Sex and the City 2 (2010)

"Sex and the City 2" has nothing on the HBO series and isn't nearly as good as the first film. However, as a huge fan of the franchise, I still enjoyed it because I got to see the girls on the big screen.

This film picks up two years after the first "SATC" movie. Carrie and Big are married and still living in NYC, but Carrie's afraid they're in a bit of a rut. Meanwhile, Samantha is struggling with menopause, Miranda's irritated with her new boss, and Charlotte's kids are driving her crazy. When Samantha lands an all-expenses paid trip for all four girls to enjoy a week of luxury accommodations in Abu Dhabi, all four women are thrilled at the chance to escape from reality for a little while. During the trip, Carrie is shocked to run into her ex-fiance, Aidan, in the middle of a Middle Eastern marketplace. How will this chance encounter affect her relationship with Big? Watch the movie to find out.

Here are some of the pros and cons of the movie. (Warning: I'm going to go into some spoilers that weren't included in the movie trailers.)

PROS

+ It's another "SATC" movie! If you love the girls, you will enjoy this movie at least a bit. How could you not?!

+ Although there was some Big/Carrie drama, it was refreshing that everything stemmed from Carrie's behavior this time. For once, Mr. Big didn't do something massively awful to screw the relationship up, which was refreshing to see.

+ The gay wedding was super over-the-top and ridiculous, but very funny to watch. It was also hilarious to see who was getting married (I won't spoil that surprise for you!).

+ Yes, some of the Abu Dhabi scenes were a little much, but I loved the luxury hotel scenes, and when Samantha started flashing condoms and screaming "Bite me!" to an angry mob of religious men, I wanted to applaud.

+ The girls get up and sing karaoke! And they do a good job! Who knew Kim Cattrall could sing so well?!

+The biggest pro for me...THANK GOD the film didn't feel the need to give Carrie and Big a freakin' baby. I am so sick and tired of society telling people that they need children in order to lead happy and fulfilled lives. Carrie and Big have a great relationship, a gorgeous home, and a rich life together. My husband and I are also child-free, and we get so many odd reactions from people when we have to explain that not having kids is our choice. I could very much relate to that scene with Carrie, Big, and the other married couple at the gay wedding, and I'm so glad the producers handled this issue the way they did.

CONS

Unlike the first "SATC" movie, Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda really took a backseat to Carrie in this film. Their respective subplots were all glossed over and were mainly used as filler material, which was disappointing.

With the exception of Mr. Big, the other supporting characters like Steve and Smith only had about two minutes of screen time each, which was another bummer.

The girls are still sexy and the clothes are still great. I love Kim Cattrall and I think she's gorgeous, but Samantha is supposed to be 52 years old now, and some of her outfits and makeup kind of made her look like a drag queen. It was very sad. Women can be sexy at any age, but that doesn't mean they can pull off any and every look.

Another character that wasn't featured in the film as much as it should have been was New York City! The city itself was such a central focus of the series and of the first movie. I don't think this film did it justice at all.

I enjoyed the gay wedding, but Liza Minnelli singing Beyonce's "Single Ladies" was too much. Seriously. All through the number, I kept whispering, "Make it stop!"

We all know that "SATC" is all about over-the-top fashions, but this movie took things a new level of extreme. On several occasions when Carrie stepped out in a crazy ensemble, everyone in the theatre could be heard muttering, "Seriously?!"

Why did Aidan have to show up?! Sorry, but I have always been on Team Big. I though this Middle Eastern run-in was super unrealistic. Boo!

Finally, if I ever kiss a man other than my husband, I doubt that my hubby will react by rushing out to a jewelry store and buying me the biggest diamond ring he can find. I'm just sayin'.

Overall, I enjoyed the movie, and I'm sure most die-hard "SATC" fans will like it as well. However, I hope that a "SATC3" is in the works, and that it's much better than this film.

I rented this movie to pass time during a blizzard. I thought I would watch a cute comedy, drink a glass of wine and get some laughs, I only laughed a couple of times. I enjoyed SATC the series and the 1st movie was pretty decent. The second movie....... not so much.

The gay wedding scene, for me was not that bad, the Liza Minnelli "single ladies" performance, I could deal with that, I thought it was slightly funny.

Carrie started whining about not going out every night, really Carrie; you are 1,000 years old, too old to be on the scene all of time. Younger women laugh at older women like Carrie's character who are always on the scene; you look pathetic. I am not married but the t.v. in the bedroom and Carrie thinking she is too cool to stay in w/ her husband being a big problem in the marriage was lame, immature, and made Carrie look like an old pathetic brat.

For the first time Miranda was actually the cool one; she was more chilled out, and the only person who was the voice of reason on their trip to Abu Dhabi.

Charlotte, a dumb plot, I mean storyline; there was no plot. Who is going to allow their nanny to walk & play around their children and husband w/o wearing a bra; come on.

The trip to Abu Dhabi was pointless, I was expecting the plot to begin once they arrived in the U.A.E. That did not happen. There was no plot. I have been to the U.A.E. I thought they would use the movie as a platform to break stereotypes about the middle east, they just reinforced them. The biggest one is that all women in that part of the world wear a veil, not true. Many of the women dress just like us. Samantha seemed tired and trashy,in America if a women grabs her dates crotch in the middle of a restaurant there would be plenty of people who would by outraged by it, why make it seem like the middle east is overly sexually repressed in that situation.

I was done when Carrie ran into Aidan in Abu Dhabi, so dumb. Kissing him, calling her husband to tell him about her misstep, and upon her return home he rewards her with a diamond. I pretty sure that just does not happen.

I was hoping the ladies would be growing old gracefully and being an example to younger women about accepting who you are at every age. But instead Carrie is old and whiny, Charlotte is an airhead, Samantha is a tired tramp, and all wore bad make up and even worse clothes.

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This. Movie. Was. Just. Too. Much. It showed absolutely no restraint on all fronts. There were so many reasons to hate this movie, but I'll name a few:

1) It was another road trip. I think the rationale for setting this movie in the middle east was something like, The audiences enjoyed the exotic road trip scenes in the the first movie, so let's create that. Plus the girls will have the opportunity to wear some bright, showy clothing.

2) It was culturally insensitive. The movie was written so that ladies would applaud at the strong women being strong women and sexually liberated antics, but when it is done at the expense of another person's culture, it is wrong. They should have hired a consultant from the middle east to run a sensitivity check on some of these scenes. It just felt like the typical American egocentric, index-finger shaking stance of "Our way of life is the right way to live. Your culture is backward!" Let the middle eastern people live in the manner they see fit. They didn't ask for Americans to validate them and bless their way of life. I just feel like whatever problems they may have is their cultural battle to fight, not ours. I cannot stand the black and white thinking. It feels so sophomoric. I hate when other countries talk crap about America, especially when they don't live here.

If a country is "sexually repressed" and you are not, I think the smartest thing to do would be not to visit. It is not liberating to pretend that you are somehow helping the women of that country by pushing your values on them. It's silly and imperialistic. There was a scene with one of the girls raving in a souk, that was absolutely cringe-worthy and horrifying.

3) The older the women get, the more childish they seem to act. Instead of embracing age with dignity and grace, one of the girls is desperate to turn back the clock. Everyone has to get old, everyone has to die, no amount of Louboutins or Herve Leger dresses is going to stop that from happening. Why not be a role model, show us young-ins how to age with grace, and make way for the new generation? Everything has a season.

4) I get it; you guys are rich! It was so so so upsetting to see the amount of wealth and waste that went into the movie and it was celebrated! In the middle of an economic and environmental crisis, there was just too much excess.

Before I saw the movie, I thought, during the second world war, MGM and other studios made these lavish films to take people minds of the war and depression, to give them an escape. But in this day and age it didn't quite work. I think it's because audiences know too much. Thanks to Sex and the City, Cribs, E! Entertainment television, VH1, Material(istic) Rap, etc, we know exactly how much a Maybach costs. We know exactly how much their suite costs. We know that designer clothes are not cheap and that wearing them to ride a camel it somewhat akin to Marie Antoinette saying, "Let them eat cake!" in reference to the poor French masses. We're riding camels in the Middle East wearing couture! Eat cake America (or should I say, "Wear couture America!")! The movie makers throw it in our faces and we know exactly what it costs. And more importantly, we no longer view celebrities in that soft focus kind of naive way. I know that SJP works out like a dog to maintain her body. I know that she is proud to flash her legs every chance the script gives her. (Her body is great, but sometimes it was a bit excessive as well.) I know that the reason why Kristen Davis's face doesn't move freely is due to Botox and fillers. The bubble on the dream has burst.

The movie's makers thinks it pulled back in respect of the economy. What was the first script like? Did they each charter their own private plane to Abu Dhabi? Carrie says that she and big downsized with respect to an apartment. Ha! Okay, thanks, for trimming a little bit of fat off the giant prime rib.

5) This movie tried to tackle too many things: marriage troubles, relationships troubles, sexual liberation, existentialism. It sinks in a quick sand of corniess and lacks direction. At one point the script even relies on a silly " on the look out" spy trope, where their heads pop out from around a corner in a synchronized fashion. I thought, "what am I watching!?" Sex and the City the TV show was too sophisticated to rely on such tired comedy. Sex and the City is having an existential crisis. I don't think that it was a show that ever meant for the big screen.

6) Frat boy humor comedy. From four ladies in their 40s and 50s--NO!

7) I get it! Samantha has sex. I just no longer want to see her do it. It doesn't come off as funny to see her with some guy on top of her. It is feels a bit demeaning because we've seen this before and there isn't a hilarious payoff. Sex scene with no meaning is just filler. Kim Catrall is too gorgeous and too good of an actress to be used like that.

8) No more heavy black eyeliner on Sarah Jessica Parker. It just makes her eyes looks small. Not flattering. Not sexy. Actually, the make-up in general was too dark and heavy on all of the ladies.

There is probably a lot more. I wish they showed more NY and delved deeper in an organized way into the girl's issues. I thought Carrie, Miranda, and Charlotte's problems were the most interesting because the are universal. How do you define yourself after you have been married? How do you balance parenthood and self? How do you define yourself after a physical change? Why couldn't it have been a movie about the existential crisis, with nice clothes? If there is a next time, don't flash the clothing brands in my face (sorry advertisers!); let me wonder where they came from.

Ladies, maybe we can have it all. You just can't have it "all" at once and you certainly can't have it forever. But frankly, after seeing this movie, I think all is too much.

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Where do I start? Let me start with the ugly, jarring harsh makeup. What happened to SJP's lovely face? It looked like her original face was made of latex and then melted over a gas stove and stretched. Sweetheart--you're too OLD to have long dark two-toned hair. You're also too old to be that thin. SJP had the sex appeal of a dried-out stalk of wheat in this movie. Her character, Carrie, is unrecognizable now. The imperfect bubbly cute Carrie has been replaced by this humorless stretched out elitest shrew. She's the kind of woman now that Carrie would not have liked in the series. She's awful to everyone in the movie--condescending to the other characters. In fact, all of them are incredibly rude to "lesser" people--servents, foreigners (they're only foreigners after all!).

Worst things (for me):

-Samantha's wardrobe. WHY do they insist dressing Kim Cattrall like a bad drag queen version of Joan Crawford? She has a lovely figure and they always stick her in these ridiculous hard-edged power suits with enormous shoulder pads.

-Samantha also got the honor of saying the worst line of the movie "Lawrence of my labiaaaa!" which was embarrassing to witness

-Miranda was tolerable, except when she lowered the window of the car in the desert, screeching like she was at a sports bar at the goat herders at the side of the road--just culturally tin-eared and disrespectful and they seemed to rush to herd back the goats who were startled, glaring at this over-privileged moron in a $400,000 Mercedes

-Charlotte gets camel toe. Oh goody. More vulva jokes! Really? Does Charlotte have to be humiliated in some scatalogical way now in every movie? The spoiled entitled American idiocy of her holding out her phone yelling about reception on top of the camel was also atrocious. Again, completely disrespectful and something Charlotte of old would NEVER have done

-Carrie's prudish covering up of Samantha at every turn, but she shows up to meet Aiden (after hilariously kohling her squinty tired-looking eyes to even smaller proportions) in a thigh-baring cleavage-revealing top and skirt.

-Mr. Big, the true virile man's man, posing like a ponce-y English Noel Coward in brown satin pajamas holding a teeny tiny teacup and saucer.

-They ask Samantha what she's eating, even though most normal people, and particularly supposedly sophisticated people from New York City have known what HUMMUS is since like 1991.

I was a huge SATC fan, and I enjoyed the first movie, but this movie was the kind of irritating where you want to kick something or drink. My beloved characters were ruined.

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Wow. Just. WOW.

And not "wow" in a good way, either! Sex in the City 2 starts where the first movie left off. I'm a fan of the original HBO series and even though that show didn't exactly do much for empowering women, it was still a guilty pleasure of mine. After all, there's nothing wrong with girls enjoying fashion, makeup, fabulous lifestyles in fabulous places, and MEN... Even if some negative stereotypes separating the genders were still enforced even if the show supposedly broke boundaries.

The first movie was unnecessary, in my opinion, and this second movie is even less necessary. And yet, I willed myself to see them both -it's just something one has to do if you're a fan of the show, and the makers of these films were definitely banking on the original fan base to sell this mess. It's clear the writers are different for this movie compared to the original show, because even though Carrie is just as lame with her stupid puns (which she THINKS are so clever) in this movie, the "wittiness" in these movies is more just for the sake of having some jokes rather than having the witticisms be part of Carrie's personality.

*** spoilers ***

I thought it was inconsistent with the characters' personalities that Steve would cheat on Miranda and they'd break up. I don't know if other people think differently, but that's just the way the movie hit me. I thought the subplot with Carrie and Aiden kissing in the Middle East was flat out forced and just stupid.

AND most important to me of all is that this movie is insultingly ignorant of women's issues in the Middle East.

Utterly ridiculous.

Subplots with Charlotte and Big and Samantha were all just excuses to bring familiar characters around for an extended SATC episode. Nothing shocking, though it tries to be. It's just all familiar, tired ground, and not interesting.

-and the karaoke scene! SO painful my stomach hurt, I was so embarrassed just watching it.

Rich, stupid, aging women act like teenage tramps in a foreign land and completely disrespect that country's customs. One can challenge a society's views without coming off as an ignorant snob, and yet that's exactly how these women came off.

YAWN.

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Cinema Paradiso (1989)

Cinema Paradiso is one of my favorite movies. I finally found the new version available for rent through Netflix when I couldn't find it in any Blockbuster.

For those who have already seen Cinema Paradiso it needs no introduction. For everybody else, it won the Academy Award for Foreign Language Film in 1989 and features one of the most nostalgic treatments of the role of movies in people's lives. Ennio Morricone's theme song has also been recycled in countless commercials and movie montages and trailers.

What's good about the Director's Cut or "New Version" DVD is that one can view the director's cut with added scenes on one DVD side and the originally released version on the other.

For those of us who wanted some kind of closure to Toto and Elena's relationship, the Director's Cut has it-there's about an hour more of footage of their relationship. The new version also more footage of Toto's military service and his adulthood. The added scenes somewhat mute the focus of the movie, so I could see why they were originally cut out. But, at the same time, the added scenes fill in the blanks that originally made a lot of us think, "Hey- What about...?" And although Toto's childhood scenes are, as far as I can tell, unchanged from the original version, we also find out more about Alfredo.

After finishing the New Version I appreciated the original version better. I highly recommend the new version not because it makes Cinema Paradiso more of a masterpiece, but because it adds more characterization to what, arguably, is a masterpiece. The added scenes can be a bit superfluous, but they show how important editorial decisions are to shaping the structure and momentum of a movie.

I became aware of the existence of over 50 minutes of additional scenes in this film in the past two years. The original, pruned version received the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1990. I have owned the video for a decade. Then, last summer, the "new version" was shown in limited release, and a DVD was promised. With the addition of the deleted scenes, an entirely different film is created. Owning this DVD is owning a brand new version of the film's events.

Initially, the film was considered too long, and massive scenes were cut, removing any and all references to whatever happened to Salvatore's great love, Lina. The original version of the film focused mainly on the young boy, fatherless in post-WWII Sicily, bonding with the childless cinema projectionist, Alfredo. The young Toto grows into the teen-aged Salvatore, who falls in love with the beautiful and unattainable Lina. They are parted. That is the last we see. Salvatore returns to his village many years later to attend the funeral of Alfredo, and the film is told nearly entirely in flashback.

In this version, Salvatore is reunited with his lost love when he returns for the funeral. To think that this entire plot was removed from the film initially is almost unthinkable. There are other parts of the film that could have been edited to keep these additional scenes in. I don't know what the producers, directors or the studio were thinking when they edited a huge part of the movie out.

Well, now the film is complete. Whereas the original version focused mainly on the relationship of Toto and Alfredo, we now see a conclusion to Toto and Lina as well. And, we understand the ending of the film in an entirely, much less sentimental light. Salvatore has spent the bulk of his life mourning his lost love, not returning to his village, and not knowing of Alfredo's hand in the matter. He is facing life-changing decisions, and must ultimately dip into a pool of acceptance and forgiveness. Without the addition of these scenes, the point is lost.

This was an excellent film to begin with, now it is nearly perfect. It is bittersweet and touching, and all the more realistic with the deleted scenes returned. If you own the original version, you must own this version. You will see this film in a completely different light.

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5 stars I've seen the original in Italian (at least 25 times) since its release... however, the version we saw in the U.S. was half hour shorter than the Italian release (I was lucky enough to obtain the original length VHS version years ago.) In the original, after 30 years we learn that Elena did come to meet Toto prior to her departure as they had planned but... well ... It would be a crime to give it away (In the hopes that you see the original.) The missing pieces make the ending and all the pieces in between fit like a perfect glove. The gift that Alfredo made to Toto (the pieced together clips of missing kissing scenes) has a greater meaning when put in the full context (I still get emotional seeing it.) It's even more poignant than before but, unfortunately, the meaning of a lot of the symbols and scenes, although pretty good in the U.S. release, were catapulted onto a different level in the longer version.

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Like many people I've seen this film countless times, and each time I end up blubbering by the end of it. A valentine to the movies, "Cinema Paradiso" tells the story of Toto, a boy in the small Italian village of Giancarlo, who is fascinated with the movies. This is long before televisions and vcrs.This was when movie going was an event to be cherished and savored. Much of the film centers on his friendship with the older Alfredo,(a heartbreaking Philippe Noiret) who runs the projector. But more than that it is a sweeping romance, and a bittersweet story of letting go of our past and moving towards the future. Its setting and characters will transport you for two magical hours and you'll feel like you've just spent time with old friends. My only beef with the DVD version of the film is that in the credits they've removed a scene. Elena, Toto's girlfriend in the film is shown in the final moments of the credits as an older woman. A scene that was obviously cut from the final print of the film. Toto turns, the camera cuts to her turning, their eyes lock, and the credits end. The DVD fades out before we see her. I don't know who's decision it was, HBO's or the director, but it's too bad because it was a neat tag for those people who stay through the credits till the end. Still, a must have movie for collectors.

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In spite of some extra scenes that I think are unnecessary, this extended new version of "Cinema Paradiso" stills makes a great impression on me. This Italian masterpiece about the growth of a Sicilian kid (Salvatore Cascio, in a brilliant debut) from childhood, adolescence (in the person of Marco Leonardi), to manhood (in the shape of French actor Jacques Perrin) through movies is marvelous, touching, and truly entertaining.

When I first saw "Cinema Paradiso" back in 1990, I fell in love instantly with it, thus becoming one of my favorite movies. The innocence of Toto as he wants to learn how to handle a projector, thanks to the help of Alfredo (French acting legend Philippe Noiret); the tough times in his adolescence, working as a projectionist, having an impossible romance with Elena, doing military service; and his loneliness as a movie producer in his adulthood. Everything caused me a great impact, and still does everytime I watch this film by Giuseppe Tornatore.

Now, in this extended version, I like the fact that Toto -as an adult -has the chance to see Elena again and discovers why they failed to meet at the Paradiso prior to his departure for Rome. In my opinion, that's the most important new scene of the movie. I really wanted to know that, and now I feel satisfied.

All in all, I still like this great work of love everytime I see it. A work of love towards life, innocence, romance and, above all else, movies. A great homage to cinema.

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Taint, The (Blu-ray + DVD Combo) (2010)

I actually purchased THE TAINT before the film was signed over to Troma, snagged it for $5 and I would have easily paid twice that after seeing it. When this release was announced on Troma, I immediately put in my pre-order. I had to order the Blu-ray for this hilarious little indie production. Sure, I own 3 copies of this film now...it's just that fun.

THE TAINT is gory, offensive and laugh-out-loud funny. If your idea of entertainment is crude jokes, rubber genitals, exploding heads (see rubber genitals), more exploding heads, an amazing '80's style work-out montage, a wild face-ripping and an insane concept matched only by BLACK DYNAMITE's. Everything about this film is fun, from the gorgeous artwork to the impressive original synth score. This is what GOOD indie genre cinema is all about.

The Taint is an independent film from Richmond Virginia made by Drew Bolduc and Dan Nelson and some of their friends and other actors. It's a hilarious horror comedy about a penis enlarger medicine that gets released into the water system. And if a male drinks the water he turns into a misogynistic maniac trying to murder as many women as he can. One man Phil O Genny Hasn't yet drank the water and is the only one who has a chance of surviving the terrible condition of becoming a raging misogynistic person. This is an amazing cult feature with allot of funny scenes and allot of great gore and I'm glad Troma bought it . It is one of my favorite movies of all time and it's a great horror movie.

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In recent years, the trend of grindhouse revivalism has spread like wildfire throughout the fringes of the film industry. It seems like, since the Quentin Tarantino/Robert Rodriguez anthology film "Grindhouse" brought the term, and the style, back into view, contemporary takes on the cheesy, over-the-top spectacle of the midnite-movie fare of the 1970s and 80s have begun popping up with an increased frequency. This new crop of grindhouse features differs from the old guard--low-budget limitations have been augmented by a deliberate tongue-in-cheek attitude, a knowing irony that deconstructs the style as it lovingly pays homage. Sometimes, this knowing irony falls flat, becoming too self-aware and too self-referential to be funny--but in the best cases, it only improves the film in question, adding a deep dimension of comedy to the surface, creating greater capacity for laughs and spectacle than even the heights of the style's original peak period.

The Taint, directed by Dan Nelson and Drew Bolduc and distributed by Troma Entertainment, is a great representation of when this type of film is done right. With a plot that lends itself to untold hilarious possibilities (it envisions a society in which men have turned into twisted, misogynistic barbarians by way of a taint in the water supply,) some very clever writing, deliberately over-the-top scenarios, and aesthetic sensibilities that update the exploitation-shockers of old without appearing trite or handed-down, The Taint is an incredibly solid seventy minutes of tight, campy fun. It has humor that's as dirty as it is clever, imagery that's as shocking as it is hysterical, practical effects that amaze with their ingenuity, and an atmosphere that stays fresh and original even while putting its influences on display. With appropriately-tasteless male nudity, and plenty of blood and guts on display, it's certainly not for the faint-of-heart, but for lovers of modern grindhouse reinventions along the lines of Hanger, Hobo With a Shotgun or Father's Day, it's definitely a treat to watch.

As is typical with Troma releases, the package is well put-together beyond just the feature itself. The package, which comes with both DVD and Blu-Ray copies of the film, is adorned with beautiful cover art, and makes a great shelf-piece for collectors. There are also plenty of special features to enjoy after the film is over, including some great deleted scenes, commentary tracks from the directors and the cast, behind-the-scenes photos, and several trailers. Everything is crisp and pleasing to look at, and while the sound in the main feature is occasionally inconsistent, it's better than one might expect for a low-budget film. Troma has spared no effort in putting this package together, and it absolutely shows. It may not appeal to most viewers out there, but if you're looking for some tasteless schlock that's surprisingly intelligent and extremely funny, The Taint comes highly recommended.

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"The Taint" is 70 minutes of pure unbridled, gory, reprehensible trash that also happens to be quite clever and a lot smarter than you might expect. When I first heard about this low budget independant Richmond Virginia lensed film and checked out some positive review around the internet, one particular quote from the Fangoria.com review stated "The Taint is exactly what happens when smart filmmakers intentionally make a stupid movie." The basic plot involves an experimental penis enlargement drug that turns men into oversexed misogynistic maniacs is unleashed into the public water supply and all manners of depravity cut loose.

Considering how miniscule the bidget was, it's actually made well from a craft standpoint with the over the top gore being quite hilarious and impressive in many spaces. As I mention at the ouset of this review, the run time is just barely over 70 minutes with end credits so the movie doesn't overstay its welcome at all. It's very obvious why Troma picked the film up for distribution due to the copius amounts of male nudity, gore, bodily fluids flying about and extremely warped and politically incorrect sense of humor that permeates every moment of the film. Women may find this movie to be unwatchable but should recognize it as well done satire that isn't meant to be taking at face value at all.

It's exploitation filmmaking at a highly enjoyable level that should prove to be a huge hit among brave cinephiles that like their trash cinema to be a complete assault on good taste and decency while also exhibiting a level of talent and craft that makes me very interested in what the filmmakers plan on doing next.

The blu-ray DVD combo pack from Troma presents the movie in excellent 1.78 anamorphic widescreen that is very clean and detailed particularly on the blu-ray edition. The audio is regular 2 channel lossy stereo but everything sounds fine. Extras include two commentary tracks, some deleted scenes, a behind the scenes slide show and the usual Troma trailers too.

Highly recommended!

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this movie is a Awesomely bad movie. It sucks SOOOOOO much that it's fall down funny. It's very over the top awful. So if you have a soft spot for the terrible side of movies get this because it could be the greatest piece of crap ever.

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Super (2011)

Forget about Batman. The Crimson Bolt is now my hero. This movie was so great and they did such a great job for the limited budget they had. The story was touching and heartbreaking. I also enjoyed the amount of dark humor and comedy that came out too. Not to mention the violence that added to the point that you "Don't butt!" Rainn Wilson's character Frank D'Arbo touched my heart as well. So far the best character he has played in a long time. Also Ellen was fantastic as Libby. I loved her awkward, psychotic demeanor, it was a perfect collaboration. I wish I could give it an extra 5 stars.

As a fan of both excellent, bad, and trashy cinema (Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind, Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead, and Hudson Hawk are all proudly on the same shelf), I am naturally a fan of James Gunn. Like John Waters before him, Gunn's list of films and internet contributions offer a little bit of all three, blended in different doses: Slither, Scooby Doo, Tromeo & Juliet, PG Porn, Humanzee, etc.

Naturally, I was looking forward to Super, Gunn's take on the D.I.Y. superhero a la Kick Ass and the Watchmen graphic novel (the film took liberties with the abilities of what were supposed to be normal people + 1 superbeing). Even with high expectations, the film blew me away. Unable to see it in the theater due to my market, I was nonetheless allowed the privilege of seeing it through IFC OnDemand's "In Theaters" category, and was not disappointed. Gunn's trademark profanity laced insanity is certainly present -Ellen Page's psychopathic sidekick Libby would fit into any one of Gunn's films -but also present is the heart of his more sophisticated works like Slither. Sophisticated is an odd word to use when talking about films that feature tentacle rape scenes or holy roller superhero hallucination scenes, but there it is. What's special about Super is that on this outing, the gratuitous insanity or sexual issues are turned down (while still present) and the heart gets turned up, as well as the emotional resonance. Even the arguably craziest scene in the film, where Rain Wilson's Frank experiences a tentacular brain rape from God, is powerful and moving in a disturbing sort of way. This is no doubt in some part due to Gunn being a sufferer of a rare and real condition whereby he has experienced strange visions at random intervals all his life. The violence is over-the-top to be sure, but serves an emotional purpose as well as a comedic one. By the end of the film, you will find yourself rooting for a man who has been driven to a violent, clearly insane depth in his life, despite the fact that you would never want to meet him. Super may just be James Gunn's masterpiece: violent, trashy, crazy, hilarious, sad, real, and triumphant.

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Teaming up once more after a 4 year haitus, Rainn Wilson and Ellen Page play quite a different couple than they did in 2007's indie teen pregnancy-smash Juno. Their relationship this time around is more "inappropriate", as Wilson's "Crimson Bolt" (or more, appropriately, his self-loathing alter-ego Frank) might put it. Before the movie is over, Page takes control of Wilson in ways that won't be printed here both for fear of ruining some surprises and probably alienating some friendly Amazon readers. The relationship between the hapless and largely unhinged Frank and the cute/absolutely sociopathic (and ruthlessly salacious) sidekick Boltie is only one of the specific elements of James Gunn's film that leave a lacerating and darkly humorous impression for days after.

The film's principle arc is a simple revenge/improvement-of-self plot. Rainn Wilson is fed up with getting peed on--figuratively and literally, as a skin-crawlingly whimsical pre-credits montage shows us, so he sets out to get revenge on all the 'bad' people of the world. For a long time, he uses a simple pipe wrench, administering skull-cleavings that gradually ratchet up (har) as the action progresses. Before long, the film becomes incredibly brutal. The tone, not unlike Matthew Vaughn's recent and decidedly more mainstream Kick-Ass, is a consistently shifting entity, roaming from ferocious and dark to uplifting and righteously cheerful in a matter of seconds. It is, in retrospect, more akin to the bold bevy of splatter-flicks Peter Jackson churned out Pre-Lord of the Rings, particularly Dead Alive--to which some of the gore effects in Super seem to draw, though not to quite the same level of pandemonium.

Violence is, without a doubt, at the core of Super, a far more dangerous and exploitative film than Kick-Ass, at least with regard to way in which the audience is meant to view the deranged protagonists. Wilson and Page have their hearts in somewhat of the right place, though their methods are absolutely extreme, in keeping, one imagines, with the lacking constraints of an ostensibly Comical universe. Limbs are blown apart, skulls are cracked, gooey gunshot wounds, an immolation, an exploding body and a smashed in skull rivaling the one administered by Ryan Gosling recently in Drive abound. For the most part, these effects are entirely practical, drawing up obvious influence from director Gunn's early work for infamous underground production company, TROMA--which groomed such auteurs as Zack Synder whose CGI-laden films have drawn large crowds of dense milling fanboys, particularly his recent technically-impression but greatly meandering Suckerpunch. Unlike Snyder, who is roaring into the mainstream and forgetting the elements of his Troma roots he carried into his phenomenal remake of Dawn of the Dead, Gunn has maintained with Super a commitment to making alienating, beautifully-shot and epically violent films whose moral centers are grounded in deep criminal delusion....and whose incredibly enthralling advances are incredibly difficult to deny. The film will likely force you to entertain it, then give itself some much needed relief when you find yourself loving every second it lavishes upon you...much in the same way as Ellen Page does on that fateful ride atop the queasy and resisting hero rising from darkness of his own creation.

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Super is very different from your usual superhero movie. It is a dark comedy and extremely violent. Frank D'Arbo (Rainn Wilson) is essentially a below average human being, who turns himself into a superhero in order to fight crime. However, his methods are questionable to say the least and that is where the violence comes into play. Frank gets overly violent for petty crimes, but it is his moral belief that he is doing good. This is where the film shines because it is what makes Frank an interesting and complex character. You could say Super is a character study in a sense. You actually sympathize with Frank because you understand that he is somebody who has a very tough life and his fuse has blown. This added with lots of hilarious bits is what makes the film great. The humor isn't so much dark humor as it is just humor surrounded by violence and a somewhat dark theme. So I think the comedy will appeal to a wide audience. Like most indie films, Super is like a breath of fresh air. Definite recommend.

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god, "super" is an excellent movie. it's just so deliriously dark, hysterical, sad, violent, gory, and smart. riffing on the current superhero zeitgeist, super has much more in common with the 1980 john ritter film "hero at large" then it does with "kick-ass".

telling the tale of jilted every-man sad-sack frank, "super" is a lesson in dedication, human frailty, and strength of spirit. rainn wilson is perfect, and for the first time, i was able to see him as someone other than dwight schrute. the man can act, and at times watching him in this movie is somewhat uncomfortable, so raw and exposed are his shortcomings and his grief. but his strength of purpose and resilience are also on display, and rainn is quite believable in this role. ellen page kind of steals the show with her totally hilarious, scary, sexy, energetic portrayal of boltie, who is a little too gung ho to be wilson's superhero side kick. page is so delightfully manic in this movie, that it takes a few viewings to realize that she is kind of to be feared. but she, like frank, is also sad and "living in between the panels." excellent support from andre royo, liv tyler, kevin bacon, and nathan fillion make "super" truly super.

i really, really love james gunn. he's got a wonderful point of view, and i want more. "super" is an excellent example of why gore is good, why we need it, how excessive gore is sometimes necessary, and how it can emotionally impact the viewing experience. the end of super is just beautiful. smart commentary on religion, the nature of good and evil, and loyalty and faith, super is just delightful.

"super" really moved me, and i appreciate its' humor, darkness, and sadness. much of gunn's work is like this--funny, dark, and sad--and it's a nice cocktail for me. his work speaks to and affects me. i want more...

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The Princess Bride (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo in DVD Packaging) (1987)

This is a terrific movie that has so many different editions of the DVD and now Blu-Ray discs that it gets very confusing as to what is in each version.

A search of the internet shows several reviews that describe the differences between the DVD versions. Basically the "Dread Pirate Roberts" edition and the "20th Anniversery" edition have different special features not in the other edition.

As of this writing, there are three versions of the Blu-ray the Blu-ray only edition, and the Blu-ray + DVD edition in either a Blu-Ray or the old style DVD case.

What makes it confusing is that Amazon and other sellers of this Blu-Ray only edition list this movie as a 1.33:1 aspect ratio, implying that it might be a different movie cut, while the other two Blu-ray editions are listed as 1.85:1 aspect ratio. No doubt this, together with the fact that the Blu-Ray + DVD edition has almost the same price, has hampered sales of this Blu-Ray only edition.

Well, I went ahead and got the Blu-Ray only edition, mainly because I thought that there might be a chance that the 1.33:1 ratio was because some older movies were filmed on 35mm film which has a natural 1.33:1 aspect ratio, and then were cropped top and bottom to a 1.85:1 ratio to give them a widescreen look. On the other hand, the very first DVD edition released for Princess Bride notoriously had a horrible pan-and-scan cropped to fullscreen 1.33:1 aspect ratio that showed less of the movie than the widescreen version, which is not what you want to see in a Blu-ray. I was hoping for the other possibility that the listed 1.33:1 for this Blu-ray edition meant that cropping had been removed from the widescreen version to show MORE of the movie as it was originally filmed.

However, on playing this Blu-ray, it was immediately obvious that this Blu-Ray only edition is the same 1.85:1 aspect ratio as the other Blu-Ray editions. So all those listed descriptions of this Blu-Ray as a 1.33:1 aspect ratio are just flat out wrong.

What are the other goodies on this Blu-Ray? The Special Features include:

Audio Commentary by Rob Reiner

Audio Commentary by William Goldman

The Art of Fencing

As You Wish, The Story of The Princess Bride

Cary Elwes, Video Diary

The Dread Pirate Roberts: Greatest Pirate of the Seven Seas

Fairy Tales and Folklore

Love is Like a Storybook

Miraculous Makeup

Original Theatrical Trailer

Princess Bride: The Untold Tales

So, this Blu-Ray contains essentially all the special features of the "Dread Pirate Roberts" edition and the "20th Anniversary Edition" except for the DVD games and the booklet. The special features are in their original DVD or lower quality video resolution, although it seems that some of the excerpts from the movie itself have been re-edited to use the higher Blu-Ray resolution.

The Blu-Ray quality is excellent, except for being a bit grainy in some parts tweaking the sharpness or edge enhancement helps, if you have this feature on your Blu-Ray player.

Finally, a few words about the movie it is an absolutely wonderful classic a warm, romantic, and humorous mythology, one of those perfect family movies that could be shown every year just like "A Christmas Story". It was known to be the late Andre the Giant's happiest experience in life, playing the role of Fezzik; he regularly watched the movie afterwards.

It belongs on the list of my favorite films of all time.

Here's what is new on the 20th Edition DVD:

"The Princess Bride: The Untold Tales"

"The Art of Fencing" Featurette

"Fairy Tales and Folklore" Featurette

"True Love and High Adventure: The Official The Princess Bride DVD Game

The Dread Pirate Roberts/Buttercup Editions include all of the Special Edition features plus:

French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround) Audio Track

"Dread Pirate Roberts: Greatest Legend of the Seven Seas" mockumentary

"Love is Like a Storybook Story" featurette

"Miraculous Make-up" featurette

Quotable "Battle of Wits" trivia game

Collective booklet: "Fezzik's Guide to Florin"

I prefer the Dread Pirate Robert's/Buttercup Edition, but there are three reasons why you might want to buy the new 20th edition:

1. You don't already own the movie (shame on you).

2. You collect all things Princess Bride.

3. The DVD cover art is fantastic!

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I remember when I first saw this movie, around age 13, I had no idea who the Man in Black was through the entirety of the first act. Sure, it's apparent now, given the benefit of hindsight, but because of the actor's anonymity at the time I never made the obvious connection. On top of that, most of the rest of the cast was unknown to me as well (except for the one non-actor, Monsieur Roussimoff, a.k.a. Andre the Giant). The sweeping anonymity of the company allowed the film to do two things: first, the audience isn't distracted by the presence of the Big Star; and second, unknown actors allow for no preconceived notions of their characters. Which in turn allows the filmmakers to subvert character types, and insert some true surprises into the story.

Which, to make a long point even longer, is the whole ethos of the film

William Goldman's book "The Princess Bride", on which this film is based, intended to tell only the 'good parts' version of the story of Westley and Buttercup. That is, it would leave in the high drama and action and romance, while curbing the back-stories and superfluous exposition. William Goldman, in his role as adaptor of the book into a screenplay, remains fiercely loyal to this proposition. He's constructed a framing device, wherein a grandfather is reading to his sick grandson, which allows him to make meta-fictional comments on the seemingly typical fairy tale being told. In doing so, however, he subverts the fairy tale's typicalness, making it much more surprising and revelatory. At one point the grandson worriedly asks about the fate of the villain: "Who kills Humperdinck?" The grandfather calmly answers, "No one. He lives." Which is not only a true statement, for that is exactly what happens, but it doesn't even come close to ruining the end of the story. On the contrary, it increases the suspense, and makes what does happen quite astonishing.

Rob Reiner, in only his third time out in the director's chair, does a wonderful job of translating Goldman's script to the screen. He utilizes elements, whether by choice or by budgetary restraints, that would at first appear incongruous, but work as a whole to keep the audience off-balance, and thus more receptive to the surprises the movie has in store for them.

The acting is, stylistically, all over the place. It ranges from the unabashed over-the-top passion of Mandy Patinkin (Inigo Montoya), to the bumbling buffoonery of Wallace Shawn (Vizzini), to the gentle anti-acting of Andre the Giant (Fezzik), to the unsubtle Snidely Whiplash villainy of Chris Sarandon (Prince Humperdinck), to the Borscht Belt mugging of Billy Crystal (Miracle Max), to the icy malice of Christopher Guest (Count Rugen), and the stark realism of Robin Wright (Buttercup, the title character). No two actors take the same road, but they all somehow arrive at the same location. Cary Elwes, playing the hero, is the only one who falls easily into all these styles, as the situation demands it. He is menacing, suave, cool, funny, athletic, simple, sweet, fierce, etc., etc., etc. Elwes and Patinkin are the standouts for me -their swordfight atop the Cliffs of Insanity is technically brilliant, literate, and extremely entertaining -but the entire cast effective. Even the smaller roles (British comedians Mel Smith and Peter Cook each have brief but memorable one-joke cameos) make their mark.

The film's musical score, composed by 'Dire Straits' frontman Mark Knoplfer, swings and sways from moment to moment. In one, he uses stark, bouncy lines to underscore a simple scene of Fezzik and Inigo trading rhymes. In the next, he layers synthesized strings to call up the gravity of the Man in Black's chase. My only problem with the music is the song written for the closing credits: it's weepy and melodramatic, without the sense of subversive fun that had prevailed up until that point.

The sets and scenery switch back and forth between real and obviously fake. Filmed in and around the English countryside, most of the outdoor locations (the severe valley, the woods) breathe reality and beauty into the story. Others, such as the Fire Swamp, the Pit of Despair, and the plateau above the Cliffs of Insanity, have the phony feel of a Hollywood soundstage. Again, the film keeps the audience on their toes.

So now that I am 27 instead of 13, and know back-to-front the filmmographies of all the actors involved, and have seen the film more than a dozen times, and can quote lines from it at the drop of a hat, do I find it any less appealing than on that first viewing? Of course not. Goldman and Reiner's film rewards multiple viewings, with its wit, its playfulness, and most importantly, its subversiveness. Will there ever be a time when I tire of watching it? A time like that is right now, as Vizzini might say, "inconceivable".

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I am a great lover of the Princess Bride, so when the 20th Anniversary Edition came out, I pre-ordered it and eagerly awaited it's arrival. Well, I got it on Saturday, popped it into the DVD player and fully expected to be dazzled by all of the new extras. There's one new featurette on the movie, which does not feature Cary Elwes. There's an intro to the new PB game that's out. And a featurette about how this compares to other fairy tales. The rest of the features that were so awesome in the special edition, like Cary Elwes' video diary? Nothing else is included. I was very disappointed, and wish I had not wasted my money. The movie is awesome, and if you do not own it, by all means, buy whichever version you please. But my own personal preference is for the Special Edition. It sounds like the Buttercup/Dread Pirate versions are cool too. Just wanted to warn you all so you don't make the same mistake. Thanks!

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The MOVIE: at first glance, this is your basic fairy-tale-fantasy-love-story between Princess Buttercup and her dashing lover Wesley. Mix in some pirates, giants, swashbuckling Spaniards, evil geniuses, dungeons w/ torture devices and six-fingered men, and you have possibly the best non-animated family classic of the 1980s. It's also the favorite (and usually most-quoted) movie of many of my friends. In sum, words cannot do justice to this movie, so please rent it.

The DVD: I absolutely refused to buy the first DVD release of this movie, as it was non-anamorphic (i.e., will not fit on widescreen TVs) and was sorely lacking in extras. This SPECIAL edition is well worth the wait. First of all, you have two high-quality featurettes from 1987, each roughly 10 minutes long. The first one is a look behind the making of the movie and includes on-location interviews of the actors between shots. The second featurettes is more of the same, although it focuses more on providing unique insight into the decisions behind the casting of every major character in the movie. Also included is a 5-minute video diary by Cary Elwes, which is basically Cary with a camcorder filming himself and other members of the production at various points (e.g., practicing with his fencing teacher, the crew eating meals, etc.). Cary and Robin Wright provide voice-over commentary.

However, the true gem of this disc is the 30-minute "As You Wish" Documentary, in which all the principals (Cary, Robin, Rob Reiner, Billy Crystal, Fred Savage, William Goldman, Mandy Patinkin, etc.) look back from 2001 at the entire history of The Princess Bride, from the reasons as to why Goldman wrote the original book in 1973, to his decade-long attempt to get it put on film, to the choice of Rob Reiner and its subsequent filming, and to the legacy the movie has left in the 15 years since its release. In covering almost every aspect of The Princess Bride, this documentary is often funny, sometimes sentimental (especially when the actors reminisce on their memories of Andre the Giant), and always fascinating.

Lastly, the DVD contains two audio commentaries, one by Rob Reiner and a separate one by William Goldman, with each providing their respective insight into the various parts of the story and its filming. (I will say, however, that Rob Reiner's commentary is much better than the sparse one he gave in the DVD for "When Harry Met Sally").

In sum, this is the consummate DVD for any true fan of the movie. I can't imagine too much more that could have been added to this DVD which would have made it too much better. A truly, can't-miss DVD. If you own the first release, you won't regret trading it in for this one.

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