Puppet Master 2 (1991)

I recently dumped a lot of hard earned money into purchasing the rare out-of-print Puppet Master box set that contains the first 7 films. All the DVDs for the most part have decent picture quality considering what Full Moon Entertainment usually pumps out. Sadly the presentation of "Puppet Master II" is really disappointing. The picture is not good at all and is actually no better than the original VHS version. Some portions of the film turn digital for a short time. I might have forgiven the picture quality if the DVD weren't defective. Towards the end of the the picture gets all wavy. It's really annoying and makes the film hard to watch. I at first thought it was my DVD so I purchased another copy from a different seller. Some wavy picture. Every person I talk to says they have the same wavy effect on their DVD. I don't think this poor DVD transfer will be fixed anytime soon because the stock footage used from this film that was edited into Curse of the Puppet Master contanins the same annoying wavy effect. The box set would have been worth it if it weren't for the crappy presentation of Puppet Master II. If your willing to forgive the defective wavy picture, then by all means buy the box set. Otherwise...you've been warned.

Update 5/2/06: I did find it most almost humerous that I've been getting a lot of bad feedback on this review by sellers. They are just upset that I pointed out problems with the DVD to warn potential buyers because they want outragous prices for the film. My point is not to help sellers sell the DVD at high prices but to warn potential buyers so they aren't surprised and disappointed by the DVD like I was.

It was inevitable, wasn't it? You knew damn well while watching the first film that there would be more. It's a good thing though coz Puppet Master 2 is pretty good.

A group of paranormal investigators come to the abandoned Bodega Inn to research the wild claims made by the surviving psychic of the first film. Naturally the puppets are still hanging around. However, this time the puppets have managed to resurrect their master, Andre Toulon. We now find out that the secret elixir that gives life is a greenish muck made from human brains. The puppets need Toulon to create more of this mixture to bring life back to the ailing Jester doll, and they happily supply the brains needed for the brew. Toulon has other plans. The leader of the paranormal investigators, Carolyn, bears a striking resemblance to Toulon's deceased wife and he becomes smitten with her. He parades around the hotel in a bandaged Invisible Man getup waiting for his chance to get her.

By God, can Carolyn's new beau save her from being turned into a creepy looking mannequin??

While not as good as the first film, Puppet Master 2 is still a fun ride. At first it seems like a rehashing of the first movie, but ends up throwing some interesting plot points around. The investigators eventually get pushed to the back burner and the film focuses more on Toulon and his interaction with the puppets. The puppet FX are done once again by David Allen, who now also steps into the director's chair. A new puppet with a blowtorch arm is introduced, appropriately named Torch. Most screen time seems to be reserved for him and Blade, the rest of the puppets aren't shown as much as before. The film's a tad gorier than the first one as well.

What it really boils down to is if you liked the tone, mood, quirkiness and characters established in the first movie, there's really no reason why you wouldn't find this an entertaining movie.

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I saw this about 15 times and I love it.The Puppets are cool and evil and the wicked Puppet Master returns from the grave!

With hit music from the first movie and a hot cast this is a Puppet Master film that kicks butt!

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Not nearly as good, charming or fun as the original. But it's still worth it if you loved the part one and even more so if you are hoping for something silly and weird. Just lower your expectations...okay, lower them a lot...with beer.

SEQUEL SIDEBAR: This movie picks up right where Puppet Master (1989) leaves off.

A team of four paranormal investigators and older psychic Camille (Nita Talbot; Frightmare, Amityville 1992) venture to the very same hotel as in Puppet Master (1989) to learn just what Dr. Whitaker (part 1's survivor) saw that drove him mad. [There's a good way to reduce the budget of an already low budget horror: use the exact same set!]

Things get stupidly weird when the oddly wardrobed Eriquee Chanee, a thick accented man mummified in gauze, introduces himself as the hotel's owner. We quickly learn that he is actually Toulon, reanimated by his faithful puppets. Listening to his over-hammed up alchemical lectures to his puppets in that awful accent is truly painful. Puppet Master was a fun, playful romp that didn't take itself too seriously. This character turns the franchise in a farcical direction.

What's worse is that this part two's Toulon lacks the gentle, kind nature of part one's Toulon. They also gave him that ridiculous accent and basically made him into an evil, over-the-top villain with uber-weird motives that rely on freshly squeezed human brain juice serving as the necro-biofuel of eternal undeath. In part one, he was just a normal sounding nice old guy who made breathed life into his puppets by whispering some ancient Egyptian incantations; it was much more graceful and in better taste.

Generally, the acting is more wooden than the puppets, which come with their own amusing flavors. Pinhead has man hands (as in a stop-motion puppet with live-action human hands), Leech Woman magically regurgitates leeches, Tunneler has a drill on his head, Blade has a hook for one hand and a blade for the other but somehow seems the nicest, Jester strikes me as pure evil, and newcomer Torch has a flame thrower. Sadly, the puppet kills pale in comparison to part one.

This movie just gets weirder and weirder as it persists and this is largely the fault of this R-rated cartoonish Toulon character. The movie reaches its climactic ridiculousness when Toulon drinks some potion he makes from human brain juice, then slits his own throat above the open mouth of a dead victim he has fashioned into a man-sized female puppet so that the puppet-woman can drink it and assume the life of his wife who died by Nazi hands decades ago. There! Now did you really think I could say so many weird things in just one run-on sentence? I thought not!

Watch this for a beer, boobs and blood night with the guys. The movie will provide ample doses of the latter two, so you just need to bring a six pack.

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My opinion of Puppet Master II is about the same as my opinion of the first Puppet Master. It's great when the puppets are on screen, killing and looking creepy. However, when the puppets aren't around, the movie isn't that great. It takes itself too seriously. I actually favor Demonic Toys over the Puppet Master series. That one at least had a nice sense of humor...and Tracy Scoggins.

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Queen's Blade Rebellion: Complete Collection

If you thought the original Queen's Blade series could not be topped,you will be delightfully surprised at this,the third "season". Claudette,the Thunder General and the oldest sister,is queen. She has abolished both the nobilities and the Queen's Blade tournaments and declared herself the eternal queen.Rebellions are rising and new heroines are introduced.

There is Yuit,an elf and editor-in-chief of a newspaper and her constant companion,a "female" robotatic warrior named Vante that wears pink panties and has serious real-looking hooters,

Liliana, the bodacious female pirate captain of a flying square-rigger,

Mirim,an innocent,sweet-hearted and hard working teenager that is impressed into servitude by the Iron Strategist for Claudette,

Ymir,who was the Iron Mountain Dwarf in the previous series but is now the Iron Strategist and one of the central characters of this series,

The Ragged Warrior,this series heroine who is the last of the Kreutz nobility;

Elina,the ever-horny incestious youngest sister of Claudette and Liena;

Leina the Wandering Warrior and principle herion of the original series now in a much-reduced role and one that seems to have narcolepsy as she suddenly falls asleep,( for reasons that are probably meant to be discovered in the next season);

the previously defeated queen is now a new bride with amneasia,

The most outrageous new cast memeber is LunaLuna,the Sun/Moon Dancer that would be less provocative wearing nothing at all instead of the "ceremonial" false penis that she uses to good "effect" to open the temple door.As quirky as she is,she adds immeasurably to the story.

Melona,the "pink rabbit" minion of the Swap Witch,makes a late but critical appearance;

The new angel in charge has an orthopedic wing;

Add two dine-and-dash sisters,an Inquistioner that gives a blessing by hoisting her skirt...and an octopus.

There are magic stones when placed on a females "three points" can turn a sweet girl into a unstoppable warrior,and a woman with dragon blood in her veins that is the slave of a gremlin...

Well,you get the picture. This is sheer delight and fun and,quit frankly,more entertaining than the prevous series. Highly recommended for late (17+)teens and adults.

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Our Hospitality: ULTIMATE EDITION (1923)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

How can anyone remotely interested in film miss this?!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

* My review was originally published at 366 weird movies.

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This is great film! Clever and imaginative, featuring wonderful sight gags and stunts that astonish and confound the imagination. Be careful not to pre-judge this edition from the version now available on Netflix streaming that used to have the same music. That music may be more contemporaneous with 1923, but is barely adequate compared with the music here. Written by Carl Davis, the score fulfils the potential of Our Hospitality to be a wondrous experience to treasure and to share!

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LEGO Star Wars: The Padawan Menace Blu-ray & Standard DVD Combo Pack with Young Han Solo Minifigure

Brief as it is, this short is full of charm and humor, good for multiple viewings, and well worth the money, especially given the extra animated shorts included among the special features. The gags are all over the place and obey no continuity rules, so approach expecting lighthearted, all ages, non-canon fun and hope, like me, that there are more of these already in the planning stage--if not in active development.

Missed this a few months ago when it was on Cartoon Network, so had to pick it up for my 2 and 5 year old. We love all of the Lego video games, so this was a big hit. The main part of the story involves some padawans that Yoda leaves with C3-P0 (not a good idea) who get into trouble and end up on Tatooine. Even though it is only 22 minutes long, there are many inside jokes that older fans will appreciate (Vader cameo appearance). It comes with both the Blu-ray and DVD versions which is nice. Definitely recommend for fans of Star Wars who have Padawans of their own!

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I purchased this movie and really enjoyed it. There are many people complaining about the length of the film. My only guess is that they do not pay attention to the special features section. The first thing I did was watch the special features. There are no making of documentaries or anything like that, but there are loads of animated and stop action shorts that are very entertaining and humorous and push the length of the movie comparable to that of a feature film. Once done with the special features, I watched the main film and that was just icing on the cake.

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This little movie is great for kids and grownups. Lots of little laughs all the way through. If you've ever watched any of the little lego movies online or on demand through Comcast where Star Wars makes little 2-3 minute movies to watch this is like hitting the motherload.

To us, it's worth the price. And, my little girl who is 6 has watched it 5-6 times already. So cute. I love that she loves lego, and Star Wars.

One thing that came out of this is a building session after. Very creative. We all tried to make our own little Star Wars lego scene and I thought it was a good family bonding time.

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This little video is funny but only lasts 22 minutes I didn't notice that on the back of the box or I wouldn't have spent my money for one short episode and a second 3 minute review. Not worth the cost and quite a shame they didn't do a real movie or several short episodes. Disappointing.

For a Few Dollars More (1965)

For A Few Dollars More is, in my opinion, by far the best of the "Man With No Name" trilogy! In "A Fistful of Dollars," director Sergio Leone bowled the viewers over with Clint Eastwood's character being a gruff gunslinger of few words and lots of action. In this sequel Eastwood's character has a lot more depth and even a little bit of humor. I am highly impressed with the script and acting in this particular film, especially in comparison with its predecessor. One can even consider it funny but useful that a few of the villains from the first film that were quite dead at the end of that one, are back now with new names! Magnificent performances by both Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef serve to enhance this movie's style.

The premise:

This movie has a wonderful beginning as we are introduced to Lee Van Cleef's character while he's in the performance of his role of a bounty killer. We are then treated to the reintroduction of Clint Eastwood's character, which actually does have the name of Monco, while he is taking care of his business as a bounty killer as well. Once the director has shown these two acts, he deftly shows how they end up on the same path as they both find out that they can score it big by killing Gian Maria Volonte's character, Indio and his gang. From there, we're taken to El Paso where the film's intrigue and suspense kick into high gear as both Eastwood and Van Cleef's characters meet.

If you've never seen this movie or its predecessor, I highly suggest you check these movies out as they're basically the mold for many of the westerns that followed. Prior to this movie and "A Fistful of Dollars," westerns were much tamer, which lends to the popularity of these movies which have a lot more grit and realism to them.

Special Features:

Just like "A Fistful of Dollars" this movie is jam packed with hours and hours of special features, documentaries etc... This DVD is all about what it's supposed to be, the movie! It does include a great theatrical trailer and an exceptional 8 page booklet that gives a lot of great information about the movie and the people involved. {ssintrepid}

This review refers to the Delux Widescreen Edition VHS.....

He's back for the money again. This time as a "Bounty Killer", who always gets his man. When the poster says "Wanted Dead or Alive", look out if Clint's in the neighborhood! The man with no name (they do mention a name in this one but never actually refer it to him, so it's anybody's guess) has been tracking down the small fry, and now the big fish,Indio, has escaped from jail, leaving a bloody trail and a big price on his head.

Clint follows his trail, but he's not alone in his quest,Col. Mortimer(Lee Van Cleef) is determined he will be the one that gets this guy.They each try to "dissuade" the other, but to no avail. So they team up and set a plan in motion. But can Mortimer really be trusted? Is the money his only motive? Will he betray our guy?

There's lots of great western action and classic scenes, as these two persue Indio and his bloodthirsty gang of thieves.You won't want to miss a minute of it as these two quick draws show their stuff.There are also some wonderful comic moments to break up the action,watch for those.

If you're thinking of getting the VHS or waiting for a special edition DVD to come out you'll be happy with this tape. The digital Video transfer is a good picture, the widescreen(there's also a standard format edition if you prefer) lets you view all the great western scenery, and basically the sound(Hi-Fi) is good as far as clarity and the great musical score by Ennio Morricone. But the dubbing of the dialouge is a little off.The movie is so good though, I could not bring myself to take off a whole star just for that reason. It's classic Clint and Director Sergio Leone knows how to make a clasic western!

Sit a spell and enjoy....Oh and where DOES Clint get those wonderful panchos?.......Laurie

here's a couple of package deals for Eastwood Fans:

The Gauntlet/True Crime

Clint Eastwood Selection: Dirty Harry/The Outlaw Josey Wales/Unforgiven

Not always available but keep an eye out for a good deal

Buy For a Few Dollars More (1965) Now

Prior to this film, the Western movie genre had just been about been done to death in the United States. It took an unknown Italian director (the ingenious Sergio Leone) borrowing from a Japanes film source (Kurosawa's Yojimbu) to create one of the most incredible anti-heroes in movie history: The enigmatic Man With No Name played by the legendary Cline Eastwood.

"For a Few Dollars More" is the second film in the Man With No Name Trilogy. The first film was the highly-influential "A Fistful of Dollars," which seems to be perpetually playing on television. "A Fist Full of Dollars" was made for a mere $ 200,000, but was an incredible film.

"For a Few Dollars More" is even better. It has a much higher budget and a much more complex plot than its predecessor. I don't want to reveal too much about the plot to this film for those who have never seen it. It's a great story. A landmark film that will never be forgotten. Make sure you see all three movies in this trilogy. The final chapter in this trilogy is "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," which might be the most well-known Western in the history of cinema.

Again make sure you get a copy of this film. After watching this film, you'll wonder why Hollywood can't make films like this anymore. They should.

Read Best Reviews of For a Few Dollars More (1965) Here

Federico Fellini is often credited as "the Greatest Italian Director." For me, however, Sergio Leone earned those laurels. More than deSica or Fellini, Leone's movies were Italian to the core: Grandiose, operatic, melodramatic, full of vendetta and vengeance. The irony is that Leone's most memorable movies took place not in Rome, the Abruzzi mountains or Sicily, but in the Old West.

With his epic "Once Upon a Time in the West" and "The Man With No Name" trilogy, Leone not only resuscitated the Western genre, but set a new standard. His first Western, "A Fistful of Dollars," was basically a retelling of Akira Kurosawa's "Yojimbo"; a Samurai tale transplanted south of the border in old Mexico. With "For a Few Dollars More," Leone really opens up as a screenwriter and director. Gone is the claustrophobic town of "Fistful," replaced by the full sweep of the great American Southwest (for which the drier regions of Spain provide a reasonable facsimile for those of us who know that Tucumcari is hardly so dry and El Paso nary as mountainous).

Leone also begins staking out his territory as director with this one, too. "For a Few Dollars More" bears more traces of Cecil B. deMille than Kurosawa, as Leone starts trending toward an epic production that reaches full fruition in "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" and "Once Upon A Time in the West." However, Leone's *style* of Western could never be confused with John Ford -rather, it hearkens back to the more violent moments found in Westerns such as "Winchester '73" (Anthony Mann), "High Noon" (Fred Zinnemann) and "Rio Bravo" (Howard Hawks), and looks forward to the gritty, realistic violence from directors influenced by Leone, such as Sam Peckinpah, Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese.

"For a Few Dollars More" is a tale of three men, and their respective missions: Indio, played by the great Gian Maria Volonte, is a sadistic, psychotic, killer and bank robber. His performance reminds me of Toshiro Mifune's best roles -big, tough, and foreboding. Clint Eastwood plays one of the men who try to hunt Indio down, a bounty killer named "Manco," reprising his role from "Fistful" as a mercenary for hire who plays by rules from his own book. But it's Lee Van Cleef as Colonel Douglas Mortimer who really steals the show. If you think Clint's squinty-eyed visage fills men with fear, then you ain't seen Van

Cleef -his eyes are steely, intelligent, intense; you can tell when Mortimer has somebody's number that he isn't bluffing.

The opening scenes set up the story beautifully: Indio and his gang are planning a big robbery at the Bank of El Paso and both Manco and Mortimer have set out to round up the bad guys. After a couple barroom scenes establishing the bounty killers' credentials as ice-cold killers, Manco and Mortimer pair off in a battle of wits, a showdown during nightfall in the streets of El Paso.

After proving to each other what deadly accurate shots they are, Mortimer proposes they team up to go after Indio and his gang, backed up by the realistic observation: "When two hunters go after the same prey, they usually wind up shooting each other in the back."

So working "one on the inside" (Clint) and "one on the outside" (Van Cleef), the two manouever Indio and his gang after they dynamite the bank and steal the safe. The scenes on the streets of Agua Caliente (Spanish for "Hot Water," which Manco and Mortimer will soon be in) are eerily silent. Indio' gang has free rein in the town, the hoofbeats of their horses a harbinger to windows slamming shut on the whitewashed adobe houses.

Though Clint plays a wise guy, over the course of the movie he discovers wisdom beyond his own years in the person of Mortimer. Clint may be cool, but never as cool-headed as Van Cleef, who sees through all of Clint's ruses and double-crosses. Van Cleef rides them out, cutting Clint way too much slack it seems. But by the final scene, a showdown between Mortimer and Indio, all the patience and faith Mortimer has invested in Manco pay off. For the showdown is rigged entirely in Indio's favour, but -having learned a thing or two at the feet of a real man of integrity -Manco shows up to make the playing field even for Mortimer. It's a beautiful scene, to see that Manco has dropped his cynical pose and accepted Col. Mortimer as a father figure.

The quintessential Leone Western (I won't degrade it by calling it a "Spaghetti Western"), "For a Few Dollars More" is filmed and cut a lot tighter than "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," though it still comes out over two hours long. Ennio Morricone's soundtrack really melds seamlessly with the action onscreen. Morricone was to Leone as the great composer Bernard Herrmann was to Alfred Hitchcock: Leone's movies were only 60 per cent complete before Morricone laid down tracks just as pungent and larger-than-life as the story and actors on the screen. Today's composers, who are so busy trying to write "understated" scores for today's boring fare, could learn a thing or two from the beautifully bombastic Morricone.

The DVD widescreen presentation is much better than the fullscreen VHS. However, the colours are pretty washed out. I understand that MGM/UA has restored "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly"; I hope "For a Few Dollars More" is slated as well for restoration or preservation.

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this sergio is really the film that solidified sergio leones work sergio had more money to spend with his success of fistful of dollars and started to created his trademarks striking visuals, eerie music, a slow lingering camerathe pocket watch theme used so scarily in for a few dollars more would be used again and again in all his films -once upon a time in the west and also once upon a time in america and also good bad and the ugly.

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Gamera 3 - Revenge of Iris - Blu-ray (1999)

Shusuke Kaneko's Gamera III has all the best ingredients that make a great kaiju movie. This movie shows how it's supposed to be done. Having seen more than 25 Toho films (Godzilla series, Mothra series, etc), all the King Kong films, a few giant monster spin-offs made from all over the globe, not to mention the horrid 1998 American Godzilla and many other disaster movies, this one takes the cake. Gamera III outdoes them all with a solid, earthly story complete with humanity and heart. Also, the use of special effects is absolutely fabulous; they do not take over the film like the excessive CGI used in Hollywood. I must say that Gamera III has some of most exhilarating monster fights ever put to the screen.

Gamera III is a direct sequel to the first film in the trilogy, Guardian of the Universe. A girl lost her parents during Gamera's final battle with the last Gyaos, and garners a hatred for Gamera. She enounters a tentacle creature whom she names Iris, and it is eventually nurtured to become the monster who faces off with Gamera. What was striking about this movie was how surreal and poetic it was. The story flows brilliantly and sensibly, as the roles of human and monster come together so good. Gamera III is a movie all about personality, something that many monster movies lack. The human characters are wonderfully integrated in the story without their roles becoming too cheesy. Also, Gamera and Iris are enigmatic monsters with true character. They are not mindless, menacing beasts whose purpose is to execute showtime destruction.

Speaking of destruction, Gamera III's fight sequences are some of the best you'll ever see. The special effects are such a huge improvement over the first two Gamera films in the trilogy. They also shame anything attempted by any Godzilla movie of recent times, even Shusuke's own GMK. Adding to the special effects is the showing of the human side of the fights. The battle in Shibuya is one to mention. I was in awe of such a brilliantly staged battle, and also how the film showed the human suffering coinciding with the destruction. Most monster movies sacrifice too much of one side for the other. Gamera III does not.

And finally, one thing that carries this film (and the rest of the series) was the character of Gamera himself. How can the population care so much for such a destructive monster? Does he do good or bad to the people? What constitutes which? After watching Shusuke's Gamera trilogy, you realize how much more personality Gamera has than Godzilla.

Gamera III is such a special movie for its genre. Along with the first two films in the trilogy, it shows that the kaiju genre is here to stay. It ranks up with the best of Godzilla such as Godzilla vs. Destoroyah and GMK: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, perhaps even surpassing them. This is a true kaiju treasure.

Gamera III, directed by Shusuke Kaneko and visual effects by Shinji Higuchi. Gamera III set the high watermark for visual effects in Japanese cinema. With a budget of only 7,000,000 Dollars, they managed to create fantastic action sequences that are orchestrated flawlessly. Some of the SFX are better than the American Version of Godzilla (1998). The movie has this epic tone that makes it seem more than just a monster movie flick. I have seen this movie countless times and I never seem to get tired of it. I recommend this to anyone, not just fans of Gamera or Godzilla. You will not be disappointed. If you are disappointed, I recommend seeking some mental help.

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This, without a doubt, is a masterpeice of, not just the giant monster genre, but films in general. Gamera started back in the 60s with more horrible FX and worse storylines than the infamous later movies of the Showa Godzilla series. However, in 1995, Gamera was resurrected as his main competition died out (seemingly) in "Godzilla vs. Destoroyah." The Heisei Gamera trilogy was a fine example of how good japanese monster movies could be if time and initiative are put into them. This film is the best of the trilogy, and shows just how great it is to be able to enjoy kaiju. The SFX are nearly flawless, and even the monster suits portray believable movements, showing that suitmation isn't as terrible as it is so claimed to be. The story of this film makes sense, and one can actually care for the actors. It's a shame that the Shinsei Godzilla series (99-03) didn't take an example from this film. "Godzilla 2000," the reintroduction of the Godzilla series while Gamera was ending, was a major disappointment compared to this film. If you are unsure about the giant monster genre, watch the Gamera trilogy (in order preferably, or else some parts of G3 won't make since) before looking at the Godzilla and Showa Gamera movies (but don't expect anything better unless you are watching the original uncut Japanese 1954 version of "Godzilla").

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This movie is absolutely mind-blowing in so many ways. It wasn't until I watched the interview with the film's special effects director (I apologize for forgetting his name) that I developed my deepest love for Gamera 3. The cinematography is haunting, the special effects are incredible (and believable), and the story is fascinating. At the ripe old age of thirty, I have re-entered the world of having nightmares from watching a movie....and that's a great thing. I just can't stress enough how much I LOVE this film and the other two recent Gamera movies.

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After rising the visual bar with Gamera: Guardian of the Universe, director Shusuke Kaneko surpasses himself with the third, and reportedly final, Gamera movie, Gamera 3: Revenge Of Iris. A young girl loses her family during the first movie when, in the midst of battle, Gamera slams into their building and crushes them. Filled with anger and a lust for revenge, the girl uncovers a new monster she hopes to unleash on the world's so called 'guardian'. One of the most impressive things about Gamera 3 is how it shows the horrible fates of the poor humans caught in the middle of the monster battles. The effects are stunning, the story solid and well mounted enough to deserve a theatrical release in America. Since foreign genre movies are usually mocked and ridiculed, it is no surprise that Gamera 3 went direct to DVD. Pity, for this would have looked impressive on the big screen. Kaneko is truly the Honda of today, every kaiju movie he has made has been an intelligently handled genre film, and Gamera 3 is the best of them. No fan of Japanese cinema should be without it. Highest recommendation.

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The Gangster Collection (American Gangster/Casino/Eastern Promises) (1995)

I strongly recommend all of these films, Casino of course being one of the greatest films ever, and the other two definitely worth owning. The transfer on Eastern Promises is fantastic!

The 3 stars are for THIS PRODUCT AS IT IS PACKAGED and is NOT a rating of the movies themselves or a rating on the quality of the video and audio of the disks. While all 3 of these films are fantastic (I was completely blown away by American Gangster and Eastern Promises), do yourself a favor, save 16 bucks and buy the Blu-Ray versions of these separately.

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Dog Day Afternoon (2007)

Al Pacino burns up the screen in Dog Day Afternoon which is based on a true story and confirms that fact that truth is sometimes stranger than fiction. Mr. Pacino plays Sonny who teams up with the dullard Sal (John Cazale) to rob a Brooklyn bank on a sweltering summer afternoon. Sonny was a one-time bank employee, so he knows all the tricks of the trade to thwart bank robbers. Unfortunately for the robbers, the bank virtual has no money do to having made a deposit only hours before the robbery attempt. A shopworker across the street from the bank notices the strange proceedings and calls the cops. Before you know it, the bank is completely surrounded by cops. The cops (led by Charles Durning & James Broderick) start a hostage negotiation with Sonny. Even though Sonny's a crook, he isn't all bad and he, Sal and the hostage bank workers form a strange kinship. The story is shown on TV and a crowd gathers in the streets as well and Sonny becomes something of a cult hero. His scenes on the street outside the bank are scintillating including his famous Attica chant. Sonny is married with kids, but it turns out that he was robbing a bank to pay for a sex change operation for his gay lover, Leon (Chris Sarandon). The movie closes out at night at the airport in dramatic fashion. Sidney Lumet does a fine job translating the heat and humidity of the day and you can feel yourself sweating along with the characters. Mr. Pacino has been more heralded for his Godfather roles, Scarface, Serpico and Scent Of A woman, but in my book, he was never finer than he was in this movie.

Without showing a trace of his icy performance as Michael Corleone in "The Godfather" parts 1 & 2, Al Pacino made a radical departure by playing a bisexual bank robber in "Dog Day Afternoon." Here's a hilarious (but apparently true) story about Sonny (Pacino) who stages a bank robbery to finance his lover's sex change operation. Within minutes, the attempted robbery heads for disaster, as the police and media surround the bank while Sonny holds the employees hostage for the entire day. Even after nearly 30 years, "Dog Day Afternoon" is a marvel to see. This film won a well-deserved 1975 Academy Award for its witty screenplay, and Pacino's performance ranks among his best. Unfortunately, those who are looking for a deluxe-edition DVD will be sorely disappointed with this release. The picture is incredibly grainy, with spots, hairs, and marks. The sound is 1-channel mono, instead of a 5.1 surround remix. But the biggest slap on the face is the virtual lack of features on this DVD: we don't even get a trailer. All we get are production notes. Movie buffs and Pacino diehards will pick this up, but everyone else should hold off, rent the film, and hope that Warner Bros. will release a special edition of this great movie.

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I bought Dog Day Afternoon on DVD completly at random, just based on the actors, and the synopsis. On the back of the case, this movie is branded as a "boisterous comedy" that is "Bitingly Funny". And while the movie certainly has its funny parts, it never has one-liner jokes, or much situational humor. It is more of a comedy as a whole, and just about how the whole bank robbery got screwed up. Accually, it is really quite serious in tone.

So once you get past the aboslutly false statements that this is a comedy, you start to see the magic of this film. It is a very static movie, and the everything takes place in or around the bank throughout the entire movie until the very end. The story isn't driven through action sequences, rather it is driven by the brilliant dialoge between characters.

When watching this movie, you will feel like you are right there, inside this movie. You will progress right along with the main character, Sonny. You watch his attitude change from being very optimistic and hopeful, into a more frustrated, disjointed, and confused character. Al Pacino does a brilliant job showing the many changes that Sonny goes through. You can literally see the preasure on Sonny's face as time is running out, and as his plans keep getting more and more screwed up.

Not only does Al Pacino do a brilliant job, but the other characters are amazingly protrayed as well. Other notable performances are Leon (Sonny's disconnected boyfriend), Sal (Sonn'y partner), and even Detective Moretti. Every character is so believable and real that you will truly feel like you have met them all first hand.

One thing that I have noticed about Dog Day Afternoon is its influences on more modern movies. As I was watching it, I couldn't help but recognize modern movies in it. Two examples that came to mind the most are Mad City, and Airheads. In Mad City, John Travoltra's character is also faced with a media circus as he holds a group of school kids and their teacher hostage in a meauseam. The frenzy of media coverage, the public reaction, and the way that the main character becomes friendly with the hostages all give a very big nod to Dog Day Afternoon. In Airheads, I noticed that the way one of the guys who had taken the radio station hostage would come outside to talk to the cops, and while he was out there, he would incite the crowd and start different chants. In Airheads, one of the hostage takers started the crowd in a "Rodney King" chant, while in Dog Day Afternoon, Al Pacino started the crowed in an "Attica" chant. These sequences are so familiar that I am convinced the screen writers had Dog Day Afternoon in mind when writing them.

Overall, this is a fantastic movie that is full of brilliant performances. But for some, it may seem way to static, and slow moving.

As far as DVD features go, the picture quality is superb, considering that the original film is from the mid 70's. The audio is Dolby Mono tracked, but nothing else is neccesary. There are no sound effects to speak of it is all pretty much dialogue so the mono track is sufficient. As far as extras, if you consider Scene Selections and Interactive Menus to be "extras", then you will be happy, but I would say that this DVD is as bare as they get. I can't stand when DVD Case designers try and pass off these standard 'features' as extras. That is like a CD advertising its ability to change tracks with the touch of a button.

Great movie decent DVD transfer.

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Sidney Lumet's "Dog Day Afternoon" reminds us that films once upon a time made it a point to properly develop the individuals within their stories. Younger filmgoers who grew up in later eras may not realize it, but cinematic works from decades past actually were inhabited by characters and not caricatures.

Sonny Wortzik (Al Pacino), Sal (John Cazale) and Stevie (Gary Springer) attempt to rob a Brooklyn bank just before closing time. The robbery turns into a debacle as Stevie immediately flees the scene and Sonny and Sal discover that the bank virtually has no money at its location. The police arrive to arrest the would-be robbers but Sonny soon starts to gain the support of the bystanders outside and uses the press at the scene to make the most of his time in the spotlight. Just when it appears matters cannot get any more odd, Sonny's new "wife" (Chris Sarandon) is brought to the scene and the reason for the bank robbery is revealed.

"Dog Day Afternoon" is in a class of its own when one is talking about bank robbery films. There are so many unconventional elements to the story from the clumsily-planned heist to the amusing rapport between the robbers and the hostages to the role Leon Shermer plays in the proceedings that it truly stands alone when compared to other entries in the genre. One might think that it would be easy to lose sight of the fine performances in "Dog Day Afternoon" with all of these elements vying for your attention but the efforts turned in by Pacino, Cazale, Sarandon, Charles Durning, and the rest of the cast is so good that their characters will not promptly fade from memory. Lumet also does an amazing job of creating a specific time and place with his directing. He infuses "Dog Day Afternoon" with such realism that you can literally feel the heat rising from sidewalks. Take out your scorecard and mark down this jewel as one of the essential films of the Seventies.

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"Dog Day Afternoon" still feels fresh to me. Maybe because Lumet packed so much talent and so many unforgettable moments into it. Why should you watch it?

It's the best Pacino has ever been. (I thought the Oscar belonged to him and not to Nicholson that year.) Want to see how far into a character a good actor can delve? Watch his face after he hangs up the phone from talking to his wife (no, not Chris Sarandon -the other wife).

It's not only the late John Cazale in another of his brilliant 70s performances, but it's Pacino and Cazale together again after the two "Godfathers."

It's the quintessential New York location movie.

Sarandon's near-monologue in the barber shop is so convincing, you'll think, "No way was this guy ever married to Susan!"

Sully Boyar's naturalistic approach to his role of the bank manager might have you thinking, if you've never seen him before, that he's not a professional actor.

James Broderick's performance as the FBI agent is a masterpiece of iceberg acting (in which 90% of what's going on is beneath the surface, making the 10% you do see that much more powerful).

Pacino again, this time -well, not to give anything away -let's just say the look on his face the last time he sees the bank staff.

Oh, so much more! I guess I'll quit here with two final words. "Attica! Attica!"

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Khiladi 786 Bollywood BLU RAY With English Subtitles (2012)

Can never go wrong with an Akshay Kumar movie. Funny, fast paced, action movie. It had good reviews in the tabloids too.

A bit long winded and I was hoping for an endingsoon after the middle of the movie......Not one of Akshay Kumars best...

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Very funny!! If you liked "Kung Fu Hustle", you will love this movie. Ashkay is a delight. You can't even describe it to people; they must see it to understand the plot, because it is convoluted, complex, and oh, so funny. I left the theatre feeling good, and now I'm ordering it to enjoy it with family and friends.

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¡Three Amigos! (2011)

"The Three Amigos!" is good fun, a rare comedy that plays well with the whole family. Slapstick, wit, funny songs, sight gags, all tongue-in-cheek transcends generation.

The Plot?

Three actors get fired by their production company and try to make it on their own. Their first gig in Mexico turns out to be more than act. Much to their surprise, they were hired to protect a town from a thieving band of bad guys, lead by El Guapo, an unusual bandito with a strong vocabulary.

As great movie comedy goes, "The Three Amigos!" might be overlooked. It doesn't have the constant laughter that might be expected. Why? It has an intelligent plot.

While calling this a serious drama would be forgetting that Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, and Martin Short are the stars. Steve Martin, though, in the last 20 years, has veered away from total silliness, except when the humor is organic to the plot.

Of all the scenes I found funny, one with Martin Short hanging from a piñata, when El Guapo comments how the Three Amigos keep appearing, like they are falling from the sky. As expected, Short falls. Predicted, and still funny.

There are nuances of Monty Python in here, and some fantastic parody of silent films. Each of three stars purposefully overplays his role is makeup reminiscent of the great Buster Keaton. Overall, the balance between plot and humor, over-the-top and subdued humor works in grand fashion.

I fully recommend "The Three Amigos!"

Anthony Trendl

editor, HungarianBookstore.com

This is Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, and Martin Short in their comedic prime, playing recently fired silent movie actors forced to earn money by ridding a small Mexican village of its evil oppressor. They assume it is nothing more than a Public Appearance gig, but the enemy is quite real!

This movie is kinda goofy, kinda silly, and all funny. Each of the three comics gets his turn to shine in memorable gags, and there are too many of those gags to list here. Watch for a pre-"Saturday Night Live" Phil Hartman and John Lovitz in an early scene. Funniest bits: Short and Martin running out of water in the desert, Short telling his story of being "discovered" by Lillian Gish's sister, summoning the Invisible Swordsman, Chase trying not to blow his cover in front of the main villain and his henchmen, and Steve Martin's character learning that the supposedly "staged gunfight" is actually real.

Cost of DVD with shipping -[item price]

DVD player -$200.00

Microwave popcorn -85 cents

Laughing your [head] of watching "The Three Amigos" -PRICELESS!

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This is, without a doubt, one of the greatest movies ever made. Not only are the comedic situations hilarious, but a classic 'heros save the day' situation touches your heart while tickleing your funnybone. I could never understand why the critics all miss the joke while countless others share my absolute love of this cult classic. It ranks up there with the best of the Saturday Night Live alumni celluloid offerings.

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I love this movie, but this transfer is horrible. It was taken from a movie print instead of an original copy of the movie, so it's grainy, has serious stability issues, and is generally not pretty. Not only that, but it's letterboxed on the disc, so if you have a 16x9 television, you'll be watching the movie with black bars on all sides of the screen, with the actual picture only taking up 50% of your TV's screen.

It's a shame that after all of these years that this movie still hasn't been transfered to DVD or Blu-ray properly. It's terrible that such a classic film has to be represented so poorly.

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This movie is a real riot! The characters, dialogues and situations are simply laugh-out-loud funny.

I am not sure this movie is getting it's' due credit, but at $5 this is simple a steal. The replay value alone is worth so much more! Get it!

P.S. The actors metioned as the main cast in this specific product are not really the principals (those are, of course, Steve Martin, Chevy Chase and Martin Short) although they do appear in the movie. I think Amazon was just trying to differentiate this dvd from the other one that is out of print but that still appears in the catalogue.

Still, Amazon should do something about this so as not to confuse people.

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All Things Fall Apart (2011)

"It's just a challenge, just another challenge that's all" Deon (50 cent) is a college football superstar. He is set to win the Heisman Trophy, play in the national championship football game and be one of the top picks in the NFL draft. Weeks before his big game he is rushed to the doctors and is diagnosed with a tumor. His days of football are over, and he is left to try and start a new life. Going in I was very worried...a movie written by and starring 50 cent...oh God...here we go. I was very very surprised at how good it was. I'm not saying this can compete with "Remember The Titans" or "Express", but I really enjoyed this movie. I have never been impressed by 50 Cent's acting, but he was actually really good in this. I may have been distracted by the physical change that he went through. Going from a ripped football player to a 160 pound cancer patient is actually pretty impressive and for someone to go to that length for a movie shows how important this was to him. Overall, a surprisingly good sports movie with a surprising performance by Curtis Jackson. I give it a B+.

Glad someone was finally realistic that sometimes there is no happy ending. You have to make the most of this life right here right now.

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50 Cent plays Deon, a college football star running back headed for the NFL and life on Easy Street. He has everything, fame, parties, girls etc. His kid brother, Sean rejects 50 cents lifestyle. He is the more studious type I gathered from the stereotypical glasses that he wears. Mom is Deon's main cheerleader, and dad, who has been there, wants Deon to be a more aggressive ball hog and less of a team player in order to attract the pro scouts. Even at home, Sean (Cedric Sanders) plays second fiddle to the football star. Deon can have any girl he wants, including the girl dating his brother.

However...Thing Fall Apart. Deon has the big "C" growing in his chest. Ray Liotta plays the doctor. While the family is in a waiting room, Ray comes in with an x-ray and shows the family the giant tumor in Deon's chest. Radiation and chemo. Dad, concerned about Deon's draft pick, wants to keep a lid on this in order to deceive the NFL. Mom is not crazy about the idea.

As Deon's life whittles away, he finds doors that were once opened to him have closed and life without being a football star is hard. Curtis' acting ability has improved since the last time I saw him, although it still leaves much to be desired. Strong performances by the supporting cast (not Ray Liotta of course.) There were some minor plot issues. Cedric Sanders made the movie more than 50 Cent.

F-bomb, sex, sex talk, no nudity

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I read an article last month about movies going straight to DVD and this one was mentioned. I remember there being controversy about 50 Cent losing a bunch of weight, but I thought the photos were fake for so long that I didn't bother following up to find out it really was for a movie. But that article made me curious about this film so I rented it.

And man, was this ever a movie! I really enjoyed it. I started off looking at the film kinda side-eyed when I saw that terribly fake dreadlock wig on 50 Cent's head (reminded me of Shemar Moore's wig in "Tyler Perry's Diary of a Mad Black Woman") but the movie got better. Originally I thought 50 Cent could only play the role of himself well (ex. "Get Rich Or Die Tryin' (Full Screen Edition)") but he was REALLY good in this film.

He plays a star college football player who is trying to make it to the majors when he finds out he has cancer. This isn't just a movie about sports though. It's actually quite political and gets into the problems with the health care system. While watching this film, I kept thinking of an excellent book I recently read called "Hot Cripple: An Incurable Smart-ass Takes on the Health Care System and Lives to Tell the Tale." There's a couple love stories. Friendships tested. And the dialogue amused me because it was so realistical, especially his motormouth, vulgar friend. This should've hit movie theaters, but it's worth buying either way.

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Maybe i am dating myself but this was like watching a 2 hour afterschool special from the 70's.it was not good or bad, the characters were not developed enough to sympathize with. it had potential to be a "Brian Song" with more character development but it seemed rushed and out of order.!! give a A plus for effort and a c for character developing.

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The Expendables (2010)

The 114 minute extended director's cut of Sylvester Stallone's 2010 action extravaganza "The Expendables" is a more deep, well rounded and satisfying version of the film that was already a great deal of fun in its original 103 minute theatrical cut. I'm usually wary of so called "extended" or "unrated" cuts of modern movies as they usually just involve shoehorning back in deleted scenes that were cut out for a reason.

The director's cut of The Expendables isn't that at all. As Sly himself states in a great introduction to the new blu-ray of his film, he basically started from scratch and re-edited the movie from the ground up to what his original vision and intention of the film was from the outset. He says that he liked the theatrical cut but that he loves the director's cut. I completely agree with him!

One thing that really stuck out to me is that the theatrical cut was edited in such a way that the majority of the film seemed to be focused much more on Sly and Jason Statham's characters. That is completely understandable since they were really the box office draw (in addition to the Bruce Willis and Schwarzenegger cameos). One of the criticisms of the theatrical cut that a lot of people had was that the other members of the Expendables team weren't given as much room to breathe and seemed kind of short changed in terms of getting to know who they all were better.

This has been completely rectified in the extended director's cut as all of the other characters get nice additional moments that really brings a sense of how they work as a team better than the theatrical cut did at times. The director's cut seems to have a lot more heart and soul now than it did in the theatrical cut. While I still prefer the theatrical cut of his 2008 film "Rambo" to the extended director's cut as I didn't agree with a lot of the additions that he put back in, I completely agree with his decisions on this new director's cut of The Expendables. So if you're a big fan of the film as I was, it's worth it picking it up as most places only have it for 15 dollars right now. None of the additions slow down the pacing of the film in my opinion and instead greatly enrich it. There's also more humor in this cut too that doesn't seem forced and makes the characters even more likeable.

The one thing that I need to mention is that the excellent Stallone commentary track wasn't carried over to this release which makes sense as he did that one for the theatrical cut. He didn't though record a new commentary track for the director's cut as he's knee deep in making the sequel at the moment. The exhaustive Inferno documentary has been carried over but all of the other extras from the theatrical cut blu-ray like the post production featurette and the hilarious 2010 Comic-Con panel are missing in action. I particularly liked on the director's cut blu ray the 20 minute interview with Sly going over his career particularly as a director. I would just switch out the extended cut blu-ray with the pointless digital copy disc in the original 3 disc release and make your own sort of deluxe edition of The Expendables. If you haven't seen the film yet and are wanting to check it out, I recommend the director's cut over the theatrical cut as it is a better version of the film. I view this new release as much moreso complementing the original release rather than replacing it.

Highly recommended and I can't wait for The Expendables 2 in August 2012! BRING ON THE EXPLOSIONS!!!

Oh man was this a fun movie!

At one point I leaned over to one of my buddies and said, "Best. Movie. Ever." Really. Actually, it probably isn't the best movie ever. But it was a nice throwback to the good old days of 80's movies that I grew up watching with the cheesy Schwarzenegger one-liners and over the top violence where the good guy wins and the bad guy meets his maker in some ridiculous way.

There are some over the top visuals that make it worth seeing and hearing; the sound was pretty amazing. And by amazing, I mean loud. Explosions you can feel in your bowels and that's not just the beef and bean burrito from lunch talkin' either. Better than they could do in the Eighties.

They missed out on a rematch w/ Lundgren and Stallone. I kept waiting for Lundgren to say, "I will break you" to someone but it never happened. The Schwarzenegger cameo was cool, but he should have thrown someone out of a window or something. Not happening these days. Same w/ Willis; he really has no part in this and didn't seem too menacing to me which was also disappointing. However, the rest of the cast delivered cases of canned butt-whoopin' as if they were FedEx.

Here's a typical scene. Statham kicks the tar out of a bunch of knuckleheads: in front of his ex-girlfriend who is dating one of said knuckleheads who, predictably, smacks her around. Too bad for Knucklehead that her ex has more than a passing interest in her and happens to be in a bad mood when he learns of the abuse. Bam. Pow. Smack. Insert one-liner, get the girl back, ride off unharmed w/ hottie on the motorcycle. I think people actually cheered at the fight choreography. I mean, the whole movie is like this. It's brilliant.

There are some good comic bits but really, it is simply a throwback movie done with bigger, badder explosions and a lot of your favorite tough guys from the era when action actors were immensely rugged dudes. Muscles ruled, brains, not so much.

5 stars because I can't imagine that they could have recaptured the fun from the Eighties in a better way than they did here. Don't take it seriously and enjoy it for what it is.

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Sometimes Director's Cuts don't make that much of a difference ............

But in this case, the Director's Cut takes EXPENDABLES to a much higher level !!

Now I can like EXPENDABLES much better and never watch the theatrical version again.

Improvements -------

1) More character development

2) better choice of backing music

3) different bad guys in opening ship scene

4) got rid of the choppy edited fight scenes and returned a more complete natural action to the fight scenes so that you can now actually follow what is going on.

Much longer and complete fight scenes

5) More interplay between characters .. more comradarie

It is almost like a totally different movie

Seeing this Director's Cut, I can't understand why they ever released the original Theatrical Version like it was.

By comparison the original version looks like what happens when they put a movie on TV and edit the heck out of it to avoid ratings problems.

Without question .......... EXPENDABLES Director's Cut is 100% better !

I was not a big fan of the original release as I found it kind of shallow and nothing more than boom and pow.

But this Director's Cut really makes it a better movie

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Hello everyone. I am so happy to say, that I was able to watch the Director's Cut version of THE EXPENDABLES before it even made it to Blu Ray. And all I can say is that it is REALLY GOOD. I loved this version more than the theatrical version. The opening credits is totally different from the original theatrical version and it really was very cool and it really sets the mode for the film. I felt that this version gave the movie a lot of heart and more depth. Sylvester Stallone is truly one of a kind. He wrote, directed and starred in this film. He is the man that was able to put all these action people together in one film. I totally recommend those of you who enjoyed THE EXPENDABLES, to check out the Director's Cut version. I guarantee you it will not disappoint you :) The sequel for The Expendables is being filmed now as we speak and I think it will be BIGGER, BETTER, and more BAD @$$ :)

Thank you Mr. Stallone for all it is that you do.

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The Expendables is good old-fashioned dumb fun in the style of 80's invincible, one-man-army action movies-you know the kind: impossible odds, endless streams of bullets, useless enemy soldiers who can't shoot the broad side of a barn, and tons of stuff blowing up, whether it needs to or not. If you're here, you came to see the action sequences and the ensemble cast of your favorite action film veterans, not for the spaghetti-thin plot. Once again, the good guys have to rescue the girl. The names are forgettable and the story of a corrupt South/Central-American dictator is pretty much just an excuse for the great fight sequences, absurd shootouts, car chase, and other ridiculously over-the-top stunts and shenanigans. In one scene, for example, the bad guys get strafed from above by the Expendables' seaplane by Lee Christmas (Jason Statham) sitting in a exposed nose turret, then doused with gasoline and the entire dock gets set ablaze with a flare gun, accompanied by a requisite explosion.

The cast includes some of today's hottest action stars (and some nearly forgotten ones of yesteryear), including Jason Statham (Crank, the Transporter), Jet Li, MMA fighter Randy Couture, WWF superstar Steve Austin, Mickey Rourke, as well as a cameo from Bruce Willis and Arnold. As a result of all this star power, character development suffers and most of the characters are not fleshed out. We get some back-story about knife-expert Christmas and retired Expendables tattooman Tool (Rourke), but most of the other characters get nothing to work with. I even had trouble remembering some of their names after the movie was over. There are also some very unfunny short jokes aimed at Jet Li's character, Yin Yang.

Former NFL player Terry Crews (Everybody Hates Chris: The Complete Series, White Chicks), one of my favorite character actors, is always a pleasure to watch. Here, he is the AA-12 automatic shotgun wielding terror. He brings a shot of energy and comic presence to the film, even if it's for a very short moment: "You know, the enemy will always be terrified of noise. Especially shotguns. With this big boy spittin' out 250 rounds a minute, you tell me who's tolerating that." Even with so few lines, he manages to bring a smile to my face. This is the exception, however. Most of the dialog in this film is corny, forced, and delivered with awkward timing and the finesse of a sledgehammer. Dolf Lundgren and Sly Stallone are as unintelligible as ever, if not more. They haven't aged a day, thanks to the miracle of plastic surgery. Some of their dialog, I really had to strain to understand what they were trying to say, not that what they say matters because it's all terribly unimportant. The scene where Willis, Arnold and Stallone meet in a church is brutally stiff. I've seen better delivery from my pizza man. It really was painful to watch the clumsy exchange. Stone Cold Steve Austen is stone cold dead in this film, being nothing more than a big goon who beats people up. He has zero stage presence.

This is mindless summer fun that's inconsequential and requires absolutely no expenditure of brain cells. I do take issue with the way many of the fight sequences are shot and edited, making it difficult to see the action. Jerky camera and fast cuts make it hard to follow what's going on, leaving me a bit disoriented. Other than that and the already mentioned lack of character depth, this movie was entertaining for what it is. It doesn't pretend it's something more than a guns-blazing summer action flick. As I often say for movies like this, leave your brain at the door and enjoy!

Warren Miller's Dynasty

Another installment of warren miller. The movies over the last few years have all been a bit the same (kids doing jumps, heli skiing in alaska, steamboat and utah powder etc). I do think this was a bit of a change in this years flick as it showed more of a story on how people and their families fell in love with skiing. I do miss the narrations of warren miller though and a bit more 'fun' would be nice.

A great new warren miller movie that goes over the last 60 years, and crazy new places. Really enjoyed the segment where they were in remote China. Beautifully edited and fun to watch on a 1080p projector.

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I have enjoyed Warren Miller productions for 40 years and this one didn't let me down. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing my local ski area where I am an instructor in this movie, Crystal Mountain Resort (skicrystal.com). If you are a snow sport enthusiast then get this movie.

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The whites wash into each other more than they should if they had taken their time and done a proper job editing. Warren Miller rules though!

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I am a huge Warren Miller fan.

I do miss him as a narrator and realize that Johnny Mosely is a better narrator then no movie at all!

Can't get enough! Great music, great destinations, great everything.

Don't purchase thinking you are going to learn how to ski, that is not how these movies work....

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The Entity (1982)

I am a huge fan of 70's horror movies, and am always searching for some new treasure. This movie is even more frightening than normal when you consider that it is based on a true story. It shook me quite a bit when I first saw it. Be warned that some scenes are very sexual in nature and disturbing. It's not gratutious sex like most bad "horror" flicks today. The movie depicts a woman who moves into a new house with her two children and after some time begins to be attacked by an unseen entity. She is left raped and bruised and thinking she's going out of her mind. The rape scenes are very tastefully done, but are hard to watch when you think that this supposedly really happened. It is not a movie for children. As an adult, I had to sleep with the lights on after the movie and really had a hard time being alone for a few days. This is not a blood-letting fest, it's not a teen sex/slasher film, and it's not a dark assylum like setting. It's a film that is at the top of my list of all time favorite truely scary, "can't go the bathroom alone" kind of movies.

By the way, if you liked this movie then you should try to get your hands on a made for TV movie called "Don't be afraid of the Dark". It scared me to death as a child, so much so that I remembered the name all these 20 some years. When I finally saw it again as an adult, it was still pretty creepy and worth the search.

When I first watched this movie, I was really skeptical... the whole premise of the movie was about a woman played by Barbara Hershey who claimed to be raped and beaten by ghosts (two would hold her down and one would rape her). But I watched the movie because it was indeed entertaining and if anything, it made you think and challenged the mind. But the more I watched it, the more disturbing it got. There are parts of the movie where you can see invisible hands fondling her breasts and her being physically attacked by an unknown "thing".

After watching the movie, I did a lot of online research to find out how true the movie was... and come to find out, the real woman's name was Carlotta Moran in Culver City, CA (which isn't too far from me) and it made news all over the place. There are documented facts from scientists, parapsychologists, and several neutral bystanders who have witnessed various one of the apparitions that attacked her.

The only part of the movie that wasn't really "real" was the ending where they capture the ghost. In the end, the entity was never truly captured and the real woman had to move five different times and it still followed her. She was raped 15 times during a 10-week DOCUMENTED investigation. The good news is that the entity eventually stopped following her after two years of a terrible ordeal and she would move further and further away from her home.

Here's something interesting:

In real life, the lady was being raped while screaming in her bedroom. Her 16-year-old son walked in and saw his mother being assaulted on the bed and tried to stop the ghost. He ended up being thrown across the room and broke his arm. When the scene was recreated in the movie, the ACTOR broke the VERY same arm doing that very same scene re-enacted. That's eerie.

The movie, as a whole... is not a horror movie. But it is very mentally disturbing because it really happened... credible people witnessed it. Whether you believe or don't.. doesn't really matter. But it's worth watching simply as a conversation piece. Definite five stars (even though it is VERY low budget and kinda cheesy) for originality.

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Anchor Bay used to be one of my favorite companies to release older movies onto home video. They used to fill their DVDs and blu rays with loads of extras...but lately they have been slipping.

Now, with the blu ray release of "The Entity", we get nothing...not even a MENU!!! I have heard that the DVD re-release has the documentary and bonus features from the previous release...but they can't give the blu ray so much as a MENU???!!?!?! If anything, the blu ray should follow suit of other studios and allow MORE than the DVD due to the storage capacity. This is inexcusable...you load the blu ray disc in and it goes straight to the movie...even pressing the menu button gives you nothing.

Video and audio are a noted improvement. It's just a shame that they screwed up the blu ray release of this by including absolutely nothing extra (still baffled about the lack of even a menu...who does that these days???).

I'm terribly disappointed in Anchor Bay...they didn't just drop the ball on this...they deflated it.

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I saw a part of this movie when I was a lot younger maybe six or seven and I remember I couldn't watch anymore of it because it scared me. All I saw was this woman screaming and being thrown all over the place by an unseen evil. I didn't even know what was going on. Almost 20 years later I rented The Entity to watch it in it's entirety.

Barbara Hershey stars as a single mother, with a checkered past, trying to raise her son and two daughters. One night as she's getting ready to go to bed an unseen force throws her across the room and smothers her with a pillow while raping her. She has no idea what has just happened and believes someone must've broken into the house. Upon finding that there was no entry into the house she believes maybe it's some sort of demon. At first she's hesitant to seek psychiatric help but after a second attack in her car she believes she has no alternative. She begins seeing a psychiatrist (Ron Silver). He tries to help by having her go into great detail about her past, telling her that these attacks are all in her mind. However, the more details she drudges up, the more frequent and violent the attacks become.

The movie is over 2 hours long so I could talk about the story forever. The Entity is powerful, mysterious and intense right up until the ending, which I thought was frustrating and a disappointment. I also thought that the music was perfect in this movie especially during the attack scenes. It is a highly intensive flick, it's definitely NOT for younger viewers. I guess the frightening thing about this movie is that was based on a true story. Whatever it is, The Entity is definitely worth seeing and I'm sure it's a movie you won't soon forget.

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Look out, folks, fasten your seatbelts. Like "The Exorcist", "The Entity" is based upon a drama that really happened, in Los Angeles. This is an excellent and very underrated terror movie that can easily make "Poltergeist" (released this same year 1982) look like a fairy tale. This story of a young and attractive woman, regularly sexually attacked by an invisible 'entity' is so believable, so realistic that we can't be nothing else but terrified, really chilled, from the beginning to the ending.

There is not any failed element in this movie, everything is perfect, from the special effects by Joe Lombardi and Stan Winston to the directing and self-adaptation, through the performance of always excellent Barbara Hershey who won the Prize as Best Actress in Avoriaz Film Festival, in 1983 in one of her best roles, and also Ron Silver's, perfect as the stubborn shrink. The chilling soundtrack is also ideal. But the movie is also remarkable because (and on the contrary of "Poltergeist"), it never tells us about the nature of this entity, we never know if it's a ghost, or a demon, or something else, even not a poltergeist... In the end the entity is neutralized, with liquid helium, but manages to escape and the film leaves us, filled up with questions with no response, exciting our imagination. This makes "The Entity" much more interesting to most of the poor, too predictible horror movies we can see today.

Another question with no response: where's the DVD? I'm very surprised because in France, there is a DVD edition of this movie...

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The Perfect Game (2009)

"They weigh 35 pounds less and are about 6 inches shorter, but in every other way they are like the American kids." The unbelievable true story about a little league team from Mexico with dreams of playing in the little league world series. The movie starts with Cesar (Collins Jr.) being realeased from the St. Louis Cardinals and moving back to Mexico. A group of kids who love baseball recruit him to be thier coach. When they are finally approved to get a official little league team thier journey begins. This is a fantastic movie. While I'm sure liberties were taken, this is a movie so unbelievable that it if weren't true it would be way too cheesy to be good. As it is though, this movie is a little hokey in some parts, but the fact that it's true makes it OK. For those that know the story behind this it will be very enjoyable to you. For those that don't I won't give anything away but do yourself a favor and watch this movie. Overall, a very touching baseball movie that is good for the whole family. A real like "Sandlot". I really like it, but I also am a sucker for sports movies. I give it an A-.

Would I watch again? I think I would

If ever there was a movie that showcased the difference between "Based on a True Story" and actual reality, William Dear's "The Perfect Game" would stand as a prime example. While a serviceable entertainment that is completely expected and thoroughly non-challenging, the film doesn't feel the least bit authentic. Yes, it has heart. Yes, it aims to be a crowd pleaser. Yes, apparently many people love it. This genial and unassuming movie is family friendly and its deficiencies are easy to overlook--especially by younger viewers. What's not to love? Utilizing every established underdog cliche from every routine sports story, the film hits all the beats necessary to be comfortable and safe. Kids may well love it. But it takes a fantastic, and almost epic true story, and drains the realness out of history to become a lightweight comedic fable.

The movie chronicles the formation of a misfit Little League team in Monterrey Mexico. In 1957, this motley crew crossed the border, challenged much larger and more experienced teams, and ascended to the Little League World Series. It was the first time an International team qualified for the World Series and the only time in history a perfect game was pitched during this competition. It is an absolutely stunning story! Had it been played straight, this might have made a powerful biographical narrative. These kids challenged all expectations and restrictions to be world champions. In real life, they came from an existence of poverty and hardship and faced bitter prejudice and overt racism. Don't worry, though, in "The Perfect Game" these are minor issues and mild lessons to be learned.

The boys are remarkably precocious and modern. Their sass and attitudes reflect current sensibilities, but have little to do with the actual time period of 1957 or their culture. The coach (a nice Clifton Collins Jr.) is saddled with a strained comedic side plot--his attempts at romance are remarkably inept. The boys are certainly wise and witty on the subject of wooing the ladies. Nothing in Monterrey feels remotely real in its tone. Any unpleasantness (such as the aforementioned racism) is slight and easily solvable--or, at least, not worth revisiting in this feel-good saga. I didn't hate "The Perfect Game." As a work of fiction, it's a pleasing enough concoction. But the true and incredible story is done a disservice by this superficial portrait. Predictable and enjoyable--but lacking in genuine authenticity--I know I'm in the minority. I just wanted to experience the real story of triumph and not just another exercise in underdog cliche. KGHarris, 7/11.

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I bought this movie for my son. My daughter and I enjoyed the movie just as much as he did, great movie to watch with the family!

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We have four kids and thought we had seen all of the family sports movies out there, this is a good movie and kid friendly. The movie does touch on racism, but in a way that makes it easy to discuss with the kids. A nice underdog story. We enjoyed watching the movie as a family.

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My boys play baseball therefore

Love baseball movies this is one of their favorites behind The Sandlot. I also enjoyed this movie :)

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