Rounders (1998)

I own the original DVD of this film. Certainly I hesitated to buy a second copy of the essentially same movie, but(...) I thought I'd take a chance. The main feature remains the same, so if you are in the same situation as I was, you'll be paying for the extra features. In short, the extras certainly make it worthwhile to own this edition, whether or not you own the original.

1. If you play poker already, "Heads Up Texas Hold 'Em" won't help you. (I bet you suspected that already.)

2. The two bonus features, "Behind-The-Scenes Special" and "Inside Professional Poker", are short at 5'20" and 5'40" respectively. The former is a little disappointing; it appears that the cast and the staff simply talk about the movie retrospectively after the production. In other words, it looks and feels like an afterthought. The latter is a little more satisfying; it gives some well-known (to regular poker players) principles of poker. The soundtracks are very annoying.

3. Champion Poker Tips gives a few sound-bite tips from Johnny Chan, Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, Phil Hellmuth, and Chris Moneymaker. Again, if you play poker already, there is nothing new here.

4. Now, these professional players are featured in the extra commentary. Mr. Whear characterized this commentary as "odd," but I thought this was the best part of this Collector's Edition. The comments they make are sometimes off the wall, but it just adds to the charm (to me, anyway). They analyze the hand Mike McD loses to Teddy KGB at the beginning of the movie, and also the showdown at the end; their analysis is good, and they explain how (and why) things will be quite different in the real life. Also, the commentary shows the characters of these pros. Hellmuth is usually the motor mouth; Chan is the happy guy, but complains about how fat he appears in the film; Moneymaker seems a little reserved around the others; Ferguson is pretty quiet, but when he speaks he is brilliant (he even cracks a joke).

5. Staff's commentary gives some insight into the production of the film, including the real-world model of Teddy KGB (it turns out he is Eddie KGB in real life). This commentary is also good.

What was on the original DVD edition that is missing on this edition is the theatrical trailer. You might wonder why I bring this up. Well, the trailer contains a couple of scenes that didn't make the cut. I'm sure these could have been added as deleted scenes, too. For that, I subtract 1 star.

There are two types of people watching Rounders: those who play poker and those who don't. If you can identify in any way with Matt Damon in this movie, it's going to captivate you. If you're not a card player... you can probably forget it.



Mike McDermott (Damon) is a professional poker player and a law school student, in that order. One night, in an attempt to raise the capital for a trip to Las vegas to play in the World Series of Poker, McDermott loses his whole bankroll, $30K, to the owner of his favorite underground card club, Teddy KGB (John Malkovich). The next day, he swears off cards, but we get the feeling he does so in order to keep his relationship with Jo (Gretchen Mol) alive. His resolve is shaken, and quickly detroyed, when his best friend growing up, Worm (Edward Norton), is released from prison, and McDermott soon finds himself back at the table.



This movie succeeds on a number of levels, and surprisingly so. Of course, many of those levels have to do with cards, and if (as I said) you're not enchanted, or at least obsessed, with the non-luck aspects of any game of chance, it'll probably bore you stiff. But even if you're only a weekend (or rarer) player at the card table, the horse track, or the stock market, you'd do well to listen to Damon's voiceovers throughout the movie, which have loads of excellent information (and mirror things I've been telling novice horseplayers for years).



Other than that, the insights into relationships, and the ways obsession can destroy them, are profound. Well, okay, maybe not profound, but handled with gobs more subtlety and wit than I've seen in just about forever. Mol isn't really onstage long enough to give her any real chemistry with Damon, but take it from me, the ways they react to one another throughout the film are dead on. More importantly, both to the plot and to the success of the movie, is the relationship between McDermott and Worm. Edward Norton proves once again he's one of Hollywood's true rising talents, and the deeper motivations that drive his character are exposed just well enough that we can see them. Not an easy task, and one sure to be uncovered if the actor doesn't understand those motivatins and the viewer does.



The other main aspect of the film is the suspense during the actual card games. Another thing that's not easy to pull off, and often (most recently in the Gibson/Foster remake of Maverick) the director resorts to insane, next-to-impossible combinations of cards to make it work. (Remember the final game in Maverick?) In the first scene, when Teddy KGB nails McDermott, the winning hand is a full house. Welcome to the real world of poker, where oftentimes it's the guy holding the two pair that ends up forty grand richer at the end of the night. Dahl realizes, repeatedly, that it's not the cards in the hand that provide the action, it's the way the characters react to one another. One almost thinks that Dahl could have pulled this movie off by putting Damon, Norton, Malkovich (without the cheesy accent), John Turturro, and two or three of the other cardplayers around a table and shot two hours of one game.

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I first saw Rounders when I had been playing Hold'Em for about 2 years and noticed a big change in the "drop ins" at the tables. (Drop In A new player that isnt one of the regulars that usually play in a reoccuring game or location) People were throwing out quotes from Teddy KGB, the Russian character played by John Malkovich. I could tell the movie was creating an insurgance of new players to the game. Years later you can play Hold'Em at nearly any table in any casino and say something like 'weaddy ageasieev' and get at least a couple chuckles.

Matt Damon plays the main character, Mikey McDermott and Edward Norton his best friend Lester "Worm" Murphy who's freshly released from a prison term that Mikey might have also had to serve if Lester would have given him up. Feeling obligated for the sacrifice his friend made, Mikey trys everything he can to keep Worm out of trouble while attempting to hold together a failing relationship with his girlfriend while juggling law school. Mikey cant resist the draw of poker and ends up back in the frey of the Rounders again realizing that life is a grind without his true love of poker.

Damon portrays the main character brilliantly and Norton was so convincing that I actually felt angry at him for fouling everything all up. Malkovich invents his own odd version of the Russian accent while pulling off the role of Teddy that is completely unforgettable. There's also a great cameo by the 3 time World Series of Poker champion Jonny Chan.

Rounders portrays a professional gambler more realistically than I've ever seen it before. From hiding large amounts of cash all over the house to the dark smokey poker rooms hidden away in a basement to ring games at the casino. Amassing large fortunes and getting broke again then back in the same day. The life of gambling is one of extremes, danger and euphoria. People get drawn into it and like a drug become addicted, a small handful end up conquering it and carving out a life for themselves.

This movie can almost be attributed to the start of a new revolution of poker players, TV shows like World Poker Tour sprang up, attendance at the World Series of Poker has increased by bounds every year. Though it was an already growing sport, Rounders has been the catalyst to growth and has pulled people into poker like never before.

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To start, this is one of my favorite movies of all time. Easily a Top Ten for me. Matt Damon does a great job as the straight laced poker player who plays by the rules, while Ed Norton, in the role of "Worm" does a spectacular job of bring to life Damon's snakish long time friend. I'm sure at this point you are familiar with the movie so I won't go into much detail regarding the story line. Basically Damon is trying to pull his friend Worm out of a jam. A great Poker movie. [But there is a horrendous attempt of a love story sub plot within it, ignore it and watch on]

Here is my complaint, This movie is outstanding; why is the DVD so bad. The sound is half as good as it should be and there are no special features to be found. What makes a quality DVD is not just the movie(we know thats great) but the extras you get with it. You expect great sound, picture and addtional information about the movie when you pick up the DVD. This one falls far short of doing any of those things. It's a shame such a great and brilliant movie was botched in DVD form.

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Let's put this first:Rounders is a movie about poker..But it doesn't mean that those who are not into this game,won't understand it or like it...

Mike (Damon)is a young law student who is also a master poker player..When he loses all of his savings in a game against the poker expert Russian KGB (Malkovich),he thinks he has played his final hand and promises his girlfriend that he will never sit on a game again.Then his long time friend "Worm" (Edward Norton) gets out of prison and Worm is in big trouble with many guys waiting for his release,because he owes a serious amount to them and the creditors' list goes all the way up to KGB..From then on,it's the dilemma of Mike between his promise to his girlfriend,his education as a law student vs. his loyalty to his friend and his great passion for the game of poker.

I should begin by saying that all of the actors involved (maybe except Gretchen Mol who plays Mike's girlfriend) did a wonderful job.Matt Damon is great as the young poker whiz,we can really feel the state of mind he is in during the whole movie,and is also the narrator.His narration is the best bit of the movie in my opinion.Although it seems that it is always about poker,from the first moment you sense that poker is chosen as a metaphor to tell us about life and how we approoach it.

The script is brilliantly written.Altough I didn't know a thing about poker (and especially about Texas Hold'em),there hasn't been a thing I missed thanks to the narration of Mike and the perfection of the storytelling.

Many people have criticized Malkovich's portayal of the Russian card shark but I think that the final re-match between him and Mike was one of the funniest parts among all the movies I have seen.And Edward Norton should also be mentioned because I think he does a great job as the Worm.He made me hate him for all the problems he put Mike in,and that is the sign of an actor doing his job at best.

The DVD lacks extras and that is my biggest complaint..The deleted scenes I have seen from the trailer should have been added.

This is not a blockbuster and it doesn't have any action scenes.It's all about poker but poker is about life in Rounders.I strongly recommend it even if you don't know anything about this card game who is not about luck.

Caveat Emptor...

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Berlin Calling

I don't know who wrote the review posted above, but it's for a completely different movie. Berlin Calling is about the trials and tribulations of a Berlin based DJ in the early yaers of this millenium. Great movie.

Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky

Although this plays continuously as a single film, it was adapted from a trilogy of novels by Patrick Hamilton. Its subject is unrequited love, as played out amongst three characters. Each section is identified first by the title of the novel, then by the character whose perspective we are seeing. Be that as it may, this is not RASHOMON, or anything like it.

I have not read Hamilton's books. However, the sections play out like novels written by authors with entirely different perspectives on the human condition. Their progression is Hegelian: thesis, antithesis, synthesis.

"The Midnight Bell" is from the point-of-view of Bob, a romantic young barman. He is infatuated with Jenny, a fresh-faced prostitute who at times seems to love him, and at other times seems only to want to drain his bank account. In Bob's view of her, she is a victim of society, a woman without options. The episode is like a novel by Zola or Dreiser, in which humans start out free of iniquity, but then have it imposed upon them by their social circumstances. This is, after all, the Britain of the 1930's, and women don't have a lot of options.

In "The Siege of Pleasure" we see Jenny's progression into prostitution. As a matter of fact, she started out as a bold young woman with a good job and a lot of promise. She made some bad decisions. The moral perspective of this episode is like that of a Graham Greene novel: you make a wrong turn into sin, and everything follows causally from there. It is indeed the opposite of "The Midnight Bell's" point-of view.

Finally, "The Plains of Cement" shows us Ella (the indelible Sally Hawkins), a timid creature who inconspicuously tends bar and lives in the same boarding house as Bob. She is tormented by an unspoken love for Bob, made worse by the fact that she is witness to his slow ruination over Jenny. In a trilogy where human will is the theme, she exists as its weakest possible vessel. Buffeted into an engagement with a possessive older man, she seems, at times, to have no idea of how to act on her own. Yet, even with the smallest allotment of willpower, she manages to extract herself from those much stronger than her, making a melancholy peace with what is gone and what remains.

This is a BBC production. It is literature competently transformed into moving pictures. That may sound like faint praise, but to have imposed a more "cinematic" style on it would only have made it unnecessarily fussy. It is perfect as it is.

If you have experienced love and rejection you might feel this movie is about you. I could identify with the main characters and at the end, I felt just like them.

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THIS IS NOT YOUR TYPICAL LOVE STORY. THIS IS A TRILOGY COMBINED INTO ONE ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL DRAMA FEATURING GREAT ACTING AND WRITING. THERE'S NO "FAST FORWARDING" THIS GEM.

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Superb performances by the leads, Haygarth, Tapper and Hawkins. Evocative and gloomy, but can't-take-your-eyes-off-it great. Please make this available for U.S. DVD.

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Absolutely terrific depiction of love and longing among the lower class in early 20th century London. This film is the antithesis of the typical Hollywood love story, and left me amazed at the genuine sense of feeling I felt for these characters.

Top notch.

Roadie (1980)

There is a lot of silly rubbish about this film scattered all over the Internet. Most of the time when I read a review of "Roadie" I wonder if the critic even bothered to see the film before they wrote about it (see above). Unlike most other critics, I have seen Roadie, and I promise--with certain reservations--that it is a very funny and very entertaining movie.

As an older man with a nervous disposition who has enough trouble sitting through many new movies once, The ultimate tribute I can give this great "on the road" rock'n'roll saga is that I watched it numerous times when it was on cable in 1981. Since then, I have watched it several dozens of times on VHS, and now that it's on DVD, I have watched it several times again. You can put a lot of mileage on this road movie. In a day when you build whole relationship with and around movies in your personal collection, that kind of stamina in a movie is critical.

The film has a rock'n'roll backdrop--a backdrop we rarely see from the workingman's eye the way we do here. There are no star turns in the film, at least none in the late 1970's early 1980's tradition. Rock is shown as hard work, and generally the product of blue collar hands (a view I agree with). The movie gives us what amounts to real-world views of several 70's favorites (Meatloaf, Alice Cooper, Blondie, etc.).

The movie has a great premise, the howling self-reliant "Everything Works If You Let It" theme. It also enjoys a background soundtrack that fires on all twelve cylinders. But what keeps me watching the film is that it is really funny in an honest, straight-forward way that we have enjoyed far too seldom since Hollywood started grinding out its cookie-cutter "farces" in the wake of "Airplane." The dual surprises of the film are the really solid performances put in by Alice Cooper and Meatloaf in their respective roles as rock star and roadie. I am unqualified in my admiration of this movie, but I will tightly qualify the people to whom I would suggest the film. This is a "cult" movie in the most real sense of the word and anyone who is made nervous by rock music, farce that is outside of the "Scary Movie"/"Naked Gun" mainstream, or three-hundred pound leading men (Meatloaf) should avoid this movie at all costs. Also, there is a certain good ol' boy mentality at work here that will not play for some parts of the audience. But to the core audience of the film, these are not qualifications, they are recommendations. The thing I am saddest about is that the movie's soundtrack is no longer available. The soundtrack was worth having simply for the long and messy "Brainlock" which plays during one of the few really funny car chases in the history of film.

Of course Meatloaf is the bomb, and you want to believe in the reality of his character, the astoundingly competent Travis W. Redfish. Sadly, there is no Redfish in the real world, but you'll wish there was, and there probably should be.

Art Carney plays Daddy Redfish, and steals every scene in which he appears. Alice Cooper plays himself (as always) and is great. In fact, all the walk-ons and cameos are amazing.

But the amazing presence in the film is Kaki Hunter's portrayal of Lola Bouillabaisse. The Lola character is a train wreck, a disaster area, a four alarm fire. She is our worst nightmare on a blind date, but the screenplay needs her to be that disaster. If Lola had been played by a different kind of female, or had she been played as an attractive girl, the part, and probably the film would have been ruined. Hunter actually holds her own against her mighty co-stars in the film. She is amazing.

Note: a movie that is equally funny and from the same time period, and sharing roughly the same theme is Roger Corman's "Rock and Roll High School."

Whoa-boy. ROADIE isn't a five-star flick by any stretch of the imagination (save that of starry-eyed fan-atics, who're no doubt clicking No with some vehemence right about now). Every one of the three stars are worthy, however, and I snapped up this DVD with all haste because the film IS a campy, rollicking, fun little tale. Meat Loaf is a charmer as Travis W. Redfish, cuddly and sweet, inventive and wise, a memorable character in even his head-butting, brain-locking, ox-like other side. Kaki Hunter is less memorable as Lola Bouilliabase, though often just as sweetly naive as anyone who's had a brush with fan obsession (y'all CAN click Yes later on and change your vote, if you didn't know). Completing the Redfish clan, Art Carney is a hoot and Rhonda Bates purely delightful. Watch for Kurkwood Smith in a bit part.

A no-frills DVD package. The feature cleaned up nicely, but the original trailer shows wear. The Dolby 5.1 audio was a surprise, though, and plays well front and back.

ROADIE is a guilty pleasure, but such camp was fun sharing with unsuspecting friends -we laughed 'til we cried. Chair dancing, the distinctive rattle of a beer truck, narcs snorting Tide. Some odd remembrances, too, of the brouhaha over cancelling concerts for energy conservation, often believed an excuse for censorship. Oddly enough, there's little or no swearing in ROADIE; Lola's quest for deflowering and a little substance abuse (and perhaps the close-up of Alice Cooper's codpiece) earned the PG rating.

"Everything works if you let it," a worthy sentiment.

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This is one of the funniest movies I've ever seen. A great cast: Meatloaf, Khaki Hunter, Art Carney, Jos Spano, Alice Cooper, Hank Williams Jr., Roy Orbison, Don Cornelius, etc. Great musical performances by Blondie, duet of Hank Jr. & Roy, Blondie, Asleep At The Wheel. Some of the greatest lines of all time. Story gets a little trippy but makes sense and one of the all-time strangest endings. If you are a 70s rock and roll fan, this is the movie for you.

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From the ambulatory phone booth to a candlelight dinner with The Snake, this just tickled my funny bone. Art Carney was great, and I loved Meat Loaf as the star-crossed lover. Yes, it's cheap, yes, it's campy, but I have been looking for the damn thing for like 20 years, and I am SO happy they finally re-released it. For years all I had was the soundtrack, which is quite goodlook at all the musicians in the darn movie! Ooohhh, I'm drivin' my life away....

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For it's time, Roadie is a great movie in itself. it's funny, sexy, and filled with alot of classic rock. Great cammeo's by Hank Williams Jr. and Roy Orbison to name a couple. Jr. sings Outlaw Women at a bar Redfish (Meat Loaf) set's up at.

The story is Hank Williams Jr.'s road crew breaks down on the side of a Texas road. A pretty woman hitching a ride steps out and catch's Redfish's eye. Two numb skulls diving the truck has no clue what's wrong. When Redfish offers to help, Lola (the pretty woman) talks him in to helping set up Hank Willims Jr. Soon after that Redfish becomes the best at what he does or what he has became a (roadie) but all Redfish is after is Lola and all Lola is ater is Alice Cooper.

I sew this movie on T.V. a long time ago and liked it alot and I was wantting to see it again. Still a great movie

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Rio (2011)

A rare bird is kidnapped from his adoring owner, who must try to retrieve him. Along the way, the bird encounters various delightful, and some not so delightful, characters. Top notch animation, colorful visuals, and prudent voice selections highlight this animated delight. The storyline and the humor will appeal to adults and children alike, as I found myself getting a few laughs out of this one. The 3D effect is outstanding, and this is a movie for which you will want to lay out the extra expense for the 3D glasses. You don't need a babysitter tonight, as the whole family will enjoy this one.

My ratings are based mainly on the QUALITY OF THE 3D, not the video content.

GET THIS; There are about 145 out of screen effects that extend about 10% of the way, from the screen to the viewer and another 36 ranging from 15% to 25%.

The quality of the 3D, in screen and out is exceptional and the movie had my wife and I in stitches many times. This is defiantly a homerun by 20th Century Fox. For animated films, this ranks right at the top along with Open Season and Ice Age.

*** Put this one on your list to ***

*** add to your 3D collection ***

MY 3D RATING = EXCELLENT (poor, fair, good, very good, excellent)

Note: As far as the percentages go, everyone's eyes are different. What I see at 25% you may see at 15% or 35%. To fully realize how far something is out of the screen for you, pause on an effect and direct a partner with an extended finger to the tip of what you are seeing. You may be surprised.

Click on `' for the lowdown on other 3Ds

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The best single word I can use to describe the film Rio is 'vibrant' as it's the colors that really hit you. One can see why, when you're doing a story about birds, setting it in Brazil with its dazzling variety of brilliantly multicolored avian species is a truly inspired choice.

The story begins when a baby blue macaw in the Brazilian rain forest falls (literally) into the hands of exotic animal poachers and ends up being shipped to the US where, by a fortunate accident, he ends up being adopted by a young girl named Linda in a small town in, of all places, wintry Minnesota. A quick flash forward shows girl and bird, which she names Blu, growing up together, to fifteen years later where Linda is now an adult who owns her own bookstore. The thing is though, Blu, raised as a house-bird, never learned how to fly.

The plot really begins when a Brazilian ornithologist named Tulio comes to Linda's store, having learned from her web-site that she's the owner of Blu, who apparently is one of the last male blue macaws in the world. Despite getting off on the wrong foot with Linda, he eventually persuades her to come with him to Brazil so that they can mate Blu with a female blue macaw named Jewel that they've managed to capture. Once there, however, the mating plan hits a snag as Jewel wants only to escape back to her jungle and has nothing but disdain for Blu, who only wants to get back with his human. Further complications set in when both birds are stolen by exotic animal black-marketeers who intend to sell them to the highest bidder. The two birds, though chained together, manage to escape, but it's rough going, particularly when Jewel discovers that Blu can't fly and she can't fly away while she's chained to him, and the bird thieves are hot on their trail, right in the middle of Brazil's biggest and most flamboyant of all festivals, Carnival.

Director/writer Carlos Saldanha goes the distance in bringing some authentic Brazilian touches to the film. I particularly liked the way in which he brought out how everyone in Brazil is soccer-crazy, with good guys and bad constantly being distracted whenever a game is on.

The themes are familiar ones characters are thrust out of their familiar environments into ones they find strange and challenging, characters who don't get along but are stuck together learn to appreciate each other, danger threatens, help comes from unexpected quarters, fears are overcome, and so on but the characters in Rio are engaging and the story-telling is well done so you just lean back and enjoy the show. And Rio is a true visual pleasure to watch just for the sheer vibrancy of its colors and for the exotic setting of Rio de Janeiro during Carnival.

The voice actors for the most part do a creditable job bringing their characters to life. The stand-outs are clearly Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network) as Blu and Anne Hathaway (The Devil Wears Prada) as Jewel, who succeed in not only bringing out the individual personalities of the two macaws but also make you believe in the way the two birds gradually begin to accept and relate to each other. But Leslie Mann and Rodrigo Santoro are also exceptional as the humans Linda and Tulio, Mann for bringing out Linda's mix of independence and introvert and Santoro for Tulio's engagingly manic if clumsy extrovert. Comedic actor Tracy Morgan has fun voicing Luiz, a Carnival-loving bulldog whose bark may be worse than his bite but whose drool trumps both. And Jermaine Clement (Flight of the Conchords) adds a deliciously nasty touch as the villainous cockatoo, Nigel.

(Note: I was wondering why a Brazilian cockatoo was talking with what sounded like an Australian accent, but I later found out that cockatoos are in fact of Australasian origin. So chalk up another point for Rio for being educational as well as entertaining.)

The songs are enjoyable if largely forgettable but nicely add to the Brazilian atmosphere. The stand-out exception is the song Nigel sings (as near as I can tell, it's simply called "Nigel's Song") where he explains why he is "not a pretty bird". There seems to be some kind of rule, in recent years anyway, that in any animated musical film, the bad guys always get the best songs.

Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys beautifully colored animation, engaging characters and good basic storytelling.

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Rio is bright, colorful, lively, and full of music--exactly what one imagines when they think of Rio, Brazil, Carnival Capital of the World.

Sure, some of the other (more critical) reviews you'll read on Amazon will gripe about forced themes and whatnot, but, really, all this movie comes down to is fun and finding love (for both the avian and human characters).

Remember, folks, these animated movies, although certainly entertaining for (and meant to include) adults, are really targeted for children.

My kids give it 5 Stars and can't wait to have their own copy. They loved all of the characters--even mean, old Nigel--as their personalities are just as colorful and varied as what is viewed on-screen.

The animation is beautiful and the storyline understandable--a plausible explanation for how Blu got to Minnesota, why he's afraid to fly, and why he needs to go to Rio.

A great movie for little and big people alike!

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When I first heard of Rio my expectations were not high, never the less I wanted to watch it, mainly because of the Studio them self i loved Ice age so i though i would give Rio a chance.

How ever my mind was blown with in the first few moments of the movie actually starting, it was a stunning and vibrant welcoming in to the movie with a exhilarating song to go with it.

Now from the moment i fount out that Blu (Jesse Eisenberg) was the last of his kind and had to mate with Jewl (Anne Hathaway) I had figured out the story but that did not stop me from watching on, and thank god it didn't, though the story was predictable it was told in a magnificent way so much to make want to watch it again.

Moving on to the cast it self, it was not until I looked at the cast list did I see what great performers were playing in the movie, this was down to that i was so took in with the characters it totally slipped my mind to think who there voice actor was, and i was even more surprised when i saw that Jesse Eisenberg played Blue, he was great in the Social network so I was shocked I didn't pick up on him while watching the movie.

Before I conclude this review I would just like to say that the music in this movie was breath taking through out, and at no point did I feel the movie was out of place or was too in your face.

Overall this is a great movie, great for the entire family and if you are on the fence on if to watch this or not then let this be the final push to convince you to watch this as i promise you will not be let down.

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Bad Girls (1994)

This movie does not pretend to be a serious effort in film making. It's a funny, not so serious movie that's eye and mind candy. Think of it as Charlie's Angels set in the 1870's. Madaline Stowe, Andie McDowell, Drew Barrymore play whores that are run out of one town and are trying to make their way to another. Along the way they run into Stowe's ex boyfriend who was not so kind to her before and even worse now. It's escapist fun and I recommend it heartily.

Bad Girls is my all-time favorite movie. Okay, some of the plots are a tiny bit lame, but what can you expect from a Western? I find this movie to be a fresh look at Western style movies, with strong females using any and every card they have to do what they want. It also has a cast of amazing actors, most that are getting more successful with time. If you like action-packed movies and powerful women, buy this movie!

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We first saw this movie on TV. My wife liked it so much that she didn't want to see how it ended until after we had bought it. Once we had ordered it and received the movie, my wife wanted to watch it from beginning to end. She said it was a keeper. It is now part of our collection. My wife describes it this way: "it is a no-nonsense movie with women as the lead characters."

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I've seen this movie a couple of times over the years and thought it was decent. Like Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven, Bad Girls begins with the abuse of a prostitute whose vengeance sets the whole plot in motion. But in Bad Girls, plot development is synonymous with costume changes. Chaps, corsets, silks and flannel -for women on the run who carry no baggage other than their historical baggage as former prostitutes, these four desperadoes scam more new outfits than a bevy of runway models. And at least one of them had to be packing a curling iron. But, okay, this is Hollywood after all, and what's the point of having four women starring in a movie if they don't at least look good, albeit illogical.

The really grievous problems with Bad Girls are its lack of plot and undeveloped characters. On the lam after the most trigger-happy of the bunch, Madeleine Stowe, kills a customer who's roughing up one of the other girls in the brothel, they have very little sense of purpose once they're on their own. With a vague plan of heading toward the Oregon Territory to run a sawmill, Bad Girls moves forward in episodic fashion as they encounter one difficulty (or love interest) after another. You can practically picture it as a weekly TV series that poses hour-long detours on the road to the elusive Oregon Territory. The barrenness of the plot would be less noticeable; however, if there were at least some solid characters to hang the story on. Stowe nicely plays the sternness of her character against the delicacy of her features but even her tough-gal posture is belittled when she is whipped by one man and rescued by another. Masterson, considering her range as an actress of intelligence and physical dexterity, is given surprisingly little to do. As for the others, MacDowell flirts and Barrymore pouts, though each does what she does very well.

The Cinematography is respectable, as is the directing for what the shooting schedule allowed. Not an extraordinary film, but one that entertains on one level. That and the sexual component really didn't need the exposure it received in this film. In other words it couldve been handled more tastefully, or axed altogether.

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This is a very underrated movie about 4 women who are trapped by their circumstances in the Old Wild West. Mary Stuart Masterson and Andie McDowell are both prostitutes who dream of a better life and when that chance comes along they run with it into unknown and scary territory. All of the female leads in this movie give very solid and real performances and Drew Barrymore proves that she has indeed grown into a fine woman.I give this movie 5 stars because it is a novel concept which the makers of this film managed to realize very successfully.

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Hitch (2005)

Will Smith stars as Hitch, a counselor for men who are having trouble making that first move toward a relationship. One of his main focuses during the movie is an accountant played by a thinner Kevin James (compared to the first couple of seasons in King of Queens). Kevin's character is attracted to a beautiful heiress played by Cameron Diaz-wannabe Amber Valetta.

Enter sub-plot #2: Eva Mendes portrays a gossip columnist headstrong in the belief that, sooner or later, every guy with lie to you, cheat on you, or both. Hitch tries to convince her otherwise while convincing himself that not all women are eventually evil either.

The movie's greatest feature is being able to show just about every aspect or viewpoint one would have about starting a relationship, from the lovesick to the downright sick of love individuals.

The writing and acting are very well done, mostly because they keep Amber's lines to a minimum.

The reason for my ALMOST perfect title to this is because, toward the end, the movie gets WAY too Hallmark card-ish. If you see the movie, you'll know where it starts. This plus the Ellis Island scene could have had some of the documentary part trimmed a bit.

I would highly recommend this movie for a date, especially a first date. I would not advise bringing the kids to this one due to all of the sexual innuendo.

Warnings: profanity, sexual innuendo, people doing the 'robot' dance, and pigheadedness from both sexes. Like I said, it's a great date movie. :)

Final note of the movie: if your movie is being sponsored by, let's say, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, it's probably not a good idea to represent them as a source for suicide inducing and heart failure.

Until the final ten minutes of HITCH, this was one of the best romantic comedies I had seen in a long time. The premise was fairly original, though in a way an inversion of the Cyrano de Bergerac theme. The difference here is that instead of an ugly man capable of great love who gives voice to a less deserving, but handsome surrogate, Will Smith's Hitch is a man who is afraid of love enabling somewhat unattractive men who are capable of a great love, an opportunity to express it. Hitch is a date doctor, someone who corrects the errors in a person's dating style that prevents his meeting the woman of his dreams. The film revolves around two poles: Hitch's efforts to help the hapless Albert--an overweight, clumsy accountant with bad taste and music and a hopeless dance style--woo the woman of his dreams, the socialite and heiress Allegra Cole on the one hand, and Hitch's own attempts to get to know (but not to love) Sara, a gossip columnist. I like the way the two story lines intersect and complicate one another, so that at the end of the film Hitch ends up with not one but two disasters to correct. Like in so many romantic comedies, the way to true happiness is paved with misunderstandings, and this is no exception. My only problem with the movie is the way Hitch takes care of his own problems at the end of the film. The person I saw this with hated the ending even more than I did, and she was quite upset that Sara had not taken what she considered to be the minimal steps that should have been expected for Hitch to be able to forgive her before trying to win her back. I didn't hate the ending as much as she did, but I do agree that the final ten minutes of the film are much, much weaker than the rest of it. On an intellectual level I understand why the decided to portray Hitch as temporarily bumbling and inarticulate, but I just couldn't buy the particular way that they pulled it off.

How nice to see Will Smith in a romantic role! And how refreshing to see Hollywood present an interracial relationship! Granted, Eva Mendes is a dark complexioned Hispanic of Cuban descent, but it is one of the very few times we've ever seen a romance between an African American and a person of European descent. Interracial relationships are common today, so it is nice to see Hollywood stop pretending that they don't occur. Smith has never been funnier than in this one, and the scene in which he suffers an allergic reaction to shellfish is about as funny as I have seen in a while (the make up is exceptional in that scene). Eva Mendes I had only scene previously in a film I absolutely detest, TRAINING DAY (as Denzel Washington's wife) and in the mess that was ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO. She is much better served in this film, and she acquits herself admirably. She has a feistiness and projects a confidence that I really like. Kevin James is a stitch as Albert, and reveals himself to be one of the more physically graceful large actors to appear in some time. Model Amber Valletta is fine as Allegra, the object of Albert's affections, but since she is quite attractive in an arm-trophy sort of way, she was perfect for the role. Special mention must be made of Jerry Donovan, who is excellent as the reptilian Vance, who wants to hire Hitch to help him "bang" a girl he had met (Sara's best friend) so that he could forget about her and move on.

I will confess that my own personal favorite type of film from the birth of the sound film to the present is the romantic comedy. I wish as much effort was expended in the making of romantic comedies as in the production of movies based on comic book heroes or remakes of classics or TV shows. That day may never come, but in the meantime I will be happy to see the occasional excellent representative of the genre such as HITCH.

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I cannot believe that Will Smith had never done a romantic comedy before "Hitch". He has so much charisma that it would seem that he would have done about 10 of these type of movies by now. But as it turns out, his first one "Hitch" is not bad and Will gets a little help from his co-star Kevin James.

"Hitch" is a man named Alex Hitchins (Will Smith). He is a "date doctor," meaning he helps pathetic guys to get really hot chicks that they would normally would not be able to get. He has helped many men, and then comes Albert (Kevin James). Albert is basically the type of guy that spills everything, says the wrong thing every time or does not have the nerve to say anything at all. Albert wants to be able to get the movie star Allegra Coles. So Hitch helps him and along the way he meets Sara Meles (Eva Mendes). He falls for this girl and forgets everything that he teaches all of his clients by making a complete fool of himself. Obviously thats where the humor comes in and then the dramtic climax of whether Hitch gets the girl or not.

Will Smith does a great job as this character. As mentioned earlier, his on-screen charisma makes him the perfect choice for this character. The person that steals this movie from him is Kevin James. Being a big "King of Queens" fan, he is the reason that I saw this movie and he did not disappoint. Most of the movie's big laughs came from his antics. I didn't really like Eva Mende's character. She was too much of a pain in the neck (to put it nicely).

This movie would be definately worth the watch, especially if you have a significant other to view it with. It is funny and romantic, but I wouldn't say that its a chick flick. So there you go guys, this one is okay to watch.

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Will Smith is a cute, funny, and charismatic actor who has charm to spare. It is, therefore, surprising that Hollywood has never before cast him as the lead in a romantic comedy. I doubt that this oversight will occur again, as Mr. Smith takes to the genre like a duck takes to water and makes it his own. His seemingly effortless, laidback style of acting strikes pay dirt as the romantic lead in this film. I am sure that Hollywood has now taken notice that Will Smith has what it takes to be the lead in a romantic comedy.

Will Smith is cast in the role of Alex "Hitch" Hitchens, a young, suave, successful, sophisticated, smooth talker who has devised a career out of his ability to show even the most clumsy and shy, geeky guy how to get hitched to the woman of his dreams. He takes on clients whom he then coaches in the mysteries of finding one's way into the heart of a beloved, but seemingly unattainable, woman.

Our erstwhile dating consultant is hired by Albert (Kevin James), a chubby, earnest, tongue-tied accountant, who has fallen for one of his firm's own clients, socialite-heiress Allegra Cole (Amber Valleta). She is a trophy type of woman who, one would think, would not even given Albert a second look. Under Hitch's careful coaching, however, even our unlikely, lovesick accountant seems to be on the road to true love.

Of course, them that can, do, while them that can't, coach, and Hitch is no exception. While he can successfully coach his clients to attain the love of their lives, Hitch runs into a whole host of problems in his life when dealing with his own romance. It appears that he has fallen for the gorgeous Sara (Eva Mendes), a local gossip columnist. Despite his ability to ensure that the path of true love runs smoothly for others, he himself runs into many roadblocks and bumps in the road.

Will Smith is simply terrific in the role of "Hitch", playing the role with insouciant charm. His likeability quotient can't get much higher, and he certainly infuses the role with his effortless charm and humor. Hollywood would be remiss in not casting Will Smith in other romantic comedies, as he is such an ingratiating performer that the viewer cannot help but fall in love with him. As his love interest, Eva Mendes is certainly a gorgeous leading lady, although her character is not always likable. Still, she makes the most of her role as the feisty Sara, and I look forward to seeing her in more films.

I totally enjoyed seeing Kevin James in the film. He is the star of the long-running, hit television series, "The King of Queens", a show that I love and wish would run forever. I was not disappointed by his transition to the big screen, as I really enjoyed his performance. He is simply a big, cuddly, teddy bear sort of guy that you can't help but love, which helps make his on-screen pairing with Amber Valleta believable. They are simply adorable together. Amber Valleta successfully infuses her character, Allegra Cole, with a certain vulnerability that makes her very likable.

Kudos also go to director, Andy Tennant, whose deft direction contributes to the success of this film. This is a well-written, well-acted romantic comedy that is highly enjoyable. Co-stars Will Smith and Kevin James have great chemistry in the film and are excellent foils for each other. I would love to see them paired together in a buddy movie, as I think that they would be sensational. Fans of romantic comedies, however, would be well-advised to see this film. They will be glad that they did.

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Okay I'm a guy who likes Will Smith in comedies and action films. I love to share a good romantic comedy with the Mrs. but unfortunately WAY too many romantic comedies are not good. I saw the ads for "Hitch" back when it came into the theatres and what I saw didn't make me want to see it.

The Mrs. rented it last night, and we're both glad! Will Smith plays the title character, a high-priced consultant who turns romantic, but unskilled men into objects of desire. An opening montage shows hapless klutzes scoring with babes and we buy that "Hitch" must be good at his job. Eva Mendez is the saucy Sara, a gossip columnist who is so busy and successful at her job that she hasn't thought about romance for years. Kevin James meets Smith's comic chops every step along the way as the chubby bumbling accountant Albert who secretly pines for his high-profile client, zillionaire heiress Allegra Cole.

For a movie like this to work, there has to be a generous and believable dose of "heart" and "Hitch" has it. The central conflict in the movie comes from the perception about the mysterious "Date Doctor" Hitch. The actual character has professional morals and ethics. He doesn't train his clients to deceive their objets d'amour, he just "gives them opportunity". We meet a jerk early in the film who hires Hitch to get tricks to bed women. How Hitch sidesteps the guy is the right mixture of heart and machismo. Wouldn't you know that "Mr. Wrong" later goes out with the best friend of Hitch's romance Sara? Certainly it makes sense that Sara the gossip columnist would be tracking every move made by Paris Hilton surrogate Allegra. It even makes sense to question why beautiful Allegra is being seen about town with dumpy Albert.

The movie is not perfect. But there were some honest belly laughs, and more thought than usual into the wittier than usual script. The Mrs. and I give 2 thumbs up!

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The Motorcycle Diaries (Blu-Ray+DVD+E-Copy) (Blu-ray) (2004)

As most potential viewers know, this film is based on diaries and letters to home written by Ernesto "Che" Guevara during a motorcycle and foot tour of a significant portion of South America during the early 1950s, years before Guevara achieved international renown as a Communist and Latino revolutionary. Thus, the film functions as an attempt to get at the heart of the person who preceded the myth. The film is therefore difficult to judge as pure cinema. Is this, on its own merits, a great film? Or is it a great film about Che Guevara? Interestingly, the person I saw this film with knew absolutely nothing about the subject of the film before it started, and did not connect Ernesto Guevara with Che Guevara until very late in the film. Her reaction was interesting. Until she realized that it was about Che, she says that she considered it a decent but only slightly above average "road" picture, but it gained considerably in her estimation once she realized who the film was about. I think she was correct, and I would agree with those who feel that what merits the film has depends to some degree on who the film is about. If Ernesto hadn't become Che, it would be a good film but of considerably less interest than it is.

The film does a good job of rooting Che's eventual concern with the liberation of the oppressed by depicting his broad and constant encounters with everyday people throughout the continent. Camus wrote that it was important to side with the victims and not the executioners, and in his travels Ernesto spends most of his time with the victims. His near-epic exposure to the continent clearly condition his sympathies and inform his vision. At the end of the film it is easy to understand why Che chose a life dedicated to aiding the oppressed in Cuba and elsewhere. The great question left unanswered, and the one reason one can find Che's life morally troubling, is why he felt that the causes he espoused demanded a violent, military response. Why follow in the steps of Trotsky and Lenin rather than Gandhi? Apart from a single line which merely hints that Che felt violence might be necessary, the film doesn't come anywhere close to answering this question.

In many ways, the star of the film is the South American continent. I have seen many films over the years set in one corner of the continent or another, but none provided a panoramic view. This film, however, by swinging through Argentina, Chile, Peru, Columbia, and Venezuela provides a graphic impression of the continent's immense geographical diversity, expanse, and enormous beautiful. I don't think it would be possible to see this film without a deep urge to visit the land. The scene shot in Machu Picchu reveals the incredible beauty of the site better than anything else I have ever seen.

Gael Garcia Bernal is a remarkably handsome, talented young actor, formerly best known for one of the two young men in Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN, and is outstanding in portraying the young Che Guevara. One suspects that his days as an actor in primarily Latin productions is close to an end, his next several projects originating in Hollywood. Rodrigo De la Serna does not have the enormous charisma of Bernal, but he more than holds his own in the film. The cast is rounded out by a large roster of professional and amateur performers.

Che Guevara is such a controversial figure that this film could elicit a host of differing responses. How one will respond to this film will be deeply conditioned by how one views him. But I do think that it is a film that virtually every viewer will respond to with great interest, and I defy anyone not to find the remarkable landscapes anything short of stunning.

...I want to offer an almost-opposite reaction. Yes, I admit I went into the theater not knowing a) much at all about Che Guevara, or b) that the film was even about Che. I was mesmerized all the way through, by the subtle messages about the plight of working-class Latin Americans, by the sweeping landscapes and by the fantastic performances. Once I (finally) figured out that the Ernesto Guevara in this film was indeed *the* Ernesto Guevara, I thought, "How brilliant." It doesn't set out to portray him as a saint (as a previous reviewer said), or as a villain-in-the-making. It's a very rare thing in cinema, or history studies in general: a portrait of a man as a man. What you make of the path Che later chose as a result of these experiences is a different matter entirely, and one frankly not related to this film at all.

Some have cried, "Would you enjoy a movie that portrayed a young Hitler sympathetically?" My answer: a) that's really not an accurate comparison, and b) maybe, if it were this well written and acted and filmed. Imagine the story of the Beer Hall Putsch told in such a way that we really got into the youthful main character's mind to discover its workings and motivations. It wouldn't excuse what he did, but explain it in a more insightful way than the boiled-down mush we are served in our history books. This is what cinema should be used for more often.

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This is a tough review to write because of the subject matter we're dealing with: a militant revolutionary who became Castro's right-hand man during the 1959 Cuban revolt. But here in THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES film, we don't see this man; we see instead the formation of the person whom this man (Ernesto "Che" Guevara played by the talented Gael García Bernal)would become. He's a young idealist living in South America when he and a friend (Alberto Granado played by up-and-coming actor Rodrigo de la Serna) decide to take a road trip across the continent before bellying down into their chosen carriers in medicine.

The film succeeds in giving us a very myopic view of these two men: Guevara for the initial changes he begins to go through as he witnesses injustices to the low and poor; Granado for his love of women and grudging dedication to Guevara. We travel with them on a 1939 Norton 500 motorcycle (my hat's off to the two actors who had to ACTUALLY learn to ride one of these behemoths!) as they argue with each other over money, their deficient form of transportation, and Guevara's unflinching honesty when asked delicate questions (this is brought into focus when they first meet a man who looks very German in a small village and asks Che and Granado to look at a lump on his neck, which Granado diagnoses as a cyst but Che calls a tumor).

The cinematography was done exceptionally well on a small budget. The beauty of Machu Picchu, the green forests of Peru, the nothingness of various deserts, all added great visuals for the viewer.

The film's faults lay with its omissions. Yes, Che was a thinking man. Yes, Che was concerned with humanity as a whole. But Che was also somewhat of a bigot. He didn't like blacks, jews, and homosexuals (read the book THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES). So when he shows his concern for lepers in a colony along the Amazon River, we're only see a part of this complex man. Granted, for a film you need to have your audience empathize with the main character, but this also pulls us into the shallow end of the depths that this man was. The convoluted sections of Che's life might have added an extra level of understanding for film viewers, especially those who have knowledge of his later life when he becomes an executioner of spies and deserters, quite a dichotomy compared to the hippocratic oath he took when becoming a doctor the oath basically promising to "do no harm."

But, again, I can understand why the film makers decided to omit these sections. We are, after all, seeing only the early life of Che, a fomenting of ideas that would change his life forever. But I think we have to be careful when looking at such a potentially volatile subject and controversial man, and only showing the "sunnier" side of Che to a new generation of movie-goers. More research is needed if one really wishes to understand the levels of Che.

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I don't get some of the ranting reviews here that claim this movie has communist contours; there's as much radicalism in this film as there is Oriental Buddhism in Jackie Chan kungfu capers.

I never felt that the movie couches any fiery or didactic political message, or that it even ought to.

It's a romantic ode to the youthful Guevara, and truly captures the adventurism and empathy of his formative years that may have affected him in later life. The director is wise not to weigh his narrative down with too many explicit allusions to his eventual activist zeal.

Whatever it's political underpinnings, at least it's a gorgeous looking picture, a trekker's fantasy that catalogs the ramshackle journey of a couple of young men who hailed from good stock, but gave all that up to set off on a rinkydink motorcycle to see places they'd only read about and meet people they'd never imagined.

It is difficult not to fall in love with the stunning imagery that pervades the film, as we watch a neorealistic camera cut a vast Latin American skein from the snow-covered Andes, to the mysterious ruins of Machu Picchu, to a sprawling Chilean desert and a Peruvian river that the young Guevara swims across in the film's climax -all physical destinations to be reached and crossed as well as stages in our protagonist's spiritual and psychological growth.

Some traces of ham-handedness may be evident in the latter half, when Guevara speaks with a homeless person or a coarse day labor manager or an ostracized leper. But Bernal does a fabulous job of maintaining a perfect dose of traveler's passivity coupled with boyish inquisitiveness.

Thinking back, the movie could also have thrown in some measure of a conclusive message into the fray, but the guitar strumming that serves as a backdrop to the closing credits simply overtakes that thought in my mind. I'm off to buy the soundtrack as soon as I am done with this review.

I highly recommend it for the discerning viewer. Won't be surprised if this gets in line for those nude male statuettes.

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(2008 HOLIDAY TEAM) When I visited South America on my own extended trip a couple of years ago, I was amazed how many times I saw pictures of Che Guevara everywhere I went....cafes, outdoor bulletin boards, art galleries, even department stores. Now I understand why. Having just read his diary, I was greatly anticipating this film, and my interest only heightened when I started seeing the travelogue shots in the previews. I am happy to report the film surpasses my expectations on almost every level. It is exquisite perceptively directed, beautifully photographed and wondrously acted by a cast headed by two charismatic actors who tap deep into the hearts and souls of their characters. Whereas the book is more observational, the movie provides a more involving feeling in its portrait of a young man on the brink of his political awakening. It starts out somewhat deceptively as a comic buddy picture with the young Ernesto Guevara (pre-Che), a medical student, leaving his family and accompanying his seemingly more worldly pal Alberto Granado, a biochemist, on a dilapidated 1939 Norton motorbike traversing South America from their native Buenos Aires to Caracas. It is obvious what Alberto's hormonally charged intentions are on this months-long journey, but at 23, Ernesto is at a more sensitive juncture in his life where his encounters and observations have a deeper impact on his ideology.

What I really like about the film is how it changes in tone and texture as the boys' hunt for adventure evolves into life-changing experiences for both of them. The motorbike acts as a metaphor for this change, as it unsurprisingly breaks down forcing them to open their eyes to the poverty and quiet struggle of the local people in each of the countries they visit. The story winds through wintry Patagonia, the blistering Atacama Desert, the awe-inspiring Machu Picchu and several towns in between. But the most touching passage takes place at the San Pablo leper colony in the Peruvian Amazon basin, where Ernesto bonds deeply with the lepers to the chagrin of the local nuns. His night swim across the Amazon, struggling for air through his asthma, is a powerful scene among many in this subtly potent film.

As he proved with his wonderful "Central Station", director Walter Salles has an acute ability to connect his characters to their settings in deeply emotional ways. He is the ideal choice to guide this road movie. As Guevara, Gael Garcia Bernal transcends his Tiger Beat, teen heartthrob looks and delivers a deeply touching performance, as he grows from a big city innocent to a haunted young man ready to take on a greater cause than his medical career. He does an especially strong job in conveying his character's unblinking honesty and displaying unexpected acts of rage and compassion. Just as good is Rodrigo de la Serna in his feature film debut as Granado, effortlessly showing his character's bravado and humor while finding his own bumpy way in the world. His reactions to his buddy's political declaration at the birthday party, and to his own feelings during their goodbye at the end, are among the most poignant moments in the movie. In fact, much of the film's power comes from their palpable chemistry and unforced rapport. They are instantly and completely believable as best friends. And much more than the book, the film builds a solid emotional bridge between the young innocent and the Communist revolutionary Guevara was to become. If you are not aware of his fate, it is briefly summarized in subtitles at the end, and the coda with the real Granado is moving. While this may be the most glowing portrayal of a Communist-in-the-making since Warren Beatty's film about John Reed, "Reds", don't let that stop you from seeing this mesmerizing work. This is a wonderfully heartfelt film.

**ADDENDUM ABOUT THE DVD RELEASE POSTED ON FEBRUARY 18, 2005**

There are three extended deleted scenes included in the DVD package, none indispensable but still valuable for the additional context they provide to an essentially episodic movie. I particularly liked the sequence with the blind truck driver risking the lives of the two vagabonds as he swerves perilously on a treacherous mountain road. The obligatory making-of documentary is helpful, and includes comments from Salles, screenwriter Jose Rivera and executive producer Robert Redford. There are also a couple of brief Spanish-language TV interviews with Bernal and a quick interview with the film's composer, Gustavo Santaolalla.

Dawn of the Dead (2007)

Its about time. What more can we say? Anchor Bay has decided to release its ultimate DVD edition of George A. Romero's epic Zombie film, Dawn of the Dead. Here are the specs.

DISC 1: The origian unrated director's cut. NOT THE EXTENDED EDITION, which is not truly Romero's director's cut. This disc includes commentary with George Romero, Tom Savini, and Chris Romero along with Theatrical trailers and radio spots.

DISC 2: The extended edition, often mistaken for a 'director's cut.' This disc includes an additional 12 minutes of glorious footage. Also includes commentary by producer Richard Rubinstein, who also helmed the recent Dawn of the Dead remake. The disc has a commercial for the Monroville Mall and a memorabilia gallery.

DISC 3: The Dario Argento cut. This version of the film has less humor and more drama, released in Europe with additional music from Goblin. This version includes commentary by all four stars of the film.

DISC 4: This disc contains several documentaries including the all new THE DEAD WALK (75 min) and the classic DOCUMENT OF THE DEAD; a feature-length documentary shot during the making of Dawn of the Dead. This disc also includes home movies from the set and a tour of the Monroeville Mall with actor Ken Foree.

Buy this DVD set, you won't be sorry. Even if you haven't seen the film, for any zombie fan, this is a must own.

Zombie movies. Lots of "serious" types look down on them. That's a shame, because some of them are really first-rate films. Dawn of the Dead, the middle film of George Romero's "dead" trilogy, is a case in point. You want zombies, we got your zombies RIGHT HERE! You want blood? Guts? Flesh eating? Oh boy, does Dawn of the Dead ever deliver!

And then it does something really unique it also delivers drama, engaging characters with realistic delimmas, a smartly crafted story, and a heavy dose of dead-on social satire. And did I mention that it's just flat-out scary as hell, too?

There is one scene in particular, toward the beginning, that still haunts me twenty some-odd years after I first saw it. The National Guard has been called in to clear a tenament building. In the basement, they find a cage where the dead have been locked away. The simple, unsettling music of Goblin rises on the soundtrack, underscored by a heartbeat-like bass drum. There are the zombies, many in death shrouds, feasting on body parts. Guardsman Peter Washington (Ken Foree) steps into the nightmare with a pistol to dispatch the zombies with bullets to their heads. The whole thing takes on a surreal, hellish texture, like a Bosch painting. Foree's performance is striking he is truly IN THE MOMENT, as they say, without a hint of the winking self-awareness we see in other genre flicks. If the dead really started coming back to feed on the living, this is exactly what it be like. This is the toll it would exact on people trying to grapple with the situation.

Yet, in a way, Dawn of the Dead IS self-aware. It knows when to step back, too, and admit that it's playing with you. Another scene, of this sort, occurs when we see a group of rednecks hunting the shambling corpses as though they were deer. They sip coffee from thermoses, pass sandwiches around, and banter about their accuracy with their rifles. It's a very funny bit, in part because it's so deadpan.

Those are just two favorite examples. There is much, much more to this film, and almost all of it works beautifully. Even the sometimes obviously low budget and gleeful use of library stock music doesn't hurt. Romero turns these limitations to his advantage, by making them serve as searing comments on mass media, consumerism, and pop culture.

Performances by David Emge, Scott Reiniger, and Gaylen Ross are worthy of mention, too. They play real people in an extraordinary situation, rather than two-dimensional horror-movie characters.

Dawn of the Dead schlock as high art complex, funny, scary, and engaging. And thank goodness it's coming back to DVD, because it's one worth watching over and over again.

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Hey all, Dawn of the dead is coming out in a 4 disc special edition. Before I tell you the features i'm going to tell you what I though about the movie. It's a classic. The movie had good special effects and a great story line. This movie and the other Night and Day will remain classics throughout history. Overall i give this movie 5/5. The story is a group of swat officers take refuge in a shopping mall during a zombie epidemic. The differnece is in this one from the new one is they could leave at will. They had a helicopter and everything! I'd be in paradise if i was them. I won't ruin the rest but it was a good movie, now here are the special features.

Disc One: Theatrical Cut with an anamorphic widescreen transfer (1.85:1), DD5.1 and 2.0, DTS 5.1 Surround, audio commentary (George A. Romero, Tom Savini and Chris Romero, moderated by Perry Martin), George A. Romero biography, poster & advertising gallery, comic book preview, trailers, TV and radio spots.

Disc Two: Extended Cut with an anamorphic widescreen transfer (1.85:1), DD Mono, audio commentary (Richard P. Rubinstein with Perry Martin), Monroeville Mall commercial, memorabilia gallery and production stills galleries.

Disc Three: European "Zombie" Cut with an anamorphic widescreen transfer (1.85:1), DD5.1 and 2.0, audio commentary (David Emge, Ken Foree, Scott H. Reiniger and Gaylen Ross), Dario Argento biography, international lobby card gallery, international poster & advertising gallery, international pressbook gallery, home video & soundtrack artwork gallery, international trailers and UK TV spots.

Disc Four: "The Dead Will Walk" all-new 75-minute documentary (featuring interviews with Claudio and Dario Argento, Pat and Tony Buba, Zilla Clinton, David Crawford, David Early, David Emge, Ken Foree, Michael Gornick, John Harrison, Clayton Hill, Sharon Ceccatti-Hill, Jim Krut, Leonard Lies, Scott H. Reiniger, George and Chris Romero, Gaylen Ross, Tom Savini and Claudio Simonetti), "Document of the Dead" documentary by Roy Frumkes, On-set home movie footage (with audio commentary by zombie extra Robert Langer) and a Monroeville Mall tour with George A. Romero.

Great special features HUH? :) i hope you buy this dvd and add to your collection. I also hope they do this with night and day also.

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"Shop 'til you drop" takes on literal form in "Dawn of the Dead", Splattermeister George Romero's 1978 magnum opus of the flesh-eating Living Dead. "Dawn" rightly deserves its title as the 'Mount Everest of Zombie Movies'.

The Zombie Apocalypse is all George Romero's fault! And if Grandmaster Romero let the Walking Dead out of their tombs with the groundbreaking "Night of the Living Dead", he gave the zombies the keys to the kingdom in this flick, which laid down all the rules for a Zombie Apocalypse and how to survive It---and, interestingly, managed to break many of them.

Rule #1: AIM FOR THE HEAD!: When "Dawn" opens up, Philadelphia is in its death throes, though the city doesn't know it yet.

The plague of flesh-eating monsters rising from their graves to devour the living has spread from the countryside to the big cities like a firestorm. The slightest scratch or bite causes infection, the infected die horribly, and then return to Life, hungry for the flesh of the living, a mindless Zombie.

Rule #2: THE CAVALRY AIN'T COMING. Things go down and go down hard in the housing project: faster than you can say "tastes like Chicken", SWAT troopers Peter (the great Ken Foree) and Roger (the underrated Scott Reiniger) get outta Dodge with traffic reporter/helicopter pilot Stephen (David Emge, hereafter known as "Flyboy") and Flyboy's girlfriend, Fran (Gaylen Ross).

When the Going gets Tough, the Tough go Shopping.

Rule #3:HE WHO GOES "YEEHAWW" HAS A HALF-LIFE MEASURED IN NANOSECONDS. Romero moves at a taut, brisk pace, letting the feeling of impending doom sink in, the sense of increasing wrongness, all underscored by the brooding, thudding, unearthly pulsing of the Goblin soundtrack.

What's interesting about "Dawn of the Dead" is just how much of a collaborative effort it really was: "Dawn" reprised the team that had helmed "Martin": Mike Gornick on the camera, Romero calling the shots, John Amplas (who played the young vampire Martin) running casting (and who gets gunned down as a rooftop gangsta in a quick cameo), and special spatter effects guru Tom Savini finally strutting his stuff (and getting in some quality screen time with a machete, to boot).

Some have criticized Romero & Crew for lacking artistry in their cinematography, but think about it: "Dawn" was still a low-budget family affair, and Romero's best work has always had an edgy, guerilla feel. But the new print is gorgeous, and clear up any questions about Romero's genius: there is some beautiful stuff here.

Take the scene with the helicopter lifting off against a dying Philadelphia skyline---with the lights in the floors of one skyscraper winking off, bottom to top, floor by floor. Or the nerve-jangling cat & mouse game between Flyboy and a zombie in a darkened engineering room. Or the sere beauty of a Mall parking lot overrun with the Dead hankering for that Blue-light special on human flesh, Aisle 9---all of this lends a brooding, sick, rotten atmosphere to "Dawn". It works in spades, and it's gorgeous, too.

Rule #4: THEY'RE DEAD, THEY'RE ALL MESSED UP. Yes, Romero laid down the "Rules" of the Zombie apocalypse. They move at a lumbering crawl, you put `em down with a blow or bullet to the head, they don't use tools, they're deadly but stupid, they can't learn. Purists judge a remake, or any Zombie flick, according to the rules of the Romero canon.

But take a look at "Dawn" and you'll find something interesting: Romero proceeds to violate---or toy with---nearly every rule about the Living Dead he put forth. You think turbo-zombies first showed up in "28 Days Later"? Not so: zombie kids in an abandoned airport charthouse charge at Ken Foree like they've got a Delorean in their tushses. Zombies can't use tools? Seems one of them finds a wrench very handy in breaking a truck window to take a chomp at Roger.

Rule #5: NO GUTS, NO GLORY. If you love "Dawn of the Dead", you *must* pick up Anchor Bay's lovingly assembled "Ultimate Edition". First off, the print is gloriously restored: the colors are so intense and the picture so clear that "Dawn" looks like it could have been shot yesterday---long gone are the days of cheapo full-screen VHS copies that made early versions of "Dawn" look like porn.

There are four DVDs, tricked out in red and black and handsomely mounted in a glossy package crammed with goodies (including the shot-for-shot comic---nothing special in itself, but a nice addition). You get commentaries with everyone, the original 'Making of' Documentary, a brand-new documentary made especially for this edition, even a creepy commercial for the Monroeville Mall.

The real treasure trove here is the ability to watch all three versions of the movie: the original US theatrical cut (the best, in terms of pacing and atmosphere), the Extended version (featuring a tense and effective stand-off at the Phillie docks), and the shorter European version. It's intriguing to compare how editing and music can radically alter a film: in the Euro version, we have much more of Goblin's soundtrack---but everything feels off, not nearly packing as much punch.

Rule #6:DON'T GET TRAPPED IN THE BASEMENT. Time has been kind to "Dawn of the Dead" and George Romero; justly so. "Dawn" is a deliciously wicked little jewel of a movie, one I can watch over and over again. The consumerist angle, done to death my movie critics, is a little much: Romero filmed the flick in the Monroeville Mall because it was cheap, not because he was making a scathing commentary about American consumerism.

Then again, maybe it is a movie about the extremes of Consumerism: the Zombies have risen again as the ultimate consumers, after all.

They now consume our Flesh.

JSG

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I was fortunate to stumble across the "Ultimate Edition" today at a local retailer, 2 days ahead of scheduled release! You have all seen it so I don't need to go into detail. The first disc is the exact same as the Divimax edition, same special features and everything. Disc 2 is the "Extended Version" which is basically the same thing but with an additional 12 minutes of footage integrated into the film. The new scenes don't add anything but it is always nice to see new footage. Disc 3 is the "European Version" which runs at about 117 minutes. Some scenes are shortened and some are lengthened and it features some different musical cues by Goblin. There is also a nice commentary track featuring all four major cast members. Disc four is a treat! I features a new 75 minute documentary with interviews featuring cast and crew. There is also a 90 minute original documentary filmed during the production of the film. Also included is a short "home movie" shot by a zombie extra during filming. The icing on the cake is a recently recorded tour of the mall, with tour guide Ken Foree! He takes a large group of fans through the mall and tells them what happened where. David Emge and other cast and crew join Ken on the tour.

By the way, the "alternate ending" was never filmed so, no, you will not find it here...or anywhere else.

Stars & Stripes Forever (1952)

This is an amusing little yarn on Sousa and his music. Being only about 90 minutes long the movie does not attempt to be comprehensive with his life, but concentrates instead on creating a portrait of him. Clifton Webb has Sousa's somewhat stiff, yet humorous personality down pretty well. The episodes depicted in the movie are brief vignettes, loosely based on some actual events. The Marine Corps probably did treat their March King in a rather off-hand manner as shown in the movie. Sousa did make the Marine Band from a 3rd rate emsemble into one of the best military bands in the country, and the Marines could not really offer him anymore than what they had already given him.

The truth is Sousa saw an opportunity to market himself to a growing American audience that was starting to become more sophisticated in its musical tastes. He would perfect the band tour concept. Others had done it before him, but Sousa would make himself into a super-star, and truly traveled the world. The movie accurately shows his formation of his own Sousa band after leaving the Marines in 1892. Where the movie strays a bit is with the silly sideline romance. Here we have the typical 1950s guy meets girl thing going on. It's cute, but kind of takes away from the subject matter. Its also hard to say whether this is a musical or not? There is a lot of singing and show numbers presented, based, supposedly on Sousa's music. We do get to hear some good versions of "Semper Fidelis" which is played ad noseum!

I would have liked this movie a lot more if it had been a little more serious and showcased some more of Sousa's music. He really did write more than just 10 marches you know! Plus countless classical transcriptions, overtures, songs, novely items and arrangements of old American folk music. Sousa was our most prolific composer, his music typifies an era that is no more in this country. The Sousa band didn't march as much as shown in the movie. The band was intended as a symphonic ensemble. Sousa had enough marching from his Marine days! His band was certainly accomplished, and had some very fine players in it. To say as Americans often do that it was the best in the world is a bit of Yankee over-statement. Compared to most bands in the US, yes, the Sousa band was among the best. Abroad in Europe there were many fine military bands that were just as good. Sousa knew this, and he was careful not to over-step his bounds. He received many fine praise from European audiences, and this must have pleased him very much indeed. Sousa knew that the Coldstream Guards in London, The Garde Du Corps in Berlin and many others were just as good, lacking only the showmanship and Sousa's ability to market himself and his band and music.

The movie shows the warm relationship Sousa had with his wife, who always supported him and his music. "Stars and Stripes" came into Sousa's mind whilst returning from abroad after he had learned that his manager had died in the States. The movie cleverly marches us into the Sousa legend at the end which is probably just as good an ending as any. This is an old style movie with a lot of cute touches in it. It provides a musical fastasy of Sousa and his times. You can get an idea of who the March King was by watching it, but in order to get a truer picture I would suggust Paul E. Bierly's biography "John Philip Sousa: American Phenomenon"

Wonderful portraying by Clifton Webb. No other American musical comes close to "Stars and Stripes Forever." If you've watched this film and enjoyed it, you'll love "The Music Man". No musical holds a candle to these two! If you're proud to be an American, like me, you'll be entertained by this movie every time you see it. The way the marches are played in this film is extraordinarily exuberant. Treat yourself to a outstanding biography that is Americana at its best!

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Anyone fond of marching band music will be thrilled with this account of the life of John Phillip Sousa. It is very well acted and very well made. There is comedy, tragedy, and gives you a feel of how life was in those times. But, best of all, there's the music. I watch this video every chance I get. It's especially good over the fourth of July, but trust me, you will enjoy it anytime!!! For a real treat, treat yourself to this great show!!!!

Read Best Reviews of Stars & Stripes Forever (1952) Here

This movie is an all time great and is particularly needed in this time of war and trial of the national soul. Surely Hollywood politics is not keeping this from the public, is it?

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This is the kind of movie that stirs my deepest emotions for this country,when you hear these marches being played,I get goose pimples(honestly),and can't help it but to start singing along,the story is very true of the man that composed them,now more than ever we should remember to sing them once in a while,to remind us of how great our country is,in an era in which some people are trying to divide us whether to do our duty or not as the defenders of democracy,it is always good to remember that in past wars our soldiers marched to the battlefield to the tune of these songs,and many of them offered the ultimate sacrifice,if we would have laid back then,and let our enemies overtake us,today we probably would be speaking a different language.

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Casablanca (Two-Disc Ultimate Collector's Edition) (2008)

One of the greatest movies ever and an enduring American classic is back for another DVD go-around! Say it isn't so. In 2003, I snapped up the impressive 2-Disc Special Edition DVD. In 2008, I couldn't resist going Blu-ray with the comprehensive Ultimate Collector's Edition. I didn't think that a few years later, Warner would be trumpeting an even more advanced collection. How many times are we expected to dip into the same well? I mean, I know it's "Casablanca" but when is enough actually enough? And to use their own terminology, when does ultimate really mean ultimate? I'm not going to synopsize the film or offer a traditional review, I suspect if you're shopping this pricey new version that you are well aware of the merits of the film itself. Instead, I will highlight what is included. Is it worth the upgrade? That's an individual answer, to be sure, but if you are an enthusiast who owns the Ultimate Collection or a casual viewer that already has the Blu-ray edition--the conclusion might indeed be "no." If, however, you have yet to go Blu on this title or are a compulsive completist/collector--now may be as good a time as any to pony up the bucks for this limited edition set.

Contents: This box set will be a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack with 3 discs, the third disc being dedicated to three feature length documentaries. It is a numbered Limited Edition, only 50,000 will be made available. The double wide display box contains several new collectibles including a 62 page production art book (with never before seen photos, communications, and archived documents about the film), a full size reproduction of the 1942 movie poster, and four drink coasters. I love this silly collectible stuff, but what is it with coasters in these deluxe sets?

Transfer: Both the DVD and Blu-ray are boasting new 2012 4K transfers. Arguably, this is the one aspect that might make me seriously recommend an upgrade. For my money, though, the previous Blu-ray release is extremely satisfying and competent. It is NOT a transfer that was begging for a polish.

NEW Special Features: 2 Documentaries (about 45 minutes of content total):

1) Casablanca: An Unlikely Classic

2) Michael Curtiz: The Greatest Director You Never Heard Of

Feature Length Documentaries On Third Disc (all previously released):

1) You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story (2008)

2) The Brothers Warner (2008)

3) Jack L. Warner: The Last Mogul (1993)

OLD Special Features: Items from the Ultimate Collection will all be carried over. They include:

1) Commentary by Roger Ebert

2) Commentary by Rudy Behlmer

3) Introduction by Lauren Bacall

4) "Now Voyager" Trailer

5) Newsreel footage

6) Vaudeville Days short

7) The Bird Came C.O.D short

8) The Squawkin' Hawk short

9) The Dover Boys at Pimento University or The Rivals of Roquefort Hall

10) Great Performances: Bacall on Bogart

11) You Must Remember This: A Tribute to Casablanca

12) As Time Goes By: The Children Remember

13) Deleted Scenes

14) Outtakes

15) Who Holds Tomorrow?

16) Carrotblanca Vintage Cartoon

17) Scoring Stage Sessions

18) 4/26/43 Lady Esther Screen Guild Theater Radio Broadcast

19) 11/19/47 Vox Pop Radio Broadcast

As you can see, it is a comprehensive list of extras. All told, there is over 14 hours worth of material, but only about 45 minutes of it is new. Worth an upgrade? Probably not if you own the Ultimate, but you won't catch me giving "Casablanca" less than 5 stars. KGHarris, 2/12.

This 2009 release of "Casablanca" is identical to the 2003 Special Edition release, except it's packaged in a regular DVD case as opposed to the cardboard case of the original. The first disc contains two commentary tracks (one with Roger Ebert, one with historian Rudy Behlmer), a two-minute introduction by Lauren Bacall, and a gallery of trailers. The film transfer is also identical to the original release, but this film looks about as great as it possibly can on DVD.

The second disc contains the one hour and twenty minute 1988 "Bacall on Bogart" documentary and a thirty-five minute making-of documentary "You Must Remember This: A Tribute to Casablanca". Next is a seven minute feature with Bogart's son and Bergman's daughter titled "As Time Goes By: The Children Remember", along with the eight minute 1995 cartoon spoof "Carrotblanca". A selection of deleted scenes and outtakes, totalling about seven minutes, are of particular interest here (though there is no sound for any of them), and a "Production Research" gallery. Of lesser interest is the premiere episode from the 1955 "Casablanca" TV series titled "Who Holds Tomorrow?", it's a noble failure and clocks in at about nineteen minutes.

As far as special features go, the only thing the "Casablanca" Ultimate Collector's Edition has over this release is the hour-long 1993 documentary "Jack Warner: The Last Mogul" on a third disc. It's quite entertaining and informative, particularly for film buffs, but it's really the only reason to purchase the 'Ultimate' edition. That is, unless one cares about a small book of production photos, office memos, lobby & poster cards, and a passport holder and luggage tag emblazoned with "Casablanca".

Buy Casablanca (Two-Disc Ultimate Collector's Edition) (2008) Now

Perhaps not in all of cinema's history has there been a movie with such brilliant writing, scoring, acting, and numbers of emotional close ups.

Casablanca is a legend of nearly 70 years, but thanks to Blu Ray technology it doesn't have to feel that way. Watching this classic in 1080p is truly an experience, and I have to praise Warner for providing us with the absolutely best possible transfer this film has ever seen. There's not a trace of grain or flicker or anything you'd expect from a film this old, and the result is stunning. If you've seen the movie before, it's time to relive with this remarkable new technology. If you've somehow missed it on TCM, get cultured and experience one of the greatest films in our history in a way no generation has ever been able to do. Blu Ray. It not only improves the viewing experience, but it invites the viewer right into the moment. With clarity as perfect as this, you forget you're even watching a film and instead feel as though you've tapped into the memories of the characters portrayed.

I don't feel the need to mention the movie's plot, as most I'm guessing have either already seen it before or can find that out elsewhere, so I want to end this review with what you are probably most wondering about anyway. Is the Blu Ray transfer worth buying this for? If I haven't made it clear enough already, YES. I've seen some poor Blu Rays transfers, but this is not one of them. In fact, I'd go so far as to say it's one of the best I've seen. The extras, though I haven't experienced them yet, look interesting, including an audio commentary by movie critic Roger Ebert. All in all I'd say that this release is definitely worth getting even if Casablanca isn't your favorite movie of all time. It is a classic, and it is an experience, and with Blu Ray it's better than ever before.

Read Best Reviews of Casablanca (Two-Disc Ultimate Collector's Edition) (2008) Here

It's hard to believe that when Casablanca was filmed at Warner Bros. Studios in 1942 it was "just another" of the 50 or so films that the studio was producing every year, as Lauren Bacall points out in the documentary about the film included in the special features. The movie was an instant success with audiences everywhere, and won three Academy Awards including Best Picture. Called "America's most popular and beloved movieand rightly so" by The Motion Picture Guide, and "The best Hollywood movie of all time" by Leonard Maltin, Casablanca was voted the #2 film in a list of the top 100 films of this century by the American Film Institute.

Set in refugee strewn French North Africa in 1942, Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), a night club owner, and his friend Captain Louis Renault (Claude Rains), Prefect of Police, enter into a wager as to whether or not Resistance Leader Victor Laslo (Paul Henreid) will be able to escape Casablanca and reach the Free World. When Laslo arrives in Casablanca, Rick is stunned to find him accompanied by his ex-lover, Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman). Filled with mystery, suspense, intrigue and romance, Casablanca will remain a favorite of classic movie lovers for years to come.

The supporting cast include Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre and Dooley Wilson as Rick's piano playing confidant, Sam. The entire cast are superb, the settings are excellent, and the cinematogrophy is wonderful.

The song "As Time Goes By" was made famous by Casablanca, as it's melody is entwined throughout the film, and it too is now a classic, filled with romance and nostalgia.

This is one film that absolutely MUST be in your DVD library!

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Even after 70 years, the greatness of CASABLANCA remains timeless. This captivating classic, so vividly played out and cinematically crafted, is a textbook example of the Hollywood studio system at its absolute best.

The 70th Anniversary Blu-ray Edition restores the film's pictorial splendor, surpassing the previous version which used too much DNR. This time the film's inherent grain texture isn't smoothed away along with a measure of sharpness, but is evenly configurated resulting in perfect black and white image resolution that replicates 35mm film.

CASABLANCA is offered both as a Blu-ray/DVD special combo package and as a single Blu-ray disc. The big set comes with an array of bonus material, much of which was bumped over from the previous Blu-ray edition, including the commentaries by Roger Ebert and Rudy Behlmer. There's also some photographic and printed memorabilia, and a few new documentaries on the making of the film, on its director, Michael Curtiz, another on the history of Warner Bros., and one on its chief mogul, Jack L. Warner. The single Blu-ray has all the video/audio extras except the two Warner documentaries, and doesn't include any memorabilia items.

One of my all-time top favorites, CASABLANCA is a movie I enjoy playing again and again, and if that's true of you, then this upgrade is a must.