a nervous breakdown when Herbert and Joe keep on talking on ways to kill each other.The niece's growing suspicion becomes apparent to her uncle. She runs away, and her uncle runs after her. The town police officer stops her. Oakley pushes her to a bar, where she comes across Louise Finch (Janet Shaw), an old school mate of her who was sacked from the town's department store. He confronts Young Charlie and admits that he is indeed sought by the police, but claims it is all a coincidence and he will be cleared once the other suspect is caught.Later, she tries to reconstruct the crumpled and torn pages of the newspaper that her uncle had hidden, but is unable to come to a conclusion. She rushes to the library, which has just closed, but convinces the librarian, Mrs. Cochran (Eily Malyon) to let her look at newspapers for just five minutes. She finds the paper and an article that describes the Merry Widow Murderer, and says one of the victims was once a famous entertainer, whose initials she recognizes as matching the inscription on the inside of the emerald ring her uncle gave her. When she shows the ring to her uncle, he begs her for help. She reluctantly agrees not to say anything, as long as he leaves soon, to avoid a horrible scandal in the town that would shock her family, especially her mother, who has always idolized her youngest brother.Jack Graham and Fred Saunders (Wallace Ford) ask Ann to tell young Charlie to talk to them. They are with a friend of the eldest daughter of the Nortons, Catherine (Estelle Jewell). Finally, they talk to Charlie, who will try to convince her uncle to leave town to avoid scandal. But soon...The detectives have sent Oakley's surprise picture back East. Their conversation reveals that the roll of negatives handed to Oakley had been a decoy. But while they are waiting for any conclusions from the evidence of the picture, news breaks that the second suspect was killed fleeing from the police, and is assumed to have been the guilty one.Jack Graham comes to tell Charlotte that their mission in Santa Rosa has ended. Jack then reveals that he is much attracted to Charlotte, would like to court her and maybe like to marry her someday.Oakley acts calm and satisfied at first, and takes up a normal routine, but evidently can't relax because his niece fully knows his secret. Soon, the young woman has a near fatal accident: As she is coming down the steep back entrance stairs, one of the steps breaks in two and she is lucky that she is just at the moment grasping the handrail firmly. Later she inspects the broken wood but is unable to find telltale signs of tampering.Oakley has agreed to give public lectures in Santa Rosa, and becomes something of a local celebrity. On the way to one such lecture, the family is preparing to go in their car plus a taxicab, and during the departure preparations young Charlie is trapped in a closed garage with a car spewing exhaust fumes. Oakley is playing music very loudly inside the house, and delaying a planned departure, but Charlotte is saved by chance that Herbie Hawkins hears her inside the garage.The moment young Charlie is proved to have survived that incident, Oakley announces that he is leaving by train the very next morning. Charlie and her siblings briefly get on board to look at his compartment. The train departs with Charlie still aboard, as Oakley physically prevents her timely descent from the train. Oakley struggles to control Charlie's screams as well as constrain her for a while, waiting for the train to pick up speed before he throws her onto tracks alongside. But because one hand is busy covering her mouth, her survival instinct is able to overcome his greater strength, and he trips and falls outside into the path of an oncoming train.There is a funeral for Uncle Charlie much attended by the people of Santa Rosa. Nothing has been said publicly about any connection to the Merry Widow Murders.Jack Graham has come back to be with Charlotte. She admits she had withheld from him information about her uncle which would have confirmed him as the murderer, but Jack already knows and accepts that she acted to protect her mother from unhappy shocking news.Together they resolve to keep Uncle Charlie's crimes a secret. | romantic, humor, murder, suspenseful | train | imdb | It is the purest example of murder in a "normal" setting, bringing the audience uncomfortably close to the killer, helped along with plenty of the grisly gallows humour that the Master loved.Hitch's British pictures had great charm and character, but they were often technically a little haphazard.
I own the Hitchcock collection (14 films in toto), and while this isn't my favourite of the bunch ('Psycho' is one of my favourite movies of all time, and 'Birds' never gets old), I like to watch it every now and again to remind myself what it means to make a "suspense film", and why Hitchcock was and always will be the master of this craft.To give away even the slightest story detail would ruin it for new viewers, because it is essential that everyone begin with the wrong impressions of the major characters.
"Shadow of a Doubt" may only be listed as #181 on IMDb's "Top 250" list, but in my opinion it far outweighs some of the films higher up on that list and is one of Hitch's very best films.Joseph Cotten plays Charlie, a crook on the run from the police.
Handsome and uncomplicated uncle Charlie (Joseph Cotten)has come to visit his family in Santa Rosa, returning to home town after longer absence.
Of course, more time has passed since then, so the film can't help but be dated at present, although such a status is intriguing as it shines light on the values and mores of an earlier time in America, and as such, is instructive.The strong points of the film are obvious: very well shot and attractive looking flick, outstanding job by the very great Joseph Cotten, and Theresa Wright, usually a pretty limp and wan actress, puts forth the best performance of her career.
The film offers a charming glimpse of small town life in an America now long dead, and despite assertions by a poster that the wartime feel of the picture is absent, there are subtle but telling references to this off-screen catastrophic event (i.e., the presence of servicemen in at least two scenes, the notice in Oakley's brother-in-law's bank to Buy War Bonds and Stamps, Oakley's statements (in two scenes) that the world outside is evil, a "sty," and the Mother's insistence that the family "help the government" i.e., cooperate during wartime, when the two "surveyors" come to call).
And the little touches are great: Hitchcock's cameo, the brief bit with the waitress in the "Till Two" club, the assertions made by the clergyman at the family's after-speech party, the comic relief offered by the child actors.The weak points are glaring: doddering pacing and rather ill-focused editing, a pat and too-convenient explanation for Oakley's violent acts (i.e., head injury), a clumsy handling of the presumed budding romance between young Charlie and the detective, the needlessly dramatized episode of young Charlie in the library which supplies gratuitous suspense and tension that's hardly needed at that point in the picture, and a most contrived and implausible climax, albeit pretty harrowing if one exercises a suspension of disbelief.There are some plot holes that have been mentioned, and some others that have not.
What I found to be an odd episode in the film was young Charlie's near-fatal incident in the garage: despite the fact that she was almost killed, the rest of the family hurries off to Uncle Charlie's speaking engagement, leaving her home alone as if nothing more serious happened to her than a stubbed toe.All in all, viewing this film in a theater last night (the first time I had seen it in about 15 years), I was slightly disappointed in how it played and felt that it has not held up particularly well since my last viewing.
Pursued by the police, shifty Uncle Charlie (Joseph Cotten) skips town to stay with his sister's family in tranquil Santa Rosa, but it's not long before his beautiful niece, Young Charlie (Teresa Wright), begins to suspect that the new house-guest is a right wrong'un.Shadow of a Doubt was apparently Hitchcock's favourite of all his own films, which I fail to understand: while many of the director's movies grab hold and don't let go till the end credits, this one took me several evenings to get through, which is indicative of just how mundane I found it.
Certain potentially interesting themes—the sexual tension between Charlie and her uncle and the notion of evil lurking unsuspected in American suburbia—amount to very little and the manner in which the film unfolds is surprisingly dull, the whole affair lacking Hitch's usual excellent pacing, masterful storytelling and visual flair.Wright is a delight to behold and Cotten makes for a genuinely creepy villain but overall I found the film to be far from Hitchcock's best work..
A young woman (Teresa Wright) discovers her visiting "Uncle Charlie" (Joseph Cotten) may not be the man he seems to be.This is classic Hitchcock, and one of Joseph Cotten's finest roles, which is quite a compliment considering how great Cotten is/was.
That is what Alfred Hitchcock's 1943 suspense thriller Shadow of a Doubt does so beautifully.In the quiet innocent town of Santa Rosa, California, terror is about to enter in the form of a man named Charlie.
There definitely is suspense in this movie but he doesn't use it as much like in Rope or Strangers on a Train where the suspense is built around the movie, this movie focuses on the fear of a person who you know is guilty of a crime but you keep refusing that it's true.Joseph Cotten, who is more well known for Orson Welles' movies like Citizen Kane or The Third Man, masterfully plays Uncle Charlie.
Santa Rosa is also the perfect town too, the perfect town where everyone is happy and the landscape is beautiful, unknown of the terror that'll take place.The other actors are also pretty good, but the guy that puts the most effort is Joseph Cotten.Alfred Hitchcock put a lot of effort into the movie and it shows.
And she can't find any supports from her parents played by former co-stars, from "Mrs. Miniver", Henry Travers, a banker, and from "The Little Foxes", Patricia Collinge as the devoted housewife.All these faces fit together and the actors are so natural we really believe this is a family, but there are many hints suggesting that each member tries to escape from a suffocating routine The mother is mentally rooted in the past and mourns her brother, Charlie whose absence had a profound effect on her well-being.
Narrative-wise, it's excellent because in a film where the bad guy is the main protagonist, Hitch knows we have to root for him a little, he manages to create the empathy by giving similar feelings to the good characters.So Hitchcock (who's all about signs) give us the ultimate sign of a deep bond between Charlie and Charlotte.
When we first see Uncle Charlie, played by the great Joseph Cotton, he's also lying in a bed in some lousy place in New Jersey, just like his niece.
Hitchcock, loved contrasts and the idea of sleazy evil coming to disturb the quiet peaceful town, something so impossible that no one would accept it, not even Charlotte, maybe not even us.It's a strange feeling because as soon as he comes, Uncle Charlie is like the touchstone of the family, such a natural charismatic character that we somewhat want the happiness to be maintained to this status quo.
The film gets actually more interesting once Charlotte knows, and has to digest the contrast between her idealization of her Uncle and what he really is, and it's such a startling contrast that she knows her mother mustn't know the secret, because it would kill her, it becomes a life-and-death situation.It also allows to cops not to arrest him in the house and so begins a psychological battle between the man-who-wants-to-stay and the girl-who-wants-him-to-leave and it naturally culminates with murder impulses from both sides.
And while the good triumphs over the evil, she's slightly contaminated by her Uncle's spirit, and might have her own shadow of a doubt regarding the goodness of human nature.While a masterpiece in its own terms, the film has a few little flaws but Hitch, and even us, viewers, keep on idealizing "Shadow of a Doubt", just like the family idealized Uncle Charlie, ignoring his darkest side.
With the clues pointing to Uncle Charlie being the Merry Widow Murderer, the relationship between the two breaks down in tension.I was attracted to Shadow of a Doubt by the presence of Joseph Cotten, an actor who's films I tend to enjoy on the whole - I was not aware that this was featured so highly on the imdb 250 chart and am quite surprised that it is.
The guts of the film is little Charlie's loss of innocence as she begins to suspect her uncle of being more than just the interesting man she thinks she knows; this aspect works pretty well as it gathers a good pace around this discovery - surprising considering we are never in doubt that Charlie is the killer.
"Shadow of a Doubt" was reputedly Alfred Hitchcock's favorite of his own films, and I guess that really must mean something since he directed more than three dozen of versatile cinematic classics that are all universally considered as brilliant.
Early in the film, Charlie is able to outwit two cops who try to follow himthe humor of the sequence is captured visually.Then comes the niece Charlie's young sister who does not take down the telegram because she cannot find a pencil without making much of an effort to find one.Then you have Charlie's mother shouting into the telephone mouthpiece, which leads her precocious daughter to remind her that she need not shout to be heard on the other end.Then comes the comment from the telegraph operator who cannot distinguish telepathy from telegraph.Uncle Charlie alights from the train with the aid of a walking stick but walks briskly soon after.
It's only after Hitchcock is released from Selznick's grasp that you see some of his truly great movies like Psycho, Rear Window, North by Northwest, Dial M for Murder, and Vertigo.So there's the history lesson why Shadow of a Doubt is not as good as other Hitchcocks.
But if you notice, at various points in the film, members of Young Charlie's family do have "shadows of a doubt" about Uncle Charlie.
The film is brilliant, starring actress Teresa Wright and actor Joseph Cotton in a tense, well-acted display of one man's hidden evil, in juxtaposition to a town's innate goodness.
"Shadow of a Doubt" is one of Hitchcock's best films, often overshadowed by famous but actually inferior pictures like "Notorious".
Teresa Wright's naiveté enhances and indeed makes possible the ethical conflict underlying the tension in the film and Joseph Cotten is very good as the creepy uncle.
Often overlooked for his later masterpieces, "Shadow of a Doubt," penned in part by Alma Reville (Hitchcock), is a brilliant, character-driven thriller that stars one of the great, also under-heralded, actresses of the time, Teresa Wright, paired fantastically with Joseph Cotton.
Set in filming location Santa Rosa, in the northern part of California that Hitchcock so loved, "Shadow of a Doubt" deftly captures both the innocence and dark crimes and deceptions of mid-twentieth century America.
Trouble is just behind him though, and it gets worse when his niece (also 'Charlie', named after him, and played by Teresa Wright) begins to suspect him of being the "Merry Widow Murderer".I considered a slightly higher rating, but thought the pace in the first half of the movie was a little slow.
On the other hand, there is a real small town feeling to this setting, helped in no doubt by Thornton Wilder being one of the screenwriters, and the characters of Charlie's father (Henry Travers) and his friend (Hume Cronyn) passing the time by talking about the perfect murder are absolutely priceless.
I've seen just over half of his films (around 25 or 30) so I know my fair share of some of his greatest films, and let me tell you this one sure was another!I noticed from the very start I was already hooked and wanted to know more about this mysterious man we see who is "Uncle Charlie".I have a really bad problem with quite a few of Hitch's films, films like "Topaz","Rebecca", "Marnie", "Spellbound" or even "Notorious" I felt were just way too slow, nothing interesting enough happens throughout to keep you interested, even the ending of those films sort of left me with the thought like "Okay?
One other final thing I would like to say is that the CAMERA WORK is PHENOMENAL, there are tons of interesting shots and they all feel like a lot of thought was put into each angle and shot, editing was great, and you really get a sense of what it was like back in those days.This is definitely in Hitchcock's top 10 films IMO, but films like Vertigo, Psycho, Rear Window, Dial M For Murder are all better than this one for sure.
Sinister Joseph Cotten (as Charles "Uncle Charlie" Oakley) eludes some men in Philadelphia, then heads for Santa Rosa, California, where he plans an extended visit with adoring young niece Teresa Wright (as Charlotte "Charlie" Newton) and her family.
It is devoid of twists or needlessly flashy film-makingit just tells a story from beginning to the end, and all the while keeps you very entertained with great acting, dialog and various indescribable nuances.The story revolves around a family in a small California town (interesting note: the movie was made in 1943 yet there's no mention of the war.
Then, UNCLE Charlie comes to town (played magnificently by Joseph Cotton) because he wants "to settle down", but to the viewer it seems like he's running away from something.
There's a real creepiness to the character, and to the way Hitchcock lets darkness creep into the lovely small town where the film is set.
Shadow of a Doubt mayn't be my personal favourite of Hitchcock's movies, but it is in my opinion one of his most suspenseful and tense films evident from right at the beginning with the cloud of ominous black smoke.
It's cheeky bonus is having the central premise of its main protagonist being a hero of the people, his family adore him, he is on the surface a man that all men want to be, and it's here that Hitchcock molds a chilling filmic arc, in fact, it's a masterstroke.The plot involves Uncle Charlie returning to his adoring family in Santa Rosa after just avoiding capture for the murder of a widow.
Because make no bones about it, it's in itself bordering on being unhealthy, and it's something that helps make this a more edgier thriller than other genre pieces.Joseph Cotten is special as Uncle Charlie, his duality acting hits the spot on both fronts, whilst Teresa Wright is beguiling as the niece because she really makes the character infectious.
About the interpretations I have to say that I liked the interpretation of Joseph Cotten who played as Uncle Charlie and he was very good at it and also the interpretation of Teresa Wright who played as Young Charlie and she was equally good.Lastly I believe that "Shadow of a Doubt" is a good movie to watch with much of suspense but if I had to compare it with some of the other masterpieces of Alfred Hitchcock then I would say that this movie would be a little lower than the others.
And I brought you nightmares." The suspense in this movie isn't Uncle Charlie's dark past and what he'll do to avoid capture, but, in the context of 1943 America, it must have meant to be shocking that a nihilistic self-loathing man capable of murder without any qualms could be coming to a pleasant, picture-perfect small town USA.
What makes this film utterly interesting, is the ambiguity of the relationship of the two main protagonists, young Charlie (Teresa Wright) and her uncle Charles (Joseph Cotten).
Despite this criticism at least Hitchcock cast character actor Joseph Cotton as Uncle Charlie .
The Aforementioned "Two's" in the Film are a Good Example.This Film-Noir from Hitch is a Great One with Stunning Performances from Joseph Cotton and Teresa Wright Playing the Maiden who is about to be Symbolically Deflowered and the Veiled Innocence of Her Small Town Upbringing is On Display as, not only Family Secrets, but the oncoming World War would Hardened a lot of Hearts.The Movie is Not Without some Disappointments.
Effortlessly managing to endure the test of time, Shadow of a Doubt is a deftly crafted psychological thriller from Alfred Hitchcock that tells the story of a young girl & her relationship with her charming "Uncle Charlie" who might not be the man he actually seems to be.Brilliantly directed by Hitchcock who cleverly allows the doubts & uncertainties to creep into the viewers' minds from its opening moments and keeps us on our toes throughout its runtime, thanks to expert placements of twists & turns, Shadow of a Doubt presents the revered director in prime form & is his first indisputable masterpiece.The screenplay itself exhibits a tightly structured story, its scripted characters are homely, finely shaded & very believable, the moral complexity present in the film not only tests its characters but us viewers as well and the entire film is skilfully edited to deliver a cinematic experience that's incredibly tense & spine-chilling.Also benefiting the film are the stellar performances from its cast, its splendid score & its unusual take on the themes of love n evil.
So much."Charlie (Teresa Wright) is thrilled when her adored uncle (Joseph Cotten) comes to visit her family and shake her out of the malaise and monotony that she's been feeling.
I know nothing about Teresa Wright, but she is very good as Young Charlie, and the scenes between Henry Travers ('It's A Wonderful Life'), who plays her father, and his crime buff buddy Hume Cronyn (in his film debut) are priceless, but of course, Joseph Cotton as the charming but deadly Uncle Charlie steals the movie with a superb performance. |
tt3410834 | Allegiant | Picking up shortly after the previous film, 'Insurgent' left off, now that Jeanine is dead, Evelyn (Naomi Watts) has assumed control of Chicago and is placing everyone in Erudite that worked for Jeanine on trial, while also sealing off the gates to the rediscovered land outside the city.Tris (Shailene Woodley) and Four (Theo James) watch as Max (Mekhi Pfeiffer) is the first to go on trial. Most of Evelyn's followers demand that Max be executed, while those that follow Johanna (Octavia Spencer) think he ought to be spared. Kang (Daniel Dae Kim) gives Max the Candor truth serum. Max shows no remorse for killing people under Jeanine's orders, and he compares people to sheep that get slaughtered if they stray from their shepherd. Evelyn listens to the people and has Edgar (Jonny Weston) shoot Max in the head. Caleb (Ansel Elgort) is on trial next, and he fears for what they'll do to him. Johanna is booed out with her followers for disagreeing with Evelyn's verdict.Four goes against his mother, saying there was no point in going to war with Jeanine when Evelyn just became her.Tris and Four plot to break Caleb out. Four orders Evelyn's guards to release Caleb to him. Four takes him outside and throws him into a ditch before taking out his gun and pretending to shoot Caleb. The guards leave, and Caleb comes out of hiding.The three of them, along with Christina (Zoe Kravitz) and Tori (Maggie Q) plot to break out of the city. Peter (Miles Teller) comes along so that he won't rat on the group. After fooling Evelyn's guards, the group heads toward the wall, but one of the guards alerts Edgar to their plan.As the group reaches the wall, they shoot their grappling hooks and use the wires to scale the wall. However, the fence on top of the wall is electrified. Tris goes down the wall with Four following so she can destroy the electrical box. Edgar and his boys show up and start shooting at the group. Four holds them off as Tris places a bomb on the box. As they run back to the wall, she detonates it, blowing up the box and killing some of the goons. Tris and Four run back up the wall. Tori is shot and killed by Edgar, and Tris is forced to leave her behind.Once they make it further away from the city, they discover that the land has been mostly burnt out and become a toxic wasteland. The rain that falls on them is red. A van rolls in above the group... it's Edgar. They run for it and reach a point where a wall to another city appears to open up, revealing vans and aircraft. A squad of soldiers take the group in and blast Edgar's van away.The group is taken in plasma bubbles to a facility known as the Bureau of Genetic Welfare. They are decontaminated and have a bar code printed onto their skin, but all with different coding. A video shows the group an explanation of what happened to the world. Many generations ago, a hopeful miracle drug was created, but it naturally spun out of control and led to chaos around the globe, leading the survivors to form the Bureau and strive to fix things.Tris is taken to meet the Bureau's director David (Jeff Daniels). He considers Tris a miracle, as she is what the Bureau considers "pure", while the others, like Caleb and Four, are "damaged." David has also been watching everything that goes on around the city, which explains how he knows Tris and what she's been through, as well as everything that is happening in the city now. David gives Tris a device that allows her to see the memories of her late mother Natalie (Ashley Judd) from when she was a child living in The Fringe, the isolated area where the infected roam and attack survivors. Natalie was saved and later worked with David to establish the Faction system.Four is assigned to a woman named Nita (Nadia Hilker), who teaches him how to use target drones for combat. Peter and Caleb are put on surveillance duty to observe what goes on around the city.Caleb observes Evelyn and her henchmen meeting with Johanna and a few of her followers, which have called themselves the Allegiant. The two leaders are prepared for a war, which is instigated by Edgar after he shoots one of Johanna's followers.Four is on duty with the other men on his team. They go into The Fringe and accidentally kill the father of a young boy. The boy and other survivors are brought in and supposedly decontaminated with a special gas. However, Christina notes to Four that the boy has forgotten his father and his own name.David takes Tris to Providence, a clean and dystopic city structure where all the privileged folks live. Tris appears before a council to go along with David's plan to cleanse the world, but she rejects the notion that they should classify some as pure and others as damaged.Four is apparently sent to The Fringe with one Bureau worker, Matthew (Bill Skarsgard). However, Matthew tips Four off about the Bureau's true intentions. He fights the goons on board and crashes the ship. Four escapes and tells Matthew to tell Tris and David that Four left him behind, because Tris will know that's a lie. Four is eventually captured and taken back into the city.David sends Peter back into the city to deliver the gas to Evelyn, claiming that David is a personal friend. Peter suggests using it on the Allegiant so that Evelyn may retain control over everyone. She tests it out on her ex-husband Marcus (Ray Stevenson). With a heavy dose, Marcus literally watches his mind deteriorate and his memories disappear, leaving him with no idea who Evelyn is or was to him.Knowing that something bad is gonna happen, Tris steals David's hovercraft and gets Caleb and Christina to head back into the city. Nita gives them some weapons because she hates David too. The three fly away and are pursued by David's henchmen. They try to bring Tris down gently, but she attempts to manually fly the ship, nearly crashing it until they are able to go beyond the camouflage wall.Tris and Christina make it into Evelyn's facility where she plans to release the gas unto the Allegiant, unaware that it will go throughout the entire city. Tris reunites with Four while Caleb is outside on surveillance. Evelyn begins to release the gas until Four tells her that it will affect both of them, and he won't know who his mother is. She has a change of heart and tries to stop it, but Peter shoots her in the back and allows it to continue, until the gas reaches the room he's in. He frantically tries to stop it but can't.The gas starts spreading into the city, hitting some of the Allegiant. Tris runs down to the main control room, but David, who is still watching, tries to hold her off. Tris uses the drones to find the main power grid for the gas and blasts through the wall to ultimately destroy it. David yells in defeat while the gas stops spreading.Tris sends a message to everyone in the city, saying that they are neither pure nor damaged, but that they must stand united as one city against their oppressors. Tris leans against Four, thinking everything is fine... not knowing David is still watching and planning something sinister. | suspenseful, murder, violence, good versus evil, psychedelic, romantic, brainwashing, revenge, sci-fi | train | imdb | The set of David's office is so over-designed and green-screened to the point that it just became a distraction.There are large swathes of the film's running time where nothing seems to happen, no surprise considering this is the first of two parts of what is one book.
If you've watched the movies but started liking them less and less, read the books instead!
I went because I am Sheilene Woodley's number one fan and supporter (check my reviews of her films for proof on that), so anything she does I will see, included this franchise which for me, in the first two entries, proved to be a mix of some few good elements, Woodley's performance being center on that, with some bad filmaking overall and a story that was always so bad it made me laugh.That element is partially back, once again through the entirety of the duration of the film almost nothing makes sense.
Even the cinematography, for the most part, is as dull as it can be: basic coverage of dialogue scenes and where it tries to do something new like some good tracking shots it fails miserably because they look terrible.What remains good is the imagery that the series has offered throughout, don't misunderstand me: for the major part the CGI is mediocre and touches bad in many points, but the art concepts and the visual ideas still work very well and provide that minimum flare that mixed to some laughing at the story and Miles Teller not giving a sh*t for the third time, which I must admit is the best part of the film, manages to get you through the film indifferently.I wouldn't recommend this to anyone unless you are a true fan of the series, the film in itself is boring and uninspired with yet another laughable ending..
Divergent followers or not, this movie fails for the length of time and plot it delivers to be enjoyable.As stated before, I don't believe in rating movies terribly low, so I give this movie series a generous 6 without going into more details.Thanks.
When I saw the first divergent movie, I really liked it and I became really excited to see the adaptions of the next two books (insurgent and allegiant).But after I saw the 2nd movie, it was a lot different from the book and I started to get confused on why it wasn't going to be like how the first movie was.
There's just so much stuff wrong with this movie, the most annoying of course are the small but plentiful errors, like never seeing Tori's brother on the other side of the wall, that happens in the book.....
As a fan of the books it can be nerve wrecking to have a good book turned into an awful movie, but I like to think about how much time was put into making a film.
I praise this cast for not giving up on this project and continue to do their best to pull off a movie adaptation of a best- selling series.All in all, I enjoyed this movie and recommend it to people who love stories and fans who can still appreciate a movie despite its obvious changes..
As a fan of the first book, I thought the first movie was pretty decent and had potential, but after Insurgent being a very big disappointment, I didn't really expect to like this much.
The Divergent Series: Allegiant is the latest Divergent movies that comes out at March 10 in England and March 18 in USA starring Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Jeff Daniels, Miles Teller, Ansel Elgort, Maggie Q, With Octavia Spencer, and Naomi Watts.
Let see if the new one do a better work.The only one who was according to the movie was Theo James, the another ones were like stupid person doing nothing in their lives.Miles Teller (Was Stupid), Naomi Watts(Be In Love With A Monkey), Shailene Woodly (Be Pregnant Again), Theo James (You're OK), Zoë Kravitz (Be in The Dessert With Max)...
They then decide to break through the wall, locking them in the city, and see what's beyond it.I was a big fan of the first 'DIVERGENT' movie, and really enjoyed the second film as well (although not quite as much).
Woodley is decent, but she, like many actors from the previous movies, looks tired of this franchise.
i was looking at the reviews of this movie and most of them are pretty brutal wayyyyyy too brudal if u ask me i rather enjoyed it myself full of action to the core high flying fun it was great to see old faces agen and a few new ones too good for almost anyone its a blast cant wait to see what they do with the next movie tris is as hot as always gotta love that if u are not into these kind of movies or didn't like the 3rd book Don't SEE THE MOVIE AND THEN WRITE SHITTY REVIEWS JUST BECAUSE U Didn't HAVE FUN its a good excape from the world and i say ignore everyone and go see it for yourself u will for sure have an awesome time just keep the brain outside here 'its no good to u here 'but definitely see the movie.
Still Like It. Heard so many reviews agree to disagree that allegiant not better than divergent I think the story evolve and so are the character.
I totally enjoyed 1,5 hour movies which bring us moving forward while at the same time standstill to save what is left behind.One thing to improve is the plot and story line.
And now Allegiant is also a great addition to the previous movies it has the same rhythm as insurgent:the story's buildup takes the first 30 to 40 minutes of the movie and then you can sit tight and enjoy a good show!!
Lastly Allegiant did a really good job making the movie fit the age group of people who loved the book, when you make a movie like this it is really hard to keep it "kid friendly" when even the book is a little questionable, and I think they did a really good job making the film fit the PG13 criteria..
Many secrets are revealed but not in the way in which the reading audience and film wanted.Tris (Shailene Woodley), Four (Theo James) and his friends (Miles Teller, Zoe Kravitz, etc) decide to discover that there are outside and after some shooting, a stupid death and nothing more, they succeed, It's...
It is harassing and annoying the harmless and silly conflict internal in Chicago, after the departure of Tris and Four, sorry but I hear laughs as the film progressed.Analogically, "Allegiant" is like a famous reality American show which airs weekly, but this reality show already this very exhausted and burned so they decide to get to the end, all the chips are already in place, so spectators until next week to learn the fate of the dystopian world.
It could maybe happen as "Mockingjay Part One and Two" where the first disappointed and worried fans but the second recovered what was lost and closed the franchise in the best way, we dream, is the only thing we can do.This doesn't feel like Tris, this doesn't feel like "Divergent", I think that it's necessary completion of the saga (Ascendant), more pain there can be no.
(Which I mostly did because I kept skipping parts of the movie that is good and they still kept talking in a room with CGI like "Star Wars Episode 1" but at least in Star Wars you can just forgive that because the writing is a bit better than in this film.) If you want to watch this movie, just don't...It is a waste of time and money to contribute to this film and will make it more money and more wasteful book adaptation to movies are going to be worst than this pile of garbage..
This reality is not bad, I just don't care about this world in the same way I did about Hogwarts.This movie wouldn't have sucked if you enjoy listening to painfully obvious messages like, "is it better to kill a healthy child or a sick old man?" Or, "people are sheep.
Not even The appearance of Jeff Daniels in the series could save it.The little action that it did have was good, and all done by the character Tobias Eaton which kind of sucks.Because of how connected all three movies are I have to grade it as a Sequel and not a sand alone, and as a sequel it's a weak leak because it changes everything that made we want to see the movie in the first place.
It's a massive experiment, and its success is dependent on keeping people in the dark.But divergent insurgent Tris (Shailene Woodley) and her boyfriend Four (Theo James) don't intend to sit around as usurper Evelyn (Naomi Watts) and rival Johanna (Octavia Spencer) scrap over the spoils of a divided society.
As a kid the best stories started "once upon a time" and ended "they lived happily ever after" + I think series like this bridge the gap between kids fairy tales + "down to earth with a bump" adult viewing, + appeal to the kid in all of us-no matter what age we are.
Okay, it's not complex and possibly predictable for people who have read the book, but as a newbie I have enjoyed watching the growth of the characters and progression of the story.
The film stars Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Jeff Daniels, Octavia Spencer, Ray Stevenson, Zoë Kravitz, Miles Teller, Ansel Elgort, Maggie Q, Bill Skarsgård and Naomi Watts.-It is the sequel to The Divergent Series: Insurgent and will be followed by the concluding entry, The Divergent Series: Ascendant.--Critical response: -The Divergent Series: Allegiant has been panned by critics.
In "Allegiant," he gets an even lesser script to work with and can't do much of anything to counter how far-flung the story has gotten at this point — both Roth's actual story and the film's reworked version of it.With the goal of turning around these films annually, the studio turned to new writers and asked them to not only adapt the series finale, but split it up into two parts, and only write part one (as far as we know).
During their field trip beyond the fence, however, war looms back in the city where Evelyn's (Naomi Watts) Factionless are at odds with those clinging to the old way of life.Despite a couple different story lines and a large portion of the story that splits up Tris and Four (which no Hollywood studio would allow to happen for a significant length of screen time), there really aren't two good movies worth of material without expounding significantly.
Actually, almost the entire plot of the book gets used except the ending, which is lopped off to make room for a rousing fourth movie that has no precedent in the novel.So not only is it a forced script (Jeff Daniels is awesome when he gets the dialogue, but watching him in this versus an Aaron Sorkin project is like night and day), but it deviates enough from the book to confound the only people still watching the series — the book's fans.
The story and backdrop can change if the characters' journeys stay intact, but that was already falling apart before cameras rolled on "Allegiant."You'll be ready to be done with the "Divergent" series come the end of this one, and seeing as it's the third film in a book trilogy, you kind of expect to be relieved of that burden, but alas.
Review: After enjoying the first movie in the Divergent franchise but not being that impressed with second film, Insurgent, I really thought that this franchise would go out with a bang, with Allegiant but it seemed exactly the same as the other movies.
I decided to watch all of the movies together, and it did just seem like another Hunger Games but without the clever CGI and impressive action scenes.
As I haven't read the books, I don't know how close the movies are to the writers characters and storyline but as she was on set while they were making the films, I'm sure she wouldn't have allowed them to make a mock out of her vision.
Anyway, it was a sad ending to Tris & Four but I wouldn't be surprised if they brought back the characters in the near future.Budget: $110million Worldwide Gross: $180millionI recommend this movie to people who are into their action/adventure/mysteries, starring Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Jeff Daniels, Naomi Watts, Octavia Spencer, Zoe Kravitz, Ansel Elgort, Miles Teller, Ray Stevenson and Mekhi Phifer.
However, Allegiant, the third instalment, takes the series to a whole new low, by presenting a tedious and non-sensical story filled with poor performances, ugly visuals and disappointing directing.There was pretty much nothing I liked about Allegiant, and I want to talk about what I really couldn't bear most of all: the plot.
There are a couple of action scenes, but they're too far near the end, and pretty underwhelming anyway.Instead, it's basically two hours of trying to advance the series into something more meaningful than a simple young adult sci-fi, like The Hunger Games did very successfully, but it simply comes off as a drab, poorly-written mess.
Even Shailene Woodley, whose Hollywood career was really kicked into action by this series, looks fed up, rarely cracking a smile and mumbling her gibberish dialogue throughout.Just like Divergent and Insurgent, there are a lot of A-list actors in here, including Naomi Watts, Octavia Spencer, Jeff Daniels and Miles Teller, but none of them give a performance that looks like they care about what's going on.
If you go watch this movie expecting to see the book's story adapted to a film (or as close as Insurgent was), you'll be disappointed.The movie is a good (not exceptional) re-imagining of the story in the book, and it succeeds to keep it interesting and dynamic.The CGI looks so bad at times.
If you liked the previous movie, you should watch it to get the story complete.
The directors always change things and drop characters or snippets of the book that I love and wish had appeared, however in general you get over it and enjoy the films.However - Allegiant part 1 - may as well be called an entirely different name.
The whole thing just feels under-developed.If you are a die hard book fan - definitely give the film a miss you will just be insulted and annoyed.However if you are easy going and don't mind it being an entirely different story to what you expected - go ahead and try and enjoy it..
I'm 46.My first experience with Divergent but not my first experience paying for a movie ticket to be wowed with a story, some action, a plot ...entertainment.Allegiant - BORING is being polite.
So, if you like the films where the idea and feelings are important, come and watch Allegiant!.
Which makes me think that Ascendant will likely be an original story and might diverge from that ending, but we shall see.
Take a popular YA book series and make the books into movies, but spread the final book's story over two films.
In the case of those final two YA book to movie series, "The Hunger Games" and the "Divergent Series", you could say "four is the new three".
This movie doesn't have as much fresh action as the other films in the series (similar to "The Hunger Games: Girl on Fire"), but the script's big problems lie in its plot points and dialog.
For those following along at home, Allegiant is the third film based on the third book in the Divergent series.
"Allegiant" is the third movie of The Divergent Series in which we watch Tris trying to escape with Four from Chicago.
Even if you are a true fan of this movie series or even of the books I think that you won't enjoy it..
You're left with an average movie which could have been a lot better from many points of view, especially the plot, as the series deserved..
ALLEGIANT is the third film in the DIVERGENT series, following on from the rubbish INSURGENT.
I really don't like this franchise at all, finding it a mere rip-off of THE HUNGER GAMES which was itself a teen-friendly rip-off of BATTLE ROYALE, but the good news is that ALLEGIANT is much better than the last film in the series, although that doesn't make it good.INSURGENT was all about predictability and mindless action whereas ALLEGIANT at least has a plot of sorts, even if it isn't a very good one.
Everyone else who I did not mention except for Tris, their performance throughout the film was lovely and astonishing.The Divergent Series: Allegiant.
Allegiant is the third movie in The Divergent Series franchise.The film continues exactly from the end of Insurgent to a journey that Tris and Four take to discover what is beyond the wall that surrounds Chicago,an experiment city.To be honest,this film is not great or clever,but if you don't come with maximum expectations you get an enjoyable film with a lot of action and satisfying scenes.
Yes, this isn't a great movie, its not bad it's a solid film.Now I did enjoy the movie non the less, I really liked the new sci- fi elements with the whole world outside of Chicago idea.
So Allegiant is the third film of the Divergent series, an adaptation from one of the many teen post-apocalyptic novels.
I really enjoyed the first movie, it was very entertaining and it had a good story and characters and the second one I thought was very weak and it didn't really seem to know where it was going until the last act.Allegiant picks up not long after it's predecessor and follows Tris, Four and a few others venture out beyond the wall. |
tt0033918 | Moon Over Miami | After the main title and opening credits, the audience enters Texas Tommys drive-in greasy-spoon on Texas State Highway 73 (Texas Tommys slogan is Service with a Song) where the carhop sisters, Kay and Barbara Latimer, sing What Can I Do for You? A much anticipated letter from a lawyer arrives. Together with their Aunt Sue, the drive-ins cook, the sisters open the letter to discover they have inherited $55,000. They are ecstatic until they learn that their share after court cost, lawyer fees, and taxes is only $4,287.96. Terribly disappointed, they decide to invest the money by heading to Miami, the millionaires playground, to look for husbands.
The next scene is a Miami travelogue as an off-screen chorus sings Oh Me, Oh Mi-ami. Kay, dressed in finery that looks like they spent most of their inheritance on her outfit, Barbara, as Miss Sears, Kays secretary and Aunt Sue, as Kays maid, arrive at their bungalow. They sing and dance their version of Oh Me, Oh Mi-ami.
Jack, one of the resorts waiters, delivers champagne compliments of Mr. Jeffrey Bolton. During Jacks visit to their bungalow, he flirts with Aunt Sue. He also agrees to help Kay discern the difference between male fortune hunters and actual millionaires.
Kay telephones Mr. Bolton to thank him for the champagne, but complains about its flatness. When Jeffrey comes over to check out the problem, he is so impressed with Kay that he invites her to a party at his suite, where most of the guests are asleep (the party has been going for days). Once the band leaves after having played for sixteen hours, Jeff plays the piano and sings You Started Something. Another band arrives and joins in as Kay sings. After a short duet by Jeff and Kay, she performs a cute seated tap routine with the Condos Brothers.
Kay meets Phil, apparently another wealthy playboy, at the party. Thereafter throughout the film, Jeff tries to get Kay away from Phil or visa versa. When Phil and Kay dance at the party, Phil sings a reprise of You Started Something. In the following scene, while Phil and Kay drive in a convertible, Phil sings Ive Got You All to Myself, but Jeff pops up in the backseat.
The next few scenes were quite obviously not shot in Miami a speed boat chase between the two guys was filmed in Lake Eloise and the grounds of Cypress Gardens, near Winter Haven, Florida, while Phil and Kay are shown at Silver Springs, near Ocala, Florida and, Phils and Kays romantic underwater tête-à-tête was filmed at Rainbow Springs in Dunnellon, Florida all three locales are hundreds of miles north of Miami.
Kay is having difficulty choosing between these two handsome millionaires, so she brings her sister, disguised as her secretary along to a dinner dance. Back at the bungalow, Jack kisses Sue and they sing and dance to Is That Good? During the dinner, while Kay and Phil dance, Barbara/Miss Sears gives Jeff a pep-talk about his ability to amount to something without relying on his fathers wealth.
Later that evening, in another Cypress Gardens scene, Phil and Kay cruise some canals in an electric boat. They sing Loveliness and Love, and kiss. After this romantic scene, however, Phil confesses to Kay that he is broke and Kay confesses she was going to marry him for his money.
Later, Phil tells Jeff that Kay is more interested in him, so he immediately proposes. She accepts.
At a party honoring Kays and Jeffs engagement, she sings Kindergarten Conga. She and the crowd dance the conga, and then she and a guy (Hermes Pan, the films choreographer) perform a tap routine.
It appears that Phil has turned his attention to Connie Fentress (Cobina Wright, Jr.), a grocery store heiress and Kay is jealous. Jack, who has been hired to help serve at the party, tries to tell Jeff that Kay is only marrying him for his money, but he gets locked in the bathroom.
Jeff, Kay and Miss Sears/Barbara travel to Jeffs island home where Jeff introduces the girls to his wealthy father (William Willie Bolton is played by George Lessey ). Willie is cooking gas-house eggs. At breakfast the next morning, Jeff and Barbara/Miss Sears have been horseback riding. Phil shows up because he says he is Jeffs best man. Jack, finally out of the locked bathroom, arrives on the island to inform Jeff that Kay is a gold digger, but the Latimer girls convince him not to tell Jeff for a little while. At another party for Jeff and Kay on the island, a group of dancers (Jack Cole and Co. and the Condos Brothers) perform a big production number to Solitary Seminole.
When Phil and Kay dance together at the party, he can sense she is unhappy. Shes in love with Phil even though shes supposed to marry Jeff. Jeff, due to Barbaras influence, takes a job in Brazil to prove he can accomplish something on his own without his fathers money. When Kay runs upstairs and starts packing, Phil follows. He tells her they are going away together. Before they can depart, Jeff comes upstairs and informs them he wants to marry Miss Sears.
In the last scene, the audience sees three happy couples: Phil and Kay, Jeff and Barbara, and Jack and Aunt Sue (skiing with Sue on Jacks shoulders). | romantic | train | imdb | One of my favorite Betty Grable films!
Betty's costumes were really stunning and I wonder if the studio used a different designer for this film.
It's all about losing out on an inheritance for the two Latimer sisters and their Aunt Susan because of taxes, so the three take off for Miami so Betty can find a millionaire husband.
MGM is always the studio that film historians gush about for turning out great musicals.
Unfairly snubbed is 20th Century Fox that used the richest, most brilliant color composition in the rainbow for its unforgettable string of Technicolor sundae delights starring Bette Grable.
"Moon Over Miami" begins with the bouncy, adorable Texas Tommy Hamburger Drive-in sequence where Grable and Carole Landis show off their figures and talents.
Grable is unusually great looking in her gray ensemble trimmed in fur and she and Landis and Charlotte Greenwood prance around to "Oh, Me, Oh Mi-Ami!" Other fantastic numbers follow, showcasing Grable at her verviest--like her tap dance routine to "You Started Something," then onto "I've Got You All to Myself" and maybe the best, "Conga to a Nursery Rhyme." Banton's costumes, shimmering photography by Leroy Shamroy, electrifying charisma of Grable and the very hunky Don Ameche (who surprises with an outstanding singing vocie), all help make "Moon Over Miami" a sheer delight.
Betty Grable, Carole Landis, and Charlotte Greenwood, two sisters and their aunt work as carhops in a drive-up Texas diner and they get a letter from a lawyer.
Landis and Greenwood don't need much convincing to pool their resources and go to Miami and hang out where the millionaires do.
Betty pretends to be a millionaire heiress herself with Landis as a secretary and Greenwood her maid.I shouldn't say too much more, but as this was a film of pure escapism with happy endings required, you should be able to figure out the rest.
The men sure liked looking at Grable and Landis and the women dreamed of being in their place, courted by the likes of Don Ameche and Bob Cummings.Songwriting team of Ralph Rainger and Leo Robin contributed a good score that showcases the considerable musical talents of Ameche, Grable, Greenwood and Jack Haley who plays a suspicious waiter at the resort the girls are staying at.
Of course it wasn't written by Robin and Rainger, and maybe that was the reason, they didn't want their music competing with an established tune.Even with world war once again breaking out in Europe, Africa, and Asia, audiences still loved this escapist stuff.
Films like this are what made Betty Grable the GIs number one pin-up girl.
Shopworn plot but Grable, Ameche and Cummings in top form....
While the plot is a flimsy one, it does give Betty Grable fans a chance to glimpse her in a fluffy technicolor musical (with location photography in Florida), engaged in romantic shenanigans with two leading men (Don Ameche and Robert Cummings), and supported by pros like Jack Haley, Charlotte Greenwood, Carole Landis and Minor Watson.It's a typical Fox musical made to order for Grable fans and photographed in some scenic Florida locales serving as Miami.
Robert Cummings and Don Ameche are impeccably clad and flashing the kind of smiles that belong in a toothpaste ad--thus serving as perfect foils for Betty's curvaceous blonde charms.Some of the specialty numbers are good--especially those by the Condo Brothers--and Betty herself gets to do a couple of sprightly tap dance routines.
None of the music is memorable but it's easy to see why Grable was so popular at the box-office in escapist films of this nature at a time when war weary audiences craved this kind of entertainment at the start of World War II.
Her modest talents are on full display here--and Ameche and Cummings show that they had a definite flair for this kind of romantic comedy--especially Cummings who was always better in lighter assignments as opposed to dramatic roles--contrary to what another commentator says.Carole Landis can do little with her role as Betty's sister (posing as her maid).
This movie is fun because there's Betty Grable,And Robert Cummings, and Don Ameche.
What's amazing is that this big party goes non-stop, with music in the background non-stop, reflecting how esteemed a place Miami was back in 1940, for the idle rich or the psuedo-rich!This is nostalgia at it's zenith.
It makes you want to party non-stop around the pool, and not have to work for a living like the rest of these people(so it would seem), until Don Ameche announces that he'll sell refigerators!.
This wonderful movie is filled with great songs and dance numbers featuring Betty Grable at her absolute best.
She dances and sings beautifully...and after watching this movie (I've seen it at least 50 times) I can never stop singing "You Started Something".
Both Don Ameche and Robert Cummings are also perfectly cast in their light romantic and debonair roles.
The movies colors and gowns are everything you could want and then some of a great Hollywood Musical.
I love watching this movie with Spring Time in the Rockies and Down Argentine Way for a full on Betty Grable Musical Film Fest..
fun, music and love in Miami, Florida.
Beautiful music and scenery, and the comedy of Jack Haley, Charlotte Greenwood, Carole Landis.
And, also Robert Cummings plays as a comedian in this; something I didn't remember him ever doing because he was usually a good dramatic actor.
I spent much time on Flagler Ave and the beach at night under that big beautiful moon over Miami..
I honestly can't find any fault with this movie.......the plot, music, scenery, acting......all perfect!
Thank goodness we have great movies like this to watch instead of the incredible garbage that is out there today.
This is Hollywood at its finest......and the vivid technicolor photography makes you feel like you're in 1940 Miami.
Don Ameche gives a fabulous performance and Betty Grable's dance numbers are wonderful.
This is a must-have DVD.....for anyone who enjoys class, style, great acting and wonderful music!
This is one of my favorite movies, with the singing and dancing of one of my favorites, Charlotte Greenwood, and the Nicholas Brothers, also favorites of mine.
The story is light and fluffy, and that's why I like watching movies; I want to be entertained, not so much to think!
They were what they were and MOON OVER Miami is one of the better Betty Grable flicks.
Great color, location work, acting and especially the singing and dancing.
Have the Grable collection and they are all enjoyable but Fox needs to put the rest of her movies on DVD, especially MOTHER WORE TIGHTS, WABASH AVENUE; CONEY ISLAND and SPRINGTIME IN THE ROCKIES as well as BILLY ROSE'S HORSESHOE REVIEW.
The plot of MOON is similar to THREE LITTLE GIRLS IN BLUE and the wonderful HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE.
Moon Over Miami is one of the best Fox musicals of the 1940s!
The plot is simple - two beautiful (but broke) sisters go to Miami in search of rich husbands.
Betty Grable and Carole Landis play the sisters and they both give fabulous performances.
Charlotte Greenwood, Jack Haley, Don Ameche, Robert Cummings, and Cobina Wright round out the talented cast.
The songs in Moon Over Miami are fun and catchy - You Started Something, Kindergarten Conga, What Can I Do For You. The costumes are gorgeous and the cast looks amazing filmed in Technicolor.
Moon Over Miami is one of my favorite movies and everyone who loves musicals should enjoy it..
Fox musical starring Betty Grable.
It's a shame, because there was nothing more fun than a Fox musical and the Fox cover pallet.In this film, Betty Grable and Carole Landis play sisters, who with their aunt, work at a Texas diner when they learn they've inherited money.
Her sister Barbara (Landis) poses as her secretary.Before long, pretty Kay has a couple of men on her dance card - Phil McNeil (Don Ameche) and Jeffrey Boulton II (Robert Cummings).As others have mentioned, the costumes are exceptionally beautiful, and the movie was shot all over Florida, accounting for some beautiful scenery.
The songs are tuneful, and the film is highly entertaining.It's such a talented cast - Fox gets a bad rap for its lightweight film stars, but they were some of the most popular stars in films, particularly Betty Grable, who was probably THE most popular for a time.
Landis is beautiful and delightful, and Charlotte Greenwood is very funny.This was a good film for Cummings, who was always excellent in comedy, and the smooth Ameche, whose light tenor is put to good use here.One thing about Fox musicals, they were always fun, feel-good movies.
The music in this film is light and fun.
This movie is not heavy;however if you you want a charming entertaining film this is it!
Moon Over Miami was enjoyable fluff for audiences wanting escapism.
Having just been to Miami for the first time in my life, I finally decided to check out this Betty Grable musical from 20th Century-Fox that took place and was partly filmed there after having taped it from AMC 10 years ago.
The flimsy plot about gold diggers is a bit longish but many entertaining musical numbers and some humor does put it over on me quite smoothly.
Certainly the cast, which includes Robert Cummings, Don Ameche, Carole Landis, Charlotte Greenwood, Jack Haley, and especially Ms. Grable are very charming here with wonderful Technicolor photography and melodically tuneful songs by Ralph Ranger and Leo Robin.
In short, Moon Over Miami was just an entertaining piece of fluff that went over well for audiences that survived the Depression and was just about to enter World War II....
Landis & Grable were Great.
This story starts out with Betty Grable,(Kathryn Latimer), Carole Landis, (Barbara Latimer),"I Wake Up Screaming" working in a Texas curb service hamburger joint with their aunt Sue Latimer,(Charlottle Greenwood) as the cook in the kitchen.
dollars and decide they had enough of their jobs in Texas and Kathryn wants to go to Miami, Florida and find some very rich men.
When they all arrive in Miami, they meet up with Jeffrey Boulton,(Robert Cummings) who is a very wealthy man and takes a great liking for Kathryn.
However, Kathryn also becomes very interested in Phil O'Neil, (Don Ameche) There is plenty of musical singing and great dancing and the photography in Silver Springs, Florida and other places in Florida are outstanding.
Carole Landis looked very young and very charming in her role and Betty Grable proved she was the Pin UP Girl of the 1940's and the wife of Harry James, the trumpet player..
Remake of 1938's "Three Blind Mice", its hoary plot reworked several times since, has two waitressing sisters and their wiseacre aunt taking a $4000 inheritance all the way to Miami where they plan to land rich husbands.
Jovial, breezy, tuneful film is a bit short-changed on male charisma (the original had Joel McCrea and David Niven--here we get Bob Cummings and Don Ameche, hardly a fair trade-off!).
Still, Betty Grable is perky, Carole Landis is subdued and lovely, and Charlotte Greenwood is a stitch as Aunt Susan (she's like Ray Bolger in drag--and her pairing with bellhop Jack Haley is certainly the oddest in the film).
The songs are good (as long as Ameche isn't singing them) and the photography and intermittent location shooting are colorful.
That's one reason why movie "escapism" was once so popular, with the films of Betty Grable, Alice Faye, and Esther Williams often set in scenic or exotic locales.
A picture like this was like a mini-vacation, with humor, music, and colorful locations, not to mention lovely fashions for the ladies in the audience to enjoy.The costumes here are by the great Travis Banton, late of Paramount Pictures and the man who clothed Dietrich, Lombard, Mae West, Sylvia Sidney and Claudette Colbert in many of those shimmery flicks of the 30's.
It seems to go with the millionaires-yachts-nightclubs atmosphere.The songs are good and all the cast performs them, including Bob Cummings, who didn't usually sing in pictures.
The dance number set to this tune, performed by Grable and a brother dance team is a highlight.Many of the Fox musicals were so light on plot that I find myself bored despite the musical numbers that interrupt the story often.
Achingly Bad But There's Always The Costumes, Scenery, Technicolor and Betty Grable.
While Columbia, Paramount, Warner Bros and (especially) RKO regularly made wonderful musicals, until 1944, only 20th Century-Fox almost always made them in Technicolor.
`Moon Over Miami' is one of these, and its pluses and minuses pretty much parallel those of the other Fox musicals.Let's start with the minuses, since there are far more of them.
The plot, even for a musical, is pretty shopworn and threadbare (of course, this didn't stop Fox from using it again several times).
Two sisters (Betty Grable, Carole Landis) and their aunt (Charlotte Greenwood) head to Miami with the goal of using their small inheritance to trap a millionaire husband for Grable.
Landis poses as Grable's secretary and Greenwood as Grable's maid.
Once settled into luxury resort, Grable maneuvers herself into courtships with not one, but two, millionaires (Robert Cummings and Don Ameche).
Cummings is silly, as usual; Ameche struggles the best he can with a unbelievable role.
A nanosecond later, Ameche, wide awake and clear head, is dancing with Grable, singing a laughingly terrible love song.
In fact, all the songs in `Moon Over Miami' are terrible.
Even some musicals with no good songs at least had good dancing.
The dancing on display in `Moon Over Miami' is stagey.
While beautiful, Landis lacks the charm and animation to carry her pivotal role as Grable's sister.Now the pluses.
While lacking the singing or dancing talents of Betty Hutton, Judy Garland or Ginger Rogers, Grable also lacked Hutton's bombast, Garland's neurosis and Rogers' cynicism.
"Moon Over Miami" is a reworking of "Three Blind Mice" and years later the plot was reworked significantly as "How To Marry a Millionaire" (also starring Betty Grable).
The significant difference between "Three Blind Mice" and "Moon Over Miami" is that the latter film has singing and is shot in Technicolor (and is quite lovely because of this).A family is expecting a large inheritance.
When it turns out to be not so large, one of them (Betty Grable) convinces her aunt (Charlotte Greenwood) and sister (Carole Landis) to invest their small windfall in a trip to Miami to hook a rich husband.
She likes them both and both appear to be loaded.Despite being very familiar, this film is still enjoyable--perhaps a bit more than the original.
But be forewarned--it's pure escapist fun and you can't think too much about the plot or else you'll really dislike Grable and her family (after all, they are liars and fortune-hunters).
If the plot of Moon Over Miami sounds very familiar, it was a remake of Loretta Young's 1938 film Three Blind Mice, which was also remade as Three Little Girls in Blue in 1947.
Then, in 1953, elements of Three Blind Mice and the Joan Blondell 1932 comedy The Greeks Had a Word for Them were combined for the Betty Grable and Marilyn Monroe film How to Marry a Millionaire.
If you are content to be dazzled by Betty Grable's and Carole Landis' beauty, then you might find the film a pleasant way to spend an evening.
Moon Over Miami is a rather weak movie musical, and, in most instances, the songs are not particularly memorable or plot relevant.
This upbeat early Betty Grable musical romance built on the success of her two previous recent Fox musicals 'Down Argentine Way' and 'That Night in Rio', all shot in glorious Technicolor, very unusual for the times.
Although Carol Landis was her supporting actress, she wasn't allowed to provide the singing or dancing diversion that Carmen Miranda or Alice Faye did in most other Grable musicals of this era.
Charlotte Greenburg also returns as her elastic-jointed aunt.Jack Haley, of recent fame as The Tin Man in 'The Wizard of Oz', is included to provide a romantic interest for Charlotte and to add a bit of his singing, dancing and comedic talent to the brew.Clearly much younger than Charlotte, his sudden romantic interest in her is one of the more implausible features of the plot.
Sadly, Jack was never again in a first rate musical, despite his Robert Taylor-like good looks and talents.
The Condos Brothers take the place of the Nicholas Brothers dancing team, which was featured in several Fox musicals, including 'Down Argentine Way' Although not as acrobatic as the Nicholas Brothers, they demonstrate their fancy footwork in two numbers, one with Betty.
Bob Cummings serves as Ameche's chief competition for Betty's affection.
Betty's interest in Ameche, who appears to be a foppish ne'er -do-well hanger on to Cummings' wealthy family is another irritatingly implausible feature of the plot.
Cummings sings 'You Started Something' in a '30s style, followed by Betty's and Ameche's renditions.
Otherwise, Betty and Ameche did nearly all the singing.
It isn't until the finale encore than Carol gets to sing s wee bit, taking Betty's place in singing with Cummings 'You Started Something'.
In fact, the ordering of the encores suggests that Carol and Cummings, rather than the stars, are the biggest winners in this gold digging scheme.Like Jack Haley, peroxide blond Carol Landis would return to mostly B movies, after a long stint traveling around entertaining troops.
Light fanfare with Bette Grable, Don Ameche, Bob Cummings, and Carol Landis in a fun-filled film.The Technicolor by the always reliable Natalie Kalmus in really great here.We never get tired of plots dealing with 3 ladies trying to get rich guys for themselves.
This picture isn't How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) but it's enjoyable along with the marvelous dancing and singing.As the aunt, Charlotte Greenwood joins in the fun. |
tt1690953 | Despicable Me 2 | A secret laboratory near the Arctic Circle is stolen by a mysterious vehicle using a giant magnet. The Anti-Villain League (AVL) recruits former super-villain Gru, now a devoted father to Margo, Edith and Agnes, to find out which evil person stole the lab, which contained a powerful mutagen known as PX-41 which can make indestructible and extremely aggressive monsters out of living organisms because Gru, being an ex villain knows how villains work but refuses. Gru learns that Dr. Nefario, his friend and assistant, has decided to leave him for new employment, because he "missed being evil." Gru reluctantly partners with undercover AVL agent Lucy Wilde, and together they search The Paradise Shopping Mall, where they are given a bakery called "Bake My Day" as their headquarters. Gru suspects Mexican restaurant owner Eduardo Perez of being a super-villain called "El Macho", a bad guy who became Gru's inspiration for a villain who supposedly died after skysurfing a TNT-laden shark into the center of an active volcano. Gru and Lucy break into Eduardo's restaurant at night, but only find a jar of secret-recipe salsa and nothing to prove that Eduardo is the culprit. Meanwhile, Agnes expresses her wish of having a mother someday and suspects that Gru will fall in love with Lucy. Gru tells her that his relationship with Lucy is strictly professional.Gru and Lucy investigate wig merchant Floyd Eagle-san, but Gru is still suspicious of Eduardo. After the investigation, Gru is set up on a horrible dinner date with a woman named Shannon, who notices Gru's wig and threatens to humiliate him. Luckily, Lucy bumps into them and rescues him from the date by shooting Shannon with a tranquilizer dart. They take Shannon home, and after they say good night, Gru realizes that Agnes was right: he has romantic feelings for Lucy.The next day, the AVL arrests Floyd Eagle-san (who claims that he was framed) because an almost-empty mutagen jar was found in his shop. The investigation is closed, and Lucy is reassigned to Australia. Before leaving, Lucy gives Gru her lipstick taser to remind him of her. This leaves Gru heartbroken because he loves her, but he cannot find the courage to ask her out on a date. Instead he brings the girls to Eduardo's Cinco de Mayo party and finds proof that the Mexican restauranteur is in fact the super-villain El Macho. Gru discovers that he (and his helper, Dr. Nefario) have captured and mutated a large number of Gru's minions using the PX-41, turning them into insane, savage purple-furred monsters. El Macho plans to send rockets full of mutated Minions to major cities and achieve world domination. El Macho emphasizes that he and Gru could team up and they would become evil again followed by ruling the city, but Gru avoids answering and leaves with his daughter Margo, who in the meantime has broken up with Eduardo's two-timing son, Antonio, who had left Margo for another girl. For breaking Margo's heart, Gru uses his freeze-ray to freeze Antonio in a block of ice.On her flight to Australia, Lucy realizes she has feelings for Gru, so she jumps out of the plane and hang-glides down to the party. She is captured by El Macho, who knows she is an AVL agent after Pollito, his pet chicken, retrieves her AVL ID badge from her purse. Fortunately Dr. Nefario lets Gru know what is happening. In order to rescue Lucy, Gru visits El Macho along with two minions covered in purple cupcake frosting, pretending he was captured by two of the mutant creatures. Fighting alongside his daughters and Dr. Nefario, Gru and his team spray all of the mutated minions with awful-tasting jelly containing a powerful antidote that Dr. Nefario made, whereupon they revert to their friendly yellow state. El Macho then takes the mutagen himself, but Gru and Dr. Nefario easily overcome him using a fart gun and Lucy's lipstick-taser.Lucy is, however, already strapped to a TNT-loaded shark rocket. Gru starts to untie her, but the rocket-launch remote button is pressed by El Macho's pet chicken Pollito. The rocket flies towards the same lava-spewing volcano where El Macho had previously faked his death. Lucy accepts Gru's invitation for a date, and the pair dives into the safety of the ocean seconds before the rocket enters the volcano.One hundred and forty-seven dates later, Gru and Lucy are married and Margo, Edith and Agnes finally have a mother. The minions close with a rendition of "I Swear" (sung in minionese as "Underwear") and "Y.M.C.A" while the whole family dances. Then, a purple furry minion shows up, surprising the family. | romantic, humor | train | imdb | To watch this film you don't really need to have seen the first however I would recommend you do as at points the film refers to Despicable Me (1).I'm going to keep this review short and simply say, I gave this film a 9* rating as I found it strongly entertaining, not as funny as I thought but still a great film!
Having more of the minions- one of the best assets of the first film- was a masterstroke also, and their subplot also gave the story an increasing sense of jeopardy and threat(though theirs is a little more interesting than that of world domination).
Gru is a lovable character, whether a villain like in the first or not, and adds a lot of charisma and energy to the film.
From the moment it appears on the screen to the end of the film, Despicable Me 2 is a fast paced, fun film that never ceases to be entertaining.This film has you laughing quite often, contains humour that both kids and adults can appreciate, and had at least one moment that was worthy of clapping out loud to.The character development is to be praised, as is the warmth and soul that Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud put into this film.This film leaves you feeling joyful and satisfied and happy for the characters and the new direction their lives are taking.This film is not to be missed and I can't recommend it enough..
I am a fair reviewer and this is at most a 6 by IMDb standards.It is well rendered, and there are some innovative parts, the characters which were excellently formed in the first one have now no consistency, the subplots clumsily come together, and no matter how many reviewers say this has adult and child appeal, it really is aimed at very young children.if I was to compare it in standard, you are looking at a Ice Age/Madagascar standard instead of the Kung Fu Panda/Toy Story 3 level.Worth a watch but 7.8 sounds a bit fishy to me.
Despicable Me 2 is a brilliant film with a great storyline and an impressive voice cast.I definitely wouldn't say it was better than the first Despicable Me,the first one was a lot more heartwarming,but it still is a very good sequel and has everything you want in a family film,humor for both young and older audiences.However,the story of the movie feels very scattered and throughout I felt like they were trying to fit too much in one hour and a half.Like the first Despicable Me,the Minions are the best part,and they get even more screen time in this one that they did previously,it's almost impossible not to laugh at these goofy and lovable characters.It's not as good as the first Despicable Me,but this sequel is very funny and an enjoyable movie for the whole family and I look forward to seeing what Illumination Entertainment does with these characters in the future.Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) joins the Anti-Villain League in order to find an anonymous villain working on an experiment to turn the world evil..
So after watching Despicable Me (the original) numerous times at home - and loving it to death, this movie was a big disappointment for me and my daughters at the movie theater.
The evil plot was actually kind of scary instead of being funny, and the characters seem to spend a lot of time doing things that were just not that interesting and saying things that were just not that funny.All in all, a real let-down for our once-in-a-blue-moon trip to the movie theater..
I can understand that they're trying to make her a fun character, but I think she was overdone.Another thing I like about this movie, however, is that when I was watching the trailers for it, I felt this may just be Gru trying to stop a bad guy.
It's more than just Gru trying to save the world.I personally liked this movie better than the first one, although that one was good too.
i watched the first movie a lot of times, i must admit it was by accident cause there wasn't anything good on TV, but i loved it, the villain, the minions and the plot, so i expected way more from this movie.
Unlike the first story this one lacks humor.The writers completely lose sight of the good characters from the first movie such as; Vector, Dr. Nefario, and even Gru's Mom. They bring in a new villain who leaves a dry taste in your mouth.
i just came back from cinema and have to say that it was great, fast, funny, full of jokes for audience of all ages, although storyline has a lot of secondary threads it lacks some major twist that could make you say 'i did not saw that coming', but then again it is aimed at audience that expects fun and not mind bending storiesit does have some moments that are a bit scary for 5 year old so make sure that your young one remembers that it is only a story and it will end well (which of course is true)like in the first part there are some bloopers at the end so don't leave too quickly.
What a delight.After being put off by the terrible terrible MU,i was double happy to see this.It definitely lived up to the original.I really loved it.When i read the plot for the first time,i thought they were going to side the three girls.But they did not.The jokes were laugh out loud,both for kids and adults.The animation has to be the most beautiful thing of this movie.The colors,environment,everything was just too cheerful.I don't care if they make a 100 movies,but if everyone is as beautiful as this,i won't mind watching every single of it.I'm so happy that i grossed 850+M.I really don't get all the hate so much.I want this to win Oscar,not MU.I can't say anything because Pixar always does magic,but this time,DM2 stole that magic!.
In fact, the only real laugh comes from Agnes asking Gru dressed as a fairy princess why a fairy princess would be fat and he responds: "because I live in a house made of candy and I eat instead of facing my problems." Beyond that most of the humor comes from minions doing slapstick which just isn't that funny unless you are six years old.
Seriously man, the first movie which came out in 2010 was pretty good with a charm of its own and this time they have killed (almost) all the joy and the fun.The love story in the film felt so forced, the dialogs were clichéd and scenes were so predictable.
I had a great time with my family and we laughed so much it was almost embarrassing because we were so loud, this film is great family entertainment and don't worry if u think your to old to find it funny because i'm 14 and loved it and my mom found just as awesome !!
Right from the word go, it captures your imagination and by the end it captures your heart also...ACTION: Superb.COMEDY: Couldn't be better.CREATIVITY: Not as much as in the first film but still more than enough for a memorable watch.DULL MOMENTS: NONE!!The film, however, does not quite relate to its title, but that does not distract you from all the fun feast throughout.Hats off to all the cast and crew members for pulling off one of those rare sequels that outclass their predecessors!.
And after watching "Despicable Me 2", I can't for the life of me figure out why the original even merited this sequel if the character of Gru was going to continue to be at the helm.
Expecting to see a story about the reformed villain Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) "getting back into the game" (by which I mean being recruited by the Anti-Villain League (creative name I know) in order to help with the capture of the next super villain bent on world domination) but instead getting a throw-away love story, with forced sentimentality and a final battle sequence which comes up terribly short.OK, so if you know me then you understand that I don't care for the Minions.
But again, I don't get the appeal of Gru outside of the well conceived plot of the original, which took a lot of people by surprise and which I even gave a positive review to.Synopsis: Watch Gru make silly faces, watch the cute kid be cutesy, but most of all watch the Minions beat each other senseless.
Highlights: There is one funny character in this movie and it's not Kristen Wiig, who voices Lucy, an agent of the Anti-Villain League and the only character more annoying than the Minions.
But between this character, the little girl being cutesy and the two Minion covers of well known songs during the finale which is sure to get a rise out of audiences, the overall entertainment factor is still low if you are going into this film not a Minions apologist.Side Note: Do you know why the Minions aren't funny?
So why millions of adults laugh at these antics is beyond me.Final Thought: While it is true that I believe the Minions are the most annoying group of animated characters since the Chipmunks, if you read this review carefully my dislike of "Despicable Me 2" goes deeper than a simple hatred of those freaky little tater tots with eyes.
I loved Despicable me, it had heart, excitement and humor for both children and adults.DM2 felt like a watered down version of it' predecessor, gone were jokes that adults could laugh at and instead the only comic relief came from the Minions doing idiotic things like they did in the previous one.
However it gets tiresome quickly, even my 5 year old was getting bored by the end of the movie.I love good animated movies especially when me and my daughter both find them entertaining, that's really a mark of a good movie when it can reach adults and children alike.Despicable Me 2 never really took off, and was a total dud for me (and my kid).
Despicable Me 2 is okay, but its ambition needs to be more than their obsession with the minions.Just like the original, the film sets Gru to a simple mission, then he suddenly gets some distractions by his family building issues.
The animation and action scenes are as lively as the comedy running around.Despicable Me 2 spares some good laughs, but it's still sort of disappointing.
The less-despicable- more- lovable sequel provides non-stop laughs from start to finish all the while maintaining the wit and charm of the original.In the sequel to 2010s unexpected success that was Despicable Me we find our former baddie Gru (Steve Carrel) living the single dad life, more focused now on his jam/jelly business and making sure the fairy princess shows up to Agnes' birthday party rather than freeze rays - though he does hold onto his villainous past.
It's not too long into the film before Lucy (Kristen Wiig) unwillingly drags Gru to the headquarters of an organization known as the AVL (Anti- Villain League) where he is asked to use his expertise as a villain to track down a new bad guy who has stolen a top secret liquid that turns any creature into a mindless, indestructible killing machine.As much as the plot takes its time getting to, the story ultimately here is Gru finding love; this time in that of a woman.
Throw in a girl like Lucy that's just as wacky as him and we've got an interesting love story.The film does a great job introducing new characters and gadgets yet still referencing enough from the first film for the audience to ease into the changes.
Back in April I posted a reply on the boards indicating a sentiment of anticipation that I could not wait to see Despicable Me 2 having loved the first.I take my words back.It was enjoyable but I could have waited!Not as fresh, not as funny, not as simple or as visually fantastic or as big hearted as the first.Suffers a classic case of 'the sequel needs to be bigger' - which lays the way for busy visuals and too many subplots, in turn over complicating the story and cooling the focus of its heart.Is it fresh?
I'll put it this way - it does try - but there is nothing in DM2 that comes close to Gru's bed time storytelling.The story arc of 'family' is now complete for Gru and the girls - moving forward I hope Despicable Me 3 is a prequel - of a time when Gru, Dr Nefario and the Minions were still up to no good.6.5/10I didn't mean to call you a meat loaf, Jack !.
This animation is about the super villain Gru, who is recruited to fight another villain's plot to take over the world."Despicable Me 2" has very cute characters doing silly things, which is fun to watch at times.
The drama is not too strong, there are some tense from the action scenes, but not much, not enough to brought people's tense expression.This movie will instantly bored you when you don't see minions or the girls on the scene.I am saying that this film is very funny, cute, hilarious, but not good enough as a drama.
If you haven't watch this movie, you can't hope too much from it's story, but you'll laugh pretty hard as you see the minions, and you'll be amazed from the cuteness of the girls..
You have got great actors You got Steve Carrel playing Gru You got Benjamin Bratt playing the new villain El Macho witch in my opinion is better then Vector in the first movie and You also have Kristen Wigg playing Lucy.
Actually this is a sweet turn for the lovable anti-villain villain, Gru (voiced by Steve Carell), who is comfortably back as a bona fide family man, to the three adorable orphans who melted audiences hearts alike in the first film.
Actually this is a sweet turn for the lovable anti-villain villain, Gru (voiced by Steve Carell), who is comfortably back as a bona fide family man, to the three adorable orphans who melted audiences hearts alike in the first film.
However Gru is not as proficient as he used to be, he is divided and distracted between his responsibilities to his girls, his love for villainous antics and his mixed emotions to his new partner.The plot moves efficiently and effectively, moving briskly but taking special care with the characters whom audience enjoyed the first time around, while injecting a few new ones.
However Gru is not as proficient as he used to be, he is divided and distracted between his responsibilities to his girls, his love for villainous antics and his mixed emotions to his new partner.The plot moves efficiently and effectively, moving briskly but taking special care with the characters whom audience enjoyed the first time around, while injecting a few new ones.
For example, after the first movie successfully caught the audience with the colorful vision and the charming characters (especially those cute, yellow minions), the appearances of "Gru's cousins" increased.
I can understand why some adults might not have liked this film because it is predictable and has some very stupid moments, but I know kids will have a great time.
I also liked the addition of Lucy who despite being a bit wacky seemed like a perfect fit for Gru. I had a great time and I'm sure kids will love this extremely entertaining movie.
In my opinion Despicable It closed me very well, it was not necessary a continuation, but as it had remained twist, the film at least is legal, but it was a fact that could not surpass the first (that this far from being a masterpiece), The direction and most of the cast is the same as the first one, we have a new character that is Lucy that the Gru falls in love, and she was not so well developed, she is a character that does not add to the plot, Well the same thing, the Minions once again have the highlights, but I still do not like them, but in those they have some legal participation, the final '' battle '' of the movie is fun, and Gru in my opinion remains the best thing Of the film, the best moments are with him, the soundtrack is cool, there are moments that the Minios sing in the movie, but I do not like it.
If there are two things I love in an animation film those things are a good story and plenty of laughs.
Steve Carrell still has the impending voice-over as Gru. The irony of his tone in the character makes me laugh just as I did in the first film, and it still doesn't spoil my liking.
There're too many too count, but I didn't care much as long as plenty of them keep the laughter piling up.Kudos to production company Illumination Mac Guff (the company behind the VFX of the film), if they're planning for a Despicable 3, I don't see 'why not?' If this animation feature became of a franchise, looks like I will be counting Minions to laugh with.
Despicable 2 , not as good as first part but definitely worth watching.Gru is a family man now looking after his three adorable kids.
Although this also means that the story of "Despicable 2 ¨ is not as exciting, but this film was incredibly funny.The best thing is that the minions work wonderfully as role models.
They go through so many hilarious scenes together, and give the minions a run for their money.Saying much more would be spoiling the movie's central plot points, but let's put it this way: Despicable Me 2 delivers what is expected but does not feel like a rehash at all with the heart and the humour still being top-notch..
The villain is excellent and the love story between Gru and lucy (new character) is fabulous. |
tt0062861 | Diabolik | In a nameless European country, Inspector Ginco (Michel Piccoli) takes every precaution to ensure that a $1,000,000 shipment of money reaches a local bank. Despite having decoy armored trucks, the real one containing the money is sidetracked to a marina where a masked career thief, known only as Diabolik (John Phillip Law) steals the whole truck by lifting up by an electric magnet and dropping it into the water, where he dives in and retrieves the money. In a long chase, Diabolik eludes the police by switching cars with his mistress and partner-in-crime, Eva Kant (Marisa Mell) who drives Diabolik back to his hideout, a remote cave in a mountain side which has miles of underground passageways, and their living quarters is a mod of various expensive designed bought with their ill gotten money.Having heard of the latest robbery by the masked thief, the Minister of the Interior (Terry Thomas) arranges for a press conference. But Diabolik and Eva sneak into the conference disgused as reporters where, using their flash bulbs on their camera, they set off some 'exhilarating gas'. When the Minister informs the press of this latest theft and preaching to the reporters that he is not to be made a fool of, the Minister is reduced to just that when the gas reduces everyone in the room to hysterical laughter, while Diabolik and Eva quietly leave unnoticed.Following the press conference, Inspector Ginco attempts to resign. But his boss (Claudio Gora) refuses to accept his resignation. Ginco reluctantly agrees to stay on the police force, and is subsequently put in charge of the current plan to put all criminals behind bars. With tireless precision, Ginco and his men clean up the city. Mobsters are put behind bars, and then executed. When a drug den is raided, the jaded hippies and drug addicted are carted off.Ralph Valmont (Adolfo Celi), the head of a large crime syndicate which is responsible for most of the murders and drug trafficking in the country, learns about the raid on one of his establishments, and makes contact with Inspector Ginco. In exchange for his life, Valmont promises to help Ginco capture Diabolik.When the visiting British finance minister and his wife are honored at a gala party in a large castle by the beach, the press, encouraged by Ginco, play up the wifes recent acquisition of a rare emerald necklace, which is to be unveiled at the celebration. Ginco knows that Diabolik will not pass up the chance to steal the valuable jewelry, so he and his men lay in wait all around the castle for Diabolik to show up. Diabolik does show up, by scaling the seaside wall of the castle to the living quarters of the finance minister's wife where he steals the necklace, and makes another clever escape by constructing a makeshift catapult, but tricks Gino and the police into thinking he used it to eject himself to safety, when he really hides underneath it and simply walks out of the castle dressed as a policeman.Meanwhile, Valmont and henchmen recognize Eva at an Esso filling station, and they kidnap her. After making contact with Diabolik though a local newspaper, he promises to hand over the emerald necklace in exchange for Eva. Valmont wants to meet Diabolik aboard his private airplane. The following evening, Diabolik meets with Valmont's henchmen who herd him aboard Valmont's plane which takes off. But it is revealed that this is all part of Ginco's plan for once the plane reaches a destined spot, Valmont is to release a trap door on his plane which will literally drop Diabolik into the inspector's lap. But the plan backfires greatly when Diabolik figures out what is going on and in the subsequent shoot-out aboard the plane, Diabolik frees Eva, and he and Valmont stuggle in which they fall through the trapdoor, but Diabolik leaves behind a bomb which explodes, killing all of Valmont's henchmen. The three of them parachute to safely on the ground near the police rendezvous spot where in a continuation shoot-out, Diabolik kills Valmont by shooting him before apparently committing suicide when Ginco and the police close in on him.Ginco is saddened by Diabolik's death for he never got the chance to really arrest him. But Diabolik is not dead. During the shoot-out he took a drug which slowed down his heart and matabolsim to the point where he appeared dead. At the mourge, Eva, disguised as a nurse, arrives and administrates the antidote. Diabolik awakens, and kills the coroner before making his escape.Unaware of Diabolik's most recent escape, Gino is puzzled over the missing emeralds. Upon reading Valmont's death certificate, an idea puzzles him. All totaled, there are eleven emeralds missing. Valmont died form eleven bullet wounds. Ginco realizes that Diabolik is clever enough to use the jewels as bullets, therby proving a very safe hiding place for them. Ginco runs over to the crematorium to inspect Valmont's ashes. Diabolik, disguised as Valmont's elderly brother, has already arrived to lay claim to his brother's ashes. When the morgue attendant begins to scoop the ashes into a urn, he is shocked to find the emeralds. But before he can do anything, Diabolik knocks him out, and makes his escape with the emeralds. As usual, Ginco arrives at the morgue missing Diabolik by a matter of seconds.With no other alternatives open, the police offer a $1 million rewards to anybody to is able to lead them to Diabolik, Ginco realizes the foolishness of this plan, but his superiors refuse to listen him because of his string of bad luck in trying to catch Diabolik. Soon after, Diabolik sends a note to the government saying: "in view of the bad use of the government is making of the public's money, I shall take steps to remove it from circulation." In a matter of days, he blows up all tax offices, federal banks, and treasury buildings to smithereens. The former Minister of the Interior, now working as the Minister of Finance, makes another comic appearance on television where he reveals that with the destruction of the tax offices, the tax records of all citizens have been destroyed. He employs everybody to come forward voluntarily and pay the tax they think they owe. His speech elicts nothing but more laughter from the TV viewers.With the government now strapped for money, Ginco decides to put one last plan into action. He has the entire gold reserve melted down into a 20-ton ingot so that it can make up for the lost taxes. Yet he realizes that Diabolik is going to attempt to steal it too. Rather than be outwitted again, Ginco has the container of the gold partially 'radio activated'. In this way, once it is stolen, he will he able to use radioactive detectors to lead them to Diabolik's hideout, and leading him to all of Diabolik's stolen goods.The next day, the ingot is duly stolen by Diabolik who sabatoges the train carrying it by blowing up a railroad bridge, in which the railroad car containing the large ingot falls into the river. Diabolik and Eve, donning wet suites, then use inflatable underwater balloons to transport the large container though an underwater passage to their hideout.At Diabolik's hideout, he dons a protective heat suit and plans to melt down the gold into gold bricks. But as he's doing so, Ginco and his men follow their radiation tracker devices to the underground lair and make their entry. For the first time, Diabolik is caught off-guard by the advancing police, but not entirely unprepared as he decides to flood the entire cavern therby destroying himself and everyone in it. But unaware that the ingot container is partly radioactive, Diabolik leaves his electric drill on the container in which the extreme heat from the drill makes the container glow red hot. Just as Diabolik is about to pull a lever to flood the cavern, the container explodes, showering him in molten gold.The police are finally delighted to have finally disposed of Diabolik, and allow reporters and the public into Diabolik's cave to put on display Diabolik. But Ginco is not at all pleased by the decision to display the body, which now is a picturesque gold statue for the general public. The police and workers begin to haul all the stolen appliances and loot out of the cave. Later when the cavern is now deserted and empty, Eva, who had earlier fled at Diabolik's instance, comes out wearing a black funeral dress to play her respects to her lover. Ginco appears and places Eva under arrest, but allows her for a few minutes alone with the body. When Ginco leaves for a minute, a distraught Eva catches sight of Diabolik's still exposed left eye. Amazingly, it winks at her. The protective suit he is wearing has prevented him from being burned alive, though he is now trapped in his gold shell. The inspector arrives to take her away. Soon after they leave, a diabolical laugh rings out in the dark, empty cave. | cult, murder | train | imdb | null |
tt1369706 | The Ward | At the North Bend Psychiatric Hospital in 1966, a young patient named Tammy is attacked and killed by an unseen force during the night.The next day, Kristen (Amber Heard), a beautiful but troubled young woman, finds herself bruised and cut, whilst setting fire to an abandoned farmhouse. The local police find her and take her to the psychiatric hospital.She is taken to the ward where she meets the other patients that reside there, Iris (Lyndsy Fonseca), Sarah (Danielle Panabaker), Emily (Mamie Gummer), and Zoey (Laura Leigh). She is given Tammy's old room and is given medication so that she can rest for the night. While Kristen sleeps, her blanket is mysteriously pulled under the bed. Waking up to retrieve her blanket, Kristen finds a broken charm bracelet.The next morning, she meets Dr Stringer (Jared Harris). In his office, Dr Stringer tells Kristen that she had the address of the farmhouse written on her hand and asks about the fire and what she remembers. Kristen is unable recall anything and insists that she is not crazy. Later that night, she attempts to escape only to be caught by one of the orderlies and returned to her cell. Waking up in the middle of the night, Kristen catches a glimpse of a horribly disfigured figure who was staring at her through her door window.While in the courtyard with Iris and Emily, Kristen sees two people looking at her from Dr Stringer's office. The girls give no clue as to who they are, only to tell Kristen that they have been there before many times. Whilst taking a shower, Kristen is suddenly attacked by the disfigured figure. However, upon telling the nurse this, she is drugged and put through intense electroshock therapy.Dr Stringer runs a therapy session with all of the girls, where Tammy's existence is briefly mentioned but quickly dismissed. Iris attends her last therapy session with Dr Stringer where he uses hypnotherapy to unlock Iris' hidden memories. After the session, Iris is kidnapped and killed by the disfigured figure.Kristen, concerned about Iris, confronts the girls and staff about her disappearance but everybody keeps quiet. Kristen finds Iris' sketchbook and looks through all of the drawings to find a picture of a girl named Alice and another picture of the ghostly figure that had attacked her previously, with the name Alice Hudson at the top of its page. Retrieving the broken bracelet, Kristen pieces together the letters, which spells out the name "ALICE".Kristen confronts Dr Stringer and tries to convince him that the ghost of Alice Hudson is haunting the girls. Dr Stringer denies the existence of a ghost and cryptically tells her that she needs to find the answers out for herself. Kristen confronts the girls about Alice where Emily confesses that Alice was once a patient at the hospital but that she got out. That night, Kristen and Emily attempt to escape the ward. Their escape is discovered and the alarm is raised. Kristen makes it to the front entrance of the hospital but Alice's ghost appears in front of her, causing her to fall over in fright. Kristen blacks out and awakens back in her room the next morning. It is revealed that Emily was caught by the orderlies during the escape.On her way to her final appointment with Dr Stringer, Sarah is attacked and killed by Alice's ghost. Kristen finds out from Zoey and Emily that all of the girls killed Alice Hudson because she did bad things to them all and her ghost is now after them for revenge. Emily breaks down and, with the help of Alice's ghost, commits suicide. Kristen plans a last ditch attempt to escape by holding Zoey hostage. Her attempt is thwarted by an orderly and Dr Stringer. Kristen is drugged and placed in a straitjacket inside her room. However, she manages to escape and takes Zoey with her. They are both pursued by the orderlies and the ghost throughout the hospital. Zoey is captured by the ghost in a service lift.After pursuing Kristen through Dr Stringer's office, Kristen manages to kill the ghost. Returning the the office to look for Zoey, Kristen finds a file on Alice Hudson, which details her treatments and all of the girls names, including Kristen's.Dr Stringer enters and reveals the truth to Kristen: Her real name is Alice Hudson. Throughout the film, various flashbacks are shown of a young girl in chains, about to be abused by an unknown man. It is revealed that the girl in the flashback is Alice herself, who was kidnapped from her home 8 years previously. Alice was left chained up for months in the basement of the same farmhouse "Kristen" had burned down. It is then revealed that Alice is suffering from multiple personality disorder, creating Zoey, Sarah, Iris and Emily. Over time Alice's own personality became so overwhelmed by that of the others that she became lost. Through experimental techniques, Dr Stringer explains that her treatments were working until "Kristen" appeared. "Kristen" is yet another invention of Alice's mind to protect itself from reliving the trauma at the farmhouse. Dr Stringer had used hypnotherapy in an attempt to reawaken Alice's memories. After this revelation, Alice's ghost reappears and throws herself and "Kristen" out of the window, reawakening Alice.It is revealed that the people who were looking at "Kristen" earlier were in fact Alice's parents and have come to take her home under supervision. After gathering her belongings, Alice takes one last look around her room. Upon opening her wall cabinet, "Kristen" suddenly comes out and attacks her. | flashback | train | imdb | I've worshiped the great ones (Assault on precinct 13, Halloween, The Fog, Escape from New York, The Thing, Prince of Darkness) enjoyed the good (Christine, Star Man, Big Trouble in little China, They Live, In the mouth of madness, Vampires) and stomached the bad (Escape from L.A, Village of the damned, Memoirs
, Ghosts of Mars).
Perhaps it was the lack of a traditional Carpenter score (although the score by Mark Kilian is suitably haunting, memorable and atmospheric) or maybe it was the somewhat derivative "jump" scares or could it have been the inconsistent overall tone because to me it felt like I was watching a movie made by someone trying to emulate Carpenter rather than a movie by "The Master" himself.
Oh dear, I rented this film with high hopes of a return to form from John Carpenter - the director who brought us Halloween (the 1978 version not the turgid Rob Zombie re-hash) and The Thing (1980).
At times 'The Ward' is reminiscent of an unusually long live-action episode of Scooby Doo (albeit one with a little more blood, no dog and less snacks.....) The acting and script leave a lot to be desired and there is an over-reliance on cheap 'jump' scares in place of genuine frights.
Since nobody really stood out I will give honourable mentions to; Amber Heard as Kristen, Mamie Gummer as Emily, Danielle Panabaker as Sarah, Laura-Leigh as Zoey, Lyndsy Fonseca as Iris and Jared Harris as Dr. Stringer.Some of the reviews I've read about this film have been really venomous in their criticism of it.
The Ward is an adequate horror film but could have been directed by anyone; after such a long hiatus one would expect John Carpenter to produce something much, much better.The film suffers from a fairly weak script (not penned by Carpenter) and the big "surprise" ending is easily deduced very early in the film.
As other reviewers here have noted, the "horror" elements are basically comprised of things jumping out variety; if you expect mood and atmosphere (e.g. Escape from NY, The Thing, Prince of Darkness)--THINK AGAIN.It would appear the film was made on an extremely low budget; 95% of the movie takes place indoors; most of it in just a few rooms.
This is a common element in modern "horror" films where style trumps substance; unfortunately I expected JC to make more of an effort to set an atmosphere where I'm less likely to ogle the actresses than I am to be sucked into the nightmare he's trying to portray.Having seen every Carpenter film (in the theatre) over the past 30 years, I am disappointed that I was forced to watch the master release this nearly direct-to-DVD title.
It seemed to me director Carpenter wasn't too convinced of the robustness of the story told in a different, more true to life, way and instead took the route most likely to shock people with it's "twisted" end.Most of all I felt this film lacked claustrophobia, the shackles and chains that surround mentally disturbed people both in their minds and in the places where they are secured.There was a lot of wasted talent here and that is a great shame..
I looked forward to watching John Carpenter come back and win his title of the horror movie Mystro that he was some time ago i.e The FOG, They Live and Halloween..But good god this movie plays out like a cheaper version of Shutter Island but with good looking girls and a terrible looking Supernatural Killer.
That's not all— turns out there's the ghost of a previous patient haunting the ward, and picking off the girls one by one.It's natural to have high expectations of John Carpenter; after all, this is the man who helmed "Halloween", so I get why so many people have taken issue with this film.
The film is a period piece, taking place in the 1960s, so that adds a level of aesthetic flair, though at times I had trouble believing any of the women (particularly Heard) were of that era.Overall, "The Ward" is a watchable psychological horror film that breaks no new ground in the genre, but is still enjoyable despite its structural unoriginality.
I'm a classic Carpenter fan and have been since the golden days of Hallowe'en which first graced our screens in the UK back in the early 80's (I think), thanks to the incredible time lag which these days is almost obsolete with the effective medium of DVD - a necessity to get films out there as quickly as possible to the street from the box office, en masse to the buying public.Although I'm not quite old enough to remember Dark Star or even Assault On Precinct 13 let's face it unless you're an avid reader of Fangoria, from the offset it was doomed to get slated by the mass media - why?
What doesn't help the situation with The Ward is that this is Carpenter's first film since Ghosts On Mars, so with the long gap (what's wrong with taking a creative break?) there is undoubtedly massive expectancy especially for the renowned master of horror to produce something that breaks new ground merging his previous ideas and styles together with 21st century technology.
John Carpenter, undaunted by the prospects of CGI and post Avatar computer generated wizardry that seems to be within the confines of well, lesser and unknown cartoon heroes at the moment has decided to stick to his own blend of paced horror that his trusty fans are familiar with, keeping the concept retro but not to the point of the film feeling dated in any way, or for that matter clichéd.
Character interplay is interesting yet not over the top and the film trundles along with a story that builds to a suitable and convincing crescendo and twist that only adds to the successful, albeit tried formula.Without giving much away the late, great Richard Harris' son Jared makes a great appearance as the somewhat gentile and quietly spoken asylum 'Guvnor', the type who wants you all to believe that he has nothing but your best interests at heart, yet there is a certain je ne sais quoi about him that gives off an unnerving feeling that at any moment he is going to open a leather bound case full of chainsaws and experimental Victorian surgical equipment.I won't say anything about the film's story because it is up to the viewer to enjoy it - and enjoy it you surely will.
It's well worth the price of admittance if of course you can find anywhere on planet earth that's showing it.In a nutshell this is classic Carpenter - to his fans the style we all know and love and it is reassurance for those who were disappointed with Ghosts Of Mars although the similarities between such films could of course be compared to the artistic creations of Banksy and Picasso.It is obvious as a director that John Carpenter is stubborn enough to stick to his own style of filmmaking regardless of what the media think and there's only one ever word that can sum that up - respect..
This movie has none of that.Not worth the time it takes to get to the "oh so necessary in movies these days", cliché twist ending.....Unless you like to see pretty people playing predictable patients...
While not a great film, director John Carpenter (Halloween, The Fog, Escape from New York) deserved better this summer than the one week limited release The Ward received.
Amber Heard did a good job along with other girls.The Ward is a typical horror with a Twist in the end.
I can't believe that this is being billing as John Carpenter's comeback.It's just another routine 'ghost in the asylum' film that's been done so many times recently, nothing original here at all.There's so little going on.
The Ward doesn't live up to My John Carpenter favorites: Halloween, Assault on Precinct 13, The Thing , Escape from New York, The fog, Big Trouble In Little China, Star Man, In The Mouth of Madness, They Live, and Prince of Darkness.Right under this list you have Someone's Watching Me!
Then the situation goes out of control and suddenly we get to know that the doctors were the "good people" and the "superman, multiple personality disorder ghosts" is the bad guy in some sense.I am too bored from this kind of horror, if you are really interested to see real horror, I would suggest you to see "exorcism of Emily Rose" which in my view was a quite horror film and based on true story.
Perhaps all those years away from directing feature-length films has left Carpenter a little rusty; even apart from the droll predictability of the ending, The Ward just doesn't strike me as the work of a master director.
The Ward isn't a bad film, but it's certainly a disappointing John Carpenter film - derivative, much too predictable, and far too reliant on scare tactics that stopped being scary in the 1980s.We don't know much about Kristen (Amber Heard) when she is first brought to North Bend Psychiatric Hospital.
One-time horror legend Carpenter gives us his latest flick "The Ward" which offers little to thrill or scare the viewer.
Carpenter found an abandoned state hospital and apparently decided to shoot a new horror film, but the plot is paper thin, the acting is more than a bit dull, and the ending is sheer silliness that comes right out of the blue.
Coming off as a poorly crafted extension of The Masters of Horror series rather than a new start, The Ward gives us nothing above the bare minimum of a stale plot and jump scares, disappointing fans of Carpenter and horror alike.Beginning with the death of one of North Bend Psychiatric Wards patients, The Ward quickly introduces us to Kristin (Amber Heard), a bruised and cut woman on the run who is picked up by the police for burning down a seemingly random barn.
John Carpenter probably took a look at The Ward, after many years of not directing a theatrical feature - he did make two 'Masters of Horror' episodes, which can practically count as films, and they ranged from being quite good to just OK - and though 'Ok, this gives me some room to play and do my thing.' It's one of the only films in his filmography that doesn't have him as a writer OR composer, but that doesn't necessarily mean he didn't have his heart in it...
What he saw was likely what I saw in the film: a chance to get some cool mid 1960's period feel with a mental hospital setting (essentially a 'bottle' film in many ways) and practice some grisly and cool atmosphere to up the stakes.The premise is 'B' horror all the way, as Kristen (Amber Heard) is sent to 'The Ward' after she is caught burning down a house.
But the script, by the Rasmussen brothers, is more like a 90 minute Tales from the Crypt episode for TV: put the main character into a situation that we the audience can (sort of) get into, make some visual intrigue with flashes to an abuse situation with a girl hung by chains (those are some of the truly striking images in the film, drenched in a different color scheme that doesn't feel cheap), and with the tropes of a looney bin: the harridan head nurse (no calm Ratched exterior), a-hole male guards, and a semi-sympathetic doctor (Harris is probably the best actor in here, not that Heard doesn't try and succeed in what she's asked to do).The biggest problem is that, as an audience who's come to see many of these mental hospital thriller and horror flicks - or just 'BOO!' psychological thrillers - you're ready possibly for what's to come next.
It's still a horror movie, and Carpenter wants to keep you on your toes in scene constructions and in the simple act of following characters, setting up tension, and letting the s*** go wild when it finally needs to.
It's watchable, entertaining, and worth a look if you like horror films or are a Carpenter fan.
With John Carpenter directing and a cast led by Amber Heard, one knows that they will at least get an above average horror-thriller.
I wouldn't go into this movie expecting a John Carpenter masterpiece or return to greatness, but instead know that you are seeing a solid horror-thriller that is well put together and well acted.
I recommend to anyone that wants to see a solid horror-thriller, but please don't expect anything groundbreaking.If you are interested in more details...You can tell this movie has John Carpenter written all over it after the first few minutes.
Overall,a solid job directing by John Carpenter in this film and hope to see more to come from him.The cast is lead by Amber Heard, who does a great job in her role as Kristen.
And why it was set in the 60's is still something I'm trying to fathom out having finished watching it.You can also tell it's a low budget movie when you consider that it's supposed to be set in a massive psychiatric hospital and the cast (with the exception of the staff) was limited to five girls and a ghost-like thing.
However, Michael Rasmussen & Shawn Rasmussen story twist lets the film down considerably as it's be done so many times before.The twist aside, John Carpenter is on form with an effective chiller horror mystery..
It's been a long time coming for John Carpenter's return to directing feature-length films.
Truly haunting and memorable, it adds to the character of the film and is a rare instance in a John Carpenter film where having the director not score a scene himself is okay.In a way, "The Ward" is a return to a more classic horror movie style.
I was eager to see Ward because i like the combination of ghosts+mental institutes...The movie is good but fails to capitalize at various scenes..Unlike most horror movies,the plot is excellent ..The movie has only a couple of truly scary scenes(nothing genuine though)..the acting is average...The story is of a mysterious girl,Kirsten (Amber Heard) being put in a mental institute..There she starts seeing a ghost..Her room mates (or ward mates) don't disclose much info on this ghost even though they too have seen her..the rest of this movie is how she tries to escape the institute while uncovering the mysteries of the Asylum..overall the movie should be seen,but not worthy of repeat watching...
John Carpenter,my all time favorite director,did not do a feature film in ten years since the underrated Ghosts of Mars in 2001,but in 2011 made his return to film directing with the entertaining horror film The Ward.
While The Ward isn't among the best of Carpenter's films The Ward is still a welcome return from the master filmmaker.The Ward tells the story of a young girl named Kristen(Amber Heard)who is discovered by the police in front of a burning house and is sent to a mental hospital,put into a ward with other girls.
The Ward is entertaining horror film from beginning to end filled with great direction,good acting,scary scenes,and great effects.
The story for The Ward isn't groundbreaking or revolutionary,but Carpenter makes the story work by mixing Horror,Mystery and a Ghost story,making us care for the characters and using simple scares and suspense.
With The Ward Carpenter wasn't trying to reinvent the wheel trying to create something original Carpenter was just interested in telling a good story and making a wonderful old fashioned scary movie and Carpenter definitely achieves that with this film.
Jump scares are a very common thing in Horror films but,Carpenter is a master making typical jump scares look like an art form of brilliance.
If your expecting a masterpiece on the level of The Thing or Halloween you'll be disappointed,but if you love Carpenter and want to see an entertaining,scary horror from the master The Ward is definitely for you.
I won't write too long of a review but I wanted to say that John Carpenter's latest is just like his other films, either you will love it or you will be disappointed.
Forward almost a decade later, and Carpenter releases The Ward, which promised a return to form.Set in 1966, the film opens with Kristen (Amber Heard), somnambulist- like, committing an act of arson on a farm house.
"The Ward" had some expectations to live up to, being a John Carpenter movie and all.
Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful...If you like horror movies, then you most definitely have to check out "The Ward", because it has a solid story, it is well acted and it should be watched in the dark and with the volume cranked up!
I watched The Ward being a horror movie fan and because of the fact that Amber Heard plays a title roll.The story: Kristen is admitted to a psychiatric hospital, where she will stay among several other young women.
There is a plot twist that I will not reveal here and it is always a pleasure to watch John Carpenter's films and The Ward is solid and well made..
John carpenter still has it when it comes to the camera, but the script it was lacking something i just cant put my finger on, i believed this was going to be another one of JOHNS all time greats as is the thing, prince of darkness,someone is watching, they live, ghost of mars, Halloween, escape from new york, big trouble in little china town, memoirs of a invisible man,eyes of laura mars, starman, Christine, and many many more and don't get me wrong i do like this film, it is entertaining.
After a long time horror movie master John Carpenter returns to the big screen with THE WARD.
If John Carpenter (hopefully) decides to make at least one more film after this, I just hope it would keep the atmosphere of THE WARD but improve on the story and scares..
As is expected, our horror movie has some "twists" towards the end which is all well & good but it's all so done before. |
tt0112688 | Clockers | In a Brooklyn housing project, a group of "clockers" - street-level drug dealers - sell drugs for Rodney Little (Delroy Lindo), a local drug lord. Rodney tells Ronald "Strike" Dunham (Mekhi Phifer), one of his lead clockers, that another dealer, Darryl Adams (Steve White), is stealing from him and "got to be got", implying that he wants Strike to kill Darryl. Strike then meets with his brother, Victor Dunham (Isaiah Washington) and tries to persuade Victor to kill Darryl Adams.Rocco Klein (Harvey Keitel) and Larry Mazilli (John Turturro), homicide detectives, ride to the scene of Darryl Adams' murder. Larry and Rocco receive a phone call from another detective who says a man has confessed at a local church that he killed Darryl. The police meet Strike's older brother Victor at the church and take him in for questioning. In the interrogation room, Victor tells Rocco that he shot Darryl Adams in self-defense. Rocco finds holes in this story and starts looking into Victor's background which includes two jobs, a wife, two children, no criminal record, and aspirations to move out of the projects; Rocco comes to the conclusion that Victor is covering for his younger brother.Rocco pressures Strike but Victor sticks to his story, so Rocco convinces Rodney that Strike has confessed and informed on Rodney's drug ring. Rocco arrests Rodney and then humiliates Strike in front of his crew. Strike gets together some money and decides to leave town, but a younger boy who admired Strike shoots Errol, Rodney's enforcer, with Strike's gun. Rocco lets Strike leave town. | violence, murder | train | imdb | Just as heat represented racial tension in Lee's masterpiece "Do The Right Thing", Strike's sickness represents the illnesses plaguing the ghetto: drugs, guns, liquor.Like DTRT, this film looks at community.
When Spike Lee applies his formidable talents to a genre piece like Richard Price's best selling drug noir novel, "Clockers," you might wonder what kind of hybrid you'll get.
Lee is justly famous for his incendiary agitprop films of ideas which dissect race relations and urban living, sometimes at the expense of cohesive storytelling; but working with source material as thought provoking a novel as "Clockers," which is set in Lee's home base of "Crooklyn," er, i mean Brooklyn, Spike finds the right mix of action, angst, and intellectualism for his strengths to shine.
Central character brothers Isaiah Washington and Mekhi Phifer (in his star making role) turn in complex credible performances but are easily outshone by the astonishingly strong acting out of Harvey Keitel, Delroy Lindo, Regina Taylor (who won awards for her work here), Keith David, and Lee regulars John Turturro and Thomas Byrd.
Rodney represents the draw of selling drugs, of quick money while policemen Andre (Keith David) and Klein represent his conscience trying to get him to do the right thing - Andre and Tyrone's mother (Regina Taylor) particularly doing right by your own community.The message is at times forced, Keitel's sequence towards the end is very clever cinematically but feels a bit like a sermon, but at other times we're allowed to work it out ourselves.
There was some great character development, especially on the part of Delroy Lindo (another great performance).Lee did a good job in his portrayal of the drug culture in the projects, as well as taking a look into the police's side of the story.
Spike Lee is no fool and a lot of his early work on recent viewings seem to revolve around someone stuck in a situation that is a mere result of their emotional drive and the world they are living in: She's Gotta Have it; Jungle Fever and Clockers are good examples of protagonists committing an action they really shouldn't have (and probably didn't want to but buckled under either temptation or peer pressure) and now must face the consequences.
It's not a very great movie, perhaps, because by this time Spike Lee has so much invested in the style of his cinematic theatrics, of how the nature of the camera itself related to those of the characters, that it comes close to going over substance.
But it's is a worthy attempt at putting into context, via the conventions of genre going back to the 40s, as to what makes or breaks the ties between drug dealers and their workers, and how the workers (or 'Clockers' as per the title of the movie) go about their business in the streets.Clockers has a main plot that pushes along, as the murder by multiple gun-shots of a Darryl, black fast-food worker, who was also apart of the crew of Rodney (Delroy Lindo), call into question who might have done it.
The clockers are bunch of would-be gang-bangers who talk a lot of talk, but haven't walked nearly as much as Earle, best friend of Rodney's and psychopathic murder, or Rodney himself, who has that veneer of being like the one you can trust the most- half surrogate father as well and half good cop/bad cop boss- until he gets crossed.Although Price's material, which comes through with the energy and occasional wit, is noticeable throughout, it's really Spike Lee as director and many of the actors who make this a consistently watchable movie.
His character also has the intriguing qualities that mark him as something of an outsider however in he might be: his stomach virus, which is never resolved but always looming over him, and his love of electric train-sets.And all the while, Clockers succeeds in presenting a time and place where there should be little to no hope, and it makes the cops and criminals both pretty well-rounded when compared to other genre films.
There are little details that help make Lee's film interesting when it veers into being like a television serial; the white yuppies who get entangled in the case; the over-protective but very smart cop (Keith David, always a pro) who also tries to play surrogate father to Tyrone, albeit without the same care, however negative, as Strike has; the brief shots of the drug addicts with their habits on display, as we only need to see it for less than a minute to get the nature of the bottom of the food chain, which is total despair.
Clockers is a great film about moral reality and tough decision making when certain situations present themselves.Strike seems to be a good guy that makes the wrong choices and is reluctant of which way he wants to go either right or left.
If he only cares about appeasing his crowd, okay, but that doesn't mean I have to like or praise everything he does, like Roger Ebert and the rest of them.For the uniformed - and we're better off, in this case - "clockers" is a ghetto term for "drug runners or dealers."In this story, it's drug dealers and cops, innocent people and thugs and an investigation (is Mekhi Phifer's "Strike" guilty or innocent?) to get it all sorted out.
richard price's book is about the odd humanity of the drug war - basically that underneath something so destructive to our culture we find, on both sides, cops and clockers, real ordinary people with real lives real failure, real dreams, capable of real humanity and real evil at the same time - price never glorifies crime, never makes either side "cool", never sets his words to an artificial rhythm other than the rhythm of an ordinary world - price understands ordinary people and the endless cycle of violence that permeates everything - yet despite this great source material lee's film is myopic in that in only attributes humanity to the clockers, artificial in that it lionizes street culture - amazingly, he takes a simple and real story and makes it into the usual lee ethereal mess (which sometimes works, "do the right thing" being one of the best movies ever made) ...
Let me say that I just finished the novel, and have only just watched the film.I try not to be one of those people who reads a book, watches the movie, and then tears the latter apart, but there are some significant issues that come to mind when considering this adaptation.1: There is just too much music and scoring.Thus the whole thing feels artificial, or like an after-school special come to life with ghetto undertones.
Regardless, the overall effect cheapens the drama and removes all the real life consequence the story and characters naturally possess (as written).2: The acting comes across as preachy.Consequently, the whole film seems like it trying to prove a point (and nothing else).
Let me show you how." And on the other, it's reaching out to the dominantly white congress, senate, electorate & bureaucracy, and trying to show these people the human cost of their ignorance, bad public policy making & flawed humanitarian ideals and voting.So the thing is, Richard Price's writing is excruciatingly realistic, and his novel, though not without its genre tropes, is equally exacting, and poignant.This film, however, feels like a very well-hearted effort to render the former, but that gets lost in way too much ideology..
It's funny that I'm reviewing this movie, because I was actually in this movie, I was only there for one day, I had SO much fun on the set, and I was REALLY myself, I was about 5 or 6 when they were shooting this movie, and I did not even know they were filming me playing around with my sister, I mean my mother introduced us to Spike Lee, I also saw Mehki Phifer and Fredro Starr at the time he's cool to work with, and I like the fact that his movies addresses issues in the black community.Clockers is a great example of what happens in Brooklyn, it wasn't fair that Mehki's character got the blame for a murder that his brother committed.
Opening on a striking note with a montage of gory crime scene photographs set to romantic music, 'Clockers' hints from early on at the desensitisation of its protagonists to their violent lives as the film to come focuses on a group of African American youths groomed by local druglords to sell their product.
The film is very well acted by all concerned and director Spike Lee is never one to shy away from necessary grit and grime, yet this is an oddly sentimental movie at the end of the day, heavily focused on the well- meaning adults in the neighbourhood who want anything but the local crime influence to rub off on the younger generation.
Strike (Mekhi Phifer) is a street pusher or clocker working for drug-lord Rodney Little (Delroy Lindo).
Young drug pushers in the projects of Brooklyn live hard dangerous lives, trapped between their drug bosses and the detectives out to stop them.When watching this film, knowing it first went through the hands of Martin Scorsese, one cannot help but wonder how Spike Lee does it different than Scorsese would.
And that no-way-out situation is embodied by the main protagonist, Strike (Mekhi Phifer), a clocker working for Rodney (Delroy Lindo), the crime lord of the neighborhood.
The film is more about complex human interactions, because while Keitel and Phifer get closer one another, their mutual affection feel more real and genuine than with Rodney, and might pave the road to Strike's redemption.I know this 'redemption' word is kind of hackneyed, but I know Scorsese co-produced the film, and I felt some intense Scorsesian vibes in that gritty depiction of an underworld and the torment poisoning the main character's life, in the real meaning of the world since Strike is also victim of chronicle ulcer that gets bloodier as the film progresses, like a metaphor of his moral downfall and an imminent deadly conclusion.
Music is scored by Terence Blanchard and cinematography by Malik Hassan Sayeed.Young drug pushers in the projects of Brooklyn (Clockers) are caught between loyalty to their drug boss and the detectives out to stop them.It's not as incendiary as one might expect of a Spike Lee joint, but the director's concerns and astute knack for story telling are very prominent features.
From the downward spiral of life for young men earning their pay by illegal means, to fretful mothers desperately trying to keep pe-teen kiddies from joining the ranks of what they think are cool operators, the morality of the play is forcibly rammed home by Lee. Unfortunately this comes at a cost to the white cop characters, who are too thinly drawn to offer up a law and order counter point to the illegal activity involving drugs and murder, they serve only as the "man", and damn the "man" at that.
That's unless he disassociates himself from his fellow crack dealers, called clockers, and the person they work for local barber and neighborhood drug lord Rodney Little, Delory Lindo.It's when Little takes Strike under his wing and tells him that he'll go places in the world by becoming a big time drug dealer like himself, not a bottom feeding 24 hour pusher, that thing turn around for Strike and for the worst!
The cop handling the case of Darryl Adam's murder Det. Rocco Kline, Harvey Keitel, is very sure that Victor a hard working and law abiding, as well as good family man, citizen is covering up the fact that it was his always in trouble with the law younger brother Strike who was Darryl's actually killer.Not leaving any stone unturned Det. Kline get's Strike's handler and drug supplier Rodney Little to suspect that he ratted him out to the cops in supplying himself and his fellow clockers with crack.
This had Strike, with Det. Kline's help, leave the city of New York and start a new life, where no one knows him, in far off Albuquerque New Mexico doing what he loves best: Learning to become a motorman on a freight train going cross country!****SPOILER***** As for who killed Darryl Adams that becomes evident late in the movie in a long and bloody flashback in how rumors can lead to murder if the person spreading them doesn't care whom, the person who's killed or the one who kills him, he ends up screwing!
This is a long overdue review, being that I had the pleasure of seeing this film when it was first released."Clockers" is an urban tale about Strike (Mekhi Phifer), a drug dealer running a crew on the benches of his New York City Housing projects, who unconsciously has a desire to live a righteous life but doesn't see anyway out of the drug game.
Spike Lee either used real crack addicts for these scenes or the greatest actors ever that can play crack addicts flawlessly.The ending could be perceived as anticlimactic but it all works well for a satisfying, motion picture experience.I was unimpressed by the camera-work and the cinematography, particularly the reversal film look of the movie.
The cinematographer should have kept the look clean instead of grainy.The performances weren't without flaws, with some that seemed over-the-top (Spike Lee's style) or muted, like the young boy that idolized Strike.However, Mekhi Phifer, making his motion picture debut, was like a tour de force, bringing the New York City street attitude and slang to the big screen rarely seen in film and television while leaving out the trained thespian, unauthentic feel that undermines any actor's portrayal of street kids from the N.Y.C. Keitel, Turturro, David and Lindo were all excellent, rounding out the supporting cast.This is a great film if you're looking for something urban and gritty, driven by a murder mystery against the backdrop of 1990's Brooklyn, before the gentrification.
I usually like Spike Lee films, but with Scorsese, one of the greatest movie directors of all time working beside him, the directing could have been much better.
Clockers was originally to be a Martin Scorsese picture, but he change his mind and made Casino instead, so than Scorsese asked Spike Lee if he'd want to direct, and that he did.Plot: Strike (Phifer) works as a clocker (drug pusher) in a New York ghetto under the tutilage of drug-lord Rodney Little (Delroy Lindo).
Average urban drama that showcases a slice of New York mid 1990's ghetto street life.The intention here is to create a who done it movie combined with a message that the ugliness of the ghetto crime culture comes more from the illusion of it's glamour and hype and less from the corruption of the law enforcers.A surprising message indeed from Spike Lee.Probably Spike chose to portray this side of the situation in order to showcase the theme in a different angle while still maintaining accuracy.Also,by portraying the situation this way,he gets more respect from the white community which is something Spike has been secretly yearing for.Spike wants this white recognition while still maintaining his black/no sell out credentials.This delicate tip toeing shows in this movie.It suffers from screenplay inconsistensies,having great scenes then having less quality scenes.Also,the characters here are very unglamorous in order to stay true to Spike's intentions so these characters become very unlikable.Something like watching an HBO documantary on the bowels of urban society.The good music/cinematography and the who done it as slight garnishings.I like this genre presented more in the standard winning formula way,just like DO THE RIGHT THING,BOYS IN THE HOOD and MENACE TO SOCIETY where we get all documentation,message,story and GLAMOUR mixed in for a home run.The message here though,despite it's presentation flaws,is accurate.Only for ANTI DRUG DEALING people(who will truly enjoy the extreme de glamourization of the criminals here) and big fans of the lead actors......
Great street story about a young dealer named Strike (Mekhi Phifer) that runs a drug spot for old school gangster Rodney Little (Delroy Lindo).
It is painfully obvious that life has become so cheap that they really can't care anymore and joke about the bodies.Harvey Keitel as Det. Rocco Klein gives what I consider to be his best performance as he tries to solve a murder, not knowing the man he has (Isiah Washington) is really the killer, but was put up to it by his brother, Ronald 'Strike' Dunham (Mekhi Phifer), a small time drug dealer who is into model trains.Delroy Lindo (Ransom) is Rodney Little, the main drug supplier and one not to be messed with.
Strike is a young drug dealer and leader of a gang of clockers,but they all work under the orders of Rodney,a known gangster.Also in the story is Errol Barnes,a psycho junkie infected with H.I.V. and probably the most violent of them all.The film is about a murder investigation,the horrors of Crack,and life in a ghetto let loose on it self.The sound track is also good,straight out of this world of crime and misery!.
Lee opens the film with a most sombre body count, setting the scene for a deep, soul searching film that never really eventuates.One can imagine the original story, from Richard Price's novel, was an intriguing and thought provoking one about a family man with an impeccable employment record who steps forward to claim responsibility for a killing that detective Rocco Klein (Harvey Keitel) is just not convinced he committed.Lee doesn't focus on this strong narrative though, he rather concentrates on the culture of the 'clockers' (drug dealers) in Harlem and his rather pathetic central character, Ronald 'Strike' Dunham (Mekhi Phifer).
Produced by legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese and based on a novel of the same name by Richard Price (he wrote the screenplay as well), Clockers tells the story of a small-time drug dealer named Ronald "Strike" Dunham (played by Mekhi Phifer who at the time, had never acted in a film before and got picked out of 1,000 people in an open casting call). |
tt0116224 | Escape Clause | Ramsey is a rags to riches story success in insurance with "the ramsey curve" which is a theorem intended to help prevent companies from committing insurance fraud. He gets a call from a stranger stating that his wife paid him 10k to kill Ramsey. Later, after that same man confronts Ramsey and scares him, the would be hit man gets shot after meeting Ramsey at a park. After that, Ramsay's wife disappears then is found dead. Ramsey goes from being victim to suspect. Ramsay's Father in law files for custody of The children, leading Ramsey to suspect him. During the movie it is revealed that Ramsey had mild psychological issues which led to a domestic disturbance report early in Ramsay's marriage. Some flashback scenes prior to the discovery of his wife's (Sarah) body suggests that perhaps Ramsey is guilty. Ramsey's co-worker is found to have a bandage fetish, which leads Ramsey to suspect him. A Lt Farrand is investigating the case with 30 days left on the job before retirement. Ramsey hires his own investigator, which ends up dead, and the police find the gun that killed the hit man in the pi's apartment with a partial print from Ramsey. Ramsey remembers something about a case in which he testifies and goes to his insurance office to get information. The bdsm fetish co-worker offers information which allows Ramsey to find the truth. At the same time, Farrand picks up Ramsey's son, noting that the passenger door sticks. Ramsey calls his inlaw's house, where he reaches his wife's old friend telling her that it's Lt Farrand & finds out that Farrand has his son and is heading to where Farrand's stepson was hit by a train, crippling the boy and driving Farrand's wife to suicide after the insurance wins the case in court because of Ramsey's testimony (based on false information provided by the insurance company, unbeknownst to Ramsey). Ramsey barely gets there in time to push Farrand's car off the track, his own car getting knicked & turned over by the train. Farrand pulls Ramsey's son from the car & admits to everything vents his anger at Ramsey's theorum. Leslie, Sarah's friend arrives as Ramsey's son gets away from Lt Farrand, Distracting him. Ramsey pulls out a gun and kills Farrand and the movie closes with the implication that it's all over and everyone will live happily ever after. | murder | train | imdb | null |
tt0138704 | Pi | Max Cohen is the story's protagonist and unreliable narrator. Unemployed and living in a drab Chinatown apartment in New York City, Max is a number theorist who believes that everything in nature can be understood through numbers. He is capable of doing simple arithmetic calculations involving large numbers in his head, a skill that impresses Jenna, a very young Chinese-American girl with a calculator who lives in his apartment building. Max also suffers from cluster headaches, as well as extreme paranoia, hallucinations, and social anxiety disorder. Other than Devi, a young woman living next door who sometimes speaks to him, Max's only social interaction is with Sol Robeson, his old mathematics mentor who is now an invalid.
Max begins making stock predictions based on the calculations of his computer, Euclid. In the middle of printing out its picks, Euclid suddenly crashes after spitting out a seemingly random 216-digit number, as well as a single pick at one-tenth its current value. Disgusted, Max tosses out the printout of the number. The next morning, he checks the financial pages and sees that the pick Euclid made was accurate. He searches desperately for the printout but cannot find it. Sol becomes unnerved when Max mentions the number, asking if it contained 216 digits. When Max questions him about the number, Sol indicates that he came across it many years ago. He urges Max to slow down and try taking a break.
At a coffee shop that he frequents on a daily basis, Max meets Lenny Meyer, a Hasidic Jew who coincidentally does mathematical research on the Torah. Lenny demonstrates some simple Gematria, the correspondence of the Hebrew alphabet to numbers, and explains how some people believe that the Torah is a string of numbers that form a code sent by God. Max takes an interest when he realizes that some of the number concepts Lenny discusses are similar to other mathematical concepts, such as the Fibonacci sequence. Max is also met by agents of a Wall Street firm who are interested in his work. One of the agents, Marcy Dawson, offers Max a classified computer chip called "Ming Mecca" in exchange for the results of his work, which Max eventually accepts.
Using the chip, Max has Euclid analyze mathematical patterns in the Torah. Euclid spits out the 216-digit number before crashing again. When his computer refuses to print out the number, Max begins to write it down. Midway through the writing, Max realizes that he knows the pattern, undergoes a sudden epiphany, and passes out. Thereafter, Max appears to become clairvoyant and is able to visualize the stock market patterns he had been searching for. But his headaches also increase in intensity, and he discovers a strange vein-like bulge protruding from his right temple. Max has a falling out with Sol after the latter urges him to quit his work.
One evening, Dawson and her agents grab Max on the street and try to force him to explain the number. They had found the original printout that Max threw away and had been trying to use it to manipulate the stock market in their favor, but as a result, caused it to crash. Although Max is held at gunpoint, Lenny drives by and rescues him. However, Lenny and his companions make similar demands on Max to give them the number. They take him to a nearby synagogue where they finally reveal their intentions: they believe the 216-digit number was meant for them to bring about the messianic age, as the number represents the unspeakable name of God. Max refuses, insisting that whatever the source of the number is, it has been revealed to him alone.
Max flees and tries to visit Sol, only to find out from his daughter, Jenny, that he has just died from another stroke. Max searches Sol's apartment and finds mathematical scribblings similar to his own, eventually finding a piece of paper with the number. Back in his own apartment, Max is driven to the brink of madness when he experiences another headache and resists the urge to take his painkillers, which causes him to destroy some of the parts of Euclid. Believing that the number and the headaches are linked, Max tries to concentrate on the number through the pain. After passing out, Max has a vision of himself standing in a white void and repeating the digits of the number. The vision ends with Max hugging Devi, who turns out to be a hallucination. Max stands alone in his trashed apartment. Max burns the paper with the number and blithely performs an impromptu trepanning on himself in the right cerebral hemisphere with a power drill.
Later, in the final scene, Jenna approaches Max in a park asking math problems, including 748 ÷ 238, which is an approximation for Pi. Max smiles and claims that he doesn't know the answer to them. No longer able to solve complex mathematics or experience headaches or paranoid thoughts, Max sits on the park bench and observes the trees blowing in the breeze, at peace. | mystery, avant garde, psychological, cult, atmospheric, insanity, psychedelic, philosophical, suspenseful | train | wikipedia | Pi is the oddest, hippest, most chilling account of the descent into the abyss.Following mathematical clues derived from an analysis of the stock market, Maximillian Cohen begins his descent into madness as he attempts to discover the nature of everything through the peculiar numerical entity known as Pi.Thrilling enough, but then combine with generous amounts of Kaballistic mysticism, black and white footage and a soundtrack like an audible fractal, and you have a sensory snare which drags you along for the ride into Max's impending breakdown.Obsession has never been so exciting.Pi is an utterly gut-wrenching, mind expanding phenomema.
Some viewers may be put off by the bizarre fits the main character faces, or the intrusion of complex mathematics into film, forcing the viewer to think, but if you watch this film, you will be rewarded a unique movie-going experience few other films will give you.
Directed by Darren Aronofsky with a ridiculous budget of $60,000 - which I first thought was a mistake in the figures, since I couldn't believe such a movie could possibly be made with that amount of money.Most of the cast and crew later re-united to make "Requiem for a Dream (2000)" - one of the best movies made in the last few years.
It's a shame we don't see his talent in more movies.Mark Margolis (Mr. Rabinowitz in "Requiem") is excellent as Max's mentor and all the other cast is doing a great job too.Like in "Requiem", technical aspect is top-notch: Excellent black-and-white cinematography (Matthew Libatique) and the innovative use of the Snorricam, lightning, editing (Oren Sarch), and music (Clint Mansell, frontman for Pop will Eat itself).The director's commentary for this movie is fascinating.
After hearing it you'd appreciate the effort and heart that were put into this movie a lot more.Look for guest/cameo appearances by Samia Shoaib (the nurse in "Requiem") as Devi, Max's nextdoor neighbor; Clint Mansell (the movie's composer) as the photographer; and Abraham Aronofsky (Darren's father) as one of the men delivering the suitcase at the door.One last word.
While some aspects presented in the movie - such as the Hebrew numerology and mathematical concepts - are correct (that is, the explanations of Hebrew numerology are not made-up; That _doesn't_ mean I actually believe in any of the meanings attached to them), I suggest you to use your suspension-of-disbelief instead of trying to find logic and mistakes in them.10/10.
(It's not a long movie.) Overall, I thought this "added up" to an intriguing film, but if you give it a try and hate it, don't blame me..
Darren Aronofsky is a filmmaker I first got into through Requiem for a Dream, which now years after I saw it I want to revisit again upon the soon to be released the Fountain and especially after now seeing Pi. Before with 'Requiem', I did like the movie a lot, but felt a little apprehensive about deeming it that old term 'masterpiece' as the editing, while ultra fast for a purpose, almost came off as too "MTV" for me.
In this particular case, Pi is also the kind of movie that warrants a second look at the director's other films.
And it's not just to show off; he truly does get inside a psychology through subjective camera AND editing, to a degree that might impress Hitchcock, albeit with some whiplash.Max Cohen played by Sean Gullette is the protagonist of the story, who's main foe is none other than the universe itself, in a sense, all through one number.
And spirals, by the way, seem to also figure into the film, as well as a secret technology firm (with a woman who reminded me of Condaleeza Rice look-alike), and especially a near undercover Hasidim ring where they need the numbers *in* Cohen's head to unlock some big secret to God. But even with all of this pressure, Cohen can't shake what's dogging him around, in his own cramped, wire-ridden apartment, with many bugs crawling around.The key for this movie really is atmosphere, in the acting (if it makes you uncomfortable sometimes that's the point too, and it's probably the strangest performance of a lifetime for Gullette), the production design (that apartment and the subways), the grainy, spectacular photography by Matthew Libatique, the editing to be sure- which here, unlike the breakneck 'Requiem', does take a break from the cuts so quick they almost past subliminally (which isn't bad)- and the moody music that is so slight you almost forget its there.
Aronofsky also makes a point of some hallucinations/dreams adding to the ambiance, skidding almost towards the pretentious, and thus creating a world all of its own in Pi for Max, and for us as well.A film that I shall certainly seek out again when I can, if only to see if I can understand some things a little more (or maybe not as case might be), and to see such a powerhouse performance from Gullette.
Watching this film, one can tell from the subdued effects, grainy black-and-white filter, and guerrilla-style filmmaking that this must be a low-budget independent film - NOT to try and downplay its impact, as many independent films can clearly surpass any typical Hollywood movie, in terms of style and subject matter."Pi" is a perfectly concrete example of how the relative absence of special effects, explosions, etc.
Its style seems rather modern, rather hip...at times it reminded me of "The Matrix" (which, ironically, was released the FOLLOWING year) what with its slick techno musical score and its flashy opening credits.To shy away from this film simply because of its math content is to be completely shallow and ignorant.
He looks into patterns in the stock market only to find his ability sought by both a Wall Street trader, Marcy Dawson, and a Hasidic, Lenny Meyer, who both want the code for different reasons.Before I saw this I must admit I heard a lot of hype but no actual details so I was half-expecting an intense `Usual Suspects' thriller mixed with maths.
The subject matter is different enough to be interesting and the telling is clever I for one can't wait to see what the director does with Batman: year one, it certainly won't be a camp Joel Schumacher film anyway!Gullette (who also co-wrote) is good in the lead and is totally convincing.
The rest of the cast are good but really the star here is the director as he manages to put us in Max's mind and involve us in the paranoia so thoroughly that we're not sure what is real and what isn't.Overall this isn't as masterly as the hype suggests but it's different enough and compelling enough to be more than gripping for 90 minutes..
Unlike Eraserhead however this effort has "student film-maker" written all over it, which is not to detract from the entertainment value of the movie.The movie's protagonist thinks mathematics can provide the answers to the big questions, but finds out the painful way that it cannot.
To me, it is the best possible example of style taking over a film, because this is a film with no real substance: instead of a plot, we are simply supposed to believe that this guy has gone insane because of math (with a bunch of pictures from some book to illustrate the possibility) and that he's being chased by mad yiddish people.
I was not surprised to see that older voters on IMDB have not rated this film so highly -- they have seen enough movies with quality and substance to know when the director's just putting a mickey over on the audience.
While not quite as insanely successful as "The Blair Witch Project" (which came out the following year), unlike the filmmakers of this other project, Aronofsky has gone on to greater things--including the wildly successful and critically acclaimed "Black Swan" as well as "The Wrestler".Describing the look of the film is VERY difficult.
The movie looks like a film student's attempt to create some MTV version of 1940s film noir.After 10 minutes, you keep waiting for the story to develop, but it never goes anywhere.
I watched it to the end only because a good friend recommended it, but so little actually took place, that I found I could read the Sunday Times at the same time.While the film was made in 1998, the computer complex looks like something from the 1970s which just adds to the lack of any believability.
Oh well, no one expects movie makers to have any real brains, anyway, right?But this movie didn't compensate its lack of mathematical intrigue with ANYTHING else - it was just a bunch of meaningless dialog between characters too shallow to be even worth caring about - that is, when the viewer wasn't being subjected to miles of footage of the protagonist picking his nose (literally!), or some equally idiotic and boring behavior.As far as movies concerning math, a MUCH BETTER movie is "A Beautiful Mind." If you're looking for a movie about crazy mathematicians, save your time and money and go to see "A Beautiful Mind" instead..
The real focus here is that the main character is going insane and this gives the director the opportunity to portray that insanity through art-full direction.Example: Several times during this film the main character is working at his computer, entering data.
Shot on a handheld camera in black and white, it has the jitters like a 14 year old wired on Espresso from Starbucks.The visual style of this film sets it apart from the crowd at the first available moment.
It may not be your usual fare, but the powerful filming, editing, and offbeat scoring keep you involved throughout the 85 minute run time.Darren Aronofsky has made a truly unique film, one that put me in quite the same mood as Eraserhead or Videodrome, which I think is more of a compliment to Lynch and Cronenberg given that PI was more riveting, and thought provoking than either of them.8/10 - PI Will soon be added to my own collection....
Bad hand held high contrast black and white photography filled with pointless camera gimmicks is no substitute for true film art.
I have never been a big fan of the more indie/artsy film, and this film was in serious danger of disappearing up the director's own bottom, it was self-adulation to the point of obscurity and a complete waste of my time.Man seeks a golden 216 digit number that holds the key to existence, it sounds like it had the potential to be quite interesting....maaaaaaan, how wrong could I have been?
According to the commentary on the DVD I rented, the director stated that he wanted to "let viewers see this movie from the perspective of Max's brain." I think a better question is why anyone would _want_ to get in Max's paranoid, delusional, headache-prone brain.The film attempts to bond together the Kabbalah (Jewish numerical mysticism), the stock market fluctuations, pi (and its randomness) and Nature's cycles.
I was put off by the silly mathematics, the cheesy props, (Max's "computer" is a collection of 1970s era ICs placed randomly in a 19" relay rack), the total lack of production values, ("Pi" makes the majority of this year's independent productions look like "Titanic"), and the silly plot.Ostensibly this is a movie about obsession.
Before this guy does another movie about oncoming insanity, he should sit through Roman Polanski's "Repulsion" at least three times in a row.Max's growing insanity is shown by increasingly bad camera angles as the film progresses.
Max doesn't realize at the time but later in the movie when he's saved from a gang of Wall Street goons by Lenny and his Hasidic friends that the number of God in the Talmud is exactly 216 digits!
Very weird and at the same time interesting film by Darren Aronofsky about math and what math has to do with the working with the universe and how someone can become so obsessed with it that it can destroy him and everyone else that he comes in contact with..
This is a very ambitious outing from first-time filmmakers Aronofsky and Gullette and I give them much credit for creating a work of art I've never seen the likes of before.RATING: UNCLASSIFIABLY Good.
If we were to retrocede back to the times of Lumière when cinema consisted of the beauty of muted black and white photography in motion, and then watched Pi under that light, i.e. as a choreography of moving images, then this film wouldn't be bad at all.
Pi seems to have a very interesting plot as the film starts, however, sets off in the wrong direction thereafter.The story surrounds the discovery of a man named Max, a genius mathematician who spends what seems like all of his time on his computer looking for a pattern in numbers that none of his predecessors could find.
Sticking to his obsession with numbers would have been more effective and probably a lot more interesting since these groups are not at all menacing.The use of grainy black-and-white film was a nice touch here.
Many people who criticize this movie on this comments board were obviously looking for particular things in Pi instead of appreciating it for its whole, which in my mind is a thought-provoking masterpiece.Better yet, there are dozens of ways the lesson in finding beauty comes across, from the subtle (ant squishing) to the obvious (brain drilling).
the stark black and white contrast used worked excellently to illustrated the movie's theme mathematics and nature.
I think there were good concepts in this movie about Math and Number Theory, but the scenes with his hallucinations and drilling into his head were unnecessary.Watch Naked Lunch if you liked this movie..
I do not want to comment on the film as a whole, but only on one aspect of it, namely on how it depicts the central topic of mathematics.The main problem with this movie is that it deals with potentially very interesting stuff, but in a rather imbecile way.
The result is irritating.The "genius mind" of Max Cohen looks like pictured by a 10-year-old child: he knows how to multiply and divide large numbers.
The "mysterious" ideas he is haunted by fall in two categories: some are merely common knowledge, or at least they are very old and all the people interested in the subject generally know them (e.g. the golden ratios, Galileo's ideas about the mathematics as a language of nature, etc.); the remaining ones are merely ridiculous: the search for the number that is the key to the universe, i.e. the old Pythagorean idea taken literally, rid of the context in which it can make sense.Unfortunately, this film deals with no mystery.
There is a subplot with corporate monsters and a religious sect each trying to exploit Max's talents, but these scenes felt like they were tacked on to fill out the running time.For the record, I am not a fan of movies that contain lots of explosions-yes, I can think.
The number pi doesn't really even figure in the end - I got a bad feeling it was just a 'cool' symbol the makers thought would market their film well, like the bat symbol.
It is best understood as a movie used at film school to understand the affect of good shot making.
Movies are pictures in motion and sound, we usually use it as a medium to tell a story.They director filmed it in black and white.
Even though the movie looks like it takes place between 1980-1990 (while it's filmed in 1998).
As soon we're told about the topic of the movie (the whole creation can be put in an equation) ,we eagerly wait for what's following.And there's the rub: religious speculations -Admittedly,people like me who do not know the Torah certainly cannot understand all the subtleties of the script-abound and drown the maths out.And however the mathematical topic was enthralling .The Fibonacci series was a great idea,because we find it in the nature.And pi is really an universal number,since it appears in the bell curve formula ,queen of the probability.Outside beautiful shots,it left the spectator unsatisfied.It leads to nowhere.The ending is merely a repetition of what we learned at the beginning.The thriller side is botched.The black and white cinematography ,granular and dirty ,recalls that of David Lynch's "Eraserhead",an indie too at the time.The brain does too.The mathematical movie remains to be done..
Due to his research, Max is chased by a Wall Street company with obvious interest in the results of his studies, and by an orthodox Jew follower of the Torah, who believes that this long string of numbers is a code sent from God."Pi" is an intriguing and hypnotic cult movie, with an original story, great music score, fantastic black and white cinematography and bizarre atmosphere that in some moments recalls "Brazil".
Some pseudo-intellectuals think it's enough to use black and white to make an art movie, but then please don't overexpose and shake the camera willingly: for me junk art is simply junk and not art, and this film is unpleasant even from a technical point of view.
For the first half hour we are forced to sit and watch as various mathematical phenomena are explained, which to anyone like me who doesn't really have an interest in maths would find boring.The plot doesn't really develop anywhere either, and at the end of the movie you'll be left thinking about all the other things you could have done in that 90 minutes..
Mr. Aronofsky has shot "Pi" in black and white that is grainy as he seems to emphasize in what's going on in the mind of Max Cohen.
It works well because using colors would have distracted our attention, perhaps, and it wouldn't have left the lasting effect he achieves with the use of the black and white cinematography.Sean Gullette, as Max Cohen makes an immense contribution to the film, which clearly, having been co-written by him, shows he had a complete understanding of what the director intended him to do. |
tt0475290 | Hail, Caesar! | Set in Hollywood of the 1950s, the film starts with Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin) going to confession at a local church. The priest is already used to hearing from Eddie too often. Eddie confesses that he has been hiding his smoking habit from his wife.Eddie drives to a house where a young actress, Gloria DeLamour (Natasha Bassett), is doing a photoshoot while wearing provocative clothing. Eddie has called the cops to get the photographer and then slaps Gloria twice before giving her an alias to protect her image and an alibi.Eddie is revealed to be a fixer for the studio Capitol Pictures, keeping the reputations of the studio's actors safe. He watches a rough cut of "Hail, Caesar!", a historical epic centered around The Christ. Famous actor Baird Whitlock (George Clooney) stars in the lead role of Autolycus. Eddie is seen consulting with a rabbi, Protestant clergyman, Catholic clergyman, and Eastern Orthodox clergyman to discuss the portrayal of Jesus Christ being done properly without offending anyone's views, leading to a debate on the role of Jesus in each religion.In addition to "Hail, Caesar!", Eddie is also involved in the production of a Broadway adaptation called "Merrily We Dance". He gets popular Western star Hobie Doyle (Alden Ehrenreich). We see Hobie performing in a Western film, pulling off cool stunts against the bad guys. When Hobie is brought in to act for "Merrily We Dance", he meets the director, Laurence Laurentz (Ralph Fiennes). The cameras roll, and Hobie is unable to pull off a convincing British accent with his heavy Southern drawl. Laurentz tries to get Hobie to say the line "Would that it were so simple" repeatedly, but he never quite gets it right, leading Laurentz to go complain to Eddie.During the filming of "Hail, Caesar!", an extra (Wayne Knight) pours a powdered substance into a goblet that Baird is supposed to drink out of. Baird shoots the scene and drinks from it. Later, as he walks to his dressing room, the extra and his cohort (Jeff Lewis) follow Baird and catch him as he passes out, and they abduct him.Another issue Eddie has to deal with is actress DeeAnna Moran (Scarlett Johansson). She is introduced doing a mermaid water sequence with a big smile before experiencing discomfort and tossing her crown to someone violently. DeeAnna is pregnant, which spells trouble for her generally wholesome image.Baird wakes up in a house by the beach and walks into a meeting of men gathered in a room. Baird sits with them and learns that they are all communist writers that felt cheated by the studios, and they want Baird to join them in their cause.People notice that Baird has gone missing. Eddie receives a message demanding a ransom of $100,000 for Baird's return, issued by "The Future". As Eddie tries to manage the situation, he is hounded by columnist Thora Thacker (Tilda Swinton) over a story about Baird regarding a film he did years earlier called "On Wings With Eagles." Not long after Thora leaves, Eddie is approached by her twin sister Thessaly, who writes gossip pieces and also wants to do a piece on Baird. A young man on a bike approaches Eddie and says he has a call from "The Future." Eddie runs to his office to answer the call, but they hang up on him. Hobie is already waiting for him in his office. Eddie shows him a suitcase full of the ransom money and explains the situation to Hobie.Meanwhile, Eddie is pursued by a man from Lockheed Martin to leave Hollywood behind and go work for him.We meet actor Burt Gurney (Channing Tatum) in a musical as a sailor who sings with his comrades over seeing "no dames" for the next eight months at sea.Eddie visits C.C. Calhoun (Frances McDormand), who is the editor of "Merrily We Dance". He catches a glimpse of footage from the film. Before it gets to Hobie's part, the reel stops because C.C.'s scarf gets caught in the projector and is choking her. Eddie reverses the reel and saves her.Eddie approaches Arne Seslum (Christopher Lambert), the director with whom DeeAnna had an affair with and fathered her child. He tells Eddie he is married. Eddie resolves to have DeeAnna disappear for a while and "adopt" her own child to hide that it's really hers. They find Joe Silverman (Jonah Hill), a fall guy that has previously been used as a scapegoat to fix someone else's problem. They arrange for Joe to be the foster father to DeeAnna's baby.Hobie is set up with actress Carlotta Valdez (Veronica Osorio) to accompany each other to the premiere of Hobie's movie "Lazy Ol' Moon". The film is a laugh-out-loud riot for the audience. After the movie, Hobie and Carlotta have dinner together as part of the studio's plan to make them look "sweet on each other." Hobie is approached by both Thacker sisters individually to get the scoop on the two of them. From a few tables down, Hobie notices Burt taking the suitcase of money with him. Hobie leaves Carlotta and follows Burt.Hobie follows Burt all the way to the beach house where he finds Baird sitting alone in the meeting room. Baird tries to convince Hobie to join The Future, but he refuses to be a communist and takes Baird with him. Meanwhile, the writers are taking Burt (who is also a communist) to the middle of the ocean where a Soviet submarine rises from the water. Burt takes the suitcase with him as he boards the submarine, but a small dog on the little boat hops over, prompting Burt to catch the dog and drop the suitcase into the water. He boards the submarine, which goes back underwater. As Hobie drives Baird away, the police make their way to the beach house to arrest the writers.When Baird returns, he plans to smear the name of the studio head as The Future would have wanted, but Eddie smacks him twice and tells him to proceed with "Hail, Caesar!" and to not even think about ruining the reputation of the man that made him famous. Baird is then seen performing a monologue in the film as they see Jesus on the cross. The speech is powerfully spoken until Baird forgets one of his lines.Eddie is approached by Thora again in regards to the "On Wings With Eagles" story. Apparently, Baird got the part in that movie by sleeping with Laurentz, but because her source was Burt, Eddie tells her that she would be branded a communist if she were to run that story. Eddie is then approached by his secretary and is told that DeeAnna and Joe met up for dinner and later eloped.In the final scene, Eddie goes to confession one more time. The priest tells him he's not so bad if he comes by too often. He also tells Eddie that God wants everyone to do what is right. This inspires Eddie to stay with Capitol Pictures and continue takfing pride in his job. | satire | train | imdb | null |
tt0145529 | Time Chasers | Nick Miller has discovered the key to time-travel. Using a small plane located at his local airport in Vermont, the local college professor manages to fly 50 years into the future, and return to the present day (1991).Hoping to capitalize on this discovery, Nick places two calls:
-the first call is to a local company called GenCorp, with Nick claiming he's developed a new fuel-efficient engine.
-the second call is to the local newspaper, where Nick claims his Grandmother is going to skydive for the first time.The next day, Nick meets Matthew Paul from GenCorp, and Lisa Henson from the newspaper. Nick is surprised to see Lisa as they both went to school together long ago. After coaxing both of them into his airplane, Nick then tells them about his discovery of Time-Travel. Though Matthew is apprehensive, Lisa suggests they go 50 years in the future.Nick manages to take them to 2041. After landing, he shows them all that has changed. Nick also claims that he wishes to obtain an R&D grant because of his discovery, as he is currently out of money. Matthew then explains that once they get back, he intends to tell the head of GenCorp about Nick's discovery as soon as possible.Some time after the three have returned, Matthew makes good on his promise, and Nick shows his discovery to the head of GenCorp, J.K. Robertson. Robertson immediately wishes to do business with Nick, and also offers a position at GenCorp to Lisa. However, Lisa refuses and cautions Nick that associating with GenCorp is a bad idea. Nick tries to get her to reconsider, but she walks away.After some time, Nick turns over the information he has regarding his time-travel experiments, but on trying to access the files that are being kept in GenCorp's computers, finds that he does not have access to this.Going to the local supermarket, Nick comes across Lisa. Lisa apologizes for the way she reacted the last time they talked, but Nick claims he has a surprise for her. Taking her to the airport, Nick gets access to his plane, and takes Lisa back to the 50's on a date.During their time jaunt, Nick then goes forward to 2041. However, the two find that the future now is in anarchy. When Nick mentions time-travel, one group takes him and Lisa in an attempt to get their 'Transport.' Nick and Lisa manage to escape back to the present. Nick then goes to GenCorp and explains to Robertson what he and Lisa saw. However, it soon becomes apparent that Robertson has had some hand in the changes to the future. He explains that he has already used Nick's technology to build his own time vehicle out of an airplane. Nick soon realizes that in signing over his discovery to GenCorp, they now have total control.Robertson attempts to have Nick and Lisa turned over as 'Spies' to prevent them from telling of GenCorp's plans. However, the two manage to escape. Heading back to the airport, they manage to trick their way into getting Nick's plane out of the hands of GenCorp security.Once airborne, Nick decides to leap back to the day when he gave the demonstration to Matthew and Lisa. Lisa does explain that while it will prevent GenCorp from knowing about Nick's discovery, it also will mean that she and Nick will not meet.Nick still leaps back in time, but finds that Robertson and Matthew Paul are right behind them. Robertson fires on Nick's plane, wounding Lisa severely, and damaging the plane. Nick then bails from the plane as it crashes in a fireball. Nick manages to make it ashore, and heads towards the airport, hoping to stop his past-self from giving the time-travel demonstration.Meanwhile, past-Lisa is diverted from meeting past-Nick about the 'skydiving Grandmother,' and told to investigate a plane crash. When she arrives on the scene, the forensics team mentions that a body in the wreck is so badly damaged, dental records will need to be investigated. Checking the number on the tail of the plane, Lisa finds it registered to Nick.Past-Nick meanwhile, has given his time-travel demonstration to Matthew Paul, who is planning to bring Robertson to view the machine. After he leaves, Lisa arrives at the airport where she meets Nick and discusses what she found out. However, she's surprised to find that Nick claims to only own one plane, and it is sitting intact on the tarmac!After they go back and check the wreckage, Nick claims they need to check on something, and he and Lisa take off in his plane (supposedly to time-jump somewhere, but this is not fully explained).Meanwhile, the Nick that was on the plane that crashed has made it to the airport, only to find the plane gone, and runs into Robertson and Matthew. They also find Nick's mechanic Marty, and take both of them prisoner. Hoping to keep them from telling of what he has done (and is going to do), Robertson decides to time-jump them back to 1776, and kill them there, leaving the two as 'unaccounted war-dead' in the past revolutionary time period.Back in the past, Nick and Lisa have returned, unsure just what to do now. Nick finds that Marty is missing, and Lisa calls the newspaper to check on the dental records...only to find that the body that was in the crash was her!Back in 1776, Robertson tries to get Matthew to help him execute Nick and Marty, but when Matthew refuses, Robertson kills him. Just when it looks like Nick and Marty will be killed as well, past-Nick and past-Lisa appear, along with some revolutionaries. Robertson manages to scare them off, but as a nearby revolutionary battle happens, Robertson runs off on his own, leaving Nick to talk to his past self. Both of them come to an agreement to destroy the time-transport, with the present-Nick taking a horse and going after Robertson in his transport.Nick and Robertson scuffle in the plane which causes it to crash. Nick attempts to emerge from the plane, but is accousted by Robertson. Robertson ends up killing Nick, but is killed himself when a section of the plane that is stuck in a tree falls on him.Back in the altered past timeline, Matthew brings Robertson in from the city, but is surprised when Nick claims that Matthew wanted to introduce him to the star of the new GenCorp commercial, "Ms Gilda Hines, 80 years old and a world-class skydiver." Matthew tries to convince Robertson that Nick does have a time-transport, but finds that Nick's plane has none of the electronic equipment. Robertson then fires Matthew on the spot and leaves. As the CEO drives away, Nick comes up behind Matthew and says, "At least he didn't shoot you this time," leaving the pink-suited fellow perplexed.In the closing moments of the film, we see Nick erase his data regarding the time-transport, and go to a local supermarket. While there, he encounters Lisa, and begins a conversation with her. | cult | train | imdb | I feel badly for the actors and directors of this film who may come across this site's comments about it, which was fairly well done - for a low-budget film.All the criticisms about the film are true: The evil CEO's office in an apparent library, the antique computer with outdated floppy disks, and the fairly wooden acting are all valid criticisms.
A torn-up poster for 'Back To The Future' shows up in this movie, representing -- probably unintentionally -- what the makers of 'Tangents' (aka 'Time Chasers') did to the time-travel formula.
Then again, the movie was made in 1994, but it looks -- and sounds -- like it was actually shot at least ten years earlier, so maybe they achieved some sort of time-travel after all.Start with an aggressively unappealing leading man.
If YOU figure out the plot, please contact me; I'm curious.I would strongly advise watching this movie with the help of the folks at Mystery Science Theater 3000; I don't think it could stand on its own...
beer would probably help, too.The film, 'Tangents': 3 stars -- they tried.MST3K's 'Time Chasers' episode: 8 stars -- they succeeded..
This movie is about a physics professor(yeah right!) who invents a time machine(a plane which flies through really bad computer graphics).
He is supposed to go visit other time periods with it, but it seems the past and future look a lot like today except with very slight, cheap modifications.
That's what the director of this film had to be saying throughout it's making The story is set around Nick, a geeky teacher at Castleton college who invents a time machine using eight commador floppy disks and his plane.
Was he the handsomest most charismatic most everyman actor in the whole of Vermont?Overall, the movie is OK, but the low budget means cheesy special effects, amateurish acting, a so-so script, and a geeky lantern-jawed hero (!).
Made on a shoestring budget by a small production company, it's a by-the-numbers example of a small-budget film with big-budget aspirations.The plot itself is a fairly interesting take on well-treaded territory: the hero, Nick, invents a way to make his ultra-light plane travel through time and sells the idea to a CEO, only to later discover that the CEO is going to use it for, you guessed it, evil.The excecution of the plot, however, suffers from a number of handicaps.
The main characters are all boringly average (causing Crow to dub the film "The Adventures of the Average People" in the MST3K episode), the only one having anything identifiably unique about them being the main character, Nick, whose only unique traits are "building a time machine" and "not being able to drive a car" (setting the stage for an absolutely ridiculous bicycle chase scene).
If anything, the film reminds us that probably the only Vermont export of note is Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream (who, coincidentally, provided ice cream for the filming of this movie).All in all, Tangents falls in the same general category of MST3Ked films as Overdrawn at the Memory Bank; a small budget film that is ridiculous enough on its own merits to make it a decent watch for lovers of pure cheese (though, as always, I recommend watching the MST3K version instead)..
Think of this one as Back to the Future...except not very good.The use of time travel and possible timelines gone askew does nothing to add to the film.
Due to limited budget, the future, past, and present look pretty bad which makes it more funny.
Showcased in MST3K, this sci-fi turd is about how a big-chinned physics teacher named Nick who dons a Castleton T-shirt and his dopey reporter girlfriend Lisa (who looks strangely a lot like Toni Tennille!) tries to save humanity's future from a corrupt hick CEO named Robertson, who's use for Nick's flying time machine is for his own twisted purposes!
However, I was pretty surprised when I read somewhere that David Giancola, the director of "Time Chasers" even thanked MST3K for showing his low denominator project on their show!!
Maybe they were sitting around one day in film school and said, "Hey, let's pool our money together and make a really bad movie!" Or something like that.
This is one of the few MST3K episodes where I actually was compelled to follow the story's twists and turns, in addition to listening to Mike and the bots tearing it apart.The computers (Commodore?), hair styles (mullets!), and clothing styles were straight out of 1984 -- was that intentional on the part of the writers or just a result of a low budget?
However, I think that if we consider different alternatives to what movies can be, then this is definitely something worth watching.It's kinda like a snapshot of the "old future", if you know what I mean.
As putrid a piece of slop ever released, this Edgewood Entertainment crapper (aslo known as "Time Chasers") was filmed entirely in the state of Vermont, the least-visited and cared-about of all 50, and tells the ridiculous tale of Nick Miller (Matthew Bruch-one of the single ugliest leading men in cinematic history, in fact, he makes Rowsdower from "The Final Sacrifice," look like Brad Pitt), who invents a time-traveling device that is powered by a Wang computer and a Piper Cub.He jumps (or flies) ahead to 2041, sees some "futuristic" stuff, then comes back and sells the invention to a huge corporation.
Later, after a lame trip to the "1950s," he goes back to the future, where a cheap matte painting shows that a war took place and the (unnamed) city is in ruins.He fights off a bunch of rejects from 2041, comes back to the present, hijacks his own plane, crashes it and kills his girlfriend, Lisa (Bonnie Pritchard), and then travels to the Revolutionary War, where he dies, but his double and his girlfriend's doppelganger are still alive, so they go back to the present just before he was to sell the invention, and stops himself from doing it.Wow. Not only confusing, but boring and ridiculous (although it's a much better time-travel film than "The Lake House").Here are some more specific "highlights" of just how amazingly bad this movie is: During a chase scene where Nick is trying to escape on a ten-speed bicycle, the bad guys actually get out of a truck they were in and pursue him - on BIKES.Scenes in the future depict "actors" walking around in loud, garish, baggy clothing and talking on cell phones, much like they do today.
The Revolutionary War scenes are included for no other reason than to show off a bunch of fat re-en-actors, and during these sequences, the single dumbest lines ever written for a "Mystery Science Theatre 3000" episode is uttered: Speaking of some fleeing American colonists, running from machine gun fire, Nick says, "I don't think they've ever seen an Uzi before." Duh!
Nick, a scientist and hero of the movie, develops a time traveling Cessna and sells his idea to an evil company (is there any other kind ??) that exploits it and destroys the future.
Thanks to our inventor's inability to read a contract, he is, after all only a professor, he signs over his invention to the Corporation who, obviously, have Evil intentions.Featuring the most unconvincing hero in screen history, this nonetheless remains a brilliant and realistic study of the future, and says more about man's greed and disregard for his fellow man than most films with much higher budgets.
Fun to watch and to laugh at.BTW: Apparently all 1950s-era cars are restored hotrods and the Mall of the Future looks like the malls of the early 90s for some odd reason...Oh, and don't throw away your old 5.5" floppies, they just might hold the secret of time travel!.
The villain is so weirdly delightful you can't help but love him, and the same goes for the hero.I honestly really appreciated how earnest this film was, and how it set its ambitions high, even if it couldn't always deliver on the premise of a time traveling pilot inventor who destroys the future.It's the quintessential MST3K film, there's no getting around that, but it's so because it's so very enjoyable to watch.
It is ten times more competent than "House of 1000 Corpses" or any of Coleman Francis' work.The story attempts to be thought-provoking and amusing, sort of a sideways version of "The Man Who Folded Himself" or "And He Built A Crooked House", and no one in the film is as bad or corny as, say, the actors in "Werewolf" or Bo Derek in "Tarzan".
The story, if it can be described as such, is about a geeky, enormous chinned guy named Nick, who discovers the secret of time travel and makes his Cessna into a time transport (he refuses to call it a time machine), which he tries to sell to the "Big-Evil-Corporation-That-Is-Evil-And-Driven-By-Greed-And-Evil" GenCorp., which no one ever pronounces the same.
My impressions of the film, very bad as you basically watch average people frittering away a few days running around the city and acting like they are in the past, the present and the future!
Though give Roger Corman the budget they had and he would have made a time traveling film that looked better and actually starred William Katt in the role of Nick and Donald Pleasence in the role of J.
Then they return to the future which is now an apocalyptic one, though it basically looks like the back alley found in any city across the U.S.A. Well, Nick easily knows that Robertson is behind this, but decides to confront him rather than just going back to the past and telling himself to not tell the evil corporate head about said plane.
Granted, there wouldn't be much of a movie if he did and we wouldn't have mediocre chases and a glimpse of a revolutionary war that looks like a bunch of fat dudes doing a reenactment.This made for a pretty good episode of MST3K.
People may claim it was a small budget, but 150,000 is a good sum of money, I could take care of all my bills with that amount of money and they kind of just wasted it making this film that really only gained any success thanks to MST3K.
Just watching people running around and acting like they are accomplishing something just is not a movie and watching a field full of dudes in horrible costumes just not make for a good time traveling film.
Time travel movies can be very entertaining, when made correctly.Just look at the original "The Time Machine" (based on a good book, no doubt), the "Back to the Future" series, "12 Monkeys", "Time Bandits" - the list is impressive and it doesn't stop there.But when it comes to a lack of continuity, story lapses, illogic, and an ocean of missed opportunities, the list is very short, and here it is:"Time Chasers".Seems this guy - let's call him Chin Boy - has created a time machine in his airplane and does what any smart guy would do: shows it to a guy who shows it in turn to his boss, who just happens to be the most evil CEO with the biggest hick accent.
But otherwise, the action was stale and the acting was about as exciting as watching bread dough rise.But Mike and the robots had the best scenes, poking and prodding as only they can, and making "Time Chasers" look more entertaining than it really was.Two stars for "Time Chasers": eight stars for the MST3K version.TIDBIT - the director of this film actually thanked MST3K for showing his film in their venue.
Time Chasers is still a very bad movie, what is meant by not that awful is that it is far from one of the worst movies ever and there have been far worse movies featured on MST3K(though they did a good job riffing Time Chasers).
The rest of Time Chasers is sloppily executed, it shows more ambition than most other movies riffed on MST3K but it does come across as too ambitious especially for the budget.
I love mst3k, but at least I know the difference between truth and a riff meant for laughs.Yes the movie isn't great, but its no worse than any of mst3k's other 198 films.
This is a really dumb movie, with a very low budget, and because of that, this is a very entertaining film.Nick is a nerdy, bike riding teacher, who has built a little plane into a time machine.
Time Chasers is probably one of the better movies on MST3K, though the competition isn't too tough.
The MST3K was great, and it was fun to watch the movie because it was filmed in Rutland, Vermont.
Now, the film being as bad as it is, it makes the MST3K version that much better.
Time travel can be a fascinating movie subject, and films like "Back to the Future" knew how to wallow in it; to really make us feel that we had travelled back in time.
This time they must defeat the evil corporation and J.K. Robertson again with our "heros" Nick and Lisa Miller.
Yes, I know, the budget was limited, but when so much better was made with so much less...p.s. I've actually seen the MST3l-less version of Cinemax...p.p.s. anyone else notice that the bottom 100 list on this site is made up of mostly MST3k movies?.
I guess it just took nine years to get through to the final draft of the script and to get all the main casting out of the way.Briefly, in case this movie hasn't been seen by whoever is reading this, the plot involves a man who builds a time machine and the complications that result based on his stupidity.
But seriously, I'm sure that the Giancola family had a good time making it (check out the full credits, it seems to be a family affair), and for anyone who likes to hear some guy who thinks he's a scientist talk about tangents and other wacky ideas ("Pretend that you're this spoon.") I recommend this movie.One last thing: Is that really Lisa Kudrow?.
I think its a great concept when you can put a time travel device in a car or a plane, but unless the script is easy to follow, or you already have a basic grasp of quantum realities, the movie is likely not going to make sense.
Yes, I saw this movie on MST3K like most people, and yes it's not the best piece of celluloid ever captured on film, but it isn't terrible.
I'll admit I was disappointed with the geeky big chinned hero(who couldn't drive I might add), the year 2041 looked like 1991, and the hickish villian CEO was pretty laughable with his monotone dribble, but let's not forget this movie was made on a minute budget, and had the misfortune of being filmed in Vermont(the other smaller Wisconsin in the words of Crow).
It should go without saying that it's almost, just almost, not fair to judge a movie when you're seeing it in the context of an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 - or, more recently, when the group did a redux with Rifftrax live (with the complete cut of the film, featuring the deleted scenes with the cab driver which, oh, I'll get to in a moment) - since you may think you're missing something vital to the story or not getting the full picture.
And yet the filmmakers don't even get this right; there's a whole thing that the main character, who makes time travel possible out of his little "Transport" plane and a Commodore 64 (and who is like discount 80's/90's Bill Maher with the charisma of discount Ted Cruz, and think about what that means for a moment!) seem very important as far as how things we do, whether we know it or not, will affect the future.
Acting was so/so, the music was not good, and the storyline was ok.This movie has to do with this weird dude named Nick Miller, who builds a time machine.
Big-chinned hero and reporter girlfriend try to change the future and in a series of events too painful (and not horribly important, though including one version of girlfriend Lisa getting killed and a duplicate Nick coming into the picture) to recount, they along with JK, flunky Pink Boy and garage mechanic end up in 1777 Vermont.
When the evil corporation takes over the time machine and does some vaguely bad thing with it (it is suggested that some futuristic was brought into the present), Our hero finds out that the "future" has turned into a local slum populated by a few hobos with guns (not lasers or anything just normal guns).
Nick and his love interest, Lisa, try to change things back to the way they were.This movie is ambitious work for a small budget but it has a charm to it and quite a cult following as well.
This line, given by Crow in this film's well-deserved roasting by the MST3K guys, pretty much sums up my feelings for Nick Miller, the so-called hero of "Time Chasers." Not only does he have hideous 80's hair (the fact that the film was done in the 90's makes it even worse), an annoying nasaly voice and a chin which rivals that of Gaston in "Beauty and the Beast," he's also a complete idiot.
But, as evidenced in this film, enthusiasm can only take you so far and on most fronts (casting, acting, dialog, FX, soundtrack, wardrobe, art direction, etc.) Time Chasers is an embarrassingly bad movie.
Nick decides he must go into the past if he is to restore the future.Like most people on this sight, I came by Time Chasers courtesy of Mystery Science Theater 3000.
The whole notion of time travel, changing the future, and going into the past to make things right is a good, interesting concept.
Time Chasers is one of my favorite MST3Ks, but one of the worst movies I've ever seen. |
tt0094315 | The Whales of August | The events take place during a single summer day in Maine, in a cottage on an island. The camera stays indoors except when the characters take walks to the water. Two elderly widowed sisters are summering in the cottage, as they have done for 60 years. The sisters frequently relate events of the past to each other. Sarah Webber (Lillian Gish) is the older of the two, the owner, and is caretaker to her blind sister Libby Strong (Bette Davis). Every August, they have watched the whales passing in the nearby waters, but the sense is that this may be their last summer together.Sarah is living life the way it's important to her, friendly, attentive, gracious, worried about continuing to care for her sister. She cleans, makes beanie animals for the fall fair, cooks, serves meals and tea and keeps the house in order. Libby is contrary, cantankerous, and psychologically ready to die.Mr. Maranov (Vincent Price) is an old man originally of the Imperial Russian aristocracy who has been living in a rented room in the house of a neighbor woman who has recently died. Maranov arrives in mid-morning, announces his presence and makes small talk, asks permission to fish from their shore, and goes to the shore to fish, but he really is fishing around for a place to live.Joshua Brackett (Harry Carey, Jr.) is a noisy handyman man who drops in to offer to install a picture window.
Joshua says he can get a good deal on the materials and can do the work in about two weeks. Libby brushes off the idea, saying they are too old for anything new.A neighbor and life long friend of the sisters, Tisha Doughty (Ann Sothern) shows up to gossip, complain about newcomers and losing her drivers license, and by the way suggests to Sarah that she might want to think of selling the old cottage and leave Libby's care to her daughter. Sarah is close to being convinced, until she remembers how Libby helped her when her own husband died. They guess that Maranov is trying to ingratiate himself with Sarah to see whether she will rent him a room, as he needs to move soon.There are quiet scenes in which Sarah talks to old photographs as she cleans or fixes up her hair and makeup.Later in the day, Maranov has caught some fish and offers part of his catch to Sarah. Sarah accepts, puts the fish in her refrigerator, and invites Maranov to come to dinner to eat the fish. Libby protests that she will not under any circumstances eat of that fish, nor get dressed for dinner. Sarah promises to fix a pork chop for Libby, as she is sweet in her sisterly devotion to Libby and avoids getting drawn into her moods. She always calls her dear. She brushes her hair, fixes breakfast for her, gets her clothes together and tends to the garden. "Busy, busy, busy" is how Libby talks about her, and irritatingly calls her Say-rah throughout. In a moving sequence, Libby brushes her own face with a lock of her husband's hairwhile sitting alone in her bedroom.Mr. Maranov arrives for dinner, dressed up as best he can, after having picked a few flowers, and the threesome have a candlelight dinner, during which Maranov entertains the sisters with stories from the old aristocratic days, exile in Paris, and his life since then. He has little money and has survived mainly on the kindness of others.The relatively pleasant dinner session comes to an end when Libby unequivocally announces that no way will they even consider letting Maranov live in their house. Sarah is shown in an emotional scene in which she celebrates her 46th wedding anniversary by having an imaginary conversation with her long deceased husband. "Forty-six years, Phillip", she tells him. "Forty-six red roses; forty-six white. White for truth--red for passion. That's what you always said--passion and truth; that's all we need. I wish you were here, Phillip."Tisha Doughty arrives together with Mr. Beckwith (Frank Grimes) in a vintage car. Beckwith is a real estate agent who believes that Sarah may want to put her house up for sale. Sarah, much annoyed at the suggestion, eventually orders Mr. Beckwith out, determined not to sell.Joshua Brackett the handyman returns to the house to look for a wrench he might have left behind earlier. He is constantly making a racket as he enters or leaves or rummages in the garden. Libby asks for Joshua to come into the house, asks questions about the proposed picture window, and announces that she and her sister have agreed to go ahead with the project.The picture window project is symbolic, in that Libby shows her first sign in possibly many years of not giving in to death. Sarah is delighted with the prospect of getting her picture window installed. Libby asks Sarah to walk her out to the point, the spot from which they used to watch the whales go by. | flashback | train | imdb | I'm 22 years old and yet this movie about two elderly sisters and their friends touched my heart deeply.I must admit before I begin that I am a fan of Bette Davis and Vincent Price, and that Miss Lillian Gish is my all time favorite actress, so my view of this film may be skewed.
However, I must admit and admire the sheer artistry of these actors (including the unsung Ann Sothern) and their ability to take a simple story and turn it into an engaging, emotional tour de force film of power and majesty.Miss Gish was in the twilight of her life in this, her last film, but you could still see the same actress who touched audiences in 1919's "Broken Blossoms"...the same powerful skills which are on display in 1928's "The Wind", and the same quiet dignity portrayed in 1959's "The Night of the Hunter".
His role as the Count, warm, friendly, scared and courtly, was probably the most sympathetic character in the film.All in all, a touching, beautiful tribute to the legends of the screen and to the movies themselves.
Starring not only Bette Davis and Lilian Gish, alone worth anybody's money, well advanced into the autumn of their years, but also a very welcome Vincent Price, and a magnificent Ann Sothern together with her real daughter, Tisha Sterling.A slow sensitive story in which each one looks back on life from differing perspectives; as usual, Bette Davis is in a dominating rôle, which, despite her advanced years, carries off quite well; Lillian Gish is just superb, lending that toned-down equanimous nature of hers which pervades the whole atmosphere of the film.
Just a few weeks after being invited to the San Sebastián Film Festival her last public engagement Bette Davis died, as has Lillian Gish: unrepeatable..
The film centers on a beautiful and simple story about the bonds of sisters, the disappointments of life, and the waning days of one last summer on the coast of Maine.The legendary, and I mean LEGENDARY, Lillian Gish stars here at age 93 as Sarah.
Lindsay Anderson's The Whales of August stars silent film legend Lillian Gish, in her 95th year, and Bette Davis, 79, as widowed sisters, one warm and supportive, the other cold and cantankerous, who have been coming to a small cottage on the Maine seacoast for sixty years.
The film also features Vincent Price as Mr. Maranov, a down on his luck but charming Russian refugee whom Libby suspects is trying to worm his way in with them, and Haray Caray, Jr. as Joshua Brackett, a handyman who is forever making a racket in the house.
I had heard that The Whales of August was little more than a vehicle for two aging stars to sing their swan song; however, I found the screenplay by David Berry to gracefully complement the performances with an emotional honesty that captures the truth of the characters.
Elegantly tasteful inter-personal story about 2 elderly sisters -- played by Gish and Davis, the all-time queens of the screen -- who are haunted by the past and unsure of the future.
One sister, the elder (Davis) is literally blind -- an attribute she claims is intentional: "I'm working on my ears, now." Gish suffers her changing emotions and bitter appraisal of life only so far -- she wants to have a future, even if it is a frightening, uncertain one.
I will attempt to be as impartial as possible in my review, but right from the outset, I do believe that the flaw in this magnificently presented tribute' is not in the actresses (as most commentary' seem to be intent particularly on Davis), but in the film itself.Libby (Davis) provides with gusto a controlled, deep and thoughtful portrayal of ageing that has soured with time.
If there is one fault in her overall performance, it is her first scene, where appearing to almost glow in the dark like a ghostly image, wanting to convey to us her blindness, she relies heavily upon her trademark hand and eye movement, for which she is renowned for instead of allowing us to observe more gently the introduction of Libby Strong.Gish stands out as truly magnificent.
Thank you Bette Davis, Lillian Gish, Sothern, Carey Jr. and Price.
Lillian Gish plays Sarah Webber the oldest of the two and she is caring for her sister Libby Strong (Bette Davis) who is blind and maybe in the early stages of senility.
I was charmed by the simple beauty of watching aged movie stars in their final film roles.
Bette Davis, Lillian Gish and Vincent Price, as well as Ann Sothern, are all veterans of the great "Hollywood Era" and it shows.
The Whales of August follow the events of just more than a day in the life of two sisters, Sarah (Lillian Gish) and Libby (Bette Davis).
I found Vincent Price wonderfully suited to the role of Mr. Maranov, and Ann Sothern was quite convincing as the sisters' childhood friend.Obviously, if you are looking for action or high drama, this isn't it.
Sensitive and compassionate little movie about the last days of live of two senior sisters (superbly played by Davis and Gish) in their house in Maine.
Anyway, the chance of watch two great actress, in fact, more than that because Davis and Gish are really two simbols of the movie history, is a fine and rewarding experience.
for the memories from films in which Lillian Gish, Bettle Davis, Ann Sothern,Haarry Carey Jr. or Vincent Price were the stars.
This charming and thoroughly enjoyable film features a magnificent cast headed by screen legends Bette Davis and Lillian Gish.
Ann Sothern co-stars as their spirited friend and neighbor, Harry Carey is their rackety handyman, and Vincent Price is a gentlemanly Russian 'emigre' who takes a romantic interest in Gish.Ann Sothern received a much deserved Academy Award nomination for her delightful performance.
Two Sisters, One Family House in Maine, One day in August, Summer is ending, and so are the lives of the Sisters and their summers at the house.This is a great movie, Bette Davis and Lillian Gish, to have seen them in their early films, and see them in this movie, time may have taken their youth, but time has not taken their inner beauty and their ability to act....To watch these two ladies in the film, you would think that this isn't a movie, but a moment that is happening right now, being filmed on a camera.Vincent Price and Ann Southern are a wonderful addition to the cast, Price as a member of 'royalty' who is down on his luck and broke...
Gish's character Sarah is a wonderful woman, she's living life the way it's important to her, at her age, she cleans, makes beanie animals for the fall fair, and spends an intimate moment with her husbands memory.
Bette Davis and Vincent Price are the two actors that do that but it really is Lillian Gish that steels the show and it doesn't matter that none of them are still with us as this timeless classic will keep them close to hand..
Bette Davis (Libby) and Lillian Gish (Sarah) are outstanding in their roles.
The effects of Miss Davis' recent real-life stroke only add to the poignancy of her performance.Deliberately and lovingly paced by director Lindsay Anderson, the story reveals how the sisters interact with a dispossessed Russian aristocrat played by Vincent Price, neighbor Ann Sothern, and handyman Harry Carey Jr. during a day at their island cottage.
The tension between the bitter Libby and sunny Sarah doesn't obscure the underlying subtle affection they have for each other.The Whales of August is a crowning achievement for Lillian Gish and Bette Davis at the end of their long careers..
The blind sister, portrayed by Bette Davis, is irascible and hard-to-please, whereas her sister, winningly played by Lillian Gish, displays an inner strength in her patient dealings with her difficult sibling.
"Can one live beyond one's time?" ponders the 93 year old Sarah (Lillian Gish).
This summarises one of the key themes in Lindsay Anderson's moving drama The Whales of August, which focuses on the relationship between sisters Sarah and Libby (Bette Davis).
While Sarah is positive and open to changes, Libby is bitter, resigned to her looming death, and opposes Sarah's ideas to install a window that would allow the moonlight to shine through the home in the evening.There is no real plot in The Whales of August, and is instead a moving character piece that allows a quartet of wonderful actors - Vincent Price and Ann Sothern as well as the aforementioned - to flex their muscles again.
Post-stroke and looking extremely gaunt, Davis sadly fairs less well, and although I consider her to be possibly the greatest actress to ever grace the screen, her performance lacks any real emotion.Beyond the performances, the film is contemplative and somewhat sad.
Thus, we have Lillian Gish, arguably the greatest actress of the silent screen, 91 years old here and in her final film; Bette Davis, arguably the greatest actress of Hollywood's Golden Age, poststroke here at 79; Ann Sothern, everyone's favorite sweet/tough broad, at 78; AND that grand old guy Vincent Price, the relative stripling of the bunch at a tender 76!
The story here concerns two sisters, played by Gish and Davis, who spend their days puttering around in their house off the coast of Maine in the mid-1950s.
The incredible nine decade career of Lillian Gish came to a glorious end when partnered with Bette Davis she made The Whales Of August.
I only wish that Bette had ended her six decade career on the high note of this film.There's no real plot to The Whales Of August, but the film is a fascinating and heart breaking story of old age when two widowed sisters have no one else but each other in extreme old age.
The stars are aided and abetted by some cinema contemporaries including Ann Sothern as a long time friend, Vincent Price departing the horror genre to play an aging gigolo and permanent party guest, and Harry Carey, Jr. in one of his non-western credits playing the village handyman.
And I'm glad to see it was photographed on Cliff Isle, Maine and not somewhere in Canada standing for the USA.But what drives the film are the two performances and the chemistry between Lillian Gish and Bette Davis.
Whales of August, The (1989)*** (out of 4) Bette Davis, Lillian Gish and Vincent Price lead this terrific cast, which served as one last shining moment for the legends with Ann Sothern and Harry Carey, Jr. having supporting roles.
The film centers on Sarah (Gish) who is taking care of her sister Libby (Davis) who is blind.
The movie runs 90-minutes and is pretty much one dialogue scene after another and the "fun" in watching this film isn't the story but instead is just seeing these legends turning in fine performances at the end of their careers.
Also, how spectacular it is to see the performance of these great actors -- Gish, Davis, Souther, Price and Carey.
Lillian Gish and Bette Davis play sisters who spend the summer together on an island off the coast of Maine.
The Whales of August is the only film I have seen Lillian Gish actually speaking and acting.
Lillian Gish offers a fine performance in this her last film role.
During filming, Lillian Gish was 93 years of age, Bette Davis 79, Vincent Price 75 and Ann Southern 78..
Advancing years and a toll of illnesses have left their mark on Bette Davis, but seeing the still-sprightly 94-year old Lillian Gish, a silver screen veteran from cinema's infancy, is enough to send a shiver down the spine of any film buff.
Each is cast in perfect character, portraying widowed sisters living together on the coast of Maine: Gish is modest, optimistic, indefatigable; Davis is stubborn, moody, and cantankerous.
Unfortunately, the respected subject matter was well beyond their years.Lillian Gish shines her final film performance as Sarah, older sister to Libby, portrayed by Bette Davis.
There are even times when it seems a little frighteningly realistic to watch and see Bette Davis hobble around and screech "Say-rah!" in her sleep as you wonder exactly just how hard it really is for her to try and keep it together.Ann Sothern is one of the film's highlights.
One amusing highlight in this movie is when Sothern offers a bowl of blueberries to Davis and yet moves it out of her reach knowing fully well that she is blind.Vincent Price delivers a fine performance as a Russian immigrant who has a tender spot for Gish.
While indeed it is certainly astounding to see Gish, Davis, Price and Sothern on screen together, we are not there to watch a reunion of film veterans.
This play/film is really about the desire of movie-goers to see a final or near final performance of five well-known actors and actresses: Bette Davis, Lillian Gish, Vincent Price, Ann Sothern, and Harry Carey, Jr. In fact, the film is little more than that, plus some lovely shots of the Maine seashore.
Sothern in particular is excellent, playing a character, listening to the other players, fully present in every scene.The weakness of this film, I'm sorry to say, is the performance of Bette Davis.
For any cinephile, thrills and veneration aplenty can be elicited from the sole banner "a movie starring Bette Davis and Lillian Gish", to say nothing of THE WHALES OF AUGUST is both celluloid doyennes' (quasi) swan song (Davis' penultimate, and Lillian's last film), plus in a lesser extent, it also features a fine Vincent Price in his twilight years and bookends veteran entertainer Ann Sothern's six-decade long career (and surprisingly, it is she who is given an Oscar nomination for a rather prosaic impression, which only precipitates one's reckoning it is a token validation of the film per se and her hitherto unheralded track record), lastly, it is the final theatrical feature of director Lindsay Anderson, the high priest of British New Wave.
It is only logical that THE WHALES OF AUGUST is an elegiac piece of work cogitating and reminiscing about time, mortality, past glory and reconciliation, two elderly widow sisters, Sarah (Gish) diligently attends to her blind, elder sister Libby (Davis) in their seaward abode on Maine's Cliff Island (In reality Gish was 93, 15-years senior of a 78-year-young Davis), while Libby has become ever so bitter and disagreeable to live with, Sarah is tempted to slough off the heavy burden and sell their house, encouraged by their common lifelong friend Tisha (Sothern), but after a visit from and sequentially a dinner with Nicholas Maranov (Price, still a handsome specimen of chivalry and proprieties, impeccably leaves a trace of hurt that otherwise, is beautifully hidden underneath his inscrutable facade), an old-money Russian expatriate who is forced to find a new lodging by his landlady's sudden departure, the next morning, Sarah finds a new take on her and her sister's status quo.
But that is not what matters now.I saw it on the first day of 2010, twenty-three years after it was made, 72 years after Vincent Price's first movie appearance, 79 years after Bette Davis's, 83 after Ann Sothern's, and 98 after Lillian Gish's -- in color, in a world I recognize well from my teenage years: I was 18 in 1987.
Oh, there are characters here, but are they Sarah, Libby, Tisha, and Maranov, or are they Gish, Davis, Sothern, and Price?
The thought of seeing Lillian Gish, Bette Davis, Vincent Price, Ann Sothern and Harry Carey, Jr. again after all these years made this a must-see for me, but a lot of people have no idea who many (or even all) of these people are and the slow pace may irritate those who MUST have an action picture or comedy or nothing.I must admit, the movie is very slow paced.
Patient, kind Lillian Gish (as Sarah Webber) and contrary, cantankerous Bette Davis (as Libby Strong) are two aging sisters; who spend what is likely to be their last summer together, arguing about their limited future.
Vincent Price, Ann Sothern, and Harry Carey Jr. are a great supporting cast.
********* The Whales of August (8/19/87) Lindsay Anderson ~ Lillian Gish, Bette Davis, Vincent Price, Ann Sothern.
Aging is difficult due to growing infirmities plus financial concerns, and especially in America the elderly are not liked because the young are terrified of eventually becoming like them.The Whales of August filmed in 1987 was a swan song for several outstanding performers: Lillian Gish, Bette Davis, Vincent Price.
Farewell My Lovelies: Davis, Gish, Sothern & Price.
It was a lovely film, starring Lillian Gish, Bette Davis, Ann Sothern, and Vincent Price.
Libby and Sarah are two sisters in their eighties, living in an old house by the sea in Maine, and life is going on as usual.
Their idle days are pleasantly interrupted by old friend Ann Sothern and a dashing Russian aristocrat (Vincent Price) who is courting Gish.
It's a real treat seeing Davis, Gish,, Sothern, and Vincent Price in their very senior years.
If I hadn't known that this script was a play before ever it was a film, watching her sit stubborn and hostile in her chair as Libby, the 'difficult' sister, I'd probably have assumed that the part had been written specifically for her as a typecast "Bette Davis role".
Any classic film aficionado will no likely feel their heart rate accelerate a bit seeing old pros Lillian Gish, Bette Davis, Vincent Price and Ann Sothern cast as the main protagonists in a drama, and deservedly so.
Bette Davis, Ann Southern and Vincent Price are likewise icons of yesteryear and watching them perform here, at the end of their own lives and careers, is strangely moving.
Bette Davis as her sister is really a second fiddle as her performance here is no different that it had been in several films. |
tt0101597 | Closet Land | Set in an unspecified country, Stowe's character is taken from her home in the middle of the night, accused of embedding anarchistic messages into her book, entitled Closet Land. The book is a story about a child who, as a result of bad behaviour, has been locked in a closet as punishment. While in there, the child is greeted by a group of childhood ally archetypes who innocently attempt to comfort the scared little girl. The seemingly simple content is questioned by the government, which accuses the author of encouraging and introducing anarchism among its audience of naïve children.
While the Interrogator is obstinate in his belief that the author is guilty of hidden propaganda, the audience is convinced of the victim's innocence. The audience later learns that the novel was actually created as a form of escapism, providing a coping mechanism for the author, who endured sexual abuse as a child. Near the end of the film, the interrogator claims that he was the man who had sexually abused the author in her childhood. But one cannot be entirely sure he was the one who abused her, as the film suggests he was just using the abuse against her as a way of breaking her down.
After subjecting her to lengthy physical and mental torture, and pretending to be several other people (another prisoner, a more brutal interrogator) while the Victim is blindfolded, the Interrogator tries to get her to sign a confession—to save her life. While he knows now that the woman is innocent, he implores her to confess to avoid execution. She refuses, and goes to her death. | insanity, allegory, cult, brainwashing, flashback | train | wikipedia | I saw this movie only a few days ago at a convention, and was moved to think about a side of torture tactics that I had never examined.
The power of mental abuse can surely override any physical abuse, and that is shown through Madeline Stowe's wondrous acting in this movie.
The basis of the plot is this: A children's book writer (Stowe) is arrested on the premise that her books hold subversive political ideas, trying to get children to go against the government.
The writer continues to deny these allegations, even as she is questioned and eventually abused physically and mentally by a government agent (Rickman).
Government secrets, personal secrets, both are integral pieces of this story.By far the greatest acting seen in too long a time, both Alan Rickman and Madeleine Stowe were phenomenal in their portrayal of a Government Interrogator and Victim respectively.
With only the two actors in this unusual standard length film, it is instantly clear that both actors were dedicated and talented enough to pull the viewer into this tiny bubble of a world and shut the door.A WORD OF CAUTION...What isn't mentioned on the description of this movie is that there is a subplot that deals with childhood sexual abuse.
While there is no graphic detail about the abuse, the nature of it may be difficult for some viewers to watch - especially given the intensity of the film on whole.I'm not a big fan of Amnesty International films, but this movie drew me in because the acting was so exceptional, and I can't help but make this movie one of my personal favorites..
Stowe as the confused writer was good, letting the crafty Rickman convince her that he only wanted to go one step further, then one more, etc.
Especially when you have absolutely no control over it.In the end, the movie amounts to a warning (really though, the movie has several different aspects to it) about what happens to people's freedoms when they "look the other way" and ignore injustices happening to those around them.If you've got about an hour and a half and know where you can rent this, I strongly recommend that you do so..
This movie gave me recurring nightmares, with Alan Rickman's voice representing an omnipotent, insidious, fascist ruler.
Placed somewhere in the midst of 1984' and Twilight Zone' this film may be about abuse of power, it may be about government control, it may be about overactive imaginations.One certainty is after watching Closet Land' you will ask yourself a few questions.
Chances are, if you would like it, you probably have seen it.Powerful premise, powerful performances, powerful film..
This is such an obscure film, but it was so powerful, I had to watch it a second time on the same night, just to be sure I didn't miss anything.Alan Rickman is at his best in this film, essentially playing four characters: the ruthless interrogator, the sadistic torturer, the tortured witness, and the lost soul.
In the movie age of special effects, explosions, explicit sex, and all-too-often pretty faces with poor acting and dialogue, "Closet Land" is one of the best films I've seen..
The acting in the film is superb, sometimes you have to remind yourself that the movie is a dramatization, and not real life.
Think about it, Closet Land could easily have turned out so horribly - an entire movie filmed in one room with only two people, they better have some damned interesting things to chat about.But it didn't turn out horribly.
On the contrary, thanks to incredible portrayals by both Stowe and Rickman, Closet Land is a masterpiece in its own right.That's not to say it is for everyone.
In short, if you're looking for escapist fare, go elsewhere; if you want to be challenged and see the finest acting this side of great theater, this is your film..
If you liked "1984" book or movie, I think you will like this one as well.This is harsh, to say the least, including mental and physical acts of torture, some pretty vile.
No gore, but his movie is so great at projecting the mental anticipation it doesn't need blood and guts.If you are not a realist or a pestimistic person I don't think you will enjoy it.
Those concerned about 1st amendment issues, censorship, et al--but don't want to be bored with lectures--need art such as this to illustrate, dramatize, teach, inspire.Rickman is certainly an under appreciated character actor; he shines in this film, showing off multiple acting talents that you must see (I have yet to see him give a bad performance, though, even in not-so-great films).
What makes this film so unsettling is that the drama feels so real, it's almost hard to remember that it's only a movie.
The film almost feels like a theatrical production the way it is staged and lit.
It's a movie about an interrogation, and one that ends on a note of a "message" (brought to you by Amnesty International, which is well intentioned but not the right note at the end of all of this).
Its bizarre execution comes from somewhere primal, somewhere from a filmmaker who wants to take you to some place that is rather unrelenting and sad about the human condition, where we put ourselves in a place we can't get out of - and, sometimes, how we can find a way to make it through, bit by bit.It's like if Kafka had to do a remake of Saw and use nothing but politics.
Oh, and cast Alan Rickman instead of Jigsaw and make it about a woman who writes children's stories and is accused of writing subversive literature hidden in her latest story 'Closet Land'...
come to think of it, that's nothing like Saw at all (save for the bits of torture, which, gracefully, are kept at a distance).Two things are striking here: the sets and lighting, and the performances (maybe that's three, who cares).
We rarely leave it, save for those few flashes where Madeline Stowe imagines herself away with her creations, so the photographer has to come up with new ways to show us these people, in this very strange and oppressive environment.
Does he really believe what he's saying, as he breaks this woman, or does he mean it when he says "They're watching me, too", when talking to Madeline Stowe's children's writer.
Stowe, on the other hand, is given a more challenging task playing the victim, always on the alert but strong because of her own 'Closet Land' she developed as a child, not as any kind of political statement.I believed both actors in the roles, no matter how horrifying things got, and the film-making is just direct and absorbing.
It is, for all of its 'wordyness', a cinematic piece, shot on a specific-film set, and given a musical score that, unless I was mistaken, sounded a helluva lot like Philip Glass (it says Richard Einhorn, but who cares).
Among a small group of people, I imagine, it's one of the great little-seen films of the past twenty-five years: intelligent, provocative, adult film-making..
I am amazed at the depth of the acting, and I feel if this movie had gotten wider release that there would be no question that Alan Rickman is a major star.
a top notch one !And Madeleine Stowe is absolutely beautiful and shows a first-rate playingAlan Rickman, wow, what an actor !My only complaint was that to cut a movie like this (I mean on YT) is also a bit sadistic...
in the Fair Use purpose.)Well, back to the movie : So if you are for Freedom, I mean any form of it (if there are different forms of it !), and you can stand a powerful claustrophobic situation in a movie, I just can say : watch this masterpiece !Me, fortunately I could find it slightly later in "one piece" on DVD format, so it joined my home video library, for my great pleasure :-)Remember : Amazing performances, brilliant !If you agree/disagree with this comment, I'll be glad if you'll rate it, wishing more Yes, just because this movie speaks to my heart about Liberty AND Freedom...
I know it seems a wrong double use meaning, but may be you'll understand what I trying to point out :-)*** a film is never really good unless the camera is an eyes in the head of a poet Orson Welles ***.
Alan Rickman and Madeline Stowe have intense and powerful roles for which they deserve Oscars for their performances..
This is what this film explores through the eyes of 2 characters, one being the accused subversive, the other being the interrogator.
Alan Rickman gives a superior performance as a sadistic interrogator, and we really wonder, "What's the point?" This is just a poor woman writer.
Ms. Stowe is sensational in this power drama about a secret policeman who interrogates a children's author because he believes she is trying to plant ideas in her writings that are contrary to the state's.
The pornographic aspects are justified by being a warning about the evils of totalitarian government, but because there is no real context for the torture of this young woman, we come away disturbed but having learned nothing.What is the point?
Let's make a movie about an oppressive government torturing one of its citizens for no real reason.
We must all fight for the freedom to think and write what we please!"Those could have been the thoughts running through the mind of the filmmaker who created "Closet Land." The result is a desperately earnest but thin and tedious film.
I almost hope it's true, as I can imagine McDonagh's irritation in slogging through this film: "What terrible, dreary handling of an interesting idea!" McDonagh's play fixes the two biggest defects of "Closet Land." First, his author writes *interesting* stories, and lots of them.
Closet Land screams "Film School Class Project!" Here's the assignment: Everyone go home and write a 5 page script with only two characters in 1 setting.
Combining these 5 page manifestos into one is the never successful film teacher who eagerly puts out an ad in Backstage magazine and has the school's animation department get to work on the sequences he wrote while high.From the cheap, lifeless set (painted to look like marble), to the unrealistic exchanges between two actors all Scotch taped together into one long, tedious play.
About five minutes after the house lights went up people started coming out of their comas to look around, and I think most of us thought, okay we get it, that was a joke, right?, they are going to show the real movie now.
I have seen some pretty bad movies in my day, (I have Cinemax for goodness sakes), but I am still bitter that I will never, ever be able to recover those two or so hours of my life that I lost watching Closet Land..
But it makes me think these 2 were thrown into a speech/drama class at college for the first time and told for one to act dominating and constricting to the other in a room without allowing her to leave and the woman to be truly innocent and treat her with enough mind-humping to drive the audience into tears for her release.The only good part IS the acting abilities, the plot has the same ruse as Hitlers influence and I started to hate the protagonist for that.
I consider it a brilliant but flawed film, and no doubt a testament to what the human mind can withstand.With the Bushes and Ashcrofts of the world thriving, and others who would stifle political dissent at any cost, this movie is not all that far fetched..
It shows the obvious insidiousness of evil, people may not see that right away by watching this movie, but I saw it right away, it SCREAMED.
This movie needs to be seen by everyone in the world so that they are not held against their will by thought, or deed, or physicality, or in any other way.
2 actors, 1 room ( very simple but hard to pull off, but Stowe and Rickman do it!) This movie is actor driven, and beautifully so.
This is a great movie for hose of you who like to think while you watch a film.
I watched it originally just to watch Alan Rickman, and because I am a member of Amnesty International, but it quickly became my favorite movie.
If you can't handle watching people in pain though, this movie might not be for you.
The cast and director do an amazing job with the script, and anyone who likes 'different' movies, who has the patience to sit and say, "What the hell is this?", and allow themselves to be drawn in should give this film a chance.
If you just want Alan Rickman to be goofy or to see things explode this is not the movie for you..
The original premise was to make a film (play, actually) with a two-person, one-room cast.
It tells the story about a female author of children's books who one night is taken from her place of residence and brought to an unknown place where she meets a man who claims to be associated with the government and who initiates an interrogation by implying that her novels are allegorical writings with hidden political meanings.
While notable for it's surreal interior milieu depictions, low keyed production design by Japanese costume designer Eiko Ishioka (1938-2012) and use of sound, music and animation, this dialog-driven, narrative-driven and abridged chamber-piece from the early 1990s depicts an in-depth study of character and contains an efficient score by modern classical composer Richard Einhorn.This conversational, political, literary and psychological mystery drama where a novelist's imagination becomes her strongest survival mechanism, is impelled and reinforced by it's cogent narrative structure, subtle character development and continuity, esoteric voice-over narration and the fine acting performances by English actor Alan Rickman and American actress Madeleine Stowe.
Both Rickman and Stowe play their roles to the hilt in this tale of a childrens' book writer who-- maybe?-- has written a subversive tract.
This film, with only two characters, takes you closer to these two people, the interrogator and the prisoner, than most films take you to any character, however well-crafted.The sheer confusion, terror and pain which Madeleine Stowe's character undergoes is deeply disturbing, as is Alan Rickman's sadistic yet charming interrogator.This film is all too possible, and builds to a shocking climax, the effect of the film as a whole leaving you sitting in silence at the end.
i happen to admire movies that can effectively recreate the sensation of watching a stage play, it creates an inharmonious eeriness that works well with this flick.
Closet land is not at happy movie.
The distance from specific time and nations strengthens the message, makes it more powerful and rips away the burden of nationalism and propaganda you often sense in movies made to criticize nations in opposit of ones own (I am of course primarily speaking of the USA propaganda in some commercial film).
Anyway, Closet Land is a movie worth it's time if you are ready to make a trip into the abyss of the human nature.And of course for us who really loves the Always Evil Alan Rickman..
"Closet Land" was sponsored by Amnesty International and does have a lot of political overtones, but there's so much more to this richly stirring story than that...This is not just about the political tension of the late 80s - it's about the personal persecution that a woman puts herself through as a child who was molested by a family friend.
The psychological ramifications of even asking this question force us to a place where we are brought to develop our own answers.In the end, our young lady writer (Stowe) has a similar moment to the one at the end of Hensen's "Labyrinth" - she realizes in one shining, brilliant moment that the idea of having her power stolen from her by the secret police (Rickman) is an illusion.
The acting is outstanding, with Alan Rickman and Madeleine Stowe having the duty of carrying every scene.I first saw this film in 1991, soon after it came out on video.
It illustrates what happens when a small group of people decide what is best for everyone; when government becomes the ruler of the citizens, rather than the servant.Madeleine Stowe is a children's author who has been dragged from her bed in the night and subjected to terror and torture.
The interrogator is the one trapped by the state.This movie was made during the height of the Cold war, Apartheid, and at a time when the crimes of many governments throughout the world made daily news.
A female children book author (Madeleine Stowe) is kidnapped and finds herself in a room with a male interrogator (Alan Rickman) who appears to work for the government, accusing her that her latest book is a thinly veiled allegory of subversive nature.
Males are per definition the victimizers and women are the victims, just like the government is per definition evil and the people are good.
It also uses copious amounts of sexism as part of the interrogation/torture and a rape plot device which in a better film would probably seem fine but just adds more predictable elements to this unimaginative allegory, making them feel like clichés.But it isn't all bad, at least towards the end it DOES have some interesting things to say that can make 'Closet Land' a nice conversation piece, most notably it forcefully drives home the point that the seeds of obedience to (male) authority and the acceptance of the (patriarchal) status quo are planted at a very young age, often through actions that may not even seem directly related to obedience to authority and so on.
Anyway, it's a movie that is powerful and covers themes of torture, persecution, interrogation and individualism. |
tt0056869 | The Birds | Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren) is a young San Francisco socialite whose wealthy father owns a large newspaper. As the film opens, Melanie is visiting a pet shop to buy a mynah bird for her aunt. While in the pet shop, she meets a man named Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor) who mistakes her for a shop clerk. Melanie pretends to sell him a pair of lovebirds, until Mitch reveals that he knew her name all along; Mitch is a lawyer who recognizes Melanie from a court appearance where one of her practical jokes backfired and resulted in a damaged window. Melanie is incensed and uses Mitch's license plate number to find out his identity and address. The next day, she buys Mitch a pair of lovebirds and attempts to deliver them to his apartment, but when she tries to leave the birds in his hallway, a neighbor (Richard Deacon) tells her that Mitch spends his weekends at his family home in a small town up the coast called Bodega Bay, and won't return until Monday.Not wanting to let her joke go, Melanie decides to journey to Bodega Bay; she drives up the coast and questions a general store owner in the little town about Mitch's family. He points across the bay to the Brenners' house where Mitch is staying with his mother, Lydia (Jessica Tandy) and his 11-year-old sister Cathy (Veronica Cartwright). The shopkeeper knows it is Cathy's birthday, but cannot remember the girl's name. Melanie gets the idea to gift the birds to Cathy in order to further embarrass Mitch; to confirm the girl's name, the shopkeeper directs Melanie to the home of the local school teacher, Annie Hayworth (Suzanne Pleshette). Annie is a lovely woman around Melanie's age, and she understands immediately that Melanie came here to flirt with Mitch.Melanie returns to town and takes a skiff across the bay to the private dock of the Brenner house, sneaking inside and leaving the bird cage in the living room with a note identifying them as a gift for Cathy. When she sneaks back down to her boat, Mitch spots her making her escape and drives around the bay to intercept her at the dock. Before Melanie reaches the dock, a seagull swoops down and gashes her forehead, seemingly in a deliberate attack.Mitch takes Melanie to a local diner to tend to her wound. Not wanting Mitch to realize the lengths to which she went to get his attention, she lies and tells him that her primary reason for coming to Bodega Bay was to visit Annie, a friend of hers from school. While they are there, Lydia arrives and Mitch introduces her to Melanie; Lydia's response to Melanie is icy, especially when Mitch invites her to the house for dinner that night. Melanie, who was not planning on staying for the night, returns to Annie's and rents a room in her house for the evening. Annie welcomes Melanie, but is also jealous of the interest Melanie has in Mitch.At dinner, Melanie meets Cathy, who is ecstatic about the lovebirds. As Melanie and Mitch make small talk, Lydia phones a man who sold her chicken feed. She complains that her chickens will not eat it, and that there must be something wrong with the feed because the neighbor's chickens are behaving the same way. She ends the conversation puzzled after learning that her neighbors didn't buy their feed from her supplier, indicating that the problem is not with the feed but with the chickens. After dinner, Mitch walks Melanie back to her car and they discuss Melanie's past. Mitch teases her about a sensational story that was reported in the social pages about her, and Melanie becomes indignant. He exposes the fact that she lied to him about being old friends with Annie, and Melanie drives off in a huff. Mitch notices a flock of birds lurking menacingly in the dark on a telephone wire near the house.Back at Annie's, Melanie shares a drink with her, and Annie reveals that she and Mitch were lovers once. The cool reception she got from Lydia spoiled their affair, but she relocated to Bodega Bay anyway, wanting to be near Mitch. Mitch calls to apologize and invites Melanie to Cathy's birthday party the next day. Melanie agrees to come and hangs up. She and Annie hear a thump at the front door and find a dead seagull on the porch, wondering how it could have lost its way in the dark when the moon is so bright.The next day at the birthday party, Melanie reveals to Mitch that she is estranged from her mother. She seems envious that Lydia is so close with Mitch, when her own mother abandoned the family. Melanie does not even know her mother's whereabouts. Suddenly, as the children are playing a game, seagulls attack the birthday party, landing on the children and pecking at them. The adults get the children to safety without much incident, but Mitch asks Melanie to wait until after dinner to leave for San Francisco. As they sit in the living room after eating, a flock of swifts invades the home, getting in through the chimney. Mitch gets the birds out of the house, but everyone is shaken, especially Lydia, who seems more fragile than ever. Melanie decides to stay the night.The next morning, Lydia takes Cathy to school and then drops by her neighbor's farm to discuss the matter of the chickens. She finds him dead in his house, his body bloodied and his eyes missing. The windows are shattered and the room is littered with dead seagulls and crows. Lydia rushes back home in shock. While Mitch and the authorities investigate her report of the dead body, Lydia retires to her bed and has a conversation with Melanie. The two of them seem to reach an understanding, and Lydia opens up to her, revealing that after the death of her husband, her greatest fear is that Mitch will abandon her. Melanie offers to bring Cathy home from school when Lydia worries about the possibility of another bird attack.At the school, Annie is leading the children in a song while Melanie waits outside, not wanting to interrupt them. Little by little, crows gather in the playground until the place is swarming with menacing black birds. Melanie warns Annie, and the two of them lead the children out of the school, but the birds hear their feet on the pavement and attack. Melanie, Cathy, and one of Cathy's friends become separated from the others, and Melanie ushers the children into a nearby parked car, when the bird attack suddenly subsides.At the town diner, Melanie calls her father to report the phenomenon of the bird attacks. Her story attracts a lot of attention, but most people are skeptical, including Mrs. Bundy (Ethel Griffie), an elderly woman who is an expert in ornithology. She dismisses Melanie's account as impossible, and contends that birds could never launch a massed attack on humanity because they lack the intelligence. Mitch along with Deputy Dan joins them and backs up Melanie's story, but they are met with more skepticism until another bird attack occurs, this one even greater in scale than the previous ones. This time, all types of birds are involved, and they create havoc resulting in a large explosion at Bodega Bay's gas station. After it subsides, the patrons of the diner are terrified, and one woman becomes hysterical, accusing Melanie of causing of the attacks.Melanie and Mitch go to fetch Cathy at Annie's house, only to find Annie dead in her front yard, a victim of the bird attack. Cathy is safe inside the house, and she tells them that Annie pushed her inside when the birds came, unable to save herself. Back at the Brenner house, Mitch works at barricading the windows and doors in anticipation of another bird attack. Mitch, Cathy, Melanie and Lydia all spend hours inside the house until the sounds of a massive assault on the house reach them. Mitch is barely able to keep the birds from breaking through the barricades, large birds pecking through the wooden reinforcements, and the power to the house is cut. Finally the attack subsides, and the four of them drop off to sleep.Later, Melanie is awakened by a sound from upstairs. She takes a flashlight and is drawn to an upstairs bedroom. When she opens the door, she is confronted by birds that have torn a massive hole in the ceiling and have roosted in the room. They trap Melanie and attack her, pecking at her flesh and clothes. Melanie attempts to fight them off but weakens. The commotion draws the others and they pull her out of the room, but she is badly wounded and in shock. Mitch and Lydia bandage Melanie as best they can, and resolve to escape in order to get her medical attention. Mitch goes outside to prepare the car and opens the door to find the house completely surrounded by rustling birds, as far as the eye can see. True to the unpredictable nature of the phenomenon, the birds allow them to escape in the car and they drive off among the sea of birds and away from Bodega Bay to find help and safety. | horror, cult, suspenseful | train | imdb | null |
tt0070003 | Dracula | "Bistritz, Hungary May 1897".Natives in Transylvania seem afraid when they learn solicitor Jonathan Harker is going to Castle Dracula on business. Jonathan shows up, and finds the Count abrupt and impatient to get things done. He reacts very strongly to a photograph of Harker's fiancee Mina and her best friend Lucy. After rescuing Harker from his three Brides, the Count forces Harker to write a letter saying that he will be staying in Transylvania for a month. Harker climbs down the castle wall and finds Dracula's coffin, but is attacked and knocked out by one of Dracula's gypsy servants before he can stake Dracula. They later throw him in the lower levels of the crypt, where the Brides attack Harker...Some months later, the freighter Demeter runs aground on the southern English coast, carrying only Dracula and the dead captain lashed to the wheel.Soon after, Lucy begins to fall ill. Her fiancee, Arthur Holmwood, is perplexed and calls in Dr. Van Helsing. The doctor begins to recognize what might be happening, especially after Lucy walks out of her home at Hillingham and is found, drained, under a tree the next morning. Dracula, meanwhile, has flashbacks about a time when he was alive, when his wife (who is also the dead image of Lucy) lay dead in her bed and men had to restrain Dracula in his grief and rage.Lucy's mother is in the room with Mina when Dracula comes calling the last time, a wolf shattering the window. Lucy soon rises from the dead, and comes to the window of Arthur's home, begging to be let in. Arthur does so, delighted and amazed that she's alive. This very nearly gets him bitten, but Van Helsing interrupts with a cross causing her to flee. They go to Lucy's grave and drive a wooden stake into her heart. When Dracula comes to the tomb later and beckons to her, he goes berserk upon finding that she's truly dead.Mina tells Van Helsing about the news story about the Demeter and the boxes of earth, and about Jonathan going to meet Dracula to sell him a house. From these clues, Van Helsing and Holmwood go about finding all but one of Dracula's "boxes of earth" (containing his native soil, in which a vampire must rest). But back at the hotel, the vampire hunters discover Dracula is there, out for revenge. He has bitten Mina, and before their eyes forces her to drink blood from a self-inflicted gash in his chest. All that they love, all that is theirs, he will take.The tracking of Dracula back to his home commences with Van Helsing hypnotizing Mina. Via the bond of blood, she sees through Dracula's eyes and discovers where he is headed.At the Castle, Van Helsing and Holmwood find and stake the Brides. Jonathannow a vampire, rabid and bloodthirstyattacks Arthur and Van Helsing, but in the struggle is knocked by Arthur into a pit of spikes, and is staked.The final confrontation with Dracula takes place in what looks like a grand ballroom. The crosses wielded by the two men are something Dracula doesn't seem to want to look upon. Dracula gets the better of them, ridding them of their crosses. But one of them manages to pull down curtains from the windows, so sunlight pours in. Dracula is weakened, finally going dormant long enough for Van Helsing to pierce his heart with a long spear.They leave him there. Before the portrait of a living warrior Dracula, with Lucy's lookalike in the background, a text scrolls across the screen, about a warlord who lived in the area of Hungary known as Transylvania, and how it was said he had found a way to conquer deatha legend no one has ever disproven. The lord's name is DRACULA. | gothic | train | imdb | null |
tt0064639 | Marooned | Images of natural scenery. Then cut to the launch of a space rocket. Three astronauts go in that rocket: Jim Pruett (Richard Crenna), Clayton Stone (James Franciscus) and Buzz Lloyd (Gene Hackman). Back at base, Charles Keith (Gregory Peck) wonders if after eight months in space they could perform the easiest manual tasks. Once in space the astronauts take off their helmets. They lose backup for some reason. Keith decides to bring them down. A journalist (Vincent Van Lynn) explains about the retro-fire and their return. The mission Director (George Gaynes) decides that they need to use the primary thrust, because the secondary is damaged. The communications officer (Tom Stewart) tells the astronauts that. They use the retro-fire.There's a tropical storm and the weather specialist (George Smith) says it'll complicate things. Keith wants to give the mission for lost, and gives an officer 48 hours to rescue the astronauts. They only have another aircraft which has never been tasted and an inexperienced crew. The rules say there should be no rescue mission.Oxygen is scarce, and that's their main concern. Keith tells them not to do anything stupid... like trying to repair the engine!!! The astronauts take sleeping pills because the less movement and anxiety they have, the less oxygen they'll use. Buzz hesitates to have his.The three wives arrive to say goodbye to the astronauts. Celia Pruett (Lee Grant) can't say that she loves him, although he says so. She talks about insurance and the house. For goodbye, they stayed silent. She caresses the screen. Teresa Stone (Nancy Novack) talks about his mission and a project she wants to do. Betty Lloyd (Mariette Hartley) tries to console Buzz, who becomes hysterical. She starts reading a letter she's written to the President (John Forsythe). He interrupts her and says everybody blames him because everything's falling apart.The launch of the rescue mission can't be accomplished because of the bad weather. Keith speaks to the media. Journalists like Hardy (Mauritz Hugo) and Walter Brooke ask about another possible plan, and Keith says there aren't. An PR officer (Scott Brady) explains it.Another plan is thought of. The computer technician (Bruce Rhodewalt) is already working on it. The astronauts are dizzy. The XRV has already been launched. It's insinuated that they should kill one of them so that the other two can survive. Before killing anyone, they'll try to mend the engine.[A funny moment in MST3k 401 when the robots decide that Joel will be the one to die in a case like that on the film because they are cute robots which don't need oxygen. Joel is left feeling lonely and depressed.]Jim's suit gets torn and he dies. Keith tells the news to Celia. A VIP (George R. Robertson) is tense. Rescue is close, so Buzz and Clayton decide to go for it and open the hatch door, although Huston disagrees. Clayton pushes Buzz towards rescue, but he seems to pass it; and Clayton falls dizzily back inside the rocket.Ted Dougherty (David Janssen) rescues Buzz. Another astronauts gives oxygen to Clayton. He and Buzz have survived.--written by KrystelClaire | psychological | train | imdb | John Sturges' Marooned, based on the Martin Caidin novel, tells the story of three Apollo astronauts trapped in orbit when their main engine fails to fire, and the slow, agonizing realization that there's pretty much nothing that can be done for them.Unless.It's a slow movie, with Sturges taking his time (or his sweet time if you have no patience for this stuff) to build suspense and tension.
Miles of film is expended detailing the boys at Mission Control and Kennedy trying to implement the "unless" I mentioned, a bold rescue mission that will arrive in the last moments of their O2, lifting off into the teeth of a hurricane, no less.What makes the movie work are the very things that were lampooned so accurately by the boys at Mystery Science Theatre 3000, the terse acronym-filled jargon, the performances by Peck, Janssen, Crenna, Hackman, and Franciscus, and the glaringly non-CGI special effects (that looked great in 1970).For a space-happy 11 year old, this was the ne plus ultra of movies--and the fact that the boys on the Apollo 13 had recently gotten back alive made Marooned more than a leetle beet unnerving in its topicality.There's a moment that the movie transcends a clinical yawner, and takes on the mantle of heartbreakingly human drama.
The specifics are covered very well in previous users' comments (and in Roger Ebert's ***/**** review), so I won't repeat them here.There is one thing I'd like to clarify, though, if I may:Anyone looking at the user ratings and user comments should take into consideration that a (very) abbreviated version of this movie was shown on Mystery Science Theatre 3000 as "Space Travelers." I'm a pretty hardcore MST fan myself, and I agree that it was a funny episode.
Other times, particularly when the original is cut to pieces (this one lost approximately 1:15 of its 2:15 running time, while "gaining" some lousy incidental music and a shabby new title sequence*), I don't think it's right at all.If you want to watch an interesting, thought-provoking sci-fi drama, "Marooned" is a good bet.
This creepingly slow space drama was mainly conceived, I'd posit, as a showcase for the acting talents of the four leads: we're treated to Hackman, Crenna and Franciscus playing the astronaut trio trapped in space, and Peck as the no-nonsense controller back on the ground whose attempts to return them to Earth make up the bulk of the running time.Sadly, 'bulk' is right when it comes to this movie: it's way overlong, with much of the length consisting of repetitive dialogue sequences or scenes which add little to the narrative.
And I'll admit that things do get quite thrilling in the last half hour, when we're treated to the kind of suspense that should have been present all the way through.The actors are the main reason to tune in these days: it's hard to fault any of them, but I think Crenna gives the best performance of the lot as a compassionate family man.
Instead, you get a fully realized and believable view into what might happen if some of our astronauts became stranded in space.Personally, I was invested fully into the film and felt sad when the movie ended, the same way I feel when I finish a good book.
We get to see a young Gene Hackman,years before his breakout in THE FRENCH CONNECTION, andcareer-best performances from David Jansen, Mariette Hartley,Richard Crenna, and James Franciscus.The production values are first-rate, and the scenes set in NASAfacilities on the ground are the most realistic ever filmed, bettereven than APOLLO 13.
OK, the film is plodding and the over caution and dourness of Gregory Peck's Dr. Keith gets irritating, but James Franciscus, stalwart of many a tv movie and dodgy international co-production, puts in a career best performance as the scientist-astronaut struggling to keep a grip on not only his faculties, but those of his fellow astronauts.
Three astronauts played by Richard Crenna, James Franciscus and Gene Hackman who have been in a space station climb aboard their Apollo craft to come home and the engine says no.Marooned in orbit the ground control crew led by Gregory Peck scratch their heads and try to figure out what to do before the trios air supply runs out.
Based in great performances by Gregory Peck, Richard Creena, Gene Hackman, David Jansen and all the great crew, this Apollo-era film is a good movie for entertaining and a short view of the Space Program in the early 70's.
for whatever reason,Marooned just didn't do a heck of a lot for me.i found it a b it too slow going,and too melodramatic at times.that's not to say it's a poorly made film.on the contrary,it's well done for the most part.the acting is believable from all involved.and the premise is one that should be gripping:three astronauts end up stuck in space,while their oxygen runs low.but for some reason it failed too engage me on a more than moderate level.the only thing i can think of is the dialogue,which was sometimes a bit hokey,in my opinion.still,this is just one person's opinion.but for me,Marooned is a 4/10.
Fortunately, the astronauts (Richard Crenna, Gene Hackman and James Franciscus) all do an exceptional job and tend to give the film a lot more feeling.
American astronauts Jim Pruett (Richard Crenna), Buzz Lloyd (Gene Hackman), and Clayton Stone (James Franciscus) have been living in the new space station for five months.
The marooned astronauts start to come apart emotionally, and it's meant to be high drama when Gene Hackman finally freaks out, but all we in the audience can think is, "Didn't these men get the necessary training for this type of disaster?"...
Greg Peck was enough of a box office draw, but _Marooned_ has him, Gene Hackman, James Franciscus, Richard Crenna, David Jannsen--and they all deliver high caliber performances.
John Sturges was a venerated director at the time, and in this movie he continued to make epic use of his camera.An earlier review compared the Mission Control scenes in _Marooned_ to those in _Apollo 13_, and observed that the ones in _Marooned_ are better, more realistic.
I love both movies, but I wholeheartedly agree with him.In the current age of space travel, one could only wonder what a remake of _Marooned_ would be like if they incorporated the shuttle orbiters, and the International Space Station into the story.One more thing, and this is important.
If you're a special effects nut; if you can't get enough of Lucasfilm, and any science-fiction film ever done by Steven Spielberg, then you're going to despise this movie..._Marooned_ is more on the tragic, introspective, narrative side of the fence.
Anyone who wanted to travel in to space in the early years of the program was specially selected because of their psychological strength so this fact based but it does seem strange that what is being said is " Well chaps things are looking bad and if they don't work you'll slowly suffocate to death thousand of miles out in in space " to which the reply " Okay try and not let this happen mission control " as if the characters are discussing the menu in a restaurant .
That said it is preferable than watching Ben Affleck and other Hollywood pretty boys throwing objects about screaming " Get me in to a damn space rocket " and other mock heroics MAROONED is a film from another era when humanity just achieved the greatest endeavor in human history by landing men on the Moon and safely returning them back to Earth .
Marooned is the story of three astronauts (Richard Crenna, Gene Hackman, James Franciscus) who are stranded in space after a mechanical problem prevents their return.
Gregory Peck gives a fine performance as Charles Keith as the director of NASA manned space flight Charles Keith, who finds himself leading the race against the clock to launch a rescue while keeping the crew in orbit alive.
Then there's the crew of Ironman One stranded in orbit: commander Jim Pruett (Richard Crenna), pilot Buzz Lloyd (Gene Hackman) and science astronaut Clayton Stone (James Franciscus) who all give nice, subtle and believable performances (especially in Hackman's case thanks to a nice character arch).
The film is both solemn and cold: as expected, it’s meticulously detailed – down to the irritating over-use of up-to-date jargon such as ‘So-and-so systems Are Go’, ‘Roger’, ‘Wilco’, etc.Incidentally, while the presence of an all-star cast may have boosted its box-office potential (for the record MAROONED came hot on the heels of Stanley Kubrick’s even more bewildering but, ultimately, far more entrancing 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY [1968]), it distracts from the unfolding drama: Gregory Peck’s constricted role of the seasoned but stoic overseer would become a staple of 1970s disaster epics – here, he’s the head of the program who has to decide what to do when a shuttle’s re-entry fire malfunctions and the three-man astronaut crew is stranded in space (MAROONED can then be seen as the APOLLO 13 [1995] of its day, though the particular mission that film depicts would only occur in 1970!).
An ex-colleague of theirs now employed in the Control Room (David Janssen) is the only one who believes that a rescue mission is possible in the restricted time-frame before the oxygen supply runs out; in fact, Peck has to be prodded by the U.S. President himself to take the challenge during a fairly risible sequence in which, distraught by the precarious situation he’s facing, Peck’s also pulled over on a highway by a couple of cops for over-speeding – even so, this remote chance is almost lost when the launch site is beset by a hurricane!
I have just seen it for the first time and was simply blown away by it.MAROONED is bumped down to 8/10 from 9/10 for me due to a somewhat clumsy ending, and one or two other low points in an otherwise astonishingly good sci-fi drama that easily equals APOLLO 13 when unfair comparisons of special effects are removed from consideration.This is a near-masterpiece.
A suspense thriller set in space, Marooned is the plight of a base commander (Gregory Peck) trying to get three astronauts (Gene Hackman, Richard Crenna, and James Franciscus) back to earth when their mission fails.
An Oscar-winner for "Best Special Visual Effects," the film also picked up nominations for "Best Cinematography" and "Best Sound." It was later retitled Space Travelers.Great for fans of science fiction; others need not apply.
This creepingly slow space drama was mainly conceived, I'd posit, as a showcase for the acting talents of the four leads: we're treated to Hackman, Crenna and Franciscus playing the astronaut trio trapped in space, and Peck as the no-nonsense controller back on the ground whose attempts to return them to Earth make up the bulk of the running time.The film stands on its own very credibly with a great storyline which leaves you sitting on the edge of your seat waiting to see what is going to happen to the astronauts trapped in outer space.
2001, Apollo 13, even Countdown have music scores.Some people say that this movie is realistic, but in real life, NASA flight directors and normal mission control men can't talk to the spacecraft.
Perhaps this is a little overstated and corny for some people but it kept me hanging on, this is all the more touching and completely unexpected with the very strange twist at the end, where political differences not to mention the cold war are trumped by humanity at it's frail best....Gregory Peck's strong leadership, David Jansen's relentless attitude of never giving up the battle to save the astronauts {he is very, very missed} And like a lot of films I love, the ending is bitter sweet , a costly victory, a victory with tragedy but yet a victory that transcends.....I remember once this film came up in conversation with the other person saying "oh, you must mean "Apollo 13" ....well , often fiction turns into reality in a very big way.
An all-star cast saves this movie, as Gregory Peck plays the role of manned space director (Dr. Keith) to a T.
The special affects reflect the technology of the time, and, as should be expected, are not up the the what would be expected in a more recent movie.This brought me back to the days long ago when I would take time out to watch every manned launch on television.I would recommend this movie, as well as Apollo 13, to anyone who is interested in what the Space Program was like about the time the United States first put a man on the moon..
It's going to take the dedicated patience and expertise of NASAS mission engineers(Gregory Peck and David JAnssen),love and endurance of the astronaut's wives(Mariette Hartley,Lee Grant and Nancy Kovack) as well as the "Travellers" themselves,to try to get back from what could be a slow and unfathomably tragic fate in space.While I can think of far more worthy films of trashing(a la wisecracks from puppets and a human among other ways),this one's biggest crime may've been the melodramatic license it took which,to be sure,would become somewhat a centerpiece of 1970s tragedy's via natural/man-made disaster stemming from technology(something that would make Irwin Allen a fortune!).
Somewhat Problematic Sci-Fi. More than thirty years since its release, MAROONED is obviously far more dated than, say 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, when it comes to special effects, plot, and dialogue.
When one sees great actors like Gregory Peck or Gene Hackman strait-jacketed by banality, it is not too terribly pleasant to see.Where MAROONED scored points with me is that its very plot was almost repeated in reality just four months after it opened, with the perilous flight of Apollo 13 in April 1970.
Much like the later APOLLO 13, though less successfully in terms of cinematic value, MAROONED showed both the space crew and the people at Mission Control trying their level best to solve the problem, though THIS particular film is daring in showing a rescue mission assisted by the Soviets, ferociously unusual in the Cold War hysteria of the 1960s.To sum it up, MAROONED is not an outright masterpiece; it is too long, and the dialogue too bland for it to really work perfectly.
It is food for thought that this piece of art was in the public arena some months before Apollo 13 and that even 25 years later NASA still has difficulty - apparently - in covering all the bases for space flight problems.If you have already voted on this, then take another look and you will see that there is way more good than bad movie-making here, and that 5/10 is not justified..
Three astronauts (Richard Crenna (in charge and tries to hold a steady resolve despite what his three man crew is up against), Gene Hackman (who spends an exorbitant amount of time holding onto his sanity), and James Franciscus (seemingly always held together, calm, and confident despite the obstacles before them)) are stranded in orbit around the earth after a mechanical failure to their retros leaves them stranded in space awaiting a hopeful rescue mission before their oxygen runs out.
Peck, as the NASA man in charge of the space mission, encounters a number of ensuing crises he will need to avert in order to be successful in rescuing the three men trying to remain calm and docile so they conserve what little oxygen still available to them.I think Apollo 13 (1995) will come to mind when viewers watch Marooned (1969) as the plots are similar in ways.
Crenna's fate as he leaves the shuttle to make a "repair to the engine" (a share of dialogue between him and Peck imply more to this than what is presented on its face), Hackman's mental breakdown while talking to his wife, Franciscus' laid-back, all-smiles, psychologically sound astronaut who seems to take matters a bit more sufficiently despite the peril that remains an antagonist, the three wives (Lee Grant, Nancy Kovack, and Mariette Hartley) trying to keep their composure during what is a horrific ordeal, Peck and Jannsen butting heads over what to do to save the astronauts, the 42 hour rush-job to scrape together a ship capable of leaving the earth and meeting the shuttle in space, a developing hurricane which might cause the rescue mission to be halted, and the astronauts in the shuttle trying to hold it together although they have every reason to be distraught provide plenty of melodrama that help to bring a respectability to the film, keeping it from being a total disappointment.
Three astronauts -- Richard Crenna, Gene Hackman, and James Franciscus -- are sent into space for five months to measure the effects of extended stay.
At 2 hour and 15 minutes it does drag a bit.When you rate the cast, this was an A-List with Gregory Peck, David Janssen, Richard Crenna, James Franciscus, & Gene Hackman heading up the list.
And for its time, the special effects here were really quite good.But the real strength of the film here is the script and the acting.Was Gregory Peck ever anything less than brilliant.
"Marooned" is an interesting film but falls short of its potential, instead becoming yet another thriller with lots of slow stretches before some frenzied action at the end of the film.Astronauts Pruett (Richard Crenna), Lloyd (Gene Hackman), and Stone (James Franciscus) have spent months in space aboard a cramped space station and are returning home when their spacecraft suffers a malfunction and cannot re-enter the earth's atmosphere.
The film works on two levels with the pragmatic director of the NASA Space Program Charles Keith, Gregory Peck, at first giving up on the astronauts feeling that saving them is a lost cause but then being forced to change his mind.
This movie stinks unless you watch the MST3k episode which is very funny.Gene Hackman, Dick Crenna, and Jimbo Franciscus play uptight American astronauts who get 'stranded' in earth orbit. |
tt1630036 | Courageous | Nathan Hayes (Ken Bevel) is at a gas station in Albany, Georgia, trying to clean his windshield when his truck is stolen. Hayes runs after the truck, clinging to the side and fighting the thief through the open window. Hayes is then thrown from the truck and it crashes. The perpetrator escapes, and Hayes is shown in pain and struggling to get to his truck. Bystanders tell him not to worry about the vehicle but he opens the back door to reveal his infant son, crying in his car seat, apparently unharmed.After bystanders call an ambulance, the police also arrive. Adam Mitchell (Alex Kendrick) and Shane Fuller (Kevin Downes) meet Hayes, discovering he is a new deputy there, having recently moved.As the deputies meet, the sheriff encourages them to spend time with their families, citing research that shows fatherless children are several times more likely to get into trouble in life, including crime. Among his deputies is rookie David Thomson (Ben Davies). Mitchell adores his nine-year-old daughter, Emily, but is distant from his fifteen-year-old son, Dylan, because Mitchell doesn't share Dylan's interest in 5k runs. Hayes never knew his biological father, instead treating a neighbor as his father (even giving him Father's Day cards annually), but would risk his life to save his three children; however, his teenage daughter Jade (Taylor Hutcherson), resents him because he has a strict policy about dating. Fuller is divorced, as were his parents, and has joint custody of his son. Thomson is young and single.Javier Martinez (Robert Amaya), an immigrant struggling to provide for his family, is walking down an alley asking God what He wants him to do after being laid off when a construction company went over budget and Mitchell calls him over to help with his shed, thinking he is a different Javier that Mitchell's friends said would be there. After paying him for the job, Mitchell recommends him to a new full-time job, where he is hired. While this is happening, Derrick Freeman (David Howze), a teenager who Hayes had earlier disapproved of dating his daughter, joins a gang that deals with drugs.One tragic day, Emily is killed by a drunk driver, devastating Mitchell and his family. Following his daughter's death, Mitchell reads a lot about fatherhood in the Bible. He decides he must be a better father and crafts a detailed "Resolution" to honor God in every aspect of his family. Mitchell, Hayes, Fuller, Thomson, and Martinez join him in his resolution at a formal ceremony conducted by Hayes's neighborhood mentor, the man he thinks of as a father. Mitchell rebuilds a relationship with his son and receives some relief of his guilt at his daughter's death. Hayes mends his relationship with his daughter and presents her with a purity ring that he asks her to wear until she is married. He also visits the grave of his biological father who he had never met and forgives him. Fuller improves his relationship with his son. Thomson reveals that he fathered a child in college and deserted the mother after she refused to have an abortion. He writes the mother a letter seeking a relationship with his daughter and encloses some support money. Martinez's factory employer offers him a promotion on the condition that he falsify inventory documents. Martinez refuses, and his boss reveals that the request was a test of Martinez's integrity, with Martinez being the only one to pass. The boss promotes Martinez and gives him a raise.Mitchell discovers that his friend and police partner, Deputy Fuller, has been stealing drugs from police evidence to resell on the streets for the money. Mitchell decides he must honor his Resolution and report the corruption. He sets up a sting leading to Fuller's arrest and imprisonment. Mitchell visits Fuller in jail where Fuller takes responsibility for his actions and asks Mitchell to look after his son, which Mitchell agrees to do.During a minor traffic stop, Hayes and Thomson unknowingly confront the armed leader of a gang they have been repeatedly encountering. One of the gang members is Derrick, who stops the gang leader from shooting Hayes with a shotgun. The incident turns into a roadside gun battle, and the gang leader attempts to take a young girl hostage. Mitchell and other officers arrive as backup. The girl's father assists Hayes in subduing a suspect, and Mitchell assists in arresting a second suspect. When Deputy Hayes asks, Derrick attributes his reason for being involved with the gang to not having anyone who cares about him.At a Father's Day church service, the men present the Resolution and Mitchell urges the fathers in the congregation to be a Godly influence on their families. Mitchell runs in a 5K race with his son and Fuller's son. Hayes reads the Bible in prison with Derrick. Thomson meets his daughter for the first time. The film ends with a quote from Joshua 24:15: "Choose today whom you will serve, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." | inspiring, christian film | train | imdb | I give Courageous a 10 out of 10 My top 10 faith-based movies of all time are: 1) Ben-Hur; 2) Suing the Devil; 3) Soul Surfer; 4) Facing the Giants; 5) Chariots of Fire; 6) End of the Spear; 7) The Climb; 8) Gospel of John; 9) Time Changer; 10) Courageous You're missing out if you haven't seen these films!God is working through these films..
I'll suggest you get some Dads together to watch Courageous and sit down for a meal afterward to talk about what it showed you were doing well, or right - and what you could be working on to better build into your family and their future.
This is quite simply a superb movie about faith, love, family and what is really important in life.
The movie weaves real life adventure and problems into a compelling police-based story and delivers solutions to those problems that can be used in our lives.
The film tells the story of five men and their families, and their decision to step up and face their responsibilities...no matter how hard they may be.
If you want to watch a good story, with some great filming and don't mind a religious message then this could also be for you..
It is marketed deceptively as an action-relationship film but even I felt like I had paid my money to be lectured at by holier-than-thou script inserted for religious rather than theatrical reasons.The film has a sound message (men should step up to the plate and be good fathers) but overrides this with the usual Jesus is the answer message.
Christianity is better advanced by a film which asks the hard questions, not just the apple pie and fatherhood easy questions.You will see a lot of rave reviews here from people who like sermonizing and want to induce others to see a film of this sort.
Ignore the critics who whine that it's a Christian film, or that it's low budget, or that the acting isn't on par with Citizen Kane...see for yourself how much power, drama and emotion is packed into this great film..
If the aim of this movie was to show non Christian people the advantages of believing in god, then for this viewer it has been a failure..
People who are going into church each Sunday, live prude bigoted lives, ban homosexual relationships and pretend to live the one and only proper way, because God told them so, will love this movie.
Courageous had all the elements of a good movie - humour, action and excitement, several moving story lines, an uplifting and motivating quality and great interpersonal relationships.
Awkward, unrealistic dialog interjecting god into every other sentence, terrible acting, a banal & predictable script, and don't get me started on the stereotyping (white people are good and thoughtful, black people are all gang bangers and thugs, and Latinos are unskilled laborers can't hold down jobs).I know nothing about the writers/producers, but it's as if a bunch of self-righteous, southern, racist, bible thumpers decided to make a movie to sucker in as many baptist church goers as they could to get their $10.
It's self-congratulatory preachiness is beyond obnoxious.For people saying it has a good message (which I'd only partially agree with); if you need a film to tell you to be a responsible involved parent and to work hard, well, then you've got problems.
There is nothing new or enlightening in this film, just because they say god constantly doesn't make it a good movie.And the delivery of this message is so simplistic & desperately lacking subtlety, it has the quality of a Hallmark made for TV movie or an after school special.
Let's be honest, great message about fathers stepping up to the plate and taking responsibility for their families and being the religious leaders of their home......great message, but that doesn't make the movie good.
The story flowed very smoothlyOnly a few parts seemed unnaturalThe action scenes had me grippedThe emotional scenes were all well
emotionalThe camera work did not seem over done or poorly handledThe mastering of the video's color and quality was top notchThe scene transitions were all very timely and right on the mark (Little to no odd pauses or mistimed cuts in the footage)The audio was impeccableThe acting was probably a 8 - 9 rating (with only one or two scenes with lower ratings through the movie) Minimal corny scenesMay be a bit overly preachy at times but the scenes were handled well and were not too, in your face, bible thumping, or abrasive.
I understand you are trying to make faith based films, but I would hope that the people producing this would know the difference between absolutely awful and moderately passable.
Having read the short synopsis beforehand, I was hopeful of seeing at least a half-decent action film even if I expected to see a cop story told a thousand times already.
Poor and unconvincing acting coupled with a ridiculous plot, laughably unrealistic as regards real-life situations, make watching this film a complete waste of time.
Can be appropriate for the whole family (the PG-13 rating is NOT for language, sex, graphic violence - THERE IS NONE), but does deal with some tough situations, decisions and emotions we go through in our lives which you should discuss with your kids afterwords.Solid acting, some very funny scenes, drama and action - and it will make you think and hopefully take action in your life.
My money and time is more valuable than that.The bad reviews are from people who hate Christians- from Bigots- who do not like the message.
There's no special effects just real people acting.FINAL VERDICT: If you are looking for a film with a good message, then this is the one for you..
My response to that question is that people will end up not seeing Courageous because it is a Christian film.
Courageous is about a group of 30-something cops and their struggle to deal with both their professional and personal life, and their ways of dealing with it..through God. Now, I will have to say Courageous is an excellent film.
Shallow storyline in the most cookiecutter way as possible, bad acting, the most bland and basic camerawork and editing possible, and the cherry on top the very one dimensional and propaganda-like message.I was waiting the whole movie to have at least one twist or interesting moment, at least something that doesn't have me bored to tears, but no,after the required plot-device happens it's just prasing the almightu God afterwards.
The Christian lives portrayed in this movie are much like anyone's in real life.
Not sure where they find the so called "critics" or if most of them are just lost souls that wouldn't know a good movie or message if it bit them on the ear like Mike Tyson....Very interesting plot weave using the police officers different backgrounds etc.
Powerful message for all fathers to remind them they have a serious job to do their best and should never forget that....also a good reminder to all in the family not to take that both parents do for granted as it's often a thankless job generating more grief and belly aching than appreciation.
The movie has a Powerful ability to deal with the issue of death of a loved and and the dance scene will leave even the strongest man with a heart sobbing like a baby.
If you want to have your boy--your future man--to become something different than what the world is generally manufacturing, get him to see this movie.Guys who have never been initiated into "Manhood" by a father or a mentor, this is a movie that will impact your hearts and minds and push you to be more than you already are.Men who are already doing it right ...
I fear that some people might not give this movie a chance because of the Christian message.
But even if you do not believe in Jesus, this movie shows life's struggles that everyday people deal with, in a very real way.
I am a Christian, but I do know a lot about movies and this is a great film.
And because I am a Christian, this movie made me cry like 5 times, it was just so real and touched home for me when dealing with families and the simple fact that it takes a lot of effort to make a family work.
I was expecting that some people (including my husband) might walk out of the movie when they realize that there is a message to this story but no one walked out.
'Courageous' makes my list of the Top 10 faith-based movies of all time....and I've seen almost everything out there.Whenever the Gospel is adhered to fully and without compromise like 'Courageous', I see the Lord blessing the films.
I wasn't alone in loving the movie, as many other movie goers showed their approval with spontaneous applause throughout the movie and at the end.Agnostics, atheists, humanists and the like might want to sit this one out as there's nothing for them in this well-done Christian movie.Though the movie largely discusses the significant roles a father plays in life (no matter one's faith or lack there of), it also speaks resoundingly of the role the spirit of God plays in other believers' lives--a wife, a child, a laborer, a policeman, an employer, a minister etc.
Bevel, who first appeared in a Sherwood Pictures film in Fireproof, is an amazingly dedicated performer who gives an honest and sincere feeling to both films.Kendrick loves subplots in his movies that tie together by the end and Courageous is filled with them with five men finding the meaning of life and fatherhood and honor.
As usual in Sherwood Pictures, the film gives little humorous events throughout – notwithstanding the amusing role of Robert Amaya in the back of a sheriff's car.Nevertheless, Courageous gave a very good representation of gang bonding and lack of a father influence that, according to Love Life-Make Your Move, more than 9 million young people are doing without.
T.C. Stallings gave a very impressive representation as a scary and dangerous villain.As viewers and enthusiasts of Sherwood Pictures will confirm, the development of this church's ministry in creating honest-to-God life-related movies is getting better and better with each succeeding film.
Unfortunately, with all of Hollywood's manipulation of technique, story line and trailers, it is more than obvious, before Courageous was viewed, the movie-makers in Hollywood completely missed the mark.Sherwood Pictures does not produce feel-good films.
I rented this movie because I wanted a decent movie with a good message for Friday movie night in my house.I will tell you that my whole family was immediately glued to the screen.This film is about fathers, not cops, so let's get that straight right away.
I was utterly impressed with what my children came away with.If you want a solidly entertaining movie with a wide variety of real-life good messages for your family, your son and your daughter, this movie is for you.
"Courageous" is a movie that presents a very wholesome, family friendly message, but just doesn't quite make the grade overall.I thought the film was a little too long, given the material and message.
I look back on several scenes and just felt like they really didn't serve a purpose and added no real value to the film at all.I knew going in that the acting would be mediocre at best, and it was.
You can tell that most, if not all of them, truly believe in the message of "Courageous"---they put their heart and soul into the movie!!!
I don't care if you are a Christian, or not; this is a must see movie for the entire family that has a VERY positive message!!!
People who think Christians can't make good movies, music..., are very sorely mistaken!
It is great for the whole family very good acting strong message Wife and kids loved it very touching parts very funny parts wholesome Words can't explain how good.I had the privilege of seeing this movie at an advanced screening.
Not often to you have a movie which has a value beyond entertainment - and this film balances a positive message with some fun and excitement.
I believe every man should watch this movie even if you are not a father there is value in this for all men.
although it is focused on Christians living according to God's word, I would hope that anyone could enjoy the movie and message it sends.
But of course it's not always about the action, and this film is rather steeped in its drama, spending significant time fleshing out the households of each of the four major cop characters, plus a friend they get to know along the way.
So if you're up for a feel-good film that has its fair share of conflict and tragedy, and a story about how the characters dug deep and overcame the various adversity along the way, then this would be for you, if you can get past how they each have to turn to God, or count their blessings each time for a fortunate turn of events swing in their favour.Ken Bevel opens the film as new cop transferee Nathan Hayes, who saves his infant child from a carjacking incident, that sets the stage that the community he is about to live in, has its own problems with teenage crime, gangs and drugs.
We're then introduced to corporals Adam Mitchell (Alex Kendrick) and his partner Shane Fuller (Kevin Downes), as well as Nathan's own rookie partner David (Ben Davies), all of whom are fathers in their own right, and all facing different challenges in their family lives.For instance, Adam has to grapple with not spending enough time to connect with his daughter Emily (Lauren Etchells) and son Dylan (Rusty Marin) who wants him to run the 5 mile together, save for Adam knowing his own fitness level and refusing to train nor participate.
As the film wore on, especially once past its crucial turning point of a tragedy that woke everyone up into being committed to signing a commitment, or a covenant of sorts to vow on the proper upbringing of children and looking after the household, such scenes became more pronounced, as with the thanking of the Lord for good fortune smiling their way.These Resolutions became the centerpiece in which the narrative will revolve around, since the pastor duly warned that each would be tested against what they have signed on paper, leaving the rest of the hour mark to deal with just that.
Some moments did come off as slightly creepy though, especially with Nathan's presentation of a purity ring to his daughter which I thought was a little bit overdone and could have been read in a very different light if taken out of context.If you're part of the intended audience, then Courageous will be that enjoyable mainstream film that has religious sensitivities, with nary a swear word or vice on display, with the bad guys all getting reached by the long arm of the law.
The acting ensemble, while not likely to win any Oscars, is overall probably the best so far in a Sherwood picture.It is a story about five men, four of which open the film as Christians.
But a savvy movie-goer, Christian or not, can appreciate that the characters' world view is simply the perspective from which a good story is told.In the end, this is a powerful message about stepping up and being an honorable father.
I grew up in the Albany area and applaud the film makers for their realistic portrayal of the diverse population and life in that community.The acting was excellent, the characters so real that I felt like they were my neighbors and I wanted to be there with - and for - them.
Sure the acting at times isn't award-worthy, but that's not the point of "Courageous"...the point of this movie is to change lives and get the message across to the viewer and it does a beautiful and wonderful job.
What I saw or received from my father is the right way but this movie provide me a great answers to my life long questions.
The movie has everything you need: action, love,suspense, care, spiritual, fun, genuine and great life stories in it.
Being a Christian person, who likes good movies, we were surprised with impactive message, emotion and Christian foundations for families in this wonderful film.
It is a great movie for all Dad's to see but also good for the whole family.
If you read any reviews that are rather anti-Christian and aren't afraid to flaunt that fact, ignore them, they can't see the importance of the "get-your-act-together-and-be-a-real-father" message for the all the Christianity in the film.
I know that the cast and producers of "Courageous" also made "Fireproof." I personally feel that the latter is the better movie or I'd have rated this higher than a 6.
However, I don't rate movies that way.I admit I cried numerous times while watching this film; it's part of my nature to do so, especially when family issues are involved.
This is a wonderful movie showing good values and drama, at the same time has funny moments and is very well done.The most important thing is that the topics covered in the movie are educational for our own lives and society.It shows God's design for families, specially the role of the father/husband that's being lost..
But don't spend your money on this movie, cus I think there are much better films of higher quality to watch out there.
And for you dads who need a "jump-start" or just want to see a good film about something you think you know, go check it out.
The movie Courageous couldn't have come at a better time.
I believe that most if not all men that watch this movie can take something away that could have a positive effect in their lives, especially if they can relate to growing up with no dad. |
tt0399295 | Lord of War | The movie begins with Yuri Orlov (Nicolas Cage) standing in a sea of spent shell casings. The rest of the movie is told in flashback, starting in 1982 and ending in the completion of the opening scene. The opening credits sequence shows a 7.62x39mm round being produced and going through various stages before getting fired from an AK-47 and travelling through the head of a child soldier during a war in Africa. The song played in the background of the opening credits sequence is "For What It's Worth" performed by Buffalo Springfield.
Through voiceover, Orlov describes how he first became an arms dealer. Yuri and his family came to United States from Soviet Ukraine when he was a young boy. His family pretends to be Jewish for favorable immigration conditions to escape the Soviets. His family owns a restaurant, which Yuri sees as providing a necessity as people have to eat. After Yuri sees a Ukrainian Mafia boss kill two would-be assassins, he decides to provide another necessity: guns. He begins his career by selling Uzis.
Yuri partners up with his brother Vitaly (Jared Leto). Before beginning his career, he approaches Simeon Weisz (Ian Holm), a seasoned arms dealer, at an arms convention in Berlin with a business proposal. Weisz turns him down, dismissing Yuri as an amateur. Yuri gets his first break selling M-16s after the 1982 Lebanon War and becomes "an equal opportunity merchant of death", selling guns to all sides. Yuri develops multiple identities (complete with appropriate paperwork and ID cards) and stores his records and paperwork in a metal security container.
As he grows, Yuri (through voiceover) tells of his first incident with Jack Valentine (Ethan Hawke), an Interpol agent who cannot be bought with money. Their first encounter is when Yuri is on the ship Kristol smuggling a shipment of weapons. When he learns that Valentine is after him, he changes the boat's name to Kono, and his first interaction plays out smoothly in Yuri's favor.
During a business deal with a Colombian drug lord, Yuri is paid in cocaine instead of cash. He argues, but eventually accepts the payment after being shot. Vitaly and he both get high on cocaine, but Vitaly becomes addicted, and Yuri checks him into a rehabilitation center. From that point onward, he conducts his arms business alone.
Shortly afterwards, he begins to court Ava Fontaine (Bridget Moynahan), a model. He books a photo shoot and the entire hotel so that they have the whole area to themselves. After impressing her, they marry, and later have a child named Nikolai.
On the day that Nikolai begins to walk, the Soviet Union dissolves. Yuri rushes to Ukraine after watching Gorbachev's Christmas Day 1991 resignation speech on television. He contacts his uncle, Dmitri, a general of the former Soviet Army, and begins buying his tanks and AK-47s to expand his inventory, explaining in detail how the AK-47 is the most reliable assault rifle in the world. Weisz comes back and attempts to deal with both Yuri and Dimitri, but is rejected by both. Valentine attempts to stop Yuri again as he tries to ship off a Mil Mi-24; fortunately, a young Soviet Army mechanic is able to remove the weapons and because of a loophole in international law that does not classify either of them as weapons of war as long as they are shipped separately, Valentine is forced to let him go. Shortly afterwards, Weisz sets up a car bomb, and Dimitri is assassinated.
Yuri moves on to selling arms to the West African dictator of Liberia, André Baptiste (Eamonn Walker), who pays in blood diamonds. After digging through his garbage, Valentine learns that Yuri will be making a cargo run to Sierra Leone. Valentine has fighter planes successfully intercept the plane in flight, but Yuri makes an emergency landing on a dirt road, and gives away all the guns to local villagers before Valentine can arrive and detain him. Valentine handcuffs and detains Yuri for 24 hours before being forced to release him.
Yuri makes his way back to Monrovia, where Baptiste invites him to kill the captured Weisz, who simply states he came to Liberia to sell weapons to Baptiste's enemies. Yuri is reluctant, but does not tell Baptiste to stop pulling the trigger until he has done so and killed Weisz. Weisz later appears in a drug-induced hallucination and tells Yuri once again to "take sides".
Valentine keeps Yuri under surveillance, and one day he reveals to his wife Ava that Yuri is a major weapons dealer. Ava pleads with Yuri to stop, and he does, instead choosing to exploit the resources of the third world nations. However, he dislikes the business, complaining that the profit margins are low and that there is too much competition compared to illegal arms.
Yuri reenters the arms market when Baptiste approaches him. He is reluctant, but goes when Baptiste tells him that he will pay more than the usual rate. Yuri decides to bring Vitaly along because he is nervous about the current climate of Liberia; however, they later learn that the sale is actually taking place in Sierra Leone. During the transaction, however, Vitaly witnesses a group of villagers beating a mother and her child to death, and tells Yuri the entire village will be massacred if the deal comes through. He pleads with Yuri to stop the transaction, but Yuri says it's not their conflict. Vitaly responds by taking a grenade and blowing up a truck with half of the guns. A guard watching the transaction shoots Vitaly to death. Yuri still accepts the deal and all the villagers are then slaughtered.
Yuri ships his brother's body back to the United States with him. He pays someone to remove the lead from Vitaly's body, but one bullet remains and he is stopped by customs. Meanwhile, while being followed by Jack Valentine, Ava finds Yuri's security container, which is definitive proof of Yuri's arms dealing. Ava takes their son and leaves him. When Yuri calls his parents, his mother says, "Both my sons are dead." Valentine detains Yuri and tells him that he has a long jail sentence ahead of him.
However, Yuri reveals to Valentine that the very reasons that Yuri should be incarcerated for are also the same reasons that he'll walk free; his existence is a "necessary evil", as the people he supplies are often "the enemies of your enemies" (enemies of the U.S.) He goes on saying that sometimes the U.S. Government needs a "freelancer" like himself to supply those that they'd rather not be seen supplying. Yuri then predicts that a high-ranking officer will come, congratulate Valentine, and then order him to free Yuri because of his necessity. Surely enough, a high-ranking officer does indeed come, and Yuri is released.
A free man again, he returns to selling arms. The movie ends by proclaiming on-screen that it is "based on actual events," and that while private arms dealing around the world flourishes, the U.S., the UK, France, Russia and China (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council) are the world's leading arms suppliers. | comedy, boring, murder, violence, satire, romantic | train | imdb | null |
tt1401143 | Rare Exports | At the top of a large hill, an excavation team at the behest of an American has begun to dig deep into its core. When the excavation chief makes a startling discovery of sawdust deep within the mountain, the elder American financing the dig is ecstatic. He requests that the men keep excavating, but also demands that they uphold certain rules that are printed on some cards he gives. The excavation chief laughs at them (which include the caveats "no smoking" and "no cursing"), but the American angrily demands that he is dead-serious that the rules are to be followed.Nearby, two Finnish boys named Pietari (Onni Tommila) and Jusso (Ilmari Järvenpää) are spying on the men. After watching them get back to the excavation, they head back through a hole in a fence down from the mountain that they have cut open. As it is almost Christmas, Pietari turns to talk about Santa Claus, when Jusso explains that Santa doesn't exist. This soon causes Pietari to do some research on his own, and looking through numerous books, finds that ancient legends of Santa Claus paint him as an evil entity that punishes naughty children in sometimes evil ways (some illustrations show a horned figure whipping children, or dunking them in a boiling cauldron).As Christmas approaches, Pietari keeps watch outside his window. One morning, he awakes to see footprints on the shed roof near his second-story window. Certain that they were not caused by his father Rauno (Jorma Tommila), he assumes it must have been Santa, possibly coming to get him.Later on the 23rd of December, Pietari and Rauno go to a round-up area to meet several other villagers who are planning to capture and kill the nearby reindeer. Preparing a pen with electrified fencing, the villagers are shocked when at the appointed hour, only 2 reindeer show up. Pietari, Jusso, their fathers and a third man ride off in the general direction where the reindeer come from, and find them: all laid dead near the fenxing surrounding the nearby mountains. Rauno finds the hole in the fence that Pietari and Jusso cut (though Jusso whispers to Pietari not to say a word about what they did), and assumes this is the work of the persons who have been reported to be working on the nearby mountain range, and that this whole caused nearby wolves to come through and feast on the herd.With their village's livelihood at stake, the men head up to the mountain to demand remunerations for what happened, but find the entire area deserted, along with a gigantic crater in the center of the mountain.The group then goes to Rauno and Pietari's place, where in his room, Pietari shows Jusso an excavation image he found in the deserted shed on the hill. Pietari tells of how an old tribe according to his books, captured Santa years ago, and in order to keep him from getting loose, froze him in the local waters, and then buried him under the mountain that was being excavated. Naturally, Jusso claims that Pietari is overreacting.The next day, Pietari goes outside, and notices that his father's wolf trap has been tripped. The two go to check it out, but upon seeing a bloody hand, Rauno ushers the boy back into the house and calls his friend Piiparinen. Piiparinen comes, and he and Rauno drag the corpse to Rauno's shed. Fearful to have a dead body on their hands, Rauno first thought is to carve it up and get rid of it, but the body of the old man starts to breathe. He is also found to have a coat on, containing a wallet and an American passport in it. As they decide what to do, Rauno catches Pietari spying on them, and rushes out to see Pietari running down the road. Giving chase in his truck, Rauno notices as the local Sheriff picks up Pietari, and continues on his way. Rauno follows close behind, and makes his way to a Jusso's father's place. Jusso's father claims that someone stole all the sacks for his potatoes (though strangely, just left all the potatoes there). The Sheriff also claims that people have been reporting things like ovens and heaters stolen during the night.Pietari goes into the nearby house to talk to Jusso, but instead, finds a straw figure in his bed. Pietari takes it and shows the men, but they just assume that Jusso has run off to do mischief.Pietari then has Jusso's father come back to their house with him, since he knows English. They go into the shed and find that Piiparinen has been attacked by the old man, who is now curled near some lights for warmth. Jusso's father tries to speak English, but the old man doesn't respond. Meanwhile, Pietari has gone back into the house, and called the families of other kids he knows...only to find that their kids are missing too!When Pietari goes into the shed and claims that the old man is Santa Claus, the adults (naturally) don't believe him. When the old man attempts to come at Pietari, the older men chain him up, but are then surprised when a walkie-talkie in the old man's coat begins to squawk. As they listen, the voice on the walkie-talkie claims that he is coming to get Santa Claus, and wants to know if he is ready. Hearing this, the men then arrange for a drop-off point at a nearby small airport.Dressing the old man in Piiparinen's Santa suit, they head to the airport, and the American who was running the excavation appears, arriving in a helicopter. The men demand payment of $85,000 (what they were sure to make from the killing and sale of the reindeer herd), but the American examines the old man, and explains to the men that they are in error: they have not caught Santa Claus, but one of his 'helpers.'A sound nearby is heard as the helicopter pilot is dragged away and killed, and as the men look about, the lights go out, and numerous old men with long white beards appear, coming out of the shadows. When Rauno looks for Pietari, the boy leads them to a nearby hanger. After barricading the doors, they soon come face-to-face with a strange sight. In the center of the hanger, is a large, ice-encased creature with two large horns. Around it are the village's children tied up in potato sacks, and numerous ovens and heaters hooked up, that appear to be melting the ice.The men are unsure what to do when Pietari manages to silence them, and come up with a plan. The 'helpers' are most likely attracted to the children. Piiparinen manages to get out of the hanger, and start up the helicopter. Flying it over a hole in the large hanger, the children are kept in the potato sacks, and lashed to a large net that pulls them out. This causes the 'helpers' to give chase.Nearby, Rauno and Jusso's father find dynamite, and rig the iced creature in order to destroy it, after being sure they have turned off the ovens and heaters.Meanwhile, Pietari has radioed to Piiparinen to fly the helicopter towards the enclosure meant for the reindeer. When they note that the fence is closed, Pietari radios that he will sacrifice himself to open the gate. Dropping to the ground, he opens the gate, and prepares for the 'helpers' to descend upon him.However, just before they do so, Rauno and Jusso's father blow up the ice-encased creature, and the 'helpers' stop, as if coming out of a trance.Having herded them all into the enclosure, Pietari has counted over 198 'helpers.' Soon, the men and Pietari find a silver lining in this.With less than a year to go, the 198 'helpers' are cleaned, groomed, and taught to act like Santa Clauses for Department stores and other festive occasions. The men then call their business venture "Rare Exports," and ship off the 'helpers' in crates to various locations (for a price, naturally). | comedy | train | imdb | null |
tt0084370 | My Favorite Year | Benjy Stone (Mark Linn-Baker), the narrator, tells of the summer (in his "favorite year" of 1954) he met his idol, swashbuckling actor Allan Swann (Peter O'Toole). In the early days of television, Benjy works as a junior comedy writer for a variety show starring Stan "King" Kaiser (Joseph Bologna). As a special upcoming guest, they get the still famous (though largely washed-up) Swann. However, when he shows up, they realize that he is a roaring drunk. Kaiser is ready to dump him, until Benjy intervenes and promises to keep him sober during the week leading up to the show.
As Benjy watches out for Swann (or at least tries to keep up with him), they learn much about each other, including the fact that they both have family they try to hide from the rest of the world. In Benjy's case, it's his Jewish mother (Lainie Kazan), who is married to a Filipino former bantamweight boxer, Rookie Carroca (Ramon Sison), and Benjy's embarrassing relatives, such as uncouth Uncle Morty (Lou Jacobi). For Swann, it is his young daughter, Tess (Cady McClain), who has been raised entirely by her mother, one of his many ex-wives. He stays away, but continues to keep tabs on her secretly, frustrated that he cannot muster the courage to reconnect with her.
During the week of rehearsals, Kaiser is threatened by corrupt union boss Karl Rojeck (Cameron Mitchell), who does not appreciate being parodied on the show. "Accidents" start happening when Kaiser refuses to stop performing the "Boss Hijack" sketches.
In a subplot, Benjy tries, clumsily and over-enthusiastically, to win the affections of co-worker K. C. Downing (Jessica Harper). Swann advises him on the right approach, which includes crashing a party at the home of K.C.'s affluent parents.
The night of the show finally arrives, but minutes away from going on-air, Swann suffers a panic attack when Benjy informs him that the show is broadcast live. (He is accustomed to getting many takes to get his lines right, exclaiming, "I'm not an actor, I'm a movie star!") Swann gets drunk, and bolts from the studio, but is confronted by Benjy, who angrily tells him that he always thought of Swann as the swashbuckling hero he saw on the big screen, and that deep down, Swann possesses those qualities as a person. As Benjy puts it, "Nobody's that good an actor!"
As the "Boss Hijack" sketch gets underway, Rojeck's men show up backstage and begin beating up Kaiser. The fight spills onto the stage during the live broadcast (with the audience thinking that it is part of the comedy sketch). Swann and Benjy observe the melee from a balcony, when the audience suddenly notices Swann and breaks into enthusiastic applause. Swann grabs a rope and swings into action (dressed as a Musketeer for a later skit), saving Kaiser in front of an appreciative if still clueless audience.
Benjy narrates the epilogue, relating that Swann, his confidence bolstered, finally gets up the nerve to visit his daughter the next day and the two apparently have a heartfelt reunion. | action | train | wikipedia | It's so note-perfect, from the opening shot of midtown Manhattan 1954 with the cars, outfits, and bustle all coming together beneath the strains of Les Paul and Mary Ford's "How High The Moon" into a tight closeup of Benjy Stone carrying a cardboard cutout of his hero, Alan Swann, through an uncaring, jostling crowd.I almost wish they could have made a sitcom featuring the King Kaiser crew, with of course Joseph Balogna, Bill Macy, Adolph Green and the rest all reprising their roles in a kind of "Remember WENN"-style show.
I hope nobody does to you what you're doing to him." Of course Caesar did end up like this, strung out on substance-use problems that derailed his post-50s career, and knowing that gives the scene, both funny and tension-filled, a certain undertone of poignancy for those in the know.Mark Linn-Baker could have taken it down a notch or two, and the Brooklyn idyll was to die for, and not in a good way.
MY FAVORITE YEAR is that kind of movie!Directed with gusto by Richard Benjamin, the film is both a loving tribute to Sid Caesar's 'Your Show of Show', and the remarkable talents that brought it together each week, and a sincere homage to Errol Flynn, whose antics and larger-than-life persona, in the waning years of his life, still had a kind of magic that could enthrall a shy young fan, or make a woman swoon.Three dynamic performances dominate the film.
Just as Flynn, by the 1950s, was a nearly burned-out roué, his classic good looks long gone, O'Toole's matinee-idol appearance, after years of self-abuse, had aged into a gaunt mask, making Benji Stone's film montage of 'classic' clips more poignant.
What Flynn still had, in abundance, were charm and a ready wit, and O'Toole's 'Swann' is so enchanting a personality that you can't help but love him, and root for him to succeed.From the opening nostalgic strains of Nat King Cole's rendition of 'Stardust', through Benjy's futile effort to attempt to keep Swann sober (Red Skelton loved to tell how he kept Flynn sober on his program...he emptied all of the actor's bottles of vodka, replacing it with water...and Flynn couldn't tell the difference!), to a riotous Swann dinner with Benjy's family, to the near-disastrous broadcast, with Swann developing stage fright, and Kaiser brawling with mob enforcers...MY FAVORITE YEAR has one glorious scene after another, each unforgettable!One of the AFI's '100 Greatest Film Comedies', MY FAVORITE YEAR will bring a tear to your eye, even as you laugh.
This laugh-filled comic romp follows the adventures of Benji (Mark Linn-Baker), a gopher for COMEDY CALVACADE (this film's version of YOUR SHOW OF SHOWS), who is excited when a swashbuckling actor of the period named Alan Swann (Peter O'Toole) has been booked as a guest on the show turns out to be a skirt-chasing alcoholic who Benji is put in charge of keeping under control until showtime.
O' Toole and Linn-Baker get solid support from Lainie Kazan as Benji's mother, Joseph Bologna as King Kaiser, the star of Comedy Calvacade, Cameron Mitchell as a not-too bright gangster, and Adolph Green as the manic producer of the show.
I was born in 1958, so I never saw Your Show of Shows, and needless to say, I never knew there was a famous or infamous incident involving one of my boyhood idols, a very drunk Errol Flynn.Dennis Palumbo, in what is ( sadly) apparently his only effort as a script writer, has taken this incident and woven a very human and very funny film from it.
The best movies have moments -- scenes so powerful, or simply so note-perfect, that they live on in your memory after the plot is forgotten."My Favorite Year" has more than its share of these.Other reviewers on this page have singled out the dinner at Belle Mae Steinberg Carioca's (Lainie Kazan's) Brooklyn apartment.
Both onscreen and off, the audience is spellbound in the midst of the slapstick as these two senior-citizen actors seize the screen for the duration of their waltz.Even more compelling is an important scene later in the movie in which Swann makes a quick trip to visit a young daughter whom he hasn't seen in years.
Hilarious film about a Sid Caesar-like comedy series where the special guest is a legendary swashbuckler movie idol who is more known for taking to drink, than for his acting credits.
Peter O'Toole, who's been known to take an occasional drink himself, probably had a lot of experience to bring to the part of Alan Swann, swashbuckling movie star of bygone years who's gone to seed.
But by now he's a boozy shadow of his former self and the star of the show Joseph Bologna assigns his most junior writer, Mark Linn-Baker to keep him in reasonable condition to perform.As it turns out it means bringing O'Toole into his world which is Jewish Brooklyn of the Fifties, something I'm somewhat familiar with myself.
He had a certain charm and could get away with it, a lot though not the way O'Toole does.Based on Mel Brooks's recollections of having to work with Errol Flynn, the film lets you know it's Flynn were remembering.
Joseph Bologna is great as the egotistical comedy star and the Brooklyn vignette has a great performance by Lainie Kazan as Baker's most Jewish mother and Lou Jacobi as his most Jewish uncle.Still it's what goes on and what's between O'Toole and Baker that makes My Favorite Year an all time comedy classic..
Peter O'Toole is magic as an Errol Flynn like movie star, swashing every buck in sight, charming the socks off one and all.
Bologna is as mercurial and difficult as Caesar supposedly was, and when upset at some comments made by Brook's film version "Benjy Stone" (Marc Lynn-Baker), he appoints Stone to keep an eye on the notoriously tipsy and unreliable Swann to make sure he shows up for the show's rehearsals and final production.The addition of Jimmy Hoffa is interesting to this mix.
Peter O'Toole gives his best comic performance in this movie, abetted by Linn-Baker, Bologna, Selma Diamond (whose face glows when O'Toole shows her what he has to make a woman happy), Kazan, Bill Macy and the rest of the film.
I've loved it since the first time I saw it.There is little I can add to the basic story--a washed-up Errol Flynn type of action movie star goes on a live television comedy program in the 1950s.
With the exception noted above, there isn't a missed beat from a single cast member, and Bologna and Kazan are particularly notable.But the movie belongs to Peter O'Toole, and, as in The Stunt Man (made a few years earlier), when he's on screen you can barely take your eyes off him.
It was quite a coincidence that today April 3, 2005, I first saw this great piece of comedy "My favorite Year" as so happens to be the birthday of Anne DeSalvo who played Alice Miller.I dedicate this comment to Ms. De Salvo on her birthday.This film is truly one of a kind.
Perfectly cast in every role and with a wonderful sense of period this will captivate you from the first scene all the way through to the touching finale.Director Benjamin wisely filled his parts with only one star and the rest talented character actors, anything else would have thrown the balance of the film off.
Though she doesn't have much of a part keep an eye out for Gloria Stuart in a lovely scene dancing with Peter O'Toole.All of them and the other cast members are wonderful but the film wouldn't mean a thing if the part of Alan Swann wasn't believably cast.
Very few movies have the overall excellence of this one..."My Favorite Year" melds together a superior script, outstanding ensemble cast, and outstanding direction from Richard Benjamin...and the crowning achievement of it all is the tour de force performance by Peter O'Toole...Mr. O'Toole takes a character that potentially could have been a buffoon and creates a hilarious yet touching portrayal of an aging action film star who has to do American TV for his "new business associate- the IRS"...assigned to watch over our British invader is Mark Lynn-Baker, who is lucky to still have hair by the end of the show...which by the way is one of the cooler endings ever...and ya gotta get the movie to see it for yourself...I could say something wonderful about each member of the cast...and you'll want to pay particular attention to Joseph Bologna as "King Kaiser"...in fact, rent this movie, enjoy it, then buy it...you can watch it over and over again and love it each time...one note...the scene with the firehose on the roof is one of the funniest movie sequences ever...but it is all good...and I loved it!.
PETER O'TOOLE is the nominal star of this brisk farce about an alcoholic action hero (based on Errol Flynn, in case anyone doubts it), given the fictitious name of Alan Swann.
When he is assigned to appear in a live TV show as guest star, his reputation for booze gets him assigned to the care of Benjy Stone (MARK LINN-BAKER), a Brooklyn kid whose job it is to protect O'Toole from further exploits with the bottle so that he can perform as scheduled before a live audience.That's basically the plot, derived from a true-life situation involving Errol Flynn's appearance on, presumably, Sid Caesar's Saturday night live show, "Your Show of Shows".
Also, theowinthrop ("Sid Caesar, Errol Flynn, Mel Brooks, and Jimmy Hoffa meet 'incognito'", theowinthrop from United States, 29 July 2006) has more background information that is interesting to fans of this great movie."My Favorite Year" is at times uproariously funny, poignant and romantic, taking the viewer to great heights within the comedy/romance genre.
Hopeless tipper Flynn's booking on comedian Sid Caesar's live TV program is a general inspiration for the almost entirely fictional narrative.This is also a love story, as Mel Brooks-stand-in Benjy Stone (Mark Linn-Baker) succeeds romantically with office co-worker KC Downing (Jessica Harper), thanks largely to the help Swann gives to his young chaperon.
"My Favorite Year" cleverly depicts early television shows of the 1950's and enfolds as charming Benjy Stone (Mark Linn-Baker) junior comedy writer for the "Comedy Calvacade" promises to keep his movie hero, former swashbuckler Alan Swann and guest star, out of trouble.
Swann, beautifully played by Peter O'Toole is a washed out movie star infamous for his drinking and making unsavory headlines.
"My Favorite Year" has a talented cast including Lainie Kazan as Stone's mother and Joseph Bologna as King Kaiser, the star of the television show.
Reminiscent of real television programs like "Your Show of Shows with Sid Ceasar," Screenplay writer, Dennis Palumbo was inspired to write this enjoyable screenplay when he found out producer Mel Brooks worked as a comedy writer and had to keep an eye on movie star Errol Flynn.
Swann, accustomed to doing several movie takes, declares he can not do the live show, "I'm not an actor, I'm a movie star!" "My Favorite Year" takes place in 1954 and Benjy's narration at the beginning and end of the story, gives the film a nice nostalgic touch.
Mark Linn-Baker plays a young aspiring comedy writer, a great fan of Swann's, who is working as an intern on a comedy show in the early days of television, whose job it is to keep Alan Swann (O'Toole) in line while he prepares for a guest appearance.
Boy Peter O'Toole Creates One Of The Greatest One Of The Best Comedy Characters Of All Time In This Movie Allan Swann.
That title year is 1954 and young TV comedy show writer (Linn-Baker) gets assigned as the chaperon to former, swinging, - and heavily drinking - swashbuckler movie star on the downfall (O'Toole) for one wild weekend in NYC.
Mark-Linn Baker plays Benjy Stone, who reminisces about "My Favorite Year" in this 1982 film starring Peter O'Toole, Joseph Bologna, Anne DiSalvo, Bill Macy, and Lainie Kazan.
My Favorite Year (1982) **** (out of 4) Washed up actor Alan Swann (Peter O'Toole) is given the chance to appear on a television show and the job of keeping up with him goes to young fan Benjy Stone (Mark Linn-Baker) who soon realizes that the former star and alcohol can lead to problems.
Linn-Baker is also very good in the supporting role and we get strong performances from the entire cast including Joseph Bologna, Bill Macy, Jessica Harper and even Cameron Mitchell.
Even the weaker moments in this movie and its story still work out well, thanks to its characters and the actors portraying them.Peter O'Toole plays Errol Flynn, even though his character is named differently in the movie.
Joseph Bologna as King Kaiser, a TV comedian, imitates Sid Caesar with considerable success, Mark Linn-Baker is very good as a junior writer on the show assigned to make sure that Alan Swann (O'Toole's character modeled on Errol Flynn) is actually on hand when the show is broadcast, and Jessica Baker is charming as the young writer's love interest.
I still know people who can quote lines from this movie, especially the scenes in Brooklyn with Rookie!Peter O'Toole has fun playing Errol Flynn and there are other recognizable actors here, as well, such as Selma Diamond, Joe Bologna and Cameron Mitchell as a gangster.Great fun for all!.
Sweet comedy about 50s television (specifically 'Your Show of Shows'), and the week that a fading film great (clearly based on Errol Flynn) guest stars.
In this movie Flynn becomes Allan Swann (Peter O'Toole) and Benji Stone (Mark Linn Baker) plays Brooks.
Here he gets the opportunity to play Alan Swann, a swashbuckling movie star that is not too far from the real Peter O'Toole, who almost destroyed his career with booze.
This 1982 comedy has some very comic set pieces however there is not enough to save the viewer from wandering "How Much Longer".Benjy Stone (Mark Linn-Baker), the narrator, tells of the summer (in his "favorite year" of 1954) he met his idol, swashbuckling actor Alan Swann.
Great comedy drunk scenes performed by a superb Peter O'Toole.
Timing is everything, and if you are a student of comedy, MY FAVORITE YEAR is a must-see.Among the great lines of dialogue in the script (penned by Dennis Palumbo and Norman Steinberg) are the memorable line by Swann: "I'm not an actor, I'm a movie star!" As well as his memorable encounter in the ladies room with the show's costume designer who tells Swann the room "is for ladies only!" To which Swann unzips his fly, and answers "So's this mum, but every now and then I have to run a little water through it."The production design is theatrically pleasant, creating a mystical world within the television studios, while making use of real New York locations, transforming the then 1981 (the year the film was made) streets into the 1950's.The other great "thespianic" comedies?
Yet, Peter O'Toole, playing a tippling film star in the 1950s reduced to appearing in a live television program, doesn't do anything here acting-wise he hadn't already accomplished (under far better circumstances).
Peter O'Toole clearly makes this movie work, playing Alan Swann, a washed up, alcoholic, swashbuckling type movie star (in the mode of Errol Flynn) who has one last chance at glory when he's invited to be a guest star on the TV show "Comedy Cavalcade" starring "King Kaiser" (Joseph Bologna) - clearly a take off on Sid Caesar's "Show of Shows."Set in 1954, described as "my favorite year" by Benjy (Mark Linn-Baker) - who is given the job of keeping Swann sober and making sure he shows up for the show, the movie provides an interesting look at the era of live television, where any mistakes would be instantly seen by the viewers (no retakes here.) Consistently humourous rather than outrageously hilarious, the movie also benefits from a solid supporting cast, featuring the likes of Bill Macy and Selma Diamond among others.6/10.
Legendary actor Alan Swann (Peter O'Toole) is coming to guest star on the show.
O'Toole is great in the role.I was born in1952, so it is nice to see what fashions, cars and other things looked like in the New York of that era.The King Kayser character has echoes of Sid Caesar when you hear him.This movie is one to watch if you want something to watch on a night when there's nothing else on.George Senda Concord, Ca. Gentle, amusing.
The story seems somewhat autobiographical of Brooks- being about a young Jewish comedy writer (Benjy Stone) on a TV show similar to legendary "Your Show of Shows" who has been given the assignment of watching over the weeks guest star, acting great Alan Swann.
Mel Brooks wrote this based on his experiences working as a junior comedy writer on Sid Caesar's "Your show of shows." The first time I saw this movie I laughed from beginning to end.
It's got real heart mixed in with the laughs...and I do laugh out loud when I watch this film.Mark Linn-Baker, an actor I've never seen in any other movie or television show (although I know he has been in several) is just right as the young studio aide whose job it is to manage O'Toole's character.
Mark Linn Baker does a good job as Benjy but this film belongs solely to Peter O Toole who plays the alcoholic Allan Swann perfectly.This may well be because the role mirrored his own life in so many ways.
MY FAVORITE YEAR (1982) **** Peter O' Toole, Mark Linn-Baker, Bill Macy, Joseph Bologna, Lainie Kazan, Lou Jacobi, Anne DeSalvo, Basil Hoffman, Cameron Mitchell.
One of my favorite films: Richard Benjamin's wonderfully comic valentine to "The Golden Age of Comedy" in television about rookie comedy writer Linn-Baker with his hands full keeping his movie idol and guest host alcoholic actor Alan Swann (Oscar nominee for Best Actor O' Toole; brilliant a la Errol Flynn) sober and in condition for the big show. |
tt0045631 | City That Never Sleeps | The story begins with a voice-over the "Voice of Chicago" introducing the world and main characters of the film. There's Sally "Angel Face" Connors (Mala Powers), an exotic dancer; Gregg Warren (Wally Cassell), a former actor working as a performance artist, a "Mechanical Man"; Johnny Kelly (Gig Young) a cop having an affair with Angel Face and struggling with his conscience to leave his wife; Penrod Biddel (Edward Arnold), a successful and smooth attorney; Hayes Stewart (William Talman), a magician who has turned to making a career as a thief. Johnny Kelly is disillusioned with his job which he took to please his father, and writes a letter of resignation which he intends to hand in at the end of his shift. He calls Penrod Biddel to accept an offer that the lawyer had made for employment and agrees to meet him later that evening. Johnny's wife Kathy Kelly (Paula Raymond) discovers Johnny's plan to quit his job and calls his father Sgt. John Kelly Sr. (Otto Hulett) who talks to Johnny and is concerned for his son's happiness. On this night Johnny's regular partner calls in sick and his replacement is Sgt. Joe (Chill Wills) whose voice can be recognized as the introductory "Voice of Chicago". As they begin the nightly shift Sgt. Joe has a goodly amount of homespun homiletic advice for Johnny whose negative energy casts a pall on their working environment. As the night progresses Johnny visits his stripper girlfriend Angel Face to re-affirm their plans to go away. He also meets with the lawyer Penrod Biddel who asks Johnny to pick up Hayes Stewart and carry him across the state line for the Indiana Police to incarcerate him. Johnny turns down the offer but changes his mind when Biddel tells him that Johnny's brother 'Stubby' is associating with the criminal and will surely get into trouble unless Johnny intervenes and does what Biddel wants. Johnny and Sgt. Joe also answer a call for a woman having a baby and Johnny performs the delivery; they answer a call for an illegal gambling game on the street arresting the ring leader and getting the money back to the men who have been hoodwinked. After each call Sgt. Joe lays out another bit of wisdom that seemingly begins to affect Johnny to where he begins to reevaluate his life. Hayes Stewart has obtained incriminating evidence on Penrod Biddel and seduced his wife Lydia (Marie Windsor). Stewart shoots the lawyer and he and Lydia escape, running to the nightclub where Angel Face dances. Hayes Stewart, having discovered Biddels's agreement with Johnny to take him out of the state calls the police asking to meet with Officer Kelly, only Johnny's father takes the call. Stewart shoots Kelly Sr. and takes Lydia and escapes but can't get far because of the enclosing police. Stewart believes that the Mechanical Man has seen him and intends to stay close by to kill him. Gregg Warren thinks he can bait the killer for Johnny. This sense of honor, and his father's murder, makes clear to Johnny what he really holds valuable in his life. As the Mechanical Man performs in a window, Angel Face states her love for him and as the man begins to shed a tear Hayes Stewart see that he is indeed a real man and shoots, revealing his hideout. Johnny chases him and Stewart falls to his death from an elevated railroad track. Johnny considers what has happened this eventful night and re-evaluates his station in life. | romantic, murder | train | imdb | null |
tt0099785 | Home Alone | The McCallister family prepares to spend Christmas with Peter and Frank's brother Rob in Paris, gathering at Peter and Kate's home in a suburb of Chicago the night before their flight. Eight-year-old Kevin, their youngest son, finds himself the subject of ridicule from his siblings and cousins. After getting into an argument with his older brother Buzz, he is sent to the third floor bedroom of the house, where he wishes his family would disappear. During the night, a power outage resets the alarm clocks and causes the family to oversleep. In the confusion and rush to reach the airport on time, Kevin is left behind and the family does not realize it until they are already airborne. Once in Paris, his mother and father desperately try to book a flight home.Meanwhile, Kevin wakes up to find the house empty and is overjoyed to find that his wish came true. He takes Buzz's life savings, practices shooting with Buzz's BB gun, jumps on the bed, watches a gangster film, and eats a large amount of junk food. However, he finds himself scared by the appearance of the Chicago Police Department called by his parents to check on him, his next door neighbor "Old Man" Marley, who was rumored to have murdered his family many years earlier, and the appearance of The Wet Bandits, Harry Lyme and Marv Merchants, who are breaking into other vacant houses on the block.On Christmas Eve, Kevin overhears Harry and Marv discussing plans for breaking into his house that night. After conversing with a Santa Claus impersonator and watching a local choir perform in a church, he comes across Marley. The two of them talk, and he learns that Marley is in fact a very nice man and the rumors about him are not true. He tells Kevin he is watching the choir because his granddaughter is in it, and he never gets to see her because he and his son have not spoken in years after a big argument they had. Kevin advises him to reconcile with his son.After leaving the church, Kevin heads home and sets up various booby traps inside the house. Harry and Marv break in. After the two spring every trap in the house, Kevin flees to the second floor of the house and dials 911. They chase him out of the house and he flees to the vacant neighboring home. The Wet Bandits catch him when he runs to the top of the stairs and hang him on a coat hook on the door. Marley has sneaked up behind them and knocks them out with a snow shovel and takes Kevin home. Shortly after, the two burglars are arrested.Kevin wakes up the next morning and is disappointed to see that his family is still gone. He then hears Kate enter the house, calling for him. He goes downstairs and the two of them meet and reconcile. Immediately after, the rest of the McCallisters, having traveled directly from Paris to Chicago, arrive. Kevin keeps silent about his encounter with Harry and Marv, although Peter finds Harry's missing gold tooth and wonders what it is. Kevin and Buzz have a moment of reconciliation. He then goes over to the window and sees Marley greeting his son and his family. As he is hugging his granddaughter, he looks up to see Kevin. He waves at him and Kevin waves back, smiling. He watches as Marley heads inside with his family. However, Buzz interrupts him by calling out, "Kevin! What did you do to my room?" He immediately runs there and the film ends. | cult, comedy, violence, humor | train | imdb | He brought in a great comedy about a boy who accidentally is left home alone when his family goes on vacation and takes on two burglars.
Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern are the perfect comedy duo of two idiots who can't rob the place because a 8 year old child has out witted them and set some clever and very funny traps around the house.Please give this movie a chance, it's just terrific and I guarantee nothing but great laughs for you and the whole family.10/10.
Macaulay Culkin plays 8 year-old Kevin, a misunderstood kid who lives in a big ass house with his family.
'Home Alone' has succeeded in establishing itself as a Christmas tradition, spawning off three sequels (including a made-for-television flop), and a whole franchise in and of it.Macaulay Culkin plays Kevin McCallister, the average American child.
He lives with a large family, which, right now, being around Christmas time, is about quadrupled, flooded by relatives' children, all of whom pick on poor, poor Kevin (sympathy long lost later into the film).One day Kevin wakes up from his sleep to find his wish has come true: his parents (John Heard and Catherine O'Hara) have disappeared.
Unfortunately for Kevin, his parents have not just disappeared - they have accidentally left him at home before going to Paris!Trouble really starts when two pesky burglars, Harry Lime (Joe Pesci) and Marv Merchants (Daniel Stern), decide that their next burglary will be at the McCallister residence.
Little do they know Kevin is more than prepared, arming the house with an array of booby-traps that would impress top spies in the American government.John Hughes, writer/director/producer of my favorite comedy, 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles,' wrote this film, and it is no wonder.
Fortunately, with great performances by John Heard, Catherine O'Hara, Pesci and Stern, his bad acting is long forgotten by the time we become absorbed into the film.John Heard and Catherine O'Hara bring Kevin's parents to life.
It's a hard choice to decide which baddie is better, so I just say I like them both the same.All in all, 'Home Alone' is probably the best Christmas movie to rise out of the film industry in the last twenty years.
The overwhelming success of 'Home Alone' (it spawned two sequels), is enough to guarantee that most people will love this story of a family that departs for Paris on the Christmas holidays, mistakenly leaving an eight-year old boy to fend for himself.
Macaulay Culkin seems to have no problem carrying most of the film with a wide variety of looks, gestures and expressions--but for my money it's Daniel Stern and Joe Pesci who get the main laughs as the bumbling burglars intent on outwitting the kid's traps.
"Home Alone" is a hilarious film about a young boy (Macaulay Culkin) who is accidently left home during the Christmas holidays after the rest of his family goes to Europe.
Both Hughes and Chris Columbus seem to prefer setting their movies during the holiday season (Gremlins, Planes, Trains & Automobiles, Christmas Vacation) and manage to pull them off without too much sentiment, or sickening amounts of gooey love.There are two reasons why Home Alone was such a big success.
Their idiot-proof determination proves to be their downfall, as they are tortured and torn-up upon entering Kevin's domain.Although this is not the only point of the film, there is an important message that family is what really matters to a child, or to anyone, and having them home for the holidays is better than wandering a huge house all by yourself.There are some movies that work best at Christmas and this is one of them.
While most of the film is unbelievable (both good and bad), most of the film should keep families in good spirits, unless parents don't enjoy seeing Pesci getting his head on fire and Stern screaming like a girl.
For some reason, I also find funny whenever Kevin screams maniacally (particularly when he says he's not afraid anymore and sees Old Marley and screams out loud.The scenes which Kevin fools and scares the Little Nero's Pizza boy and Marv with the gangster film "Angels with Filthy Souls" are hilarious, but in the case of the Pizza boy it is unfair for him.
An eight year old boy is left home alone at Christmas when his family leave for a France vacation, not realizing he isn't on the plane with them.
Home Alone is one of my all time favourite Christmas movies, I couldn't get enough of it as a kid growing up.
Home Alone is basically about a family that leaves for vacation, but in the rush of getting out on time they forget that young Kevin McCallister was not with them on their way to the airport.
The traps that Kevin sets are smart and witty, and the location shots are perfect for the tricks he has planned for Harry and Marv.All in all Home Alone is a classic film not only for Christmastime, but all year round.
In this film we have the pairing of two talented actors in Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern(I REALLY LIKE THE WAY THIS GUY ACTS & HIS SENSE OF HUMOR!!!).
This film has a decent sequel: Home Alone 2: Lost in New York which follows the further mishaps in the life of Kevin.Other Macaulay Culkin films worth seeing/having: Uncle Buck, The Good Son, My Girl, Getting Even with Dad, and Richie Rich..
Then things get worse as two bumbling burglars played by Daniel Sterns and Joe Pesci target his house...Although I was an adult when I watched this film, I could still see why Kevin McAllister appealed to kids around the world.
Everything from irons (which he uses to hit their heads) to christmas decorations with sharp ends which Daniel Sterns steps on.It's hard not to thoroughly enjoy a film like this, especially as it appeals to all of us (adults and children) who have wished we could just have the house to ourself and do what we please.
John Williams has another great score here!This is a perfect movie for people to watch around Christmas and if you need a big laugh watch this as it will crack you up!
It is a classic for me, certainly a child hood favourite!The story is a very simple one; Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) is accidentally left at Home over the Christmas as his whole family fly to Paris.
The on screen chemistry between these two and the relationship they have is fantastic, it comes across very realistic and hilarious.Macaulay Culkin was 9 or 10 when Home Alone was filmed and given such a big role with this much screen time must have been a big challenge but he walked it and gave a very convincing performance.
It's Christmassy & It's got great characters with some truly hilarious moments.Overall, Home Alone is a very fun movie; I have the relation to it as it was always on at Christmas when I was a child.
It's really one of those "feel good" movies, the kind that make you want to cuddle up on the couch with family and relax and enjoy it.If you haven't seen it yet, you're missing out on a great Christmas movie.
Kevin initially manages to keep them away by making the house look as if the family is home, but they eventually realize the deception.This film is one of the best Christmas movies however at first it is a little slow on the set-up..
Kevin McCallister is part of a huge family including his big brother Buzz and his uncle Frank and he feels that everyone is against him because his parents don't like his behavior and he gets sent up to the attic and wishes he never had to see his family again.Kevin is accidentally left home alone while his family is on vacation and of course he is very happy about making his family disappear but now he has to defend himself and his house from two burglars.This is a funny and well directed movie with great preformances and it will never get old..
Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern give wonderful performances and are the best thing in this movie.
He turned out to be a fine child actor.The two guys (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern) that play incompetent crooks are funny and some of the humor is clever, although slapstick "rules" in this film.There are some really nice messages in here, such as "families suck," says the kid.
Never Gets Old. When it comes to enjoying that jolly time of year, there are several movies that must be viewed or else it just isn't Christmas.
Written and produced by the late, great John Hughes and directed by Chris Columbus, it follows the story of young Kevin McCallister (Played by Macaulay Culkin, arguably the best child actor since Shirley Temple) who's constantly picked on and looked down upon by his large, extended family but especially by his older and much hated brother, Buzz (Devin Ratray in what has to be his best role).
Shock turns to happiness as Kevin realizes his wish has come true.But it's not all fun and games as two naughty burglars Harry and Marv (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern who give a wonderful performance together as the two bumbling thieves) are on the rampage in Kevin's neighborhood.
To be sure, the physical comedy of Harry and Marv getting their asses handed to them by Kevin's traps is nothing short of a laugh riot (Traps include anything from heated door handles to slippery steps).But the film also manages to include a lot of heart as Kevin slowly but surely begins to realize that family is what the holidays are all about and without them it's pretty lonely, a lesson he learns first hand by the at first feared but then loved neighborhood recluse, Old Man Marley (the late, great character actor Robert Blossom).
In the movie "Home Alone" Kevin does a great job making his character likable and fun to watch, The bad guys in the movie depict not so smart villains, but create a slapstick style comedy for the whole family to enjoy.
The acting in this film is good especially the robbers played by Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern.
The story itself is simple: The extended McCallister family sets off for a Christmas vacation in Paris, and inadvertently, Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) gets left behind.
Macaulay Culkin became a household name starring as Kevin McCallister, a precocious eight-year-old accidentally left behind when his family heads out on a holiday vacation.
If fending for himself weren't enough, Kevin must also contend with two bumbling burglars (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern), who have targeted the family home.I first saw "Home Alone" when I was 10 years old.
Macaulay Culkin stars as a young, inadvertently left behind at Christmas when his parents go on holiday, who foils some inept housebreakers, played delightfully by Daniel Stern and Joe Pesci.
Macaulay Culkin is pretty good in this movie, as well as Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern, but the rest of the actors aren't too good.
Actually i cannot really think of any recent Christmas orientated films that come close to this.Its Child star is Macaulay Culkin is a very good actor who with his funny expressions and fun characteristics make it a 10/10 for me.
Chris Columbus did a great job directing the film from a story by John Hughes.Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern costar as the bad guys who call themselves the 'wet bandits'; a duo who bumble and burglarize.
It's highly entertaining, and Macaulay Culkin does as good an acting job as any child actor can be expected to, especially when he's carrying the whole film.HOWEVER: The treatment of Kevin by his family has not aged well.
8 Year old Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) is accidentally left behind, while his large family on a Christmas holiday to Paris.
This is after all about a an eight year old named Kevin who's criticised by the fellow childhood members of his family for not being able to pack his own suitcase (their family is travelling to Paris for Xmas) and yet proves remarkably resourceful when fending off the movies antagonists; the burglars Harry and Marv played with hilarious brilliance by Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern.
Luckily, this movie is made for everyone!For a basic plot summary, "Home Alone" sees young Kevin McCalister (Macaulay Culkin) waking up a few days before Christmas in a completely empty house, his extremely large and rather disorganized family having left him behind on their trip overseas.
While the family tries to get back home, Kevin must outwit a pair of two-bit thieves (played by Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern) who want nothing more than to loot his home.What really makes this film special is the wide appeal of the humor.
From young Kevin's attempts at "holding down the fort", to the bumbling burglars played brilliantly by two veteran actors, this is the type of movie that you will be quoting long after the TV is turned off.Thus, I highly recommend "Home Alone" to quite literally anyone, especially during the Christmas season.
The movie is predictable, of course, but that is part of the charm you expect from a Christmas story, unless you are watching an horror movie or a proper adult comedy.I loved Macauly Culkin when he was a child.
I highly doubt that anyone reading a movie review blog hasn't seen this film by now, but those select few...The film centers on Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) a bratty kid, whose extended family is preparing for Christmas in Paris.
I prefer the 2nd one over this as I feel like the 2nd one is more funny and we see Kevin in a more exciting place than home, as in the 2nd movie he's in NYC.
Eight year old Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin, in his appealing break through lead performance) is frustrated enough with his family to "wish them away".
Some of it may be a bit much, and may not jibe that well with the more serious portions of the movie, but it's doubtful many kids watching are going to care that much.It does, in the end, make a very good case for the need for family, how we're perfectly capable of taking our loved ones for granted, how to deal with one's fears and do some growing up, and in the case of Old Man Marley (the excellent veteran Roberts Blossom), how it's never too late to mend relationships.
I think that its a Holiday classic.Joe Pesci is hilarious in the film, and macualay Culkin brings a real sensibility to the role.
This is a really good family film so long as you can get through the slapstick.Home alone is pretty much as it says.
The two criminals (Joe Pecsi and Daniel Stern) make up for little Macaulay Culkin who is good in his own way i suppose and while not as hilarious as his co stars of previous mention, he does have his moments.Then of course everybody's favourite part of the film, the pranks.
Is great and Macauly Kulkin is the perfect Kevin Mcalisster, With his unmistakable shout he was gained an important place into the hearts of so much people.Besides the idea that they have both movies they seem to me of the most original and entertaining thingi think that Macauly Mulkin is one of the best actors in the planet and this film is is a living probe of it, and the second part is really fun.I liked very much also that the movie had a sentimental side ( Besides that I have a sentimental very developed he he he)I recommend him her to the whole world, they will not repent seeing her.I am sure that his success in ticket office was well-deserved well.
At first, I was going to say that Roger Ebert has simply lost touch with his inner child, but I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt.I watched "Home Alone" today after many years and I still loved it and I still laughed, even though I had practically memorized the movie as a kid and still remembered it all.
As an adult, one watches family movies to remember what it was like to be a kid, to remember the dreams of being grown-up and independent and the silly little fears of things in the basement.
Timeless, one of the best Christmas films in a long time, and one of the best family movies ever made.
Home Alone was one of the funniest film released in 1990 and is still a Christmas classic to me , tweleve years later.
Kids of all ages just loved this movie about a little 8-year-old boy who gets accidentally left home all by himself after his family rushes off to spend Christmas in France.
Home Alone is a lovely movie and I consider it the greatest family film ever made because of the storyline and the well developed plot.
The story is crazy but also funny as Macaulay Culkin as a precarious 8-year-old who accidentally is left behind by his vacationing family, in the meantime Culkin must battle a twosome of goofy and inept burglars wonderfully depicted by Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern.
No matter how many times you have seen Home Alone watch this classic every holiday season it's a film to enjoy for a lifetime..
As a child I grow up watching that movie, and I think I still watch it every year on Christmas time.
I would love to watch this movie again.So, the story is about a young boy named Kevin MacCallister who gets aaccidently left home during Christmas after his family goes to Europe.
The performance of Macaulay Culkin as Kevin is great and for an eight year old boy, he is very smart.
The burglars, played by Daniel Stern and Joe Pesci, are also great and fun to watch.However, it does have it's problems. |
tt0056315 | L'orribile segreto del Dr. Hichcock | In 1885 London, the famous Professor Bernard Hichcock has created a new method of anaesthesia and has become rightly famous for it. A renowned, brilliant, and humane surgeon, he also happens to be a necrophiliac who enjoys sexual games with his beautiful and very willing wife, Margaretha. The games include slowing his wife's pulse with this anaesthetic so that she seems corpse-like. Sadly, one night, he injects her with too much and she dies in his arms. Devastated and traumatized, he resigns from his position and leaves England, the reason for his wife's death, of course, never publicly revealed. He returns twelve years later, remarried to Cynthia. His housekeeper, Martha, who was loyal to him and Margaretha, and even a devilishly delighted romantic co-conspirator in preparing the funeral-parlor-like room for their sex games, makes it clear that she views his remarriage as a betrayal: she treats Cynthia coldly and Bernard with scornful glances and without the familial devotion she showed before Margaretha's death. Cynthia starts to hear noises and a woman's threatening voice, and while Bernard initially dismisses her worries as paranoia, eventually discovers that Margaretha had not died but rather had been unnaturally aged and driven insane by the overdose and premature burial; apparently, Martha had saved her and has looked after her during Bernard's absence. Even in her ravaged condition, Bernard is still deeply in love with Margaretha, and conspires to murder Cynthia so he can use her blood in medical efforts to restore his wife's health and beauty. Needless to say, Bernard is thwarted, he and Margaretha dying in a conflagration at the end, while Cynthia is saved by Bernard's handsome young assistant. The subject matter of the film was revolutionary for its day and indeed for any period. The viewer is also asked to make some complex emotional and moral decisions: the real, and tragic, love story of the film is that of Bernard and Margaretha, but we must accept that his original error can only be undone at the expense of his dreary second wife's life. It is a brilliant film, certainly among the best Italian horror films and probably among the best horror films of any national origin. Most notably, the famous Barbara Steele is little more than a cardboard stock character as Cynthia. It is probably her least important role. | gothic | train | imdb | null |
tt0059742 | The Sound of Music | Maria is a free-spirited young Austrian woman studying to become a nun at Nonnberg Abbey in Salzburg in 1938. Her love of music and the mountains, her youthful enthusiasm and imagination, and her lack of discipline cause some concern among the nuns. The Mother Abbess, believing Maria would be happier outside the abbey, sends her to the villa of retired naval officer Captain Georg von Trapp to be governess to his seven children—Liesl, Friedrich, Louisa, Kurt, Brigitta, Marta, and Gretl. The Captain has been raising his children alone using strict military discipline following the death of his first wife. Although the children misbehave at first, Maria responds with kindness and patience, and soon the children come to trust and respect her.
While the Captain is away in Vienna, Maria makes play clothes for the children and takes them around Salzburg and the surrounding mountains, and she teaches them how to sing. When the Captain returns to the villa with Baroness Elsa Schraeder, a wealthy socialite, and their mutual friend, Max Detweiler, they are greeted by Maria and the children returning from a boat ride on the lake that concludes when their boat overturns. Displeased by his children's clothes and activities, and Maria's impassioned appeal that he get closer to his children, the Captain orders her to return to the abbey. Just then he hears singing coming from inside the house and is astonished to see his children singing for the Baroness. Filled with emotion, the Captain joins his children, singing for the first time in years. Afterwards, he apologizes to Maria and asks her to stay.
Impressed by the children's singing, Max proposes he enter them in the upcoming Salzburg Festival but the suggestion is immediately rejected by the Captain as he does not allow his children to sing in public. He does agree, however, to organize a grand party at the villa. The night of the party, while guests in formal attire waltz in the ballroom, Maria and the children look on from the garden terrace. When the Captain notices Maria teaching Kurt the traditional Ländler folk dance, he cuts in and partners with Maria in a graceful performance, culminating in a close embrace. Confused about her feelings, Maria blushes and breaks away. Later, the Baroness, who noticed the Captain's attraction to Maria, hides her jealousy while convincing Maria that she must return to the abbey. Back at the abbey, when Mother Abbess learns that Maria has stayed in seclusion to avoid her feelings for the Captain, she encourages her to return to the villa to look for her life. After Maria returns to the villa, she learns about the Captain's engagement to the Baroness and agrees to stay until they find a replacement governess. The Captain's feelings for Maria, however, have not changed, and after breaking off his engagement the Captain and Maria marry.
While they are on their honeymoon, Max enters the children in the Salzburg Festival against their father's wishes. When they learn that Austria has been annexed by the Third Reich in the Anschluss, the couple return to their home, where a telegram awaits informing the Captain that he must report to the German Naval base at Bremerhaven to accept a commission in the German Navy. Strongly opposed to the Nazis and the Anschluss, the Captain tells his family they must leave Austria immediately. That night, as the von Trapp family attempt to leave, they are stopped by a group of Brownshirts waiting outside the villa. When questioned by Gauleiter Hans Zeller, the Captain maintains they are headed to the Salzburg Festival to perform. Zeller insists on escorting them to the festival, after which his men will accompany the Captain to Bremerhaven.
Later that night at the festival, during their final number, the von Trapp family slip away and seek shelter at the nearby abbey, where Mother Abbess hides them in the cemetery crypt. Brownshirts soon arrive and search the abbey, but the family is able to escape using the caretaker's car. When the soldiers attempt to pursue, they discover their cars will not start as two nuns have removed parts of the engines. The next morning, after driving to the Swiss border, the von Trapp family make their way on foot across the frontier into Switzerland to safety and freedom. | cult | train | wikipedia | null |
tt1535108 | Elysium | In the year 2154, the earth is polluted, vastly overpopulated, and disease runs rampant through the dilapidated slums that the cities have become. The wealthiest people have fled the planet and taken refuge on Elysium, a Stanford Torus high-tech space station, just beyond earth's atmosphere.While those on Earth are policed by ruthless robots, Elysium's citizens are governed by President Patel (Faran Tahir), in a utopian setting which includes access to private medical machines, called "Med-Bays," that offer instant cures for virtually any disease or ailment a person may experience.A young boy named Max DeCosta (Perry Cotton) his young girlfriend, Frey Santiago (Valentina Giros), are living in the ruins of Los Angeles. Frey can read and she reads Max stories about Elysium. Max lives in an orphanage with a kindly nun. The nun says he is born to do something great.Frey and Max are looking up at Elysium, which is visible from earth. Max intends to go there someday and promises to take Frey with him. Frey takes a pen and marks on Max's hand. She inscribes a circle and the letters M + F.Years later, when he's 36 years old, Max (Matt Damon), sports numerous tattoos and wears an electronic ankle bracelet. He is preparing to board a bus to travel to his job. Two security robots approach him as he's standing in line. They rip off his backpack, then hit him twice, breaking his wrist. He's a felon, a former car thief, and on parole, so he's frequently singled out for harassment.Matt, identified as #6722, and Frey, now a nurse, accidentally meet at the clinic where he goes to have his a arm treated. Matt asks her to have coffee with him, but she declines. Finally, she agrees to meet him soon.Matt had been ordered by the robots to go see his parole officer, another robot. The parole officer robot can detect "attitude" and it doesn't like Matt's, so his parole is extended. The robot then offers Max a pill to help calm his heart rate, which it has detected as elevated.Max works at an assembly line for Armadyne Corp, a company which supplies Elysian weaponry, as well as the robots which police the Earth. The shift supervisor docks him half a day's pay for being late.Partaking of an illegal emigration operation, some of the people in Los Angeles were able to come up with some money which they use to acquire Elysium identification brands on their wrists, then they board three dilapidated looking shuttles, which take off and flies towards Elysium. The shuttles require codes, which were also stolen.A French-speaking woman named Delacourt (Jodie Foster) is the Defense Secretary for Elysium. When she's told about three unauthorized shuttles approaching, she overrides Executive Order 355 and activates a rogue sleeper agent named C.M. Kruger (Sharlto Copley). Kruger immediately grabs a shoulder-fired ground to air missile launcher and fires off four rockets. The rockets chase down the shuttles and destroy two of them, killing all 46 people on board. The other shuttle makes it to Elysium and lands. The rich folks in the area are all in a tizzy, as helicopters and robots give chase of the occupants of the shuttle.One mother and her daughter who were on the shuttle that landed rush into a house and find a Med-Bed. The girl's wrist is scanned and she is identified as an Elysium citizen. A machine then assesses her physical condition, determining she had multiple fractures, and begins repairing the broken bones.There end up being 32 arrests and 13 casualties, with two at-large. The at large were the mother and daughter, who are soon apprehended. All 34 are prepared for deportation back to earth.Matt's friend Julio (Diego Luna), tries to entice him to come back into the auto theft game, but he refuses, wanting to complete his parole and find a way to get up to Elysium.At Matt's work station, a pallet jams open the door to the firing unit for the robots. The supervisor orders Matt to un-jam the door or he will lose his job. Matt has no choice but to squeeze into the chamber and push the pallet away from the door. When he does that, the door slams shut and the radiation powers on. Matt receives a lethal dose of radiation. He is told he will die in five days.Armadyne CEO John Carlyle (William Fichtner) goes down on the production floor to see what the emergency was. He sees Matt lying on a bed in the infirmary and orders that Matt be taken away so he won't mess up the bedding. A robot gives Matt some pills to help him deal with the inevitable discomfort.President Patel summons Delacourt. She is brought before the President and his cabinet. They are not happy with her for ordering the shuttles shot down, and for using Kruger to do it. Delacourt is impudent, as she sasses Patel and all but calls him a coward who would see Elysium destroyed if not for people like her. Patel threatens to fire Delacourt if she screws up again. He orders her to stop using Kruger.When Kruger learns that he's not going to be utilized anymore, he's angry and feels betrayed.Julio sees Max returning from the infirmary, barely able to walk, and rushes to help him. Julio helps him take some of the pills. Max tells Julio that he wants to go see Spider (Wagner Moura), the rebel behind the illegal transports to Elysium, about getting to Elysium. Max is desperate to make the trip now, as he needs a Med-Bay to heal himself.Frey has a young daughter, Matilda (Emma Tremblay), who experiences seizures. She had been taking her to work with her, but was ordered to leave her daughter home, as the doctors weren't able to give her treatments.Max and Julio got to the high tech rebel command center where Max asks Spider for an identification brand and a ticket to Elysium, promising to come back and work for him. He reminds Spider that he did three years in prison for him. Spider decides to make Max an offer. If he'll plug into the brain of one of Elysium's high-ranking officials and obtain pass codes and other secret data that would provide Spider access to money, then he'd make sure Max was able to get to Elysium.Max must submit to surgery by what appear to be nothing more than glorified tattoo artists. They surgically attach a third generation powered exoskeleton to Max's body and insert a data collection device in his brain. The exoskeleton gives Max the strength of a droid.Max tells Spider that his friend, Julio, had to be included in the deal, and that John Carlyle must be the high level target.Delacourt, vowing to protect Elysium and her own power, bargains with Carlyle to create a program that can override Elysium's computer core to give her the Presidency. Carlyle would be beneficiary of a 200 year contract to provide essential services to the community of Elysium. Carlyle works up a new computer protocol called "Sabre Cerebral Defense," and programs it into his own brain device. He also encrypts it with a denial system that would prove lethal to anyone attempting to download and use the program. He then boards a shuttle for a flight to Elysium.Max, Julio (Diego Luna) and a team of Spider's men arm themselves and make use of two fast armored vehicles. They are aware of Carlyle's planned flight to Elysium and they set out to intercept him.Max shoots an explosive device at the shuttle. It attaches itself to the side of the shuttle. As there is only 15 seconds until the shuttle goes supersonic, the explosive device must be detonated in short order. Once the shuttle has cleared it's launch facility and has traveled a short distance, the explosive is detonated and the shuttle is forced to crash land.Delacourt calls Kruger as soon as she's informed that Carlyle's shuttle has gone down, and that a former felon named Max De Costa was responsible. Kruger demands that he be "re-instated" if he decides to go rescue Carlyle. Delacourt says ok, then arranges for two of Kruger's former associates to go pick him up.Max and his men arrive at Carlyle's shuttle and are confronted by one of two droids who were on the shuttle with Carlyle. After a difficult fight, Max destroys the droid. One of the men then uses a device to cut through the hull of Carlyle's shuttle and provide access to him. However, the second droid exits on the opposite side and comes around to confront Max and the others.Max and the others exchange fire with the droid. One of the men is firing his weapon while keeping his body hidden, so he can't see where his rounds are going. Max warns him not to hit Carlyle, but that's just what happens. Carlyle is shot in the chest. Max then engages the droid in hand-to-hand battle and ends up ripping the droid's head off.Max and his men quickly establish a head to head computer connection between Max and Carlyle, but something is wrong and Max's computer expert says he can't read the data being transferred. They are out of time, as Kruger and his cohorts have arrived. When Max tries to run, he collapses and Julio has to pause to help him. Kruger's weapons on the shuttle he's in are very effective. He shoots and flips over one of the vehicles Max and his men had been using.Kruger lands his shuttle and gets out and attacks Max, stabbing him. Kruger is about to decapitate Max when Julio shoots Kruger in the neck. Kruger then runs his sword through Julio. Max recovers and shoots at Kruger, but Kruger's own droid outfit has a force field that shields him from it's effects.Delacourt ordered that Max be captured but that his brain be left undamaged.Carlyle dies and Max is able to escape. As he stumbles along, with Kruger and his men in pursuit in the shuttle with sophisticated tracking equipment, an old lady hides Max under her cart filled with pigs, thus helping him evade detection.Kruger deploys six tracking discs that start flying around the city attempting to locate Max. Delacourt issues a "No Fly" order for all craft in the Los Angeles area, so that Kruger can search unimpeded. Kruger now knows what the data transfer between Carlyle and Max was all about.Max goes to see Frey, calling out to her on the street as she was leaving her job. He begs her for help, telling her she couldn't tell anyone. She takes him to her home where she has the necessary medical supplies to help him. As she's tending to his stab wound, she notices a tattoo he has, a circle and the letters F + M. That was the same thing she once wrote on his hand with an ink pen when they were children.Max is saved by Frey and he meets Matilda. Frey tells Max that Matilda has leukemia. She asks Max to find a way to get Matilda to Elysium, so she can be cured. Max tells her it's too dangerous, and he can't do it.Matilda tells Max a story about a meerkat who is hungry, so he befriends a lonely hippo in order to get some fruit. The point of the story was to indicate how creatures in need can find ways to help one another. Max just says he's sorry and then he leaves.One of the search discs finds Max once he's back out on the streets. Max throws a rock at it and knocks it out of the sky, but not before Kruger has seen Max. Kruger and his men quickly travel to Frey's place and bust in, demanding to know where Max is. They take Frey and Matilda with them in the shuttle.Max goes to see Spider and demands he fly him to Elysium immediately. Spider tells Max that there's a no-fly order in effect and it can't be done. Spider then connects to the port in Max's head to see what data had transferred from Carlyle's head. He quickly realizes it's a reboot program for Elysium, something of tremendous significance.Max realizes he can trade the data for his cure and decides to leave. Spider has to quickly order his men not to shoot Max. Max is desperate to get to Elysium so he can heal himself of his radiation poisoning.Max returns to the site of the disc he'd knocked out of the sky and he looks into its camera and tells Kruger to come get him. When Kruger arrives, Max produces a grenade and pulls the pin, telling Kruger that if he doesn't take him to Elysium, he will blow his own head off and destroy the reboot program. Kruger invites Max on board the shuttle, where Max is surprised to see Frey and Matilda. They start the 19 minute trip to Elysium.Delacourt lifts the no fly restriction on L.A. Spider knows that Max is on a shuttle and bound for Elysium, as he'd attached a tracking device to Max before he'd taken off. Spider and two of his men get on their own shuttle and take off for Elysium.Kruger sings softly to Matilda and kisses Frey on the forehead. He's feeling an attraction for Frey and is willing to help Matilda as a result. When one of Kruger's associates approaches Frey, Max tells the guy to back up. Kruger then lunges and grabs at the grenade in Max's hand. They struggle. Max and Kruger fall and the grenade rolls free. It blows up and removes half of Kruger's face. The shuttle also becomes uncontrollable and crash lands on Elysium.Max carries Matilda to a safe spot away from the shuttle, then opens the shuttle doors and goes back for Frey, who was trapped in her seat. He frees her and she goes and gets Matilda and carries her into a mansion as Elysium security forces are arriving. Max, meanwhile, has to fight with one of the bad guys on the shuttle. The second bad guy takes off after the girls.Frey places Matilda in a healing bed inside the mansion, but because Matilda isn't recognized as a legitimate citizen, the bed won't work. Kruger's goon arrives and tasers Frey. Max ends up getting tasered as well.Delacourt, who has told President Battelle that because the intruders have committed an act of war and that she was now in charge, wants the data extracted from Max's head, which her expert tells her will kill Max. She's fine with that.Spider arrives in his clanky old shuttle, managing to land without incident. He immediately heads for where his tracking device indicates Max is.Kruger's goons take Frey and Matilda away. They put Kruger in a machine which completely reconstructs his face and head in about 30 seconds. He then wakes up. He survived only because his brain had not been damaged by the grenade explosion.Max breaks loose from his bonds and disables the two lab techs who'd been working on him. He forces one of them to tell him where Frey and Matilda had been taken.Delacourt approaches Kruger, who's still feeling out of sorts and very much on edge. When she starts criticizing him for stupidly crashing the shuttle in a suburban area, he angrily smashes the mirror he'd been examining his face in. He picks up a fairly large piece and jams it into the throat of Delacourt. She goes down, bleeding badly.Kruger makes it clear that he intends to use the data deposited in Max's head to re-program Elysium and make himself the new president. Kruger tosses Delacourt into the room with Frey and Matilda. Kruger tells Frey that he was going to make sure her daughter was never healed. Kruger's goons start roaming around tossing grenades to take out Elysium's command and control structure. Matilda starts treating Delacourt's wound, but Delacourt stops her, preferring instead to die.Max calls Spider and they make their immediate plans. Max then heads for the armory and takes the last of his pain pills.Kruger is now outfitted in a military-grade exoskeleton far superior to Max's droid suit, then orders his goon to kill Frey and Matilda. The goon plans to have some fun with Frey first, but Max gets there first and he is of superhuman strength after taking those pills and he just crushes the goon, slamming him against the floor. The second goon comes in shooting and Max grabs an automatic weapon and just shreds the guy.Max sends Frey to the surface with Matilda, telling Frey to get Matilda to a Med Bay, promising her that it will work this time. Max teams up with Spider, reminding Spider that they have a deal only if Frey gets her daughter to a Med Bay. Spider sends one of his men to help Frey.Kruger blows up one of Spider's men. Some high frequency sounds are broadcast, which disables Max, as he can't bear them. Kruger then goes after Max with his sword. In a desperate fight on a high catwalk, Spider tackles Kruger before he can stab Max and Kruger's sword goes flying several levels below. Kruger then jams a knife into Spider's hand, taking him out of the fight.Max and Kruger engage in hand-to-hand combat. Max is losing the fight, when he suddenly executes a body flip and disengages Kruger's exoskeleton power source on the way down. Kruger manages to clip Max to a railing and then pulls the pin on a grenade, intending to blow them both up. Max pulls himself loose and flips both Kruger and the grenade over the railing. Kruger explodes in mid-air.Spider makes a cable connection to the port in Max's head at the same instant that Frey flips the switch on a Med Bay containing Matilda. Spider first confirms that Max wants him to proceed, as the data download process will be fatal to Max. Max confirms, but first he connects to Frey and tells her goodbye. Max then presses "Enter" on Spider's computer, just as President Patel arrives with security to arrest Spider. The Elysium reboot takes place and everyone on earth become citizens of Elysium. Max dies, Spider is released, Matilda is healed, and numerous Aid shuttles are sent to earth to help the new citizens. | boring, murder, allegory, violence, flashback, satire, romantic, sadist, sci-fi | train | imdb | Jodie Foster plays Elysium's defense minister Delacourt and Sharlto Copley (who was also in District 9) plays an undercover agent named Kruger who is positioned on Earth.
I suspect that so much talent and expense is spent on the visuals that insufficient amounts of funding and time are left for the associated story.I just wish that, when someone comes up with future plans for making a legitimate SF film (sans comic book scenarios), they contract a real science fiction author to write the screenplay.
Elysium is the follow up, much anticipated by many, to the critically acclaimed District 9 from South African-Canadian director and writer Neill Blomkamp.In the middle of the 21st Century, with the world now grossly over-populated and law and order seemingly at breaking point, the super wealthy have decamped to a satellite space station highly visible from earth, a utopian society free of poverty, illness and other such mundane woes.Meanwhile, the vast majority of earth's population lives in squalid, cramped slums seemingly based on the Favelas of Rio de Janeiro.
Needless to say, the rich are all too keen to protect their enclave and any unauthorised vessels arriving from earth are duly dispatched by being blasted away.Jodie Foster stars as Elysium's ambitious and sociopathic Defence Secretary, as ruthless at advancing her own interests as she is at ensuring the purity of the over-sized Ferris wheel whose security is in her charge; Matt Damon is the working class drone desperately trying to access the other world for the treatment to cure his radiation sickness from which he will die in 5 days.There was clearly an interesting concept waiting to burst out here, an opportunity to explore themes of wealth, inequality, social status, health care and immigration, but sadly it failed on almost every level to build interest or have anything relevant to say.First, we saw so little of the societal structure or way of life on Elysium itself.
Frankly, the impoverished life on earth which was shown with enforced work in a fascistic environment seemed far more fulfilling.Further, Matt Damon's motives for getting on Elysium were totally selfish.
Matt Damon worked harder to bring some interest to his character but he was up against it – but at least he tried.The CGI was good – but that's pretty much a given in any well-funded Hollywood film these days.
Matt Damon stars in the Sci-fi/political thriller Elysium, Neill Blomkamp's follow up to District 9, along with Jodie Foster as Elysium's Secretary Delacourt and Sharlto Copley as the main villain Kruger.
I tend to be curious every time a talented filmmaker gets to direct a film set in a pessimistic future/post-apocalyptic era : visually, it's the perfect setting for desolated landscapes and amazing images of urban chaos ; story-wise, it's the perfect occasion to insert social commentary and establish more or less subtle metaphors about our current way of life, our current values, and extend in a fictitious way many assumptions that we have regarding the fate of mankind and our very own planet.
Films like "Children of Men", "Looper", and "The Road" have greatly contributed to this sub-genre which, in reality, is not really new, but is constantly being redefined and given different treatments : "Children of Men" was an ode to life, "Looper" felt a lot like a modern-day western, "The Road" was a classic tale of a father-and-son relationship, and now, "Elysium", a thriller/action film/social commentary about disparity between the rich and the poor.
Neill Blomkamp burst out of the scene in 2009 with "District 9", a very similar project in several regards, and blew audiences away with a clever mix of documentary-style filmmaking, explosive action, and the refreshing implement of an obvious social commentary."Elysium" starts off brilliantly, showcasing two opposite environments: the old Earth, which has turned into a huge ghetto where people live like cattle, and Elysium, a high-end space station where all the wealthy people from Earth have moved to establish their home.
We are then introduced to our protagonist, Max Da Costa (Matt Damon), whose quest is quickly defined after being exposed to deadly radiation : With five days left to live, Max will ally up with a group of illegal immigrants to get to Elysium so he can get the proper medical attention he needs.
The first moments Max is shown after being exposed to radiation, the film jumps into a nerve-racking tone, and it is very effective, as it is blended with several dramatic elements that range from innovative to pretty common.Unfortunately, the pace slows down in the second third, where Max's story gets sidelined a bit, to the profit of a few sub-plots that involve an unpredictable, yet not so major twist in terms of impact on the story, as well as a sub-story involving the daughter of an old friend of Max. And while the twist is a welcome addition, the sub-story comes a little out of nowhere and comes off as a bit of a cliché.
Nevermind the stupid premise, nevermind the rushed and paper thin plot, nevermind the numerous and constant missed opportunities at being clever with the script, nevermind the nauseating use of hand held shots, the flaws of Elysium are so fundamental and appear so often it's damn near a wonder why it was made in the first place.The lapses in common sense and logic in this film compound on each other so fast it's hard for me to even keep up with my notes and it goes way beyond just being haphazard writing or questionable directorial decisions, the mistakes present in this film are of the kind that would make you fail film school..
"Elysium" is another great sci-fi by Neill Blomkamp, the director and writer of "District 9", with a different fight of classes.
The trailers looked to deliver a similar vision of his previous film, but does it pack the same punch both in the story as well as visually?Elysium follows a man desperate to get to Elysium, a space station where the very wealthy live in a pristine world, while the rest of the human race remain on an overpopulated ruined Earth.
Another of those films heavy on social commentary and lacking original ideas.If they have changed the name of Elysium to Sherwood, and of Max da Costa to Robin Hood, we would have a story that has been told many times before.The problem with Elysium and films like it is that they always side with the masses that procreate like rats instead of offering a better alternative to procreation without responsibility.The world's problems are not caused only by greed but also stupidity of the masses that insist on behaving on the same way as always.The only thing missing in the film is a hero that is also fundamentalist Muslim, to make it politically correct.A stupid film with some nice special effects....
I'm still wondering what people disliked so much about the movie because I really liked it and wasn't disappointed at all - my expectations were fulfilled and I enjoyed every moment of Elysium.
There was so much to look at, so much to experience - visual effects and the environment/surroundings were amazing, camera work very good, soundtrack stunning (I can't stop listening to it since seeing the movie), and actors did a great work too.
It's one of the best sci-fi movies I've recently seen and I can recommend to everyone to go and see it.I liked that the main characters weren't perfect examples of bravery or leadership or whatever comes to your mind when you say a 'perfect human being', they were quite natural and believable.
One point down from total 10 for few cliché moments that seem to sneak into every (even the best) movie nowadays - those clichés for me include this story of little kid Max who promised to take everyone to Elysium or the farewell scene with sad music on the background and typical 'I'm-sorry-goodbye-speech'.
Matt Damon plays your standard guy- raised-in-an-orphanage-wishing-he-wasn't-so-poor, while Jodie Foster plays the I-don't-give-a-flying-f*ck, shoot-first-ask-later head of security for Elysium.Pros: - The first thing that will grab you is the scenery.
Also, I gotta admit the shield that the bad guy was using was wicked, and the whole reconstruction/healing was neat or at least as long as your brain works (go see the movie you know what I am talking about)This is my first review, thought I will try to write and maybe was a bit harsh with my rating, but I think the idea has potential, but should have been worked on a little more.
Yes, Shalto Copley seeled it, it was a Neill Blomkamp film, but before him all i could see were the similarities in the character "Max" from "Elysium" and "Wikus" from "District 9".
The heart is there, the message is there, the layers and depth is there but may very well be over shadowed by our societal fad of "been there done that".And the true test of greatness when it comes to film is its longevity - that being said, if Neill Blomkamp can maybe throw some ideas around about different characters, build on other unassuming type figures, with a bit more of a grotty past, then we might very well have a Hero in the Sci-Fi department of Movies..
Elysium succeeded in eclipsing the performance of Matt Damon and Jodi Foster with loud noises, expensive special effects and bad science.
At the same time, Elysium borrows a lot from the anime Battle Angel; both are stories in which the rich and poor are separated between the Earth and some high-flying city, and the characters fight their way to the top with some help from cybernetics.
If you're a big sci-fi fan like me, Elysium is definitely worth seeing; I'd recommend it as a rental to casual viewers.5/5 (Entertainment: Perfect | Story: Very Good | Film: Very Good).
We both thought it was better than expected with plenty of great action scenes, a good Sci-Fi story, and many fine emotional moments concerning a lady friend of Matt Damon and her daughter that he ends up helping in a big way.
One of the earthbound serfs is the standard action-movie hero: a tough-but-sensitive ex-con called Max. After being exposed to a fatal dose of radiation at his robot-factory workplace, he needs to access the forbidden medical facilities on Elysium - and during his struggles to save himself, Max becomes entangled in a 'coup d'etat' planned by the station's megalomaniac female head of security.Although the film looks good, Blomkamp provides little reason to care about anybody, since the participants act like manic puppets with incomprehensible motivations.
If I were to stereotype today's leftist liberal thinking, I couldn't do better than this movie: Wealthy whites (bad; wealthy whites are always bad, except when they vote for Obama) deserted earth (white flight; isn't that what bad rich whites always do?) to live on a space station called Elysium (white suburb or gated community), and the hispanics (except for white hero Matt Damon), get to live on an overpopulated, ruined Earth.
It lacks emotions in some important scenes making you feel like it needs a little bit more drama.It would be a much better film I think if the film had focused on Jodie Foster much more.
Regarding the performances, Matt Damon surprisingly is his first sci-fi action, he brings a solid performance (I guess Dogma can be counted as sci-fi, but it wasn't as big as this, and he's done a great job here); Jodie Foster, first I need to mention that she has a really sexy, dynamic ass that I had never realized (maybe because of the Imax screens, but she surely looks sexy here), and she does a fine job here, however some might find her accent and dialogue strange and not like it, same with William Fichtner (one of the most underrated actors of the present time), but keep in mind this strange futuristic dialogue is there to show the difference between the poor class and the rich class; the best performance definitely goes to Sharlto Copley, he owns every scenes he appears on the screen, to me he's even better in here than in D9 – I found it very interesting that a lot of people didn't know he's in the movie until yesterday since he was on Reddit or just someone told them after the movie.
Take it up with the writer, Neill Blomkamp, who also directed Elysium.That being said, if you watch the special features on the DVD, you can't help but notice that the writer/director spent way too much time wanting to create the special effects and very little on creating a fresh story, creating an exciting plot, and creating a character we want to root for.
Did I say the writer/director spent way too much time on special effects?If you want great science fiction, Elysium is not it..
Where do I even begin, this movie was awful, I spent an Hour and fifty minutes, Getting a lecture that "Rich White People" are evil bigots, to anyone who has a Different Skin color and Apparnelty Matt Damon is the Last White person on earth that can do anything, The film takes cheap shots on the Politics of The Haves and Haves Not and Heath Care.
If Max succeeds, he will not only help himself but also millions of people on Earth.OK straight to the point here - Elysium is a fantastic action/sci-fi movie.
Foster brings a really good performance in playing Secretary Delacourt, a cold & heartless government official of Elysium; Copley is really impressive as Kruger, a ruthless Earth-based sleeper cell agent; and Damon once again brings it home as Max, an ex-con who works for Armadyne.Elysium also has a very District 9 (which I also loved) feel to it, and I suppose the two movies really aren't too dissimilar to each other with two parties wanting to get to their own "paradise".
Don't get me wrong...the action in Elysium when it happens is excellent but it's not self-reliant on ONLY action like some films.Some people will do doubt find it slow or "boring" in-between the action scenes, but I didn't find this the case at all, and even in these "slower" moments the story still ticks along nicely and keeps your interest.All in all, I thought Elysium was brilliant and I definitely recommend watching it..
It doesn't help that "Elysium" lacks the arresting characters, clever plotting, or wowee special effects that break science fiction films out beyond the genre's die-hard fans.
Most of the great works of science fiction take place on a spaceship, another planet, or in the case of the new Neil Blomkamp film, a dystopian future where instead of a wall separating two countries, it's the space between a diseased-ridden Earth and the distant but visible Mercedes-Benz logo looking space station, "Elysium".On Elysium the haves, have it all, beautiful houses, beautiful children, and even little MRI machines that cure whatever ails you, be it broken arm or life-threatening disease.
On Elysium Jodie Foster runs the show as a government official who keeps the floating paradise safe by killing all who try to enter.When all too convenient circumstances bring Damon and Foster in opposition the movie really picks up, with a few stops to introduce Alice Braga's character and fits her and her story like a familiar puzzle piece into the narrative.
Unfortunately, his follow-up is a sloppy, big budget mess with too many writing shortcuts and what may be the worst performances of Jodie Foster's career.Earth in the year 2154 is an over-populated, polluted disaster that looks like what we saw in Wall-E, only with people.
Jodie Foster plays the leader of Elysium and she's really good, but she isn't the main villain, like the trailers make it out to be.
Elysium is an energetic science fiction action thriller featuring Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, and Sharlto Copley.
Matt Damon's character is believable enough, with Jodie Foster coming in as a ruthless commander and politician of Elysium.
Matt Damon's Elysium so touted as one of the great modern sci fi films I had yet to see, that I finally gave in and watched.
I thought the whole story line was brilliant, I love film's where the world has gone to ruin's, just too see the different way's people create as to why and I think this was one of the best and in someway's; to a certain extent the most realistic for a future, the rich and the poor being separated.
Little or no time is given to the people of Elysium much less Jodie Foster's character who only has a hand full of speaking parts.
However while I do think Elysium is underrated I still have to admit it has some flaws for one Jodie Foster is pretty bad in this movie her performance just doesn't feel real like everything else and her ridiculous accent just didn't work and was extremely Annoying.
Because they did an amazing job at creating the future, where you start to wonder if it really happens.The only thing i didn't like was the length, i felt this movie deserved more, 2 hours would've been enough, because the story is very good, and it can be that long.The action scenes was outstanding!
Blomkamp does go for a little too much shaky-cam at times, yet the hand-held camera work did give Elysium a pseudo-documentary feel and adds a scene of authenticity to the film, making it look more real and add to Blomkamp's photo- realistic style.Like District 9 the action is strong and very well directed.
There are science fiction movies we explain a scientific theory, but at the same time there are other science fiction films whose purpose is to entertain, Elysium is the second case and makes it the best way.
The people left on Earth spoke Spanish (even Matt Damon)and wanted to "cross the border" so they could get better health care and a better life in the rich and non-Spanish speaking Elysium world.
i mean here's a conversation I've had with a lot of people about this movie & they all sound like this: Person: "Elysium? |
tt0029442 | The Prisoner of Zenda | Having got off the train, Rudolf Rassendyll, a British subject, dressed up in the typical tweeds of an English sportsman, is going through passport check at a small principality somewhere in Europe. He is asked whether he is here for the coronation, he tells them he is on a fishing holiday. He notices that people keep staring at him.
He thinks it must be his dress. By way of explanation he says Of course you dont dress this way in your country, but you see we dont dress your way in England. His English humour is lost on his audience. Actually, minus his goatee, he has a striking resemblance to the soon to be crowned king of the principality.While fishing in what turns out be to extremely troubled waters, he is spotted by the king and his body guards, an old Colonel and his aide, the young David Niven, also out hunting. The king Rudolf V and the commoner Rudolf stare at each other. The king, who has already had a few, says, "It is too early in the day to be seeing double. On comparing notes they find out that they are cousins, far, far, far removed. Rudolf with his typical British humour says We owe this kinship to your great-great-great-grandfather Rudolf and my great-great-great-grandmother Amelia."The king is delighted and says, then you must attend my coronation tomorrow, but for now let us retreat to my hunting lodge for drinks and dinner. The drinking and the gaiety goes on and on under the watchful eyes of the Colonel. A toast is drunk to great-great-great-grandfather Rudolf and is reciprocated for great-great-great-grandmother Amelia."Who should we drink to now, asks the already tipsy king. I would drink to prince Michael, my half brother, but he does not love me. He thinks the world is wrong. He thinks he ought to be me and I ought to be he.
Let us instead drink to my cousin Flavia soon to be my bride and queen. I havent seen her for years, she and I did not get on very well then. Perhaps we shall now. They say she is too good for me, perhaps she is. You know what they say about me dont you? I drink too much."The king wants another bottle brought from the cellar for his English guest. The king pours a drink but finds that his guest is already snoring. He drinks it himself and slumps to the floor.In the morning one sniff of the bottle tells the Colonel that the king has been drugged, most certainly the handiwork of the black prince Michael to keep the king away from the coronation. It appears the king will not come around for many hours. He tells Rudolf, "if my king is not crowned today, he never will be. Prince Michael wants the crown and the queen. Only you can help us.""My dear Colonel I came here on a fishing trip, I like to fish. I couldnt begin to act like a king even if I tried. I wouldnt deceive any body. Saying this he starts smiling. Colonel What do you find so amusing.""It would be a scene wouldnt it, the cathedral crowded to the doors, Organ booming, I kneel to be crowned. Then your friend Michael steps forward and says This isnt the king. This is an Englishman named Rudolf Rassendyll.
Colonel - Then Michael sits on the throne today and the king lies in prison or his grave, and Princess Flavia marries that scoundrel.""You cant let that happen to her.""Can you?""Rudolf ruminating, After all, it would only for a day. Wouldnt it.""By tonight you will be safely across the border.""King for a day. What would it mean if I fail.""Your life and mine and of young David.""The king is laid down in the cellar in charge of the lodge keeper. As they depart, David salutes the king, "Sleep well sire, we go to see you crowned."During the train journey to the capital, Rudolf is briefed on the coronation ceremony and made to learn by rote the speech he would have to make. As they alight the train the Colonel murmurs God save the king. Rudolf says God save both of them.Prince Michael is planning to announce that the king will not be coming for the coronation and has abdicated in his favour, when suddenly he hears the bugles heralding the arrival of the King. He dispatches his henchmen to the hunting lodge to find out what had gone wrong.Inside the cathedral, Rudolf comes face to face with Michael who stares at him as if seeing a ghost. The elder brother, as per custom, lends his arm to the younger brother to guide him to the throne.The Cardinal places the crown on the kings head. He stands up with his sword held aloft and recites his rehearsed speech about defending the realm against all enemies etc. While Rudolf is reciting the rather longish speech, the Colonel and David listen most anxiously with bated breaths and exhale a sigh of relief as he completes the speech without faltering.Then princess Flavia walks to the throne down the long corridor, flanked on both sides by courtiers, kneels down before the king and swears allegiance. Rudolf lifts her up by the shoulders, they momentarily stand side by side and then start to walk out of the cathedral to the waiting royal carriageUnsure of himself, Rudolf falls back on small talk, "Well, I think it all went off very well, dont you, for a coronation. Of course, I mean, that is, a coronation should go well, if a king puts in an appearance, properly dressed and looks his part.""And sober.""Well, that was a nasty one. By the way among my Many other failings, I rather neglected you, didnt I.""Two picture post cards in three years, I think.""And all the time youve been changing into the loveliest princess in Europe. No, the loveliest girl in Europe.""Your dynastic obligations to the princess royal dont compel you to make pretty speeches to her in private."Rudolf, pointing to the teeming crowds on both sides says, "You call this private.""You really behaved and looked like a king today. Something, I confess, few of us expected of you."Arriving at the royal palace they both appear on the balcony to the adulations of the gathered subjects. And from there retreat to an inner room."I think wed better go out, theyre expecting.""Dont go yet. Its such a relief to have you to myself for a moment. All day long Ive been on parade. Cheered at, waved at, stared at. Not a chance to say - - - .""Say what?""Its enough to make any man lose his head a bit. I am crowned king. I meet the loveliest, most beautiful woman - - - - "
"That isnt what you used to say. You used to call me tow-headed scarecrow.""No! I hope you slapped me.""I did. And once I kicked you very hard.""Where?""In the garden.""I deserved it. But I've reformed.""Almost beyond recognition. You seem an entirely different person. I cant understand.""Dont try. Just stand there and let me look at you.""But once you really hurt me. Youve forgotten, havent you.""What did I do?""It was at my 14th birthday party and I thought I was grown up. Your father told you to dance with me. You said you wouldnt, that I was a beastly infant. And when he insisted, you pinched me all the time we were dancing and told me how gawky I was. I hated you.""I should have been horse whipped."Rudolf keeps Michael waiting outside before he can come in to pay his feigned respects. Rudolf takes a few jibes at him including how he had enjoyed the bottle of wine Michael had sent for him to the hunting lodge. Michael takes leave."Rudolf please be careful, Michael hates you. If you wont think of yourself, think of me. All my life Ive known what my future had to be and I was resigned to it. And now I dont have to tell you how different it is.""Forgive me Flavia, I have been unfair.""I only want you to know how much your life means to your country.""To my country?""And to your friends.""My friends?""And to your cousin and, most loving servant."Flavia gets up to leave saying, "I will see you tomorrow."Rudolf repeats sadly to himself tomorrow, knowing he would not be here tomorrow.Colonel says to Rudolf, "let us hurry back to the lodge to bring back the king and bid you farewell." At the lodge they find that the king has been kidnapped and taken prisoner to prince Michaels Castle of Zenda.Rudolf now perforce becomes the king for more than one day."At the coronation ball, Flavia waltzing with Rudolf says You look troubled.""I was only thinking there may never be another night like this, another waltz.""We shall always waltz together, Rudolf."Rudolf sees the British Ambassador approaching. He knows the Ambassador and is worried he might recognize him. The Cardinal joins them and asks for a date for the wedding. Rudlof, unsure of when the king can be brought back, says, in six months time."Cardinal- that is rather a long postponement."Unable to reveal the real reason, Rudolf prevaricates, "There's an old proverb your eminence. Something about crossing your bridges before you come to them.""Ambasador If your majesty will examine that proverb, you will find how very difficult it would be to cross a bridge at any other time!"Moving away the Ambassador tells his wife, did you notice how much the king resembles our young Rudolf. Not at all - a typical wifely response. Princess Flavia is most upset about the postponement and starts to leave the ball. Rudolf begs her to listen to him."I never could willingly do anything to hurt you.""I still dont understand.""Then will you believe this without understanding that I love you.""Oh, is it true or do you say that because you must."How the king is rescued from the prison in Zenda is a long and tortuous tale of jelousy, treachery, loyalty and bravery, the last by Rudolf himself in no small measure. Not much unlike the twists and turns in our Indian films of that period.The king says to him, "I want to tell my people what you have done for us but I am told this has to be kept secret. You could not have served me better, you have taught me how to be a king.""Princess Flavia wants to see Rudolf before he leaves for England.""Rudolf presents himself Your highness.""I sent for you to thank you for the service youve done this kingdom and its king.""I love you. With my whole heart and soul, I love you. In all else I have been an imposter, but not in that. From the first moment I saw you in the cathedral youve been the only woman in the world for me. As I stand now, I know there'll never be any other.""It would have made no difference if Id known. It was always you and never the king.""Come with me, I wont give you up. I wont let them stand in the way of our happiness.""Theres a world outside. Our world. And a throne for you, a womans throne, in my heart.""I want that.""Oh my love, think. Youll be free. Free of all these cares and duties - - - - .""He sees the expression on her face change and asks, what is it Flavia?""I was born for these cares and duties, Rudolf, Help me to do what I was born to do. Help me to do what I must.
But how can I do that, I love you.""If love were all you would have left the king to die in his cell. Honour binds a woman too, Rudolf. I must stay."-Khurshid Anwer- | action, murder | train | imdb | null |
tt0181984 | Boiler Room | In 1999, Seth Davis (Ribisi), a 19-year-old Queens College dropout, runs an unlicensed casino in his home near the campus, catering to college students. Although he earns a successful living, he is a disappointment to his father, Marty (Rifkin), a New York City federal judge. One night, his cousin Adam (Kennedy) stops by the casino to play blackjack, bringing a rich associate named Greg Weinstein (Katt) along with him. Greg recruits Seth to join J.T. Marlin, a brokerage firm based somewhere off the Long Island Expressway, promising him that he has the opportunity to get rich.
Arriving at J.T. Marlin, Seth attends a group interview and learns from Jim Young (Affleck), one of the co-founders of the firm, what is expected of his work and also how he can become a millionaire. The firm's techniques of selling are through cold calling investors to sell stock, and Seth joins as a stockbroker trainee, having to close 40 accounts and pass a Series 7 Exam in order to begin working independently. The brokers love to quote insider trader Gordon Gekko from Wall Street, seeing him as a role model. He is soon making a good living, as well as winning his father's approval and embarking on a romance with Abbie Halpert (Long), a secretary and Greg's ex-girlfriend.
Eventually, he learns that J.T. Marlin is a chop stock brokerage firm that runs a "pump and dump", using its brokers to create artificial demand in the stock of expired or fake companies, and speculative penny stocks. When the firm is done pumping the stock, the investors then have no one to sell their shares to in the market, and the price of the stock plummets. The FBI agents investigating the firm decide to pursue Seth, hoping to make him their informant.
Seth passes his Series 7 Exam and becomes a broker. He then contacts Harry Reynard (Taylor Nichols), the purchasing manager of a gourmet foods company. Although Harry is reluctant, he gives in after Seth lies that the stock is guaranteed to go up in value; Seth sells him 100 shares at $8 each. When the stock's value drops, Harry calls back to ask why the stock has done so poorly, only to have Seth persuade him to buy more worthless shares. The stock eventually tanks, costing Harry his savings and his family.
Feeling guilty for scamming Harry, Seth resolves to shut the firm down. Marty then disowns him, accusing him of destroying peoples' lives. Seth shows up at his father's office and tearfully explains that he shut down his casino and went along with a highly criminal line of work that he thought was legal in order to gain his family's approval. He then requests that his father help him on an IPO scheme in order to rob the firm of their money and bring them down. Although Marty initially refuses due to the risk of losing his judgeship, he calls Seth the next day, reconciling with him and offering to help with the scheme.
Seth is eventually arrested by the FBI for the violation of 26 SEC and NASD regulations, and is brought into their custody along with his father, as the bureau had discovered their IPO scheme from a tape-recorded phone conversation. The FBI offer him federal immunity if he agrees to testify against J.T. Marlin once all the suspects are brought into court, and threaten to involve Marty in order to assure Seth's cooperation. Seth asserts that he will testify against the firm and provide strong evidence of their illegal practices only if his father is released. He and the agents come to an agreement on this, with Seth being kept overnight only to return to work the next day and make copies of investment files onto a floppy disk to use as evidence. After that, it is implied that he will be free to go as the FBI will proceed to raid the building and prosecute everybody else.
Seth returns to work the next day and goes along with the FBI's instructions. Before leaving, Seth attempts to get Harry's money back. He lies to Michael Brantley (Scott), the company's founder, by explaining that the firm can lose a lot of money by refusing to continue to do business with Harry Reynard, who Seth makes out to be an important prospect at a make-or-break point. Brantley agrees to proceed, offering him shares of the next IPO, with a caveat that he cannot sell the shares until the firm has sold off theirs. In order to sell the shares behind Michael's back, Seth needs a ticket sale signed by a senior broker, something that his direct supervisor, Greg, has explicitly said that he would never do. He seeks a signing from Chris Varick (Diesel), explaining that he may as well "do one thing right" in helping a severely hit investor make his money back, now that the firm will be raided and, soon enough, there will be no future in continuing business at J.T. Marlin. Chris reluctantly agrees, and proceeds to escape the building in an attempt to flee federal enforcement. Seth walks out to his car, deciding what to do with his life now that his ties with J.T. Marlin are finished. As he departs in his car, several FBI cars, buses, and tow trucks enter the parking lot, with agents storming out ready to raid the building. | violence | train | wikipedia | If you're anything like me then this film takes you on a ride where you are the main character every step of the way until finally you return to life with a much deeper understanding of the desires people succumb to in modern society.
This film includes very young appearances by a lot of famous actors, Ben Affleck, Vin Diesel etc.
I liked the Giovanni Ribisi character, who changes slightly through the film, but eventually we see the real side of him, which is great.
Though illegal Ribisi runs it honestly, but that fact makes no never mind to Rifkin.One of his steady patrons, Nicky Katt, interests him in going to work at his brokerage house which is not located in the heart of Wall Street, but out on Long Island.
And Rifkin's respect is all he wants.Boiler Room works best during the scenes with Rifkin and Ribisi, their up and down relationship is the key to the whole film.
Other performances to watch out for are Nia Long as the secretary clearing $80,000.00 a year because of her insider information, Vin Diesel as a cheery hedonistic sort of bucketeer, and Nicky Katt is a more intense variety of the same breed.The one to really watch out for is Ben Affleck.
My friend called people who lived far away so he wouldn't have to run into them at the grocery store.The way the company keeps their brokers hungry is by encouraging excessive spending, such as luxury cars, so they have to make even more money to keep up with the lifestyle.Boiler Room has a group of young actors that all play their parts well.
Giovanni Ribisi makes a good appearance, and Nia Long needs to be in more movies..
Yep , the authors of this film should be immediately named presidents of Harvard Economics Departments for painting a completely real picture of 25year old brokers at a anonymous JT Marlin , where only one rule applies : from now on you are in the world of 'as if ': act as if you were a multi-billionaire,as if you had a 9 inch penis ' , as the sky is the limit , and those selected ,will earn their first million$ within a year , and how - by lying , by selling non-existing stock to 'suckers'or to 'the old and dumb ' .No level of shenanigans , subterfuge, pretense is shied upon , as long as the line is open , and hundreds , perhaps thousands , constantly fed by the Orwellian propaganda of joy , prosperity and progress are virtually standing in line to feed their primordial sin – avarice !
It lost pace and drama, and I was definitely not expecting the movie to end like that.I would have liked to see the policeman coming and rocking the boiler room.
After a zany, smart hour and a half, they just tidied up the mess as if nothing happened.Ben Younger's film is about a guy named Seth Davis who runs an unlicensed casino in his apartment.
I really liked Ben Affleck here as well and he sure is one sleazebag here.Overall, this is a really good film that was a little hampered by the ending.
But with a smart script, great acting, and a tense atmosphere, this film gives us an interesting inside look on the corruption and greediness of Wall Street.
As it later turned out instead of being a millionaire they'll most likely, if they can't make a deal with the FBI, end up behind bars in a federal penitentiary!It'collage drop out Seth Davis, Glovanni Ribisi, who's drawn to J.T Marlin after his father federal district court judge Marty Davis,Ron Rifkin, frond out that he was running an illegal casino out of his home in Kew Gardens Queens.
With Seath, who like his girlfriend Abbie, ratting them out in order to save his own neck!***SPOILERS***Like the famous saying by Michael Douglas as sleaze ball Wall Street "Master of the Universe" Gordon Gekko in the movie "Wall Street" that "Greed is Good" Seth Davis and his fellow shyster stock brokers found out it, unrestricted and criminal greed,is just the opposite.
Banned for life in the financial world was the best thing that Seth got by ratting out low life stock broker crooks like himself.Seth's dad was lucky to avoid jail time but lost his job as a well respected federal judge by just trying to help his not too bright son from ending up in the slammer !
That was about the best thing that Seth did in his short career as an, or so he hoped, up and coming big time Wall Street stock broker..
In his first directorial offering Ben Younger not only engages his audience but establishes himself, quite rightly, as one of the best up and coming talents in the film industry.Giovanni Ribisi's outstanding performance in Boiler Room is without a doubt his finest hour, an actor who is frequently overlooked and always underrated, Boiler Room gives the world a reason to finally recognise this actors outstanding ability.A wonderful supporting cast comprised of Hollywood talent that would ordinarily be more wooden than Pinocchio, give this film the ability to flourish.
Boiler Room is probably the first time anyone has ever considered for a moment that Ben Affleck is a good actor.Ben Younger is clearly able to motivate in a way that no other director can.
He tries to impress his father by entering a legitimate business, only to find that things don't work out the way he plans.Giovanni Ribisi delivers a great performance.
References are made to "Glengarry Glen Ross" and "Wall Street" which may not have been a good idea since this film is not in the same league, thus highlighting its shortcomings.The big plus for this movie is Giovanni Ribisi, a very low key performance that added credibility to his character and drew sympathy from the audience.
We're expected to believe Seth actually thinks his father, a federal judge (Ron Rifkin), should be proud of him for his accomplishments.While I am by no means done ribbing this film, I will say that it is quite good.
I liked how Younger dares you to care about this robot of a man, then slowly peels the layers away.Then of course, there's Ribisi as Seth, who really eats up the role of a fast-talking, built to sell young gun stockbroker.
Ben Youngers modern day Wall Street story about a young stock broker, Seth Davis (Ribisi) who learns about fraud companies the hard way.
The cast was fresh, i like all the performances here, any film that leaves me thinking Diesel and Affleck were not annoying and actually convincing has done miracles just in that on its own.
An actor I have liked in the past, I'm afraid he is a miscast altogether in this one, unfortunately.Boiler Room references two movies: "Wall Street" and "Glengarry, Glen Ross".
You might say it is a story about the relationship between a son and father.To sum up: If you want to learn about day trading, see Wall Street.If you want to learn about stock chop shops, read License to Steal.If you want a decent movie with alot of hip hop but basically an unlikable protagonist, see Boiler Room..
"Boiler Room" is the first movie since "Kids" that I watched with increasing fear about the implications for my sons.Maybe it was that I was watching it literally blocks from where a good portion of the movie takes place in Kew Gardens Hills, with a packed age and gender mixed audience that could relate to the very realistic locale, including the transportation references to the broker's site way out on the L.I.E., and the very, very blunt NY way of talking ethnic blues and disparagement slang.The movie would be paired well with "Fight Club" as it shows what happens when testosterone in today's society gets out of control, but scarier because it's not a satire or fantasy.
There are some plot points that don't quite work, with the guy's father (DA Morgenthau in yesterday's New York Times decried the legal aspects as ridiculous), but I did appreciate the novelty today of a script that has a guy see the moral light not through the cliché of the love of a good woman (the only woman here is as ethically compromised as he is for similar motivations) but rather of love for his father (reminded me of "East of Eden" a smidgen).Ben Affleck is in the movie for only minutes, but is effective.
Vin Diesel was so good (he almost makes us believe that he's Italian-American though he's clearly something else) that now I'd be willing to see his action movies.Some critics have disparaged that this is just a junior "Wall Street" and "Glengarry Glen Ross" -- but the touchstones those movies as karaoke provide are key to this movie.
Having quit college to run an underground casino out of his off-campus apartment, Seth jumps at the chance to move onto bigger and better things when he is offered a position at an `off Wall Street' stock brokerage firm that assures him he will be making a cool million dollars before his third year with the company is up.
For, of course, Seth slowly learns that all is not true-blue and on the up-and-up in this firm as he discovers that he is indeed involved with a financial `chop shop' whose sole business it is to rip off weak, vulnerable and unsuspecting men looking for a few good investments.What is most admirable about this film is that, as Seth begins to realize the truth of the situation, he doesn't turn suddenly noble and righteous as he might in the hands of a less sophisticated author.
In fact, it is only after he is arrested by the FBI that Seth finally sees the need to do the right thing and to make restitution to the two men whose lives he has truly ruined - a young Wisconsin man whose marriage crumbles after he allows Seth to talk him into blowing his new-home down payment on a phony stock and Seth's own father, a morally upright federal judge, who in a moment of filial weakness, tries to help Seth with an illegal action and ends up getting implicated in the FBI probe as a result.
We see them erupting into fistfights at local yuppie bars with similarly well-dressed members of a competing firm; we hear, pouring liberally out of their mouths, vehemently racist, woman-bashing and gay-bashing comments that solidify the exclusiveness of the world to which they belong; we witness them reciting verbatim, almost as if it were Holy Scripture, lines of dialogue from the movie that has become an emblem for their generation - not `Star Wars' but Oliver Stone's `Wall Street.'And, just as Younger forces us to identify with the hunger these men have for instantaneous financial success, he, even more effectively, helps us to identify with the poor ill-informed schmucks who are at the other end of the phone, being railroaded into making decisions they feel powerless to control.
For its glimpse into the inner workings of boiler rooms alone, the film earns its kudos as a fascinating experience.The outstanding cast is headed by Giovanni Ribisi, who creates a subtle portrait of a young man torn between his better angels - in the form of his own innate conscience and a beautiful young woman who is also a part of the firm - and the bitter demons of a morally bankrupt, value-free grab for instant wealth.
There is literally in this film, not a single character of potential `goodness' - not Seth, not the firm's secretary (Nia Long), not Seth's parents - who is not, at one point or another, forced to confront a great moral dilemma and found wanting.
It's funny that they highlighted two good movies in this film, Glengarry Glenross, and Wall Street.
If you're thinking of watching a good movie about sales, choose Glengarry Glenross, and if you have a yen for something about stocks and takeovers, choose Wall Street.
However the deeper he goes, Seth begins to suspect that it can't all be as good as it looks and is unlikely to be as legal as he had been told it was.It might be the fact that the film actually name checks Glengary Glen Ross and Wall Street but at times this feels that, like its characters, that it has watched these films too many times and has simply added a touch of Goodfellas to it to produce Boiler Room.
Younger does well to recreate the testosterone-fuelled world where money is the only thing that matters and it tends to be this energy that drives the film where subplots on relationships struggle.The cast are a great help, featuring generally good performances despite the odd weak bit.
Boiling Room, a financial crime thriller about stock exchange, is normally not really the kind of movies I would go for as I'm not interested at all in stock brokers, Wall Street and stuff like that.
Boiler Room is a movie with a good story, even for people like me that don't or don't want to understand those financial transactions, with enough action and twists to make it enjoyable to watch.
The main character Seth Davis, played brilliantly by Giovanni Ribisi, a young guy that wants the approval of his father, is torned between doing the good thing and the bad thing.
Ben Affleck hit's a homerun in this picture, A bunch of college grads head out into the world , enter the Boiler Room,, slang for Wall St. East on the Island,, Long Island that is ,, exit 53..
It's definitely entertaining, but at times feels too much like a derivative of other financial thriller films, in particular Wall Street, with some references to Glengarry Glen Ross thrown in for good measure.
Seth fights to get out of the situation before everything falls apart.The movie indeed is entertaining and the story interesting, but I just can't help but compare it to Wall Street.
In Wall Street, you sensed the bond that the two had, which could have been helped by Martin Sheen playing the father role, but in Boiler Room, there seems to be no bond and by 21, if a son doesn't get along with his father, it seems like he'd have no interest in making that connection.
Also, there is a lot of unbelievability and things that don't make sense that happen too much in this film.It's entertaining for sure, but I'd stick with Wall Street and Glengarry Glen Ross if you want cautionary tales of high risk/high reward investment careers..
This movie has a good entertainment value so all you little Wall Street recruits, I have only one thing to say: Watch this one, It wont do you harm..
There are a number of great supporting performances too (Ben Affleck, Tom Everett Scott, Nia Long, Ron Rifkin), but what makes the film really work is the writing.
"Boiler Room" is another movie that shows the audience how dangerous the stock market can be for both, broker and customer.
Like some youthful mix of "Wall Street" and "Glengarry Glen Ross", "Boiler Room" does a pretty good job showing the seductive allure of easy money and hustling-as-white-collar-trading.
This movie surprise me.I liked how they use "Gecko"and it shows them watching Wall Street that was cool.The next best movie to Wall Street (Michael Douglas) in the stock market.Seth Davis (Giovanni Ribisi) drops out of college and stumbles upon a job to be a stock broker to make all kinds of money, everything is going well, and he is doing great,but things seen to good to be true , as he finds out what he's got himself into.With actors such as Ribisi ,Vin Diesel,Nia Long , Scott Katt and Ben Affeck as (Jim Young) some what like Alex Badwin's part in Glengarry Glen Ross similar in arrogant roles.So set the sale and Enjoy!!!!.
The film features a dynamic cast that includes Jon Abrahams, Ben Affleck, Scott Caan, Vin Diesel, Nicky Katt, Jamie Kennedy, Nia Long, Giovanni Ribisi, and Tom Everett Scott.
This film is a great movie that deals with Seth and his goal of winning the love from his dad that looks down upon him.
Great performances from Giovanni Ribisi, Vin Diesel, Ben Affleck.
With this foundation, it manages to tell a good story.The best scenes in the movie are between Ribisi and his father, played by Ron Rifkin.
I had read that some of the actors actually went to small stock brokerage firms like this one to study up for the movie and that they really saw people acting this way.
Once again I have seen a film that wasted my time.I guess it is just me but I can't see Giovanni Ribisi as the lead by himself in any movie.Ben Affleck and Vin Diesel outshined Ribisi.
BOILER ROOM has Seth working in a small brokage firm in New Jersey, away from the prime time business of Wall Street.
Giovanni Ribisi does a great job as the main character, a man who tries so hard to please his father with a good job.
But the films best performances come from Tom Everett Scott, Vin Diesel, and Ben Affleck.
The good news is that Affleck isn't in a lot of this movie, Ribisi carries the film and I'm impressed.
Good supporting roles by Ben Affleck, Vin Diesel and Nia Long as Debbie, the secretary who shows an interest in Seth, add to the enjoyment.
Giovanni Ribisi stars as a conflicted young huckster, who goes to work for a sleazy brokerage in Long Island - the appeal of the movie is in being absorbed right along with him, into the who-wants-to-be-a-millionaire high of stock trading.
The movie is however blessed with wonderful performances from Ribisi, Diesel, Katt, and Ben Affleck. |
tt3530002 | The Night Before | Christmas Eve, 2001Ethan Miller (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) just lost his parents in a car accident. His best friends Isaac Greenberg (Seth Rogen) and Chris Roberts (Anthony Mackie) stay by his side and start a tradition to hang out every Christmas Eve. In 2008, while out at a bar, the guys meet a woman that tells them they came from the craziest Christmas party ever - The Nutcracker Ball. For the next few years, the guys try to find out where the party takes place, but they never succeed.In the present day of 2015, Chris is now a famous football player that secretly uses steroids while Isaac is married to Betsy (Jillian Bell) and is expecting their first baby. Ethan is a struggling musician that has recently broken up with his girlfriend Diana (Lizzy Caplan) and works at a hotel dressed as an elf where he gets chewed out by his boss (Randall Park) for not acting enough like an elf. While tending to the coats, Ethan finds something in one of the pockets - three tickets to The Nutcracker Ball. Excited, Ethan runs out of work with the tickets. He calls the number on the tickets to find out the location of the party, only to be told by an automated message that the location will be announced at 10:00 PM.Isaac is at a party hosted by Betsy's sister Cindy (Helene Yorke). Ethan, already a little drunk, shows up before Chris arrives. Isaac and Chris want their yearly tradition to end now that their lives are moving in different directions, but they don't think Ethan is quite ready. Before they head out for the festivities, Betsy gives Isaac a box full of every drug known to man (weed, coke, shrooms, molly, etc.)Since Chris is the new face of Red Bull, he gets a huge limo to take them around for the night. The guys go in front of the tree in the city where Ethan shows off the tickets to his buddies. They plan to kick off the night by going to FAO Schwartz and dancing on the piano like Tom Hanks in "Big" to Kanye West's "Runaway". Chris calls his football buddy Tommy Owens (Aaron Hill), who is attending The Nutcracker Ball and requests that he bring weed. The guys call their dealer Mr. Green (Michael Shannon). He meets them in front of their old high school, and Chris has to go into the car to get the weed. Mr. Green shares some weed with Chris and tells him to go to a party he's throwing later, and to tell Isaac that he'll see him later.The guys go to a karaoke bar where the three of them sing "Christmas in Hollis" while wearing three festive sweaters that Ethan wants them to wear. They are met by Diana and her friend Sarah (Mindy Kaling). Ethan and Diana awkwardly catch up while Isaac is already tripping on shrooms. He runs into the bathroom to do coke and balance himself out, and then he makes a crazy video expressing his fears over becoming a dad. When he goes back to talk to Sarah, he gets them both drinks but his nose starts bleeding and a drop falls into Sarah's drink. She has a sip and doesn't realize what happened until Isaac's nose bleeds harder and he admits he did coke. Outside the bar, Chris talks to a fan named Rebecca (Ilana Glazer), who admittedly hates Christmas. The two have sex in the bathroom.Afterwards, Ethan calls the number on the tickets again and learns the address of the party. Chris then realizes that he doesn't have the weed on him anymore and that Rebecca must have stolen it from him during sex. They contact Mr. Green again and must wait for him in from of Chris's mother's house. Knowing Mr. Green will take a while, the guys go inside and quietly play N64. Isaac then goes to get the weed when Mr. Green shows up. He shares weed with Isaac and gives him a glimpse into the future. The two of them are at a strip club, and Betsy is sitting in the front. The dancer they are watching happens to be Isaac and Betsy's 18-year-old daughter, horrifying him even further about having a kid.When Isaac goes back inside the house, his phone's ringtone goes off, waking up Mrs. Roberts (Lorraine Toussant). She feeds the guys while Isaac continues to trip out. He then looks at his phone and receives a dick pic from a guy named James. Confused, Isaac responds and is propositioned by James. He then realizes he took Sarah's phone by mistake, and if Sarah is still upset about drinking Isaac's bloody martini, she will probably show Betsy the video Isaac made. Meanwhile, Chris tells his mom how Ethan is not over Diana, to which Mrs. Roberts states that he ought to take the opportunity on Christmas to make it up to her.After the guys leave, they spot Rebecca on the street. Chris forces his driver (Nathan Fielder) to chase after her to get his weed back. The driver runs a red light and the limo gets struck by a car. The guys run out and try to take a sleigh to catch up with Rebecca, but it's chained to a lamp post, causing the guys to go flying when the reindeer pull it. Isaac gets dragged across the street until he hits some cones. Chris runs after Rebecca himself, chasing her to the rooftop of a building. When he catches up to her, she tells him that he should go spend time with his friends instead of worrying about the weed. She then jumps off the building and lands in a dumpster before disappearing.Isaac goes to a church where he starts talking to the nativity display. He runs into Betsy and her family, who invite him to Midnight Mass, despite Betsy knowing how fucked up Isaac is. He continues to trip out in the church and hallucinates that a baby is cursing at him. He then panics when he sees Jesus on the cross and thinks that everyone is judging him because he's Jewish. Isaac gets nauseous and runs out to puke in front of the whole congregation. He runs away from the church.Meanwhile, Ethan wanders the streets alone and runs into two drunk guys (Jason Mantzoukas and Jason Jones) both dressed as Santa pissing in the street. Ethan criticizes them for mocking a Christmas tradition. He ends up getting into a fight with them, leaving him disgraced. He gets a phone call from Diana, who is already at The Nutcracker Ball, asking if Isaac has Sarah's phone.The guys meet up again and get on the subway to head to the party. Ethan is pissed at them for leaving him alone, and he argues with Chris as he refuses to wear his "Black Santa" sweater.The guys go to a bodega that holds a secret entrance to the party. Isaac returns Sarah's phone and gets his back. He then finds out that the James who sent the dick pics is none other than...Franco. He is still interested in sharing his dick with Isaac, though he declines. Chris runs into his football buddies and sees that they already had a ton of weed. They then make fun of Chris for the video of him performing karaoke with Ethan and Isaac. Ethan then spots Miley Cyrus and asks her to help him out with Diana, knowing she is a huge fan of Miley. Thinking Ethan wants to propose, Miley agrees to help. She gets onstage and performs "Wrecking Ball" with Ethan's help. Ethan then gives an impassioned speech to Diana and proposes to her. Under pressure, Diana says yes. However, when she pulls Ethan aside, she makes it clear that they are not engaged and that he cannot use her as a lifeline because his friends won't continue the tradition.Isaac, still tripping, accidentally knocks some people over with decorations and ends up impaling Tommy's hand with a broken glass. When the others try to beat him up, Chris threatens to film them and use his social media status to ruin them. They try to run away, but security takes them out of the party.Ethan goes on the roof in shame. He is encountered by Mr. Green, who has been hosting The Nutcracker Ball for the last 20 years. He gives Ethan a joint to smoke, and we see the guys on the first Christmas Eve after Ethan's parents died. Chris and Isaac went to his house to cheer him up. Ethan broke down crying and the guys stood by his side where they shared a joint. This brings Mr. Green to tears, and he tells him to rejoin his friends. Ethan sees the guys arguing with the bouncers and he goes to join them.As the morning hits, the guys reconcile, but Isaac sees that he has 96 missed calls from Betsy. He gets another calls and hears she is going into labor. The guys race to the hospital and takes Mr. Green's car. Mr. Green decides he's earned his wings, which sprout from his back so he can fly away. The guys make it to the hospital, only for Isaac to learn from Cindy that it was just a false alarm. He then joins Betsy, and he shows her the video he made. She laughs at it and admits that she is just as terrified to have a kid as he is, but they know they'll work together to raise the kid when it is born. He's STILL tripping, so he sees Betsy look like a dragon.The guys spend Christmas at Isaac's home with the family. Chris goes to have dinner with his mother later where he admits to his steroid use. Ethan goes to Diana's parents' house and apologizes for how he acted and for not being ready to get serious. Diana admits she missed Ethan and always asked Betsy about him. The two kiss and she invites him to finally meet her parents.One year later, the guys and their loved ones are spending Christmas together. Isaac's baby can't sleep, so the guys go serenade her with "Christmas in Hollis". The baby claps to it, and the story ends, which was all told from a book read by Santa (Tracy Morgan). He is sitting with his elves and Mr. Green, who is his son. Santa then decides to kick off a little Christmas party of his own. | flashback | train | imdb | null |
tt0371724 | The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | The epic tale of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy begins, rather unassumingly, on Earth as dolphins, heralded by our humble narrator, The Guide (Stephen Fry), as the second most intelligent creatures on the planet, decide to leave Earth before its impending destruction. Their attempts to warn humans of the danger are tragically misinterpreted as sophisticated tricks or amusing gimmicks for tidbits. Their last attempt to send a message is a suprisingly sophisticated attempt to do a double-backwards sommersalt through a hoop while whistling the Star Spangled Banner, which is in fact their way of saying, "So Long, And Thanks For All the Fish."Arthur Dent (Martin Freeman), an average man living in the English countryside, wakes one morning and dons a robe before running outside in response to the sounds of a construction crew surrounding his home. He lies down in front of a bulldozer to keep it from demolishing his house to make way for a bypass. The foreman (Mark Longhurst) impatiently informs Arthur that the damage sustained to the bulldozer would be unnoticeable should it run over him. At that moment Arthur's best friend, Ford Prefect (Yasiin Bey), arrives with a shopping cart full of beer. He pulls Arthur from the ground and tells him that they need to leave and have little time to spare since his home is about to be destroyed. Arthur points knowingly to his house which confuses Ford for a second before he assures Arthur that they have some time to buy. He offers his loot of beer and peanuts to the construction crew and gives Arthur the confidence that the distraction will allow them enough time.He takes Arthur to a local pub where he explains that he is not from Guildford as he'd once claimed. He is, in fact, from another planet in the vicinity of Betelgeuse and addresses Arthur's skepticism with a recounting of their first meeting (Arthur tackled Ford out of the way when he was trying to shake hands with an oncoming car (an actual Ford Prefect), having mistaken cars to be the dominant life form on the planet). As they share drinks, Arthur pulls out his phone and reminisces over a photo of himself and a young woman at a costume party. Drunk and distraught over the day's troubling start, he recalls when he, dressed as Sir Livingston, met Tricia McMillan (Zooey Deschanel), dressed as Darwin. They hit it off from the start until Trisha suggested that they take a trip to Madagascar together. When he realized that she was serious, Arthur hesitated, stating that he couldn't just up and leave his job, which left Trisha feeling deflated. They were then interrupted by a blonde-haired man in fancy clothes who told Trisha that he was from another planet and asked if she'd like to see his spaceship. Trisha left with the man, leaving Arthur to wonder about the man's sanity and if he'd just missed a great opportunity.Ford buys a round of drinks for everyone in the pub before stating that they only have minutes before the end of the world. Remembering his home, Arthur runs out the door. The bartender (Albie Woodington) asks Ford if the world really is going to end and if they should cover their heads. Ford responds, "If you like", though he admits that it won't help in the slightest. Arthur returns home to find that the construction crew has already destroyed his house as a looming shadow covers the area. In his sorrow, he fails to see what the construction crew is already running from; an enormous, cubed spaceship from which a harsh voice emanates over loudspeaker. The alien introduces himself as Jeltz (Richard Griffiths) of the planning council and explains that Earth has been scheduled for demolition and that its inhabitants shouldn't be the least surprised since the plans have been on display at the local galactic planning department for 50 years. He then makes the order to commence destruction as the whole world panics and the last of the pub's patrons (including Su Elliot) places a bag over their heads.Ford catches up to Arthur and takes a towel from what used to be his bathroom before grabbing hold of him. He explains to Arthur, now shockingly aware of the skyscraper-like ship above them, that a Vogon constructor fleet has descended on Earth to destroy it to make way for a hyperspace bypass and that he is going to hitchhike them off the planet. Ford extends his thumb from which a peculiar ring emits a yellow beam of light. From a far away view of Earth, we see that thousands of Vogon ships have surrounded the planet in precision formation and, all at once, vaporize it in a clean, fell swoop.Our kindly narrator then returns with a proper introduction of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, probably the most successful, popular, and controversial book in existence. Containing countless bits of information on the universe, the book is a plethora of knowledge and assures any first-time reader with 'DONT PANIC printed in large, friendly letters on its cover'.Ford and Arthur come to in a washroom on one of the Vogon ships. Arthur is given his towel by Ford who explains that a towel is one of the most important and useful items any hitchhiker can employ and that he must never lose it. He gives Arthur his copy of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy of which Ford is a writer and proceeds to use his towel to break a pipe through which he attempts to signal another ship with his hitchhiking ring. Meanwhile, Arthur educates himself on Vogons which are, as it turns out, not evil, but rather terribly structured and bureaucratic creatures. According to the Guide, "they wouldn't even lift a finger to save their own grandmothers from the Raveneous Bugblatter Beast of Traal without orders signed in triplicate, sent in, sent back, queried, lost, found, subjected to public inquiry, lost again, and finally buried in soft peat for three months and recycled as firelighters. On no account should you ever allow a Vogon to read poetry to you."In preparation for his future intergalactic travels, Ford fits Arthur with a small, yellow, slug-like creature which he shoves through his ear and into his brain. The creature, as the Guide explains, is a Babel Fish which consumes brainwave energy and excretes conscious frequencies, allowing the host to understand any language he hears. Before Arthur and Ford can figure a way to escape, the Vogons detect their presence and bring them further into the ship for interrogation. There, Jeltz reads to them a bit of poetry he's written, something that sends Ford into convulsions while Arthur is merely bewildered; apparently Vogon poetry is the third-worst in the galaxy. Arthur attempts to flatter Jeltz with what he thought of his poetry, but his words have no affect and Ford and Arthur are sentenced to expulsion from the ship.They are thrown into the void of space where they hover for a split second before another ship emerges and picks them up, oddly morphing from one random object to another before settling on its original form. Inside, Ford and Arthur are horrified to discover they've been turned into sofas before they revert to their normal selves. At the command center the ship's computer (voice: Thomas Lennon) alerts none other than Trisha that it has picked up two hitchhikers. She informs the news to the blonde man who had picked her up at the costume party, Zaphod Beeblebrox (Sam Rockwell) and tells him that, once the ship emerged out of hyperspace using the Improbability Drive, they picked up hitchhikers in the same vector that she came from. She then summons Marvin (Warwick Davis, voice: Alan Rickman), the ship's eternally depressed android whose condition is a result of a prototype personality program, and instructs him to bring the hitchhikers from the receiving bay to the command center. He does so begrudgingly and, as he ushers the guests through the halls, Trisha recognizes Arthur and runs off to put on some more conservative attire.Zaphod is the first to greet them and recognizes Ford as his semi half-brother (they share three mothers) and reveals that he is the new president of the galaxy and commander of the ship, the prized Heart of Gold. However, it's revealed that the eccentric Zaphod kidnapped himself during his inauguration and stole the Heart of Gold immediately following its christening. A second head pops out from its nestled position under Zaphod's primary one, shouting insults and promptly slapping Arthur in the face with a third arm in Zaphod's chest. Keeping his extra limbs in check, Zaphod tells Ford that you can't be president with a whole brain. Trisha appears and happily greets Arthur, to Zaphod's jealousy, and offers to show him around the ship. Zaphod, now privy to the fate of Earth and not wanting Trisha upset, takes Arthur to the side for a moment and threatens him with disembowelment if he reveals to her what happened to their planet.Trisha, now having changed her name to Trillian to sound more cosmic, introduces Arthur to the wonders of the ship while Zaphod and Ford share a drink together. When getting Aspirin for Arthur, who can't seem to accept the fact that he's in outer space and that it's a good thing, she knocks over her purse and two white mice emerge from it and scurry off.Zaphod then calls everyone to the viewing deck where he plays a video recording. It documents that, millions of years ago, a super computer named Deep Thought (voice: Helen Mirren) was constructed on the planet Magrathea by two pan-dimensional beings, Fook and Lunkwill (Dominique Jackson and Jack Stanley), to answer the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything. However, Deep Thought tells Fook and Lunkwill that to get the answer, they will need to come back in 7.5 million years.Zaphod plays the reply video, showing Fook and Lunkwill coming up to Deep Thought on the red carpet in front of a large crowd, exactly 7.5 million years after the first video. Deep Thought reveals that the answer to the ultimate question is 42. Confused and irritated by the answer, Fook and Lunkwill are told that, to understand it, they must know what the ultimate question is, since they never properly asked it. To discover this, Deep Thought offers to construct a mind-bogglingly complex computer that will reveal the question. However, the rest of the footage is cut off. Ford asks Zaphod why this is all so important and Zaphod responds that it is his goal to discover the ultimate question, thinking that it will bring him fame and fortune, and has been using the ship's Improbability Drive to travel to random locations through time and space since he doesn't know the exact coordinates for the planet Magrathea.Zaphod initiates the Drive again and the ship plummets into improbability, coming out at its destination as a ball of yarn. As normality returns, Trillian notes that they have arrived at planet Viltvodle VI, the home of Zaphod's presidential opponent Humma Kavula (John Malkovich). Zaphod decides to pay a visit to his rival and the group leaves the ship to find Kavula presiding over a mass inside a church. The religious devotees pay respect to their beloved Arkleseizure, a deity from whom life sprang forth after a great sneeze. Kavula finishes his sermon with a 'bless you' as the congregation sneezes in unison. Kavula invites Zaphod and the others into his office where he boasts himself as a supremely intelligent being and admits that, apparently, good looks and charm are superior in elections over the ability to govern. After casually exposing the fact that he is a being comprised of a torso walking on metallic legs with no real eyes; rather with glasses with eyes superimposed on them, he deduces that Zaphod seeks the ultimate question and tells him that he has coordinates to Magrathea. He will give them to Zaphod on one condition; that Zaphod return with a special gun located on Magrathea at the base of Deep Thought. To ensure that Zaphod comes back, Kavula removes Zaphod's second head to keep.As they leave, the group is suddenly surrounded by Vogons who have been commissioned by Galactic Vice President Questular Rontok (Anna Chancellor) to rescue Zaphod from himself. Trillian threatens to kill Zaphod but her bluff is called and she is promptly taken into Vogon custody while the rest of the group escapes onto the Heart of Gold. Ford takes command since Zaphod, running on half a brain and unable to think coherently without the aid of a helmet that converts lemon juice into brainwaves, is useless. They follow the Vogon fleet to their home planet of Vogosphere where Trillian is forced into incarceration. Ford, Zaphod, Arthur, and Marvin dock the ship in the atmosphere before taking a pod ship to the planet surface. They crash land just a walk away from the Vogon ship's landing site and cross a wide expanse where they are tormented by shovel-like creatures that slap them in the face whenever they think of an idea. This proves conflicting since they need an idea to rescue Trillian so they decide on running for it. Arthur attempts to lead the fray, storming into one of the Vogon facilities using Marvin's arm as a gun, but the Vogon representative there merely forwards them to a nearby office where they can fill out a prisoner release form. This proves excruciating in itself with long lines and a mess of forms to choose from. However, with Zaphod's presidential approval, the proper form is submitted and Trillian is released.While being held prisoner, Trillian learns that Earth was destroyed and that Zaphod himself had been the one to approve the plans, evidently having thought the paper to be a request for an autograph. She is sentenced to death and dangled over a cage containing a Bugblatter Beast of Traal (a very nasty creature with gnashing teeth), only to be released at the last moment. Exhausted, and with her clothes torn up, she yells at Zaphod for signing the form to destroy Earth and berates Arthur for not telling her earlier. They return to the ship and Trillian and Arthur reconcile. Though Kavula's coordinates have been installed, the group takes a rest until the Improbability Drive is activated by the two white mice seen earlier. The ship jumps through hyperspace and arrives at Magrathea. However, as the ship begins its descent, an automatic hologram message appears on the ship's screen (Simon Jones) and issues an apology that the entire planet has been closed. Ignoring the message, Zaphod continues the landing procedures but the hologram appears again and announces that, since the ship will not adhere to its previous instructions, two thermo-nuclear missiles have been launched to intersect the ship. The ship quickly takes evasive maneuvers until Arthur, in desperation, hits the Improbability Drive. Instead of leaping through time and space elsewhere, they find that they've remained on Magrathea but, in an odd and highly improbably turn of events, the missiles have been transformed into a large, sperm whale and a bowl of petunias.The poor whale, thrown unexplainably into existence, has very little time to ponder what's going on before he is forced to violently meet the Magrathean surface. The bowl of petunias, as it falls, merely says to itself, "Oh no, not again." Our Guide offers that, if we knew why the bowl of petunias thought that in the first place, we'd know a lot more about the universe than we do now.Landing on the frozen planet surface, the group discovers three portals which offer no clue as to which one would definitively take them to Deep Thought. Tired of hearing the arguing between the men, Trillian takes a leap of faith and dives into the first activated one, followed closely by Zaphod and Ford. Uncertain and fearful of what would happen, Arthur hesitates until he makes the dive...and comes through the other side. The portal has closed on him, leaving him alone with Marvin to keep company. Marvin offers a depressing forecast of misery and Arthur can do nothing but wait.Meanwhile, Zaphod, Ford, and Trillian find that they'd chosen the right portal and ascend the steps toward a very bored-looking Deep Thought, watching television. Zaphod asks if she's figured out the ultimate question yet, to which she says 'no'. She tells them she designed another computer to figure out the ultimate question, but that the computer was destroyed to make way for a hyperspace bypass. She does give them the other item they seek, the gun that Kavula requested. It's the Point of View Gun, created by Deep Thought but commissioned by a group of intergalactic angry housewives, the gun is designed to make whomever the target is see the point of view of the person using the gun (the Guide states that those users were tired of ending arguments with their husbands with "You just don't get it, do you?"). When Trillian's agitation is questioned by Zaphod, she fires the gun at him and he realizes that she's on edge because her planet was destroyed and she is traveling with the man who signed the order and that she may have lost the opportunity to be with the one man who understands her: Arthur. They are then interrupted by the opening of a door at the back of the room from which Zaphod notices two white mice emerge.Arthur remains waiting at the three empty portals when a figure clothed in a large fur coat emerges and attempts to threaten Arthur into coming with him. When that proves unsuccessful, the figure introduces himself as a Magrathean named Slartibartfast (Bill Nighy) and tells Arthur that he has something to show him before activating one of the portals. It takes the two of them to a loading bay where Slartibartfast explains that he's an engineer and that he and his company create planets. He takes Arthur on a tour of the massive work floor where various planets are under construction, including Earth Mark 2.Taking him in for a closer look, Arthur is amazed to see various parts of Earth being rebuilt and is stunned when he's delivered to a very familiar site, his home. He walks inside and finds Ford, Trillian, and Zaphod waiting for him, dining in one of the rooms with two speaking white mice. The mice kindly offer Arthur some tea before they explain to him their pursuit of the ultimate question and how they were nearly 5 billion years in the midst of their experimentation to find out what that was before it literally blew up in their faces. As such, they commissioned the reconstruction of Earth 2 to continue their trials but need Arthur's brain to complete it. As he's tied down in his chair and a circular saw is placed around his head, Arthur cries out to the others but finds they've been drugged by the food. In desperation, he attempts to provide a question to the answer 42 before stumbling on one that the mice appreciate. He advises them to take it but the only question and answer he's ever found any happiness from is if Trillian is the girl for him; he answers to himself 'yes', realizing that he loves her.Confused by Arthur's love-babble, the mice decide to take his brain regardless, but Arthur manages to break free and takes a teapot, smashing the mice flat and revealing that they were actually the pan-dimensional beings who created Deep Thought in alternate form. Arthur gets the others to their feet and they leave the house to find that the Vogons have surrounded it, led by Rontok. The Vogons open fire and the group takes refuge behind a trailer while Marvin, having arrived and ambling slowly towards them, criticizes the Vogons for being the worst shots in the galaxy...that is until one shot hits the back of his head. He collapses as Rontok attempts to cease the Vogon's assault; she merely wants Zaphod safely back in office, not shot to death. Marvin then, miraculously, gets up and aims the Point-of-View gun (dropped earlier by Zaphod) at the Vogons. Rontok ducks as Marvin fires a concentrated blast at the Vogons and they all collapse to the ground, utterly depresed. They are all then seen being packed into a van and driven away.Once everything has calmed, Ford, Zaphod, and Trillian come out of their drugged stupors and Slartibartfast arrives, asking Arthur if there's anything he'd like changed about the new Earth before it's released. Arthur says no and then asks Trillian if she'd like to go somewhere. Ford offers a good restaurant at the end of the universe and the group disembarks on the Heart of Gold once more, activating the Improbability Drive as they continue to tour the galaxy. | comedy, whimsical, flashback, absurd, humor, satire, philosophical, romantic | train | imdb | Passing from the hands of one director to the next (James Cameron, Spike Jonze and Jay Roach), it wasn't until the idea landed in front of Garth Jennings and Nick Goldsmith that things truly started to take shape.Douglas Adams died from a heart attack in 2001, but after reading the books, watching the film and drawing a comparison, it's clear that Adams would've accepted this adaptation of the TV series of the computer game of the radio series wholeheartedly.Martin Freeman is an inspired choice as the face of Arthur Dent.
Mos Def and Zooey Deschanel are excellent as Ford Prefect and Trillian, but it's obvious that it's Sam Rockwell who's having all the fun, relishing his role as the over-excitable, reminiscently hippie-rockstar Ex-President of the Galaxy, Zaphod Beeblebrox.So all in all, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a great experience.
Douglas Adams turned his sci-fi phenomenon, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy into a hit radio and TV series, a five-part trilogy of novels and a BAFTA-winning computer game, but complained making it into a movie was like "trying to grill a steak by having a succession of people blow on it".
As Robbie Stamp, Adams' pal and the movie's executive producer, rightfully says, "The cast and crew rose to the challenge and created the perfect tribute to Douglas."The film carefully brings the story into the noughties without incurring the wrath of Hitchhiker fans, and adds enough smug nods in their direction to keep them happy.
They will relish whispering to their unimpressed cinema neighbour, "Look, Douglas Adams' face is in that shot" or "That's Marvin the Paranoid Android from the TV series." And for the uninitiated, there's an acid-trip of a movie featuring love, aliens and the answer to life, the universe and everything.
A galaxy of stars were enlisted to bring the mind-boggling story to the big screen, including Martin Freeman, who reprises his superb Everyman role from The Office to play Arthur Dent, a tea-loving Londoner who becomes the last man from Earth, following its destruction to make way for a hyperspace bypass.
Mos Def proves not all hip-hop stars are fist-gnawingly embarrassing as actors, in his part as Ford Prefect, a revoltingly cool alien who accompanies Dent on his hitchhiking adventure around the universe.The unspeakably delicious Zooey Deschanel provides the love story that was sadly lacking in Adams' script drafts.
As Rockwell testifies, "I studied footage of US presidents and rockers for this role until I tasted blood."The essential Britishness of the film is provided by the delectable Stephen Fry and Bill Nighy, who are more English than chips, awkward dinner parties and halitosis.Who better to voice The Guide, a book which contains all the knowledge in the universe, than bulging-brained Fry, who uses the perfect amount of middle-class haughtiness, irony and intelligence to narrate the delightfully complicated story.And Nighy can't fail as planet builder Slartibartfast (who, as every nerd knows, won an award for creating the twiddly bits around Norwegian fjords) because he based the world-weary alien on the nation's best-loved character, Bill Nighy.I almost missed out one character, insane religious leader Humma Kammula, a new character Adams wrote especially for John Malkovich.
Having grown up with the TV series, the radio series, and the books (in that order), I have certain preconceptions and expectations about Hitchhiker's that this film didn't always deliver.The bits that worked really well - the dolphin song and dance number at the beginning ('So Long And Thanks For All The Fish), and their return to the remodelled Earth at the end; the journey Arthur and Slartibartfast take through the factory floor at Magrathea and the Earth Mk II (the creation of the oceans, the Himalayas, etc.); the Vogon bureaucratic centre / job centre (where the original TV series Marvin waits in line!); the planet where the travellers are attacked by mean looking rubber spade things; and the bits with the Guide itself - new animations, updated from the (excellent) hand-done ones on TV.Casting was hit and miss for me - Martin Freeman was OK but was not my idea of Arthur Dent (perhaps Dent will be forever Simon Jones for those who saw/heard him first - here he is a cameo as the Ghostly Image warning the Heart of Gold not to approach the mystery planet).
The two heads are hopeless but perhaps an improvement on a shoulder-mounted rubber one.Others are very good in smaller parts - Bill Nighy as Slartibartfast, John Malkovich as new character Humma Kavula, Steve Pemberton as Mr Prosser, and of course the voice-only talent (Bill Bailey, Helen Mirren, Alan Rickman, and Stephen Fry as the Book).What I missed the most were favourite lines - the whole 'Beware of the Leopard' sequence from the beginning between Arthur Dent and Mr Prosser; the 'Please enjoy your trip through this door' perky personality doors on the Heart of Gold; the 'turning into a penguin' and 'monkeys writing Hamlet' sequence; and the 'trouble with my lifestyle' section on Magrathea.To make up for it the special effects are very good and there are lots of new creatures such as the jewel encrusted crab and the tiny running robot.
The Vogons look good as well.The film itself has a happy ending which is at odds with the book and all other adaptations - it also ends at a different point to both radio and TV series, just as the characters are off to the Restaurant at the End of the Universe.
I don't know if new audiences, that had never read the books (or played the game, listened to the radio, or watched the TV series), will enjoy the humour.What really worries me is that people will see the movie, think it's terrible and than write off every other format.
I HAVE read all the books, heard all the recordings and seen the TV series though and I thought they were among the funniest and most original stuff I have ever read, heard or seen.This movie however was a total disappointment.The meandering, pointless and ultimately uncompleted story line.
If you remember things from reading the books or watching the BBC miniseries, there's a good chance you'll see it referenced in the movie.
The story moves in fits and jerks as Arthur and his companions planet hop in search of the question to the ultimate answer, which isn't as cool as it sounds.The film does have an impressive look, especially when we meet the nasty Vogons, Muppets cleverly designed by the Jim Henson people to resemble black walking warts with Charles Laughton faces.
Unfortunately, the movie doesn't explain why they get picked up only to get tossed off.And, like in the book, they get picked up the second time by President of the Galaxy, Zaphod Beeblebrox.
This movie is clearly an attempt to solve the U.S. power crisis by making Douglas Adams spin in his grave at high speed.Take the BBC TV show, add (mostly) good actors and special effects, then take out random parts (frequently the punchline) of the various jokes from the books, and throw in a standard Hollywood love story while making the actually funny parts that hadn't been already completely butchered feel so rushed that they might as well have cut those, too.The opening number was a bunch of dolphins singing "so long and thanks for all the fish." It was absolutely sickeningly sweet, and made me want to walk out of the theater right there.
In the film "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", the late Douglas Adams first book in his classic series has finally arrived on the big screen after many delays getting started and a successful version on PBS.The film stars Martin Freeman as Arthur Dent, a simple, easy going fellow whose entire goal in life is to stop the demolition of his beloved home from those who want to put a new highway in its current location.As Arthur attempts to block the demolition, his good friend Ford Prefect (Mos Def), arrives and stalls the demolition with free beer for the work crew.
Before he knows what has happened, Arthur is whisked away seconds before the destruction of the Earth by Ford as they end up on a ship of the demolition fleet.After a series of bizarre events and a narrow escape, Ford and Arthur end up on a passing ship that has been stolen by galactic president Zaphod Beeblebrox (Sam Rockwell), and Trillian (Zooey Deschanel), who just happens to be the lady of Arthur's dreams and who is also unaware that the Earth has been destroyed in the short amount of time since she left Earth to explore with Zaphod.As if this was not enough, the ship also has a depressed android named Marvin (Warwick Davis and voiced by Allan Rickman),It is at this point that the film goes horribly wrong as the amusing and interesting setup quickly goes nowhere.
After five minutes of his rock star in the spotlight style shtick, I wanted to strangle the character or at least get him on some serious medication.Director Garth Jennings also has many scenes that simply go nowhere or drag on only to cut at odd times resulting in a complete and utter lack of pacing.I am a big fan of the book series and I had very high hopes for this film.
While extreme die hard fans may enjoy the film, even they are likely to be disappointed and I can only hope that if they try to make the next book in the series, "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe", they do a much better job then this effort, as this is one awful film adaptation.
Stephen Fry's exceptional voice as the Guide, went a long way in trying to bring in some of the unique wisdom from the book, and its laptop-like display panel opening up with an explanation at times when you thought you were losing it.
It could have been utterly brilliant; staggering; amazing; and most of all, funny.But there's always a but, isn't there personally, I thought the film utterly, absolutely and irredeemably SUCKED.If there was a new writer brought in to make the screenplay more "coherent"then I hope he/she didn't get paid because they didn't do their job
It jumped all over the place with no explanations which is fine if you've read the books and makes things difficult to understand if you haven't.
But apart from that, I feel like I wasted my money and time watching the huge mistake this film has become.Yes, Alan Rickman as the voice of Marvin was a good choice; Martin Freeman as the long-suffering Arthur was good casting.
I don't see how someone coming on the movie with no previous knowledge of HHG could possibly enjoy it at all.The theater was half-filled tonight when I saw it, and what little laughter there was was during narration from the original book.Individually awful things about it: Zaphod, who they totally and utterly ruined; the ridiculously out of place love affair between Arthur and Trillian; Marvin, who they took about 3 minutes to design; the obviously-made-by-the-Muppet-shop Vogons...
Being very familiar with the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, having read the books, listened to the radio show, watched the TV series, I was looking forward to the movie.
First it was a radio series, then a book, then a television programme; but the late Douglas Adams always dreamed that his cult sci-fi comedy, 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy', would be remade as a movie.
It is a wholly remarkable fact...given the depth of sarcastic wit and comedy of the radio play, books, and TV show, the potential talent waiting to play these roles, and the vast sums of money that were surely spent making the film...that anyone could create a movie so totally devoid of humor as to make Vogon poetry a preferred source of entertainment.Not actually evil, but so theatrically unpleasant as to illicit this response from the reviewer: eeeeooooowwwww....ugh..ugh..ugh....arrgghhh!Clearly, Garth Jennings will be the first with his back against the wall when the revolution comes..
After that a state of utter confusion left me unable to enjoy the rest of the movie.Yes I laughed at points, but this did not make up for the fact that this is the most disappointing movie of all time for me.Reading through other user's comment I wholeheartedly agree that someone in the making of this movie must have thought "oh no, that's too funny to put in, I'll just replace it with this awful hours worth of film and hope nobody notices." I only survived by gnawing my own leg off..
(plus Stupid 2nd head SFX that totally ignores the laws of physics) Bill Nighy - must have been dialling it in - or he was spending a year dead for tax reasons...Lets not mention the awful artless art design & SFX eg Marvin, Vogon spaceships, babel fish, Deep Thought - its (almost) like they were trying to make the worst movie they could.Top Six Worst SFX No 6 : The computer graphics are / look better in the 80's version!!!!!
(and from the amazingly brilliant source material in the books and the 1981 BBC TV series) The one good thing about Douglas Adams being dead first - he never got to see how truly bad and dreadful it all was.Should be in the list of the top 10 worst films ever made.
And then, just for the sheer, unbridled hell of it, it stopped having anything to do with the book again 2 minutes later.The characters had nothing more than their names in common with the books, and outside of that, the characters they did play were played so badly that the studio must have hired an "unfunny acting coach" to come in and make sure that any potentially funny lines were delivered with the worst possible sense of timing.The best and most authentic thing about this film was the theme song.Go re-watch the terrible early 80's film version.
Do you think it would make a great movie?Well Since i love the books and have read them about ten times or so I was very glad to hear that they finally was going to put it on the silver-screen.
But what a disappointment it was to me when I realized that it wasn't the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy I have learned to love and laughed to for several years that came out of this production but a mere shadow of the geniality of Douglas Adams masterpiece.Don't expect to much from this film.
The movie makers has taken some pieces from each of the books, added a lot of their own and made something that is: almost, but not quite, entirely unlike the original text.This is probably the worst book to movie transfer I have ever seen, not only because of the almost non existing similarity to the original text but also: the acting is bad, the special effects is even worse and I'm sad to say that the mini-series from 1981 is far better on all aspects, and I'm no fan of them either.Douglas Adams R.I.P. Incredibly disappointing..
The original TV version is a superb sci-fi/comedy.This film is anything but funny.The plot is very rushed and disjointed ,compressing the whole story into(mercifully only)110 minutes.The acting is totally flat-some scenes remind me of rehearsals!I am glad i did not pay to see this at the cinema.It is a shame that a negative score cannot be given.This is the worst film i have ever seen-my wife is watching it with me and agrees(her comments cannot be printed for obscenity reasons.)For the sake of movie watchers throughout the galaxy, please BAN this movie..
Having listened to the radio series, watched the original series on TV and read the book, I was really looking forward to the updated movie.
They managed to make a funny book/radio/TV series into a dull film.I think the main problem is that we don't care about the characters.Ford Prefect is particularly weak.
So I guess there's not going to be a prehistoric earth in the second movie because SURPRISE Earth was completely restored and everyone lived happily ever after.Blech.I keep hearing "True to the spirit of Douglas Adams!" Maybe the guide, the heart of gold and the parts that didn't have actors in it.Try the BBC version.
But in fact it is really sad that we, who love Adams and his books must now wait for next 20 or 30 years that same other people will make 'Hitchickers guide...' movie again.
Enough has already been said by many reviewers so this will be brief; avid fan of the books - a truly awful adaptation in every way for reasons stated may times over by multiple reviewers - script, plot, visual look and feel, and some of the worst directing I think I have ever seen.
I watched right to the end, and the answer is: Very awful indeed.The movie's pedigree should be impeccable, given the successful history of adapting the original Douglas Adams radio series into other media (books, audio recordings, a stage play, television, a computer game).
Maybe some things are just not designed to be compressed into 110 minutes.If they do carry on the series and make The Restaurant at the end of the Universe things may improve - but I say that without much hope, it'd merely be a reflection of a book better than the prior one and it'd be without Douglas Adam's work on the movie scripting.If you want a good quality Sci Fi spoof watch Galaxy Quest instead, it achieves everywhere "Guide" fails and its funny as hell.Bested by a Tim Allen movie I think that says it all.As a side BBC Radio 4 has adapted the final three books to Radio (they actually where books to begin with).
Read the books and try to watch the BBC-series instead (even if I not that fond of that, it is better than this movie).. |
tt1717715 | Xi you ji: Da nao tian gong | Sun Wukong, (The Monkey King) is a monkey born from a heavenly stone who acquires supernatural powers. After rebelling against heaven and being imprisoned under a mountain for 500 years, he later accompanies the monk Xuanzang on a journey to India.
Thus, according to legend, Buddhism is brought to ancient China.
This much beloved story, is as much a part of Asian culture as The Iliad and The Odyssey or The Wizard of Oz are to the West.
This first installment in a trilogy of live action 3-D movies is actually a prequel to
The Journey To The West, the much told story of the Monkey Kings adventures on the road to India.
The Monkey King: Havoc In The Heavenly Palace will be released in the U.S.
as The Monkey King. The first movie is the origins story -- beginning with the birth of Sun Wukong and ending with his imprisonment for his crimes under the Five-Peaked Mountain.
Along the way he acquires incredible powers, battling the armies of the gods and the armies of the demons to find his rightful place in the Heavens. It is a classic story of the scorned underdog who acquires great abilities but uses them recklessly and ultimately must pay a huge price to find redemption.
The Monkey King captures the drama, beauty, humor and fantastic action of the folk legend and brings it to the screen in a way never before possible. | fantasy | train | imdb | I just saw this film with my mother, a 65-year old Chinese woman (who has trained under some masters of kung fu), who grew up reading the stories of the Monkey King (whereas I'm more familiar with the Japanese Series, 'Monkey Magic').
My mother was delighted at how faithful this film was, with so many of the characters and substories being very close to how she remembers them.Unlike other reviewers, we found the CGI to be quite good (a couple of bad spots, but in other places, stunning!) We thought the acting and direction was also really good.
However at the end of the day as a family movie for all ages old and young it is a definite winner.As a absolute devoted fan since the 70's of the NipponTV incarnation of this tale, it was absolutely fun to watch with my kids and parents as the Director intended, to introduce and showcase a very popular traditional Chinese story to a larger demographic western audience with a modern feel and fun easy to digest storyline.
(Thus the use of some headline artists in the main roles)The obvious details of the screenplay to book adaption aside, Donny Yen really brings SUN WUKONG to animated life much as he re-birthed IP MAN for modern audiences.A truly memorable performance by Chow Yun Fat and supporting casts makes it a benchmark movie amongst the last few recent "MONKEY" re-envisaged movies of recent years.Maybe not a movie for the full on Chinese mythology traditionalist but certainly one NOT TO MISS for the dedicated devotee of the MONKEY story sub genre..
When THE MONKEY KING debuted the teaser trailer sometimes last year, I was doubtful whether Donnie Yen was really up for the legendary Sun Wukong role or not.
However, upon finally watching it, this nearly four-years-in-the-making production proves to be a well-worthy cinematic experience after all.WHAT IS IT ALL ABOUT?During an ongoing war between god and demon on the Heavenly Palace, Bull Demon King (Aaron Kwok) lost the battle against Jade Emperor (Chow Yun-Fat).
Trouble arrives when Bull Demon King sees Wukong as his golden opportunity to use him as bait to access Heavenly Palace, while waiting for the right moment to wage war against the god all over again.THE GOOD STUFFLast seen in 2012's MOTORWAY, Soi Cheang's direction is colorful and yet entertaining enough to please most of the die-hard fans of the Sun Wukong story.
Other actors, such as Peter Ho as the scheming Erlangshen and Chow Yun-Fat as the noble Jade Emperor, are equally acceptable as well.MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT(S)The "all-hell-breaks-loose" duels during the movie's spectacular finale.THE BAD STUFFDespite the hefty amount spent on the budget, the special effects are average at best.
Some of the other cast, including Aaron Kwok's villainous turn as Bull Demon King, Kelly Chen as Guanyin and Gigi Leung as Chang'E, are sadly underwritten.FINAL WORDSWhile THE MONKEY KING is far from the best movie adaptation ever seen from Wu Cheng'en's classical novel of Journey to the West, it remains a satisfying effort worth checking out for this Chinese New Year.caseymoviemania.blogspot.com.
Journey to the West is one of the 4 most famous Chinese Novel in the world, and to tackle a classic tale is always a huge risk(see The Sorcerer and the White Snake, a huge critical and box office disappointment).Many thought that this might be another failure, but the results is actually very surprising.Donnie Yen's Monkey King "Sun Wu Kong" is so good and Donnie is so into-character that most viewers do not know its him until the end credits.
This may just be the best Sun Wu Kong we have ever seen, right up there with the one starring Liu Xiao Ling Tong.Props to Aaron Kwok too, for being such a good villain and making the viewers hate him.The plot has a little bit of twist and changes from the original journey to the west story, but they were not overboard and the story is kept simple perhaps to introduce worldwide audience to this Chinese Folktale.The CGI is a new level compared to previous Chinese movies.
Watch out for the last fight scene, the CGI is easily Hollywood standard.A huge milestone is reached on 31st January 2013, on Chinese New Year, we see the rebirth of Sun Wu Kong and Journey to the west.Asians can finally be hopeful, because its no longer Western Superheroes such as Iron Man and Thor dominating, but our very own Eastern Superhero, the Monkey King is here to stay..
It's an adaptation of Journey To The West, the classic Chinese novel which tells the hugely-beloved tale of a daring, gifted monkey who falls from the heavens and must find his way back again.
Brew all those mistakes together, and director Cheang Pou-Soi has really mucked it up big-time.The film opens with an epic war in the heavens, one that results in the goddess Nüwa having to sacrifice herself to rebuild the celestial palace of the Jade Emperor (Chow).
But, under the manipulative influence of the Bull Demon King (Kwok), Monkey soon finds himself returning to the heavenly palace to wreak havoc beyond anyone's worst nightmares.Journey To The West is, truly, a marvellous source of material for a film adaptation: it's morally rich, thematically complex and spiritually enlightening, with huge helpings of adventure, fantasy and derring-do.
Cameos from the likes of pop singers Kelly Chen and Gigi Leung - the former plays Guan Yin, Goddess Of Mercy, and the latter the immortal moon-dwelling Chang'E - add to the generally trippy effect of the film.The special effects are, on the whole, terrible: a lot of the time, the film feels like a creaky albeit well-intentioned television adaptation from the 1970s, which is unfortunate given the forty intervening years of technological development.
Leave us not forget the costumes, which look as if they were picked up from a store dumping its unwanted Halloween stock.If you can suffer through the first two-thirds of the film, The Monkey King actually seems to find its feet in its final half-hour.
Although it is true that the big part of the original (huge) book was about the Pilgrimage mentioned in the Synopsis, there are two things you should know: the pilgrimage was more an adventure full of battles, monsters, magic powers, and epic Characters, rather than just a pilgrimage; and this movie concentrates on the first part of the book, before the pilgrimage (actually the Monk does not even appear), on the genesis of the Monkey King.
This film is a bit strange, the special effects are not the best, and some things in the realization will need a bit effort from the western audience, but it is OK, you must understand that as said this is a Chinese story and obviously not made with the western people as main target.
But whether you are interested or not in the background of the story, the film is pleasant and entertaining and you can surely enjoy it :) Now I just hope there will be other movies with the rest of the book!.
Being an American imbued in this ego-mongering, greed-centric culture and it's pitifully vacuous religious folklore and totally unfamiliar with the story behind the 'Monkey King', I was hesitant to watch this since I had to read subtitles which turned out to be difficult at best due to translation issues, but I did manage to get the gist of the story as it unfolded, and I couldn't help becoming involved in the characters soon after it began.
Donnie Yen does OK as the lead but western fans of his previous films may be left confused and/or disappointed a long time before the 120 mins of 'Fantasy Action' ends - It really helped that I was already familiar with the story as a lot happens in that time.
there were many major problems with this movie, first off having Donnie Yen as the monkey king was a big big no no.
it was going to be hard to cgi the right way cause the book was so detailed and deep.i went into this movie not expecting much and wind up not getting much, there were no development of characters, some of the costumes were laughably bad and the other 2 leads weren't that interesting either.
the story and acting got tighter and best of all, the cgi looked as good as any that Hollywood can put out, and it was exciting.so, if the movie isn't that appealing...just make sure you watch the last third or quarter and you'll feel a lot less screwed...the ending of the movie was its saving grace and just might save the movie from disaster.
When I go and try to watch a fantasy movie, I do of course go there and expecting to see a lot of visual candies with the use of such colorful special effects.
The Monkey King was heroic in this film and exactly the way Sun-Wukong should be portrayed as.
Even though the new Monkey King 2014 movie is being badmouthed by you westerners, please note the fact that the special effects and CGI that you complainabout have NOTHING to do with the really good TV series.
How about complaining that Hollywood movies in the 20th century, including Harry Potter have PLAGIARIZED and COPIED the Asian Chinese concept of the original Monkey King flying in a cape with this magic staff that was invented first in the 16th century!!!
When you complain and whine about the new Monkey King movie with Chow Yun Fat who did a great job, the other guy, Soe Cheang did a good job with the 2014 movie!!!
You bad racist people on IMDb.com are directly and indirectly badmouthing and sabotaging the good reputation of the literary genius, Wu Chengén and the magnificent Journey to the West novel.This IMDb.com website is just jealous of the Monkey King 2014 being a decent movie that deserves an 8/10 or at least a 6.5/10.
I'm trying to watch this right now and I am doing everything in my power to keep my eyes open.The subtitles are terrible, the costumes look like they came out of a giant gum ball machine, the CGI is choppy..
With director Soi Cheang delivering such dark thrillers like the amazing Dog Bite Dog and Shamo, etc, I was quite curious as to how this adaptation of the world famous story was brought to the big screen.I mean, it hasn't been that long since the awesome Jackie Chan, Jet Li vehicle, The Forbidden Kingdom with Jet Li as the Monkey King.And then there was the awesome Journey To The West: Conquering The Demons, from the fantastic Stephen Chow Sing Chi.And now, The Monkey King with the incredible Donnie Yen as the titular hero...First of, even at 2 hours long, The Monkey King feels somewhat longer.
Saying that, it is a visual feast that sometimes wins with its CGI and quite often doesn't, reminding me of the fist attempts at Hong Kong effects-filled movies like, Storm Riders and A Man Called Hero.Often slow burning, with average fantasy action scenes and wire-fu, The Monkey King is rife with amazing characters from Chinese mythology, including one of my favourites, little Nezha and his flamed wheels on his feet!Cast wise, Chow Yun Fat looks as cool as always as the Jade Emperor, and the gorgeous Aaron Kwok plays the Bull King - although looks slightly bored in doing so.
Always have, for about 30 years now, and feel that since his explosion in the US, critics have been harsh on him for his choice in roles - no matter how many he is dishing out.As the Monkey King, I think Donnie pulls of an amazing job, making me sometimes wonder who I am looking at.
Let's be clear: Journey to the West, like many other classical Chinese stories, has been done to death on TV as a drama series/anime adaption.
Sun Wukong as the lead is decently portrayed.The BAD: The Bull Demon King is not badass in the original story, so it comes off as a rather strange character contortion seemingly to fit Aaron Kwok's admittedly dreary character archetype.
No need to dress every character like a peacock.The worst of all is the soundtrack: what passes as a reasonably exciting and eyecatching fight scene by today's standards is often ruined by the cheap, mostly non-thematic and garbled orchestral pieces that reflect neither the grandeur of the ancient East nor the Monkey King's capacity for romance.
We love some of the main actors and gave it the benefit of the doubt, watching for another ~20min, and sadly had to give up.Fingers crossed, The Monkey King 2 (2016) will have a lot less animation to make room for some genuine acting and character development..
Donnie Yen's Monkey King was painful to watch.
Finally, I have read from Chinese reviewers that the original story has gone very much out of tracks with this movie and it is a pity to think that such a classic part of their culture is being mixed up by modern 'story tellers' who have no respect for the very material they use to make money.
If Donnie Yen wished to do one more take on the Monkey King, He could at least have respected the source material rather than releasing a distorted and immature production for the whole world to absorb, thus diluting slowly the accuracy of the original epic story.
Though the budget sets a record for China, the quality of the result in terms of effects (be they digital or makeup) is woefully sub-par, and the art direction is a mess, making this a frequently incoherent eyesore.Then, let's look at the talent involved: Chow Yun-Fat and Donnie Yen's charisma and comic sense (respectively) eclipse anything else thrown up on screen, and might have gobbled up most of the budget.
But the real Monkey King is stronger than all that, and since filmmakers can't stay clear of his gravitational pull for long, one can hope in a few years time someone will do him justice.Avoid this garbage and read the source, preferably while listening to this film's unbelievably great score..
I have experienced many versions of Journey to the West, including the 1986 version(the one I enjoyed most).I have seen many bad reviews on this movie due to it's over-the-top cgi, bad translations, and poor plot.
That split of a second, which could be an indefinite amount of time for a deity, Chang'e taught him (with very bad translations) the costs of immortality.Enough of the philosophy talk and lets move on into the fun winks to the audience that have had the opportunity to watch the Journey to the West series.
The Monkey King (西游记之大闹天宫, literal translation: Journey to the West: Havoc in Heaven) is a disappointing and terrible fantasy action epic adaptation of the classic Chinese literature Journey to the West (西游 记).
Although Donnie Yen provides a decent performance as the monkey Sun Wukong (孙悟空), but it's ultimately hampered by the overall production of the film.
While the costumes and makeup were acceptable, the CGI effects for the entire film is extremely terrible and incomplete, as if the entire production was heavily rushed for Chinese New Year release.
The story is about a character known as the Monkey King who travels to India and brings Buddhism back to China, and it is truly epic in scope.
This is why Buddha trapped him under the mountain.The movie had a lot of potential, and from what I gathered I enjoyed hit, however the huge flaw was not so much the effects – they were good, or the story, but the subtitles.
In this movie it was more like watching a circus monkey that got special powers than watching a story of The Monkey king.The only reason I gave it 2 stars was because of the good computer effects.
But whereas "The Golden Compass" (2007) has the excuse of having no "fore-runners" to look to for reference, "The Monkey King" (2014) simply makes apparent the sheer genius of earlier "Journey to the West" adaptations which adopted a firm, laser-like focus on just ONE single origin/back-story: e.g.
But while I have never grown tired of watching "Havoc in Heaven" (1964), "Conquering the Demons" (2013) or even reading Journey to the West-- because their mastery of their media (animation, live-action film and prose respectively) is such that their "set-ups" (whether slapstick, satire or melodrama) were as good as their "pay-offs"-- I don't see a reason to ever watch "The Monkey King" (2014) again...
THE MONKEY KING: HAVOC IN HEAVEN'S PALACE is the latest outing for the classic hero of Chinese literature, and I'm ashamed to say that it's by far the worst ever adaptation I've seen.
Donnie Yen frankly embarrasses himself in the lead role, going way over the top with the physical tics and comedy, while others like Chow Yun-Fat and Aaron Kwok are merely wasted.
The Monkey King: or perhaps more fittingly- how not to utilise your slew of fan-favourite, award-winning actors/actresses, sky-rocket budget and effort- lackluster at best.For those who have no knowledge of the tale or are simply looking for a dumb, uproarious, action romp- look no further- as senseless as it is it should entertain fine.I must warn those people that know of the original tale, or those who are looking for a blockbuster film done right- consider slamming yourself under a mountain for 500 years before seeing this cinematic atrocity.
But no thematic adaption has missed the point so completely like 'The Monkey King.'There are many things amiss in this movie attempt, but other than the stated above, the movie simply fails to engage. |
tt0327554 | Catwoman | The figure of a limp woman with long curly hair is seen drifting underwater, and a voiceover questions the end of a life that never truly existed. This life ended in murder, the victim herself unsure of who her killer was and why she was killed. Her death was only metaphorical, for in her place a new life begins.The story starts with Patience Phillips (Halle Berry), a timid woman who can't stand up for herself. She lets people walk all over her, and has wasted her artistic talent working for a cosmetic company as a graphic designer. George Hedare (Lambert Wilson) runs the company with his supermodel wife, Laurel (Sharon Stone). Laurel knows that Patience is capable, but seems mostly indifferent, only using her in own power struggles with her husband. George, an abusive boss in general, finds plenty of opportunity to mock Laurel.The company is about to launch BeauLine, a new anti-aging product that Laurel had secretly been using for years. The advertisement is designed by Patience but George, unsatisfied, demands that she redesigns it. Upset and frustrated, Patience returns home and sees a cat looking up at her. Shaking her head, she goes to sleep, but her loud neighbours keeps her up and she is unable to rest. Next morning, the cat is on her window ledge. When she approaches, she realizes the cat has climbed up to a higher ledge and was potentially stuck. To try and reach the cat, Patience climbs out her window ledge, and a passing detective mistakens her intentions as suicidal. He ends up rushing into her apartment and pulling her back in. Patience would have thanked him but realizes she is late for work, in her hurry to leave she drops her wallet. The detective, Tom Lone (Benjamin Bratt), tracks her down to her workplace and returns it to her, and both agree to a coffee date.Later that night, Patience goes to the production factory to deliver her artwork, and she accidentally hears that the BeauLine has unsafe health problems. Stunned, she backs into several tools, revealling her presence. Two men chase her into a large waste water pipe, where she is trapped, and they flush her into the river, where she drowns. The cat that has been appearing in front of Patience appears by her body and gathers several other cats around her.Patience eventually drags herself unsteadily up and returns home. Her movements are off and uncontrollable, and she ends up breaking the glass through her own window. When her neighbours start their usual loud party again, she yells at them to quiet but they again ignore her. The old Patience would have backed down, but now she strodes down, knocks on their door, and promptly beats up the host and destroys the music equipment in front of many shocked guests. When she wakes up the next morning, she almost dismisses everything as a dream until she sees the broken glass. Unfortunately, her memories of what happened before that are blank, and so she cluelessly returns back to work.At work, George loudly yells at Patience in front of all her coworkers for not handling in her project. She tunes him out, which angers him further, and when she apologizes he only continues. Patience than apologizes for wasting her time in the company, and is fired, but as soon as George leaves her colleagues swarm around her in congratulations. Patience packs up her things and while she and her friends are walking home, two dogs instantly begin barking at her and she instinctively hisses at them. When questioned, she explains her behaviour as allergies. When they pass by a jewelry store, Patience's attention is caught by a beautiful collar-like necklace, but is reminded of her new unemployed status and leaves longingly. Once home, she sees the same cat again, and finally close enough she was able to find the address on the cat's owner.The cat belonged to an older woman named Ophelia, a former professor who lived alone in a house full of cats.
She explains that the cat constantly appearing in front of Patience is named Midnight, a rare Egyptian Mau who likely has been watching Patience for several days, knowing that she was about to die. The cat has special powers that are given only to a few deserving women after they die. Hence after Patience died, she is reborn with new catlike powers. History will tell of women with the senses and agility of a cat, and Patience has now joined their ranks. Patience and Catwoman are two completely different people, yet they are one.Now on the prowl, Patience digs up a leather outfit she once received as a gift but never wore, and donned on the cat mask Ophelia gives her. Catwoman finds the man who had tried to shoot before drowning Patience, but after a fight she learns he had no idea who the girl he killed even was or exactly why he had been suddenly called in to eliminate her. He only knows it was something to do with the company, perhaps some sort of corporate scandal, and that she should probably check with the people at the top. Catwoman agrees and goes to corporate headquarters, only to find another man she had seen on the night of her death lying dead on the floor. A passing janitor walks into the scene and mistakens Catwoman as the man's murderer, she is forced to flee when the police are summoned.Now a wanted criminal to the public, Catwoman sneaks into George's private residence, where she briefly gets into a fight with Laurel. Catwoman demands to know where George is, telling Laurel about the terrible effects of BeauLine. Laurel gives Catwoman a hotel address as well as a cell phone so the two of them could keep in contact. Catwoman finds George with Drina, another upcoming model, in a private balcony watching a dance. Unfortunately, a security officer had already spotted Catwoman and called the police. When Drina briefly leaves and Catwoman tries to interrogate an uncooperative and still abusive George, she is cut short by the police suddenly appearing. Left with no choice, she jumps off the balcony and onto the stage before briefly dropping down below. The audience mistakens her brief appearance as part of the show and loudly applaud while below, Catwoman finds Tom with a gun. The two of them fight while she flirts and even kisses him before reinforcements arrive and Catwoman is again forced to flee.On their date, Tom tells Patience about his encounter with Catwoman. She doesn't seem jealous, and the two continue having a great time until Tom finds a diamond-studded claw in Patience's home, something he instantly recognizes as part of Catwoman. He takes a cup Patience had drank from to the police lab, where analysis prove Patience and Catwoman as the same person. Meanwhile, Patience wakes up alone in the bed, and receives a call from Laurel who says she found evidence of her husband's crimes. Catwoman goes to the Hedare residence only to fall for a trap - George had been clawed at and fatally shot, and Laurel tosses the gun into Catwoman's hands so that the police would identify her as the killer.Her agility and Laurel's exercise outfit helps Patience escape the police and allows her to return home, but Tom is waiting for her. He knows if she wanted to she could quickly disarm him, but she doesn't and lets him arrest her and bring her into interrogation. Patience pleads her case and tries to explain, but as Tom pointed out all the evidence pointed to Catwoman as the killer. Patience realizes that Tom probably still saw her as the girl from his first impression - a crazy woman with suicidal or even hallucinatory tendencies. In tears, she allows him to lock her in the detention cell, but it only takes the appearance of Midnight for her to successfully escape. She ends up going to BeauLine's production warehouse and disabling all the trucks so that the merchandise could not be delievered.Tom goes to the BeauLine press conference where Laurel is heavily promoting the producting and giving out free samples. He privately takes her aside and indicates that he had evidence about her crimes, and when she unintentionally confesses he is unprepared for her murderous reaction. Luckily Catwoman arrives in time, but Tom is already injured and unable to run quickly out the building. Instead they are forced to stay behind to fight Laurel and her lackeys. Despite his injured state Tom is able to take care of himself, and Catwoman fights her way to Laurel for a final confrontation. To her dismay, it turns out that Laurel is unable to feel pain, largely due to the continuous use of BeauLine. Nevertheless, Catwoman manages to damage skin and eventually causes Laurel to plunge out the window. For the first time, Catwoman realizes she may have killed someone.Catwoman's exploits end up on the news, and the Hedra company is shut down, but partially because of the ambigous nature of Catwoman and partially out of guilt Patience is unable to relax. She breaks up with Tom and prepares to live her own life, free and untamed, the Catwoman of her generation. | good versus evil, paranormal, revenge, murder | train | imdb | And that was just the first half hour, at which point, for the sake of my brain and stopping it melting with the sheer tedium, I walked out of the cinema.If you're genuinely sad enough to believe that paying good money to see Halle Berry in a PVC suit is good enough reason to spend time gawking at this trash, then fine.
Though a terrible basketball player that stunt doubles or special effects can't hide, her transformation into Catwoman is one of the best personality changes besides The Fly. The action is good, Sharon Stone's script is a little weak though it's good to see her back.
Note to Halle Berry: Letting Billy Bob Thornton ream you endlessly on camera is certainly degrading, but it was also a good career move--and you won an Oscar; feverishly eating catnip and licking people's faces on camera, however, is not a good career move--and you'll probably win a Razzie this time.
Oh yeah, as for the supernatural explanation for Patience Phillips/Catwoman's superhero status--she gets CPR from an immortal Egyptian cat--I am not kidding.And then there is Benjamin Bratt, who happens to be a pretty solid actor, but could have very likely damaged a good career.
There is a scene in this movie--probably the worst, and that's no small achievement--that is reminiscent of that ridiculous scene in Daredevil where Jennifer Garner/Elektra and Ben Affleck/blind superhero have a Kung Fu fight at a playground in broad daylight; in this movie it's Halle Berry and Ben Bratt playing one-on-one hoops and her doing Catwoman flips and yet no one appears to be too amazed by this, much less pants-soiling surprised, and on top of that it has a sort of VH1/Color Me Bad/early New Edition video feel to it.
No matter what the crime is--burglary, murder, domestic disturbance, interrupted ballet performance--he's always there.As for the rest of the cast, that annoying woman from Mad TV--I know that's not specific enough; I mean the most annoying one who plays what I guess is supposed to be some bizarre Asian lady--well, she plays Catwoman's annoying and sort of slutty co-worker comic relief since Rosie O'Donnell was apparently unavailable.And then we come to Sharon Stone.
Of course Sharon has often lamented the lack of good roles for older women in Hollywood, and she's absolutely right about that, but this is not the best way to lodge a complaint, and plus that's always been a little peculiar coming from an actress whose greatest cinematic achievement is the conspicuous exposure of her labia.Briefly back to this Pitof character--I thought that pretentious one-named idiot who did the Charlie's Angels movies--McG, I believe--was bad enough, but this guy is even more shameless and obviously lacking in talent.
This movie deserves every Razzie it receives, and while some reviewers may say it's not really that bad, remember, it took a lot of money to make this godawful thing, and if people don't speak out about how dreadful it really is, they just might make Catwoman 2.
I've seen about 45 minutes of footage and it really looks like something someone did as a flash film and they thought "Hmm...this would look cool on film!!"I think it's total and utter betrayal of the character's roots is bad enough, but to compound that by ripping off elements from other comic-based action films (The Crow, Spider-Man 1 & 2, etc.) is just adding more nails to this already sealed coffin.
The only people who enjoyed this film are pre-pubescent guys who will never know the touch of a woman without shucking out a few hundred bucks for it.This film is a disgrace to comics, movies, and mankind in general, and any woman who thinks this film is "empowering" is probably some young promiscuous woman will will be called "MAMA" before she hit age 17.Beware this movie, and avoid it like the freaking' plague..
It is the most unmitigated piece of sh*t I have ever seen, worse still than Batman and Robin.The plot is like an episode of Baywatch, Halle Berry is completely unsexy and the effects are pure rubbish.
OK, it wasn't the best film ever, and yeah, there have been better Catwomen (namely, Julie Newmar and Michelle Pfeiffer), but when you sit and watch it with no expectations, it's actually kind of cool.From a superhero point of view it's a little one-sided- there aren't any real villains, at least, none who pose a real threat.
Which is a shame, because I didn't think the film was that bad.They'd have been better off doing a spin-off from the Batman flicks with Michelle P (or a lookalike) as Catwoman, so the back story wouldn't be necessary.Don't hate me for loving Catwoman.
I also had neighbors who night after night played loud music or television until three or four a.m., while I first tried to block out the sound in any way that I could, then asked politely for them to turn the music down, and so on, until I finally called the cops on them so I could get some sleep.Not that I need to identify with a character to like a film, but that made this one have extra resonance with me in the beginning.
So departures from previous portrayals of Selina Kyle aren't relevant, even if we believed that filmmakers were obligated in some way to previous depictions of the "same" fictional characters (which I don't believe, not being a purist).Catwoman is worth a (second) chance if you can leave some of your preconceptions at the door and if you're prepared to think a bit about a comic book film..
I, however, found it to be a fun ride, full of good, schlocky moments, some nice action and boasting a confident visual style and a performance from Halle Berry which falls just the right side of parody.
STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All Costs Patience Phillips (Halle Berry) is a pathetically meek graphic designer at a cosmetics firm who's also so utterly f*cking thick she does such idiotic things as risking her life by climbing onto a building to rescue a cat!However,one day she inadvertently learns that her bosses are planning to release an addictive anti-ageing cream (?!?) onto the shelves,and finds her life coming to a premature end.Or,is that beginning,as she finds herself turning into Catwoman,heroic defender of law and bringer of justice.There is a distinctly cruel irony whereby a film can end up receiving so many bad reviews (which are meant to deter people from watching the film!) people end up watching it anyway...just to see how bad it is.I suppose on the basis of that,I should seek out 1998's The Avengers sometime.I'd like to give Showgirls a go sometime too (I missed it when they showed it on Channel 4 recently.) Yep,in terms of 2004's most major cinematic disaster,Catwoman was,well,not to put too fine a pun on it,the cat that got the cream.Opening to abominable reviews,from everyone from Empire to Zoo magazine,it was ushered out of cinemas during the 'summer blockbuster' period almost as quickly as it was released.It then placed it's lead star in the embarrassing position of accepting a razzie award having earned an Oscar for her devastating turn in Monster's Ball only a few years earlier.It is a pretty dreadful film,but there are arguably a lot worse.It's main problem is the story,which is so uninteresting,but the same could be said of the action on display.Also,this is a film that's managed a pretty notorious achievement.It makes Halle Berry look unsexy.The first suit we see her strutting around in is okay and fairly pleasing to the eye,but the main one (the one she's in on the poster) is really unsexy and unflattering.If you want to engage your curiosity value,go right ahead,but I hope you know what you're letting yourself in for.**.
Ms. Berry played a sweet but confused Patience & a purrfectly sassy little Catwoman who was enviably beautiful & sexy (Loved that outfit!
Playing Patience with real raw emotion, and she genuinely did look frightened to speak her mind, but on the other hand as Catwoman Hallie exerts all the sexiness and confidence needed to pull of such a sensual character, and in that tight leather suit she does look HOT!!
You should not sit down to watch a movie as fun as Catwoman and expect to see a masterpiece such as The Godfather or Casablanca played out on screen.
It is a full-throttle and entertaining leisure view with a far from perfect, but interesting story and Halle Berry is simply amazing as Catwoman, in my honest opinion.
She might not be the best portrayal of the character in Catwoman history, since so many think that is so, and she might be the worst, but that doesn't mean she is bad and she is unable to be found enjoyable.I don't care if this film stuck to the original characterizations of Catwoman or not anyway.
It seems like working hard for what she wants is what Catwoman is all about anyway, so doesn't that stay true to what people have been familiar with from Catwomen in the past in some way?
What kind of plot were people really expecting from a film called "Catwoman" and there had been no confirmations that it had anything to do with Batman?
It really doesn't matter, because when the cast played out the scenes all the problems it has fade away, in my opinion, for how delightful and exciting they manage to be.Some final thoughts are that it had excellent action, great outfits and was overall a hell of a fun ride from the very beginning to the very end.
If you are looking for a fun, sexy, action packed movie, go see Catwoman!
The many behind the scenes specials that was aired to promote the movie, you see that Halle is doing most of her own stunts in this film.In the film, it is put together very well with over the top CGI effect so Halle did have the whole Eartha Kitt/Michelle Pfeiffer vibe, if not better because Michelle nor Eartha did their own stunts, sorry, but they were just pretty faces but great actors.Batman Returns is the only good movie coming out of the Batman series.So Michelle is one of the best infamous catwomans.
So Halle becoming a fighting machine is applauded.The CGI effect could have been a lot less in the film and Sharon Stone performance in this film is overrated, but not as bad as Demi Moore's comeback.(Sharon Stone is trying to make a comeback right?) Benjamin Bratt is a great leading man, but we all know a leading man, or what Hollywood like to call it "love interest" ,had to be in the film.Superheroes are best defined by the qualities of the villains they must overcome.
Even though Spiderman and Catwoman, both had overrated CGI effects, like the poorly I, Robot,please skip that movie, not worth your money, its an enjoyable movie with likable and non-likable characters with added great performances from Frances Conroy, Lambert Wilson and even the animated Alex Borstein.I also might add it is not as terrible as Batman& Robin, Daredevil, or The Hulk!!!!!!!
In any case, if you plan to watch this movie don't go in expecting comic book accuracy, but instead expect and entertaining quirky action flick and you'll probably enjoy it..
This movie has a nice bit of European touch by director Pitof, combined with the American influence from the production team and actors.Halle Berry's Oscar-winning acting rings this character to life and her stunning looks in that revealing costume will have some guys close to a heart attack.
True the film has problems that extend well beyond her, but Halle Berry, a former Oscar winner, is simply terrible in this film - and no, showing off how great she looks on the edge of 40 does not redeem her for this piece of junk (either they offered her too much money or she was so depressed over her divorce she just didn't care what the work was as long as it got her away from home and her troubles).
Hell, Benjamin Bratt probably gave the film's best performance, and he was stuck playing the hapless love interest/boy toy cop.In closing, this piece of crap makes other similarly crappy films like "King Arthur" look good by comparison (and KA was awful)..
I submit that Catwoman is a wonderful exercise in showing how pivotal one's blossoming can be - the movie also addresses the dilemma of accepting responsibility for one's own actions as well an interesting foray into choosing good over evil (or vice-versa).Of course I have seen movies with better plots, tighter screenplays, more intricate direction, more elaborate sets, blah, blah, blah.One thing is certain: NONE of them have Halle Berry slinking up and down the street as Catwoman, the LAST Dominatrix, so sexy and fetching and just plain WORKIN' NERVES!!!!!!
Hmm its hard for me to comprehend how a movie like Spiderman gets so many votes , Catwoman is the same quality if you ask me in fact i think its far superior at best.
I have read so much about this movie, and as i sat down to watch it, i didn't expect much, but as i watched it, it was just like any other comic book movie, lots of colour and over the top acting, but this film had a bonus which is Halle Berry , i mean whats not to like, there was nothing wrong with her acting, with anyones acting really i mean its not Hamlet after all, and i got to see Halle in a cool leather outfit purring like a cat, i mean mmmmmmmmmm.
I really enjoyed this film, i mean compared to the batman movies ( batman begins not included) Cat Woman was a master piece, good FX and as good as most super hero story lines.
When i sit down to watch a comic book movie , i expect action and lots of fun, which is what i got, so all you nah sayers out there, get a grip..
The Catwoman idea is not used simply as a gimmick, it is a very believable and respectable transformation.I doubted the casting when I first heard the movie was being made but now, I think that anybody but Berry would have been a mistake, she brought both glamor and humility to the role.
Halle Berry was very believable as the Catwoman and her beauty just added spice to the movie.
how stupid, Catwoman with Halie berry, was the best action film I've seen since Charlie's angels!!!!!!
They could as well have just dressed the three of them up in costumes and let them walk up and down a stage and it would have been much more entertaining than it actually was.I'm sorry, because I love Halle, I love Benjamin, and I don't really mind Sharon, but honestly I think this movie was pointless, anti-climactic and uninspired.
Halle Berry doesn't even become Catwoman until about 1/2 hour into the movie.
So much so that it would be difficult to believe that it was all accidental.It boggles the mind to think that Halle Berry could have ever thought "Catwoman" to be a good career move.
Halle Berry was weak at best and Benjamin Bratt came up with the worst acting I've seen in about 3 years.The plot only made things worse.
A GREAT movie with lots of kick-a$$ fighting scenes, not to mention Halle Berry in that suit.
What is this terrible thing that call itself a movie ?A woman dressed like a SM hooker climb the walls like a diarrhea suffering spiderman.The plot is awful and has nothing to do with the original comic : the heroin should avenge her own death and stop the evil plots from a cosmetic industry !The dialogs are pathetic and the acting game ridiculous from Halle Berry to Sharon Stone.And the FX ?
Otherwise if they stuck to the accuracy of the characters and plots the only people going to see such movies as "Catwoman" would be the few nerdy fans that have no life but to read and analyze and philosophize their ideals of Comic Book stories.
I was so bored I nearly did fall asleep, seriously, don't watch it.Sharon stone did her best but the character was laughable and although Halle berry looked really good she just wasn't right for this part.Another failing was the choice of director, someone who has only directed music videos should not have been given the helm of a movie that on paper had a lot of promise.The special effects also left a lot to be desired, in a year in which we were given the fantastic comic book movie "Spiderman 2", the effects of "catwoman" jumping around the city looked like they had been created years previously.If you are in need of a way to waste precious hours of your life that you never want to get back then go ahead and watch it, otherwise avoid this like the plague that it is..
The only reason people didn't like this movie is because they didn't watch it all the way through or they expected it to be about bat man.
Wow, does Halle Berry brings life to this character in a way I have never seen Catwoman.
I don't understand why some people don't like good movies?
This Movie dishes out a lot of the subtle Cat-like stereotypes in the form of a woman - Catwoman.
Also I would like to stress out that the music is very good and catching.Summarizing Catwoman is a far better movie than Daredevil, Hulk, Batman Forever, Batman and Robin.I would love to see a sequel of that film..
The acting is passable for this sort of film, with Sharon Stone making a good villain, though not in it enough, and Halle Berry is worth a mark alone for her sex appeal.
I actually liked the movie, Cat Woman! |
tt0080761 | Friday the 13th | In a brief prologue set in 1958, two summer camp counselors at Camp Crystal Lake, named Barry (Willie Adams) and Claudette (Debra S. Hayes), sneak away from a camp fire sing-along to have sex. Before they can completely undress, an unseen assailant sneaks into the room and murders them both.The film moves forward to (the present) Friday June 13th; a young woman named Annie (Robbi Morgan) enters a small diner and asks for directions to Camp Crystal Lake, much to the shock of the restaurant's patrons and staff. A strange old man named Ralph (Walt Gorney) reacts to the news of the camp's reopening by warning Annie that they are "all doomed". Enos (Rex Everhart), a friendly truck driver from the diner, agrees to give Annie a lift halfway to the camp. During the drive, he warns her about the camp, informing her that a young boy drowned in Crystal Lake in 1957, one year before the double murders occurred. After Enos lets her out, Annie walks on. A little later, Annie hitches a ride and gets picked up by an unseen driver in a Jeep. As the driver speeds past the entrance to the camp, Annie becomes concerned and leaps from the moving vehicle when the driver fails to stop, fleeing into the woods. The unseen driver chases her into the woods and slits her throat with a bowie knife.At the camp, the other counselors, Ned (Mark Nelson), Jack (Kevin Bacon), Bill (Harry Crosby), Marcie (Jeannine Taylor), Alice (Adrienne King), and Brenda (Laurie Bartram) are refurbishing the cabins and facilities along with the camp's demanding owner, Steve Christy (Peter Brouwer). They have a few strange incidents, including a prank where one of them pretends to drown, and an unwelcome visit from the local police. They find a large snake in one of the cabins, chopping it in half with a machete. They also receive a visit from Ralph, who again warns them that they are "doomed". As a violent storm closes in on the horizon, Steve leaves the campgrounds to get more supplies.Meanwhile, the unidentified killer (still unseen except for a pair of black slacks, a brown plad shirt and a class ring on his/her left ring finger) begins to isolate and murder the counselors one by one. Ned spots the killer (now wearing a hooded black rainslicker) walking into a cabin. Nick follows the person into the cabin.As the violent rainstorm hits the camp, Marcie and Jack later enter the cabin and have sex in one of the bunks, unaware that Ned's dead body is in the upper berth. Afterwards, Marcie leaves to visit the ladies bathroom, and Jack is attacked by the killer, who is lying in wait underneath the cot. The murderer drives an arrow up through the bed and it pierces Jack's throat, killing him. While using the bathroom, Marcie hears a noise by the showers. Thinking its Jack playing a joke on her, she goes and pulls back a shower curtain. Finding nothing, she turns around and finds the unseen killer wielding an felling axe and gets it slammed in her face.Bill, Alice, and Brenda play "strip Monopoly" in Alice's cabin, until the rain makes Brenda remember she left her cabin windows open. As Brenda settles down to bed, she hears a faint, child-like voice calling "Help me!" from the woods. Brenda walks outside with a flashlight in the pouring rain trying to locate where the child's voice is coming from. She ventures to the archery range where the hooded rainslicker killer turns on the blinding lights at the range, distracting Brenda who is then killed off-screen. Hearing her scream, Bill and Alice go to investigate but only find the bloody axe (the same axe used to kill Marcie) in Brenda's bed. After looking around the camp, they find nobody and begin to suspect that something is up. Attempting to call the police, they discover the phone lines have been cut and that the cars won't start when they try to leave.Meanwhile, Steve is in town having dinner at a local diner when he goes back to his jeep for the drive back to Camp Crystal Lake. But during the drive, his jeep, towing a trailer, gets stuck in the mud off a secondary road. Yet a passing policeman gives him a ride part of the way back to the camp. Steve is let out as the officer gets a call about a car accident in town. With the rain letting up, Steve begins to walk back to the camp alone. When Steve arrives at the entrance to the camp, he is also murdered, apparently familiar with his attacker.When the lights go out all over the camp, Bill goes to check on the power generator, but doesn't know how to operate it or figure out what is wrong. When Bill doesn't return, Alice heads out to the generator cabin looking for him, and she finds his body pinned to a door by several arrows. Now alone, Alice flees back to the main cabin and hides. After a few moments of silence, Brenda's corpse is hurled through a window. Alice hears a vehicle outside the cabin and, thinking it to be Steve, runs out to warn him. Instead she finds a middle-aged woman who introduces herself as Mrs. Voorhees (Betsy Palmer), an "old friend of the Christys". Alice hysterically tries to tell her about the murders. Mrs. Voorhees expresses horror at the sight of Brenda's body, but she soon reveals herself to be the mother of the boy who drowned in the lake in 1957.Talking mostly to herself, she blames her son Jason's drowning on the fact that two counselors were having sex and were unaware of Jason's struggling in the lake. She tells Alice that today happens to be Jason's birthday, which Alice beings to worry on where Steve is. Mrs. Voorhees suddenly turns violent and pulls out her bowie knife (thus revealing the bowie knife as well as her class ring on her left ring finger confirming that Mrs. Voorhees is the killer), rushing at Alice, but Alice uses a fireplace poker and temporally knocks Mrs. Voorhees unconscious. A lengthy chase ensues, during which Alice flees her attacker and finds Steve's and Annie's bodies in the process.Mrs. Voorhees turns back on the generator to the camp and then chases Alice all over the camp in a climatic chase, in which speaks to herself in Jason's voice. She corners Alice in a storage shed, where Alice has found a rifle. Before Alice can load it, Mrs. Voorhees attacks her and slaps her around. Alice escapes and runs back to the main cabin, hiding behind a locked door in the pantry. Mrs. Voorhees, now brandishing a machete breaks the door open and rushes in at Alice. Alice hits her on the side of the head with a frying pan, rendering her unconscious and believing to be dead.Heading out to the side of the lake, Alice sits down next to the water, but Mrs. Voorhees comes rushing out at her again with the machete. Narrowly avoiding her machete, The two of them then wrestle next to the lake. Besting her attacker, Alice gains the upper hand and finally kills Mrs. Voorhees by decapitating her. Now in shock, Alice gets in a canoe and rows out to the middle of the lake, where she falls asleep.Morning comes, and Alice is still asleep in the canoe. Police arrive and call out to her, and she awakens. As she sits up and contemplates her own rescue, the decomposing body of Jason (Ari Lehman), attacks Alice and pulls her out of the canoe. Just as she is dragged underwater, she wakes in a hospital, where a police officer tells her that they pulled her out of the lake, and that everyone at the camp are dead. When she asks about Jason, the officer informs her they never found any boy. Alice replies, "Then he's still there." and shows the lake at peace. | suspenseful, grindhouse film, cruelty, gothic, murder, boring, cult, horror, violence, insanity, revenge, sadist, prank | train | imdb | It is my second favorite "Friday the 13th" movie and my all time favorite film in the horror genre.
Then fast forward to 1980 and a bunch of teenagers are hired to open up the camp, despite the warnings and then one by one they are killed off.We have a beautiful cast in the film that I like such a: Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King, Robbi Morgan, Kevin Bacon, Walt Gorney, Peter Brouwer, Laurie Bartram, Jeannine Taylor and of course Ari Lehman as young Jason.
Cunningham who 5 years later directed and produced my favorite horror film The New Kids I liked that film and watched since I was a teen.Adrienne King was fantastic and excellent as the final girl and heroine who survived and defeated Mrs. Voorhees on the end.Tom Savini (From Dusk Till Dawn, Dawn of the Dead (1978) does special makeup effects for the film that I enjoy.Friday the 13th the original film is my favorite horror film it is a great movie to watch it does kind a get slow the first hour but when Betsy Plamer appears it get's faster around.The DVD and Blu-ray has uncut version of the film which I am glad with it, I love this film to death, I enjoy it I love everything they done with the film.
These weren't bad people getting killed, these were just your typical average American kids, having a good time, getting picked off.That is what makes this film so defining, that is why, for all its crude and harsh imagery, this is a classic.
The acting is average (some of it even poor) but let's face it, the characters, aside from their individual death scenes, don't have a lot of dramatic things to do, except for Betsy Palmer and Adrienne King, who is good but is not the best "last surviving female" actress ever to appear in a slasher.
Before the birth of the pop-culture idol that the series spawned.Yes, it all started with a teeny-tiny production back in 1980- the original "Friday the 13th."It's almost impossible to really discuss this film critically without delving into spoiler territory (which I try to avoid in my reviews), though I will try my hardest to do so.The film revolves around a group of young Camp Counselors who are prepping the infamous Camp Crystal Lake for a reopening about 20 years after a mysterious double-murder and a tragic drowning involving a young child.
However, it appears someone isn't exactly a happy camper and doesn't want Crystal Lake back in business, and this mysterious figure begins to pick off our protagonists one-by- one until a tense climax reveals the dreaded truth...It's no surprise at all that the film is essentially a glorified rip-off of the iconic slasher-horror that is John Carpenter's "Halloween." Director/Producer Sean S.
Don't get me wrong...I'm not at all saying that Friday the 13th is a terrible film or not even worth a watch but - let's face it - the plot idea is pretty dumb, the acting and directing are far below average and they haven't fully used the options of setting and location they had.
Friday the 13th (1980) kicked started the early 80's slasher film phenomenon that was ignited by Halloween (1978) but fueled intensely by this reworking of the Mario Bava classic "Twitch of the Death Nerve".
The music in the final scene also works like a charm.I forgot to mention that this film has one of the most popular and remembered horror endings of all time.
Kevin Bacon had a role in this as Jack, but it wasn't the lead role, and aside from him no one from the movie rose to any significant stature in Hollywood and there was certainly no Jamie Lee Curtis (see Halloween) among the female leads, although there were many shots of young and cute women in various stages of undress!Strange to say, but in some ways knowing the basic outline of how the series progresses adds to the suspense at the end of the movie as to the identity of the killer, and does get you wondering how the heck this is going to lead to sequels - or at least to the sequels it led to, although Alice's last line ("then he's still out there") clearly establishes that those responsible for the movie were already looking ahead to the sequels.
More than 25 years since its release, more than 10 sequels and an infinite number of imitations, most people seem to remember "Friday the 13th" as just another slasher with good-looking teens being killed by a seemingly unstoppable psycho while roaming in an isolated location.
Ignoring the warnings of the locals, Steve and his young assistants begin the restoration of the long abandoned Camp, but on the night of Friday the 13th, the group of teens will discover that there may be some true behind the local legends, as the death curse of "Camp Blood" returns and a mysterious killer starts to claim fresh, young victims.Writer Victor Miller claims to have taken a crash course in horror writing when he wrote "Friday the 13th", as both he and director Sean Cunningham were in desperate need of a success and saw that the horror genre had potential, but knew very little about it.
So, by taking John Carpenter's "Halloween" as a model, Miller crafted his story about the nightmarish night where a group of teens end up isolated and at the mercy of an unknown serial killer, with the sole purpose of making a successful horror film.
And he succeeded, as he took the many different elements that would create the "slasher rules" and turned the simple and derivative plot into a roller-coaster of horror, with the perfect mix of fun, horror and mystery that just keeps getting better and better until it reaches the climatic finale.Just like Miller took ideas from other horror stories, Cunningham too employs elements from "Psycho", "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and specially "Reazione a Catena", mixing them and taking them one step further, in a simple but very effective approach that slowly develops Miller's plot while at the same time offers a quite graphic vision of violence (thanks to Tom Savini's excellent effects) that completes what we know as the "slasher set of rules".
Cunningham may not be an original filmmaker, but his "Friday the 13th" remains as one of the most effective suspense tales that despite the bad reputation earned by its sequels, still packs up some good chills thanks to its remarkably well done set pieces and the good use of visuals and music to create tension.The acting of the film is one the level of the horror films of its time; sure, those may not be the best performances in horror but are miles ahead most of what was delivered by the film's sequels.
Palmer truly created an iconic character that sadly has been overshadowed by the image of the killer with the Hockey Mask.While it's true that Cunningham and Miller made a film heavily based on previous horror classics, "Friday the 13th" doesn't feel as derivative as it should, as the many "borrowed" elements here work together with frightening perfection.
And despite having average acting, and a fairly low-budget, what truly has become the movie's fatal flaw is the poor reputation that its sequels, its parodies and its imitators have given to "Friday the 13th"'s name, making the film the source of laughs instead of scares, and making the series to be synonymous with stupid horror tales.
Given its shoestring production budget & the time it was made, make-up definitely stands out and those practical effects are praiseworthy.On an overall scale, Friday the 13th is an exceptionally average horror film that takes a leaflet out of other slasher flicks to create its own story but lacks the very elements that made those movies endure the test of time.
Almost from the start, we are warned of the terrible events to come in the form of the town crazy, Ralph, who ominously warns one of the characters that Camp Crystal Lake has a "death curse." Thankfully for us, the kids don't let all of the scary talk affect them, and soon enough we begin to see the old killer get back in action--dispatching of the apple-faced youngsters in a variety of creative ways.This movie was widely renowned for its creative murder sequences back in 1980--something which every film after it tried to copy shamelessly.
And yes, the Hollywood powers that be are apparently gonna try to beat this dead horse at least one more time with the release of JASON X this year.But before all that, there was this one little film.I will freely admit that the original FRIDAY THE 13TH was inspired by John Carpenter's HALLOWEEN, and the latter film's success is exactly the reason why we got the subsequent ten films.
And inasmuch as the camera angles may have been controversially gross at the time, with their first-person views from the angle of the killer, the convention nonetheless marks the advent of a new move in cinema, one that certainly has often been imitated even if it's seldom done as effectively as it is in the opening scene of "Friday the 13th".Another reason that this film is great is that it's not overdone.
But one by one, they keep disappearing, but when Alice, one of the camp counselors is concerned with how everyone is not returning, she goes to find a nasty discovery and will have to survive the most terrifying night of her life.Friday the 13th is a memorable film in it's own right, I know that the performances are horrible, I mean, this is no Halloween, but it's a different concept and scared a lot of people.
After john carpenters success with Halloween,slasher movies were coming out of the woodwork,one of the better slasher movies was Friday the 13th.it started the franchise and also features a then unknown Kevin bacon as a camp counselor.ii all starts in 1958 when a mongoloid child named Jason voorhees drowns in the lake while the camp counselors that are supposed to be watching are screwing.well now its 1980 and camp counselors are being murdered along with others,brutal scenes of gore that caused the mpaa to almost give this an x rating.the sequel was toned down a bit,this was the time hen violence in horror movies was being scrutinized by the mpaa and fanatics.2 good examples were phantasm in 1979,and dawn of the dead(78)which was unrated due to the violence and gore.Friday the 13th is a classic and worth a look.although not great it will give you jolts of panic if watching for the first time.then there's the sound effects that became very popular;chi chi chi haa haa haa haa.the awesome special effects were done by the great tom savini who also did dawn of the dead and maniac with Joe spinell,7 out of 10..
This film is widely acclaimed for it's horrifying and creative murder sequences.This film starred Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King & Kevin Bacon.This was the start of the Friday The 13th movies which consists of 10 films + a remake and if you want to count it Freddy Vs Jason.
Cunningham's Friday the 13th was an unintentional genre-classic, that was intended as nothing more than a cash-in on the recent craze of John Carpenter's revolutionary Halloween and the Italian horror craze of the 1970's, started by Lucio Fulci.The story is simplicity in itself; we focus on a group of spry, young camp counselors spending their summer working at Camp Crystal Lake.
All I can tell you is that this part of the movie is badly played out.Like I said, Friday the 13th is not a masterpiece, but it is definitely good enough to make you want to try the next film.
In fact, I usually bust out laughing at the inevitable death scenes.I give "Friday the 13th" a high rating because it IS an effective film in the often-maligned slasher/horror genre, not to mention it kicked-off this amazingly successful franchise.
It's not exactly a great film (the plot is pretty dumb), but it's a hundred times better than its sequels and clones and, in a way, is a true classic of the horror genre.The acting isn't half bad--there's a pre-stardom Kevin Bacon and good performances by Adrienne King, Harry Crosby (who won't even discuss the film nowadays) and Betsy Palmer (who called the script "a piece of s***").
Friday the 13th has often been cited has being a rip off to halloween, but that is so wrong because most importantly, this movie has come up with its own story, its own frightening and suspenseful atmosphere and its extremely unique and effective setting as Camp crystal lake and its surroundings.
There are a couple of other things worth noting like an early screen appearence by Kevin Bacon , the fact Jason is NOT the murderer in this movie and the false ending which is a classic movie moment but FRIDAY THE 13TH is populated by characters doing very very little and it seems somewhat laughable now that this was a very notorious horror film in its day something myself and my peer group wanted to get our hands on via video .
Hugely successful slasher flick that set the standard for the genre and opened the flood gates for numerous imitators.The sinister reputation of a New Jersey summer camp is about to continue as an elusive murderer begins to stalk the new counselors.Friday the 13th (along with Carpenter's superior Halloween) became the film that all other slasher movies would be compared to.
Prior to today I'd only seen the last two films and am now making up for that by binge watching the rest.Friday 13th is of course a genre defining cult classic that spawned one of the greatest horror icons ever, Jason Voorhees but I was surprised just how generic it is.For a movie of its day it looks great and has aged remarkably well but it's a very generic paint by numbers camp slasher flick with no originality at all by today's standards.I can understand it being ground breaking stuff in 1980, but watching it now it truly is a weak outing for such a franchise.Friday 13th isn't bad, it simply isn't good either with it's lack of character development, poor death scenes and essentially no story to speak of.Fingers crossed I'm more impressed with the sequels, I'm expecting once Jason comes out to play the quality will escalate.The Good: Looks great Classic soundtrack The Bad: Poorly paced Really not all that exciting or even remotely scary Things I Learnt From This Movie: Che-che-che-ah-ah-ah Pamela Voorhees should have been a playable character in the Friday 13th game.
Friday The 13th is one of greatest Horror films ever made,an excellent,scary and suspenseful Horror classic that is filled with great atmospheric direction,a wonderful cast,a creepy and iconic score and amazing special effects.
All of those combinations make Friday The 13th a a landmark Horror film and one of the best Slasher movies ever made.Friday The 13th tells the story of a camp called Camp Crystal Lake that was closed down in the 1950s after a boy drowned and two Camp Counselers were murdered by an unknown killer.
Unfortunately for the counselors they are being stalked and murdered by an unseen killer on Friday The 13th a day where nothing will save them and a day when the Camp will run red with blood.After the critical and box office success of John Carpenter's Horror classic Halloween in 1978,the film spawned many imitators in it's wake two years after which included films such as Prom Night and Terror Train(both in 1980)and many others.
Right from the start,Friday The 13th is an amazing Horror film and is a roller coaster ride that is filled with scares,shocks and terror and is a movie that holds a tight grip on the viewer until the very end and never let's go.
Great effects,Savini.In final word,if you love Horror film or Slasher movies,I highly suggest you see Friday The 13th,one of the greatest Horror films ever made and an excellent,scary and suspenseful Horror classic that deserves to be in every Horror fans movie collection.
True Friday The 13Th is by far an 80's slasher classic and very watchable to any horror film fan, but if your more hard core and want your scares mixed with suspense and emotions then the Nightmare On Elm Street and Halloween series are much better to keep in memory and keepsake..
This is the first film is the one that started a series of sequels, including a 2009 reboot and a 2003 crossover with the popular "A Nightmare on Elm Street"and along with HALLOWEEN, helped create the slasher genre.Friday THE 13th is interesting from the rest because there is a bit of a mystery as to who the killer is.Of course, if you've seen the other films or any other horror movie including Halloween and A Nightmare on Elm Street, you may know about the killer.Friday THE 13th is about a bunch of young camp counselors who are opening up Camp Crystal Lake after many serious incidents have taken place there over the years.
This is the first film is the one that started a series of sequels, including a 2009 reboot and a 2003 crossover with the popular "A Nightmare on Elm Street"and along with HALLOWEEN, helped create the slasher genre.Friday THE 13th is interesting from the rest because there is a bit of a mystery as to who the killer is.Of course, if you've seen the other films or any other horror movie including Halloween and A Nightmare on Elm Street, you may know about the killer.Friday THE 13th is about a bunch of young camp counselors who are opening up Camp Crystal Lake after many serious incidents have taken place there over the years. |
tt0881934 | The Killing of John Lennon | The film follows the travels and accounts of Mark Chapman (Jonas Ball) and gives the watcher an insight into his insane mind. It starts with him living in Hawaii and how he does not fit in with anyone including his job; family; friends etc. He says he is searching for a purpose in his life and that it has no direction. He seeks refuge in the public library where he finds the book, 'The Catcher in the Rye'. He becomes obsessed with the book and believes that he himself is the protaganist in the book, Holden Caulfield. He believes the ideas in the book reflect his own personal life and how he does not fit in anywhere and he reads it constantly.He then finds another book in the library about The Beatles singer John Lennon and begins a personal hatred for him. Not because of his music but because he thinks he is 'phony' (something Holden Caulfield believes most people are in The Catcher in the Rye'). He thinks that someone who writes a song about having no posessions and no money and in real life has everything, money, fame is particularly phony.In October 1980, Chapman travels to New York where John is staying at the Dakota Hotel and checks into another hotel... reliving the events in 'The Catcher in the Rye' and is prepared to kill John Lennon. However he goes to see a film that changes his mind all together and he appreciates his wife's love and travels back to Hawaii.But several weeks later, Chapman arrives back in New York and after being there for a few days, gets John Lennon's signature on the evening of December 8, 1980 as Lennon is leaving the Dakota Hotel to go to a recording studio. Chapman waits for Lennon to arrive back at his hotel when he does, Chapman pulls out a revolver and shoots Lennon in the back five times, killing him almost immediately. Chapman is soon arrested by arriving policemen, and does not attempt to flee or resist arrest as he feels that his reliving of 'The Catcher in the Rye' has concluded.At his trial, Champan rejects any insanty plea against his lawyers advice, and he pleads 'guilty' and his case is a reading from 'The Catcher in the Rye'. Chapman is given a 20-year-to-life prison term for the murder of John Lennon and taken away. The film ends with Chapman still in jail and hearing about his killing events having made world news headlines. | murder | train | imdb | I saw a finished cut, "straight from the Avid", but with at least partly a temp soundtrack.Plot summary: This is a dramatized telling of the events surrounding the murder of John Lennon by Mark David Chapman.
It answers some of the questions about Lennon's death that I still had ofter seeing "The US..." The challenge with this type of story is of course: how do you keep a movie interesting when the protagonist is so obviously not a very nice character.
I think, where "The Killing..." does.Director Andrew Piddington states in the opening titles "All of Mark David Chapman's words are his own." This is important to know, I think, because we get to hear Chapman's words during most of the movie.
As a film, "The Killing of John Lennon" is extremely well done.
I have a difficult time respecting this film because its emotional impact relies on one and only one factor, John Lennon's murder.
And if Sean Lennon or Yoko Ono said, "You're raping John's corpse," well, I don't see how the filmmaker or the company that might buy and release this film could deny that in fact their money is soaked with John's blood.The director himself was both arrogant and evasive at the Q&A after the movie.
Someone in the audience asked, "Do you think Chapman would be happy after seeing this film?" Instead of answering, the director said, "I don't think he will ever get out of prison, and if he does someone will shoot him immediately." I assume that he avoided a real answer because the real answer is, "Yes. He'd be ecstatic.
I've made Chapman very happy, that is for certain, even he never sees this movie." I did want to ask why he titled the film with "Killing" and not "Murder." He seemed the sort to enjoy a discussion on semantics.I support this director's right to do the wrong thing, and only wish he'd have either chosen to not exercise it or would have made some effort, even if it were a disclaimer at the end of the film to express an acknowledgment of the exploitation and perhaps make amends for it.
And the filmmaker should not want the profits, because it is not his skills that will draw an audience but John's name and the world's affection for him.I give this film a 4 because technically it earns a 7 and thematically earns a 1, which averages to 4..
The words of Mark David Chapman perfectly sums-up this Andrew Piddington biopic of the estranged murderer of John Lennon.
Not only does the film track Chapman's movements in the months leading up to the fateful event, but it also follows what happened to the killer from the moment he shot the infamous Beatle, right through to his committal into a psychiatric hospital.
The unknown Jonas Ball's portrayal of Chapman is splendidly subtle and disturbing and combined with the artful and experimental direction of Piddington, 'The Killing of John Lennon' makes for an aesthetically pleasing yet chilling examination into the mind of a killer who just wanted to be famous..
Despite its low-budget, this independent feature is a supremely well-made, handsomely filmed and fascinating psychological journey into Mark Chapman's twisted mindset, from his background in Hawaii till his dramatic encounter with John Lennon outside the Dakota building.Piddington largely based the film on Chapman's detailed diary entries and makes extensive use of voice-over, turning the film into an almost dream-like experience.
When looking carefully, some modern cars can be spotted and some modern neon signs, not around in 1980, but the photography is such, even these small anomalies don't matter at all.Newcomer Jonas Ball captivates completely as Mark Chapman, filled with narcissistic resentment and anger, desperately looking for a way out of Honolulu, destined to make some kind of claim to the outside world.
When he picks up a copy of J.D. Salinger's "A Catcher in the Rye", this becomes his everyday bible and its main protagonist, Holden Caulfield's, loathing of 'phoneys', leads Chapman to think Lennon is the biggest phoney of all.
One of the interesting things about Chapman's psychology is that he didn't have a lifelong obsession with John Lennon.
Jonas Ball gives a fearless portrayal of the overweight sociopath Chapman who, at just twenty-five years of age, felt so isolated from the rest of the world he began to fantasize about killing a celebrity.
Gunning down someone famous--in this case, former-Beatle John Lennon--would be Chapman's ticket to immortality, turning him into a prophet, a savior.
One assumes writer-director Andrew Piddington was hoping to show a portrait of the victim as well as of his killer, but when the filmmaker stages the murder scene--with bullets bursting through Lennon's chest in slow-motion--one has their doubts that anybody here had their priorities in the right place.
Complete with flashbacks, flash-forwards, flights-of-fancy, and quotes from Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye", one gets the feeling Piddington was trying to one-up "Taxi Driver" and its protagonist Travis Bickle (whom Chapman also quotes).
Jonas Ball who plays Mark Chapman in this film is just amazing, I don't know exactly how close to reality he plays this character but honestly, so what, he is intense, interesting, unique and a force on screen.
I think the film did a great job, no an amazing job of making everything feel real, like cameras were catching this all as it unfolded.
Re-enactment of the months leading up to the shooting of John Lennon in the life of Mark David Chapman using his own words and the actual locations.Stunningly made and extremely well acted film is the cinematic equivalent to being dropping into the mind of a mad man.
Through the use of words and images one can get a sense of what it may have been like inside the brain who killed John Lennon.
Running almost two hours the film simply begins to run out of steam as we watch the monotony of Chapman's life become monotony on screen.
This story traces the last three months of John Lennon's assassin Mark David Chapman, as he slips into the unreality of deciding he must kill John.
I know there have been films like this before, about serial killers and assassins, but why one about Lennon?
The last thing a Beatle fan needs to hear about is Mark David Chapman..
The film focuses on the deranged adult life of Lennon assassin Mark David Chapman and his daily fixation with the literary work "The Catcher in The Rye".
I do not think many Beatles fans will be twisting and shouting jubilantly with a viewing of "The Killing of John Lennon" but they should see it more as an objective narrative than a helter skelter fable.
People all over the world since fall of 1980 have been trying to forget the name Mark David Chapman, with the intention of not giving in to his wish to be remembered as a nobody who killed the biggest somebody.
Making movies about the incident as seen from Chapman's perspective certainly are not gonna help people forget, but personally I thought the film was fascinating.
Well we know that twenty-five year old Mark Chapman, flew from Honalulu to New York in the fall of 1980, with the intention of killing Lennon.
Up until the last twenty minute, the film makes it pretty clear about Chapman's motives, the ending feels more like a muddled mix of thoughts , which does actually make his sound crazy, whereas up till that point, the film successfully portrayed Chapman as a human being.
Killing of John Lennon, The (2006) ** 1/2 (out of 4) The first of two films looking at the murder of John Lennon in the past couple of years.
This one here tells the story of Mark Chapman (Jonas Ball) starting three months before the murder and a year afterwards.
I never did feel as if we were inside Chapman's mind no matter what crazy sayings were coming out of his mouth or how many times he read from The Catcher in the Rye. This here makes the first thirty-minutes really drag as we are seeing Chapman in Hawaii as he slowly comes to realize that it's his destiny to kill the ex-Beatle.
The most interesting part of the story being told happens after the 77-minute mark when Lennon is killed.
Besides, several scenes of this film are also largely inspired by Taxi Driver and Scorsese's camera-work in generalI gave 3 out of 10 because I reckon some technical skills (although it's largely overdone in my opinion, there is way too much editing in this movie)..
I will give the film credit for it's depiction of Lennon at the end, I found him strikingly life-like.If you really want to learn about Chapman, get one of the recognized books on the subject matter and delve deep.This film is an art-school project that reveals nothing and presents a superficial, unbelievable caricature of Lennon's murderer..
So seeing Jonas Ball as Mark David Chapman was both disturbing and refreshing ( for lack of a better word).
I speak, of course, of Mark David Chapman, the mentally disturbed 25-year-old who shot down the former Beatle in front of his apartment in the Dakota building on December 8, 1980.
The movie achieves its goal by restricting itself pretty much to Chapman's actual words, which flow forth mainly in the form of voice-over narration, as he comments on his thoughts and deeds.We're first introduced to Chapman in September of that year as a moody, darkly introspective near-loner (he was married at the time) living in Hawaii, who calls people he doesn't know with threatening messages, and becomes so obsessed with "The Catcher in the Rye" that he begins to fancy himself another Holden Caulfield, i.e., a uniquely insightful observer and commentator on people and life whom no one else seems to understand.
Chapman comes to see himself as fulfilling Holden's quest to "kill the fat man in the hotel" - only Chapman will take that act out of the realm of fiction and fantasy and make it a reality.Written and directed by Andrew Piddington, the movie, which has been shot largely at the actual locales, provides both a chillingly detached portrait of a man who was a self-described "nobody" until he "killed the biggest somebody on earth," and an unsensationalized account of his actions before, during and after the murder.
Jonas Ball, who is on screen virtually 100% of the time in this film, effectively captures the loser-like nature of what is essentially a nondescript pipsqueak with delusions of grandeur who's determined to make himself noticed by a world that's paid little or no heed to him up to this point.It is probably impossible for anyone to successfully get into a mind as warped and twisted as Chapman's.
I rented this film recently knowing very little about it other than it was some sort of character study of Chapman.
Don't get me wrong, I think a film about Lennon's murder provides for some interesting analysis of John himself, Chapman and the culture they shared.
Jonas Ball occasionally slips into character, but more often than not I get the feeling I'm watching an actor pull out all of his "I'm crazy" tricks.Dripping with self importance, the film does not hold a candle to any of it's fictional man-going-insane-withdrawing-from-society counterparts.
OK for a good part of the film I felt that we already know all this of Mark Chapman off the likes of many a documentation.
You get 'The Killing of John Lennon', told in Mark David Chapman's own words, from when he first flies to New York 'because I want to travel' to his reading from 'The Catcher In The Rye' in a court where he stands guilty of murder.
The killing itself, along with other notable scenes, of close ups of Chapman behaving in a disturbed, disturbing way, leafing through a magazine full of pictures of Lennon, flipping through 'The Catcher In The Rye', holding it to his face, sitting rocking violently on his bed, dancing around to the Beatles music while his mostly unaffected wife Gloria stands in an adjoining room with her hands flat to her ears, writing 'John Lennon' in the signing book at work, holding a heavy gun and pretending to shoot people outside the window of the Hawaii gun shop, fantasising about shooting two gay men in the next room at the YMCA in New York, his obsessive behaviour after getting his copy of 'Double Fantasy' what turned out to by John and Yoko's last album signed by John, and all to a calmly spoken track of Chapman's own thoughts.The killing of John Lennon itself; the DVD itself has a fifteen certificate because it 'contains strong violence and language'.
I have watched many scenes in films that contain violence and language, but the killing was truly horrendous; so bad I found myself speaking out loud, over the roars from the gun and Lennon's body being bloodily torn apart, 'good god, that's enough now!'After being arrested, he had a bullet proof vest wrapped around him to be hustled through the waiting press; as the police captain in charge said, 'This man just killed John Lennon.
See, there would be a John Lennon look-alike with a phony Liverpudlian accent, and half the film would follow him around on his last day on earth.
The Mark David Chapman (Jonas Ball) in The Killing of John Lennon would probably disagree.
Despite the opening credit in Andrew Piddington's film that "All of Chapman's Words are His Own," his Chapman liberally quotes Taxi Driver and Apocalypse Now. Likewise, Piddington's direction liberally quotes Martin Scorsese, Francis Coppola, Oliver Stone, and Spike Lee.The Killing of John Lennon skips backwards and forwards in time quite a bit in the first two acts.
This final act ambles aimlessly through police interviews, psychiatric interviews, and scenes of Chapman in prison where his narration grow tiresome.The Chapman of The Killing of John Lennon sees himself as an agent of change.
With a dearth of material to keep viewers engaged, perhaps Piddington should have considered exploring the Hinkley parallels further.If you can imagine Fred Rogers ("Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood") impersonating Travis Bickle, you have a close approximation of Jonas Ball's performance as Mark David Chapman.
Ball is very even in his delivery, giving his Chapman much more of a sinister air.The Killing of John Lennon utilizes the multi-format approach popularized by Oliver Stone's JFK and Natural Born Killers.
Another reviewer mentions that anyone watching this film who doesn't care about John Lennon probably won't feel much.
I have a vivid memory of joining the world chorus of "oh no, John Lennon was murdered!" only because he died at the same time as my grandmother and I knew I was facing a three-hour drive to her funeral with nothing but Beatles songs coming out of the car radio.
The filmmaker explores these questions in this fact-based drama which examines several weeks in the life of Mark David Chapman, the man who murdered John Lennon.
The first time Chapman crosses paths with Lennon as he's leaving the Dakota, he asks the former Beatle to sign a copy of Double Fantasy, Lennon's new album; several hours later, Lennon returns home and he approaches him with a very different intent.The film is ultimately a flimsy character study despite that fact that all of Chapman's dialogue in the film was taken from his diaries or interviews he's given since his arrest and imprisonment as well as being a well-researched docudrama on the twisted mind of the 25-year-old killer.Jonas Ball's performance is commendable..
On the night of December 8, 1980, John Lennon, co-founder of The Beatles, was shot to death in front of his New York City apartment.
Ending his security guard shift in Hawaii, he flies to New York City with the full intent to killing John Lennon.
I saw "The Killing of John Lennon" at the Tribeca Film Festival.
I thought this movie would provide interesting insight into why Mark David Chapman killed John Lennon, but I felt like it missed the mark (no pun intended).First of all, at 2 hours, this movie is about 45 minutes too long.
There are long, drawn-out dreamlike sequences that were unnecessary - it would have far more interesting to learn about his relationship to his wife and to also include information such as the imaginary people Chapman heard and took guidance from.The film fails to capture the zeitgeist of the day - there are many instances where we see modern cars and signs (such as the logo for Planet Hollywood and current Broadway shows when the cab is driving through Times Square) and a general lack of it feeling like 1980.
I'm sure this was a decision to give the feeling that Chapman lived in his own world, but it ends up leaving the viewer feeling like they've missed something.I saw people checking their watches about an hour in the movie.
No. The subject of this movie murdered John Lennon in order to promote his own importance.
Well done, filmmakers, for validating his act.The above paragraph contains insufficient lines, so: The subject of this movie murdered John Lennon in order to promote his own importance.
Well done, filmmakers, for validating his act.The subject of this movie murdered John Lennon in order to promote his own importance.
I don't want to see a film about the man that killed him.
He was a psychopath obsessed with killing John Lennon who unfortunately got to do his ultimate deed.
Who wants to see a movie, let alone know that a film exists, about the guy who killed your husband or father?
Unfortunately, there really isn't much anybody can do now though, seeing as how the film has been out for nearly 4 years already, except just to urge film buffs and Lennon/Beatles fans to not give this film or any other film regarding Mark David Chapman any consideration, and instead consider the feelings of Lennon's relatives and pay tribute to John by simply listening to and enjoying the greatest thing he could have left behind, his music.. |
tt0120184 | Sphere | Dr. Norman Goodman (Dustin Hoffman) is called to a location in the Pacific Ocean, for what he thinks is a plane crash. His specialty is psychiatry and dealing with crash survivors. The helicopter pilot (Huey Lewis - yes THAT Huey Lewis!) tells him they've been ferrying all kinds of scientists to this location.Onboard a naval ship, Norman sees astrophysicist Dr. Ted Fielding (Liev Schriber) and biochemist Dr. Beth Halperin (Sharon Stone), but is unable to talk to them. The ship's captain, Harold Barnes (Peter Coyote) briefs them - the plane crash is a spacecraft, a huge ship buried under 300 years of coral. In addition to Beth, Norman and Ted, mathematician Dr. Harry Adams (Samuel L. Jackson) is also on the contact team, which was recommended by Norman many years ago.The team goes through a medical examination, and a dive briefing by an instructor (James Pickens Jr.), who tells them there is "no quick return to the surface". The team takes a sub to the crash site habitat, and they all begin to exhibit signs of nervousness. It's clear that Norman and Beth have some history. The habitat is manned by Edmunds (Marga Gomez) and Alice Fletcher (Queen Latifah), who is directing a Navy dive team to set up a drone by the ship's door.The team puts on dive suits and walks on the seafloor to the spacecraft, and the door opens for them. Beth sees footprints in the dust, and Barnes splits them into 2 groups. Beth and Norman step onto an elevator, which takes them to the bridge. Ted, Harry and Barnes find English text and advanced metallurgy. Beth finds a human skeleton, and deduces the ship is American. The flight recorder shows dates from the future and an entry for "Unknown Entry Event". A holographic display reveals that the ship travelled through a black hole. The team finds a huge sphere in a cargo hold. The sphere doesn't reflect the team members, but everything else.Back in the habitat, Ted theorizes that the ship time-travelled through a black hole and arrived 300 years ago. Harry thinks the sphere is alive, and that since the future ship has no information about the black hole, the contact team will not get a chance to warn anyone; therefore, they are destined to die in the habitat. He also expresses a desire to get into the sphere. At the same time, Barnes gets a message that a cyclone is approaching topside, and the team must return to the surface before it hits.As the team is preparing to return, alarms go off, and video monitors show Harry entering the sphere through his reflection. Due to Harry's disappearance, the return to the surface is cancelled. Norman goes to the sphere, and finds Harry at its base, unconscious. Norman sees his reflection in the sphere, and communications with the surface are suddenly interrupted. Harry is taken back to the sphere, as is Norman.Norman sits gazing out a window, and sees a jellyfish. Fletcher takes some tapes to the mini-sub outside, and is attacked and killed by jellyfish. Beth later analyzes the jellyfish and determines it's not a normal one. Barnes questions Norman about Beth's mental state, and Harry wakes up from his coma, feeling exuberant and making comments about never leaving. He appears calm about Fletcher's death, but freaks out over calamari.Later, as Norman and Ted argue over Ted's jealousy on Harry, Edmunds bring them to the communications center, where the computers are acting strangely. Harry notices the codes on the computer are in binary code. After decryption, the messages reads, "Hello. How are you. I am fine. What is your name? My name is Jerry." Norman worries that Jerry appears to have emotions, and what the repercussions would be if Jerry gets mad.Later, they hear noise outside the habitat, and Norman and Beth investigate, finding Edmunds' mangled body outside. Meanwhile, Harry reads 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Norman and Beth bring Edmunds' body back inside, and are attacked by strange egg shapes, with something large approaching.Norman tries to contact Jerry, and discovers Jerry can hear them directly. When Norman asks to talk without Jerry listening, and Jerry becomes petulant, and a large squid approaches the habitat. Jerry says (via computer) "I am here," and the squid attacks. Ted bashes his head while adjusting the internal pressure, and Norman activates the external defense system, which causes a fire. As they rush to combat the fire, Jerry states, "I will kill you all". Ted tries to wake Harry, but can't. Barnes get crushed by an emergency door and Ted is killed by fire, then the fire suddenly is extinguished.After the emergency, Norman talks to Jerry, who exhibits a childlike understanding of life, but immense power. Jerry tells Norman to stop calling him "Jerry". Norman then talks to Harry, who is calm but unaware of the incidents. Norman goes to reset the mini-sub, but on the way back, he gets holes in his suit. Harry watches dispassionately and directs Norman to the airlock, but Norman is attacked by a sea snake.Beth goes into the spaceship, saying she's looking for food. Distrust arises among the 3 survivors, as Beth was supposed to be monitoring Norman during his trek. Norman finds another copy of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and then the entire pantry is full of copies. Beth plants mines around the spaceship.Norman re-calculates the code, and realizes the "j" and "e" are incorrect - they should be "h" and "a", which means Jerry is actually Harry. Later, Norman explains this to Beth and also explains the squid - it's a part of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Norman theorizes the sphere made the change in Harry. Beth and Harry plot to sedate Harry, and he goes under quickly.Beth and Harry get a signal from topside that a sub will arrive in 6 hours. Norman is attacked by sea snakes in the bathroom, but Beth saves him without emotion, saying Norman manifested the snakes. She locks him inside the lab and tells him to sedate himself. When he refuses, she floods the lab, and Norman goes outside the habitat, returning through the main airlock. Meanwhile, Beth begins to doubt her own sanity and Harry wakes up. Norman realizes that all 3 of them went into the sphere, and that is what happened to the original crew.The explosives Beth set become armed. With 13 minutes remaining, the 3 head to the mini-sub. Reality keeps changing, but Norman finds a way to launch the sub. The bombs explode, destroying the spaceship and habitat, but the mini-sub makes it to the surface.Several hours later, the 3 complete decompression, and discuss their story. Norman reminds Harry that they shouldn't be alive, since they made it to the surface, and could tell the authorities what happened. Harry suggests they use their power to forget that they have the power. They count to three, and the sphere rises from the deep and disappears into outer space. Beth, Harry and Norman have successfully forgotten their power...perhaps. | psychological, murder, violence, horror, flashback, insanity, psychedelic, claustrophobic, suspenseful | train | imdb | null |
tt0064107 | A Boy Named Charlie Brown | The film starts with Charlie Brown, Linus, and Lucy laying on a hill, staring at the clouds in the sky. Lucy asks both Charlie Brown and Linus what they see. Linus' views are incredibly detailed, making Charlie Brown feel inferior that he is only able to see a 'ducky' and a 'horsie' in the clouds.Sometime afterward, Charlie Brown attempts to construct a kite and fly it. His first attempt gets destroyed by a heavy wind before he even gets off the porch. His second attempt manages to get aloft, but not before dragging him everywhere, before the kite crashes to the ground. Angered at his kite, he thrusts it at Lucy, saying 'anyone who can fly this kite is a genius.' Lucy tosses it to Snoopy...who manages to get the kite flying with no problem, much to Charlie's irritation.Eventually, the baseball season starts, and Charlie is eager for the first game of the season. After first having to contend with his pitcher's mound being covered with dandelions, the groups ends up losing the first game of the season. Charlie dejectedly goes home. In the bathtub, he remarks over his inability to do anything right. As if to add insult to injury, a toy boat he attempts to sail in the tub, sinks to the bottom.The next day, Linus visits Charlie Brown, and they play tic-tac-toe in the sand on Charlie Brown's front porch. While Charlie laments about his losing streak, Linus tries to put a positive spin on it. "We learn more from losing, than we do from winning," he replies. "I guess that makes me the smartest person in the whole world," says Charlie, being sarcastic. This causes Linus to admit that if Charlie Brown stays positive, he'll win one of these days. However, just as he says this, Linus ends up winning the tic-tac-toe game.Still unsure what to do, Charlie goes to Lucy's psychiatry booth, seeking 'professional help.' Lucy ends up showing Charlie's many faults in a slideshow. The experience makes him nauseous, and he begs for the 'therapy' to stop. Lucy then attempts to have Charlie Brown kick a football, but once again, she pulls it away, and then plans to use a video camera's instant replay of the event, to analyze him even further. This just makes Charlie even more dejected, with Lucy adding with a smile, 'wait until you get my bill.'Going to school the next day with Linus, the two are informed of a spelling bee at the school. When Linus suggests to Charlie that he should enter, Lucy, Patty, and Violet begin making fun of him, saying he'll make a fool of himself.Eventually, Charlie enters, and becomes the winner in his class. With the all-school spelling bee the next day, he and Linus go home and study the dictionary. However, the next day, Charlie's head is a jumble of words.Even so, he manages to win for the school, and the kids cheer him on, as he heads home. As Charlie attempts to relax, the others tell him that his winning for the school, means he qualifies for the 'National Eliminations Spelling Bee.' Charlie then goes back to studying, but confides in Linus that he feels he'll make a fool of himself.Some time later, Charlie is sent off by bus to the Spelling Bee. Linus is so overcome with emotion, that he gives Charlie Brown his blanket for luck, before the bus departs for New York City.This plan backfires on Linus, who begins to experience withdrawal symptoms without his blanket. Talking to Snoopy, he convinces him to come with him to find Charlie Brown and get his blanket back.After showing up at Charlie's hotel room, Charlie explains that he is not sure where Linus' blanket is, but assumes he may have left it at the library.Both Linus and Snoopy wander out into the city to look for the blanket. Snoopy is eventually distracted by the ice rink at Rockefeller Center, and skates around the ice, even pretending to be embroiled in a hockey game.Linus makes it to the public library, but peering inside, sees nothing. After he finds Snoopy, he angrily returns to Charlie Brown's hotel room, only to find Charlie struggling to stay awake after studying hard for the Spelling Bee a few hours away.As Linus struggles to keep himself going, he sees Charlie shining his shoes...with his blanket! Linus quickly snatches up the blanket, and appears to be just fine.The three then head to the competition, with Linus and Snoopy watching in the front row, and the other kids watching on television at home.As the competition continues on, it comes down to Charlie Brown and one other kid. The two are locked in a heated competition, until Charlie Brown is given the word 'beagle.' Unfortunately, Charlie trips up, and spells it b-e-a-g-e-l.Charlie sadly leaves the competition with his head hung low, and is silent for the rest of the day, even during the group's trip back home.The day after they get back, Linus stops by to see Charlie, who is laying in bed with the shades pulled down. Linus claims the kids at school missed him, but Charlie says he isn't going back to school. Linus even mentions that they had a ballgame after school, but this still doesn't relieve Charlie Brown from his morose mood, which gets a little more morose when he hears the team won.As Linus leaves, he notes that his friend seems down because he feels he let the others down, and made a fool of himself."But did you notice something, Charlie Brown?" asks Linus."What's that?" says Charlie Brown."The world didn't come to an end," replies Linus, who closes the door.These words seem to work on Charlie, who gets up, gets dressed, and walks outside. The world does seem to be going on just as normal. In a clearing, Charlie notices Lucy, sitting around with a football. As she seems to put it in a placekick position, he attempts to sneak up behind her and kick it, but she pulls it away from him at the last second, sending him sprawling on the ground.As he lays there, she comes up to him and welcomes him home. | psychedelic | train | imdb | Meanwhile Linus goes cold-turkey.I have seen several of the Peanuts features and have enjoyed them as a fan but been the first to put my hands up and say that they are neither great films or totally captured the spirit of the strip.
Only the actual spelling bee final is a little slow as it is a couple of minutes of spelling!The film isn't heavy with songs like other features I've seen and the animation is nicely close to the strip and pleased me as a fan.
The voice work is all good a little flat at times but it suits the characters (of course I'm used to them by now so I didn't have the 'problem' of imagining them myself first).Another reviewer has put this film on a par with Fantasia and, while I wouldn't say that, I can see what they mean.
Both these aspects are made better by a series of imaginative touches in the writing it is funny little gags and the strips' usual philosophising while in the animation it is a series of imaginative fantasy sequences that really make the film feel like something special.
A BOY NAMED CHARLIE BROWN has got to be the ultimate Peanuts animation ever made!
It told a tragic story of Charlie Brown, the milquetoast little boy who works hard to be the best (trying everything from kite-flying to baseball to even competing at a spelling bee), so that he can be loved and respected by his friends, when, of course, he usually loses and his friends berate him.
Aside from creator Charles Schulz's screenplay, the great music score and songs by legendary jazz musician Vince Guaraldi, conductor John Scott Trotter, and gifted musician/poet/singer Rod McKuen really shines, and is the best score of any animated Peanuts project since the scores from all of the previous animated TV specials (only with more dimension)!
There's also some "artsy-fartsy" moments throughout the movie, including the Peanuts Gang saluting the National Anthem, Charlie Brown and Linus practicing "I before E, except after C," Schroeder playing Beethoven's Pathetique Sonata (2nd movt.) on his piano, and Snoopy skating at the Rockerfeller Center in NY, where Charlie Brown goes for the national spelling bee, but these are great images that make this movie all the more unusual!
The basic concept of this movie is that Charlie Brown is fed up with his title as a loser, a failure and a wash-out, so he gets in the class spelling bee and wins.
He's finally heralded as a winner, life is sweet.Well, after chilling out for a while, he studies for the all state spelling bee with the help of his best friend Linus, who gives him his beloved blanket for good luck.
He studies really hard and wins the championship at his school and gets to go to the "city" to be in the "National Elimination Spelling Bee" I will not spoil the ending.Vince Guaraldi, the composer of the music for the six previous TV specials, is back for this one.
Sadly, I have seen this sequence cut from TV showings.Snoopy has a wonderful sequence while he and Linus are wandering around the city looking for his blanket that he sent with Charlie Brown for good luck.
Even though this is a movie that is defined through a series of seemingly unrelated moments (a fantasized hockey game, a spelling bee, a beautiful performance on piano by Schroeder, a baseball game) this only adds to the closeness we feel toward the characters.
I rarely recommend movies that I truly like but I have to say that A BOY NAMED CHARLIE BROWN is a film for everyone!.
The storytelling of this film is wonderful, with a surprisingly insightful point for an animated film.This film follows the fortunes of our title character, Charlie Brown, as he finally proves his worth by making it to the National Eliminations Spelling Bee, Second Grade.
Aside from these deep meanings embedded, this is also a very funny and light-hearted film(with many great moments from Snoopy, of course, for comic relief) that I consider a classic since these characters very rarely made it to the big screen and this effort is done very well..
Schulz's beloved comic strip "Peanuts" had become so popular, as had the first six half-hour animated television specials based on it, that Schulz and animation director Bill Melendez decided it was time to bring Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, Snoopy, and all of their pals to the big screen for their first feature-length movie.
The result was the most delightful and wonderful masterpiece "A Boy Named Charlie Brown", which to my mind is not only the best animated special based on Schulz's comic strip, but maybe even the best animated film ever made.The story borrows elements from some of the strips Schulz had previously published, but also introduces a fresh new storyline.
But when Charlie Brown discovers he has a talent in a spelling bee and soon becomes selected to take place in a national contest, he finds his peers not only supporting him, but depending on him to succeed and he warily wanders in, determined to win for the first time in his life.I guess the most powerful element for me about "A Boy Named Charlie Brown" is that it contained the greatest message in Schulz's strip and the truest emotion in every young child in America or the world for that matter: the strive to prove oneself and facing the daunting possibility that one might not succeed and wondering how the world will respond to a failure.But Schulz, who wrote the screenplay, wisely decides not to let it become an all-out serious drama, for that would lose the spirit of his classic tale, which would run for nearly half a decade.
Charlie Brown's inability to kick a football from under Lucy's hand, his failure to fly a kite or win a baseball game, Linus' dependence on his security blanket, Lucy's lovable fuss-budget attitude, her "psychiatric treatment" for poor Charlie Brown and her unrequited love for Schroeder, Sally's for Linus, and of course, the ubiquitous and enigmatic beagle Snoopy performing one awesome performance after another amongst the characters.
We follow Charlie Brown so well, because a lot of us can personally identify with him, so that when he's in the national spelling bee, we are rooting for him all the way, hoping that once—just once—he can win and not be a failure in the eyes of his friends.This is the best of the animated "Peanuts" specials.
There's Lucy pulling away the football from Charlie Brown, Snoopy ice skating, a hilarious baseball game with a pitcher's mound covered in dandelions, Lucy and her psychiatrist booth, Linus and his blanket, and so much more.
The main plot centers around Charlie Brown entering a spelling bee and finding he's actually good at something for once.
With only one day until The Peanuts Movie comes out, I'm writing about the first big- screen adventure the Peanuts gang took for today's review: the 1969 animated feature, A Boy Named Charlie Brown.
This makes A Boy Named Charlie Brown that more special, because on top of its colorful animation, funny writing, original sound effects, and charming soundtrack, its story aims to make our hero relatable to as many of us as possible and provide a little hope for us in the most downer situations..
A Boy Named Charlie Brown from 1969 was the first Peanuts movie in a big screen.In the movie Charlie goes to spelling bee.You can also see the other great Peanuts characters like Snoopy in the movie.The characters that the master Charles M.
Schulz created about 50 years ago.Sadly the master died last February at the age of 77.If you think Peanuts are only for kids you're wrong.i'm 19 and I found this movie very entertaining.Everybody can watch Peanuts and enjoy.You don't have to be afraid of getting bored.A Boy Named Charlie Brown keeps you interested through the movie.I could end my comment with these two great words:good grief..
(In an appropriate touch, this is because some of the first words that he gets are tailored to his personality, like "insecure".) He even goes to compete in the National Spelling Bee.There's some material here that could be seen as padding, but overall it's an effective means of stretching out a Peanuts story to a feature length of approximately an hour and a half.
Then, every time Linus keels over, Snoopy fills a glass of water, and you think it's for Linus, but he ends up drinking it himself.As a bonus, "A Boy Named Charlie Brown" features a catchy way of listing various spelling rules; watching this wouldn't be a bad way for kids to learn some of them!
Poor Charlie Brown ends up so stressed out and weary that he automatically spells words that he speaks or are spoken to him.You do feel bad for Charlie, but in the end, you can always leave it to Linus to put everything into perspective for him and the audience.Many genuine laughs, a solid story, some real heart, and a typically excellent jazz soundtrack by Vince Guaraldi (including some variations on the standard "Linus and Lucy") help to make this a winner.Eight out of 10..
In this particular film, Charlie Brown feels like a loser because he can't get his kite to fly, he can't play baseball and can't seem to do anything right.
In an attempt to overcome his inferiority complex and to prove to the other kids that he's not a loser, Charlie Brown decides to enter the school spelling bee.
Snoopy also plays the jaw harp to help Charlie Brown write a song to learn all the basic spelling rules ('i' before 'e' except after 'c').
One thing that made me laugh was that one of Charlie Brown's words in the spelling bee was "fussbudget." This film also brought up all kinds of questions that I suppose I should ignore, because it's a cartoon and it's Peanuts:-Why is Charlie Brown, an 8 year old, riding a bus alone to the city and staying in a hotel room alone?
This is the only of few Charlie Brown and Peanuts films that I feel mix on and that's rare for being a long time fan of Charlie BrownAfter watching this again after so many years I have to say the movie more or less I wouldn't call it one of the better films from Charlie Brown and Peanuts The reason for it being that while it did have all that makes the Peanuts Gang it just don't feel right to meIt does feature a original story for Charlie Brown and we get to see our favorite Dog Snoopy do what he does bestThe animation for the film is just what you would expect in the late 1960s this film animation is just far out there while there are moments of good animation some scenes just makes you go what were they thinking Some of the animation is way out there that I forgot how it was when I first saw itThe voice acting is mix to me on this one is as best as I could put itThe music of course is where the Peanuts always promise to have great musicWhile I still found some good out of this film I just wouldn't say it was one of their best ones in my opinion but if you're a fan of Charlie Brown Snoopy and the rest of the Peanuts Gang this would be one to watch with the whole familyI give A Boy Named Charlie Brown an 7 out of 10.
The music scenes were a bit off the track of the film about Charlie Brown competing in the national spelling bee.
This film is really for those who love the Peanuts gang especially Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus, Peppermint Patty, and others..
But when I watched it again on DVD, it was like revisiting my childhood.This film, although may not go on my top 5 all-time favourite animated films, has some of the best music done brilliantly in an orchestra way, which I think was great.
Like Charlie Brown's inadequacy with flying a kite, or Lucy's imperative to mess with the kid's head at most turns, or Linus's compulsive need for his blue blanket, or even Schroder's knack at the piano.
The animators also bring some interest and imagination to otherwise unnecessary (story-wise) scenes, like Schroder's piano sequence (as a kid I was a little perplexed but not now) and Snoopy's wonderful ice skating scene in the city.
The plot is more for the kids than adults as Charlie Brown competes at the one thing that looks like his knack, the spelling bee, reaching to the highest competition and a chance to make himself no longer an outsider.
It involves Charlie Brown entering a spelling bee to prove that he's not a loser like everyone thinks he is.There are a few moments, however, that struck me as odd and/or humorous considering that they involved kids only in second grade.1.
One is with Schroeder playing a piece on his piano and the other shows Snoopy ice skating back and forth and back and forth and back and forth.Ultimately, the one thing which I did like about this particular movie was that it had a sophistication that was sorely lacking from subsequent Peanuts films.
That makes "A Boy Named Charlie Brown" an animated feature which I mildly recommend.
This meandering animated dud has our hero Charlie Brown trying to win a spelling bee.
While the movie's choppy animation remains intact (They must never ever get enough money for budget) this is saved because of the multiple ways the story is being presented.In the film, we follow Charlie Brown as he tries to win a national spelling bee after surprisingly winning the competition in his school.
The pop art undertones are much heavier here than in the next three Peanuts films combined.Charlie Brown would evolve into better-organized movies later in the 70s (Most notable Bon Voyage and Race for Your Life), but this was the writing staff getting their feet wet.
Serving as more a look at the art and styles of animation in the 60s rather than an amusing Charlie Brown picture, this film was proof that the comic strip medium can come to life in bigger ways than television.
Unlike all the others, which show haggard, underdog teams of non-atheletes defeating more skilled teams (most of whom are mean or cheaters), to supposedly prove that winning isn't everything and just have fun and heart (or worse, in the case of Angels, that God decides who wins in sporting events), Charlie Brown is simply involved in a spelling bee in which he, though an underdog according to his friends (they call him Failure Face), amazingly makes it to the final round in the national bee because he keeps getting words that have to do with "failure," something he is quite accustomed to!
Yep, that's what I said: this cartoon feature-length film featuring the beloved "Peanuts" gang is, like the comics of Schulz, a very realistic and intimate look inside the human psyche, not just of Charlie Brown, but of the Van Pelt kids.Charlie Brown believes he's a complete loser.
That only makes Lucy and the other mean girls Violet and Patty, feel more powerful.Desperately seeking self-worth, Charlie Brown decides to try out for the school spelling bee.
Even though he didn't win first place, he has returned home someone new, someone who takes risks and tries new things and works very hard toward a goal, and even though you'll never hear Lucy and the mean girls admit it, this is his victory.Deep down, at some point in our lives, "we're all a boy named Charlie Brown.".
In watching it again, I was hard-pressed to determine whether or not the feelings of depression, persecution and terror I felt were merely mirrored by the "Peanuts" comic strip which I loved so much, or were encouraged by it -- however, this is a question for my therapist.The movie builds slowly through a series of vignettes: Charlie Brown can't fly a kite, Charlie Brown can't play baseball, Charlie Brown is rather cruelly ridiculed by everyone he knows (except perhaps Linus).
Snoopy Come Home is almost like an extended wake by comparison.Much of A Boy Named Charlie Brown deals with him entering a school spelling bee, doing surprisingly well, and then heading to NYC for a national competition.
Schroeder simply repeats, "One finger will mean the high straight ball, two fingers will mean the low straight ball." Good Stuff.Does Charlie Brown win the national spelling bee?
This is a feel-good story, but its still a movie about Charlie Brown.
The film is simply a charming and clever string of events with a terrific conclusion, when Linus sees things clearly (finally, since he has his blankie back), and Charlie aims to kick the ball properly this time...I'll be looking forward to more of this, though I'm having big doubts with that recent one with the new animation style...
To show Lucy and her gang of equally mean friends that he is worth something, good old Charlie gets involved in a spelling bee.
"A Boy Named Charlie Brown" is the first of 4 Peanuts specials and also the first full-length Peanuts movie.
As for the rest of the soundtrack, it is nothing special, but I like the songs "I before E Except after C" and "A Boy Named Charlie Brown".The artwork here is quite simple, typically Peanuts.
There was one summer when I was a kid, I think it was 1984, they kept showing "A boy named charlie brown" and "snoopy come home" over and over again.
I like how in "a boy named charlie brown", there is that real down to earth feel combined with humor and good fun.
Charlie, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus, and Schroeder are decently colorful characters. |
tt0249478 | Domestic Disturbance | Susan Morrison (Teri Polo), recently divorced from her husband Frank (John Travolta) who is a struggling boat builder, is getting married to an industrialist who is younger and wealthier. His name is Rick Barnes (Vince Vaughn). Danny (Matt O'Leary), Susan and Frank's 12 year old son is clearly unhappy with his mother re-marrying. The revelation that Susan and Rick are expecting a baby, worsens the situation.Susan asks Frank to allow Rick to go sailing with him and Danny, to help Danny bond with and accept Rick as a stepfather.After the marriage and a brief improvement in Danny and Rick's relationship, Danny begins to dislike him once again. During a game of catch between the two, Rick clearly becomes agitated with Danny's ambivalent playing style and starts criticizing him harshly, as well as dealing some hard throws toward Danny.Danny learns about the new baby when he overhears Susan and Rick talking about it. He's very upset and wants to go talk to his father. Susan tells him no, so he sneaks out of his room and stows away in Rick's Chevy Suburban, as Rick announced he needed to go take care of some business downtown, and that was close to where Frank lived.Rick drives to a small motel and picks up a man named Ray Coleman (Steve Buscemi), who'd earlier attended the wedding unannounced, claiming to be an ex-business associate of Rick. Rick and Ray had also met earlier at the motel and had a discussion about their time in prison together and some money that Rick owed Ray. Rick drives Ray to a brickworks warehouse, telling Ray that he had hidden the money there, but once inside the building, Rick stabs Ray to death and he places the body in a kiln and incinerates it.Danny witnesses all this and was nearly discovered, first by Ray and then by Rick, but he manages to escape outside in the rain and runs to Frank's house. Frank hears the story and takes Danny to the police department to report the murder.Rick is widely considered a pillar of the local community, as he has invested plenty of money in the area, whereas Danny has a history of lying and misdemeanors. Plus, there's no evidence that Ray Coleman existed or had been murdered. So, Rick is not arrested.Frank, however, believes his son because Danny has never lied to him. Frank also had initial suspicions about Rick, stemming from Rick's notable unease around Coleman at the wedding ceremony.Because of Danny's continuing fear of Rick, and the lack of serious interest by police Sgt. Edgar Stevens (Ruben Santiago-Hudson) in any further investigating, Frank does some investigating of his own. He tracks down the motel where Ray Coleman had stayed, he learns of Coleman's criminal past which leads him to Rick's real name and criminal past. Frank learns that Rick's real name is Jack Parnell and he's a criminal who was acquitted while his partners, which included Coleman, were convicted.Rick realizes that Frank has been snooping around and is getting too close for comfort, so he sneaks up on Frank at the boat shop and clubs him unconscious, then sets the boat shop on fire. He accidentally sets his shirt on fire too, burning part of his arm. Frank regains consciousness in time to escape the conflagration.Danny and Susan watch a story about the boat house fire on the news, and Susan is surprised to see Rick in the bathroom treating the burn on his arm. She sneaks back to Danny and tells him to get ready to leave. Rick encounters them on the way out and asks where they are going. Susan tells him that they just learned about the boat shop fire and Danny wanted to go check on his father. Rick offers to drive, but Susan says Danny would prefer he not go with them.Just as Danny and Susan are in the car in the garage, the phone in the house rings. It's Frank calling. Rick answers but Frank hangs up the phone. Rick sees who it was on the caller ID. He rushes out to the garage where Susan is taking to Frank on her cell phone. Rick pulls Susan out of the car and gets in the driver's seat. Susan slams the car door on his arm and she and Danny escape into the house. They lock all the doors and try to call the police, but Rick has disconnected the phone line. He then crashes through a window into the house and struggles with Susan, knocking her down and out.Rick is preparing to take Danny hostage and make his escape, but Frank arrives and they engage in a brawl in the garage. Rick seems to have the upper hand until Danny, even though his hands are tied behind his back, is able to catapult his body into the back of Rick's legs, knocking him off balance so that his next swing at Frank with a crow bar instead hits the electrical fuse box and he is electrocuted.Susan experiences a miscarriage during the struggle with Rick, so there will be no daily reminder for her and her family of the bad experience they all had. | violence, neo noir, murder | train | imdb | This was a decent thriller with good-guy "Frank Morrison" (John Travolta) trying to save his former family from the dangerous new husband.
Definitely a movie that will entertain but a one-look film and nothing more, especially with the ending being as predictable as it turned out..
There are points that seem implausible and ask the audiences' indulgence but they are forgivable and do not detract from the story Travolta and Vaughn give solid performances and for me, Buscemi is always fun to watch.
Travolta decently played the good-guy divorced father, trying to protect his teenage son from an apparent murderer.The murderer/stepfather was played typically by Vaugh who's portrayed serial killer roles in other movies such as "Clay Pigeons" and the remake of Hitchcock's classic thriller, "Psycho".
A rerun of every domestic situation thriller of the past two decades (everything from "Pacific Heights" to "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle"), its one saving grace is its excellent performances: Matt O'Leary, who was also fantastic as Fenton in the brilliant "Frailty", gives a very intelligent mature perfromance; John Travolta makes a likeable hero, while Vince Vaughan is good as the creepy villian (much better than his camp performance as Norman Bates in Gus Van Sant's pointless remake of "Psycho"); and Teri Polo does the best she can with the role of damsel-in-distress.
There's nothing that pisses me off more in a movie than when someone fails to put up an adequate argument on their behalf when they're being accused of something.It's like they either have the character act like a total maniac by flying off the handle when denying what they're being accused of (so obviously the other party will of course not believe them now), or they say the completely wrong things and understate their case, and it is extremely frustrating to watch because you're just sitting there screaming, "WHY DON'T YOU JUST SAY THIS!!" When that kid was in the interrogation room, his best method of convincing people that a murder took place was by weakly repeating: "look, I know what I saw OK.." Yeah that's gonna convince people.
The film deals about a divorced father(an agreeable role for John Travolta)named Frank, he's boat builder and shares custody with his ex-spouse(Teri Polo) of their son Danny(a newcomer Matt O'Leary).
Most of the acting seem excellent with special mention to Vince Vaughn as suave suitor turned to menacing new father and Steven Buscemi in a secondary role as seedy friend.The film is suspenseful though predictable with the final confrontation between good daddy and bad dad.
Predictable (you know exactly what the last scene will be like right from the start), contrived (the police really should have looked harder for evidence), but well-made, extremely well-acted (especially by Vince Vaughn) and psychologically accurate (the "baseball practice" scene was perfectly written and played).
I guess John Travolta's bad movie streak he started with "Battlefield Earth" is still going on.
But Vince Vaughn's bad guy drill is getting old(Clay Pigeons,Psycho anyone?) and Travolta still plays the good guy(expect for Battlefield Earth).
The movie's premise is not new, the script takes the more traveled route just to please a larger part of the audience that loves some easy tension, those moments when you can play the psychic with family and friends while watching together, saying "That character is going to die now" things like that.Once again, there's a boy who because of his constant lies no one will believe when he finally says the truth and needs help from his parents.
In this case, the boy (Matt O'Leary) is in trouble after being the sole witness of a crime committed by Rick, his stepfather (Vince Vaughn), arranged for life now that he recently married with Susan (Teri Polo), who divorced the boy's father (John Travolta).
The movie would be interesting if the writers take the father away and let the kid try to make things for himself, because he knows how to cause trouble and he could play fire with fire against his step dad.
Matt O'Leary and Steve Buscemi (as the mysterious Ray Coleman) are the best in the show; Vaughn and Travolta got a little bit ridiculous playing heavy clichéd figures, evil versus good.
"Domestic Disturbance" is quite good, watchable but it's light years from being a helluva of a movie.10 years later and we're still waiting for another Becker's film, back in shape, but it looks like we're not gonna see that so early and this might be his last picture.
It could have been a bit better, but it could have been a LOT worse.And now on to the acting as I won't even waste time telling you what you already know about the movie and the plot/storyline.
The plot was easy to understand, which was great because I was not in the mood for any complex films.Vince Vaughn was impressive in playing a psychopathic father.
When Danny claims he has seen Rick murder his friend, Frank is the only one who believes his son.By choosing to let us in on the fact that Rick is indeed "a bad man", this drama becomes more a matter of time rather than a film that is packed with twists and intrigues.
To fill a few hours with something undemanding and by-the-numbers, this is probably just good enough to do you as a genre film but a different delivery and better script could have produced something better and given Vaughn and Travolta more to do..
i read a majority of reviews for this on imdb and a few people really liked it and im thinking do u people know what a good movie is?.john travolta,vince vaughn and steve buscemi are very decent actors and try in this one but havent got the material to work with.try not to laugh when vaughn notices the phone book in travoltas car i couldent help it.one of the worst of 2002.
Frank Morrison (John Travolta) and his ex-wife Susan (Teri Polo) have a 12 year old son Danny (Matthew O'Leary) who is taking their breakup and Susan's impending marriage to local hot shot Rick Barnes (Vince Vaughn) very hard.
A so-so thriller where John Travolta discovers that his ex-wife is about to marry a killer (a convincing Vince Vaughn) and his child is in danger.
I already watched it several months ago, but I didn't really remember details.I must say that all of the actors, especially Matt O'Leary, act astonishingly realistic, including their facial expressions and gestures.I like this movie because it covers several really important facts of family life I partially can understand quite well due to personal experience.Worth watching in any case!.
When you see the coverbox to DD, one easily falls for a blockbuster hit with John Travolta and Vince Vaughn (both respected actors) in this dramatic DVD.Vaughn plays a creepy step-father with a shady past, which he keeps secret from his new wife and step-son.
Vaughn's character is creepy as he should be, but again, Travolta in most of this film is a lot like a more responsible-sounding character from Pulp Fiction (the drunken scene when he goes to the bar and acts aloof is exactly the same from Pulp Fiction).
The kid in this is great about acting scared and everything, but again, every kid that year was acting this way.I recommend it only for fans of Vince Vaughn because I was greatly disappointed by Travolta's performance (and hair...my god, what's up with those two tentacles of hair coming from his forehead in this movie?) Decent but average..
A perfect example of the type of film where every character has to keep acting like an idiot to keep the movie going.
The kid (who, by the way, resembles new stepfather Vince Vaughn more so than John Travolta!) is 12-years-old going on 27, while John himself looks wrung out.
It has John Travolta is the caring father who believes his son, when his son tells him that he witnessed Vince Vaughn MURDER Steve Bushemi (which he did).
Teri Polo was shallow, really contributing nothing to the story other than the classic role of mother who will not believe, while child actor Matt O'Leary definitely needed more time with an acting coach before landing this role.
All of these paid actors were going through their parts, but not into their characters, which ultimately flawed the film.What happens when you have actors not reaching their potential and a story that seems like it could be a "Made-for-TV-Movie"?
Father who loves his son, who cannot let go of a previous life (although it seemed that in the film Travolta and Polo were OK with there divorce), who doesn't trust his ex-wife's new beau.
Domestic Disturbance sees John Travolta as Frank Morrison, a man who discovers his child's new step father (Vince Vaughn) isn't exactly what he pretends to be; and as he digs up the truth he realises he has to save his son from danger.The performances of the cast are all good, and in particular Travolta's performance is very engaging, the story is interesting and the plot develops quickly and keeps moving, so your unlikely to feel bored at any point.The problem is the lack of care taken to sustain any mystery in the plot, it's all too obvious from almost the very beginning of the film; and this destroys the thriller element of this mediocre thriller.5/10.
,but alas..The story is the umpteenth story of a brave father estranged from his bubble head wife -how dumb she must be not to realize she married someone dangerous!-and his courageous brat.Vincent Vaughn is the villain and he sometimes looks like a cartoon character.The movie becomes,at its worst,a ridiculous remake of "night of the hunter" (1955),Charles Laughton's unique masterpiece, which would take place in the "modern world" but without Mitchum,Winters and Gish.I really wonder how producers can waste money for such a hackneyed screenplay..
Nobody believes him except his father (John Travolta), who is the only character in the movie who isn't pathetically dumb.
By the numbers thriller about a divorced boat builder (John Travolta), who's son (Matthew O'Leary) ends up living with a murderous stepfather (Vince Vaughn).
It also ends very suddenly as if director Harold Becker thought;no,this is taking too long time-I want to finish this movie now.The finale lasted only 5 minutes.I was VERY disappointed.
Travolta is OK,but nothing more.His career is beginning to go downhill,it looks like,after failures like "The General`s Daughter" and the extremely bad "Battlefield Earth".No,don`t waste your time with this.It`s not exciting for one minute.Poor movie and a stupid Steve Buscemi-he should have known better...Rating-2/10.
Travolta, as the good guy who believes his son's story that Vaugh's character murdered a man, is passable.
The production values are great, and John Travolta is certainly engaging enough, but the two-dimensional Vince Vaughn and the always creepy Steve Buscemi conspire with the director to keep this one from ever rising above a certain level of mediocrity.
I went to the theatre the evening that this movie came out expecting a suspenseful, action movie starring Vince Vaughn and John Travolta.
Seeing a suspense film starring John Travolta was something I never expected because I'll never forget him in the Look Who's Talking Series!
What a shame this predictable dross had some potential but decided to cop out after an hour and 25 mins,when you see Steve Buscemi and John Travolta in the cast you expect an attempt at quality,what you get here is a third rate TV movie that rushes along at breakneck speed to an ending you've seen a thousand times before.Villains who have committed crimes that require intelligence and patientce under pressure suddenly behave like irrational joyriders making every mistake in the book.This could have been a tense nerve jangling thriller potentially,why not make use of the other two villains in Buscemi's gang,after the mysterious arrival of Buscemi at the wedding you are too quickly given the makeup of the films direction and already predicting the ending rather than pondering whether the Vince Vaughn character is good or bad.Teri Polo is too young to be a Mother of a child this age or seems to be or perhaps just miscast an older actress with a better resume might fulfilled the role more successfully.Overall the makers have a rushed thriller that needed timing and patience,if this is a book and they have stayed loyal to it's format then why do it in the first place?
John Travolta was excellent at playing the heroic father while Vince Vaughn is always the perfect villian.
DOMESTIC DISTURBANCE (2001) ** John Travolta, Vince Vaughn, Teri Polo, Matthew O' Leary, Steve Buscemi, Chris Ellis, Nick Loren.
By-the-numbers thriller with Travolta as the father of an 11year old (O'Leary) whose habits for lying and juvenile delinquency causes friction when he claims his new stepfather (Vaughn) is a common criminal up to no good.
Travolta's engaging performance and Vaughn's creepy turn are the only things worth checking out in this predictable melodrama that offers a few twists but no real payoff in the end.
Terri Polo plays the ex-wife and Vince Vaughn is the new man who enters her life.The story is average in creating suspense, but mines some real emotions that people often have: the lack of control that a non-custodial parent feels regarding the well-being of a child; the helpless feeling of a child in the household of a menacing adult; the confusion of a parent who is torn between irreconcilable interests.Its mediocre manipulation of these emotions and the fears that come from them is the primary reason for the film's substandard quality.
In "Domestic Disturbance," Danny (Matthew O'Leary) is having trouble coping with his mother's second marriage to the creepy Rick Barnes (Vince Vaughn).
Thankfully, his trusted, recovering alcoholic, good-guy dad (John Travolta) believes his wild story, and even when Danny tries to convince him to leave well enough alone, can't.In all honesty, "Domestic Disturbance" is a garden variety, by-the-numbers thriller.
In the movie, Vince Vaughn marries John Travolta's ex-wife, and he is a pillar of the community.
Recommend watching this movie to see the fine acting by young Matt O'Leary and by Vince Vaughn.
The first thing I noticed when I started watching John Travolta's Domestic Disturbance, was how cheap the film stock looked.
It seems like the writers and director just ignored all the possible ways they could take the premise and decided they would just make a film that looks perfect for the USA network.The best example I can use to describe the laziness of Domestic Disturbance, is the final scene.
To call it a thriller seems wrong at all: it's a cinematic exercise in boredom and deja vu.Domestic Disturbance stars John Travolta as Frank Morrison, a boat builder who recently divorced from his former wife Susan (Teri Polo).
Not only that, Domestic Disturbance is the kind of film where for events to develop everyone has to behave like a moron: Susan doesn't believe his son's words one bit at first.
It's obvious that with this kind of material even a very good performance would feel insipid.Domestic Disturbance is certainly not one of the worst movies I have ever seen.
Here, though, instead of being a man, it's a young boy, Danny (Matt O'Leary), son of Frank (John Travolta).
and I won't tell you the ending, but bear in mind, this movie is one fat ugly cliche and Travolta is the good guy.
It's variation on the "little boy who cried wolf" story and it has it's share of contrivances, but Travolta is predictably compelling as the nice-guy dad (SO nice that it provides one of the movie's most nagging questions: WHY did his wife see fit to divorce him?)and Vaughn is appropriately creepy as the new husband and stepdad with a shady past and sinister present.Not a classic, but given the talent involved, not bad either.
In fact, it's so bad that it's entertaining.DISTURBANCE is about a divorced couple (John Travolta, Terri Polo).
The movie is about a man (Vince Vaughn) who marries John Travolta's ex-wife.
John Travolta Plays a good guy again..
John Travolta is good as the hero, but it is Vince Vaughn who is especially impressive as the villain.
Steve Buscemi is excellent in his role, however short it is.Many people have commented that they did not like the ending of the movie.
There were plenty of other well done and fairly intense parts in the movie, mostly because of the evilness that is Vince Vaughn.The worst part of DOMESTIC DISTURBANCE is that it is predictable, just as many thrillers of this kind are.
However, once Vaughn's character murders Buscemi (in front of the kid of course) the movie starts to go downhill.
Vince Vaughn was perfect for the role of the evil stepfather and John Travolta was perfect!
Oh you'll find out when you see it.John Travolta is back and better than ever (he's actually HUMAN this time), He plays a father of an 11-year-old son with a tendency to lie.
After the 11-year-old son Danny sees Rick kill someone, will anybody believe him?With an ending that is to die for, and a plot that keeps you asking for more, "Domestic Disturbance" is one of my new favorite movies.
Vince Vaughn (Rick Barnes) is almost as impressive as Travolta in the movie.
The kid (Matt O'Leary) plays his part well enough to be believable, my favorite character was probably Teri Polo, she has the only good acting skills in this movie.
(and it's got Vince Vaughn, still in his I can be in serious movies faze (It's so great he went to comedies!)).Anyway the stories the same old song and dance as other lame thrillers, but it's something to watch when bored.
This movie was so predictable, i mean, from the beginning you knew that vince vaughn was some kind of a bad guy.
In "Domestic Disturbance" a seemingly perfect step dad (Vaughn) comes between a happily divorced couple (Travolta & Polo) and their son (O'Leary) and murder follows. |
tt0070672 | The Seven-Ups | New York City circa 1973. A business type enters an antique store as a heavily bearded type is shown upstairs by one of the store's owners. A burly deliveryman with a glass water cooler bottle enters and trips over the businessman, smashing up several antiques. A loud argument ensues and uniformed police must intervene - until a painter breaks into the office upstairs and returns with a box wrapped in grocery paper - and containing large wads of counterfeit money.Thus has The Seven-Ups - a special unit led by Buddy Manucci and including Officers Ansel (the phony painter), Borelli, and Mingo (the phony deliverman) - broken up another area of criminal activity. But their unorthodox methods upset Lt. Jerry Hanes, who has confronted the team's commanding officer Inspector Gilson before about their methods only for Gilson to fully stand up for his men. The controversy upsets Manucci, though he is reassured by his CO's endorsement.Presently the team is gathering information on a crooked bail bondsman, Festa, as his name has turned up on a wiretap. Buddy consults one of his Mob informants, funeral parlor owner Vito Lucia, who presently does not have any new information to give.Later mobster Max Kalish is arrested at his plush mansion by two FBI agents - but they are not FBI agents as they corner Kalish, punch him out, then demand a hefty ransom from Kalish's lawyer. The lawyer and a mob errand boy drive to a car wash where the phony G-men lock the car's doors and steal the ransom; they later dump Kalish in a vacant lot and drive off, and at a museum Moon, the longish-haired younger of the two kidnappers, meets his connection where money changes hands for the successful kidnapping.While walking through his old neighborhood Buddy is summoned by a barber, who tells him of disturbing activity within the area's mafia gang. Buddy and Ansel then become more concerned when they are tailing Festa and he is grabbed by two men (the same gunmen who grabbed Kalish) who portray themselves as members of the District Atorney's office. Buddy and the team then stake out Vito's funeral parlor, where Kalish and other criminals are meeting to decide what to do next; the kidnappers of Festa want another ransom, to be exchanged at the same car wash, and the mobsters' anxiety shows when a bodyguard starts to whip out a revolver on Vito when he appears. Ansel has infiltrated the ranks of mobsters' limo drivers wearing a wire - but while Buddy and the others are momentarily distracted one of the bodyguards notices the wire. Ansel is taken inside, beaten, and his cover blown.Kalish, thinking the kidnappers are cops, ties up and gags Ansel and stuff him into the trunk of his fellow criminal Carmine Cotello, who will drive to the car wash with a tail of gunmen to deal with the kidnappers. When Mingo sees Ansel is not among the limo drivers, Buddy and Borelli jump in their car and follow Cotello to the car wash. Once there, with the mobsters on one side thinking they will catch the kidnappers there, Cotello instead is jumped just outside the other side of the car wash and driven into a next door parking garage. Buddy and Borelli try to get into the place, but only after hearing gunfire - the result when the kidnappers Moon and his driver Bo think it's a setup and gun down Cotello, then blast open the trunk of his car, and are shocked to find a now-dead policeman inside - do they succeed in entering the garage. They arrest the garage worker, Toredano before discovering Ansel's body.The gunmen then make a break for it and Buddy jumps into his car and a violent high-speed pursuit ensues through the streets of New York City before spilling onto a country highway. Buddy finally catches up to the gunmen but his rammed into the underside of a stricken eighteen-wheeler.Escaping major injury, Buddy and Borelli go to the hospital where Cotello is being treated for critical injuries and the body of Ansel has been posted. Buddy is then interrogated by Gilson and Hanes and it is here he learns of the kidnapping of mafia types - and that the Chief Of Detectives believes it to be The Seven-Ups' work.Vito, meanwhile, is shaken badly by the disasterous turnabout in the Cotello incident, and he confronts Moon telling him to release Festa and lay low. Moon, though, wants none of it, vowing to kill Manucci if he comes calling. Buddy, meanwhile, sneaks into the hospital where he interrogates the weak Cotello about the kidnappers - and only when Buddy removes his oxygen tube does Cotello reveal the entire incident started with Kalish. Buddy and Mingo then storm Kalish's house and grab him and his wife at gunpoint; the frightened Kalish insists he knows nothing about who killed Ansel, that he only knows about the kidnappings of Festa, himself, and other mobsters.It is then that Buddy suddenly realizes what's going on, as all the mobsters who've been kidnapped are mobsters his team has been tailing - and the only way to find the kidnappers is to release the garage guy Toredano, who goes home only for Moon and Bo to arrive to try and kill him and an ambush by the Seven-Ups erupts in gunfire. | murder | train | imdb | The stunt driving coordinator for that scene did "Bullitt" and "The French Connection" as well as many other noatable movie chases.
(In fact, that line may not even have been stale when this film was made.) THE SEVEN-UPS demonstrates all that was right with the best films of the golden age: sparse dialogue, realistic acting, real locations (winter in a dirty New York has never looked better/worse), propulsive stories, and, yes, the best car chase ever filmed.
Thank you, Philip D'Antoni, Roy Scheider and Tony Lo Bianco: for as long as cop films are watched, THE SEVEN-UPS and its 1970s brethren (e.g., THE FRENCH CONNECTION), will set the standard..
Roy Scheider carried the movie, which was based on the crew, the 7 Ups, that backed up Gene Hackman in the "French Connection".
Vito, was played by Tony Lo Bianco who did a great job, as good as Roy Schneider, Buddy the head of 7 Ups cop, whom he informed and exploited.
was a great actor from the 70's (Jaws is one of my all-time favs, Marathon Man etc) and although the 7-ups is not an Oscar-worthy film, it puts you precisely in a time a place (NY, early 70's, as did French Connection) and gives you some tough characters and a glimpse of life as a cop at that time.
From the man who brought cinema-goers 1968 "Bullit" and 1971 "The French Connection", Philip D'Antoni goes on to produce, but also make his directorial debut with the realistic, tough-as-nails crime thriller "The Seven-Ups" starring an unwavering Roy Scheider as the leader of a secret squad of the New York police who got their name from the minimum sentence of their targeted gangsters.
I saw 'Jaws' for the first time aged 7 but a good chunk of why i LOVED that film was Roy Scheider's Brody, I honestly can't imagine that film without him and his "SMILE YOU SON of a B...H" Back to "The Seven-Up's"I'd read a little about this film in movie magazines and books over the years but had never ever seen it until yesterday (thanks I have to say to YouTube), had wanted to see it for over 30 years and finally I have done so.I'm with the majority of reviewers here...it's gritty, well made with some good performances especially Schnider who with his brown leather jacket makes it his 'Bullitt' there is even a scene in which he removes the cool jacket to reveal a black turtle-neck and holster (a knowing nod to McQueen's classic film perhaps?) I have to admit that the first 40 minutes or so are kinda slow as with many of the 1970's cop thriller's/drama's of the time but stick with it as the pace builds and it gets better and better from this point.The CAR CHASE is a stand-out as many here have stated (and might be worth the watch for this wonderfully filmed sequence alone) it starts out as a fairly ordinary affair but turns into a terrific pursuit.Richard Lynch always had the look of a good villain and he is again here.One of the reasons I'd wanted to see it (apart from Scheider) was I had read it almost played out like an unofficial "French Connection" sequel and it kinda does.Tony Lo Bianco is terrific as Buddy's (Scheider) friend and he was also in Connection, it could be argued that this is a far better film than that films sequel and I would subscribe to this as the French Connection II was to me very disappointing.Fans of 1970's Cop Thrillers will find much to enjoy in the second half of this film...the ending is terrific with shades of Blue Thunder's ending, speaking of which that is another terrific Roy Scheider film along with '2010', 'Jaws', 'Jaws II" (yes really, Scheider makes it thanks to Brody and that "I know what a shark looks like up close and I don't intend on going through that hell Again" speech) and "Marathon Man.Roy was a terrific actor and has left us with some wonderful performances in some wonderful films...God Bless.Now to track down "Sorcerer" (aka Wages of Fear) another I've never managed to see..
"The Seven-Ups" is a follow-up of sorts to "The French Connection", based on a story by the legendary detective Sonny Grosso, and uses some of the same talents from that other movie.
Unlike a lot of slick Hollywood productions, this never gets bogged down in spectacle (save for one major set piece which I'll get to in a moment) or unnecessary melodrama.Grossos' gritty tale tells of tough undercover detective Buddy (Roy Scheider), part of an elite unit that goes after organized crime and resorts to some pretty unorthodox methods.
What causes problems for Buddy and his men - played by Victor Arnold, Jerry Leon, and Ken Kercheval - is the interesting situation of a pair of rogue cops (Bill Hickman and the great screen villain Richard Lynch, in one of his earliest roles) going around abducting underworld figures for ransom.The movie is highlighted by one absolutely incredible car chase, occurring just past the halfway point and cranking up the films' energy level to a high degree.
About the only thing in "The Seven-Ups" that isn't too subtle is the intense music score by Don Ellis.Overall this is genuinely good stuff and well worth watching for any fan of crime pictures, especially the great NYC films of the 1970s.Eight out of 10..
The action comes when the seven ups clear up their name.Good standard entertainment and a good car chase...as one reviewer put it no subplots no sex the only female in the entire movie an old gangsters wife who is threatened while the undercover cops seek to prove their innocence and catch the real kidnappers.
No PC garbage no gimmicky weapons...just a good solid police action story.Great car chase with Pontiacs including a Ventura II a Nova name tag clone.This movie probably deserves about an 8.
It just means don't expect the French Connection when you see this...cause you won't get it.The Seven Ups has all the earmarks of a 70's Cop film.
Sure you can throw Bullitt and The French Connection in there...heck even Ronin had a wicked good car chase but when you want a real white knuckle car chase you just have to see the one in this film.
Wow what a great end to a chase.Take this film with other great films of the 70's like Serpico or Dog Day afternoon and even the French Connection and see why the 70's was the greatest decade for cop films.
Scheider is one of a small group of NYC cops with unusual methods, called The Seven-Ups. One of his partners is murdered and he sets out to find and kill the thugs who were responsible, while at the same time discovering that they're involved in a plan to kidnap mobsters to extort ransom money.
The film is most noteworthy for an excellent balls-to-the-wall car chase with Scheider in vengeful pursuit of the bad guys (one of them played by Richard Lynch who in real life set himself on fire several years earlier after taking LSD).
Buddy is a cop who works in a sub rosa unite of the NYPD, the Seven Ups, that does things "their way" to clean up the streets of New York of criminals.
Vito gets information from Buddy and makes it look to Buddy that he's really giving him tips about the mob and what it's up too and uses that information to tip off his hoodlum associates, Moon & Bo, to rip the mobsters off of their weekly take as well as kidnap top mob loan sharks and hold them for ransom.Everything is going well for Vito & Co. until the mob decides to retaliate and mistakenly grabs beats and kidnaps a member of the Seven Ups Ansel, Ken Kercheval,who was working undercover thinking he was one of the hoods who was kidnapping and ripping them off.
Later Ansel was accidentally killed by Moon when he blasted out the trunk of the car that Ansel was locked in thinking that there was a suitcase full or cash, ransom, in it.Fast pace and exciting movie with that gritty and grimy photography of New York City that was so effective in the movie "The French Connection" which also stars both Roy Scheider & Tony Lo Bianco who are in this movie too.
Roy Scheider who is not a big man is as tough and effective as any big action actor I can think off like Clint Eastwood would have been in the same movie.
The movie "The Seven Ups" has the late Bill Hickman doing the dangerous stunts with the car chases as well as act in the film.
Hickman was also the stunt man in both great movies that had him doing the driving on the roads streets and highways of New York City and San Francisco "The French Connection" and "Bullitt"..
They become even more determined in their cause after one of their own is killed, and Buddy discovers that the man partly responsible is someone he may know...Curious film does seem to continue the adventures of "French Connection" cop Buddy Russo, though the link is not played up much.
This does have another exciting car chase sequence, and is also filmed on location by one-time director Philip D'Antoni, but the story never amounts to much, and certainly does not captivate the audience the way its predecessor did.
The stand-out car chase at the half-way point is quite impressive and it's a shame that it seems to have been forgotten among the ubiquitous "Best Car Chase" countdowns on TV and on the Internet.Fans of the French Connection, cop thrillers or overlooked 70s movies that represent an attitude to filmmaking and life long since gone should definitely check it out..
It may not be one of the all time greats, but it is an exceptionally good movie.Everyone has an opinion about car chases.
Besides driving most of the car chase scenes, he created a brooding, malevolent presence and a good match with Richard Lynch as a pair of coldly evil killers.Yes, the chase has "realism errors" often noted, like the use of 3 different NY roads to represent the Palisades Parkway, the ending of the chase in a crash with an 18 wheeler on a roadway for passenger vehicles only, and the miraculous timing that allows all pedestrians to escape harm.
In Bullitt, The French Connection, and The Seven Ups, however, Bill Hickman and Phillip D'Antoni crafted chases far more realistic, and therefore more exciting, than the flying, rolling, exploding vehicle fantasy chases so common in recent films..
This movie is not about the soda nor is it quite the French Connection.The Seven Ups are a group of elite policemen that use tactics not in accordance with protocol of the NYPD.
They are running surveillance on a local costra nostra cartel and things go awry when a cop's wire is found out.Meanwhile, Richard Lynch, the most evil looking man in film (Invasion:America, Little Nikita) and his partner end up killing the cop by accident and escape from Scheider in the coolest chase scene I've seen, Bullitt and French Connection are not as good as they one up the West Side to the George Washington and onto the Palisades Parkway in New Jersey.
FC is a better movie, but I prefer watching this one because 1) I think Scheider is great and this is his best movie, and 2) this has the best car chase EVER, one that makes Bullitt look like a cable production (thanks again to Bill Hickman, who actually plays the driver).
I don't know if this exceptionally dull movie was intended as an unofficial sequel to 'The French Connection", but it does have many of the same drawbacks: the script is so confusing that the viewer remains uninvolved and feels left out of the picture, and the direction is so cold, so lacking in energy, that even the great chase sequence can't liven things up.
Also, Bullitt being filmed in the 60s when cars were still "Hot" (Mustang GT and Dodge Charger) made for a better set of wheels then two boring, smog device laden Pontiacs in the 1970s Seven Ups. Bill Hickman was the driver of the bad guy car in both movies.
A kidnapping, a spooky carwash, grungy locations, and a long car chase all figure into this cop film about an elite group of NYC policemen, known as the "seven-ups", who pursue criminals whose crimes warrant prison time of seven years and up.The script seems perfunctory and indifferent, with too many villains, and not enough differentiation between them.
It is basically French Connection meets Bullit.Roy Scheider plays the head of an elite group of detectives, known as the "Seven Ups" One of their men is discovered during an undercover op and is killed.Scheider and his team must find his killers.
Roy Scheider heads up an all star cast in this gritty, realistic crime drama about an elite police task force that busts criminals who receive seven years and up in prison-hence the name The Seven Ups.While Buddy (Scheider) and company go about police business, a pair of thugs named Moon (Richard Lynch) and Bo (Bill Hickman) kidnap the very people the police are trying to bust, and hold them for ransom.
If you like a good car chase, see this film.
Not a bad 70's movie, but the car chase was part French Connection, part Bullitt, right down to the shotgun blowing off Roy Scheider's hood!
Sure there were the "Death Wishes" and "The French Connections," back in the day, but I would be hard pressed to find a more gritty and intelligent film to match wits with this one from an era long forgotten.The always fantastic Roy Scheider (who regardless of his current status as an actor, i.e. being forced to play pathetic roles for a paycheck due to his age, etc by industry standards) plays the main character flawlessly, supported by a cast of hard hitting fellow cops are on the trail of a gang of hoods who are impersonating police officers and shaking down mobsters, only to rough them up (and in some cases kill them)for the money they are carrying.When one of Schieder's crew gets killed in a botched robbery, and Schieder and his boys become suspects by their own department, they take matters into their own hands, and try to clear their names and find those responsible by any means necesary.
Roy Scheider has a knack of getting perfectly cast in alot of his movies (French Connection, 7-Ups, Jaws, Blue Thunder, All That Jazz), he really is an unheralded talent.
This is a good enough movie and you probably won't be disappointed, but it again has Roy Scheider, right after he did "French Connection", playing a cop with the name 'Buddy'.
The Seven-Ups is one of the better cop movies, even today, and is second only to McQueen's Bullitt and the Dirty Harry series, which isn't bad company.
There are three things that seem to make a good cop movie: Believable script with great acting, great car chase scenes, and some heavy action.
the seven ups were a group of new york city detectives who broke the french connection case.
this movie gives a fairly good depiction of the squad.the chase scene is one of the best ones ever filmed..
The "Bad guys" Bill Hickman and Richard Lynch make the movie great as much as Roy Scheider does.
Bill Hopkins drives the criminal vehicle.A year or two later, sensing a good thing, Bill Friedkin directs "The French Connection," featuring a chase between a commandeered cop car(Gene Hackman) and an elevated train in New York City.
Academy Awards follow.Sensing a good thing, a year or two more brings us "The Seven Ups," featuring a chase between a car driven by Roy Scheider, with lots of shots of Scheider's cursing face as he tries to bump the other car, which is driven by Bill Hopkins, off the road, although the criminal car, to be sure, carries a shotgun-toting passenger.
Having grown up in New Jersey and having spent many a day and night on the gritty streets of New York in the 1970's, watching a film like "The Seven-Ups", or its kindred spirit, "The French Connection", always evokes fond memories of a time and place which, for some, might have been NYC's darkest hour, but which for me, in my early twenties, was always one fun-filled adventure after another.
Very much a spin off from the highly acclaimed film "The French Connection," which Roy Scheider had done a few years earlier, but "The Seven Ups" falls short of the same level of intensity.
When this scheme goes awry, with one of the Seven-Ups being killed, Vito becomes fearful because he knows how Buddy can be when he's doggedly after someone..especially when one of his own is murdered.Extremely underrated cop flick has thrilling car chase through New York City as Buddy follows the kidnapping cop-imposter's trying to get them after killing his partner.
The film is briskly paced with good action sequences and sets up an interesting plot of betrayal between friends as greed comes before that childhood friendship and how what seems like a smooth crime-spree against evil mob families can get cops killed..
That said, when one compares the car chases, Mr. Hickman had involvement in the three most compared: This movie, Bullitt and The French Connection.
Using information and technical support from Sonny Grosso (who had done some of the same on THE FRENCH CONNECTION and who the character Buddy Russo in that film was based on) D'Antoni made THE SEVEN-UPS.
It's not as good as the big classics of the genre, like THE FRENCH CONNECTION movies or SERPICO, but it is interesting and it has that suitably gritty and realistic look going on.
Onsite locations of New York City and an excellent choreographed car chase highlight the film. |
tt1411250 | Riddick | Five years after Kyra's death, Riddick has become increasingly uneasy in his role as Lord Marshal of the Necromonger fleet. His refusal to swear into the Necromonger faith has caused dissent among his subjects and assassination attempts by his subordinates. After the latest attempt on his life, Riddick strikes a deal with Commander Vaako: the location of Furya and a ship to take him there, in exchange for Vaako succeeding him as the next Lord Marshal, so that he can achieve what he calls transcendence. Led by Vaako's aide, Krone, Riddick and a group of Necromongers arrive on a desolate planet. Realizing that it is not Furya, Riddick kills most of his escort when they attempt to assassinate him. In the chaos, Krone causes a landslide and buries Riddick alive.
Riddick emerges from the rubble with a broken leg, which he sets and splints while fending off native predators: vulture-like flying animals, packs of jackal-like beasts and swarms of venomous, scorpion-like water dwelling creatures called Mud Demons. Needing time to heal, Riddick hides himself within some abandoned ruins. After he's fully healed, Riddick notices a vast savanna beyond some rocky cliffs, but the only passage through is impeded by several muddy pools infested with Mud Demons. He begins injecting himself with Mud Demon venom in order to build an immunity and constructs improvised melee weapons, as well as raising and training an orphaned jackal-beast pup. He kills the Mud Demons and reaches the savannah. After finding a dormant mercenary station, Riddick notices a series of approaching storms, and concludes they will unleash an unidentified threat. Riddick activates an emergency beacon at the station, which broadcasts his identity to mercenary groups within the area.
Two ships promptly arrive in answer to the beacon, the first a group led by a violent and unstable man named Santana, and the second a better-equipped team of professional mercenaries led by a man named Colonel R. "Boss" Johns. Riddick leaves them a message promising they will all die unless they leave one of their ships and depart the planet on the other. Rubio, Nunez and Falco are killed by Riddick during the first night, forcing a reluctant Santana to cooperate with Johns. Riddick later steals power nodes from each of the teams' ships and approaches Johns and Santana to strike a deal for their return. However, the conversation turns into an ambush: Johns' second-in-command, Dahl, shoots Riddick with several rounds of horse tranquilizer, and Riddick's jackal-beast is shot and killed by Santana.
Back at the Station, Johns interrogates Riddick about the fate of his son, William J. Johns (the mercenary from Pitch Black). When the storms reach the station, Riddick's threat is revealed as thousands of Mud Demons emerge from hibernation underground, awakened by the rainwater, and besiege the station, killing Lockspur and Moss. Johns agrees to release Riddick in order to locate the hidden power cells. Santana attempts to kill Riddick, who is worth twice as much dead as he is alive. Riddick, with only one leg free, beheads Santana with his own machete, something he had promised to do. The group then releases Riddick.
They fight their way to the ship, with Vargas being killed. Johns, Santana's man Diaz, and Riddick leave the ship together on the hover-bikes to retrieve the power nodes. During their journey, Diaz knocks Johns' bike over the side of an embankment, causing him to crash. He is then picked up by Riddick. After they reach the power nodes, Riddick reveals Johns' son's morphine addiction, as well as a 'spineless' attempt by William Johns to utilize a child as 'bait' for the creatures on the world they were stranded on twelve years prior. Diaz attempts to kill Riddick and Johns. Riddick fights and kills him, but a dying Diaz damages the only working hover bike, having already sabotaged the other.
Riddick and Boss Johns fend off a seemingly endless horde of Mud Demons while running back to the station. Riddick is severely wounded. Johns takes both nodes and abandons Riddick. Riddick begins to fight a futile battle against the advancing Demons. Just when it seems he is about to be killed, Johns arrives in one of the ships and shoots the creatures while Dahl descends to rescue Riddick. Giving him the other ship, Johns asks Riddick where he intends to go, before deciding he is better off not knowing. Riddick praises Johns for being a better man than his son and departs into deep space.
In the theatrical version, this is the end of the film, while in the extended version, there is an additional scene which takes place aboard the Necromonger capital ship where Riddick kills Krone and finds out that Vaako has crossed the threshold into the underverse - seen as a large hole in space surrounded by gas - to achieve transcendence where he is both dead and alive. Riddick looks out the window, indicating that he intends to find Vaako. | comedy, murder, violence, flashback, humor, action, revenge | train | wikipedia | A brief summary Act 1-Riddick is stranded on what might be his home planet and has to re-man up after becoming soft while leading the Necromongers (Riddick being the only person hard enough to ever soften up when taking over a galaxy dominating army) There is a dog in act one but it plays very well into the story and I personally got attached to the pup...think of Will Smith's dog in "I am Legend" Act 2-Mercs are brought to the planet and the fun begins...for the next forty five minutes the story is about the Mercs and Riddick becomes what we all love...a monster in the Darkness.Act 3-It starts raining...I'm going to stop there on act three because I want to spoil nothing...
OK big fan of the 1st one, and I do like the 2nd one (directors cut though) and I can also see why some did not like the 2nd, it has some issues but the main one was the ALIEN 3 problem, that been after Aliens and all its army and guns, ALIEN 3 was no guns no army......people wanted more of the same, which in this case its funny to see that a 3rd Riddick film which gives people Riddick vs monsters is getting "its a rehash" Not sure what people want from a film like this, its pure comic book action, and I loved it, but you have to see what they were playing with, less than half the budget of the 2nd film and half as long to shoot, this is a labour of love for the Director and Vin, by today's PG13 Hollywood standards its a miracle it was made as a R/15, as for the film itself they seemed to make good use of the low budget, some very nice setups and yes in parts the low budget shows but as a whole its good, and that about sums up the film...GOOD, I rate it higher than most of Joe public but I am a fan and get more of a kick out of it, and going by the others in the cinema the feeling was "a good action film" while fans came out "great, been waiting ages for this, now give us a 4th, finish the story" I will go see it again and look forward to the BluRay. Loved it !!.
Richard B Riddick is up to his old tricks again, and if you're a fan, you won't be disappointed, definitely a must see.Vin Diesel is great as always, playing a character that never ceases to enthral me, and the rest of the cast is great too.You know a movie is good when it makes you watch the previous movies when you get home from seeing it.
With a bounty on his head he calls upon the very people who want to have him killed in order to escape.Director/writer David Twohy certainly delivers a fan pleasing sequel that fittingly harks back to the first instalment's roots in both story linkage and tone.
While not as grand, fans of Chronicles will also be pleased with the stripped continuation back story and a cameo from Karl Urban's Vaako.It's a good piece of science fiction action entertainment with decapitations, shootings, spaceships, a hostile planet, yes it's familiar and debatably derivative as the characters get picked off one by one, but as with Pitch Black Twohy effortlessly manages to create a convincing environment with new memorable biological creatures which is no easy task, to his credit it's no often lighting strikes twice given how many forgettable alien creatures have been put on screen.
Yet, even though reminiscent Alien (1979) he manages to recreate what he did with the photosensitive, reptilians in his breakout 2000 film.Vin Diesel returns as the character created by Jim Wheat & Ken Wheat- Riddick, this time he rekindles his previous edginess but the 'one Riddick and his dog' aspect expands the character, sneakily retaining some likability (especially for animal fans).Given the way the production was funded the special effects are a mixed bag but serve their purpose.
Having watched the evolution of this character over the course of one very good Sci-Fi outing (Pitch Black)and one very passable Sci-Fi mega-production (The Chronicles of Riddick), it was nice to welcome him back to smaller budgets and the authentic claustrophobia that befits an interstellar fugitive."Riddick" is a film that delivers what its core audience wants: the story never strays from what has been established, although there is the unfortunate drift towards "How Incredible Is This Guy?" that afflicts so many film series (cf.
I've not come across any 3 movies in succession that have equalled this, except for maybe Star War 4-6.Vin, well done, keep up the great work and keep this character going for as long as it has a story to tell.
In this is a science fiction thriller Riddick (breakthrough film role of actor Vin Diesel) is at an unknown planet with apparently no life and where mysterious events spread across the land full of bloodthirsty creatures and he finds himself as a survivor who is marooned on a strange location .
I just couldn't wait.The Chronicles of Riddick was an epic adventure type of movie; Pitch Black was a survival horror.
Riddick does try to pull a few strings in the heads of the other main characters when the movie starts but one of them an idiot, another one is genuine good guy (which makes playing mind games really hard) and the last one is a girl who seems to have done an advanced degree in putting up a wall in the head.
Vin Diesel still got it and I would still wait impatiently if they'd announce another Riddick movie, but I would have loved the writer to breathe a little more life to the other characters in this one..
The first Riddick Pitch Black is marvellous, the second, Dark Fury is satisfying, the third, Chronicles, is incredible, a gem, I think I watched it 10 times (the Blu-ray version is so sharp).And this one is a real work of art.
The original movie where we meet Riddick was one of awe, a truly back to basic Horror/Action Title that brought an edge back into movies at the time.The Second chapter in this Saga challenged a great many fans of the first to take a strong look at where that Character came from, and what the future had in store for him.This movie takes both aspects of what we have seen of Riddick and brings them together while still striving to stay true to that first film, and that is why I gave it a nine.To be able to bridge both worlds, both idea's, while carving a path of death and destruction we haven't seen since that first Riddick film.
But it's a new planet with its own ecology, animals, and creatures: some of them dangerous- and it all comes in with the storm.In order to trick himself a way off the planet he sets off a mercenary beacon, and that is when the fun begins as two Merc ships show up and start competing as to who is going to put Riddick's head into a box.But not all is as it seems one of the Mercs is not really trying to capture Riddick or kill him and bring him in for the Bounty: he just wants the answer to a question that was posed in the first movie.
And it is a pretty interesting surprise as to who this person is.As usual we get to see Riddick kill Merc after Merc with all kinds of interesting contraptions, but that is not the point, something bad is going to happen and only Riddick knows: so how does he get them to quit shooting at him and listen to what he has to say?Eventually I came to realize: as much as Riddick hates the Necromonger religion- he believes it, and in the end he knows that Lord Vaako (a cameo by Karl Urban) was actually another man with a straight spine.This film has fulfilled my admiration for this character, and for Vinnie Diesel.
The catch, however, is that Riddick is valued higher dead than he is alive -- something we the audience know from the start, but Riddick doesn't until like the end of the movie.Just like in Pitch Black, things don't go according to plan, and we're thrust into another "long darkness." Now most of us who have seen Pitch Black start scratching our heads and wondering "why would Vin Diesel do the same thing twice?" You got me, but whatever, it works for the character I suppose.Sadly the film doesn't really go anywhere up until the last 40 minutes, and let's be honest, just like the first one it doesn't really go anywhere.
It's a nice film if you weren't expecting much in the way of character growth, because we've already had Riddick defined for us in Pitch Black and just like in Chronicles of Riddick he doesn't really progress as a character.
Riddick is an iconic character played by Van Diesel in three movies: Pitch Black, the Chronicles of Riddick and the newest installment Riddick- Into the Dark.
The first film was PITCH BLACK, an efficient low budget horror/thriller set on a dingy alien planet; the second was THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK, which was a somewhat overblown sci-fi fantasy; this third production is a combination of the two.We're back on a smaller scale here, with Vin Diesel stranded in an inhospitable landscape with only his alien 'dog' for company.
This movie "Riddick" is kid of like the movie "Pitch Black" with a better story and way better special effects.
It earned $98,337,295 worldwide.The meager success of the previous "Chronicles of Riddick" movie was the reason why it took so long for the sequel to come out.I just hope that Vin Diesel is not discouraged by this anemic box office performance and continues investing on this cool franchise.
Johns was son in Pitch Black and Father was in Riddick 3rd named Boss Johns he was better character then his son in first one his son William was a bit of idiot as character but his father was more smarter he does a lot in this movie he was pretty good.
i like part when Riddick was fighting with guy, Riddick throws the knife and guy with gun shoot's it they both dodge it the same time in slow motion that was awesome this movie was good i think you should check it out it is Violent,gore movie with lot's of Action thanks to Vin Diesel for bring franchise of Riddick..
I was happy to catch a sneak preview of Riddick already on 4th of September, which I went out to see almost on a whim while not being a fan of the series nor space operas in general, and it turned out to be one of my most enjoyable and satisfying cinema experiences ever.To fully express my opinion of this third installment in the series, I feel a need to digress with my opinions on the first two films.I quite enjoyed Pitch Black, but was not thoroughly impressed by it.
What is even more mind-boggling, instead of throwing that script in the bin, he seeks and gets full support from Vin Diesel, now also the producer, to film that nonsense of a story.Riddick (the movie) from the trailer felt like an uncompromising and non-pretentious throwback to Pitch Black, but more visceral and self- conscious.
It simply delivers on its promise of entertaining you.Some SPOILERS below.Of the minor flaws I can mention the necessary but clumsy flashback featuring Necromongers, Santana character wanting to kill Riddick while they still didn't know where he hid the power cores, and the conveniently disappearing and appearing venom creatures in the third act, but I understand that without the element of creatures fearing light it was difficult to construct that part of the movie more convincingly and better.I understand that there are many fans of The Chronicles out there, that they enjoyed the references to Necromongers, but I remain convinced that The Chronicles storyline and universe is broken and can't be fixed, despite the passion of Twohy and Diesel for the mythology.
I am also happy that they tied in a nice transition from the second movie (Chronicles of Riddick) to help the viewer understand the progression and the reasoning why they are on this planet and the end goal.I think they could have done more and let the viewers realize that there was more hope but overall i would say this was a enjoyable film non-the-less..
The storyline is a little bit confused, especially if you forgot what happened in the previous movies, but you can follow it along good enough and make sense of most of it.The movie starts out very strong, with Riddick stranded on an inhospitable and deadly alien planet filled with forbidding vistas and predator type wildlife that would love nothing better than to snack on a human for a quick meal.
I especially liked the colors used, a lot of yellow and orange hues that are striking to look at on screen and its effective in creating a rich atmosphere of a forbidding alien planet.I thought the acting of Riddick and the other characters in the movie was good overall, and even though most of the characters are minor, the actors did well to create a memorable impression.The movie is no masterpiece though and has its problems (some lame dialog, some of the action gets a bit tedious, and the movie also runs too long, should have been 90 minutes), but it has a definite appeal for fans of the previous movies and fans of the genre, and is entertaining to watch..
I wouldn't say I was dragged along to the latest installment of gravel voiced bulk of confusion - Vin Desel's Riddick (Cert 15), but I wasn't really looking forward to it either, especially after the previous 'Pitch Black and Chronicles drivel...Our hero wakes up on a barren planet after being left for dead and then spends the rest of the movie trying to get off the planet whilst all the time behaving like a human being!!, (he cries, he's in pain, he cares,and oh and boy did he get old and chunky), I thought the planet a rather nice place actually, especially as i didn't see any cinemas with posters of upcoming Vin Desel movies..the whole thing chugged along without much rhyme or reason and I kept imagining that a 15 years old boy had written the script and was shouting from behind the camera "more tits, more tits" and trying to get as much (bad) CGI in as he could, the dialogue was actually more painful than the fight scenes "he tried to ghost me" growls some muscle head to another muscle head, I'm fairly sure that all with all the testosterone there was little space for important words..
I wasn't a huge fan of Pitch Black (PB) and Chronicles of Riddick (CoR) but I wanted to like this film.
Like all films based on Riddick and the Pitch Black Story, this one fell perfectly in line with the rest.
I'm a fan of Riddick and loved this film as well if not better than the others; not counting Pitch Black which is the best one ever.
These two groups of men (and one very tough woman) are now at the mercy of the strong, smart and resourceful Riddick, as well as the planet that just might kill them all.This may sound like a typical sci-fi actioner, but the especially strong supporting cast make the film very interesting to watch and Riddick's impressive survival skills and just the right amount of humor make the movie a lot of fun as well.
This, sadly, was my experience in watching Vin Diesel in RIDDICK.The movie had great production values and very believable special effects, realistic CGI, the story was a bit basic but entertaining enough, and the actors surrounding Diesel give their best with what they given throughout (the stand-out being Matt Nable, as Johns, who was excellent even).
The first Riddick movie, Pitch Black, was a taut sci-fi/action/horror blend with a strong cast.
'Riddick' is the sequel that Vin Diesel put his house on the line for, and you can see he enjoys playing the character, he's played his twice before in the original Pitch Black, and the more epic, but less well realised 'Chronicles of Riddick' The visual images of these films have always been very strong, and the same can be said here of the third in the trilogy.
Needing to be a great actor isn't really necessary when it comes to action movies, and it takes a lot for there to be an exception to that rule, but three cheers for Vin Diesel, he's surely managed it here in Riddick.
But maybe too much in that spirit, as the new movie at times plays almost like a remake of the earlier one.Similar to Pitch Black, Riddick tells a lean, self-contained story aside from a couple references to characters and events of the previous films — characters and events that.
I love the character of Riddick but the two movies which followed Pitch Black were both disappointing.
This film tells Riddick's fight for survival on an inhospitable planet, with monsters and bounty hunters after him.The first part of "Riddick" is like a sci-fi version of "Man vs Wild", but not in a good way.
I loved Pitch Black, I watched it before I knew anything about it and it was great, and then came Chronicles and I actually like that better than the first movie (even though it was supposedly critically shunned).
Overall, the plot and pacing of the movie is excellent - better than any Riddick film before it.The acting is also great. |
tt0374180 | Romasanta | 1850. Wolves plague the forests. People are disappearing. The mutilated cadavers present precise surgical cuts along with savage gashes. It's a contradiction that terrorizes the local villagers, who are too frightened to enter the forests. Rumours about the legend of the "Werewolf of Allariz" spread.Barbara and her sister Josephine live in an isolated house in the forest. They only feel safe when a travelling vendor by the name of Manuel Romasanta comes to visit. But why is Manuel not afraid to enter the forest? What secrets are hidden under the roof of his wagon?The film is based on the true-life story of Manuel Blanco Romasanta, the travelling vendor, who confessed to the murders of thirteen people, using their body fat to make soap. Romasanta was tried in Allaríz in 1852 and avoided capital punishment by proclaiming he was a werewolf. | gothic | train | imdb | If you're one of those people who quite enjoyed "La Pacte des Loups" (Brotherhood of the Wolf) a few years back but were left disappointed by some of the more ridiculous historical inaccuracies, then you might want to take a look at Romasanta.The story of Manuel Blanco Romasanta is quite a well known one in Spain.
He was diagnosed with the psychological condition of lycanthropy, and given a life sentence rather than death.The film itself is based largely on truth, partly on speculation and partly on pure invention for artistic purposes.
One character is knowingly invented, and some rather unlikely theories are put forward in the place of that which is unknown, but the question of whether or not Romasanta was actually a werewolf is left completely open.
It is quite slow moving, and arguably it's rather light on actual story and plot, but that's about as far as the criticism goes.There are several great performances, but the standout comes from Julian Sands as the title character, who submerges himself in the role in the way that only outstanding actors can.
It also features Elsa Pataky as the leading heroine, who has become a huge sex symbol in Spain and it isn't hard to see why -- think along the lines of a Spanish Keira Knightley.This is the finest historical werewolf film I've ever seen, and any self-respecting werewolf buff should take a look, but unfortunately there's not much chance of this one being a blockbuster..
'Romasanta' tells the chilling tale of Manuel Blanco Romasanta, known murderer of 15 people (although confessing to murdering many more) and how he charms women before killing them brutally like a wolf.
She suspects that Romasanta has killed her sister and niece and sets out to have justice brought to him.Julian Sands (Romasanta) is excellent in this chilling Gothic tale, portraying the character with such eerie class that makes the film as good as it is.
This is no ordinary werewolf movie, it is a psychological thriller, looking at the mind-set of a man suffering from lycanthropy, making him turn mentally to a beast but making him feel the physicality of it.All in all, an excellent Gothic tale, a new take on werewolf movies and I would say that it is better than most films involving werewolves.
Good performances from Julian Sands as traveling seller who hides a terrible secret and Elsa Pataky as unfortunate victim who seeks vengeance .
The transformation of man into werewolf is complex and is made by expert make-up artist with no computer generator FX .The writers provide a well-knit plot with mystery and horror, giving full rein to Paco Plaza natural talent for the terror genre .
Rating : 6,5 Good .The film is based on the true-life story of Manuel Blanco Romasanta, the traveling vendor, who confessed to the murders of thirteen people, using their body fat to make soap.
Right from the start of the movie, one is never given the full story so the viewer is compelled to watch wanting to find out what is going on.
Good direction, visually appealing, atmospheric.However, scientifically, and/or historically literate viewers will find one nagging, glaring blunder; at one point in this story, which is supposed to be set in the mid 19th century, there is a reference to a person being controlled "by his genes".
The term "gene" wasn't even proposed until half a century later, and additionally, around mid 19th century the mechanism of inheritance was entirely unknown; Mendel's work lay undiscovered until early 20th century, and even Mendel didn't use the word "gene" (so it couldn't have been a case of some exceptionally insightful scientist having discovered the term in some ).That sort of a slip may not seem much, but for someone aware of this history, it does brake the illusion of an authentic world in which the events are set, making it harder to enjoy the movie.
In a movie set in a historical period, accuracy should be more of a priority though, I think.The story proceeds almost languidly, punctuated by moments of violence and terror; perhaps too slow for most horror fans to appreciate, and those who do appreciate the subtlety are likely to be bothered by the "gene" mishap.
The score is beautiful, and lighting is used to good effect; the combination makes for a visually and auditorily pleasing experience.Perhaps because of how the movie is portrayed as a werewolf movie, the people who might best enjoy it, aren't likely to see it, and the people expecting a traditional supernatural horror movie might feel a bit let down.In conclusion, Romasanta is a movie not as good as it could have been, and somewhat misleadingly advertised on the cover, but well worth seeing nonetheless.
Its front paws knock you flat on your back, and you feel the freezing earth soaking through your shirt, the full moon gleaming down like a cruel eye, watching you.The wolf doesn't bother with a killing wound; it just begins to tear chunks of flesh from your stomach, ignoring your agonized screams.
It will be a long, long time before your body loses all feeling, and everything goes dark.Manuel Romasanta was a traveling merchant and salesman in the mid eighteen hundreds, who, at some point, went completely and utterly insane.
But, of course, being set in the time that it is, and under the circumstances through which the events surrounding the case unfolded, they couldn't have been content merely to make a slasher/thriller sort of thing documenting the life of a serial killer.
But groundless were all my fears, for as the movie progresses it becomes increasingly clear that this is not your usual, run-of-the-mill type of werewolf crap, with Romasanta assuming the form of a proper wolf when he transforms.
Those expecting wolf men will be disappointed, but those who like a good story and terrors that are for the most part only alluded to, will enjoy this one.
Romasanta: The Werewolf Hunt is based on the true story of Manuel Blanco Romasanta, Spain's first documented serial killer, who claimed at his trial that he was not responsible for the numerous murders he committed since he was suffering from a curse that turned him into a wolf (always worth a go, I suppose).The film takes place in 1851, in a rural Spanish community where there has been a spate of deadly attacks, presumably by wolves.
Travelling salesman Manuel Romasanta (played by the very English Julian Sands, who makes zero attempt at an accent) arrives in the area to visit his girlfriend Maru Valdivielso, who shares her home with her rather lovely sister Bárbara (Elsa Pataky) and their young deaf niece Teresa (Luna McGill).Seemingly concerned for their safety, Manuel offers to escort Maria and Teresa to Santander, but the girls never make it to their destination, their charming travelling companion attacking them in the forest, believing himself to be a lycanthrope—a man who can transform into a wolf.
When Manuel returns to Bárbara, he seduces the unsuspecting woman, but is unable to hide the truth for very long
With its mid-19th century European setting, ambiguous werewolf plot, and stunning visuals, Romasanta reminded me a lot of Christophe Gans' The Brotherhood of the Wolf; but like that film, Romasanta suffers from a plodding and slightly confusing narrative, one that makes matters hard going, even despite a few genuinely twisted moments involving sticks in eyes and the removal of body fat, a fairly decent transformation scene, and the sight of Pataky in a tin bath having her breasts soaped up by Sands..
That way you know not to expect a traditional werewolf film.
And if you don't like reading, all I can say is don't expect a straight-up werewolf horror story and you should enjoy it..
We discussed how clapping originated, looked at his new shoes that he'd purchased online and how there aren't many good werewolf films, which is a shame.
Or maybe this is just really well done makeup work in which case extra credit is due.There is a transformation scene that is kinda interesting, though it focuses on a wolf turning into a man rather than the other way around,which it turns out is relevant to the theme of the film.
(There is also a pretty cool transformation scene.) I especially love that this film is loosely based on the story of Manuel Blanco Romasanta (1809 - 1863), Spain's first serial killer.
It was an effective and dark film; it wasn't the most original movie I'd ever watched, but it was OK, I had a nice and entertaining time (mission accomplished).
And now I go and watch this "Romasanta", waiting for some excitement, even though the cast wasn't that good (Elsa Pataky, Julian Sands
).
Maybe the story in "Romasanta" is attractive , but Mr. Plaza hasn't found a way to tell it in a right way.I hope that Plaza's third film will be as good as "The Second Name", so we can count on him to make nice fantastic-terror movies (just like Amenábar or Balagueró do).
Having seen Julian Sands' name on the box, I thought 'OK, well, he's been in some pretty bad films (Arachnophobia, Boxing Helena etc.), but he's also been good in things, so I'll give it a go'.
The film is not an action packed mixture of violence and CGI transformations like many werewolf films of today have degenerated into but an actual leisurely paced film that takes the time to develop its characters.
The film deals with the true story of Manuel Blanco Romasanta, a man arrested in 1851 for the murder of more than 13 people in rural Spain.
This movie claims to be based upon reals things, (a lycantrop that lived at the end of XIX century, and maybe due to this reason it is not as much exaggerated as much other terror films that are usually made.
That question is left for you to answer.Francisco Plaza's thrill/horror film is based upon true events that happened a couple of hundred years ago in Spain.Julian Sands, who plays Manuel Romasanta has appeared in a lot of horror movies.
He dispatches his victims in a gruesome manner, some quickly, and some he takes time to enjoy, like the lovely Elsa Pataky.This is not a great film, but it is slightly interesting.
Good Werewolf Romance Based on a True Story.
In 1852, in Galicia, Spain, the traveling vendor Manuel Blanco Romasanta is tried for the murder of at least fifteen persons.
I believe the lack of mystery with the lead character, i.e., the viewer knows who is the killer before watching the film, is the greatest flaw in this screenplay.
The story is great, recalling "La Pacte des Loups"; the cinematography and effects are wonderful; and Julian Sands and Elsa Pataky have excellent performances and chemistry, with the story centered in their romance first, and in the rage of Bárbara for Romasanta later.
The police manage to cover up most of the killings out of a desire to prevent public panic.The killer is a traveling vendor, Manuel Blanco Romasanta (Sands).
Viewers expecting an action-packed horror film will be disappointed.
I have to say please don't be put off by other comments on here - this is an okay film for a rainy evening, and certainly nowhere near as bad as others say.I'm not sure I've put any spoilers as such in from this point, but better to be safe than sorry:Julian Sands is quite good as the main protagonist of the title, he tends to keep you guessing as to his true motives towards Barbra; and after his murders his more mundane every day actions are all the more chilling as you feel, knowing what you do as the viewer, you're almost an accomplice because you can't tell other characters what he's done.
The fact it's based on a true story is also a plus point.It was a fairly good film; solid and with good performances.
Professor Philips(David Grant is a persuasive doctor who proclaims that Romasanta is not responsible for the killer impulses the wolf brings out.Handsome production and great photography help the flick which doesn't produce the goods in werewolf transformations, instead opting for being a historical document on a serial killer stating on record he is a werewolf who can not help but kill when the beast comes out to play.
One: It's based on a true story of a werewolf that killed 13 people and we all know that, unlike ghosts, werewolves are real.
Not really a werewolf movie but more of a 1852 serial killing thriller.
I read the back and knew then that it wasn't a straight up werewolf movie but it still sounded interesting so I got it.The movie is based on true events of a serial killer named Romasanta.
It took you through a nice recreation of the original events with some decent added story.If you like horror thrillers...not a bad rent!.
It is a decent movie, based on a still popular and true story, very well known in northern Spain nowadays.
Romasanta: The Werewolf Hunt is set in the Galicia region of Spain during 1851 & starts as fear sweeps through the area as several dead, mutilated bodies have turned up recently.
Apparently based on a true story which happened in Spain, in 1851 & involving a serial killer named Romasanta who claimed he was a Werewolf in court when captured this could have been a great little film but I found the script very ponderous, slightly confusing at times & I also found it difficult to care about anyone or anything.
The film feels disjointed, parts feel missing or edited wrongly & Romasanta: The Werewolf Hunt is very slow going with very little action or incident.
Ay a little over 90 minutes long Romasanta: The Werewolf Hunt could have done with a good ten minutes cut out & a few more moments of horror rather than dull drama.
Romasanta: The Werewolf Hunt isn't terrible & if you can get into the story & care for the people involved then I could see you enjoying this but I didn't, I couldn't & so I never.On thing that Romasanta: The Werewolf Hunt has going for it is that it's incredibly well made & a visually very nice film, the period locations, sets, costumes & detail is superb & that's the main reason I gave it four stars out of ten & not less.
There's a Werewolf transformation scene that unusually has the actual Wolf creature turn into a human rather than the other way around.
Apparently the obscure Spanish film The Ancines Woods (1970) is also based on the story of Manuel Romasanta.Obviously filmed on location in Spain this looks very slick with great photography that captures the period very well, a lack of quick fire editing & shaky hand-held camcorder shots is most welcome.
The acting is alright, the performances are better than usual for a low budget horror film but the main name in the cast British born actor Julian Sands.Romasanta: The Werewolf Hunt doesn't seem to know what it wants to be, a historic period piece, a horror film, a drama or a murder mystery & ends up somewhere between them all without ever satisfying in any aspect.
The misleadingly titled Romasanta: The Werewolf Hunt is a disappointing pile of slow, plodding period serial killer rubbish.
There are no real werewolves, only that which goes on within the title character's head, and because it's based on true events the movie is incredibly dry and uninventive in the story department.
Even in a GOOD movie, such a scene would force me to seriously question what the director was attempting to accomplish, but in a movie so ineffectual as this it just seems pointless, tasteless and sensational.Still, as I have stated, I could have stomached the violence given my history of watching a lot of violent movies, were the movie in any way enthralling, but Romasanta is like cinematic wallpaper.
Romasanta isn't at all sympathetic as a character, given that he kills and robs indiscriminately with immense cruelty throughout the entire film, so his pleas that he is insane toward the end of the movie, obviously supposed to be an emotional high point pass without event or interest, and without this the movie is robbed of any sense of climax.To be honest, I expected very little from Romasanta, but I did expect a werewolf, which it didn't produce, and I expected a plot with high and low points and obvious progression, which it didn't produce either.
The story of Romasanta is interesting because it is based on true historical events.
This could have been truly great historical werewolf/horror movie.
Manuel Blanco Romasanta was a traveling vendor in Spain of 1852 who confessed to the murders of 15 people.
"Romasanta: The Werewolf Hunter" is an interesting and original take on the werewolf genre.**SPOILERS**In 1851, a series of wolf attacks is plaguing Europe, forcing Manuel Romasanta, (Julian Sands) and his family, Maria, (Maru Valdivielso) Teresa, (Luna McGill) and Barbara, (Elsa Pataky) to move to a new village.
Struggling to believe the story even though she doesn't believe it, when finally confronted with the evidence of who the killer is and what their intentions are, she must fight to stay alive against the overpowering enemy.The Good News: This is one of the more interesting werewolf films around.
It has a the feel of a serial killer film while in the context of a werewolf as the main villain.
I watched this movie like months ago and have remembered it ever since I began to try and hunt down the actor that played Manuel!
Most aren't familiar with the Manuel Romasanta story (no reason why they should) and when they see the DVD case (I'm not familiar with theatrical hype), they are quite justified in picking it up expecting a werewolf film.
I enjoyed this movie but I think I enjoyed because when I learned it was coming, and being the curious person I am, I dug into the story of Manuel Romasanta. |
Subsets and Splits