reviewId int64 363k 588k | userId int64 33.9k 15.9M | itemId int64 1 1.42M | rating float64 1 10 | title stringlengths 1 10.9k ⌀ | content stringlengths 81 11.6k ⌀ |
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512,854 | 3,223,254 | 453,467 | 8 | Going Back to Look Forward | DÉJÀ VU is a riveting film about time travel in tandem with crime investigation that works on every level . Tony Scott is back in his element as the top director of intrigue / thrillers . Working with a challenging script by Bill Marsilii and Terry Rossio that asks the viewer to accept the possibility of time travel , ... |
513,343 | 3,223,254 | 864,761 | 8 | Similar Sagas | THE DUCHESS ( based on Amanda Foreman's book " Georgiana , Duchess of Devonshire " which in turn was based on historical fact ) has been well adapted for the screen by Jeffrey Hatcher , Anders Thomas Jensen and writer / director Saul Dibb . What was basically snubbed by the critics of the theatrical release as a ' fash... |
513,396 | 3,223,254 | 312,773 | 8 | A Quietly Disturbing Character Study Made with Style | Murilo Benecio is a young Brazilian actor who just keeps turning out fine , solid and very different character roles . As the leading character is this well made film by director Jose Henrique Fonseca from a script written by his father Rubem Fonseca in turn based on the novel ' O Matador ' by Patricia Melo , Benecio m... |
513,346 | 3,223,254 | 482,088 | 8 | A Tautou Soufflé | PRICELESS ( Hors de Prix ) manages to puff along on its rather slim story line and keep the audience interested primarily due to the presence of Audrey Tautou . Though the script by Benoît Graffin and Pierre Salvador is loaded with good lines and despite the fact that director Pierre Salvadori manages to keep the appea... |
513,502 | 3,223,254 | 301,202 | 8 | A Bit of French Spirit Saves This Slight Story | Le Divin infant ( HOLY CHILD ) is a French made for television little film , written by Jean-Luc Goossens and directed by Stéphane Clavier , that is part of a series of films collectively titled ' Tales from the Orphanage ' , a series which opens the door to both the randy rowdiness of young boy orphans as well as the ... |
513,228 | 3,223,254 | 95,690 | 8 | One of the Old Standards | It's hard to believe that this little 1988 film has endured in popularity for so long . It is a simple story of three ' sisters ' in the small fishing village of Mystic , CT who have just graduated high school , work as waitress in the town Mystic Pizza parlor , and face decisions about the future of their lives . Ther... |
513,057 | 3,223,254 | 327,201 | 8 | Vengeance in an Updated Greek Tragedy Set in Brazil | As Três Marias ( Three Marias ) is about as theatrical as a film can be without confining itself to a stage . Creative director Alusio Abranches , responding to the script by Heitor Dhalia and Wilson Freire , has elected to film this story of gory murder and revenge incorporating screen visuals that transport the conte... |
512,988 | 3,223,254 | 89,902 | 8 | Early André Téchiné , Early Juliette Binoche | André Téchiné made this 1985 film RENDEZ-VOUS before his promising career was established , giving us such fine films as My Favorite Season , The Innocents , The Wild Reeds , Beach Café , Alice and Martin , etc . The sensitivity to character development is tightly wound in this work but some of the finesse that followe... |
512,770 | 3,223,254 | 97,607 | 8 | The Harsh Realities for Soldiers Coming Home | JACKNIFE is a fine adaptation of Stephen Metcalfe's play ' Strange Snow ' ( the screenplay was also written by Metcalfe ) , sensitively directed by David Hugh Jones , that explores the too frequently forgotten effect of battle on veterans damaged permanently by the heinous cruelties of war . It is especially poignant t... |
512,962 | 3,223,254 | 120,408 | 8 | Exploring the Inner Turmoil of the Outwardly Placid Mind | Guilt and Redemption are the pervasive themes of this quirky , disturbing , very fine film from Shohei Imamura . The consequences of the instantaneous loss of control molds this story in the way such life happenstances unfold - slowly - and Imamura knows how to take us with him in this strange tale , pausing here and t... |
512,782 | 3,223,254 | 297,284 | 8 | Psyching Out the Pros | Not sure how this film did at the box office during Theatrical Release - probably well , as it delivers a lot of grisly violence , loud music , brink of death moments , and pounding suspense . Reduced to the TV screen size on DVD , MINDHUNTERS becomes a psychological thriller with a strong cast but with a screenplay / ... |
513,685 | 3,223,254 | 118,756 | 8 | A Period Spectacle from the Always Inventive Phillipe de Broca ! | ON GUARD delivers . Better than almost all other French swordplay films , this film version of the Paul Féval novel ' Le Bossu ' has been aptly adapted for the screen by de Broca , Jean Cosmos , and Jérôme Tonnerre and under Phillipe de Broca's keen eye for detail and entertainment it effervesces on the screen . The st... |
513,322 | 3,223,254 | 497,316 | 8 | Fragments of Coicidence and Connection | Though there have been many films of late that address the issues of the isolation of the individual in a society increasingly settling for homogeneity , few have the honesty and simplicity of presentation as Alfredo De Villa's ADRIFT IN MANHATTAN . Perhaps the reason this film works so well is that instead of dealing ... |
513,415 | 3,223,254 | 384,686 | 8 | Expatriots and Survival Explode in Shanghai | The team of Ismail Merchant , James Ivory , and Kazuo Ishiguro will unfortunately never offer another special film . THE WHITE COUNTESS is all the more meaningful as it was their last effort . While many viewers find this 138 minute film boring and plot less , there is a flavor here that could only be captured by this ... |
512,665 | 3,223,254 | 372,884 | 8 | Posing | This little film plays more like a French farce than a Hollywood film and if watched with that in mind it is sure to entertain . So many writers have mined this vein of boy playing girl playing boy in the web of catching the designated lover that it must be one of the more durable lines for comedy success through the y... |
513,636 | 3,223,254 | 384,680 | 8 | As Unpredictable as the Weather | Gore Verbinski ( Pirates of the Caribbean X3 , The Ring , The Mexican ) has an uncanny way of moving strange characters through bizarre plots while maintaining our interest and our empathy . THE WEATHER MAN was so poorly promoted when it hit the theaters that it seemed like it was going to be one of those asinine food ... |
513,300 | 3,223,254 | 453,548 | 8 | Searching for Role Models | SNOW ANGELS is a tough movie from a tough novel by Stewart O'Nan , an author who continues to explore the darker corners of everyday people's lives without necessarily offering a path of redemption for the found flaws . Director David Gordon Green has adapted O'Nan's fine book for the screen , made some odd choices in ... |
513,440 | 3,223,254 | 380,817 | 8 | Inside the Box | Though the cover for the DVD of WINTER PASSING ( a photo of the four main characters crowded into a box ) may make many potential viewers pass over this little film , thinking that it must be silly slapstick , this is a fine film written and directed with finesse and style by Adam Rapp , a new face whose talents have b... |
513,536 | 3,223,254 | 409,681 | 8 | The one thing I never do is to provide alibis to cover crime | So states the risk management owner of a service that creates ' cover lies ' for adulterous affairs . And up to a point that statement makes Ray Elliott ( Steve Coogan ) seem like an honest if distorted service provider , covering the tracks with high technology so that cheating husbands can have affairs without the da... |
512,790 | 3,223,254 | 431,308 | 8 | A Nice Little Surprise Film | Marketing P . S . I LOVE YOU was a hit / miss situation . The general trailer and the billboards seem to set the audience up for a sappy tearjerker . But happily what happens in this film is not the expected ' widowed person communicating with the dead love out of failure to get on with life ' tale , but instead a look... |
512,753 | 3,223,254 | 780,606 | 8 | The Second Installment in the Donald Strachey Mystery Series : Even Better than the First ! | Richard Stevenson's gay mystery novels based on his creation of Donald Strachey , Private Investigator have found the perfect crew to transform these very interesting and entertaining stories to film . SHOCK TO THE SYSTEM is the second in the series and as adapted for the screen by Ron McGee , directed with panache by ... |
513,701 | 3,223,254 | 891,527 | 8 | It takes time for the punch to be felt . . . | LIONS FOR LAMBS as a movie has the courage to do just what the message of the film attempts to do : encourage the American public to stop being so apathetic about our position in the global community . The dramatization of three points of view about the Middle East conflicts ( it not only takes on the Iraq debacle , bu... |
513,698 | 3,223,254 | 422,783 | 8 | A Celebration of Life and the Music Within Each of Us | A Celebration of Life and the Music Within Each of Us , April 14 , 2008 By Grady Harp ( Los Angeles , CA United States ) - See all my reviewsThe life of the extraordinary survivor Richard Pimentel is a fine biography that manages to explore the many phases of a unique man's life with humor , tenderness , and bravado . ... |
512,731 | 3,223,254 | 294,806 | 8 | A Film Rich in Visual Splendor and in Message | Writer / Director Kayvan Mashayekh has created a fine film biography of the 11th century poet / philosopher / mathematician Omar Khayyam and in doing so has presented his viewers with much food for thought . An Iranian immigrant to the US , Mashayekh set out to not only share the rich cultural heritage of his homeland ... |
513,511 | 3,223,254 | 371,008 | 8 | Coincidences and Consequences | Based on the Michael Kearns ' play ' Complications ' , NINE LIVES introduces a sequence of the lives of nine men who are interconnected by the fact they are all participants in the roundelay of casual sexual encounters . The technique used is that of each actor speaking to the audience about his background and how each... |
512,978 | 3,223,254 | 457,452 | 8 | Secrets and Lies , Forgiveness and Redemption : A Week in Winter | John G . Young ( ' Parallel Sons ' ) is a fine writer and director whose fertile mind is slowly offering beautiful little quiet films that bravely address many difficult issues . THE RECEPTION is a very low budget film ( not evident in the product , but in actuality it is said to have been made for $5000 . - meaning it... |
513,139 | 3,223,254 | 424,908 | 8 | A Superb Beethoven Biography for the Laymen | There are many things to be said in favor of director Agnieszka Holland's ( ' Europa , Europa ' , ' Total Eclipse ' , ' The Secret Garden ' , ' Olivier , Olivier ' ) COPYING BEETHOVEN as written from fragments of questionable truths about the composer's final years by Stephen J . Rivele and Christopher Wilkinson : the ... |
513,527 | 3,223,254 | 780,571 | 8 | A Fascinating Twist on the Subject of Addiction | MR . BROOKS is a surprisingly good film , one that from the response of critics and audiences at the time of the theatrical release last Spring might make the casual viewer pass by the DVD . But step into this strange world of the successful , philanthropic , loving husband and father Mr . Brooks and discover one of th... |
513,224 | 3,223,254 | 332,375 | 8 | Something To Offend Everybody . . . If You Want It To : A Black Comedy | SAVED ! is a testy little film that takes more chances than most and if not taken as a parody on our current religious polarizations , it could offend many . But this is a comedy and since Greek times , comedies find their most pungent lines in making fun of contentious ideas . The setting is a fundamentalist Christian... |
513,650 | 3,223,254 | 410,097 | 8 | ' Talk the talk or walk the walk ' | Terrence Howard is one of those actors who seemingly can do anything . No matter what the role he intelligently chooses to play he is always phenomenally fine ( Crash , Ray , Lackawanna Blues , Their Eyes Were Watching God , Four Brothers , Hart's War , etc etc etc ) . In HUSTLE & FLOW writer / director Craig Brewer ha... |
512,903 | 3,223,254 | 415,833 | 8 | Love , Intolerance , Justice : An ongoing search | Tommy Stovall makes a stunning debut as a writer and director for the very insightful , sensitive , and courageous film HATE CRIME . It is difficult to believe that this is his first attempt at cinematic communication , the film just works that well . Robbie Levinson ( Seth Peterson ) and Trey McCoy ( Brian J . Smith )... |
513,326 | 3,223,254 | 388,182 | 8 | A Tired Script but a Platform for the Skillful Acting of Douglas and Wood | KING OF California may not break any records for innovation of thought or script but it is a tightly made little film that allows veteran actor Michael Douglas a lollipop of a wacky role to remind us that he does have comedic talent ! It also gives 20-year old Evan Rachel Wood the opportunity to compete with a Pro and ... |
513,654 | 3,223,254 | 412,019 | 8 | Don Juan in Hell | Jim Jarmusch continues his exploration of the human plight with BROKEN FLOWERS , a story he both wrote and directed , and this time he examines the psyche and the consequences of the Don Juan complex . In doing so he offers a quiet meditation about choices and their reverberations and leaves many thoughts open-ended , ... |
513,098 | 3,223,254 | 455,584 | 8 | A Taut Thriller That Keeps Circling the Viewer's Mind Through a Maze | THE KOVAK BOX is a successful little suspense / psychological thriller from the Spanish writers Daniel Monzón ( who also directs ) and Jorge Guerricaechevarría . The story may be a bit far fetched , but then what horror story isn't ? The premise for the tale holds up well and is aided by some very fine performances by ... |
512,725 | 3,223,254 | 338,309 | 8 | Turn a Blind Eye | EVIL ( Ondskan ) is a tough story from the novel by Jan Guillou that in screenwriter Hans Gunnarson's adaptation and Mikael Håfström's direction becomes an intensely interesting while terrifying film about all aspects of evil . It is intelligent , gritty , and transforming simultaneously and has become one of the more ... |
513,205 | 3,223,254 | 497,465 | 8 | Woody Allen's View of Love , Infatuation and Relationships | Woody Allen has written and directed another European based film that feels like a view across the pond toward America : Allen is still Allen , but with the comparison of European attitudes with American narcissism makes this little film a bit more bitter than most of his others . As with most of Allen's movies , as fi... |
513,058 | 3,223,254 | 318,780 | 8 | Communal Nurturing and Healing Among Friends of Scars from the War | ' Un monde presque paisible ' ( Almost Peaceful ) is a touching little film that keeps its story so quietly gentle that the effect is genuinely memorable . Director and screenwriter Michel Deville based this engrossing movie on a novel by Robert Bober : it is a unique vision and sharing of how Jews recovered from WW II... |
512,963 | 3,223,254 | 375,210 | 8 | Information That May Make Some Viewers Uncomfortable . . . . . | Now and then along comes a film that deals with subject matter that is not well known and when that subject matter involves paranormal information , it seems to throw up a wall that is threatening to many viewers . " Walls " like that are usually the first response to encountering new ideas and if viewers can simply wa... |
513,125 | 3,223,254 | 418,689 | 8 | A Film that Polarizes the Audience : Intention Versus Impact | To give a less than shining review of Clint Eastwood's FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS is tantamount to being labeled un-American . That is sad because for this viewer the result of the film is not whether or not Eastwood's nonlinear development of a story that bumps and spurts and reflects and meanders and shadows reality lets u... |
513,301 | 3,223,254 | 457,523 | 8 | Raw Emotions : A Film Without Pity | WALKER PAYNE , as written by director Matt Williams and Alex Paraskevas , is a bleak study of life in the late 1950s middle America . It is a story of dreams crushed by the tough realities of bad luck and bad decisions . For some viewers this story may be depressing , but for others the story as a cinematic recreation ... |
512,772 | 3,223,254 | 483,726 | 8 | Finally a Role that Fits Robin Williams | After a spate of roles that Robin Williams elected to play to prove he can be other than a funny guy , roles that were dark and foreboding , along comes the surprise film MAN OF THE YEAR and Williams has the opportunity to shine in both his unbridled comic banter and his more serious and even tender side . The film was... |
513,327 | 3,223,254 | 780,492 | 8 | Coping with Madness | CANVAS is an autobiographical story by writer / director Joseph Greco and knowing that fact helps to forgive some of the weaknesses of the film . The story - how a family copes with the presence of paranoid schizophrenia and survives - comes from the heart and is as frank a film about the subject of mental illness as a... |
513,423 | 3,223,254 | 316,829 | 8 | In Memoriam : Akira Kurasawa | ' Umi wa miteita ' ( ' The Sea is Watching ' ) was Akira Kurasawa's swansong to film : his adaptation of his favored novelist Shugoro Yamamoto's story into a screenplay he intended to film was his final mark he left on a brilliant career . Director Kei Kumai pays homage to both Kurosawa and Yamamoto in presenting this ... |
513,424 | 3,223,254 | 285,727 | 8 | ' Challenged ' as a State of Mind and Heart | MILWAUKEE , MINNESOTA has everything you'd hope to find in an Indie film - good offbeat story , strong cast mixing established actors with new talent that brings out the best in both , a director who lets the story unfold naturally , enough messages to cast away any doubts that the world is lacking in spirit and caring... |
513,394 | 3,223,254 | 355,702 | 8 | History as a Mood Piece | There is not a whole lot of story to the cinematic adaptation of Stacy Peralta's memoir of his experience in the mid 1970s with the popularization of skateboarding . Nor is there a whole lot of character development in these teenagers addicted to skateboarding among other things . But what LORDS OF DOGTOWN is , is a sp... |
512,852 | 3,223,254 | 499,603 | 8 | High Scores for Honesty and Simplicity in a Meaningful Dialogue | 10 ITEMS OR LESS was made in two weeks on a shoestring budget by writer / director Brad Silberling , just a little film shot in Carson , CA that feels like the entire story was improvised . . . in the best sense of the word . Silberling had the good fortune to pair veteran actor Morgan Freeman , in between his big proj... |
512,737 | 3,223,254 | 388,213 | 8 | A Beautifully Acted , Disturbing Story About Obsessive Mothering | Kevin Bacon directs this bizarre story adapted by Hannah Shakespeare from Victoria Redel's novel about maternal obsession providing his wife Kyra Sedgwick with a role to spotlight just how fine an actress she truly is . The story is disturbing but vitally interesting . There are problems with the film , the most annoyi... |
513,709 | 3,223,254 | 384,806 | 8 | More then just another re-telling of the quasi-factual Amityville Horror | Just the name of this film constitutes a long sigh - ' How many times are they going to make this hokey story into yet another film ? ' And yet the current team of director Andrew Douglas , screenwriter Scott Kosar ( based on Jay Anson's novel ) and a cast of fresh faces to the genre carry off this much told tale with ... |
513,297 | 3,223,254 | 757,361 | 8 | A Film for Grinding your Teeth and Scratching your Head | Noah Baumbach creates strange films , movies that are low budget in appearance ( except for the sterling casts he assembles ) , dicey stories about dysfunctional people ( and there is obviously a mirror here for seeing our own dysfunctional traits ) , moods that suggest the films of Ingmar Bergman shot with camera work... |
512,910 | 3,223,254 | 472,160 | 8 | A Surprise Fable to Discover | PENELOPE may at first glance seem like one of the few summer releases on DVD to merit watching , but though the selections on the shelves are inexplicably thin , this little modern day fable is so well made that it deserves wide attention . Though the plot is rather thin and predictable , the choice cast and production... |
513,053 | 3,223,254 | 384,814 | 8 | An Evocative Mood Piece | Robert Towne's obvious love affair with John Fante's Depression Era novel , ASK THE DUST , is evident throughout this somewhat over-long film . While the story is a bit clumsy and self-indulgent with so many sidebars that the momentum of the movie gets bogged down in the telling , there are enough fine attributes to ma... |
513,154 | 3,223,254 | 466,669 | 8 | Role Reversal or ' Walk a Mile in My Shoes ' | Marc Moody has written and directed a film that is so earnest and reaches so high for making a significant statement that it is difficult not to admire the result . ALMOST NORMAL is so obviously a gay version of ' Back to the Future ' by its own admission that it becomes a bit tedious and silly , and when accompanied b... |
513,165 | 3,223,254 | 308,055 | 8 | Stories of racism , infidelity , aging , the effects of the Vietnam War , drugs : Why RFK's death was so impactful | BOBBY as written and directed ( and starring ) Emilio Estevez is not simply a recreation of the fateful night June 6 , 1968 when Bobby Kennedy was shot , though that event is meticulously dissected as the sun dawns on Los Angeles ' Ambassador Hotel on that day . This film is a series of vignettes of the lives of many p... |
513,626 | 3,223,254 | 472,071 | 8 | A Satisfying Mixture of Fact Embellished with Fiction | Gillian Armstrong makes fine movies : she is a director who knows how to tell stories and enhance what appears on the surface to be reality with a healthy dose of fantasy . Her sense of pacing and image creation adds substance to her tales that sometimes border on bizarre . DEATH DEFYING ACTS uses the character of Harr... |
513,157 | 3,223,254 | 388,125 | 8 | The Pleasure of Their Company | It must take courage to wade through an overstuffed yet flimsy novel such as Jennifer Weiner's IN HER SHOES and find that without all the paraphernalia bruising the essential message there is a fine story to be told . Such is the case of director Curtis Hanson ( 8 Mile , LA Confidential , The Wonder Boys ) who consiste... |
512,840 | 3,223,254 | 392,465 | 8 | Coping : A Different Kind of Love Story | Petter Næss is a well established Norwegian director who is making is American debut with a sensitive , charming , endearing , warmly humorous love story between two wonderful people who just happen to have Asperger's Syndrome - a form of autism that impedes interpersonal relationships because of patterned responses to... |
513,546 | 3,223,254 | 292,513 | 8 | An Intelligent , Thought-Provoking , Well Made Film | FIXING FRANK is somewhat of a rarity these days - a film well made form script to production that puts a hot topic on the table and challenges the viewer to think , all the while providing a very entertaining movie experience . The work began as a play by Ken Hayes who also adapted his play for the screen and while the... |
513,204 | 3,223,254 | 1,032,755 | 8 | Guy Ritchie and Style | A number of years ago young director Guy Ritchie changed mobster movies with his infectious LOCK , STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS and that twisted underbelly of London's crime population is back in full force with ROCKNROLLA . Ritchie's style - mixing rapid action , flashback explanations , loopy violence , wildly imagi... |
513,173 | 3,223,254 | 363,143 | 8 | Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome : The Movie | TRAUMA is one of those films that invokes mixed responses from audiences depending on their expectations : it seems to polarize people into love / hate categories . While not a great movie , TRAUMA has the courage to pose a storyline that is more involved with the interior aspects of a mind altered by physical events .... |
513,234 | 3,223,254 | 410,006 | 8 | A Different Kind of Love Story | GEFANGEN ( LOCKED UP ) is a testy little German film that dares to push the envelope of NR rating , and given the concept of the story and the background of the writer / director Jörg Andreas making his first legitimate ( ie non-porn ) movie , it succeeds despite some technical shortcomings . No , it is not a film for ... |
512,715 | 3,223,254 | 396,752 | 8 | ' I did knock ' : A Delightfully Served Bit of Pastiche with Meat under the Frosting | Because of its silly packaging and dependency on graphics that appear to dumb down the prospective audience , NANNY McPHEE may not gain the position on the lineup of really good movies before the public right now . But for those who can ignore the packaging , inside is a DVD that is a smart , cleverly written with styl... |
512,843 | 3,223,254 | 479,884 | 8 | Blood , guts , mutilation , speed chases : CRANK tops them all ! | Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor may be fairly new at the game of writing and directing as a team , but if CRANK is any indication of what they can do , they probably have the genre sewn up ! Definitely not a film for the squeamish or the easily offended by potty mouth dialog , CRANK delivers its own brand of breakneck ... |
512,678 | 3,223,254 | 1,138,489 | 8 | Things Left Behind - ' Good Stuff ' | PERSONAL EFFECTS is a solid little film written by director David Hollander and the fine novelist Rick Moody . The premise is a study of how the traumatic deaths of people affect those left behind . The story is well told , allows the audience to explore the group therapy approach offered to families of violently kille... |
513,219 | 3,223,254 | 373,074 | 8 | Sergio Leone Meets the Keystone Cops in Canton | KUNG FU HUSTLE is clearly one of the silliest , funny , genuinely well-produced comedies to come around for a long time . It is so very refreshing to lose yourself in this farce knowing that the entire purpose of the film is to entertain . But as in all good comedy there is also a message . Talented director / writer (... |
513,256 | 3,223,254 | 153,755 | 8 | Becoming Open To Love : Good Film Despite Rough Edges | Garth Maxwell co-wrote and directed this 1998 New Zealand film and despite some rough edges in the production process and in areas of weak scripting and format , the message of repairing our individual perception problems in order to be open to acknowledge and embrace love when it comes along is a story worth telling .... |
513,156 | 3,223,254 | 386,140 | 8 | Tongue in Cheek Adventure Sequel | Unlike many of the inevitable sequels that follow popular expensive movies , THE LEGEND OF ZORRO is happily a lot of fun to watch . Though overlong in excess of two hours , and though the story line is pushed beyond tolerable limits , it is easy to forgive the many weaknesses of the film and just enjoy the verbal and p... |
513,078 | 3,223,254 | 433,416 | 8 | ' We all come out of Gogol's Overcoat ' | Jhumpa Lahiri's very popular novel THE NAMESAKE has been successfully adapted for the screen by Sooni Taraporevala and the gifted director Mira Nair has gathered a fine cast to capture the spirit of the original story of family commitment despite cultural changes and challenges . Some of the novel's impact is lost on t... |
513,198 | 3,223,254 | 433,424 | 8 | The Corruption Within : Televangelism Scrutinized | Frank Pierson continues to create films that are controversial and thought-provoking ( ' Soldier's Girl ' , ' Dirty Pictures ' , ' Truman ' , ' Conspiracy ' , ' Citizen Cohn ' , etc ) . In PARADISE he examines the workings of a ' showbiz evangelist ' family and in doing so opens doors and windows to inspect not only th... |
512,984 | 3,223,254 | 409,184 | 8 | L ' Auberge Espagnole ' : The Sequel | Russian DOLLS ( ' Les Poupées russes ' ) is the full of love folllowup by Cédric Klapisch to his highly successful 2002 film ' L'Auberge Espagnole ' , the film that tossed multinational young people together in a Barcelona apartment and watched them interact and create some sense out of the havoc that was their lives .... |
513,231 | 3,223,254 | 308,129 | 8 | A Very Fine , Fascinating Film That Seems to be Unfinished | CONSPIRACY OF SILENCE is a moody , dark , probing inquiry into the concept of celibacy of priests in the Catholic Church in Ireland and all the way to the Vatican . The concept , story and script by Writer / Director John Deery are tight , arrow sharp in aim , but ultimately unresolved issues cloud the success of what ... |
513,414 | 3,223,254 | 437,777 | 8 | Following Your Heart : Something Old and Something New | SOMETHING NEW is one of those films that many will pass by thinking it is just another Chick Flick with a twist . Well , this little movie may be a romantic comedy but it is well written ( Kriss Turner ) , well directed ( Sanaa Hamri ) , and very well acted and has some down to earth important observations about interp... |
513,676 | 3,223,254 | 418,647 | 8 | Sweet without becoming Saccharine | John Gatins knows his way around uplifting ' family movies ' and brings them to a new level with DREAMER . Though the story's pattern is a well used and familiar one , Gatins has created a strong story and graced it with a fine cast , and though we know from the outset what the ending will be , it is the getting there ... |
512,869 | 3,223,254 | 396,652 | 8 | A Warmly Human Little Story About Following Your Dream | ICE PRINCESS is not the kind of movie to which this reviewer is usually attracted - the trappings indicate that we are in for a happy-wappy , sterilized , PG , Disney candy box . But , surprise ! , here is a film that is better than its package . Writers Meg Cabot and Hadley Davis have combined the sport of ice skating... |
513,625 | 3,223,254 | 1,037,218 | 8 | Sometimes it takes a knell . . . | Films of reflection are too few and often the result of climbing to a summit only to gaze back at the shadows never cast in the greedy race for the top ends i tragedy . FLASHBACKS OF A FOOL suggests , by its title , that the story may be different , that there may be some redemption at the core of an abusive life . Wri... |
512,998 | 3,223,254 | 200,465 | 8 | A Bank Job Goes Wrong for All the Right Reasons | THE BANK JOB is first class entertainment - a well-written script ( Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais ) with many twists and turns , face paced direction ( Roger Donaldson ) , and a reliable cast of actors who know this genre well . AND it is all based on a true event from 1970 when a bank heist in London resulted in a n... |
512,916 | 3,223,254 | 1,032,846 | 8 | Cinema Verité from Romania | 4 MONTHS 3 WEEKS AND 2 DAYS ( ' 4 luni , 3 saptamâni si 2 zile ' ) is a powerful film that asks us to witness several horrors - Ceausescu's communist Romania in 1987 , illegal abortion , and the extremes / abuses of friendship . Writer / director Cristian Mungiu captures one day in the lives of a few common people in ... |
512,752 | 3,223,254 | 759,612 | 8 | A Bravura Broadbent Portrayal | The Myra Hindley / Ian Brady Moors murders of 1963 , one of the most heinous crimes in England since Jack the Ripper , has been beautifully transcribed to the screen by writer Peter Morgan and Director Tom Hooper . And though the story is basically about Longford's relationship with the incarcerated Myra Hindley , the ... |
513,137 | 3,223,254 | 382,810 | 8 | Another Superb Film From Australia | Writer Jacqueline Perske and Director Rowan Woods chalk up another successful Australian film in LITTLE FISH , an intense , very personal drama about how illegal drugs affect communities , families and individuals . The story begs patience from the viewer as it is gratefully one that does not spell everything out for t... |
512,959 | 3,223,254 | 120,613 | 8 | A Tasty ' Period Piece ' from the 1960s ! | A WALK ON THE MOON as written by Pamela Gray ( " Music of the Heart " ) and directed by actor Tony Goldman conjures up more atmosphere for the year 1969 than any film to date . Remember Woodstock , the Jewish summer retreats in the Catskills , hippies , face and body painting , threats from the Vietnam era and promises... |
513,179 | 3,223,254 | 415,932 | 8 | A Mind-bending Film that Challenges the Viewer : What is Dream and What is Reality ? | Nightmares have never been so decidedly well scripted as in LEMMING , another bizarre creation by French director Dominik Moll ( ' With a Friend like Harry ' , ' Intimacy ' ) and writer Gilles Marchand ( ' Red Lights ' , ' Who Killed Bambi ? ' , ' Bon voyage ' , ' Tender Souls ' , ' Joyeux Noël ' ) . As played by a sup... |
512,932 | 3,223,254 | 385,002 | 8 | A High Tension Tale Examining the Extent of Human Violence | GREEN STREET HOOLIGANS is much easier on the psyche to watch in the home DVD version than in the theater release . It is a story so packed with violence that the underlying subplots get lost until the film is reduced to the size of a television screen . Lexi Alexander wrote ( with Dougie Brimson and Joshua Shelov ) and... |
513,541 | 3,223,254 | 396,637 | 8 | A Theme of Interlocking Tenderness | ' Hildes Reise ' ( ' Hilde's Journey ' ) is a surprisingly tender film despite the cover art suggesting a harsh and angry young man movie . Director Christof Vorster directs this screenplay he wrote with Gabriele Strohm and gives us a story that deals with difficult issues of AIDS , parental homophobia , relationship c... |
513,492 | 3,223,254 | 340,163 | 8 | Negotiations and their Consequences | HOSTAGE , based on the best-selling novel by Robert Crais and adapted for the screen by Doug Richardson , has all the right ingredients for an action thriller : good plot , good character motivation , the requisite battle between good and evil , the transformation of a past bad deed into a current good turn , pyrotechn... |
512,814 | 3,223,254 | 386,092 | 8 | A Love Story and the Conflicts of Sexuality | AMOUR DE FEMME is a well-produced film that deals with the trials and agonies facing women who come out as lesbians . It is quiet , subtle , beautifully photographed , and is fortunate to have a fine , handsome cast directed with sensitivity by Sylvie Verheyde who also wrote the simple but elegant screenplay . Made in ... |
512,769 | 3,223,254 | 460,792 | 8 | Brutal , Probing , Embarrassingly Honest Examination of the Fast Food Industry | FAST FOOD NATION got such minimal response in the theater run that it seemed to go straight to DVD . The PR for the film was such that it appeared to be ' hilariously funny ' ( according to the DVD box cover ) and as such might just provide a bit of humor after a tumultuous day of work . WRONG ! This little film adapte... |
512,663 | 3,223,254 | 219,408 | 8 | A Picturesque Italian American Frolic | THE WHOLE SHEBANG is a movie made for television , a category that in some circles places a hex , but in the case of HBO films it is a definite plus ! This little unpretentious story plays like a sweet foreign film like ' Life is Beautiful ' and is directed ( George Zaloom ) with zest and played by an all star cast tha... |
513,508 | 3,223,254 | 384,036 | 8 | Spiraling Down the Sink Hole of Chile's Underground | Director / writer Andrés Waissbluth worked seven years to complete this two hour film about the crime underground in Santiago , Chile , and perhaps that is one of the reasons the resultant film seems episodic and in need of editing . OR , maybe this is the technique of a director who shows a fine sense of film noir sto... |
513,441 | 3,223,254 | 332,136 | 8 | Instant Replay . . . of Sorts | Christina Welsh has written a fine screenplay that proves that old ideas can be re-worked in a thoroughly original way . Gil Junger steps out of his role as a director for TV series and molds Welsh's story into a visually charming and sensible , touching movie . Add the considerable talents of one highly regarded pro (... |
513,431 | 3,223,254 | 409,034 | 8 | Dancing as a Way out of Loss | Whatever the impetus for writer / director Randall Miller to recreate his 1990 film on the same subject , this little low budget film has the sense of commitment and love on the part of everyone associated with it . Be warned that this is a hankie film and that if you don't have a tolerance ( or a fondness ) for tearje... |
513,451 | 3,223,254 | 284,573 | 8 | ' Una furtiva lacrima ' | The aria from Donizetti's ' L'elisir d'amore ' plays a significant role throughout this fascinating , intelligent , well made thriller by Francis Girod based on a novel by Brigitte Aubert and adapted for the screen by Girod and Philippe Cougrand . ' The secret tear ' takes on many meanings as this complex story set in ... |
513,084 | 3,223,254 | 422,295 | 8 | Artists Taking Risks | The division of opinion in responses to FUR - AN IMAGINARY PORTRAIT OF DIANE ARBUS is a healthy one and it is reassuring to read so many fine views of the film's worth . Diane Arbus remains one of the more important artists of the 20th century , a woman who defied societal taboos and entered the world of the marginal p... |
512,808 | 3,223,254 | 116,164 | 8 | A Breezy , Entertaining and Refreshingly Honest Comedy | ECHTE KERLE or REGULAR GUYS is a polished little 1996 comedy from Germany that manages to tell a tale of mixing genders and satisfy all viewers no matter their viewpoint . Rarely has a film handled straight / gay juxtapositions with such an unbiased , honest and relaxed vantage . So often these gender bender films have... |
512,832 | 3,223,254 | 419,887 | 8 | The Kites of the Novel are Uplifted by the Wind but Fail to Soar in the Film | Khaled Hosseini's THE KITE RUNNER was one of those first novels that captured both public interest and the hearts of the many who read this story of childhood unconditional love and redemption set against three stormy decades in Afghanistan . Though Hosseini was approached about the story's adaptation to the screen soo... |
513,288 | 3,223,254 | 475,355 | 8 | Pride , Determination , Resilience | PRIDE does not open any new doors in the genre of film biopics of teachers who raise the status of downtrodden students to the point of genuine appreciation of self worth . The story has been told countless times with different characters , both male and female , different races ( African American , Hispanic , Caucasia... |
512,904 | 3,223,254 | 454,824 | 8 | An Old-Fashioned Period Piece Makes a Fine Film | FLYBOYS is a pleasure to watch - going back into World War I history that deals with actual events yet takes the time to introduce unforgettable characters and romantic situations while giving the viewer a spectacular view of the first flying fighter planes . Yes , it has its flaws in technical lines , but it has a str... |
513,524 | 3,223,254 | 419,843 | 8 | Looking for Love in Seemingly Wrong Places | The Kasdan Family has made a significant mark on the better films of Hollywood and Jon Kasdan ( writer / director of IN THE LAND OF WOMEN ) holds those values of fine cinema intact . Having appeared as an actor in some films of his father Lawrence Kasdan ( Grand Canyon , The Big Chill , Body Heat , Mumford , Dreamcatch... |
512,824 | 3,223,254 | 437,714 | 8 | Outsourcing Elvis | ELVIS is the DVD version of the much lauded television miniseries ( it won both Golden Globe and Emmy awards for actors Jonathan Rhys Meyers , Camryn Manheim and Randy Quaid ) : the transfer of the extended three hour long series to a single DVD format is successful and demonstrates once again that made of television m... |
513,068 | 3,223,254 | 388,936 | 8 | The Spectrum of Relationships Between Fathers and Sons | In many ways this film , originally made for Showtime audiences , feels like a triptych : there are three stories here written and directed by three men - Rodrigo García , Jared Rappaport , Rob Spera - with the unifying thread being that the three stories deal with three families who live on the same street . The techn... |
512,744 | 3,223,254 | 360,717 | 8 | A Surprisingly Good Movie ! | Like many viewers who tire easily of the ' big whammies ' that get all the media blitz , this reviewer waited to see KING KONG until the glut of audience overflow in the theaters gave way to private home DVD watching . And then the main reason for watching it was the impressive list of good reviews here on Amazon . com... |
513,210 | 3,223,254 | 140,397 | 8 | What Exactly Constitutes Being A Psychologist ? | MUMFORD is a delicious little film from 1999 written and directed by Lawrence Kasdan ( The Big Chill , Grand Canyon , The Accidental Tourist , Silverado , etc ) who as usual poses some interesting questions as to our contemporary take on concepts . It is a quiet , beautifully acted ensemble film that wears well indeed ... |
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