Repo Man (Criterion Collection) (1984)

Repo Man is completely unclassifiable. Funny, dark, biting, thrilling, confusing, action, adventure, it's all there. Emilio Estevez plays Otto, a "white suburban punk" living in LA's sprawl, with a nowhere job that he loses in the film's second scene. When his hippie parents admit they sent his college fund to a TV preacher (We're sending Bibles to El Salvador!), Otto meets Bud (Harry Dean Stanton), a cocaine-driven Repo Man who needs an extra driver. Otto joins the firm and soon learns the Repo Code; Bud's version (You see, a Repo Man gets himself INTO tense situations), and the other regulars at Helping Hand Auto share their philosophies too. Light finds Bud's view tedious but is willing to handle shoot-outs when he's not reading parodies of Scientology (Diuretix), Miller seems completely neuron-fried (The more you drive, the less intelligent you are), and Oly is along to make a four-pack. (Did you notice the four experienced Repo Men are named after beers?) Let's go get a drink, kid!

Multiple plot strands at first seem unrelated, but bind together closer and tighter as the film moves along. Otto and the other Repo Men are on the lookout for a 1964 Chevy Malibu, with a $25,000 bounty. So are some creepy FBI agents, who stalk and kidnap Otto. And so are Helping Hand's arch-rivals, who careen into the plot whenever things are getting dull. The car's driven by a nuclear physicist in from Los Alamos, who warned a CHP officer not to look in the trunk (with deadly results). Otto's punk friends find the car while breaking into a pharmaceutical factory, but they're too stupid to keep it. (These three are some of the dumbest criminals ever shown in film, including Kevin Kline's Otto in _A Fish Called Wanda_) Otto finds love, after a fashion, but since this is Reaganesque LA, even his girlfriend has her own motives. ("Otto! What about our relationship?" Otto's reply is a brilliant retort to Cary Grant's last line in Gone with the Wind.)

The film abounds with hilarious throw-away lines, signs, and labels. Several scenes take place in food stores, and all the food is generically labeled. Multiple viewings are required to catch them all; be sure to read all the signs in the windows. Even the TV preacher shows up on several television sets. Repo Man takes its structure from Miller's bizarre rant about the cosmic latticework of interconnectedness, because everything is interconnected, and Miller turns out to be right about all of it by the end. "And flying saucers are... You got it. Time Machines."

Top it off with a TERRIFIC sound track by Iggy Pop, Black Flag, The Circle Jerks, and a host of others from the punk scene and this is one of the best movies ever made.

Every decade, there seems to be a movie that defines the angst of the culture and the subculture, the collective feeling that something is wrong with the establishment. To call this zeitgeist is misleading; these films don't reflect the spirit of the times as much as they somehow tap into the opposite they manage to create an all-around sense of unease about the state of the world. In the 1960s, it was The Graduate and the bombshell look at the end. For the 1990s, Fight Club identified many things wrong both with pop culture and those acting in rebellion against it. For the Reagan-saturated 1980s, the distinction falls squarely on Alex Cox's debut film Repo Man. In one of his first roles, Emilio Estevez plays Otto, a street punk who loses his job and college savings in the same day due to misunderstandings and television preachers. At the end of his rope financially and mentally, he agrees to make a quick 20 bucks by helping experienced repo man Bud (Harry Dean Stanton). Realizing the potential to make a good living, and an "intense" life in his new job, Otto signs up with the crew and becomes a repo man. On the way, he meets an unusual woman (Olivia Barash) whom he rapidly falls in lust with. When word comes down the wire that there's an enormous commission out on a 1964 Chevy Malibu, Otto and all the other repo men set out to look for the car with the huge score. What they find in the trunk is so unusual, it will change everything EVERYTHING.

What makes Repo Man so unique is the obvious satirization not only of regular, and in this case conservative Reagean-esque, culture, from the "John Wayne was [gay]" speech to Bud's trashing of Russia, but the send-ups of punk culture (Let's go do some crimes! Yeah, let's get sushi and not pay!) Otto is the everyman in every sense of the word, as he like us realizes that no matter what culture he tries to be a part of, he never fits in, and those strains of culture are so rife with stupidity and hypocrisy that he no longer wants to belong. Like The Graduate and Fight Club, Repo Man also refuses to supply a stock answer, instead making the audience question instead of spoonfeeding them. Plus, it's roll-on-the-floor funny, with some of the best oneliners since Evil Dead 2 or Terminator 2. Alex Cox made Repo Man while still in film school, and he basically admits it's little more than a trumped-up student film. The lack of budget is obvious at times, but the killer screenplay and direction more than make up for that slight fault. As usual, the movie looks excellent on Anchor Bay's DVD; the sound and video are as clear as you can ask for, with a remixed 5.1 audio track to boot. There's a great commentary track with Alex Cox, some castmembers (sadly, no Harry Dean or Emilio), and some crew; it's a lot like a Kevin Smith commentary, with everyone sitting in one room, having a great time talking about a great film. There are no other extras to speak of, unless you buy the collector's tin (which does not look like the normal Repo Man cover it looks like a California license plate, with Repo Man on it). The collector's tin has the soundtrack on CD and a booklet about the movie with a little comic in it. Unless you are a major fan or must have the best of the best of the best edition, there's no need to buy the more expensive version, but if you want it, you'd better get it quick, because at 30,000 copies, it'll be gone before you know it.

I would definitely check this movie out if you can, and would recommend buying it to anyone who asked.

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Alex Cox sends up the Reagan era in a black comedy about car reposession. With a stellar soundtrack and lots of quotables, Cox is the precursor to the Coens and Tarantino. Cox sends up everything but the kitchen sink-suburban life, televangelism, nuclear fear, UFO conspiracies, commercialism, self help cults, and more I'm sure I missed here. Straight up lo-budget classic if you have a taste for irony and absurdity.

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First off, let me say that I LOVE this movie. There is nothing else out there like it. It is the first movie about Nothing, long before Seinfeld and Napoleon Dynamite came along.

But actually, it's not about Nothing. It's about a quest. A quest to find the Holy Grail of car reposession: A Chevy Malibu.

So why 2 stars? Because this DVD SUCKED, that's why. The widescreen was pretty good, and the audio was okay. But other than that, where were the captions or subtitles? And more importantly, WHERE WERE ALL THE GREAT SCENES I REMEMBERED?

I never saw this in the theater. I grew up watching reruns of it on TBS. I got to hear all the repeats of "flip you" and "melonfarmer" in all their dubbed glory. When Leila swears at Otto at the end, my memory is her saying, "You Nerrrrd!" Not that-other-word.

That's okay. I can deal with more cussing. In fact, I like it. But what makes me want to say "Flip You" to the makers of this DVD is that we are missing all these great scenes:

1. The crazy guy in the car babbles on and on to Kevin about various things, including Lorna Doone cookies. Kevin's response is, "Lorna Doones? I love Lorna Doones!" From this DVD GONE!!!

2. Bud gets pissed at a phone booth for no apparent reason and goes and gets a baseball bat or crowbar or something and beats the thing to smithereens. Otto wants to get in on the action, so he picks up the bat and starts doing some smashing of his own, with some nice maniacal laughter. Bud has to make him quit and leave. This scene GONE!!!

3. Otto goes home again to see his hippy parents. The Good Reverend on TV is going on and on of course. I remember him saying these specific very cool lines, "Suffer the fires of eternal damnation! Now these are the end times..." Otto's parents are covered in spider webs. He walks up to the TV and turns it off. They give him a kind of lost look, and he gives them a disgusted look, and finally he just walks out the door with nothing else said. This Nice Scene GONE!!!

4. Seems like the "Bad Man", Lite did a lot more talking on the movie I remember. Seems like he said some stuff about "break the bone", like in the song. Where did it show that in this DVD? GONE, that's where!!!

5. There was one scene with the crazy guy in the car where he is talking either to Otto or Kevin, and he runs his fingers through his hair. As he runs his fingers through his hair, a handful of hair falls out. This was really gross but crucial to us fully understanding how far his radiation poisoning had progressed. Where is this scene, I ask you? GONE!!!

6. I'M SURE THERE ARE MORE SCENES, BUT WHERE ARE THEY??? GONE! GONE, I TELL YOU!!!

And why? I wouldn't mind this if this was just a regular DVD, but this supposed to be the "Special Edition" DVD! When are you movie execs going to figure out that we consumers don't care about gimmicks like tin-cases shaped like license plates? We want SUBSTANCE, not PACKAGING.

I haven't listened to the commentary track yet, but everybody has good things to say about it so I'll give a star for that at least.

Now, on to the soundtrack. This is a great soundtrack, but it too left me disappointed. I recognized the songs in it, but where was the main Repo Man track? You know which one I mean! I wanted to hear the lonely guitar solo that comes up while Otto walks the streets alone. That awesome track that comes up while the bum is sobbing on the side of the street and Otto just keeps on walking past, ignoring him as just part of the wasteland that is Urban USA. Where was that incredible soul-transcending track by the Plugz? We get a taste of it on the final track, but nothing like the main track. How disappointing.

The bottom line: If you've gotta have Repo Man, it's a good buy. But I'm still holding on to my much-worn VHS recording of the cable version. I suggest you do the same.

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Of all the low-budget films to come out of the Eighties, Repo Man, Alex Cox's dark cult comedy about Eighties urban sprawl and alien paranoia, is one of the better ones. Emilio Estevez stars in one of his earliest roles as Otto Parts, your modern apocalyptic teen up to his armpits in drugs, sex, and parental neglect. He soon finds a way out through Bud (Stanton), an ace repo man, who gives him a job and teaches him the ways of the car repossessing trade. The two wander through the guts of L.A. in search of a '64 Chevy Malibu, priced at 50 thousand dollars, and run into a cast of bizarre street characters: feds, girls in distress, a lobotomized nuclear physicist, and really, really dumb criminals. Estevez gives one of the best performances of his career, honing his acting skills as a punk white boy just in time for his role in Coppola's The Outsiders, released later that year. Cox, who wrote and directed the film, creates a strange but hilarious view of our culture, a brilliant satire on modern society.

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Hobo with a Shotgun (Collector's Edition + Digital Copy) (2011)

Really liked this movie. Yes it's violent and over the top, but hey, this is grindhouse. The characters are wonderful and almost every one is iconic in their own right. The movie makers created a gritty world with strange and twisted people mostly committing vile acts. Kind of like if Troma had made Robocop. This was less of an homage to grindhouse movies of the 70's and 80's and more like an actual grindhouse movie. The film had bright bleeding colors and harsh contrast that helped to give this film a very uniquely gritty look. There were lots of scenes of murder, mutilation and torture, but there were also scenes in this movie that elevate it to something more than a "B" horror movie. The hobos talk to the newborns, a certain death scene, the Plague, and even the wickedness of the main bad guy. This was definitely a grindhouse flick and more. Looking forward to seeing more from this director and crew.

Hobo with a Shotgun has kind of achieved an almost mythical status. Originally a fake trailer created when Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino were bringing their Grindhouse film to the masses, here we are with a feature-length treatment for Hobo with a Shotgun, starring genre great Rutger Hauer in the title role. When our Hobo hero arrives in a crime-ridden city, he quickly runs afoul of local crime boss Drake (Brian Downey from Lexx) and his two degenerate sons (Gregory Smith and Nick Bateman). It isn't long before the sight of so much crime and pain and torment drives our Hobo over the edge and he gets his hands on the shotgun sitting in a pawn shop, and proceeds to wreck ultra-bloody havoc in the process. Gleefully over the top and definitely not for the faint of heart, Hobo with a Shotgun represents just about the best aspects of what made the grindhouse and exploitation films of yesteryear so badly enjoyable to watch. At the same time however, Hobo with a Shotgun also displays some of the worst aspects of the genre. More often than not, it feels as if the film is trying way too hard to reach that level, and there are plenty of times where it's just too much. Not to mention the fact that the acting is, well, let's just say it's kind of lacking in certain aspects. I'm not looking for Shakespeare here, but other than Rutger Hauer, a majority of the cast is way too over the top for their own good. Still, Hobo with a Shotgun is bloody, ultraviolent fun that never relents, and is the kind of ballsy genre filmmaking that has become all the more scarce as time has gone by. It definitely isn't for everyone, but for those who love and respect what the grindhouse/exploitation genre can do, Hobo with a Shotgun is a must have.

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This is a not a good film in any sense. But it is a good film within its genre. Its pure violent pulp exploitation with no pretensions and in many respects its the purity of the concept which elevates it to something more than it would otherwise be. Its kind of like the old Sergio Leone westerns or something like the original Beastmaster or Road House or the first Boondock Saints.

The film had its start as a phony trailer in an earlier bigger film. The trailer was a funny two-minute joke. But they managed to make it work for real as a film.

A nameless hobo gets off a train in a new town with dreams of buying a lawnmower to start a business. But the streets are out of control and the hobo is forced to clean up the town on his own. The town is run by a violent goof named "Drake" and his two sons...one of whom looks like he stepped out of old Tom Cruise film like Risky Business. The villians are really easy to hate. The hobo is a no-nonsense hero.

The film is slightly different than the old "Death Wish" formula because there is a clear wealth and class subtext to it. Most vigilante films feature middle class or rich victims taking revenge on psychotic criminals. But "Hobo" is about a man at the very bottom taking revenge on a corrupt system run by the wealthy and powerful who exist beyond the reach of any law. Going after the "bumfights" guy, going after the rich goof (Drake) and going after the idiot sons of the rich goof are all powerful concepts.

And like all exploitation films, we get things that just don't make a bit of sense. Two Junior Iron men eventually show up with no particular explaination. But its so goofy, it works.

The only thing that I have against it is that its too violent. Its in the nature of explotation, but I think the material was good enough that they could have done without it. An edited version would probably run on cable forever.

The acting is 10x better than it has any right to be. Rutger Hauer was perfect for the role and delivers (as usual) a really solid performance in a third-rate role. This is not award winning acting, but its a role that some people would sleepwalk through (but he did not).

Most homaige films are derivative and so tied to the source material that they can't ever even be as good as what they are swiping. But this film was better than the original films.

Again, this isn't a work of art. But its honest to what it is and it was well done within the parameters of what it is.

Read Best Reviews of Hobo with a Shotgun (Collector's Edition + Digital Copy) (2011) Here

I've been wanting to see this movie for a long time, and I finally watched it with some friends, and all I have to say is...wow! This movie was so incredibly and insanely violent. People lose their heads, get ripped open with a baseball bat covered in razor blades, and get shot to death by an ass-kicking hobo. This movie based on the trailer from Grindhouse has more action than Machete. If you are easily offended by children being burned alive or being watched by a pedophile Santa Claus, you should stay away. This was a fun movie to watch, and all the gore scenes are hilarious and epic.

Rutger Hauer stars as a Hobo who comes to a new town, overrun with corruption. He befriends a hooker named Abby. While a Pawn shop is getting robbed, the Hobo can't take it anymore and decides to shoot the robbers down with a shotgun. He becomes a vigilante and goes around shooting anybody involved with crime. Never ever cross a HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN!!!

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Spider-Man ran out of silk and fell to his death mid air. Superman's steel is rusty. Batman has retired. James Bond's license to kill has been revoked. Kick-Ass got his ass kicked. The streets are ablaze with crime and corruption, and a new breed of superhero is in town... a nameless vigilante cashing in his quarters for a new way of life. A Hobo... With a Shotgun.

I recall seeing Grindhouse on its opening day, and when Hobo With a Shotgun showed, I laughed myself silly!!! It was probably the funniest of the fake trailers, and most agreed. Cut to 3 years later, and Hobo With a Shotgun has been made as a movie!! As you can imagine I anticipated its release and saw it Monday, and loved it!!!

A nameless Hobo gets off a train in a town called Hope Town, hoping to start a new life. He tries to save whatever money he can get for a lawnmower so he can start a business to mow people's lawns. However, the streets are full of corruption and violence, ruled by a ruthless psycho named Drake and his two sons.

However, one day, a new life automatically starts for the hobo when having struggled enough to get the money, he goes to buy the lawnmower and a robbery occurs. He notices the shotgun on the wall, uses it to shoot the robbers, and leaves one alive to tell the tale. With the help of a tired hooker named Abbey, this angry hobo will not stop until Drake and his empire are dead!

Hobo with a Shotgun is fun from the first frame. It is short and sweet, it is sickeningly violent and hilarious!!! There's buckets of blood and gore spilled, there's lots of dark humour, there's great acting and it is VERY Canadian. This film is evidence that Canadian cinema is some of the best around.

I was also surprised at the amount of heart it had too. Beneath the gore and insanity was a heartfelt message about how Homeless people are no different from the rest of us. There's a powerful scene near the end whee Abbey makes a speech to an angry mob, where she tells them that "Those people have a bigger home than us, and we are standing in it". It is very true, and it does give a whole new level of heart.

So in short, go see Hobo With a Shotgun. For what it's worth, GO SEE IT. It may be the most fun you'll have at the movies. Oh and Canadians who grew up watching The Raccoonsyou're in for a treat come the end credits!!!

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My Cousin Vinny (1992)

Subtly employing the city mouse/country mouse theme, MY COUSIN VINNY is a light-hearted courtroom comedy. While it occasionally stoops to some stereotyping, the movie doesn't do so mean-spiritedly. In any event, both sides get equal skewering.

Vinny Gambini, brilliantly portrayed by Joe Pesci, is a Brooklyn boy who has finally passed the Bar (after repeated failures) and now finds himself defending his nephew and his nephew's friend against murder charges in the Bible Belt. Along with his too beautiful fiancee, played by Academy Award Winner Marissa Tomei, Pesci investigates the southern style of life, as he fathoms southern courtroom procedures and tries to get some sleep. The resulting clash of cultures is sometimes predictable, but honestly, is very inventive for the most part.

The comedy of the court room scenes is heightened by the late Fred Gwynne who plays the presiding judge. His by-the-book habits and short-fused temper are a perfect foil to Vinny's laconic style. It is their interaction that feeds most of the cultural clashing. But there is also a clash of the sexes that underlies the film, as Vinny stubbornly refuses the help of his fiancee. This confrontation is also highlighted in the courtroom when the DA refuses to believe that she could possibly be considered an expert in automechanics, even though her brothers, her father, her uncles, and just about everyone else in her family are expert mechanics. (The DA becomes convinced in a wonderful cross-interview scene.)

MY COUSIN VINNY was both critically well-received and a huge box-office success. There's a reason for that: it is a well-written, well-directed and perfectly acted comedy that stands up well even after repeated viewings. See it for yourself and you'll understand why, too.

I believe this to be one of those 90s comedies we all love, so the BD transfer was a nice addition to see come over. Playing it in the store today reminded everyone how fun the film was, but the obvious preservation work made for a nice sell on how these older films should be done.

The colors and clarity were actually cleaned up well, with the artifact being random to where there was no real detraction. The credit sequences looked solid, which for some of these 90s block letter credits the BD transfers can leave in horrible grain. With how they did Tomei's makeup in this, there could have been plenty of chances for a dull saturation look, but in actuality it turned out looking great.

The sound is what sold me though. They mixed and re-amplified it into a 5.1 DTS that rocked the channels. The train scenes were excellent and that owl made customers do a double take. The supplements suck though. They included a variety of trailers from theater and TV, but in that it does show how the original stock looked compared to this upgrade. The commentary was fine, but I was hoping for some visual treats. Instead, the film will have to stand alone for buying the Blu. The menu shows a cleaned up reel also and the navigation was simple. Enjoy.

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First of all: "My Cousin Vinny" (1992), is one of the funniest film I've ever seen! After the first ten minutes you can't stop laughing. You'll be able only to graduate from roaring outbursts to moderate laugh.

Jonathan Lynn has many skills in the cinematographic world: he is actor, director and playwright. As director this is, arguably, his best work. When making this film, it seems he was touched by a magic wand for comedic tempos. It is a pity he hasn't reached the same level with his other films, still there are some quite good as "Nuns on the Run" (1990) and "The Distinguished Gentleman" (1992).

This is the story of two New York youngsters wrongly accused of murder in Alabama. They are broken and endangered but Billy resorts to his Cousin Vinny, who's supposedly an experienced attorney.

Well... he isn't experienced, but he is faithful to family obligation and show up with his fiancée to help his relative.

The Court is commanded by Judge Chamberlain Haller inflexible and punctilious.

The rest of the movie shows the confrontation between Judge & Attorney, giving place to a series of hilarious scenes.

Joe Pesci, Marisa Tomei and Fred Gwynne flesh the three main characters producing outstanding alchemy for audience's delight.

Pesci is a purebred comedian and his characterization of a New Yorker confused by Southern etiquette is just a riot.

Beautiful Marisa Tomei earned an Oscar with her joyful play-acting.

Last but not least Fred Gwynne is a Judge full of irony and subtleties.

This movie is an excellent pastime, I wholeheartedly recommend it.

Reviewed by Max Yofre.

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I cautiously first went to see "My Cousin Vinny" when Marisa Tomei won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, because--unlike many people--I don't like Joe Pesci. I still don't like Joe Pesci, BUT the role of Vincent LaGuardia Gambini in "My Cousin Vinny" is perfect for him, and his performance is stellar. For me Joe Pesci is Vincent Gambini and Vincent Gambini is Joe Pesci. And, it was my opinion when I first saw "My Cousin Vinny," as it is now after watching the DVD I just got, that Marisa Tomei more than deserved the Oscar. It is my opinion, moreover, that many times award winning performances are discredited by viewers because the actor is performing so well that it appears they are not acting at all. (Please note that I count myself among those who see the Oscars as politically driven; so, when I agree with them--which is seldom--I am truly standing up to be counted).

The product description does a fair job of describing the story outline; although it hardly makes "My Cousin Vinny" sound nearly as funny as it is. But the movie is about more than two kids from the city mistakenly arrested for murder in (the implicitly implied "redneck") Alabama. The film is a light-hearted study of culture clashes, where all characters have stereotypical traits and stereotype the other characters themselves. The movie is also about assumptions--along with the inherent danger of such--and how the "meaning" of these assumptions vary with regards to experience and socialization. "My Cousin Vinny" also examines gender roles--and it is here that Tomei shines--and education/science versus experience and common knowledge. But, most importantly, "My Cousin Vinny" demonstrates the importance of "doing the right thing," regardless of the consequences (and in some cases the legality of the action). Pesci's character finally "gets it," and is able to find his way; but only through the assistance of Tomei's character and the trust of Billy Gambini (inconsistently performed by Ralph Macchio).

As for the other reviewer's triad about the language in this DVD version of the movie, as compared to the bleeped television version, I have these comments: 1) the movie is rated "R," which should have informed you about the probability of profanity; 2) while it may seem like there is a lot of profanity in the movie, it is completely applicable to the way these characters would actually speak--and I suspect that there is actually less profanity than it sounds like; 3) when "My Cousin Vinny" was made (1992), most movies were moving towards increased use of profanity--especially "R" rated movies; and 4) is overt profanity that much worse than suggested or ribald "comedy?" Moreover, just how does the sudden inclusion of (generally appropriately used) profanity into any dialog--films or otherwise--change the humor or make it no longer funny? In fact, I personally hear just as much, if not more, profanity used by children, teenagers, adults, and seniors at the store than in the movie; which I believe is gross misuse of profanity, but is the way of life today. For me, and I am sure many others, a great funny movie, is a great funny movie in spite of the language. Remember, there was a day when movies couldn't even rely on language to be funny.

Now for the mystery I am having trouble understanding: Why is this version of the DVD/VHS not being lumped together with the other versions with regards to reviews? To date (12 June 2008), there is only one review listed for this version, while there are 129 reviews for the other version currently available. This is so uncharacteristic of Amazon! And, in near ultimate irony, it appears that there is no difference between this version and the other "lower priced" (I got mine when it was sale) version, other than the fact that this version has a gold cardboard slipcase (the box inside is exactly like the other one) and the listing has the wrong actors!

Update--1 July 2008: If this review was not helpful to you, I would appreciate learning the reason(s) so I can improve my reviews. My goal is to provide help to potential buyers, not get into any arguments. So, if you only disagree with my opinion, could you please say so in the comments and not indicate that the review was not helpful. Thanks.

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In 1992, My Cousin Vinny was the one movie that made everybody laugh until their sides split. I've been watching the film ever since it was released and all I did was laugh my rear-end off. Twelve years have gone by since the film was released and I'm still laughing today. Any actor or actress can get a rise out of you if they knew the right way to do it, but nobody can get a rise of you the way Joe Pesci does in this film; nobody can do it they way Marisa Tomei does in this film.

When two college buddies by the names of Bill (played by Ralph Macchio) and Stan (Mitchell Whitford) are driving down the roads of Beecham County, Alabama, they are suddenly arrested for the murder of a grocery store clerk, but what the police of Alabama don't know is that Bill and Stan are completely innocent. Unable to afford a public attorney, Bill turns to his cousin, Vincent Gambini (played by Joe Pesci), an ex-auto-mechanic turned lawyer from Brooklyn, New York, who just past his bar exam after failing it the first five times and knows absolutely nothing about law. By his side is his beautiful fiancee, Lisa Vito (played by Marisa Tomei, in her Oscar-winning role), who is an out-of-work hairdresser that knows every damn thing there is to know about cars. The court is led by Judge Chamberlain Haller (played by the late Fred Gwyne), who has absolutely no patience for any kind of misbehavior in his courtroom. Seems as though Vinny has now finally realized his no longer in New York and is now in a state where no one gets away with any kind of behavior or crime and has finally met his match. Can Vinny pull his cousin out of this mess without screwing up the case? Watch My Cousin Vinny as he desperately tries to save his little cousin while he gives you non-stop laughter along the way.

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Eddie: The Sleepwalking Cannibal (2012)

This is not a slasher/gore fest kind of movie. It starts out funny and gets gross. It also made me think about things I don't typically watch with these kinds of films. If you are looking for something different, I say go for it!

Who says a horror flick can't have a sprinkle of comedy? This dry humored comedy-horror, Eddie: The Sleepwalking Cannibal had me fixated to the screen. Not only is Lars super attractive, Eddie was written as a lovable killer which is AWESOME. I recommend this movie to 10-50 year old couples looking for a thrill and to test their dates humor.

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I'm a huge fan of horror, but not that big a fan of your typical Holywood horror-comedy. Eddie is funny, endearing and thought-provoking... and gory. Although it's not the unwarranted type of gore you see in the Walking Dead. It's a fun ride. I loved the unstated question what would happen if you met your muse but your muse is a sleepwalking cannibal? Also my favorite exchange in the movie is: Lars: "He eats small animals in his sleep?" Leslie: "It's not as bad as it sounds." Lars: "...it sounds pretty bad..." Watch it, enjoy it, dare to laugh.

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I enjoyed it, but wait for a rainy day where you don't have ANYTHING else to do. The ending had a good twist.

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When I first heard the title of this film, I'll admit, I chuckled. But after watching 'Eddie', I realized how much more complex this horror-comedy flick really was. I was really impressed with the acting of the main character who conveyed so much through body language (it can't be easy to play a mute, nonetheless a sleepwalking, cannibalistic mute!). It you are into campy films, and have a stomach for a bit of blood, I say watch it!

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Shall We Dance? (2004)

It was difficult, indeed, because Gere has a certain magnetism, both on and off screen, that transcends just his looks and certainly overwhelms his acting, which can be a bit stiff at times. In this movie, Gere is perfection. Of course, we make the comparison to his best role, in "Chicago", and we don't find him wanting here. As an ordinary man, in an unremarkable field of law (he writes wills for his clients), he has a daughter he loves, and a beautiful and accomplished wife (like many, too busy with mothering and career to see what he might be missing) in the incomparable Susan Sarandon.

Here she is just more than a bit player, but her appeal and her counterpoint to Gere is well cast. Gere is downcast because something is missing in his life, something that will help restore the joy. A subplot involves Sarandon hiring a detective to find out what her husband has been up to, and she has her best scenes as a sexy counterpoint to detective Devine (Richard Jenkins) that are reminiscent of her old role in the delightful "Compromising Positions"....Jenkin's assistant, Scottie, is a walking encyclopedia of literature and facts, and is ably played by Nick Cannon, who we saw last year in "Drumline"

It could have been anything that changed his life, but Gere chooses ballroom dancing. The draw is the beautiful and mysterious face he sees in the window of "Miss Mitzi's Dancing School". In that face, in that manner, the melancholy Paulina (Jennifer Lopez surprises with her elegant detachment), draws him because in her, he sees himself certainly he is attracted by her beauty, but it is clear from the beginning that there is little in the way of romance between them; just two souls that are overwhelmed by sadness, trying to recapture some of the joy in their lives by dancing.

Miss Mitzi's is a shabby little school where Gere finds himself in a beginners' class with Bobby Cannavale (Third Watch, Oz, The Station Agent) who shows some comic chops, and the loveable Omar Benson Miller (8 Mile, Sorority Boys) who is hard not to like as a clumsy giant. Both Chick and Vern blossom under the tutelage of Miss Mitzi (Anita Gillette), who is not above a little nip of gin from her flask from time to time as she tries to cope with her "dancers". The bonding of the people in the class is the most understated message in the movie sometimes you continue to do things because you have found a camaraderie with others who are unlikely friends.

Add some over the top comedy from one of my favorite actors, the marvelous Stanley Tucci (with a wig that needed to meet an untimely death) and Lisa Ann Walter (she's one of those actresses that always is cast comedically, and you swear you've seen her a hundred times; in reality, her best roles were rather minor, in "The Parent Trap", as the maid, and in "Bruce Almighty" as Jennifer Aniston's buddy) both of them are passionate about the dance, and Tucci, as Link Peterson, from Gere's law firm, is trying to hide his passion in plain sight.

Timing is everything, and Director Peter Chelsom, a Brit with little exposure in this country, succeeds in building up to the dance competition, with the inevitable crash and burn scene, followed by a heart-warming conclusion where we learn that Gere has not wasted his efforts, and has truly made a difference in his life with his unusual choice of hobby.

The soundtrack for "Shall We Dance?" is a delicious mix of new and old, and I was taken by Mya's rendition of David Bowie's old chestnut "Let's Dance". High time that was remade, and a highlight of an eclectic musical background that aids the film but doesn't overwhelm the script. The choreography is stunning, both in the school and at the competition.

Give La Lopez credit for her ability to dance; whether she is dancing to Latin rhythms, completing a perfect waltz, or, in my favorite scene teaching Gere to really feel the music in a perfect pairing that is all romance and virtually no sexual tension. Lopez is beautiful. Her costumes are perfect for her, and there is an amazing little black dress in the scene where she loses her cool and lectures Gere on what the emotions of the rhumba really are she's gorgeous in this incarnation. Funny, in some ways she has a catalyst role, and doesn't really get involved in the humor, which is subtle and makes you smile, rather than trying to be hysterically funny, which she could never pull off.

I loved my night with "Shall We Dance?". I'll definitely buy the DVD for more viewings! I didn't see the Japanese original, nor did I try to compare it to other dance movies and find it wanting. I just purely enjoyed the storyline, the filming and the romance. You will too.

I saw the Japanese original film "Shall We Dance?" few years ago and I was charmed by its subtlety and delicacy. I did not plan to see the remake because I am not crazy about the remakes in general and I did not look forward to see Lopez or Gere in the movie together. When I finally saw the movie (my mom who's seen both films highly recommended the American version to me), I was surprised how much I enjoyed it.

The cultural contrast of the Japanese film ceased to exist in the 2004 movie but there is still a lot to like in it. First of all, I love to watch good dancing and "Shall We Dance?" has plenty of it. Gere's and Lopez's dancing together has grace and passion, and it was a wonderful moment in the film.

Then, there are memorable and funny supporting characters that had screen time enough to become more than the lifeless shadows Stanley Tucci (Link) and Lisa Ann Walter (Bobbie) for whom the ballroom dancing is the road to freedom, and happiness.

And the last but not the least, the movie is asking the question, how to make a man happy if he's got everything the job he enjoys, the family he loves, his health, and good looks but something is missing? It would take more than any movie to answer the question but perhaps it would help one day just take a different road and open a new door?

3.5/5 or 7/10

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As far as remakes go, this one isn't too bad. It's hard to translate the cultural aspects, which play a major role in the original Japanese version, but they managed to recreate that part of the conflict quite nicely.

As a ballroom dancer, I was somewhat torn with this movie. There were some very obvious glaring errors in it, for anyone who knows ANYTHING about ballroom dancing. However, the story was enjoyable enough and the characters likable enough that it generally made up for it.

Richard Gere truly shines in this film. After the hit film "Chicago," it became obvious that Gere has quite a talent for dancing, and it was wonderful that he was able to further improve that particular gift in this show. Gere has an undeniable presence on the screen, which added so much to his role in "Shall We Dance." His character was charming and real, and I found myself really cheering for him. And heck, I wouldn't mind seeing him do more ballroom dancing, he really has a great feel for it! If I didn't know better, I'd say he'd been doing ballroom for much longer than it took to make this film.

Susan Sarandon was completely believable as his wife, and I liked her as much as I liked Gere. I wanted to see even more of her. I think my favorite scene with her was when she was trying to learn a little about ballroom dancing herself, secretly trying to gain understanding from a book and dancing in the bedroom just as her husband had done so covertly.

Stanley Tucci was, as always, brilliantly hilarious in his role as Gere's coworker. Playing a Latin dancer trying to hide his passion for the sport, Tucci provides a good amount of the comedy in this show. I wasn't quite expecting his role to be what it was, and he isn't the dancer that Gere is, but it's obvious he had fun with it, and that was great to watch. I thought he was perfect for that role.

While I did enjoy Jennifer Lopez's dancing, I must confess that I found her character a little too two-dimensional for my taste. She was actually one of my LEAST favorite characters in the piece, and I didn't quite buy her as a professional dancer in the flashbacks --especially since she was dancing with one of the best standard ballroom dancers in the world, Gary McDonald. However, I did thoroughly enjoy the scene in which she taught Gere how to feel the music, using an incredible tango I had never heard before.

The music in this show is quite good. You really need good music in a dance movie, and this has an excellent soundtrack, which I dance to all the time. The tango especially is quite unique --sort of a cross between a tango and a rumba.

The costumes are also quite impressive. Designs by Randall contributed the ballroom costumes, and in fact, I have seen a couple of those costumes in action before, at real competitions! That was a neat connection I was able to make.

The complaints I had about the movie were few, actually. My biggest problem was during the Latin competition. They spent all this time talking about the rumba --and Gere even MENTIONS that the Novice dances are rumba and cha-cha --and then at the actual competition, suddenly they're doing a paso doble?!? That was incredibly annoying, especially with all the build-up they had beforehand. And frankly, you will never EVER see a paso doble done at the Novice level at competition, it's always rumba and either cha-cha or samba. I was at a complete loss as to why they did that.

Other than that, there were just little things that a ballroom dancer would easily catch, and Tucci drops a competely unnecessary f-bomb.

But on the whole, this is a fun movie, and one I would recommend to most people. I would like to see Richard Gere do MORE dancing movies in future!

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I don't know how many times I've read reviews of this movie that slammed it because "the Japanese version is better." No, it isn't. The Japanese version "different" and different is good. Okay, the Japanese version deals with the social stigmatism of showing off in public and ballroom dancing is one target of their uptightness. That's a great angle to tell a story from.

In the U.S., obviously, we don't have that kind of social convention. We have a totally different outlook on such things, but they can run quite parallel to the Japanese way of life. In the American version, John Clark has pretty much everything he could ask for. A beautiful wife, two great kids, a nice home and much more. And he is bored out of his skull and has no idea why. When he finds that he loves ballroom dancing and then is found out by his wife, he doesn't have to deal with the social implications of public displays as in the Japanese version, but the embarrassment and heartache of having to admit that his "perfect life" was missing something.

Though our society doesn't condemn you for wanting to dance, or more specifically, ballroom dance, you will find out how many morons there are around you that will assume that if you are a guy and you love to dance, you must be gay. Link Peterson was absolutely correct in keeping his passion secret for as long as he did and he was dead right on about the reaction that would occur if the people in the office found out about it.

So I give this film five stars just because, as a dance movie, it has great dancing. As a romance, it shows what can happen when secrets are kept and how much better off our relationships would be if we didn't try so hard to hide them. Get this movie and enjoy a good story and quit worrying so much about how Japanese society is "this" and Japanese society is "that."

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Go ahead and give me unhelpful votes if you disagree with my opinion, but I enjoyed this movie. I left the movie theatre with a lump in my throat and a good feeling inside, and I was entertained, and isn't that what watching movies is about? At least I felt that way. Maybe the movie is different from the original, but not seeing the original and just seeing this one, I can say I liked this movie. A good cast, including Richard Gere, Jennifer Lopez and Susan Sarandon. I enjoy Lopez's movies but on this movie she plays more of a supporting role, and her acting style in this movie is much more restrained than in movies in the past. I won't give away plot but if you want a movie that will make you laugh, cry, and just feel good, then SHALL WE DANCE? is for you. The music in the movie is great as well!

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The Dilemma (2011)

Do you ever hear things through the grapevine that make you want to NOT like a movie? "The Dilemma" was one of those flicks for me. I heard so much bad stuff about it, that where I would typically want to watch it just to see how wrong everybody was, I actually didn't want to see it at all.

Quite frequently, problems occur at my local Blockbuster, where titles that are supposed to be on the shelf on a given day, aren't. So when this movie finally made it to the shelf 1 1/2 weeks after its release date (their excuse was that Direct TV bought out Blockbuster, and they were closing negotiation contracts with movie studios), it was the only fairly new release there on that particular day that I hadn't seen. So, I reluctantly picked it up.

First off, this was improperly billed as a comedy. WRONG! It's not even a dark comedy. I laughed all of three times, and only once out loud. It's all about soul searching and trying to decide how to do what is right in an almost impossibly awkward situation. It's about questioning whether or not to follow your heart or your head. It's about seeing honesty for what it truly is. It's about relationships and the ability to maintain fidelity within one where the entire physical part of it has been removed. It's about much, much more, as well.

Now I can see why everyone bashed "The Dilemma" from here to Kingdom Come. It was billed as a comedy, and the movie viewers came out of the theater confused as to why they barely laughed, let alone why they hardly cracked a smile. The human psyche is a computer that is programmable. If you program that computer to think that it is going to see an comedy and nothing is funny, the computer goes haywire. Somewhere inside it's intricate information pathways is the repetitive phrase, "That does not compute! That does not compute! That does not compute!" The end result is confusion, which breeds a dislike of what caused the confusion. It wasn't the movie, folks. It was the idiots who tried to pass it off as a comedy, when it was clearly a drama with a couple of small funny bits for comic relief.

So, I'm here to tell you this: If you watch this movie with your brain already programmed to see a drama, you'll love it. Period. I'll give it four stars! ****

Blu-Ray specifics: Excellent PQ! Better AQ! Fair on the Extras!

Let's face it: Finding your best friend's wife is cheating on him, and then trying to tell him (and then trying NOT to tell him), isn't funny. A great comedic director could take that situation and turn it around, make the serious hysterical. Ron Howard, alas, is not a great comedic directer. He's a pretty darn good dramatic director, however, which ultimately hinders THE DILEMMA.

The problem is, the film isn't funny. Even when it tries, which it rarely does. At moments, the film achieves a certain poignancy that is touching; it examines the crevices of the buddy-buddy relationship (in a much more serious way than, say Judd Apatow usually does), and hits some disturbingly harsh notes. What is most frustrating is that the cast (yes, even Kevin James) is up for the challenge: Vince Vaughn has proven himself a dramatic actor in the past, as has Jennifer Connelly. James holds his own; in fact, when he's at his worst when he's trying for yucks. Winnona Ryder delivers a solid, understated performance (as she did in BLACK SWAN). Queen Latifah is a bit over-the-top in her minor role, but Channing Tatum is surprisingly not; not that he's suddenly metamorphosed into a mesmerizing actor (his "emotional" scene opposite Vaughn makes the latter look like a true thespian), but at least he's trying here.

Allan Loeb's script is a bit two-dimensional, and Ron Howard's directing, as it unfortunately can be, is lazy; this film meanders, and never truly finds its place. It's not funny--I saw it in a packed (I know!) theater, and there were mostly groans--and it's not tender; it's uncomfortable to watch, but usually in the wrong ways. Occasionally the film strikes just the right awkward note, giving you a peak at the film it COULD have been. But then, who would want to go see a drama starring Vince Vaughn and Kevin James? Maybe somebody should get that project started; both actors apparently have the chops to pull it off, and, if nothing else, they have pretty good on-screen chemistry.

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My boyfriend and I rented this movie the other night out of sheer boredom, boy, was that a mistake! There were maybe two scenes that made us laugh, the rest of the movie we yawned and just commented on how boring the movie is. I personally didn't like any of the characters, and the only one I felt some sympathy toward was Jennifer Connelly's. Queen Latifah had few lines and I think she was the funniest character in this movie. I am not a professional movie reviewer, but I would not recommend this movie to anyone unless you are planning to be bored.

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This is over 2 hours long and there are very few laughs if any in this film. The pace is slow and the overall message quite depressing. This is the movie equivalent of a 2 hour budget airline flight. If you want to be uncomfortable and frustrated for 2 hours then this is the film for you.

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I couldn't eject this popporn fast enough. Howard has lost it. I had a feeling like you get when a centipede craws across your arm.........no, that is stimulating as well as creepy.

This schlock is just creepy. It's more like drinking sewer water accidentally (not that I've done that recently). Actually, now that I think about it, it's more like toxic sludge that gets dumped on your soul. If you like TV this one's for you. "Hilarious" my bottom.

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My Own Love Song (2010)

I rented this movie for $2.00 from a Red Box because I love Renee Zellweger. I had never heard of the movie, so I was surprised to see it for rent. My sister and I love watching movies both at the theater and at home. As I told my sister, "this movie is a keeper!"

This movie is odd, quirky, and musically haunting. It is a lovely story of how our lives can touch other lives in big and small ways. The reality of broken lives all around us is too true. The times of hopelessness and loss are too true. And the possibility for anyone of us who have been desperately hurt physically, emotionally or mentally to find acceptance, healing and/or love from another person even someone other people dismiss as "crazy" or too strange is also real. This is the foundation of this story.

The main characters are Jane, a white quadriplegic (Renee Zellweger) and Joey, a mentally unstable black man (Forest Whitaker). They are the unlikeliest of friends. Jane is singer whose life is changed inexorably seven years earlier after a tragic accident kills her husband, leaves her wheelchair bound, and where she must give up her 3 yr old son for adoption because of being unable to care for him. She has not sung since. Joey has attached himself to Jane and helps to care for her some and is her only friend. How they meet is characteristic of this movies depth. (I'll let you see it to understand.) Joey claims to see angels and speak to them, but of course no one else believes him even Jane thinks he's "mental" about this claim.

Joey finds out his favorite author is going to be in New Orleans doing a conference to "sell" his latest book. This best-selling author writes about talking to angels to gain wisdom that angels are not only real, but want to speak to us. Joey desperately wants to go see the author so he can be vindicated about his unique gift. So Joey begs Jane to go on a road trip with him. Joey also finds a letter from Jane's now 10 year old son (a letter she had never opened) inviting "Jane or Mommy Jane" to come to his 1st official communion with the address located in Baton Rouge. Joey decides he's going to take Jane to her son's communion, but doesn't tell Jane about this part of their trip, or even that he found the letter until he was forced into it at a critical part of their trip.

The movie takes us with Jane and Joey where we witness how real life is sometimes good, sometimes bad and sometimes scary or just plain sad. While on this trip we meet other characters some we love and some we don't. The movie uniquely explores how every person we encounter long term or short term can change us for the better if we are receptive. The movie also shows how even from the most odd or unlikely of persons our own psyche can be healed and our understanding of ourselves can be expanded to give us the opportunity to stretch ourselves in new and good ways. Life is challenging, and this movie looks at life from two extremely unlikely "hero's" experience and we come away feeling like we've been touched by a lovely gift. By the way, Jane's (Renee Zellweger's) singing is incredibly moving and sweet. When Jane sings for the first time since her accident, she sings a well known but older patriotic song and it is REMARKABLY moving and heart-felt. Wow!

Treat yourself enjoy the people, experiences and the redemption that this movie offers.

I loved this movie!

I don't think this "little" film played many theatres when released in 2010 but it sure has GREAT credentials and star power. Just look: We have Academy Award Winners Renee Zellweger and Forest Whitaker in the key roles, Academy Award nominee (twice!) Nick Nolte (in a brief role similar to what Jeff Bridges has been doing lately) and it was directed by French Director Olivier Dahan (who won Academy Awards for the French film "La Vie En Rose" (the Edith Piaf story). Oh yes, did I forget to mention that it includes original songs and music by Bob Dylan???

With all that said, the film is really a "small quiet film". It's the story of two "friends" one the crippled Zellweger (who used to be a singers-songwriter with a vinyl Lp to her name!) and Whitaker who has some mental issues (and sees angels!) and cares for and transports Zellweger They set out on a journey to attend her (now adopted) son's Communion in New Orleans. You've seen these films before and this has a good story line though you know where it will end. The thing that makes this film "quirky"and you'll find yourself saying "what the heck?" is that there is a small side story which involves the legendary blues singer Robert Johnson and his pact with the devil at the "Crossroads" in Mississippi and at another point, animated birds begin to appear for no reason.

Those looking for Dylan's music will be frustrated as well. He sings seven songs on the soundtrack to move the action, but these are usually only one verse and a chorus, lasting less than a minute. The only full Dylan track is the nice "Life is Home" which he sings over the end credits. This is a Dylan song that Zellweger sings in a scene in the film. (She also sings Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land" in a most unusual arrangement. Nolte plays guitar while Zellweger sings the Guthrie tune.

So, if you are looking for something "different" think "Independent Film", this is worth watching. I enjoyed all the acting performances. I'm still wondering about some of those ventures off the beaten track but it was 105 minutes I'm glad I spent. And, obviously, Zellweger, Whitaker, Nolte AND Dylan did this for more than just a "paycheck".

The standard DVD which I watched has only the Trailer as a bonus. I understand the Bluray has a "making of" featurette.

Steve Ramm

"Anything Phonographic"

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I had mixed reactions. Yet this film is not just another journey story; but uniquely different and probably so simple that one can easily miss the meaning because of all the details. It says what it says including a sequence of unusual animations in the form of giant drawings of colorful birds with narration. That is just one of the "different" parts!

Basically the story line involves a woman(Renee Zellwenger) who, having been injured in an accident and now in a wheelchair, had to give up her baby son seven years hence, because she could no longer care for him. This runs along side the antics and compassion of her schizophrenic and very supportive(He calls himself her 'bodyguard') friend.(Forest Whitaker) Together and joined by two more (Nick Nolte in a wonderfully supporting part..alone worth the price of renting the DVD) in which on a trip to attend a first communion, each one seeks resolution from past taumatic wounds such as: the car accident; great losses, mental anquish and disease, broken relationships, and even the economic depriving devestation wrought by a ghastly hurricane.

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My Own Love Song

This is a wonderfully casted movie that pulls at the human spirit to root for one another in life.

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This is an odd movie. Very artsy, but wonderful. If you appreciate Renee Zellwegar you'll enjoy this. She is such an awesome actress and an amazing singer. She gets to sing a couple of times and I wish she'd do an album. Bob Dylan did all the music and if you like him, you'll enjoy this too.

It reminded me somewhat of "Oh Brother Where are Thou" in that it is a "road" movie and not everything makes sense. All the way through, I kept saying, I don't know where this is going, but I'm enjoying the ride."

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Our Hospitality: ULTIMATE EDITION (1923)

For some reason this film is less well-known than a lot of Buster Keaton's others...yet I find it a lot more satisfying than something like Steamboat Bill, Jr. or even Sherlock Jr.! It's got his fixation with trains in the first act, a very fun depiction of old narrow-gauge trains that, like most historical depictions in Keaton films, is based on actual accurate history (exaggerated for comic effect). It's got great comedy and suspense in the main plot, which involves Buster inadvertently stumbling into the home of a family, after falling for the girl who lives there, who are the Hatfields to his family's McCoys (or is that the other way around?), and relying on the family's strict Southern Hospitality rules to keep himself from being shot. Of course, if you know much about Keaton you probably already know this film, but if you've just seen a little, this is one of his best.

As for the Blu-Ray: the main musical option is the Thames Silents score by Carl Davis. This alone is reason to get this edition...his scores for this, Keaton's The General, and other silent era films are among the best...fun, tuneful, entirely appropriate yet exciting and never falling into hackneyed contrivances. The transfer is decent...a little more money might have allowed cleaning up the title cards, where the tiny and dense scratches of this print (not as pristine as the one used for Kino's The General Blu-Ray) are very obvious and kind of distracting over the black title card backgrounds. But luckily they don't really show up much in the actual scenes. The transfer is at 1080i from reading around online that seems to be because this HD transfer was done a few years back before they'd decided 1080p was the way to go for releases, not for any reasons relating to frame rate or anything like that. But again, I'm sure money wouldn't allow a new HD transfer, and I doubt anyone could tell by watching it that it wasn't 1080p...it looks fine to me.

The extras are interesting and worth watching. One extra that needs a slight disclaimer is the unreleased earlier test version, "Hospitality," which seems to be a test cut with mostly just the dramatic scenes, speculation being that Keaton wanted to see if they played before adding in the funny business. It's a nice historical artifact to have, but the print is a very poor reduction print of an original which had suffered major nitrate damage. So, it's historically of interest and I'm glad it's on here, but it would take a fairly obsessed Keaton fan to actually watch more than a few minutes of it.

So: if you are at all a fan of Keaton, or of silent comedy in general, or you think you might be, make sure to snap this up and help assure that the rest of Keaton's library is financially worth putting out in HD! I keep mentioning finances, but silents aren't exactly big sellers, so you take what you can get, and overall this is a great release! If only some Spielberg-type would spend a couple bucks and pay for a fancy restoration/clean-up of one of these historic and still-entertaining films. Oh well.

PS: Yes, silent films can look great in HD! Film's resolution, even back then, was/is much higher than 1080p. This print isn't as wonderful as the one used for The General, but it's still quite an improvement over previous versions and is worth seeing in HD. Plus, Keaton (and other silent era filmmakers) worked in a purely visual medium seeing a detailed, quality image is definitely worth it!

The picture quality of this film is superb, even better for that it is in HD. The Carl Davis score creates such a beautiful and climatic mood which this film requires. The extras are fantastic and the the film itself I have always enjoyed, but now with the Carl Davis score and the beautiful way it has been presented now shoots up amongst my favourite Keaton movies.

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OUR HOSPITALITY (writ./dir. Buster Keaton, 1923, 73 minutes) is another favorite of mine given to us by the immortal Buster Keaton. I rank this with his The General (The Ultimate Two-Disc Edition) and Our Hospitality/Sherlock, Jr. (I recommend this awesome two-fer DVD set). HOSPITALITY is BK's first great feature-length film, though he had already done a couple of them.

Set in the Antebellum South (1830, Keaton was impossibly ahead of his time making this period authentic-looking) Buster plays Willie McKay, a New York-bred unwilling member of the old Canfield-McKay feud. (Yes, loosely based on the Hatfield-McCoy feud that really lasted only a few years.)

Returning to Kentucky to claim his inheritance (an "estate" that will make you howl with laughter when you see it), Willie soon falls right into the arms of the waiting Canfields. They are, of course, waiting to kill him. Luckily for him he is already sweet on the young Canfield girl (played by his 1st wife Natalie Talmage Keaton) and this will save him later. Uniquely, Buster's son Buster, Jr., plays him at age 1.

There is a waterfall scene in this, and all I'll tell you is Keaton designed and had built the entire thing on one of his lots. Goes to show you, alongside works like THE GENERAL, what Keaton was capable of achieving. You will marvel at Keaton's partly rebuilt, partly restored Stephenson's Rocket locomotive ... and yes, they really did ride those once upon a time.

Another bittersweet detail: Joe Roberts (Old Man Canfield), a dear friend and traditional heavy in Keaton's films, suffered a heart attack while filming. He insisted on returning to finish the film and died very shortly after they wrapped. Keaton's films are filled with disasters, hair-raising, realistic and funny as hell. Just as often they are filled with tragedies: in this film, along with Roberts' heart attack, Keaton was brutally carried off by water and almost drowned. The scene remains in the film.

While this does not have the accolades of THE GENERAL (then again, how could it), no one can miss watching it. Here for the first time, Keaton experiments fully with his signature lighting, model sets and daring camera shots. The acting is refreshing and surprising: everyone seems extremely realistic except for good old Roberts, bless him. Once in a while Keaton had to have the Old Schoolers in there too. Although it certainly does not quite reach the heights of THE GENERAL, this is Buster Keaton at his prime!

How can anyone remotely interested in film miss this?!

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Our Hospitality (1923) was Buster Keaton`s first true feature film. Keaton's previous "feature," Three Ages (1923) was actually three short films assembled together. There was both an artistic and a commercial reason for this: Three Ages was a parody of the similarly structured D.W. Griffith feature Intolerance (1916). Additionally, Keaton had proved his audience appeal in shorts. Metro Pictures realized the inherent risk of a Keaton feature, and the structure of Three Ages created the option of breaking it down into three shorts. Fortunately for all concerned, Three Ages was a commercial and critical success.

Our Hospitality may be seen, in retrospect, as a model for Keaton's features and a precursor to The General (1926). What separates Keaton from his peers (Chaplin, Lloyd, Langdon) is the way his character integrates into a larger narrative. That is not to say that Keaton's films are not character driven, but the character serves the narrative, not vice versa.

Our Hospitality opens with a prologue of the ongoing feud between the Canfields and the McKays. A young Canfield and the McKay patriarch are killed in a rainy shoot out at night. To avoid the curse of the feud and further bloodshed, the McKay widow takes her infant son, Willie, and sends him north to New York. Meanwhile, the Canfields swear revenge.

Twenty years later, Willie (Keaton) is the personification of a 19th century New York Yankee, adorned in a dandified suit. His mother has since passed away when Willie learns he has inherited his father's estate. Imagining a southern mansion waiting in the wings, Willie hops onto the next train like a salmon returning to its birthplace. Before departing, he is warned by his guardian to stay clear of the Canfields.

The trip south foreshadows the archaic world Willie is about to enter. The train itself is primitive and, naturally, encounters numerous mishaps along the way. Luckily for Willie, the ordeal is made bearable because his fellow passenger is a pretty girl (Natalie Talmadge, the first Mrs. Keaton). Unfortunately, Willie's spawning choice here, unknown to him, is a Canfield daughter.

There are numerous aquatic metaphors. Willie stands apart from his fellows, like a fish out of water, with city clicker suit and queer umbrella. While fishing, he catches a minnow, throws it back, and then gets pulled into the water by a bigger fish. Willie's mansion turns out to be a dilapidated shack and he unwittingly finds himself in the home of his sworn enemies. True to Southern hospitality, the Canfields vow not kill Willie while he is a guest in their home. When Willie learns of this, he naturally tries to remain a permanent houseguest. Almost forced out, Willie is saved from leaving by the sudden appearance of a heavy downpour. A dam blows up, nearly drowning Willie, but it also safely conceals Willie from his predators, the Canfield boys. In a reversal of the fishing line, Willie is tied, by rope, to a Canfield son. Both get hauled into the water. A descent into the rapids brings further peril, as does a waterfall. Willie dangles over the waterfall like that salmon on a line. Yet, it is the waterfall which unites Willie with his girl, allowing him to spawn.

Our Hospitality is replete with inventive sight gags (a tunnel is cut to fit the train, a horse's rear-end is disguised as Willie in drag), but it's really a sophisticated, yet simple retelling of the Romeo and Juliet narrative.

* My review was originally published at 366 weird movies.

Want Our Hospitality: ULTIMATE EDITION (1923) Discount?

This new Blu-ray release boasts COLOR TINTS which enhance the experience of watching the movie. Especially in the cabin scene which is tinted Amber until the lights get turned out, the the tint switches to Blue.

The picture is very slightly trimmed at the bottom, the old DVD had a little more picture, so this indicates that it is a new film transfer. But outside of the slight trimming and color tints, this looks like the same transfer as the old DVD.

I really was hoping to see more details in the outdoor scenes. It is not a bad transfer, just not as sharp as I had hoped. The Blu-ray case clearly states that this is 1080i, not 1080p as is the standard format today.

The English Titles & dialogue cards show much more negative damage (scratches & flairs) than the actual movie that this leads me to believe that the bulk of the film came from a cleaner foreign Nitrate negative and the English titles came from a worn U.S. negative. Just speculation here.

The real selling point here is the new bonus material that was not on the old DVD!

There is a shorter alternate version of the movie, running just 49 minutes. It is in rather poor shape, but well worth the inclusion for comparison into the production process of the film.

Another new welcome addition is a 1925 19 minute short subject called "The Iron Mule".

Then we have the much wanted documentary on the making of the film.

Final thoughts: I am not sorry for upgrading to the new Blu-ray transfer, but I had higher hopes based on the sharp transfer of "The General". Still, it looks good and the tints add to the ambiance.

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