Reviews Written By: A3A4WQL80WOTMHprovided by Amazon.com |
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 | Disclosure | |
 | "Michael and Demi in good form" | 2009-10-29 |
| Michael Douglas and Demi Moore - you know it's gonna be decent. It takes just a little while to get warmed up, but when it does finally, it's a good little thriller set in the corporate workplace about a man unjustly accused and a woman (his boss) the accuser. A scenario that hasn't been worked as often as you'd think it would have, or should have. Disclosure is a satisfying movie that's well worth catching if you didn't see it in the mid-90s. | ||
 | L.A. Story | |
 | "RENT IT FIRST!" | 2009-10-20 |
| I wouldn't watch it again. This is a very so-so movie. All the gushing reviews here had me expecting otherwise and I usually dig Steve Martin, but this movie is tepid at best. The romantic chemistry is pretty nil. The comedy.. well, I laughed once or twice. It's half drama, half fantasy/absurd. For drama, Shopgirl is a lot better. For comedy, there are much better Steve Martin movies. So what does this picture offer? Well, some tongue-in-cheek jabs at life in L.A., which I could appreciate having lived there for a while. It ends on a positive (and predictable) note. But mostly, I was waiting for it to end. A seriously lukewarm affair. Rent before investing is all I can say. Or please buy mine. | ||
 | Grumpy Old Men | |
| "About as interesting as a hallmark card." | 2009-10-14 |
| It started off ok, but got slow and predictable as it went on. Could inspire you to wanna go to bed early. All that snow made me wanna hibernate. The irreverent outtakes as the credits roll are about the best part of this film. | ||
 | Grumpy Old Men | |
| "About as interesting as a hallmark card." | 2009-10-14 |
| It started off ok, but got slow and predictable as it went on. Could inspire you to wanna go to bed early. All that snow made me wanna hibernate. The irreverent outtakes as the credits roll are about the best part of this film. | ||
 | Head Office | |
| "Snoozer with a few high points" | 2009-10-08 |
| Many of the so-called stars of the film (Danny DeVito, for example) are cameo characters (in Rick Moranis's case that's a good thing). The writing is lame and aimless for the first good half hour. * SPOILERS * It suddenly picks up when they smoke a joint on the way to the small town factory they're closing down and Jack, fresh out of school, gives them the truth as to why they'e closing down the factory - it's in the company's best interest. Instead of giving the expected PR bull, he basically tells the truth and suddenly much to everyone's surprise, the press is giving him rave reviews and he gets promoted. After that the movie settles back into the boring rhythm and bland writing of the first part of the movie and again it's about as good as taking sleeping medicine until there's a big meeting with central american arms buyers who are supporting the dictators back home, at which point Jack steals the money, escapes and then donates it to the communists - the head of Jack's company tumbles.
The plot synopsis above is actually a lot more interesting than the movie. I turned this off the first time I watched it after about 20 minutes. When I saw all these glowing reviews I thought I'd better try again. And while it does pick up about midway, it more or less settles back into the same low energy writing of the first half and ends Hollywood style. Not a must-see by any means contrary to what reviews here would indicate. Fortunately it's only 87 minutes. Some of those minutes are longer than others. | ||
 | Housesitter | |
 | "Some 'classic Steve Martin' moments" | 2009-10-06 |
| Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ra
Too-ra-loo-ra-lie Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ra Hush now, don't ye cry Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ra Too-ra-loo-ra-lie Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ra It's an Irishhhhh Lulabyeyi! Steve and Goldie in good form! It's hard to imagine anyone regretting owning this on DVD. | ||
 | Friends - The Complete Tenth Season | |
| "Analyzing Friends" | 2009-10-03 |
| As a whole series Friends is 5-star entertainment all the way, although if I had one bone to pick it'd be the whole Ross/Rachel thing which is more or less a frustrating element in the show from the 6th season on. Granted, a 'real' Ross/Rachel marriage in the 6th season would have severly limited the story line possibilities of these swinging singles in NY so perhaps I can understand the writers decision to have it this way, though it continued to grate on me even the second time I saw these. Rachel basically broke up Ross's marriage to Emily in the 5th season (probably my favorite season) and by the end of that season they were married (albeit drunk in Las Vegas). Rachel (who's drunken idea it was to get married in the first place - this after she breaks up his marriage to Emily) wants an unwilling Ross to annul the marriage. And thus the frustration begins. It doesn't end there however. The audaciousness continues when the writers decide to develop the whole Joey/Rachel romance. The seasons (season 10 included) continue to be funny and entertaining in spite of this development, but I must say that while it creates intrigue (through scandal) for the audience, it somewhat mars that audiences love for Rachel and even Joey as they fall into this state of affairs. Joey, who chastised Chandler for getting involved with one of his girlfriends of like 3 weeks or something! In terms of generating interest for the show, it works, though watching these a second time I am still struck by what an unappealing light the storyline puts both Rachel and then Joey in, as the story continues. How can the audience forget the first time Rachel and Ross kissed in the coffee house (way back in season 2) or Ross's unfailing love for her thoughout his life basically. And then to have Joey and Rachel live together with a complacent Ross standing by? Ross whose child Rachel has had? And Joey, one of Ross's best friends? It's disgusting! Well, of course that's TV land, and it worked for soap operas, so might as well work for Friends. This is a great show, but I can't help but lament lost love, traitorous lovers and best friends as I enjoy the laughs! Poor Ross, I would think. But then again, Ross would let it go when he should have held on, and would hold on when he should have let go. The stupidity of Ross? Or the downright cunning of those &$@#$%@ writers. | ||
 | Fame | |
| "More historical relic than great movie.." | 2009-10-01 |
| I thought I'd seen this before but no, it must have been Flashdance which I remember being a funner movie than this one. FAME takes a long time to get going with auditions sequence in the beginning that seem to go on too long, and it wasn't until the second half of the movie that I could stay with it without taking 'breaks'. And even then, the subject matter and slightly melodramatic teen angst didn't have me on the edge of my seat.
Later dramatic scenes start seeming like an extended chain of those early auditioning scenes, now disguised as the movie. FAME is not a bad movie, it's even a good movie - just a touch cliche and 'artsy'. In some way it reminded me of say, a more grown-up version of 'the ABC after-school special'. That it's styles are dated is irrelavant, but it's entertainment value stood at around 4 stars for me, a rating of 'good'. Perhaps it will mean more to people into dance and NY stage musicals. A 5-star movie about dance for me would be something like 'All That Jazz'. I thought Travolta's Staying Alive was better than this one. Of course FAME was the beginning of an early 80s genre and for that it will be remembered. | ||
 | What Ever Happened to Baby Jane | |
| ""Black comedy"?" | 2009-09-15 |
| I wouldn't call it 'edge of your seat' - it builds quite slowly - and i wouldn't call it 'black comedy' either. Certainly there are touches of the absurd - well, the whole story is somewhat absurd, but Leonard Maltin's quote on the back of the box "Thoroughly engaging black comedy" is way off the mark. For most people, I don't think a first viewing will yield much in the way of laughs - unless you found movies like "Misery" funny.
Another thing that bugged early on in the movie was the fact that while she was trapped in her upstairs room, with her neighbor working in the garden just below - she can throw a note down to her, yet she somehow can't manage to shout to her for help? There are 2 or 3 scenes like this in the first half of the movie that seem to insult the audiences' intelligence. Other than that, the movie is interesting for what it is - a showcase of 1962 theatre of the macabre, and the talents of Betty Davis and Joan Crawford. Filming and acting are fine all around, and the story slowly but surely builds interest and horror until it reaches its memorable and shocking conclusion. This is a good movie, maybe even a great one for some. It will hold more interest for the connesseur of old, unusual or even campy movies - not necessarily for the modern movie thrill seeker - for modern thrills in the macabre, check out Dexter. ;) As for the packaging and treatment of this movie on DVD, you couldn't ask for better. Disc 2 puts the movie and it's stars into historical perspective with 3 documentaries, behind the scenes featurette, and an Andy Williams Show segment with Betty Davis. The Betty Davis documentary is substantial at over an hour giving us Davis's life story with many clips from the vast multitude of movies she made and a career that spanned 6 or 7 decades. Love that it ends with Kim Carnes "Bette Davis Eyes". Jody Foster hosts. The second documentary spotlight on Joan Crawford consists of a BBC interview filmed in black and white in the 60s some time after Baby Jane was made. The interview captures Joan (and the times) as it recounts her filmography and the latest tabloid gossip. The special features were great and make this edition a real value for money purchase. It's great to see movies get treatment like this. | ||
 | What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? | |
| ""Black comedy"?" | 2009-09-15 |
| I wouldn't call it 'edge of your seat' - it builds quite slowly - and i wouldn't call it 'black comedy' either. Certainly there are touches of the absurd - well, the whole story is somewhat absurd, but Leonard Maltin's quote on the back of the box "Thoroughly engaging black comedy" is way off the mark. For most people, I don't think a first viewing will yield much in the way of laughs - unless you found movies like "Misery" funny.
Another thing that bugged early on in the movie was the fact that while she was trapped in her upstairs room, with her neighbor working in the garden just below - she can throw a note down to her, yet she somehow can't manage to shout to her for help? There are 2 or 3 scenes like this in the first half of the movie that seem to insult the audiences' intelligence. Other than that, the movie is interesting for what it is - a showcase of 1962 theatre of the macabre, and the talents of Betty Davis and Joan Crawford. Filming and acting are fine all around, and the story slowly but surely builds interest and horror until it reaches its memorable and shocking conclusion. This is a good movie, maybe even a great one for some. It will hold more interest for the connesseur of old, unusual or even campy movies - not necessarily for the modern movie thrill seeker - for modern thrills in the macabre, check out Dexter. ;) As for the packaging and treatment of this movie on DVD, you couldn't ask for better. Disc 2 puts the movie and it's stars into historical perspective with 3 documentaries, behind the scenes featurette, and an Andy Williams Show segment with Betty Davis. The Betty Davis documentary is substantial at over an hour giving us Davis's life story with many clips from the vast multitude of movies she made and a career that spanned 6 or 7 decades. Love that it ends with Kim Carnes "Bette Davis Eyes". Jody Foster hosts. The second documentary spotlight on Joan Crawford consists of a BBC interview filmed in black and white in the 60s some time after Baby Jane was made. The interview captures Joan (and the times) as it recounts her filmography and the latest tabloid gossip. The special features were great and make this edition a real value for money purchase. It's great to see movies get treatment like this. | ||
 | Nine to Five | |
| "Classic Dolly!" | 2009-09-01 |
| I don't think I'd ever seen Dolly Parton in a movie before. What a charmer, and easy on the eyes! And I am not 'a fan' either, I couldn't name one of her songs - oh yeah! - 9 to 5. I found the movie started off kind of slow but got it's footing after about 40 minutes and didn't let up afterward - great fun, and you get to see Dolly Parton at the height of her career in all her glory - and it is glorious! Nice personality too. Seriously! | ||
 | Nine to Five | |
| "Classic Dolly!" | 2009-09-01 |
| I don't think I'd ever seen Dolly Parton in a movie before. What a charmer, and easy on the eyes! And I am not 'a fan' either, I couldn't name one of her songs - oh yeah! - 9 to 5. I found the movie started off kind of slow but got it's footing after about 40 minutes and didn't let up afterward - great fun, and you get to see Dolly Parton at the height of her career in all her glory - and it is glorious! Nice personality too. Seriously! | ||
 | Dangerous Liaisons | |
| "Love is War?" | 2009-08-27 |
| Movie redeems itself in the last 20 minutes almost making you forgive the first hour and a half that you must suffer through.
Namely you will suffer through Malkovich's gaudy American accent as he goes around deflowering virgins in his flowery French turn-of-the-19th-century attire. Perhaps this movie would have been better enjoyed with the French voice-over and subtitles. At least it would have lent some credibility to the detailed costumes and sets. Second, most of the seducing and getting seducted that seems to be most of this movie comes off somewhat forced. It's hard to beleive any woman could be seduced by Malkovich's character. His overlong, lingering looks are enough to turn your stomach. In Dangerous Liasons, you get to see a lot of Hollywood stars back in their prime. You get to see "a lot" of Uma Thurman, almost worth the price of admission alone. In spite of this, much of the acting is kind of wooden - bland accents not helping matters and the story is rather boring as well up until nearly the end of movie when everything is finally put into perspective, and some of the acting actually gets pretty good (Close in particular). It takes a long time to generate much suspense or interest. Or beleivablility! A man who goes through the task of deflowering both Uma Thurman AND Michelle Pfeifer for the sole purpose of getting a roll in the hay with Glenn Close?! Come on!! OK, I'm joking. By the end of the movie we have a deeper understanding of the characters (and certainly more than enough time invested in them) and can all the more savor the final ironies. It still gives me chills to think of the closing scene with Glenn close wiping off her make-up. Let me just say that prior to the ending of this movie I was ready to give it a whopping 3 stars. The movie ends so well however that I nearly forgot all the gripes I'd been compiling the first long hour and a half. A little background prior to seeing this movie would have helped. From the footnotes in the special features: "France was under the rule of King Louis XVI when Choderlos de Laclos wrote 'Les Liaisons Dangereuses' in 1782. Marie Antoinette was queen." | ||
 | Dangerous Liaisons | |
| "Love is War?" | 2009-08-27 |
| Movie redeems itself in the last 20 minutes almost making you forgive the first hour and a half that you must suffer through.
Namely you will suffer through Malkovich's gaudy American accent as he goes around deflowering virgins in his flowery French turn-of-the-19th-century attire. Perhaps this movie would have been better enjoyed with the French voice-over and subtitles. At least it would have lent some credibility to the detailed costumes and sets. Second, most of the seducing and getting seducted that seems to be most of this movie comes off somewhat forced. It's hard to beleive any woman could be seduced by Malkovich's character. His overlong, lingering looks are enough to turn your stomach. In Dangerous Liasons, you get to see a lot of Hollywood stars back in their prime. You get to see "a lot" of Uma Thurman, almost worth the price of admission alone. In spite of this, much of the acting is kind of wooden - bland accents not helping matters and the story is rather boring as well up until nearly the end of movie when everything is finally put into perspective, and some of the acting actually gets pretty good (Close in particular). It takes a long time to generate much suspense or interest. Or beleivablility! A man who goes through the task of deflowering both Uma Thurman AND Michelle Pfeifer for the sole purpose of getting a roll in the hay with Glenn Close?! Come on!! OK, I'm joking. By the end of the movie we have a deeper understanding of the characters (and certainly more than enough time invested in them) and can all the more savor the final ironies. It still gives me chills to think of the closing scene with Glenn close wiping off her make-up. Let me just say that prior to the ending of this movie I was ready to give it a whopping 3 stars. The movie ends so well however that I nearly forgot all the gripes I'd been compiling the first long hour and a half. A little background prior to seeing this movie would have helped. From the footnotes in the special features: "France was under the rule of King Louis XVI when Choderlos de Laclos wrote 'Les Liaisons Dangereuses' in 1782. Marie Antoinette was queen." | ||
 | Dan Crary - Thunderation | |
| "A RARE DISCOVERY" | 2009-08-27 |
| The first few songs have a Spanish feel. Clearly a master of the guitar, he lets the music breathe, riffs occur like sudden breezes. The urgency, the solemnity of Spanish guitar is there with other influences as well - bluegrass, blues, Celtic - the Irish Celtic stuff just makes you want to break into a jig. It's wonderful top quality stuff too. Fans of all the great eclectic guitarists (Fahey, Bashovia, Peter Lang, De Grassi, and so on) will find a lot to like here. If comparing to the just mentioned guitar greats, I would say that Crary's music is distinct in that it alternates styles more, going from fingerpicking ballads to soloing with a pick in a Spanish style. And as I mentioned before, his songs seem to vascilate between lively quick tight picking and fingerpicking to spacious intermittent riffs and strumming. All in all a very pleasant experience. Now I'm curious about his other stuff. | ||
 | Ted Nugent - Full Bluntal Nugity Live | |
| "Blunted" | 2009-08-19 |
| About the best thing on this disc is the special feature "5 VINTAGE PERFORMANCES". Thank God for this! After all the verbal abuse we gotta suffer through in the main performance (2002?), and right when you're wondering how this guy ever built up a fan base - you check out the vintage performances and it all makes sense - those performances are mind-blowing. A young Ted Nugent playing to a young late 70s crowd. What an incredible experience it is to just be able to see him rock out without having to listen to yet another Republican on crack diatribe for the NRA! You know when Nugent was a kid and he was playing for the kids, it must of been a different thing - BETCHA he didn't waste THEIR time with all the crap audiences apparently have to suffer through some 30 years later. I'll say this much - 3 stars is for the recent show, it'd of been higher if I didn't have to listen to the guy speak - for the vintage shows on this disc, 5 stars all the way - CLASSIC. Incidentally, only 4 of those shows are 'vintage' shot between 1978 - 1980. The last performance is from the year 2000. Check out the vintage performances. This is what made Ted famous..
I was gonna give this package 3 stars, but after I started going through all the special features, the '67 video of the Amboy Dukes, the extensive discography, the video for Crave (a pretty good song actually).. I was impressed by the extras selection, and realized how long Ted has been around. I don't much care for his politics - but the guy can play and has been doing it since before I was born. I grew up in record stores with the image of Ted Nugent always in the background. This dvd gave me something to chew on, though I don't imagine I'd care to put myself through the main show on this disc again. | ||
 | Ted Nugent: Full Bluntal Nugity Live | |
| "Blunted" | 2009-08-19 |
| About the best thing on this disc is the special feature "5 VINTAGE PERFORMANCES". Thank God for this! After all the verbal abuse we gotta suffer through in the main performance (2002?), and right when you're wondering how this guy ever built up a fan base - you check out the vintage performances and it all makes sense - those performances are mind-blowing. A young Ted Nugent playing to a young late 70s crowd. What an incredible experience it is to just be able to see him rock out without having to listen to yet another Republican on crack diatribe for the NRA! You know when Nugent was a kid and he was playing for the kids, it must of been a different thing - BETCHA he didn't waste THEIR time with all the crap audiences apparently have to suffer through some 30 years later. I'll say this much - 3 stars is for the recent show, it'd of been higher if I didn't have to listen to the guy speak - for the vintage shows on this disc, 5 stars all the way - CLASSIC. Incidentally, only 4 of those shows are 'vintage' shot between 1978 - 1980. The last performance is from the year 2000. Check out the vintage performances. This is what made Ted famous..
I was gonna give this package 3 stars, but after I started going through all the special features, the '67 video of the Amboy Dukes, the extensive discography, the video for Crave (a pretty good song actually).. I was impressed by the extras selection, and realized how long Ted has been around. I don't much care for his politics - but the guy can play and has been doing it since before I was born. I grew up in record stores with the image of Ted Nugent always in the background. This dvd gave me something to chew on, though I don't imagine I'd care to put myself through the main show on this disc again. | ||
 | Friends - The Complete Fifth Season | |
| "The old switcheroo.." | 2009-08-18 |
| Might as well get Season 6 at the same time - come the end of season 5, you'll be dying to know what happens. Although the beginning of season 6 is kinda frustrating compared to the end of season 5. This season (5) has too many laughs to mention, and pulls a great switcheroo in the end - just when you've gotten to think you know how everything's going they pull the rug right out from under you! The writing is borderline genius - great season. | ||
 | Staying Alive (Widescreen Edition) | |
| "You know what I wanna do? " | 2009-08-12 |
| Thank the Amazon reviewer for his d@mning review of this movie - should you dare to watch it, you may be pleasantly surprised! Both the women in Tony's life give excellent performances, one devoted and warm, the other chilly cool, rich, talented, fiercely independent. I thought Travolta was doing just fine in this role, which still seemed tailor-made for him and better than a lot of his 'come-back' movies in the 90s. Granted, the 80s broadway dance scenes do go on, but then.. so do I.
This movie went out of favor around the time of the "disco sucks" backlash that reared it's head a few years after the SNF and disco movement of the late 70s went out. Incidentally, now we know that disco is cool. Not that this movie is 'disco' - it's more akin to 80s pop and aerobics music (with several Bee Gees numbers in there just for perspective). I found Tony's girlfriend's performance of "Fadin Away" quite moving and could occasionally appreciate some of the over-the-top dance numbers as a slice of that era known as the early 80s. The first good half of the movie is pretty solid with a fair amount of sexual tension between Tony and the two ladies of the show. Tony's character having matured a bit is a refreshing twist, though he's still got 'the fever' thank God. Opening night on Broadway towards the end is a bit longish. You have to suffer though more bad 80s music, but a few heroic gestures in it all make things more or less right. With the Amazon review having prepared me for much worse, this movie wasn't all that bad. | ||
 | Staying Alive | |
| "You know what I wanna do? " | 2009-08-12 |
| Thank the Amazon reviewer for his d@mning review of this movie - should you dare to watch it, you may be pleasantly surprised! Both the women in Tony's life give excellent performances, one devoted and warm, the other chilly cool, rich, talented, fiercely independent. I thought Travolta was doing just fine in this role, which still seemed tailor-made for him and better than a lot of his 'come-back' movies in the 90s. Granted, the 80s broadway dance scenes do go on, but then.. so do I.
This movie went out of favor around the time of the "disco sucks" backlash that reared it's head a few years after the SNF and disco movement of the late 70s went out. Incidentally, now we know that disco is cool. Not that this movie is 'disco' - it's more akin to 80s pop and aerobics music (with several Bee Gees numbers in there just for perspective). I found Tony's girlfriend's performance of "Fadin Away" quite moving and could occasionally appreciate some of the over-the-top dance numbers as a slice of that era known as the early 80s. The first good half of the movie is pretty solid with a fair amount of sexual tension between Tony and the two ladies of the show. Tony's character having matured a bit is a refreshing twist, though he's still got 'the fever' thank God. Opening night on Broadway towards the end is a bit longish. You have to suffer though more bad 80s music, but a few heroic gestures in it all make things more or less right. With the Amazon review having prepared me for much worse, this movie wasn't all that bad. | ||
![The Wrestler [Blu-ray]](product_images/4969000/the-wrestler-blu-ray_t-4969188.jpg) | The Wrestler [Blu-ray] | |
| "Another Come-Back for Rourke" | 2009-08-09 |
| Great movie. If it hadn't been for a respected friend that lent it to me, I wouldn't have thought twice about seeing a movie about a pro wrestler. I've come to appreciate stuff Rourke has done in his later years, but I'll pass on a lot of his earlier stuff. So it was with some surprise that I watched this subject go from that of laughable joke to serious art. It's the behind the scenes look at wrestling which make the film so interesting in fact. Not to mention Rourke himself and the very credible world of make believe (wrestling..) that we're thrown into. It's that world of make-believe coming up against reality when the star realizes he's getting too old to work in the only field he knows and loves (one-trick pony) - art mirroring life? Maybe. 5 stars anyway. | ||
 | The Unforgiven | |
| "Not bad, but not great either.." | 2009-08-02 |
| Takes a while to lay down the plot. And the latter half of the movie is kind of an over-long gunfight with Indians having nothing better to do than riding around the house getting shot down. The story and frontier setting of the story are somewhat interesting, but am I mistaken or does Audrey Hepburn have blue eyes? How many Indians have blue eyes? That and some of the dialogue between Burt and the cheif didn't seem particularly strong, but suspend disbeleif as required and you have an odd tale of racism on the American frontier. It was ok, but it wouldn't be the end of the world either not to see it. | ||
 | The Unforgiven | |
| "Not bad, but not great either.." | 2009-08-02 |
| Takes a while to lay down the plot. And the latter half of the movie is kind of an over-long gunfight with Indians having nothing better to do than riding around the house getting shot down. The story and frontier setting of the story are somewhat interesting, but am I mistaken or does Audrey Hepburn have blue eyes? How many Indians have blue eyes? That and some of the dialogue between Burt and the cheif didn't seem particularly strong, but suspend disbeleif as required and you have an odd tale of racism on the American frontier. It was ok, but it wouldn't be the end of the world either not to see it. | ||
 | The Unforgiven | |
| "Not bad, but not great either.." | 2009-08-02 |
| Takes a while to lay down the plot. And the latter half of the movie is kind of an over-long gunfight with Indians having nothing better to do than riding around the house getting shot down. The story and frontier setting of the story are somewhat interesting, but am I mistaken or does Audrey Hepburn have blue eyes? How many Indians have blue eyes? That and some of the dialogue between Burt and the cheif didn't seem particularly strong, but suspend disbeleif as required and you have an odd tale of racism on the American frontier. It was ok, but it wouldn't be the end of the world either not to see it. | ||
 | Drugstore Cowboy | |
| "Like having to tie your shoes" | 2009-07-07 |
| Matt Dillon is unusually good. The story is exciting and suspenseful with some surprisingly funny moments as well. My favorite line when he checks into rehab and the lady is asking him questions: "Have you ever considered becoming a counselor and helping other addicts with their problems?" "No." "Why not?" "Well, to begin with, nobody, and I mean nobody, can talk a junkie out of using. You can talk to them for years, but sooner or later they're gonna get ahold of something. Maybe it's not dope - maybe it's booze - maybe it's glue, maybe it's gasoline. Maybe it's a gunshot in their head - but something, something to releive the pressures of their everyday life... like having to tie their shoes." The filming is good, the acting is good, the story is good. Was sorry to see it end when it did. This movie was filmed in 1989, set in 1971. For another very excellent junkie movie with a killer twist, try Born to Win. While Drugstore Cowboy was set in '71, Born to Win was filmed in 1971. For being the late 80s, Drugstore Cowboy does OK at recreating the era. It's strong point though is it's lack of melodrama and overacting in a story with characters that are simultaneously sympathetic and corrupt. | ||
 | Drugstore Cowboy | |
| "Like having to tie your shoes" | 2009-07-07 |
| Matt Dillon is unusually good. The story is exciting and suspenseful with some surprisingly funny moments as well. My favorite line when he checks into rehab and the lady is asking him questions: "Have you ever considered becoming a counselor and helping other addicts with their problems?" "No." "Why not?" "Well, to begin with, nobody, and I mean nobody, can talk a junkie out of using. You can talk to them for years, but sooner or later they're gonna get ahold of something. Maybe it's not dope - maybe it's booze - maybe it's glue, maybe it's gasoline. Maybe it's a gunshot in their head - but something, something to releive the pressures of their everyday life... like having to tie their shoes." The filming is good, the acting is good, the story is good. Was sorry to see it end when it did. This movie was filmed in 1989, set in 1971. For another very excellent junkie movie with a killer twist, try Born to Win. While Drugstore Cowboy was set in '71, Born to Win was filmed in 1971. For being the late 80s, Drugstore Cowboy does OK at recreating the era. It's strong point though is it's lack of melodrama and overacting in a story with characters that are simultaneously sympathetic and corrupt. | ||
 | Drugstore Cowboy | |
| "Like having to tie your shoes" | 2009-07-07 |
| Matt Dillon is unusually good. The story is exciting and suspenseful with some surprisingly funny moments as well. My favorite line when he checks into rehab and the lady is asking him questions:
"Have you ever considered becoming a counselor and helping other addicts with their problems?" "No." "Why not?" "Well, to begin with, nobody, and I mean nobody, can talk a junkie out of using. You can talk to them for years, but sooner or later they're gonna get ahold of something. Maybe it's not dope - maybe it's booze - maybe it's glue, maybe it's gasoline. Maybe it's a gunshot in their head - but something, something to releive the pressures of their everyday life... like having to tie their shoes." The filming is good, the acting is good, the story is good. Was sorry to see it end when it did. This movie was filmed in 1989, set in 1971. For another very excellent junkie movie with a killer twist, try Born to Win. While Drugstore Cowboy was set in '71, Born to Win was filmed in 1971. For being the late 80s, Drugstore Cowboy does OK at recreating the era. It's strong point though is it's lack of melodrama and overacting in a story with characters that are simultaneously sympathetic and corrupt. | ||
 | Wizards | |
| "Don't be fooled by the hype" | 2009-06-25 |
| It may be of more interest to animators than those seeking real entertainment. This is a pretty boring movie. The simplistic plot: Avatar, the good guy wizard with a New York accent and Garfield drawl must put a stop to his evil twin brother, Blackwolf who has summoned the forces of technology and the Nazi war machine to take control of the world. This movie goes on and on. I appreciated some of the animation, kind of a mixture of Fritz the Cat and The Lord of the Rings, Heavy Metal and the Smurfs. But the characters are very flat and generate very little genuine interest, same goes for the simplistic storyline. A much better movie was Rankin and Bass' 1977 'The Hobbit', or 'The Last Unicorn'. I wasn't a great big fan of Heavy Metal and I've still only seen parts of Fritz, but if you didn't care for either of those you'll get more of the same here. If you did like those, then maybe this will be your cup of tea. It's a period piece, granted, but for a real 5 star animation purchase, I would go with Miyazaki's 'Spirited Away' or 'Princess Mononoke', both of which can be watched multiple times with new satisfaction and appreciation gained from repeat viewings. Granted they are post turn of the millenium whereas Wizards is midnight movies era (1978). But I can't imagine anyone sitting through Wizards more than once, and to be honest it is something of a feat to make it all the way through once. This is no 5-star picture, friends. It's not even a 4-star picture. Don't be fooled by the hype on this site. Like I was when I bought this DVD! | ||
 | Wizards | |
| "Don't be fooled by the hype" | 2009-06-25 |
| It may be of more interest to animators than those seeking real entertainment. This is a pretty boring movie. The simplistic plot: Avatar, the good guy wizard with a New York accent and Garfield drawl must put a stop to his evil twin brother, Blackwolf, who has summoned the forces of technology and the Nazi war machine to take control of the world. This movie goes on and on. I appreciated some of the animation, kind of a mixture of Fritz the Cat and The Lord of the Rings, Heavy Metal and the Smurfs. But the characters are very flat and generate very little genuine interest, same goes for the simplistic storyline. A much better movie was Rankin and Bass' 1977 'The Hobbit', or 'The Last Unicorn'. I wasn't a great big fan of Heavy Metal and I've still only seen parts of Fritz, but if you didn't care for either of those you'll get more of the same here. If you did like those, then maybe this will be your cup of tea. It's a period piece, granted, but for a real 5 star animation purchase, I would go with Miyazaki's 'Spirited Away' or 'Princess Mononoke', both of which can be watched multiple times with new satisfaction and appreciation gained from repeat viewings. Granted they are post turn of the millenium whereas Wizards is midnight movies era (1978). But I can't imagine anyone sitting through Wizards more than once, and to be honest it is something of a feat to make it all the way through once. This is no 5-star picture, friends. It's not even a 4-star picture. Don't be fooled by the hype on this site - like I was when I bought this DVD! About the best thing this DVD has going for it is the Featurette with Bakshi discussing his work, so you get to see the man behind the cartoon and listen to his ideas, some of which are fascinating, some of which seem somewhat deluded. Bakshi calls this his 'children's film'. Come on! How many children's pictures have you seen that feature nipple-protruding buxom maidens in skimpy outfits running around with debauched old wizards? I gotta say, I liked the artistic style of the work in this movie, whether or not it's a 'kid's movie' - my biggest problem was that, in spite of the hip 'street vibe' that comes through from time to time, and the cool dark artistry of the background scenery - the story just plain sucks. I will say, when Bakshi himself explains the story in a nutshell during his interview, it sounds slightly more interesting than sitting through the 80 minute reality that is this movie. Also, regarding the plot, I think what may be clear in Bakshi's mind in terms of what the story is, didn't come off as clearly as what the movie gave us - and even if it had, it wouldn't have been much better. The story is too simplistic. I doubt kids would get into it even if their parents let 'em watch it (although that fairy maiden IS hard to keep your eyes off). Bakshi claims he wanted to give animation viewers a chance to see 'real' characters - so he adds the element of New York street talk to cartoon fantasy. That's real? Actually, that's the Bakshee trademark and is a brand unto itself. I can respect that. If only the story wasn't so boring. This is mid-night movie fodder - perhaps one needs to be loaded and at the movies - big screen - and with a bunch of other freaks to really enjoy this. The Bakshi featurette is the most interesting thing here. And it's ok even if Bakshi does toot his own horn a bit much. Bakshi's work is all 'heart', Disney is plastic and 'slick', and Wizards would've been a hit if Star Wars hadn't came out at the same time. Fun, but get your grain of salt ready. | ||
 | Good Bye, Lenin | |
| "A movie that offers up many delightful ironies. Very well-done.." | 2009-06-23 |
| An excellent film that's easy to watch, thought-provoking, very humourous and with many moving moments on both a personal and profound historical level. The film begins during pre-unification tensions in East Germany. As the children's father has already defected, the result is that the deserted mother pours her life and soul into the socialist ideal. With this as a background we are then brought into the reunification of East and West Germany under the guise of keeping a fragile mother, a dedicated party loyalist who's been in a coma for 8 months, under the illusion that the East and West are still separate - when in fact the wall has come down already and society has changed. The effort to keep up the facade for the sake of her well-being (she has suffered a heart attack already and the doctor warns against any further shock) proves difficult under the new conditions of having merged with the West. In the children's effort to keep up and even create the illusion of pre-unification East Germany for 'her well-being', the audience is brought into the world that was. This is the kind of film that educates, enlightens and entertains, as it acknowledges a reality from 'the other side' and certainly one that once lurked deep in the subconscious of the whole world. It's scope goes beyond East and West Germany. For anyone that lived through the cold war, this film will stir your soul and cause you to marvel at what has been and how time changes the face of reality. | ||
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