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524,398 | 4,445,210 | 114,369 | 8 | The Good & Bad Of ' Se7en ' | I am shocked that I watch , much less own , this movie , and as often as I do . It's so dark , so uncomfortable to watch in many spots and so profane ( although I use a TV Guardian ) that it's not a very likable story and film . . . . . but I find it fascinating . Let's continue on with the bad , and the good , of this film - at least from my vantage point . THE BAD - As a Christian , I get tired of seeing the villains , the sickest of serial killers , portrayed as Christians . It's unbelievable Hollywood bias that would never be tolerated if minorities were the constant victim of this kind of prejudice . In case , you don't get the message they even pass by a brightly-lit neon cross in the guy's room ! That , and another cheap shot about a Southern Baptist being the killer , and comments about the sicko " preaching a sermon " plus Kevin Spacey's talks about people's sins . . . . all are designed to portray a sick killer as a religious nutcase . Also , for further Liberal slants , good-guy Morgan Freeman is talking to Gywneth Paltrow at a neighborhood diner and he relates having talked an old girlfriend into having an abortion which Freeman says , " to this day , I am positive it was the right move . " Yet , he also says it was a mistake and he regrets it . Huh ? ? Other negatives include too many f-words and usages of the Lord's name in vain , mos of them said by Brad Pitt . There are also several really , really downright gross scenes in here . If you don't expect them , you can easily be shocked with these disturbing images : some very sick pictures of tortured and mutilated bodies . THE GOOD - Despite all of the above , the story - as shocking and sordid as it is - is a fascinating one . It gets you so involved that it's almost impossible to put down , even with the unpleasant scenes . The finale is memorable , too . I also appreciated the wonderful cinematography in here . There are some strange colors in here but it all looks fantastic on the special-edition DVD . Spacey was relative unknown in his acting career at this time was riveting in that final 30 minutes when he had his speaking lines . All the actors in here are excellent . This is a film that is impossible to forget . OVERALL - As a friend once told me , " This movie is very disturbing . " It's also extremely interesting , but beware it's not easy to watch . |
526,165 | 4,445,210 | 44,486 | 8 | Olivier Elevates This Solid Soaper Big-Time | This was a pretty powerful melodrama , thanks to the great performance of Sir Laurence Olivier . Olivier plays an unhappily-married older man who falls for the young and beautiful Jennifer Jones ( not hard to understand ! ) . . . . . and pays a huge price for his adultery . Olivier is near-mesmerizing in this film and Jones is absolutely gorgeous , as she was in " Portrait Of Jennie , " made about five years prior to this film . Eddie Albert was a bit annoying ( but effective ) in his role and Miriam Hopkins is downright brutal in her small part as Olivier's wife . The shocking thing about this film was the subject matter , rare for its day . It was ahead of its day in one respect : it makes the adulterers into the sympathetic " good guys . " I'm surprised that got by the censors of the day . Jones ' character is oddly innocent for someone " shacking up " with Albert . I am not a fan of soap operas , but this was highly involving , a tough story to put down once it started I didn't particularly like the ending , but are you gonna do ? Note : One of the scenes near the end was inserted on the DVD . It had previously been cut out of the theatrical release . That " flophouse " scene was one that was not passed over by the censors . |
525,978 | 4,445,210 | 86,465 | 8 | ' Trading ' Good & Bad News | Good news and bad news about this semi-famous comedy from the 1980s : BAD NEWS - Hollywood's liberal slant was all in here , in full force of its stereotypical characters it likes to present , such as ( 1 ) the hooker who is beautiful and has a kind loving heart ; ( 2 ) the black guy who , despite no training , all of a sudden is smarter than all the white guys in the financial world ; ( 3 ) all rich people are snooty while the lower class are nice and good-hearted and , ( 4 ) several cheap shots at Christianity . I also was sorry to hear two veteran classic film actors such as Ralph Bellamy and Don Ameche spout of bunch of profanity near the end of the film . It really degraded these veteran stars . GOOD NEWS - Despite all the baloney above , this was an extremely entertaining and funny movie , start to finish , so much so that it gets away with all the above ( to those like me offended by it ) . All the actors in here are fun to watch and there are a number of laugh-out-loud scenes . Of course , with Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd , that's not surprising . Murphy gets the bulk of the laughs . It's really his movie . For the guys , however , Jamie Lee Curtis is one to remember here . |
522,457 | 4,445,210 | 120,903 | 8 | A Treat For The Eyes & Ears | Special-effects and terrific 5 . 1 surround sound are the highlights of this science fiction film . And what highlights they are - tremendous in both categories , at least for 2000 when this film and DVD came out . At the time , they were the best special-effects I had ever seen , but strides are being made so fast in that category that every few years we movie fans are stunned at something new we see . Audio-wise , the rear speakers come into to play as well as any movie I've heard . As for story , once the beginning plugs for evolution and political correctness are over with , it is a simple good guys-trying-to-get-the-bad guys fare . It's pure escapist fun made so with tons of sci-fi effects . The characters aren't particularly involving , either the " good guys " or the " bad guys . " The two leads , played by Hugh Jackman and Anna Paquin , should have been , but weren't . Jackman's " Logan / Wolverine " always seemed to be pouting and angry , but I guess he's a favorite of females . For me and most males , Rebecca Romjin-Stamos was a treat for the eyes . Her outfit was something to behold . If profanity bothers you , the film was treat in that department , too , as there was very little . Obviously , this film was popular enough to spawn not only a sequel but more in the making . |
522,795 | 4,445,210 | 166,896 | 8 | A Shockingly-Straight Story From David Lynch | A truly nice story with a moral about brotherly love describes this odd David Lynch film . This was especially " odd " because it wasn't the kind of film Lynch had been putting out in the last 15 - 20 years . Those were dark and shocking films ( Blue Velvet , Wild At Heart , Mulholland Drive ) and this is the opposite . I know it disappointed a lot of his fans . Others were delighted by it . Count me as one of the latter , and I own all three of those " dark " films , too . This was another supposed-true life story , here detailing an elderly man's trip in a seated lawnmower from western Iowa all the way to Wisconsin to see his ailing brother who he hasn't talked to in years but wants to see before the latter dies . Well , I guess that premise - an old man driving a lawn mower 400 miles - still makes this an " odd " film of sorts , so Lynch stays in character with that ! Richard Farnsworth plays the title role . He is the type of guy , face-wise , voice-wise , low-key personality-wise , that just about everyone likes . The wrinkles on his face tell many a story . It was so sad to hear what happened to him in real life a year after this film was released . The first 25 minutes of this film isn't much , and not always pleasant as it shows the main character's adult and mentally-challenged child ( Sissy Spacek ) and her tragic past , but once Alvin Straight ( Farnsworth ) begins his trip , the story picks up . I played this for several friends and they thought the film NEVER picked up , but I am more generous with it . I think it's a hidden gem . To them , it was a sleeping pill . I found his trip pretty fascinating but you have to realize in advance this is NOT going to be a suspenseful Lynch crime story . It IS slow and if that's okay with you , you might like this . Charm enters the picture in some of people Alvin meets along the way , such as a wayward young girl running away and some nice town folks who help the old man out when he gets in trouble . ( Henry Cada as " Daniel Riordan , is a standout in that regard . ) Harry Dean Stanton gets third billing , but that's a joke : he's only in the final few minutes of the movie ! The Iowa scenery is pleasant . I lived there for several years and can attest to the rolling hills and the rich soil . It's a nice state with nice people . . . . like this movie . |
524,658 | 4,445,210 | 120,915 | 8 | Generally Enjoyable , Highlighted By Pod Race ; A Tip - Use Subtitles | I believe George Lucas said he was inspired by the chariot race in the 1959 epic Ben-Hur , and thought of it often when he staged the big pod race scene in this movie . So , when I watched the film again the other day , the third or fourth time I've seen it , I kept looking for comparisons . Well , suffice to say nothing will surpass that chariot race , which had no benefit of any special-effects while this was almost all computer-generated . Nevertheless , the pod race in here was a lot of fun to watch , had excellent surround sound , was exciting and the highlight of the film . Oddly , in this movie instead of a man you have a small boy as the good guy - driver , so to speak . Young Jake Lloyd who plays " Anakin Skywalker . " He's the key character in this Star Wars saga , the boy who later becomes the father to Luke Skywalker and winds up being revealed as Darth Vader . But . . . . this is long before thatThis movie , the first Star Wars movie after a long hiatus ( 16-years ) disappointed a lot of fans but I thought it was entertaining overall . My main complaint was trying to understand " Jar Jar Binks , " but on the DVD I can use English subtitles and thus understand all the strange things he says with his Caribbean accent . It makes the movie more enjoyable and I strongly recommend doing that . As usual , there is a ton of astounding visuals in here , all kinds of strange characters and excellent " effects . " Yes , the action gets hokey in spots , especially near the end , but what modern-day action film doesn't ? Liam Neeson makes for a solid male hero and Natalie Portman is a appealing as Queen ( Padme ) Amidala . Lloyd is no Haley Joel Osment , but what can you do ? At least his character wasn't some brat , and he's tolerable . He has acted in much since then , although I saw him in a nice movie called " Madison , " with Jim Caviezel . People who are really " into " this Star Wars saga , and take it seriously , were , as mentioned generally let down with this movie . I guess they expected a lot more after waiting so long for the next installment . I just watch it for the enjoyment of an escapist film and as someone who usually enjoys good visuals . I repeat : put on the " English subtitles . " That helped a lot , believe me . |
522,661 | 4,445,210 | 36,706 | 8 | Very Good Noir Photography In Here | This movie has some of the best film noir photography I have seen in all the Charlie Chan entries . This is one I am still waiting to have issued on DVD , so I can enjoy those visuals . Storywise , it's a decent story with an interesting cast of suspects . My complaint is fairly minor : it is a little below-average in the amount of humorous Charlie Chan proverbs that we Chan fans love so much . Otherwise , I enjoyed the movie . Although not Charlie's official chauffeur-assistant in here as he was in most of these Monogram Chan films , Mantan Moreland ( " Birmingham Brown " ) plays his usual role as a guy helping out and adding humor . He's a likable guy as are all of Charlie's kids , two of them joining in this mystery . We get Number Three Son " Tommie " ( Benson Fong ) and daughter " Iris " ( Marianne Quon . Chan's kids are always nosy , goodhearted and , in the latter-day films , not that helpful . A few quick action scenes help keep things rolling and , as usual , we get Charlie's summary of the case at the end in which our hero exposes the crook . Overall , is this a great Charlie Chan film ? No , it's average . . . . but just average is still good to me . I love these films and hope all of them eventually are available on disc . |
523,708 | 4,445,210 | 52,140 | 8 | Kind Of An Odd ( But Still Good ) Late-Entry Tom & Jerry | This is a Robin Hood story about Jerry and his pal Tuffy getting their famous pal ( Robin Hood ) out of a jam . The authorities had caught the famous bandit and were going to hang him , but the little mice are determined to save Robin . Two things you see and hear grab your attention right off the bat : the beautiful , lush Sherwood Forest painted on the widescreen CinemaScope format and Tuffy speaking " the King's English . " Expressions such as " blooming " as in " let's crash the blooming party , eh ? " sound funny coming from Tuffy . By , the way Tuffy does all the talking ; Jerry says nothing in the whole cartoon . Tuffy is a bit rough with all the " blooming " this and that ( six times ) along with a few other marginal exclamations . His dialog was funny at first , then got annoying . That fine artwork , by the way , continues with some of the best I've ever seen in a Tom and Jerry cartoon , maybe even the best . Most of the story is Jerry and Tuffy trying to break Robin Hood out of jail while Tom , the guard , does his best to thwart them . The main gag is Tuffy trying to get the key to the cell out of Tom's stomach . Overall , this is decent . It certainly was different enough , regarding the normal Tom and Jerry cartoons , to be almost a curiosity piece . It wound up being the final one in the recently - released " Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection Volume 3 " DVD . |
526,459 | 4,445,210 | 95,050 | 8 | Heart-Wrenching Film | If you have any kind of heart and compassion for people , this is a tough movie to watch , at least in the second half of it . It's in that segment where we see nice little kid get beaten up and then a retarded ( mentally - challenged ) man go off the deep end after he witnesses this brutal act against the child . It's not pleasant material . However , it's a good movie and the acting is good , too . The story will sit with you awhile . " Dominick " is the mentally-disabled guy and is played by Tom Hulce . I think this might be Hulce's best role ever . He's looked after by a med student , " Eugene , " played by Ray Liotta , who became a star the following year with Kevin Costner's " Field Of Dreams . " Dominick is a goodhearted garbage man who reads " Hulk " comic books and loves wrestling . He's the type of " slow " guy that you can't help but love and root for to live a happy life . When he freaks out , it's for several good reasons and . . . well , see the film for the whole story . It's worth your time but be prepared to go on real emotional roller coaster and possibly be very upset at some things you see . |
526,877 | 4,445,210 | 52,149 | 8 | Familiar Storyline But With A Few New Wrinkles | Although this story takes place back in the old days of France , the storyline is one that was used many times in modern settings in Tom and Jerry cartoons : a threat by an adult to Tom to do something about " the mouse " or it was curtains for the cat . Usually , it meant being tossed out of the house but here , it's the threat of the guillotine if Tom doesn't make sure the " mouseketeers " don't keep quiet so the house-owner can go back to sleep . Whenever Jerry hears threats like that directed toward Tom , he does his best to make sure he gets the cat in trouble by doing what Tom's not supposed to do ( and one wonders why I and others root for Tom in these cartoons ! ) . Jerry has his little gray French mouse friend " Tuffy " with him so the two of them try to make as much noise as possible . We see some repeat sight gags such as Tom balancing a half dozen dishes on his paws to keep dishes from breaking , etc . Even though some of the cartoon is also a direct rehash from others as the early gags are very similar , there were enough original gags - and good ones - to still make this fun to watch . Tom provides the humor as he has to be on his toes , literally . The artwork in here is excellent and CinemaScope a good format to show it off . The colors are brilliant . One scene has the magnificent castle on the left and rolling purple hills in the background of lush yellow / green grass and wheat in the center and right . It's just beautiful . |
523,236 | 4,445,210 | 114,194 | 8 | Walken Makes This Preposterous Story Fun | This was a different kind of horror movie with bad angels as the main attraction . Actually , the main attraction is Christopher Walken in the role of " Gabriel . " He's extremely entertaining with his mixture of humor and evil . He admonishes people for profanity ! Of course , the theology in this movie is so preposterous it's hilarious . In movies like this ( actually almost all movies ) you aren't going to get Biblically-based stories , just a lot of mumbo-jumbo passed on as such . At least in the end , the hero of the film correctly identifies the warring angel as one doing so strictly out of jealously for God . That's Bibically accurate , but the rest of the theology here is totally bogus . You just hope people aren't gullible to believe this stuff . However , a lot of people probably don't know there are such things as bad angels , so that part is true . Theology-aside , this is a very entertaining movie . The language is tame but beware there are a couple of very gory scenes that might offend . The special - effects are good . Walken is a " trip " to watch and Virginia Madsen looks beautiful . |
526,974 | 4,445,210 | 44,313 | 8 | ' Great Horny Toadies ! ' | This is one of those Bugs Bunny versus Yosemite Sam cartoons except Sam , in this story , is called " Chilacott Sam . " However , it's the same loud-and-obnoxious two-gun sawed-off , red-haired and greedy " varmint . " In this cartoon , he's a " claim jumper , " a guy trying to steal other's gold discoveries up in Alaska . By the way , there is some beautiful artwork in here with all the mountain scenery . When he finds out Bugs has a green thumb-type magic touch for finding gold , Sam follows him and offers to be his partner . " All you have to do , " says Sam , " is find all the gold and I'll share it with you 50-50 . " " Honest and for true ? " responds Bug sarcastically while giving us - the audience - a look . " Well , what are we waiting for ? There's gold in them thar hills . " One of Bugs Bunny's favorite things had to be making an idiot of those who think they are putting something over on him . He likes to play dumb and then totally ruin the person . He's very sadistic at times and very funny ! I loved some of Sam's exclamations in here , such as the one you see in the subject head here . It was just one of many Sam used in this cartoon . |
524,399 | 4,445,210 | 114,214 | 8 | The Good & Bad Of ' The Quick And The Dead ' | Like the western " Wild Bill " that also came out around this time , this is a pretty wild , almost cartoon-like western . It has many pluses and minuses . GOOD - Great sound , interesting camera angles and very stylishly shot . The visuals and audio make it interesting alone . Add a simple but interesting story filled with wild cartoon-like characters and you have a fun , fast-moving film . Western purists will hate the movie because it's filled with over-the-top characters . The most interesting , I thought , was Gene Hackman as the villain and Russell Crowe as the good-guy " preacher " named " Cort . " Sharon Stone's character , " Ellen , " is very reminiscent of the one she played in " The Specialist , " a movie which came out the previous year in which - as in this movie - revenge is her main motive . BAD - This is only bad if you are religiously-inclined . The " preacher " in here is questionable as such . No real preacher uses the Lord's name in vain which Crowe did twice here . His theology also is not Biblically , more like clueless Hollywood stereotypes . Also , there was a bit too much of the feminist slant in here . Then again , since Stone co-produced the film , it's not surprising . Actually , her character - especially when she begins to soften a bit - is interesting , too . OVERALL - Despite the usual bias , the movie is fun to watch and entertaining . |
526,051 | 4,445,210 | 95,082 | 8 | Despite Sayles ' Slants , It's A Good Baseball Story | This was a well-done account of the famous 1919 Black Sox scandal in Major League baseball many years ago . The movie features an excellent cast and does a nice job of re-creating the era . The music of period is effectively used here , too , as are the interior and exterior of the ballpark . The most memorable players seemed to be pitcher Eddie Cicotte ( David Strathairn ) and infielder Buck Weaver ( John Cusack ) . Cicotte , being the ace pitcher on the staff , was the key player involved in fixing the 1919 World Series and Weaver stood out because he was made to look as a totally-innocent player who got unfairly blackballed from pro baseball . At least this is according to John Sayles , who directed the film . Sayles also shows " Shoeless " Joe Jackson , the most famous player of that scandal , to be just a naive , kind of dumb guy who didn't know what was going on . ( However , history records Jackson making an unusual number of throwing errors in the field , which makes him suspect . ) Sayles also goes out of his way to make Chicago White Sox owner Charles Comiskey as a notorious tightwad who invited this sort of thing ( players taking bribes ) by grossly underpaying his players . They also make a point of showing him screwing Cicotte out of a big bonus . The filmmakers almost make the crooks into the good guys ! Gosh , Hollywood would never do that ! So , as you can see , so don't take this story as " gospel . " I'm sure some of it is very true , but how much ? The baseball scenes are realistic in the field but aren't all that credible pitching and hitting . Note : Sayles has an acting role in here as does real-life sportswriter Studs Terkel , who isn't a bad actor ! Michael Lerner , Charlie Sheen , Christopher Lloyd , Michael Rooker , Clifton James all add to this deep cast . |
524,275 | 4,445,210 | 24,586 | 8 | Flip's Drug Store , Where The Celebrities Hang Out | Flip is the owner of a brand new drug store , and you'd think it was the Academy Awards night . There is a spotlight , a red carpet and a list of celebrities that all show up for this momentous occasion . We get the normal ones you'd see in a Flip The Frog cartoon , namely Laurel & Hardy , Jimmy Durante , Charlie Chaplin ( or Eddie Cantor , I couldn't tell ) , The Marx Brothers ( all four of them ! ) , Mae West and a few I didn't recognize . Who knew that drug stores were that big a deal ? Anyway , we see some clever ways Flip serves these famous people at the counter . The frog makes a total fool of himself over Mae . Also inserted in this story is a flaming homosexual type . UB Iwerks often made fun of gays and had them look like the guy in here , so this cartoon will definite and justifiably offend members of that group . The gay guy drinks a strange potion and suddenly turns into a " Mr . Hyde " and demolishes the place before being squirted a " pansy spray " and returning to normal . There weren't many laughs in here but it was a fast-moving , entertaining cartoon and it's always fun to see these old movie stars parodied . The Marx Brothers all trying to drink - with four straws - a soda , was one example of the topical humor . |
525,021 | 4,445,210 | 86,383 | 8 | Harry Meets The Worst Woman Since Ann Savage | The fourth in the " Dirty Harry " series , this film features one of the most despicable , ugliest , unlikable , profane , disgusting females I have ever seen on film : " Ray Perkins , " played by Audrie Neenan . She is the modern nasty low-life version of the 1945 " Detour " character , " Ann Savage . " Her foul mouth and gutter attitude turned me off so much I never watched this film again until I acquired a profanity filter which shut her up . . . . and least some of her ! Then I could enjoy the rest of the movie . Everywhere " Harry Callahan " ( Clint Eastwood ) goes , violence immediately follows . . . . . within minutes ! It happens so often it's almost laughable but it makes for a fast-moving , entertaining film with a satisfying ending as all the scumbag villains are eliminated one-by-one . This is a very sophomoric film that appeals to our base instincts . . . . . and connects , sad to say . Most of us like to see these dirtballs get it in the end , and who does it better than Dirty Harry ? |
523,850 | 4,445,210 | 1,154,361 | 8 | From Tasers To Eeels : Shocking Stuff ! | Things that literally shock us are the topic in this edition of " Marvel Marvels . " Topics include the Taser gun , lightning , power lines , the electric chair , electrified fences , the " third rail , " Etc / defibrillators and electric eels . " Thomas A . Swift's Electric Rifle " became TASER , a gun that was invented almost 50 years ago but needed further work to perfect it . Now , Rick Swift and his Taser International have done just that , give us painful demonstrations and explanations on how it works . It's proved to have saved many lives . This opening segment might have been the most interesting of all the topics . The lightning section mostly dealt with how airplanes are made to safely protect themselves from lightning . As for power lines , we learned how 90 percent of the outdoor lines still are not insulated and how dangerous they can be . As far as the electric chair , it's rarely used anymore , its days long gone . In its history , only one man survived it , and that's because an operator of the chair messed up ( and was fired ) . The electrical fence , however , as installed in high-security prisons is doing well . . . . . so well that no inmates anywhere have even attempted to get past it . Touch it once , and you're dead . The rest of the topics were pretty boring except for the creepy electric eel , which is amazing creature . This fish has many interesting facets to it . |
524,537 | 4,445,210 | 24,601 | 8 | A Good Start To Check Out The Boys | There are a lot of funny scenes squeezed into one of the thinest " plots " you'll ever see in a story . Our heroes - Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy - simply want to go to the annual convention of their group - " The Sons Of The Desert " and want their wives ' approval to make the trip . As it turns out , they go anyway and , well , it's one wild scene after another . Along the way , we see all the trademarks of these two famous comedians : Laurel scratching his head , crying when in trouble , having the better heart of the two and providing some clever slapstick and dialog . Hardy does his normal routine , too , with the dirty looks , the scheming and the pratfalls . The women are the bosses and Hardy's wife is the toughest of the two , throwing plates at Olllie's head ! These are tough old bags . Oddly enough , on the second viewing of this film I found a bit slow going , which I didn't find the first time . Charley Chase , a famous silent comedian , is also in the film as are a few things you wouldn't associate with Laurel & Hardy : some sexual stuff ! Really ! There is a dance number in the middle of the film where I swear I saw a see-through blouse on the main dancer . Also , there was a play - on-words here about some woman " who likes to pump the organ . " Well , this film was made a year or so before the Hays ' Code went into effect . At any rate , if you have never seen the famous duo , this is a good place to start . |
524,838 | 4,445,210 | 36,631 | 8 | Crazy Baseball A La Avery | Being a Tex Avery cartoon , I wasn't surprised this was clever and had some laughs . Tex was one of the best . This baseball story is played at " W . C . Field . " ( We then see a disclaimer stating " The guy who thought of this corny gag isn't with us any more . " ) The game pits " The Yankee Doodlers " versus " The Draft Dodgers . " As you can tell , this one is REALLY corny . . . . but it sure is fun to watch . It's another of those baseball cartoons that mainly feature the pitcher , his assortment of pitches , and problems with the batter and umpire . This one also has a strange , " sad " ending ! This animated short was one of the features in the Jimmy Stewart baseball movie , " The Stratton Story " DVD . |
524,175 | 4,445,210 | 44,404 | 8 | Underground Scene A Change Of Pace | This is more of the same thing that made this cartoon popular . . . . . but who's complaining ? It's always fun to see the poor coyote try various contraptions to get the Road Runner , and then get pulverized by every one of those inventions . The underground cave chase was different from the normal fare and was clever . It gave us an aerial view of the chase in a maze-like structure . I didn't say it was hilarious ; just different from the normal above-ground antics . This one , along with some other Road Runner shorts , are featured on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 2 and the transfers of them are spectacular . The colors are magnificent . |
524,219 | 4,445,210 | 44,413 | 8 | Stewart , Adams & Mann : A Good Combination | Now that this is out on DVD , I hope to be able to view this on a better format : widescreen and a clearer prettier transfer . As with many westerns , there is a lot to like visually . That includes Julia Adams , who plays one of the leads : " Laura Baile . " Adams was a decent actress and had a very pretty face . I wonder why she never made it as a " star ? " Overall , this classic-era western has a pretty good story , a good cast led by James Stewart , and enough action to keep ones interest for the hour-and-a-half . I enjoyed most of the characters . Arthur Kennedy , Jay C . Flippen , Rock Hudson , Lori Nelson , Stephin Fetchit and Henry Morgan all comprise a well-known cast . My only complaint was the " Rambo mentality , " with two scenes in which good-guy Stewart should have been easily shot , but wasn't . In summary , pretty good storytelling and one to have in your collection if you are a fan of westerns , especially when Anthony Mann is the director . He and Stewart teamed up on several very good westerns in their day , and this is one of them . |
524,311 | 4,445,210 | 86,197 | 8 | Real Heroes , And An Era That Went By All Too Fast | An interesting insight into the United States ' space program , beginning with the exploits of fighter pilot Chuck Yeager ( Sam Shephard ) and concluding with the dramatic flights of the first astronauts . Those astronauts - the Mercury 7 pilots - are a varied group of aviators and they are all pretty interesting guys . John Glenn ( Ed Harris ) gets favorable treatment in here among the group . Gordon Cooper might be the wildest with the cocky and humorous Dennis Quaid playing him . Overall , it's a good cast including not just the fliers but their wives . I also enjoyed Scott Glenn as Alan Shepard and Barbara Hershey as Yeager's wife . Yeager's feats were perhaps the most interesting and they set a fast tone to this 3-hour film as we witness him breaking several sound-barrier records prior to the formation of the astronaut team . Then we are treated to a long-but-interesting segment of how those first astronauts were trained . The only unnecessary and ludicrous parts of this film were the ones on Lyndon Johnson , where they made him into a total fool . It was as if the screen writers had a personal vendetta against him , to make him look almost like a cartoon figure . And the bit with the Australian Aborigines smacks too much of Hollywood's love affair with tribal religions . I sincerely doubt some sparks from a fire on earth could be seen miles and miles above in space . At any rate , this was an informative look at a period in our history than came-and-went way too fast . Sad to say , most people know very little about those first astronauts , who were true heroes . At least this film gives them their due , as well as to Yeager , who deserved this tribute , too |
523,005 | 4,445,210 | 94,924 | 8 | A Very Emotional Story | This is an extremely-powerful based-on-a-true story film that can be infuriating to watch . I say that because how brutal a hounding press can be to people , in this case an innocent Australian couple charged with killing their baby . Meryl Streep received a lot of recognition for her performance when this film came out but I thought Sam Neill was just as good . Let's just say they both were excellent but the role was little harder for Streep because she had to learn an Australian accent . ( She learned it so well I had trouble understanding her in parts . ) Without giving anything away , all I can say is this movie will wear you out emotionally . |
527,295 | 4,445,210 | 51,756 | 8 | ' Well , The Least You Can Do Is Get Me Liquored Up ' | With a title this corny , I was expecting a lot of laughs , a fun B-movie with Ed Wood-style film-making . Well , I got them , but that mostly in the beginning . The bulk of the film is quite serious and holds up pretty well , even today . The best lines , in the opening segments , come from " Marge " ( Gloria Talbott ) , the one I quoted for the subject head . She said that on her wedding night at the restaurant , since her new husband seemed to be ignoring her . You see , her hubby had already been taken over by an extra-terrestrial being the night before . He just wasn't himself after that . . . . . but who knew ? Unfortunately , nobody for quite awhile in this story , which made life rough for poor " Marge Ferrell . " The lines in this film weren't just corny . Some of them were downright funny . At the guy's bachelor party , which began the show , the men had some humorous lines about marriage and freedom , and later in the show there are a couple of funny scenes . Later one of Marge friends acts goofy and remarks , " I just love to rehearse for weddings , especially when they are my own ! " However , the story begins to get serious after the first 10-15 minutes and gets more and more so after Marge follows her husband one night and sees her odd-acting husband is not the man she thought she married . Laser beams and a spaceship will do that to you ! From that point , it becomes a very familiar story for fans of sci-fi : something we've seen in a lot of films the past 50 years - aliens transform into humans and one that hasn't gets burned by family and friends she trusts because she doesn't realize they , too , have also turned into aliens . In other words , this has a lot of " Invasion Of The Body Snatchers " type of paranoia story , just without the pods . " Invasion " was released two years earlier than this in 1956 . Hollywood , lacking imaginative writers the past few decades , continues to make films with the same storyline as you see here . , but this one can be excused because it was still fairly early in the genre . Thanks to the actors here , and a few different twists , the movie keeps your attention . The only frustration is to see a person telling the truth and not being believed . Talbott , to me , was a familiar face because she acted in many television shows in the 1960s while Tyron , who got some hype for starring in " The Cardinal , " a big-name film that bombed at the box office , wound up being a better writer than an actor . But when it comes to ' 50s sci-fi films , great acting isn't a requirement anyway , and most of us don't watch it for that . Overall , this is pretty good , nothing super but certainly worth a look now that there is a good DVD transfer of it available . Yes , it is far better than the stupid title but still : don't take it too seriously - just have fun with it . Note : the police captain was played by John Eldredge , a regular guest on " The Adventures Of Superman , " in which he almost always played a villain . Also ex-boxer Maxie Rosenbloom is his normal entertaining self in here , playing , as usual , a bartender . |
527,151 | 4,445,210 | 312,004 | 8 | Amusing , Inventive , Colorful & Predictable | This was very good , except for two things which I'll mention at the end . The animation is great , highlighted by Nick Park and company's trademark of exaggerated teeth and mouths of the characters , which make you laugh almost every time you see someone . The color was magnificent , too . The best part of the film , however , is the clever comedy woven throughout . This is another of these animated films in which there is so much to see and hear each frame that it would require many viewings to catch all the gags . It's just a funny exaggerated look at the oddball " Wallace " and his silent-and-smart dog " Gromit . " Along the way , it pokes fun people who get carried away with their vegetable gardens , something akin to how the obsessive dog lovers were pictured in " Best Of Show . " My only complaints were two typical traits of today's films , animated or not : 1 - let's make the cleric in the film look like a total idiot ; 2 - let's overdo the final action scene with the predictable result but way overdone . Those aside , this is still a very amusing film that should provide a lot of laughs to many people and a movie to enjoy multiple times . |
527,026 | 4,445,210 | 870,904 | 8 | Pepe Might Have Stunk But He Had Spunk | A romantic womanizer of the ninth degree is the way critic Leonard Maltin describes the cartoon character " Pepe LePew , " a creation of writer Michael Maltese and director Chuck Jones . Maltin loves the character's fake French accent and language and the fact that the locales for many of the cartoons have such a European flavor , especially French . These LePew cartoons have a lot of style to them . Film director Joe Dante says young people today have no idea Pepe is a parody of classic-era actor Charles Boyer . " It's the only link these younger people have with the famous actor , " he notes , " because they've never heard of Charles Boyer . " Everyone in this DVD bonus feature - about a half dozen people , compliment the work of Jones on these cartoons , even though most of the plot lines were all the same ! They point out the amazing colors , artwork and style they have over the other Looney Tunes cartoons . The men in here also comment about Pepe's always-optimistic personality and drive . Personally , I never though the cartoons were that funny but after listening to this behind - the-scenes documentary , I have a new appreciation of them . |
526,736 | 4,445,210 | 901,241 | 8 | From The Famous Astin-Martin To The Rocket Belt To The Q-Boat & More | Instead of showing all of the wild James Bond gadgets throughout his long film series , this program concentrated on 5-7 items ( but did mention others ) . The writers decided to break it down into five major categories : 1 - cars ; 2 - boats ; 3 - guns ; 4 - flying machines and 5 - covert spy gadgets . The car segment was focused on , as they said , " the most famous car in the world . " That would be the Astin Martin DB5 , made famous in " Goldfinger . " That was the auto which had machine guns in it , oil slick apparatus and other goodies never seen on screen before . We also see another really nice car from " Goldfinger " - the expensive " Rolls Royce Phantom 3 . " The featured boat is the sleek " Q Boat , " named after that eccentric maker of Bond gadgets in his movie , " Q . " We go to the USA Midwest and witness a demonstration of the boat and what it can do on the Kankakee River . Not many speedboats can go 80 mph and have 350 horsepower with a such a light load . It was seen in " The World Is Not Enough . " Later , we see other boats that were in other Bond films . The gun segment was mainly showing how guys are trained at a special tactical training school in the art of everything you see Bond do : fighting skills , weaponry , flying , boating , you name it . It's pointed out that no one in the world can learn all of these skills at an extremely high level ( but James Bond , of course ! ) Two flying machines are featured : the " Rocket Belt , " first designed and tested at Textron Corporation in Buffalo , New York , in the late ' 50s and early ' 60s , and then the " Auto Gyro , " a small helicopter-type machine that can be used anywhere . The " Rocket Belt " has been demonstrated all over the world . Put simply , a man puts this apparatus on , which is like a back pack , and - zoom - he's up in the air flying . The few men that have been trained to do this over the years are interviewed and seen from tests to performing at big events like the Super Bowl . Eighty-five year old inventor and flying of the Auto Gyro is Ken Wallis , who tells us and shows us what his cool machine does . " Little Nell " was the name of one of these flying machines , the one you might have seen in " You Only Live Twice . " Finally , we go to a store in Beverly Hills , Ca . , where a man demonstrates some of the gadgets they have in their " Counter Spy Shop . " These things are incredible , but seemed to me to be most valuable to crooks and cops , not everyday people . They have machines that can tell you if someone is in your house wearing " a wire ; " voice machines that can tell you if someone over the phone is lying ; whether your phones are being tapped ; machines to change your voice and see through walls , etc . , etc . Pretty neat stuff ! |
526,012 | 4,445,210 | 1,169,421 | 8 | Just Ask Joyce : No Justice Done In This Case | This is a tale of a woman being charged with masterminding a contract murder and spending three years in jail apparently for nothing . I say " apparently " because the case has never been solved but , as the narrator indicates , you'd have to be pretty dumb not to figure out the husband did it . He got away scot-free . The story takes place in Phoenix , " the Dallas of the desert , " as it's called here in this program . It has three million people and a lot of prosperity . It has tons of new folks arriving every day , and that's been going on for awhile . Hey , you can play golf all year and go skiing in the mountains . You have it all except beach-front property , as one resident says , " and that could happen some day with a big enough earthquake . " One of the people who came out West to Phoenix was Joyce Ross , who wound up marrying playboy Ron Lukezic . The story - in a nutshell - involves Ron and his business partner Patrick Redmond . The two disagreed on how to do their business and Patrick put the kibosh on a deal that would involve Las Vegas mobsters . Shortly thereafter , he was killed in his home . Three men were arrested but the major part of the story involves a mob squealer's story that claimed Joyce did the killing . The fact that it took three trials and three years before she could finally get out of jail makes you shake your head in sympathy for the woman . Once the first trial started , her husband hightailed it back to New York City , leaving his wife and three step-kids behind . Nice guy , huh ? Anyway , it's another interesting show but a frustrating one because there is no closure to this case . Justice doesn't always occur in this life and this is one example , unless something happens in the future . The husband was the only one who could benefit from the killing , as it is pointed out in this " City Confidential " program . Heck , even the guy who lied his butt off hasn't been punished . |
522,561 | 4,445,210 | 44,207 | 8 | For Its Genre , This Is Surprising How Good It Is - Nice Effort ! | First , this is a nice-looking film with a good DVD transfer . Seeing an early ' 50s sci-fi film Technicolor is nice . Also , having just watched - I'm not kidding - " Plan 9 From Outer Space " and " Invaders From Mars , " this George Pal film looked like multi-million dollar Oscar winner in comparison . Except for the ending scene , the special-effects were passable , the acting was good and the dialog pretty realistic . The story plausible ? Of course not , but what they did know of space travel in 1951 ? Hell , we didn't send a man on the moon until almost 20 years after this movie . No , this is not one of those popcorn flicks that " is so bad , it's good " or just plaint stink . No , this movie is just good . . . . . . period . . . . even today , almost 57 years later ! . This was a no-nonsense survival story without an overdone corny romance , no stupid or obnoxious kids nor goofy-looking adults . It had a solid reverence for God and to science at the same time , a realistic portrayal of people under stress and how they would react knowing their world was coming to end . For a mostly talky film , it moved fast with few , if any lulls . John Hoyt , who plays the wheelchair-bound millionaire " Sydney Stanton , " may not be a " name " actor but he's very good . Check his resume : it's awesome . The man was in about every good television show for decades . The man could act . So did the rest of this cast . Overall , this " modern " Noah's Ark story was a good one , and far , far better than your normal sci-fi flicks from the time period . Well done ! |
523,493 | 4,445,210 | 36,533 | 8 | Rags and Red Bring A Lot Of Laughs | If you like old-fashioned corny humor you'll love this . I'm hesitant to give a movie this silly , corny and stupid eight stars but I had to because overall it was fun to watch and provided a number of genuine laughs . In fact , some of the scenes were downright hilarious . A lot of it is innocent old-time slapstick and , if it entertains , it did its job . This was my first look at early Red Skelton films ( I had only known him through his TV show ) and it reminded of some Bob Hope films except this one had more slapstick and action . It inspired me to go out and buy other Skelton comedies on VHS but , unfortunately , none ever measured up to this one . The real star of film might not have been Skelton , anyway , as Rags Ragland , playing the chauffeur , had perhaps the highest percentage of funny lines . The baseball scene in here also was very good . Yes , this is stupid , generally-speaking , but it's really entertaining . If only two people have reviewed it ( as of my review ) then apparently a lot of people haven't seen this . That's too bad , especially with the older crowd , because they've missed a funny movie . |
527,226 | 4,445,210 | 51,825 | 8 | Solid Effort , But Was Academy Making Up For Lost Time ? | I agree with the reviewers here : this was good , but " the only Bugs Bunny cartoon to win an Academy Award ? " That is ridiculous . I can only surmise that it was similar to what has happened to many famous actors . They had never won an Academy Award so near the end of their careers , the Academy gives them them on Oscar to make up for past omissions . Here , " Bugs " gets rewarded for years of service , in reality . By the end of the 1950s , Bugs ' great career wasn't far from being over . This is a funny , beautifully drawn cartoon worthy of praise ; it's just not exceptional . In a nutshell , court jester Bugs Bunny makes a fool out of the Yosemite Sam a . k . a . The Black Knight , the latter guarding the treasured " singing sword . " Bugs has to get past the knight , his dumb dragon - who has a cold and a sneezing problem ! - to get the sword and return it to the good guys . Some of the jokes are inventive , some are old , but the story entertains all the way . It's also 30 seconds shorter than most LT Bugs Bunny episodes . Overall , it's still a solid effort . |
522,988 | 4,445,210 | 86,250 | 8 | Being A Gangster - It's Not All Glamor ! | I found this to be an interesting character study of a Cuban who comes to Miami and becomes a big drug dealer , rising from little to become a big-shot and wealthy . . . . and then destroy himself . The movie got panned at the time of its release for its excesses in profanity and violence . . . . but now since we've all become desensitized with decades of this stuff , the film is now almost reaching " cult status . " Amazing . The critics , meanwhile , loved " Casino , " which - profanity - wise , made " Scarface " sound like " Mary Poppins . " Go figure . Nonetheless , at the time , Al Pacino ( " Tony Montana " ) probably set a new Hollywood record for using the f-word in a mainline film , now topped by anyone who performs in a Martin Scorcese film . Pacino's wife , " Elvira " played by the beautiful Michelle Peiffer , wasn't a lot more wholesome than her husband . She got really brutal as the film wore on . If that language is no problem , you'll find the story quite interesting and a good study of how paranoia must wind up haunting most gangsters . It's a real down side to living the live of crime . Near the end , Pacino is going to bed each night with a gun his pillow . That's not how you want to get a good night's sleep . Anyone who thinks being a big-time crook is " the life , " should watch this film and pay attention . It may look like " crime pays , " but it doesn't , no matter how wealthy those gangsters are . I mention all this because this movie is perfect portrayal of how the paranoia of being in the drug business can do you in , as well as other problems that can do you in . It isn't all glamor . Even Pfeiffer's great face can mask the ugliness inside . |
524,262 | 4,445,210 | 350,258 | 8 | The Memorable Good & Bad Of Ray | Jamie Foxx does a fine job of impersonating the famous blues / soul / country singer Ray Charles . To the film's credit , it shows both the good and the bad regarding Charles ' character and the choices he made , both personally and professionally . This is a slick-looking film that provides you with a rich feel of the periods in which the story takes place . Not only does it look good , it sounds good . I only wish there was more music in here . When it's inserted , it's fabulous but there isn't enough of it . Assuming , at least for review purposes , that the story was true , I was impressed and disappointed with Charles , meaning the story left some memorable impressions since I'm writing this 16 months after viewing it . Main impressions include : GOOD - Re-living Ray's immense talent and his foresight to step out and take chances musically , such as going " country " for awhile . The man had supreme confidence in himself but didn't come across as arrogant about it . Also memorable was showing him beating his heroin addiction - with no help ! That's just amazing . BAD - I also remember through this film how easily hooked Ray got in the first place and disappointed he was so unfaithful to his wife . A really sad comment was that his wife was more upset with him for missing his kid's Little League games than she was for all the cheating he was doing on her , even fathering a child with a member of his singing group . The only negative I had with the filmmakers was the overemphasis of his problems being blamed on one early childhood event , the accidental death of his brother . That tragedy was used as cop-out for all Ray's misdoings as an adult , which is another example of a culture in which people refuse to take responsibility for their actions . Note : There is an extended version with the DVD but word has it that it is so poorly edited that it's not worth watching , so stick with the " theatrical version . " |
522,390 | 4,445,210 | 390,123 | 8 | A Strange Documentary About An Even-Stranger Person | This is a very , very strange story and even a different kind of documentary . From what I could see here , scanning the reviews , most of them were not favorable toward this . Myself , I found it slow in the first but more and more fascinating as it went on . It's just so bizarre , it's hard to know what to think as you watch this . When it was over , I found I was glad I took a chance on this DVD and will watch it again . But - it's not a happy experience . . . . . and it is a bit haunting . I would just comment on a few things : 1 - I agree that , considering the subject matter and strange character ( Henry Darger ) whom this is about , this documentary should have been more interesting ; 2 - I did not object to the artwork coming to life on occasion . It added badly-needed interest to the presentation . You never quite knew what you were going to see next , and I liked that ; 3 - I enjoyed the two main voices , those of Larry Pine and Dakota Fanning . Pine voiced Darger as an adult and Fanning was the narrator and represented the Vivian Girls . Although young for this kind of role and vocabulary , Fanning is an exceptional young actress and seems to handle to everything well . Both did an outstanding job and the two complemented each other nicely , too . 4 - I disagree with those who assumed Darger had no idea the physical difference between men and women , which is why he drew penises on the little girls . Come on - how naive can you be ? Everyone - even shut-ins - knows the difference , whether one is celibate his / her own life or not . People see nudity throughout their life , even in the most innocent of places such as statues in public parks , museums , galleries , almost anywhere . He knew . Lord knows why he drew what he drew but let that remain his business . 5 - The more one listens to this account , the more insane Darger appears . I wasn't totally sure of that until he went into his " weather " phase . Holy smokes , this man had problems ! It's sad , in a way , and is a prime example of how much an imprint your childhood has on the rest of your life . With a " normal " childhood , with a loving mother and father , would Henry have been a " normal " adult ? Anyway , I found his book - from what Dakota and the others read from it - somewhat boring and definitely depressing , to be frank . To me , in addition to being immense adventure story it is , it was just as much - if not more - simply a long diary of man wrestling with his tortured soul . Definitely recommended , but know what you're in for . |
525,364 | 4,445,210 | 70,666 | 8 | Serpico : A Name That Became Famous | There have so many crooked-cops-themed films in the past 30 years that this film has lost a lot of its shock-and-awe . The long hair , wild clothes , beads , etc . really date this film , too , it being so early ' 70s in looks . It's almost become a " period piece " as if it were the Roaring Twenties except its the Sleazy Seventies . All you have to do is look at the party scene in here and you'll get a glimpse at the early ' 70s , and most of it is not good . What IS good is Al Pacino's acting , of course . There have been very few films in which he starred that didn't displaying his acting talents to the fullest . This one , along with Dog Day Afternoon and few others , put him " on the map , " making him a big star . He's been a " star " ever since . This is a fairly long film but , like Pacino , it's rarely boring . The name of Pacino's character , " Serpico , " has become synonymous with " honest cop . " It demonstrates what a strong impact this movie had on millions of people . Gritty ? Yes . Profane ? Yes ; Memorable ? Most definitely . When you speak of modern-day " classics , " this film is one of them . |
524,066 | 4,445,210 | 167,404 | 9 | Still Very Good Even When You Know The Ending | This was hyped big-time when it came out and , if memory serves me , was a good conversation piece among those who saw it at the theater . I didn't see it for a few years afterward , on tape and now on DVD . It was very good but I didn't find it as " the greatest movie ever " as some did . It is an involving story , however , and I've come to appreciate it more with multiple viewings . I've seen it three times , the last one looking for mistakes to disprove the surprise ending . . . . but couldn't find any . The filmmakers covered their tracks . However , a couple of scenes were misleading . Those who have seen this movie know what I'm talking about . For those who haven't , I'm not going to spoil it here . I enjoyed both Bruce Willis and Haley Joel Osment as the two leads . Willis has had many action-packed , profane macho roles in his career but I like him best when he's low key , as he is in here ( and in " Unbreakable , " to name another fairly-recent movie ) The story is slow-paced but it sure is not boring . In a way , it's nice to see a slower-paced film be a big hit , as this was . Osment , meanwhile , is a terrific child actor , as he has proved in other films . He's simply one of the best of his young generation . He and Dakota Fanning are the two best child actors I've seen in many years . This isn't just some supernatural-horror movie . It's a nice human interest story . There is one scene late in the movie in which Osment's mom is having a talk with her young boy in the car . It is an extremely touching scene that brings tears - a great moment in the film . |
524,909 | 4,445,210 | 1,181,038 | 9 | Retirement For A Good Cop | The neatest part about this show might have been the ending on the " Stolen Life " story , which takes place in Dallas . It was neat because it was different . The crime story had wrapped up and a veteran officer , a very cool guy named P . E . Jones , had just retired and they gave him a party . It was very touching . I forget the exact number , but I think he had served for about 35 years in the police force and had been a very good detective . The young guys all admired him . Jones and his peers got called out at 1 a . m . after a 911 call about a man shot next to a truck . " I won't miss being called out in the middle of the night anymore , " says a sleepy Jones , as he races to the scene . The man next to the pickup truck was dead . Soon , they find a witness who had seen the shooting and had run away . She told police she had gone with this 63-year-old man in his truck when someone approached them , demanded the victim's money , and then shot him . She fled in panic , she said . Police wonder if she didn't set up this homicide . Three things help solve this case : a palm print off the truck , a tip involving two suspects and finding the victim's wallet in a sewer drain . Police wind up sending the S . W . A . T . team out to get one of the suspects . This is a pretty interesting story . The first case originates from Cincinnati , Ohio . This is the first time I've seen a case from that city . Sad to say , a bunch of neighborhood volunteers , trying to help keep order in a violent neighborhood , organize a day of youth football and call it " The Peace Bowl . " After a few games had been played , shots are heard nearby and a 19-year-old is killed . Despite a street full of onlookers , because of the football games , no one is talking . Finally , someone does and it leads them to a man who is caught , then denies any involvement , but then breaks down and admits it . That's not unusual in this show , and it's always dramatic , because it's real and the shooter , usually in tears , knows his life is over , as he knows it . Of course , so is the person he shot . |
523,819 | 4,445,210 | 35,211 | 9 | Nice Movie About A Great Player and Genuinely-Nice Man | A lot of non-baseball fans still liked this movie a lot , and that's probably because it's more about a nice guy than it is about a ballplayer . New York Yankee great Lou Gehrig is the subject . Gehrig was often in the shadow of the great Babe Ruth , but was tremendous player in his own right and a far better human being . It's tough to find many nicer movies than this one : a totally inoffensive , sentimental and old - fashioned film about a super-nice guy , played by a popular actor : Gary Cooper . Except for one sportswriter , there were no villains or nasty people in this movie . Teresa Wright plays " Eleanor Twitchell , " who becomes Gehrig's wife and Walter Brennan plays sportswriter and friend , " Sam Blake . " The real Babe Ruth played himself , which was nice to see . Even though Gehrig died at a fairly young age of a disease now named after him , overall this was a feel-good movie of the highest sort . This was so nice a story that even the cynical critics dared not criticize it . It leaves you with tears in your eyes at the end . |
522,397 | 4,445,210 | 650,650 | 9 | Good Christmas Episode | This was a nice - and funny - Christmas episode with some nice messages . It opens with a Christmas party at the police station . Capt . Stottlemeyer receives a bottle of port wine as his gift from his " secret Santa " but isn't interested in it . He can't find the gift he supposed to give to someone so he gives that instead . It's poisoned and the cop who drinks it dies . I won't say anymore because this has a few twists to it that are interesting . The funniest part of the show was when Monk went undercover as a Santa in the mall . That was only a short scene , but it was very good . There are some warm , sentimental moments in here , too , for most of the cast members and a few others . This is an episode that leaves you with a good feeling . . . . almost perfect for the Christmas season . |
523,942 | 4,445,210 | 737,807 | 9 | Llloyd Nolan Outstanding As ' Bugs Moran ' | Lloyd Nolan stars as George " Bugs " Moran , the number two man on the wanted list now that Al Capone was behind bars . The date is March , 1932 , and Moran is kidnapping people among other things . In this episode , he kidnaps a small boy about 12 . Elliott Ness , who has to go to Washington to give details of Capone's case , leaves " Martin Flaherty " in charge . Marty has Moran tailed night and day . After Moran makes a phone call to the parents of the young boy ( whose father is played by Jack Warden ) , Flaherty starts to get wind of what the famous crook is doing . This episode is good because Nolan made it so , especially with his speech to the union workers . His kidnapping plan was solely to get control of a local truckers ' union ( the boy's father was president of the union ) and the speech he gives them is riveting . That was the highlight of the show , I thought . I also was impressed with the ending : a very realistic one , and not one you'd expect . The only disappointment was Robert Stack taking the week off as " Ness . " He only had two very short scenes . ( Odd the star of the show would take off in only the fourth episode of the series . ) One last thing that really impressed was the quality of the transfer . So far , this Untouchables - Season One DVD looks good . For TV shows that almost 60 years old , the picture is sharp and the black-and-white contrasts outstanding . In spots , it looks like an excellent film noir of the ' 40s . |
522,864 | 4,445,210 | 737,840 | 9 | Best Episode Yet , Thanks To Bendix | William Bendix , before he became well-known as the lovable " Chester A . Riley " of TV's " The Life Of Riley , " was an actor who played a lot of brutal gangsters in movies . He once punched Alan Ladd in a movie and knocked him out cold . ( Bendix , apparently , wasn't acting ! ) . Anyway , he's back in this late ' 50s crime show playing another tough " animal , " was Walter Winchell describes him in the introduction . Bendix plays " Wally Legenza , " a savage killer and leader of " The Tri-State Gang , " which hijacked a lot of trucks . This episode features a number of " name " actors in addition to Bendix : Alan Hale , Jay Adler and Gavin MacLeod , to name three . Florence Halop may not be a " name " but she's face you've seen many times if you are over watcher of classic TV shows . Nonethess , Bendix makes this best show thus far in Season One . He has a lot of the wisecracks like I loved hearing so much in " The Blue Dahlia , " a film noir of the ' 40s . Here , as " Wally Legenza . " Bendix just made me laugh out loud a number of times with his brutal tough-guy dialog . Great stuff and great photography , once again , too . This looks as good as any noir . This episode makes the purchase of this half-season on DVD worthwhile . |
526,792 | 4,445,210 | 95,631 | 9 | Great Mix Of Comedy & Crime | Way too much objectionable language is the only fault of this otherwise extremely-entertaining film that is justifiably popular . Humor is what makes this " crime film " stand out as tough guys Robert De Niro , Joe Pantoliano , John Ashton , Dennis Farina and others provide a lot of laughs as not-so-tough guy Charles Grodin is escorted from New York to Los Angeles to face retribution from a mob boss . The dialog between Grodin and his bounty hunter captive De Niro , is terrific all the way through . The soundtrack , featuring the guitar of Ry Cooder , also is outstanding and adds to the fun of this film . The capper to this likable story is the satisfying ending , which almost everyone seems to like . |
527,453 | 4,445,210 | 112,857 | 9 | A Different Shade Of Film Noir | This is the kind of film that can stay with you for awhile after you watch it : a haunting kind of film that isn't always pleasant or easy to understand but you remember it . It also helps to have a fondness for the 1940 film noir movies . It doesn't help that it appears racist in nature with people of one color all being the bad guys while people with another color all the good guys . I won't say which is which , but if the colors were reversed , there would have been an outcry about the obvious bias here by screenwriter-director Carl Franklin . Despite this , it's still a fascinating movie that just oozes with the 1940s atmosphere . Great narration in there , a la film noir , great automobiles and great sets . It puts you right into the late 40s in Los Angeles , a little bit like the film Chinatown . Denzel Washington does a nice job with the narration and the lead role , the character of " Easy Rawlins , " off the book by Walter Moseley ( which I read and recommend ) . Tom Sizemore and Don Cheadle play very intense characters in supporting roles , particularly Cheadle as the trigger-happy " Mouse . " Jennifer Beals is alluring as the mysterious " Daphne Monet . " The film is a bit confusing in parts and was especially so for me since the book was not exactly the same and had a totally different ending . Nonetheless , the film has always fascinated me and drawn me back for multiple viewings . It's good storytelling and it would be fun to see more of Moseley's books translated to the big screen . |
524,022 | 4,445,210 | 854,560 | 9 | Totally Implausible But A Fun ' Ride ' | The crime is the secondary story in this episode . The main story is Monk seeing his father for the first time in 39 years and how the two slowly re-establish ties Dan Hedaya , one of the better characters of our era , plays " Jack Monk , " a long-haired sleazy-looking 68-year-old truck driver . The murder case , which is shown primarily in the introduction , is one where a guy doesn't actually commit homicide but stands by and watches his nemesis accidentally kill himself and does nothing to prevent it , when he could have helped . In this case , he helps the accident finish off the guy by making sure the victim doesn't have a foothold when the man is choking as his tie is caught in the engine . The tie-in , pun intended , is that the elder Monk also drives truck for this company and his boss-murderer . Monk , believe-it-or-not , reluctantly takes a long trip in his dad's big truck to Phoenix because Capt . Stottlemeyer convinces him this may be his only shot to ever connect with his dad . By the way , I've watched every episode up to this one and Monk would never go anywhere without all his necessities . . . . but , that's the story here . This one then blends humor , sentimentality , and suspense at the end as the two men's lives are in danger in the truck when it speeds down a mountain with no breaks ! In all , a very flawed because of so many things that are out of character here , but a very entertaining episode , and that's why we watch isn't it ? I give it high marks , simply for the entertainment . Hedaya was riveting and weird but then again , what male isn't strange in the Monk family ? Speaking of that , I wish we'd see Adrian's brother " Ambrose " again . JohnTurturro was hilarious in that role . |
523,716 | 4,445,210 | 910,613 | 9 | You Know You Are In For An Intense Episode When ' Clavo Cruz ' Shows Up | Two cops are bringing a truckload of confiscated weapons to be destroyed when they are rudely interrupted on the street as a semi-trailer suddenly impedes their progress . As the cops screech to a halt , something explodes beneath them and overturns their van . Now all the rifles are dumped out in the street and worse things happen . One cop is dead from the accident and another struggles with some guy and is shot and killed . All of this was planned as we discover early on in the show . A real baddie from past CSI-Miami shows , a name I hadn't heard in awhile , pops up here : " Clavo Cruz " ( Gonzalo Menendez ) . Eric fills in Natalia about that scumbag's history with Horatio and the department . About halfway through this episode , we get another story when a young , Hispanic teen boy is shot and killed , presumably from the one of the guns taken from the heist earlier . The second half of this gets really intense , which is no surprise considering Cruz - perhaps the most vile villain in the history of this program - is involved . The story winds up being a two-parter as one of the CSI regulars is shot twice , the second bullet entering his brain . It's Eric Delki . |
526,725 | 4,445,210 | 43,925 | 9 | Something Different From Early Disney | More frustration for poor Pluto , who thought he was in dog heaven after he and Mickey drive up to " Camp Utopia . " This place looks like it's in the middle of a redwood tree forest , and it's beautiful . ( The artwork in here , too , is fabulous - tremendous colors . ) Pluto has all the trees a dog would want and lots of forest critters to chase . Things are looking good . But , Mickey reads the rules of the camp and rule number one is " no dogs inside , " so Pluto finds himself tied up , muzzled and on the front porch . To make matters really bad , a fox comes by and taunts the dog and eats his food ! Pluto is not a happy camper at this pointThen this cartoon gets surreal . . . . and fascinating and Pluto has a dream where he is in " Plutopia . " Without giving it away , I think this is easily one of the most inventive Pluto cartoons I've seen and one the best . It's just so different . In fact , I think it was different from the normal Disney fare that they didn't quite know how to end this , so it ends abruptly . Overall , this is a cartoon to check out if you're an adult and like a something a little edgy and unexpected . |
522,909 | 4,445,210 | 35,318 | 9 | Fabulous Photography Elevates This Holmes ' WWII Tale | Here's another example of a film I first thought was so-so until I purchased the Complete Sherlock Holmes Collection that was carefully " restored " on DVD with a package of now-beautiful transfers of these famous films . Instead a poor - quality tape , which was the only thing available in the ' 90s , now every scene is clear . In this movie , having a good transfer is more important than normal because this might be the best-looking SH film of them all . There are a ton of night-time scenes , like a film noir , and a lot of facial closeups . In fact , I would say this movie was better filmed than many film noirs I've seen . The story is about a " Tokyo Rose " - type voice telling the British how inferior they were and how the Nazis were going to were going to commit their terrorist-type activities at the moment of the broadcast . And , indeed they did , as promised . This propaganda over " the wireless , " as Dr . Watson and other called the radio back then , was driving English folks crazy . The government and Scotland Yard , in desperation , calls Sherlock Holme to the rescue , if he can help . Holmes deduces that all these acts are only a prelude to some " huge , diabolical act yet to come " and sets out to discover what that would be and who is responsible for the broadcasts . He finds some in the high muckety-muck society that hired him is a traitor and doing the broadcasts from within , as well as spilling secrets to the Germans . Evelyn Ankers as " Kitty " helps Holmes and is a very attractive helper . Henry Daniell plays his normal irritating character ( he was good at that ) and Thomas Gomez was interesting as a Nazi . Overall , a decent story with super photography . |
523,551 | 4,445,210 | 252,501 | 9 | Very Intriguing & Haunting Story | I don't care for " coming-of-age " movies but this is a mixture of that along with a suspenseful story of an older man trying to keep his anonymity . Anthony Hopkins plays the latter and is riveting , as always . His character , " Ted Brautigan " is not an easy guy to figure out , but he has to be mysterious in order to keep away from the bogey-man bad guys called " low men . " That sounds goofy but if you watch the film , you know what I mean . The only things I didn't care for are the typical Liberal bias with cheap shots against Richard Nixon , J . Edgar Hoover and the FBI , all bad guys according to all liberal filmmakers . Also , some paranormal baloney was inserted , and wasn't needed . The kids - Anton Yelchin and Mika Bororem - are good , especially Yelchin , who has a far bigger role . It's nice to see a kid ( Yelchin's character " Bobby Garfield , " actually listening to an adult , as he does here . ) The romance between the two kids is handled well , not sappy . I very much enjoyed the cinematography . It's a wonderfully rich-colored film with a touch of film noir in spots with the cobbled street shots at night . Finally , this was a film that moved me with it sadness . |
524,298 | 4,445,210 | 43,879 | 9 | A Film Noir With A Heart | I liked this better than I thought I would . I read a number of reviews ( here , but mostly elsewhere ) before seeing it , so I knew the two main things to expect : a hard - hitting film noir in the first half and a melodramatic romance in the second . What I found was an interesting , fairly intense movie for all but the last 10 minutes ( but I liked that part , too . ) That second half was still a crime story a lot more than any romance as two guys tracked down a killer . To digress , the first part was in the big city and it portrayed Ryan as a too-gung - ho cop who's fast getting burned out on the job . He's sick of all the punks in the world and just wants to beat the crap out of everyone . When he is one punch away from being suspended and losing his job on a police brutality charge , the boss sends him up north to snow country to find a murderer on the loose in the great outdoors . That second half isn't some slow melodrama , as it's so often described . It's mostly more adventure as Ryan and Ward Bond track down the killer . Bond , whose daughter was the victim in this crime , is hell-bent for revenge . He makes Ryan like a calm-and-collected guy . Along the way , they meet " Mary Malden " ( Ida Lupino ) , who is the sister of the kid on the run . She's also blind . Ryan befriends her and she pleads with him to promise to bring her brother in unharmed . Her trust in him helps bring about his personality change . You can see he's starting to soften up , become a little more caring toward his fellow man . The ending of this film is not hokey - either in what happens in the manhunt or what happens to Ryan afterward . It's just a nice job of screen writing . I think this is a fine story , perhaps even underrated . I also think it is one of Ryan's finest acting jobs because he shows callous brutal toughness , loneliness and compassion all in the same film and he shows it convincingly . |
522,876 | 4,445,210 | 8,899 | 9 | Still Clever After All These Years | I really loved the first 84 seconds on this four-minute silent cartoon . The cartoon is one year short of being 90 years old as I write this , but it's still clever . We see the artist draw the main figure , " Bobby Bumps " and his dog " Fido " and those two plus the scenery comes alive in a speed-ed-up fashion that is interesting to watch . The dialog was presented into two different kinds of formats : in a comic-strip " balloons " and in " title cards . " I liked the former more , because it's almost like looking at a comic strip literally come to life . The story is a bunch of antics that go on in a diner / restaurant ( they used to call a " beanery " ) and in the kitchen as Bobby and his dog help out . Some of the gags are excellent . The dog is a riot . I've seen perhaps 20 silent cartoons as of this writing and , so far , this is the best . It was part of the Popeye The Sailor 1933-1938 DVD Package and can be seen on Disc two . Highly recommended . Don't pass this one up . It is part of the " From the Vault " features . |
526,822 | 4,445,210 | 217,869 | 9 | Very Intriguing Film With Great Ending | This is a much better film than I ever thought it would be , and intrigues me every time I watch it . Samuel L . Jackson's role is what mainly inspires me to watch this multiple times . His character is amazing and just leaves me shaking my head . This is a pretty low-key movie with the other star , Bruce Willis , playing an extremely subdued role for him , almost too subdued . There are times in here when you keep waiting for him to say something , and he says nothing . Half the time he's barely audible . But he and Jackson play off each other well , and this is very suspenseful film , even if a lot doesn't happen . To explain the story would almost ruin it , because it's preposterous . I'll just call an interesting fantasy-horror film with a little family story tied in with Willis ' wife ( Robin Wright ) and young boy ( Spencer Treat Clark ) . " Unbreakable " is beautifully filmed , has very little profanity in it , and a strange , strange story with a great twist at the end . . . . one of the best I've ever seen in a movie . This movie is done by the same man who did " The Sixth Sense , " M . Night Shyamalan , so if you enjoyed that you probably would like this , too . . . . . although it's so different I wouldn't want to predict who would like this film and who wouldn't . If you're open to try something different , give it a look . |
525,313 | 4,445,210 | 1,230,994 | 9 | A Popular Subject | Who doesn't like ice cream ? Most everyone loves it , I assume , unless they are allergic to it . This episode deals with this ultra-popular food , one in which nobody knows who invented it ! Historians do know where ice cream was " perfected , " though : Italy . That's where " Gelato , " is ; the name they used to call it . Gelato still exists and you can get it ( expensively ) in New York City . As viewers , we get a tour of several places in this Modern Marvels episode , beginning with the huge Dreyer ice cream factory in Bakersfield , Ca . Looking at their labels , it's identical to " Eydes , " which sells here where I live , so apparently Dreyer's goes under more than one name . Most of the tour is seeing how ice cream is made and packaged . Later , we visit two fantastic ice cream parlors in Cincinnati ; learn about ice cream cones , Eskimo Pies , soft-serve ice cream , Dairy Queen , frozen yogurt , the outrageous flavors at Ben & Jerry's and finally , the ice cream of the future " Dippin ' Dots . " I thought it was interesting to hear why the soft-ice cream has more taste than hard ice cream and the top five selling flavors in America . Want to know what they are ? Answer : 1 - Vanilla ; 2 - Chocolate ; 3 - Neapolitan ; 4 - Butter Pecan , and 5 - Cookies ' N Cream . Watching this show will make you want to rush out and buy more ice cream . |
525,956 | 4,445,210 | 167,261 | 9 | A Second Look , With Subtitles In Parts , Made This Much Better | I didn't really appreciate this second installment of the LOTR trilogy until I watched this for the second time . The key was how I looked at the key character of this film : " Gollum " ( Andy Serkis . ) . Once I began to appreciate and marvel at this weasel-like character , my opinion of the film went from bad to good . That doesn't mean I like that slimy creature : I don't , but I am more fascinated by him rather than totally annoyed as I was with the first viewing . A big reason was that I put on the English subtitles , so I was able to understand everything he said . I recommend doing that you has a similar problem deciphering his dialog . Now I more fully understood what a tortured soul that pathetic creature was . Anyway , this second installment , as in the first , offers a lot of fascinating sights and sounds and a nice varied platter of action scenes and wild characters . For younger kids , I am to happy to say there is absolutely nothing , language-wise , that would offend anyone but the violence is heavy and brutal at times . This is a solid , highly-recommended second installment in the trilogy . It's epic film-making . No , it may not be equal to the first - The Fellowship Of The Ring - but what adventure story is ? |
524,509 | 4,445,210 | 43,857 | 9 | Are You A Cat Or A Mouse ? | Well , I have to give the writers credit for " originality " in this one , which plays better than it probably sounds in my review . When I read on the IMDb notes that Tom gets hit on the head and then thinks he's a mouse , it sounded kind of stupid . Maybe the premise was silly , but it turned out to be very funny . I saw sights in here I would never find in any other Tom and Jerry cartoon , such as Tom squeezing into Jerry's mouse-hole and trying to sleep on his bed ! Tom's squeaks are funny and it was fun to see him turn the tables on the maid , who was always giving him a hard time . It also was satisfying to see Jerry frustrated , for once , instead of the poor cat being flustered unable to get Jerry . Overall , a more-than-solid Tom and Jerry effort . |
524,425 | 4,445,210 | 1,136,137 | 9 | Fighting At The Rink , Not On It - Another Indictment Of Youth Sports Parents | This must have been a tough case for the jurors ; at least I found it so . I couldn't make a decision just on what this program offered , I know that . City Confidential almost always takes sides . The more you watch this interesting program , the more you see their bias generally and on individual cases . However , I thought they were more than fair in this instance , giving both sides equal time . It was a tough case involving two overzealous youth hockey parents . There was little premeditation , if any . These two guys didn't know each other . It was a fight in the corridors of the hockey arena and one guy killed another with one of his punches . That's all it was . . . . but did the man go too far ? Frankly , I'm not sure because the man who threw the punch that began the fisticuffs is the one who died . Yet , the two men had fought five minutes earlier , finished it , and the " victor " came back inside . Was he looking to continue the fight , or did he go back inside to check on his kid . You get both versions . Whatever , it was another indictment of what people used to call " Little League parents , " meaning parents who take their kids ' sporting events way too seriously . As pointed out in this program , that is a problem in hockey because the parents invest more money , for one thing , than in any other sport . Ice time is expensive and valuable and some of these parents and kids are at the rink in the middle of the night ! New England is one of the hotbeds of youth hockey in America . In the short profile of Reading , we learn that hockey fever there began in the 1970s when Bobby Orr and " the Big , Bad Bruins " brought a lot of attention to the Boston area . Perhaps the most interesting segment of this episode was the history of Michael Castin , the man who was beaten to death . He had a roller-coaster history of good and bad . Castin had a big alcoholic problem in high school , then went stone sober for eight years and got married , then went off the wagon and wound up in jail and divorced , finally to return as a " Mr . Mom , " spending all his time with his kids and being a devoted father . His mother is interesting here as she discusses her son , his problems , his good points and what happened to him . Of course , she's biased but she was very honest , too . The other key figure in this case was Thomas Junta , a parent who happened to come by and thought the play on the ice was way too rough for just a pickup game . . . . and wound up inadvertently killing the coach . In this program , his brother sticks up for him . It's a bizarre case but one that got huge media attention and , hopefully , toned down some of action on the part of spectators at youth events . However , every year we hear about some parents , whatever the sport , getting violently out of control . |
522,741 | 4,445,210 | 1,136,136 | 9 | ' I Got Bombed At Harvey's ' | Gee , talk about a poor loser ! ! A Hungarian refugee-made-good-in-America , John Birges became a high roller at Harvey's Wagon Wheel Casino in Lake Tahoe , Nev . , in the 1970s . As long as Birges was gambling ( and losing ) big bucks , the owner , naturally , treated him like royalty . That happens to a lot of big gamblers everywhere , and is nothing new . What was new in this case , however , was that after Birges began reducing his bets because of financial trouble and casino owner Harvey Gross started taking away special perks , how the losing gambler reacted . Birges , who had escaped Hungary during the Soviet invasion in the mid 1950s , decided he wanted his money back . He was talking three million dollars . He also was " talking " via a ransom-type note attack to the biggest homemade bomb ever seen at that time . Birges , with cooperation from his two sons , had the gigantic bomb delivered to the casino one afternoon . Under the guise of deliverymen from IBM , they wheeled the big thing right into Harvey's unoccupied office . When word got out and everyone in the building was forced to evacuate , there were those who were winning on slot machines and wouldn't leave ! Then there were hundreds of nosy bystanders who wouldn't leave , either , for days ! They wanted to see if something blew up . People are so insane that they not only stood too close ( until police finally forced them back ) but made a big joke out of it , wearing tee-shirts proclaiming " I Was Bombed At Harvey's . " What happens , regarding the main characters in this true-life crime story , and the big bomb , I'll leave up to you to see if you tune in this interesting episode . What you'll also see is the gorgeous Lake Tahoe scenery and a little bit of the town's history . |
522,788 | 4,445,210 | 312,660 | 9 | Vintage Clapton | Even though almost all the songs were very familiar by the time I acquired this tape , it's such solid rock ' n roll and offers enough variations on a few favorites that I still enjoy playing this . " Tearing Us Apart " with Clapton and Tina Turner is a highlight of this 62-minute concert , as is the venerable " Crossroads " as Eric puts a few new twists on it . " Layla " is the second-to-last song on the tape and perhaps a fitting way to end viewing this , as the last song , " Sunrise Of Your Love , " is not anywhere as good as on Clapton's " 24 Nights " concert . There is a rarity in here : a mistake made by Eric ( with a " sorry " captioned on the screen ) after he plays a sour note . Still , it's vintage Clapton and a very good one-hour concert . |
526,916 | 4,445,210 | 1,126,561 | 9 | Story Starts Off With A Bang , But Ends On A Sad Note | This starts off as a very bizarre story but ends with a tragic tale that devastates one of the CSI regulars , " Danny Messer . " ( Carmine Giovinazzo ) . Some obnoxious guy at the bar lights up an expensive cigar . It blows up in his face . This isn't some novelty-store item ; this stogie was constructed for a big , destructive bang , and half the man's face is blown off . Who did it , and why ? The investigation leads to " Laughing Larry " and other assorted strange characters . This story , despite the gruesomeness of seeing the lower half of a man's face blown off , is very interesting and has some comical moments , too . The second story is anything but comical . It begins with a small neighborhood boy , someone who lives a few doors down from Danny , knocks on his door and reminds him they have to go to church for the annual " blessing of the bikes . " The kid has a new bike and wants the local parish priest to bless it . That happens , and while Danny and the kid are heading home , Danny is diverted by a shot and yells for help . He tells the boy to race home and he'll catch up with him later . Another shot is fired and the boy is killed in front of a store . It turns out to be total accident ; the boy in the wrong place and the wrong time . After the investigation , Danny has to go home and tell the mother her boy has been killed . It ends on that dramatic note . |
526,213 | 4,445,210 | 1,136,135 | 9 | Not Exactly ' Peace & Love ' At Berkeley Thanks , In Part , To A Liberal Judge | How ironic : the town was founded by two missionaries who wanted to get away from the ultra-liberal heathen lifestyles of nearby San Francisco . . . . . and wound up decades later making City By The Bay conservative in comparison ! Yup , as the narrator says here , Berkeley was the " hippie hotbed " by the late ' 60s . It still is , in many respects . This ultra-liberal university-community ( which it hates to be called but the university does run the city , and has for quite awhile ) was shocked out of its " peace-and-love " haze of pot smoke in the late ' 80s and early ' 90s when a Hispanic man , active in the city's Waterfront Commission , " brutally hacked one person to death after coming close to killing two other people . The latter was husband-and-wife Robert and Barbara Mishell . Robert , a research scientist working at Cal-Berkeley , survived okay until his death just several weeks ago ( April 5th ) and his wife - to this day - still hasn't been able , literally , to speak . Zambrano was getting threatening calls from someone about his adultery and thought it was the professor and his wife . After the usual City Confidential profile of the area , in which CC shows us many of the wackos that make up this town , particularly on Telegraph Avenue were " misfits and outcasts " proliferate , which is what happened when the University's influence mushroomed in the mid ' 60s and thereafter . Berkeley citizens pride themselves on their diversity and " accepting ways , " so they were more than happy to see an Hispanic man , Enrique Zambrano , make good . Unfortunately , this man - and every race has them - turned out to be a psychopath murderer . Meanwhile , Mr . Mishell remembers waking up and finding the back of his head all bloody . He then discovered his wife lying in a pool of blood in another room . The last thing Mishell remembered was Zambrano , who he had hired to work on the patio next to the family swimming pool , had visited him that night . To condense the story , Zambrano was a real hothead . His violent outbursts after becoming a commissioner of the Waterfront Commission were getting attention . If he didn't have a level - headed friend named Luis Reyna , who knows if he wouldn't have punched people out at the meetings . Anyway , the really interesting part of this story is what happens after Reyna hears about the professor and his wife being beaten senseless . He knows his friend did it . Two months later , he goes to the cops and Zambrano is arrested . A short time after , a Liberal judge named Julie Croger , reduces Zambrano's bail from one million dollars to $150 , 000 which the killer has raised . Now , he's out on bail , and poor Mr . Reyna is panicking , fearing for his life . As it turned out , Reyna had good reasons to feel that way . The poor man was not only killed but chopped into pieces . Zambrano then fled the country and wasn't arrested again until over a year later when he was tracked down , thanks to the TV program " America's Most Wanted . " The program details what happened in this bizarre set of circumstances , and then the results of the trial and how all of them has made even ultra-tolerant Berkeley a little less trusting of people . |
522,295 | 4,445,210 | 112,691 | 9 | Unique Mouths Still Make Me Laugh | This was the third in a series of three short BBC programs featuring Wallace and his pet dog Gromit . I thought the three films got better and better as went along , this being the best of the three . There are some very clever and entertaining scenes in the 30-miunte movie . the color also was good - nice animation . Of course , it's only gotten better and better since these were made , capped off recently by a full-length Wallace & Gromit film . I don't think I ever stop laughing looking at the mouths on Wallace and the woman he likes in this story . Wallace is a window cleaner and " Wendolene " is the object of his affections . Unfortunately , both the woman and her pet dog are not good " people . " In fact , her pet dog , " Preston " frames poor Gromit for sheep-rustling and winds up in jail . Wallace must rescue him . A subplot involves Wallace and his love of cheese . It's all silly , of course , but very entertaining and the best of the three short Wallace & Gromit animated films of the period ( 1989-1993 ) , in my opinion . |
525,665 | 4,445,210 | 650,617 | 9 | Good Mix Of Humor & Suspense | A pizza men is 40 minutes late delivering a pizza to Natalie , her daughter and Monk . Natalie notices the man left her a $50 bill by mistake , rushes out to tell him , but he had just driven away . She follows him and discovers him parked in the middle of the city , dead in his vehicle . . . . but he's not the guy who delivered the pizza . She spends the rest of the show trying to find out what's going on here . There is another story , a bigger one that all the cops are in on as a prominent female judge is missing . Capt . Stottlemeyer has to bring all the evidence into Monk's bedroom so he'll look at it and help solve the case . Much of the show is devoted to how Monk's illness which , of course , he makes into a huge production . His carrying on and actions while suffering no more than a bad cold are pretty ludicrous , as you can imagine if you've seen this show before . The ending is suspenseful and the episode overall is very entertaining . |
522,341 | 4,445,210 | 141,031 | 9 | That's Why They Called Her Fat-ima ! | Trudging through the snow , Felix does not look happy , especially when he sees a big billboard advertising " See Egypt - Land Of Sunshine And Warmth . " " I'd give four of my lives to be there , " he tells us ( through comic-strip-type dialog since this is a silent movie ) . Felix then moves on , shivering before stopping at " Abdul Ahmed's " antique store when he hears someone loudly crying inside . It's the store owner , who laments " I just got word that my sweetheart in Egypt is in the Shiek's clutches . " ( " Shiek " is a title you only seem to hear in the silent movie era . ) Felix spots a magic carpet in the store and tells the owner , " Don't worry . I'll go to Egypt and rescue her ! " He says the magic word ( after missing the first time ) and off he goes ! This whole story is totally implausible but , hey , that's a cartoon for you . In here , Felix can translate hieroglyphics , find a note by the captive " Fatima " in the first 20 seconds upon arrival in Egypt , talk to a camel , have the camel drink the entire Nile river and much more ! I loved the dancing mouse and poor Felix's attempts at trying to get the huge Fatima on the magic carpet . The ending is very unpredictable and funny . Obese people would not think this is humorous . This cartoon was part of a collection of in the " Presenting Felix The Cat - The Otto Messmer Classics - 1919-1924 " DVD , with original organ score by Dave Wickersham . |
525,492 | 4,445,210 | 780,571 | 9 | Very Strange And Extremely Entertaining | Wow ! This has to be one of the more unusual movies I've ever seen , one that is leaves you shaking your head in amazement . I am hesitant to say too much for fear of ruining this for anyone who hasn't seen it . There is so much one could write , pro and con , about the material in here . Suffice to say if you like modern-day film noir , or " neo noir , " as its often called . . . . . then check this out . An hour after watching this , I was still muttering to myself , " Man , I can't believe what I just saw . This was a wild two hours . " I think that's the best recommendation I can give : this is pure entertainment , two hours of a story that grabs you right from the start and never lets go ; a very involving story . Kevin Costner and William Hurt are tremendous in here , and worth the price of the rental alone . The whole cast was good but the dialog between those two guys - one real and one imaginary - have to be heard to be believed . There are a few parts I would have changed , including the ending , and I didn't particularly care for most of the characters but overall this is so fascinating a story and so entertaining , it didn't matter what I thought of the characters . If you want something entertaining , a little thought-provoking , edgy-yet-moralistic , good acting and photography , this is a pretty good value for your rental money . |
526,358 | 4,445,210 | 650,613 | 9 | Monk Fits In . . . . . For Awhile | A man is crouched down besides a parked car in an indoor garage next to a big office building . The attendant spots him , goes over to see what he's doing , knows he's up to something and starts to call the police . The intruder shoots and kills him . A minute later , an office executive walks to his car . The intruder puts a gun to his back but instead of killing him , makes the man open his car and slam the door on his hand ! , breaking it ! , of course . While the man screams in pain , the intruder flees . That executive , " Warren Kemp " hires Monk to find out to did this and Monk goes undercover in the office . Monk loves the routine , cubicle existence and actually fits in here with the workers . He's thrilled to actually be accepted by other people . That , unfortunately , comes to a halt because of a bowling match . This was another fine episode . It had a lot of facets to it , including a possible romance and a good look into human nature . Christopher Nieman was particularly entertaining as the idiot office nerd . |
526,239 | 4,445,210 | 650,612 | 9 | Monk : ' Marathon Man ' | There are two stories-in-one here , at least at the beginning . It turns out , of course , there is a connection . Overall , it's a very good episode , a fun one for the most part . We have the normal dramatic opening . Here , a robbery of an armored truck , and the armored guys killed ( we don't see that ) . After the commercial break , we have Lt . Randy Disher having a major toothache and going to the dentist . While under , anesthesia ( but partially aware of what's going on ) , he witnesses the dentist getting into a big fight with someone who had just come into the room . Randy tells Capt . Stottlemeyer , Monk and Natalie about it but no one believes him . In frustration , and tired of being the butt of jokes , he quits the force ! Despite those serious scenes , it's a funny show with Monk at the dentist office , first as a visitor and second as an unwilling " Marathon Man " participant and Randy trying to be a rock star ( in his mind ) . |
525,666 | 4,445,210 | 650,602 | 9 | Shalhoub & Turturro Make For Fascinating Brothers | A little mousy-looking guy comes out of a small grocery store and follows a cop to the latter's Brinx-type vehicle , asks him for a light and then shoots and kills him . That's the opening scene . It turns out the man never looked in the truck so robbery wasn't the motive . We then switch to the next " story " being that Monk's father , who he and his brother Ambrose haven't seen in years , is visiting to city on Halloween night and is going to meet them at Ambrose's house at 8 . Just before that , with Adrian , Natalie and her daughter all at the bizarre house of the bizarre Ambrose ( John Turturro ) , a small " Frankenstein Monster " appears at the door , clubs Ambrose over the head and takes candy . Later , the man does the same thing a bunch of kids in a park . Monk discovers the only kids robbed of their candy are the ones who visited Ambrose's house . Also , Monk discovers a the same clue that he saw at the murder scene . What is going on ? Why is this wacko stealing candy and killing someone ? This was an excellent episode , combining suspense , humor and sentimentality . There is a lot of warmth to this story . I hope Turturro and his character are in more episodes because the two he's been in have been terrific shows . |
523,697 | 4,445,210 | 141,040 | 9 | Wow , This Is Amazing Considering When It Was Made | This was my first-ever look at a cartoon that was made during the Silent Film Era . Boy , it was different . Dated ? Sure , but there were some cool aspects to this film , made 85 years ago . If you think mixing live shots with animation is something that came along with " Who Framed Roger Rabbit , " I have news for you - they were doing it ( or trying ) way back in the early 1920s . They mixed some live footage - such as fans at baseball game or pictures of skyscrapers - in with the animation . So , we saw " Willie Brown , " a little boy being chased up a skyscraper by a policeman . Yes , it wasn't exactly state-of-the-art graphics but it wasn't bad . Later , we see Felix get in a game , take a train , etc . It was still crazy stuff you could only see in a cartoon , question marks coming out of Felix The Cat's brain and then Felix jumping on top of those question marks to get to the top of a building to visit Willie in jail , or other typically-impossible things only possible in animated movies . The story simply involves the home baseball team , " The Nifty Nine " playing the " Tar Heels " ( a black team . The cartoon is a little racist . ) . The game is at The Polo Grounds , where the New York Giants played for years . You see real-life shots , once again , of the fans and the stadium . Back to the animation , we see a a clever ending to this as Felix comes up with a plan on how to save the home team from getting clobbered by the opponents . Overall , this was very entertaining . It's also a curiosity piece because it's primitive and different from stuff we saw in succeeding decades . This cartoon was part of a collection of in the " Presenting Felix The Cat - The Otto Messmer Classics - 1919-1924 " DVD , with original organ scores by Dave Wickersham . Thanks to the restoration job , the print quality is pretty darned good , too , considering the age of this animated short . |
522,389 | 4,445,210 | 650,606 | 9 | Monk Helps Out A Different Kind Of Inspector | I love the opening to this . Monk is buying a shirt , his normal , customary shirt . Monk looks for " Dennis , " his normal salesman but it seems Dennis has quit because some unknown customer was driving him nuts . Hmm . Anyway , Monk wants the same size , the same print - and - won't accept the shirt unless the little tag inside the shirt says " Inspected by No . 8 . " He knows " Inspector 8 " is the best . The salesman finds one that matches all of the criteria but there is a flaw in the shirt . Horrified , Monk winds up going to the place they make and inspect the shirts and tracks down " No . 8 " to see what's wrong . He's right ; there is something wrong . " Maria , " the inspector , is extremely upset because her son Pablo was accused of a murder he didn't commit ( so she obviously can't focus on her work . ) . Monk would prefer she just focus on her work so he can get his perfect shirts , but Natalie talks him into investigating the case . This episode has a big-name guest star , Malcolmn McDowell , who plays snotty fashion designer " Julian Hodge . " Monk and the crew go behind-the-scenes of high fashion modeling to find out if Maria's son is innocent . Along the way , Natalie's 13-year-old daughter Julie gets a taste of modeling . This was a very interesting story with a neat twist at the end . |
524,027 | 4,445,210 | 396,705 | 9 | A Diverse Offering Of Blues Talent ; Don't Overlook The Extra Songs | Overall , this recent concert was good and offered a wonderful group of diverse artists . I had never heard of about a half dozen of these performers and really liked a lot of the " new " faces ( to me ) . They ranged from a few old-time gentlemen to a couple of young women . Macy Gray blew me away with her rendition of " Hound Dog . " I also had no idea Natalie Cole could belt out the blues as she did . Wow , that was a pleasant surprise , as were the two Aerosmith performers , Steve Tyler and Joe Perry . I thought they were just rock / heavy metal-type guys . Wrong . Kim Wilson on harmonica was great , and Buddy Guy playing guitar is always awesome . How about the band ? There were some heavy hitters in there and they left no doubt what a great time they were having helping out most of these performers . The only negative to this DVD , as a few others have pointed out , is the ridiculous rendition by Chuck D of a John Lee Hooker classic . Plus , he made things worse by turning the song into some really lame anti-war diatribe . This is where the expression , " Shut Up And Sing " takes hold . There is always some moron who has to get political , where it's not the forum for that sort of thing . The real question is , " Why was this included in the DVD while so much other good music was not included ? " Anyway , B . B . King finishes up the disc on a positive note and then Bonnie Raitt and Robert Cray join him as the ending credits roll . This is more of a concert than a documentary but the songs are short , too short for my tastes since I enjoyed them so much but , hey , there were a lot of " acts " to squeeze into this 103 - minute DVD , so I understand . I'd rather have paid more and had a two-disc DVD and heard the entire night's offering . That would be awesome . Speaking of that , don't forget the extra bonus tracks on the " features " part of the DVD . There is some excellent music in this , some of it , I found , better than many of the performances on the main concert . The two Aerosmith dudes , Greg Allman and guitarist Warren Haynes , Buddy Guy doing another number and a " 21st Century Blues " rendition of " Revelation , " featuring Chris Thomas King . These extra songs are not to be missed . Any fan of blues , I would suspect , would want this in his or her collection . |
526,511 | 4,445,210 | 141,080 | 9 | Lot Of Fun & Imaginative | This ancient Felix cartoon just about skips the opening credits . Obviously those couldn't be salvaged . Anyway , we first see Felix in the cemetery where he soon meets up with some ghosts . Felix and the ghosts throw stones at each other , and then Felix follows one to a barn . We see the ghost terrorize a donkey . He then goes back in and does the same to a bunch of pigs . All of them race out of the barn in terror , too . This is a very bizarre looking , primitive in the drawings but that's what you expect for a 1923 cartoon . Things really get weird when the ghost suddenly appears in the upstairs bedroom of the farmer . The poor man is shaking in his boots . The ghost first tickles but then makes threatening gestures . Felix is outside the window taking in all of this . Finally , the man gets on the telephone and says , " Help ! Send in the reserves . There's a ghost in the house . " What happens after that isn't exactly " Ghostbusters , " but it is funny and this is a wild cartoon , start to finish . I liked how the " ghost " ( and you'll know why I put that in quotes if you see this cartoon ) suddenly appears - in a flash ! Felix , by the way , calls himself " a ghost - breaker . " Considering the year this was done , this is pretty inventive animation . This was very enjoyable to watch . This cartoon was part of a collection of in the " Presenting Felix The Cat - The Otto Messmer Classics - 1919-1924 " DVD , with original organ scores by Dave Wickersham . |
523,180 | 4,445,210 | 26,553 | 9 | Judge Betty Doles Out Justice | Wow , Betty is having a bad day . It starts off well , with our girl singing her usual uplifting song en route to the bus stop on her way to work . However , some idiot keeps saying hello and slapping her too hard on the back . Then she gets on the bus and two busybodies have their noses in her newspaper . Then some slob blows cigar smoke in her face and then a fat lady almost sits on top of her . To cap things off , when she gets off the bus , the inconsiderate idiot in a car races by and splashes mud all over her . Betty is still fuming at work . Apparently she works in a court room because while tiding up at the judge's desk , she dons the robe and fantasizes about taking care of these " pests . " She has been muttering about " all these pests in town and I wish I was a judge and could do something about them . " Well , we then see her fantasy and what she'd like to see happen to these obnoxious , rude people . It's pretty wild , and so is the ending . It's another solid Betty Boop cartoon , meaning fun to watch . |
522,310 | 4,445,210 | 113,133 | 9 | Fascinating Quirky Film | Here is one more somewhat-unknown film I wish got more notice , although I'm not sure how many would like it because it's so different . It's a bizarre combination of humor and tragedy , of supernatural and straight drama . It's just an odd mix , but I find it very , very interesting and I've seen it three times , equally fascinated each time . The movie goes back and forth between drama and comedy which makes unsettling for some viewers , but not me . It kept me on my toes , so to speak , even with those multiple viewings . Also in here is another example of how good comedians can be in dramatic roles , in this case , veteran comic Jerry Lewis . Oliver Platt plays his son , and does an outstanding job as the main figure in this film . The comedy is really provided by others , most notably the most tragic figure in the film : " Jack Parker , " effectively played by Lee Evans . There is really is no way to adequately explain this strange film in a few paragraphs . I would just say if you are looking for something different , give this a try . And stay with it , even if the first half hour is not to your liking . You will be rewarded . |
523,035 | 4,445,210 | 60,934 | 9 | Strong Epic Film Which Got Shafted At Oscar Night | What a powerful story ! It's hard to believe this epic movie - three hours in length - was nominated for eight Academy Awards and came away with nothing . It seems unjust . Well , not everything is " just " in this dramatic story , either . Good people die , bad people live . Incredible joy and sorrow are but a few minutes away . The story is well-told and thus keeps your attention , is well-acted and is nicely - filmed . My only complaint was the last 13 minutes when the film got a little too political and , of course , tilted to the Left as films tend to do . Otherwise , I throughly enjoyed the experience of watching this long movie , and sorry I didn't watch this years ago . Well , better late than never , is all I can say . This movie is worthy of any serious film collector's attention . Robert Wise directed and he did a fabulous job . I just love some of the shots and camera angles in this widescreen production , which was done justice in a recently - - released two - disc DVD . The cinematography was by Joseph MacDonald . I'm sorry he didn't win an Oscar . The story has something for everyone : several action scenes , two romances , a little humor , some flag waving and flag disparaging , and a lot of drama and intrigue . I also found two interesting character studies : " Jake Holman , " by lead actor Steve McQueen , and " Captain Collins - , " with Richard Crenna . Both men delivered numerous surprises . There also is a lot of hostility by the Chinese toward the " invaders , " the Americans . China's revolution during the period this story takes place ( md ' 20s ) had two factions : the Nationalists , led by Chiang Kai-shek , and the Communists . The former was generally a peaceful organization , the latter , pretty violent . Neither one wanted outsiders running their country any longer . The cast - well-known and not-so well - - known , was solid from McQueen on down . I think it was odd to hear Richard Attenborugh with an American accent but he did a nice job with it . Crenna played the most interesting character , in my opinion , as captain hard to figure . As for the supporting actors , Simon Oakland ( " Stawski " ) and Mako ( " Po-han " ) stood out to me . I'm not going get into the story , as enough reviewers have already done that . Photograhy-wise , it was nice to see most of this shot outdoors , not on some studio lot or sound-stage . I enjoyed all of the shots of the ship , the " San Pablo . " The new DVD sports an outstanding transfer . Audiby , i's advertised as 4 . 0 sound but there is no rear speaker audio in here , so 3 . 0 would be more accurate . Overall , a memorable story and highly-recommended . |
525,338 | 4,445,210 | 26,503 | 9 | Popeye Can " Stands No More " | That's all I can stand ' cause I can't stands no more ! " That'a line Popeye would use many times over in the hundreds of cartoons after this one , but it's first used here as he watches a hypnotist on stage make a fool out of Olive . Miss Oyl is made to imitate a chicken by the hypnotist , our old buddy Bluto , who is " The Great Hypnotist " in this episode . When Popeye's had enough , he jumps on stage and the cartoon really gets wild after that with both guys making total fools of the other . . . . and the packed audience loving every minute . This was a humorous Popeye , entertaining all the way . |
523,807 | 4,445,210 | 105,391 | 9 | A Beautiful Look At The ' 40s During WWII | I acquired this mainly because it is a beautifully-filmed period piece centered around World War II . There are several train station scenes that I think about when recalling this film . They are a couple of the highlights of the fine cinematography and set designs in here . Overall , the movie had nice 1940s feel to it with the cars , dress , hairstyles and colors . It also is good to see this on widescreen DVD . The story also is interesting but not exactly plausible in one major regard : Melanie Griffith as a spy . sorry , but the bimbo-like quality of Melanie's voice , doesn't lead credence to playing this kind of character . I just can't picture her as some super-intelligent spy , but maybe she's a lot smarter than the roles she usually plays . Otherwise , this is a well-done , involving suspense film that I enjoy from start to finish . |
523,715 | 4,445,210 | 933,428 | 9 | Liked The Dialog Between ' Clavo ' And ' H ' | Eric Delko ( Adam Rodriguez ) fights for his life as the second part of this two-part story begins . The writers always dramatize things to the hilt so they make it appear Eric is next to dead , before reviving him . The next task is the find the shooter and to get Clavo Cruz , who is still on the loose and with a hostage . The hostage situation turns out to be an interesting one , with a twist you won't see coming . The rest of the story has the cat-and-mouse game between CSI and Clavo - with great dialog between he and Horatio , and a story about " blood diamonds " being in back of a number of things here . Overall , a solid episode and we find out Eric is going to make it , but he may not be the old Eric . Stay tuned for more on that . |
526,418 | 4,445,210 | 43,685 | 9 | ' Muscles ' Bowls ' Em Over | A mouse named " Muscles ? " Yup , he's here and just hearing that name makes you figure this is going to be a funny Tom and Jerry episode . . . and it is . " Muscles " is a relative of Jerry's and gets the call when Tom is being unusually nasty to the mouse we all know . Muscles , a tough guy with a bowler hat , lives elsewhere and is so tough he beats up all the alley cats and is feared by them all . Once he arrives at Tom and Jerry's place he wastes no time with our famous cat . He tells him plain as can be to stop messing with Jerry . . . . or else . Tom realizes he's in for a battle and immediately begins to train with weights to build up his muscles . The battle is on . Need I remotely suggest who wins ? Regardless of winners and losers , this was a very entertaining cartoon and actually not as violent as I've seen in many other T & J cartoons . The storyline is just that , but I thought the comedy routines , just as Tom literally turning into ten bowling pins and then back into a cat , were emphasized more than anything . |
526,759 | 4,445,210 | 43,684 | 9 | Jerry Is Definitely The Hero In This One | Many times I question who the real good guy is in these Tom and Jerry cartoons because sometimes Jerry is violent to the point of being sadistic . . . . but there's no doubt that he's the " good guy " in this story . Jerry is trying to save a little goldfish from being part of a meal for Tom . Tom had been listening to the radio ( remember , this was pre-television days when everyone sat by their big radios ) and hearing a French chef describe a fantastic fish dinner . It had Tom salivating . The chef says , " and finally the most important ingredient : one small , fresh fish . " In seconds Tom realizes there is a goldfish in the house . His demeanor turns from sweet , lovable pussycat to Jeffrey Dahmer . The rest of the story has Jerry trying the rescue the little fish from being boiled , filleted , barbecued and toasted . There are some excellent sight gags in here , like Jerry walking through Tom's head to get to his mouse hole , using Tom's teeth like a pair of window shades and other far-out scenes . Tom gets literally " bent out of shape " a number of times , but he deserved each one of them in this episode . Overall , a lot of laughs and one of the better Tom and Jerry cartoons . |
525,517 | 4,445,210 | 43,687 | 9 | Interesting Story Of An Amazing Athlete | This was an enjoyable , interesting biography and another instance of Burt Lancaster giving an intense acting performance . Sure , this is revisionist history here but it did show both the good and bad sides of Thorpe , one of America's all-time greatest athletes who excelled almost a century ago . Some still think he is the best athlete ever in the history of the United States . Lancaster was in great shape to play Thorpe which helped make him look convincing as a top athlete . Charles Bickford was very good as " Pop Warner , " Thorpe's dedicated coach and a famous sports figure in his own right . Phyllis Thaxter was wholesomely attractive as Jim's wife . None of the leading actors who were Native Americans , as Thorpe was , are played by actual Indians but that's classic Hollywood . It takes away from some of the realism of the film . The movie features a good mix of melodrama and sports and interesting characters . It's good entertainment . |
523,960 | 4,445,210 | 342,258 | 9 | A Brutal-Yet-Touching Film | For a martial arts picture , " Unleashed " was above average because it had some heart and soul to it . . . . . not just people beating the crap out of one another for two straight hours . However , be wary of those who claim this isn't an action film . That's not true : there is a lot of action , quite a bit of brutality and profanity , mostly by Bob Hoskins ' character " Bart " in this movie . Hoskins plays profane , nasty slave-owner who has locked up and trained " Danny " ( Jet Li ) to be the ultimate fighting machine . Once Danny is " unleashed " ( literally ) he's a killer and helps the gangster Bart in his criminal work . Then , in a moment of further greed , Hoskins agrees to enter his man in a death match with a lot of money at stake . That match turns out to be a farce with Danny winning in a matter of seconds . The other promoter wants a rematch , and with more entertainment . In the meantime , however , Danny escapes his captors and winds up at the house of an older blind American , " Sam , " played by Morgan Freeman . He and his 18-year-old daughter " Natalie " ( Kelly Condon ) befriend young Danny , slowly bringing him out of his " animal " state . Everyone discovers Danny has some very human characteristics and is basically a nice , gentle guy . The family helps uncover that through music ( piano playing , to be exact ) . These are all touching scenes . But then - and this is almost a cliché in these kind of films - the bad guy comes back , snatches him away and his former bad life comes back . . . . except Danny is a changed man . How he can get out of this latest predicament and what happens to this new " adopted " family , takes up the rest of the story . That last part has the same thing : ultra-violent and touching scenes . Jet Li does an excellent job in here , not only displaying his amazing physical talents but also showing us he has warmth in his face and heart . Overall : a brutal , yet touching film : an odd combination . |
525,246 | 4,445,210 | 26,601 | 9 | Betty's Show , Whole Cartoon - Very Entertaining | This is primarily one song-and-dance routine by Betty , but I really enjoyed the prelude , so to speak , in which she finished one act and flew in her own plane all the way over to Japan for the big number . The airplane made me laugh out loud several times , sprouting legs and running down the runway , getting ahead of itself mid-flight , etc . There were a lot of good sight gags with that plane . Then , Betty performs the title song to a sold-out audience in Japan and leaves . The song is good and so is the presentation , with little dancing people-lamps and other props . Betty sang song " catchy " tunes in her day . This is entertaining . . . . . all of it . |
522,859 | 4,445,210 | 396,752 | 9 | Extremely Colorful , A Fun Film Enchanced By Emma's Title Role | This was a pleasant surprise , much better than I anticipated . I figured Emma Thompson would be good in the title role because you can usually count on her to be entertaining in form or another , cerebrally , emotionally or comically . What I didn't figure on was the fun , extremely colorful story , overall . This was like a banana split for your senses - all kinds of wild treats for the eyes and ears . . . . . to taste , so to speak . This film features outrageous color schemes from the word " go , " from the interior of the " Brown's " house , to everyone's apparel to the scenery outside . It almost reminded me " The Cat In The Hat " with its crazy colors . All the characters are as exaggerated as the colors , too . The kids may be brats but they aren't bad once they get some needed discipline and love from Nanny McPhee . They are still fun to watch , and all are quite different in appearance and mannerisms . Thompson is a howl as Mary Poppins-like McPhee and so are the supporting characters . There were no sappy songs , either . This is not a musical . The only character annoying to me was the kids ' dad , played by Colin Firth . The actor was fine but his character was so wishy-washy , so wussy , he was barely tolerable for much of the film . By the way , you might not recognize the famous Angela Lansbury in here . Everyone , including her , must have had a great time filming this movie . Only the final wedding segment got carried away with juvenile silliness ; the rest was fun for adults and well as the kids , who must have loved this all the way through . This is simply good entertainment and highly recommended . |
527,256 | 4,445,210 | 61,109 | 9 | The Inspector Is No Match For ' Moose ' | The famous criminal , " Toulouse La Moose . " has escaped to Cherbourg after jumping bail He is apprehended there and the Inspector is given the assignment to bring him back to Paris . Our hero handcuffs the big crook , thinking that will stop him from getting loose again . Wrong . After a mishap on " The Orient Express , " what ensues is a long scene in which the big , strong thief literally drags the Inspector around the countryside and the two of them wind up getting more than their share of lumps in humorous ways as they strive to free themselves from the handcuffs . This was another good one , three in a row in this set . It's on the DVD " The Pink Panther Classic Cartoon Collection , Vol . 6 - Inspector Cartoons . " Note : It was the first Inspector cartoon in which there was no " Deux-Deux . " Once again , I enjoyed the artwork in here as we followed these two guys through streets , trains and haystacks . The episode ended with a great pun , too ! |
522,878 | 4,445,210 | 892,932 | 9 | ' Shane ' And ' Messer ' Make It Memorable | At first I thought , " What's the big deal ? " Usually , the opener is a bit shocking , but this nothing seemed out of the ordinary . . . . . until the criminal they just caught was one of the CSI guys : " Sheldon Hawkes " ( Hill Harper ) . Well , you know they've got the wrong guy . He just happened to be wearing the same green hood the " perp " was wearing , was the same skin color and had a big wad of cash on him . How is Sheldon going to get out of this mess , with his crew's help , of course , remains to be seen . Somebody set him up , big-time . The cool part of that story is that the man who did this was just in an episode a few weeks ago and escaped out of custody . It's our buddy " Shane Casey , " played by that " Termintor 2 " punk kid , Edward Furlong ( who is now 30 years of age . ) A secondary story involves a murder at a porno shop on 42nd Street called " Peepin ' Tom's . " It's okay , but the other story totally dominates to the point where this one is superfluous , although the two stories connect . One note : the captain in this episode is an idiot and the type of guy Hollywood likes to show in that position , someone that would not see in real life . Thankfully , we only have two short scenes with him . The ending was excellent , very suspenseful and featured excellent acting by Furlong and Camine Giiovinazzo ( " Danny Messer " ) . It helped make this an excellent episode , start-to-finish . |
523,054 | 4,445,210 | 105,226 | 9 | Leaves You Shaking Your Head ! | This is an excellent modern-day film noir . . . . " excellent " in that it's interesting , start-to-finish . There are some holes in here and some goofy parts that make you shake your head in disbelief . . . . . but I haven't found anyone who didn't get caught up in this story . The movie has the right amount of action , suspense , plot twists and interesting characters . In addition , it sports some nice colors and cinematography plus a good guitar-based soundtrack . I labeled this crime movie a " film noir " because it's gritty and the all the characters are no good . Even the only supposed-good guy , played by Nicholas Cage , gets himself in trouble by lying and has a quick affair he should't have . He also does something at the end which isn't right , but I'm not going the spoil it by saying . Suffice to say , however , that the rest of the characters are so bad they make Cage look good ! Speaking of " bad guys , " does anyone do it better than Dennis Hopper ? Not many . At least in the " deranged " category , he's tough to beat . Lara Flynn Boyle is fun to watch for a bunch of reasons . J . T . Walsh gives another great supporting performance , too . This is one of those films that never got much publicity , but it should have . You'll have fun watching this . By the way , try saying the name of this movie out loud three times fast without messing it up ! |
522,423 | 4,445,210 | 34,874 | 9 | Slow Start , But Once The Game Is Played It's Hilarious | The first half of this is explaining , through some somewhat-amusing examples , the basics of baseball : hitting , pitching , the different kinds of pitches , etc . The really funny part begins when they show the bottom of the ninth inning of the last game in the World Series . It's The Gray Sox versus the Blue Sox . One team is leading 3-0 and their pitcher is throwing a no-hitter . What happens after that is hilarious as the losing team creeps back into the game with a climactic finish . The scenario is completely exaggerated for a humorous effect and it works . I found myself laughing out loud at a few of the scenes . This short starts off slowly and gets better and better as it goes on . |
526,944 | 4,445,210 | 396,555 | 9 | Funny , Cute , Touching and Overall Very Entertaining Disney Effort For much of this film , even though I was being entertained by it , I thought it was geared mostly for kids . . . . . and that's fine . That's what I always thought the target audience was in animated films . I just got spoiled with so many good ones in the last few years that also had a lot of funny material that adults enjoyed , too . Films like Cars , " " Madagascar , " " Barnyard . " " Chicken Little , " " The Polar Express , " and so forth . Well , in the end , I have nothing but praise for this film , too , because it had some touching qualities to it that would emotionally involve a person of any age . This simply turned out to be - at least for me as an adult - a really nice film with a heartfelt message of friendship , family and a sense of belonging . At the same time , it still had enough jokes , charm and colorful animation to make it interesting all the way . The film goes from so-so kid stuff to very good as soon as our hero " Lewis " and his new friend " Wilbur " go into the latter's world : the future . The most amusing segments of the film revolve around the Robinson family , an eccentric but extremely loving group . That family makes this film tick and , hopefully , we'll see more of them in some future feature-length film . These guys - The Robinsons - are just too entertaining to have their movie " careers " end with only this one film . The story brings out a very thought-provoking theme to ponder . How would you react if , as a 12-year-old boy , you could meet yourself as an adult perhaps 25 years later . . . . and vice-versa ? How incredibly strange that would be ? Or to see yourself face-to-face as a small baby ? This movie really digs into deep territory in the last third , which is why , as an adult , I found it getting better and better right to the end . | null |
526,050 | 4,445,210 | 217,624 | 9 | SRV Makes For A Great Workout ! | It took me a couple of viewings to fully appreciate this concert . It sounded like too much of the same thing over and over but , man , it gets better and better with each viewing . . . . and the louder you play it the better it sounds , too ! Vaughan and his boys are seen and heard at the El Mocambo nightclub in Toronto in 1983 . It was small intimate place and SRV must have made it sound deafening . The first 40 minutes are about as good a rocking time as you ask for , and it makes a great workout video if you're on an aerobics machine . In fact , I can't think of a better workout tape . Visually , the most memorable scenes are probably with Stevie Ray playing the guitar from behind his back and behind his head ! The man was talented ! The only song I didn't care for was " Third Stone From the Sun , " but that was past my 40-minute workout anyway . Earlier , he did another Jimi Hendrix number that was much more preferable : " Voodoo Chile . " Vaughn was the only guitarist I've heard that could a decent imitation of Henrix . ( There may be more that I don't know about . ) |
524,501 | 4,445,210 | 112,966 | 9 | Simply Nice Feel-Good Film | This was a very pleasant surprise , a nice movie with one of the simplest " plots " you'll ever see yet one that was fun to watch develop . There are no nasty characters . They aren't all goody-goodies , either , but they're all interesting people to watch . The story is simply about a pair of cartographers ( map makers ) who measure a " hill " in Wales and much to the displeasure of the locals , it isn't tall enough to be considered a mountain , which is what the townsfolk always considered it . So , the locals work together to build it up so it will qualify to be officially labeled a mountain . Sounds simple and even stupid , but it isn't . Along the way , a romance buds between Hugh Grant and Tara Fitzgerald . There also is some nice cinematography in here . Some might find it boring but I didn't . There was just something about this , a charm that made me feel good as I watched it and had me smiling even more by the end . This is a " sleeper , " a movie you might pass up . . . . . but don't . |
525,508 | 4,445,210 | 26,374 | 9 | Fighting Over A Veiled Girl | Before I get into the story , I have to comment about the artwork in here . It was fantastic ; the best I've seen so far in these black-and-white episodes . The detail work alone was astounding and must have taken a lot of effort . Popeye is getting tired of the life of a bachelor . The last straw was burning the dinner . " It's no use , I have to get me a wife , " he says . Popeye then goes down to the " Matrimonial Agency " where the clerk tells him to pick out someone on the wall ( there are pictures of a lot of women . ) He sees a photo which also says " Anxious to Meet A Real Man . I am Good Cook . " It's Olive Oyl , of course . And , of course , Bluto just happens to be in the store and looks at Olive's picture at the same time . What a coincidence ! The fight over Olive - who has a veil over her face until the very end - produces some funny moments . The action moves from the Agency , down the street and into the Justice Of The Peace and has a very good ending that I won't spoil . Suffice to say , I wish it was the kind of ending seen in Popeye cartoons in later decades . |
522,309 | 4,445,210 | 112,896 | 9 | Brooks ' Farce Provides Lots To Like | This was another entertaining Mel Brooks farce , a la Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles . If you liked those , you'd like this . Peter MacNichol almost steals the show in this film as " Renfield . " He just drives me buggy . Leslie Nielsen , who revived his career later in life playing goofy roles , also is very good , this time as ' Dracula . " Actually , I thought he was far better in here than in those other spoofs , such as the " Naked Gun " series . It may be his best comedic role . The two women in here , Amy Yasback and Lysette Anthony , are beautiful , and well-endowed as Brooks - and a lot of us guys - likes ' em . They are in the film for their looks while the other two provide the laughs . Story-wise , it's just a light-hearted look at the story of Dracula , told many times in the films , mostly in the serious vein ( pun intended ) except for " Love At First Bite " which was similar in laughs to this . After watching this film , I could never look at garlic or blood the same way ! When you need some good laughs and nothing else , this will fill the need for an hour-and-a-half . |
526,457 | 4,445,210 | 910,504 | 9 | Two Intense Stories , And A History Lesson | There are two stories here and the unusual thing is that the domestic one is the main story , over the " action " segment . Perhaps that's because it has to do with Jonas Blane's family , so that usually gets top priority on this show . It's a bit of a soap opera and a preaching effort from the racial standpoint as see ( a ) a young male husband as a bad-guy ( wife beater ) and ( b ) racism against blacks back in the Army in the Korean War . That part has to do with the title , " Silver Star , " the award given Jonas father , 52 years late as they point out numerous times . Am I imagining things or has this show suddenly taken a left turn politically the last few weeks ? We have had several stories with the U . S . government and political guys as the villains , along with Tiffy beginning to do work with a self-described left wing protester , and other things . I would prefer no bias , just straight military stories , but Liberal slants seem to be inserted in so many other shows , it wouldn't shock me if they started that baloney here , too , but I would be very disappointed as I like this program . I did enjoy listening to Jonas give the kid some really intense , short speeches . No one can deliver dramatic lines like Dennis Haysbert ! It's no shock he's the star of this show . There are some touching scenes with Dennis as a young boy and an incident involving his father . Mixed messages are sent on that incident : good and bad . The " action " segment is very dramatic as Bob and Mack try to talk down a man who is trying to fly a plane after the pilot is mysteriously found dead . The man says he's a former Ranger but Mack and Bob have their doubts . . . . yet something strange is going on . This guy is part of some secret operation and has a lot on his mind he wants to confess , if these guys can talk him down . The ending to this part was kind of a shock . In all , both stories were very intense , making this an above-average episode . |
523,137 | 4,445,210 | 43,480 | 9 | It's Enough To Drive An Irish Dog To Drink | This is different in that we get two Droopy dogs : he and his twin brother " Drippy . " In this story , Droopy is working for a butler in a big mansion and the butler is going to be away for a few days . He needs a replacement and Droopy gets Drippy to handle the chores . Drippy sounds like Droopy but is a lot more physical . You can tell by the little derby on his head which tough guys apparently used to wear in the 30s and 40s . You can also tell when Drippy enters the mansion by punching holes through the door ! No stranger is allowed in the house is the rule number one , Drippy is told . Guess who wants to hide in the house for a few days ? Yup , our old friend " Spike . " My favorite bad guy-bulldog also has a derby and speaks with an Irish accent in this cartoon ! He made me laugh just listening to him . He's always funny as it is but an Irish brogue , he's really good ! Spike's first plan is to hoodwink Drippy into giving him food . He gets his answer quickly , belted a few hundred yards with Drippy's only remark being " no strangers . " The gag for most of the cartoon is Drippy doing his job of making sure there are " no strangers " while Droopy being a nice guy and trying to help the big dog . All the time , the poor bulldog has no idea Droopy has that slugger for a twin brother . All he knows is that one minute everything is good , the next minute he's getting clobbered . Whatever . . . . . it's funny material and I actually felt sorry for poor , clueless Spike who takes some brutal ( but laugh - out-loud ) beatings ! p . s . His double-take at the end of the cartoon is one of the best I've seen . |
522,251 | 4,445,210 | 956,034 | 9 | This Show Had Several Very Interesting Aspects | Stories involving the dismantling of a bomb with lives in danger are always riveting . I have yet to see one that wasn't , and this episode is no exception . It was neat to see how " Hector " traded places with a guy who couldn't move a muscle or he would set the bomb . ( I am not giving anything away because now poor Hector is now on the spot ! ) . Also , there are tense scenes with Col . Ryan escorting a dignitary down a blown-out elevator shaft , and well as other tense moments . All of this takes place at the United Nations . In a secondary story , Molly and Tiffany are in Vietnam trying to see if they can find a long - lost MIA . A woman they knew back home received an offer that , for $5 , 000 , her son would be located . In the third story , the immoral Crystal , who looks and talks like a 14-year-old comes over to Mack's house since Tiffany is out of the country and he wants to have nothing to do with her . I guess he got a change of conscience after banging her in the car the previous night in this TV show which turned into the semi soap opera the past month . The Vietnam story turned out to be very interesting , and another case of a very selfish person . The UN mayhem turned out to be revenge over a long-ago car accident which killed a man's son , so it wasn't anything something political . Overall , even with the " soap " story inserted with the irritating Cyrstal , is was a very entertaining episode . |
524,388 | 4,445,210 | 25,783 | 9 | Battle Of The Blacksmiths | Here's something unusual : a blacksmith shop run by a woman . It's the " Ye Blacksmith Shoppe , Olive Oyl , Proprietress . " She may be thin as a rail , but Olive is tough as she shows in the opening scene when she gets mad at Wimpy . After she boots him out for his incompetence , she puts a sign on the wall , " Blacksmith Wanted : Must Be Strong ! Handsome ! Willing ! " Popeye comes along , sees the sign , straightens hair and says , " That's for me ! " Unfortunately , Bluto , who owns a bar across the street , also sees the sign - and the competition is on as Olive tells , " Ok , show me what you guys can do ! " We then get a bunch of strongman-type contests where each guy tries to top the other , a familiar competition in Popeye cartoons over the years . The feats of strength that these two guys accomplish here are incredible . Once the action starts , it just keeps accelerating to a fantastic finish . . . . so many sight gags you can't count them all . This marks two straight totally insane , wild Popeye cartoons so it appears he's hit his stride here by 1934 . This is very entertaining stuff . |
526,793 | 4,445,210 | 96,180 | 9 | A ' Sleeper ' Of A Modern-Day Noir | This is one of those sleeper films , a good one that is not very well - known . . . . . but should be . I really liked this modern-day film noir when I first saw it over a decade ago and the three additional times since . The movie has all the features of a good noir , most of all a feeling of impending doom throughout , which a good noir exhibits . You know some bad things are going to happen , but you just don't know what and when . That uneasy mood runs throughout the film . Add some tough characters , great cinematography ( nice colors , too , in this case ) and even a good blues music score and you have an interesting film . The story here revolves around a ruthless American businessman trying to buy up an entire block of the businesses in one area in Britain . There's humor in here too with a goofy Polish jazz band , which looked and sounded just awful , and just enough action throughout to keep from getting too talky . Tommy Lee Jones , Melanie Griffith , Sting and Sean Bean star and all are fascinating to watch . |
527,088 | 4,445,210 | 53,083 | 9 | One Of The Most Unique Cartoons Ever | Wow , this was a shock - the real voices of Jack Benny and his TV stars : " Jack , " " Rochester , " " Mary " and " Don . " Mel Blanc voices " The Maxwell . " Anyway , it's strange to hear the real Jack Benny voice himself in this cartoon as we see him playing his violin early on and comparing himself ( favorably ) to the great violinist Isaac Stern . The jokes are typical Benny lines , except he's a mouse here so counts his cheese instead of his dollar bills . The extent to which he locks up the cheese is extremely funny . In this cartoon , we get all the regular Benny jokes and blank stares ! This is almost like watching the real Jack Benny Show . The ending of this cartoon makes this a unique Looney Tunes one - a real treasure for Benny fans . ( A hint : we see the actual Jack Benny ! ) |
526,686 | 4,445,210 | 43,400 | 9 | The Mice And The Cat Turn ' Mental | It's nighttime at the Hunka Cheese Factory and Hubie and Berite have eaten all they can eat . Their stomachs are dragging on the ground , and they're almost gagging . Hubie points out , " The avenge mouse eats 12 pounds of cheese in a lifetime . I figured tonight , we've lived 2 , 000 years . " In their twisted way of thinking , they figured since they've eaten all the cheese they could eat , there is nothing left to live for , so they write a suicide note stating " Goodbye cruel world . ( signed ) Hubie , Bertie , P . S . we've lived a full life . " The funny stuff comes when the two crawl into the big ( and stupid ) Claude the cat's mouth . . . . but cat wakes up and thinks all of this is too good to be true , or a dream , and spits them out . It goes on from there and the mice keep trying to be eaten and the cat keeps being suspicious and spitting them out . The cat even runs into the house's library and looks up " Mental Diseases - Their Causes and Cures " thinking either he or these little mice are nuts . The ironic twist is that the cat winds up thinking he , too , should end it all . We also get a dog involved . A bizarre but clever cartoon that doesn't evoke a lot of laughs but has a unique story . |
526,018 | 4,445,210 | 1,025,935 | 9 | How Do They Do It ? Only God Knows | In this program , which is more like a nature one than the usual " Modern Marvels , " we see how some amazing homes built by beavers , bees , birds , termites , ants and spiders . How these creatures know how to do everything they do by instinct baffles the writers of the show . I guess they don't believe in the powers of the One who created all of them . It's the only explanation , but , whatever , it's all fascinating . For instance , seeing how much goes into a beaver creating his " lodge " or a big " dam " is incredible in itself . I never realized how huge these things were . In fact , it's mentioned here that " they are the largest structures created by any animal . " In Montana , someone found a beaver-made dam that stretched 2 , 100 feet ! The key to the bees ' ( and wasps ' ) hives are the hexagonal shape which , apparently , is ideal ( " most efficient , " it's said here ) for structures . We even use it in space ships . Bees , with the was in their bodies , form millions and millions of these little hexagons in their hives . Wasps do similar but don't have wax . They have to use a mixture of saliva and plant fibers they gather . We've all seen bird's nest , and they show some unusual ones in this program . I found it interesting to hear that birds aren't too good at this on their first attempt , but by the second and third years , their homes are much better . Ants , of course , build entire cities and do incredible work with super strength but termites are really interesting : at least the ones in African grasslands and the Australian outback . These structures go up in the air , sometimes 10 to 20 feet . They may take 10 years to build . That was the most amazing sight I saw on this program , which finished with the incredible work spiders do in spinning their silk webs . What I didn't know was that many times the spider will destroy what he / she worked on all day , eat the web , recycle it in their bodies and weave another one the next day ! |
523,790 | 4,445,210 | 496,704 | 9 | You , Too , Can Visit ' Field Of Dreams ' | This is cool - a tour of the house and the field used in Field Of Dreams . The people who own and live in the house give tours of the place in Dyersville , Iowa . Actually , two families own the entire property but the Lansings own most of it and are featured in this " tour " that is part of the Anniversary Edition DVD . Boy , they've really made it a commercial production , with a souvenir building and a lot of signs , but that's okay because it least it has given thousands a people a chance to see this place and it is free of charge to use the diamond . I admit I would love to go out there and step on that diamond and sit on the bleachers looking out at the ballpark and cornfields . It has to be a thrill . The folks they interview all seem all excited . There is a local team , too ! They call themselves " The Ghost Players . " They come out of the cornfields and entertain the crowd . They have the same old uniforms . It's pretty amazing . They've become somewhat famous , traveling all over the world . Even in Japan there was a sign welcoming them saying , " If you build it , they will come . " I love it ! Unlike most bonus features on a film , this one features all " average " people being interviewed , those who own the property and some of the over one million people who have come to visit these " hallowed grounds " in Iowa . |
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