Reviews

I've only watched this film 200 times. My buddy was a projectionist and I can still remember him saying, "Hey, There's a new Eastwood movie showing that's 3 hours long and it's so good you want it to go 6 hours!" I had to see it. This is the greatest western ever made and quite possibly the greatest film ever. It flows beautifully. No wasted scenes, movements, actors, lines. It's like watching a beautiful symphony. I was disappointed with the anniversary dvd. Whoever did the voiceover track didn't know very much about scenes or actors. I thought they coulda done a better job. But buy it anyway.

A good film.Beautiful cinematography, lighting. It was just a little heavy-handed. By that I mean had another director taken the same script, It would have been a masterpiece. The music swells to deliberately draw tears from believers in the audience. Maybe this was Gibson's goal. That this film cannot be judged by the usual film criteria...That it needs to be a "Christian film for Christians". If so, Mel succeeded.

If you don't have a belief in christ, It comes up as a confusing story. The characters are not very well defined. No attempt to go into their backgrounds. Peter, from what I understand a very important part of this saga, is given only surface attention. Same with Judas & Mary. No background. Mary is a Mom crying for her son. Scenes show her sobbing for him over and over and over. Okay, Great...but if she is such an IMPORTANT figure in Jesus's life, Why isn't she given more background attention. The two little glimpses of "little Jesus falling" and "table scene" tells nothing about Mary at all. Mary Magdelene...same thing applies. Here's a woman who Jesus may or may not have been romantically involved with. Who was she? It's a good film but falls way short of being THE film that everyone says it is.

A great Sci Fi film. I didn't know what to expec since the box said something about 'what sci fi used to be'. What I got was an "adult" sci fi picture. Not some fools running around with phasers & lazers or The Last Maalox. Finally, An intelligent film about the future where your mind has to actually figure something out. You won't HAVE to worry about your little children or young teenagers ruining it either, It's well beyond their thinking capability. When one character said, "If I tried to tell you what's happening here, It wouldn't be what's happening here.", I didn't understand. Later when I found out what was happening, I fully understood what the character was saying.

This film is a quiet rush. A velvet rollercoaster. Put the dvd on and don't get distracted. If you truly understand film, This is truly a great one.

The first time, I caught this film about halfway though and usually if I'm interested I'll stop watching so I can rent it and catch it from start to finish. But I just couldn't stop watching! It was mesmerizing! A pregnant girl kidnapped by 2 losers who'll do anything to get their money. No sympathy for anybody. I bought it and it wa just as goos from start to finish. Caan is great as is Del Toro, who underacts in this film. Why would he TRY to play a loser? His character IS a loser so no need to hype it. Lewis, as the prenant girl, is exactly what she needed to be....vulnerable and strong at the same time. No John Wayne's or goody two shoe's in this film...none welcome either.

Something strange I noticed: There's practically no relationship between Taye Diggs character and his deputy's. No dialogue 'cept for one tiny scene. Since the whole premise was set up as some kind of rub between Diggs vs everyone else, It would only make sense to see a little more of his officers. This film is a hodgepodge of nothing. It's like a film garage sale with all the pieces laying around. Nothing is put together in any sort of decent order.

This would've been a great film in the hands of another director and writer. It just comes off as a film that is trying so desperately to make you tear up every 2 minutes. "Just tell the story!" and stop with the cliches is what I was yelling. This is a 1943 John Wayne flick for pete's sake. Mel Gibson's character is just too good to be true, he was so righteous he should run for God in the next election. But If this is a tribute to those killed in that first battle, I am forever in rememberance. And if you really are upset that we were in 'Nam in the first place and want to know the real story of why these men died, I recommend your next flick be Path To War directed by John Frankenheimer.

I kept waiting for something wonderful to happen in this film. It always seems on the verge of happening. Just something. But It's more like a long, drawn out Peyton Place than anything else. It has the touch of a Euro film...lots of yak about, well, nothing in general and it's all supposed to mean something. And there are so many questions...If Teresa didn't want a womanizer then WHY MARRY ONE? The Doctor is too smart to be drawn into some political street demonstration...but HE IS ANYWAY! I couldn't wait til this thing ended.

One of the absolute worse films I've ever seen. It plays like a Saturday Night Live skit gone very bad. Johnny Depp, trying very hard to act and speaking with the ever present Thompson cigarette holder in his mouth, is barely audible. Might as well be ... his lines aren't funny or interesting. The problem might be the plot: Let's make a film of 2 guys on drugs. Yeah right..Hardee har har. The only bright spot is Benicio Del Toro. Leave this film to the 14 year old set.

Being a big fan of Spidey I remember reading about his first appearance. That's why this was a great disappointment and a huge surprise. First I thought the Maguire kid was greatly miscast. He just doesn't cut it for me. Then there is the fact that they HAD to go back to high school. Ya know, It seemed perfect in the comics but when it transfers to film it looks downright stupid and juvenile. I thought they could've handled that part differently, like in Batman. I didn't care for the lighting and wholesomeness of the film. The Batman films captured that comic book look to a tea. This one seems all sugar and spice and everything nice. I truly believe they made this film for 8-10 years old's. Don't waste your money if you're a true Spiderman fan. Save it and buy one of old comic books.

First the premise stinks...little boy likes to dress in girls clothes. It reminded me of Norman Bates in PSYCHO or Ed Wood in ED WOOD. The jokes are lame and old, You've seen 'em in a dozen 50's & 60's films. The whole cast is wasted. I bet people signed on just to be in a Shirley MacLaine vehicle. Please, Would somebody tell Shirley she did her best comedy in TWO MULES FOR SISTER SARA. See it...if there's no reruns of Andy Griffith on.

Yes, Another MESS of a film starring Guy Pierce (The Man of One Faces). This film is totally predictable and it borrows from 10,000 film plots before it. I'm slowly losing faith in IMDB viewers...to put this anywhere near the Top Ten of 250 films of all time is a total disgrace. This website is slowly losing credibility because of mindless 20 somethings. Don't waste your time on this film. Do laundry or give the dog a bath.

I got a better understanding of why the Vietnamese people turned to Communism. Hell, With folks like the French as the murdering, raping, occupying force, who wouldn't rebel. But the film isn't just a social commentary, It's a beautiful albeit tragic love story. I didn't particularly like the ending. I was looking for that reconciliation but then I realized it doesn't always happen that way. See it. The acting is superb, the storyline and cinematography is great and, even if you don't want to, you'll learn something about history.

Funny thing is I'm a child of the 60's & 70's. I remember seeing this when it was first released and I loved it! I saw it recently as an adult and it sucked the big one. Oh well. Pass on this film, It has nothing to say and just isn't funny. Unless you're 13. Put it in the same category as X Men. Good now, sucks later.

Here we go with another edition of "The Politicians Lose The Battle". Ya know, If we could just tell the real battle story and get beyond finger pointing then we'd have more Saving Private Ryans. Years from now these films (WWS and Blackhawk Down) will seem to everyone what they are to me...just stupid. The producers should have just told the real story and quit making it up. And when the enemy commander gives up, just like that, after being in the battle for days...it really showed that amateurs were in charge of this production. Hollywood, give us a break. We can come up with a better tribute to our Vietnam vets than this tripe. The best 'Nam film is still Apocalypse Now....by a long shot. Forget this one.

Wonderful performance by Anna Paquin... but I found myself asking, "Why?" What's it all about? This film plods on and never finds it's footing. Just when you think it might get interesting, It starts to plod along again. I also believe that too many times films can get a little too complex for the viewer but in The Piano's case it's just too simple. A woman goes to, where?...Borneo or someplace to live with her new husband. She doesn't speak which lends itself to the non-original, done in film a hundred times "Is she touched in the head?" talk around her new home. Her little girl has to interpret. Hunter shows no emotion whatsoever, neither does Sam Neill, her husband. He basically just leaves her alone. Which is what I would of done.

I also had to suffer through this film on the Oxygen Channel, which had a commercial break every THREE MINUTES! That made the film just that much more boring.

This is a featurette made into a movie. First, Andy Kauffman was an average comic with a very weird sense of humor. I don't care what all the other comics say, he was average. He broke no new ground and trying to stretch his average life into a film falls flat. The only exciting and original thing he did was the Wrestling thang w/ Jerry Lawler and that was made into another film which is far and above this tripe. Carrey is good as Kauffman but his talent is wasted on the subject. Better off leaving the weirdness in the video store. I suffered through this film and you probably will too.

I almost turned this film off. I'm so glad I stayed with it. It's one of the best films I've seen. Cabiria, the street prostitute, is not sympathetic. She's rough, vulgar, not very attractive, a showoff, loud, proud, inelegant. I just didn't feel anything for her character at the beginning. But Fellini must have been reading my mind. He purposefully played it that way to draw the viewer in.

The streets of Rome are unforgiving and harsh for a prostitute. There are those who sleep in caves and in the archways. Cabiria braggingly says, "I've got my own house...here's one girl who's never slept under the arches. Well, maybe once. Twice maybe." By the end of the film I was completely hooked by her charm, desire, and hope. For hope is what keeps Cabiria going. A great film.

Forget this "kids" flick. I was so bored I fell asleep. And then I was appalled to find mindless idiots ranking this film near The Godfather & Shawshank. To even rank it near Psycho Beach Party is ridiculous. It's another fantasy film that is would make Walt Disney proud...and embarrass most talented entertainers. If you 10 years old, see it, you'll get it. Have the mind of a 10 year old, you'll enjoy it even more.

Shame, Shame....here we have another film posing to tell the truth of the Blackhawk incident in Somalia. For shame on Ridley Scott for not having the guts to tell the real truth. But the real truth is: No matter what the reason for being there, our soldiers screwed the pooch in this operation. Scott blames the incident on American policy. What's wrong with us today? Are we too patriotic these days to say that our boys messed it up? Evidently so. All in all, BHD sadly cannot live up to the best war movies. Saving Private Ryan and Spielberg still is heads above BHD. More so in fact that BHD seems almost amateurish. The acting is mainly stock, lots of screaming & yelling that's been done before. BHD breaks no new ground and if America weren't in this fervent patriotic stupor, BHD wouldn't even be on celluloid. Forget it and be happy.

Completely different from the TV series. The acting is much better and the characters are much more like real people in a real invironment rather than cartoon characters in a real environment (as was the TV series). And no, there won't be a Alan Alda anti-war-like letter home to Dad. You'll have to figure out what's going on yourself. I was a child of the '70's so I appreciate subtle dark humour. Those were dark days, after all. Vietnam is the war they are really talking about in MASH, not Korea. Korea is just the excuse. The military is depicted exactly as they are...without any regard to common sense, only Army sense. The acting, again, is top drawer from top to bottom. Duvall, Kellerman, Skerritt, Sutherland, Gould in perhaps his best role. It's great work. Of course the DVD is much better, everything's left in. But don't expect the TV show, Thank God.

This film ain't for everybody. It's politically incorrect. OHMYGOSH!!!! Oh, And you generation X'ers might be bored cause somethin' (NYC, DC, spaceship,etc) isn't blown up every 10 minutes. The plot is great: Old Army buddies come together to rob not one but FIVE Vegas casinos on New Years Eve. And if that's not enough, the end twist is super. Seems writers were not afraid to venture out back in the 60's after all.

There is a remake starring George Clooney which I've recently seen. It drove me back to see this one...the better one. Without special effects the remake would be nothing. (There's that word that starts Generation X'ers to slobbering again, sfx)

What could have been an excellant Las Vegas adventure turned into a bucket of Sheboygan slop. O11 should have taken more of the original film w/ Sinatra & Rat Pack. In the original, a bunch of old Army Airborne buddies get together for a heist of Vegas casino's. Notice I said casino'S, more than one. They robbed 3 or 4 on New Years Eve and did they succeed? Well, watch the original. Plus there's an incredible twist at the end. In the current O11, we find Clooney & Pitt running around trying to recruit people, some total strangers!...to pull off the heist of the century. How can you possibly believe you're gonna go to people you've never met before, never worked with before, never trusted with your life before, and invite them to a robbing? That's where the Army buddy thing made sense. This doesn't.

And who the hell is ever gonna believe that the Nevada Gaming Commission is ever gonna let you keep the receipts and money from 3 different casino's in ONE location. Yeah, Right. It's more Mission Impossible than anything else. A SAD version of MI. Sinatra would NOT have been proud.

What Saving Private Ryan does to expose the inhumanity of war and determination of US soldiers, this film gives us the Peyton Place of war. A place where, instead of a war story, we just find a bunch of character flaws in every GI and lamely put them under a microscope. It leads to...well, nowhere. The proof is in the pudding, I say. You'll see SPR has a place among the greatest, if not THE greatest, war films of all time. TRL continues to be ignored by both networks and the DVD buying public. Even Pearl Harbor, a love story with sfx, will surpass TRL. And rightfully so... a neighbor of mine served in the pacific, losing an arm to a Japanese bullet, and he frowned on this film as any kind of accurate representation of that theatre of war.

I was chided for not having seen this film...now I can chide back. I really shouldn't be writing about it since I DID NOT see the whole thing. Yes, I had to turn the DVD off after an agonizing hour. What a "cute" movie, but that's all it is. And to think academy voters chose this stupid, egotistic film over Shawshank Redemption. It's a sign that Hanks has way too much academy pull. Great actor but the film comes up short. Don't be chided into renting this thing.