The House Bunny (+ BD Live) (2008)

When I first heard about this film, I was less than impressed and had no intentions of seeing it. Once, however, I saw the preview at another film, I decided to give it a try and I'm glad I did.

"The House Bunny" is a charming and funny little film starring Anna Faris as Shelly, a playboy bunny who lives a carefree life in Hugh Hefner's mansion. After her 27th birthday, she finds herself suddenly evicted from her perfect life, unaware of how she can make a living. When she stumbles onto a college campus and discovers that sororities slightly resemble her former playful lifestyle, she becomes determined to be the house mother of a failing sorority full of misfits and unpopular girls. Through her determined spirit, willingness to encourage others and using her sexuality in a positive way, Shelley works her magic and helps her girls to become of the belles of sorority row. And in the process, the young women teach Shelly some valuable lessons as well.

Faris gives a good comedic performance, giving the character a sweet, likeable naivety. I liked that the character wasn't bitchy or a diva, simply a kind girl who lived an exotic life but must now adjust to her new situation and envirnoment. The supporting cast is funny but the brunt of the film falls on Faris, who delivers and proves she can carry a film. Notable supporting characters include Rumor Willis (the daugther of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore)former American Idol alum, Kathernine McPhee and Colin Hanks, son of Tom Hanks.

This is a fun date movie and I recommend it as a perfect summer comedy movie. Worth a trip to the theater!

Anna Faris is one of the popular comedic actresses with her roles in "Scary Movie" films but also showed us how versatile of an actress that she is through roles in films such as "Lost in Translation" and "Brokeback Mountain".

But this time, Faris has dual roles as executive producer and actress for "THE HOUSE BUNNY", a comedy film written by the creators of "Legally Blonde" and produced by Happy Madison Productions. And with that being said, if you are a fan of Happy Madison style of films such as "50 First Dates", "Deuce Bigalow" or more recently with films such as "Bedtime Stories", you know that you're getting a fun film that will generate a lot of laughs. But also films that are not meant to be taken seriously. Just sit back and enjoy.

"THE HOUSE BUNNY" features Shelley (Anna Faris), a young orphan who becomes a beautiful model for Playboy and lives in the Playboy mansion. Her dream is to become a Playmate and Miss November. But after celebrating an extravagant 27th birthday at the Playboy mansion highlighted by cameos by professional athletes such as Shaquille O'Neal and Matt Leinart, Shelley receives a letter that she must vacate the Playboy mansion.

Shelley becomes homeless and has some rough luck until she overhears a sorority talking about fashion and she follows them to their home. Not knowing what a sorority house is, she meets the house mothers who pretty much tells her to get lost while one feels sorry for her and tells her to visit another sorority, Zeta Alpha Zeta.

The Zeta Alpha Zeta sorority are a few women who are somewhat nerds, outcasts and are in danger of losing their house because they don't have 30 members. Fortunately for them, Shelley takes up a job to become their house mother and using her sexy body brings the attention to the sorority and hopefully help them get the 30 members that they need but also helping the women discover their inner beauty and to hopefully give them the courage to get a makeover and also meet guys.

Anna Faris really makes this film work. Faris really worked out for the role to make Shelley's part work. Having to wear short shorts and showing off her toned abs and body, it's definitely not a part that I would have imagined her playing but she executes her role convincingly.

Shelley is much more ditsier than Witherspoone's "Legally Blonde" character and because she is quite naive and only exposed to what goes on at the Playboy Mansion, she has an interesting way of viewing life and again, Faris does a great bringing life into her character.

Joining Farris are the Zeta Alpha Zeta sorority girls:

Natalie (played by "Superbad" actress Emma Stone), the leader of Zeta Alpha Zeta who is pretty much the brainiac.

Mona (played by the "40-Year Old Virgin" and "Nick and Norah's Infinity Playlist" Kat Denning), the punk girl who is anti-popular and has piercings all over her face.

Harmony (played by "American Idol" finalist Katharine McPhee), the pregnant sorority member.

Joanne (played by "From Within" actress Rumer Willis), the sorority member who wears a body brace.

Lilly (played by Cheetah Girls member Kiely Williams), the sorority member who is afraid to talk to people.

Carrie Mae (played by Deuce Bigalow: The European Gigalow" actress Dana Goodman), as a scary sorority member who walks with a hunchback.

Tanya (played by Kimberly Makkouk), as the very small member of the group.

And also starring Colin Hanks as Oliver, a normal guy who works at a convalescent home. Shelley happens to be attracted to him but her Playboy way of attracting men by flaunting her body, doesn't seem to work on him, thus with the help of the Zeta Alpha Zeta girls, they teach her how to be smart.

The film also features a pretty strong soundtrack as a lot of the songs are well-known such as "When I Grow Up" by the Pussycat Dolls and "Shut Up and Let Me Go" by the Ting Tings.

VIDEO:

The video is featured in 1080p high definition and aspect ratio is 2:40:1. Picture quality was quite vibrant during the outdoor scenes and during dark scenes, I really don't recall seeing much noise during the blacks.

AUDIO:

The film is featured in TrueHD 5.1. Although the film is primarily a dialogue film, where the film really gets pumped up audio-wise is during the moments that feature a lot of music.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The Blu-ray edition of "The House Bunny" definitely has a good number of featurettes included.

* House Bunny Style: Make-up/hair/wardrobe documentary on making over the Zeta girls into "Bunnies"

* The Girls of Zeta: A look into the actresses who make up the sorority girls of Zeta and how they bonded on-set

* Calendar Girls: A fun look into the photo shoot for the calendar

* Anna Faris: House Mom: A look at Anna Faris and her character of "Shelley", her infectious smile, fun personality and interactions with others

* Colin Hanks: Mr. Nice Guy

* From Song to Set: Katherine McPhee: A look at the on-set experiences of first-time actress Katharine McPhee

* From Tour Bus to Trailer: Tyson Ritter: A look at the on-set experiences of first-time actor Tyson Ritter

* Look Who Dropped By: Checkout the stars who showed up on-set!

* The Girls Upstairs: Behind the scenes with the real "Girls Next Door"

* Zetas Transformed

* Getting Ready for a Party

* House Bunny Memories

* I Know What Boys Like Music Video by Katharine McPhee

* INTRODUCTION TO "I KNOW WHAT BOYS LIKE"

* Deleted Scenes

For me, the featurette with Anna Faris was interesting to watch. Especially to get her take on having to do the dual roles as an executive producer and being the lead actress. Also, learning how she had to really workout for the role and her thoughts of wearing the skimpy outfits. Really good insight into the actual film.

Also, it was great to see the camaraderie of the ladies in the film and how much fun they had shooting the film. There literally are a good number of featurettes that last around five minutes or more on this Blu-ray.

In "Looked Who Dropped By", you get to see the number of talent who had cameos in the film from Shaq, Matt Leinart, former ESPN analyst Sean Sallisbury, sportscaster Dan Patrick and many more. "The Girls Upstairs" features Hugh Heffner and the three Playmates from "Girls Next Door" on set.

As for the deleted scenes, no commentary but there were quite a number of deleted scenes which I agree with the director for cutting out those scenes.

I wish there was a commentary segment featuring Faris but unfortunately there wasn't one. But overall, you do get a good number of special features on the Blu-ray disc and it is BD-Live enabled.

Typically, when I watch a "Happy Madison" produced film, I expect to watch a comedy and just sit back and see how crazy and at times, how moronic some films can be. But with "THE HOUSE BUNNY", I have to admit that I was amazed to see Anna Faris in this role and how she brought this character to life.

Personally, I don't think I can picture any actress making this role happen and so I was very pleased with her performance. As for the overall film, I would call it "Legally Blonde" meets "The Revenge of the Nerds" and to see how the women literally transform themselves to the women no one wants to be around, to the women than the frat boys want to party with.

But with that being said, that scenario can be seen quite negatively to people who do not believe a woman should have to go through a makeover, wear slinky outfits to make things happen for them in college.

For me, many Happy Gilmore produced films are never meant to be taken seriously and for those who approach these comedy films with a lot of seriousness, are probably going to get disappointed. You need to really sit back and just enjoy how far the characters can make you laugh or make you feel embarrassed. It's all fun!

Again, Anna Faris does a great job on this film and really demonstrating her versatility as an actress. Without her, I really don't think this film could have worked. She brought life into the character of Shelley and watching the featurette, she definitely made it fun for the other actresses and they fed off that enthusiasm, The chemistry with Faris and the other actresses worked quite well.

Overall, "THE HOUSE BUNNY" is a fun and enjoyable comedy that is sure to make you laugh and also looks great on Blu-ray.

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Well, I'm embarrassed to admit that I really enjoyed this silly movie. I hadn't intended to see it, but got pushed into watching it with my family. And I liked it better than they did! It was actually very sweet.

The plot, of course, is a cliche. Nerdy sorority is made cool by an ex-bunny. Not original. But it isn't meant to be. This whole thing is just a wonderful frame for the comedic talents of the people involved. We particularly enjoyed the scene where Shelley tries to act like Marilyn Monroe over the steam vent, and gets her knees badly steamed. That is just so silly that you have to laugh.

Also, at my house, we just find it so strange that the series "the girls next door," whose performers are in this film (the Faris role, Shelley, is supposed to be living at the Playboy Mansion as the movie opens), is one of the sweetest shows on TV. We expected trash, and were confounded by pleasant people that we genuinely like. So that predisposed us to like this film, too. There is a certain innocence to the whole thing.

So, I find myself in the position of recommending this film to anyone who enjoys silly comedy.

Read Best Reviews of The House Bunny (+ BD Live) (2008) Here

Anna Faris discovers a facet of method acting? Yes. Not since Christian Bale muscled up in order to one up Leo DiCaprio for the title role in American Psycho has someone altered their body so very dramatically for a role. The previous soft Anna has been replaced by the T-1000 Anna, hotter than ever, and funnier to boot.

As far as goofy comedies go, the writing was good. The plot was cute. The situations were were well-thought out and hilarious.

Shelley (Faris) I plays a wanna-be Playboy bunny who is cast from the Playboy Mansion after her 28th birthday. To put a roof over her head she takes a group of social outcast sorority sisters in need of a house mother under her wing and shows them the ropes of presenting themselves and talking to men. In turn the sisters teach her to an intellectual man (played by Colin Hanks).

The social blunders are numerous and the movie borrows heavily from Sorority Boys, in a good way.

Anna Faris was goofy in the Scary Movie series, good in Waiting, but has truly come into her own here. This is a must see.

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Sure this flick is formulaic and derivative but I loved it. It's consistently funny and engaging and it'll make you grin from ear to ear. This film should have been the one to break Anna Faris big. Her Shelley may be a little vapid but she's no dumb bunny. Anybody who would typecast her as a dumb blonde should check her out in the underrated "My Super Ex-Girlfriend". Like Reese Witherspoon's Elle Woods in "Legally Blonde" this is the kind of role that should catapult her to better things. Not to be overlooked is Emma Stone as the wallflower president of the sorority that Shelley becomes housemother to. I was expecting a cliched girl nerd turn but Stone imbues Natalie with warmth and complexity. It was also pretty cool that Hugh Hefner is on hand to take a self-deprecating portrayal of his image. The only debit here is stiff as wood Colin Hanks as Shelley's perfunctory love interest. Hanks may have inherited his dad's vocal ticks but has nil of his acting chops. I saw this on a sick day and it was just what the doctor ordered.

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Tango & Cash (2009)

If you ask me, Tango & Cash is one of the best and most enjoyable action movies there is. It may be a big budget Hollywood production, but it's a B flick all the way. There's nothing very original or unique about the plot(two rival cops have to work together to bring down the crime boss that framed them), and it's full of every bad action cliche to date, but that's all part of the fun. The movie is packed with cornball manliness and macheezmo, almost to the point of parody. But what really makes it work is the two leads. Both Stallone and Russell are two of the best action stars of all time, and I can't think of any other two that could have done this better. No, it's not Oscar worthy acting, but these two have a fantastic onscreen chemistry. Neither one is trying to push the other out of the spotlight or out-tough the other. Their tough guy one liners and banter is so funny, even when the jokes are total groaners. You can tell they really enjoyed working together, and it makes me wonder why these guys never starred in another film together. Special mention must also be made to the supporting cast which is a B action/horror movie lover's dream. You got Michael J. Pollard as a goofy inventor in the mold of James Bond's "Q", Brion James as an evil henchman, Clint Howard as Stallone's crazy cellmate who plays with a Slinky, James Hong(Lo Pan from Big Trouble in Little China) as one of the crime bosses, Geoffrey Lewis(Orville from Every Which Way But Loose among countless others) as Stallone's captain, and Robert Z'Dar(the Maniac Cop!) as a vicious inmate with a grudge against Stallone. Plus an early role for Teri Hatcher as Stallone's sister. Not to mention that the villain is played by the coolest man to ever slap on aftershave, Jack Palance. Now, even if the movie was pure sludge, how can you go wrong not only with two top notch stars, but also a supporting cast like that? You can't, that's how!! I have a special place in my heart for action films of the 80s, and an even more secluded and special spot for this one in particular. This kind of macho, no brainer action film is not everyone's bag, baby. But if it does happens to be your bag and you've somehow missed this movie, slap yourself a few times for being a schmuck and see it, pronto!!

"Tango and Cash" is a predictable, not-to-heavy-on-the-brain actioner that is nothing special, but actually entertains. Kurt Russel and Sylvester Stallone have a good level of on-screen chemistry that works well and provides a lot of the movie's appeal.

The plot is your predictable cop actioner: super cops become victims of their own success and their number one crime-boss fan has had enough. Rather than just kill them, he decides on framing them and getting them sent to prison. The rest is fairly predictable.

The action is quite good, though again, nothing special. Some of the characters are played pretty much like cardboard cutouts, but that is ok with an action film. As mentioned, the banter that happens between Tango and Cash is one of the main appeals of the movie.

At times corny, (Stallone's attempt to act like a caring brother was a bit of a laugh), this film is a good bit of entertainment, though it looks a bit dated. Unsurprisingly, it has not become a classic, but it is still a good movie to watch and enjoy.

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Before I picked this up on Blu Ray, I searched for reviews but couldn't find any. I decided to blind buy it from Amazon, because of the great deal offered. Well, sure enough, it doesn't disappoint: the picture quality is very, very good in direct comparison to the DVD, it blows it out of the park! Contours are sharp and precise, colors are rich and vivid; it is as big an improvement over the DVD as the DVD was over VHS! I couldn't believe how bad the DVD looks (I guess it's been a while since I watched it...), with colors all washed out and the screen flattened. I'm no pro at this, but trust me: it does look great on Blu Ray! The only downside is there are no extras except the trailer. Since we didn't even get a Special Edition on DVD, chances for one on Blu ray are slim at best. I didn't see this movie in the theater, but thanks to the Blu Ray it looks like it's unfolding right before me.

Read Best Reviews of Tango & Cash (2009) Here

Tango and Cash is another one of those American buddy movies from the 80's. It is nothing original but so much fun. This time, Sylvester Stallone and Kurt Russell, two cool guys team up as Tango and Cash to give good entertainment on a boring saturday night.

So what do you get when buying this dvd? Two muscular fellows who give funny oneliners and shoot up a lot of bad guys. Big guns, big cars, big explosions, this film has it all. Sylvester Stallone acts good and gives a nice performance as the good cop Ray Tango. I can now see why he was the first one considered to play Axel Foley in "Beverly Hills Cop".

Kurt Russell plays Gabrielle Cash, the tough, bigmouthed cop who is the almost opposite of Tango. He is funny and just as cool as Stallone.

Also in the mix is a sexy young Teri Hatcher playing Tango's sister. This was one of her first big films and she stays firmly on her feet next to Stallone and Russell.

The story is simple, but nice: Tango and cash are two rival cops who are the absolute best. They solve one crime right after the other. Now you can understand that the criminals aren't very happy with that, so: they set the two cops up. Now, Tango and Cash are put into jail for a crime they didn't commit. They can't stand each other, but they have to work together trying to escape out of the jail and finding the ones responisble for setting them up.

So nothing original or special, but who cares? It entertains perfectly. Expect having a fun time seeying two of the coolest actors of the 80's, Stallone and Russell, team up as Tango and Cash, fighting bad guys with big guns and nice oneliners.

Good popcorn fun.

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Tango and Cash is fantastic. The movie is one of the best buddy cop movies around with excellent action sequences and a funky musical score by Faltermeyer that endlessly plays in your head.

The story revolves around Stallone and Russel playing "Tango and Cash",two of LA's top cops who can't stand each other, but are framed and actually have to work together to clear their names.The action sequences are first rate and the sequence when they escape from jail is a knock out! The dialogue is funny and you will keep chuckling to yourself throughout the movie. Teri Hatcher as Stallone's sister is a great addition and Jack Palance as the whacky villain makes the movie a lot of fun.

The movie was a huge hit worldwide making some 200 million ( not including dvd and VHS, sales and rentals) and of course Stallone was the king of Holywood at the time.At this time, Stallone's box office power started to grow more overseas and Stallone's performance is refreshingly funny, irreverent and cool. It would be unfair to say that Stallone does not have a flair for comedy as this movie and another action comedy hit, "Demolition Man", prove that.

Kurt Russell more than holds his own against Stallone and is by all accounts a terrific actor. I really can't say who was better... I think both were equally good. I was also quite impressed with Kurt Rusell's physique. He looked amazing.

I am really surprised that Hollywood did not see the wisdom in making a sequel to this movie because who ever I talk to say they would love to see the dynamic duo again. What would be nice is if Stallone, Russell, Andrei Konchalovsky and the powers that be, got together and make a special collectors addition of the movie. It would sell, believe me!

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Apostle Peter & The Last Supper (2012)

A few weeks ago, a friend sent me a link on FaceBook for the trailer of Apostle Peter and the Last Supper (PureFlix). I just finished watching the movie.

The Synopsis (from the Official Movie Site):

Set in Rome A.D. 67. Two jailers at the ancient Marmertine Prison take custody of a famous criminal. He is Simon Peter of Galilee-apostle, disciple, and personal friend of Jesus, also called The Christ. Condemned to death, the elderly Peter (Robert Loggia) recounts his life as a simple fisherman who became one of the boldest figures in all of Christianity. As Peter prepares to depart this earthly life, he will make an unforgettable impression on his jailers through the saving power of the Gospel.

Friends, let me tell you right now--this is a beautiful movie which presents the gospel in an open and moving presentation.

Throughout the film we follow a Roman soldier named Martinian (portrayed very effectively by Laurence Fuller). He and his friend, Processus, are charged with guarding Peter in the days leading up to his execution.

Martinian's wife has expressed interest in learning more about Jesus (although it's dangerous to do so) and he takes advantage of having Peter under his charge by asking a series of questions. As Peter recounts his life with Jesus, Martinian comes to understand the meaning of sin, the sacrifice Jesus made for us all, and what it means to trust Him.

The story is very strong. I liked the characters of Martinian and his wife. I found it interesting to consider particular elements (like waiting for Jesus in the garden as he prayed) through Peter's eyes (portrayed by Ryan Alosio), his desire to serve yet failing in crucial moments.

The movie is well acted. The pacing does lag in a couple of places but not enough to hamper overall enjoyment. I must give props for the locations--stunning! I could quibble about a few minor prop pieces. More attention to little details could have created a more authentic feel to the movie (particularly during the Last Supper scene), but overall it has little impact on what's important--the gospel.

All of the scenes with Jesus are taken straight from scripture with little embellishment. Bruce Marchiano (who played Jesus in The Visual Bible's Gospel of Matthew) once again brings Jesus to the screen with a strength, warmth and humanity that can be missing in other presentations.

Apostle Peter and the Last Supper is a great addition to anyone's movie collection. It's a wonderful way to introduce people to the message of the gospel. I recommend it.

The setting of this movie is while Peter is imprisoned as an older man, during the time after Christ's death & resurrection when Christians were being persecuted (67 A.D.), awaiting his imminent death. One of the jailers, curious about this "famous" Christian, risks his neck to ask Peter questions about his experiences with Jesus -particularly the events surrounding His crucifixion. Peter recounts portions of his time with Jesus, and the viewer gets to see Scripture in motion -it is very powerful to see and hear Jesus words in context! It is impactful, also, to realize how human Jesus' disciples were... yet still so loved by Jesus.

Would not recommend for young children, as the depiction of Satan could be a bit frightening.

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Most movies are about The Christ or Paul or Joseph or Moses. This movie is not only about Jesus, The Christ, but it recounts the personalities of the apostles themselves. It makes the watcher understand that they have the same strengths and weaknesses as the apostles. Doubting Thomas. Peter and his temper. Matthew. James and John, the sons of Zebedee. It is equally about each apostle as much as about the Christ.

The rendition of the Last Supper and what each apostle must have thought when Christ announced that one of them would betray them is extremely moving.

It made all of these people very real and human to me.

Read Best Reviews of Apostle Peter & The Last Supper (2012) Here

This was an excellent movie presentation ... inspiring, Biblically accurate & moving. I would recommend this for anyone who would like to see & hear the portrayal of the Last Supper & hear the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This would be great for Holy Week preparation, Bible Study Groups, Men's Groups, Sunday School lessons, evangelistic outreach (Home or Church with proper licensing) &/or personal edification.

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This movie was both spirital and emotional. Seeing Peter at an old age and the commitment and dedication he had to the Lord was awe inspiring. The actors were excellent and the movie made a strong impact on all who viewed it.

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RocknRolla (2008)

Guy Richie has turned out the gem of his career with RockNrolla. Perfect cast (Wilkenson should get an award for this one) incredible sound track, and a wild and wicked plot. Unlike some of his others, this one makes it a bit easier to understand the dialects. It was the delight of my movie going month in October when it came out here in the U.S.

From reading some of the reviews that pan this movie, it is obvious that they are not familiar with Guy Richie's films, his style and his offbeat humor. It is sort of like licorice; Some people love it some people hate it. But for those of us who have the right mindset for Richie's style of film, this it the best one to come along in a long time.

Gerard Butler's turn in this is hysterically funny and is such a great switch from his role in 300. No type casting trap for Gerry. This guy can play the heck out of any role imaginable. But if the Wild Bunch shows up again in the next Richie film, I hope Gerry is included.

DottyinCA

Riverside, CA

I find that Guy Ritchie's work inspires deep

feelings of love or hate!

There is no middleground among people when

it comes to him. Some see him as a ridiculous wanna-be

Scorcesse or DePalma, others see him as a fresh new voice

and vision in cinema for the 21st Century.

I enjoyed this movie and all it's rawness, dark humor,

violence and rollercoaster twists and turns!

Gerard Butler, Idris Elba & their motley crew of low dollar

thugs with ambitions for the bigtime made this movie for me!

Their interplay was priceless against the story's other very

interesting characters. I also love the cracked-out,

devil-may-care, balls-to-the-wall portrayal of the ROCK-N-ROLLA

himself, Johnny Quid, who is one of the main bad guy's stepson

who this whole crazy ride revolves around!--He is a hoot!

Jeremy Piven & Chris "Ludacris" Bridges play his smarmy

record company moguls who get tangled up in this wild web as well!

I don't care what anyone says!---I thought this was brilliant!

Now to prove my point of how Guy Ritchie's work polarizes people...

My mother, who watched this movie with me,

ABSOLUTELY THOUGHT IT WAS TRASH!!

You have to decide this one for yourself...

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Guy Ritchie makes films for guys about guys, and frankly "my son", this one is loving it...

I say this because there's appalling film critic snobbery surrounding Ritchie and I for one can't stand it. Ok, so "RocknRolla" is not Shakespeare nor David Lean so what! When you sit down to it, you do so with a grin on your puss the size of Britain's National Debt. Why because you just know you're going to spend the next two hours giggling and grimacing (for all the wrong reasons of course) and you're going to be rightly and royally entertained. And bluntly how many British film directors-cum-writers are 'this' good can entertain you 'this' much? In an industry that seems to have lost the knack of actually turning us on, on the strength of "RocknRolla", I for one will be looking out for the Blu Ray box of Guy Ritchie films and not yet another version of Bourne or Aliens (good as they may be).

The story is layered and smart; the dialogue is either crude or ballbreakingly funny or frequently both and the casting is varied and immaculate all of them clearly enjoying themselves. The songs are apt and used sparingly and there's an already classic one-liner that had many of our customers in the shop laugh out loud when we played the CD the other day (dialogue inbetween the music tracks).

The good news for fans is that the BLU RAY version of "RocknRolla" is beautifully filmed and I think actually suits Ritchie's film style to a tee it makes the sharp suits and the London locations shine more. Actor wise "RocknRolla" is crammed full of great cameos and has a lot of classy leading double acts. Tom Wilkinson is the bigwig old-school London criminal Lenny Cole with Mark Strong as Archie his sidekick. Both are typically outstanding. Gerard Butler as One Two and Idris Elba as Mumbles (the drug dealer Stringer Bell in The Wire) play their counterparts the likely lads who get caught up in deals way over their small-time heads. Jimi Mistry is a corrupt London councillor, Jeremy Piven and Ludacris as producers and nightclub owners who can't control Toby Kebbell as the drugged up rock star Johhny Quid (feigning death to up his sales). The girls are all molls, there's the unkillable Russians, the thieving philosophizing junkies, ticket-touting gangsters covered in Bling living in Range Rovers and yobs who talk about art, culture and the beauty of cigarettes as they whack a difficult bouncer over the head with a bin lid....luverly!

I'll freely admit that as a dabbler in screenplays myself, I sat there with a huge streak of jealousy running through me, because there's truly fantastic writing and skill on show here. One example is the scene where Gerard Butler is sat at a dinner table in a posh London restaurant with the corporate lawyer totty that is Thandie Newton. Butler's character clearly fancies her, but suspects she's just 'too' dangerous and out of his league. Slipping the bulging loot bag he's delivering under the table towards her long and unfeasibly delicious legs, he relays how the swag was attained...with a "bit of bother". It then cuts back to the actual robbery which of course goes horribly wrong and then just gets progressively worse not too clever types doing not too clever things. From this hilarious flashback, the movie keeps flicking forward again to their sexually loaded conversation and back again to more carnage with an escalating pumping soundtrack. It's kind of Ritchie's trademark style, but it's so damn good that you don't even notice how cleverly its been worked out and edited together. It's slick stuff and impressively so.

The movie is not a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, but it's a damn good watch and more importantly wildly entertaining. And come the sly and clever ending, you're left wanting more and there's even a hint of a sequel in the closing credits.

In the vernacular "RocknRolla" is a blinding bit of fun and on Blu Ray looks and sounds like the absolute business. Highly recommended and a job well done.

Read Best Reviews of RocknRolla (2008) Here

This another fantastic movie from a brilliant director. He really got in touch with his roots on this one. The plot and pace of the movie were very similar to Guy Ritchie's earlier work: Lock, Stock and Snatch. If you didn't care for those two, don't bother with this one.

Character development is definitely Ritchie's strong suit. Johnny Quid is the alternate universe equivalent to Sid Vicious if Nancy had never existed.

Something that never lacks in a Ska film is the Soundtrack. My God! this is some great music! Using the song Bank Robber by the Clash as Johnny Quid's theme music was dead on.

Hopefully this will be the movie to get Guy Ritchie out of movie jail. Swept Away and Revolver were pretty damn bad. Getting rid of the dead weight in his life has to have helped.

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This was a clever picture. It had exceptionally strong characters and the actors that played them portrayed them perfectly. Guy Richie has a knack about getting a stella cast for his pictures and he definitely did it in this one. There were no horrible performance's in this picture. There are no dragging scenes, its all constant, fast paced as you follow two different plots in story simultaneously that meet up at the end, which is kind of a who done it.

For some reason when Guy Richie comes out with a new movie I always think its going to stink. Every time I am amazed at how good it is. Guy Richie in my eyes is the next Tarantino, I think even better. He is creating the standard for the "New Age Gangster Film". It doesn't have to be violent and bloody to be a great movie and he proves this time and time again.

This in my eyes is a must see. Even if this is not your so called genre, still see it, you will be surprised as well as pleased.

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Moneyball (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo + UltraViolet Digital Copy) (2011)

Every year, I get wary of the inevitable film set in a sporting arena where an underdog player or team must triumph against adversity to become unlikely heroes. As accomplished or heartwarming as many of these films can be, they never seem to be able to break free of the conventions that we've all seen a hundred times. While I can't say that "Moneyball" isn't inspired by the genre, I will say that it looks at the phenomenon from a decidedly different angle. Based on Michael Lewis's non-fiction account of the same name, this is actually an intriguing story ruled by the business of baseball as opposed to the emotions the game elicits. As such, it seems like something entirely new. Director Bennett Miller (Oscar nominee for Capote), along with heavyweight screenwriters Aaron Sorkin and Steve Zaillian, has created one of the brainiest and least sentimental baseball films you're likely to see. "Moneyball" tells the true story of how the Oakland A's GM Billy Beane rebuilt the team for the 2002 season with enormous financial constraints using computer analysis and statistics. While admittedly, this might not sound like a particularly sexy plot--it was a pivotal moment in sporting history well worth documenting. And despite knowing the outcome, the film is never less than fascinating.

"Moneyball" refers to the inherent unfairness in the sport as teams with deep pockets can rule the game by outspending their smaller competitors when selecting the top tier players. When Oakland lost its powerhouse line-up, the team was left scrambling for replacements. Eschewing traditional recruitment methods, Beane (Brad Pitt) placed his trust in a new assistant (Jonah Hill) that had a new way of looking at statistics to determine the game's most undervalued players. Against all advice, he assembled a team of misfits that no one thought could succeed--including his own manager (Philip Seymour Hoffman) who constantly challenged and opposed Beane. What happens at the start of the season only cements the team as a league (and national) laughingstock and has the country thirsting for Beane's sacrificial blood. But against all odds, things start to gel and history is made.

Pitt plays Beane with a world-weary grace. It may, in fact, be his most grounded performance to date. Aloof at first, we see how he thaws to his own superstitions to become an invaluable part of the club. Through flashbacks and interludes with his daughter, we see different sides of a man who has dedicated his life to the sport. Jonah Hill plays it straight as the assistant who is instrumental to the team's new direction. Hill is surprisingly good, deadpan even, and he and Pitt develop a chemistry that is as unlikely as it is effective. Hoffman has a small, but vital, role and is spot-on. The actors that comprise the team all turn in solid work as well, but fundamentally this is Pitt's picture from start to finish. And understatement is the name of the game. A smart screenplay, an interesting topic, effective performances--it's all handled with a refreshing minimum of schmaltz (a key element in many sport's films). By tackling the back office side of baseball, "Moneyball" sets itself apart as a true original. A film that doesn't just love the game, but really understands it (foibles and all). A rarity and a surprisingly adult entertainment, about 4 1/2 stars. KGHarris, 12/11.

I really don't understand baseball. Like it, but don't really understand it. I can watch the game and understand superficially what's happening, but I don't get the strategy and, of course, it's all strategy. So, I went to see this in the theater and loved it and then just rewatched the blu-ray. Loved it, and only partly understand why. One thing: You can't take your eyes of Brad Pitt. Not because of his good looks, but because he's just utterly charismatic and engaging. Jonah Hill is an unexpected but perfect casting choice. But, overall, it's a tribute to the filmmakers that a movie that shouldn't work this well works this well.

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"Moneyball" is based on true events, and provides valuable insight regarding the on-field and off-field dynamics of the Oakland A's Major League Baseball Club.

This film has the capacity to engage viewers who are familiar or unfamiliar with the sport, based on the avant-garde approach to managing resources that is utilised by Billy Beane (Brad Pitt), which any person in business can appreciate.

The narrative is also inspiring, as the viewer is presented with what seems like impossible circumstances for the A's to be successful, yet through innovative thinking high performance is achieved.

Brad Pitt provides a solid performance, as does the entire cast, and the viewer is entertained with plenty of humour and quality drama.

This movie is a win for baseball, as it has the capacity to introduce new people to the game from all over the world.

Nicholas R.W. Henning Australian Baseball Author

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For those of us who love baseball, and even for those who don't, this is a wondeful 'feel good' film of statistics and brains versus intuition and brawn.

We find Billy Beane, played by Brad Pitt, GM of the Oakland Athletics, making it to the World Series but failing to win. In the process the team is losing three of its best players. The Athletics have a thirty million dollar cap on their players versus the Red Sox and New York Yanklees, who have hundreds of millions. Beane needs to replace these players, but the members of his scouting teams just give him the same old tired story of the players that will probably work out with practice. Beane wants another method to pick his players. At a meeting with another team he finds a young, short, chubby man, Peter Brand, played by Jonah Hill, who spouts statistics and crunched numbers to arrive at an algorithm for players who will do well. He hires Brand and changes his methods and that of his team.

Brand is a nerdy Yale graduate who looked at the strict cost-benefit analysis of baseball players. He persuaded Beane that he should hire based on key performance statistics that pointed to undervalued players. They assembled a team that seemed foolhardy at first, but during the course of a season, proved itself the biggest bargain in baseball. Beane antagonized most of his scouts, but he was proved correct. At the end of the season he is invited to Boston to meet the Red Sox owner. When he returns to Oakland he talks with Brand, and tells him, "I don't play for money, I play for the love of the game". Oh, yes, the love of what you are doing. A lucky man and one who knows and is happy with himself. A loner, a divorced man with a daughter he loves, but all in all a man who is fine living alone.

This is not just a film for baseball lovers, but a film for all of us who can see that a new way, a change from the old ways is almost always a good thing.

Highly Recommended, prisrob 01-12-12

The Tree Of Life

Accepted (Widescreen Edition)

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I love baseball. Played 14 seasons growing up. Even helped win some championships. Batting was always my favorite. There's nothing more intense than standing there, staring down that pitcher, bat twisting between your palms, waiting for the ball to come whipping out of that hand at insane speeds. Watching the pitch come flying toward the plate is the only way I've ever experienced bullet time, and the satisfaction of tracking a curveball in perceived slow motion until it smacks into the sweet spot of your bat can't be matched. Fielding was good too. I mostly played pitcher, first, second, shortstop, third, left, right, and center. Plus, when my dad was the manager, every night he'd look over all of the team's stats with me and spend hours agonizing over how to arrange the team to create the perfect fun/success ratio.

What I'm saying is, I know a thing or two about baseball, so when I go to a movie on the subject, I expect a lot, and if they don't get it right, I'll tear into it with a passion.

They got it right.

But then again, it almost wasn't a baseball movie. Brad Pitt plays Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane at a time when the team's just lost its three star players. Faced with the difficulty of getting new hotshots on a bare bones budget, Beane turns to economy major Peter Brand (Jonah Hill). Brand convinces Beane that stars don't win games. Runs win games, and runs aren't scored with big hits and amazing plays in the field. They're scored by getting on base.

Beane takes this advice to heart and throws out all the conventional wisdom of baseball sages, willing to hire players who don't know anything about fielding as long as they can take pitches and end up with a walk. Most of the film is about people who think they know baseball not believing in this new system and Beane trying to stick with it in the face of early failure. Like I said, it's not a baseball movie.

But The Social Network was a movie about computer programming, and if they can make that exciting, I guess they can do it with anything. Brad Pitt helps with a great performance as the conflicted manager, and Jonah Hill is surprisingly good. The success of the film rests squarely on their shoulders, and while shots of endless statistics scrolling across a computer screen are a little cheesy, they're not that bad. As the film builds up the hopelessness of being such a monetarily poor team, you can't help but root for them. Right from the beginning, you'll be emotionally hooked, and it won't let up until the very end.

One of the cool differences about this underdog story is that the characters aren't stars. The power wasn't inside them all along. Instead, you're rooting for the players to get walks, to get hit by pitches, to hit scrappy singles, to allow runs to score on a bunt and take the easy out. The movie gets around this by making the climax not about a championship, but about the potential for a record-breaking winning streak, and man is it exciting.

Another key difference is that, for something advertised as a pure sports drama, it's surprisingly funny. I think I laughed harder at this than at The Hangover 2. In fact, I think it's the funniest movie I've been to this year.

This movie makes you believe. It's makes you believe on the same level as Remember the Titans or any of the great sports movies, except you believe not in the players, but in the power of statistics, and for some reason you care. When the other characters in the film refuse to believe, when they work at every opportunity to undermine and diminish our hero, Statistics, you want to punch them in their grubby little faces. I love when a film can really make me despise somebody, and Moneyball pulls it off.

If you love baseball or Brad Pitt or sports movies or economics or feeling emotions or laughing or good cinema in general, go see this movie. It's worth your time.

Check out more on "The Nickel Screen" (google it!)

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Oranges and Sunshine (2010)

The subject matter of "Oranges and Sunshine" is almost too disturbing to be believed. And yet, remarkably, it is the true recounting of one of the largest scandals of the last few decades. In 1986, a British social worker named Margaret Humphreys started to piece together an amazing and harrowing story that involved the mass deportation of children from the United Kingdom to Australia. What she discovered was simply stunning. The scandal involved political corruption and cover-up, religious impropriety, human rights violations, slave labor, systematic abuse and a government program that divided hundreds of families and disappeared countless minor children. This is such a grand and epic tale, it's hard to imagine that a film discussing these atrocities wouldn't be aggressively in-your-face. But the beauty of "Oranges and Sunshine" is that it takes a quieter approach and as things start to unfold, the dramatic weight of the situation really sneaks up on you and bowls you over!

A restrained Emily Watson plays Humphreys, a woman who didn't ask to be thrust into a worldwide spotlight. In the beginning of the film, she is approached by a woman for help finding her parents. This is when she firsts hears about children being shipped to Australia. Initially reticent and disbelieving, she soon hears a corroboration of this tale. She starts to dig deeper and push further, working between the U.K. and Australia to start repairing families. It consumes her life and livelihood, but she is pushed by a sense of justice. As word gets out, she is a savior to many but an embarrassment to others. And as the unfolding allegations put many important figures in an unfavorable light, she is soon discredited by many and attacked (both emotionally and physically). But as the investigation perseveres, there is soon no use denying the truth.

Watson is so reserved to begin with, it is quite powerful to see the strain start to shatter her existence. It's a great performance in that it is completely underplayed and, therefore, all the more believable. Directed by Jim Loach (son of award winner Ken Loach), the film also boasts impressive support by David Wenham and Hugo Weaving. Both Weaving and Watson picked up actor accolades from Australian Film Critics Circle. As I watched the movie unravel fairly simply, I was sure I was going to give it four stars as a solid exploration of an unfathomable event. But then the magnitude and emotion really hit me in the concluding scenes and I realized just how well constructed the film actually was. With a minimum of histrionics, sentimentality, or moralizing, the screenplay and the actors really gets under your skin. And, in the end, I was deeply affected by "Oranges and Sunshine" because it didn't go for all the big expected moments. Understatement done extremely well! KGHarris, 6/12.

The subject matter of "Oranges and Sunshine" is almost too disturbing to be believed. And yet, remarkably, it is the true recounting of one of the largest scandals of the last few decades. In 1986, a British social worker named Margaret Humphreys started to piece together an amazing and harrowing story that involved the mass deportation of children from the United Kingdom to Australia. What she discovered was simply stunning. The scandal involved political corruption and cover-up, religious impropriety, human rights violations, slave labor, systematic abuse and a government program that divided hundreds of families and disappeared countless minor children. This is such a grand and epic tale, it's hard to imagine that a film discussing these atrocities wouldn't be aggressively in-your-face. But the beauty of "Oranges and Sunshine" is that it takes a quieter approach and as things start to unfold, the dramatic weight of the situation really sneaks up on you and bowls you over!

A restrained Emily Watson plays Humphreys, a woman who didn't ask to be thrust into a worldwide spotlight. In the beginning of the film, she is approached by a woman for help finding her parents. This is when she firsts hears about children being shipped to Australia. Initially reticent and disbelieving, she soon hears a corroboration of this tale. She starts to dig deeper and push further, working between the U.K. and Australia to start repairing families. It consumes her life and livelihood, but she is pushed by a sense of justice. As word gets out, she is a savior to many but an embarrassment to others. And as the unfolding allegations put many important figures in an unfavorable light, she is soon discredited by many and attacked (both emotionally and physically). But as the investigation perseveres, there is soon no use denying the truth.

Watson is so reserved to begin with, it is quite powerful to see the strain start to shatter her existence. It's a great performance in that it is completely underplayed and, therefore, all the more believable. Directed by Jim Loach (son of award winner Ken Loach), the film also boasts impressive support by David Wenham and Hugo Weaving. Both Weaving and Watson picked up actor accolades from Australian Film Critics Circle. As I watched the movie unravel fairly simply, I was sure I was going to give it four stars as a solid exploration of an unfathomable event. But then the magnitude and emotion really hit me in the concluding scenes and I realized just how well constructed the film actually was. With a minimum of histrionics, sentimentality, or moralizing, the screenplay and the actors really gets under your skin. And, in the end, I was deeply affected by "Oranges and Sunshine" because it didn't go for all the big expected moments. Understatement done extremely well! KGHarris, 6/12.

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"Oranges and Sunshine" is a drama film based on the work of English social worker Margaret Humphreys who discovers the practice of British child deportation to Australia and Canada.

Many of the children were sent to Australia following World War II and up until the early 1990s. These children often came from single parent homes or circumstances where their parents had difficulty supporting a family, and the children were placed in temporary government care, but unknown to their parents and relatives the children were sent overseas. This practice became known as the "Home Children" scandal.

The narrative exposes the misrepresentation of a new and wonderful life that the children were promised in Australia and how both the British and Australian Governments coordinated the activity, which wasn't disclosed to the public whilst the deportations were taking place.

The film draws attention to the lives that the children faced in Australia and the tenacious efforts of Humphreys to help them try and find resolution.

It is a quality movie with an impressive cast of British and Australian actors. Emily Watson (Margaret Humphreys), Hugo Weaving (Jack), and David Wenham (Len) provide a moving performance.

Nicholas R.W. Henning Australian Author

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WOW ... This is an incredible, powerful, moving and gripping story (based on true events, and the book "Empty Cradles" by Margaret Humphreys).

When you watch this movie you need to be in the mood for something like Schindler's list or the like. This is NOT lighthearted "entertainment".

In 1986 this story was uncovered by chance as one of these deported children returned (as an adult) to Great Britain desperately in search of who she really was, and happens upon social worker Margaret Humphreys. She tells Margaret that when she was a little girl she and hundreds of other kids were shipped from Great Britain to Australia, etc. Margaret finds her story hard to believe, and more or less blows it off because how could this happen en mass. Then another woman in a support group Margaret runs for adopted people mentions a lost brother who'd found her who claimed the same deportation story. Margaret begins looking into it and whoa tidal wave this didn't happen to just a FEW kids it happened to over 130,000 children! The kids aged 5-13 were shipped off, and told they had nobody and were nobody and were given an incredibly hard life (that's an understatement). This happened in the 1940's through the 1970's (I think I have that span right)... Decades after the news of this got out (in February 2010), Great Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown finally issued a full apology to those deported children and their families.

Margaret listens to each of the deported children's stories and their memories, for as much information as she can gather on them in order to help them find out who they are, and find their families. By doing this, she herself ends up with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder just from absorbing their pain being strong for them. But she doesn't quit even when physically threatened. She is all they've got. Their stories are incredible even as understated as this movie was.

At the end of the movie it says that Margaret is STILL helping these deported children find out who they are today. She is incredible! (And so is her very supportive husband!)

This story is incredible! It will grab your heart for all its worth. I hope you watch it.

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It is always a jolt when a bit of buried history surfaces and makes us realize that the world is not all that sane as we would like to believe: the Chaos Factor raises its ugly head as in this screen adaptation by Rona Munro of Margaret Humphreys' true story book `Empty Cradles'. This is a very powerful film, all the more so because of the quality of acting and direction by Jim Loach who never lets the film run out of control despite the unveiling tragedy.

The story is set in the 1980s where Nottingham, social worker Margaret Humphreys (Emily Watson) is a social worker who encounters a middle aged woman who has traveled from Australia to find her birth parents. Margaret at first doesn't want to increase her workload with a wild tale of children having been deported form England by ship to be placed in orphanage work camps in Australia, but with the aid of her supportive husband Merv (Richard Dillane) she begins to investigate the uncovered secret, ultimately traveling to Australia where she meets the `unwanted children' as adults each longing to return to the UK to meet their families. The children when deported were as young as four to thirteen years old and had been told their parents either were dead or didn't want them and the representatives from the government promised them a safe home with `oranges and sunshine' in Australia. There are several `victims' as played by Hugo Weaving, David Wenham, Russell Dykstra and others who help personalize the unspoken crime until Margaret progresses to the point where she can hold the British government accountable for child migration schemes and reunite the children involved -now adults living mostly in Australia -with their parents in Britain. Though the deportations occurred from the 1940's through the 1970's it was only after Margaret Humphrey's 1994 book and then much later after when February 2010 Great Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown finally issued a full apology to those deported children and their families.

The supporting cast is uniformly excellent but it is the glowing performance by Emily Watson that makes this revelation of a film remain in the mind long after the credits explain how the solution played out in reality. This is a tough film but an important one and deserves a much larger audience than it has found. Grady Harp, November 12

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Westworld (2013)

I picked this film up about a week ago. I hadn't seen it since it premiered back in the 1970's. It made no impression on me whatsoever on that first viewing. Boy has time and its simplicity improved it, the second time around! This is a very timely film and I think people of all ages should take a look at it.

This film moves from humour to fantasy to horror almost seamlessly. And the funny thing isthe fact that Crichton didn't get caught up in atmosphere or look; he concentrated on two characters simply going to a future resort, however fantastic the idea seems, to release and experience what in fact become examples of some of the darkest pleasures or most violent impulses inside of all of us. It really presses the right buttons and asks questions about what we find fun or entertaining.

I don't want any review I write to spoil the films for the people yet to see the work so, let's just saywhen the tables turn and 'we're on the receiving end ', there's a real numbing truth to what this film drives home. More so today then when it was released. Think of some of the 'reality based darkness' that now litters our airwaves and the unfortunate numbers who seem to be tuning in to watch it.

James Brolin really nails the 'who cares' feel his character needs. Richard Benjamin has to be the one who feels silly at first, then joins in with a sort of reckless abandon. And Yul Brynner is an example to everybody today (in acting, directing, effects and make-up ), of how you can scare the hell out of someone with a look, a smile and two small silver contact lens. (You'll know what I mean when you get to the scene). Benjamin really balances him from that point, having to portray the fear the new reality hits him with.

I won't do the Jurassic comparisons. I thought it when Jurassic came out but Jurassic was a rollercoaster ride. Westworld is the tale with the real bite.

I highly recommend this movie. It's an entertainment that quickly turns to a truth I think we all need to keep thinking about. What do we really find entertaining? Or more to the point... why?

"Westworld" is Michael Crichton's first foray into the theme-park-as-hell genre which he followed up more successfully in "Jurassic Park", but it's a very good film on its own. Here we have James Brolin and Richard Benjamin, two bored yuppies, starting their holiday in Delos, billed as the ultimate theme park, "where nothing can go wrong". Yeah, right. Customers pay through their noses to spend a vacation in one of three areas of the park: Romanworld, Medievalworld, and Westworld, where they can live out their fantasies and it's fun for all. Brolin and Benjamin choose Westworld (what American boy has never played cowboy at some time in his childhood?) and for a few days they have the time of their lives shooting up bad guys, starting barfights, and drawing a bead on deadly rattlesnakes. But it's all harmless fun and games -everything's computerized, the bad guys, the ladies of easy virtue, even the rattlesnakes; and there's a state-of-the-art computer lab to keep everything running smoothly. Nothing to worry about...

...until the computers develop a virus that sends them off into a learning curve that screws everything up. The first hint that something might be amiss happens over in Medievalworld, when a robot harlot decides she is tired of being a sex object and smacks a customer across the face when he tries to seduce her. Meanwhile, back in Westworld, the bad-guy-in-black robot challenges Brolin and Benjamin to a gunfight, but instead of being shot dead as he is every night, the bad guy decides to turn the tables. Oh boy, maybe it's time to cut this vacation short... but that's easier said than done when all of the robots have gone berserk and start whacking not only the customers, but their programmers as well. Murphy's Law has proved itself once again with a vengeance. Is there any way out of this mess? See for yourself.

Brolin and Benjamin are fairly good in their respective roles, nothing to write home about; but what makes this movie special is Yul Brynner's terrific portrayal of the bad-guy-in-black; a soulless robot with the dead eyes of a killer. The special effects are interesting in that they show us how far special effects have come since this movie was made; this was strictly a low-budget film, but it's a lot of fun for all that. It's pure Crichtonian escapism.

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This review is from the 2010 DVD re-release of the original film.

From the early to mid-'70's, there was a run of science-fiction films that seemed to be trying to break out of the pulp stereotype, and to address questions about where expanding technology and cultural changes from the '60's were leading us as a society. Generally speaking, the first 'Star Wars' film effectively canceled that trend for some time during the '80's, most science-fiction retreated back into the adventure mold, or else confined itself to satire (Robocop) or to eccentrics (Terry Gilliam's brilliant Brazil). It would be interesting to know, if the theory of parallel universes is true, to what lengths the science-fiction field might have developed if it hadn't been altered in 1977, although it's possible that it had already reached a saturation point with these other themes. That may even have helped propel Lucas' efforts to greater heights than it would have reached otherwise as vastly entertaining as 'Star Wars' was (and I saw it first-run in the theaters it was mind-blowing at the time), it wasn't addressing any issues. It was escaping them.

So what's that load of hot air got to do with 'Westworld'? Not much, really, other than I have a fondness for the niche these films occupy in the broader genre of Science-Fiction film, and that a little context could help viewers who might not intuitively appreciate these films for what they are. And it's obvious that some people do not understand their charm the recent remakes of Rollerball, Death Race 2000, and Planet of the Apes tell me that an inherent factor to the success of these types of films lay in the sensibilities of their times, and that modern filmmakers have effectively excised everything about them that made them worth watching in the first place. These aren't necessarily classic films we're talking about here enjoyable though, yes but apparently it's harder to lift them out of their time period and reinterpret them than it may have looked. Both 'Logan's Run' and 'Westworld' are slated for remakes around 2012 we'll see if anyone learns anything from these other adaptation failures, but I'm not holding my breath.

So anyway 'Westworld'. An amusement park where a handful of guests interact with an accurate recreation of either the old West of the American Frontier, medieval Europe, or ancient Rome all populated with robots who are nearly indistinguishable from humans. The operative word here is 'fantasy' each guest gets to live out his fantasy at whichever 'world' he or she feels will best cater to it. Most of the film focuses on two guests, Peter (Richard Benjamin), and John (James Brolin) as they kick back in Westworld, indulging in gunfights, bar brawls, and cathouse shenanigans. Everything to appease the inner child at least, that is, until things start to go terribly wrong, and the machines who once were the playthings of humans begin to turn the tables.

Concept science-fiction or not, it's doubtful this film succeeds anywhere near as well as it does without Yul Brynner's relentless, unflappable gunslinger, who is positively a wet blanket on our vacationer's picnic. In fact, without Brynner, I think the film's plot holes are too overpowering to sustain it they'll still need to be solved, either by suspension of belief or by willful ignorance, but at least the gunslinger helps take your mind off of them. Purportedly, Brynner's character was a major influence on James Cameron's 'Terminator' film, as well as several other iconic 'unstoppable' movie villians, and I think that's pretty easy to see after watching 'Westworld' again after several years. Almost everthing else in the film is above average to well done Brolin and Benjamin are good in their roles, and the script didn't really call for any effects that were beyond the capabilities of the time and if the parameters of the film's logic are accepted, it moves forward in a consistant manner and, I think, to a riveting conclusion. But the details concerning the operations of the park will likely be a hurdle for a lot of viewers this is the type of film where, a few hours after watching, if you think too hard about some of the particulars, the structure of the story starts to fall apart.

There are a few other problems mostly the childish infatuation the guests have for the sexual freedom of the park. These are robots that they are hopping into bed with, after all. But that is a product of the time it was made it's part of what makes these types of films curious artifacts of a sort, and one that evidently gives remake directors fits. I will say that Michael Chrichton, who wrote and directed 'Westworld', did seem ahead of his time in at least one area, and that by intimating through one of the characters that the problems the park has with its technology is a 'virus'. I don't know if that terminology was in use in 1973 among computer users, but it seems like a very early use of it to me, if not the first. Ironically, if I were to imaging myself watching this film back then, I believe I would have thought it was a pretty ridiculous plot device. Shows what I know. But taken all together, with its flaws and all, I think of this as one of the better films in its niche, and very enjoyable.

I don't know what sort of priority a film like 'Westworld' has on blu-ray technology if there is a remake in the next few years I'd imagine that's when we'll see it in blu. This 2010 release is fairly nice though, upscaled, although defects in the film are still apparent if you look for them. Aspect ratio is 2.35:1, and the only extras included are the trailer, English/French language options, and subtitles.

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I still remember seeing this film for the first time in the theatres. I was all of 10 years old and remember thinking it was such a cool concept. The film was written and directed by Michael Crichton who of course has gone onto become of the most successful writers over the past 25 years with credits such as Jurassic Park, Twister, Disclosure, and many more.

Set in the not too distant future, a high tech amusement park named Delos has been created for adults and populated with life-like and intelligent robots. Three worlds are awaiting wealthy visitors including Roman World, Medieval World, and West World. In these various worlds, guests can live out their wildest fantasies, all helped along by a cast of perfect robots. You can become a king, or frolic in Caligula like fashion in Rome, or become a gunslinger. All the while banks of computers and programmers keep everything running smoothly, unseen to the visitors and perhaps as a subtle dig at Disneyland.

Peter Martin (Richard benjamin) and John Blane (James Brolin) are a couple of buddies who decide to take on Westworld. Blane has been there before and quickly shows Martin around the very realistic western setting. The two engage in bar fights and seduce women (robots who can perform sexually) and even have duels with a robotic gunslinger played by Yul Brynner, who looks like he just stepped out of The Magnificent Seven.

Soon things begin to go awry. The robots begin to act strangely. First it's minor things such as female robots refusing the sexual advances of male guests but things then get much worse as the robots begin to not only hurt, but kill the guests! Soon Martin finds himself being stalked by the robotic Brynner as Brynner cooly commands him to "Draw!" Brynner's relentless pursuit of Martin and near indestructibility seem very familiar and it is pretty evident that James Cameron was inspired by this when he created "The Terminator"

Benjamin was never a great actor although he played his role as the terrified park patron quite well. Brynner is the real star with his nearly total lack of dialog and his glare that makes you freeze in terror. For a movie made in 1973 they did a resonable job of recreating a digitized look through the eyes of a robot that was quite unique in it's day. Also the robots look fairly authentic, especially when their faces are removed and you see the mass of wires and circuits behind them.

Dated by today's standards this was a fun movie and nice to see pop up on TV every now and then.

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My new year's resolution was to see a bunch of movies I'd always intended to see but continually seemed to miss. Somewhat belatedly I'm fulfilling my resolution, which is why I finally saw WESTWORLD. Although it was somewhat dated, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this. The film concerns Delos, a resort of the future that allows guests to visit either of three theme parks where behavior that is frowned upon in the modern world can be engaged in without repercussion. Guests engage in orgiastic sex, feasting and heavy drinking, and the killing of opponents just for the sheer fun of it. One can choose between doing this in Roman World, Medieval World, or Westworld. The film focuses primarily on two visitors to Westworld, played by Richard Benjamin and James Brolin. This was one of the last Sci-fi films made before the onset of the personal computer, yet one of the first to actually utilize computers in the making of it. According to one book I recently read, the CGI representing the vision field of the The Gunslinger robot was the first use of computers to generate images in film history. So, in this way it could be considered cutting edge. On the other hand, when things start going wrong with a number of the robots, the head of technology on Delos describes the ailment as a "disease." Today we'd obviously describe this as a virus in their software.

"Westworld" is clearly the stock Warner Brothers Western set that was used at approximately the same time by BLAZING SADDLES. This works well for the film for it gives the viewer an image that seems weirdly familiar (though understandably familiar, since it has been used in dozens of movies and hundreds of television episodes). So the visitors to the park get pretty much the Western experience prior media would have conditioned them to expect. Even the bad guys seem familiar. Yul Bryner, for instance, wears the exactly same outfit that he wore when he starred in THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN. The visitors quickly fall into the routine, James Brolin doing an obvious imitation of Clint Eastwood and Richard Benjamin quickly breaking out of the mold of somewhat nerdy lawyer. They visit the local brothel, kill the robot played by Yul Bryner a couple of times, get arrested and break out of jail and shoot the sheriff, and get drunk in the middle of a huge brawl. Then things go wrong on a major scale, with the robots going on a killing spree. The highpoint of the film is the long chase of Richard Benjamin by Yul Bryner.

A remake of WESTWORLD is currently in development. I am normally opposed to remakes. For the most part remakes are pale imitations of the originals, even in the case of most Sci-fi films. The remakes of THE INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS were inferior to the original, while the original PLANET OF THE APES is vastly superior to the remake. But this is one instance where, if done correctly, a remake could improve upon the original. The film is well done, but it was made well before computers came to dominate cultural life. As a result, the computerized control room looks absurdly primitive. For instance, there are no keyboards, but only consoles with buttons and switches and knobs. The danger, of course, is going overboard with the special effects. The temptation all too often is to go overboard with CGI and spectacular effects; in such cases story is sacrificed for spectacle. My hope is that they will keep this under control and keep enhancements at a minimum.

All in all, this was a very enjoyable and different Sci-fi film. It was directed and written by Michael Crichton and I couldn't help but think throughout it how similar the overall premise was to another Crichton creation: JURASSAIC PARK. Both deal with things going wrong at technologically advanced theme parks. Substitute dinosaurs for robots or vice versa and you have essentially the same movie.

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