I got over the whole fannish reaction very early on... way before release, in fact. So the whole "How come it ain't Selina Kyle, what happened to 'Batman', etc." thing was old news when I sat to watch. Judging it as simply a film, I can now say it's a bad one. Or rather, an incredibly uninteresting one.
It takes a lot of cash, some good visuals, a quality cast and just hurls them all into the litter box. "Oh, our superhero's a girl, so let's do our conspiracy thing in the world of cosmetics!!" YAWN. Sharon Stone looks as bored as the viewer, and if one were performing some kind of thespian litmus test, the chemistry between Halle Berry and Benjamin Bratt wouldn't even register.
The only good thing connected with this MASSIVE flop, is seeing Berry collecting her Razzie, good sport that she is.
In short, avoid.
Kerry Conran made a six minute short on his Apple Mac. It caught the eye of producer Jon Avnet and something new was born...
This is Heaven. Sure the story is light, but it's supposed to be - it's in keeping with the film's inspirations, which can clearly be seen wall-to-wall, and in the little details that pop up all over the place. It's shot entirely in front of a green screen, and one thing that helps is that it doesn't strive to be 100% real, so... you just sit back and go with it.
A labour of love, and its doing its own thing. The fact that it bombed big time at the box office comes as no surprise whatsoever, but for we enlightened few (we fans of the film), it's good to know that its steadily building a rep on DVD. Bottom line: $40.000.000 well spent!
John Frankenheimer dies. Paul Schrader is brought on board and makes a clever, psychological film which the suits don't get. Renny Harlin (er...) is then put in the director's chair for some reshoots in order to fill it with some more marketable "horror" stuff and ends up remaking the whole film in his brain's image. The result? Unholy. An abomination.
Luckily, Schraeder's superior film is due a limited release, so those of us who care can purge the memory of Harlin's badly thought out reworking of a really great idea. Above all, I simply am dumbfounded at the choice of Harlin as an 'Exorcist' director - a man known for big, dumb action films, only two of which were any good. His action sensibilities come into play in the last reel when all else fails.
Three decades ago, William Friedkin made a film with a vibrating bed and the world gasped. This has all of today's excessive gloss (including some very bad CG hyenas) and the result is risible at best.
While this film may not have aged as gracefully as Carpenter's other early 80s offering, The Thing, it still deserves a three star rating without too much vacillation. The cast alone (Dean Stanton, Russell, Borgnine, and Pleasance) merit respect, and help mitigate the pernicious influence of a grand script and low budget (a non-sequitur). This is something of a cult film, with a degree of atmosphere, and, dare I suggest, style. Memorable for it's dark (literally) and sinister projection of urban decay, societal degeneration, and oligarchy, Carpenter's film is seminal. At another level it is a watchable sci-fi movie with enough action for the average DVD renter. Not sure it is one to add to a collection (given the price and Region). Dark Star is more obscure, but an exemplary low budget effort that is more interesting and articulate. It is also less expensive and available as Region 2. If you want to see 'early' (in fact, film student) Carpenter, get the latter.
Fab special FX and prosthetics, interesting storyline and great ending!
This is one of the best animated films in a long time, appeals to adults and children. Thoroughly enjoyable and funny.
This is a wonderful film that is so enjoyable you can't stop talking about it. Having been on the Pirates of the Caribbean Disney ride, it was difficult to see how such a concept could be made into a full length feature film. The scriptwriters have done a marvellous job. The narrative does not flag and there are laughs galore. The special effects are worthy of an oscar as is the performance by Johnny Depp. It has been reported that he modelled his character on Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, and as a Stones fan myself this merely added to the enjoyment. Depp's slightly camp Captain Jack Sparrow is an unforgettable caharacter and will be copied in the future. Everything about him - his walk, his accent, his turn of speech, his repartee - adds to the enjoyment of the film. Depp is ably supported by Orlando Bloom as Kiera Knightley's love interest and the only one who can bring the ethereal pirates back to mortality. Knightley turns in a sparky leading lady performance and her strong role here certainly prepared her for King Arthur. Geoffrey Rush makes a suitably ruthless pirate captain. He also manages to get the audience to feel sorry for his plight - the pirates are cursed to be skeletons by day and take on mortal form by night, until they retrieve all the stolen Aztec treasure and spill Orlando Bloom's blood over it to lift the curse. The scenes where the pirates turn from flesh to bone and back again are particularly impressive. This is shown extremely well in the numerous fight scenes. The film has been written to entertain and it not only makes you laugh but is also excitingly directed.
Kate Winslet plays "Bitsy Bloom" a young reporter "chosen" by a convict on death row (David Gale played by Kevin Spacey) a few days before the time set for his execution, to interview him and investigate the circumstances of the crime for which he was convicted...the murder of a close female friend and fellow civil rights activist. Initially convinced of his guilt, as the clock ticks Bitsy starts to question the conviction, but will she be able to piece together what really happened before the execution takes place.
Full of twists and turns, this movie keeps you hooked until the end when all is revealed. Highly recommended for a good night in.
Al Pacino and cast in a perfect version of the Merchant of Venice, true to the text. (Once the surprise of seeing english comedy actors is over,they are good too!)
this movie should be shown in schools and break the 'its boring' attitude that goes with the forced learning of shakespeare. this production and the play is relevant still in the 21c, with racism and immigrant issues. it is beautiful to look at,and the photography and sets are awesome. when Shylock(Al Pacino)is on screen,it is difficult to look away, he is mesmerising as usual,
altogether, eye candy to think about :-)
This film is a classic. Jim Carrey is Fantastic as Andy Kaufman. A gripping watch from start to finish.
This is an excellent version of the Wyatt Earp story with strong performances from Kurt Russell as Wyatt Earp and Powers Boothe as the amoral Curly Bill Brocius. Val Kilmer's portrayal of Doc Holliday is a tour-de-force and his characterisation of Holliday as a cultured but deadly killer-gambler neatly counterpoints the more upright Earp.
From the introductory 'bloodbath' at a Mexican wedding scene through to the post-OK Corral vengeance ride, the movie romps along. The OK Corral gunfight has been carefully researched and we get a faithful rendition ogf the fateful 30 seconds it took for Billy Clanton, Frank McLaury and Tom McLaury to die at the hands of the lawmen. The only criticism is that the aftermath is telescoped so much. As a result the ambusgh and wounding of Virgil Earp and the murder of Morgan Earp do not have the right effect.
Nonethless, because of a tight story line and strong performances from even the most minor characters this is a "must see" Western.
"My name is Alice, and I remember... everything!" Well, I wish the filmmakers here could remember what makes the good stuff tick.
The er... "original" film... a good, glossy, zombie ridden exercise in style over substance - Anti Oscar Material and great fun. This? Also great fun, but if the brain went out the window before this, the sequel is scraping out the skull.
Jovovich is now a gun-toting, genetically-interefered-with superwoman (fine), there are wall-to-wall thrills 'n' spills of the utterly "oh come on" variety, and, as one would expect, the odd wee textbook scare.
If you've only got the time to listen to one of the three commentary tracks, go for the PRODUCER one, as one of the guilty parties is Paul WS Anderson, whose recent 'AVP' I found suprprisingly enjoyable (as long as you're expecting 'Wrestlemania in a Pyramid'!) Well, he wrote this, and I simply HAD to listen to him sitting there glowing affectionately.
In short, it's highly enjoyable drivel - the sort of film Beavis and Butthead were born to watch.
The onset of the Industrial Revolution changed the world in countless ways - and produced many technical wonders in the process. This BBC series has collected together seven of the most notable. From Robert Stevenson's Bell Rock Lighthouse to Joseph Bazalgette's London Sewers, each one shows the almost limitless peaks of human creativity.
This film see Jim Carrie return to what he does best. Stupid faces and stupid voices! This dark but not too dark story is about 3 young children who becuase of their parents death are left to live with their evil uncle, whos more interested in their inheritance than there welfare.
Slightly Tim burtonesque in tone the film is set in a twisted version of our own world. With really good sets and characters. There is more here for a younger viewer but still enough for adults to be keept entertained.
Pixar have done it again! Another amazing film from the computer wizards that brought us monsters inc and finding nemo.
The Film is set around a family of super-heros that foucred into retirement and live normal lives. But this story is anything but normal. Pixar for the first time have got a non-pixar director (Brad Bird) to come in and direct this film, And this change really shows. There is a new level of realness and emotion that even surpasses their previous films. There is enough in this film to keep both kids and adults gripped.
The DVD comes on 2 disks. One for the film and one for the extras, which there are plenty of. The normal making of stuff along with 2 really good commentaries from the director/producer and the animators. And as the film is taken directly from the digital source the picture and sound quality are top notch.
I think this movie goes down in one of my classic movies.This movie is unique.This movie is funny and is really humerus.This movie is basically a joke but it is really trying to be serious.This movie has copied parts of boys in the hood , menance to society and high learning.This movie gives us the real effect of growing up in the hood .I think if this movie went to the cinemas it would of one oscars for one of the funniest movies ever.
Telly Paretta (Julianne Moore) is tormented by the memory of her eight-year-old son Sam's death in a plane crash 14 months ago. While trying to work through her grief, and her subsequent estrangement from her husband Jim (Anthony Edwards), she is informed by her psychiatrist, Dr. Munce (Gary Sinise), that she is suffering from delusions, that her son never existed and she is fabricating his memories. Stunned, she tries to find evidence of Sam's existence �photos, videos, scrapbooks. But it has all disappeared.Telly is convinced she is going mad until she meets Ash Correll (Dominic West), the father of one of the other plane crash victims. Together, they embark on a search to prove the existence of their children and reclaim their sanity...... A great film experience, if everything else doesn't fit the simple answers are usaually right, watch out the X-files
A quality cast (and that word also covers Vin Diesel, in my book), jaw dropping production design (medieval SF - love it!!), and more ships, sets and major explosions than you could shake $110,000,000 at. And yet... well, I found the whole thing a tad underwhelming.
OK, first of all, I have to say that I was REALLY tired when I watched this (and that's never a good thing - can't be 100% fair), but it seemed to me that the film was not enjoying itself, know what I mean? Where was the spark... that quality known as "tap dancing"?
It gets far too bogged down with irksome waffle, and yet it could have been so much better with MORE waffle... that is, if it could have been quality waffle. It needed drama that resonated on the same level as its explosions (like, say, 'I Claudius' in space - wouldn't that be great?) Either that or send the whole thing up. Whichever route should have been taken, the all important spark was not in evidence. The far simpler 'Pitch Black' was much better.
Extras are skimpy/gimmicky scene setting things, with far too little actual documentary stuff. So, like when watching the film itself, we're asking "Where's the meat?"
Fans would be better off seeking out the super-duper R1 version with the unrated, extended (to the tune of an extra 15 minutes) cut, which also has a commentary (the most important extra on any DVD and conspicuous here by its absence!!)
The bottom line: sort of good, sort of not.
Edward D. Wood Jr - the transvestite film director who made such utterly abominable classics as 'Plan 9 from Outer Space'; the man with a legendary fetish for angora sweaters; the man who could always be relied upon to produce work of the lowest order... The man was a true artist, a true original - committed to his work... his vision, and totally oblivious to the fact that everything he touched turned to raw sewage.
Who else but Tim Burton would make a biopic about such a guy (he"s completely obsessed with misfits, be they 'Batman', 'Edward Scissorhands' or even Pee Wee Herman), and 'Ed Wood' is another genuine labour of love.
Filmed (as the covers of those VHS re-release of Wood"s films say) in "original black & white", this is occasionally liberal with the truth in order to create an almost mythical quality, with Wood"s relationship with ailing horror star Bela Lugosi providing much of the focus. The essentially tragic tale is, for the main, as upbeat as they come. This is due mainly to Johnny Depp"s infectiously optimistic turn as Hollywood"s greatest curiosity - his is a superb performance, as is that of Martin Landau, whose portrayal of Lugosi won him a Best Supporting Actor Oscar. These two don"t reap all the glory however, as Wood"s clique - a delightful array of oddballs and freaks - is continually in the picture, and they"re fleshed-out by some of the world's top talent, making up an enviable ensemble.
And so filmdom"s strangest story has finally been told, and in the finest manner possible. It"s a sensitive and screamingly funny affair - very culty, though anything but exclusive, and guaranteed to win over each and every viewer. If you"ve not had the pleasure of witnessing Wood"s films, you"ll certainly be hunting them down after this.
It's presented here in a lovely anamorphic transfer and colourised (JUST KIDDING!!) There's a must-hear comm-track (by director Tim Burton, writers Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, cinematographer Stefan Czapsky, costume designer Colleen Atwood and actor Martin Landau... PHEW!!), a fistful of featurettes, AND a music video, AND the trailer, AND it's a brilliant film regardless of the trimmings, so... BUY!!!!!!!!!
No manufactured fad band that doesn"t know any songs by Hawkwind will ever stand a chance with me, so of course those (wretched) Spice Girls have never been my thing. Even so, I was determined to view their cinematic debut objectively and yes, I object!
This is supposed to be a week-in-the-life sort of thing, except that it isn"t - Richard E. Grant plays their manager, there"s an emphasis on supposedly wacky comedy and there are even some dodgy rubber aliens thrown in for good measure. So, as a lightweight, crazy romp, it doesn"t have to stand as good art, but it could at least be funny. It ain"t - it"s not even amusing - and the surprising thing is that Bob Spiers is the man in charge. That name might not mean a lot to cinemagoers, but to fans of truly classic BBC comedy such as 'Fawlty Towers' and 'Absolutely Fabulous', it is a name to be venerated. Bob Spiers! And it"s still not funny. Hoards of stars making cameo appearances (Jennifer Saunders, Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Roger Moore, Bob Hoskins, Richard Briers...) and it"s still not funny. Michael Barrymore is in it... of course it"s not funny (after all these years, this poor man"s Cleese is still about as amusing as kidney failure).
Story-wise? Who cares? It"s an episodic movie and that"s fine, but I will say that one of these episodes, in which the girls have a word with a comatose kid in order to bring him round, is in pretty poor taste. And it"s pointless too, I mean, what could the Spice Girls possibly have to say to anyone beyond "Hello, I"m Mel B" or "Hello, I"m Mel C"?
It"s a hard day"s night making it through this tragical mystery tour. If you like it, you need help. It"s tedious, it"s dumb, it"s got the Spice Girls in it, and it"s the worst film I"ve sat through since Michael Jackson"s 'Moonwalker'. I"ll tell you watcha want, watcha really, really want: to be watching literally anything else (got any paint drying?) AWFUL in block capitals, yet it sold... and sold... and sold...
The DVD has both widescreen (for the devoted) and fullframe (for the deluded) transfers, a nice 5.1 soundtrack (if you're going to listen to drivel, the drivel may as well sound good), and no extras whatsoever (save for some note thingies), which, in the case of 'Spiceworld' is probably a good thing!! And, just for the record, it would appear to have been deleted. YIPPEE!!
This site uses cookies.
More details in our privacy policy