James Bond 007 -You Only Live Twice Blu-ray (1967)

Ah, it is a tough call, trying to rate a movie as fun as this. Holding such an iconic status as it does, how do you keep your bias in check and look at the movie without those nostalgic rose coloured specs?

As witness for the defence, I would like to call Ken Adams creator of the 1 million dollar volcano set, this action sequence at the end of the movie set a standard for Bond movies for a very long time... so much so that it is recreated in different guises in `The Spy who loved me', and `Moonraker'. It is certainly the most spectacular set and largest scale action sequence in a Bond movie yet.

Next witness Sean Connery yes, he seems a little more weary in the role than he did in Thunderball, but while not at his peak, he is still fit and charming enough to be the definitive James Bond (at least when not wearing insanely unconvincing Japanese prosthetics).

John Barry who produces another great and imaginative score here, one of the last to sound truly original.

And then I call Little Nellie the signature gadget for the film, a weapon loaded gyrocopter, is a great success, not just for the aerial action sequence, but also for getting `Q' out of the office and into the field for a change!

But then comes the witnesses for the prosecution... If I call Blofeld to the stand, then you will find what at first appears to be brilliant casting, turns out to be too little too late in the movie. Donald Pleasance as just the right creepiness for the role, but never truly brings the character to life, and demasking Blofeld only seems to tarnish some of the mythos that had been built up around him.

The same holds true if I call Bond's ladies to the stand. Helga Brandt may have a healthy chest, but is a pale pale imitation of the evil Fiona Volpe from Thunderball. And the Japanese ladies have a novelty value, but never appear to truly have an impact on Bond.

Then there is the screenplay. Roald Dahl is a genius, but somewhere between the story, the screenplay of the story and the screen, some magic has been left out. When I watched this with an audience, a third of them were sleeping through the middle sagging part of the movie.

Part of the joy, and also part of the problem is that some of the international flair has been left out of this movie to concentrate on one location Japan. The location is therefore well explored in both culture and geography, but a certain variety and roving nature to Bond's exploits is missing.

I call the effects to the stand... Bond always worked best when the stories were timeless. By using a space age plot, the plot device, effects, and concept are all immediately dated. Bear in mind this movie was conceived long before man walked on the moon.

And then I'd like to call Little Nellie. Yes, the same Little Nellie called by the defence. Is it used craftily integrated into the plot? No, we see a scene where he is attacked predictably by helicopters, and goes through the gadgets one by one until they are all used and he goes home. It's just not as clever as say, the tear gas in the case from `From Russia with Love'.

Critically, there is the myth of Bond himself. Where in previous Bond movies he was a spy who through tradecraft and hard work (and occasionally seducing beautiful women) would find his way to the evil masterminds lair, here it is as if the character stumbles from one situation to the next, rather than driving events. This was to hold true for Bond for many years to come, with the exception of `On Her Majesty's Secret Service'.

The verdict? A hung jury... It is a movie that perhaps tries too hard to go bigger and better in many respects. And so we have a movie with two hats It introduces some fun ideas, such as M and Moneypenny having a mobile office in a submarine the first of many mobile offices for M, and seeing Bond in naval uniform for the first time. But it also fails to achieve the characterisation that had gone before and relies on the goodwill from previous movies a little too hard. Thus, we all love You Only Live Twice, but have to be honest, it is harmless fun, but not a classic. Majority verdict in favour of the defence.

What does the Ultimate Edition have to offer to persuade you to part with your cash? Truth be told, this is where it gets interesting. The picture is flawless, yes, but it is the sound that really becomes 3 dimensional in the dts mix, giving the rockets shooting into space much more realism and depth than the on screen effects do. Even background noises are clearer and dialogue sparkling, thanks to some nifty digital remastering.

All the extras from the Special Edition are present and correct, and everyone should watch the superb (as usual) half hour documentary `Inside You Only Live Twice'. Also included for the first time though are three items. Firstly, some of Ken Adams home video footage of location scouting and then shooting of the movie, which is great fun to watch to see both the construction of the set and Sean Connery clowning around at every opportunity. Then there is a short segment from Whickers World, which is an entertaining period fluff piece promoting the movie while still acknowledging its campness and humour make it an antidote for the times. Finally an oddity, a one hour special `Welcome to Japan, Mr Bond' which uses MoneyPenny and Q in specially shot scenes to frame a selection of clips from the movies to this point. Interesting for fans of Q especially, this purports to be Moneypenny musing over who it can be that James Bond will marry.

All in all, I can only recommend this DVD as a worthwhile watch, while acknowledging it is just not as finely crafted as its predecessors. This Ultimate Edition series once again proves to be the best and most comprehensive way to see the movie.

YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE contained elements of espionage, action, thrills, adventure and science fiction. Looking back it somehow worked loosely when put together yet till this day I can not determine what the cohesive element was. Looking at it closely the film is a real dichotomy of styles. The first hour is excellently filmed and works very well. We get to see James Bond the spy, working with recognition codes, breaking into safes, going under cover and the like. There is an excellently choreographed fight scene between Bond and a sumo wrestler. This is also the first time he developed a good working relationship with a fellow intelligence head, Tiger Tanaka, similar to that of Kerim Bey in FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE. We also see that "M" has absolute confidence in his man. "This is the big one," he tells Bond knowing that 007 is the only one capable of pulling off this assignment. There is also quite a bit of very witty dialog in the first hour of this film. In the first hour the pace is deliberate, but never boring or unentertaining. It ends with Bond flying "Little Nellie," delivered by "Q," into an aerial dogfight with four helicopters. As it moves into the second hour more of the science fiction and fantasy elements start to take center stage. The film starts to look untidy and meanders along till it gets to the excellently filmed battle between Tanaka's ninjas and Blofeld's private army in his Volcano lair. It's not a bad Bond film, but it should have been a lot better. I think the culprit was the editing. Russian and American manned space capsules were being snatched out of orbit by an "intruder missile." Bond had to find the location and the identity of those responsible before World War III breaks out. The filmmakers decided not to surprise us at the end of the film, but instead show us, not Bond, that this "intruder missile" is in fact owned by SPECTRE and is being launched from Blofeld's Volcano lair in Japan. That comes a little past the hour mark. That being the case there was a good opportunity to develop suspense, as Bond has to locate the launch site. When Bond finally does find the volcano he has very little reaction to his discovery. He in fact seems to have come prepared with suction cup kneepads, which he uses to climb upside down and into the volcano. Tanaka shows up with his men, the battle ensues and Bond saves the day. It just could have been done much better considering how well the first half of the film was handled. The massive sets designed by Ken Adam were highly innovative and stylized and are probably the best of the entire series. M's office aboard the submarine, M-1, was also pretty innovative incorporating furniture and decorations from his office from the Ministry of Defense back in London. John Barry wrote a brilliant score. His music for the "Capsule in Space" was eerily ominous. He also incorporated sections of the "James Bond Theme" very effectively subsequent to Henderson's death and the fight in Osato's office. Barry's "Mountains and Sunset" went beautifully with Freddie Young's Cinematography. This and his score for ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE were the last to contain his best action pieces for the series. These were little snippets here and there written to give the action a little more punch. I thought Sean Connery gave some his best performances as James Bond in this film. Bond's scene with Henderson was very good. His repartee with Moneypenney was one of his best. Sean Connery did return as James Bond in DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER but one era had already ended with ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE and a new one would begin with his return.

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I love this picture. The previous reviewers had problems with it. It has everything a Bond picture should have. The scenery is magnificent, the gadgets are up to standard, the production quality is as good as the previous Bond efforts, the villain is a typical jerk, and the title song sung by Nancy Sinatra is the best I've ever heard in a Bond picture.

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After James Bond (Sean Connery) has participated in faking his own murder in Hong Kong, to give him "more elbow room" in the words of his superior, M (Bernard Lee), he is dispatched to Japan to investigate the mysterious disappearance of both American and Soviet space crafts which threatens to spark World War III.

Working together with Japanese secret service leader Tiger Tanaka (Tetsuro Tamba), he meets beautiful Japanese agent Aki (Akiko Wakabayashi), who helps Bond through several close shaves.

Working with a Japanese Secret Service Ninja force, he locates the sabotage to the shadowy organization SPECTRE, led by the sinister Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Donald Pleasence).

After Aki is murdered by SPECTRE agents (She dies after ingesting poison dropped into the bed she shares with Bond), Bond teams up, in a faked marriage with the attractive Kissy Suzuki Mie Hama).

Together with the Ninja force they penetrate Blofeld's massive headquarters, hidden in a volcano, where the final battle ensues.

Before Blofeld tries to kill Bond, he reminds him "You Only Live Twice", referring to his earlier faked death.

The chemistry between Bond and the exquisite Aki is perfect, and in the scene where a marriage is proposed and Bond thinks it is Aki, Aki's face lights up.

No less stunning is Mie Hama as Kissy Suzuki, an expert swimmer and fighter, and one of the sexiest Bond girl ever.

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You can tell when a movie has been influential because of imitation ("The Incredibles")and parody ("Austin Powers")40 plus years AFTER it was released. Although some elements are even less believable 45 years later (Bond passing as a Japanese fisherman? Really?)Roald Dahl's script and the sharp direction of Lewis Gilbert keep "You Only Live Twice" entertaining and the unexpected opening sequence where Bond is assassinated only to be resurrected later adds to the fantasy elements of the film.

Bond travels to Japan to find out who is behind snatching U.S. and Soviet spacecraft in an attempt to cause war between the two superpowers. To investigate this case which Bond believes Blofeld (Donald Pleasence) to be behind, he must appear to be dead so that his enemies won't expect him.

Production designer Ken Adams creates one of his most impressive sets, Dahl's script introduces key elements that will become part of every Bond film in the future (to one degree or another)and director Lewis Gilbert does a nice job setting up the action sequences creating one of the seminal Bond films. Although the Bond films would often go bigger (not much more than this admittedly), I don't think they ever got better. Gilbert is so confident directing the film that he even borrows the "punch" shot from Hitcock's "Strangers on a Train" and "North by Northwest" (where when our hero is hit it appears that WE are a nice use of point-of-view rarely used beyond Hitchcock's films).

In a nice touch Charles Gray who appears as Henderson here appears in "Diamonds are Forever" playing Blofeld (I do find it curious though that EON productions chose not to cast the same actor as Blofeld in more than one film although, at least in the case of "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", the character is played by the late bald actor Telly Savalas)in Connery's next-to-last appearance as Bond (his last would be, of course, in the "Thunderball" remake "Never Say Never Again").

The film was so successful that "You Only Live Twice" was used as a template for later Bond movies such as "The Spy Who Loved Me".

"You Only Live Twice" receives a nice looking restoration from Lowry and a very nice HD transfer. The film has nice depth and detail. There are still a few flaws that crop up now and again (for example during a couple of shots of the volcano there's a noticeable line right in the middle of the frame)but, on the whole, "You Only Live Twice".

The sequences that tend to be soft and look the worse for wear are some of the composite shots used in the film which was unavoidable. This also includes the stock footage of the volano erupting at the conclusion of the film.

The DTS lossless audio sounds marvelous highlighting John Barry's marvelous and often melodic score.

The special features have largely been ported over from the previous DVD edition of the film. We get a commentary track that features director Lewis Gilbert (among others)combined with others from the production crew.

Unfortunately no deleted scenes survived for this Blu-ray edition (unlike "Diamonds Are Forever" for example).

We do get "Welcome to Japan Mr. Bond" a made for TV program to promote the film featuring Moneypenny discussing Bond's various adventures. It's a cool vintage extra for fans of the series and is presented in HD.

We also get excerpts from "Whicker's World" a BBC documentary we also get a brief behind-the-scenes glimpse at the locations narrated by production designer Ken Adam.

"Inside 'You Only Live Twice'" is a well made documentary on the making of the movie. We also get a documentary on the opening titles created by the late Maurice Binder for the Bond films. The two short documentaries are presented in standard definition. We also get the storyboard sequence for the plane crash as well as a brief glimpse at the exotic locations used for the film hosted by Maude Adams.

Also included are theatrical trailers for the film, a TV ad, radio spots and "Image Database" which inclues various stills and promo shots for the film.

It's tough to name a favorite Connery Bond film but when it comes to sheer spectacle "You Only Live Twice" was the biggest and boldest of the Bond adventures with its stunning final assault on the volcano lair of Blofeld influencing an entire generation of Spy films. Although my favorite remains "From Russia with Love" followed by "Goldfinger", "You Only Live Twice" is certainly up there with those two films.

Biutiful (2010)

If Mr. Iñárritu went to 3 continents to film the great story of BABEL, his latest film, BIUTIFUL is bringing people from 3 continents to one amazing place; the underworld of Barcelona. I saw this well crafted art film a few days ago in Los Angeles (Mr.Iñárritu and Bradem were present) and wanted to share with you my take on this important, agonizing and remarkable picture. It will take you to places seldom explored by others, it will set in motion untapped feelings, it will make you hate or love it, it will make you talk about it.

Mr. Bardem is masterfully playing Uxbal and with him we slowly and painfully descend into Hades, human misery and his personal hell. The complex character of Uxbal is central for the film and through his journey we meet some of the most unusual characters, places and situations. There is an action/high energy scene of police chasing drug dealers in center of Barcelona, remarkably filmed by the very talented Rodrigo Prieto; it will stay with me for a long time.

Many call BIUTIFUL "a love story between a father and his children", but it is much much more than that. Maybe this line will sell a few extra tickets, but it is more about a extremely dysfunctional modern "accidental" family. The mother, Marambra is superbly played by newcomer Maricel Álvarez, and the children are ever so patient, innocent and understanding.

Kindness, hope, goodwill and humanity is not missing in Biutiful, it is ever-present in the daily dealings of Uxbal who's psyche we enter from the very beautiful and poetic beginning of the film.

See BIUTIFUL with an open heart and mind, let yourself go places you never wanted to go, places you only watch on the evening news.

My tag line for BIUTIFUL: "You don't choose your family. We all belong to somebody, but to belong to Uxbal and Marambra, is both a blessing and a curse."

Adam

It's all about death and dying. We can't get away from that, nor avoid it.

Most European directors take much longer to develop character in films than American directors. There are scenes in this film that wordlessly drag on, with panning shots that are longer than what American film directors recommend. But there is nothing wrong with that. This just means it takes longer to watch a European movie and this artpiece is no different.

Uxbal (Javier Bardem) plays the middleman for a counterfeit operation in Barcelona. He works for a few crooked Chinese who manipulate Africans and Chinese who come into the country illegally to work for pennies a day. Uxbal takes his share of the money but he also has a soft heart for the people who live in dark, musty cold basements.

His wife is a drug-dependent, bi-polar prostitute who only thinks about the next trick. Her goal in life is to have fun, despite her two children that love her very much. Unfortunately, Uxbal lovers her, too, and this uneven chemistry gleams throughout this movie.

We learn right away there is something wrong with Uxbal. He is in the late stages of prostate cancer, and his life is flashing him by throughout this movie. He lives what time he has left to redeem himself among the people he also took advantage of earlier, realizing there are many victims left behind doing the work that he does.

Shot in and around Barcelona's slums, there's a lot of touching cinematography in this movie. Smoggy city panoramas, gushing ocean waves, whispering cold mountain pines and loud street scenes that want to take over your auditory nerves. Take all that out and you have a more American-style movie with action and romp but less story and plot.

This is not a movie to watch when depressed, or while grieving the loss of a loved one. There is more to this movie than what I have just posted, but in the end of this 2:18 hour movie (not including the ten minutes of credits in the end), this is one movie that will haunt your senses for a while.

Crashing waves, whispering pines, dying owls that spit up hairballs. This is life in the real sense.

I rented this via the Amazon Instant Video. I had so many problems watching this movie without it constantly stopping to reload. This may be the last time I rent a movie this way. Great movie, horrible presentation.

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Alejandro Innaritu has directed 4 movies so far, Biutiful being the latest, and all 4 of them are solid. There is great substance in them all. Every film of his has several complex, interknit storylines, each with detailed narratives, and nuances. Innaritu potrays his astounding skill and capability of interlinking several of these, cumulating into an exhilarating panoramic vision, which is a feast to watch.

Innaritu has always casted great actors for his films, such as Gael Garcia in Babel & Amores Perros, Sean Penn & Benicio Del Toro in 21 Grams and Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett & Rinko Kikuchi in Babel. Here, there has been much praise for Javier Bardem's potrayal of the low-life criminal, trying to make ends meet for his family, and nearing his death very soon, and it is all very well deserved. Javier Bardem is a remarkable actor, portraying his characters with simplicity, yet with layers of complexity.

*Might contain spoilers below*

The most interesting characteristic of his films, is the use of regional languages & characters to a very natural degree. Cheng Tai Shen, playing the role of the Chinese syndicate businessman, uses spanish and chinese with much fluency and ease, which I found remarkable. Just as captivating is the role played by Diaryatou Daff, of an african immigrant woman, who is caught in the disturbance of her husband's involvement in the underground drug racket, and his deportation.

The journey for Uxbal (Bardem) is devastating, and tragic, yet fulfilling in a way, since his transition into the afterlife is shown to be one of serene, his departure from his family implying painful repercussions, nonetheless, which is what the viewer is left to come to terms with, in the end.

Another element or tool which the director uses, concurrent to his previous films, is the use of the strong background score and music. Babel had excellent score from the maestro Gustavo Santaolalla, and so does Biutiful. The use of progressive dance tracks such as The Joker (ATFC Remix) by Fatboy Slim in Babel, and Shudder/King of Snake by Underworld in Biutiful, intensify the mood and atmosphere of the films, combined with remarkable camera-work and cinematography, reveal the underbelly of cities such as Japan, and Barcelona, where city-life is portrayed near perfectly, and contrasted with varying emotions that the characters feel.

This film, is as successful as it's predecessors, thanks to the gifted Innaritu, and his muse Bardem this time around, who have both wonderfully captured the nuances and depth of the characters and the intricate story that is the driving force behind this masterfully complex & captivating movie.

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Aunque sí es una película triste, creo que "Biutiful" es una película importante para ver. La película nos enseña las partes de la vida que no queremos ver. Es exactamente por esa razón que creo que es tan importante para ver. Viendo "Biutiful", no puedes evitar las temas incómodas como la depresión de Marambra, la desesperación de los niños, y las repercusiones graves del comercio ilegal. Estoy de acuerdo con la revisión de Mariela Perez-Simons, porque yo también creo que es importante que Uxbal es un héroe complicado. No estoy de acuerdo con Chris Pandolfi y su revisión de la película porque no creo yo que la película hubiera sido mejor por no tener un personaje cerca de morir. Presentado con la historia de un hombre trágicamente desafortunado y enfermo, el público puede entender mejor que la vida puede ser muy injusto. Creo que la mensaje más importante de la película es que no importa lo mal que sea la vida, uno debe vivir lo mejor que pueda para los que ama.

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A beautiful, moving film about the devotion of a father to his children through thick and thin. I was impressed by the actor's range. After all this is the same actor who portrayed a ruthless psycho in No Country For Old Men.

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Seven / Copycat / Taking Lives (Triple-Feature) (2012)

For the price this is a terrific set of three thrillers now the quality of the enclosed thrillers vary a bit but all three have their moments.

"Se7vn" included here is the special edition of the movie. David Fincher's thriller holds up remarkably well 17 years on with strong performances all around (although I felt Brad Pitt's performance was a bit too mannered for my tastes at the time and even now).

For those that don't know "Se7vn" follows two detectives (Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt)trying to catch a serial killer taking victims lives based on their violation of the seven deadly sins. "Se7vn" remains an influential thriller that impacted an entire decade of thrillers altering the look and feel of many of them. That doesn't diminish the power of the original though.

"Copycat" came out four years after "The Silence of the Lambs" and while a more it's certainly a bit more traditional in terms of casting compared to that film (featuring stars that were fairly big at the time), "Copycat" got lost in the wake of the more daring "Se7vn" but as a thriller it's still a strong film.

Signorney Weaver plays Helen Hudson a agoraphobic psychologist and profiler who ends up working with detective M.J. Monahan (Holly Hunter) in trying to capture a serial killer who copies OTHER serial killers. Both Hunter and Weaver give terrific performances in the film.

"Taking Lives" features Angelina Jolie as Illeana a FBI profiler brought in to catch a serial killer who assumes other people's lives (hence the punning title). When the mother (Gena Rowlands) of the killer recognizes him after he supposedly died twenty years before, the Quebec police bring her in to help them catch the killer when one of his victims is accidently uncovered. An art dealer named Costa(Ethan Hawke) who may have seen the killer agrees to help the police and act as bait to lure the killer out into the open.

Be aware there is a somewhat explicit sex scene in the film. Although a bit predictable "Taking Lives" is still entertaining and the fact that the story takes place somewhere OTHER than the United States adds to that allure. The opening set up is quite impressive and while the movie does have a lot going for it, most viewers as mentioned will figure the twist out well before the mid point of the film.

All three movies as mentioned are on individual discs with the special features for each of the individual releases included (for example the extensive special features from the "Se7vn" release are, as far as I can tell, the same including the multiple commentary tracks and the material ported over from the 2000 Director's Series release on DVD).

"Copycat" has all the commentary track by director Jon Amiel as well as the theatrical trailer for the movie.

"Taking Lives" as the documentary on the making of the film, the gag reel as well as the theatrical trailers.

For the price this is a extremely good set with films that range from five stars to three and since the transfer are all excellent looking and include the special features from the individual releases, I'd recommend this set.

From Warner Bros. we get a collection of serial killer movies, two from the '90's and one from '04, thankfully two of this films are great cause one is just dreadful.

Se7en: Director David Fincher ("Fight Club") gives us a story about a killer whose targeting people that he feels are committing one of the seven deadly sins. Two detectives played by Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman try to piece together the bits of evidence and inch ever closer to finding out who the killer really is. From the opening frame to the very end this is one magical and great thriller, Freeman really shines here, Kevin Spacey ("The Usual Suspects") plays a great role, Pitt also does well though he would go on to do better roles than this. It's very visual, visceral and fairly unrelenting in how it presents the horror the killer inflicts upon his victims. This is again just magic throughout the whole presentation. **** out of 4 stars.

Copycat: After almost being killed by a killer named Daryll (Harry Connick Jr. "Hope Floats"), a profiler named Helen (Sigourney Weaver, "Alien") is now an agoraphobic, meaning she's confined to the living space of her apartment. She still does her work, helping detectives figure out who and how to capture criminals, but her skills are being put to the test as a copycat killer named Peter (William McNamara) is killing people in the same way Daryll did earlier. Holly Hunter plays a detective who desperately needs Helen's skills to capture Peter before he kills again. Director Jon Amiel ("Entrapment") does a good job with the material provided, it's definitely below "Se7en" in terms of quality, but "Copycat" is a pretty good flick in it's own right and the performances are good for the most part. **1/2 out of 4 stars.

Taking Lives: Here we have a killer who takes on the identity of each of his victims, a profiler named Illeana (Angelina Jolie) is brought by the French Canadian police to assist them in identifying and capturing this killer before he can assume another identity and possibly evade police for good. The whole idea isn't the problem, to me it's the execution and the simple fact it is painfully and I mean painfully obvious who the killer is early on. Unfortunately most of the characters in this flick are just too plain dumb to figure out this obvious fact, though the cast is actually fairly impressive Ethan Hawke ("Training Day"), Kiefer Sutherland (TV's "24"), Oliver Martinez ("Unfaithful"), Gena Rowlands ("The Skeleton Key") and Tcheky Karyo ("Kiss of The Dragon").

How these actors thought this was a good project to be in just eludes me and it stuns me how bad this is with all whose involved. The final sequence is really the icing on the cake as those left alive realize what's happening and who the killer is, it's all just laughable. This is the one lone bad flick in this 3 pack, worth watching to make fun of it. * out of 4 stars.

It's a worthy collection to get especially for "Se7en" and 3 movies for a low price is never a bad thing, especially on blu-ray.

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Love these movies. Great bundle. Seven and Copycat are my favorite out of the 3. I did like them all so 5 solid stars.

Perfect addition to my collection. You get 3 blue-ray disks here. No cramming movies onto one as you see sometimes with other sets or triple features.

Totally worth the money.

Mine came in with slight damage to the plastic case but it was very minor so I decided to keep it since movies or disks were fine.

It was new as described.

Very happy overall and highly recommend this triple feature!

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Picture is good and price was realy good Even thought is used blu ray looks like new im a fan of good thriller and those 3 all the best

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Cutthroat Island (1995)

Pure joy for fans of old fashioned sea adventure and entertaining, if stereotypical, peg-legged, eye-patched pirates shouting "Arr!", this movie does not pretend to be anything else than it is great fun based on popular legends and beliefs rather than the facts on pirate lives. And so much the better! Non-stop action, fantastic score, breathtaking sceneries and props, adequately fun script, and, yes, even good acting (to my surprise, Geena Davis actually managed to deliver a good performance!). Frank Langella is almost as good a pirate as Walter Matthau was in Roman Polanski's equally underrated pirate classic. Hearing various bad comments about the movie, I had low expectations, but was pleasantly surprised to find out that the bad reviews and comments were simply unfair. Apparently, critics these days follow one another in "their" opinions rather than actually watching the movies, and people are looking for violence and blood of "Dobermann" kind rather than simply entertaining if unrealistic movies like "Cutthroat Island" (actually, the movie seems to have been researched quite nicely it's the first time I've seen Hollywood use actual "squad" wine bottles in a pirate movie instead of modern-shaped ones!)

This film features everything a good pirate flick should: stormy seas, a spectacular naval battle, a sexy pirate captain (Geena Davis) and buried treasure complete with a treasure map written in latin (the preferred language of pirates).

This is one of the few times I've seen Davis in a leading role; normally, she is a supporting actress. She pulls it off quite well, although in a couple of scenes her acting is a bit wooden. Frank Langella stands out as an old-salt, ruthless pirate while Matthew Modine is great as the movie's comic relief.

What really makes this movie worth buying, tho, is just how well done it is. The 17th century sets are lavish you feel as tho you are back in the period in which the movie takes place. The soundtrack is riveting, and I found the sound of the DVD quite excellent. Not sure if they did anything different than they do with other DVDs, but it sure seemed like the audio was a notch above most DVDs esp in the storm sequence.

This is the kind of movie that critics make a living off of by slamming. What does this mean for the rest of us? Why, it means that it's a fun time to be had by all! And may the movie critics goto Davy Jones locker...

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Cutthroat Island is not a great movie by any means. But it is a lot of fun if you enjoy pirate treasure, sea battles, sword fighting, a great soundtrack, and wonderful period costumes. The script is pretty weak and much of the acting is wooden. Worse yet, it seems that no one learned anything from Errol Flynn's The Sea Hawk because they once again include a rather annoying monkey as comedy relief. But what they do right is what makes this movie worth watching. The film wonderfully recreates the 17th century Caribbean world of the pirates and is probably the most realistic looking realization of this time and place to date. The actual portrayal of the pirates themselves owes more to "Treasure Island" and "Peter Pan" than "The American Sea Rovers", but there is definately something compelling in the romantic myth of the golden age of piracy. The pirate movie has suffered in recent years and Cutthroat will probably do nothing to revive it, which is really a shame as they, like the western and sci-fi adventure, are the best incarnations of modern myth to be found today.

The story revolves around the quest of Captain Morgan Adams, the sexy yet honorable pirate queen, to avenge her father's murder and outwit her evil pirate nemesis and fratricidal uncle, Captain "Dawg" (who makes these names up?). Taking command of her late father's ship and now in possession of part of a map to locate her father's lost treasure, Morgan sets out to win the vast riches for her and her hardy crew. On the way she engages the services of the roguish "Doctor" Shaw, manages to obtain the remaining pieces of the map, then goes on to brave mutinies, betrayals, storms at sea, exploding cannonballs, bad dialogue, and cliched bad guys in a worthwhle romp through an era gone by, when men and women sailed tall wooden ships, killed many people for profit, and drank themselves into oblivion on the high seas.

I gave Cutthroat Island one more star than it probably really deserves simply for being a really guilty pleasure. So grab your bottle of rum and cold steel cutlass and check it out!

Read Best Reviews of Cutthroat Island (1995) Here

...but widely ignored. Some have said that The Passion of the Christ established John Debney as a force to reckon with in the drama score category. What about action? The guy is only hired to do comedy and very few action films. CutThroat Island is an epic score, the only one I know John Debney has done. The film was a disaster at the box office. Had it been a success, maybe John Debney would have two oscar nominations counts instead of one.

In the single disc version, one gets about 71 minutes of music. From "Main Titles" to "end credits" John Debney keeps your ears happy and your room shaking depending on your speakers' volume level.

The main title of the score is one that will stay in your mind for a long time. Its repeated in most of the tracks on the album and it never gets tiring. It starts off with low brass before the strings swell the music into a loud fanfare.

There are a few other themes in the album. Track 3: The Language of Romance introduces the beautiful love theme played by the flute. Another theme used three times in this album is a cue for a victorious moment. The militaristic cue is introduced at the end of track 6 and given steriods for the triumphant finale in track 18. The last track is basically a suite of the main themes of the album as it should be. Overall, great soundtrack.

[COMPLETE SCORE REVIEW]

If 71 minutes isn't enough, not to worry. The COMPLETE SCORE was released on 2 CD late March . This version contains over 2 hours of music!

The second CD contains Track 17 and 18 of the single disc version. I have never seen the movie so I didn't know how long the action sequence lasted. Tracks 17 and 18 of the single disc version are added to one very long track over 17 minutes! to make probably the greatest single action, epic piece ever written! Track 8 of CD 2: "The Battle/To Dawg's Ship/Morgan Battles Dawg/Dawg's Demise/The Triumph." You have to listen to this track to truly understand why I won't be able to shut up about it. The second disc also includes 5 bonus tracks, some of them are alternate versions of some of the original cues (e.g. without choir).

This is an incredible score and a must have for anyone that truly appreciates musical art. (Oscar, how did you ignore this one?) Buy it. Buy both versions. They will undoubtly be worth more in the future. You won't be disappointed! CutThroat Island is truly a masterpiece!

Want Cutthroat Island (1995) Discount?

When the piratess Morgan Adams (Geena Davis) loses her father, she becomes captain of his ship and crew. As her first act as captain, she decides to search for the treasure on Cutthroat Island. But the actual map for Cutthroat Island is in three pieces, one of which she got from her father. The other two are with her uncles, the cowardly Mordachai (George Murcell) and the evil Dawg Brown (Frank Langella). So Morgan, with the help of her crew and the somewhat untrustworthy thief, William Shaw (Matthew Modine), she sets off to take all the maps and find the treasure of Cutthroat Island.

A very entertaining movie filled with action, adventure, and piracy on the high seas, "Cutthroat Island" is a pure adventure movie. The plot is pretty mediocre, allowing as much action and suspense to be put in the story. It's your typical pirate story though, pirates must find, understand, and figure out the map leading to a mysterious island with hidden treasure of unthinkable riches. But throwing in a tough, hard-bitten, and beautiful piratess was a pretty nice touch, including a thief to provide some comic relief.

Geena Davis surprises me again with her talent in being able to play many different roles from a ghost in "Beetlejuice", a baseball player in "A League of Their Own", a mother full of heart in the Stuart Little movies, and now a piratess in "Cutthroat Island". She gets to give plenty of punches plus handle the cutlass with ease as she fights pirates, the military, and her uncle. She's definitely very cool! As for Matthew Modine, I had never seen him in any movies before but I found him astoundingly funny though he gets plenty of action. He in a way reminds me of Cary Elwes as Wesley in "The Princess Bride" with his sarcastic humor and boundless enthusiasm. Oh, it was also a special treat to see the young and sweet Christopher Masterson as Bowen. Though his role was small, he was excellent as a cabin boy with his obvious admiration and loyalty to his captain. He's probably more known as Chris Masterson, starring in "Dragonheart: A New Beginning" and also starring in the series, "Malcom in the Middle".

So if you're in the mood for a movie with giving off lots of action, energy, suspense, and swashbuckling, make time to watch "Cutthroat Island". Rated PG-13 for the action and fighting and also for some innuendo.

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Mars Needs Moms (Two-Disc Blu-ray / DVD Combo) (2011)

I believe that the critics were all wrong about "Mars Needs Moms". My four year old granddaughter and I enjoyed it thoroughly. It was cute, colorful, funny, and very entertaining. We both smiled and laughed all the way through. Plus the main characters were warm, loyal, resourceful, and caring--good role models for the little ones. I intend to buy it as soon as it comes out in DVD so that my granddaughter and I can enjoy it all over again!

We all know how well Mars Needs Moms did at the box office. Sometimes, I think you really need to send in a kid to do a kids' job particularly in reviewing a movie made for kids. Adults just don't get it. Here are video reviews by 2 of our 8 -year-old youth film critics reviews and, believe me, they loved it!

The DVD comes out this week so don't pass it by, give it the good old family try.

"This movie is out of this world literally, because it takes place on Mars, A.K.A The Red Planet. The movie is about a little boy named Milo voiced by Seth Dusky, who says some pretty mean things to his mom. Before he has a chance to apologize, she is Martian-napped and taken to Mars. He has 6.93 earth hours until sun rise to save her. Does he make it in time!

My favorite part is when Gribble, voiced by Dan Fogler, saves Milo's mom with the helmet that was meant for his mom. I thought that was very thoughtful. My favorite characters are Gribble, because he's just simply Gribbletastic. Ki, because she helps Milo, and she does something that no other Martain has ever done. She stands up to the supervisor. Head of all Martians, Milo, because he realizes that he needs his mom and is determined to do whatever he needs to save her.

I rate this movie 4 out of 5 stars because the Martains are a little scary, especially the supervisor. So for this reason I recommend this movie to kids ages 7 and up." Reviewed by Ny'Asia Bell, age 8, KIDS FIRST! Film Critic

"I just finished watching an excellent movie called "Mars Needs Moms." The movie is about a boy named Milo who goes on a big adventure to help save his mom from aliens. The aliens that live on Mars are not very good mothers so they look to Earth to find good mothers to steal.

My favorite characters are Milo, Milo's mom, and Gribble. I liked Gribble because he helped Milo get his mother back and he helps Milo to see how important his mother truly is. My favorite part of the movie is when Milo has to save his new friend Gribble from the aliens. Gribble gets captured and the aliens are going to shoot him. Milo swings in to save the day and it is awesome.

This movie does have some characters that are bad and try to stop Milo from saving his mom. The aliens in the uniforms are bad because they listen to the Supervisor. The Supervisor controls everyone and wants everyone to do what she says.

I would recommend this movie for ages three and up. I think depending on what age you are is how you will see this movie. For example, my brother is 5 and he didn't think the movie was scary at all. I am 8 and I found the movie to be a little scary because it made me think about how sad I would be if I lost my own mother. But don't worry everything turns out ok in the end! Go out and buy this movie when it comes out on Disney DVD and Blu Ray.

Reviewed by Anthony A, KIDS FIRST! Film Critic

Buy Mars Needs Moms (Two-Disc Blu-ray / DVD Combo) (2011) Now

I'm giving this movie a full five stars right off the bat because when my 5 year old daughter and I saw Mars Needs Moms in a completely empty theater on opening weekend, I cried my eyes out at the ending. No, this movie is NOT a dedicated version of the Mars Needs Mom storybook; nor was it a B-grade movie in the style of the sci-fi classics Mars Attacks! and Mars Needs Women. However, it isn't the utter travesty critics and nay-sayers claim it is.

Once you get over the 'weird' CGI images of the actors, and you ignore the blatant ploy to make this a hit with the 8-year-old-boy crowd, you can't help but really appreciate the details in the landscape and backgrounds (the Red Planet, the garbage 'under world', the otherworld beauty of Ki and the Martians, etc.). And the story itself really resonates with all ages courage when everything else seems lost, the support of friends, even hunger for political power, and the love between a mother and child. Yes, this movie could have been much better (by Disney standards); on the other hand, it could have been MUCH much worse if released by another studio.

No matter what your opinions of Robert Zemeckis' work, Mars Needs Moms deserves at least one viewing before you make your final judgement.

Read Best Reviews of Mars Needs Moms (Two-Disc Blu-ray / DVD Combo) (2011) Here

"Mars Needs Moms" relates the adventures of Milo, a boy who seeks to rescue his kidnapped mother from Martians . Based on a children's book by the famous comic strip author Berkeley Breathed, this animated film, while uneven in certain respects, excels in its depiction of sacrificial family love. Milo is truly heroic in his single-minded determination to free his mother despite insurmountable odds and even a powerful temptation to give up. I also found the Martian settings to be artistically imaginative, fascinating, and impressive.

The film's portrayal of the relationship between an American mother and her son was not only realistic but profoundly moving. Young Milo attempts to deceive his mother. Like all good mothers, she catches him out and holds him accountable. Like all disobedient children (which covers most of the human race at one time or another), Milo angrily lashes out at her. In a moment that rings true with my own childhood and with our own children on occasion, Milo's mother is reduced to tears by her son's cruel words. Milo tries to go to sleep but the guilt over his response to his mother troubles him. He gets up to apologize, only to discover that he is, in one sense, too late. His mother has disappeared. In another sense, he arrives in the nick of time, just able to follow after the strange beings who have kidnapped his mother. Love for his mother stoked by his remorse for his meanness fuel an unquenchable determination in Milo to rescue her. Within a fast-paced, wildly fantastic and carelessly implausible animated movie, this true-to-life family relationship comes as somewhat of a surprise. But the film succeeds brilliantly because the filmmakers remain true throughout to the theme of love between a mother and son.

Milo's mother has been kidnapped by a radical feminist Martian society that has all but destroyed maternal love in its elevation of power and technological progress. The Martians abandon their males at their planetary dump and leave their females to be raised by robot nursemaids. But little ones, even in a twisted society, need more than a robot to be cared for properly. Presumably unable and/or unwilling to provide quality maternal nature themselves, the Martian supervisors spy out likely outstanding mothers on planet Earth and kidnap the best candidates in an evil plan to enrich the maternal behavior of the robots.

In his quest, Milo meets Gribble, a fellow human stranded on Mars with his own tragic story and Ki, the Martian who has rebelled against the oppressive Martian society. The events that bring Milo and his new friends to the film's final climax uncover Mars' own dark secrets about motherhood and the family.

It is unfortunate that "Mars Needs Moms" was a dismal flop at the box office. The film's odd mix of a relatively serious theme in a wacky action-adventure animation vehicle may have hurt its reach. Some may have been repelled by its central theme of the importance of motherhood and the natural family. Surveys at a leading film website indicate that this film splits its audience, with people either loving or hating "Mars Needs Moms," with relatively few in between. Such a divergence indicates that people's fundamental views on life dictated their response to the film, not less weighty matters such as the animation style, humor, music, or plot devices.

It is my hope that the mostly brilliant folks at Disney made a few marketing errors and missed their target audience. If you believe that the natural human family is a fundamental, even divinely ordained social unit with motherhood being one of its key components, please give this film and the dvd a chance. You may find yourself not only entertained, but surprisingly moved.

Want Mars Needs Moms (Two-Disc Blu-ray / DVD Combo) (2011) Discount?

This movie held the interest of my elementary age students. Late elementary children and older may not enjoy this film as much (my older child refused to watch it at all.) The film had a great message about appreciating your mom and all she does for you. We have been having an issue lately with a case of the "I wants" and not wanting to follow directions as the holiday season approaches. This was a great way to remind the boys to behave without having to nag them. It was funny and heart-felt. The graphics were good and the target audience was children. I gave it four-stars instead of five on advice of the children as it left out the importance of Dads. The boys felt it should have taught more about appreciating both parents.

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Assault on Precinct 13 (Restored Collectors Edition) (1976)

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The Caine Mutiny (1954)

THE CAINE MUTINY remains one of the finest films ever made about the Navy. It was also one the U.S. Navy had a complex relationship with. On the one hand, the navy provided considerable access to naval vessels. Significant scenes were shot on at least three: the destroyer-mine sweeper used to represent the Caine, a light cruiser at the very end, and the U.S.S. Kearsarge, which represented Halsey's flag ship the U.S.S. Enterprise, though he later moved to the U.S.S. Missouri. Despite this remarkable cooperation, the Navy very nearly withheld its approval for the film. It was afraid that the public might imagine that the story represented actual events or that it might be imagined that there had been a mutiny aboard some ship. Only after the filmmakers agree to begin the film with a historical disclaimer did they approve.

More than anything, despite the presence of ships, the film is mainly a showcase for great acting. The quality of the cast simply can't be exaggerated. There are a host of stellar performances, and they even have such future stars as Lee Marvin in throwaway parts. Humphrey Bogart absolutely dominates the screen with one of the finest performances of his career. Most of the fan and critic polls I have seen over the years of the greatest movie stars of all time invariably place Bogart in the number one spot, and when you see him in this role, and then realize that he has 7 or 8 roles just as great, it is easy to see why. He is such a forceful presence that one would imagine that he wouldn't have been capable of a variety of roles, yet you contrast this film with THE MALTESE FALCON and THE AFRICAN QUEEN, and you realize that he had a capacity to play a surprisingly wide range of roles. Lt. Commander Queeg lacks almost all of the qualities of Rick in CASABLANCA, and possesses a host of lamentable ones as well. The scene in which Queeg cowardly has the U.S.S. Caine quickly outrun the landing crafts it is assigned to protect and then retreat to safety as fast as possible is made all the worse by the courage his characters in other films display. Queeg's final crack up on the witness stand at Lt. Maryk's court martial is justifiably famous, and is among the great scenes in cinema. It is now impossible for any character in any film to play with a pair of steel balls and not think of Bogart.

The rest of the cast is hardly shamed by Bogart. Van Johnson, as the loyal, enormously capable, conscientious Lt. Maryk is superb. (This is, by the way, the only film in which the make up department didn't cover the quite large scars on his forehead that he suffered over a decade earlier in a serious car wreck, which resulted in a steel plate being placed in his forehead.) Robert Francis, who had a promising career cut short at the age of 25 in a plane crash he suffered a year after this film, is solid as the young, idealistic Ensign Keith (though the parallels between his hesitancy to stand up to his mother and marry the woman he loves and his hesitancy to stand up to his commanders isn't developed as much as it is implied) holds his own against stiff competition. Fred MacMurray, who spent his entire career bouncing between utterly lovable and absolutely reprehensible characters, here takes the latter course as the complex, spineless Lt. Keefer. His character adds a delicious degree of ambiguity to the film. Jerry Paris, who would later play Rob and Laura Petrie's friend in THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW, is excellent as the ship's other junior ensign. Tom Tully managed an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor in his stellar performance as Lt. Commander DeVriess, the first commander of the Caine. Jose Ferrer (who is, by the way, George Clooney's uncle by marriage), whose screen roles never seemed to come up to the level of his talent, is outstanding in his small but memorable role as the mutineers' defense attorney.

On a minor note, I very much enjoyed the very unusual location scene in Yosemite National Park. Although we take location shots for granted today, Hollywood in the thirties, forties, and fifties was only very slowly willing to undertake location shots. It is hard today to realize how radical it was for directors like John Huston (who shot parts of THE TREASURE OF SIERRA MADRE in Mexico and THE AFRICAN QUEEN in Africa) or John Ford (who shot extensively in Arizona for his Westerns and in Ireland for THE QUIET MAN) to shoot on location. The general preference was to build sets on Hollywood backlots. It is so unusual to see location shots that no sound film was shot on location in Chicago (many films were made at the old Essanay Studios in Chicago in the teens and twenties) until the superb Jimmy Stewart CALL NORTHSIDE 777. The scenes in this one, therefore, set in Yosemite are pretty unique.

It's a tradition for television stations to show a selection of war movies over the Memorial Day holiday and it is fast becoming a tradition for the studios to release a slew of war themed DVDs to celebrate the contribution of the nation's veterans in time for the last Monday in May.

Special mention this year goes to Columbia who are releasing collector's editions of two classics that had already been afforded a release on those shiny silver discs.

First up is "The Caine Mutiny" which was first released on DVD back in late 1998. That bare bones version was widely panned for its poor transfer, which featured an overabundance of digital noise and was presented in basic stereo.

Those failings have been corrected for this most recent digitally remastered release. Here we are presented with a quite exceptional picture and soundtrack and a nice smattering of special features.

Based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Herman Wouk the film (which itself was nominated for seven Academy Awards in 1954) details the tension between the captain of a World War II era minesweeper (played superbly by Humphrey Bogart) and his crew. Bogart's character is overly paranoid and viewed by some as displaying cowardice in the face of battle.

Playing the part of the executive officer, Lt. Steve Maryk is Van Johnson who, spurred on by third in command, the spineless Lt. Keefer (Fred MacMurray), finally takes control of the ship when the safety of the ship and crew are threatened. Queeg's stubborn insistences to maintain the heading of the ship in a typhoon, flying in the face of good seamanship, forces Maryk to take action and he, along with Ensign Keith, are charged with mutiny upon return to port.

It is here that the movie truly shines. Reluctantly defending the two is the always-excellent Jose Ferrer, and the scene where he interrogates Queeg on the stand is spellbinding.

Complimenting the movie Columbia have added an interesting scene specific audio commentary by Program Director of the Film Society of Lincoln Center Richard Pena and filmmaker and producer Ken Bowser. The two detail the difficulties the filmmakers initially faced when confronted with an initially uncooperative Department of he Navy, careers of the actors involved and the context of the film in relation to a political environment that saw Hollywood filmmakers blacklisted.

Apparently the Navy has never had a mutiny onboard one of its ships (a fact which leads to the placement of a disclaimer to the beginning of the picture) and they were none too pleased with the fictitious account. However, following a change in command, they reversed their decision and offered the use of dockyards, ships, aircraft carrier and even real sailors for the movie.

Both Pena and Bowser return for the two-part documentary on the making of the movie. Running for 18:48 and 16:16 respectively they are joined by Film Critic Bob Castle.

The three begin by discussing the mood in Hollywood at the time. Apparently movie audiences declined rapidly from 1946 to 1962 with the advent of television and greater foreign competition and so a nervous industry was looking for a "sure bet." Producer Stanley Kramer had bought the film rights to "The Caine Mutiny" book before it became a bestseller for $60,000. The book was a major selling point that led to the producers being able to cast the movie with a strong ensemble. Castle mentions some of the un-credited roles to illustrate this and Bogart reportedly read the book and actively campaigned for the role of the captain.

Rounding out the special features are trailers for "Walking Tall: The Payback," "Hard Luck" and "Edison Force." None bear any thematic connection with the main feature.

Recommended

Buy The Caine Mutiny (1954) Now

This is truly a classic movie. Based on the novel by Herman Wouk, The Caine Mutiny is a good drama. The cast includes Van Johnson as the Exec. Is he a mutineer or did he save the ship? Fred Macmurray is cast against type. Don't look for My Three Sons here. Jose Ferrer is the defense attorney who has to save the career of Van Johnson. All of these are excellent performances but pale in comparison with Humphrey Bogart's. He is totally believeable as Captain Queeg. Was he insane or just misunderstood? Who was guilty of mutiny. Look for Lee Marvin, Jerry Paris and Claude Akins in supporting roles. This is excellent entertainment and should not be missed.

Read Best Reviews of The Caine Mutiny (1954) Here

Humphrey Bogart gives another top rated powerful performance in this classic drama with a first rate professional cast including Fred MacMurray, Van Johnson, Jose Ferrer, E.G. Marshall, Tom Tully, Lee Marvin, Robert Francis, Claude Atkins, and Arthur Franz.

Captain Phillip Queeg (Humphrey Bogart) is in command of the USS Caine. Very unpopular with the men he gradually becomes more and more paranoid and his chief officers believe he is no longer competent to be in charge of the ship. His Executive Officer Lt Steve Maryk (Van Johnson) suspects that Queeg is a very sick man and not fit to command the ship due to his wild and erratic behaviour. Lt Tom Keefer (Fred MacMurray) feels the same way but is not prepared to make a stand against the Captain. During a violent storm Queeg loses his nerve and Maryk takes over the command only to be accused by Queeg of mutiny. ("Mr Maryk, if you question my decision once more I'll order you off this bridge". Bogart to Van Johnson). Maryk does take over the ship against Queeg's wishes and when back on land charges of mutiny are brought against him. The trial that follows forms the main focus of the film (and for me it was the most interesting) with some very tense and impressively acted dramatic scenes showing Bogart at his best. Lt Barney Greenwald (Jose Ferrer) is engaged as defending counsel for Maryk who is being charged with mutiny. However, things begin to look very bad for Maryk when Tom Keefer is called to give evidence and fails to support him. Some other witnesses are also unable (or reluctant) to show that Queeg was unfit to command the ship and Greenwald appears to be losing his case. Then Captain Queeg is called to the stand and has to face some strong questioning from Greenwald leading to the dramatic climax of the film.

Some favourite lines from the film:

Humphrey Bogart (to crew): "You people think you're very clever, but you're not fooling me".

Bogart (to Van Johnson): "Mr Maryk, you may tell the crew for me there are four ways of doing things aboard my ship. The right way, the wrong way, the navy way, and my way they do things my way we'll get along".

Johnson (to Fred MacMurray): "I don't get it. Is the captain off his head or isn't he? Is this record I've kept correct or not?".

Johnson (to Bogart): "Captain, I'm sorry, but you're a sick man. I'm relieving you as captain of this ship under article 184".

Bogart (to officers): "You'll all hang for conspiracy for mutiny".

Bogart (on witness stand): "Ah .... but the strawberries! That's where I had them. They laughed at me and made jokes, but I proved beyond a shadow of a doubt, and with geometric logic, that a duplicate key to the wardroom icebox did exist".

Jose Ferrer (to the officers): "Sure, I got a guilty conscience. I defended you Steve because I thought the wrong man was on trial. So I torpedoed Queeg for you. I had to torpedo him and I feel sick about it".

"The Caine Mutiny" was directed by Edward Dmytryk who was also responsible for "Raintree County", "The Young Lions" and many other classic films. "The Caine Mutiny" was remade as a TV movie in 1988 with Eric Bogosian, Jeff Daniels, Brad Davis and Peter Gallagher. I have never seen this so I can't comment on it. However, I did see the Bogart version several times and doubt if anything else could come up to that standard. TV movies are seldom as good as the big screen originals.

Bogart was nominated for the Best Actor "Oscar" for his performance in this film but was unfortunately beaten by Marlon Brando in "On the Waterfront". The film received a nomination for Best Picture but the award again went to "On the Waterfront". Actor Tom Tully was nominated as Best Supporting Actor for his role as Captain DeVriess but the award went to Edmond O'Brien for "The Barefoot Contessa". Even though it failed to win any Academy Awards "The Caine Mutiny" remains a very important dramatic and exciting film and the acting from all the principals was excellent. Another memorable Bogart winner that should not be missed.

Want The Caine Mutiny (1954) Discount?

While the movie is a great piece of acting with a couple of exceptions, the movie does not hold a candle to the superb book of the same name.

Some actors are poor character choices. Francis is not the right man to play the baby-faced, heavy set, Willie Keith. The actress, May Winn who uses the same name as her character appears to be a whimpy, love-struck night club singer, not at all like her level-headed counterpart in the book. Van Johnson comes through even if he is not the crew-cut, barrel-chested Maryk portrayed in the book. Bogart and McMurray are superb choices for their roles, as are Jose Ferrer, E.G Marshall, and the one who plays Captain DeVries.

The movie is entertaining and worth the purchase, but my suggestion is to see the movie first, and read the book second. That way, the movie will not disappoint.

While I found the book far superior, I recommend you proceed full speed ahead with the movie.

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Grumpy Old Men / Grumpier Old Men (Double Feature) (2010)

I owned both of these movies on Laserdisc, long, long ago. And until this Blu Ray was released, that was the only way to see these funny movies in a WIDESCREEN transfer! I was very excited to get this Blu Ray in the mail a few days ago! The transfers look awesome! Very clean, and sharp, and, at LAST, in 16x9 WIDESCREEN.

I do agree with the reviews that I've read, stating most people are kind of upset about being able to own BOTH films for the same price, or less than, the cost paid for Grumpy Old Men on Blu Ray. I too bought the Grumpy Old Men Blu Ray, back in December. I paid $17.99 here on Amazon for it. Then a few weeks later I saw the listing, thanks to High Def Digest () and was bummed to think I bought 1 film for 17.99, when the pre-list price for BOTH was 17.99! But oh well! I am just EXTREMELY happy to see both of these great films on Blu Ray!

Now I am hoping that FOX will release Out To Sea on Blu Ray! Walter and Jack were the greatest duo in the past 30 years, and are always a joy to watch!!!

Sure this disc is missing the trailers, and there are NO special features. But, if you like the movies, BUY this Blu Ray! You will NOT be disappointed!!!

I must respond to the negative comments concerning the DVD format...Are we really going to condemn 2 fine films just because they're not available in widescreen?? The back clearly states "in fullscreen", so we can't claim we were "duped". Plus, I checked my old separate collections of each film, and they were also in fullscreen--nothing ventured, nothing gained!

Just kick back and enjoy the work of 2 masterful actors who have since left us; the lovely/saucy presence of Ann-Margret (and later, Sophia Loren); plus, the scene-stealing "dirty old man" Burgess Meredith.

However, it would've been nice to have a "making of.." featurette or cast & crew interviews.

Buy Grumpy Old Men / Grumpier Old Men (Double Feature) (2010) Now

Although Warner already released Grumpy Old Men on Blu-ray last year and now are technically re-releasing it again, I am pleased that the underrated sequel, Grumpier Old Men finally received a proper widescreen transfer versus the full frame video the DVD versions have had.

The Blu-ray itself, for both films, look as good as they probably can and the audio (both sport DTS-HD Master Audio, with Grumpy has 2.0 channels and Grumpier has 5.1) for both are better than acceptable. Also, both films are on one disc but given there are no features, a 50GB Blu-ray disc easily handles them both.

If you're a fan like I am for both of these films, Warner has set a respectable SRP ($24.98 at the time of this writing) so it very well may reach the $10 mark in the not too distant future. For those who don't appreciate Warner doing this, I understand, but if you can get it on the cheap, then just think of it as getting this sequel and ignore the original (if you already own the stand alone Blu-ray).

Personally, I think it's worth it to get the widescreen transfer at long last...

Read Best Reviews of Grumpy Old Men / Grumpier Old Men (Double Feature) (2010) Here

I knew one day Warner Bros. would put these great movies in Widescreen and thus, help me add them to my shelves. But today is not that day! After seeing this advertised as Widescreen on this website and the Warner Home Video website, I was beside myself with glee and anticipation. I went to four different stores in California, and found that each time I went to purchase, the back of the DVD read, Includes full screen version. Confused I bought it anyway. Thinking maybe the back was a mis-print? Or maybe it meant, includes widescreen and full screen. I was wrong... On both counts! So when I contacted Warner Home Video, and nasty Nurse Ratched answered the phone and told me that "If I didn't buy it on their website then what did they care that it was being advertised wrongfully", I knew that these movies would not find a place on my DVD shelves anytime soon.

Buyer beware! This is not only being advertised wrongly but, no one will care once you purchased it!

Want Grumpy Old Men / Grumpier Old Men (Double Feature) (2010) Discount?

I was really looking forward to the double feature blu-ray Grumpy/Grumpier package. I returned my first blu-ray copy to Amazon and got an exchange.

Then the second copy had the same audio issue:

the audio on the Grumpy title would only play in French and Spanish, not English.

The Grumpier title had no problem.

So I decided to search the web for any other comments about this. Ah, there was someone else out there. I do have a DTS receiver, but for whatever reason, and I am no rocket scientist, I had to reset my audio out feature on blu ray player to PCM? I don't know. Somehow I managed, and it worked. Since the Grumpy feature is only a 2.0 DTS. while the foreign language was Dolby Digital. Since the track was only 2.0 why did they have to make it DTS? In my opinion the manufacture %#@!ed up on this.

Would love to hear feedback if anyone knows the science. I am so much grumpier since I purchased this disc. But I loved these movies.

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Chicago Cubs: The Heart & Soul of Chicago

Great combination of Soul of the Second Citys Beloved baseball team! The Music and Interviews enhance the experience of the heart being the Chicago Cubs!

we are delighted with the Vidio, even my 10 year old grandson who is a great cubs fan with his Dad enjoyed it.

the leave in Minnesota and i gave them the vidio for Easter, i know the will always treasure it,special the Chicago history and the segment on Ron Santo,a great ball player and so much more.

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I lived about 20 miles north of Chicago for many years. I now live in Indiana and a dear friend lives in Colorado. I sent my friend a copy of this and she loved it. Then she loaned it to her daughter ... well, you know how that goes, then it's loaned to someone else and before you know it, it's mia. During the course of the coming year, I would like to get one for my friend, one for each of my grown children and one for me. I feel like just about anybody would enjoy this one.

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My hubby is an avid Cubs fan and he was so excited about this. He said it was amazing and a great bday gift.

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As a Chicago native, I know a good history when I see it and this is without peer. Came on time and in great condition. Thank you very much.

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The Enforcer / Sudden Impact (Double Feature) (2010)

The rating is for the value along with the excellent picture and sound quality. You like these films or you don't, that is up to you. But if you love them like I do, these editions are the best way to get them. They save shelf space and if you shop around you will find even better deals then seen here. The best buy(hint) I found was these two films along with the other double pack with "Dirty Harry" and "Magnum Force" for $20. That's only $5 per blu ray. They aren't stripped of their special features either. So you miss nothing. Collecting doesn't come any cheaper.

What a great improvement over what was released within this ' 35 years, 35 films ' offering. Without going into unnecessary plot summaries, the video transfers for both films was massively improved over the standard definition releases on that collection. The colors were true and bright and the darks and shadow areas were considerably cleaner. I won't say that you get the incredible contrast of new films but Warner Brothers did a pretty good job here for these pretty old films. The films hold up very well and do not seem dated other than hairstyles and cars. The audio for both films spreads the score of the soundtrack nicely across the front sides but there is little use of the rear surrounds; some but not much.

Both movies are on their own separate DVDs in the case which makes assessing them easy. The extras on both focus on Eastwoods origins in film and his development as both an actor and director. There is some patronizing in the many interviews but the extras remain interesting never the less.

For the price, if you are a Dirty Harry fan, these, the 3rd and 4th of the Dirty Harry series, are a great buy on Blu Ray

All my movie reviews are of this nature and focus only on the quality of the transfer to BluRay so check them and see if they are of help as well.Hopefully, this review has been of some help to you in determining your purchase, hope I am on the correct path with a review of the transfer quality as opposed to providing plot summaries.

Thanks

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I find it funny when people say the picture looks great just because it's a blu-ray. I have both the dvd and blu-ray for sudden impact . I noticed the blu-ray has purple halos around peoples faces in certain scenes. When i checked the dvd , the same problem did not exist. I find the dvd to be more realistic to the intended look, even with the lower resolution. I threw away the blu-ray and kept the dvd.

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I love Clint Eastwood's movies, these two movies were very good, we watched at least three times. the product was good and arrived on time as promised.

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Both films are great. Both transfers are excellent and have crystal clear resolution. The Double-Feature means you will get 2 films for the price of only one. Buy it.

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