The Fisher King (1991)

This is the one for which Robin Williams should have received an Oscar; for as Parry, the victim of a senseless tragedy, he is nothing short of brilliant in "The Fisher King," directed by Terry Gilliam and co-starring Jeff Bridges (who also gives an Oscar-worthy performance here). Gilliam has created the perfect mood and atmosphere to tell the story of successful radio talk-show host Jack Lucas (Bridges), and the homeless and mentally unhinged Parry, whose lives intersect in the wake of an act of unconscionable violence that leaves them both barely clinging to the memory of a reality that no longer exists for either of them. With this movie, Gilliam has deftly crafted a study of the symbiotic existence of mankind and the impact of human nature upon the space we all must share in a world growing smaller day by day. Through Jack's eyes, Gilliam examines the nature of cause and effect, and the results thereof, and Jack's story ultimately becomes Parry's story, and aptly illustrates how the needs of one become the necessity of another, and what it means to finally be able to look beyond ourselves and delve beneath those layers of contemporary frivolity we all manage to build, which in the end are nothing more than pretentious insulations that keep us from the things in life that really matter. Even as Jack's own act of irresponsibility comes back to haunt him and make him question his own values to the very core of his being, Parry receives the brunt of it all from the other end of the spectrum, with consequences even more dire, though for both the result of their shared circumstance is life-altering. Williams gives a masterful performance here that illuminates so well how thin the line between comedy and drama really is. He brings the complex, tragic figure of Parry to the screen flawlessly, with attitude, expression and even body language that is impeccable, and all without a single false moment to be found anywhere throughout (by comparison, even as good as he was in "Good Will Hunting," for which he received the B.S.A. Oscar, under close scrutiny you'll find a moment or two there that do not ring true). This is quite simply the best work he's ever done, before or since, and he's given the cinematic world an unforgettable character that will undoubtedly make a lasting impression on anyone who sees this film. And, though Williams grabs the lion's share of the spotlight here, he by no means overshadows Jeff Bridges, who has also created a memorable character in Jack. He brings a depth to this role through which he readily displays the many different levels upon which Jack works and lives, from the egotistical, self-centered to the compassionate; it's like watching a struggle for domination going on within him, and waiting to find out which side will ultimately emerge triumphant. It's an exemplary performance, and it's a gross miscarriage of justice that Bridges didn't at least receive a nomination for Best Actor for this one. Proving, however, that justice does, at times, get it's due, Mercedes Ruehl was awarded the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her personable portrayal of Anne, the fulcrum upon which Jack and Parry dramatically balance their tender and tentative psyches. Like Bridges and Williams, she gives a performance here that is totally credible, and she's a delight to watch. One of the strengths of this movie, in fact, is the incredible performances; and it's so gratifying to see such a good story brought to life and made so real through artistic endeavor. In a supporting role, Michael Jeter demands to be singled out for his part as the homeless Cabaret Singer, and also Amanda Plummer, as the hapless and endearing Lydia, both of whom are just additional parts of the aggregate that make this such a great movie. With "The Fisher King," Gilliam has given us a wonderfully textured morality tale, both entertaining and engaging and rich with metaphor and substance that will endure the test of time, because it is, in the end, a story for the ages. This is definitely one you do not want to let pass you by.

The Fisher King is a representational movie. It makes use of Arthurian legend, and parallels the legend of the Fisher King with the lives of the two main protagonists Parry (Robin Williams) and Jack (Jeff Bridges). Symbolism and metaphorical techniques are utilisied extensively throughout the film, which makes it an extremely visual experience to watch. However, the symbolism extends beyond the visual plane, to a very psychological one. For example, Parry's creation of a fantastical world full of 'little fat people' and the 'Red Knight', is very much representative of his own mental condition; the fantasy world, minus the Red Knight, represents Parry's acceptance/ignorance of his mental trauma. At the same time the Red Knight is symbolic of the pain and suffering as caused by the trauma itself.

Whenever Parry shows glimpes of sanity (lucid speech, dating, feeling love again, etc.), the Red Knight always appears in his life. While the Red Knight is at bay Parry is not catatonic or overwrought by his trauma. To overcome/accept the trauma of seeing his wife murdered before his eyes, ultimately Parry has to confront the Red Knight and vanguish him. However, he lacks the insight and strength to do this on his own. Enter Jack who ultimately feels responsible for Parry's condition! Jack is the equivalent of the fool or simpleton from the story of the Fisher King. Jack's intent is one of redemption, while he is absorbed into Parry's world. Eventually Jack begins to understand Parry's need for the Holy Grail, which represents Acceptance of Loss. If Parry is able to possess the Holy Grail, then he shall be able to vanguish Insanity as represented by the Red Knight.

While there are elements of fantasy and Arthurian legend woven into this story, there is also a theme of Christianity. Originally Jack is driven by a need to regain the former glory of his life when he was a successful talkback radio host. He wants that life back and believes that by helping Parry, he will overcome his guilt, and thus be able to resume his former life. Jack feels a false resolution in his life when he regains his former life. However, ultimately, when Jack agrees to undertake the quest for the Holy Grail, only then do his motives become self-less. He helps Parry because he wants to, not because he needs to drive away his own guilt this is very much part of the Christian Doctrine.

On the whole, The Fisher King is an intricate weaving of comedy, drama and tragedy. The direction by Gilliam is faultless, his attention to detail evident especially in the Chinese Restaurant scene, where he borrows from Chinese film-making techniques, using the vertical black bar wipe technique.

This is the type of movie which, on a superficial level, is only somewhat satisfying. However, it is on the psychological level where its real impact is felt tragic, hopeful and uplifting. It is not the type of movie to watch if you are expecting to be entertained!

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I have a passionate love for the Arthurian legends. To paraphrase Robertson Davies, however, these tales have a poor history of being adapted to stage or screen. "Camelot", "Excalibur", "First Knight", "Prince Valiant" -if you really love the tales, you know just how short these films fall.

Then there is The Fisher King.

No, you won't find King Arthur here. You won't find Camelot or Guenivere or the Questing Beast. What you WILL find is the essence of the Grail story. Parry (Robin Williams) is Percival the Fool as well as The Fisher King himself; Jack (Jeff Bridges) is a fallen king-of-radio. Both are wounded and in a related manner. Neither faces his problems head on. Each needs another to pave the way to forgiveness, acceptance, and redemption. The ultimate physical object that leads to this may be a swimming trophy, but it is also the Holy Grail itself. Why? Because it truly is, if you only believe.

Along the way you meet the not-so-in-distress damsels (Mercedes Ruehl won an Oscar for best supporting actress; Amanda Plummer, who deserved one as well), the company of knights-errant (the homeless of New York City), an evil Red Knight, two even more evil local toughs, and the false-prophets from the land of television. Each of these is a person, or a type, from our own world. They also happen to fit the tales of the Holy Grail rather well. Forced comparisons? I leave that to the individual viewer to decide, but I found the characterizations marvelous. This is not a film about Real Life, but it is a film about something truer, something closer to the soul.

This is a film that deserves multiple veiwings. If nothing else you are going to want to see the scene in Grand Central Station more than once (if you know the movie, you know what I'm talking about; if not, you are in for a beautiful treat). This is a film that teeters between rampant silliness and powerful truths. Somehow it never feels schmaltzy, forced, or preachy.

Watch this film.

Let the little man dance!

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This is one of my favorite films. For the most part it is solid but does take some thought and knowledge about how people deal with trauma. Although it falters at times and has a few artistic distractions it does teach several good lessons. To understand the meaning of the title one must know the story of the Fisher King. There are many variations of the legend and one very simplistic version is sort of given in the film and will not be repeated here. The Legend of the Fisher King deals with a man who was injured as a young man (again many variations of how) and suffered from these wounds throughout his life. His only respite was to be taken fishing. He eventually became the penultimate master of the Grail Castle. Every evening the Grail, Platen and spear would be brought out and those suffering would be healed. That is, all except for the Fisher King. The Fisher King could not be healed until someone asked him a specific question. The Fisher King did not need to know the answer to the question. As the years passed, nobody ever asked the question until one day, on his second visit to the Grail Castle, Percival, asked the question, "Whom does the Grail serve?" The Fisher king realized that the Grail did not serve to make him great but that it served those in need. He was humbled and his wounds healed. (He died several days later and Percival became the last master of the Grail Castle.) The film deals with this dilemma in Jack. Jack can not be healed until he understands "whom the Grail serves." Jack tries to help Parry so that Jack will be healed so Jack can get on with Jack's life. It is only at the end of the film that Jack does the first unselfish thing that he has ever done in his life. Jack is the only character that grows emotionally. Of course, this act has nothing to do with Parry's condition improving. Parry is not crazy and Parry is not demented. Parry was a high functioning person until he witnesses his wife's head taking a shotgun blast. Parry regresses into a fugue state and takes on an alternate identity. He takes on a character that will, in metaphor, deal with what he witnessed. What Parry lost was intimacy and in his psychological struggle to cope with that loss he is both chased by and chases the last image of intimacy he recalls. Any emotional closeness, even with Jack, triggers these flashbacks although the image is distorted through the metaphor of his fugue state and becomes the red knight/ (representing his wife's violent death.) Parry does not become psychotic until Jack replaces Parry's fantasized intimacy with real intimacy and gets him "the date". The distortion is shattered; the metaphor no longer replaces the reality of Parry's last memory of his wife because the intimacy is psychologically too close to what Parry had lost. His Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) flashback is no longer the Red knight but the reliving of the actual trauma. Parry's psyche is forced to regress further and he become catatonic. This is the mind's way of calling a time-out. With time he eventually returns to his previous fugue state and that is where the film leaves him. Although not for everyone and not always consistent, it is an excellent film if you are willing to pay attention and not get distracted by Hollywood smarm.

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I hadn't seen this film since it first came out on video. I remembered certain things about it: that I had enjoyed it, that the Holy Grail played prominently in it, and that Jeff Bridges was very good in it.

Those are all still true.

Jack Lucas (Bridges) is a radio "shock jock" who inadvertently causes a listener to go on a killing rampage. This affects him deeply and he quits the business, turns to alcohol, and moves in with Anne (Mercedes Ruehl), the owner of Video Spot!, a store which seems to carry as many porn titles as mainstream ones.

He is deeply depressed. One night, when he is about to end it, he gets attacked by thugs who mistake him for homeless. His life is saved by a group of homeless led by "Parry" (Robin Williams), a former history professor whose wife was killed in the aforementioned massacre. Parry has engulfed himself in the world of medieval knights (a "parry" is a type of sword thrust)--changing his name as well--and has received a mission from pixies to capture a trophy cup (which he believes is the Grail) located in a millionaire's castle-style home. Jack feels he must pay his penance by helping Parry retrieve the cup.

One thing that is holding Parry back is that he is continually besieged by the Red Knight (a hallucination that represents the trauma which with Parry is not yet ready to cope, that is, it only shows up whenever something reminds him of his past). Along the way, Parry falls in love with a publishing accountant and Jack and Anne do their best to get the ultra-shy couple together.

Terry Gilliam somehow brings this combination of Arthurian legend and modern New York together into a successful whole. Of course, the script by Richard LaGravanese is also first-rate. This is one of the most original films I have ever seen. Decisively top-rate entertainment.

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Airport (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy) (1970)

This first of the big airplane disaster movies features an outstanding cast, a host of distinctive characters, and a widely interesting web of subplots. While all things lead to disaster in the air, there is a much greater human component to Airport than what you will see in the disaster movies of today. Perhaps the human drama does not play out to perfection on one or two occasions, yet it all kept my rapt fascination even as I wondered why disaster had not yet struck an hour and a half into the film (which lasts for two hours and seventeen minutes). Airport (1970) picked up ten Academy Award nominations, including best picture, Helen Hayes walked away from it with her second Oscar, and a host of sequels followed in its wake, so obviously it did many things right.

The first half of the film actually seems like some kind of 1970s TV pilot. Mel Bakersfield (Burt Lancaster) is the airport manager working himself to death in order to keep the place running smoothly, campaigning when he can for expansion and modernization. His brother-in-law pilot Vernon Demerest (Dean Martin) assumes the role of Bakersfield's antagonist, criticizing airport measures for keeping the runways operational and the flights on schedule, especially on nights such as the one in question, when a major snowstorm is wreaking havoc on the ground as well as in the air. Bakersfield is locked in an unhappy marriage with a regal yet noxious social gadfly, facing the fact that the woman he now cares about may be leaving her job at the airport for a better opportunity elsewhere. Demerest has some kind of marriage of convenience to Bakerfield's sister, and he is carrying on with a lovely and suddenly pregnant stewardess (they still called them stewardesses back in 1970) played by the engaging Jacqueline Bisset. Then you have the heavy of the group, Joe Patroni (George "If it's an airplane movie, I'm in it" Kennedy), the only man for the job of getting an airplane stuck in the snow out of the way of the main landing strip. Helen Hayes plays a delightfully entertaining serial stowaway, and while she is naturally fantastic in her role, the size and importance of her part would not seem to merit the Best Actress award she received for her performance. About the time you start looking for Aaron Spelling's name to come up in the closing credits, we are finally introduced to a nervous fellow putting together an attache case of explosives. He is presented in the most sentimental of lights, and one can't help but feel sorry for him and for the rash decision he has made, nor can one do anything but curse the otherwise forgettable character who plays the dumbest airplane passenger in history.

Eventually, the plane takes off for Rome with both the stowaway and the bomber on board; soon thereafter, puzzle pieces begin to fall into place, and the pilots, aware of the danger, try to turn around and head for home. Their safe return faces two major obstacles: the bomber on board and the stuck airplane jutting out on the only landing strip they can safely attempt to land on through the roaring blizzard. Don't expect a lot of special effects or outrageous acts of unrealistic heroics (although there is a priest who delivers a most unorthodox and intensely satisfying blessing to the aforementioned dumbest airplane passenger on earth). What happens is presented very well, but the real drama lies in the characters' relationships. I am a huge Dean Martin fan, and I thought the man delivered a terrific dramatic performance in this movie, standing equally beside the likes of the legendary Lancaster, Bisset, and Hayes. The story may seem to develop slowly for those used to or expecting quick and impressive action and special effects, but this movie follows the old creed that there can be no real tragedy unless the audience knows and cares about the characters.

I'm going to do something I thought I'd never do; give GoodTimes Video an A+ for this DVD. They took a step into the 20th century for their Thirtieth Anniversary DVD release of Airport.

I held onto my old Airport VHS tape well after I stepped up to DVDs, because no one had released a widescreen DVD of the classic disaster film. GoodTimes had earlier released a DVD of Airport, but it was in standard aspect ration, so I passed on it. Then last week, there it was, Airport, WIDESCREEN, it said. And when I picked it up to look at the features on the back, I couldn't believe my eyes. GoodTimes not only released it in widescreen, but in anamorphic widescreen, AND in Dolby surround. And the price is more than perfect.

You get no extras, just the movie. But it's beautiful, and it's the original, shown for the first time as it was on the big screen in perhaps thirty years.

If you love classic films, then this movie is probably on your list of must-haves. This is not a perfect film, but it works. From Dean Martin's better than average performance, to Helen Hayes' Oscar winning portrayal of a fiesty trickster that sneaks onto planes. By today's standards the plot may seem to move slowly, but if you view it in it's 70's context, it's actually more like a roller coaster ride that takes off at a slow glide, tops a hill, and flies down the other side into a fairly tense climax. Don't be afraid of this DVD. For ten bucks you could get a real crappy DVD. But in this case, you strike gold.

Let's hope this is a new and lasting trend for GoodTimes DVDs. Low prices, good movies. GoodTimes.

Buy Airport (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy) (1970) Now

Airport is surprisingly faithful to Arthur Hailey's book, with regards to the screenplay. Jacqueline Bisset is perfectly cast as a stewardess, as is Helen Hayes as the stowaway passenger. Van Heflin and Maureen Stapleton share many poignant moments, and a little seen Barbara Hale rounds out the shining stars very well. While I have seen this movie called "slow and plodding", you actually get quite involved with all the characters and know about their motivation before the crucial scene in the air where it all comes to pass. Of course, this huge success at box office has been let down by a... DVD release it's in Pan & Scan. Why anyone would do this on a DVD is beyond me. Also, it's lacking a lot of extra features that a film of this calibre should have on a DVD. Regardless, the film is an awesome piece of entertainment, faithful to the novel (without the "boring parts") and is supurbly acted by a stellar cast. It deserved to be the runaway worldwide success it was.

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I'll admit it: Airport is a guilty pleasure of mine. It's a classic disaster film, spiritual father to all from the Poseidon Adventure to the present day. We learn the stories of the people aboard a bomb-laden Rome bound flight, and those on the ground fighting a blizzard and blocked runway to get them home. Characters are a little thin, a little soap-opera-y, but better than many modern films. Helen Hayes in particular, is terrific in her Oscar winning role. The DVD is of mixed quality, a nice presentation of an un-remastered copy of the film. Some dirt and scratches are evident, but color and sharpness are fairly good. Screen aspect shifts, usually cropped pan & scan, but occasionally letter-boxed to preserve some wider shots. Film length is misstated on the box, at 136 minutes, not the 91 listed. Recommended for all disaster fans.

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It's not every day you see a movie that shows Dean Martin as more of an actor than you remembered, and Helen Hayes as rather less of one, but "Airport" is like that. It's a rich, plotty plum pudding of a film that features dozens of performances from actors at every level of competence. Interestingly enough, it all works. Martin is quite credible and good as an airline pilot, even when the dialogue he's given is contrived and movie-ish. Hayes is a little over-the-top in her acclaimed performance as a little-old-lady stowaway; it's nothing Spring Byington couldn't have done just as well, and cheaper. What the heck, Hayes had reached the point in her career where she could do as she pleased.

Other people in the film? The late Jean Seberg is in it, looking amazingly like Kim Novak in a Hitchcock filmcomplete with grey Edith Head suit and a crush on an older man, played dully by Burt Lancaster. Barbara Hale ("Della Street" in the old "Perry Mason" series) is great as an earth mother married to Dean Martin; watch for her little scene toward the end of the movie when she realises her marriage is over. Van Heflin is painfully accurate in his portrayal of a demented loser who wants to suicide-bomb a 707 so his wife will have his flight insurance as compensation for the horrible life she's had as his spouse. And as the wife, Maureen Stapleton is absolutely wonderful. She's uncomprehending, incoherent, and agonisingly aware by turns; everytime she's on-screen, nothing else matters.

Other roles involve Jacqueline Bisset as a stewardessnot the highest and best use of her talentand yes, that's Gary Collins as a navigator. George Kennedy plays a TWA mechanic who saves the day; I don't like his performance, but Kennedy went on to play the same role in this film's sequels, so he must have been pleasing someone with his work. True film buffs will be delighted by one of the bit playersthe mother of a teen-aged nerd who is on the ill-fated 707 flight. It's none other than Virginia Grey, Joan Crawford's blonde co-worker at the perfume counter in "The Women". And "Airport" features the last screen appearance of the late, great Jessie Royce Landis; she's a rich woman who tries to do a little diamond smuggling. Her accomplice is her poodle, who travels inwhat else?a Louis Vuitton carrier.

The film itself? Well, it's big-time movie-making, circa 1970; everything about it is flossy and expensive and well-done. There is an astounding special effect when the loser sets off a bomb on the plane. It's got enough plot and enough stars for four movies. And in its own way, it's quite good. It'll take your mind off your life for the entire time you're watching it, and what more is a Hollywood epic supposed to do? Chalk this one up as imperfect, but recommended.

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The General (1926)

In 1927, the American silent film "The General", now known as one of the greatest films ever made, was released in theaters.

But the film starring silent film star Buster Keaton was not a big success in the box office, in fact it was a box office disaster and received negative critic reviews. But only until later would the film be seen as the ultimate classic film making it into the American Film Institute's top 100 films of all time (at #18) and was selected for preservation in the US National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" in 1989, the first year of the registry.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

"The General" is presented in full-frame (1:33:1) and is color tinted.

I just have to say that this is the best version I have ever seen of "The General". The film was mastered in HD from a 35mm archive print struck from the original camera negative but having seen this film only on public domain video files which were never complete or had this awful fading in an out and just difficult to watch, this 1927 film looks absolutely incredible. Is it 100% pristine? No. There are white specks and occasional film wearing but for a film this old, this is expected.

If anything, I was just in awe of how incredible this film looks. The detail is amazing and the clarity, again...fantastic. As for the colors, the film has a sepia look while the night time shifts to a bluish tint (which I've read in silent film books was intentional at that time). But seriously, this is probably the best we will ever see this film for a long time.

As for the audio, KINO International gives us three optional scores to choose from. The choice is a symphony based soundtrack composed and conducted by Carl Davis and performed by the Thames Silents Orchestra (featured in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 or uncompressed 2.0 Stereo). Also, included are previous scores used by "The General" in older releases by Robert Israel which was derived from traditional silent film utilizing a piano accompanied by strings and a theatre organ score by Lee Erwin recorded in Carnegie Hall and was used during the '70s theatrical issue of the film.

All three scores are well-done but during my viewing, I wanted to check out Carl Davis and the Thames Silent Orchestra and hear it in HD. The music was just crystal clear but most important is the fact that KINO International has given viewers a choice of musical score.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

"The General" comes with the following special features in 1080i:

* Video Tour of the General (18:05) Historian and locomotive expert Harper Harris explains to the viewer of the actual story of the real people (William Pittenger, who also wrote the book that inspired the film "The General") involved and how Keaton wanted to use "The General" for his film but veterans were against it.

* The Buster Express (5:47) Buster Keaton enjoyed trains and how it was used in his films. Pretty much a montage of trains used in Keaton films.

* Tour of Filming Locations (4:29) John Bengston shows us the locations of where "The General" was filmed and how it looks like today.

* Home Movie Footage (1:00) A short featurette from the onlookers who filmed Keaton and the crew on the set of "The General".

* Intro by Gloria Swanson (2:13) Silent film star Gloria Swanson presents "The General" and talks a little about the film.

* Intro by Orson Welles (12:21) Orson Welles talks about his friend Buster Keaton and introduces the film for a broadcast of Paul Killiam's "The Silent Years". Orson Welles talks about his memories of the film and Keaton and more.

* Photo Gallery Using your remote, you can cycle through publicity stills, posters and photos.

JUDGMENT CALL:

"The General" is such a great pleasure to watch. Watching it today, even comparing to many of the greatest chase scenes of all time, "The General" is the action film of that era that still shocks us today. I'm quite surprised of how epic and historically accurate this film was. From hundreds of extras (500 extras from the Oregon National Guard) wearing Union and Confederate uniforms, Buster Keaton doing thrilling but very risky stunts and one of the most expensive action scene used in a silent film of a train falling from a collapsed bridge.

Sure, today we see Jackie Chan and others doing these amazing stunts but back in the 1920's, to see Keaton doing these stunts and considering the lack of support during that time or the lack of a double used for stunts, the man was seriously risking his life in the making of these films. But he made it look easy and fun, Keaton...was absolutely fearless.

KINO international has given fans of this film more than they probably expect but we are very grateful. "The General" has never looked this incredible and for many of us who have only seen worn out versions on VHS or terrible quality video public domain files, this Blu-ray release is just a sight to behold. To see such detail and clarity for this 1927 film or for a silent action film is incredible.

For those who are building their Blu-ray collection and want quality must-own films, "The General" should be in your collection. "The General" is a Buster Keaton masterpiece that is indeed one of the greatest films of all time.

The Blu-ray version of "The General" is highly recommended!

This is a remarkable blu-ray from Kino. The image is crystal clear without any digital hardness and the fine grain of the film is retained to boot. The various scores offered (Carl Davis' being first up on the list and the perfect one to listen to)and all the suppliments from the DVD edition are offered here. The simple menu design and the directness with which the blu-ray loads are all a sharp slap in the face to the majority of lesser films released in the format that have unbearably convoluted and tediously clever menus that load slowly and ultimately result in having to shuffle through endless onscreen paperwork.

THE GENERAL is a remarkable film, more epic even than GONE WITH THE WIND, it is truly not only one of the greatest silent films ever made, but one of the greatest American films ever made, despite whatever the idiot AFI might think (they left it off of their first 100 Greatest Films of All Time list, in fact not a single Buster Keaton film made it to that list, as well as Murnau's SUNRISE). This is action/adventure of the highest order, as thrilling as RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK and even better, for it's all really there the dam breaking, the ensuing flood, the long tracking shots with the trains chasing each other, people running through fire and exploding shells, the collapsing bridge all of it is done in real time before the camera, no minitures, no cgi. Outstanding film, very funny, and full of jaw-dropping sequences that are enacted for real. A Buster Keaton, and an American, masterpiece.

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The General is an absolute comedy classic even in front of a modern audience this movie draws more laughs than newer "comedies". If you aren't familiar with Buster Keaton this is a great place to start. His amazing athleticism and timing are on full display here, and the train scenes (basically the whole movie) are a veritable ballet.

As for the blu-ray itself, I've never seen the movie look better. You won't be using it as a demo disc for your system, but the detail and clarity are top notch. I consider this a must buy for a serious movie collector!

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Surprisingly there still seems to be some debate about whether or not Blu Ray is worth investing in. If you have any doubts about the high definition experience and what it can add to home entertainment, watch this excellent Buster Keaton classic and you will understand why Blu Ray is not going to be going away.

One of the first classics in all of film history, this is a heroic and hilarious story of war, love, and victory. It's 80 some odd years old and silent except for a great soundtrack.

About the Blu Ray transfer, let me simply say that it is pretty much perfect. There are understandably a few scratches and flickers here and there, but essentially it is an absolutely flawless representation of how the movie must have originally appeared. It is a great example of how a top notch transfer can revive even the oldest of films. If you've seen this before or even own a DVD copy, let me assure you the Blu upgrade is worth it. You haven't truly experienced it until you've seen it in 1080p. There's depth and detail that past generations couldn't even imagine this film contained.

Overall, 5 stars for the movie and 5 stars for this blu ray! Any doubters suspicious of Blu, or any doubters that older movies can't benefit from the technology are simply proven wrong with this release. Bring on more classics like this, it's like enjoying them for the first time again!

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"THE GENERAL" (1926 with Buster Keaton) is an American Classic Silent Film period.

This review is to ALL MOVIE LOVERS young & old. I know silent films can be very taxing with Organ music sound track, flickering picture, washed out images and reading of the frequent dialogue cards flashing up on the screen every few minutes to keep you on the plot path. Also with the standard format (4:3 ratio).

Well believe me this Blu-ray movie is perfect because: KINO International used an original camera negative to remaster this 78 minute Black/White Full Frame mono toned sound movie classic to a Color Tinted TRUE HD (1080p) and 5.1 DTS HD Sound flawlessly. The picture clarity and sound is truely amazing!!!! (Especially since this was originally a 1926 silent film). To keep everything perfect this NEW 5.1 DTS-HD Master Track was Composed & Conducted by Carl Davis and performed by "The Thames Silents Orchestra". Together this new HD sight and Sound presents the MOST PERFECT SILENT MOVIE UPGRADE TO DATE!!!!!

This alone is worth the price of admission!!!

SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDE: 4 different Soundtracks (Music for ALL TASTES, Video tour of the Original "GENERAL" locomotive at "THE SOUTHERN MUSEUM", Then & Now film location tour, Be-Hind the Scenes home footage, Film Introductions from past stars Orson Welles & Gloria Swanson, and the "BUSTER KEATON EXPRESS" a montage of train clips throughout Keatons career.

So add this classic to your home theater experience. Everyone will be amazed. ENJOY!!!

P.S. Just a note, Buster Keaton's acting w/those deadpan looks and the editing makes this picture so visually plotted there are a minimum of dialogue reading/cue cards show. We get the silent message do to the films craftsmanship and now with Carl Davis's update sound track!!!!! Amazing.

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Down Terrace (2010)

Curiously riveting low-budget crime caper from Blighty that segues seamlessly from droll domestic routines to sudden spurts of ultraviolence. Chronicling the implosion over two weeks of a minor family-run goon squad, Down Terrace plays like some new type of movie mutation where the mundane and the macabre are mixed to shockingly hilarious effect. Talk about getting under your skin! Plus the folk songs running through this bracing little flick add their own wayward wrinkle to the general sense of disequilibration. Utterly unpredictable and visceral, Down Terrace is Mister Wheatley's first feature film apparently and I gotta say I haven't been this impressed by a hitherto unknown quantity since getting an eyeful of Lenny Abrahamson's hypnotic and devastating Garage (2007).

DOWN TERRACE is a real treat: An understated British gangster flick mixing hilarious dysfunctional family drama with pitch-black crime movie brutality. Before discussing content, it must be noted that the accompanying music track is ridiculously amazing. The fact that no soundtrack recording has been released saddens more than the ultra-grim tale itself. When Bob Hill's character strums his acoustic to a hearty rendition of "Spanish Ladies," for a moment, you think he's a nice guy. For a moment. Starring a real-life father and son, DT will make you feel better about any minor grievance within the family unit. Actually, "Dysfunctional" is too kind a description for directly to HELL is where these folks are a-goin'.

Our story begins with Bill and Karl just released from a brief jail detention. A jolly welcome home party ensues, but it's easy to tell that darkness is fast approaching. Apparently, Bill and Karl run a nightclub, but only as a cover for their underworld crime syndicate division. The old reliable "Snitch In Our Midst" plot device is revealed to be the reason for the jail time. As our anti-heroes seek the traitor, you will not believe the behavior on display.

Violent yet minimally bloody, DOWN TERRACE could be the quietest Hooligan cinema ever imagined. The emotional wallop, however, will leave you flat-out knackered.

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Marvellous,low budget study of low life criminals.Acting is superb and the humour is very dark.No glamorising of crime in this one which makes is quite unique.

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I first saw this film at the 34th annual Cleveland International Film Festival in 2010. The writing is so darkly funny and the performance are absolutely top-notch, especially the real-life father and son, Robert and Robin Hill. Julia Deakin as the mother is phenomenal too.

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The British films about gangsters, have their own profile. The last giant film I remember is from 1980, "The long good Friday" that somehow represented the British answer to "The Godfather".

In this opportunity, we assist to the tragedy of a decadent and crumbling empire that is about to end, and how the wild instinct of preservation and survival simply ignores (like in most of cases happen) transforms this wealthy clan in a huge bloody swamp.

Filmed according the rules of cinema verite, still accent the anguish and the inner demons that nestle beneath their souls.

Good film but never a great one!

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Sweetie (The Criterion Collection) (1989)

"Sweetie" is here! A Criterion treatment! The first time I saw "Sweetie" was purely by accident. It was before Jane Campion went on to make better known, bigger budget films--this film was her feature debut in Australia. And while I respect many of her works including "The Piano" and "An Angel At My Table", I don't have the passion for them that I do for this oddball of a movie. Part of the joy of seeing "Sweetie" for the first time was having no expectations. The film surprised me in every regard--it's wickedly funny, yet horrifying and moving at the same time. A few years ago, I found it again and I made my friends watch it, too. I was concerned it might not hold up to memory, but that feeling was short-lived as soon as the wondrous Genevieve Lemon came onscreen as Sweetie.

"Sweetie" is a film that really explores the notion of family. As the titular character, Sweetie is a powerful presence whose very existence has crippled her family and, in many ways, held them hostage. Primarily, we see things through Sweetie's sister Kay and I love that the film introduces us to the peculiarities of Kay without explanation. Then when Sweetie arrives on the scene, things start to become very clear as the family dynamic takes the foreground.

I consider "Sweetie" a comedy, but I'm not sure everyone would agree. But then, I have a bit of a sick sense of humor. Certainly there are many laughs to be had in the film--if only uncomfortable ones. But, make no mistake, there is also genuine and vivid emotional turmoil. The films success is that it balances these elements so well--and, in fact, that brings a bold realism and resonance to the proceedings.

The film is shot beautifully, and always slightly askew (which is perfect for the subject matter). The performances are vivid. Karen Colston is great as Kay, and you won't soon forget Lemon as Sweetie. And as odd as the film is, it will stay with you. And you just might recognize elements of your own family dynamic within the excesses presented! KGHarris, 9/06.

I've seen three Campion movies. It took a long time for me to forgive 'The Piano''s humorless, heavy hands and move on to 'Holy Smoke!'. But HS revealed a comic sensibility that 'The Piano' never suspected. 'Sweetie,' Campion's first feature, is by far my favorite yet.

'Sweetie' is an odd film. Mostly, it's an examination of what it means to be an individual--inside of and outside of the repetitive struggles of family dramas--and the perils and joys of exclusion and elitism. Campion uses her sharp wit to draw blood, and without the comforts of a privileged moral voice (e.g. the competent parent or maternal sufferer of most family dramas), the humor can seem a little mean-spirited at times. But 'Sweetie' tempers its alienated perspective with moments of grace that are as terrifying, joyful and sublime as the dry open spaces of its Australian landscape.

Moving the viewer through a fractured world of beautiful and unsettling images, Sweetie is this director's most richly creative and psychically adventurous work.

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This film is to director Jane Campion's The Piano what David Lynch's Eraserhead is to his The Elephant Man a personal highly stylised experiment before the challenge of the more conventional big budget assignments that would allow for both a controlling of each director's excesses and a streamlining of their obsessions. The parallel between Lynch and Campion can also be extended to their mutual interest in loners, misfits and eccentrics, and they both treat them with piteous dignity, in much the same way photographer Diane Arbus did for her "freaks". Sweetie is similar to Eraserhead also because it's an endurance test for those who hold a high opinion of each director's later work. The fine line between pleasure and pain can be felt with great artists and their fine line between genius and crud. Campion here uses a song "Love will never let you fall" sung by Tony Backhouse and The Cafe of the Gate of Salvation Choir as a backdrop to her tale of two sisters. Campion dedicates the film to her own sister and the screenplay written by herself and Gerard Lee is based on Campion's idea, so we know this is a personal story. (Campion's sister Anna is now also a director). Campion doesn't introduce the title sister until she has established the nature of the first, Kay, but also we don't fully understand why Kay is the way she is until Sweetie arrives, and is soon followed by their father. Sweetie is a monstrous child/woman but when the arguments between sisters begin it's hard to know whose side to take, since Sweetie makes Kay just as dislikable. Perhaps because Campion knew the narrative could be reduced to the domestic struggle of those tied by blood, she employs an expressionist use of framing where the person on view is placed off centre, as well as stop motion footage of the growth of plants, a montage of the workings of Kay's mind when she attempts meditation, and a flashback to Sweetie as a childhood performer with a growling dog as audience. There are also strangely disturbing images 2 men dancing together at a cattle station, and Sweetie bathing her father. However, like Lynch, Campion has a wicked sense of humour and the climactic incident in a tree is equally comic, tragic and metaphoric. As the sisters, Karen Colston and Genevieve Lemon are never allowed to become grotesques they are both given touching breakdown scenes and Campion appears to have a special gift for handling child actors, with the little boy neighbour and the girl playing Sweetie as a child at the end particularly good. And like Eraserhead, once you manage to adjust yourself to the slow rhythms and lower your too high expectations, you find that Sweetie gets better as it goes along.

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Once again, the Criterion Collection's given us a marvelous DVD transfer of a wonderful film that had rather fallen through the cracks -in this case, Jane Campion's haunting feature debut, SWEETIE. Odd and intensely personal, the picture's full of striking images (particularly brilliant use of color in the set design), camera angles that are unusual without feeling forced, subversive comic writing, a wonderful soundtrack and, not least, fearless performances from a talented cast. This is the kind of movie that has such strong interior logic, the audience willingly follows where it leads, no matter how bizarre or unexpected the destination proves to be. I'd vividly remembered many scenes of SWEETIE since seeing it theatrically in its original release; experiencing Campion's vision again today is just as strong. The usual superior Criterion touches -fascinating commentary and student works from this director, insightful essay in the accompanying booklet. If the only Campion films you know are THE PIANO or PORTRAIT OF A LADY, you may find many surprises here. Very worthwhile.

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Sweetie (Jane Campion, 1989)/Passionless Moments (Jane Campion, 1983)

Sweetie is the type of comedy I would write if I wrote comedies-relentlessly black, full of subversive moments, and deeply, deeply twisted. Barrel of monkeys? I scoff at your fun!

Kay (Karen Colston) is rather mousy, introverted, and not terribly happy in her relationship with Louis (Tom Lycos), whom she lands after consulting a fortune-teller. Not the best start to a relationship, one would think (and one would be right). Still, Kay and Louis are content, in their own miserable way, until Sweetie shows up. Sweetie (Genevieve Lemon) is Kay's younger sister, and she's well, I believe the technical term is "crazy as a loon". No one but Kay, however, seems capable of seeing this; her parents just see her as slightly eccentric, though still their darling baby daughter. Louis is oddly entranced by her. Gordon (Jon Darling), her manager/boyfriend, is convinced she'll be the one to finally net him some success, and he's not put off by the fringe benefits of managing her, most of which he reaps between the sheets. Loudly. As Sweetie slips farther and farther round the bend, though, the rest of the family does come to see that, perhaps, there might be something wrong; unfortunately, no one's equipped to deal with this new perception, and anything that can go wrong, etc.

I should probably insert some sort of warning about triggering conversations/behaviors, but that's kind of the point of the movie, isn't it? This is supposed to push your buttons (in much the same way that Very Bad Things did a few years later). And it does a very good job of it; the movie was castigated and/or damned with faint praise when it appeared, though it has since been recognized as a classic in the making given some of Campion's later output (e.g., The Piano). Campion, who both wrote and directed, is a twisted genius with a camera here; all you can do is sit back and enjoy the ride. And I highly recommend you do so.

I wouldn't normally review a thirteen-minute film, but Passionless Moments, which can be found in Sweetie's DVD extras, is on Jonathan Rosenbaum's list of the thousand best films ever made, so I should probably give it a paragraph. A short made by Campion in 1983, Passionless Moments takes a number of disparate scenes and puts them together. Each of them is oddly familiar, things you've done or wondered about yourself, but presented from odd angles, or with weird cuts; it's as if Roald Dahl got inside your skull and started writing Tales of the Unexpected straight out of your subconscious. It's absolutely worth your time, and is worth the cost of buying the Sweetie DVD by itself. **** (for both).

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Clueless (1995)

This new special edition is a definite improvement over the previous incarnation that had no real extras to speak of and so for fans of this movie it is definitely worth the double-dip. Watching these new extras is like revisiting the cast ten years later to see what they've been up to. They are done in the style of and maintain the same tone of the movie which is a nice touch.

"The Class of `95" examines how the film was cast. Heckerling talks about how she picked the actors. The main cast members, except for Silverstone and Jeremy Sisto, are all back to talk about how their involvement.

"Creative Writing" takes a look at the film's origins. The studio originally wanted Heckerling to write a TV show about an in-crowd group of teens but they didn't get it so she changed it into a movie.

"Fashion 101" examines the memorable costumes from the movie. What Cher and her friends wore reflected the personality of each character and ended up influencing what kids subsequently wore.

"Language Arts" is a crash course on the film's colourful slang. Heckerling had collected books and lists of slang over the years and incorporated it into the movie so that each character had their own way of speaking and favourite sayings that are now quoted endlessly by its fans.

"Suck `n Blow: A Tutorial" explains the party game that takes place in the film in an amusing featurette done during the production.

The challenge of shooting Dionne's driving lesson on the Los Angeles freeway is explored in "Driver's Ed." It was a logistical nightmare with all kinds of vehicles coming at the actors so that their scared reactions were genuine!

"We're History" features the cast and crew talking about what they think about the film ten years later. Not surprisingly, they are all proud of its legacy and how well it's aged.

Finally, there is a teaser and theatrical trailer.

This clever, modern retelling of Jane Austen's novel "Emma " was one of the best high-school theme films made in the past twenty years. Written and directed by Amy Heckerling ("Fast Times at Ridgemont High"; "Look Who's Talking) spent a year in the lives of several teens at various high schools in Los Angeles to give the filmgoer a truly authentic look at life among the young social elites of Southern California.

Alicia Silverstone ("Excess Baggage"; "Batman & Robin") stars as Cher Horowitz, a young, hip teen residing with her lawyer father (Dan Hedaya) in Beverly Hills. Along with best friend Dionne (Stacey Dash of "Mo' Money"), the girls are the doers of social good deeds at their high school. Whether it is trying to play matchmaker for two lonely teachers (playwright Wallace Shawn and Twink Caplan, who is also an executive producer of the film) or doing a serious make over for Tai (Brittany Murphy) a new, dowdy student from the east coast, Cher is the toast of the school among her peers.

However, playing matchmaker for others has made Cher realized that she too needs to find someone special in her life. Pestered by her ex-stepbrother Josh (Paul Rudd) in doping deeds that benefits others and not only herself, Cher discovers that what she truly needs is a spiritual makeover that will allow her to attain happiness and respect. Yet, she wonders why it bothers her so much on what Josh is thinking? As the story progresses, we discover that opposites attract and Cher has realized how "clueless" she was while looking for Mr. Right.

Wonderfully directed and casted,"Clueless" features some memorable performance by Julie Brown (as Ms. Stoger, the physical education instructor), Donald Faison (as Dionne's boyfriend Murray) and Justin Walker, as Christian Stovitz. Walker who plays his role with comedic sensibility is great and witty as the boy Cher has the hots for, although she has little knowledge about his background.

"Clueless" is one of the best films released in the 1990's due to his smart use of popular lexicon, icons, and attitudes that can be attributed to most American teenagers. This is Silverstone's greatest performance to date, seeing that most of her later works did not go well with critics or filmgoers. Although a television series based on the film was launched in 1997, it couldn't capture the charm, wit, and performances of this film. "Clueless" is a classic teenage film you can watch over and over again. It's destined to become a cult classic

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Why is it the best teen movie of all time? Because it was hip, and it was smart. There was no gross-out humor or slapstick comedy. It was a big movie with a big heart. It's really hard not to fall in love with this movie.

Loosely based on Jane Austen's "Emma" (LOOSELY), "Clueless" revolves around a ditzy rich girl name Cher, whose life consists mostly of cell phones, trips to the mall, a killer wardrobe, and tons of guys drooling over her. Her best friend is Dionne, who is just as superficial as Cher. One day, a new girl, Ty, comes to school and inspires a project for Cher. Project: Makeover! What begins as a selfish way to make Cher think she's doing something to help mankind, turns into a really sweet, funny film.

Alicia Silverstone is wonderful in this movie, and sadly has not found any good roles since. A shame, since she is genuinly a great actress. This is also where Brittany Murphy got her big start, as the girl in desperate need of a makeover. And who didn't have a crush on Paul Rudd, who played her "annoying" older ex-stepbrother?

If you haven't seen this film yet, then, well, I'm wondering why. It was at one point my favorite movie, and it's still high up on my list. It's charming, sweet, funny, and smart. If only other teen movies could take notes from this one. Then we wouldn't have to sit through these ridiculous ones they keep putting out all the time ("American Pie" springs to mind...).

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A wonderful up to date retelling of Jane Austen's, 'Emma'. Cher (Silverstone) has a privileged life, she goes to a great school and is popular along with her good friend Dionne (Dash).

She lives with her widowed father (Hedaya) and the only pebble under her perfectly manicured feet is her ex step-brother Josh (Rudd).

Cher loves to play matchmaker and can't resist the challenge when she meets the new girl in school, Ty, who isn't exactly 'popular' material at first glance. Having taken her under her wing and given her a complete makeover, Cher then tries to match her up with various boys.

This is alright until Ty takes a fancy to Josh and then Cher suddenly realises that she has feelings for him herself but who will get the man?

Silverstone is absolutely fantastic in this film. She handles the difficult role SO well and you can't help but really like Cher and want her to get the man of her dreams for all her obvious flaws.

Add a brilliant combination of comedy, both oneliners and visual, and the fact that it's literally such a colourful movie and you've got yourself a film that will leave you smiling for ages afterwards.

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The good news is that "Clueless" is witty and funny and doesn't sink into self-parody; the bad news is the rash of teen movies that followed and have consistently tried, and failed, to emulate its success. On the surface, the movie seems an homage to the materialistic snobbery of young America, but peel through the beaded curtains of shopping bags and Valley Girl-speak, and you'll find a light romantic comedy somewhere along the lines of, well, "Emma," the Jane Austen novel from which this movie comes.

This successful attempt to translate a classic into modern context doubles as an effective satire of the superficial teen culture generated on TV and in movies. You don't take these guys too seriously and because of that, the story is both fun and engaging. Cher, the pretty gum-popping, cell phone-toting heroine, loves clothes, boys, and her dad, in about that order. She manages everyone else's life just fine but is clueless when it comes to her own. Not only does she have to overcome normal teenage struggles like a doting dad, difficult homework, and rocky friendships, she's got to deal with matching her undergarments, dresses, and shoes, failing her driver's test, and falling in love with her ex-step-brother. Tough life, eh? But it's those little quirks along Cher's inflated path to self-discovery that make this movie such a gem. Her humorous approach and response to any situation immediately recalls Austen's Emma.

Critics can whine all they want about Alicia Silverstone, but she delivers a standout performance as Cher, giving her both brains and tenderness and giving us a character to care about. Cher is at once innocent, smart, sexy, compassionate, and mature. Silverstone is so convincing, she hasn't been able to escape her role. The supporting cast is excellent as well, especially Dan Hedeya as her overprotective yet loving father. This movie is full of heart, fun, and laughs and one that will stand multiple viewings; it's not a guilty pleasure, just a pleasure.

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Detention (2012)

There's a lot packed into the run-time of this movie, in fact, so much it probably bears watching more than once to catch everything as it zips by. The basic storyline seems to be that this supposed movie character, Cinderhella, is killing teens, but there's a lot more to the film than just that. Screwed-up teenage relationships, a jealous ex-boyfriend jock who was mutated by a meteorite as a child, a high-school mascot (a stuffed grizzly bear) that has been modified into a time machine, time travel back to 1992, etc. The humor is often gross but a lot of it is deadpan, which makes it even better, in my opinion. This is refreshingly goofy & bizarre, and is a good slam-dunk of overpriveleged teens & high school clique antics, but it's also a lot more than that. I enjoyed the first "Scream" (but not necessarily its sequels) but this is not quite so obvious as that film. Well worth seeing, not perfect but pretty damn close. May be a future cult classic. 4 out of 5.

This is a fast paced "Student Bodies" meets "Scott Pilgrim" type of movie. The humor comes at you quick and you must pay attention. It is a teen slasher spoof film, but also tosses in a few aspects of other films. There are clues as to what is going on, but don't worry about trying to catch them and figure out the film, just enjoy the scenes.

Some lines that come too mind:

"Pregnant teens are never funny." A clear slap at "Juno."

"I only eat baby animals."

"Pain don't hurt."

"Where did you learn to make a snuff porno? Lady Gaga?"

"Gnawing through boyfriends like an unfed piranha."

"This human conversation thing isn't working. Let's do texting."

The production incorporates numerous obscure 1980's references, some of which are explained. The film is done in a modern quirky "Scott Pilgrim..." style, but knowledge of 1980s movies is helpful in order to enjoy the feature.

There is a slasher at school. Meanwhile Ione (Spencer Locke), the cute air headed blond likes under achiever cool guy Clapton Davis (Josh Hutcherson). She has given up her jock boyfriend Billy Nolan (Parker Bagley)for him. He wants to beat up Clapton over her, and he is willing to fight for her because she is deep and likes Sting. Meanwhile Riley Jones (Shanley Caswell) has a crush on Clapton and becomes a third wheel.

PARENTAL GUIDE: F-bombs, brief sex and brief nudity.

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Ever since Mel Brooks first began making fun of movie genres it seems that form of comedy has taken hold. What started out hilarious though ended up becoming stale and some truly bad examples were made (think of the movies made by the group behind EPIC MOVIE). Rare gems came out like SCARY MOVIE that then slacked off as well. So when a parody of a genre comes out that offers something original and whacky, I'm ready to give it a watch. With DETENTION I'm glad I did.

The movie begins with a form that hasn't been used before that works well here. The characters now and then talk to the fourth wall, the audience, and guide them through things happening in the film. It opens with the most popular girl in school (and of course the bitchiest) telling us all about her high school and the kids there while she gets ready for her day. This is one of those girls seen on SWEET 16 who complains about not getting the correct car on her birthday. She mentions the release of a new horror film with a killer known as Cinderhella who then promptly shows up and dispatches of our narrator setting the stage for the killer on the lose.

The kids at school of course do nothing but talk about her death as we introduce them here. Riley is the odd girl out, the different girl who talks about being a vegetarian and supports other groups yet isn't on the popular list of school kids. Her best friend Taylor is though. Taylor's boyfriend (the guy Riley wanted to ask out) Clapton Davis is a neer do well teen complete with skateboard and loved by all...except the school jock who wants to do nothing more than pound Clapton into the ground.

As the film progresses we get glimpses of the killer here and there, several in failed attempts on the lives of our main characters. We also get tons of laughter inspiring moments that are too many to count and too fast to catalog. Yes, this film moves at a frighteningly fast pace but not so much that it can't be enjoyed. And the film doesn't leave itself in the horror genre alone, skipping along occasionally into sci fi alien invasion or time travel storylines that tie into the main one as well.

When the group finally makes it to their actual detention during the high school prom, things happen that are completely off the wall and absurd. And yet it totally works. A killer in the room with them and they never see the murder happen? A student who's been in detention for decades and yet never ages? The reveal of how it all began years ago? Yep, it works here.

There really isn't a true category to place this film in. It's more original than most and offers so much at that rapid pace that you might find yourself clutching the remote so you can pause to finish laughing while the next joke or set up is being offered. I wasn't sure what to expect from this film but was pleasantly surprised as it played out. I was left wanting more and finding myself hoping that those behind it are given a bigger budget and the chance to make more movies. Anything they can come up with will far outrank the EPIC MOVIE group who still lay claim to what little they did on SCARY MOVIE.

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I watched this picture because of the critic Steve Shaviro, who said that it (and The Cabin in the Woods) represented between them the "future of horror"--no wait, maybe the "future of cinema," some grand claim, exactly the kind I have a hankering for, and I enjoyed Cabin in the Woods a helluva lot, so I went in thinking, maybe this will be one of those sorts of movies the kind I like, that rip through genre like so many jungle fronds in a machete movie. And so it was, on a rather different scale than Joss Whedon. Whedon is a humanist, whereas I get the picture that Joseph Kahn, who directed this highly entertaining horror comedy, is no such thing, despite the sentimental flourishes with which his movie concludes (sappy voice over that says, basically, "but underneath it all we're just people, and we all need love.")

Kahn made two epic videos with the pop singer slash actress Kylie Minogue. In one, the charity single by "Helping Haiti," he blended shocking real-life footage of hurricane devastation in Haiti, with hideous footage or pop stars from Rod Stewart to Westlife and beyond, all lip synching the old R.E.M. classic "Everybody Hurts." For Kylie's 11th solo album, APHRODITE, Kahn turned the first single, "All the Lovers" into a giant orgy of models, male and female, stripping to pristine white underwear in the middle of downtown LA in front of the Gehry Disney Concert Hall, to worship a giant goddess Kylie. Made in the immediate aftermath of DETENTION, you can see Kahn trying to work out ideas he didn't manage to articulate during its filming. Josh Hutcherson, the executive producer of the film, plays the hero part, but he's sort of a sad sack, and he's named after a pair of heritage rock artists (in joke?) In general the acting's not great in DETENTION, but who cares? In CABIN IN THE WOODS, the whole movie slides by on the Whedonesque charm of the actors and the witty dialogue, and here the dialogue and the acting is just one jab after another, like an attack of fire ants. If like me you thought of abandoning Detention before the second murder, my advice is, keep up with it if you can, because you will be amply rewarded throughout. The characters start making sense, they become sort of lovable, even the awful ones and though I never did figure out why the boy had to wear a TV on his wrist growing up, I enjoyed myself immensely and, if this is the future of cinema, it's in safe hands.

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You might want to stoke up on caffeine and prop your eyelids open before watching this because it moves at a hundred miles an hour with little let-up.

Here's the scoop. Someone dressed up as "Cinderhella" from a horror movie franchise is killing kids from Grizzly Lake High School. Meanwhile some smaller dramas with some of the students play out. Riley Jones and Clapton Davis have been good friends since forever. She's a bit peeved because he wants to go to the prom with Ione who is vapid beyond the meaning of the word. Meanwhile, Billy Nolan, who is part fly, (yes, you read that right) wants to beat up Clapton because he also wants to go to the prom with Ione. Oh, and there is a time machine inside the stuffed bear in the school hall.

This is a fast, wild ride. The dialogue is replete with now and wow padder. There are a lot of clever pop culture references from both 'now' and the 90s and they come at you relentlessly. The story isn't quite as involved as it might seem at first glance because the pace throws you off. Once you settle into that the viewing gets a bit easier. There are, though, a couple of bizarre zingers (one late in the third act) that are so far out of left field, you might just be thinking WTF!?

The principle actors, Josh Hutcherson, Shanley Caswell, Spencer Locke, et al, do a decent job. The production values are as good as they need to be to get this done. What's really happening here is the script. Writer/director Joseph Kahn's previous work has been entirely in music videos which is probably why he felt the need to cram so much into each moving minute. But, as I said earlier, you really need to pay attention. A 'time slip' element enters the plot in the third act and, if you blink, you'll be lost.

I liked this a lot. I found it very entertaining and better than it had to be given the content. If being cinematically slapped around for 93 minutes is your poison, this should be right up your alley.

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Hyde Park on Hudson (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy + UltraViolet) (2012)

While I appreciate the expertise & execution of Mr. Solinas skilled review in his assessment viewing Hyde Park on Hudson as a boring biopic, ..... as one who was not alive during his administration, I appreciate the intimate "fly on the wall" look at one of this nation's (and the worlds) most iconic leaders his strengths, fears, and foibles as the world approached its second world war. I can't help believe that most people would jump at an opportunity to witness or learn what it was like for those involved and what was going on behind closed doors at such a fateful time. The movie was supposedly based upon a book written by a distant cousin who came to assist him during those difficult times only to become the latest object of his affections. It strips away the veneer that historic figures attain and shows such leaders are real people too not iconic cartoonish live action figurines. They are subject to same physical & emotional challenges, desires, fears, and inadequacies we all possess. Some of us achieve greatness, become leaders, and are viewed as heroes by some and the evil incarnate by others. We all try to envision what it was like to be such a person. In this peak behind the curtains we realize we were almost staring at our own reflection....not only our failings-but more importantly -our innate possibilities.

"Hyde Park on Hudson" stars Bill Murray as Frankin D.Roosevelt and takes place during a summer weekend in 1939 at his Hudson Valley estate when he hosted England's King George VI (Samuel West), who hoped to gain America's support in the coming war. At the same time, according to the film, Roosevelt was pursuing an extramarital affair with a distant cousin, Daisy Suckley (Laura Linney).

Richard Nelson's script portrays Roosevelt as both a master of political gamesmanship and a manipulator of the women around him -wife Eleanor (Olivia Williams), Daisy, and his private secretary, Missy (Elizabeth Marvel). Murray, who might not seem a first choice to portray Roosevelt, conveys both the President's charm and a dark side rarely seen in public. His Roosevelt is surely the ideal host, going out of his way to make his guests feel comfortable, happy, and welcome.

The film has a voyeuristic quality, with the audience as willing spectators checking out a Roosevelt who balances work and play while under enormous pressures from both his public responsibilities and private peccadilloes. It bogs down somewhat in a soap-opera subplot about Daisy discovering that she is only one in a long line of the President's lovers but, overall, the picture has a light touch and moves along briskly.

Bonus features on the Blu-ray and DVD releases include deleted

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This review is from: Hyde Park on Hudson (Amazon Instant Video)

This is an unusual and remarkably private view of the life of FDR (Bill Murray). It is told mostly in first person from the view of Daisy (Laura Linney) his distant cousin and mistress. This story is based on her private letters and diaries discovered after her death. We have no reason to doubt them. As such the story is as much about her as it is FDR, a complex man whose multiple sides are now revealed to everyone. He was a nice philanderer.

The main point of plot interest is when the King and Queen of England come to America. England was headed for war with Germany and will desperately need our assistance. (Plot spoiler: We help the UK and win.) However they visit at a time when the President has mistress issues. They see him having to be carried from location to location. FDR has a way of charming, but at the same time humbling the monarchy. King Edward (Samuel West) was indeed remarkable and likeable.

There were several scenes I would stop and think. There is irony intricately laced within the dialouge of the scenes. I would find myself laughing at scenes after they had ended and I contemplated them for a moment.

The film whispers of old long debates of government vs. private sector, but stops short of making any overt statements. This is not your momma's fireside FDR.

It is a fascinating film for history buffs, and a bit of a chick film drama. I love how this film was intellectually crafted. Not for everyone. Laura Linney and Olivia Coleman (Queen Elizabeth) are Oscar nomination worthy.

Parental Guide: No f-bombs or nudity. There is a brief "hand gratification" early in the film.

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I first saw this film,in the theaters, because of Bill Murray. But don't expect Peter Venkman from "Ghostbusters" or Carl Spackler from "Caddyshack" This is Bill Murray performing as Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The character needed some comedian in it and Bill certainly delivered. Is this a love story? Possibly. A comedy? Maybe. A history? Definitely. This movie is a total Gem.

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Bill murray did a wonderful job portraying roosevelt. The story told a version of roosevelt I never knew about, never knew he was a lady's man.

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Larry the Cable Guy: Git-R-Done (2003)

I met Larry at the show where "Git R Done" was taped. Nice guy. His humor is straight from redneck country. If you don't like that sort of humor, you shouldn't expect much here.

After I adjusted to his humor, I found him funny. Very funny. Toilet humor, but funny. Lots of jokes about reproductive type stuff, or bathroom activities.

Would I recommend this for my 14 year old daughter? Too late. She enjoys it, even if I would have prefered to shield her from that sort of "entertainment".

Fun is poked at many groups that are "off limits" these days. It's old fashioned humor, picking on people based on stereotypes. No one is off limits for Larry. It's refreshing, hearing truly funny stuff without worrying about political correctness. Don't like it? Don't watch it. It's that simple.

Overall, this is a fun show.

If you're a wuss and get easily offended, stay away from this DVD, but if you're not a politically correct girley man as my California Governor Ahnold would say (and that applies to both sexes), you'll laugh until you cry.

Larry the Cable Guy is the redneck Don Rickles, and is an equal opportunity insulter. His is also some of the most inventive stand-up comedy I've heard.

I normally won't tolerate bad language and bathroom humor, because it is usually said as the main reason to make one laugh, for some sort of "shock value"; Larry the Cable Guy says gross toilet humor as part of the story, and it's the story that's funny, not just the way it's said.

Some stories are outrageous, but there are many things out of everyday life...Larry ponders whether it's "Pet Smart" or Pets Mart" (I've often had the same thing run through my head) and in telling us of Rosie O'Donnell's confrontation with NRA member Tom Selleck, he says something I really like: "if guns kill people, I can blame misspelled words on my pencil".

The show, which was filmed at The State Theatre in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on October 30th, 2003, is 66 minutes long, and the DVD extras include a "gallery", and a segment that is about 4 minutes long of "Bathroom Humor", actually filmed in a public restroom, with Larry in a stall.

The show takes a dip in the middle when he's talking about edible britches, but picks up again and Bubli Bubli's letter is a riot, and the Christmas song finale priceless. The last one had me roaring.

Someday Larry the Cable Guy is going to be sued. Not for insulting someone with a defect, but for making someone choke to death with laughter. Git-R-Done Larry !

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I just bought this dvd earlier today. Well worth the price, He used some of the same jokes as on the Blue Collar Movie, still great. This is for any fan of Larry The Cable Guy and or any fan of stand up. GIT -RDONE!!!

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Look, if you don't know who Larry the Cable Guy is, or what his brand of redneck humor is all about, don't write stupid politically correct reviews. Larry insults just about everyone and makes no apologies for it. If you are easily offended or just a prude, this DVD won't become a classic in your DVD collection. But if you like the charm and down home observations of country-folk this DVD is a great example of Larry's work. If you've seen the Blue Collar Comedy Tour and heard Larry's "Lord I Apologize" CD you've heard much of this before. Not much new stuff and only slight variations on old favorites. The DVD extras aren't worth the effort. But the sound is excellent and the picture bright and clear so it's really Larry at his best. Sure, it's rude, crude and generally offensive but it's hysterical at the same time. If you love Larry, don't miss this DVD!

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It enjoyed this show very much and even had a couple of laugh out loud moments. Even some slapping hand on upper thigh while (still) laughing out loud , moments. I mention this as I was watching the DVD on my own (when one tends to be more inhibited as when watching a comedy or stand-up show with a group of people). Mr CableGuy must be quite an intelligent "fella" to be able to come up with some of his very funny jokes, and maybe his redneck persona is his best joke of all. If you enjoy comedy, have a good sense of humour and like stand-up shows on DVD, you will love this one. Git-R-Watching.

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Casanova '70 (1965)

Lorber has added 1965's "Casanova '70," directed by Mario Monicelli, in the great, handsome Blu-rays and DVDS that they did to the Vittorio de Sica and Sophia Loren Collection they have out. It, too, stars Marcello Mastroianni, but the co-stars are a bevy of beauties including Virna Lisi, who crossed over to American films probably more than any other Italian actress other than Loren, and also features Marisa Mell (looking never better), Margaret Lee, Michele Mercier and many others. The screenplay was nominated for an Academy Award. It concerns a man who comes to believe he may be impotent, but only becomes aroused when the situation takes a dangerous turn leading to a lot of rather hilarious exploits. The transfer is quite good and the packaging by Lorber is very handsome and viable enough to be also a collector's jewel. I understand there were problems with poor transfers in other editions of "Casanova '70." With the state of the Italian cinema being sold to low-esteemed companies, this is probably as good as it will get. In Italian with subtitles and trailers. Well-directed.

Mario Monicelli's Casanova `70 was the kind of risqué globe-trotting Italian sex comedy that found favour in the US at a time when the local censors seemed to allow foreign films more leeway than American ones but which now, despite its unapologetically smutty premise and some brief nudity, seems much more innocent and charming. Marcello Mastroianni is a NATO officer who finds that the sexual liberation of the 60s is sapping his libido to the point of impotence: with women not just easy prey but practically throwing themselves at men (provided you meet the minimum requirements, of course), the thrill of conquest leaves him unable to make love unless there's an element of danger to spice things up. His efforts to control his sexual demons are constantly doomed to failure, thanks to a succession of female lion tamers, jinxed prostitutes with a reputation for killing their clients and rich wives with homicidally jealous husbands until he finds himself in the dock with his various conquests (Virna Lisi, Michele Mercier and Marissa Mell among them) called as character witnesses...

It's very much of its time despite the title, it was made in 1965 and it's hard to understand quite how it got a Best Screenplay Oscar nomination that year, but after a rather sluggish opening that's short of real laughs it does develop into something much funnier, and not just in the scenes with his female co-stars: two of the funniest scenes involve a cottage industry faking antiques and selling them by the pound like steak and cuckolded husband Marco Ferreri's attempt to get rid of his new rival. It's the kind of glamorous fluff that's increasingly enjoyable if you're in the right mood, with Mastroianni on particularly good form, and Kino's Region-free US Blu-ray offers a decent but not outstanding widescreen transfer (there's some slight digital noise in places, but nothing too distracting) in the original Italian with English subtitles. Extras are limited to the original Italian trailer, stills gallery and trailer for Kino's other Mastroianni and Sophia Loren titles.

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Not even Marcello, not even Virna, could keep this abortive attempt afloat. That says plenty about what happens when cheap foreign tastes and formulae are imported into Italy.

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[Casanova '70 1965 Directed by Mario Monicelli Widescreen Italian with English subtitles] The always charismatic Marcello Mastroianni shines in this light-hearted sex romp from director Mario Monicelli ('Big Deal on Madonna Street', also starring Mastroianni) as an army officer who only gets amorously aroused when there's an air of danger about; otherwise he's uninterested and blasé, something no one does better than Mario.

The luscious leading ladies are comprised of Marisa Mell, Virna Lisi, Michele Mercier and Liana Orefi, and trust me, if these Eurobabes can't get you interested in boudoir bagatelle, your heart has already ceased to beat. Thankfully, risk rears its head from time to time, so our hero does get his share of bed-hopping hysterical hijinks. His shrink warns him he's on a path to a premature demise, so he tries to become celibate and wed the virtuous Virna Lisi, but his inevitable descent into decadent sin is far more to his liking (and ours as well).

Mastroianni's legendary dry wit and world-weary facial expressions tell more than the ribald script does, and once again he's a marvel to revel in. What the film may lack in cinematic superlatives is of no matter to those who appreciate his warmth and depth as an actor, the gorgeous ladies he's surrounded with, and Monicelli's directorial skills from the golden age of Italian comedy.

Considering that this is the only review of the actual release pictured and detailed here, it should be noted that the audio and video on this Koch-Lorber blu-ray edition are certainly impressive to those of us who have waited decades for a legitimate NTSC release of this minor but must-see gem. No bonus features except a stills gallery, but still an easy 4 stars all around.

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I really like this Movie and Mr.Mastroianni's character is hilarious,his Shrink even more so.The Women Are lovely Italians and strong(of course Strong have led us to many problems down the road,the so-called Revolution as produced many outcomes and problems such as new diseases/std's, and Men no longer being men but just scared and afraid of political incorrectness.)Marcello as a Person and his Politics I do not care for(his openly so-called unactivesocialist/but voted for them nonetheless,his movie the Organizer and so fourth.Which is a shame,of course his voting and others like him along with unions is what led Italy and Europe overall to it's many Economic perils which continue.His AntiChurch Stance again another problem and flaw in his real life character.(see Playboy 1965 Interview.)The movie itself is a novel approach,the Man cannot be aroused unless he is in a dangerous situation,I had the luck of seeing this instantly on Netflix,and Quite enjoyed it for the story and plot and of course it's ending.It is funny and not so dark as one would be lead to believe,the Jealous Husband and finally An Happy Ending all make the movie a nice one to watch.Would I watch it again or Purchase it considering what I now Know?Sadly No.But it is me,This movie came out at the height of so-called "revolution" and all the hype thereafter of Feminist Movements which again have only come to worsen Society and has led not just to Secularism but Intense Secularism and Outright hostility to any who disapproves of said lifestyles,the movie in itself is politically incorrect and perhaps not to be taken serious,but Real Life consequences are.I would recommend watching it.

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The Tim Burton Collection (Pee Wee's Big Adventure/Beetlejuice/Batman/Batman Returns/Mars Attacks!/

I'm already seeing some criticism for this set not containing some of Tim Burton's best films.

To that I say, take a breath and think before you type.

This set is being released by Warner Brothers. All of the films in this collection were productions made with Warner Brothers Studios. The Tim Burton films that are missing from this set were made at other studios.

For example...

Edward Scissorhands? 20th Century Fox

The Nightmare Before Christmas? Disney (Orginally a Touchstone production)

Sleepy Hollow? Paramount

Big Fish? Dreamworks

Ed Wood? Touchstone (aka Disney)

Sweeney Todd? Dreamworks

Alice in Wonderland? Disney

So...before you go spitting venom, do some homework. You're getting seven films at a great price from arguably one of the most visionary directors of our time. I call that a bargain.

I just got my Tim Burton set in the mail today, so pull up a chair, and let me tell you what you get.

First of all, I will freely admit that I am a HUGE Tim Burton fan, and was very excited when I saw this listed on Amazon. I sold my copies of the movies I already owned on Blu-ray to pay for it. Of course, with the price being so low on this set, I actually ended up making a profit.

THE PACKAGING: When you open your copy, you will find a very sturdy box with the artwork shown on the website on the front, and the same border design on the back with a listing of all the movies included in the set. The discs themselves are housed in a foldout digi-pak, with the discs secured in a two-disc stack pattern. Since there are only seven discs, Batman is attached with a single hub. This is the type packaging where you have to remove the top disc in order to get the bottom disc out. I didn't have any problems, and I feel the discs are all very secure and safe. In addition to the discs being in the foldout package, there is also a list of all the supplemental material available for each title. I thought that was a nice touch. Each discs also has new artwork that is in keeping with the design that is present in the border around the front and back of the box. I liked the fact that new artwork was created for the discs, instead of just throwing discs in with the current artwork on them. Nice touch!! The movies all have the same special features as was present on previous Blu-ray releases.

THE BOOKLET: The booklet is a great treat. Each movie gets anywhere from 6 to 12 pages each in the book. The book is a hardcover, and the pages are all thick with a shiny sheen to them.

* Pee Wee 8 pages

* Beetlejuice 6 pages

* Batman 8 pages

* Batman Returns 8 pages

* Mars Attacks 8 pages

* Corpse Bride 12 pages

* Charlie 12 pages

Each film gets an introduction, poster page, behind the scenes shots, some sketch art, movie info, and trivia. This is very nice, and should count as a blu-ray exclusive feature since this set is not available on DVD. I was just expecting to see a few pictures stuck in a book, with little thought put into it. What you get is a very well thought out little book, that adds to the enjoyment of each film.

BOTTOM LINE: If you don't have any of these on Blu-ray, then I would strongly suggest you get this set. It's a great price for what you get. If you do already own them, you may want to consider doing what I did. Sell all your current copies on Amazon, and then turn around and order this set. I ended up making a nice little profit, plus now I have all of these Burton films in a very nice collection which will proudly be displayed on my shelf.

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This collection is awesome sure it doesn't have "The nightmare before Christmas" and

"Edward scissor hands" but non the less its a great collection

9/13/12 $41.99

Please don't let the guy that rated this product 1 star make you think this a bad product because its not. he/she just cant look around...don't expect everything to be in your face people do some looking around

the collectors hard cover book is wonderful! each page has this photo finish to it very good quality has about 60 pages all great pictures and tons of information about 6-8 pages for each movie and some cool stuff like trivia its one of the best quality collectors books I've seen

(according to the special features on the case)

1. Batman tons of extras

2. Batman Returns tons as well

3. Bettlejuice few

4. Mars Attacks none

5. Pee-wees big adventure pretty good amount of extras

6. Charlie and the chocolate factory TON! of extras

7. Tim burtons corpse bride good amount

all the movie discs have a unique-ish cover to them

over all if you like these movies get them its a great collection it has some great movies and its just worth it. hope this helped!

Tim Burton: Collection [Blu-ray]

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Stop reading this and get this now. Trust me, if you love these movies, then this beautifully designed box set is for you. The blu-rays themselves make these movies look better than they ever have and I've owned most of these on VHS and first generation DVDs. Plus, this is a great way to get Batman and Batman Returns, which for some reason are insanely expensive when bought individually on BD at the time of this writing. The book is lovingly designed with nice pictures and tidbits about each of the movies. While I would've loved to have seen some special features added to Mars Attacks! and some movie-specific features to Beetlejuice besides the cartoons, this is just a small qualm that does not take away from the special quality of this package. Also makes an awesome gift for the Tim Burton fan in your life. Enjoy!

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This collection is a fun assortment of Tim Burton films. I was initially attracted to this collection due to its wonderful packaging. The case is sturdy and has a wonderful montage of the characters from the films on the front. Located inside is the Digipak-style case, which holds all seven films. I was thrilled to have a chance to own many of my childhood favorites (especially both Batman films, Beetlejuice, and Pee-Wee's Big Adventure).

The Batman films alone are hard to find, and are a great pair of films. The accompanying book is very nice, and provides some wonderful behind the scenes photos of the director and some of his cast. If you are a Tim Burton fan, buy this collection! You will not be disappointed.

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