Atomic Submarine

An Eclectic Collection of Horror and Sci-Fi
This is an excellent collection of four films, once late night staples, which have fallen into obscurity in recent times. There are two excellent sci-fi flicks and two wonderful Karloff films. As with most Criterion releases, a bit pricey, but collectors and fans alike will find the collection worth while.

ATOMIC SUBMARINE (1959) - Arthur Franz, Dick Foran, Tim Conway and Joi Lansing are a part of a crew of an atomic submarine that is tracking an underwater UFO, which is responsible for the sinking of several ships. They track the saucer to the North Pole, where it is using the magnetic field to replenish itself. They board the saucer and meet its occupant, a hairy octopus-like creature with one huge eye.

CORRIDORS OF BLOOD (1958) - Karloff is in fine form as Dr. Bolton, a physician experimenting with anesthesia in the 1840s. Basing his mixture on opium, he becomes addicted in the process, which leads to his dismissal from the hospital. Needing money to purchase...

man, tough crowd
wow, people are not giving this set enough credit. These films, while not the best Karloff films, or the best examples of the genere, are all entertaining. The karloff films are much better than people are making them out to be. the atomic submarine and first man into space are also very fun films. all of the films look great.

But, the extras, including commentaries ON ALL FOUR FILMS is what makes this set. The commentaries are nformative, interesting, a great listen.

if you like classic horror/sci-fi and enjoy good commentary tracks, buy this set.

The criterion edition of fiend w/o a face is also highly reccomended.

Best of the later Karloff's.
This is an old favorite of mine; it also happens to be one of Karloff's best later performances. He's perfect as the kind elderly doctor who gets involved with the wrong people, one of them being Christopher Lee as grave-robber Resurrection Joe (!). And the always good Francis Matthews is, well, good as always. (The film is actually close in tone to "The Body Snatcher", but Karloff's part here is a quite different one.) You really feel deeply for the poor doc, thanks to the great Boris. The b/w movie may look like a Hammer film, but I wouldn't call it a Horror movie. -Sure, it's got some "horrific" scenes, but overall it looks more like a nice period drama stuck with a misleading title. (-If they had to give it such an awful title; something like "Corridors Of Pain" might have been a better choice, considering there are more screams heard than blood seen.) It's not only the best of his last films, but among the very best of his massive and...

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No Woman No Cry

No woman no cry
This is a fascinating documentary featuring women around the world. I would highly recommend this film to anyone interested in this topic.

reignite the fire
A documentary every woman should see. As an OBGYN it makes me want to do even more. It opened my eyes to the world's reality



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High Ground

Catharsis And Camaraderie: 11 Veterans Face An Emotionally Compelling And Physically Demanding Journey
The new documentary "High Ground" is an emotionally charged, yet surprisingly understated, story of survival, hope, and perseverance that touched me quite deeply. There are so many documentary choices about being in battle and the emotional and physical toll it can take, just witnessing these harrowing stories can be devastating. But few films that I've seen on the subject have been so simple, so straightforward, and so quietly powerful as "High Ground." Its subtlety is its key. As a chronicle of war, as a story of its devastating aftermath, and as a adventure travelogue--this film really accomplishes a lot. And it doesn't achieve its power through big dramatic moments, but with candid revelations and insights from its group of participants. Each member of this expedition faces the camera and gives you a glimpse into their personal life and their experience in the war. And in these intimate moments, we see a real cross section of what our military personnel must endure. But...

Eye opening documentary
I came across the movie poster for this film and instantly ordered it. I was very impressed with the filming and the individuals involved but was left wanting a bit more behind the scenes info. No disrespect at all to the individuals in the film or the director, they have all done s great service.

Beautiful, incredibly moving film
I bought this DVD after seeing this beautiful film because I simply had to own it. The characters are incredible, and they--and the filmmaker--are brave enough to tell their stories warts and all. In doing so they expose their vulnerabilities, which makes their achievements that much more remarkable and inspiring. It's taught me more about the experiences of veterans and Wounded Warriors than any other film, if only by showing the variety and complexity of the issues they face coming home.

The filmmaker allows the characters to tell their own stories in a way that really does justice to the depth of their experiences and emotions. Combine all that with stunning cinematography and a powerful music score and it's hands-down my favorite doc of the year. I must have cried five times watching it and still get tears in my eyes when I think of it. Thank you to the filmmaker for making High Ground, and to characters in it for being brave enough to tell your stories...

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Miss Representation

Compelling, even after seeing it 4 times
I initially saw this film at the SF Film Society's showing, and as a teacher, felt it was important to bring along a few parents, students, and former students. My only regret was in not bringing guys along, who should most definitely see it as well. What struck me most profoundly was the momentum that was growing so quickly back in the late 60's and early 70's, and the backlash that appears to have driven us significantly backward ever since. As a parent of a young woman in communications, the statistics on who is running the media was quite shocking. My group left the theater profoundly impacted, and I immediately requested that our school librarian order a copy.

Over the Christmas break, I watched it 3 more times, once with my daughter and twice with "mature" women, and everyone was riveted by the movie. While it can be argued that this topic has been addressed numerous times over the years, it needs to be repeated in a variety of venues and formats to increase the...

This Study Of Gender Inequity And Media Representation Covers A Familiar Topic, But With A Star-Studded Line-Up
An impressive array of commentators contribute thoughts to Jennifer Siebel Newsom's well-meaning documentary "Miss Representation." News personalities, activists, politicos, and entertainment figures all participate in the dialogue about the media's harmful representation of women within today's culture. While this issue is certainly not a new one, it still merits discussion--and that is really the most unfortunate topic presented within this ninety minute production. In 2011, is this really something that we still have to talk about? That's the real crime here. A few of the noteworthy interview subjects include Jane Fonda, Gloria Steinem, Katie Couric, Nancy Pelosi, Geena Davis, Condaleeza Rice, Rachel Maddow, Rosario Dawson, Cory Booker, Paul Haggis, and Margaret Cho. It's great to have compiled so many diverse viewpoints all striving for the same results, but I don't know how new or enlightening any of it serves to be to an audience already familiar with the issues...

Amazing!
This is an amazing documentary. There is also a great group of people who continue to follow the cause. Visit missrepresentation.org for more information.

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The 400 Blows

A True-to-the-Bones-and-Heart Modern Day Dickensian Fable
The most heart-felt movie I've ever seen is a powerful mix of sharp-eye, hardhitting autobiographical remembrance of a nearly bruised childhood and a celebration of the wide-open, spontaneous and lyrical qualities of cinema to capture pointed truths of family, school and street lives as seen through the curiously haunted eyes of one Antoine Doinel, a modern-day Dickensian hero in a decidedly unglamours Paris, searching, often wrongheadly, for love and acceptance while, almost against himself, challenging the authorial rules imposed on children growing up in conformist post-WWII France. The film's tone is one of anguished bittersweetness and quiet defiance, counterpointed by bursts of joyful freedom and naughty prank playings as shared by many in their pre-adolescenthood. Doniel's friendship with the well-off but neglected Rene is also among the most moving portraits of childhood friendship ever. An unforgettable portrait, a cutting social study, a New Wave classic and...

400 Blows
I've spent decades avoiding THE 400 BLOWS, afraid it was either dark and brooding, or a documentation of child abuse (physical and/or emotional), or an angry and vindictive assault on the authors' of Francois Truffaut's traumatic childhood.
I shouldn't have worried. THE 400 BLOWS is a gentle and compassionate movie. It isn't overwhelmed by its anger, although a few characters, particularly the coming-of-age hero's mother and his school teacher, aren't terribly sympathetic. Being new to THE 400 BLOWS, I found the commentary by Premiere magazine film critic Glen Kenny especially helpful in understanding French New Wave cinema in general and Truffaut in particular. By the way, according to Kenny "400 blows" refers to a French colloquialism similar to the American "paint the town red." It means to give oneself over to every type of excess, and raise a little heck in the process.

Get this one only if you are not interested in all the Doinel films.
However, if you are a fan of this entire film series by Truffaut, then you should spring for the Adventures of Antoine Doinel boxed set. It comes with all the extras found on this disc, plus a bonus disc which features excerpts from a 1961 documentary on Truffaut, which touches on this film, and a promotional art gallery for this film. Neither of these bonus features are found on this disc, nor is the bonus short film, Antoine and Colette, which is on the 400 Blows' disc in the boxed set. Great if you only want this movie, but I'd pay the extra dough as it's well worth it to have the entire Criterion boxed set, which is loaded with extras covering all the other films.

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Close-Up

"There's nothing about this case that's worth filming."
Nothing less than a narrative nesting-doll of reality informing illusion that's based on reality that might be illusion, etc. etc. This legendary film from Abbas Kiarostami concerns itself with a true-life case in Iran involving an imposter who -- for no real motive other than a "love for cinema" -- presents himself to a well-to-do Tehran family as the famous Iranian director and Kiarostami colleague Mohsen Makhmalbaf. The movie begins with the apprehension of the imposter from the family's gated residence. It then becomes quite documentary-like: Kiarostami, with back turned toward the camera, interviews the suspect in jail, asks permission of the local bureaucrat assigned to adjudicate the case if the trial may be filmed (to which the bureaucrat replies bemusedly, "There's nothing about this case that's worth filming"), and then finally sits in on the actual trial itself, which is shot in an inferior film stock that would seem to indicate that we're watching the proceedings as...

Perhaps Kiarostami's best work -- but you have to be patient
A man on a bus gets mistaken for the famous Iranian filmmaker Mohssen Makhmalbaf, and he pretends to be him for a while, ingratiating himself into the life of a family by speaking of a project he is working on. He's not in it for the money, though he borrows taxi fare and is given food. It's the sense of being someone, someone who matters, someone who these people he has come to care about will look up to. When another Iranian filmmaker hears about the trial for this alleged conman, he asks permission to film it and follows up by reconstructing elements of the case, using the actual perpetrator as his main actor.

I don't want to give away more of the situation, captured here in a unique blend of documentary and fiction. What I do want to give is a personal account of my experience with this film, that I hope will motivate a few to take a look -- and to be patient. The film doesn't work its magic right away -- and in fact the beginning of the film can be somewhat...

Close-Up
This brilliant dramatic re-creation of an unusual case of criminal impersonation examines the conceits of cinema on one hand, but also the state of post-revolutionary Iranian society, where dire poverty and lack of opportunities can crush aspirations, artistic or otherwise. The writer-director, Abbas Kiarostami ("A Taste of Cherry"), read about Sabzian's predicament in a magazine article, decided to film the trial, and then asked everyone involved to play themselves. A fascinating mash-up of reality and artifice, "Close-Up" is a minor miracle of engaged storytelling whose compassionate final minutes will leave an indelible impression.

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Antonio Gaudi

Gaudi and Takemitsu: perfect combo
This is a great tour through the works of the brilliant, one-of-a-kind architect Antonio Gaudi. Find some pictures of his work on the net, and, if you're impressed, you'll like this movie. The cinematography is perfect, tracking and panning slowly over his work, so you can take it in. As if Gaudi's work wasn't enough, it also features music by the great Toru Takemitsu, who is the ultimate tour guide, much better than the narrator a lesser documentary on Gaudi might have provided. Instead of rattling off information, Takemitsu offers mood and atmosphere to compliment Gaudi's visuals perfectly. Together they offer a haunting, hallucinatory experience.

Beautifully captured images of Gaudi's work.
When I first saw this film, I did not know what to expect. One thing is there is no dialogue, just footage of the glorious city of Barcelona and the effect Gaudi's work had on the place. It's beautiful, surreal and an extremely awe inspiring experience to view it all on film. There is a depth to this film which words cannot convey, only seeing this film can one appreciate Gaudi and the city of Barcelona. A city imbued with enormous beauty and creative genius. One can feel great pride for the Catalan people by just his (Gaudi's) example alone. Well worth your time to see!

Fantasy As Reality: A Small Feast of Antonio Gaudi
A well-crafted film that provides a tantalizing glimpse of some of Gaudi's most famous work. With the exception of a brief interview with one of Gaudi's contemporaries, there is no narrative or dialogue. Rather, the film is a riveting visual feast; excellent cinematography with a unique musical score that complements the architecture shown. Occasional English sub-titles identify buildings, locations and dates of construction. The film opens with a brief look at the culture of Spain in the medieval period through its art and architecture, establishing a background against which to juxtapose Gaudi's radical departure from the historical past. Little is told of Gaudi's life; instead this film concentrates on some of his more notable work and does so brilliantly. It leaves one wanting more...much more! Who was this man? How did he do it? What else did he design? This feast for the eyes and ears can be understood easily by non-English speakers. Highly recommended!

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The Horse's Mouth

How To Out Bluff A Film Buff
If a film buff askes you to name a classic film you realy like you can do no worse than to answer "The Horse's Mouth". Try to suppress a smile as the buff looks at first puzzled and then cautiously admits that they have never heard of let alone seen that movie so can it be that good?

Well actually yes it is explain to them then casually mention that it is the only film that Alec Guinness ever wrote a screenplay for and that he gained an Academy Award nomination for his trouble and that in his "Parkinson" interview in 1977 he almost (but not quite) admitted that it was his favourite film in his long career.

Then you can go on to tell that it is one of the few films from the 1950's that shows London in colour and the music adapted from Sergei Prokofieff's "Lieutenant Kije" gives the film a touch of class and a unique sense of style not to be found in other films of the period.

You may then mention that the acting is superb; as well as Guinness' faultless study of an obsessive and...

"Burning bright" indeed
I recently purchased this film from Amazon as well as "The Alec Guinness Collection" which includes Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) plus four others: The Man in the White Suit (1951), The Lavender Hill Mob (1951), The Captain's Paradise (1953), and The Ladykillers (1955). Frankly, I was amazed how well each of the six films has held up since I first saw it.

This film is based on a novel by Joyce Cary, The Horse's Mouth. Guinness wrote the screenplay which was nominated for an Academy Award. The director was Ronald Neame who also produced it. Special credit should also be given to the cinematographer, Arthur Ibbetson, who brilliantly captures the beauty of London while sustaining the viewer's focus on both the splendor and squalor of Gulley Jimson's passions. For me, Guinness' portrayal of that aging and impoverished but obsessed painter gives a whole new meaning to the word "eccentric." As in the novel, the spirit of William Blake is very evident. Art is Jimson's religion...

Hilarious and poignant Guinness
First off, this isn't a review--it's a reminiscence. I saw this film in the '60s in Berkeley, and I loved it then partly because it spoke to me of what I believed were the issues of the day--freedom (artistic and otherwise) and the power of the individual. I am now buying the video so that I can at long last have a joyous reunion with the unforgettable characters--the artist's dishevelled, indignant and loyal girlfriend; his equally dishevelled, adoring and unquestioning young admirer, and the artist himself, the outrageous Gully Jimson (Guinness). I still see his raffish little boat on the Thames, chugging along to the regal strains of Prokofiev, just as the often obnoxious and stubborn Jimson is dignified by the strength of his commitment to art and self. (This film was based on the novel by Joyce Cary)

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Fiend without a Face

Only Criterion does them THIS well
Is there ANY fan of science fiction or horror movies who grew up in the 60's and *doesn't* remember this midnight snack? The odd thing to me is that someone at Criterion seems to have the same taste in odd genre movies from the 50's as I do - and anyone ensuring that movies like this, and even more especially "Carnival of Souls", deserves a round of applause. (Let's face it, this movie used to be found in the "Drive In Flicks" section of the rental places if they even HAD it.)

The video quality is as good as we can expect. It is certainly sharper and brighter than other recent presentations of the film, but unfortunately, there ARE sequences where the scratches and wear obviously could not be spirited away digitally. I sincerely doubt that any fan of the movie will mind; this isn't Bergman or Fellini we're talking about! (In the opening scene, an Air Force office is suggesting to his fellow officer that perhaps "sleep would be better than all the benzedrine...

"Colonel, I've lived in these backwoods all my life, and I can assure you there's no animal in these parts that could do that."
I gotta figure doing PR for the gooberment's atomic energy program in the 1950s must have been one hell of an uphill battle as it seemed every other horror or science fiction thriller released in the day involved something either getting embiggened, shrunken, or just plain mutated and messed up in general, as depicted in this classic British made feature Fiend without a Face (1958), due to radiation derived from our relatively new found ability to smash them atoms. Directed by Arthur Crabtree (Horrors of the Black Museum), the film stars Marshall Thompson (It! The Terror from Beyond Space, First Man Into Space, "Daktari"), Kynaston Reeves (RX for Murder), and Kim Parker (Fire Maidens from Outer Space). Also appearing is Terry Kilburn (Swiss Family Robinson), Peter Madden (Dr. Terror's House of Horrors), and Stanley Maxted (Strange Awakening).

As the film begins we're at a U.S. Air Force base in Canada and we see a lone guard at night on the perimeter. After hearing some...

A mutant brain eating monster brain mondo cliche movie
Forget the title, "Fiend Without a Face" is the one with the brain monsters. That is all you have to tell people for them to go, "Oh, yes! That movie! I remember that movie!" This 1958 British horror film might not be beloved, but is certainly memorable because of the stop-motion animation that is used to have the monster, which look like big brains with horns and a spinal chord tail that they use to move around and strangle their victims (these must have been partially responsible for inspiring the face-huggers from the "Alien" series). This is also one of the goriest films of that decade, which was probably a way of covering up for the fact that you had actors screaming and writhing in pain with a big fake brain monster taped to their heads sucking out their brains.

Our tale is set at an American military base in Canada (interesting to see a British film play about American-Canadian tensions like this). The locals start dropping dead, screaming in horror, and the thinking is...

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The Honeymoon Killers

"DEAR MARTHA"...
The true story of Raymond Fernandez and Martha Beck is sad and depressing. Their arrests, trial and subsequent executions are vividly described through actual newspaper clips and photos in one of the extras on this remarkable DVD. The film itself is a striking b&w drama detailing their exploits as the "Lonely Hearts" killers. They met through a "friendship" club advertised in a sleazy tabloid and embarked on their grisly journey through several states using the same club as their stalking point. Fernandez, a Latin lover type gigolo/con-man, had originally planned to fleece Martha but decided her career as a registered nurse wouldn't yield much profit. Yet Martha went after him instead. She was single, overweight, depressed and felt she had nothing to lose. Plus she was smitten with him. At first, she just got in Fernandez's way. But she soon proved a valuable asset and they became a team posing as brother and sister as they stalked and fleeced needy single women while Fernandez worked...

STOP READING AND BUY THIS NOW!!!
This is turning into one of my favorite movies ever. It is so rich, dark and complex, genuinely shocking and disturbing, well written, well photographed, well acted... I just can't say enough good things about it.

This is also one of those movies that I think it is better to know as little as possible about before seeing it, so if I were you, I would turn the Internet off and go buy it right now. But since I know that if you don't know anything about it, you have no reason to buy it, I will tell you that it is a true crime drama that concerns a very perverse relationship, the bilking of innocents, and elements of very black humor. Okay, stop reading now and go buy it. I'm really serious, you NEED to see this.

SPOILERS FROM HERE ON OUT >>>>>
I have watched this movie four times now, and it just keeps getting richer each time. Though it may not always seem like it, every single element is in place and the script and direction are as tight as they can possibly...

Manipulative affection in drama-documentary...
Honeymoon killers is based on the true events that took place during the late 40s when a heavy nurse, Martha Beck begins to exchange letters with the sly and manipulative Raymond Fernandez who she met through an add in a Lonely Hearts club. Raymond uses the club to con lonely women, but it turns out that Raymond and Martha have something in common. Together the two begin to pick victims and steal women's savings, which eventually leads to murder. Honeymoon Killers is a monstrous story that reveals the dark nature of Martha's passion for Raymond as they tour east USA leaving a trail of corpses. Yet, it is a sad story as Martha is incapable of recognizing their failing love as she desires the need to feel loved by Raymond. Honeymoon Killers is a black and white drama-documentary that leaves the audience with a good, yet mind numbing cinematic experience.

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Samurai Trilogy Part 1: Musashi Miyamoto

Excellent viewing.
I enjoy Japanese films, and Toshiro Mifune is one of my favorite actors. Samurai I Musashi Miyamoto, the first of a trilogy by Inagaki, is an excellent example of the genre, justly winning an Academy Award for best foreign film in 1955. In color, which many of the other Japanese films in my collection are not, the cinematography is lovely. Although lacking some of the artistic panache of Kurosawa's or Kobayashi's work, Inogaki's film is not the less visually satisfying for it. Whereas both Kurosawa and Kobayashi's films seem at times too constrained with respect to set, color and special effects which at times distracts from the main theme of their story, Inagaki's Samurai I relies on the natural charms of the Japanese countryside and its national architectural style. Some of the settings are exquisite, and the buildings have an almost Frank Lloyd Wright fitness, complimenting their environment without being intrusive.

The story has a dramatist's sense of character development...

CRAZY HORSE
The first part of director Hiroshi Inagaki's Samurai trilogy, that is SAMURAI I : MIYAMOTO MUSASHI, won in 1954 the academy award for best foreign movie released in the U.S.. It's a movie filmed in glorious Eastmancolor and shot, for the most part of it, in the japanese landscapes. Set in 1600 A.D., in a civil war period, SAMURAI I relates the first years of samurai apprenticeship of Takezo who, with his friend, Matahachi, decides to go to war in order to obtain fame.

Wild, without attach, Takezo will soon turn into a ronin, a samurai without a Master nor a philosophical goal. He becomes an animal and is finally caught by his fellowmen. Saved by a buddhist monk, he will learn Wisdom by reading books.

You will find in SAMURAI I several characters and situations one will encounter in numerous other japanese or even american movies. For instance, the Mother and her Daughter, alone in their lost wooden house, who will become extremely dangerous after a few weeks can be...

Great Action But Something More, Too
This trilogy is the story of a lone, masterless samurai (ronin) on a burning quest to perfect his craft. Although full of action, the real story is Musashi's maturation not just as a martial artist, but as a human being. Some scenes are nearly spiritual.

The direction and acting are excellent. Mifune is the perfect choice to portray Musashi - he is a fine actor and carries off the fight scenes quite adroitly.

The screenplay is based on Eiji Yoshikawa's novel about Musashi. If you haven't already read the book then I encourage you to do so. It's been called the "Gone With the Wind" of Japan and has sold something like 100 million copies. And deservedly so, it is a very good book.

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Corridors of Blood

An Eclectic Collection of Horror and Sci-Fi
This is an excellent collection of four films, once late night staples, which have fallen into obscurity in recent times. There are two excellent sci-fi flicks and two wonderful Karloff films. As with most Criterion releases, a bit pricey, but collectors and fans alike will find the collection worth while.

ATOMIC SUBMARINE (1959) - Arthur Franz, Dick Foran, Tim Conway and Joi Lansing are a part of a crew of an atomic submarine that is tracking an underwater UFO, which is responsible for the sinking of several ships. They track the saucer to the North Pole, where it is using the magnetic field to replenish itself. They board the saucer and meet its occupant, a hairy octopus-like creature with one huge eye.

CORRIDORS OF BLOOD (1958) - Karloff is in fine form as Dr. Bolton, a physician experimenting with anesthesia in the 1840s. Basing his mixture on opium, he becomes addicted in the process, which leads to his dismissal from the hospital. Needing money to purchase...

man, tough crowd
wow, people are not giving this set enough credit. These films, while not the best Karloff films, or the best examples of the genere, are all entertaining. The karloff films are much better than people are making them out to be. the atomic submarine and first man into space are also very fun films. all of the films look great.

But, the extras, including commentaries ON ALL FOUR FILMS is what makes this set. The commentaries are nformative, interesting, a great listen.

if you like classic horror/sci-fi and enjoy good commentary tracks, buy this set.

The criterion edition of fiend w/o a face is also highly reccomended.

Best of the later Karloff's.
This is an old favorite of mine; it also happens to be one of Karloff's best later performances. He's perfect as the kind elderly doctor who gets involved with the wrong people, one of them being Christopher Lee as grave-robber Resurrection Joe (!). And the always good Francis Matthews is, well, good as always. (The film is actually close in tone to "The Body Snatcher", but Karloff's part here is a quite different one.) You really feel deeply for the poor doc, thanks to the great Boris. The b/w movie may look like a Hammer film, but I wouldn't call it a Horror movie. -Sure, it's got some "horrific" scenes, but overall it looks more like a nice period drama stuck with a misleading title. (-If they had to give it such an awful title; something like "Corridors Of Pain" might have been a better choice, considering there are more screams heard than blood seen.) It's not only the best of his last films, but among the very best of his massive and...

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Silent Rage [HD]

ultimate killing machine vs the ultimate fighting machine
a must for all chuck fans ,indestructable madman (brian libby) goes on the rampage after being injected with a super healing serum ,needless to say chuck comes to the rescue not only [whooping him],he even has time to take on a gang of bikers in what is a classic bar room brawl,in which chuck shows why he was six time karate champ.this film should be taken for what it is sheer enjoyment!sit back and watch chuck at his [brawling] best,the baddies are excellent too,watch and judge for yourself.

A Wild Movie!
Chuch Norris as I have never seen him. As the Sheriff of a small town he does battle with an indestructible man. This man started the movie as a mental patient who commits murder at an apartment complex. Theman is gunned down by the police. At the hospital he is made indestructible by doctors(mad scientists).He then proceeds to kill everyone who poses a threat to him. Before he and Chuck meet up Chuck whips a motorcycle gang. At the end of the movie he and Sheriff Chuck wage war all over the countryside. Nothing Chuck does to him will kill him. Sheriff Chuck finally throws him in a well. It ends with the mad killer springing out of the water. My only dissapointment was that there wasn't a sequel. A very exciting movie. A bit different for Chuck Norris though.

Science created him, but can Chuck stop him?
Chuck does horror in the 1982 classic "Silent Rage" in which Chuck Norris, as Sheriff Dan Stevens, takes on a superhuman biological project gone bad in John Kirby. John Kirby was already dangerously disturbed before he was killed, but after he is brought back to life by a mad scientist, this guy is unstoppable!! I mean I am talking Michael Myers style!! John Kirby is evil, dangerous and deadly as he kills a bunch of people on his way to a match with Sheriff Dan Stevens and his karate kicks. Will Chuck be a match for John Kirby? On paper, the answer is no, but with Chuck's karate kicks and chops having more power than shotgun blasts, one would have to give the edge to Chuck Norris in this matchup.

Notwithstanding Chuck Norris' notorious karate scene when he beats the butts of an entire biker gang in a bar all by himself, this movie does have some horror merit to it, although not much. First, you gotta love the music in this flick, especially John Kirby's theme or death...

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Fat Girl

brilliant portrayal of adolescent female sexuality
It upsets me that reviewers have focused on the issues of weight and female competition and jealousy that do exist in this film, but completely ignore the major point of this film. Breillat gives us a brutally honest portrayal of female "baptism" into sexuality. It is not pretty, or romantic, or even sensual (as the socially astute "fat girl" realizes). The older sister, whose bed is surrounded by issues of Cosmo, appropriately enough) is hyper-feminized, and believes that she needs to look as if she stepped off the pages of Cosmo to get and keep and please a man--the most important tasks a woman is given by our culture. Her younger sister is less accepting of these--in fact she repeatedly says that she wants to lose her virginity to someone she doesn't love (a fact consistenly ignored by reviewers in their reviews, and vital to understanding the ending and the distinction between the two sisters). The shocking ending is so significant in this regard--Breillat...

Not your average rites-of-passage teen movie.
When I first heard that the English title of Catherine Breillat's 'A ma soeur' (literally 'for my sister') was 'Fat Girl', I was shocked that such sexism and sizism could exist in such strangulatingly p.c. times, especially in the light of the director's uncompromising, though idiosyncratic feminism. But from the very first sequence, Anais' weight is foregrounded, as she devours a banana split at a cafe while her sister is being chatted up by an Italian student. The body is the focus of this film, its display, and the attempts to control it, whether by deciding how much you're going to eat, by seducing minors or by deciding to whom you'll offer your virginity. Like another recent French film, Patrice Chereau's 'Intimacy', Breillat focuses on sexuality in a way hostile to mainstream cinema. Unlike 'Intimacy', whose gauche attempts at realism destroyed its credibility, Breillat insists on formality and artifice, from the summer holiday setting, with its two heroines 'locked up' in a...

another disturbing/engaging look at sexuality from Breillat
Ana

First Man Into Space

One of those "You had to be there at the time" films
This seemingly harmless, boilerplate fifties scifi "thriller" is of special significance to me, which is the reason I purchased the VHS version. When I was eight years old, I attended a double feature matinee at the Varsity Theater in Palo Alto, California. The main feature was Disney's "Darby O'Gill and the Little People," a decent, semi-comedic flick most well-known for being a showcase for a budding actor named Sean Connery. "Darby" included a few scary moments, however, in which an animated "banshee" was shown floating ominously in the evening sky. Perhaps because of these briefly frightening scenes, the geniuses in charge of putting together the double bill selected "First Man Into Space" as the second feature.

The results were nothing short of disastrous.

Although "First Man" seems cheesy and at times downright plodding by today's frenetic standards for scifi films, showing a movie that includes a...

You'll be surprised!
I rented this movie with low expectations. It looked like the typical Z-grade movie that, if it were not for Mystery Science Theater 3000, would be a chore to watch.

Boy, was I wrong!

While the picture was obviously made on a low budget, it comes off much better than you'd think. The special effects are surprisingly good, especially the scenes of the experimental rocket in flight.

There is some interesting stock footage of planes from the X-1 era, being launched from bombers (which at the time was how they thought they'd do rocketry).

I kept wondering when the picture would start to go bad, but it kept my interest throughout. Low budget 50's sci-fi, but a real gem!

first man into space a 50s gem
I remember seeing this film a a young boy and it helped hook me on Sci Fi for life. 50s rockets and a space plane right out of the newsreels of the time coupled with a risk taking pilot, responsible older brother who is his superior officer and the beautiful scientist who they both want make for a great movie. The science and horror are blended into a believable tale of ambition gone wrong as a disobeyed order to stay below the threshold of space so the pilot can be the first man into space leads to a hideous fate. By doing so he passes thru a cosmic cloud that covers the ship and him in a protective reflective dust which insulates both him and the ship from the atmosphere. What follows is a mystery as to what happened to the pilot when the ship re enters the atmosphere and what is causing the mysterious slasher type murders that have their victims drained of blood leading to a typical 50s climax where a noble act ends in tragedy but gives future pilots a new safety element to...

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Eating Raoul

"Tasty Comedy of Bad Manners" Gets a Mediocre DVD Treatment
The 1982 low-budget outré comedy EATING RAOUL from writer/director Paul Bartel, who also stars, is an outrageously funny satire that needles such diverse elements of American culture as the concept of The American Dream, high-society status symbols, overzealous capitalism, racial stereotyping, and sexually deviant subgroups.

Paul and Mary Bland (Bartel and Mary Woronov) are a conservative, happily married middle-class couple who share an interest in fine wine, good food, and sexual repression. They also share entrepreneurial dreams of opening their own restaurant for epicures. Unfortunately, the Blands are flat broke. Paul is an unemployed wine connoisseur, and Mary only makes a pittance working as a Nurse's Aide. To make matters worse, the building they want to purchase for their restaurant has also caught the eye of another buyer, so if Paul and Mary don't raise the $20,000 down quickly, they'll watch their hopes and dreams turn to dust.

Things actually take a turn for...

Great movie, horrible DVD
Talk about cult classics! Paul Bartel's darkly hilarious "Eating Raoul" was the first cult film I ever saw, way back in the early 1980s when the miracle that is cable television arrived at the house. I sat in openmouthed wonder as the movie unfolded, barely believing my eyes were seeing the twisted hijinks floating by onscreen. It's largely due to "Eating Raoul" that I became a Mary Woronov fan, and I also learned to appreciate as well as seek out any films made by Paul Bartel. He's an interesting guy, a man that looks like one of your balding uncles or an out of shape next-door neighbor, but he has a warped sense of humor that fits in well with 1970s low budget cinema. Audiences probably know Bartel, if they know him at all, for several films he made for Roger Corman in the 1970s: "Death Race 2000" and "Cannonball." These two films couldn't be more different in subject matter and tone than "Eating Raoul." The two Corman films deal with car races, crashes, and bloody violence. "Eating...

AVOID: Bad Transfer
This long awaited DVD is an incredible disappointment. The major problem that makes this unwatchable is that somehow this movie has been stretched horizontally to fit a widescreen TV. The result makes everything look distorted. I don't know what the original aspect ratio was but this presentation is an abomination. I tried running it on my computer software to manually adjust the picture dimensions. The film does appear to be wider than the standard screen size but not the ratio as presented on this DVD.

And to top it off the print appears to be something of the VHS quality (i.e. poor) with color and resolution deficiences. There appears to be a gash in the screen as if the video was shot from a movie screen with a tear in the top middle. The sound appears to have been mono that someone has doctored up by added fake stereo and reverb, then steering the dialog from side to side. Warning: Listening to this may cause sea sickness.

Sony should be sued for selling this junk. I...

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Sirocco [HD]

Underrated Bogie Film
This is a film about the French military occupation of Syria after World War I. The French were given Syria after the destruction of the Ottoman Empire as a mandate by the League of Nations, and are engaged in a guerilla war with the Syrian natives who are fighting for their independence. Bogie plays the role of a quasi-legitimate businessman in Damascus who is illegally selling weapons to the Arabs. This film was not well received by critics when first released in the early 50s, and is still not widely acclaimed by Bogie fans 50+ years later. As a great fan of Bogie myself, I'm a bit puzzled by this reaction to the film. While I agree that this is not up to the standards of Bogie's great films, this film is not as bad as it's detractors make it out to be. This is the type of film and the type of character that Bogie was meant to play: the gritty, morally ambiguous, profiteer who lives somewhere between the good guys and the bad guys. In fact, one thing that I really like...

Sirocco - Same old Bogie
Bogie could do this type of role with his eyes closed, and possibly did, but it's far superiour than what many of the actors today can turn out. It's certainly not the best Bogie ever done, but he's just creating, once again, his role of Rick Blaine from Casasblanca and I can watch this very fine actor do that time after time after time. Marta Toren as the female lead was good to look at in any scene, and Lee J Cobb was at his pre-"On the Waterfront" smoldering best. Zero Mostel was Zero Mostel, what can one say about another master at his craft? All in all it was worth watching and brought back memories to me of when actors had to learn their craft and not just be good looking with a great body. Thank you.

A tedious romantic drama in the "Casablanca" vein but with none of the magic...
Bogart seemed destined for a painful end as he plied his despicable trade in a tale set in French-occupied Damascus around 1925...

Casting his lot between the French and Syrians, depending upon which suits his own greedy plan most profitably, he earns the enmity of both sides...

There were good supporting performances by Lee J. Cobb, thumping his desk as usual as a French colonel, and Everett Sloane as a volatile general, but the film was of little consequence and a sorry end to Bogart's solo production credits...

"Sirocco" remains a tedious romantic drama in the "Casablanca" vein but with none of the magic...

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George Washington

amazing debut film
David Gordon Green has created a lush, vibrant film showing not just immense potential, but genuine talent. Set in the deep south during the recession of the 1980's, GW captures the melancholy of childhood in a rarely (if never before) seen light. While obviously influenced by the great talent of Terrence Malick, Green's choice of cinematographer and talent demonstrate a fundamental understanding of film as a visual and sensory medium, and not a dumping ground for rehashed dialogue and filler about bad relationships with witty quips. Green throws aside the usual bad dialogue and poor camera work of most first time film makers, and finds language in imagery and visuals in dialogue. The exploration of heroism and simple responsibility are given appropriate weight, but with no small sense of the absurd (perhaps appropriate when dealing with the perspective of children). This is an excellent film, and should stoke the drive of all wannabe or potential first-time film-makers. The bar...

A poignant landscape of a dusty, delapidated South
I saw this film at the Edinburgh Film Festival in 2000, and thought it one of the most original and haunting films I have seen in years. It is a very subjective, impressionistic and almost transcendental movie about a group of kids, and how they follow their own particular code of honour in the face of misfortune. Kind of like Harmony Korine but at an easier pace, and with more unity of vision.

Hypnotic
In one of the opening scenes of George Washington, a boy and a girl break up. There is not much else to this scene, which makes it like most breaks ups. It makes it like many of our experiences is childhood: they just happen. The movie George Washington, however, mixes such everyday happenings in a poor, rural/industrial landscape with a level of complexity that is suprising and revealing. The characters experience love, loss, friendship, joy, forgiveness, boredom, and a longing for something more. The characters like each other. Some are white, and most of them are black, but they are all friends. Every summer, kids all over the country experience the kinds of events that many kids experience, yet there is a tragedy that occurs in this movie that renders this story unique. Tragedy aside, George Washington is simply a beautiful and quiet film about one hot summer in the south and it's children.

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Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters

paul schrader reply
Someone pointed out to me confusion about the change in the narration. Here's the story. I originally intended to have Mishima's narration in English outside Japan to cut down on the surfeit of subtitles. (The US version of Diary of a Country Priest has French dialogue and English narration.) I asked Roy Scheider to read a transdlation of the Ogata/Mishima narration and we mixed this into the film at Lucasfilm. The Japanese distributor was to be responsible for mixing Ken Ogata's narration into the Japanese version. However, there never was a Japanese version since the film was de facto banned in Japan. Consequently, it was never possible for non-English speaking Japanese viewers to see the film entirely in Japanese. When the DVD was issued we went back to Lucasfilm to fix this, allowing either a Japanese-speaking viewer to hear the Ogata narration or a non-Japanese-speaking viewer to hear the Scneider narration. In recording both Ogata and Scneider an equal effort was made to keep...

Most Unlikely Hollywood Film Ever
This was a film financed by George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola,distributed by a major Hollywood studio, that but for some narration by Roy Scheider is entirely in Japanese, and is told in a fragmentary narrative style which oscillates between wildly contrasting stylistic modes; the widow of the film's subject signed away life rights to her husband's story conditioned upon the film's not dealing with his none-too-secret homosexuality, which the film proceeded to deal with, albeit obliquely, and she then fought production in Japan tooth and nail. Mishima himself, Japan's most famous post-war novelist, attempted a paramilitary coup d'etat in 1970, in which his private army took over the Ministry of Defense, and committed a highly public hari-kiri. He was and is a subject of vast controversy in Japan, a consensus society, who since his death have preferred not to be reminded he existed. Given the artiness of the film, the foreigness of it's subject matter, and the Japanese...

A biopic that is even more impressive than its subject
Most biographical films of artists (Immortal Beloved, Amadeus, etc.), even if they are well made, hardly live up to the greatness of the people they describe. This film is a notable exception, one which outdoes its subject. Mishima was an accomplished writer, one whose works deserve to be read, but no single work of his stands out as an unquestionable masterpiece of world literature. This film, on the other hand, is without doubt one of the masterpieces of world cinema.

The film is broken down into interlocking "modules": those which depict Mishima's life and those which recreate episodes from his books. The literary recreations are done in a highly stylized manner which captures (and at times, outdoes) the mystery and poetry of the original texts. The biographical segments feature a fine sense of both drama and poetry. They capture the essence of Mishima's passion in a way that even he himself was unable to do.

The score by Philip Glass is one of the...

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For a Good Time, Call...

Light-hearted "sisters" comedy
"For a Good Time, Call..." (2012 release; 85 min.) brings the story of two girls down on their luck. Katie (played by Ari Graynor) lives in a fabulous apartment in New York which she no longer can afford. Lauren (played by Lauren Miller) has just been told by her boyfriend that he wants to "evaluate" their relationship and she needs to move out. A mutual friend, Jesse (played by Justin Long), brings the girls together and even though they have an unpleasant history together from their college days, they really have no choice but to try to make things work. And how they do! Lauren finds out that Katie, in order to make some extra money, works on the side as a phone sex operator. Lauren figures out that if they do this on their own, they'll make much more money.

While a heavy emphasis is made in the promotional materials for the movie (both on the poster and in the trailer) about the sex phone operation, the movie is in fact much more about how two girls who used to hate each...

Light-hearted "sisters" comedy
"For a Good Time, Call..." (2012 release; 85 min.) brings the story of two girls down on their luck. Katie (played by Ari Graynor) lives in a fabulous apartment in New York which she no longer can afford. Lauren (played by Lauren Miller) has just been told by her boyfriend that he wants to "evaluate" their relationship and she needs to move out. A mutual friend, Jesse (played by Justin Long), brings the girls together and even though they have an unpleasant history together from their college days, they really have no choice but to try to make things work. And how they do! Lauren finds out that Katie, in order to make some extra money, works on the side as a phone sex operator. Lauren figures out that if they do this on their own, they'll make much more money.

While a heavy emphasis is made in the promotional materials for the movie (both on the poster and in the trailer) about the sex phone operation, the movie is in fact much more about how two girls who used to hate each...

Super Funny Flick
I knew from the commercials that this film would be a little on the funny and goofy side of things, even cartoonish, but this movie has a lot of heart in it and in the end is a story about more than just a friendship; it's about a sisterhood. Loved everything about it!

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Private Resort [HD]

Morrow and Depp: The National Lampoons of 80's Sex Comedies
What more can you say about PRIVATE RESORT than SEX?!?!? The opening scene contains more nudity than a topless strip club! Wanna know what the plot is? Well, after watching the first 5 miutes of the film, I figured it out. Ben (pre-Northern Exposure Rob Morrow) and Jack (then unknown Johnny Depp) spend a summer at a private beach resort, and they have only one thing on their minds: sex! Why wouldn't they? There's only about 50 half-naked women running around and approximately 7 men! Plenty of girls to go around! But of course Ben the nerd has his heart set on finding his one true love. Jack the player just wants to get laid. But what 80's teen movie would be complete without these two guys stripping down as well?!? Were you disappointed that Edward Scissorhands didn't show a little skin? Well get ready for "In the Buff" Johnny. And is that nudie patootie over there Dr. Joel Fleischmen from "Northern Exposure"? Yep. I'll bet Rob's wishing he NEVER made...

This one's a hoot! Check it out!
I have to say, at the very beginning I did not expect much from this movie. Every scene in it reminded me of similar scenes from earlier comedies of the same type. Nonetheless, as I watched, I found myself smiling, then chuckling, then laughing, and finally howling. Toward the end I was on the floor laughing so hard I couldn't breathe. There is no originality in this film, but there is plenty of humor. Lots of nudity, too, in case that matters. If you like to laugh and are not offended by naked girls, this one is a hoot. Check it out.

Classic great comedy for the teens and adults!
Ahhhh...This is what everyone who grew up in the 80's would say. A very funny real cute and yet sort of romantic type of movie. This is when Johnny Depp was still new in the movie industry. I think even Johnny himself would love to see this movie again released on DVD. I think each and every one of us older now generation reminisce the earlier days when we were all still teens trying to pick up or meet some girls at the beach. If some of the ladies out there young and older are still in love with JD they would definitely fall inlove with this movie. This is a Classic! Sony! Get this out on DVD! I would definitely buy it!

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The Three Stooges In Orbit [HD]

It Has It's Moments . . .
Pretty much what you would expect from the crazy antics of The Three Stooges. Moe Howard and Larry Fine reprise their roles from the early Columbia short subject days. Joe DeRita takes over the third stooge part from cry baby Joe Besser, who, to put it bluntly, just plain sucked in that role.

DeRita at least *somewhat* resembles Moe's younger brother Jerry (who played "Curly" in the original short subjects from Columbia). Curly is and always will be most everyone's favorite stooge, earning the title "Super Stooge."

The Three Stooges in Orbit is entertaining but predictable. Of the full length "feature" movies Columbia released featuring the Stooges, all released in the early 1960's, only one was bad: STOP, LOOK AND LAUGH! just plain sucked.

I also have "The Three Stooges Meet Hercules" and "The Three Stooges Go Around The World in a Daze." The only one I regret buying is "Stop, Look and Laugh" which featured butchered bits of the original...

Surprisingly funny throughout....
This was a very funny film. I was a bit sceptical at first. I've never seen any of the Stooges' feature length films, and I've never seen anything with Curly Joe. So when I saw this, I found it to be consistently funny throughout and never boring. While Curly Joe is no Curly or Shemp, he's better than Joe, and he has many fine moments spread throughout the film. The film works very well. The alien makeup is campy and very funny (deliberately so), there are some really good one liners, a great pie "fight", some funny use of stock footage, and a great moment when Moe "discovers" the Martians' plans for invading Earth. The Martians are also kind of funny in their "banter". If you like the Stooges, you'll like this movie. Even if you don't, you should be able to find something worthwhile here.

Great Movie
I HIGHLY recommend this movie it was GREAT! The quality was terrific and it was reasonably priced. The only thing I was dissappointed about was that it didn't have special features. But that's not a big deal. But other than that it was awsome!

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Murder By Death [HD]

You are cordially invited to dinner... and a murder!
Murder By Death is one of those comedies I watch about once a year, as it always makes me laugh. Five famous detectives from the literary world are spoofed when they and their partners are invited to a mysterious mansion to witness a murder and a million dollars is offered to whomever can solve the case.

Written by Neil Simon (The Odd Couple, California Suite), this film has tons of great lines and truly wonderful performances by all the actors. There's Dick and Dora Charleston played by David Niven and Maggie Smith, Inspector Milo Perrier (I'm not a Frenchie! I'm a Belgie!) played by James Coco and his secretary/chauffeur Marcel (James Cromwell), Miss Jessica Marbles (Elsa Manchester, probably most famous for her role as the Bride of Frankenstein) and her nurse, Inspector Sidney Wang (Peter Sellers) and his number 3 adopted Japanese son Willie, and finally Sam Diamond (Peter Falk) and his secretary Tess Skeffington (Eileen Brennan). Rounding out the cast is Alec...

Movie- excellent- DVD release- lacking, think about VHS
The movie is an excellent spoof of all the mystery detectives that hold out vital bits of information until the final pages....I'm not a huge Neil Simon fan but this one is just plain fun. It helps that I grew up reading Christie, watching the Thin Man movies, etc.

Potential purchasers should be aware, though, that the DVD release isn't remastered that well, and in fact scenes are cut that are present in the video! Scenes that, in my opinion, are among the funniest in the movie.

Buy the DVD for an archival copy of a great movie if you like; but you may want to find a used VHS copy for the full movie experience.

One of Neil Simon's Best!
Hilarious beyond compare. That describes "Murder by Death." Spoofing everyone from Miss Marple to Sam Spade, Charlie Chan to The Thin Man, and everyone in between, Neil Simon's script (outdoing such Simon classics as "The Odd Couple") is so far out there that one can only fall in love with this movie.

Being a big fan of mysteries, parodies, and all-star casts, this was the movie for me. The whole cast has a ball and hams it up to High Heaven. I love David Niven and Maggie Smith as Dick and Dora Charleston. Smith especially soars, giving an offhanded, almost nonchalant performance that leaves you rolling in the aisles. Elsa Lanchester is great as Jessica Marbles, and Estelle Winwood, in a very small role, gets a few good lines as her senile nurse. (Watch for their entrance!) James Coco is a comic riot as the always-hungry Monsieur Perrier. Peter Sellers is classic again as Inspector Wang (with every line funnier than the last). He has more...

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Strait-Jacket [HD]

SWING ALONG WITH JOAN.....
I gave this movie 5 stars for two reasons: William Castle and Joan Crawford. What a combo! And the movie's pretty good too. 20 years ago, Lucy Harbin caught her husband with another woman and chopped them up with an axe. She gets committed to an asylum for the criminally insane. Now, she's released in her daughter's (Diane Baker) care on a farm with other relatives and wouldn't you just know it---someone's at it again, chopping up the extra characters. Poor Joan tries to please her daughter in every way to make up for lost time---but daughter dearest still wants her to look like she did 20 yrs ago---like Sadie Thompson! Well things just get downright messy and there's more murders and screaming and then it all blows open. Someone's crazy alright but it's not our Joan. The extras on this DVD are great. There's a telling interview with Diane Baker and a costume test for Crawford that's hysterical. But wait till you see the "axe test"!..."Strait-Jacket" is a must have for fans. Joan (as...

Whatever Happened to Mildred Pierce?
Joan Crawford plays Lucy Harbin, a woman who has been institutionalized for 20 years, after having hacked her unfaithful husband and his girlfriend to pieces with an axe. She is reunited with her estranged daughter, Carol (played by Diane Baker, who specialized in playing devious females at the time). Carol encourages her mother to dress like she did 20 years earlier,i.e. flower-printed dresses, jingly charm bracelets, and a black, 40s-style wig. Lucy does, and watch out! In what is my favorite scene in the film, Joan, looking like the world's oldest hooker, comes on to her daughter's handsome YOUNG fiance. It is almost obscene to watch this, but try and take your eyes off the screen! Mysterious axe-murders begin to take place. Joan's psychiatrist, (played by Mitchell Cox, Vice-President of Pepsi!)sleazy farmhand Leonard Kraus, played by George Kennedy, and then Carol's future father-in-law, played by Howard St. John. Naturally, we assume it's Joan, right? Wrong! I won't tell who the...

Hack Hack Sweet Has-Been
This is a stunner. From the opening when we see Joan's Lucy "all woman, and very much aware of the fact" Hardin hacks up her two-timing hubby (Lee Majors!) and his girlfriend, to the very end where we find out who is committing all of those pesky axe murders after Joan gets sprung from the institution, this is a Crawford tour-de-force. She looks as if she crancked her own personal acting switch up to 11, and let 'er rip. She also alternates between wearing a grey wig and a frumpy muu-muu to a tight dress, black wig and about forty pounds of bangle bracelets (How could she have snuck up on anyone who was not in a coma making all that noise?), all of which succeeds in making her look twenty years older than she looks as an old woman!

Wildly inappropriate line readings were a hallmark of Joan's performances in later years- but these are the best. The scene where she tells her prospective son-in-law's parents about her incarceration is a corker- she alternates between mewling...

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Vice Versa [HD]

Enduring comedy.
Vice Versa is one of the funniest comedies about a child changing places with an adult. There are several other movies like this in which the mind of a child occupies an adult body and, in this case, vice versa, or some similar variation. They include Like Father Like Son, Freaky Friday, Big, Dream A Little Dream, Eighteen Again, and The Kid. In Vice Versa Judge Reinhold plays Marshall Seymour, a divorced department store purchaser who has his son Charlie (Fred Savage of The Wonder Years, The Wizard, etc.) for the weekend. Marshall just returned from a buying trip in the orient, mistakenly in posession of a magical skull. Charlie thinks his dad's unfairly ragging on him and in the midst of an argument, he finds the skull and Marshall tries to take it away from him. Just as they are both handling it, in the heat of argument Charlie wishes they could trade places, and they do. Before they figure out how to change back, Marshall has to attend Charlie's school in the boys body,...

Bigger than BIG
If you ever loved a movie that no one else seemed to even know about, did you feel obligated to promote it? At the time VICE VERSA came out, there was a wave of role-reversal stories on film, the biggest of them being BIG. While BIG featured a great comic performance by Tom Hanks, VICE VERSA had even funnier work from both Judge Reinhold and Fred Savage. BIG got the box office and Oscar nominations. But if you haven't seen VICE VERSA, see it now and tell me if it isn't even funnier and more heartwarming than the Tom Hanks film.

My All Time Favorite Movie
Whatever you do, don't miss this jewel. I have enjoyed this movie since it came out in 1988. Frankly, it remains my favorite all time movie. This movie is just PURE FUN to watch and moves along in a brilliant manner. You can't watch this movie without laughing out load. Now, isn't this the reason we watch movies? The complete cast should be applauded for a wonderful performance. If you have not seen this movie, buy it or rent it as fast as you can and join in the FUN!

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Stir Crazy [HD]

"Yeah, that's right, we bad..."
In my opinion, there has never been a greater comedy duo than Richard Pryor/Gene Wilder. They are two comic geniuses who mesh perfectly when they come together.

In STIR CRAZY, their best film in my opinion, the two play an actor and a playwright from New York who decide to head out west to look for work. However, along the way, their plans are put on hold as they get framed for bank robbery and find themselves in a Texas penitentiary. They then go through a series of adventures attempting to prove their innocence, escape from prison, and stay alive.

The movie does not contain a very original plot, but the viewer can expect many laughs watching two of the greatest comedians of all time at their best!

That's right we're bad!!!
This movie is a true classic, Pryor and Wilder at their best. In my opinion, you can't go wrong with this one in your collection. Also, we will miss you Richard...my condolences to his family. Rest in Peace.

Left me in stitches.
This movie is a great representation of the comedic chemistry shared by Pryor and Wilder. My favorite movie by the duo. Don't miss it!

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The Tingler [HD]

Scream For Your Lives!
William Castle was reknowned for his gimmicky films. For THE TINGLER he had "Percepto," and it was a lulu: randomly selected seats in the theatre were wired with a small motor, and at a peak moment in the film these motors came to life and literally gave your bottom a buzz! But unless you happen to have a really warped sense of humor plus some mechanical apptitude, you'll have to forego the "Percepto" effect and settle for one of the most weirdo stories to come down the street.

A doctor (Vincent Price) is studying the effects of fear. In the process, he finds that fear causes a nasty, worm-like creature to grow inside the human body along the spine. Release your fear by screaming, and the creature is destroyed; if for some reason you cannot scream, however, the creature merely grows larger and larger and kills you by crushing your spine. What the good doctor really wants, of course, is to lay his hands on one of these critters--and when a man murders his deaf-mute wife by...

This movies is a scream...in more ways than one.
I admit it! I am a sucker for old Black and White horror films. They are quite tame by today's buckets of bloody special effect big budgets ones, but they hold a fun all their own. Especially when the ringmaster is the oh so talented Vincent Price. He was always the odd mix of silky mannered menace, with that sprinkle of humour that set him apart from so many actors. It was that devilish twinkle in his eye that always told you he enjoyed what he was doing.

The Tingler is another of the Castle low budget treats. Price plays a mild mannered doctor/research scientist married to a rich wife who is a floozy. She runs around on Price, cares little that he knows it, controls her younger sister's life, but Price is not a man you push too far. Obsessed with discovered the results fear has on the body, he finds out there is a critter that increases in our bodies when we are frightened, the more fear the bigger and stronger it grows and the only thing that can destroy it is screaming...

DVD is fantastic
The DVD version of _The Tingler_ is the way to go for horror buffs. It includes priceless footage of the legendary William Castle promoting the film, as well as interesting comments by co-star Darryl Hickman. Hickman seems somewhat apologetic for his role in the film. I was thinking, "Are you kidding? This turned out to be one of the biggest cult classics of all time."
Also hilarious is the drive-in scream sequence, which dealt with the problem of the tingler being loose in a drive-in rather than a theater.
Great film, Castle's campy best. Vincent Price is memorable--he goes on the first LSD trip ever on film--in 1959! Judith Evelyn is remarkable as Ollie's deaf-mute wife. The famous bathroom sequence is as good as it gets.
Sharpen up your suspension of disbelief and enjoy!

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Miracle in the Wilderness

Best Christmas Movie
This is one of the best movies about the Christmas story I have ever seen and I am so happy to have it in my movie collection

Great Story
Loved this story! I have been looking for this for quite sometime! I had seen it on TV when it first came out so glad that I finally found it.

I am satified
I ordered this DVD as a Christmas gift for my father. This is one of my dad's alltime favorite movies.

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A Man's Story

Fashion...
The audio is not the greatest since after all it was documented within a twelve year period and the whole documentary could have been done in less than ninety seven minutes. Regardless, Ozwald Boateng's elegant out of this world unique style of sharp shoulder line is a noticeable, classy fashion design which is well fit on his own 6'4" tall masculine well fit figure. The clothes that he has designed more than a decade ago look like a superb fit for today's fashion which are a tastement to Ozwald's success as a fashion designer which can be seen in this documentary.

On a Ozwald's note where he says "I can't afford doing what I'm doing..." is the greatest lesson of this documentary since that is where you see Ozwald suffer in his personal life. This is a must see documentary for anyone in fashion industry or any business that requires so much of one's time and leaving none for personal or family life.

enjoyed very much
Informative and inspiring!
I wish him continued success!
he is soooo very talented!
thank you for offering on instant watch!

Captivating - (you'll have to rewind to avoid missing things though)
Rather than this simply being a story about a man who became a designer...this is a story about a man, and a designer.

More importantly - it's a novel look into the behind-the-scenes world of Fashion, devoid of the self-important grandeur and pomp that generally surrounds it.
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I enjoyed this for the human aspect, the raw emotion - and the development of a story. You're elated when he succeeds, and...well I won't give away the rest.

Of course, take my word with a bit of salt, as I'm a Black 20-something, inspired by films like "The Pursuit of Happyness" and "Gifted Hands"

but if you can imagine "We Were Kings" (Muhammad Ali) and Pursuit of Happyness merged into one, you've got this film.

worth the money

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The Town Christmas Forgot [HD]

The Town Christmas Forgot
Love this Movie.!!! A Must See Movie. Its a wonderful Christmas movie to see and to own. Great family holiday entertainment Wished Hallmark would have put it on a DVD since it came out.

THE TOWN CHRISTMAS FORGOT
I TOO WISH THEY WOULD RELEASE THIS ON DVD AS I AM "OLD SCHOOL" AND WOULD LOVE TO ADD THIS MOVIE TO MY COLLECTION. IT IS ACTUALLY MY FAVORITE CHRISTMAS MOVIE ON HALLMARK AND I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW THEY CAN MISS OUT ON THE SALES OF IT AS I WOULD PAY FULL PRICE TO HAVE IT IF NECESSARY. PLEASE CONSIDER PUTTING IT ON DVD FOR ALL US OLD FOLKS WHO LOVED THIS ONE FROM THE BEGINNING AND AREN'T TECKY FOLKS. PEARL MAYS

making the best of it when stuck in Nowhere
Two days before Christmas, enroute to a ski resort, the Bensons' fancy SUV breaks down during a snow storm, stranding the yuppie family in the dying mining town of Nowhere, Colorado. Stuck in Nowhere for a few days while their vehicle gets looked at, the self-absorbed Bensons find themselves mingling with the down-and-out residents. Nowhere's population breaks down to two factions: those who'd given up and now just sit there and mope and those fewer who still strive to ignite life into the community. I can think of one way to inject pep in their step: maybe change the name of their town.

In the local diner, the out-of-towners meet friendly waitress Samantha Bee (Stephanie Belding, who hijacks the movie). Sam briefs the Bensons on her project to organize a Christmas Eve pageant in hopes of lifting everyone's spirits, never mind that her husband, the diner owner, frowns on this extracurricular activity. And - oh no! - her husband also happens to be town mayor, so his...

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Things Change (1988) [HD]

A Reflective Ballad
In the year 1979 a little film called Being There came out. Now an acknowledged masterpiece, that film chronicled how a mentally retarded gardner, through a bizzare series of coincidences was mistaken for a political kingmaker, a caring friend and a potential lover. The synopsis of Things Change does not sound all that dis-similar; A simple Italian shoemaker(Don Ameche) agrees to confess to a murder commited by a Mobster in exchange for a boat in his native Sicily when he gets out of prison. Jerry(Joe Mantegna), a low ranking mafioso assigned to watch him for the weekend and coach him on his confession, feels sorry for him and decides to take him to Lake Tahoe for one last fling. There, through a series of coincidences, the shoemaker is mistaken for a mafia don, and recieves the royal treatment from the hotal at which they are staying, and more dangerously from the head of the Vegas mob, Joseph Vincent(Robert Prosky). Yes the synopses are similar, but Being There and...

The greatest "Don" - Don Ameche in subtle mob masterpiece!
Don Ameche has always been a great actor who has portrayed in role after role something most actors never achieve: Elegance. In this role of Gino, a humble cobbler, Mr. Ameche achieves something even more sublime: Quiet elegance, coupled with gracious charm that defeats even the worst intentions of all those who would want to harm this truly GENTLE man. Joe Mantegna, as Gino's "foil", is equally wonderful as a basically ignorant man with a great heart who is obviously in the wrong profession. Mamet's (and Shel Silverstein, of all people!) screenplay and direction are flawless: his story is filled with suspenseful and humorous moments piled up one after another, and all are surprising - to us as well as to Gino! Nothing is as it seems, and the finale is truly inspired! Before this film I was not impressed with Mamet's work, neither on film nor on stage. I may still not care for Mamet's work. But, "Things Change" changed my view of what he can do with a good...

My favorite David Mamet film of the 80's.
Things Change (1988) During the late 1980's, actor Don Ameche continued his remarkable comeback in David Mamet's story of a naive shoeshiner who is roped by the mob into posing as one of their own. Joe Mantegna steals the film for me as Ameche's reluctant minder. Glengarry Glen Ross gets better reviews but this remains my favorite of Mamet's works. The chemistry between Ameche and Mantegna is terrific and you'll be rooting for both men as their journey leads them towards a tense, yet inevitable resolution. Robert Prosky appears in a pivotal role and the future husband & wife team of William H. Macy and Felicity Huffman have brief roles as well. Don't miss this gem of a film, it will stay in your heart once you watch it.

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They Call It Myanmar: Lifting The Curtain

An Unsanctioned Affair: A Peek Into One of Asia's Most Isolated Cultures
One of the things I enjoy most about the documentary film scene is that it can open up worlds that you might not ordinarily have access to. Such is the case with "They Call It Myanmar." Burma is considered one of the most isolated cultures in the modern world. Once one of Asia's most prosperous nations, much of the land and its people have fallen into abject poverty. Filmmaker Robert Lieberman visited the country over a period of three years and shot enough footage (much of it was captured surreptitiously) to give us a rather intimate portrait of its current state. While Lieberman's film does highlight the history and politics of the Burma, it is the observations from ordinary citizens that really resonate. Many people refuse to be filmed or are frightened of it, but a persistent Lieberman is never without his camera. And in casual moments, we really glimpse the heart of the Burmese people. Deprived of educational opportunities and put to work at a young age, many yearn to see...

One nation, under duress
Does a nation have a soul? While there are no definitive answers to such rhetorical questions, I can say that after viewing Robert H. Leiberman's surprisingly intimate documentary, "They Call it Myanmar: Lifting the Curtain", I feel that I have experienced something much akin to a revelatory glimpse into the very soul of that country's beautiful people. I confess that I previously had not given much thought to the nation formerly known as Burma. I was aware that it is a Southeast Asian country with a history of British colonial rule. I knew it had been seized and occupied by the Japanese during WW 2. I knew that it had gained its independence in 1948 and since been plagued by civil wars. But beyond that, the country's contemporary socio-political milieu was off my radar (as it was, I suspect, of most Westerners) until recent news footage of our Secretary of State embracing the most high-profile figure in Burmese politics, Aung San Suu Kyi.

Just as the director was wrapping...

Delicately balanced and nuanced
While the subject of Myanmar is by its nature fraught with opinion, They Call It Myanmar skillfully provides insight into a beautiful and troubled country without being heavy-handed. The viewer is left to make up their own mind, allowing one to fully immerse themselves in the film. Before watching the film, I imagined the people of Myanmar to be beaten down by a long history of oppression by the Junta. I was surprised at the joy of the people of Myanmar in the face of opposition. Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of sadness and hardship to go around, but this film doesn't get stuck in the mire of sensationalism. This documentary does exactly what a good documentary should do -- it takes you on a journey through the lens of a camera and lets you, the viewer, make the connections. I was moved, inspired, angered, saddened, and enlightened. In short, a film to remember.

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ParaNorman [HD]

A witch, a curse, a boy with special talents and the walking dead highlight this film for all ages!
Norman Babcock has a lot of friends, unfortunately they are all dead. He has the ability to see and communicate with ghosts of people and animals and because of that he is considered weird at school and even to his own family. He is bullied at school because of his abilities and his only friend is Neil who is an overweight boy who is also bullied.

The small town of Blithe Hollow, where they live, has quite a history that includes the execution of a witch 300 years ago. Norman begins having visions of the event while he is rehearsing for the school play in which he has a role. He is also approached by a wild looking man who claims to also see the dead and tells Norman that he is the only one that can stop the return of the witch's curse including the attack of 7 zombies on the town.....

We took our grandson to see this movie and he loved it. Tonight he is going to a haunted house with his father and so it is a big scary day for him. This is a very good movie...

Shame on all the "nay" say-ers.
This movie is a BEAUTIFUL example of animation, especially stop motion animation, of the highest quality; a true work of art.

I am sad to see so many parents rating this film poorly for "inappropriate material". This movie has some of the BEST MATERIAL you should be teaching your kids! For one: There are no purely evil characters. There are characters who made bad choices, and feel regret. Too many films, especially film for children, paint humans as "purely good" or "purely evil" which only teaches them to judge their peers and elders harshly. This is a film which teaches children empathy towards their fellow humans. I recommend it wholeheartedly.

Amusing animation for the horror fan in all of us
"Coraline" was amazing. Even though its box office success wasn't nearly as impressive as it should have been and you rarely hear anyone bring it up whenever conversations turn to animated films, "Coraline" catered to both children and adults. It had this extremely dark undertone; children were having their eyes replaced with buttons. That's so gloriously morbid for a children's flick. There was also mild cursing, a creepy alternate world where everyone had a mirror self (with button eyes, of course), and a woman with a massive chest that was only covered by sea shells in one particular scene. It was just so unusual and extraordinary. Laika Entertainment, the studio behind "Coraline," has brought us "ParaNorman," which is certainly in the same vein and travels a similar path to greatness.

"ParaNorman" is a stop-motion animated film that revolves around Norman (voiced by Kodi Smit-McPhee); a young boy who can talk to dead people and is ridiculed because of it. Even his...

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State of the Union [HD]

One of the best political satires ever made!
Since the gentleman before me does such a wonderful job in describing the movie's plot I won't go into that...but I did want to say that "State of the Union" is one of my all-time favorite "classic" movies. This highly underrated Frank Capra film ranks as one the best on-screen pairings of the ever-watchable Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn. This film is just as relevant to today's political system as it was to its' own era a half-century ago, which only shows that there has never been a "golden age" of American politics. Tracy is superb in his role as a kind of sane and non-paranoid Ross Perot who hopes to "come from nowhere" and capture the 1948 Republican presidential nomination. Katherine Hepburn,Van Johnson and Adolphe Menjou turn in strong supporting performances, but this film really belongs to a very young (and very attractive) Angela Lansbury, as the ruthless owner of a newspaper publishing empire who will stop at nothing to make...

The Tracy and Hepburn team do a Capracorn film
Hollywood always seems to produce better Presidents and candidates for President than the real world, which is certainly the case with this 1948 Frank Capra film. Spencer Tracy plays Grant Matthews, who is persuaded by his mistress, powerful publishing heiress Kay Thorndyke, played to the hilt by Angela Lansbury, to seek the Republican nomination. Katharine Hepburn plays Mary Matthews, who joins her estranged husband to present a public portrait of a happy family. With the aid of the conniving political boss Jim Conover, played by Adolphe Menjou, Matthews begins the long road to the White House.

Based on the Pulitzer-prize winning play by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, you can still get a sense of the original three-act structure of the story. Act I in a Washington, D.C. bedroom in the house of political operative Jim Conover is where Matthews is convinced to try running for President and his wife is persuaded that this is as much a chance to save her marriage as it is...

Tracy and Hepburn do a Capracorn film
Hollywood always seems to produce better Presidents and candidates for President than the real world, which is certainly the case with this 1948 Frank Capra film. Spencer Tracy plays Grant Matthews, who is persuaded by his mistress, powerful publishing heiress Kay Thorndyke, played to the hilt by Angela Lansbury, to seek the Republican nomination. Katharine Hepburn plays Mary Matthews, who joins her estranged husband to present a public portrait of a happy family. With the aid of the conniving political boss Jim Conover, played by Adolphe Menjou, Matthews begins the long road to the White House.

Based on the Pulitzer-prize winning play by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, you can still get a sense of the original three-act structure of the story. Act I in a Washington, D.C. bedroom in the house of political operative Jim Conover is where Matthews is convinced to try running for President and his wife is persuaded that this is as much a chance to save her marriage as it is to...

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