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524,503 | 4,445,210 | 112,682 | 4 | Both Appealing And Unappealing | For someone who loves wild visuals , I should have loved this film , but I found it too far out and simply very unappealing . Yes , it's visually stunning but the story is disjointed . to say the least . If a viewer - and I am not alone in this opinion - is almost totally lost as to what's going on for almost the entire film , you don't care after awhile . And when you don't care what's going on , you lose interest no matter how good the visuals are . At least , that's how I found this movie . Now I am judging this on the VHS version . Perhaps the DVD makes this so stunning that I wouldn't care about the story , just being entertained by the visuals . . . . but I haven't seen it on disc yet so I don't have an answer to that . I do remember the characters being too grungy and no one being particularly likable . The dubbing in here also was horrible . Hopefully , the DVD offers subtitles , instead . One reviewer here said to give this movie a second chance , and perhaps that's the answer . If I do , and like the film , I'll delete this review . |
522,260 | 4,445,210 | 147,567 | 4 | Three Stories In One , But None Noteworthy | This cartoon was divided into three two-minutes stories and none of them were that good , to be honest . The first two minutes show a frog and a monkey playing clarinet-like instruments and having a good time until teed-owl who wants to sleep , puts an end to it . . The next two stories involve the oppressive heat . By the way , the 1930s had some of the hottest weather on record in the U . S . One scene - the best one of the cartoon - has three little mice scaring a fat lady at the beach , while the last scene has an old man just trying to get a cold drink of some concoction to cool himself off . Once again , the little mice spoil things . What's really odd was after the cartoon was over and the ending credits came on . We see a cat reading an Aesop's fable book which reads " Hair , brains and skirts are short this season . " He laughs , and a mouse comes by and hits him on the head . End of cartoon . Strange . The Iron Man This really didn't offer very much . The middle part with the old man battle two big birds is probably the only good segment . After that , the old geezer receives a big package and it's a robot . I didn't know they had robots , or even thought out them way back when this cartoon was made , but obviously so . Anyway , the old man dances with the robot , which later enlarges itself to gargantuan propositions and explodes , raining nuts and bolts on the man . At the end , we get " Aesop said 2 , 600 years ago : an oyster is a fish dressed up like a nut ! " |
523,175 | 4,445,210 | 43,827 | 4 | Hey , Like Hope's One-Liners , Not All Are Winners | This is a typical Bob Hope movie in which " ole ski nose " delivers a lot of one - liners and plays his usual coward-turned-hero . ( In this story , a burlesque comic turned spy . ) The leading lady for this one was Hedy Lamarr . By 1951 , the famous glamor girl of the Golden Age looked like she was a few years past her prime . She had very little sex appeal left . Hope plays a dual role : " Peanuts White " and " Eric Augustine . " He does a fine job with both , although in one of those roles he said very little . In all , not one of his more memorable movies , or funnier films , but it has enough decent laughs to somewhat entertain . . . . but mainly , if you are a die-hard Bob Hope fan ; otherwise , skip it . Bob did a lot of other films that were much better . |
526,312 | 4,445,210 | 52,225 | 4 | Likes & Dislikes Of ' South Pacific ' | With musicals , people are very subjective . The film might be a decent one ; the story might be pretty good , but if the viewer doesn't like the songs , he or she is not going to like the movie . That was the case here with me , which is why I changed the headline from " The Good & Bad " to " Likes & Dislikes . " LIKES - Unique cinematography gimmick using orange or yellow filters . . . . Mitzi Gaynor as " Ens . Nellie Forbush " was pretty and had some figure ! Wow ! A couple of songs everybody ( even me ) likes : " Some Enchanted Evening " and " Wash That Man Right Out Of My Hair . " Overall sets and production values pretty high . DISLIKES - Rossano Brazzi , as " Emile de Becque , " didn't strike me as a great actor or singer ; Juanita Hall's character , " Bloody Mary , " gets really annoying after awhile . ( I do like her name , though . ) . . . . at almost three hours , this is WAY too long . . . . . Gaynor's character whimpers too much ; Brazzi . . . . . story now seems dated . . . overall did not like the songs . |
524,530 | 4,445,210 | 26,468 | 4 | Decent Visuals , Poor Sound , Weak Story | This is a short that came with the " A Tale Of Two Cities " DVD , an animated movie starring " Bosko , " a character movie audiences in the early ' 30s had seen before but not in color . This is " cinecolor , " whatever that was , and the visuals were fine . In fact , they were the best of the cartoon with some of the backgrounds looking almost like Bambi-esquire watercolor ( but not that good ! ) . The story was nothing that funny , comprised entirely of rhyme and song . I found the sound weak , making it difficult to understand all the lyrics , which was frustrating . In this story , Bosko induces characters from Mother Goose - all of whom are poor ( even Old King Cole ) and have no food - to begin growing food on a farm so they can eat . That's it - that simple . As I said , really not funny and not something I'd watch again , although it has some charming moments . |
525,305 | 4,445,210 | 43,550 | 4 | Who Made This ? Hogan's Press Secretary ? | Being a golfer and a fan of the sport for many years , I was very interested in seeing this , which I did when the VHS first came out . Later , I saw it again because of the same reason plus I usually find Glenn Ford's films entertaining . Well , the story moves well , it didn't bore me , but I did have problems with the accuracy of it and the general theme of the film , telling us that Hogan really was a nice guy who cared lot about what the public thought . From every account I have read , and from a couple of people who met him or knew him , that was not true . The fact is that he was a mean SOB and remained that way most of his life . This movie looks like it was made by his press agent . It's ridiculous and ruins what otherwise is an inspiring story . No one can deny Hogan's achievements on the links and his incredible desire to win against all odds . The fact he could come back and play after a near-fatal auto accident was amazing . . . . but I would not watch this again because it was too subjective and just not the truth . |
523,812 | 4,445,210 | 60,714 | 4 | How Times - And We - Change | Boy , did I love this movie in the Sixties when I was a left-wing radical college student . Everything about goofy Morgan ( David Warner ) was funny or likable or just plain cool , in a weird sort of way . This movie was so ' 60s with its mores and humor . If they had VHS tapes back then , I would have bought this in a heartbeat . When I began seriously collecting movies in the mid ' 90s , I was excited to see this again . Wow , what a disappointment . What was so great back then now looks so incredibly stupid . The film was so bad , and Warner was so annoying ( hardly ' fab ' anymore ) , I couldn't finish the film . I couldn't believe how incredibly inane this was and how much I used to like it . Like another ' 60s period piece , " Easy Rider , " it's amazing how differently we see things depending on our age and / or how we have changed culturally , politically or religiously . I wonder if Warner looks back at this film and cringes , too . |
526,579 | 4,445,210 | 496,706 | 4 | Too Much George Brett In Here | Overall , this bonus feature on the " Field Of Dreams " two-disc " Anniversary Edition " DVD was a bit disappointing . I had high hopes of some interesting comments with Kevin Costner talking baseball with three Hall Of Fame players . However , nothing really memorable was said and one of the players , to me , " hogged " the show . That was George Brett , who certainly loves a microphone . I would much rather have heard more from the other three guys , particularly the best player of the three : Johnny Bench . Brett Saberhagen was a good guy and seems to come off as the most intelligent of the three ballplayers . Costner was excellent , a humble host for the three players . His analysis of the movie was far better than any of the players but that's understandable since the ballplayers were simply fans of the movie while Costner lived-and - breathed the movie by making it . It was more interesting seeing some of the movie's star house . It's pretty nice , as you could imagine . Anyway , I would recommend all of the other bonus features on this DVD package before this one . People who love baseball history , as I do , aren't going to get any insight in this one . |
526,657 | 4,445,210 | 104,692 | 4 | When The Author Hates The Movie , Well . . . . . Still , It Had Its Moments | The film is supposedly based on a short novel by Stephen King . I say " supposedly " because when he saw what they did to his book , King demanded his name be removed from any association of this film ! When an author does that , it's kind of a tip-off that someone has made a bad movie . I also wonder if Pierce Brosnan ever looks back and winces when he recalls being the star of this film ? Actually , maybe he shouldn't because it's not that bad a premise . The film is no award-winner , but it is intriguing in its originality . I mean , how many films deal with a slightly-retarded gardener who becomes an experiment with a into-your-brain video game ? Jeff Fahey is pretty interesting as " the lawnmower man . " Being someone who is fascinated with special-effects , I watched the film probably normally would have considering some of the bias ( see below ) . What I objected to - and nobody else ever seems to - is another cheap shot at a cleric , where I see in almost every Stephen King story , whether he authorizes it or not . In this movie , we see a priest let the wandering mower-man live in a little shack in back of his church , and then he whips the man ! Rule number one in a King adaptation - or in the movies , in general , seems to be : always show a Christian figure as a villain . At that point , I joined King and disavowed any association with this garbage . |
526,977 | 4,445,210 | 70,000 | 4 | Not Horrible , But The Original Is Still Far Better | It was hard to watch this film and be totally fair and objective since I am a big fan the original 1944 movie . That , to me and many others , is one of the greatest film noirs ever made . Realizing this is simply a shortened made-for-TV film and that most people had trashed it , I didn't expect much , but you can't help but compare this with the ' 44 film . Scene after scene , I found myself comparing what I was looking at it , and remembering how it played out with Fred MacMurray , Barbara Stanwyck , Edward G . Robinson and others . Now I was seeing these famous actors playing their famous roles replaced by Richard Crenna , Samantha Eggar and Lee J . Cobb . When it was all over , I found it wasn't as bad as I had expected but it's no match for the 1944 original . The two main areas in which this made-for-TV film wasn't as good were ( 1 ) the electricity between the two leads was missing and ( 2 ) being only 90 minutes , they rushed the story with hardly time to develop the plot , characters and chemistry between those leads . Crenna and Eggar were flat , and simply no match for MacMurray and Stanwyck as " Walter Neff " and " Phyllis Dietrichson , " respectively . Where this re-make held its own was in the other characters , such as " Barton Keyes " and " Edward Norton . " Cobb was terrific as Keyes and Robert Webber as Norton , head of the insurance company . It also was somewhat interesting to see the time frame changed , so the houses , cars , telephones , dictating machines , etc . , were all early ' 70s instead of mid ' 40s . Otherwise , the storyline was very similar , just rushed . However , one viewing was enough and I will happily go back to the original version for the rest of my viewings of this classic story and film . |
523,033 | 4,445,210 | 35,799 | 4 | Hard To Take Seriously When You See Toy Boats | The major problem with watching these 1940s films about World War II is how slow they now appear . When released , most films were of similar ilk and moviegoers were used to hearing a lot of talk , having characters developed , suspense built up and not a whole of action . That's fine , but it doesn't work today and particularly for a war movie . Hey , guys - the main audience for action films - want to see some of just action : action . Instead , what you get here , at least in the first hour which is all I remember nodding off , is talk , talk and more talk . We get characterizations of every major figure on the ship . Combine that with horrible special-effects ( this WAS made almost 65 years ago ) and you have a bad movie . Looking at an obvious scale model of submarine takes away from the story . I mean when you are laughing and recalling the days of playing with toys like this in your bathtub as a kid , it's hard to take the movie seriously . I don't mean to sound this harsh but after viewing " Master and Commander : Far Side Of The World " and " Das Boat " and a several other films involving ships and submarines , It's tough to go back and watch something that looks this unrealistic , despite a good cast and decent script . I will defend this film - and others of the period , however , for its patriotism . What a sad day it is when an American film made during WWII is now derisively insultingly called " propaganda " by a number of critics here . What do they want , a pro-Japanese or a pro - Nazi movie ? Probably . |
526,316 | 4,445,210 | 25,850 | 4 | Wanted To Like It , But Couldn't ; Too Dated | I really wanted to like this film . It had personal sentiment for me as my mother's day was " Adeline " and I had high regard for Irene Dunne ever since I saw her star in " I Remember Maman . " Yet , despite that positive attitude going in , this wasn't something I'd watch again . It wasn't bad ; just too dated and I didn't care for Irene's soprano voice . Yikes , that women hit high notes that rattled my fillings ! At least she looked good : the most attractive I've seen her in her younger years . The film , though , as a whole , had a very dated appearance . Billed as a musical romance , I was impressed with how much humor was in this movie . As for leading men , I knew Donald Woods from " A Tale Of Two Cities " but he never struck me as forceful enough to be a leading man . Louis Calhern , however , always was credible at the detestable villain , as he was here once again . Reviewers here knock the script , but it was the songs that did nothing for me , not the screenplay . Had these songs been more appealing to me , I probably would have kept the VHS , if only for sentimental reasons . |
526,444 | 4,445,210 | 35,646 | 4 | A Weak Start To This Short Series | Well , after reading a couple of the other reviews here , I feel a little better . I thought maybe I missed something , thinking this animated short was pretty weak . Apparently , others agree . It might have been a landmark of sorts with the introduction of Claude The Cat and the two mice , Hubie ( his name wasn't mentioned in this cartoon ) and Bertie , but that doesn't mean it was entertaining . It wasn't , except for some of the artwork . This was the first of seven " Hubie and Bertie " cartoons . Claude was just not-funny stupid , and sadistic . Forced to fend for himself after " Meadows " the butler quits after being abused by the cat , Claude finds himself clueless . He has no idea how to do anything for himself . Apparently he doesn't even know what a mouse or a dog looks like , despite the fact there is a dog in the house . When he encounters the mice , he is scared out of his mind and runs for the hills . Finally , he winds up talking to them and they take advantage of the situation . Overall , this offers almost nothing in the way of laughs except one quick scene when Claude first meets the bulldog , face-to-face . |
523,454 | 4,445,210 | 25,619 | 4 | Worth Seeing Only For Lupe Velez | I got a kick out of this film for the first half of it , but it got so stupid with the main characters that I had a hard time finishing it . However , it was still worth a look to see Lupe Valez . I had read what a strange character she was in real life , and that she was sexy woman , so at least I have now seen her . She was a very pretty lady and not shy , either . This film just made it under the wire before the Hays Code came along , so Lupe showed us about all of her breasts . They weren't anything noteworthy , but she certainly showed what she had and a year later , she would have been forced to cover up . Stu Erwin plays the boxer " Joe Palooka . " He plays a really inept fighter and stupid guy in general who is endearing for awhile but wears thin . The same goes for Jimmy Durante's role of fight manager " Knobby Walsh . " He really wears thin . Anyway , this is typical early ' 30s material which means very corny and dated in the humor and romance department , sometimes hilarious and a bit racy and edgy but one that bogs down midway through . |
525,995 | 4,445,210 | 60,834 | 4 | Didn't Get Much Of A ' Buzz ' From It | This cartoon story turns into a competition to see how can build a better house : the Pink Panther or his rival , The Little White Man . At first , they have the same project site but each doesn't like the other guy's designs . The Man has blueprints for a standard house while the PP's plans call for some futuristic design . Most of the story involves the PP playing havoc with the White Man's attempts to build the house . The Panther also gets effective assistance from a runaway buzz saw . This was " okay , " nothing super , and , sad to say , marred by the always-insult laugh track , something totally uncalled-for in a cartoon . We can decide when to laugh , thank you . I wound up playing most of this with the sound off , so as not be annoyed . However , I missed hearing the sound-effects . |
522,866 | 4,445,210 | 43,363 | 4 | What You Think Of Bullfighting Will Determine What You Think Of This | Robert Stack with blonde hair ? Could that really be " Elliot Ness ? " Well , it was the early ' 50s , before Stack made a name for himself with the TV hit , " The Untouchables . For those looking back at this film for the first time , as I did in the 1990s , this was a weird sight . Blonde or not , the main question which might answer if you will enjoy this film is , " Does bullfighting interest you ? " If it does , you'll like this ; if it doesn't , you're going to be bored . II saw the two-hour " restored " version and it looked nicely-photographed in black-and-white and very detailed about the sport of bullfighting . There were a number of scenes where I started to get bored , to be honest , and I hard time sticking with it but I have no interest in bullfighting , either . It leaves me cold . If I had interest , well , I would have a totally different outlook on the film . Kudos to Stack for doing - at least in some spots - his own bullfighting . That was impressive and shows me the man had guts . The skeet-shooting scene also was real as he was a pretty good marksman . The romantic scenes , as expected , were so-so as " Chuck Regan " ( Stack ) pursues his bullfighting coach's daughter , " Anita de la Vega " ( Joy Page ) If you love bullfighting , this film would be a " must-have " because it goes into the " sport " in some detail and even mixes in some live footage ( in the long version ) . I would suggest the longer version , anyway , because that's the way the filmmaker intended the audience to see his work . Given a choice , always see the longer version and then make up your own mind whether it should have been cut or not . |
522,660 | 4,445,210 | 35,605 | 4 | Weak Effort At Being Another ' The Thin Man ' | The cast is attractive , the premise is intriguing . . . . but the film is blah . It looked like a poor man's " The Thin Man , " or tried to be , but all it wound up was " poor . " The humor was average at best , and it took way , way too long to get to any action and suspense . By halfway through , I can imagine most of the audience in the theater half asleep . Being a fan of classic films , especially during the 1990s when I couldn't watch enough of these old movies , I was pumped up to see a film starring Joan Crawford , Fred MacMurray , Conrad Veidt , Basil Rathbone and Reginald Owen . That's some cast . But this story is just plain ludicrous . Do they honestly believe the British Foreign Office and newlywed and her husband - with no experience - to go inside Nazi Germany and be an effective spy ? Well , maybe that's where the humor came in , but it's " Thin Man " quality and Crawford and MacMurray , although fine actors , are no Myrna Loy and William Powell in playing these kind of roles . The " Thin Man " movies had far more sophistication than this film . No , this just doesn't cut it in any aspect : humor , suspense or credibility . |
524,796 | 4,445,210 | 25,651 | 4 | Another Plug For ' Gold Diggers Of 1933 ' | Here is another cartoon by Warner Brothers that is plugging a song from its movie , " Gold Diggers Of 1933 . " This one doesn't have a tenth of the clever and zany scenes ' I've Got To Sing A Torch Song " did , and so it doesn't offer much in the way of entertainment except for the catchy title song . I have to admit I like the title song and it's the highlight of the short animated film . What we get are birds of all kinds and a few people kissing in the park and singing , followed by a diving contest between several big birds , and then a swimming race , which has the best humor in the cartoon . Seeing the ostrich run through the water is pretty funny . Oveall , however , the cartoon is no big deal . |
527,043 | 4,445,210 | 52,838 | 4 | The Old Lady In The Men's Lavatory | I acknowledge the uniqueness of this film , but that doesn't mean I enjoyed it . At least I'm being honest about it . The visuals were the most interesting facet , along with this old lady's face . Wow , what a face : a million wrinkles , most of them with a story . It was interesting that the present day part of this short film was in black-and-white and the flashbacks were in color . You would think the director would do the opposite . However , the director here is not your ordinary filmmaker . He's Roman Polanski , and this is one of his last short films before he began feature-length ones . I've never heard of a female attendant in a men's lavatory , but that's what we have here . It's a depressing job , one in which one usually sits all day and has hour to contemplate . For this old woman , it was unpleasant memories of the past as each new customer reminds her of something tragic in her past . The acting in here was poor but I'm sure young Polanski didn't have much of a budget to work with . It wasn't exactly like working with Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway . Like most of his short films , there is little to no dialog . . . . . but it's really not needed . However , the sudden scene shifts from her apparent memories to scenes which she couldn't have witnessed ( i . e . World War I battle scenes ) were confusing . Maybe it just didn't get it . However , I appreciated the sentimentality in here , even if I didn't understand some of it . To those who haven't seen any of Polanski's short films , be warned : this is quite different from films you are used to seeing . They used to have " art houses " where they would show " arty " films like this . I wonder if they are still around ? |
523,523 | 4,445,210 | 26,029 | 4 | Same Old-Same Old Even For Beginning ' Hitch ' | Back in the long era of VHS tapes , I never found a clear tape of this movie , so I could not fully appreciate it since the visuals and the sound were always so poor . That made it tough to decipher the dialog . This started off interesting but began to bog down with a " It Happened One Night " - type of romance with more comedic lines in here than suspense , which is what I thought the film was supposed to be . The film also is overrated because critics seem to all love Alfred Hitchcock . This was one of Hitch's first efforts , obviously , but had his familiar trademarks of anti-Biblical bias and innocent man-on-the-run theme . Here , he shows the religious man ( a Scot in whose home Robert Donat hid ) as untrustworthy and simply no good . Also , I found it interesting to hear a 1935 film the word " damn " said a half-dozen times . I guess the British didn't have the same moral code American had that year . All in all , a " fair " and definitely overrated movie . However , now that's it out on DVD maybe I would be a lot kinder with this after seeing a good print of it . |
524,794 | 4,445,210 | 60,522 | 4 | How To Get An Audience Ansty | With a cast that features Audrey Hepburn , Peter O'Toole , Eli Wallach , Charles Boyer and Hugh Griffith , you'd think this movie would be more interesting . The problem was that at slightly over two hours , it had too many parts that lagged . It took over an hour just to set up the heist . By then , a lot of viewers - at least in the theater where I saw this - were getting antsy . I couldn't blame them . It's a heist movie but it's mainly a comedy . I liked the subtle humor in here but there wasn't enough of it to sustain interest . Eli Wallach also looked out of place . I guess I was used to seeing him as a Mexican bandit , not in a role like this ! Hepburn's accent can be very annoying at times , too , unless you are a big fan of her's . As for O'Toole : he should have stayed in the desert . |
525,849 | 4,445,210 | 320,691 | 4 | The Premise Was Better Than The Actuality | A vampires versus werewolves story sounded like fun , especially with the pretty Kate Bekinsdale starring . However , I was disappointed with this overall . Beckinsdale frowned the entire movie , trying to act tough all the time . Why do these pretty young women try to act like men ? She is not likable in here , nor is anyone else . It would have been nice to have someone to root for ! There also is - no surprise - too much violence and bloodshed . It's not " Van Helsing " in that regard ( overdone action ) but it isn't far removed . This is a long , grim story . On the plus side , the special-effects are good and there are some interesting twists in the end regarding some of the good and the bad characters . |
527,049 | 4,445,210 | 52,987 | 4 | Agree With Polanski | I have to agree with filmmaker Roman Polanski , who didn't especially care for this early effort of his . I didn't either , although I did appreciate the wonderful shadows of the many dolls ' faces and the eerie whispering later in the film . Outside of that , it wasn't anything that appealing . Basically , the film is an exercise in camera panning . We are inside a toymaker's shop where we see a man fixing a doll's head . He's working at night with the light of lamp aiding him . Then , for most of the rest of the movie , the camera slow scans at all the dolls in the store , some completed , some worn and beaten up , but most with haunting expressions . None of the faces move but we hear whispers and it's as if these little things are real and having conversations . Hopefully , they weren't planning arson . If you see the film , you'll know what I mean . You can see this early Polanski effort on disc number 2 of the " Knife In The Water " DVD . |
525,766 | 4,445,210 | 113,492 | 4 | The Good & Bad Of Judge Dredd | This was a loud , wild , silly , sophomoric science-fiction action film that had a number of good and bad points . THE GOOD - If you have a surround system , and particularly with a sub-woofer , the sound in here is excellent . For the most part , the film entertains and stays away from profanity until the last 15 minutes . Armand Assante plays a convincing villain . THE BAD - There is some stupid dialog , especially by Rob Schneider's character " Fergie . " He isn't funny ; he's just plain annoying . There's another cheap shot at Christians as the villain out in the desert is shown to be a " Believer . " None of the good guys are , of course . This also has a script that isn't easy to follow and it gets too loud with too many explosions . That stuff wears thin after the first hour . OVERALL - The negatives outweigh the positives . There are so many other good action movies that I wouldn't waste your time with this . |
522,978 | 4,445,210 | 104,797 | 4 | Slick But Spiked With Too Much Bias | Here we go with more Spike Lee bias . I'm not talking blacks vs . whites . We've come to expect that with Lee's films . What I'm referring to in this picture is another thing Lee does in many of his films - take cheap shots at Christians . What better stage than this one about a man who leaves his Christian roots and converts to Islam ? Here , Lee goes out of his way to have the KKK mentioned several times and how they are " good Christians . " An accomplice to many of Lee's bigoted films , unfortunately , is the fine actor Denzel Washington . Check how often Washington and Lee collaborate on films and how many of them play the " race card . " Too bad because Denzel is a likable guy and a great actor . Lee is neither . At 201 minutes this a long film but an interesting one nonetheless . I can't say I was ever bored watching this . It's also beautifully photographed with some slick visuals . You can tell a lot of love went into this movie . Too bad Lee can't put this much effort into a biography of , let's say , Martin Luther King , Mother Teresa or Billy Graham . |
525,048 | 4,445,210 | 303,336 | 4 | Glad ' For The Birds ' Beat This Out | I agree totally with another of the reviewers here who was pleased " For The Birds " won the Oscar in 2002 for " Best Animated Short , " not this sick material , which is pretentious at best and appealing to anyone , of course , who has no belief in heaven or hell . The animation was good , but so are a lot of animated shorts . And , by the way , I love dark humor but this just was unappealing from the start . As for the story here : a guy walking around and surrounded by nothing but grey ( symbolism here ) is told by a TV set ( which appears every few hundred yards away ) that he is in either heaven , hell , or purgatory . Each time he puts a gun to his head and shoots himself after hearing the news . I guess that would be funny in two of the three instances . |
524,585 | 4,445,210 | 87,062 | 4 | Were Our Expectations Too High ? Certainly , But With Reason | I remember a lot of people , not just me , being disappointed in this film . With Burt Reynolds and Clint Eastwood in the starring roles , we all excepted a really entertaining , good movie . All the publicity made us even more anxious to see it . Well , it never lived up to the hype . I don't know anyone who left the theater satisfied when this was over . This points out an important fact : screen writing is more important than the cast . You can have two charismatic actors , as we have here who are big box-office draws , but if the script stinks the movie is going to be a flop . I don't blame Reynolds or Eastwood . They didn't write this story which is dismal , makes no sense in a few parts ( disjointed ) and simply is not entertaining . It's pretty hard to have two stars , a good premise , the 1930s as a backdrop , and still have a unlikeable movie ! To be fair , part of the problem was the expectation . It obviously was too high for this film , which didn't deliver to meet everyone's high expectations . Maybe if you've never seen and keep your expectations low , you'll enjoy it . And - if for no other reason - it's still interesting to see those guys star in the same film . |
526,931 | 4,445,210 | 45,038 | 4 | A Frustrating Life For Pluto | Mickey is giving Pluto a birthday party . He rolls out a cake under a backyard gazebo . The cake has little fire hydrants on it ! It looks good to the dog , who is salivating looking at the cake . Unfortunately , he has to take a bath first , and then has to wait for the guests to arrive . When those have taken place , poor Pluto gets a lot more frustration as the kids toss him around and torment him , not in a nasty way but it comes out that way to the poor dog . Man , if this is a normal Pluto cartoon - and I've seen a few them - I don't want to see too many more because you feel the dog's frustration in each story . Pluto is always been teased and tormented by somebody . It's a wonder the dog didn't turn into a mental case . Yes , all's well that end's well , but for 98 percent of these Pluto cartoons , things don't go so well . |
523,972 | 4,445,210 | 209,163 | 4 | Yet Another Example Of Overkill | Here is another " Class A exhibit " on how to turn a successful , appealing movie into a ludicrous stupid one with a sequel that overkills everything that worked in the first movie . When the 1999 film , " The Mummy " came out , it features a likable family : husband , wife and young son - battling all kinds of strange and fascinating foes in ancient Egypt . It was simply a fun movie with awesome special-effects that dazzled millions of theater-goers . The story was ludicrous but took a back seat to the astounding visuals and the nice family whom we could root for . Then the sequel comes out - Mummy 2 , if you will - and now ( a ) the wife ( played by Rachel Weisz ) has turned macho ; ( b ) the kid is now a mouthy snot ; ( c ) the action scenes have gone from a good number to an excessive amount where it is two hours of non-stop mayhem ; ( d ) the sound has gone from loud to ear-shattering . In other words , here we go again with " excess " " or " overkill , . " It's too much . . . . way too much . . . . and so poorly done I am not surprised a third in the series hasn't been released , although rumors have it there will be another in 2008 . I can't imagine how bad that one will be if imitates this one . |
526,142 | 4,445,210 | 36,264 | 4 | Dancing To The Music Not Really Funny | This is our interpretation of the familiar tale of ' The Big Bad Wolf And The Three Little Pigs . ' An announcer is telling this to an audience , of which we are privy . He adds this story " is set to the delightful music of Joann Brahm's ' Hungarian Dances . ' " So that's what we get : this fairy tale set to music . The announcer , butchering Brahms ' name , is funny , but not a lot of other things are in here . In fact , that might be it . What you mainly have here is a cartoon in which the actions of the people , from walking to dancing and prancing to the wolf chasing the pigs all is set to the music . Maybe it's just me , but I prefer humor in my cartoons . This was not something I'd watch again . |
523,573 | 4,445,210 | 36,174 | 4 | Humor Too Dated To Work Now | The story here was just a little too boring and the humor just not funny enough . It added up to a film that was too boring to watch . That was further surprising because the cast was good : Cary Grant , Lariaine Day , Charles Bickford and Henry Stephenson . Grant may be the only big " star " in that group but I've always found Bickford and Stephenson to play interesting guys and Day had to have about the prettiest eyes I've ever seen . They just sparkle and it makes her face mesmerizing at times . Unfortunately , that wasn't enough to make me impressed over this film . It's simply too dated , humor-wise . I don't know how it was received in 1943 , whether audiences laughed a lot at this but , unlike dramas , westerns , crime movies , etc . , comedies can look very dated very quickly and today's audiences would not laugh at this . |
524,853 | 4,445,210 | 113,670 | 4 | Too Many Plugs For Occult Ruined This | If you saw Shirley Temple's version of this story , which was okay - nothing great - this movie , in comparison , is disgusting . In this remake , the occult takes center stage : witches spells , Hindu magic , etc . In other words , it has Liberal written all over it , which is one reason Roger Ebert loved it . The head mistress and one of the little girls , both playing villains , overdoes it . The ending is stupid , too . The best part of the film is its looks : it's beautifully films with lots of nice golden and brown hues . The sound is excellent , too . Liesel Matthews does a fine job in the lead role as the modern-day Shirley Temple . Eleanor Bron is effective as the mean woman . This would have been a fine re-make if it hadn't gone overboard on the occult baloney . |
524,028 | 4,445,210 | 44,720 | 4 | Film Noir Is " Fair " and Features Too Many Flashbacks | This film noir story is told mostly in the form of flashbacks . It begins to drag a bit in the second half and one gets a little antsy waiting to find out how the good guy gets off in the end , which we assume he does . Oddly , the main actor in this film , John Russell - the hero of the movie - is not listed on the back on the video box , in critics reviews or even in the film ! The most interesting character in " Nick Mansani , " played by Luther Adler . Meanwhile , Claire Trevor plays her normal film noir role of the unhappy woman , in this case the " scorned woman . " Forrest Tucker was pretty good as the hot - headed hit man , too . However , overall this was just fair as film noirs go ; nothing special to make it stand out . In truth , too many flashbacks ruined this film . |
524,033 | 4,445,210 | 311,429 | 4 | Turned Out To Be The Minor League | I should have really liked this movie , but it did nothing for me . I enjoy films with characters that have super-human powers , and this has a bunch of them . I usually enjoy Sean Connery's films . This has both , so what's the problem ? I'm not exactly sure , except I know I never got involved enough to care about any of these characters , which is important . Connery just didn't have his normal spark , either , although he was all right . The special-effects were a bit disappointing , too . Sometimes they were great ; other times they looked hokey . In this day-and-age , they should NEVER look hokey . I gave this two chances but didn't even finish it the second time . What a disappointment . |
525,326 | 4,445,210 | 106,387 | 4 | For Depp Fans Only | This was a generally " pleasant " film , or even " cute , " as some women might put it . . . . but not more much . It's definitely a " chick flick . " It was another early vehicle for Johnny Depp to play an oddball , something he's done ever since ( and done well ) . He's fun to watch here , too . A highlight is his impersonation of some Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin routines . Frankly , I didn't care for the rest of the lead characters , those played by Aiden Quinn ( too blasphemous ) and Mary Stuart Masterson ( nice at first , but then pouts all the time which gets tiresome ) . Quinn's girlfriend is also a brat . If you like Depp , then this is worth a look . |
523,281 | 4,445,210 | 25,464 | 4 | The Movie That Killed Dillinger , So To Speak | Famous , as about every film buff knows , for being the movie in which infamous gangster John Dillinger and " The Lady In Red " exited from and Dillinger was gunned down shortly after leaving the theater . The real-life occurrence is far more exciting than the movie . The story was not unlike others made during the ' 30s and ' 40s about two pals growing up together and one winds up a gangster and the other a priest or a lawman . In this case , it was a lawman played by William Powell . The gangster is played by Clark Gable . As a boy , Mickey Rooney plays him . Add Myrna Loy to the mix and you an interesting cast , but the story was really not that much . |
525,096 | 4,445,210 | 443,489 | 4 | Hudson's Character Spoiled The Film | One person - not entirely , but mainly - ruined this movie : Jennifer Hudson . Her character , " Effie White , " is loud , abrasive , offensive , vain , jealous , shallow , shrill , etc . , etc . That woman is entertaining ? ! I don't think so ! Hudson may have had the undisputed best voice in the film but that doesn't mean she's good to watch . The same applies for another of the singing trio that is featured in this movie : Anika Noni Rose whose " Lorrell Robinson " was annoyingly juvenile . Listening to an 18-year - old pontificate about how " she's a woman now " when she has the maturity of an eight-year - old is not entertaining . Only Beyonce Knowles as " Deena Jones " was a good person to watch , and not because of her beauty but her character was mature . Of the men , Eddie Murphy stood out as " James ' Thunder ' Early " and I can see why he won acclaim for his performance . He was really fun to watch and hear . His singing stunned me . Just when I thought his career was in the dumper , he gives us this performance . Jamie Foxx and Danny Glover were both fine . I'm not surprised the screenwriter here was the same guy who did " Chicago . " Both films had tons of glitz , glamor but an extremely annoying character were ruined both films . For " Chicago , " it was Rene Zellweger , here it's Hudson . Both films both dazzled and disgusted me . The music was decent and certainly plentiful , and that's no complaint . The music and the colorful visuals were the highlight of the movie . |
525,778 | 4,445,210 | 52,002 | 4 | Murphy Good , But Story Wears Thin Fast | Why this got the good reviews it did in the books I read , is a mystery . It's basically a " one - angle " story in which a hired killer enters a town and the whole place goes wildly paranoid wondering who is going to be the man's victim . That sounds fairly interesting but it didn't play that way , getting tiresome very quickly . Then again , some people like this kind of suspense-but nothing-happens type of story , sort of like the popular " High Noon . " Audie Murphy ( " John Gant " ) is interesting to watch as the cool-attitude killer but I couldn't much else to get excited about here . The rest of the cast combined can't equal Murphy's effort here . This is more of a melodrama than a western , which may suit a lot of people , but I was looking for a good " western , " which usually means a little more action than this dull film . |
527,450 | 4,445,210 | 95,174 | 4 | You'd Think A Polanski-Ford Combination Could Do Better | This is the kind of film in which one wonders if many people give it great reviews SIMPLY because Roman Polanski directed it . I've found this to be the case in many Alfred Hitchcock movies that were boring and overrated . The same things applies here , especially since Polanski seems to be trying to copy Hitchcock's ideas . The same holds true for actor Harrison Ford . He's usually in very good movies , but no one is perfect . It's hard to find a Harrison Ford movie that disappoints , at least during the last 20 years but , like any actor , he's had a few stinkers - like this is one . Actually , the story is interesting to a degree but the problem is that is goes on way too long without any sense being made . By then , the viewer is so frustrated it becomes difficult to get excited about the story . Chopping 20 minutes off this movie would have made it far better . It starts off so well but just plain peters out . Emmanuel Seigner , Polanski's wife , is interesting to watch and hear , but that's about it . The movie is simply too drawn out ; it needs a tighter script . Normally I like stories with " paranoid " themes , as this does , but Polanski only imitates Hitchcock here in the sense that he bored people to death with this effort . Don't buy all the rave reviews for this and don't say you weren't warned by me and a few others here . |
525,454 | 4,445,210 | 174,576 | 4 | A Shirley Temple-Wannabe & Her Horse | A little girl and a racehorse . That's all you need to know , so it should come as no surprise this - minute-short is very predictable . Along the way it is filled with the familiar characters : a young girl who can relate to a horse as no one else can ; a kindhearted father who is killed in an auto accident at the track , leaving her the owner of the horse " Wonder Boy . " There are other good people on her side and a greedy couple who are out to sabotage the Peach's horse so their nag can win the big prize . The big prize is first-place earnings in the $100 , 000 race at Santa Anita . Back in the 1930s , the era of " Seabiscuit , " the " hundred grander , " as they called it , was always the big race of the Santa Anita season . Sybil Jason as " Peaches , " yes even the names are corny , gives it her all in a Shirley Temple - like performance . She even sings a song . The South African-born little actress did play in a couple of Shirley's films in the following two years but then called it a career in 1940A shock came halfway through this when we saw celebrities enter their box seats at the track and most of them actually delivered lines . This wasn't stock footage . First there was the couple of Al Jolson and Ruby Keeler , then Olivia de Havilland with Edward G . Robinson , followed by Frank McHugh , Bette Davis , Hugh Herbert , Allen Jenkins and others . This short feature can be seen as on the DVD , " Each Dawn I Die , " a film that starred James Cagney and George Raft . |
523,216 | 4,445,210 | 120,891 | 4 | Smith's Smug Attitude Too Much For Me | Here's a typical Will Smith movie which means lightweight action , him proclaiming he is Mr . Macho throughout the film , a dumb story . . . . . but an entertaining film in a number of spots and fun to watch ONCE . That about sums up a lot of his films , one or two of which are a little better and a couple are far worse . Overall , this is pretty good . . . . but there is only so much I can take of smug people ( can you say , Chevy Chase ? ) . You can thank the special effects team for bailing out Smth's arrogant butt and making this movie fun to watch here and there . There were some very entertaining gadgets in here , especially the robots . The movie makes little sense , has no credibility and is a just a vehicle for mindless entertainment , which is fine at times . There is a place for that , for those who need a break from too-serious films . This also is an excellent vehicle for the DVD format because the visuals are razor-sharp and colorful and the surround sound effective . This is a combination sci-fi / western / comedy rolled into one and is almost a cartoon in nature . The villain , played by Kenneth Branagh , is so ludicrous that he's almost comical . Kevin Kline , as Smith's partner , is a likable guy and Hayek is there for her usual purpose : show off her ample boobs . It's entertaining but I liked the old television show of this much better , the one featuring Robert Conrad and Ross Martin . |
526,427 | 4,445,210 | 120,885 | 4 | Prophetic , But Predictably Prejudiced | This movie tells the story of " spin doctors " who create a diversion to get heat off the President of the U . S . In this case , the President was accused of having sex with a young girl in the White House ( ironically , this was made before the Monica Lewinsky-Bill Clinton affair ! ) so a spin doctor - played by Robert De Niro - is hired to find a way out of the predicament before election day . His answer is to create a fake war with Albania . Lest you think this is the rarest of all Hollywood films - anti-Democrat , or even politically impartial story - no , it stays true to form by making disparaging remarks only about Conservatives ( Reagan , Bush , Nixon , etc . ) . There is nothing said about Liberals / Democrats , of course . Don't hold your breath ever waiting for impartiality from the film world or the media . Note : There are a lot of f-words in here , for those who are offended by that . Otherwise , it's a talky movie in general , much like a play , and it's too talky . That may be the main reason this movie was not a box-office success . |
526,980 | 4,445,210 | 24,824 | 4 | Great Ending , But Not Worth Your Time Overall | Buster Keaton plays a guy who runs " " Ye Old Clockee Shoppe " and one wonders how he can stay in business since he's completely inept at fixing timepieces . This film starts off very slowly . , taking almost half of the total time to just to set up the premise of Buster trying to win the affections of Dorothy Sebastian over a rival , played by George J . Lewis . . " Elmer " ( Keaton ) is enamored with " Paula " ( Sebastian ) the moment she walks into his shop , and the two play off each other with mild and drawn-out slapstick gags , none of which are really that funny , to be honest . After nine-and-a-half minutes , the action perks up a bit as Buster takes her to the circus on a date . Unfortunately , she's immediately taken by the trapeze artist . Poor Buster ; he can't catch a break . . She asks Buster - rather tells him - to go get an autograph from the trapeze artist who tells him , " tell the woman to come by herself . If she's good-looking , maybe I'll give her my autograph . " That tells you what kind of jerk " Apollo The Wonderful " is , which makes " Elmer " look all the better . The best parts of the film are all in the last 6-7 minutes with Buster attempting to learn how to be a trapeze artist by rigging up things in his backyard . . . . . with humorous results . The ending - the final 2-3 minutes - is almost shocking because it becomes very dramatic with Buster's lady-friend trapped in a deadly fire . . . . and you - - know-who turns out to be the hero ! I mention the end , with the spoilers alert , rather than not say anything only to warn you this really isn't a good Buster Keaton film to watch . You are far , far better off watching one of his silent films where he exhibits his comic genius . He only does that in here in those final few minutes . |
522,673 | 4,445,210 | 24,826 | 4 | More Drama Than Comedy | Well , this is different , and usually I like that but I can't give this animated classic short more than " fair " marks . The first two-and-a-half minutes of this cartoon is live action showing a little kid feeding ducks , then following one of the ducks who strayed to a nearby a pond . At that point , an animated frog appears , starts singing to the kid and then relays a story to him . The story is far more dramatic than it is humorous , about the frog reaching from underneath the water , tickling the stomach of duck swimming by , and accidentally causing the duck to almost drown . The frog then has to turn into Johnny Weissmuller and swim frantically to save the duck's life . Then he's a hero to everyone in that duck's family . It's actually pretty suspenseful and probably scary a very little kid . The film ends back with real-life footage with the frog saying , " If you don't believe me , ask him ! " We a see big duck next to the kid , who then laughs . Wow , talk about dated . I might have made this sound better than it is , because it's not very good . |
524,715 | 4,445,210 | 95,107 | 4 | Great Start , But ' Santa ' Dropped The Sleigh | This movie started off great ; the first 30 minutes are very funny and clever with some interesting characters . That's the good news . The bad news is that the film then gets too repetitive and then it gets downright stupid . What we wind up getting is a Santa Claus with " magical " powers with a lot of New Age baloney thrown in the mix . It's just ridiculous and hardly the kind of " Christmas movie " I would expect from Jim Varney's " Ernest . " To be fair , it still had a decent amount of laughs and is profanity-free but just not a film I could recommend . |
523,055 | 4,445,210 | 26,275 | 5 | Some Good , Some Bad Equals ' Just Fair ' | So far , I have to agree with what each of the four previous reviewers said , meaning some good , some bad . THE BAD - Not much of a story . . . . . supporting actor Frank McHugh in an annoying role ( annoying with his singing the same stupid song after every sentence ) . . . . . . James Cagney with a laugh that gets annoying after awhile . . . . . a weak romantic angle . . . . showing " training exercises " as part of the climactic scene was somewhat interesting but provided no drama if these fliers were facing an enemy at war . . . . . . Pat O'Brien an unrealistically too good a sport at the end . ( He proposes to Lindsay who turns him down and then incredulously asks , " I didn't hurt your feelings did I ? " duh . . . And he answers something like , " No , it''s okay . " Yeah , right ! THE GOOD - The same cocky Cagney character who is always entertaining , always elevating a film . . . Some wonderful aerial shots and stunt flying in some terrific-looking bi-planes . . . . . . . . . Margaret Lindsay's wisecracks and pretty face . . . . Two dramatic scenes with Cagney trying to land a damaged plane . Summary ; So-so entertainment , more if you are an airplane enthusiast or a Cagney fan ( which I am ) but certainly on the lower of echelon of his films . |
522,791 | 4,445,210 | 112,864 | 5 | Very Entertaining But Too Low-Class | I found lots of entertainment value in this but way overdone with the violence , profanity and the totally-implausible scenes . It's just so darn interesting with so many good stunts that it's hard to totally ignore this film despite the stupidity . It's almost like a very good Steven Seagal , Jean-Claude Van Damme or Sylvester Stallone no-brainer-but-fun action flick , except it's Bruce Willis . Willis and co-star Samuel Jackson are incapable of uttering a sentence without profanity . But , sometimes they are funny and they certainly aren't boring . The violence will wear you out by the time 2 hours and change are over . Recommended only for those who like their entertainment non-stop and aren't offended by anything hitting their eardrums . |
525,419 | 4,445,210 | 650,625 | 5 | Too Far-Fetched For Any Kind Of Credibility | An astronaut , nearing a mission , is at a girlfriend's place where she reveals to him that he's in chapter five of her new book . Apparently , it's a sexy book . Since the astronaut may also be running for political soon , he obviously don't want this book published . I say " obviously " because he is shown putting poison in her drink . Five days later , a maid comes in and sees the dead woman hanging . It didn't take a genius to see this wasn't a suicide . Even Capt . Stottlemeyer deduces this in a hurry . So , how do they find out it's the astronaut who killed the woman ? A so-so episode that started off very promising but wound up with a bunch of unrealistic and stupid scenes , such as the classroom scene , the exaggerated character of the astronaut ( played well , however , by Jeffrey Donovan ) throughout and the ending - none of which were very credible . |
525,420 | 4,445,210 | 650,627 | 5 | A Very Silly ( Too Silly ) Episode | Mr . Monk , the cheapskate , is broke as usual , negligent is paying Natalie , as usual , reluctant to ask for a raise , as usual , and is solving cases for free , as usual . All of this has Natalie upset , naturally , until she sees that there is a one million dollar reward for anyone who solves the recent heist from a local museum of a diamond worth $20 million . Monk has competition for the reward money : three goof-ball stereotypes ( a retired Scotland Yard man , a nerd-like skinny young guy and a crude Dog-like bounty hunter , complete with pony tail . They follow Monk every step of the way , hoping to cash in on his intelligence , since Monk is the only one figuring things out . This was a fun episode until the last dozen minutes when it got really silly , too silly , with an unsatisfying ending . |
522,264 | 4,445,210 | 35,226 | 5 | There Were A Bit Too Mild In 1942 | The year 1942 , the first full year of these Tom and Jerry cartoons and , as many of them were this year , are nothing special . What makes these two guys click are their famous chases and inventive ways to getting at each other . Those were just starting to surface the first season or two . In this cartoon , that " chase " doesn't begin until less than three minutes remain . Before that , we just get the normal Tom toying with Jerry and than acting goofy trying to impress a new female cat , which was let in the house by the maid , " Mammy Two Shoes . " She , too , was a fixture in 1942 but didn't last too long . Meanwhile , Tom tries to impress the visiting feline with his looks and with presents but she's a hard sell . When he presents Jerry , the mouse has to put up with some humiliations . He finally figures a way to stopped being used , pokes Tom in the butt with a big needle . . . and the chase is on . There was one funny bit , with Tom on top of a record player , spinning around to whatever tune Jerry would play . Overall , though , it was so-so material that was done much better in a few years to come . |
524,316 | 4,445,210 | 43,983 | 5 | Dancing Great ; Story Stinks | This movie features some of the most famous dance scenes by Fred Astaire , such as the one where he dances on the walls and ceiling . That particularly dance is impressive because the special-effects made it look realistic . Kudos to the filmmakers for doing that in a film that is 55 years old . Astaire also did a clever number earlier with a hat rack and did two entertaining dances with Jane Powell . The dancing was the only good thing in the film . Most of the story deals with romances between Powell and Peter Lawford and Astaire and Sarah Churchill . The latter look a little old for the normal young-romance type angles viewers are used to seeing in films . Facially , Fred looked like he had been ill . He just didn't look good . Powell looked fine but her soprano voice almost broke my TV tube . It was brutal . Since those famous Astaire dances can be seen on " That's Entertainment " tapes or DVDs , there was no reason to keep this film . |
522,434 | 4,445,210 | 1,009,815 | 5 | Staying Upbeat | Popeye and Brutus are exchanging insults and Olive gets tired of listening to it . She asks them to stop arguing and do something worthwhile . " Why don't you make your stamp on eternity ? " " Give us a for-instance , " asks Bluto . Olive is leaning on a statue of Admiral Perry , discoverer of the North Pole . " Why don't you guys discover something like he did ? " she replies . Popeye promises not only to discover something " but bring it back here ! " Olive says she'll go out with the " first guy who brings me the North Pole . " The two boobs ( they must be , to compete for her ) go racing off . Brutus builds a rocket ; Popeye , an air balloon . You know who wins . I liked Popeye's attitude in here . No matter how bad things got , he just kept sining to himself and feeling optimistic . His scat-music singing was the best part of the cartoon ! |
522,435 | 4,445,210 | 1,009,816 | 5 | Popeye's ' Submarini ' Sandwich | Overall , despite one funny scene , this was pretty lame and a prime example of how these 1960-61 Popeye editions put out by King Features seemed to be made with five-year-old children as its target audience , certainly not us adults who loved the Popeye cartoons from the 1930s through the 1050s . Popeye is asked to watch the diner while Wimpy leaves to run an errand . That's fine with the sailor man because that means some good eats . He begins by " making my favorite , one of them submarini sandwiches ! " The way he makes his " submarini " is humorous . The sandwich indirectly winds up the " hero " of the story , too ! Brutus comes in the restaurant and forces Popeye - through a physical beating - to accept his jukebox as entertainment instead of the usual organ grinder and monkey , who are dispatched to the refrigerator . Meanwhile , Brutus grabs Olive , who is the cook , and runs off with her . How Popeye rescues her and beats the bully is the rest of the short story . |
525,987 | 4,445,210 | 105,151 | 5 | Insider's Jokes Don't Necessarily Connect With General Audience | A ton of celebrity cameos was the main thing that made this movie fun to watch , but once was enough . I wouldn't watch it again because there simply aren't enough " good guys " to suit me . The film is entertaining but has too nasty a tone to it . The language was rougher than it needed to be , but that's no surprise when you have Tim Robbins and Whoopi Goldberg starring . The story gives a look at many of the shallow people who run Hollywood . That automatically earns high praise from national film critics . Despite their innate love of Hollywood and films they somehow always love it when a film trashes the business ! Go figure . This black comedy mainly spoofs film executives . The filming is different in that you see one long scene with the camera on a crane taking turns following different people . Some of that is very clever , like the story , but I found a general smugness in this film that bordered on hypocrisy . The people who made this sometimes come off - through the film - like the folks they're criticizing . . . . . if that makes sense . Robbins is good at coming across as smug . . . . almost too good . It seems natural for him . ( I can say the same about Chevy Chase and his roles . ) Also , I find most films about Hollywood like this one : too much an inside joke for us non-film folks to really enjoy . It's like they made this film for themselves . I'm not surprised this movie was a box-office dud , since I don't think they really cared what the average guy in the seats thought about it - only their film peers . |
525,215 | 4,445,210 | 52,603 | 5 | Unique , But Not That Funny | Bugs is the guest conductor of the Warner Brothers Symphony Orchestra , playing " Morning , Noon and Night in Vienna by Franz Von Suppe . " The whole cartoon is a spoof of overly-dramatic conductors . Bugs exaggerates most of his moves with the orchestra delivering what he's doing . Some of it is funny , some too far - fetched , but that was the idea . Also , the music cleverly also was in sync with little things happening to Bugs ' apparel as it fell off here and there , giving him problems . In all , this short is more clever than it is funny . It's definitely a unique one for Bugs Money and I give them an " A " for originality but a " D " for laughs . Since most of us watch these animations for laughs , clever-or-not this was not up to par . |
522,496 | 4,445,210 | 95,647 | 5 | Great Acting , But Overdone Stereotypes & Bias | This was a very intense story about three missing civil rights workers in 1964 and the U . S . government looking into that disappearance ( and murder ) in Mississippi , where it happened . On first viewing , I really enjoyed this because of the top-rated performance by the lead actors Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe and the fact that the story was interesting . However , on subsequent viewings , the ultra-Liberal bias of the people making this movie became more and more evident . Typical of Liberal elitists , they make every Southerner in this film ( but one ) look like very stupid , extremely racist hicks - the kind of people who want to strangle yourself . Hey , no one argues that racism is bad , bad thing but this goes to ridiculous extremes while giving cheap shots to Christians , as well . That's another typical feature of liberal bias . They have no problem showing us those slimeballs who are anti-Semitic , as also portrayed here , but at the same time the people who make the films can't hide their own anti-Christian bias . Too bad because Hackman and Dafoe are superb and the story moves very well . It's a fast two hours of film " entertainment . " Note : beware the language is very rough with way too many usages of the Lord's name in vain . |
525,947 | 4,445,210 | 17,537 | 5 | Mutt & Jeff Oldie Needs More Refinement | Wow , this is an oldie , and sometimes it looks it . It was my first look , actually , at a Mutt and Jeff cartoon but I remember reading them in comic fashion as a kid for many years . Anyway , they are cowboys and apparently a team in entertaining folks , perhaps , in a rodeo because we see them practicing their act . Mutt is a little rough on Jeff , making his dance by shooting the ground and then whipping him ! I didn't find much humor is this cartoon , and I hope other Mutt and Jeff's are better than this . I realize it was silent movie era but the noises the two guys made in place of talking ( whistles and hoots ) was a little annoying . I'd rather they used title cards or " balloons with words " than those dumb incoherent noises . The color in this movie is fair , about what you'd expect for something re - released in the 1930s under the " Kromcolor " process . The artwork is pretty primitive but , hey , it's 80 years old ! |
527,320 | 4,445,210 | 52,543 | 5 | Would Have Been Better Had Steiger Not Overacted Again | This is a pretty interesting film but really not all that memorable and one that you think afterward should have been a lot better . It was like watching an old television show - better , I'm sure , 50 years ago than watching it today . The story is not boring , but something was missing . Perhaps it just needed more spark . . . . and less ranting and raving from Rod Steiger who played the title character . Steiger wears thin after awhile . He has been a fine actor over the years but he tends overact in a number of his roles , too . His exaggerated anger and loudness in here ruined this film for me . Fay Spain , Martin Balsam , Nehemiah Persoff , Murvyn Vye , James Gregory and more all added excellent support , though , and I enjoyed watching them . I wish I could say the same for Steiger . |
523,150 | 4,445,210 | 95,532 | 5 | Involving , But Only So-So Overall | This was a fairly involving story , although it's better in the first half . After that , the kid gets annoying but then the film picks back up in the last 15 minutes . The story is about this teen boy " Jeff Grant " ( River Phoenix ) who discovers his parents are " sleepr " KGB agents , spies are out of the business . They have come to the United States to start over with their kid . Meanwhile , an assassin is killing those former , or " sleeper , " if you will , agents . " Roy Parmenter " ( Sidney Poitier ) , an FBI man , is after anyone it seems . That last part is a bit confusing . The story taxes ones believability here and there but is interesting most of the way . However , I thought Phoenix overacts in a number of scenes . This was far from his best performance in his abbreviated film career . |
527,524 | 4,445,210 | 26,151 | 5 | Is This A Prison Or A Country Club ? | Federal Agent Buddy receives a telegram stating , " Conduct secret investigation as to the treatment accorded prisoners by ward at Sing Song Prison . signed , Fuller Pepp , chief . " Buddy dons his mustache disguise and brings along his dog , who is dressed like Sherlock Holmes , to the police station where a big crowd watches the bad guy get escorted to Sing Song prison . Buddy follows and takes notes while he's in prison . The warden is named " Otto B . Kinder , " and he's a nasty guy . Buddy recommends he be fired . The government agrees and puts Buddy in charge ! The ultra-liberal buddy gives the prisoners manicures , shoe shines , ice cream cones - anything they want . It's so great in there that no one wants to leave and the whole town is almost barging down the door to get it . Buddy happily hangs a " no vacancy " sign on the building and waves at the crowd . End of cartoon ! What a stupid message ! Liberals have always been liberals , I guess , meaning as naive as Buddy demonstrates here . I enjoyed the music in this cartoon . They had several short songs beginning with the prisoners singing " Lulu's Back In Town . " |
523,020 | 4,445,210 | 70,544 | 5 | A ' Planet Of The Apes ' Animated Takeoff | This is an animated film made 45 years ago ( 1973 ) by the French , has the English title of " Fantastic Planet . " Early on , it reminded me of the " Planet of the Apes " story in which " human " were the captives and someone else ( aliens , here , called " Draags " ) were the " masters . " He , we are the " humanoids , " the visitors , so to speak on a foreign planet . In this story , the aliens are huge and appear not to be hostile . The humans are very small , people who can fit in the palms of the Draags ' hands . The humanoids , however , are really slaves on this " fantastic planet " until one of them learns the local language and unites his fellow captives . That's putting it in a nutshell , since I don't want to say too much to spoil the ending , which is the best part of the film . . A lot of people rave about the artwork but I didn't think it was anything that great . It's very primitive , and maybe that's part of the attraction . Then again , it was made 35 years ago , so you aren't going to get the artistic slickness you see today . ( However , " Yellow Submarine " was made before this animated movie and that was pretty mind-blowing animation ! ) It would definitely remind you minimalist artists . |
523,799 | 4,445,210 | 167,260 | 5 | Two Words : Overkill & Excessive | First of all , let me just say how impressed I was with the first two movies in this trilogy . They were outstanding films and deserving of all the awards they received . Perhaps that is one reason I was so disappointed in this movie ; it wasn't nearly as interesting as the first two . The main reason can be summed up in one word : OVERKILL . Director Peter Jackson made the same mistake he made in the film he did right after this one : " King Kong , " where the action was way too much , too the point of ludicrousness and an insult to viewers ' intelligence . So was this film , the third in the LOTR series . It was too much action , so much that after halfway through this 3 hour , 20-minute movie I was numb by then and could care less what happened from that point . I stuck with it , but it just got worse and worse with more ridiculous action scenes going on one after the other with absolutely no credibility to any of them . Examples of what I mean regarding " credibility " are scenes in which humongous monsters and machines 100 times the size and strength of the " good guys " would always lose . Even females and little Hobbitts disposed of these-supposedly indestructible creatures , time after time . It was so Rambo-like , so stupidly juvenile it was insulting to watch . After awhile , it wasn't even entertaining . . . . the worst sin of them all for fantasy-adventure movie . To use another descriptive word , this film - like Jackson's subsequent King Kong - was EXCESSIVE . By overdoing the action , the awesome-looking creatures and the wonderful special-effects that captured the LOTR audiences for the first two movies , ended this trilogy on a sour note . Too much violence translates into " boring . " I also got tired of seeing a 99-percent dead " Frodo " somehow still managing to go on and on with these never-ending agonizing looks on his face and his little tearful buddies crying their eyes out constantly . Enough already ! Finish the story ! This was overkill of the worst magnitude and an almost needless last three hours of a great story . |
522,632 | 4,445,210 | 147,568 | 5 | ' Ol Man Winter Gets Buzzed | Overall , this was a decent cartoon , nothing extraordinary but one that had some very good individual moments . You'd see something really cool , and then not much would happen for a minute or two and then something dramatic and fascinating would be shown again . The artwork in the beginning was original with trees slowing turning into sexy shapes of dancing women . We see minotaurs ( half bull-half man Greek mythological creatures ) playing polo and everyone is happy that winter has been changed to summer . However , a violent and nasty ' Ol Man Winter returns and the only way to stop him was bees ! Huh ? Hey , it's a cartoon . This cartoon was viewed on a DVD called " Cartoons That Time Forget : The UB Iwerks Collection Vol . 1 . " |
525,092 | 4,445,210 | 70,616 | 5 | A Nice Film , But Dull & Preachy | What started out as an exciting adventure story wound up being nothing but a preachy environmental film . You could have almost made this into a documentary with the obvious agenda of the filmmakers . Hey , I'm all for keeping the beautiful and helping the horses , too , but that's that what this is advertised . The film begins with some beautiful Colorado scenery and an intense , intriguing scene of a small lane scaring two kids and some wild horses . It quickly levels off into a boring " Save The Wild Mustangs " environmental message and the film totally loses steam by the halfway point . By then , it should have been " Save This Film . " At least , unlike most films in the early ' 70s , it's a nice movie with no objectionable language . It wasn't horrible ; it just needed some punching up after that good start . |
525,287 | 4,445,210 | 26,197 | 5 | The Good & Bad Of ' Charlie Chan In Egypt ' | I did not like this one on the first viewing , but I had a very bad tape which didn't help . With the DVD ( part of recent Chan Collection that came out in 2006 ) I enjoyed this more , thanks , in part to have the option of English subtitles . I still think this is a slightly sub-par Warner Oland-edition Charlie Chan , but only because I think so highly of the other films . It did have some excellent suspense and strange characters and is known because of the appearance of young Rita Cansino who would go on to star status as Rita Hayworth . THE BAD - None of Charlie's kids are here to help him out , and that's a loss . Instead , for humor , we have Stepin Fetchit with his mumbling drawl and unfunny character ( unlike Mantan Moreland in later Chans , even though both are horrible black stereotypes of the day . ) Worse than the above , we have a shrill , hysterical female lead character , " Carol Arnold " ( Pat Paterson ) who got on my nerves , big-time ! That's almost another stereotype of the period : women who fall apart easily and act like overemotional cripples . After a few of these outbursts , I just hit the mute button when she went into her act . She had a brother in here who was almost as bad except he had far fewer lines . Also in here was the typical thing you saw more of in the ' 30s than in modern films : stories that dealt with the occult and a lot of superstitions . THE GOOD - The action was pretty good and this story gave us more of the weird suspects than what is normally provided . Not only weird people but strange scenes . Combine those with the usual Chan witticism's , profound statements and uncommon courtesy he gives everyone , and it's an entertaining film . I would never have recognized Hayworth if I hadn't been informed it was her . She played a dark-haired Egyptian woman . If you froze some frames and looked carefully enough , you could be convinced it was her , but it wasn't easy . She certainly wasn't the incredible beauty she would be in the next decade . |
527,437 | 4,445,210 | 52,311 | 5 | Want To Like This . . . . . But I Can't | Touch Of Evil I should really like movie since I am big fan of film noir and I like Charleton Heston , Janet Leigh and Orson Welles . . . . yet I did not , and I gave it several chances . It's just too grungy for me , leaving a bad taste in my mouth . Maybe it's Welles character that turns me off so much . He is one of the most repulsive-looking villains I've ever seen on film , a disgusting , ugly , fat dirty cop with this horrible voice who oozes slime . Yechh ! Villains can fun to watch but this guy is no fun , believe me . Pass the mouthwash ! The story was unpleasant , too , filled with innocent people being accused of crimes , women with kidnapped and drugged . . . . just a very sordid feel throughout this film . Some people like sordid stories . I don't . The best part of this film , at least to me , was the camera-work . With Orson Welles , you always get interesting camera angles and great photography . That I appreciated . I appreciated the cast , too , but never could buy into Heston playing a Mexican . It just doesn't look or sound credible . Leigh is a pleasure to watch , however , and it was great to see Akim Tamiroff , Paul Douglas and Marlene Dietrich all making contributions . I wish I could like this film . I really do . |
526,641 | 4,445,210 | 412,008 | 5 | The Only Below-Par Bocelli DV | The popular opera-pop singer gives tribute to his home town and his family in a series of videos accompanied by almost a dozen songs . This is pretty short at 53 minutes and I found it not up to the standards of his concert programs . However , all the songs are nice , mellow and well-sung , as usual . But , to me , some of the songs are marred by sounds from the accompanying video , such as horses making noises , people talking . This goes on during the middle of some songs and is too distracting . I want to hear Bocelli's voice - period , not horses whinnying at the same time ! There are some nice shots of the Italian scenery All in all , decent but nothing spectacular and below-par as far as a Bocelli offering . |
523,462 | 4,445,210 | 237,534 | 5 | Great . . . . Up Until Bias Reared Its Ugly Head Once Again | This was on its way to becoming part of my DVD collection until the last 30-40 minutes when religious bigotry reared its ugly head once again . All the villains turn out to be Christians ( Catholics ) . Every bad , every evil person is shown with a cross on them which is distinctly shown to make its point equating Belief with evil . All those villains mention God and prayers , of course . Atheists , whether they are French - as in the case of filmmakers here - or some other nationality , are never too subtle about their anti-God agenda . Meanwhile , the heroes - one in particular - had supernatural powers that heal and even resurrect ! In other words , that voodoo magic works - that's something you can believe in - but the prayers of thoughts of Believers , well , what a waste of time . The photography was magnificent , too . The dubbing on the DVD version I had was decent . This was a fine , horror-type Last Of the Mohicans story but with all the religious people shown as the bad and ignorant ones . Too bad they had to have all that bias because the story was interesting and moved well , especially for a long film . |
524,630 | 4,445,210 | 43,733 | 5 | Okay , But Certainly Not One Of Hope's Best | This was fairly interesting story with some decent laughs . . . . nothing to really dislike but nothing that would make rush out and buy the film , either . The characters were colorful in here and Bob Hope ( it's his movie ) had a number of funny lines , yet I didn't think the film moved that fast for some reason . Although not considered a musical , there were several songs in here by Hope and Marilyn Maxwell , none memorable . It did have a decent cast with name actors such as Lloyd Nolan and Jane Darwell and a bunch of ' character actors ' like Ben Weldon , Jay C . Flippen , Sid Melton and William Frawley ( of " I Love Lucy " fame ) . Overall , I wouldn't spend more than a dollar to rent it . |
522,471 | 4,445,210 | 77,889 | 5 | As A Character Study It Was Very Good , But Then . . . . . . . | Here is a yet another sordid , profane film of the 1970s . Within a few minutes , I can always tell a movie from the 1970s . It will have a grainy ( gritty ) look to it , have women with too much makeup , have an extreme hatred for Christianity and feature a lot of usage of the Lord's name in vain , also feature mostly scummy people and many times glorify them . Like " Magic , " the ' 70s - the first decade immature Hollywood could do what it wanted - went to excess . This movie is a great example of it . About a decade later , film writers calmed down on the religious bigotry and all the GDs and concentrated more on f - words and gore . They are a noble lot ! Even Ann-Margaret and a young Anthony Hopkins succumbed to the times , with an adulterous and potty-mouth performance , respectively , in this thriller . As for the story , a lame actor ( " Corky , " played by Hopkins ) trying to be a ventriloquist , only advances his career when the dummy becomes profane and nasty . Then , the NBC executive in the audience is impressed ! Well , some things never change . The movie did have some genuinely frightening moments as all horror films with " dummies " seem to have ( i . e . " Chuckie " ) . There is something really scary about a wooden dummy coming to life and terrorizing people , or its owner . If you really stop and analyze this story , there are gaping holes in it , especially when the dummy becomes alive . Before that , the film showed more intelligence by making the ventriloquist the mental case and the dummy just being what it is - an inanimate object . By stressing the character study of " Corky , " it was pretty fascinating . But then , it turned into what we would see later in those " Chuckie " films and subtleness and intelligence went out the window . |
523,461 | 4,445,210 | 209,958 | 5 | Fantastic Visuals But Very Sordid , Unpleasant Story | This film has some of the wildest visuals I'd seen up to the time of my first viewing of this in April of 2001 . The visuals were easily the highlight of the film . It isn't the story because that's too much on the sordid side . Sometimes , it's just plain too uncomfortable . It's another demented serial killer story , this one as sick an individual as I've seen , although , thankfully , there are not a lot of scenes with him . The switch is that he is captured early on but is in a catatonic-like state and unable to talk . His latest victim must be found quickly or she will die as the others did . The only way to find where this woman is stashed is by going inside his brain and try to solve the puzzle . That's Jennifer Lopez's role here as " Catherine Deane . " When she enters , the visuals are perhaps like someone on LSD , and they are very interesting , along with good sound effects . It's a bizarre story that keeps your attention , although gruesome at times . I haven't seen this film since 2002 and since then became a fan of Vincent D'Onofrio's detective character in Law and Order : Criminal Intent . I'm not sure I want to go back and see him as this sick killer now that I am used to seeing him as a " good guy . " However , I am curious about that . The bad points of the film , to me , were ( 1 ) a definite anti-Christian cheap shot in which it is shown that the killer was first " tortured " when he was baptized through immersion and held too long under water by his sadistic father . In addition to the obvious bias , it also shows you how theologically ignorant Hollywood is , thinking the parent does the baptizing . Wrong . Anway , in conjunction with that , the killer is shown ore as a young boy than any other period and then is seen to be a sympathetic figure ! Only with Liberals , is there sympathy for the sadistic killer more than his victims ! ! At least there is one cop in here who states that a horrible childhood doesn't have to turn someone into a sick killer . So th question for me wound up being : are the visuals worth putting up with the unpleasant story . The answer wound up being " no . " |
525,333 | 4,445,210 | 113,097 | 5 | ' Mickey ' Best On The Court | Billy Crystal was his normal funny self , evoking a number of laughs in here BUT , lest you think this is a comedy , it's more of a drama . . . . much more . I say that because much of this shows a courtship and a marriage . The courtship is romantic and cute , of course , but the marriage are not . Things don't work out between Crystal's " Mickey Gordon - " and Debra Winger's " Ellen " and many of the scenes with them arguing are not fun to watch . It fact , some are downright uncomfortable . I'm not a fan of Winger's low and raspy voice , nor seeing marriages crumble . Thus , my favorite parts of this film were all in the beginning , especially when " Mickey " was an NBA referee . A few basketball stars got a chance to act , too , showing they should stick with sports . Crystal is a big sports fan so I'm sure enjoyed that segment of the movie . Also commendable are the nice shots of Paris . I never get tired of looking at that city , no matter what film . |
525,652 | 4,445,210 | 35,015 | 5 | Watch This Instead Of Taking Sleeping Pills | I need to see this again . I only saw it once and was disappointed . Perhaps another look would help . In a nutshell , I loved the camera-work but was totally bored with the story . It's no surprise I liked the cinematography since Orson Welles directed . Actually , he not only directed but produced , wrote the script and narrated it ! He had his usual assortment of closeups and different camera angles , which I always enjoy . This story , an unpleasant tale of a selfish young man and his deteriorating family , drags more and more as the story unfolds . The nice people in the story , played by Joseph Cotten and Anne Baxter , are pleasant but on the bland side . Tim Holt's character is effectively annoying and Agnes Moorhead's is just plain annoying . I doubt how many people today would watch something like this unless they had insomnia problems . |
522,688 | 4,445,210 | 382,932 | 5 | Very Rich Colors Are Fantastic ; Mouse Is Great ; Humans Not So | I agree this Blu-Ray transfer is stunning , magnificent to view in many spots with very , very rich colors . Yet , I couldn't get into this story and was turned off my several of the main characters . I gave it two shots : on regular DVD and Blu-Ray and both times I never finished the film . I just interest . Only the mouse was likable enough for me . The humans were all too annoying to enjoy the film . These other characters were either too loud , obnoxious , nasty or irritating including the kid whom the rat helped ! In other words - except for the mouse - both the good and bad guys were unlikable . All they these characters did was give me a headache with all their yelling and screaming . You have to love the silent mouse , though . |
527,029 | 4,445,210 | 147,912 | 5 | I'm Sure 3-D Would Have Made This A Lot Better | Casper sees " the man in the moon " and he looks friendly , so he flies up there to meet him . When he gets there , he discovers the moon is just a bunch of rocks and craters . " Wow , " I am thinking , " the writers of this cartoon are way ahead of everyone since that's exactly correct as we found out for sure decades later . " However , as a tired Casper takes a nap , a bunch of little men spot him and capture him , a la " Gulliver's Travels , " except they take the " giant " in a crate When posting this review , I noticed under " trivia " that the king in this movie , " King Bomba , " was in Gulliver's Travels so I guess my analogy was right on . The story , as most Casper stories tended to be , is geared strictly for little kids . I understand this was made in 3-D which would have made it fun for adults to view , too , but I only saw it on a cheap DVD where the picture was decent but not noteworthy , and obviously not in 3-D . I swear I recognize some of the adult voices in here but the " cast " is not listed in on the title page . I would love to have seen this in 3-D . I'm sure it would have elevated my rating considerably . Otherwise , this is strictly for very young kids . |
526,783 | 4,445,210 | 34,845 | 5 | Liked The Slang , But Little Else | I love to hear the slang of the day , whatever decade , and this one has a lot of it of the ' 40s beginning with the title . For those you don't know , " hep " used to mean " hip " or " cool " or whatever . Here , it's cat who struts his stuff in words , song and dance . He spots this hot female feline and is smitten . The trouble is this stupid dog - and he is portrayed as really stupid at times , clever at other times - keeps interfering . Getting back to the slang : just read the note the Hep Cat receives one day : " Dear Gorgeous Hunk , If you would like to pitch some woo - come back to the fence for a rendezvous ! " I love it ! Words like " hunk , " come back around every other generation but " woo " has been out of our vocabulary since about 1950 . Unfortunately , this was the only funny thing in the cartoon . I enjoyed the artwork and the direction the humor was not much . There seems to be a big difference in a lot of these Looney Tunes , depending on the decade . The early ' 50s still hold up well today , but some of these ' 40s are too dated to be funny . |
527,117 | 4,445,210 | 105,219 | 5 | Lee Is Fine , But It's Still Grade-B Marital Arts Fare | I'm not into a lot of these martial-arts pictures pre - " Crouching Tiger , Hidden Dragon " years , but Brandon Lee was a cool guy to watch . What a shame this son of the famous Bruce Lee died so young . This picture was good . . . . for the first 15 minutes . Then it descended into the Rambo - mentality mode in which the good guys don't get harmed but all the bad guys do , despite 1 , 000-1 odds on that happening . In other words , this had no credibility . For example , six people are firing machine guns at Lee while our hero has no weapons . . . . . yet he escapes unharmed . Some of the action scenes look hokey , too . They are so much better these days . No disrespect for Mr . Lee , but it is this kind of movie that gave martial arts films a bad name in the general public for a long time . |
526,509 | 4,445,210 | 660,578 | 5 | The Good & Bad Of ' Night Court's ' First Episode | In this opening episode of a successful television show , we see the entrance of the new judge , a laid-back , blue-jean-ed young guy that is not what the other employees of a Manhattan arraignment court expected to see : judge Harold T . Stone , played by Harry Anderson . In fact , when he arrives the court clerk " Lana Wagner " thinks he's just a delivery boy bringing some of the new judge's belongings . " Harry " unveils himself as the kind of guy he is immediately with some rubber snake gag . When the first trial scene is ready to begin , the judge is a minute late and " District Attorney Dan Fielding " ( John Laroquette ) when asked what's holding him up , answers " probably a diaper change " which tells you how the others first looked at the boyish judge . Not having seen this show in a number of years , everyone looked pretty young to me , especially the guy who made the wisecrack : Laroquette . There were tons of one-liners in this show , some of them funny . No judge . obviously , would start his first case by asking everyone , " How the hell is everyone ? " That's the irreverence of the show and Anderson's character , a little too Liberal at times for my tastes . The main case is a woman trying to kill her husband after he's caught cheating with a prostitute . Harry takes the ultra-liberal approach which doesn't work but then does better when Harry becomes more of a marital counsel during the trial than a judge . The canned laughter was overdone with applause also added in a number of times , which is pushing it a little . Karen Austin overacted in her role as " Lana " and God's name was abused five times , which is one reason I haven't watch sitcoms in years . |
524,559 | 4,445,210 | 105,265 | 5 | Spectacular Scenery ; So-So Story | THE GOOD - Spectacular scenery , the kind outdoors-man Robert Redford appreciates ( and so do I ) : plenty of green in the beautiful mountains , streams , woods of Montana . Nature doesn't get a whole lot prettier than this . The minister in here ( Tom Skerritt ) is shown in a kindly light , which is a bit unusual with the secular film business . THE BAD - The story gets boring in spots , there is too much usage of the Lord's name in vain , mainly by the two sons of the minister , particularly Brad Pitt's character . The minister's sermons sound like secular humanistic poetry readings , nothing about Christ . It sounds like Redford wrote the sermons . |
522,846 | 4,445,210 | 52,357 | 5 | This Has To Be One Of The Most Overrated Films In History | I think I made more of an effort to try to really like this movie than any film I can think of . . . . and I finally have given up . There is something just unappealing about this story . I know two things : 1 - It's vastly overrated ; 2 - It's too slow . Jimmy Stewart is fine in the lead role . That's no surprise . But his character is anything but fine , having an affair with a married woman ( which never portrayed wrong by Hitchcock ) and doing a few other things that left the viewers scratching their heads in credulity . " How could he be doing this if . . . . ? " Wait , that doesn't make sense , " etc . were just some of the comments I've heard from people watching this film . Yet , despite the credibility this films holds a big fascination for a lot of people . I gave it several looks just to see if I wasn't missing som thing , that the story would become more attractive as I became more familiar with it . Well , it did piece a few things together but the movie never got appealing . The only attractive part was actress Kim Novak and the cinematography , especially the scenes under the Golden Gate bridge . That , and I always enjoy seeing Barbara Bel Geddes . I was sorry her role was so short in here . Overall , I still don't see what the fuss is about concerning this movie . The story leaves me as cold as the San Francisco fog . |
525,986 | 4,445,210 | 87,553 | 5 | Powerful Drama But Hard To Watch | It's been over 20 years since I saw this film and parts of it still haunt me . . . . . brutal , emotional scenes which I do NOT want to see ever again . It's just too gut-wrenching and uncomfortable to sit through a second time . Generally , it's two hours of suffering and torture . Who wants to watch that ? It IS a powerful story , though , based on the true life adventures of Dith Pran ( played by Haing S . Ngor ) who somehow survived the unbelievably-brutal regime of Cambodia dictator Pol Pot . Other reviewers here have detailed the storyline , so there is no sense me rehashing that . Suffice to say this is a movie that - be warned - is very tough to view in many spots - but will leave you emotionally drained . Ngor's harrowing performance is one to remember , as is the horrible story of what happened in the mid ' 70s in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge . This movie was filmed with Thailand and the scenery there , along with the excellent cinematography , makes this a visual treat . Some have complained that the film is too slow for them . Others didn't like this because it was overtly anti-American in some regards ( the bombing of Cambodia ) . I can understand those complaints . What bothered me most was that I just found the whole based-on-a-true happening story too sad . |
525,148 | 4,445,210 | 365,485 | 5 | Last Segment Totally Destroys The Film | I really enjoyed this movie for the first hour . It was quirky and totally unpredictable , thanks to Pierce Brosnan's strange character , " Julian . " However , when Julian knocked on the door late at the night in Denver , Colorado , at the house of his buddy " Danny Wright " ( Greg Kinnear ) , the film began to turn sour , and went down the dumper in a hurry . Julian now had overstepped his obnoxiousness and become unappealing . He had flirted with that throughout the first hour but always survived , but now he was downright rude and a pain in the butt . Making this really bad was Hope Davis , playing Danny's wife , " Carolyn . " Her character , in a flash , went from devoted , nice wife and ultra - profane " who is THIS person ? " and was insulting to any viewer with a brain . For ( about ) 20 years of marriage , she was clean-mouthed , and all of a sudden come a half dozen f-words out of her in about 20 seconds ? That typifies the whole last segment of this film , which really ruined a promising story that was looking good up until then . In a word : it has been " entertaining . " It was a stretch from the beginning , however , that a straight businessman like Wright would ever give the time of day to a drunken , super-rude swine like Julian , but I went along with it because it was fun to watch despite a few questionable homo-erotic scenes . However , when the film takes an abrupt left turn in Colorado , it lost its appeal with characters that had zero credibility . |
523,835 | 4,445,210 | 77,975 | 5 | This Picture Says It All | This movie should be in a time capsule . What better example to show the great progress Liberal thinking and influence had on the USA in the 1960s and 1970s ? By this time , it was official : anything bad is " ccol " and good is really bad . Got it ? This has it all : getting drunk every night is the goal ; vandalizing is fun ; being totally obnoxious and a slob is the only way to act and be cool ; make fun of any kind of authority , especially anyone connected to the ( ugh ) military ; make fun of anyone who is religious and party til you puke ! ! ! This is what life is all about and who better to show this than John Belushi . . . . the ultimate party slob ( until he overdosed on drugs and killed himself but , hey , at least he wasn't a phony actor just playing a role ) . Animal House - ah , the benefits of higher education ! |
523,750 | 4,445,210 | 43,503 | 5 | Great Start , But Disappointing After That | This starts off powerfully , with a very interesting scene and some excellent film - noir photography , but after the witness dies , so does the movie in many respects . From that point on , it's just a bunch of flashbacks . When the " live " scenes reappear , they are not always easy to discern what's going on . The film also becomes too talky too often . However , the characters are tough and generally interesting , with some good acting . Film-noir-wise , despite the presence of superstar Humphrey Bogart along with guys like Zero Mostel , Everett Sloane and Ted de Corsia , it's average fare for the day . it could - and should - have been better . |
524,386 | 4,445,210 | 25,780 | 5 | Sadistic Ghosts A Little Strong For Little Kids Viewing | This is a " ghost ship " story and not really anything that funny , at least nowhere as good as the normal Popeye cartoon by this time . It might be even a little bit too scary for small kids . Popeye , Olive and Wimpy come across this ghostly ship one day . ( The three of them seem to go out boating a lot , and wind up on desert islands . ) The boat has some humorous features , such as neon-type signs that change and floorboards which move up and down making music , but then its a mite sadistic as ghosts tie up our three pals and torture them , although not in any gruesome way . Yet still , as mentioned , it's a little dark for small kids to be watching . I sometimes think these early Popeye cartoons were made more for adults . Popeye then finally figures a way to fight these sadistic spirits , but isn't done in his normally-humorous fashion . |
523,542 | 4,445,210 | 60,738 | 5 | Being Blown Up Only Gets Him Dirty | This was okay , but nothing super and certainly not as good as the first two on the DVD " The Pink Panther Classic Cartoon Collection , Vol . 6 - Inspector Cartoons . One thing it had that the first two didn't have was a laugh track which is stupid beyond belief . I don't need to be told when to laugh at a cartoon . Fortunately , it was subdued , but the principle of it annoys me . This is a one-joke cartoon , that of " The Mad Bomber , " a little furry creature , planting bombs all over the place to blow up the Commissioner , the inspector's boss and the man who put the " boomer , " as Clouseau pronounces it , behind bars . The Commish gets blown up many times , but outside of getting soot all over him , he seems to survive each one with no problem . The best part of this cartoon , by far , was the artwork . There are some really good drawings in here , both of a big mansion and at the French Riviera and other places . It may not provide a lot of laughs , but it was a treat for the eyes . |
527,083 | 4,445,210 | 35,814 | 5 | Helium-Filled Moe Highlights This So-So Effort | The boys must produce a new " revolutionary " airplane , as promised , or they will be drafted into the military . This " short " has the semi-famous Moe-as-a-big black-balloon skit in which he first floats to the top of the room and eventually out a skylight window has to be shot out of the sky by Curly . It takes just over half the movie for the " Wrong Brothers " to get their plane , " The Buzzard , " out of the hangar . Before that are bunch of verbal jokes and a lot of slapstick where the guys take turns taking a beating from something or someone . There's the old " Oh , oh , oh . . . . . . oh , look " as we see the blades of saw all ruined after they were used on his head . That sort of thing . With all three of these bozos in the small cockpit as the same time , you know their flight is going to wind up a disaster . I was disappointed , however , to see the final three minutes is not original , a scene from a previous Stooges film called " Boobs In Arms . " There is no need for that kind of cheapness from Columbia Pictures . If you like the Three Stooges , you'll like this because it incorporates most of their sight gags and slapstick all within a 17-minute time frame , even if that last part is a " repeat , " which still is inexcusable and makes me downgrade my final rating of this . |
523,657 | 4,445,210 | 25,829 | 5 | Okay , But Not Really A ' Temple ' Movie | This is a billed as a " Shirley Temple film , " but it really isn't because she hardly appears in it . In fact , she doesn't appear until after 20 minutes have gone by , and then after the scene and a subsequent dance routine with James Dunn , disappears again until the very end . When she's here , she's as cute as ever , especially being so young . Warner Baxter had the main role as " Lawrence Cromwell . " He was assisted by his secretary played by a very pretty Madge Evans , whom I didn't know until trying to find out on this website because the video box doesn't even have her listed in the billing . The rest of the cast included a couple of people I was familiar with from other roles , such as Nigel Bruce , who played Dr . Watson to Basil Rathbone's Sherlock Holmes . We also have a lady who played Aunt Jemima and Stepin Fetchit , both a couple of embarrassing stereotypes of the period . I was never a fan of Fetchin , not for PC reasons but simply because of his whiny voice and stupid characters he played . He was the same here except when he dove into a fish tank , which made gave me a big laugh . This film had a good share of strange characters but , despite that , overall isn't anything that memorable . . . . perhaps because Shirley had such a small role . |
523,253 | 4,445,210 | 1,041,253 | 5 | Surprisingly-Boring For A Season-0pener | I can't recall , although there must have been at least one , any CSI episode that I could label as " boring . " The stories might get a little too wacky here and there - especially this Las Vegas one - but they never dragged . . . . . . until this one . Usually , a lot is going on in a CSI episode , whether it is one crime being solved or three at once . Here , however , it's just trying to find a person : CSI employee " Sara Sidle , " who is trapped underneath a car somewhere out in the desert . The question is " where ? " The only person who knows is the " Miniature Killer " who is in some sort of mental state in which she's unable to communicate . Thus , the whole show is trying to find out where Sara is , plus showing Sara trying to get out from underneath the car . Being a regular on the show since Day One , you know Jorja Fox ( " Sara " ) is going to make it , so I didn't feel much suspense . One just observes how she's found , and it's a very slow , drawn out story with very little , frankly , happening . |
523,775 | 4,445,210 | 18,061 | 5 | Not As Clever As The Earlier Ones | This was one of those cartoons that amused audiences a lot more 80 years ago than it does today . Oddly , I found that the Koko The Clown cartoons earlier in the decade a lot more clever than this late silent-film entry . Maybe Max and Dave had run out of ideas on how to make Koko and the " Out of the Inkwell " material entertaining as much as they were in the previous years . Who knows . However , it wasn't long after the " talkies " began that these guys hit it big with Popeye The Sailor Man , beginning in 1933 . Most of this story is simply about Koko and some other little creature - kind of strange - looking pup - going backwards and then making time actually go backwards for everyone else , animated or real ! It sounds better than it played . ( Showing slow scenes of everyday life : smoke going into a chimney , traffic going backwards , people walking backwards , etc . , really isn't humorous . . . . at least not in 2007 . Hey , you can't win ' em all . Most of these Koko cartoons I've watched have been super . |
522,992 | 4,445,210 | 96,028 | 5 | A Grim Subject | This is a movie made in India about a young boy who is forced out into the streets of Bombay , where he sells tea , associates with drug dealers , has his money stolen , on and on , good and bad - mostly bad . It's a depressing story with little to offer on the bright side . The video box said there is no sex , no violence and no objectionable language . Well , two-of-three ain't bad . I would consider the f-word perhaps " objectionable " to a few people . Amazing how out of touch movie producers and critics are . Speaking of critics , this film always gets high marks from them , so you know it's overrated . However , it is an interesting study of a depressing subject . That's the best I can describe it . |
527,366 | 4,445,210 | 933,357 | 5 | Life Is More Than ' Chance ' | This is an animated story about " chance " and " coincidence " ruling our lives , something the author apparently believes because it's stated by narrator in the first few sentences of the film that " we are all just seeds floating up there in the space waiting for someone to get us . " With an atheistic outlook like that , it's no wonder this won an Oscar for " best animated short . " Had the opposite belief been put into film , it wouldn't have stood a chance to be nominated . Anyway , Torill Kove , a Norwegian animator / filmmaker and current resident of Canada , gives us this " cute " story in which a series of circumstances all make for a happy ending . The illustrations are half the fun of watching this 15-minute award-winning short . They artwork is clean and colorful and a treat for the eyes . Liv Ullman does a nice job of narrating the film but I would have rather had a variety of voices . Having a female voice all the male characters sounded out of place . I wouldn't be surprised if Miss Kove did this story tongue-in-cheek , knowing that actually everything happens for a reason , not that all of life is sheer chance . No one is dumb enough to believe that , which is why this is a good fairy tale . |
523,083 | 4,445,210 | 60,862 | 5 | Some Nice Suprrises But Just So-So | After not seeing this film for almost 30 years , I was surprised how good the cinematography was , since I had mainly just remembered this as another Western with a good cast of famous tough guys . The rugged Mexican countryside took my attention as much as the story . Another big surprise was Robert Ryan . Noted for playing almost nothing but sadistic villains , Ryan turned an about-face here and plays the most humane person in the group , in contrast to other male leads ' Burt Lancaster , Lee Marvin and Woody Strode . All of these actors are fun to watch and Claudia Cardinale , although not the greatest of actresses , also fun to ogle . This is one of those transitional films of the mid 1960s , one that still was under a morals code but was pushing it to the limit . Another year or two and it would be gone altogether . So , language started to get rougher including the Lord's name in vain which slips in here a couple of times ; a plug for evolution ( Big Bang theory ) is given by Lancaster and there is a scene in which you see the side view of a woman's breast - all things that would prevalent in films in just a few more years . All in all , just a so-so story elevated by the presence of some very well-known tough-guy actors . |
524,042 | 4,445,210 | 96,061 | 5 | Not Your Family Scrooge Story , But Has Its Moments With Murray | This was a pretty entertaining update of the famous " Scrooge " story . Unfortunately , however , that update includes profanity which certainly isn't necessary for this famous story . When the special-effects start , the movie kicks in . Bill Murray is convincing in his role as the bad guy - Bill usually is entertaining , like him or not - and Karen Allen is winsome when she flashes that pretty smile . Two minor characters are decidedly not funny : Carol Kane as the ghost is just plain annoying and Bob Goldthwait's voice is irritating . Like other versions of Scrooge , this one also has a touching ending . In fact , there are several very touching moments in this film despite the edginess to it . Then again , that's the message of the story . |
523,836 | 4,445,210 | 43,286 | 5 | Much Prefer This One To Re-Make | This was a nice film , nothing special , but certainly better than the terrible Disney re-make in 1994 . The baseball scenes were pretty good and they should have stayed more with that . They had footage from real-life Pittsburgh Pirates games and that helped make it look more genuine than most sports films that Hollywood made back in the 1940s . Paul Douglas was pretty funny , especially when he started " swearing , " mixing his sentences together so you couldn't understand anything he said . Once again , as was the case in a number of classic films , the story was going along pretty well and then a sappy romance ruins things . I'm all for romance but they are done so stupidly in most films , it's an insult to your intelligence . The little girl in the movie , " Bridget White , " ( Donna Corcoran ) was a cute , sweet little thing . She lives in an orphanage run by nuns ( Spring Byington and Ellen Corby are featured ) . It's interesting to note that all the pro-religious scenes in here were deleted in the 1994 Disney version . The villain of this movie turns out to be the baseball announcer , of all things . Keenan Wynn plays the role so effectively you want to reach through the television and punch this guy out ! |
527,457 | 4,445,210 | 113,627 | 5 | Sleaze In Stylish Form | I waited a long time before I saw this award-winning movie . Everything I had read about it led me to believe it was a depressing film . Most films about alcoholics aren't pretty and this was about an alcoholic AND a down-and-out hooker , so how much fun could it be ? Maybe because I expected the worst , I found it a pleasant surprise . Sure , the two people weren't exactly " winners " in life but the movie wasn't that depressing , was it ? And the film had style and good acting performances from the two leads Nicholas Cage and Elisabeth Shue , right ? Yes , but " on further review , " as they say in the pro football telecasts , my review has changed 180 degrees . I must have had too many drinks like " Ben " to like this movie in first place . Hey , I am far from any prude but this is nothing but slickly-wrapped soft porn . It's Sleaze with , yes , a capital " S . " I can't even describe half the stuff Shue described in this movie , casually discussing almost every sexual act you can think of . Maybe that's cool to critics like Ebert , who thought this was the number one movie of the year . it's just another example of the sick state of mind in the film world , from filmmakers to actors to critics , where " pushing the envelope " is the way to go . It started escalating with " Midnight Cowboy " getting the Academy Award and keeps going , through American Beauty and the sleazy films you saw nominated for this year's Best Picture . Cage won the Academy Award for Best Actor here , and I don't have a problem with that . Shue was equally as good but I found out more than one viewing is like having too many drinks - " not good . " It's sad to see soft-porn sordidness because stylish . |
526,205 | 4,445,210 | 78,446 | 5 | Hey , Man ! | This was an appropriate movie for the 1970s where long hair , drugs , wild clothing , war protests and just all-around rebellion against authority was the cool thing to do , although that's been a part of society since Adam and Eve . In this film , we have the famous Hippie " brothers " of the era : Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong ( " Cheech and Chong , " as they were known back then ) with a story strictly about getting stoned . Actually , there are some very funny scenes in here , such as these two clowns smoking the huge , huge joint while driving down the road . Then , we see the car almost white with smoke and the two guys so stoned they don't realize they are parked . That , and a couple of other scenes were funny but overall it's predictable in the negative aspects : language ( Strother Martin uses the Lord's name in vain four times in the opening minute of the film ) ; sleazy sex and nudity ( I think " gratuitous " is the word ) and the general irreverence of the period ( ' 60s and ' 70s " counterculture " ) . And . . . oh , yeah , the two boys finish every sentence with the word " man . " Well , all I can say is the film had it's day , man , but is a bit dated by now , man ! |
525,529 | 4,445,210 | 113,552 | 5 | Okay , But Just Too Hard , Too Nasty For Most People | This is not the 1947 film but a 1995 re-make of the famous gangster flick of the same name . While the classic film had one brutally nasty guy , this one has a whole cast full of them . . . . too nasty , frankly . I watched this once and was fairly interested in it . A couple of years later , took a second look and found it so sleazy and I couldn't finish it . David Caruso , who obtained a lot more fame in television shows than movies , still was interesting for me to watch as he played Victor Mature's old role . Caruso is one of the better actors I've seen when it comes to expressing his emotions just by his facial looks . It seems fashionable to knock him , but I've always been a fan of his work . Nicholas Cage plays Richard Widmark's psycho character " Tommy Udo " but is called " Little Junior Brown " in this film . Personally , I liked Widmark's performance and character much more . A lot of people , especially 20-somethings , like these modern tough films with brutal characters and tons of profanity , but the characters in this movie were so nasty that the film never really caught on with anybody . It certainly had one thing going for it : a very good cast that also included Samuel L . Jackson , Michael Rapaport , Ving Rhames , Stanley Tuccki , Helen Hunt and Kathryn Erbe . To summarize : it's not that bad : it just has too hard an edge to it . |
523,385 | 4,445,210 | 52,792 | 5 | Riveting Back In ' 59 ; Not Much Now | When I was a very young teen , I saw this in the theater and was just awed . The different segments were very dramatic and stayed with me for decades . So after a long , long absence , seeing this again in the late ' 90s turned out to be a major disappointment . As a kid , this movie was exciting , but it sure isn't now . It's two-and-a-half hours long and moves pretty well but too much time is spent on the marriage of Jimmy Stewart-Vera Miles ( " Chip and Lucy Ann Hardesty " ) . As one who watches a lot of modern - day crime movies , it was odd to see one with absolutely no profanity in it and very little blood , but that's because it's a 1959 film . We see the FBI cracking down on the KKK , anti - Native Americans , the Communists , spies , etc . Some of those parts are exciting , but nothing like when it came out almost 50 years ago . Now , it's almost ho-hum stuff . For me now , this movie is more of a nostalgia piece than anything else . Frankly , I doubt if I would watch it again . |
522,448 | 4,445,210 | 35,583 | 5 | Yes , Rita Never Looked Lovelier , But Story Was Never As Stupid ! | Boy , here we go again . It's too bad they had to have just stupid stories in these Fred Astaire movies , especially with the gorgeous and talented Rita Hayworth as his partner . Ginger Rogers was great in her roles as Astaire's most-often dance partner but nobody looked as awesome as Hayworth in the early-to-mid ' 40s . In one of the numbers here , she wears a short mini-type skirt so you also get to enjoy her great legs . Her dance scenes with Astaire are almost worth the price of the film . I say " almost " because , as usual , the story was stupid , insulting anyone's intelligence and not fun to watch . Adolphe Menjou spent the entire movie being gruff and crabby , anything but entertaining . The romance angle was typical for it's film era , which is not a compliment . Just fast-forward to the dance scenes and you have a film that's watchable . |
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