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Mirror Has Two Faces [VHS] (1996) Review

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Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Streisand's third directorial effort was greeted with surprisingly vicious reaction from both fans and critics, nearly all of whom immediately labeled it as an over-the-top vanity piece. It also had considerable difficulty at the box office. After opening with strong numbers, the $45 million budgeted film took a nose dive and did not recover. It ended up taking in $46 million domestically ($65 million worldwide), which was a respectable take, but far from the blockbuster status of films like A STAR IS BORN or THE PRINCE OF TIDES. When considering all of the above information, it's a bit surprising to discover that the film is nothing more than an entertaining and heart-felt romantic comedy. In hindsight, it's hard to understand why a such a harmless and light-weight film became such a lighting rod for scathing reviews and harsh comments.
While the storyline is predictable, the movie is actually very well-done with a brisk pace, compelling characters, and a witty screenplay. The finale may come down a bit heavy-handed on the "message" end, but the build-up is effective enough to merit this indulgence. Though MIRROR doesn't match her previous two directorial efforts, Streisand does once again pull off the various actress/producer/director roles with great efficiently, and this results in an effective star vehicle for the then-54-year-old film legend. Jeff Bridges received a lot of flack for his completely unselfconscious portrayal, but I admire how completely he throws himself into the silly role. Lauren Bacall is brilliantly biting and luminous in her turn as Streisand's mother, a role that earned her first (and so far only) Oscar nomination. Mimi Rogers is also fun as Streisand's (...)younger sister, as is Brenda Vaccaro as her self-deprecating best friend - although Pierce Brosnan is wasted as a gigolo-like suitor. All in all, an enjoyably fluffy film, undeserving of the criticism it routinely receives.
About the DVD: This was one of Columbia's first DVD releases, and while the picture and sound quality are great, there are no extras and the menus are hideous.

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Item Name: The Mirror Has Two Faces; Studio:Sony Pictures

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Mirror Has Two Faces (1996) Review

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Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Streisand's third directorial effort was greeted with surprisingly vicious reaction from both fans and critics, nearly all of whom immediately labeled it as an over-the-top vanity piece. It also had considerable difficulty at the box office. After opening with strong numbers, the $45 million budgeted film took a nose dive and did not recover. It ended up taking in $46 million domestically ($65 million worldwide), which was a respectable take, but far from the blockbuster status of films like A STAR IS BORN or THE PRINCE OF TIDES. When considering all of the above information, it's a bit surprising to discover that the film is nothing more than an entertaining and heart-felt romantic comedy. In hindsight, it's hard to understand why a such a harmless and light-weight film became such a lighting rod for scathing reviews and harsh comments.
While the storyline is predictable, the movie is actually very well-done with a brisk pace, compelling characters, and a witty screenplay. The finale may come down a bit heavy-handed on the "message" end, but the build-up is effective enough to merit this indulgence. Though MIRROR doesn't match her previous two directorial efforts, Streisand does once again pull off the various actress/producer/director roles with great efficiently, and this results in an effective star vehicle for the then-54-year-old film legend. Jeff Bridges received a lot of flack for his completely unselfconscious portrayal, but I admire how completely he throws himself into the silly role. Lauren Bacall is brilliantly biting and luminous in her turn as Streisand's mother, a role that earned her first (and so far only) Oscar nomination. Mimi Rogers is also fun as Streisand's (...)younger sister, as is Brenda Vaccaro as her self-deprecating best friend - although Pierce Brosnan is wasted as a gigolo-like suitor. All in all, an enjoyably fluffy film, undeserving of the criticism it routinely receives.
About the DVD: This was one of Columbia's first DVD releases, and while the picture and sound quality are great, there are no extras and the menus are hideous.

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Item Name: The Mirror Has Two Faces; Studio:Sony Pictures

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The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996) Review

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Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Streisand's third directorial effort was greeted with surprisingly vicious reaction from both fans and critics, nearly all of whom immediately labeled it as an over-the-top vanity piece. It also had considerable difficulty at the box office. After opening with strong numbers, the $45 million budgeted film took a nose dive and did not recover. It ended up taking in $46 million domestically ($65 million worldwide), which was a respectable take, but far from the blockbuster status of films like A STAR IS BORN or THE PRINCE OF TIDES. When considering all of the above information, it's a bit surprising to discover that the film is nothing more than an entertaining and heart-felt romantic comedy. In hindsight, it's hard to understand why a such a harmless and light-weight film became such a lighting rod for scathing reviews and harsh comments.
While the storyline is predictable, the movie is actually very well-done with a brisk pace, compelling characters, and a witty screenplay. The finale may come down a bit heavy-handed on the "message" end, but the build-up is effective enough to merit this indulgence. Though MIRROR doesn't match her previous two directorial efforts, Streisand does once again pull off the various actress/producer/director roles with great efficiently, and this results in an effective star vehicle for the then-54-year-old film legend. Jeff Bridges received a lot of flack for his completely unselfconscious portrayal, but I admire how completely he throws himself into the silly role. Lauren Bacall is brilliantly biting and luminous in her turn as Streisand's mother, a role that earned her first (and so far only) Oscar nomination. Mimi Rogers is also fun as Streisand's (...)younger sister, as is Brenda Vaccaro as her self-deprecating best friend - although Pierce Brosnan is wasted as a gigolo-like suitor. All in all, an enjoyably fluffy film, undeserving of the criticism it routinely receives.
About the DVD: This was one of Columbia's first DVD releases, and while the picture and sound quality are great, there are no extras and the menus are hideous.

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Item Name: The Mirror Has Two Faces; Studio:Sony Pictures

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The Hunchback of Notre Dame [Region 2] (1996) Review

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Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)A risky wedding of wholesome classic animation, to adult and often dark-themed material. The risk paid off and the result is one of the greatest achievements of Disney Studios.
The animation here is first rate and the entire thing is shot like a live-action film with some incredible long shots, great theatrical panning and even at one point, during Quasimodo's song "Out There" a realistic camera flare (I did a double take the first time I saw it!) Hunchback is filled with all sorts of great "tricks" like this. Lighting effects here are nothing short of magnificent - often subtle they sometimes change in an instant dramatically altering the mood of the piece. Frodo's demonic song "Hellfire" is perhaps one the most sinister and frightening moments to emerge from Disney and the animators let loose.
The prologue to the movie alone is a minor masterpiece and, like Beauty and the Beast, marvelously prepares us for the whirlwind of a story to take place.
The complaints about the singing and dancing gargoyles Victor, Hugo and Laverne, are simply wrongheaded. I read the Hugo classic too, and know they're not in there. What the complainants fail to realize is these gargoyles live only in Quasimodo's imagination. He invented these companions to ease an otherwise tortured, lonely, friendless life. The culmination of all of this becomes obvious in the spectacular song "A guy like you" which finishes with pigeons flying and hearts and banners and ribbons and Quasimodo being celebrated and then BAM immediately upon the conclusion of the final notes, the room becomes the same dark, dank, splintering tower filled with relics, junk and heartbreak. It's one of the movie's most shattering effects.
While deserved praise goes to the animators and crew, the voice talent here is, in my opinion, Disney's very best. Tom Hulce goes to the very soul of Quasimodo and gives a performance that is as poignant and shattering as anything he has done (Hulce also happened to be the best Hamlet I've ever seen.) Certain lines ("I am a monster, you know") will ring in my ear forever. Hulce has a beautiful voice and renders "Out there" with such abandon and vigor it makes my hair stand on end. In the quiet "Heaven's light" (which sequences into a stunning shot of the bells frantically ringing the opening theme), Hulce brings a fragility to such lines as "no face as hideous as my face, was ever meant for Heaven's light" that only a heart of stone would not be moved. Switching from pathos to rage, Hulce lets us feel the hidden rage and danger that this character also possesses. It is a truly remarkable performance.
Demi Moore, Kevin Kline, Tony Jay, Paul Kandel - and the rest of the cast all sound at the top of their game creating wonderful and vivid characters.
Alan Menkin and Stephen Schwartz get to the heart of the matter with score and songs - a sound - that are as integral a part of the telling of this story as the animation and voices.
Hunchback is a miracle of a movie!

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Cliffhanger [VHS] (1993) Review

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Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)"Cliffhanger" is one of those movies where the suspense sequences and action stunts outweigh everything else by a landslide (pardon the pun). There's really not much to the development of characters or plot, except that the movie uses the script as an excuse to put its characters in extremely dangerous situations one after another. On this ground, it works splendidly, and while the story and characterization are weak, there are still some good performances turned in by the cast.
The movie sets itself up with the promised white-knuckle action in a sequence that brings on the tension but fails to move us emotionally. On his way to retrieve his best friend, Hal Tucker (Michael Rooker) and his girlfriend, Sarah, from a 4,000 peak, Gabe Walker (Sylvester Stallone) makes an attempt to rescue Sarah after she begins falling, without success. Hal blames it on Gabe, and Gabe's own self-torment keeps him from town and from his own love, Jessie (Janine Turner). This move, while meant to establish emotion and character depth, doesn't do a whole lot for the script.
The movie then transfers us to a U.S. treasury plane, where three cases of money, in bills unusable except by a select group of people in the world, are being flown across the country. The plane is soon hijacked by a group of terrorists, led by Eric Qualen (John Lithgow). However, his plans are ruined once they lose the cases at high altitude and crash in the Rocky Mountains, where they call for help under the guise of being in danger.
Sparing the rest of the movie's twists and turns, once Gabe and Hal arrive on the scene, they are taken hostage and forced to climb mountains and hike through forests to find the three cases of money, soon bringing more people into the situation than the movie calls for.
The movie chooses to focus more on the action than on the story itself, which really isn't that bad a move. From the high-altitude stunts to the white-knuckle suspense generated by the scenes charged with high-octane suspense, the movie doesn't lose its ability to get our attention with actors hanging on the edges of cliffs and mountains, holding on for dear life.
The tension generated by the terrorists is, at best, mediocre. Even under the shadow of leader Lithgow, whose flair for turning a colorful phrase at every moment is funny yet unsettling, the movie never really gives us any reason to fear the henchmen along for the climb. There are certain moments, such as that in which the only black terrorist hunts Gabe and Jessie in a cavern, or when Gabe is trapped beneath an ice-covered lake. However, the only people the terrorists knock off we aren't given too much time to know, so what reason do we have to care?
Stallone is back in fine form, the action hero we've always admired from his earlier "Rocky" days. He's required to carry a lot of the heroism on his shoulders, and big as those shoulders are, that is no easy task. Yet, he is able to pull it off, with the help of Rooker and Turner, who give jobs well done in their roles.
While not the best action film ever made, "Cliffhanger" is a commendable piece of suspense that works due to its breathtaking action sequences and the altitude of its settings. It tends to drag in places, but really, with a movie that's so focused on getting us into a sweat, what does it matter?

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The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996) Review

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Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Streisand's third directorial effort was greeted with surprisingly vicious reaction from both fans and critics, nearly all of whom immediately labeled it as an over-the-top vanity piece. It also had considerable difficulty at the box office. After opening with strong numbers, the $45 million budgeted film took a nose dive and did not recover. It ended up taking in $46 million domestically ($65 million worldwide), which was a respectable take, but far from the blockbuster status of films like A STAR IS BORN or THE PRINCE OF TIDES. When considering all of the above information, it's a bit surprising to discover that the film is nothing more than an entertaining and heart-felt romantic comedy. In hindsight, it's hard to understand why a such a harmless and light-weight film became such a lighting rod for scathing reviews and harsh comments.
While the storyline is predictable, the movie is actually very well-done with a brisk pace, compelling characters, and a witty screenplay. The finale may come down a bit heavy-handed on the "message" end, but the build-up is effective enough to merit this indulgence. Though MIRROR doesn't match her previous two directorial efforts, Streisand does once again pull off the various actress/producer/director roles with great efficiently, and this results in an effective star vehicle for the then-54-year-old film legend. Jeff Bridges received a lot of flack for his completely unselfconscious portrayal, but I admire how completely he throws himself into the silly role. Lauren Bacall is brilliantly biting and luminous in her turn as Streisand's mother, a role that earned her first (and so far only) Oscar nomination. Mimi Rogers is also fun as Streisand's (...)younger sister, as is Brenda Vaccaro as her self-deprecating best friend - although Pierce Brosnan is wasted as a gigolo-like suitor. All in all, an enjoyably fluffy film, undeserving of the criticism it routinely receives.
About the DVD: This was one of Columbia's first DVD releases, and while the picture and sound quality are great, there are no extras and the menus are hideous.

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Item Name: The Mirror Has Two Faces; Studio:Sony Pictures

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Where Eagles Dare [VHS] (1969) Review

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(More customer reviews)Quite simply one of the greatest war movies ever made. A top notch thriller loaded with action, espionage and double crosses, "Where Eagles Dare" is the kind of movie that Hollywood just doesn't make anymore. This isn't some politically correct drama steeped in reality. No, this is good guys vs. bad guys. This is pure unabashed fantasy which keeps the audience on the edge of its seat. This is just darn good entertainment!
Richard Burton is absolutely cunning as the British agent who leads an elite group of soldiers behind enemy lines and into a seemingly unpenetrable German castle to rescue an imprisoned American General. A young Clint Eastwood is the only American on the mission. Clint is his usual cool and calm self. However he, like the audience, isn't sure who to trust. Somebody's a double agent, but exactly who is anyone's guess. Don't worry about figuring it out, just sit back and enjoy the drama. You'll love the growing tension and suspicion between Burton and Eastwood.
The journey into the castle is classic heart-stopping drama. Even better is Burton's fight with a German soldier high atop a ski lift -- truly one of the most riveting action sequences ever filmed. Bullets are flyin' and bombs are blastin' throughout. In the end, heroes emerge while evil perpetrators get their just due. Classic, absolutely classic!
And yes, as several reviewers have noted, the stunning scenery and beautiful cinematography in this film would greatly benefit from a widescreen DVD treatment. So, how 'bout it, I want my DVD!

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Item Name: Where Eagles Dare; Studio:Warner Home Video

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La Guerre du feu (1982) Review

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(More customer reviews)Already people are fretting about this movie Mel Gibson is making about the last days of Christ in which everybody will be speaking Latin and/or Arameic without subtitles. Well, if you are a-feared of such a prospect you can warm up on 1981 Canadian/French production from Jean-Jacques Annaud. "Quest for Fire" ("Le Guerre du feu") should be a good test for you because in this story, set among the Cro-Magnons of eighty thousand years ago, you know neither the characters nor the plot.
The genesis for this story is quite primal. A tribe of Cro-Magnons is attacked by its neighbors and has its fire stolen. This requires a small band to go forth and seek fire, which is necessary to ensure the tribe's survival. The trio consists of the brains of the outfit, Naoh (Everett McGill), the hulking brute, Amoukar (Ron Perlman), and the wiry comic relief, Gaw (Nameer El-Kadi). Along the way they hook up with Ika (Rae Dawn Chong), a young woman who is rescued from slavery because she actually knows how to MAKE fire, as opposed to waiting for lightning to hit something and start only a very small little fire.
The authenticity of the "language" in this film comes from the work of authors Anthony Burgess("A Clockwork Orange") who created the spoken languages and Desmond Morris ("The Naked Ape") who worked on the body language and gestures. I have certainly met a few people who were bothered by the lack of sub-titles, but never anyone who did not understand what was going on or what was being communicated. Without your eyes darting to the bottom of the screen throughout the movie you can pay attention to the nuanced performances and each viewing allows you to further amplify the dialogue you are conjuring up in your mind. For realism, "Quests of Fire" has everything from "One Million B.C." to "Clan of the Cave Bear" beat big time.
Ultimately, this story is not just a quest for fire, but a quest for love at a time when we think men simply knocked a woman over the head with a club and dragged her home to his cave, and if the film had not suggested the birth of true civilization came with the discovery of the missionary position, this film would enjoy a much better reputation. Annaud was probably trying to make a point about the importance of romance as a contributing factor to human evolution, but that idealization goes up in smoke when Ika shows Naoh a better way of doing it (it was almost enough to cost this film a star, but overall the ambition and execution on this one is too good to be that petty over one small screw up). For now the biggest complaint is that "Quest for Fire" is not yet available in wide-screen, because Claude Agostini's cinematography loses a lot in the scan-and-pan version of this decidedly "foreign" film.

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A Hard Day's Night (1964) Review

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(More customer reviews)Hard to believe that Miramax Entertainment could mess up this DVD so horribly. An anniversary release of one of the most important films of the 20th century no less. Shame on them.
There are a lot of raves here about the fact that the film is being presented "letterboxed" for the first time. Actually, it's just the first time the top and bottom of the picture have been chopped off for no reason! "A Hard Day's Night" was filmed in Academy standard 1.37:1. Slightly wider than your average TV tube, but not anything close to the 1.66:1 chop job on the new DVD. Full-frame would have been the proper presentation.
As for the audio...they DID clean up the dialog portions of the movie, so for perhaps the first time EVER, you can actually HEAR what everyone is saying - and it no longer sounds like they are speaking into an Edison cylinder recorder.
But oh, the music. They replaced the original mono soundtrack with the standard mono AHDN CD to replace the overmodulated music on the original film. Never mind that there were a couple of different mixes in there that they should have left alone ("Tell Me Why", "And I Love Her", "If I Fell") - BUT...they went and added microdelay and phasing to create some kind of a half-assed 5.1 mix that through a standard stereo or mono downmixed output makes the audio sound phase-y and hollow. This is worse than the original mono mix (available on the original Beta & VHS release from 1982 or the print aired on AMC several years ago) and the fact that the standard mono mix was NOT made available as alternate audio on the disc (as it was on the "Yellow Submarine" DVD) is an oversight punishable by public stoning.
As for all the bonus material...not ONE interview with an actual Beatle? Not even McCartney? The closest we get is George Martin?
The person behind this mess is none other than Martin Lewis, self-proclaimed Beatle "expert" and all around media whore. Lewis' involvement explains why no-one at Apple would have anything to do with the project. With some two-hours of useless interviews as "bonus" material, here's what you DON'T get:
The original theatrical trailers
The reissue theatrical trailers
The original theatrical "making-of" featurette
The surviving outtake footage ("You Can't Do That") [which, as a sidenote was left off the MPI DVD, making having the VHS & Laserdisc necessary]
The aforementioned MPI documentary DVD
Any surviving still photos of the other missing sequences
Running commentary on an alternate audio track
The promised (but not included) Richard Lester's "Running Jumping Standing Still Movie"
Anything of any relevance.
What makes this all the worse is that the image looks terrific. However, it's been so horribly trashed that the only proper place for this DVD is the trash can or as a trade in at the used DVD store.
Anyone who owns the original MPI DVD should hold on to it and save thier tewnty bucks.
Thanks to my friend Steve for enlightening me on this...

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Treasure Island (1950) Review

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(More customer reviews)When Captain Billy Bones (played by Finlay Currie) give young Jim Hawkins (Bobby Driscoll) a pirate's treasure map, he sets him off on the trail of adventure. When Long John Silver (Robert Newton) gets wind of what's going down, he positions himself to be ship's cook, and fills the boat with his pirate friends. Befriending Jim, Silver plots to get the gold for himself. But someone will prove quite capable of foiling Silver's plans - young Jim Himself! [Color, released in 1950, with a running time of 1:36.]
This is a great movie, one that is surprisingly good in spite of its age. Indeed, for me this will always be the very touchstone of Treasure Island movies. Robert Newton does an excellent job of portraying Long John Silver, and to this day, whenever I imagine a pirate talking, I hear his voice and accent. Now, don't take this movie too lightly. Even though it was created by Disney Studios, it has a lot of gunplay, blood, men hit with swords, and just the sort of violence you would associate with pirates.
But, don't get me wrong, this is not a modern blood-and-gore movie; it's an interesting and captivating movie that you will want to watch with your whole family. My family loves this movie just as much as I do, and highly recommends it to your family!

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Treasure Island (1950) / Region Free DVD / Audio: English / Subtitle: English, Chinese / Starring: Bobby Driscoll, Robert Newton, Basil Sydney, Walter Fitzgerald, Denis O'Dea / Director: Byron Haskin

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The River Wild [Region 2] (1994) Review

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(More customer reviews)Kevin Bacon can so beautifully play a sadist, a charming and vicious creep, a bad guy that it's almost like he's not acting. And Meryle Streep, trying her hand here in an action film, NEVER seems to be acting - she's always stellar, completely immersed in her character. In The River Wild, Streep plays a suburban mom and former white-water rafting guide who is taking her family on a raft trip for summer vacation. She's a bit on the outs with her husband, who is, at the last minute, too busy to go along - so she and her son go it alone - and quickly run afoul of some killers on the lam. Bacon and a buddy, of course. They coerce Streep to take them down a terrifyingly dangerous stretch of river rapids to escape from the pursuing cops.
Marvelous. And Streep did all the river scenes without the use of a stunt double - which, if you've ever been white-water rafting on a Class 4 or 5 river, is utterly amazing.

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The Adventures of Indiana Jones - The Complete Movie Collection [Blu-ray] Review

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(More customer reviews)I love the first three Indy films. Like so many others I was greatly looking forward to seeing a new one. I thought (or hoped) that the very long time they took to come up with a script meant they were polishing it to a brilliant shine. After seeing the movie, I conclude it was really a long negotiation between Lucas, Spielberg, and Ford, with some of them eager to make a crappy movie, and some of them not, with the end result being crappy, but perhaps not as crappy as it might have been.
The movie started with a bit of promise (other than the infantile CGI prairie dog). I'm not as offended by the nuclear fridge scene as many are, because I know those mock towns weren't built at Ground Zero (or they would have been vaporized). They were built at a distance to judge the effect of the blast on places some miles from the explosion. So while it's not credible for Indy to survive being tossed around that much, he didn't exactly survive a nuclear explosion. Some of the other early scenes, such as those where Indy is actually discovering something, are also good.
Still...
About halfway through the movie, despite my fervent desire to like it, I realized it just wasn't working for me. No suspense. No real sense of urgency or danger. Low stakes. Too many marginal or pointless characters. Too much cartoon nonsense going on, far less believable than anything from the previous films (the stupid monkey vine swinging, Marian's idiotic tree-driving stunt, the multiple waterfall drops...none of it scary, none of it remotely convincing, or even fun). Marian's long-awaited big reveal was one of the biggest, flattest duds in film history. She shows up and spends most of the rest of the movie just tagging along with a dazed grin on her face like she was just grateful to be there, a flaccid dishrag compared to the character from the first film. Not Karen Allen's fault...she was just thrown in for nostalgia's sake, and was poorly written. Mutt was actually not a bad character, but I don't need or want him to be Indy's son. Is there any worse cliche in fiction than the Son He Never Knew He Had? I realize Spielberg and Lucas are fascinated by father issues, but I'm not. And then there's the whole point of the movie...the skull and the aliens...ehhhh. Who cares? The finale was a muddled jumble of flashing lights and wind that meant nothing and evoked nothing but tedium. Remember at the end of the previous films, where the characters actually seem to notice that something extraordinary has happened, were even scared, or traumatized just a little bit (okay, not so much in Crusade, where they quickly shake off any aftereffects and devolve into slapstick and lose all interest in their surroundings). Not this time. The giant flying saucer takes off, and Indy and his massive crew of sidekicks start cracking jokes.
I'm inclined to blame Lucas for most of this mess. He's made a habit of lapses of taste and judgement since...hmm..."Howard the Duck"?
I don't want to see this movie again, and I don't want to own it. I hope they don't make another, because these guys have proven they no longer have what it takes.

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Item Name: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull [Blu-ray]; Studio:Paramount

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I Know What You Did Last Summer [Region 2] (1997) Review

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(More customer reviews)Yes, "I Know What You Did Last Summer" does seem like some corny teenybopper popcorn flick; but it's not. Believe me, I went into this film with pretty low expectations, but was pleasantly surprised with the level of terror provided! And it's not cheap terror, it's genuine because of the suspense director Jim Gillespie consistently builds.
It's the fourth of July and four friends Julie James (Jennifer Love Hewitt), Ray Bronson (Freddie Prinze Junior), Helen Shivers (Sarah Michelle Gellar), and Barry William Cox (Ryan Phillippe) are celebrating their high school graduation and Helen's beauty pageant win. On their way home they hit a man walking down a curved corner in the road. They panic when they learn he's dead and in hopes of saving their futures, decide to dump the body into the ocean. The four friends make a pact to keep it a secret. It was an accident, but it was one they cannot forget.
Their friendships are ruined and they all leave for college and don't talk to each other; they are all depressed and upset. When Julie returns home for summer vacation there is a letter waiting for her. It reads, "I Know What You Did Last Summer". Frightend, Julie goes to find her old friends for help. Was someone else there that night? They think it's only a prank until a man in a slicker with a hook begins to stalk the four friends and torment them in the most vile and disgusting ways imaginable (dead bodies in their trunks, cutting off their hair in sleep, trying to run them over, etc.
Realizing that if they don't find out who's doing this and get rid of him fast, they'll be dead, they search for answers, all the while receiving even more terrifying threats. It sure is a thrilling ride and there are a remarkable number of points in this movie when you jump in fright and scream!
One reason this movie is terrifying is because the situation the characters are in could happen to anybody. Hitting someone with a car could happen to anybody, and what happens after the crash is also believable. The acting by Jennifer Love Hewitt and Ryan Phillippe are phenomenal coming from such young actors. These two are now big stars, but they weren't when they did "I Know What You Did Last Summer" so it's interesting to see how they were before they were famous. Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Junior aren't quite as convincing as Hewitt and Phillippe, but they are still enjoyable.
The script for "I Know What You Did Last Summer" was adapted from Lois Duncan's best-selling novel by Kevin Williamson, the writer of "Scream". Yes, the script is in good hands! Williamson's script is a very visual one filled with twists, witty dialogue, and plenty of scares.
The DVD for "I Know What You Did" last summer values quality over quantity and provides only a theatrical trailer and commentary. The trailer is terrifying, very enticing and fun to watch. The commentary by director Jim Gillespie is very informative and insightful for fans of the film. It focuses mainly of production design, but has some interesting blurbs about music, casting, and script changes. Gillespie has a wonderful Scottish accent, which makes the commentary even more delightful to listen to.

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I Know What You Did Last Summer [VHS] (1997) Review

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(More customer reviews)Yes, "I Know What You Did Last Summer" does seem like some corny teenybopper popcorn flick; but it's not. Believe me, I went into this film with pretty low expectations, but was pleasantly surprised with the level of terror provided! And it's not cheap terror, it's genuine because of the suspense director Jim Gillespie consistently builds.
It's the fourth of July and four friends Julie James (Jennifer Love Hewitt), Ray Bronson (Freddie Prinze Junior), Helen Shivers (Sarah Michelle Gellar), and Barry William Cox (Ryan Phillippe) are celebrating their high school graduation and Helen's beauty pageant win. On their way home they hit a man walking down a curved corner in the road. They panic when they learn he's dead and in hopes of saving their futures, decide to dump the body into the ocean. The four friends make a pact to keep it a secret. It was an accident, but it was one they cannot forget.
Their friendships are ruined and they all leave for college and don't talk to each other; they are all depressed and upset. When Julie returns home for summer vacation there is a letter waiting for her. It reads, "I Know What You Did Last Summer". Frightend, Julie goes to find her old friends for help. Was someone else there that night? They think it's only a prank until a man in a slicker with a hook begins to stalk the four friends and torment them in the most vile and disgusting ways imaginable (dead bodies in their trunks, cutting off their hair in sleep, trying to run them over, etc.
Realizing that if they don't find out who's doing this and get rid of him fast, they'll be dead, they search for answers, all the while receiving even more terrifying threats. It sure is a thrilling ride and there are a remarkable number of points in this movie when you jump in fright and scream!
One reason this movie is terrifying is because the situation the characters are in could happen to anybody. Hitting someone with a car could happen to anybody, and what happens after the crash is also believable. The acting by Jennifer Love Hewitt and Ryan Phillippe are phenomenal coming from such young actors. These two are now big stars, but they weren't when they did "I Know What You Did Last Summer" so it's interesting to see how they were before they were famous. Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Junior aren't quite as convincing as Hewitt and Phillippe, but they are still enjoyable.
The script for "I Know What You Did Last Summer" was adapted from Lois Duncan's best-selling novel by Kevin Williamson, the writer of "Scream". Yes, the script is in good hands! Williamson's script is a very visual one filled with twists, witty dialogue, and plenty of scares.
The DVD for "I Know What You Did" last summer values quality over quantity and provides only a theatrical trailer and commentary. The trailer is terrifying, very enticing and fun to watch. The commentary by director Jim Gillespie is very informative and insightful for fans of the film. It focuses mainly of production design, but has some interesting blurbs about music, casting, and script changes. Gillespie has a wonderful Scottish accent, which makes the commentary even more delightful to listen to.

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The River Wild [Region 2] (1994) Review

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Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Kevin Bacon can so beautifully play a sadist, a charming and vicious creep, a bad guy that it's almost like he's not acting. And Meryle Streep, trying her hand here in an action film, NEVER seems to be acting - she's always stellar, completely immersed in her character. In The River Wild, Streep plays a suburban mom and former white-water rafting guide who is taking her family on a raft trip for summer vacation. She's a bit on the outs with her husband, who is, at the last minute, too busy to go along - so she and her son go it alone - and quickly run afoul of some killers on the lam. Bacon and a buddy, of course. They coerce Streep to take them down a terrifyingly dangerous stretch of river rapids to escape from the pursuing cops.
Marvelous. And Streep did all the river scenes without the use of a stunt double - which, if you've ever been white-water rafting on a Class 4 or 5 river, is utterly amazing.

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