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Messner
This documentary was done very very well.It is an excellent source for anyonewho is fascinated with the extreme mountain climbing. It's Amazing see howone man has pushed his body to the limit, physically and mentally.It is a pleasure to finally see and hear his philosophy on life. | 1positive
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Without a doubt - the best TRUE movie
As for the person, who was born and lived in the USSR, "K 19: The Widowmaker" is a flashback... Flashback from times, when brave men have suffered from the Communist Government because of their crazy ideas. Afganistan, Chernobil and K 19.Kathryn Bigelow's movie is not the new fake about the cold war, like any other film made before. This is the REAL tragedy, which will make you cry. At last American Movie Industry tried to tell the truth.Casting is perfect and on the top of it briliant artists - Harrison Ford and Liam Neeson.There are more secret stories from the history of the USSR to discover. | 1positive
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Great!
One of the best series ever-funny,horrifying,exciting-all wrapped up in one! I can't say enough! I bought the entire series so I could watch again. | 1positive
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Good Movie
I like the movie but an hour into the movie the movie stops working. I forward the movie several times and at the same spot it stops and wont continue.Will Amazon replace my movie or have I just wasted money on a bad movie????Very Disappointed!!!! | 0negative
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It only gets better !
I bought series 1 on DVD and loved it, so for a few bucks more I bought series 2 on Blu Ray.Amazing transition, in terms of picture quality and audio; and series 2 was even better thanseries 1 into the bargain. Exploding head glued to giant tortoise.. that and so much more weirdand wonderful stuff.. I can't wait for series 3, but I will have to. The story keeps on trucking,with no disappointing. | 1positive
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Pistol Whipped Movie Review
Pistol Whipped is typical Steven Seagal straight-to-DVD fodder. It has its moments, including a surprisingly suspenseful car chase and a cemetery shootout, but more often than not what it sets out to accomplish it fails miserably at.Matt (Steven Seagal) is an out-of-work, out-of-luck ex-cop who struggles to keep his weekly visits with his young daughter, and battles constant drinking and gambling problems. A mysterious gray-haired man dubbed Blue (Lance Henriksen) buys up Matt's bookie tickets and gambling debts and propositions him to become a hitman. Being randomly delivered envelopes with cash and a photo, he scouts around town locating his targets. Most are lowlife criminal scumbags who deserve a quick demise, but when Matt is ordered to execute the stepfather of his daughter and longtime friend Lieutenant Steve Shacter (Mark Wilson) he investigates Blue and his motives to discover who the real criminals are.A slow-motion, chaotic gunfight in a cemetery, desaturated, black and white and blanketed with operatic music opens Pistol Whipped, promising a ridiculous story and moronic characters. It delivers. Steven "direct-to-DVD" Seagal once again portrays a general scumbag anti-hero who remains so emotionless and degenerate (save for a couple of choice scenes with his way-too-forgiving, completely un-rebellious daughter) that there really is no point in siding with him. Whether he lives or dies hardly matters because his influence on every other character in the story is basically negative. A burned-out, rundown, jobless gambler, drinker, ex-cop accused of stealing, divorcee and now murderer, we know he's the good guy only because of his name being first on the billing. His actions in the film certainly don't back it up.From raising a gun, dropping an envelope, opening a door, to drinking coffee, far too many actions are accompanied by grossly overdramatic music, as if to define each trivial task as important. Some are even basked in glorious slow-motion. To make it worse, everything is unusually dark, as if to say that none of these characters can ever emerge from their filthy and detestable lives. Technically, only one scene rises above wretched, and that's the car chase sequence which showcases a few notable stunts and some genuine yet brief action. Seagal has gotten so out-of-shape and dare I say fat, that even his fist-fighting scenes are toned down, slow and only involving his arms. He practically has to stand still to fight, and if it wasn't for the agile gangsters constantly throwing themselves in his 1-foot attack radius, there wouldn't be any punching at all.Trying to be sneaky with its storyline and failing miserably, Pistol Whipped unleashes an impossible amount of ammo without ever reloading, which correlates to tons of situations being presented without any idea of relevancy or meaningfulness. "You aren't getting out of this alive," blurts a gun-toting enemy. "Y'know something? I wasn't planning on it," replies Seagal. Neither are we.- Mike Massie | 0negative
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Goofy Silly movie
Movie was what I expected, silly, goofy, just dumb comedy and I enjoyed it. I give it 5 stars because it is what it is, dumb humor. | 1positive
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Mediocre.
Kim Hyesu's acting is a little over dramatic as usual. The story is improbable. It is not horribly boring but I had to fast forward frequently. | 0negative
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A2zcds.com Remastered Edition of "Detour" is a piece of junk.
Five stars for the movie. I agree that this is a great work of film noir.I knew upfront that the print quality of this film would be less than perfect. So, in order to get the very best print, I purchased all three DVDs that were available - Alpha Video, Image Entertainment, and the A2zcds.com Remastered Edition.The A2zcds.com Remastered Edition of "Detour" is a piece of junk. Don't waste your money. It has the picture quality of an amateur You Tube video. The various shades of black and gray are broken down into large digital cubes. The digital cubes are about a half inch in size and dance all over the screen when there is any movement - which is very distracting. Also, for more than half of the movie, from the point of the movie where Tom Neal picks up Ann Savage and they begin talking in the car - the voice audio track is not in sync with the lip movement. You hear what the person says before their lips even move.The Alpha Video release of "Detour" has problems with its grays. The grays are not crisp and have a very small hint of sepia color. Also the audio seems a little muffled.The Image Entertainment release of "Detour" while far from perfect is the better one of the three versions currently available. | 0negative
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True Propaganda.
This movie was somewhat astounding to me as, from the very beginning, it makes a point of depicting Fidel Castro in the kindest of lights. We see him as a man and a man alone which, frankly, is not an honest way to portray him. Certainly, humanizing him is appropriate as a human being is exactly what this mass murderer is, but to treat him as an underdog is to miss the real point of his reign--regardless of what Harry Belafonte might think. The increased poverty and suffering of the Cuban population that he produced is what should be remembered first and foremost. I refer viewers to Ron Radosh's memoirs if they'd like to know what its like in Cuba in the eyes of a disinterested third party or the other excellent works written about him like Against All Hope or Inside the Pirate's Den. In Cuba today, the arrests continue as does Castro's repulsive totalitarian regime. I do not wish death upon Mr. Castro, but hope Revolucion! ends as soon as possible. | 0negative
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What was the big deal?
I rented this the other night after avoiding it for years because of all the bad reviews and comments about it being disgusting. After finally seeing it, I'm left wondering what the hubub was about.I guess the rape was somewhat disturbing, but it's certainly not the first of it's kind in film. The rape scene in Deliverence is much more graphic and disturbing than the one in this one.If somebody was expecting something along the lines of Mallrats, I suppose this movie would come as quite a shock, but still, I think the reaction some had is a little over the top. This is a dark comedy/drama, I guess my sense of humor is just off kilter enough to find the things the clowns mother was saying to him to be hilarious, and the vicious waitress was another nice touch.Sure, Bryan Johnson is no Spielberg, but for a first time director with no real experience, I think he crafted a pretty entertaining little cult flick. If you're looking for a light hearted rom com, then leave Vulgar on the shelf, but if you like dark comedy, and quirky independent films with an interesting twist, give it a shot, you could do worse than this movie. | 1positive
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the wild inside
While Snyder and Harrison aren't usually associated with one another,they are apparently friends for some time.I'm not sure how this film was put together,the outdoor scenes taking place in a location neither lives in, but the casual conversation and the shared values are interesting to witness.It is not directly taken from Snyder's book of the same title,but his is always for me an interesting mind.I wonder if he sees in Harrison a kind of incarnation of some crazy Han Shan Chinese poet;he sort of resembles such a character,rather disheveled and wildeyed.But the exterior(as Snyder teases him at one point) hides a mind besotted with wonder and thought.I enjoyed their company,though it isn't a definitive look at either.Just two men in the world who appreciate the practice of the wild mind,the wilderness within and without us, the "joyful interpenetration' as Snyder once wrote | 1positive
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A superbly acted, grotesquely gorgeous crime thriller.
Director Jee-woon Kim along with actors Byung-hun Lee and Min-sik Choi are three of the most talented people in Korean cinema today. Jee-woon has done such films as A Bittersweet Life and The Good, the Bad, the Weird, which both starred Byung-hun and Min-sik is most recognized for his performance in Oldboy, but was also fairly impressive in the drama Crying Fist among many others. Oldboy is really the film that made me love Korean cinema. So when word broke that these three marvelous people were getting together to make a film, I knew I was already there. A little thriller called I Saw the Devil came together and became one of the most spectacularly intense thrillers to be released in quite some time.Late one snowy, winter night, a woman named Joo-yeon (San-ha Oh) sits stranded in her car waiting for a tow truck to arrive and help her fix a flat tire. She talks to her fiance, Dae-hoon (Byung-hun), over the phone as she waits. It's Joo-yeon's birthday and Dae-hoon, a secret agent, gets caught up with work and can't be there with her on her special day. A strange man shows up and begins to pester Joo-yeon about fixing the tire himself. After declining his help, the man known as Kyung-chul (Min-sik) attacks Joo-yeon before brutally murdering her. Kyung-chul is actually a notorious serial killer who mostly kills women and young girls. As the investigation unfolds, Dae-hoon swears merciless revenge on Kyung-chul and a deadly game of cat and mouse begins. Does Dae-hoon really know when this game will end or has he already become a bigger monster than the man he now preys upon?The chemistry between Byung-hun Lee and Min-sik Choi is what really drives the film. Byung-Hun is the broken down shell of a man when he's not in the hunt, so to speak. He has several emotional breakdowns that are incredibly heart wrenching, but the urge he has to make this bloodthirsty maniac pay for taking the love of his life away takes a front seat to any sort of emotion he once had. Byung-hun portrays the struggle his character has between sadness and revenge flawlessly. Min-sik plays the role of a lunatic incredibly well. His character seems to lack that which makes a person who they are; morals, a conscience, and above all a soul. Killing is the only thing that brings out the real Kyung-Chul. His first initial reaction to someone trying to beat him at his own game is agitation and borderline out of control rage, but once he regains control he not only enjoys himself but claims it's the most fun he's ever had. Min-sik acts level headed when his kills go well, but the way he expresses how insane his character really is when things go bad for him is what makes his performance so memorable. While the scenes where Byung-hun and Min-sik fight with each other are great for obvious reasons, there's a scene at the end of the film where they both have a heart to heart conversation that is just spectacular. Every little glimpse you have of that confrontation leading up to that point is fantastic, as well.Jee-woon Kim certainly knows how to shoot a beautiful looking film. Lush and vibrant colors make grisly murders and spontaneous revenge tactics look much more pleasant than the blood that endlessly splatters all over every wall and floor in the film. Other than the brilliant colors, the cinematography is rather unique as well. There's a scene near the end of the film where Dae-Hoon is walking toward the camera on a deserted road. It's simple and shot like we're basically walking backwards in front of him while staring directly at his face. He eventually begins to cry; an uncontrollable sobbing. The way the scene is shot along with Byung-hun's performance made it one of the more memorable scenes in the film. There's another where Kyung-Chul gets picked up by a taxi. He gets into the front passenger seat while there's another man in the back, so there are three people in the car altogether including the driver. Kyung-Chul realizes he's going to have to beat these guys to the punch, so as their adrenaline escalates the camera rotates around the inside of the car. You get this continuous 360 degree shot of the action occurring inside this cab. It's amazing.Leave it to another Korean thriller revolving around revenge to make an impression on me. Jee-woon Kim's I Saw the Devil is a superbly acted, exceptionally written, grotesquely gorgeous film that'll make you cringe during some of the more horrific and blood soaked acts in the film while secretly leave you craving so much more. That craving is satisfied thanks to the interactions and chemistry between actors Byung-hun Lee and Min-Sik Choi. The disturbing content in the film is more than enough to satisfy the hungriest gore hounds out there while the captivating story will please anyone looking for something more than someone being chopped to pieces. I Saw the Devil is one of the most morbidly delightful films to be released in recent years. | 1positive
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Cliche
Ok this was bad really bad. I mean first it made me sick watching the damn camera moving around but I would've been able to deal with it if it had an original and scary idea. Jesus Chrimanie how many times have we seen this in horror movies? Three kids get lost in the woods. WHOA call the oscars we have something never seen before!!! They find three stones by there tent. Come on how many people didn't know what that meant? and then how many people didn't see 2 stones popping up after that one guy died???? Those are just 2 of the Cliches. Now about the movie being "scary" it wasn't, not in the least. First off the nights were way too frickn' short to be scary, a movie as triveal as Friday the 13th could stretch one single nite into one long movie that had some scares. When this movie gets remotlie interesting they say "turn off the camera". that is so retarded and annoying.In short this is not only horrible but it is also a bad horror Cliche that isn't good for ONE fun cheap scare. | 0negative
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Brilliant!!!!!!!!
Why this movie didnt get more attention is beyond me! This movie was a low budget movie that Stallone did while receiving a pay check of about $60,000 just to work with the likes of harvey Kietel and Robert De Niro. It is the best acting performance Stallone has ever given. He was a vulnerable Sheriif who was not the guy who takes out 50 people by himself, and maybe that is why most people have never seen this movie. Shame on you because it is a great movie, it is a cop drama with some heavy hitters in it including ray Liotta. For the love of god next time you see this movie on the shelf pick it up or better yet buy it you will be surprised it has some wonderfull acting in it. Dan thx | 1positive
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Many-faceted film
I want to give a useful review and not just merely go over the plot for you, as this has been done roughly 600 times already. I don't typically review movies online but felt a need to since several things which I noticed about this movie were not mentioned by other reviewers. While the movie is confusing the first time it is watched it does significantly improve with each subsequent viewing. I could not help but notice the complexity of this film and have watched it at least four times. My first opinion was that this was a film about Joel (Jim Carrey) getting to have a second chance with his lover, Clementine. She seemed to have erased her memory of him before he had a chance to ask her to even reconsider breaking up with him. He likewise erases his memories of her just as quickly. So the film initially seemed to have the message of second chances, and getting to start again without baggage from the first failed attempt at the relationship. This was my initial impression and although it is optimistic and reassuring, my final impression of the film is different and as follows:Throughout Joel's memories of the relationship, he is needy and Clementine usually snaps at him and or does not respond to him in an emotionally giving way. He later has a memory of himself as a little boy with his mother ignoring him and of his crying and desperately wanting her to pay attention to him. He remarks about how strong his childish urge for her attention is. Clementine seems to be filling the same role in his life, that of remaining emotionally elusive and staying out of reach so that Joel is essentially crying out for attention to an unresponsive female. Then, when Joel is trying to hang on to memories of Clementine he imagines interactions with her running with him and trying to hide herself in his oldest memories so that she won't be erased from his mind. She is kind and loving to Joel and holds him and consoles him when he is sad. It is interesting that these interactions are merely his imaginations and projections of what he actually needs her to be and not who and what Clementine actually is. All Joel's memories of their actual interactions paint a picture of a moody, substance abusing, iritable, unpredictable, flaky and impulsive person. There is no reason to think she is what he needs as she is incapable of fulfilling his emotional needs. THe films ending leaves one with the impression that Joel's co-dependency and drive to be with an uncaring woman will not stop even in the face of her erasing him from his memory. Rejection seems to goad him on and he gets her, and one seems to know it is only to lose her again later. I think the movie is brilliant and complex in its telling of such an unpopular theme as co-dependency and emotional neediness to the point where it is so self-denigrating and self-defeating. I didn't feel the movie portrayed either Joel or Clementine as the bad guy or good guy in the relationship, just as two different people who were not right for each other. Also it is a rare treat to see a movie that uses the visual effects in order to accurately convey the emotions the characters are feeling. I recommend the movie, just not as a comedy as it was a dramatic film. | 1positive
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Dope, Grass, Weed, Refer, Mary Jane, Giggle Grass...
What a movie, i went and saw this 3 times and still could not get enough, John Lithgow plays a short but amazing camped up role as only he know how, as the business brains behind this dope growing operation:Plenty of dope, as you would expect, from views of the outdoor crop to the drying, manacuring, packing, to selling (or should that be trying to sell)in between there are raids by a gang of crop stealers who try and gate crash the grow site... Only one real draw back on this movie though, there should have been more, film on the crop, such as the history and the properganda about the dope scene and how it got to where it is now. But all in all, i enjoyed this movie, well as i said i did see it 3 times, so i must have seen something in it... PS:Some how through this movie i could see myself there with those guys... | 1positive
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What?!?
I can see how this movie could be compared to early Sam Raimi movies but the difference is Raimi did it well and of course there is Bruce Cambell. This movie seems kind of like Evil Dead 2. It tries to be funny and scary. It does have its moments, but it is too all over the place. It just becomes a more ridiculous series of events that dont really work together or at least arent explained very well. | 0negative
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grade 'B' movie gets an 'A'-grade DVD
Unlike most reviewers here, I don't think Krull is as good as they say, let alone a classic. But the DVD quality and extras available on it make up for the film's shortcomings and really adds to the viewing experience. Another example of the DVD enhancing the actual film, beyond the obvious upgrade in video and audio. If you like this type of film, buy it. If you don't, a rental will do as it still makes for an enjoyable 'popcorn'-viewing experience.A few notes on the film:*visually, it's still impressive. From the psychadelic set pieces inside the beast's fortress, the design of the 'Slayers', the 'swamp' sequence(arguably the best scene in the film), the widow's lair, etc. Only the sparse-looking castle designs at the beginning look 'cheap'. The music is also rousing and memorable enough to draw you in.*the film should be given an award for not having an annoying child actor or grating 'comic relief' actor mess up the film. Both of these characters work quite well. In fact, the secondary characters(bandits, old man, cyclops,etc) all come off better(more natural) than the primary leads. Don't believe me? Can you imagine anyone else playing Luke Skywalker? No. But I could easily imagine someone else playing the leads in Krull. Btw, Lysette Anthony CAN act. She just doesn't do it very well in this one.*the film does a nice job(for the most part) of invoking a medieval yet far-off time and place, with its main weakness being the not-so-charismatic leads and not so great script.*One thing really bothers me though, the special weapon 'Glaive' is rendered pointless at the end when the two of them discover it's their love(ugh) that can defeat the beast, not the glaive-that and shooting fire out of Colwyn's hand. So why make such a big deal about getting the Glaive at the beginning?Other films you might want to check out: Excalibur, Dragonslayer, Clash of the Titans, Conan the Barbarian, & maybe Hawk: The Slayer or The Beastmaster. | 1positive
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Pass this one by...
First of all, I adore ghost documentaries. The most realistic the better.Secondly, orbs are fascinating to look at -- the first one, two dozen times you see them. After that, they're boring.When I see ghost documentaries, I need to see more than orbs. I need to see things moving by themselves, I need to hear sounds that are not being made by humans, I need to see figures through infrared cameras that aren't there when you take the camera away. Orbs and protoplasms just don't cut it anymore.But orbs are just what you get in this documentary. That and a medium who "feels" the presence of spirits while she walks around a house. That's it.This may be impressive for a novice, but it's quite a yawnful for someone who's already has seen other ghost documentaries (or has had their own ghostly experiences).Incidentally, I'm afraid I can't say that this town could, by *any* stretch of the imagination, be called the "Most Haunted Town". By what standards? By a 10-mile radius? In the county? What? The name fools you already.So it's up to you. If you're a ghost "virgin", you may be impressed. If you've been around the block already, move on. You may be more impressed with "Scariest Places on Earth". At least you can *pretend* that there's something going on there. | 0negative
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Beautiful version of the story of Anna and the King
I had seen the musical version of this story, both on stage and on film, many times before I saw this version. This version, starring Jodie Foster, is a visual treat. The scenery and costumes are beautiful, and all of the cast are perfect in their roles. The king is much more human than in the musical. Especially touching is his reaction to the death of his favorite child. I enjoyed this movie so much that I decided to read the actual book written by Anna after her years in Siam. I learned that this version is the most historically accurate one. I had been waiting for this movie to broadcast on TV but it never seemed to be aired in my area. When I saw it for sale at a very good price on Amazon, I decided to buy it so I can watch it again. | 1positive
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Love this movie!
I highly recommend it! Tim McGraw is fantastic! The soundtrack is awesome...and the movie makes me cry! | 1positive
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Should award this movie a gobble instead of a star...
...because it is a TURKEY!!!!!!!! | 0negative
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Warning!
If you want to have a life other than watching 24 over the next 2 weeks don't order the DVD. It is terribly addictive. Each episode ends with a twist that makes you want to watch the next episode immediately. With the DVD you can. Before you know it it is 2 am and you have watched 4 episodes. | 1positive
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"You Do Like Ham, Don't You?"
You'd better like ham if you plan to make it through this movie. Nutty old millionaire John Carradine dies and puts a stipulation on the fulfillment of his estate on his four children and three servants via a cranky tape recorded will in which he expresses nothing but loathing for everyone and says bizarre things like "this might separate the rabbits from the alley cats" then laughs maniacally. They have to spend a week in his house or they will fail to get their share of the inheritance. Every single person in the film is wholly detestable, and by the halfway mark I didn't care how the film ended as long as it was over.After the kids are ensconced in the house, they all start dying in a variety of odd ways which are all lamely presented: Johnny is killed in a convenient tank of piranhas, another's head is found under aluminum foil on a platter in the refrigerator, a couple are killed by electrocution in bed, one is shot through the head, etc. There are additional features such as Carradine making an adult dress up as an organ grinder's monkey, gratuitous ax to the head action (one of the worst special effects ever), ravenous insects, whipping, a servant named Igor, and overacting the likes of which are rarely seen.The film plods on, and it's obvious how the conclusion will play out about halfway through the film. A special mention goes to the final line of the film addressed directly to the audience "And I bet you thought it was the butler all the time." Also of extreme annoyance value is the closing music, which borders on the unlistenable. I gave this film two stars (generously) for the minor, yet hilariously hammy, performance of John Carradine. Truly a master of horror in his day, but an even greater master of overacting when his day had passed. | 0negative
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only ONE very large problem for me.. NO ENDING !!!
Each night I couldn't wait to watch more and looked forward to finding how it all came down for all the individual parts that were played so wonderfully well. BUT there I am left hanging, wondering, frustrated and a bit angry that I payed for only PART of a story!!When the WRITING and the ACTING is of this HIGH a QUALITY the actors in the parts become real and alive to me as someone I may know in my life. Therefore, it is important I know how the situations in their life turn out for them. This "ending" for me, is like someone important in me life has been kidnapped and I have no way of ever knowing what has happened to them!!! So, if you can just enjoy great writing and great acting for itself, then have a go at this as you will greatly enjoy your time, otherwise, I suggest you put this one aide until such time as you know for sure the continuation has been produced. | 1positive
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Subtle meditation on the futility of hate
Masterful interweaving of old and new material...adds depth and richness to the spiritual/ethical themes of the series. If those themes resonated with you, this work has quietly enlightening rewards, seeing familiar characters wrestle with their dilemmas from fresh angles. If you were about the battles and 6's faux Marilyn Monroe act, move along. | 1positive
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The Last Girlscout...
Who is this 14yo girl? She calls herself Hayley, but who is she really? I do not know. Once you see HARD CANDY you'll understand what I mean. I have some theories ranging from the simple to the downright supernatural. Hayley (played by the remarkable Ellen Page) is a true enigma. As the story unfolds, we slowly find out what drives her. We are astounded by her intelligence and single-minded approach. I myself, was charmed, then utterly creeped out by this kid! Throughout the whole ordeal, I kept thinking about movies like AUDITION or EXTREMITIES. Only HARD CANDY is far more disturbing in that it threatens to shatter taboos. I didn't know where this movie was taking me, and I didn't like the feeling of uneasiness and helplessness I felt. Now, that's good horror! If you've heard that HC is "controversial", don't let that stand in your way. This movie is as tense a thriller as I've seen in a while, w/ elements that made me squirm like an eel w/ a nervous disorder! If you enjoy character-driven horror dealing w/ "controversial" (there's that word again) subject matter, then HARD CANDY should certainly satisfy. Buy immediately... | 1positive
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OK
The DVD, put out by The Criterion Collection, has some good features, including an insert booklet with several essays- none of note. It is a two disk set. Disk One has the film, shown in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio, with voiceover options mentioned above, as well as the original theatrical trailer, an audio commentary track by Schrader and producer Alan Poul. The commentary has its moments, but for such a meager work it is a bit over the top in its self-congratulation. Schrader does make a nice point in connecting Mishima with his Travis Bickle character, from Taxi Driver, as well as the historical artist he initially wanted to profile, Hank Williams, Sr., before his brother turned him on to Mishima. Disk Two has video interviews with cinematographer John Bailey, producers Tom Luddy and Mata Yamamoto, composer Philip Glass, production designer Eiko Ishioka, Mishima biographer John Nathan, and Japanese film historian Donald Richie, as well as an audio only interview with dialogue writer Chieko Schrader. There is also a brief video interview excerpt featuring Mishima talking about his writing, and The Strange Case Of Yukio Mishima, a 55 minute long BBC documentary about the writer. Overall, the DVD package is quite good, excepting Criterion's usual decision to go with white only subtitles for its black and white sections. And given Schrader's choice to use an English language voiceover in non-Japanese versions of the film (to avoid double subtitles in some shots), one wonders why the main body of action was not filmed in English, or at least dubbed? Schrader briefly tackles this in his audio commentary, and the main reason seems to have been financial.The same is not true for the actual film, which devolves into a stylized melodramatic mess that recalls much of Akira Kurosawa's late film, Dreams, as well as being filled with the most mind-numbing platitudes about art imaginable. Yet, equally bad is what is missing, above and beyond any portrait of Mishima's family life; such as his manifest Napoleon Complex. Mishima was only 5'1" tall and severely lacking in macho confidence, so much so that he insisted on only marrying a woman shorter than he was. Yet, any connection between these elements and those depicted is left for only the curious- and that likely will not be most people who watch this film. Thus, since the film fails on most artistic fronts, and does not generate any real further interest for its audience in its main subject matter, the very reason for the film is a puzzle, unless one feels Schrader is positing himself into a Mishima-like role. Not that it would matter, since Mishima: A Life In Four Chapters portrays its lead as a rather unsympathetic and idiotic character, albeit one with likely more talent than Schrader has.If only someone like an Ingmar Bergman, or even Michelangelo Antonioni, who started out as a documentarian, would have tackled this subject matter, the film would likely have been shorter, tighter, more purposive, and coherent, for if there was one thing that even his biggest critics could not hold against Mishima it was that he was driven and almost monomaniacal. Schrader is the opposite, desperately larding his film with almost everything that plays up his vision of the writer as madman and ignoring all that went into the artist as a man, something Schrader seems not to really get, which reaffirms my idea that his great screenplay for Taxi Driver was a fluke, that blindfolded, over the back toss of a dart that somehow hits the bull's-eye. Yet it was that lucky moment which doomed the rest of us to decades of profoundly dull and vapid films churned out on the strength of that one toss. Lucky Schrader. Unlucky us. As for Mishima? The real man's somewhere around, just as he must be in the film, right? Right? | 0negative
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Worth it
for the opening sequence(s) alone. Not only does it deliver the greatest chase scene I've ever seen, but believe it or not, it's a foot chase.Craig is very promising as the new Bond, but how the new direction holds up, is anyone's guess. As much as I'm a fan of the Bond franchise, I'll be the first to admit that they often don't seem to know where they're taking him. Brosnan was great in Goldeneye, but the next 3?Regardless of where they take the re-booted Bond, this is one of the best of the Bond adventures. It's up there with Connery's catalog and the best of Moore's outings. | 1positive
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Excellent
I have not seen the Cruise version, for obvious reasons; Stauffenberg was a man of heroic proportion and requires a man to portray him, not a boy. Koch is just that person, far handsomer (resembling the Count) and taller than Cruise, far better actor, AND GERMAN. As you watch this, it becomes quite apparent that only a German-speaking ensemble can do this film properly, and the idea of Cruise & Co. is laughable. By the way, the disc can be played with the German audio and English subtitles.The story is well-known enough, and this production hits most, if not all, of the important points while maintaining momentum. A fair amount of screen time is given to playing out the details of the confusion in Berlin during the hours after the attempt, and this section of the film might lose a few viewers. However, I appreciate the historical accuracy. Nice to see a reference to (presumably) Peter Sauerbruch, son of the famous surgeon Ferdinand Sauerbruch, who invented the artificial arm Stauffenberg wore (and was also consulted by Hitler). Peter Sauerbruch was considered for the assassination job before Stauffenberg.Highly recommended, don't bother with the imitation. | 1positive
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horrible straight to dvd trash
this movie was an extreme dissapointment. while hostel 2 could have been better, it still had some good gore and was entertaining. this was very lame and wasnt even entertaining at all. they killed the franchise with this turd. | 0negative
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Typical Mindless Hollywood Movie
If you are looking for an intelligent, entertaining and well-acted movie avoid Rules of Engagement. The movie is about a highly decorated 30 year marine vet (Sam Jackson) sent to the middle east to restore order during a protest at an American Embassy. When the protest turns violent, Jackson's character issues orders to shoot into the crowd. Jackson is then used as a scapegoat and charged with murder by the army in order to maintain good relations in the middle east. Rules of Engagement is just another example of the sorry state of movies these days. The story is extremely weak and sometimes just unbelievable. The actors are at the mercy of a poor script and just walk trough their performances in order to pick up a paycheque (in particular Tommy Lee Jones). The characters have absolutley no depth. Some scenes are supposed to be dramatic but turn out to be just corny. However, movie executives think they can fool the public with a couple of expensive action sequences in order to cover up the film's many flaws and justify charging money to see this junk. Judging by some of the good reviews on this board I guess the executives have succeeded. | 0negative
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Downton Abbey
Downton Abbey is wonderful - so wonderful that I had to buy it so I can watch it over and over. | 1positive
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Back to the days of saturday matinee
I saw this film when I was about 6, and did not see it for about 15 years, it at once reminded me of how I felt then. True the dialogue is weird, sentences is Japanese must be longer. The plot is absolutly wafer thin, there is no reason for half of what happens. Having said that, why do people watch Godzilla? Answer, to see monsters kicking each others arses! With this film you get it in spades! | 1positive
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Everything is not going to be OK
Richard Linklater may seem like an odd choice at first to bring Philip K. Dick's classic story to life, yet with his pretty faithful screenplay and innovative film techniques, Linklater makes perfect sense to direct A Scanner Darkly. Keanu Reeves, Robert Downey Jr., Woody Harrelson, Winona Ryder, and Rory Cochrane play drugged up, strung out friends hooked on a drug called Substance D in Orange Country, California in the very near future. Reeves is Bob, who unbeknownst to his friends, is an undercover spy for the government looking to gather info on the group, and wouldn't you know it that his two personalities begin to split until he doesn't know what's what. For the most part, Linklater nails the paranoid tone and feeling of being an addict, and the performances, particularly from Downey and Cochrane, are superb. Even Reeves goes beyond his typical, wooden self and gives a great performance. The biggest drawback of A Scanner Darkly is also it's biggest draw however: Linklater's "roto-scoping" technique (giving it the graphic novel look) which he used in Waking Life, doesn't always suit the story and tone. When the comedic elements strike, everything is brilliant. However, when the more serious and heart breaking elements of Dick's story come into play, the animation feels gimmicky. Despite that, A Scanner Darkly is still one of the best sci-fi movies released this year, and regardless of whether you are a fan of PKD or Linklater, this is definitely worth seeing. | 1positive
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TO BAD I COULDN'T SEE THIS...
Well, first of all, I rented it on Amazon Instant Video and it kept freezing up on me. When it finally stopped freezing, I watched it a bit and couldn't stomach it anymore. It's always good for people to take creative liberties. However this didn't work for me. I just didn't think the dialogue worked with the scenery. I felt that the actors were having trouble making it real and believing it for themselves. Perhaps someone else will like it though. | 0negative
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Loved It!!!
I really enjoyed this documentary, the director Shelby McIntyre brings you into the world of Joe Redner and makes you feel like a Strip Club King. Joe's story is unbelievable and remarkable, all captured on film in this wonderful DVD. I would recomend this film to any of my friends! | 1positive
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<3 Nine
Great movie!!!! I could watch this movie over and over again!!! Great music, great actors, simply amazing. | 1positive
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#2 (shared) all-time !
Other than The Soprano's and 24, this is the best.I'd put it on a par with 24, but nothing touches the Sopranos. | 1positive
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I feel like this show was made just for me!
I freely admit to giving this show a shot only because I loved ANGEL. Before watching BONES, I had no expectations other than a mild anxiety that I wouldn't be able to accept David Boreanaz in a new role. However, I surprisingly found that all the ingredients that make me sit up and pay attention were there:1. An intelligent female lead (Bones). While she's also pretty and funny, she has endearing flaws. Her superwoman-esque martial arts and marksmanship abilities (she can apparently shoot better than her FBI counterpart who used to be a sniper) are blatantly over the top. However, I have no compunction "giving" that to the writers since it opens the door to occasional action sequences. Also, it helps (a little) to fill in the gaps left by ALIAS and BUFFY.2. Science and technology are portrayed pretty realistically (for tv) and are heavily showcased in the show. In my book, any show that says science is sexy = super hot!3. The interaction between scientists and noscientists (Squids and FBI agents) seems pretty realistic and fun. Their strengths pull them in opposite directions and the clash of different philosophies and approaches to a problem are handled like a well-choreographed dance - fantastic.4. FBI role is a perfect fit for Boreanaz. Joss Whedon (and others) have noted that David Boreanaz sparkled when the Angel character was "petty." [Season 5 of Angel succeeded (in part) because of the hilariously antagonistic relationship between Angel and Spike.] In BONES, Boreanaz now has free reign to comedy - pettiness and hilarity abound. Emily Deschanel (Bones) plays opposite him as everything guileless and straght-edge - I can't say enough about how perfect this chemistry is. (This type of overblown comedic writing is exactly what draws me to romance novels. Refreshing it is to (finally) see this on tv! As everybody will notice right away, this follows in the footsteps of the tension between the two leads of X-FILES. Great!)5. The Squints are SO well done. As a scientist with a similarly abnormal IQ to the Squints on the show, I have to say that this is one of the few shows to realistically capture the personalities of scientists. (Ok, yeah, you don't often hear scientists "name-dropping" their credentials or their IQs like I just did, but, on the show, it's a necessary evil of tv exposition.) The writers of the show might have just as easily observed my lab and jotted down our (stilted) interactions to write into the show. The little character elements that tend to drive scientists (like how they'd rather be "right" than "well-liked" not just because they like to be right but also because they need to make sure that "right" has a voice) are all there. Not only do their personalitites and quirkiness actually make sense, but we are SHOWN how smart they are, not just TOLD (though we are told often). Importantly, each Squint contributes interesting ideas and breakthroughs to the team - the other scientists aren't just there to show us how smart Bones is by contrast (a problem I have with HOUSE). For me, a phenomenal comedic show - A+ | 1positive
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A great movie
I recently had the chance to check out this DVD and it's great.The extras are fantastic and the overall quality is good.James Stewart was such a great actor.The ending is truly shocking. | 1positive
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Horror equivalent of the Blue Screen of Death
In the kinder, gentler Army of the future, the military gets a hold of what appears to be the next generation of full immersion, cyber-reality gaming. After a quick demonstration in which a female Special Forces soldier - Jess (Rachael Taylor) - gets virtually blown up, the system gets shut down for the night. With connections inside a decrepit prison, the boys head off for a night weekend of gaming debauchery. Beer, booze, and a setting where former terrorists were allegedly tortured sets the stage for a night of gaming that makes the combination of Halo, Call of Duty, and Soldier of Fortune look like Pong.Replete with motion detector sensors that allow the system to digitally map the prison rooms into a virtual combat zone, and modifiable like the hacked versions of Doom, the game can potentially translate dream or virtual actions into reality. Bad sign number one. When annoying computer tech Tom (Sean Faris) "accidentally" uploads an "anomaly" into the system, and fails to inform the others that the sim-combat program has more bugs than the first release of Windows Vista, the terror threat level goes from "Severe - Red" to a much worse "Oh Snap! - Purple." Bad sign number two.The setting and pacing are fairly well done, even though the sensor setup nearly destroyed the first act. The battle simulations are intense. Along with a few torture scenes, head shots galore create a good blend of blood splatter and action. Being inside the game is portrayed in an exhilarating manner, even though the concept of virtual reality to that level has been explored ad nauseum, and a computer ghost has been donepoorlybefore (twice). Unfortunately for this film, however, none of the characters are likeable and only Rachael Taylor displays talent that doesn't require a CTRL-ALT-DELETE. Faris in particular is bad, in his poor man's Ben Affleck impersonation (you read that right), taking the theme of the movie a bit too far with his binary range of emotions - mostly zeroes.A predictable ending rounds out the action on this somewhat clichéd, unoriginal, horror sci-fi time waster. Hardcore sci-fi fans and gaming junkies may enjoy this, but most others will probably be disappointed.Jason Elin | 0negative
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Cliche' Galore!!
I was bored with it. Went to a free advance showing without knowing the plot and thinking that it was a ghost story. It's just another"Family-moves-into-a-house-and-is-stalked-by-a-madman" movie with all the cliches included. Quaid and Stone's characters have got to be the dumbest couple on earth! Would you invite a creepy guy who broke into your home to dinner? Believe me, you will be rolling your eyes at a number of dumb things they do.If you have something better to do with your time than to see this movie, by all means, do it. | 0negative
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Awful Movie - very slow, very tedious, very somber - could only watch half
The death of the president of a large furniture company... there's the premise of a riveting drama. This was one of the most tedious old movies I've ever seen. I was bitterly disappointed because the cast is an all-star cast. Many old movies are slower than movies today at getting going with the drama, but this one was the worst of them all. There was absolutely nothing about the man who died for the audience to care. He wasn't a famous person. His character hadn't been developed before he died. Nothing. Even the people who have to deal with his death are dull as dishwater.The actual "drama" is so light. The tension isn't thick. The 'plot' is dragged out with no end in sight. There are no interesting characters. Emotions are toned down. The script isn't clever or interesting. Everybody is in a bad mood. It's all somber and sober. It's like watching a funeral in slow motion. I couldn't watch even half of it.You won't be surprised to learn that a TV show spin-off of this dull flick died quickly. Note that nobody else has ever since Executive Suite tried to make a similar movie--certainly no remake. There are dramatic business films out there like Wall Street. They have so many qualities that are absent from Executive Suite.Who might like this? Business school students. Owners of large furniture companies. | 0negative
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WHY UNRATED??
Im not sure what the point of the unrated version was, there is a difference of 8 minutes between the R and the unrated version, if i cut 8 minutes (including in particular one scene not involving hathaway) out of the unrated version, I could wind up with a PG-13 film...Ive seen much worse in R rated films.all the alleged anne hathaway nude scenes (which to be completely frank was my motivation for buying this movie) with the exception of 2 breast shots less than 30 seconds long were apparently cut before released on dvd. and just an "ok" movie at best otherwise. if you are motivated for the same reasons, I wouldnt necessarily recommend it. | 0negative
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Almost made it
I must admit the first hour of this movie scared me to death. After that it seems as though the writers and producers became uninterested and just wanted to get it over with. It became too Sci-Fi channel and not enough good old horror. A horror movie should stay true and not switch gears which this movie did absolutely terribly. It's almost as if they had 2 separate ideas for 2 separate movies but only enough money for one. | 0negative
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Stargate bad
good evening I am really very disappointed to see that MGM & 20th century fox are lying company. With the arrear of the DVD Box Set it wrote there are French language. Really great in French, only 4 episodes is dubbed. I bought dark angel season 2 and the pretender season 4 in the USA ALL the episodes are dubbed in FRENCH!! What a shame it's scandalous!!!Fortunately that there is subtitled! | 0negative
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Pleasantly Surprised
The reason I bought the movie was because it has a buff scene of Eliza Dushku, what I got was a surprisingly good thriller. Not the best movie I have ever scene, not in the top 50, but it was entertaining, the acting was good, and it was suspenseful, defiantly worth a look. | 1positive
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Good movie
Very funny but sad. this movie makes you laugh and is well done but the end just will make you cry, taking away all the funny out of the room. but still a good movie. | 1positive
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Love it
LOVE this show!!!! Clean fun is hard to come by and real life shows as well. Not everybody leaves in Hollywood! | 1positive
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I hated it.
I didn't enjoy it because I thought this was going to be a pleasant movie with clean humor that would make sense to have in the 1800s time period of Jane Austen's. Also, from what I got out of it, I don't think there was a great understanding for the overall Jane Austen time period with an everyday life of the high, middle class. At some part in this movie, the characts like Mr. Bingley, Mrs. Bingley, and others just acted in appropriated for who they are supposed to be with their manors and proper way of acting in society.Oh and just saying, I was really bothered by the character style of the main character. The whole time I couldn't distracted myself away from how her bangs laid on her face, as well as how her eye make-up made her eyes even smaller than what the bangs did to them. Also I thought it was really weird how she was able to put on the same make-up in the 1800s time period when she didn't bring any of the make-up from the 21st century to the 19th. It just seemed completely wrong the whole time too me. In addition to that she also would act with a very flirty character, that didn't fit at all!If there was anything I could be able to say that was positive about this movie would be the occasionally good joke no one can feel guilty about laughing at [cough* cough* OCCASIONAL!], I did like the choice of actors [just I didn't like what the directed got out of them, or asked of them to do], also they did show some interesting things that can be assumed were used in that time [1800s] like what was used for make-up and other things interesting little things like that, and finally although I disapprove of most of what was made, I did find it to have a very interesting point on "what would Mr. Darcy do if he never met Elizabeth when he was supposed to?", or "What would Jane Bennett have done if she never caught the eye of Mr. Bingley? How about when Mr. Collins came along [if she never had Mr. Bingley to hope for]?"As a final note, I thought the idea of this kind of movie is brilliant, just not well thought through. I actually thought it was sort of too complicated it seemed too Fanasty/Sci-fi. I think it should have been more like a Freaky Friday thing where the main character swap lives with each other bodies, instead of them just randomly walking into each other's world as themselves. I feel like with my idea, it can be more factual to each event without a worry for uncertainty or bringing much offense to Jane Austen Fans. | 0negative
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Terrible
As a sequel to a great miniseries this is a disaster. As a previous reviewer notes: How can this be a sequel if Shaka dies at the end of the original series. And while the series takes its liberties with history, this sequel is a travesty that borders on the bizarre. Shaka's capture by slavers was just one of a series of non-sensical historical b.s. This DVD is practically unwatchable....we finally had to turn it off. I could go on but life is too short. The only saving grace is that Henry Cele is one magnetic actor. | 0negative
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Not Believable
Slasher / horror films have to start off believable to actually scare the viewer. Mirrors just doesn't set the stage with anything credible.The opening montage of the security guard running around a subway station and then being forced to slit his throat with a broken mirror, works pretty well. It's scary, the guard looks trapped, and he has no idea what to do. The second scary part is when Jack Bauer, oopsie, Ben Carson, played by Keifer Sutherland, a laid off police detective does his rounds at night in a burned out department store. The part that just doesn't ring true, he jumps every single time a bird flies. The director keeps birds flying all over the place. A trained detective, even nervous, would never jump the way Ben does. From there the credible details just fall all over the place. At one point, Ben just blindly fires his gun, nothing there, no mirrors, just fires it. Definately not something a police officer would ever do. Detail after detail just stopped adding up.So this viewer had a lot of difficulty being drawn into the story line of this movie. Production-wise, the film is done decently. There's some out of focus shots. The pacing, which is absolutely critical to horror films, just didn't work. No rythmn was built and maintained. The film lopes along between gory scenes, dragging its feet most of the time. Audio was well recorded and dialog clear. The blood, seemed real.This is an extremely gory movie. About every 20 minutes a person is killed or disfigured, and there is a ton of blood whenever that happens. The single worst one is the first bathtub scene. Frankly, that was probably a bit too far over the top. There's a fair amount of strong language. And there's two scenes of full nudity (Amy Smart one notable scene). Definately an R rated film. At one hour 50 minutes, this is a long film.The DVD has a single special feature, theatrical release and an unrated release. There is 1 minute difference between the two. It's virtually impossible to tell what was changed, certainly somebody has uncovered that useless bit of trivia. | 0negative
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WAKE ME WHEN IT'S OVER!
I always look forward to seeing Sean Penn, in a movie.This movie was boring, from beginning to end! I didn'tfind the story very interesting, or anything else aboutit. Sean Penn, over acted too, not like him to do so. | 0negative
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Jackass imitator finger smell Dmei!
Aston Kirchner is 30, a lie, an act of disgrace. I his father he my dirty tissue. No buy. no buy. no buy. Watch johnny margera instea. | 0negative
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Don't waste your time or money!
My title pretty much says it all. My husband and I love Bill Murray and were very excited about seeing this movie. My husband couldn't even stay awake during the film and ended up going to bed. I am a die hard and figured the movie would "get good" eventually. NOT!!! I was so disappointed when the movie was over. It never got better. My six year old could have written a better plot. I felt like I had just wasted my time...as much as I hate doing laundry, I found myself wishing I had done just that instead.Basically it is a very snail paced movie about an unhappy comedian who feels unloved/un-needed by his wife. He goes to Japan to do a commercial for alocohol, is very bored, meets a newly married woman who is also very bored since her husband is not around to see Japan with her (he is a musician and is doing gigs in Japan). So the two bored people hang out together. They sing very boring karaoke, meet at a strip club then leave, eat out together, then she gets upset when she finds him in bed with another woman, forgives him the next day, then they say bye when he leaves to go back home to his wife and kids. That's pretty much the whole movie, but they take around 2 hours to show it...there are a lot of scenes with one or the other of them staring off into space.Don't waste your MONEY or TIME. | 0negative
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Blah Witch
"Blah" is how I describe this snore-fest. Bad "acting" no matter what the premise. Unwatchable camera work. And if only that girl would just DIE in the first few minutes. Ah agonizing movie to watch just because it seem like it'll NEVER end. Don't waste your time if you have shred of intelligence. | 0negative
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Engrossing but unsatisfying...
This film could be described as the cinematic equivalent of blue-balling: it's pretty enjoyable from beginning to just before the end, at which point it suddenly peters off into a rather cheesy and well-worn plot device in place of a real climax and resolution.It'd be worth repeated viewings, mainly for all the delicious nudity, mainly of the very yummy Ludvine Savignier but also the aging-yet-still-strangely-sexy Charlotte Rampling.The script, acting, and camera work are solid. I agree with the reviewer who said this film proves you don't need gazillion-dollar actors and budgets to make a decent film.Not a bad way to spend 2 hours... | 1positive
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THE DARKEST HOUR AND A HALF!!!
I would have preferred to have sat in the DARKEST closet instead of watched this piece of garbage. Go towards the light and forget this one. | 0negative
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A return to the cinema of repression
Hyped as a noir-ish look at a mother's struggle to protect her gay son, The Deep End ushers viewers back to a repressive era of cinema where same-sex love was sleazy and destructive, the ideal stuff for the "thrilling" blackmail that drives the plot. Nominally a remake of Max Ophul's "The Reckless Moment," "The Deep End" also owes a heavy debt, in tenor at least, to that masterpiece of gay shame, "The Victim." Suffice to say this is the kind of film that presupposes whenever two men have sex, a third, ipso facto, must be there with a video camera. There is a certain fascination in watching Tilda Swinton do whatever it takes to make sure she and her family don't have to talk about the love that dare not speak its name while maintaining the order of her oppressive, regimented, uptight world -- a world that no doubt sent sonny boy off looking for an alcoholic, abusive chicken hawk/extortionist to cuddle up to in the first place. And yet for all of her Herculean efforts to dispose of bodies, cars and lowlife thugs, she can't manage to get past her son's hurt and confusion to talk about "it." If this is the parenting model for the new millennium, who needs it! The movie's centerpiece -- Tilda Swinton's performance -- proves yet again that she has raised the staring-blankly-into-the-camera school of acting into a semi-art. At least all the water looked refreshing. | 0negative
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a truly awful film
Once I heard those first few quirky notes in the first scene of "Igby Goes Down",I knew I was in for a long,painful ride.Basically,"Igby" is a cliche-ed Hollywood film poorly disguised as an independent film.The acting is poor (especially Sarandon).The writing is even worse.The script is so bad,that it relies on the soundtrack in order to set mood-sort of like a bad children's film or romantic comedy.The film is so awful,that it tainted my memories of "The Catcher in the Rye"!The only good thing about it was that it proved a long discussed theory-the rich have it so good that they have to invent problems in order to prevent dying from boredom.Besides,I know a movie can't be too thought-provoking if it has either a)Bill Pullman in it or b) Coldplay in the soundtrack. | 0negative
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The Movie was terrible
If you thought the first was bad, then try sitting through the second one. The cast was great but the movie it self sucked badly. I mean, why can't the killer die and never come back? I mean the people in Holly wood want to keep movies going on forever so that they can make more money, like in children of the corn they made like five movies of the same thing. If only they could make one movie with out a squal. But I guess they just don't know when to quit. | 0negative
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Fanboys of horror will love it!
Cleverly conceived and very funny, FREAK OUT was a movie I had been wanting to see for a long time. Ever since I heard about it on various horror websites, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it and see for myself if it was well worth the glowing praise. Now that I have seen it, I can say I am far from disappointed.For a little backstory on the film, the movie was shot by its makers over a course of four years by way of a 16mm camera. When completed, it was screened at various college campuses where it brought the house down. It also was one of the few films without distribution to screen at the Fantasia Film Festival where I believe (and I could be wrong) it won The Audience Award.It's easy to see the appeal. Billed as a comedy for horror fans, the plot concerns an escaped mental patient who meets up with a horror film junkie. The film junkie sees the potential in having a lunatic as a friend, and he and his friend Onky try to create out of the patient a new serial killer in the tradition of a typical slasher movie icon.The two leads Dan Palmer (Who co-wrote the script) and James Heathcote are excellent and highly likable. Horror fans will love the film's sly inside jokes. Everything from FRIDAY the 13th, to THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, to PSYCHO, to THE EVIL DEAD, to NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD is represented. What the director manages to achieve given the film's very small budget is a near miracle. And the film's best attribute is the character of the escaped mental patient "Looney." HILARIOUS!The film is far from technically perfect, but it sure is fun! This horror fanboy loved it! | 1positive
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A Low Budget Revenge Epic Almost Redeemed By An Extravagantly Silly, But Glorious, Finale
Have you seen the vigilante masterwork Death Wish and its many sequels?Have you seen the trash classics Angel and its sequel Avenging Angel?Have you seen countless other films exactly like the above examples? I know I have.For good or bad, the revenge flick is a part of the action movie genre--but, more often than not, the theme is recycled in the world of low budget exploitation films. That's not to say that some of these movies can't be good. With spicy sexiness, offbeat humor, genuine suspense, or creative and macabre killing--you can elevate even a bad movie into a must see entertainment. With a title like "Death Angel December: Vengeance Kill," the film makers are leaving a pretty clear impression about what a viewer can expect. Tonally, however, the film is all over the place. With a downbeat and dour heroine and maudlin narration, the film seems to want to push for psychological and dramatic seriousness. Add campy and over-the-top villainy, and the film starts to feel confused. Add a revenge scheme that seems to include becoming a murderous psychopath (every man who wants to have sex is deserving of death) and bad guys who are supposed to be successful businessmen but destroy all their assets at a moment's notice--and the movie veers into silliness, but not of a particularly fun variety.As December, the lead actress makes a noble effort to ground the film initially. As a young girl, she witnessed a brutal attack on her family and has grown with a seed of hatred and the need for retribution. Starting as an amateur killer who avenges the helpless (which makes sense), she soon morphs into a cold blooded murderer. She hires someone to turn her into a brutal assassin (Yellow pages, maybe?) who also has no compunction about arranging actual victims for her to slay (probably Craigslist then). In the meantime, the bad guys (who run a call girl ring) cackle maniacally as they do bad deeds like hunting down a girl big game style for no apparent reason other than it is amusing. At one point, they annihilate rivals to steal their girls only to kill all the girls a few scenes later. And when they're not doing that, they are brutally torturing their faithful workers. Not much of an incentive plan.This all leads to a big show-down. December takes on about 30 men in a sword fighting and machine gunning extravaganza. It all takes place in a lovely suburban neighborhood (you can see all the surrounding houses), but the neighbors must be extremely tolerant and never check on the carnage or call the police. This over-the-top spectacle is, at once, incredibly silly and the film's purest and most fun moment. If the entire picture had adopted this lunatic tone, I'd have liked it much better for its brazen ridiculousness. Still, the madcap finale didn't make the rest of the film any better for me--but at least it ended things on a high note (preposterous, but committed). KGHarris, 5/11. | 0negative
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Bad Bad Bad
Horrible sound quality and the picture is blurry. Oh and the return policy is only if unopened which sucks because you expect it to be a decent movie and for someone to be able to sell that it's ridiculous. | 0negative
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Jack Nicholson is not "the star" o
I am a fan of Little Shop and purchased this DVD as a period piece. Viewers looking for Nicholson to star or even "act" in this DVD version will be very disappointed. He plays a minor role and his acting is no better than others in the cast (which is pretty disappointing). Perhaps I have missed something, but this DVD is not worth the price of admission. | 0negative
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Quite Simply The Worst Movie Ever Known To Man
This movie is the worst movie i have ever seen in my life. It make's Battlefield Earth And Waterworld look like Oscar Quality films.I saw this movie a couple years back and then again when it was broadcasted on Disney Channel and i thought I was gonna throw up from this hideous movie do your self a favor and if you even see this movie in a video store just look away ... ...this movie sickens me so much that i need not get myself started.In other words "WORST MOVIE EVER MADE". | 0negative
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Puppet Master: The Legacy
It's Ok, If you don't mind warbly filming and edditing of past films of the series to make a movie. | 0negative
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THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL OF THE CROW
When the first Crow came out, it blew the audience away. People loved it. They wanted more. What we got was some crappy-@$$ movies based on themes from the original Crow. This is the third sequel to a movie loved by comic fans. This is the third time we've been let down. And this is the third time Brandon Lee has rolled over in his grave to take a sh*t on the people who made these crappy movies. If you want a decent Crow movie (like me) lets have the Wachowski brothers pull a little Matrix magic out of their bags and restart a franchise that could have been big, but instead went quickly down the crapper. | 0negative
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Haven is heavenly!
When I first watched "Haven" on SyFy I thought, ' Well, this is certainly different!' I am familiar with many Stephen King movies and this one is fabulous! I am glad it's a series and not just a movie. I have watched both Season One and Two and purchased the DVD for Season 2 from Amazon. It is very good. The show is awesome and the special features just are icing on the cake!I only watch 2 series on all of TV and they are "Haven" and "Walking Dead". And I am a 63 year old lady! And I am not nuts! I love science fiction and always have. But these 2 shows have "heart" and lots of it. Character driven stories that are really good.You will love the DVD of "Haven" both season 1 and 2. Season 3 has already begun and promises to be even more exciting and yes, even scary! | 1positive
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Fantastic! Stupendous! Better than I remember!
This show still holds up very well. It's a bit cheesy but much less so than Otis in the Superman movies or many things in the Batman movies. Lynda plays Wonder Woman straight (not for laughs) and brings a real earnestness to the character. The special effects are really effective for the time. I loved this as a child and still think it's great. Belongs in every super hero dvd library. There's also a fantastic documentary and a fun commentary track with Wonder Woman herself. The picture and sound are very good too. Highly recommended. | 1positive
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Leave the cue on the rack
Movies which divide opinion attract my interest so I gave it a try. I can say I watched it all the way through, which is something, as I have little patience or hesitation in dumping a bad movie after five or ten minutes. Was it the acting, plot, interest in character development? No, none of these. And it wasn't for any of the actors' visual appeal.It is not even really a pool movie. Despite most of the story happening inside a pool shop, the actors didn't seem very comfortable with pool cues. Perhaps I saw it through (once) just for the sense that the film's makers were trying to be original and do something a little daring or different. Some of the incidental characters brought amusing moments.A small niche of `B' grade movie watchers might find something of value here. | 0negative
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THE TALKIEST PICTURE OF 2005!!
If you like art films with talk, talk and more talk.....this is the film for you. It did not hold my attention and I was asleep within minutes. I had to rewatch it 4 times before I got through all of it. Only in the last 30 minutes do we get the Oscar performance by Phillip Seymour Hoffman. While I agree his performance merited the nomination, I do not believe it was THEE performance of the year. In a whole word, this movie was dull and boring. Strictly for the intellectuals who will eat this up. I just want to be entertained...not bored to death. | 0negative
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Give me the ORIGINAL!
I HATE this cut up version!! I miss the Danny Devito scene, as well as the ending (the blind date sequence). Where can I purchase the Original Car wash, the one I saw in the theater? Can someone out there tell me. | 0negative
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Still scaring up laughs.
After a long (13 years) absence since her first motion picture (1988's Elvira, Mistress of the Dark) the wise cracking horror hostess is back. Now it's the mid 19th Century, the setting Transylvania, the star none other than Elvira. While en route to Paris, to star in "Yes, I Can Can," Elvira and her robust French maid Zou Zou find themselves in creepy mysterious castle Helsebus.A foolish choice to hitch a ride on a stage coach lands them in Weird Central, where the family is cursed, the Master of the House (played by Rocky Horror's Richard O'Brien) is a lunatic, and Elvira apparently bears a striking (like a frying pan across the head) resemblance to the House's late lady, Elura who was said to have committed suicide exactly ten years to the day. However one is lead to believe foul play was involved, that one happens to be Elvira.Can Elvira survive this creepy castle and its inhabitants for two full days and nights? Will she escape and make it to Paris? Or will she suffer the same fate of Elura Helsebus?---This movie pays fiendishly fun homage to the old Corman/Poe, Vincent Price flicks of the 1950's. Complete with dramatic sets, secret passages, curses, wall entombment and even a pit complete with full swinging (and actually dangerous just ask Elvira) pendulum.While Elvira fans will find this gothic romp a hilarious hay ride, non Elvira fans are sure to find something to enjoy. Besides Elvira's gravity defying pair this movie actually proves to hold up against today's market of CGI laden movies, with Hollywood big names and multi million dollar budgets.All said and done, Elvira's Haunted Hills are definitely worth surveying. Mr. Price would be proud. | 1positive
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Infamous
I liked this movie almost better than CAPOTE movie. This movie almost slipped through the cracks. Thanks to Amazon for introducing it to me. Just like Capote, it depicts the relationship between Truman and Perry (the shooter in the murder of a Kansas family and the movie of IN COLD BLOOD. But in INFAMOUS, the relationship is shown differently. Well worth the viewing | 1positive
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becoming less funny here
It is becoming less funny as we go on... I don't think it would be worth 2$ per episode.Oddly they haven't released the DVD yet. | 0negative
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Seriously?
I'd rate it 4 stars for the season, but really? $53 for this set? When the other sets run from $22-$30! What greed! Guess I'll be looking for a used copy... | 0negative
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I advise you to skip this
There aren't many LGBT movies/television shows out there, so when I found "And Then Came Lola," I thought I'd give it a try. The whole thing felt childish, and that is before considering the random cartoon animations they throw in throughout the movie. Though it was an indie flick and I didn't have high expectations, I was still disappointed. The acting felt phony, the chemistry was off, and the story was ridiculous. Lola keeps waking up from nightmares that her girlfriend finally dumped her because she was late to an important meeting (Lola is ALWAYS late for things). Every time she wakes up, she gets a do-over to try and make it on time, however, some zany plot ensues and she is too late. It felt repetitive and I felt silly watching it. I'd have to say skip this one...sorry. | 0negative
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More than a few "historical innaccuracies."
Other than the title and a few of Buddy Holly's songs, this film has nothing to do with the Rock legend. If one enjoys this movie as a period piece with a Buddy Holly-like soundtrack, fair enough. But no one watching this movie should kid themselves for a minute that they are learning ANYTHING about the real Buddy Holly. The apologists in the other reviews here should take the time to read one of several books about the man. They can still enjoy the movie for what it is, but must finally admit what it is NOT: a biography of Buddy Holly. And look for "The Real Buddy Holly Story", a documentary produced by Paul McCartney - a Buddy fan if ever there were one. | 0negative
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Mysteries
Excellent product. I would recommend it for all who study the Bible, as Paul says the mysteries are no more and Jesus says you can tell my disciple for they continue in my word. | 1positive
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a great movie for joaquin
i give this video 5 stars just because of joaquin phoenix's amazing performance. this movie is very disturbing but it gets the point that there are some messed up people out there across pretty well. i would recomend this video for a nick cage or joaquin phoenix fan. | 1positive
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Ok
I grew up loving the "Meatballs" series and other 80s teen-camp movies. But I didn't go through adolescence in the 80s. And thats where most of the humor comes from in this overrated movie.Its not dull or totally unfunny. But no moment warrants anything better than a smile. Horny Jewish kids at a camp. Most of the characters and storylines aren't that funny. And the actors playing them add most of the life to the movie. The only reasons to watch this movie are the funny characters who are in the background. David Hyde Pierce, the one-note funny of Paul Rudd, Amy Poehler and Christopher Meloni all play funny cliche bit parts, usually found in other camp movies. But its the unfunny original characters who get the most screen time. Garofalo, Showalter and the rest are just boring and unlikable. And I'm sure they can be funny in other roles.Watch it once. You won't remember much because its not a great comedy. Not even that good. | 0negative
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I love Jax
I love this show and have been watching it since the beginning. Since I have dish, I have to find some other way to watch my favorite show. Buying from Amazon so far is the best way for me. I got to watch this show only one day later than it aired on tv.In this episode Jax and friends arrived in Ireland. The whole show took place in one day. So slow moving but lots of twists and turns and action. I was hoping Jax would get his son back but once again a surprise ending that's probably going to keep him in Ireland for a while. | 1positive
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HELLO
HELL | 1positive
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Doesn't live up to the hype
The Blair Witch Project was a movie that received an unnecessary amount of media attention because of its cinematography and originality. The movie is a little scary but the climax just didn't leave me satisfied. I knew, before coming into the theatre, that this movie was not real, so maybe that influenced my reaction to it. Anyways, if you haven't watched sixth sense yet, go see it and don't be in a rush to rent blair witch. | 0negative
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KristyPChicago
Lewis Black is insanely funny in this new DVD!! This is worth the pre-order or immediate buy when it comes out. You have got to pick this up! If you don't you'll be missing out on some life changing comedy. | 1positive
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Dirty Harry 2 is a great sequel
It is rare that a sequel is as good or better than an original but in our second episode of Dirty Harry "Magnum Force", the movie holds up. I wouldn't say it's better than the first one but it moves faster. There's less dead end subplots because Harrys character has been established. We now know why everybody calls him Dirty Harry? This was asked time after time in the first movie. Clint Eastwood now battles a surly superior Lt.Briggs (Holbrook) who takes Harry off homiside because he believes Harry's a loose cannon. Problem with Briggs is the viewer doesn't like him, nor should they. An early scene may fool you as to who is doing all the killing of the criminals in San Francisco.The movie is well written but Dirty Harry doesn't seem so Dirty as he is almost emotionally overwhelmed and vulnerable as a friend becomes insane and then murdered. Harry is also bewildered at who the villan(s) are. A real Dirty Harry Ending wins back his tough as nails character. Not technically shot as well as the first one but the script is better written. Many actors of the late70's and 80's get they're start here. David Soul, Robert Urich and Tim Matheson have principal roles. Magnum Force after Dirty Harry is a must see! | 1positive
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Impressive Performances. More Low-Key than Racy.
Joe Buck (Jon Voight) is a cocky but not so bright young man from a small Texas town who thinks he's quite a stud. He heads to New York City where he supposes every wealthy matron in town will want to pay for his company. When he fails to parlay his cowboy persona and youthful good looks into an income that he can live on, he develops a friendship with a low life con artist named Rico "Ratso" Rizzo (Dustin Hoffman) who sets himself up as Joe's "manager"."Midnight Cowboy" is based on the novel of the same name by James Leo Herlihy and was adapted for the screen by Waldo Salt. John Schlesinger directed the film to such acclaim that it won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay in 1969 despite its "X" MPAA rating. The film's rating seems to be on account of its situation in the world of bartered sex. "Midnight Cowboy" is not very explicit by today's standards. Contrary to what one might expect, the narrative is really very low-key. The writing is indifferent to sex. The story is found in Joe Buck's emotional arch over the course of the film. The storyline itself is uneventful and, to be honest, the two main characters are completely uninteresting people. The film's performances are its best quality, and both lead actors were nominated for Academy Awards. Jon Voight does a fine job of conveying Joe's cockiness along with his gradual discovery of his own naiveté and perhaps lack of intelligence. Dustin Hoffman is memorable as sickly, pathetic "Ratso". Brenda Vaccaro is interesting in a supporting role as one of Joe's ladies. And Warhol actress "Viva" appears briefly as essentially herself, in a small role as the hostess of a Factory-like party for the art-is-a-man's-name crowd, where you can catch glimpses of some other famous Warhol groupies as well. So I'm recommending "Midnight Cowboy" for its performances.The DVD: Both widescreen and full screen versions are on the same disc, each on a different side. The film starts up as soon as you put the disc in the player and can't be stopped until the movie actually starts. The only bonus feature is a theatrical trailer. Subtitles are available in English, Spanish, and French. Dubbing is available in French. | 1positive
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Truly Outstanding Storytelling
There are only two possible complaints with season 2 of the hit program Buffy the Vampire Slayer. First, due to budget limitations, the whole season was filmed with a 16mm camera, so the image quality is not a good as it could have been. Second, there are only 22 episodes.The whole season flows perfectly, from Buffy's return to Sunnydale after summer vacation in L.A. (still freaked out about dying in season 1), to her departure at season's end after destroying her whole life to save the world. Season Two features what is still my favorite episode, "Passion." While death comes suddenly and often to background characters in this series, they take it seriously when a main character is killed. There are long term repercussions, and people don't recover from the emotional trauma of losing a loved one in just 1 week. "Passion" was the first time we got to see how the Mutant Enemy production crew dealt with a major character's death, and it was quite powerful. Other episodes that deal with the death of major characters are "Becoming (pts 1 & 2)," Season Five's outstanding "The Body," the first three and last four episodes of Season Six. I guess we'll still have to wait awhile for those.Seriously, I have gotten more people hooked on this show with select episodes from season 2, than any other season. If you haven't seen it before, you're missing something special.I also recommend the Season One DVD collection. | 1positive
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No Intrest
I did not care for it at all, very boring and depressing, was greatly dissapointed, but to be fare it is not my Genere of tv | 0negative
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Rent, don't buy
I thought this would be a fun light-hearted movie, but it was a mess of differenct stories and lack lustre performances. I was even disappointed in Jamie Foxx, and I think he is a top notch actor in other films. Taylor swift was extra ditsy in this, and I don't think it helped her aspiring movie career. I would recommend renting it from Redbox for $1 before you decide to purchase it. | 0negative
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The Snapper
I loved it. It was great quality and am very happy with it. I didn't have to wait too long | 1positive
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Bad wannabe noir film......
My boyfriend and I attempted to watch this really bad attempt of a noir film last night, and we were so bored and disinterested that we turned it off halfway thorugh. Within the first fifteen monutes of the film I sat there trying to figure out what exactly was wrong with this film. I came up with the following:-Bad acting. Josh Harnett is basically just a pretty face because the guy has almost no emotion at all. Plus, the guy was too young for the role. It made me grimace. All the other actors were okay. They were directed badly so it's not their fault they were in a bad movie.-Bad screenplay. The storyline made no sense at all. I was paying close attention to the plot and I couldn't quite get what was going on. The written dialogue was just plain bad.All in all this was a really bad film. Avoid it. If De Palma wants to take another stab at a noir film he ought to at least have a decent screenplay the next time around. | 0negative
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Wildy Confusing and Disheartening...
Having heard about this movie, I had a vague idea that it was going to be highy lacking in plot and dialogue, but hopefully somewhat entertaining in a Seinfeldian fashion-so still worth viewing. I could never have imagined, in my most wildly confused dreams, that ANY movie could be so entirely TURGID!!! The poor acting only served to accentuate the poorly written scrpit and complete lack of direction in this pathetic excuse for a film.In a few scenes we start to see a rather homoerotic sort of lust or attraction between the main character (who is, by the way, chosen to be the body into which the evil fraternity brother will transport himself when the main character is stretching shirtless and glistening outside of a gazebo...) and the evil frat brother of doom. Once the main character, Chris, is good and drunk the evil characer proceeds to initiate him as a pledge of the ATO fraternity. He takes a small needle from his large and pretty necklace of doom and sticks the obtrusively handsome and naive main characer in the hand and proceeds to suck his blood in the most boring blood sucking vampire of doom scene I have ever seen on film. When Chris wakes up the next morning he is greeted by his equally uninterestingly written roomate, Dan, and a suitacase of clothes from his new frat brothers sitting on the kitchen table. Strangely, though, the top outfit in the suitacase is a silky white shirt and pleather pants--clubbing attire perhaps? Or just a friendly fashion tip from your new brothers?Ignoring the fact that most important aspects of this film reeked of ham left out in the sun for days, the least the director could have done was added some non confusing/disturbing sex scenes. In the one overtly sexual scene in the movie the evil frat brother decides to show Chris the ropes of boring blood sucking. He chooses the most intoxicated looking forty year old at the party and proceeds to lead her into the chamber. Chris undresses and goes at it...he pricks her arm and starts sucking her blood. The evil character, watching, becomes intrigued and decides to strip down to his designer underwear and join in. The scene climax is a pathetic fake orgasm (assumably induced by the sucking of the vampire frat brothers) by the intoxicated forty year old--hardly an arousing scene to say the least.In any case the movie ends anticlimatcially (suprise suprise) with several of the frat brothers, the evil character, and the main character engaging in the body swapping ritual that, of course, must be performed in the designer underwear and nothing else. How else would one possibly achieve a proper body swap?!?Overall, this movie was an atrocity not only to horror films but also to goth/vampire/fantasy films as well as homoerotic thrillers. This movie is so not worth your time and is good, for lack of clever cinematic design or plot or dialogue or good acting, only as a joke for you and your friends to view time and time again in order to revel in the glory of its unintended comical nature. Perhaps the director's intent was not to make an eloquently done vampire/fantasy film but merely to produce a film whose intent was to showcase young male verility at its finest. If this indeed was the case then DeCouteau did a splendid job. However I'm not sure how many film makers would make the sort of film this is their goal style.If you like well done vampire flicks with homoerotic undertones and--dare I say it?!?--a plot, I would highly recommend Interview with the Vampire as well as the rest of the films based on the Vampire Chronicles of Anne Rice. | 0negative
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Nice visually - but nothing else here.
Visually stunning, but that alone is not enough to carry this movie. This is for sure a one-time watch - so rent, don't buy. I think this movie sets the record for number of cheesy lines. Maybe 50% of the dialog is mindless predictable one-liners you've heard 100 times already in other movies. There is no character development to speak of, there are no surprises in the plot. Very tiring to watch this movie in one sitting.I gave it one star only because of the visual treat (and because you can't give it none :) ). | 0negative
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Did I see a different movie???
Many have commented on the sensuality and nudity in this movie. Yes, that is there, but there is so much more to this movie.I think it is a great exploration of the mind and imagination of a writer. I do not want to give too much away. However, watch the movie a second time after you have seen the the ending.Great movie!!! | 1positive
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Get caught up on laundry or wash your car. Don't rent this!
I am one of the few people that liked Pet Sematary, directed by Mary Lambert as well. I didn't expect much from this film, but even considering that, I can't express what a complete waste of time watching this was. It kinda reminds you of Prom Night II Hello Mary Lou in a few storyline aspects, along with a couple of other films. Nice job on the camera angles at the girl's slumber party, I'll say that much for it. Do yourself a favor and get caught up on something else, anything other than watching this piece of garbage. You won't like this film, I promise you. Go watch "Cursed" instead. Now that was decent!! | 0negative
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Great Season
If you're an L Word follower, then this addition to your collection will be a plus. | 1positive
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