Sherlock Jr. / Three Ages (1924)

This Buster Keaton classic has never looked better than than on this newly released Blu Ray disc......Sherlock Jr is 44 minutes of perpetual motion............not a half second of down time in his baby. This movie is VERY funny with jaw dropping stunts by Keaton himself. I can see why Welles and other giants consider Keaton the best director ever.

This movie deserves 10 stars especially considering what passes for 5 stars on Amazon.

Not to be missed!!

Wow. This is great.

I really did not need Three Ages on Blu-Ray, but it's nice to have.

Sherlock Jr., though, is fantastic. A very nice transfer, with a tiny bit of missing material added. Some good featurettes added as well. Nice music choices for the soundtrack as well. (THis is the one Alloy Orchestra score I like.)

It just looks GREAT! Kudos, Kino!

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The Blu-Ray AND the regular ("Ultimate 2-Disc Edition") dvds have the best prints I've ever seen of these films. The Blu-Ray is marginally sharper, but you really have to compare the two versions back-to-back and almost microscopically to tell the difference (I do have both versions).

The "Three Ages" is a problematic film due to nitrate decomposition; I agree that on both films, Kino would have done us a big favor by "enhancing" the movies with some digital cleanup: given the clarity of the Blu-Ray, I believe you would never notice any "compromise" in the quality of the picture even with the digital noise reduction. At the very least this should be done in the titles and the fade-outs, where scratches are most noticeable. (I certainly see no loss of quality in the digitally "enhanced versions" on Kino's set of Keaton's 19 short films.) Nevertheless, the image itself is certainly as sharp as you're ever going to get, and the pictures have adequate contrast but with lots of detail.

The music is a different matter. I very much like the Robert Israel soundtrack for "Three Ages". However, it seems to be out of sync around the middle of the film (sound is a few frames late to the picture), then goes back in sync a little later. It's not terrible, but I always notice this when it happens (when Keaton whacks his rival on the head and there is a musical highlight at that moment, I just naturally expect the sound to match the picture, and if it's late I'm disappointed).

It surprises me that given three different sound tracks for "Sherlock Jr." not one of them is completely successful. The Mont Alto score works the best for me. Mont Alto is a very professional small ensemble and they always play pleasant and winsome music. But their skill at matching music-to-picture is wildly variable. They do such satisfying work with their scores for the Flicker Alley anthology "Georges Melies: First Wizard of Cinema" that I have often put on a film just because I like their music so much! On the other hand, their music for "Chaplin at Keystone" ranges from pleasant to curious to maddening: Chaplin is dashing about, leaping and (literally) kicking rear-ends; people are tumbling and flying through the air madly at super-sonic speeds... and the Mont Alto is playing a slow waltz. What in the world were they thinking? Were they even watching the movie?

Similarly, in "Sherlock Jr.", there are times when the Mont Alto players seem unaware that there is actually a COMEDY going on. They begin the film with mock-serious music to play along with Keaton's character, who is taking himself too seriously; but the music is so austere and lacking in whimsy that it stops working for the irony and only bogs down the comedy (their 'crime-investigation' music, see below, is much better). But their next couple of choices are better...until the Other Suitor enters the living room. Here the music is pretty cold. One moment in particular leaves me shaking my head every time I think about it: while Mont Alto plays slow and frankly rather gloomy music (as if for a tragedy!) Keaton takes a mind-boggling, back-breaking prat fall; the music just continues to drone on slowly and grimly. Rather than being funny, the effect is odd. A little later, when the movie actually becomes, temporarily, tragic, the music is very effective.

Even given their many miscalculations, I still prefer the Mont Alto soundtrack over the Club Foot Orchestra, which quickly becomes annoying, and over Jay Ward's scratchy and hissy "vintage jazz score", which is not sensitively compiled. The Mont Alto score is full of engaging and memorable tunes. And I must give them their due: once they decide to play more up-beat and up-tempo music to match Keaton's rhythm as he "shadows the suspect", their music becomes a perfect match to the action, and really charming. Their `crime-investigation' music (while Buster plays pool) is a good fit to the picture, being both mock-serious AND very witty; but they start this particular music about a minute too late (it should begin just after Keaton enters the home and removes his coat). And their chase music (again, they start too late) is great stuff, really adding to the delight of the film. They end the movie with appropriately thoughtful music. The music from the chase to The End fits the picture so incredibly well, is so appealing and rememberable that it is now impossible for me to imagine the movie without this music.

So, 10 stars out of 5 for "Sherlock Jr." as a masterwork of cinema, 4 out of 5 for "Three Ages"; 4 out of 5 for Kino's crisp and clear reproductions (minus half a star because they did nothing to clean up the scratches, and another minus 1/2 for the sound-sync problem), 4 stars for the music to "Three Ages" (both the music for the complete film, and the organ scores for the re-cut versions are good), and varying from 2 to 5 stars for the music to "Sherlock Jr."

If you've got the extra money, love Keaton, and you do not have a local vintage theatre that shows these films with excellent live accompaniment, then I do recommend buying this dvd.

Read Best Reviews of Sherlock Jr. / Three Ages (1924) Here

SHERLOCK, JR. (writ./dir. Buster Keaton, 1924, 45 minutes) is a Buster Keaton masterpiece that is truly unbelievable at that short length. Not too typically short, not feature-length, SHERLOCK, JR. is a much-cited, deeply loved comedy silent film from the absolute Founder of Film himself. Sadly, due to its length, I can only include it here with Keaton's THREE AGES one of his works I haven't seen. Sorry!

Of course, SHERLOCK is really BK's first truly great silent feature, far outstripping his The Navigator of the same year. His first feature-length, Sherlock Jr. / Three Ages [Blu-ray] made just the year before, is available with SHERLOCK and I suggest you get that or one of the other double-bill DVDs.

BK (as I love to call him) stars as a theater projectionist who longs to be a detective he carries around a guidebook for amateurs with him wherever he goes. When he is falsely accused of stealing a watch from the boardinghouse where he lives, thus losing his fiancée in the process, he falls asleep on the job and dreams of being Sherlock, Jr., world's greatest detective.

This is the BK film famous for having him walk right into the movie screen and into an ongoing film. It may also be the very first time in film history that has featured a film-within-a-dream-within-a-film ... BK was such a genius there really is no word for his genius!

There are several scenes I recommend to all and sundry:

1 the billiard game with the exploding 13 ball

2 the motorcycle ride (first time a camera was mounted on the moving object)

3 Sherlock's trusty assistant Gilette in a special costume

4 the busy street scenes

5 the dash off a moving train only to be hit with the rush from the water tower (and yes, this is the famous scene in which BK broke his neck and actually just walks away from the camera)

6 best of all, BK shows the beautiful emotions on his face that he almost always showed. I do not know why he was nicknamed the Great Stone Face; he had a Buddha's face, which is something very different! What he specialized in showing us was a fearless, determined character no matter what, a strong man, a true man.

Finally, I believe this is the first film in which BK does not regularly wear his trademark hat (a modified Stetson fedora which he hand-shaped). It made hilarious appearances regularly but he did not wear it as part of his costume here for the first time. In fact, he prominently hangs it on a peg at the beginning and basically ignores it for the rest of the movie. A lot of critics have said BK communicated certain messages to the audience via his hat, but here I can only surmise he's telling us he won't be doing his usual schtick.

You should get this in the combination of Our Hospitality/Sherlock, Jr. (see my review of the other film). No matter how you do it, though, DO IT! Do not let yourself pass on without having seen this!!

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THREE AGES (1923) is the least regarded of Buster Keaton's features, but for me it is just as great as all the "classics." This double-bill also includes the miraculous SHERLOCK JR. (1924), which also is top-notch Keaton. Buster's antics regarding love in THREE AGES are wonderfully comic, and you will be amazed by the laughs and the incredible visual wonder of SHERLOCK JR. Two of the greatest comedies ever made in a perfect KINO blu-ray package :-)

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Grand Prix (2011)

I saw this movie when it was first released in Honolulu at the Cinerama theatre in the true Cinerama format. I remember nearly falling out of my seat as the astounding race sequences played out before me. This is a truly organic race film, there are real drivers of the F1 era mixed in with the mostly European cast, though James Garner and Eva Marie Saint break the cross Atlantic barrier. This film is a wonderful technical masterpiece. It even has some fine dramatic moments in between the melodrama. Some might say this is the film's greatest short coming. That is true, but also where it really mirrors the emotional high that F1 has always worn on it's sleeve. F1 is a soap opera that is played out across the world, where the wealthiest mingle, though not too closely, with the proletariat for a few hours of high rev mania. Many of the courses in the film are still in existance, but they have been smoothed out and plundered of passion. Often the races held these days resemble a parade, but once in a while things go terribly wrong and a race ensues. And it is in capturing those glorious moments that the film really soars. You will feel the ripping of the air as a car tears through the streets of Monaco, and be stunned by the speed and savagery of a huge racetrack like The Spa in Belgium or the amazing high banked corners at the old track in Monza, Italy. The camera work is a virtuoso masterpiece of technical achievement. Many of the shots that we take for granted today on our live TV races were the brain children of the camera men who worked on the film. This film is the one all of that work we see on modern TV broadcast racing strives to emulate. You are in the race, in the cockpit, in the mind and the heart of the greatest racers in the world. And for those who know the history of the sport, the real greats of the sport in that era are on hand. Jack Brabaham. Graham Hill. Jim Hill. Bruce McLaren. Richi Ginther. Many of the great names that are featured in this film did not survive the harshness of the sport and succumbed to death because of failure of both man and machine. This film is a treasure. It may be out dated. It may be melodramatic. It may also be the greatest racing film ever, but some debate that the much more restrained, almost catatonic Steve McQueen film, Le Mans is the superior. I see them as equals, representative of the two types of mind sets in racing. The passionate, fiery visrtuoso who crashes as much as he wins, and the technician, the cool headed pro, who always finishes, and manages to win more than a few in the process. Which is better? You see these movies and figure it out for yourselves. I have.

"Grand Prix" is the finest racing movie ever produced. The story involves the pursuit of the Formula 1 World Championship by four men: Jean-Pierre Sarti (Yves Montand), an aging former champion who grows weary from the acute physical demands of the sport and team politics; Nino Barlini (Antonio Sabato), a brash, fearless young lion; Scott Stoddard (Brian Bedford), a man broken in body yet driven to match the legacy of his deceased brother; and Pete Aron (James Garner), a stoic, pragmatic American fighting to restore a faltering career. The Ferrari Team Manager comments during the film, "Everyone wants to win...there is no distinction in that." What distinguishes these four men from others is the sheer force of will each exhibits to overcome his personal demons and to achieve his final destiny.

The drama unfolds amidst many of the great racing circuits of Europe...the narrow, twisting streets of Monte Carlo; the rain-slickened expanse of Spa; and the tortuous, high, concrete banks of Monza. John Frankenheimer's inventive split-screen imaging and on-board cameras put you inside the cockpit where you sense the raw power and road-pounding vibrations from these sleek racing machines. You are at once deafened by the high-pitched whine of superbly tuned engines as they roar off the starting grid...and then mesmerized by Maurice Jarre's soft, eloquent musical score set to compelling visual images of cars rising, falling, and turning through the racing circuit in a ballet of speed, grace, and beauty. I agree with an earlier review that DVD would materially enhance the appeal of this production and I sincerely hope DVD will be forthcoming. Regardless, "Grand Prix" will forever serve as the quintessential racing movie.

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Although racing films in general have never enjoyed overwhelming commercial success Grand Prix stands alone as the best racing film of all time!

The storyline isn't brilliant by any means and there are a few `unexplained' bloopers such as Jean Pierre Sarte's mysterious helmet change from one race to the next which was due to John Surtees leaving the Ferrari team at mid-season and signing with Cooper for a bit before eventually signing with Honda but if you're a diehard Formula 1 fan this film is a true blessing.

I already own the Laser disc and still own one of the original programs that were sold at the movie theaters and I have been waiting for this film to come out on DVD for ages, simply in the hopes of viewing the treasure-trove of behind-the-scenes footage.

Although the film did not receive the critical success many felt it deserved the historic importance of this film should not be underestimated because it's the only clear color film footage available anywhere in the world where you can see; Graham Hill, Jack Brabham, Jimmy Clark, Dan Gurney, Phil Hill, Richie Ginther, Jochen Rindt, Bruce McLaren, Maurice Trintignant, Mike Parkes, Joakim Bonnier, Lorenzon Bandini, Chris Amon, Guy Ligier and even the great Juan Manuel Fangio together on the big screen and in their crowning glory. Be sure to watch closely during the Spa Francorchamps drivers meeting when Jochen Rindt playfully reaches out and trips Graham Hill (aka `Bob Turner') as he's trying to step past Rindt.

For fans and students of cinematography the camera angles and the technology invented to achieve many of those angles are a testament to the ground-breaking achievements that underscore the unique and visionary genius of John Frankenheimer. And of course there's a wonderful cast of outstanding actors including the great Toshiro Mifune, Brian Bedford, Yves Montand, Antonio Sabato, and of course, James Garner who was inspired by his role in the film and went on to enjoy moderate success as an amateur racer.

Grand Prix is a must have for every motorsports fan and required study for any cinematography student who someday dreams of shooting a film with cars of any type, let alone racing!

Read Best Reviews of Grand Prix (2011) Here

John Frankenheimer broke new ground when he filmed "Grand Prix", putting cameras on single-seater cars and thus creating some of the most amazing footage ever shot of cars from that era. The movie is on the light side as far as the story development goes, and while James Garner is very convincing as an American grand prix ace, one has a harder time buying this sort of act from Yves Montand who plays the aging Ferrari driver. Eva Marie Saint is cast as a magazine journalist following the grand prix circus around Europe, trying to get a story a storyline that was recently successfully resurrected in "Driven". Her lovestory with Montand is not exactly hot, but the highly dramatic race action in Monte Carlo, Spa, and Monza (they still used the famous banking of the autodromo in those days!)more than makes up for that. The film features cameo appearances of some of the era's greatest drivers like Graham Hill. Letter-boxed on a larger screen is the only decent way to completely enjoy the breath-taking cinematography of this classic.

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I have high hopes for the quality of this new release, and greatly look forward to seeing Grand Prix again. It was a reserved-seat movie back in 1966, and in those days epic movies took their spectacle seriously. (Grand Prix is spectacular in a different way than Spartacus, which in turn is different from Lawrence, etc.)

Back in 1966, or '56 or '46, when actors drove cars in movies, even race cars, they were invariably back-projected. Seemed fakey then, though now it doesn't bother me. But Grand Prix was maybe the first movie to eschew back projection for actor-driving-car scenes. In GP, the 70mm camera that pans and tilts, is literally bolted on the cars. The scenery flying by is real. The actual actor, e.g., Garner or Ives Montand, is out in the weather driving his race car and driving pretty fast, and you're out there with him, two feet away. What a movie.

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Anastasia (2011)

PLEASE BE AWARE: The lovely cover image you see on Amazon is actually from the first DVD release of this movie. If you order this product, you will receive something that looks like this. (Unfortunately.)

Despite the horrible artwork on the cover, this DVD set is by far one of the best 2-disk special editions I have ever seen. The movie is presented in its original widescreen cinemascope glory with sparkling menus, tons of extras, a tour of the castle, and a bonus movie. If it only had a concept art gallery, I would put it all the way up there with the Disney Platinum Editions.

The first disk makes use of a map of Anya's journal to Paris as the main menu integrated with clips from the movie. It also has something the Disney DVDs have been lagging on lately--a commentary. A commentary, no doubt, with Don Bloth and Gary Goldman, the two masterminds behind this film and many other animated masterpieces.

Aside from that, the first disk also contains bonus features on how to draw four of the main characters in the movie. Now, most "how" to draw features start out with a perfect drawing of a character and then show three steps, each with perfectly matching lines and expect you to do exactly the same thing, which is simply ridiculous. This one was different, though. Don Bluth hosted four beautiful art sessions talking very realistically about how real artists do it, from 6B pencils to kneaded erasers to the fact that it's okay to make mistakes. He went through the process step by step and amazingly, his drawings looked very sketchy and none looked exactly like the character he was drawing. I thought this was wonderful because it teaches that not all drawings come out perfect at first and even the best artists don't just sit down, put their pencil to the paper, and have a perfect picture magically appear. The only thing I didn't like about this feature was that you had to click Continue after each step or it would just stay paused.

The other main feature on the disk was a singalong track containing songs from various older 20th Century Fox movies and hosted by a girl claiming to be Anastasia, but sounding nothing like her older or younger voices. The funny thing is, most of the songs on this track had absolutely nothing to do with Anastasia. In fact, I was surprised they expected kids to buy this DVD and know about these old movies such as Young Frankenstein, Shirley Temple, and many others including songs from the other newly rereleased animated Fox "Family Fun Edition" DVD, Fern Gully. Despite having little to do with the film, this 45-minute singalong track felt complete enough to sell on its own without any other attachments so it was a very hearty feature.

The second disk had the must unenthusiastic narrator I have ever heard in my life. Never the less, the disk's menu is a beautiful CGI tour of the Romanov palace. Each shelf contained objects that the real Anastasia might have had along with a description of their use and place in history. Some objects turned out to be games and others were more bonus features.

The meat of the disk was a 45-minute documentary about the making of the film. It was very nice to hear from all the voice artists and other people involved, but the best part came from Don Bluth and Gary Goldman's commentary. Those two men always know exactly what to say! Their honest, straightforward, and down to earth nature really made this DVD a gem to own. They have no intention of playing down to a young audience and are clearly very passionate about what they do. It was always wonderful to hear their insights on the movie and the art of animation in general and they really made this set worthwhile.

Among the other features on the disk were a music video of Aaliyah's rendition of "Journey to the Past," a trivia game with questions that were not too easy, but not too hard about the film, and a virtual paper doll of Anastasia. There was also a multi-language reel of "Journey to the Past" and "Once Upon a December," preceeded by a list of phonetic letters. The "karoake" section of the reel was extremely tedious because it would first show Anya singing a line in one language, followed by two girls who were being used as examples of how phonetic letters are pronounced repeating that line, then the line was played without singing so "you" could sing it in that language, and then Anya would sing it one more time and these four cuts would repeat for every line in the song in every different language. Fortunately you also have the option of just watching the multi-language song reel by itself without the girls or karaoke versions.

Now we come to the icing on the cake. Not only do you get the movie Anastasia in this set, but you also get its spin-off film, Bartok the Magnificent, absolutely free! This 60-minute film is too long to be a short, but too short to be a movie and isn't really worth buying by itself. However, considering that it's free, it's quite a worthwhile bonus feature indeed! With a unique story, original musical numbers, and everyone's favorite pink and white bat, it's sure to entertain for at least one sitting even if you never want to watch it again after that. The movie has nothing to do with Anastasia, but instead involves Bartok trying to rescue the kidnapped prince of Moscow. There are unfortunately no cameos of anyone else in Anastasia, but nevertheless, it's a cute flick.

At $10 on Amazon, this DVD is an absolute steal and anyone in their right mind should grab it the first chance they get. Not only do you get a gorgeous and expertly crafted film, but you also get a SingAlong movie, a second spin-off movie, games, historical references, and beautifully insightful commentary from the ever-devoted, ever-friendly Don Bluth and Gary Goldman. The princess Anastasia has truly returned to her rightful throne. The only reason I did not give this item 5 stars is because of the cover art.

This warm and romantic film from Don Bluth and Gary Goldman has long been my favorite animated feature. This mostly fictional story of Russia's famous Anastasia and her search for her family is sprinkled with humor and great songs. The animation, from snowy Russia to glamorous Paris, is top-notch and the story is both heartwarming and fun.

A great cast of voices, including Meg Ryan (Anastasia), John Cusack (Dimitri), Kelsey Grammer (Vladimir), Christopher Lloyd (Rasputin), and Angela Lansbury as Anastasia's beloved grandmother add depth to an enchanting film. Anastasia wants to leave Russia for Paris because the necklace she wears has the inscription, "Together in Paris," which she is sure holds the key to her journey to discover who she is and where she belongs.

Dimitri and Vladimir plan to pass her off as the real Anastasia for the reward in exchange for her visa out of Russia. The banter between Anastasia and Dimitri masks a growing attraction, of course, and when Dimitri discovers before she does that she really is Anastasia he knows he must step aside.

Complicating matters is the evil Rasputin, who has placed a curse on her family and sold his soul to destroy them. His little fruit bat, Bratok (Hank Azaria), is a very funny creation and turns out to be not so evil at all.

The story is peppered throughout with great songs, including "Journey to the Past" and the haunting "Once Upon a December." Anastasia is warm and involving, separating it from other animated films. When Anya discovers she really is Anastasia, it is bittersweet, as she now must choose between her past and her future. Love may conquer all, but not if the evil Rasputin has his way.

This is a heartfelt and funny animated feature you'll want to own and watch over and over. This particular edition comes with lots of extras for hours of family fun. Don't miss this one.

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I bought this movie because I've been interested in the mystery of the Grand Duchess Anastasia since I was a kid, not because I have rugrats. This movie was entertaining. Anya is a spunky heroine; Dimitri is a scrappy hero; they have a sweet and surprisingly adult romance and the plot is more realistic (except for the ridiculous villain Rasputin) than expected. There is a lovely, melancholy song called "Once Upon a December" that the amnesiac Anya sings in the empty palace as ghosts come out of paintings to dance with her. This movie isn't historically accurate, but it's a satisfying fairy tale -the way we wish it had been.

Read Best Reviews of Anastasia (2011) Here

Anastasia DVD

Anastasia is an animated movie about the Russian Romanov family and what happened to them.

It is sort of like a Cinderella story with a Russian history twist.

Highly recommended for families with young children that want to start teaching them something about European history or just want to enjoy a family oriented movie.

Gunner February,2008

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"Anastasia" is a animated musical that works despite some serious problems fundamental to the story for anybody who knows anything about Russian history. The legend of Anastasia has in roots in a historical truth: that when the Communists executed the Romanovs and gunned them down, the young Grand Duchess was not shot; she fainted. When it was discovered she was still alive she was clubbed and bayoneted to death. But the "truth" remains, she was not shot dead with the rest of her family. In this version that issued is rendered moot because the young Anastasia never joins her parents as they fled St. Petersburg. However, the greatest historical liberty is the idea that the Russian Revolution was the result of a curse the mad monk Gregorei Rasputin laid on the Romanovs. Forget Lenin and the Communists overthrowing the Czar; it was a crazy monk and his friend, an albino bat named Bartok.

However, "Anastasia" has several things working in its favor to counter-attack this nonsense. First, there is the haunting "Once Upon a December," which carries the mood of the story perfectly and comes into play at several key moments in the film. The rest of the music is above average and avoids cuteness for the most part (the bad guys get the fun song with "In the Dark of the Night"), but "Once Upon a December" is musically the cornerstone of the whole film. Second, there is the wonderful vocal work by Kelsey Grammer and Angela Landsbury as the supporting characters Vladimir and the Dowager Empress Marie; they are the pair who provide the film with its heart while Anna and Dmitri wait for their brains to catch up with their hearts. Third, in true giant cartoon movie style, the film reduces everything to the fundamental desire to go home and be part of a family.

Ultimately, the backbone of the story is more the 1956 Ingrid Bergman film version of the "Anastasia" story than history: a con artist wants to earn the reward for finding the lost heiress to the Russian thrown and turns an amnesia victim into Anastasia only to discover that she is the real thing and that he is in love with her. Then basically they throw in the standard evil person trying to keep the princess and her boyfriend apart (think Disney's "Sleeping Beauty" except instead of an evil queen it is a mad monk and instead of a giant dragon there is a small albino bat and the princess is really a Grand Duchess and the prince is now a former servant boy, but other than that they are remarkably the same). Besides, kids like this film and they should be allowed to do so for a few years before they discover they can not learn history from movies (and should never let watching a movie substitute for reading an assigned book).

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Prey (2007)

My son is obsessed with movies and has well over 700 in his collection. A lot of them were VHS tapes that were destroyed in a flood so I'm replacing them as I can with Blu-ray, a few at a time. He saw this movie a couple of years ago and liked the action and adventure. A mother and her son and daughter are stranded in their jeep on a remote African trail when their guide is attacked by lions and they are trapped inside as lions are stalking around the vehicle. It's not an A list movie but it's got action and it's good enough to keep you interested. .

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Panic in the Streets (1950)

Love him or hate him (many in Hollywood still do, hate him, that is, based on his cooperating with the HUAC House Un-American Activities Committee back in the early 50s), Elia Kazan knew how to make damn good films, including such features as A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), On the Waterfront (1954), which won eight Academy Awards, including one for best direction and one for best actor in leading role for Marlon Brando, Splendor in the Grass (1961), and this earlier effort titled Panic in the Streets (1950), which also won an Academy Award in the best writing motion picture story category for Edward and Edna Anhalt. Starring in the film is Richard Widmark, whom I last saw in the one of the unfunniest comedies I've ever seen in National Lampoon's Movie Madness (1983), so I really relished this opportunity to put that experience in the past as I knew Widmark capable of much better things having seen Pickup on South Street (1953), which I think is one of his best films (I have yet to see them all). Also appearing is Paul Douglas (It Happens Every Spring), Barbara Bel Geddes (Vertigo), Zero Mostel (The Producers), Guy Thomajan (The Pink Panther), and Jack `Believe it...or not!' Palance (The Professionals, Torture Garden) in what appears to be his first silver screen role, credited as Walter Jack Palance.

The story, which takes place in New Orleans, or New Awlins', if you prefer, begins as a seedy poker game breaks up early due to one of the players feeling all sick like...the others are annoyed, especially Blackie (Palance), as the man was winning, and they believe he's using the old `I'm leaving early because I'm sick, not because I'm winning' ploy to get out of giving them the chance to win back their money, so they follow him because the aforementioned Blackie is an especially poor loser and wants his dough back...to which they end up killing the man and dumping his corpse in the harbor...only thing is, the now deceased was truly sick, suffering a pulmonary form of the bubonic plague aka the black death (you know, that bug that spread across Europe and killed millions?), diagnosed by Lieutenant Commander Dr. Clinton Reed (Widmark) of the U.S. Public Health Service. He tries to impress upon the local authorities the importance of finding everyone who had contact with the relatively unknown man due to the extremely communicable nature of the pathogen, but police captain Tom Warren (Douglas), whose been assigned to work with Reed, has little faith in finding the killer as there are virtually no clues (the dead man has no ID as he recently arrived by steam shipper and entered the country illegally). Now Reed and Warren have 48 hours to crack the case, lest the disease take a foothold and spread across the country.

My favorite exchange in the film was between the characters of Reed and Warren, the two civil servants stuck with each other, Reed feeling Warren isn't taking things serious enough, while Warren thinks Reed is over-reacting.

Reed: You know, my mother always told me if you looked deep enough in anybody, you always find some good, but I don't know.

Warren: With apologies to your mother, that's the second mistake she made.

This is a really strong film, although I'm not sure if it did too well the time it was released. The most striking aspect about the movie, in my opinion, is the dark haired Palance who played the role of the lead antagonist Blackie. He's a truly scary individual, not only because of his lean, almost gaunt, towering physique, but also because quiet nature of his character, sort of a calm exterior barely containing seething cauldron of violence ready to spill over on anyone who goes against him (check out the scene where Blackie dumps the sickly Poldi, mattress and all, over the stairwell)...one really interesting thing, and something I think often tends to screw films up in less capable hands, is the inclusion of so many different facets of a story...the disease, the killer(s), the relationship between Reed and Warren, the relationship between Reed and his wife (played by Bel Geddes), the withholding of information from the public, risking the possibility of full blown outbreak vs. the fear of causing a panic that drives the killer, who may be infected, out of town, etc. Yes, there was a whole lot going on (perhaps too much), but it handled well, and with little or no confusion. One aspect that I really liked was the perception by Blackie that police were putting so much heat out there because he thought they thought the man had smuggled something valuable into the country, something he would be interested in...is it me, or did Zero Mostel play the role of flounder lap dog to Blackie just a little too well? I mean yeah, I wouldn't want to get on Blackie's bad side being the man's a gorilla that trusts no one, but Mostel seemed a little too comfortable in the role. All in all I enjoyed this film, and I thought it provided a somewhat different and unique spin on a well-established genre...plus I've always been a fan of Richard Widmark and would strongly recommend two of his other films from the same period in Night and the City (1950), directed by Jules Dassin, and the one I mentioned earlier Pickup on South Street (1953), directed by Samuel Fuller.

The picture on this DVD is presented in original full frame aspect ratio (1.33:1), and looks very sharp and clean. The audio is available in both Dolby Digital stereo and mono, and comes across very well. In terms of special features, there's a commentary track by authors and film historians James Ursini and Alain Silver, along with a theatrical trailer and liner notes for the film. There are also trailer for other 20th Century Fox noir films like Call Northside 777 (1948), House of Bamboo (1955), Laura (1944), and The Street with No Name (1948).

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If I learned anything from this film its not to play cards with Jack Palance...he doesn't like to lose...

This excellent documentary-style noir was superbly directed by the great Elia Kazan, who made great use of actual locations in New Orleans to create a very realistic and believable atmosphere. The cast is nearly flawless, with great performances from Richard Widmark (in a rare good guy role!), Paul Douglas, Barbara Bel Geddes, Zero Mostel, and Jack Palance, in his stunning film debut.

Richard Widmark plays Dr. Clint Reed, a public health doctor who must work with New Orleans Police Captain Tom Warren (played by Paul Douglas) to find the killer(s) of a man who was already dying of the deadly bubonic plague (he was carrying a virulent strain of it). They have only 48 hours to find the killers before they can escape the port area and unknowingly spread the plague throughout the country.

Jack Palance plays the ruthless killer who's on the run from the police, not knowing that he's already infected with the plague. Barbara Bel Geddes plays the patient wife of Dr. Reed (Widmark), and Zero Mostel plays the cowardly sidekick of Jack Palance. The memorable music by Alfred Newman only adds to the mood of this entertaining film noir. The dvd has a virtually perfect picture and sound quality, and includes several film noir trailers and an outstanding commentary by film noir authors/historians Alain Silver and James Ursini. Highly recommended for any film noir buff!

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Dr. Clint Reed (Richard Widmark) and New Orleans Police Captain Tom Warren (Paul Douglas) frantically search for a pair of criminals involved with the murder of a card player who may have been infected with plague by the victim. Reed and Warren have 48 hours to find the criminals before they become infectious and spread plague through the population like a wildfire. Although it doesn't compare to the gorefests that pass for suspense thrillers today. Kazan's eighth film as a director is filled with long takes influenced by Welles (although far more naturalistic looking without the unusual angles that Gregg Toland used on Welles' masterpiece "Citizen Kane") creating as much suspense by letting the action play out as the quick cutting style of Hitchcock and other directors working at the time. Featuring the lovely and underrated Barbara Bel Geddes as Widmark's wife, "Panic in the Streets" continues to astound with its suspenseful direction and brutal violence. A young Jack Palance steals the film with his role as "Blackie" one of the infected criminals and Zero Mostel appears as the other criminal a year or two before Kazan ratted him out to the House of Un-American Acitivies. A believable, powerful drama that still resonates today because of Kazan's on location shooting and powerful down-to-earth performances. Writer Murphy and Kazan would frequently allow the actors to improvise some of their scenes changing dialogue around to bring a sense of spontaneity. Kazan's film, unlike many of the time, shows interdepartmental conflicts slowing down the hunt for the infected men.

"Panic in the Streets" looks good in its first presentation on DVD. There's a predictable amount of grain and dirt but, on the whole, there's nothing to panic about. The sound is presented in the original mono mix and an augmented artifical stereo mix as well. The former sounds the best of the two. The sound occasionally comes across as harsh but there's little hiss or other analog problems. Image qualtiy is exceptionally good for the movie and this is a must have for fans of film noir featuring one of Palance's best early performances.

Unfortunately, we don't have any featurettes or documentaries on any of the stars from the film. I seem to recall A&E Biographies on both Jack Palance and Richard Widmark and am a bit puzzled as to why they weren't licensed for this project. Perhaps it's because this is a lower profile classic film that doesn't have the built in audience of, say, "Laura" or "Letter to Three Wives". We do get the theatrical trailer for the film as well as four trailers for four other Fox Noir Classics available on DVD.

A great, involving commentary track authors and film historians James Ursini and Alain Silver is a highlight of this release. The authors point out Kazan's more straight forward style relying much more on lighting the actors to maintain the mood of the film. There's also scenes here that are echoed in later Kazan films such as "On the Waterfront" and "A Streetcar Named Desire".

A sharp, vivid looking transfer for this classic noir is a highlight of "Panic in the Streets". It's a pity that there's no background on the production of the movie provided in the form of a featurette or documentary. As it is, though, we get plenty of information from the two film historians and authors on the commentary tracks and their efforts aren't as dry as some commentators. We also get the original theatrical trailer as well as four original trailers for other Fox Noir DVDs.

Read Best Reviews of Panic in the Streets (1950) Here

I remember catching this movie on TV about 15 years ago, and I immediately fell in love with it, despite the fact that I wasn't particularly crazy about any of the stars, or even 'film noir'.

This amazing gritty documentary-style film just jells perfectly; the setup of the plague, Richard Widmark and Paul Douglas' dilemma, the sleazy New Orleans waterfront dives and characters.

Director Elia Kazan used real locations and often real local people; some of the cops were New Orleans cops, etc.

I'm so glad that this has finally been released....and hopefully most of you will discover one of the most distinctive films of the late 1940's...right up with there with "White Heat".

And....to top it off, the opening theme music by Alfred Newman is, in my mind, one of the amazingly spirited and exiting themes in the history of motion pictures.....

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The Timeless Classics DVD is a low-quality bootleg. The picture is all messed up and looks like a VCD. It even scrolls text across the screen when you start it up telling you who is responsible for "ripping" the film. Unfortunately the Timeless Classics bootleg has all the reviews copied from the Panic in the Streets (Fox Film Noir) page, which is the version to get. Not looking quickly I just thought that the so-called "Remastered" version was a new release. Avoid this hunk of junk and make sure to get the Fox Film Noir release of this amazing movie.

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Patlabor (OVA)

I admit it. I am a Patlabor fan boy. I love anything and everything Patlabor. This OVA series is no exception.

Before we start, I will say that if you already own the CPM release, keep it. The only reason to keep it isn't because the Blu Ray stinks the reason to keep it is for the Mamoru Oshii commentary. None of the other extras on the original DVDs are really worth missing, but this omission means I am keeping my DVDs close at hand.

Patlabor OVA is a collection of mostly one off stories (well, except the single two parter). The first episode goes into the formation of the squad, while each subsequent episode seems to up the storytelling ante. Whereas the movies are thought provoking mind benders (sort of... Oshii was just hitting his stride before Ghost in the Shell), these aren't quite so much, but every episode is definitely worth viewing.

The story goes that in the future the world is populated with Labors, bipedal mechs used for all sorts of things in daily life, such as construction and so on. They also use them for their police force. Patrol Labors, or Patlabors, are the name given the Labors used by the police force.

Video:

AVC encoded 1080p video. Picture size is 1.34:1, as it was originally animated. The video is completely remastered by the original film elements. I believe the video utilizes the same remaster used for the Japanese release. The difference is, we get it at more reasonable prices than the Japanese release (and we get subtitles).

The animation, being an OVA, is higher quality than that of normal TV animation. Being hand drawn and painted cel animation, there is a sublime beauty inherent in this release. The remaster retains all of the original detail from the film and doesn't push noise reduction to ridiculous levels. You know this came from film, and it's beautiful for it.

There are no real specs of dust or dirt or damage to be seen. This is the best the Patlabor OVA has ever looked for a home video release.

Audio:

You have two choices for audio, Japanese or English (the original dub as best I can tell) in DTS-MA stereo. Neither track had drop outs or any other oddness. They very much sound as best as they ever will.

The stereo sound stage is utilized nicely and works well for the show. Effects can pan left/right and separate nicely on both tracks.

One thing I will note is the optional English subtitles. They are nicely done and well translated. The one thing that MIGHT be a problem is if someone tries to watch this on a non-widescreen TV (not likely for a BD, but still a possibility). Some parts of the subtitles reside in the black space to the left and right of the image. On a standard 4:3 TV, some parts of the letters will likely be cut off. For most people this won't be an issue, and if you are buying this to view on a 4:3 TV instead of 16:9, you may want to go with the DVD if you plan on watching subtitled.

Extras:

As stated above, the CPM release had the Oshii feature length commentary. This release, however, does NOT.

All that is included are clean opening and closing animations. Nothing spectacular and nothing to write home about. Rather disappointing. Considering the Japanese release only had a bonus 16 page book, I suppose this was expected (it didn't have the Oshii commentary either, for some reason).

Overall:

I love Patlabor. The story lines are fun, sometimes thought provoking and well told. The animation looks spectacular still. The OVA, while not as thought provoking as any of the 3 movies, really shows you what Oshii could be known for in the near future.

If you watch this and love it, and don't mind paying a ridiculous price, the 3 movies can be had on Blu Ray from Amazon Japan. They include English subtitles (but unfortunately, not the English dubs). You can also pick up the North American DVD limited editions for a relatively cheap price if you know where to look (while supplies last).

Highly recommended.

This show is 6 Episodes, each one with a different story to it, some nicer some worst.

Old style animation, if you are looking for Ghost in the shell, this is NOT close even.

Patlabor is an OK show,

There is barely any action, animation is old but nothing impressive, nothing really remarkable about it, I own the 3 movies, and I love the firt 2 movies, they look great with nice action and a good plot, but the show is week for my taste.

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I have been waiting, in hope, for an affordable re-release of the original Patlabor! I have been a, sort of underground, Patlabor fan for several years, but I could not bring myself to pay the ridiculous price it originally was. However, let's move on to an actual review.

First, I am reluctant to even call Patlabor an anime. It's more of a toned-down animated sci-fi. I, myself, am really not an amine fan, but more of a general sci-fi fan. I say this meaning that Patlabor can be enjoyed by all kinds of people, not just anime fans. In fact many anime fans are fond of Patlabor because of how conservative and simple it is. Patlabor is very different from other mech shows, such as Gundam, Macross, and Eureka 7. In fact, Patlabor is only partially about mechs. The mechs in Patlabor are more like a futuristic symbol or a team mascot than a plot builder.

Patlabor is about a lousy Tokyo police unit called SV2 (Special Vehicles Unit 2). In the "future" (1999, ten years after the series was created), labors (mechs) are used for general construction work. However, in a large city like Tokyo, crime involving labors rose and now is not uncommon. Hence, the creation of police patrol labor units or patlabors. The series starts out by introducing the members of SV2 with them ... well, not doing much of anything. I admit, I too was thrown off by the series sort of awkward and boring introduction. I was especially thrown off by the lack of background sounds, and choppy, redundant dialogue. But keep watching, this is done on purpose! Patlabor, in both the OVA and TV series, starts off with SV2 doing simple everyday police missions (but with mechs), comedic filler episodes, and with SV2, as I said before, sitting around the unit doing nothing.

However, this method of story development makes the characters so much more relatable and real than in the violent, overly dramatic, typical action cartoon. But keep watching, the series builds a lot of intensity in episodes 5, 6, and 7. I promise desire for action will not go unsatisfied, as this group of lousy, ordinary cops are put into extraordinary situations. This is the beauty of the show.

So if your hoping for an unoriginal robots-fighting-and-blowing-things-up show (not that there is anything wrong with those), this is not Patlabor. However if you want something feel-good with a good story and funny characters but ends with a bang, Patlabor is the show for you. If you enjoy the OVA, watch the movies and TV series. The best Patlabor has to offer is actually movies 1 and 2. The great thing about the OVA series is that it is sort and cheap. So if it doesn't impress you, which honestly it does not appeal to everyone, you have not wasted a lot of time and money.

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These shows have the same kind of tone/gags that the original show had with a slight re-imagining of the very beginning. Same characters of course. Except for a two part episode, the episodes are self-contained like the original series...meaning you can watch any one of them and know what is going on.

This is nice because this re-release is WAY cheaper than what the original release sells for.

Although this show has robots in it (and moreso than the original series) they're not the main focus. This is more of an "another day at the office" kind of comedy/drama. This will in no way convert people who didn't like the original series. And like the original series, it has a much lighter tone than the movies (although I loved the movies too). The production quality is nearer to the series than the movies as well. Still not bad. Not for everyone. Especially not for over the top action fans. It should be noted that all you get are the episodes. I didn't see any special features beyond previews for other shows.

I'm not even sure why I enjoy patlabor so much but I do. Maybe because it's unpretentious, doesn't take itself seriously in a smart way, and compliments a nice relaxing mood we all like to settle into after a day at our own jobs.

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I was disappointed to find that there was no new dubbing for this like the special edition versions of the movies. There also aren't really any extras included which is unfortunate. If you already own the old Central Park Media DVD version and are not concerned with picture quality I suggest you stick with it since that version includes some cool extras like director's commentary from Mamoru Oshii.

However, that version has become quite rare and expensive so if you just want to see the original Patlabor in all of its glory with subtitles (the CPM dub is only present on a few of the episodes anyway) and you don't care about the extras, this is the way to go. It's still a great work that was a brilliant deconstruction of the mecha genre in its day. It's sillier than the movies that followed and but not as silly as the TV series.

If you want serious science fiction then you may prefer the movies and if you want slapstick comedy you may prefer the TV series. This falls somewhere in-between the two. The most dramatic episode was "The SV2's Longest Day" which was essentially remade and refined into Patlabor the Movie 2.

If you love Patlabor and late-80's science fiction you can't go wrong. If you're a fan of the movies this is where that "timeline" begins (the TV series and second OVA follow a separate timeline as does the manga which is its own thing). Just expect it to be a little different than what you've seen before.

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The Last Song (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo) (2010)

The Last Song is a great movie. It is a coming of age movie but not just a chick flick. All family members will enjoy this movie. Miley Cyrus plays a somewhat troubled teen and blames her troubles on her parents divorce. Her attitude quickly takes a turn when she falls in love and even more of a turn when she finds out that her father is dying with lung cancer. Take a box of tissues to the theatre. Miley plays this dramatic role very well.

In this movie you will be introduced to turtle eggs and you will see them crawl back to the ocean when they hatch. I think this is interesting for children of all ages to watch.

Go watch this movie and go as a family. We don't get many of these type movies so make it a family day and go. You won't be sorry.

Although some young children are upset that the series Hannah Montana has ended, I have to say I am glad. Miley Cyrus has so much more to offer to the entertainment business than her role as Hannah Montana. I think we will see her in many, many, more movies.

Not only was the novel amazing, the movie was too. Every one who judges the movie simply becuase of Miley's past career are wrongly doing so. Try the movie out and you won't be dissapointed. Obviously not everything is for everyone, but for all those looking to enjoy a sappy love movie, this is for you! It's great for the family and a very down to earth drama. Get over her Hannah alter-ego and move on as she is trying to.

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In watching `The Last Song' over the weekend (to be honest, I actually wanted to do this), I decided that it was probably best to present this review in three sections; the pros, the cons and my verdict.

It just makes more sense this way.

THE PROS:

The beachfront setting of the film, not unlike a previous Sparks film adaptation `Nights in Rodanthe', is stunning and certainly creates a mood, the same mood that follows a lot of Sparks' stories. You can feel the love in the air from the moment the sandy shores are revealed. The acting here is also quite decent, with the exception of Kelly Preston who is just really bad at whatever it is she is trying to do. Greg Kinnear is always a welcome presence, and he layers the stereotypical `dad' role with enough personality to make him endearing. Liam Hemsworth is like a talented Paul Walker (they look very similar) and that is becoming. I see a career in front of him that may (and I'm not really joking here) lead him to some award recognition in ten years or so. That said, the star of the show has a decent three-quarter turn here. Once here character gets out of the `I'm trying to be distant and rebellious' stage she actually shines. So, I'd say that a good 75% of Miley Cyrus's performance is pretty darn good. I'll tell you this, the main performances (and the nonchalant way the film is edited in parts) goes a long way to making this film entertaining, since there are a lot more cons than pros here. But, before I switch gears, I want to mention the biggest pro here and that is the theme song to the film. `When I Look At You' is beautifully sung (yes, I'm talking about you Miss Cyrus) and effortlessly captivating. It actually yanks at your heartstrings more than this movie does!

Ok, we must move on.

THE CONS:

Nicholas Sparks has absolutely NO imagination. Really, it's like he wrote this one book many, many years ago and decided that it was so successful and so well written that, instead of challenging himself to try anything new, he was just going to `rinse and repeat' for the rest of his life. Like you may have guessed it, Ronnie meets Will and falls in love. Will is from a different social standing than Ronnie. They don't initially get along but they fall in love quick. There are problems within the family dynamic. Oh yeah, someone dies. Typical Sparks' material. That said, Sparks usually shines in this genre, but this film feels forced for me. I think the biggest issue is that Sparks doesn't understand modern romance. He totally gets that dated love that shines in films like `The Notebook', and he even understood the aged romantic dynamic in `Nights in Rodanthe' and even `Message in a Bottle', but the way he crafts modern teenage romance is stilted and phony to the taste. It just doesn't seem real, and then when he tries to pepper in modern issues (like the abusive boyfriend with the homeless girlfriend) it looks very skeletal in form and unbelievable. Another issue here is the first 25% of Miley's performance. It is so forced, and that comic relief she tries to deliver with the whole sea turtle bit (that whole subplot was poorly executed) was atrocious. I wish I could wipe that whole section from the film. The films rapid deterioration as the film draws to a close is also a tad underworked. When a certain character winds up sick, the sickness comes on so ridiculously rapidly that one is stunned as to why NO ONE NOTICED IT BEFORE. It just doesn't make much sense at all.

I also want to say this; Miley Cyrus is not the most attractive girl in the world. In fact, the way she holds her face can be comically off-putting at times (and it is also what made the first part of her performance so out of place), but her funny looks could play into her favor once she hones her acting skills. She obviously has some talent (her emotional breakdown upon hearing some tragic news is remarkably in tact and believable) and I can see her developing into a nice actress one day. The fact that she isn't afraid to look ugly (I know that sounds harsh, but if you are a cinephile like me you'll understand that that isn't really meant as an insult) will help her create more reality within her characters. We all know that NO ONE is pretty all of the time. Notice the way that Miley holds her face even towards the films end, when she is looking off or standing in a crowd. She looks lazy and frumpy and at times like she smells something gross. In other words, she looks natural. It works for her in parts, and honestly, if she keeps that up and begins to understand a little better HOW to emote completely I could very well see her getting on the track she claimed she desired (not too long ago she mentioned that she wanted to be like Kate Winslet great aspirations young lady and do a dramatic film like `Revolutionary Road'). I don't see her as the next Kate-the-Great (that would be a stretch), but the next Natalie Portman?

Give her five years and ask me that again.

And still, the film is worth seeing at least once.

MY VERDICT:

It could have been a lot better. Even `A Walk to Remember', which is saddled with some clichés that surround everything Sparks' writes, manages to be a lot more realistically sound than this film, and a lot more endearing (this movie didn't even bring me close to tears, and it really needed to). Still, it is a decent summer romance movie and it certainly has everything the tweens are looking for. My brother loves this movie (for reasons I am sure we don't share) and I'm sure you're twelve year old will too. If the day is rainy and the mood is light, I'd have no problem watching this film again, as long as it's on cable TV and I'm not paying for it.

Read Best Reviews of The Last Song (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo) (2010) Here

The Last Song:

The first time ever I sat in a movie theater that was packed by teenage girls out numbering others by at least twenty to one. Having been around teens from divorced parents, I am in good position to spot the weak links in the movie's narrative. Miley Cyrus fitted perfectly in the role of a troubled and defiant teenage girl who was confrontational, insecure, and very pragmatic. She succeeded in invoking a sense of anger in her dad, brother, friend, as well as the viewer. Her growing up troubles must be attributed to her parent's divorce. Her parents are easy targets by virtue of their distance from her.

Spending the Summer in Georgia, her trivial altercation in New York added to her Father's being falsely accused by the locals for burning the church. Getting to know the local teens, she struggled to sort out the honest ones from not so honest. Like her father, she was set up by an encounter and accused for shoplifting she did not do. Now, both the daughter and father were stigmatized by the locals for being arsonists and shoplifters. As if divorce was not enough of strain on their internal affairs that they needed additional pain from outside.

The cold and rebellious daughter would make a full turn by a casual hint from a nurse that her father planned his quick death that summer in order to pass away with his children being around him. With her father's imminent death from lung cancer, the rebellious teen got a jolting effect that will bring her closer to the man she blamed for her misery. The tragic news about her father's terminal illness dwarfed her relentless blaming of the whole world for her growing up struggle.

Her caring for turtle eggs being eaten by predator brought her new and expected love that will change her life, but will require fewer challenges before she could learn how not to push people away from her. In contrast to the newborn turtles who were equipped to run to the sea from the moment they hatch, the teen girl must rely on many cues from parents, peers, and otherwise casual encounters in order to get equipped to mature as an adult.

Half way through the movie, you quickly find out why teenage girls must love The Last Song. It is a true and great story about misperception and immature reactions to cues that were deceptive in their outlook and would have been judged differently had the person looked further into the bigger context of affairs. The movie narrative deviated from the provocative and sleazy commercial tricks of sex and violence and presented real people doing real business.

An ugly and abusive relation between a bad boy and a girl was presented in a context that justifies its dismal outcome. The classy and casual encounter future boyfriend behaved and thought like what real decent people would do. Everywhere else, you sense that the moviemaker kept their heads leveled and were appreciated by such massive approval by the teenaged audience.

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At first I didn't won't to see Miley Cyrus in some teenage romance story. But it happen to be good. And I enjoyed it. What is sad is she is going down Lindsay Lohan path which is very disturbing. But all in all the movie was really good and it was sad that her dad dies in the movie. Buy it or rent or check it out at your local library. I just hope she remember what it is like to be a good star and don't had down the path of corruption.(that's another story.) But a must see film.

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The Guardian (2011)

There are many dangers for being a member of the Coast Guard. Taken to the icy waters of the Bering Strait off the coast of Kodiak, Alaska, the possibilities of danger with choppy waves, hypothermia, and broken vessels or rocky caves rise exponentially. Dreadful decisions meet the rescuer at every opportunity to save lives: Who can and should be saved? Who cannot be? As in any lifesaving seminar, the rescuer must stay alive to be able to save others. Hazardous conditions and low pay are part and parcel of the harrowing life of heroes. These factors set up the premise of a promising movie.

'The Guardian' shows us these possibilities with Ben Randall (Kevin Costner), a maverick, but aging senior chief who is still on top of his form. At the beginning we find him challenged by a rescue that runs out the clock and leaves his colleagues in harm's way. The descending rescue 'copter runs into a wave that sends it reeling into the sea where it explodes. The trajectory of the debacle sends Randall's best friend out at sea, but even his best efforts can't save him. Randall recovers, but he remains haunted by the memory of this recent disaster that left him impotent to save the others. His superior reassigns him to train recruits. He resists, but his senior officer is wise enough to know that trauma leaves even the best rescuers tentative until time can heal the inner wounds.

At the training academy, Randall becomes the best asset, throwing away the text book and always throwing his recruits into the thick of training with some grueling situations. Here he comes upon a smug, but promising Ivy League recruit, Jake Fischer (Ashton Kutcher), properly nicknamed "Goldfish" for his smimming prowess and silver spoon sensibilities. The friction between instructor and recruit is not all that different than movies we've seen before, especially 'An Officer and a Gentleman,' but the bond they develop is both strong and very different. They discover they have much in common, including an aptitude to break swimming records and a past that haunts each protagonist in a similar fashion. Tough Randall has some strong words that quickly silence even the most brazen of his potential crew, especially the cocky Fischer. A series of mishaps and Randall's constant browbeating do peel the layers off Fischer's self-centered shell, and we finally see both men's vulnerability. The relationship is the focal point of the movie, for Fischer brings vitality and enthusiasm, but he needs Randall's sage and seasoned experience. The rest of the movie finds them friends, but both have their mettle tested in a series of events that show them as the best they can be... Both, too, are in need of healing and forgiveness, while they try to forge a final bond with the women they love.

As with most adventure movies nowadays, there are able panoramic sea scenes, some of which are reminiscent of 'The Perfect Storm'. The story and the way it weaves through danger, relationships, and training has an emotional undertow that isn't entirely different than 'The Horse Whisperer'. And, though many comparisons can be made to other movies, the sum of 'The Guardian's parts is assembled in a unique way. Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher keep the drama afloat with focused performances that create memorable characters. Particularly, Kutcher delivers a genuine performance as a cocky recruit who has great pain and insecurity bubbling below the surface. The dialogue is above most adventure movies with some particularly poignant lines for Costner. 'The Guardian' delivers heroism and inspiration in a film that nearly steered a course into a wreck of sentimentality awash with cliches and stereotypes.

Despite mediocre reviews and having struggled through An Officer and a Gentleman and Top Gun I decided to watch The Guardian with every expectation that I would not make it through the movie... I am glad that I went, one of the best movies I've seen in awhile. It's easy to find fault in any movie and The Guardian is no exception; the rescue scenes are bigger than life which should be expected in a military/disaster movie; but the overconfident and somewhat arrogant trainee (Ashton Kutcher) is believable at his age, and Kevin Costner was at his best since the late 80's (The Untouchables & No Way Out). Despite my surprise when learning that my college age children watched The Guardian, I was even more astonished that they discussed aspects of this movie Service, sacrifice, relationships, and perseverance. In an office where I very rarely see 7 thumbs up; The Guardian got the grade.

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I agree with reviews below that Kevin Costner has definitely matured as an actor and has found that comfortable place of depth and poingancy in his acting while still keeping his Americana charm. But most of his boyish boisterousness is out the window and replaced by steadfast masculine experience. He's much better this way.

Ashton Kutcher does a surprisingly good job in this film and plays his role well and slightly understated. As most military movies typically have that one cocky rogue character, Ashton's Jake Fische is no different. However, his interpretation was by far the most realistic. There's no over the top cockiness, but more of a concerted effort to meet and beat the Senior Chief's expectations and take some more on. What this movie does get right is the very realistic tone between instructor and trainee that you would see in a military training class today. None of that over dramatization of the military. For that I give Costner and Kutcher, two thumbs up.

Lots of interestingly appreciative training scenes of what the students go through in "A" school: training, teamwork exercises, drills, etc.

A movie well done and worth watching. The 2 hours, 20 minutes will fly by.

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As a retired Coast Guardsman, I watched the movie with great anticipation-hoping that they would "get it right" and night just have another hollywood production. After experiencing 30 years of service and seeing a lot of what is portrayed in the movie, I believe they have. Even though others may not think the the intertwined love story is necessary, I believe that it adds a sense of realism and personal sacrifice to the storyline. These are situations that are faced not only by rescue swimmers, who may have the most physically challenging job in the Guard, but by every person in the Coast Guard who has every had to go out in rough seas, board boats, coduct rescues at sea, do drug interdiction or a myriad of other taskings in less than ideal conditions. The movie does an excellent job exposing those who are are unaware to one aspect of the Coast Guard mission. I hope it makes them that much more aware of the sacrifice freely given on a daily basis in the saving of lives and property, the safeguarding of US freedoms and interests, and the effect it has on the personnel involved.

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First, as a movie watcher who rarely likes what hits the screen these days, I truly enjoyed this film. True, it would have been better 15 minutes shorter, but it wasn't so long as to really bother me. I think the love interest for Kutcher was unneccessary. But the movie held my attention and interest and I left the theater thinking, "Man, that was good."

Now, as one of the lucky people that have one of those cool Coast Guard jobs, (a fact that does create some bias) I was suprised by just how close to reality the action stayed. There were plenty of "hollywood" moments, but many of them were necessary. I wont bother to explain them all, but the operations center of most air stations is a desk with a couple of phones. There are video monitors in some of them, but they play movies and football games...no live video feeds from the scene...sorry.

The rescue scenes are very realistic, and the school scenes are not too out-of-line with the actual training. (warning: punch an instructor in the face during an in water test and he will NOT hug you later. Get thrown in jail for being drunk and disorderly and you WILL get kicked out) The story didn't show the sometimes months of boredom between rescues or the excitement of a six hour flare sighting search called in by a drunk on the fourth of july from a hotel room...but who would pay to see that?

All in all, I think many of us in the service are proud of the film and liked it very much.

The extras on the DVD are worth the price alone. Again, I'm biased.

The Guardian is a film worth owning.

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Red Heat (1988)

Arnold Schwartzenegger in the role of humorless, ultra-disciplined Soviet police-captain Vanya Danko, teamed with Chicago PD screw-up Art Ritsek (Jim Belushi), to track a Georgean drug kingpin... this is one of Arnold's greatest, but least-appreciated, action-films. The best scenes take place in Russia, in the banya (public bath), over the rooftops around Red Square, in the mafiya cafe. Arnold's Russian, spoken with his Austrian accent, is pretty terrific! What impressed me was the film's close attention to detail: Even Danko's handwriting and numbers were authentically Russian-style. The machismo of the personal battle between Ivan Danko and the smuggler was intensely Russian, as was Danko's unswerving conviction of Soviet superiority. His terse correction of the hotel clerk's question "Is [Viktor] another Russian, like you?" Danko: "Soviet.", is right-on -Georgeans are not Russians, although many Americans don't know that. The scripting of a Georgean as the loathesome criminal is actually quite revealing, and surely a reflection of the film's "official" Russian input . Despite the grimness of the plot and Arnold's character, there is plenty of dark humor, mainly provided by Belushi's portrayal of undisciplined officer Ritsek. The humor frequently contrasts the strictly indoctrinated Soviet structure with the (to Danko) near-anarchy of American freedom. Much of the mayhem and carnage wrought during the process of Danko's personal war defies credibility; as Ritsek puts it: "Why aren't there any cops around when you need one!" The action genre's obligatory high-speed chase scene was ludicrous, yet appropriately Russian (everything Russian always seems so much "bigger"...). And the protagonists' exchange in the end, in which Vanya gets the better deal, is also typically Russian -and proves that Danko is not so humorless after all. By the way, this movie (like all of Arnold's action-films) is extremely popular here, where it has been dubbed into the Russian language. Ironically, in the russkiy version, all the obscenities have been deleted from the dialogue.

Don't bother wasting your money if you think you are upgrading like I did. The earlier ARTISAN release is still much better than this special edition. The image is better and ALSO the sound. I don't know what Lions gate thought they were doing, but remastered? no. I compared both several times before writing this even though I only had to compare once. Might as well wait for a HD DVD to come out, this is a waste unless you want the additional features.

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Schwarzenegger and James Belushi make a great team in this crazed action film. Schwarzenegger plays the serious Captain Ivan Danko, a Russian detective. Opposite him, James Belushi, is the comical cop, Art Ridzik, always good for a laugh. Who could guess what would happen when these two got stuck together?

On the downside of the film the beggining is all Russian. You'll be forced to read English subtitles not able to enjoy any of the visuals, until around ten to twenty minutes into the film. Unless of course you speak Russian.

The final word. If you're looking for something to do on a boring afternoon, I recommend sitting back and enjoying Red Heat.

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Cannot beat this deal for a fun 1980s film in BD that actually came across as good as can be without Lionsgate dumping too much money into it.

The clarity gave a decent showing even with the amount of skin tones being shown by our fearless leader in that beginning Russian spa scene. The color was vivid, maybe too much so once they hit the snow with the flesh tones and fake injuries contrasting against the white. But the credit (pink colors) looked clear with no grain at all, and admittedly that DNR thingy (or whatever they call the removal process for some of these upgrades) did not blur/fuzz things at all. The Chicago street scenes looked good and the background signs are actually readable now. The DTS is mostly channeled to the front three, but they managed to add some decent bass here and there.

The supplements are from the 2004 edition in low def, but it is always nice to see that stunt man memorial featurette, recommend that if you pick only one to watch. The included TV spots and such are always nice for a before and after comparison on quality. For what they put into this, and the price being offered I feel you won't be disappointed.

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The film was funny just before the fall of the Berlin Wall, but I must say it has become hilarious today after the fall. It is not even a real caricature because there is a nostalgic dimension to it. Nostalgic about a time when things were simple in the world where there was us and there was them. We were necessarily on the right side by identifying with the side we were geographically on. And the rest was only politics.

But with the distance, there is no us and no them, there is only one global mess and we all have to live in it, parakeet or not, East-German watch or not, Georgian mafia against Chicagoan mafia. And now this mafia or these mafias have turned into terrorist armies. All over the world the game because it is a game, a killing game is no longer Miranda versus totalitarianism. It is kill them first versus totalitarianism.

These mafiosi are choir boys when compared with the Ben Laden and the Prabhakaran of today, and note I took two dead examples for whom there were no Miranda rights. These people are responsible for thousands of people killed, hundreds of thousands of people mutilated by mines or other assault weapons. They have no rights any more. They lost them when they decided to enter a war against humanity, a war of pure violence and crime.

The film is showing that so well including with allusions to Dirty Harry or Dr Zhivago. These people do not sell drugs to make money but they are selling drugs to break the law, make money and kill anyone they can come across on their way. They kill for the pleasure of killing. When the Berlin Wall fell, the Soviet system came down, and we were liberated of the good terrorists who were fighting for the liberation of humanity. For those people who admired such "patriotic" heroes people like Gaddafi or Prabhakaran were revolutionaries. All that has changed and they have become what they were all the time, nasty terrorists.

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, little by little all the self-calling "revolutionary" movements in the world have had to change identity and enter the political arena with only political weapons and drop the other weapons in some kind of ditch forever. The guerilla movements in Angola and Mozambique were forced to drop their weapons, the IRA was forced to move towards a political solution, the various diamonds wars in Africa were also forced to drop their weapons and their diamonds had to go back on the market without any blood stain, the Sandinistas were obliged to concede a defeat before then regaining power in elections.

We could multiply examples. The Basque ETA is a die-hard movement like the Corsican independence movement. The LTTE was in Sri Lanka the first major victory against that terrorism and since then many things have changed in the Arab world and as for Al Qaida. That's why this film has become so funny with years.

Some could have said it was a Cold War comic film at the end of those events. But now it is the most hilarious film on the subject of the end of a revolutionary vision that was not really revolutionary but just violent. But today it is the Soviet of the old days who are right: criminals may have Miranda rights, but that is only if they survive their arrest. If they don't they have no other right than to shut up. That's why these criminals are not supposed to survive their arrest. Just make sure they have the fair chance to shoot or try to shoot first and that they are the real big ones, not some manipulated non-entities.

In 1988 the film was advocating Dirty Harry's methods. Today it justifies the use of such methods: these scumbags have to be brought home, but in a corpse bag if possible. The bullets are already too much of an expense to bring them back home, so let's avoid the trial that would ensue if they were still able to speak or at least move one single toe. Something changed in 1989, even if the Bushes Sr. and Jr. did not understand it properly. I can imagine the mess the Bushes would have done in Libya sending the Cavalry for sure.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU

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Pontypool

I'm kind of on the fence with this movie, honestly. This was definitely not your typical zombie movie, so please don't go into it expecting lots of blood and gore. Personally, I don't need a ton of special effects and non-stop action to make a movie enjoyable, but for some, this may be a deal breaker. Due to the setting being in a radio station, there was a lot of dialogue that at times I found to be a bit cheesy. Through the description provided by the callers, the viewer is able to visualize for themselves what is going on. I like that this movie makes you work your imagination in that regard. The reason behind the infection was really bizarre and I found it off-putting. The movie didn't make it believable and that kind of ruined it for me a little at the end. I'm glad I watched this movie, but it's not going to be my staple rotation.

"Just listen to me."

You wouldn't know it, but this little dialogue blip haunted me just long enough to know that, subsequent to viewing the trailer, McDonald's Pontypool would be an experience I would never forget. Just when cinema's zombie revival experiment begins to show signs of banality, we are given a gift from an ambitious director that, although certainly difficult to digest, is one the most compelling and original zombie in ages.

Working with truly terrifying source material, McDonald builds a fortress of tension out of, seemingly, nothing at all. Indeed, nearly the entirety of the film takes place within a radio station, and even then, within the confines of a modest sound booth. That said, it is a testament to the staggering talent of both the director and his team when I say that what is accomplished with so little is utterly unnerving. Even for minimalist cinema, this is a film that works with mere shadows, putting its faith in the audience to fill in the frightening details.

Pontypool is that rare horror film that grows more disturbing upon successive viewings. Given its plot, which I will absolutely not spoil, it is admittedly ironic that, the more you analyze and come to learn, the more creepy things become. It's a stunning achievement that I cannot applaud enough; it goes beyond mere psychological horror, nestling quietly in the voids of the uncanny and the abstract, and it will chill you to the bone.

Indeed, this film oozes a taut indy style that few mainstream features can replicate, all the way down to a genuinely sharp script that gives the impeccably chosen cast something intelligent to work with, especially Stephen McHaddy's, who's performance is the stuff of career breakouts.

It needs to be acknowledged that, yes, Pontypool is a zombie movie for people who don't want to watch the conventional zombie movie anymore at least those that aren't directed by Danny Boyle. And no, it doesn't necessarily require a patient or tolerant mind to enjoy the film. That said, this certainly isn't something that you would see greenlit by the heavyweight studios, and for good reason; it lacks the docu-mocku style that has become prevalent in the genre; nor is it a shock-fest; and it is completely devoid of recognizable names. But for those who have the opportunity to get their hands on McDonald's ingenious little gem, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better thinking man's horror film.

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Let me start by saying that I'm huge lover of zombies and as such I bought this film because the preview looked promising. I liked the movie and I'm glad I bought it, as opposed to renting it, because I'm not sure what just happened. (Also, I think I'd still be waiting for it from NetFlix) The filming quality is decent, as are all of the other elements of the film, but given the lack of a set variety it is apparent that this is a pretty low budget operation. If you want blood and guts this is not for you. This is one of the more thought provoking zombie films I've seen. (Whether it is due to confusion, true ingeniousness, or pretension, is up for debate.) I still don't really understand what causes zombies in this world. I would have given it four stars, but I know I tend to like things that many people don't care for. I recommend you see it if you like this type of movie, but you have to approach it with an open mind.

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** This review contains spoilers. **

Grant Mazzy is a shock jock who used to be big on the radio, but now is condemned to the purgatory of a small town local morning show. He wants to challenge people and incite a reaction like he used to, but his supervisor, Sydney Briar, is only concerned with the basics. Weird reports start coming in from various eye witnesses about riots outside of a doctor's office. Over time, the details come together and the picture starts to become clear: people have started to suddenly go insane and attack others. People are being eaten and killed out there. Their town has descended in to chaos and all they can do is try to report what they know, which isn't much. How long will they be safe holed up at the studio? What is really causing this frightening behavior in people?

I read the book this movie was based on and it was very strange and nonlinear. I didn't really know what to expect from the film version, but I braced myself for weirdness. The film is linear in its storytelling, but still has the ambiguity and odd feeling of the novel. The film is separated pretty clearly into 2 parts. The first part is simply establishing the characters and then throwing them into a crazy situation that they struggle to figure out. There are only three main characters: shock jock Grant Mazzy who is desperate to keep some of his edginess in a run of the mill job, Syndney Briar who is Grant's supervisor and sympathizes with him but also wants to keep the necessities in her show without alienating her audience, and Laurel-Ann Drummond who is the idealistic technical assistant and slightly enamored with Grant. The radio show goes on like normal for a little while until one of their reporters calls in terrified of a large crowd of people outside of a doctor's office, attacking and eating each other and gibbering incoherently. Then, thing hit close to home when their studio is attacked on all sides and Laurel-Ann becomes infected. They experience the horror first hand and try to not contract the disease themselves.

I really like the new concept of zombies in this film. The disease is a virus transmitted through speech and only exists in the English language. It manifests in three stages. In the first stage, the person gets stuck on a word and keeps repeating it over and over without even really realizing it. The second stage is where their ability to speak coherently at all fails and they get frustrating at not being understood by others. The third stage manifests in violence when the frustration gets to be too much to bear and the person with the virus has to attack and eat other people, usually one specific person whose speech they mimic until their victim is dead. The most frightening version of this in the film is when Laurel-Ann becomes infected and goes through all the stages in front of them. The way she continually throws herself against the glass of the sound booth to get at them with no concern for her own well-being is more frightening than a horde of zombies trying to get into the studio.

Three things worked extremely well for me in this film. One is the part where people are calling in and relaying the horrors they have seen to Grant. It's horrifying to hear and feel their terror without seeing what is causing it. The visuals we as the audience can conjure up in our minds are much more frightening than anything any filmmaker can put on the screen. This scene is quite disturbing and more effective than I thought it would be. The second is the claustrophobic setting. Except for the very beginning, the entire film takes place in the radio studio building with only 3 characters being the main focus. The studio itself is fairly small and gets even smaller when parts of it are inaccessible due to zombies. It makes it seem like their whole world is reduced to that small building (or just parts of it) because the world is no longer safe and the danger will eventually make its way to them. The third is the disease itself. It's so unique and weird, but is used as a commentary for our society. People in this film turn murderous when not understood, but language in American society is becoming more and more distorted and less important. The vast majority of people would rather watch a film than read a book and abhor watching foreign films because reading subtitles is too much of a chore. Language to a lot of people is reduced to 140 characters tweets, Facebook updates, and text speak. Discourse and real language is no longer a priority to our society when Jersey Shore is one of the most watched shows on TV.

I really like Pontypool. It is an unexpected film that is a great addition to the zombie genre. Stephen McHattie, Lisa Houle, and Georgina Reilly give great performances that really set this film apart from the shambling masses of zombies films. The only thing I didn't like about it was the very ending scene after the credits. It just served to confuse the audience. The story is undeniably unique and may not be for everyone, but I would encourage any zombie fan to give it a try.

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The film spends the first five minutes explaining where the word "Pontypool" comes from and I still couldn't tell you right after I heard it. Grant Mazzy (Stephen McHattie) is a fallen from grace radio newscaster who likes to philosophize his broadcasts to the dismay of his small Ontario town employer Sydney Briar (Lisa Houle). Laurel-Ann Drummond (Georgina Reilly) who screens calls and runs the boards likes Mazzy's style and sides with him in minor disputes with Sydney.

As Mazzy starts his broadcast the town goes viral in an "Impulse" (1984 Meg Tilly) type of way. What I disliked about the DVD cover description is that it gives you the cause of the infestation, which takes away from the fun of trying to figure it out. The production is shot rather modestly inside a radio station. This could become a zombie play, although the infected people are not true zombies even by our expanded movie definition.

The production has a unique plot and well played. It would definitely make for a conversation piece of anyone's zombie collection.

PARENTAL GUIDE: F-bomb, no sex. no violence. Some Blood.