Shall We Dance? (2004)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

3.5/5 or 7/10

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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2007-2008 NBA Champions - Boston Celtics (2008)

Having suffered through 22 years of decline and mediocrity since the last time the Celtics were in the NBA Finals, no one could have been happier than me when I heard a DVD of the championship season was going to be released.

The best things about the DVD are the extras. You get to see the final QUARTERS of the Semi-Finals against the Cavs and Conference Finals against the Pistons. You are also treated to the interview between Kevin Garnett and Bill Russell, like two eras in the same room together. There are a couple of other small extras, but nothing noteworthy.

The rest of the DVD is a 60 minute recap of the 2008 season and playoff run. It flows nicely and it has a lot of "behind the scenes" stuff as well. By that, I mean you hear some huddle conversation, post game locker room chatter and the like. But it's nothing special. I did enjoy the snippet that Doc Rivers explains the term "umbuntu", which becomes the Celtics' mantra for the season.

But, for $17, I would have hoped for a little more, especially when it comes to the playoffs. I would have liked to see a lot more of the historic comeback in Game 4 against the Lakers. I would have liked to see some highlights from the All-Star game, which the Big Three all attended.

If you sre a Celtics fan, it is a nice video for posterity. And there isn't anything BAD about it. But I think for the money, the fans deserve a little more than what we get. Like I said, it moves along nicely. But it really doesn't seem like anything special.

Should you buy it? It's your call.

First of all, ignore the back of the DVD, as the main program runs a full 77 minutes, not 60. When this first came out, I was very hesitant due to the short running time (which I thought was only 60) and rather steep price. However, finding it now for a good price and watching how good the main program is, and how long and fulfiling it is, this is well worth the cash. That's not even to mention all the loads of extras this one disc comes with.

You get the "I Am A Celtic" documentary, which features excellent interviews with Bob Cousy, Sam Jones, and John Havlicek. It features a lot of clips that are in the main program, but also comes with a lot of stuff I'd never seen before, including the "race" Doc had at one practice, where he made everyone who lost to him in a sprint take an extra round of practice. He cheated and got a head start and I had only read about this in an article when it happened, and it was nice to see the video behind it. Both this documentary and the main show contain a lot of humorous and insightful looks into practice, the preseason, and behind the scenes with the coaches and players. Having seen the entire year unfold on TV, these not on television moments made for a very entertaining watch.

You also get two full 4th quarters from Game 7 of the Cleveland series, and Game 6 of the Detroit series. Very welcomed extras and nice to see this historic quarters in their entirety. We will certainly get the entire Lakers series when the full Celtics box set comes out, so there's no need to complain about not getting them now. We already get what I feel is a great compliment of features for this price. There are also 7 other bonus features which include features on Ray Allen, Bill Russell and KG, Paul Pierce, and Danny Ainge.

Back to the main show, where we get about 18 minutes of preseason and regular season coverage, then onto the Eastern Conference playoffs for a good 25 minutes, until the 43 minute mark, and then a full half hour of the Lakers/Celtics Finals. While they didn't dwell too deeply on any one game, it was a well balanced showing of the highlights. The credits then roll with some humorous and candid moments of the team, ending the program at the 77 minute mark.

I think it was good that I waited nearly 2 months to pick this DVD up, as watching it in the weeks after the win, when the DVD first came out, may have been too premature, and not as impactful as seeing it now, after going a long time without a good Celtics fill. I did seem to have a problem with the narrator at first, as he seemed kind of dull. However, as it got deeper and deeper into the show, he seems to grow on you, and to the point where he fits in nicely and his delivery and flow is perfect.

An excellent all around DVD, and in my opinion, well worth it to any Celtics fan. It's one for the collection, and will be a compliment to the box set due out in November.

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So glad I found this.. DVD is cheap, delivery was prompt and I loved re-living the 2008 championships! Though I wish they showed a little more of the actual game footage I do love the whole part with the "mobutu" chant and coming together as a team. Also I wish it was longer!! A must see for Celtics fans, I enjoyed watching and am definitely glad I bought it considering how cheap it was.

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Arrived promptly! Great price, great product! Awesome DVD! Still get goose pumps watching it!

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This is a pretty good DVD, although there's not that much of the Finals highlights. Fourth quarters of final two Eastern playoff rounds vs. Cavs and Pistons are included in bonus features. The bonus features are what makes the DVD better, since the main program isn't really that long. The DVD concentrates on The Big Three, but we get glimpses of old-time heroes in bonus features, though not as much as I like.

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Les visiteurs du soir (The Criterion Collection) (1942)

As a huge fan of the works of Marcel Carne and Jacques Prevert, it is unfortunate to learn that other than 'Children of Paradise', none of their works are available on DVD. However, it is at least some consolation when you find that they are still in print on VHS. Considering that one of the finest films of all time, 'L'Atalante' by genius Jean Vigo has gone out of print on video, and that no one has bothered to put it back on the shelves, I must say that for such old French classics such as this one to still be around is a fact worth commending.

'Les Visiteurs de Soir' literally translates into 'The Visitors of the Evening', but the English world has taken the liberty of calling it 'The Devil's Envoys'. This remarkable gem, a remnant of the early 1940s, is French romanticism at its best. While the original tale is a fable that children will delight in, the film-making team also saw the story as a way to make a point about the political establishment at the time. Marcel Carne has repeatedly won my respect as a film-maker, and though his crowning glory remains 'Les Enfants du Paradis', this little known film remains perhaps his most sly attempt at movie-making. Almost every sentence is a statement of political defiance, and every frame of the film is bathed in the unnaturally brilliant light that Marcel shot his movies in.

'Les Visiteurs de Soir' looks older than it actually is. Perhaps this has something to do with the horrendous transfer that this particular edition is inflicted with. There are patches where it seems the film has burned away gaping holes and scars are evident, which leads one to wonder what condition the master film is actually in. However, that minor technicality apart, the entire story reads like an adventure worth taking, although the actual transfer from page to screen is something that works in a way quite unexpected.

This is a much slower film than 'Children of Paradise'. To be honest, the only thing the two films share in common is Arletty. Here, she plays one of the Devil's Envoys, sent to a town to teach/convert/berate/observe/spoil its' inhabitants. She arrives with a male partner, and is soon dining with lords and baronesses. The dialogue is simply stunning. Arletty's performance as an androgynous being is played up and she remains a cool and aloof creature for much of the movie. However, it is the other envoy, the man, who is more affected by his new surroundings. Played by the beautiful Alain Cuny, the male envoy is a being who has never experienced the love of a human being, and his desire for the lovely Marie Dea is what forms the crux of the film.

It is at this stage that the devil enters. Played by Jules Berry as a crass old ugly sort of monster, he is an exaggeration of everything evil. He finds pleasure in the unhappiness of others, he is thrilled when people relinquish their control to him. When Marie Dea's pure and unblemished love for the male envoy seems beyond his control, the devil is not pleased. He does everything in his power to win her soul, and this becomes his prime challenge.

As I had mentioned before, this entire storyline is filled with political innuendo, and it doesn't take an expert in European history to figure out what is actually going on. When the devil, in rage, finally turns the lead couple to stone, another shock awaits him. Needless to say, the film ends with the devil being defeated, but the lead couple pay a price as well. And the point is made that even though the couple has lost the battle, they have won the war. Very much like the ending of 'La Vita E Bella'.

Characters are very well etched. The Devil plays the face of Germany and the German Occupation. The Devil's envoys play the young German soldiers who go in with a policy, yet return with different ideals. The French play the french, all for liberty, equality, and fraternity, and the neverending struggle to achieve all of these goals.

I especially liked Arletty's character, even though she almost disappears for the second half of the film. The most visually appealing thing about this movie is the lighting. Every frame could be an exercise in film-making the bright hues of the French morning are all lovingly captured, and the close-ups of the lead characters are so beautifully filmed. The screenplay is flawless, though at times you wish they could be a little less obvious in their message.

'Les Visiteurs de Soir' will probably never be as important as 'Les Enfants du Paradis' or the other Carne classic 'Le jour se leve'. It had its own time and place, and its' meaning was probably more relevant in the 1940s than it is today. However, there is also something timeless about its' texture and quality. This is a movie I could sit through over ten times and never be bored. As with every Carne film, it helps to be a native or taught French speaker to truly appreciate the nuances of the dialogue the yellow subtitles on this edition are especially hideous, both in the way they've been translated and their appearance but it doesn't take much to be swept in by this delightful treat of a film. I would highly recommend it to anyone who loves old French movies, and in particular, the works of the masters such as Carne and Francois Truffaut.

If you liked this, you'd love 'L'Atalante' by Jean Vigo, 'Le fille sur le pont' by Patrice Leconte, and Carne's 'Les quai de brumes'. I'd also like to bring your attention to the fact that many of Carne's works are now available on DVD from Amazon's French website, although this catalog does not yet include 'Les Visiteurs de soir'.

A relatively little-known but fascinating movie. Made during the German occupation of France, the film is set in the Late Middle Ages and deals with two envoys of the devil, Gilles and Dominique (Alain Cuny and Arletty, wonderful both) that arrive posing as wandering minstrels at the castle of a Baron where preparations for an upcoming wedding are being made. Their intention is to create havoc by breaking the hearts of all involved. These envoys have extraordinary powers to achieve these goals, like slowing time to a stop so that they can work on their targets at ease. Eventually, the very devil shows up at the castle in disguise. One can argue that the devil in the movie stands for Hitler and the Nazis and so forth, but the film works even if you don't try to watch it as a metaphor for the contemporary events of the time. The movie is memorable and evocative, with many great scenes and a great ending.

Buy Les visiteurs du soir (The Criterion Collection) (1942) Now

Forget the inferior VHS version that Marc Cabir Davis describes in his 2002 review here. The now 70-year-old film has undergone a meticulous digital restoration for its debut on DVD. One can again fully appreciate the superb black and white cinematography. The soundtrack has had an impeccable 24-bit remastering, and the new English subtitles are well translated and easy to read on the screen. Also included in the new DVD package is an informative 2009 French documentary on the making of this film in 1942 under Nazi occupation and the Vichy government. In addition, there is a booklet with seven pages of text by film critic and author Michael Atkinson and seven pages of photographs from the film.

As for the film itself, see the aforementioned Davis review. I had to dock it a star because it so obviously suffers in comparison to its successor, Carne's ultimate masterpiece, "Les Enfants du Paradis" ("The Children of Paradise"). After a brilliant start (through the whole banquet sequence), the film gets progressively bogged down in its convoluted plot (that takes too long in resolving itself), becoming overly talky and a bit tedious in the process. However, the ending is so iconic that much of this can be forgiven. Also worth noting is the comment by the great French film critic Georges Sadoul, with which I would concur, that some of "the fantasy is rather forced." However, for appreciators and students of French cinema, this is a film that should not be missed, given its historical context. It launched a trend of other notable French films under the Occupation that, beneath a veneer of ostensibly escapist fare that eluded the Fascist censors, contained a subversive subtext of a yearning to be free from the forces of oppression.

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"Could you be the cause of all these troubles?"

"What do you expect? No-one loves me. I amuse myself as best I can."

Overshadowed outside France by both that other Medieval romantic fantasy and its director's Les Enfants du Paradis but revered in its homeland as one of the great films of the war years, Marcel Carne's Les Visiteurs du Soir has been particularly hard for non-French speakers to see for years: not released on video and unseen on UK TV for three decades, it's only with Criterion's largely unheralded DVD and Blu-ray release that many will have got the chance to finally see his tale of demons and marvels. While it doesn't cast as magic or as poetic an ethereal spell as Cocteau's La Belle et la Bete, it's still an impressive fable whose added resonance for a Nazi-occupied population is easy to see even if Carne and co-writer Jacques Prevert always insisted that no anti-Nazi subtext was intended, the Medieval setting simply the easiest way to get around the German censors.

The plot is simple: two minstrels arrive at a castle, whose occupants are celebrating the betrothal of the Baron's daughter initially unaware that the two visitors (Arletty and Alain Cuny) have been sent by the Devil to sow discord by loving and destroying them and leaving the Devil to pick up the tab. Not that they don't have plenty of raw material to work with: despite the jollity of the banquets and the lack of work for the executioner, the castle is almost underpinned by sadness. The Baron (Fernand Ledoux) is still mourning his lost wife, the servant girl all too aware that her plainness ensures the page she loves won't even look at her and the groom (Marcel Herrand) is more interested in songs of hunting and killing than of love, confused by his bride-to-be Marie Dea's kindness towards unfortunates and dismissing her dreams because "Dreams are dangerous and useless. I never dream myself." For all the elegance and fairytale settings, it's a cruel world where love is a weapon to make people tear themselves apart: "It isn't worth a single tear. It's nothing but a story invented to amuse the Devil." It's a game the envoys have played so many times they're working from the same script, telling each new victim "As soon as I saw you, I knew why I'd travelled so far. I thanked Heaven for leading me to you."

Yet the envoys aren't ethereal symbolic figures but have their own tortured dysfunctional relationship of recriminations and mockery, revisiting their failed and false romance on their victims. Arletty enjoys her work, particularly if it means leading men to their death or to the very place she has come from, but Cluny is increasingly tortured by the deal he has made with the Devil, even more so when he genuinely falls in love with the bride-to-be. From then on the film becomes a battle for hearts and souls as Jules Barry's Devil enters the fray, appearing everywhere at once to mislead, corrupt or gently scold the mere mortals. It's easy to see why so many saw him as Hitler incarnate, making empty promises and offering those who collaborate with him every comfort but never able to still the pure hearts that defy him. He's a cheerful soul, certain of his eventual victory and uncomprehending of the notion of resistance, but thanks to Jacques Prevert's dialogue he doesn't get all the best lines most of those, surprisingly, go to the lovers, true or false.

It's a surprisingly lavish production for a French wartime film, Trauner's design and Roger Hubert's photography giving it a deceptively simple and attractive look for a film filled with betrayal, hopeless longing and torment. It generally favors simpler special effects than you might expect from a period fable, but at their best, such as when the envoys stop time to steal a tryst with the groom and bride-to-be, they're quietly effective. At times the film threatens to lose its grip and some of the dungeon scenes with a distressed Cluny stray perilously close to bad acting, but the spell is never broken and its easy to see why the film found such a special place in French cinema with its own brand of dark magic and cruel love. Oh, and look out for a young Simone Signoret and Alain Resnais as extras in the banquet scene.

Aside from the customary booklet there's also a 37-minute talking heads documentary with friends of Carne and Prevert and film historians that provides much information and anecdotes about the film's tortuous development Carne had been having trouble finding a project that would pass the German censors after getting out of his contract with the German-backed Continental Films while Jacques Prevert and composer Joseph Kosma had been collaborating on an unrealised version of Puss in Boots and its difficult production, which was complicated by wartime shortages (fabric for the costumes was almost impossible to find while the food in the banquet scenes had to be sprayed with toxic chemicals to stop the starving extras eating it), Vichy bureaucracy (because it was shot in both Occupied and Unoccupied France), anti-Semitic laws (both Kosma and production designer Alexander Trauner had to use fronts because it was illegal for Jews to work in French films) and scheduling (Jules Berry was making three films at the same time, shooting one in the morning, one in the afternoon and another in the evening and couldn't remember his lines), and surprisingly rapturous reception from both right and leftwing critics.

It even covers the problems of exhibiting films in wartime newsreels were shown with the lights on and a gendarme in attendance to stop the audience booing the Nazis, while only a limited number of tickets were sold to ensure that the nearest air raid shelters didn't get filled up, making it's hugely successful run it was the biggest French hit of the war years all the more remarkable. The documentary is not particularly strikingly made, but it tells the stories in a pleasingly straightforward fashion and puts the film in its historical perspective even if the transfer is obviously taken from a video master. The film's original French trailer fares worse in the picture quality stakes, looking like it was mastered from a juddery dialup internet download, but the transfer on the film itself is a beautiful restoration job with clear, sharp detail, plenty of depth and no obvious signs of digital tinkering. However, do be aware that the Blu-ray version is Region A-locked.

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Les visiteurs du soir (titled The Devil's Envoys in America) was the fourth collaboration between director Marcel Carné and screenwriter Jacques Prévert, released a few years before their masterpiece Children of Paradise. Being a big admirer of that film, as well as their other collaborations Port of Shadows and Le Jour se Lève, I had eagerly awaited this film to receive a proper release and was pleased when Criterion added it to their collection this month. With the Nazi's occupying France during this timeframe, it's said that Carné set out to make a straight-forward film that would avoid any trouble with the censors. Upon its release the film was met with acclaim with many seeing it as an allegory for the Occupation, a charge Carné fervently denied. While memorable and beautiful to look at I find Les visiteurs du soir inferior to their other collaborations, possibly because of the constraints they imposed on themselves by purposefully and carefully making a film that wouldn't upset the censors. As a result, there seems to be less freedom than in their earlier and subsequent collaborations. Their films fall under the category of poetic realism, with the poetic nature coming largely from Prévert's knack for writing beautiful, poetic dialogue. Much of the poetry here comes from the images in the film rather than words.

The story opens in May, 1485 where the Devil has sent two of his envoys to drive humans to despair. The envoys Gilles (Alain Cuny) and Dominique (Arletty) arrive at the castle of Baron Hughes (Fernand Ledox) dressed as minstrels as the castle celebrates his daughter Anne's (Marie Déa) engagement to Renaud (Marcel Herrand). The two wreak havoc by enticing those in the castle; Gilles first seduces Anne, while Dominique entrances Baron Hughes and Renaud. Things go according to plan until Gilles actually falls in love with Anne, provoking the Devil's wrath and causing him to appear at the castle to ensure that the happiness of those in the castle is truly destroyed. The Devil, as played by Jules Berry, arrives halfway through the film and this is when it really gains traction.

Shot in Nice, with uncredited art direction by Alexandre Trauner (a Hungarian Jew, whose involvement was hidden by Carné); the sets are a grand achievement. In creating a storybook world Trauner really captures a far away time and place. Of course the film is also gorgeously shot by Roger Hubert, who would go on to beautifully shoot Children of Paradise as well. The acting is terrific, with Berry giving the stand-out performance as the Devil. His maniacal energy towers over the latter hour of the film and he outshines nearly everyone in his wake. It's a mannered yet showy performance that is tremendously effective.

As stated earlier, I found the film slightly inferior to Carné and Prévert's other collaborations and much of this stems from the script that Prévert co-wrote with Pierre Laroche. Much of the dialogue revolves around declarations of love and chit-chat about love and there are times when it grows repetitious. Children of Paradise featured dialogue in the same vein and Prévert succeeded at crafting much more beautiful and memorable dialogue about that subject in far fewer words. This opinion may reflect more on my own bias than the actual quality of the film, but I was slightly let down by how unscathed I was by the dialogue here when their other films have affected me so profoundly. It was the poetic beauty of the dialogue in addition to the beauty of the images that made their other collaborations so compelling.

Regardless, Les visiteurs du soir is another triumph from Carne and Prévert's magical partnership and it's presented here in all its glory with a beautiful transfer from the Criterion Collection. The crisp elegance of the black and white photography was enough to make me swoon even when the dialogue and story failed to. Those who already deeply appreciate Carné's films will probably rank this highly, but those who are unfamiliar with his work should familiarize themselves before trying this film. Still, for any complaints I may have, it's hard to deny what a breathtaking film it is.

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The Man In The Iron Mask (2011)

I don't know why I did not see the 1998 version of Man in the Iron Mask while it played in theaters. In a way I'm glad I didn't see it then I surely would have embarrassed myself, because it would not have occurred to me that I would need a half-box of Kleenex at the end! I finally watched the movie in my own living room when it came to HBO several years ago, but while I enjoyed the movie at the time, it did not leave me with the urgent desire to see it again. However, I did watch the movie again recently, and now for some unexplainable reason, I can't seem to get enough of it. I have the DVD, and it is the movie I most often reach for on a quiet evening of lousy television.

Those who are expecting a faithful adaptation of the book will come away sorely disappointed, and if that is their measure of the movie, they will do best to avoid this one. However, those who love the characters, who don't mind seeing new adaptations and interesting plot twists, and who love rich costumes and set designs will find this movie wonderfully entertaining. And that is what it is all about, isn't it? Entertainment.

I have read many reviews regarding this movie, and am puzzled, even dismayed at times, by some of the criticisms levied at various aspects of it. Some people have complained about the dialogue in the movie, calling it "flowery", but truthfully I loved the fact that Randall Wallace did not modernize it. So many new films and TV series are "dumbing down" the dialogue of period pieces to make them more compatible with today's manner of speaking. I applaud Mr. Wallace for keeping the dialogue consistent with how it likely would have been spoken in the 17th century.

Still others complained of the unlikelihood of all four Musketeers surviving a volley of musketfire during the final charge. If they had been watching properly, they would have noticed that the young Musketeers were turning their faces away, closing their eyes as they pulled the triggers. And after the first few shots, powder smoke begins to fill the corridor, obscuring their vision. So the lack of accuracy in their volley is adequately explained on more than one count. Moreover, if the critics had been watching more closely, they would have noticed that there are woundings -D'Artagnan is hit in the shoulder, Athos in the thigh. The other two are also limping, and the script confirms that all four are wounded in the barrage.

As for the complaints that the four leads have four different accents, I did not find them distracting or annoying, as some have claimed. I expected it, since this is an International Cast, and with an International Cast, you get International accents.

And speaking of the cast, I must say that in all the Musketeers movies I've seen, this is the strongest cast ever. The primary performers, Jeremy Irons, Gabriel Byrne, Gerard Depardieu, and John Malkovich, all turn in exquisite performances, and Leonardo DiCaprio is, in my opinion, convincing as Louis and Philippe, even though he is upstaged by the other four. Anne Parilloud is simply lovely as the Queen Mother, and the moments she shares with Byrne's D'Artagnan are some of the best in the film. The love scene between them, as brief as it was, is as beautiful as any I've ever seen (this coming from someone who is not a true fan of romance! I was left wanting more!). The music is brilliant and sets the mood perfectly for each scene. The wardrobe is exceptional, especially the black uniforms of the old musketeers.

Particularly nice touches in this movie are the attention to detail: The roses left for the queen speaks as decisively of D'Artagnan's love for her as words ever could (And yes, I really liked the plot twist involving the twins' paternity); Philippe dragging his masked head back and forth over the grating in frustration while in prison; the unmasking of Philippe in a dark blacksmith's forge, his hair wrapped around his neck where, as it grew, it was unable to escape the confines of the mask; Lieutenant Andre's devotion to D'Artagnan throughout the film and the way he looks away when the king orders the volley, unable to watch his captain cut down; the rich, fancy costumes contrast the torn, sweat-stained clothing where appropriate.

The movie is not without its faults, though. The first scene involving Porthos and Aramis, for example, contains some crude language regarding parts of both the male and female anatomy and Porthos's flatulence, both of which seemed out of place, and actually got the film off to a shaky start. The first time I watched it, I almost turned it off at this point. I also could have lived quite happily without ever having seen the bulls-eye glimpses of Porthos' naked rear end. While I'm sure some of Depardieu's fans loved it, the scene did nothing to advance the plot, in my opinion. There is hardly an actor or actress out there these days that has not done a nude, but quite frankly, some things are just better left to the imagination. I'm smiling as I write this, but truly, the scene was unnecessary. Thankfully, there is a "skip" button on my DVD player! And yes, I do use it.

Those few faults are forgivable when surrounded by so many other details that are so elegantly done. For me, it was a very pleasing movie experience, one I enjoy over and over again. Kudos to everyone involved. Now, if I can just convince Randall Wallace to release a director's cut version . . . .

"All for one. One for all!" The familiar oath is heard again in this swashbuckler. Only this time our four heroes are older, as The Musketeers reunite for one last grand stand against injustice.

Aramis(Jeremy Irons),is now a devout priest and prays for the starving people of Paris, Porthos(Gerard Depardieu)is out of shape but still has the will to fight for right(Depardieu is also very much the comic relief in this film),Athos(John Malkovich), retired and has a son who has now gone into the service of the king, and the youngest D'Artagnan(Gabriel Bryne), still in service is now the Captain of the Musketeers, and very loyal to his King. And of course the coldhearted young King Louie XIV(Leonardo DiCaprio).

The King lets his people starve while he lavishes in luxeries. He uses people, especially women with no shred of decency or emotion. Even his mother Queen Anne(Anne Parillaud) is ashamed but still loves him. And Louie has a secret, one that may threaten his reign someday. It is the "Man In The Iron Mask" who he has had imprisoned.

Aramis ,Athos, and Porthos have set a plan into motion to restore decency to the throne. D'Artagnan on the other hand remains loyal to the king and carries with him a secret of his own. They don their old uniforms, and we see them in action once again. Will they be able to set free the man in the mask? Will D'Artagnan reunite with them?

The swordfights,scenery and costumes are all exquiste. The story will move you,there are some very poignant scenes as well as lots of action,adventure, romance and above all loyalties. Loyalties to each other, the King and to France.The actors work extraordinary well together and are impeccable in their roles.Director Randall Wallace really gives us a good look at this time and place in history, and a strong feeling for each character.

Fabulous DVD!(MGM) The widescreen presentation(standard on the other side if you prefer) really shows off the granduer of the palace grounds, and the surrounding scenery.The picture and colors clear and bright. The 5.1 Surround is outstanding in this action film. You can hear every clip clop of the horses on the stone, every clink of the swords, and every word of the dialouge clearly. The music is also well recieved and is effective. There are several features you may want to check out, there is audio commentary, a really informative look at how they chose and made the mask, and a booklet inside the case.You can also use the English, French or Spanish Subtitles if needed.

Check it out.....Laurie

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I know why I like this movie and it is simply because "The Man in the Iron Mask" does for swordplay movies what "Space Cowboys" did for space movies. It allowed a bunch of older actors to have fun in parts usually reserved for the younger set. I can just imagine John Malkovich's eyes lighting up at the thought of somebody asking him to play one of the Three Musketeers (Athos). The same goes for Jeremy Irons (Aramis), Gerard Depardieu (Porthos) and Gabriel Byrne (D'Artagnan). The key line for me in the movie is when Lieutenant Andre (Edward Atterton) points to D'Artagnan and says "All of my life all I ever wanted to be was HIM." But you can substitute any one of the Musketeers in that statement. I just cannot imagine any Hollywood actor of my age turning down this script. You get to be one of the Three Musketeers!

So I am onboard for the fun. This is a solid "B" movie and I do not care that Leonardo DiCaprio is the big name at the top of the cast list. He is a talent actor, but as in "William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet" he once again shows he does not have a feel for the diction of costume drama; but his Phillippe is a much richer performance than his King Louis. Yes, I can list lots of other problems with this film. Depardieu and Judith Godreche as Christine are the only ones running around with "real" French accents for one thing. But the film is, all things considered, fairly faithful to the Alexandre Dumas novel (by Hollywood standards) until the final act. I actually liked the "twist" by writer-director Randall Wallace and was not bothered that the survival rate of the Musketeer quarter is the exact opposite in the film that it was in the novel.

But above all I liked watching Malkovich, whose ability to provide nuance into underplaying a role is exquisite and it is so much fun watching him draw his swords and have at it. Depardieu has fun as the bawdry brawler of the bunch, although the script relegates him to the comic relief part of the festivities. Irons provides the most panache of the quartet and the twinkle in his eyes as Aramis hatches his master plan to restore the honor of France counterbalances the deadness in the eyes of Athos after the death of his son. Byrne gets to play a pillar of virtue and his character is more a reflection of the good opinion of everybody else. It is only in his affection for Queen Anne (Anne Parillaud in a dignified but heartfelt performance) and his attempts to instruct Louis that his heart comes through. "The Man in the Iron Mask" is, like the novel, not a great story but more of a grand adventure.

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"The Man in the Iron Mask" proves at least two things. The first thing is that it's still possible to make a rousing, entertaining epic with minimal use of digital FX. The second is that action adventure films still work best when they don't take themselves seriously. If you don't believe that, may I remind you that the James Bond series has run for a record 40 years?

In this case DiCaprio gets to play the evil Louis the Fourteenth of France and his all too good twin brother, whom Louis has put in an iron mask and thrown into a truly nasty prison. The two totally different characters are believably played by DiCaprio. There is never any confusion as to which twin is on screen, yet one gets the impression that this is all a piece of cake for the film's young star.

This is the France of 1662. I am not a good student of French history, but the locations, costumes and customs appear to be fairly accurate for that time period. Also the film is reasonable faithful to X's novel. The author took an obscure bit of French history and spun an intricate story from it. For in that year, there actually was a French prisoner who was listed in the prison registry only by a series of numbers followed by the words 'the man in the iron mask'. Since Louis the Fourteenth became king at a very young age, he was quite the brat. As he grew older, he became one of France's greatest rulers. So, who's to say there wasn't a hidden twin?

Even without DiCaprio, this film has a remarkable cast. Jeremy Irons, John Malkovich, Gerard Depardieu and Gabriel Byrne play the famous Musketeers. Now retired, they are forced to regroup due to the insane acts committed by Louis. These include having one of their sons killed in the same way King Solomon got rid of Sheba's husband. When he is informed that the peasants of Paris are starving, he dispatches rotting food to them. When they justifiably complain, his suggestion is to shoot them.

One of the cleverest plot devices is to have one of the musketeers the great Gerard Depardieu's character show that time takes its toll on everyone. He is flabby, depressed.... Of course, in true Hollywood style, he makes a big comeback, but until he does, he is uproariously funny.

Anne Parilland plays the Queen Mother with that cutting edge of grace and beauty that is peculiar to the French. Her character is also full of surprises. As the beauty Louis wants so badly that he kills to get her, Judith Goodreche is quite well cast. She is innocence personified.

While not at all original, the musical score by Nick Glenne-Smith is the rich, melodic type one expects in such a film. I was disappointed, however, by one musical aspect. There are some lavishly produced ballroom sequences. The dances are wonderful, but the music is scored for instruments which, for the most part, did not exist in the 17th Century.

"The Man in the Iron Mask" did great business overseas, but was disappointing here. I suspect that this was because DiCaprio became an overnight romantic hero in "Titanic", which was released two months earlier. In this film the only romance happens with the evil Louis. The good twin, as in the book, must spend his time reclaiming his destiny with the help of the Old Musketeers. This left his enormous following of female fans little to bond with. I also suspect that, for the average young American male, the concept of DiCaprio as an action hero is, shall we say, slightly ahead of its time.

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The only reason I rented this video is because the new releases I wanted to see were checked out. To begin with, I'm not a big fan of period pieces featuring performers speaking in an accent appropriate for their role. Even if the performer masters a particular dialect, I still find it a distracting affectation. Also, a little of one accent goes a long way, especially if you're not too fond of a particular accent; I like a french accent well enough, but am still glad the whole cast didn't speak in one. I found it refreshing that the performers in this film weren't required to speak in a foreign accent, or more precisely, an accent foreign to them. I don't think it took anything away from their characters' authenticity; all the actors were very convincing, even moreso, without an affected accent.

Since I'm not a big fan of swashbucking, action type movies or romantic movies, I wasn't attracted to the subject matter of this movie, nor to Leonardo DiCaprio's face on the jacket (although I'm not on the Leonardo-bashing bandwagon; I don't think he deserves all the bashing he gets). I hadn't even heard of Gabriel Byrne or the supporting actresses, but had seen Malkovich, Irons and Depardieu enough to know there would be quality acting in this film. So, having grown bored with browsing, I rented it, having no idea that I was in for such a pleasant surprise which would bring about a few first time experiences for me.

My first "first" was that I wanted to see it again and again & again! I don't ususally want to see a movie again (especially within a short period of time), but this movie more than just impressed me, it enchanted me. I thought every performer in it, even those with bit parts, was outstanding -yes, including Leonardo DiCaprio. Although he lacks the special magic that Gabriel Byrne, John Malkovich and Jeremy Irons bring to a performance, Leonardo DiCaprio still handled his dual role well by effectively conveying the differences in his characters not only in tone & affect, but by the way he could change his eyes from the "sad puppy" eyes of Phillipe to the cold, steely eyes of Louis.

I also found the story interesting (not having read the book first, I wasn't thrown off by the affair) and thought the scenery, costumes, makeup and hair was great (except for D'Artagnon's hair, severely parted way over to the side for some reason, which was a very unflattering style for him).

The music was so appropriate and moving that I even bought the soundtrack, which is also something I've never done as a result of seeing a movie.

And, another first: In all my years, I've never been as captivated, not only by a character (D'Artagnon), but by an actor as I am with Gabriel Byrne. Seeing him for the first time in this movie has prompted me to see more of his work, and I've come to realize that there's something in him, not just his characters, that touches my very soul.

I never expected a video I halfheartedly rented one evening to be one of the best movies I've seen in my life. I wonder why "Titanic" got 11 awards while the people involved with this film didn't get nearly the credit they deserve?

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Nowhere to Run (1993)

Well first of all I never really liked Van Damme's movies, well it's not so much that I didn't like them but it was pretty much the same thing over and over again...he would beat up people. However, this movie had a different story line. It wasn't only an action movie, but a drama as well. I think that he did a great job potraying the character and he really took on the role of the "father" for the little boy. I think he did a great job with that, since when you looked at him, you could tell that he wanted to be part of that family. I think he should do more movies like this, and it is definetely worth seeing/buying...you'll enjoy it :). So don't wait any longer, BUY it. Oh and this one isn't only for guys...my mom saw it with me and she enjoyed it as well. I believe females will enjoy this one as well.

This was such a well made movie and i don't understand why JCVD doesn't do more movies like this! They made JCVD more human than he was in films like Universal Soldier and Bloodsport because he was not the "i will kick your ass any day" guy. He was the "i will kick your ass to protect this family" guy. It also had an ending that the others didn't, but i won't spoil it for you. I love this movie, JCVD's best work!

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The Jean Claude Van Damme Review Matrix (JCVD-RM)

1. Who is he? Sam Gillen, a criminal on the loose

2. Which family member/friend must be avenged? His friend Billy, who breaks him out of police custody, and Clydie (Rosanna Arquette), a worn down widow and mother of two youngsters

3. Does he take his shirt off? In one of the most disturbingly inappropriate images possible in a movie, Sam is completely naked in front of Clydie's children. Luckily, the viewers are spared.

4. Does he have sex with a C-List actress? In one of his most provocative sex scenes ever, Sam and Arquette do a little carnal gymnastics (JCVD gets to a legit second base on film).

5. Is there a tournament? JCVD steers away from his kumite roots in this one.

6. Is training needed for this tournament? He clearly trained and prepared in some way, because he beats everyone down, has a law degree, understands the nuances of the animalistic fright-versus-flight dynamic, is an accomplished motorcycle stuntman, and knows how to drive a forklift.

7. Does he do the splits in training or in the tournament? Sorry JCVD fans, no splits.

8. Does he punch someone in the balls? In the first fight of the movie, one unfortunate guy gets an axe handle to the jewels.

9. Does he do a series of flying or 360 kicks? No jumping of flying in this one.

10. Is his enemy unbeatable? Essentially he's fighting "The Man" and "The System"; so, it depends on your point of view.

11. Does he overcome an injury or other hindrance? It's possible that he had some broken ribs, but that didn't stop him from fixing Clydie's pipes.

12. Does he win? Hmmm...

Nowhere to Run is almost a mirror image of the 1953 classic Shane. An outlaw escaping his past, houses up with a family struggling against the classic tale of greedy corporation versus small land owner. With a sheriff played by the guy who played Mr. Belding's brother in one episode of "Saved by the Bell" paid off by the land developer, and a creepy henchman played by Ted Levine, a man who appears to be perfectly suited for only that role, it's up to Sam to save the day. Motivated by the taut, perky body of Arquette, not to mention multiple full frontal shower and sex scenes, JCVD gives us perhaps the best movie in his legendary career, following the lead from Shane one last time, as he rides off into the sunset of an ambiguous future.

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An escaped convict, Sam (Jean Claude Van Damme), hides out on the ranch property of a single mother, Clyddie (Rosana Arquette), and her two children, and ends up helping the family to stand-up to an unscrupulous developer (Joss Ackland) who wants to buy Clyddie's land to mine it.

"Nowhere to Run" is not a great film. The plot is lifted directly from some old western and is utterly contrived and predictable, and the two young children seem to only be included in the story in order to emotionally manipulate the audience. Jean Claude Van Damme doesn't even get to show off his martial arts skills all that much. Nevertheless, in spite of all of the above, somehow this film managed to work, and I enjoyed it more than many films that are far better made. It is a fun, mindless action movie that kept me entertained and didn't tax my brain too much. Sure, the script is laughably bad at times (in particular the romance elements and any scenes involving Van Damme's relationship with Clyddie's son), but that just added to the entertainment value. Provided that you go into this film not expecting too much, you too will probably enjoy it.

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An escaped convict befriends a young widow and helps her battle corrupt land developers who want to force her off her land. Jean-Claude Van Damme does an excellent job in all of his movies. Van Damme shows more acting than action in this movie. Van Damme does not display the full martial arts arsenal, but he does display surprisingly effective acting as he does not overact in a role that possess more serious evocation than his other martial arts movies. Very entertaining movie.

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Midway (1976)

I saw the movie play in a theatre and I was greatly impressed.

I still enjoy the movie BUT! at the same time I am disappointed.

When it was released first on VHS and now on DVD I was greatly disappointed to see how much film footage has been cut out from the original theatrical release.

In its original release MIDWAY ran for almost 2 hours 45 minutes.

On VHS and DVD it runs for 2 hours 10 minutes. What happened to all the othe extra scenes???

Where is the Battle of the Coral Sea which was shown in the original movie?

Furthermore they cut out the surround sound and made it Mono.

It is ridiculous that the have a Special Feature on Surround Sound, but the DVD was made in Mono sound.

And they call this DVD a Special Collector's Edition???

Come on Universal give us the full extended theatrical release along with 5.1 Surround Sound.

Looks like they forgot to include the other hour and fifty minutes of the COLLECTORS EDITION !The sound is mono...yes mono!They forgot the movie portrays history!They also forgot that this is cinematic history as well.For years,I enjoyed watching this movie with my dad and brothers.It was one of the few subjects my dad and I could talk about for hours.Universal has short changed everyone looking to buy the four hour version.I hope they see the error of their ways by the poor sales of this version and begin to re-store the long sought after four hour version on dvd....they owe it to the veterans(of which,I am one),and history buffs.

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Why won't someone put out a complete version of this movie on DVD or even VHS. It is a much better movie when complete and you almost never see it that way. TNT seems to be the only one who shows it that way and they almost never do so, TBS and TCM also show it but in various cut down versions. If the people who put these DVDs and VHSs out are so fond of the cut down version, why not release a two DVD set with the cut and complete versions on it so us werdos who like to watch complete movies can get our fix.

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I have seen "Midway" countless times, and find it impressive for many reasons: The many scenes that contain original war footage, the fabulous cast, and the degree of historical accuracy, which is exceptional for a Hollywood epic.

Some of the WWII footage is riveting, and is edited to blend in well with the 1976 cinematography by Harry Stradling Jr., which is also marvelous; a good score by John Williams also adds to the atmosphere, though mostly we hear the sounds that would have been heard at the time...the roar of the sea, the wind, and the exploding bombs.

Many of the fascinating figures of history are represented well, and a few brilliantly, like Hal Holbrook as Commander Joseph Rochefort, the man who intercepted and broke the codes. Holbrook's portrayal is much like the real man, who working many times 20 hour shifts in a bunker, was a little scruffy, and had crucial information that was an essential part of the battle plans.

Henry Fonda is great as Admiral Chester Nimitz, and other big stars include Glenn Ford, Robert Mitchum, Toshiro Mifune, James Coburn, Cliff Robertson and Robert Wagner. I love the way the battle is planed like a chess game by both American and Japanese leaders, moving little "boats" around on a big map, each side trying to outwit the other. It also lays out the basics of the battle and makes it fairly understandable for the non-military person.

Charlton Heston is terrific as Captain Matthew Garth, the fictional character in the script, who has to deal with his son (Edward Albert), in love with a Japanese-American girl (Christina Kokubo), who has been interned with her parents. This little bit of "romance" I imagine was included in the film to round out the "human interest", and though I could have lived without this non-historical addition, it is peripheral to the action.

Admiral Nimitz said that the Battle of Midway was "The battle that made everything else possible", and this film is an excellent way to get a feel for the momentous events of that time, with its heroism, tragedy, extraordinary battle tactics, and men who changed the course of history.

Total running time is 132 minutes.

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Having read that the "Collectors' Edition" DVD would include footage omitted from the theatrical release, I assumed that Universal Studios had finally awoken, smelled the coffee, and included the 30 minutes or so of footage of the Battle of the Coral Sea that one can see when one watches the television version of this film. No such luck. Instead, the studio compounds the mistake it made when it included the goofy and anachronistic "son's fiance" sub-plot by adding not the Coral Sea footage, but two utterly goofy and superfluous domestic scenes with C. Heston and his wife before he leaves for work. Who does Universal thinks watches this type of movie, anyway? If Universal wants to tap into the latent market for DVDs of this film (and in its full version, sans fiance, this IS a good film), they should do the obvious: 1) include in its entirety all the missing footage of the Battle of the Coral Sea (an important context for what follows), and 2) relegate to the status of out-takes all the scenes involving the son's fiance -they don't ring true in the context of the film, and most people who like the rest of the movie delete them out of hand. There IS a market for a true "collectors' edition" of this film -but this isn't it! Bring on the Coral Sea footage, drop the silly "son's fiance" subplot, and give us the DVD that many of us can't wait to buy but can only find at present on TV! Until the studio gets the message, I'd hold off on buying this release and stick to watching the complete film whenever it comes on TV.

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Paul (Steelbook) (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy + UltraViolet) (2011)

Two British amateur ufologists Graeme Willy (Simon Pegg) and Clive Gollings (Nick Frost) visit COMICON in the US. Then they are off to the UFO sites in the US. They have a close encounter with a maniac driver. Little did they know they were going to encounter Paul an, an area 51 escapee who just wants to go home. We go along for the ride. There we encounter several cultures on the journey.

I first saw the trailer for this movie on TV; the one where Paul brings the bird back to life and then does what comes naturally. That set the tone for the whole film. The film does offend prudes of all types with it British style of humor (however Universal City, CA) if not it would have let someone down. For me it was the excessive potty mouth. However being part of the aggregate it was probably necessary.

A nice side part of the film is that they make fun of or incorporate a tad of quit a few of the major sci-fi movies. Watching the extras we learn that they went out of the way to also incorporate filming stiles of some great movies.

For some sort on inexplicable reason I really enjoyed the film and it made me think of a lesser known film named Out There [VHS] (1995), of which I am still waiting for an official DVR transfer.

Out There [VHS]

This is exactly what I wanted. THe case looks awesome and I am glad to have gotten it. Im a huge fan.

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Rashomon (The Criterion Collection) (1950)

If you have never seen this film, you will come to it and find it very familiar. That's because Rashomon has become part of the world's consciousness & lexicon. It's story of an action involving several participants, each with their own differing version of the truth, has been elaborated and riffed-on by many others since it appeared on the world's stage in the 50's.

So, it is an old movie, often imitated. And yet, I found it fresh and involving and well worth a look. As Robert Altman says on the DVD extras, many of the camera techniques, particularly shooting directly at the sun and allowing lens flare, were taboo-breaking and radically new when this film appeared. Now, that is put in as a joke in Shrek.

So you come to Rashomon not to be overwhelmed with its "newness" and the refreshing change of first encountering Japanese cinema and acting styles. No, you come to Rashomon as to an old master, to appreciate its lasting impression of the universality of human foibles and passions and the illusory nature of truth.

A rape and murder have occured in a woods. We hear and see different versions of the same encounter. Who is telling the truth? Is there an absolute objective truth, or does every teller of the tale inherently only tell the truth as he sees it? And if everyone is a "liar" and there is no absolute truth, what is the point of anything?

Don't let the heavy questions mislead you. Rashomon moves quickly, fluidly and gracefully, telling its story with economy and, to me, humor. Much is made of the dark philosophy underneath the theme, but I find great sardonic humor in the film. One example, the fight between the thief & the man as related by the woodcutter...it is messy and unheroic, sweaty, breathless and awkward and the antithesis of the stylized balletic sword fights found in, even Kurosawa's, samurai movies.

In the end, as familiar and much copied as Rashomon has been, it is still like no other film. It is unique, and the result of a master filmaker's vision, unified and beautiful and unforgettable.

** UPDATED NOV-11-2012: ADDED REVIEW OF 2012 CRITERION BLU-RAY **

Criterion's 2012 Region-A Blu-ray of RASHOMON is the result of a 2008 digital restoration of the 1951 Japanese classic. The original negative of the film was destroyed in the 1970s. The next best surviving material is a 1962 35mm print, which was used for this restoration. The print was digitally scanned at 4K resolution in 2008, followed by a frame-by-frame digital cleanup. The result, as presented on the 2012 Blu-ray and its corresponding DVD, is an improvement in terms of better-looking black and white level, less flickering, a little more picture on all four sides of the screen (about 30 pixels more on the left and right sides, and less on top and bottom), and, of course, more details on the high-def picture on the Blu-ray. The cleanup of the blemishes and scratches yielded a very nice picture, but then the old 2002 Criterion DVD looks pretty clean already. One major improvement from the old DVD to the new Blu-ray/DVD is the audio. As I wrote in my original review, the 2002 DVD sounds very hissy. The 2012 Blu-ray/DVD, however, has that remedied big time. I uploaded a video clip comparison (see comment section for the link) so you may listen for yourself. The new editions have very little hiss. But the underlying audio is still showing its age. Dialogs are still not the crispest, even though a high bit-rate LPCM 1.0 is used.

The 2012 Blu-ray & DVD include all the old bonus features, and a booklet with all the essays found on the 2002 DVD. On the Blu-ray, all the video extras are presented in hi-def 1080i picture, even though the source material seems to be originally in standard-def (hence, upconversion).

Two new bonuses are on the 2012 Blu-ray/DVD. An 16-minute audio-only piece contains a 1961 interview of actor Takashi Shimura by film critic Gideon Bachamann, with Donald Richie serving as the interpreter. And an informative 68-minute featurette reunites many crew members almost 60 years after the film was made, while offering many first-hand details about the making of the film.

** REVIEW OF 2002 CRITERION DVD POSTED APR-02-2002 **

RASHOMON, Kurosawa's classic existential masterpiece, is Japan's CITIZEN KANE. It offers some rather profound insights on the human condition while also being a technical and artistic tour de force. Like KANE, RASHOMON also uses a nonlinear, fragmented narrative to show the multiplicity and unfathomability of human nature. With an engaging murder mystery as its basis, RASHOMON should please film enthusiasts and novices alike.

The restored video transfer on this Criterion DVD edition makes the film look as good as new. Blemishes that used to be on older video releases have been digitally cleaned up. Sharpness and contrast, while not spectacularly good, are excellent (to provide a point of reference, it looks much cleaner than Criterion's SEVEN SAMURAI DVD). The original Japanese mono soundtrack is rather hissy, however. A cleaner English dub track is included, but voice acting is sub-par (actually, in my opinion, terrible; in one instance, it is even out of synch with the action).

The analytical audio commentary by Donald Richie is well-rounded, covering the themes, photography, acting, editing, and music of the film. The booklet includes English tranlations of the two short stories that inspired the film, and an excerpt from Kurosawa's autobiography that pertains to RASHOMON. In a 16-minute excerpt from a Japanese documentary about the film's cinematographer, various camera techniques used in the film are revealed.

This DVD is encoded for Region 1 only. For those who keep track of things like this, Criterion has only made a handful of Region 1 DVDs, which include ARMAGEDDON, BRIEF ENCOUNTER, CHASING AMY, THE DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGEOISIE, GIMME SHELTER, THE HIDDEN FORTRESS, HIGH AND LOW, KWAIDAN, NOTORIOUS, THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC, RASHOMON, THE ROCK, SAMURAI I, II, and III, SANJURO, SEVEN SAMURAI (second printing), THE SHOP ON MAIN STREET, THE VANISHING, and YOJIMBO.

Buy Rashomon (The Criterion Collection) (1950) Now

Somewhat curiously, Japanese critics were not enthusiastic about RASHOMON when it was released in 1950 Japan. Today, however, RASHOMON is generally considered to be the film that introduced both master director Akira Kurosawa and Japanese cinema to the west; it is also often cited as the film that prompted The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to create an award for Best Foreign Language film. It is widely regarded as a masterwork of world cinema.

Set in 12th Century Japan, the film's premise is at once both very simple and very complex. A man is found dead in a forrest, and several people are brought forward to give testimony in the matter. In some respects their accounts agree--but in numerous others, some obvious and some very subtle, their stories differ. As each character gives his or her version of events, the various differences pile higher and higher, leaving the viewer to wonder at the motivations involved.

Has each person simply interpreted the same facts in different ways? Do they deliberately lie in order to protect themselves? Are the differences in their stories deliberate or subconcious? The film offers no easy answers. Some have criticized the film for seeming to state that there is no such thing as ultimate truth, but RASHOMON is more complex than this: it is essentially a meditation on our inability, be it deliberate or unintentional, to reach more than an approximation of ultimate truth due to the very nature of humanity itself.

Much has been written about the look of the film, which is indeed memorable. Filmed by Kazuo Miyagawa, it presents the forrest as a living, breathing entity; the images are powerful, the editing remarkable. No less so are the performances, which require the various actors to shift in behavior as each person involved gives their own account of the event; this is particularly true of Toshiro Mifune, a frequent performer in Kurosawa films, and actress Machiko Kyō. But whether lead or supporting player, all performaces are equally astonishing.

The film has been extremely, extremely influential over the years, and as such it no longer has quite the same "shock of the new" that it had for audiences of the 1950s; nonetheless, this is director Kurosawa working very close to the height of his power, and while he would create other films that equalled and bested RASHOMON, it remains among his masterworks. The Criterion edition is quite fine, offering a near-pristine print with your choice of subtitles or dubbing (the former is recommended) and several memorable extras. Strongly recommended for fans of world cinema.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Read Best Reviews of Rashomon (The Criterion Collection) (1950) Here

A man is dead, a woman was raped, and that's all that can be definitely said. Somebody has committed murder, but nobody knows whodunnit.

And that's the basic plot of Akira Kurosawa's "Rashomon," a hauntingly pessimistic look at how the "truth" can be warped and changed by different people's perspectives. It's a magnificently eerie piece of work, filled with suspense and some really astounding acting -particularly from Toshiro Mifune as a laughing bandit.

At the Rashomon Gate in eleventh-century Japan, a man (Kichijiro Ueda) takes shelter with a priest (Minoru Chiaki) and a woodcutter (Takashi Shimura) during a rainstorm.

The woodcutter is depressed and the priest is horrified, over a recent crime: the vicious bandit Tajômaru (Toshirô Mifune) was arrested for murdering a man named Takehiro (Masayuki Mori) and raping his wife Masako (Machiko Kyô). But when taken before the police, Tajômaru claims that he had his fun with the woman and killed her husband honorably in a fight.

But Masako begs to differ; she claims to be the victim first of the sadistic bandit, then of her cold-hearted husband, whom she says she stabbed. And when a medium calls up the spirit of Takehiro, he claims that Masako was unfaithful, asking the bandit to murder him, then spurned by Tajômaru. Her actions drove Takehiro to suicide. But the woodcutter himself claims to have seen the altercation -and his version is wildly different from them all.

During the filming of "Rashomon," director Akira Kurosawa stated that the film is a reflection of life, which doesn't always have clear meanings. The same could be said of truth. Questions are raised by the events of "Rashomon," but given no easy answers -sometimes no answers at all (my biggest question was how Masako's gown stays so white if she's always weeping on the ground).

Are Kurosawa's insights dark and depressing? In a fascinating, hypnotic way... yes. But while calmly pointing out the ability of human beings to lie even to themselves, he acknowledges that there's good in there too. The illusions and innocence of the young priest are stripped away, yet the knowledge of how despicable people can be is tempered with the knowledge that "real" truth isn't necessary to have goodness.

And Kurosawa's directorial skill is no less striking -light and shadow whirl and dance in a frankly beautiful woodland setting, serving as a pretty backdrop for some very ugly acts. Kurosawa was even brave enough to touch on the unique idea of having the deceased testify. The spinechilling seance scene, starring a downright spooky, stark-faced Fumiko Honma, is a haunting classic scene.

And the masterful fight scenes deserve an extra shout-out -they reflect the person telling the story. Tajomaru's are more stylized and choreographed, while the woodcutter just sees two freaked-out guys rolling and staggering with swords.

Toshirô Mifune chews the scenery with gusto as the barbarian bandit, especially with that crazy hyena laugh. Machiko Kyô initially seems to be overacting, until you see how unhinged her character has become, and Masayuki Mori does a pretty solid job for a guy tied to a tree. Minoru Chiaki and Takashi Shimura add an extra dimension as the innocent young priest and the tormented woodcutter.

Gloomy, thought-provoking and ultimately quite freaky, "Rashomon" still defies conventional filmmaking, brilliantly crafted and exceptionally directed. And that's the truth.

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Rashomon was the first movie where Akira Kurosawa really found his filmmaking voice.

Visually, Rashomon is stunning. The techniques used by Kurosawa were years ahead of their time. The outdoor filming, especially in the forest, gives the film an authenticity that you just can't get on a soundstage.

As far as the story goes, there is enough ambiguity to keep people discussing this movie for decades. Is it about lying? Distorted memories? People lying to themselves? Selfishness? Or is it about all of the above?

Kurosawa's story of a murder told from four different points of view that come across with distinctly different details is captivating. In the end we still aren't 100% sure exactly what happened, although we have a fairly good idea. Toshiro Mifune is, as he often is, over the top as the bandit. But being Toshiro Mifune over the top works extremely well. It comes across as genuine, and not just hammy acting. Mifune would take this performance and refine it further in Seven Samurai just four years later.

As for the Essential Art House DVD, it is the Criterion version without the extras. The picture quality is quite good, as the contrast is just about perfect, and the picture has a sharpness and clarity that is very pleasing. The sound doesn't fare quite so well, as there is a lot of hiss and crackling to be heard, but not so much as to be a deal breaker. The voices come through clearly, as does the rain and other forest sounds.

Why buy this version? Price. It is roughly half the cost of the fully loaded Criterion release, so that makes it a lot easier to make the purchase. Yes, the extras on the full Criterion version are quite good, but if you're on the fence about buying the movie this would be the one to get (especially if price is a major consideration).

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BARFI HINDI BLU RAY WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES FULLY BOXED AND SEALED DIRECT FROM MANAFACTURER (2012)

Some may say this movie stole some famous scenes from classics. But this movie is full of love and humor, which we can't find in Hollywood movies any more. They didn't steal but quoated those scenes because it seems too obvious if you call it plagiarism. All the actors and actresses are very attractive and lovely. After watching whole this movie once, you will want to watch some lovable scenes again and again.

Arachnophobia (1990)

"Arachnophobia" is a clever comedy/thriller sure to scare the spider-phobes out there. Jeff Daniels and Harley Jane Kozak star as Dr. Ross and Molly Jennings, a young couple who have moved to the country to start his medical practice. Little do they know that a huge, deadly spider has arrived from South America and is reproducing a lot! One by one, town residents start dropping like flies, until Ross figures out they were all bitten by spiders. This brings back memories of a childhood trauma that left him with a paralyzing fear of spiders and the spider's nest is right in Ross' barn.

There are many creepy scenes of menacing spiders that will have you looking around to make sure none are near you. They must have used some robotic spiders, but they all looked very real to me. The idyllic rural setting contrasts nicely with the intensely scary stalking spiders. Daniels is perfect as the dedicated doctor, and John Goodman has a small but funny part as an exterminator. The movie may be too scary for very young children, but others will giggle a little and gasp a lot.

Kona

I thought that archnophobia was a great movie. It was Thrilling and funny, and I recomend it to anyone who likes a good thriller. I think that the guy who gave it one star needs to get a life and stop taking things to seriously. He's a little too attached to spiders if you know what I mean.

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This often amusing, sometimes suspenseful film about killer spiders starts out in the dense jungles of Venezuela, with bug-O-maniac Julian Sands, as he tracks down a new species of lethal as well as big and hairy arachnid. One of these hairy creatures finds its way to sweet suburbia in California, using a wooden coffin as transport, and starts mating with the local spider population, causing havoc and rigor mortis.

City transplant Jeff Daniels, a doctor with severe arachnophobia, who wants the quiet country life as long as he doesn't have to see a spider, finds himself the center of controversy because of the deaths, and his newly bought house infested with the critters. Daniels, one of Hollywood's more underrated actors, gives a terrific performance as Dr. Jennings, as he tries some hands-on therapy for his phobia.

John Goodman is hilarious as the town exterminator, who if he can't kill 'em with insecticide, uses his big boots, and others in the fine cast are Harley Jane Kozak as Molly Jennings, Henry Jones as old Dr. Metcalf, and Stuart Pankin as stubborn Sheriff Parsons. This was the feature film directorial debut for Frank Marshall, who has been known mostly as a producer, mainly for Stephen Spielberg's films. A good score by Trevor Jones (with songs like Jimmy Buffett's "Don't Bug Me") adds to the overall enjoyment of this fun creature feature, which takes us back to the days when the bugs were filmed in black and white.

Total running time is 103 minutes.

Read Best Reviews of Arachnophobia (1990) Here

Arachnophobia is a thriller that will have you checking everywhere for spiders for months! Anyone who is even slightly creeped out by spiders will be on the edge of their seat.

The pace and tone is Hitchcock. Great acting, music, special effects, slam-bang ending.

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A genial, light-weight "horror" film. The movie is good looking, well performed, and well shot. The suspense is leavened with humor and the plot is routine. Really, a good intro-to-horror film for someone who wants to understand the genre without actually being scared, just a little tense with anticipation at times. John Goodman pushes the film toward the humorous side whenever he appears.

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Kathleen Madigan: Gone Madigan (1905)

My husband, grown kids and I have really liked Kathleen Madigan for years. I hadn't seen much of her lately so I looked this up on Amazon, ordered it and we watched it tonight. The whole family got such a kick out of this DVD. It is hysterical. I agree with the first reviewer, she doesn't miss a beat. I love her irreverance. Viewing this DVD made for a very enjoyable evening. This is her best work yet.

Watched "Gone Madigan" on Showtime this morning and Kathleen Madigan is absolutely a SCREAM!!! Is she politically incorrect? Of Course!! Is she crude and vulgar? No!!.. Coming from a large Irish Catholic family from St Louis,Missouri.. I found her observations and dry humor to be refreshing. Yes...she is irreverent... and takes on everything from California healthy living..Wee people in Ireland ... her parents and siblings.. a tour of the Mormon temple... she hits such a variety of topics but didn't miss a beat on any of them. Beware ... she is a democrat and she does think.. so if you find either of those threatening or offensive this is not your cup of tea. Otherwise... get ready for a very entertaining stand-up set with a very intelligent lady who has just a little different twist on life!!! I love every moment of her routine and am pre-ordering this DVD!!

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This is seriously laugh-out-loud funny without the anger or the filth! It takes an extremely creative mind to relate normal life experiences in such a creative and hilarious way! Great Christmas Gift! If you have the opportunity to see Kathleen live, go! Her comedic timing is the best!

Read Best Reviews of Kathleen Madigan: Gone Madigan (1905) Here

Funny in spotsactually really funny. Towards the end it wasn't as funny, but overall, it was good. Worth a look.

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I love Kathleen Madigan and this was a very entertaining dvd. Would consider buying

another. Arrived on time and in good condition. Thanks!

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Mr. Brooks (2007)

This by far is Kevin Costner's best film he has been in about 15 years. Costner plays "Mr. Brooks" who leads a double life. On the outside he is a successful businessman and loving family man, on the inside, he struggles with his addiction, his addiction to murder. For about two years he has been able to resist until he listens to his alter ego (played devilishly by William Hurt) to play again. He then goes into the apartment of a couple and proceeds to kill both of them.

The next day he is visited by Mr. Smith, who blackmails him to take him to his next killing. All the while he is being followed by a detective trying to solve the "thumb print murders" and juggles his personal life which is thrust into turmoil. His daughter "drops out of school" and is pregnant, but is that all of it? Soon he discovers she shares the same addiction and sickness as he does and out of compassion "fixes" her situation as well as his own predicament. What to do with and about Mr. Smith? Fulfilling his promise to Mr. Smith he takes him on his next job and decides he wants Mr. Smith to end his suffering and make him disappear, but is this the true end of Mr. brooks?

This one will keep you on your toes, on the edge of your seat and guessing until the end. I haven't personally seen a film executed this well in many years, by far the best Costner has done in a decade, and I wish he would do more films of this caliber more often. A great script, cast and great performances played deliciously by both Costner and Hurt. This one is not to be missed, and I promise you won't be disappointed.

***1/2

Bruce A. Evans' "Mr. Brooks" deserves praise for at least bringing a certain degree of freshness to the well-worn serial-killer genre.

Kevin Costner portrays Earl Brooks, a devoted husband and father and the recent recipient of the Man of the Year Award from the city of Portland, Oregon for his work as a successful businessman. He also just happens to be a cold-blooded murderer, known to the media and the law enforcement community as the Fingerprint Killer, so named because he leaves that telltale sign behind at each of his crime scenes (we must assume it is not his own fingerprint, although the script never actually spells that out for us). As the movie opens, Brooks hasn't killed anyone for two years, having chosen to resist the temptation by attending AA meetings and focusing on his wife and daughter. However, lately, Brooks has begun to succumb to the pull of his "addiction," once again allowing his darker angel to lure and goad him into seeking out unsuspecting victims as a means of alleviating the pressure.

What separates "Mr. Brooks" from all other previous serial-killer thrillers is that it has chosen to actually incarnate that bad angel on screen in the form of an unnerving William Hurt, who appears by Brooks' side at strategic moments in the movie to advise, berate and commiserate with Brooks as he contemplates his next homicidal action. Generally, in these movies, we rarely get a sense of the intense mental struggle taking place within the deeply disturbed, psychotic mind of the killer. Through the use of Hurt's character (referred to by Brooks as Marshall), however, the writers, Evans and Raynold Gideon, are able to verbalize that conflict and show us the two warring factions co-existing within this single warped psyche. Despite the absurdity of it, Brooks truly believes that his "condition" can be "cured" if he regularly and faithfully attends a self-help group for alcoholics. Thus, against our better judgment, perhaps, we find ourselves almost feeling sorry for the man, a position one rarely finds oneself in in a tale such as this one.

The complex plot also includes a wannabe young killer (Dane Cook) who blackmails Brooks into taking him out on his next killing spree; an expert homicide investigator (Demi Moore) who was investigating the Fingerprint Killer case until the trail turned cold; and Brooks' own college-aged daughter, Jane (Danielle Panabaker), who may have inherited her dad's killer "gene" and might just possibly have a murder or two of her own to account for.

The storyline may not always pass the credibility threshold (particularly in the suggestion that psychosis might have a genetic component and can be passed down from generation to generation), but the cleverness of the approach and the genuine creepiness of many of the scenes go a long way towards mitigating the imperfections. Moreover, Costner, Hurt, Moore and Cook give spellbinding performances as the killer and the various persons and pseudo-persons caught in the bloody web he has woven.

Working as a team, Costner and Hurt bring complementary opposing qualities to their roles which, when taken together, add up to a single, well-rounded character. In a complex variation on the Jekyll and Hyde, Faust and Mephistopheles dichotomy, Costner conveys the poignancy and vulnerability of the "good" Brooks, while Hurt shows us the steely-eyed cold-heartedness of the "bad" Brooks. Yet, there are times when even those roles switch, as when Costner coldly laughs at the prospect of a victim's potential suffering and Hurt provides words of comfort to a hurting Costner.

Together, the two talented stars create a complex symbiotic relationship that lifts "Mr. Brooks" several rungs above the ordinary.

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If it hadn't been for the dumbest cop ever born (the one played by Demi Moore), this would have gotten one more star.

Anyway, Costner does a marvelous job as a tormented serial killer addicted to thrill killing while also holding down a great job and doting on his wife and daughter. The daughter, however, may be a budding serial killer herself, and he wants to save her from becoming like her father.

William Hurt also is in full creepy mode as a manifestation of Costner's dueling personality, while comedian Dane Cook plays a would-be killer who wants Costner to tutor him in how to do it and not get caught.

There is some intrusive techno music and a Matrix-like hallway shoot-out that could have been done better. However, these are quibbles. I had a bigger problem with Moore's distracting divorce battle, impulsiveness, and general arrogance.

Read Best Reviews of Mr. Brooks (2007) Here

Mr. Brooks has a Man of the Year award, a loving family, some seemingly-mundane hobbies, and a little nickname the papers like to use calling him: "The Thumbprint Killer." Only they don't call HIM the killer; they just refer to some of the handy work he seems to have left behind and this addiction keeps him killing. He doesn't like to do it, mind you, going to AA meetings because he is trying to keep his addiction in check. Still, an addiction is an addiction is an addiction and relapses to occur. His latest relapse, a dancer he sees and her lover, change things when something changes in his pattern.

Namely, a loose end comes to visit and builds a world within his world by asking him to show off what killing is made of.

And that's where things get started.

When I first rented the movie, I didn't expect that much. Costner is oftentimes hit-or-miss and, frankly, I was afraid he would miss in this role. Happily I have to say I was wrong, with Costner making an excellent killer and also kicking it in a dual role. One of the many things Costner showcases in this movie is the way he can play with the mentality within a role here Mr. Brooks has an imaginary friend we are lucky enough to see and the two of them share laughs and plans and suspicions on what is what. Honestly these are some of the best scenes in the business, making you really like Mr. Brooks and appreciate his humor. Costner does great work making Mr. Brooks a sympathetic character, too, with his murderous life balanced well by a family he sees to really love.

Along the way, we pick up a counterpart to Costner, one Demi Moore, and she does some good work in this venture, too. I was equally surprised by this because I didn't expect to be able to take her seriously in any sort of way as an officer, much less an officer with a plethora of secrets. One of those things is a little bit of a distraction, mind you, one called The Hangman, but that just seems to be a little piece of a giant puzzle trying to keep the audience engaged.

I'm glad the writers at least remembered that Mr. Brooks was the focal point of the tale.

For people wanting some hardcore murder, this is a mainstream piece and doesn't offer up a thick helping of doom. It does have its moments and it does have its beauty, and it should still offer up something to that side of the spectrum. People who don't like graphic horror should be able to keep on keeping on with their watching, able to love Costner and able to watch some death together.

I liked the movie it had a lot to give to and think people should check it out.

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Please stay out of my neighborhood. If you are looking for entertainment with excellent acting, this movie is for you. Kevin Costner and William Hurt are in their prime in this movie. The content of the movie is about a man obessesed with killing and then finds out he has passed that obessesion down to his daughter. I am apprehensive to say it is a good movie because of the content but as far as acting and drama with suspense...it is a good movie.

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