G.I. Jane (1997)

With a [beautiful] and gung-ho performance by Demi Moore, G.I. Jane is definitely fun to watch. But it has no basis in real Navy Seals training, which one can learn more about reading Dick Couch's "The Warrior Elite". In reality there is no mock P.O.W. camp where recruits are beaten and tortured, but there are endless sleepless nights of sitting in the 57 degree ocean water of San Diego. Real Navy Seals instructors are consumate professionals, who constantly put the welfare of their men before anything else. Evolutions (exercises) are mentally and physically challenging, but never grossly abusive as in G.I. Jane. Exercises are of the "run till you drop" variety than "we'll break your leg" variety. The point of real BUD/S training is to learn that teamwork can overcome any bad situation, not just how to take a beating. Also, unlike this movie, Seal recruits undergo BUD/S followed by years of intense training, qualifications, and testing before even being considered for active deployment. They are not sent into combat because they happen to be on a submarine near a hostile country.

I recently viewed this movie on television and decided to buy it. I prefer to watch DVDs rather than TV because I don't like the commercial interruptions and because usually they edit out some material for TV. I was very disappointed to find out that the TV version contained MORE scenes not less. The DVD version for sale is not the same as the version currently running on AMC. I was disappointed because some of my favorite scenes (the ones which prompted me to buy the movie) are not on the DVD.

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Demi Moore is great in this story about Jordan, a quite capable military woman who is chosen to become the first female Navy SEAL. Jordan isn't sure she wants to go through the hassle she knows will result from her presence at the training, but the congresswoman who is behind this encourages Jordan to try her best. Nobody expects Jordan to survive the harsh training program, and Jordan exceeds all expectations.

Viggo Mortensen plays the Master Chief who is in charge of the training program. He is quite harsh, as you would expect from someone who is trying to separate the "best of the best" from a group of individuals who are all quite talented. Viggo isn't a mere brute he reads poetry by D.H. Lawrence and truly cares about his trainees. He knows that if he doesn't do a good job at his training, the men here will die (and cause others to die) when sent out into combat. I understand and applaud all of that. Viggo throughout the film shows a good balance of concern for his trainees, a desire to push them to be their best, and a desire to weed out those simply not cut out to be SEALs.

However, being a fan of the military and its task of protecting the weak, I had HUGE issues with the "pivotal scene" in the SERE camp. The movie is directed by Ridley Scott of Alien fame and you would think that this man would have respect for a strong female character and the situations that result. I very much equated Jordan to Ripley, both strong women who held their own and earned respect of those around them. But instead of just having Ripley and the others tied up or left in the sun or other "see if you can resist the concerns of your body", Ridley decides to have the Master Chief *brutalize* one of the soldiers and then almost rape Jordan. What????

If we know ANYTHING about real torture situations, it is that a torturer can eventually break anybody. We all have pain limits. There are always ways to inflict more pain! At some point either our body gives out or our mind snaps. That's why spies carry cyanide capsules, because you can't be "trained" to resist torture indefinitely. So what was the point of beating up on the first soldier? What was the point of almost raping Jordan? To prove she could be raped? Heck, any GUY there could have been raped too. Is it important for them to learn what rape feels like, just in case? Would the guys have been any more or less upset to see one of their fellow GUYS being raped vs a girl? Heck they might be MORE upset to see a fellow guy be raped because that would be even less "acceptable" to them. For Viggo's character to delve to those depths after everything he'd shown us previously was amazingly out of character or indicated that Viggo was a depraved man who had no business training soldiers.

The movie was supposed to show us that women can be just as strong as men are. Heck, real life shows us that. There are plenty of strong female characters in movies from Ripley in Alien, to Sarah Connor in Terminator 2, and more come out every day. There are plenty of real life female police officers and fire fighters who are depended on by their coworkers every day. It was almost an insult to have the GI Jane character go through what she did, sort of an Archie Bunker situation where you are ashamed that there really are people left out there that think a woman with strength must be a lesbian. While I applaud the movie's intentions to say "hey you remaining bigots out there, it's time to wake up", to have to involve a supposed rape to make your point is very sad. To have to taint Viggo's character with a sadistic view towards woman (as much as he tries his best to be fair much of the time) is really saying that ALL guys will always have this power/lust attitude towards women that they have to keep under control. Which is entirely unfair to men. It weakens the entire point of the story.

For those who are interested, the poem Viggo quotes is titled Self-Pity:

I never saw a wild thing

sorry for itself.

A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough

without ever having felt sorry for itself.

D. H. Lawrence

The point is that you do what you have to do to get by in life. You don't waste time or energy on feeling sorry for yourself, because it does little good.

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It is a little known fact that Demi Moore was trained for this film by former Navy SEAL Scott Helvenston (the youngest SEAL ever) who died at the hands of Iraqi Insurgents on 31MAR04.

While this film has many skeptics, there is no disputing the fact that Scott did his work and made Demi into the closest possible adaptation of a female SEAL.

RIP Scott. America misses you.

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This movie is a critically under-rated 4 star guilty pleasure for me. But like the previous reviewer, I recently watched it on cable (AMC) with a completely different opening scene not included on my GI Jane DVD. The scene depicts Demi's character Luge-ing in skintight black vinyl suit in a failed attempt to win an Olympic time trial. Later, I watched several other scenes in the AMC re-broadcast not found on my DVD. So, does this mean there going to be a G.I. Jane "Director's Cut" Version?

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NFL Super Bowl XLVI Champions: 2011 New York Giants (2012)

I've been duped into buying each of the Giants' last two Super Bowl winning seasons DVDs. NFL Films, thanks for taking my money while delivering a pedestrian, rushed-to-market product.

My chief complaint with this (and with the Super Bowl 42 DVD) is that the narration fails to TELL THE STORY of the season. It's hard to make this Giants campaign seem flavorless, but they did. The format of the film is such that they'll go over a few highlights of each game rather journalistically, move on to the next one, and lather, rinse, repeat. There is very little commentary and they barely put anything in context. How about beginning with the fact that the team was widely criticized for making no free agent impact, for allowing Steve Smith to slip to Philadelphia, to see Plax return with the Jets? How about mentioning the fact that each of Coughlin's eight seasons in New York have begun with a 5-2 or better record, and late season declines were a pattern that was on the minds of everyone when they seemed to begin another one? How about discussing the emergence of JPP, the contract dispute with Osi, or Justin Tuck's tumultuous season -rife with personal lose and physical injury -before returning to strengthen the defense down the stretch? Or Eli Manning's bounce back year, in which he defended his pre-season remarks and reversed a nasty turnover trend to throw a record-setting 15 TD passes in the fourth quarter? No, no mention of any of this. Instead, all you get is "Bradshaw ran for a TD... then Eli threw for one... the Giants won X to Y. The next week, Cruz had two TDs, Corey Webster had an INT, the Giants won X to Y..."

In fairness, the footage is pretty spectacular. Makes you wonder where it is when the officials don't have a good view on a replay review and the announcers are telling you "all they have is what you're seeing on your screen, folks."

The bottom line is, I get these DVDs so I can remember the finer points of a miraculous season and so that in 10, 20 years time, I can pop the DVD in and bring this season back to life. I seriously doubt that this product will serve that purpose.

At about an hour and fifteen minutes, the feature program is longer than most other Super Bowl recap DVD's of recent memory. I was expecting the standard 30 minute retelling of the Super Bowl and short snippets of the season's highlights leading up to it, but what I got was a comprehensive review of every Giant game this season, win or lose, and the featured play from each game in high definition on blu-ray.

What makes this program special is the fact that NFL Films has recently elevated their high definition photography to an art form, so every play is stunning in its appearance and when the players are miked up for sound and they are hit or are hitting, the brutality of the sport is graphically spotlighted. On a good sound system, some of these hits sound as brutal as they look.

Obviously, for the Giant fan, buying this memento of another improbable run is a no-brainer, but even for the casual NFL fan, this feature-length film features some of the best behind-the-scene footage of preseason coaching, banter between officials and players, sideline discussions (including the now-infamous Bill Belichick "make 'em throw it to Manningham" plea during the Super Bowl) and other rare moments that only the NFL Films crew has access to.

The scene selections are divided by game, so if you wish to fast forward through the Giants mid-season swoon and get to the good stuff, just flick the remote and off you go! What I also liked about the program is the highlighting of all players who played an integral part in this championship, like Victor Cruz, Jason Pierre-Paul and even Chase Blackburn. Sure, this is Eli's team, but you are not beaten over the head with it, like you were with the Aaron Rogers or Drew Brees love-fest videos. This was truly a team effort, and the narrative certainly makes the most of that theme.

I also like how candid they were able to get with Tom Coughlin, particularly his heartfelt post game speeches, and especially with linebacker Michael Boley, who you can clearly see took over Michael Strahan's role as the emotional leader of this defense, and who I believe was even more emotionally invested this year than Strahan was during the 2007 run. I certainly hope they peg him for at least one spot in the America's Game film of this team's story. I vote for Boley, Cruz and either Pierre-Paul or Ahmad Bradshaw to be the narrators, as Coughlin and Manning are probably not going to repeat...all I can do is speculate of course!

The bonus material is not extensive, but it does feature the Super Bowl ceremony with everyone humorously assaulting Raymond Berry as he escorts the Lombardi Trophy through the field, as well as Super Bowl Media Day highlights, a short Super Bowl XLII retrospective (borrowed liberally from the NFL Films feature) among a half dozen or so clips and highlights. Nothing to write home about, but that's hopefully not what you bought it for.

All in all, NFL Film's ability to be EVERYWHERE during filming of these games (including in the cheap seats!) makes this a truly unique perspective on a truly unique season and team. I think the most memorable moment of this feature is the very prophetic shot of Mario Manningham's mother in deep focus in the stands at the Super Bowl, then a close up on her son and Manning, just before Eli calls the play that ultimately defines and decides Super Bowl XLVI. You'll be asking yourself, how did they know? Maybe they already knew it was destiny repeating itself...

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This is an ACTUAL review of the DVD, and not a bunch of whining about Blu-Ray or Hi-def or what people think this DVD should contain. Such things are of no matter to me personally. As long as I have a lasting document of this incredible season, I am happy.

I received the DVD earlier today, in advance of the Tuesday release date. All I can say is...stunning!

The first thing I must say is that to call this a season's highlight package is to sell this production woefully short. "Cinematic" is a more appropriate term. NFL Films, as a production studio, consistently puts out a product that rivals any Hollywood studio and can easily play on the big screen. You will have a greater appreciation of how fast and violent this game is when watching this, or anything from NFL Films. When you see the camera focused on a ball in flight, that is likely from the camera of Donnie Marx. That's his signature shot. He's got to be one of the best cameramen working in any medium. His shot of Tom Brady's "Fail Mary" at the end of the Super Bowl is a thing of beauty.

About this DVD in particular, I got chills and that nervous stomach when watching, even though I knew what was going to happen. If you were already a fan of Giants' WR Victor Cruz, you will grow to love him even more. NFL Films was able to capture him in those moments, and you'll see that he plays the game with a team-first attitude and a childlike enthusiasm (on display when the Giants win the NFC Championship, and sprints across the field). I have to use the world "childlike", because when he is handed the Lombardi Trophy, his eyes open wide and he looks at the trophy as if he's reliving the moment he held his first child a few weeks earlier. I also love an exchange between Safety Deon Grant and one of the refs during the Atlanta playoff game where Grant argues the spot of the ball. The ref tells Grant to do his job and he'll do his. Grant replied that he DID his job and that why the spot is where HE said it was. Classic stuff.

I think the one tiny complaint that I have with the DVD is that it focused on Giants' WR Domenik Hixon's acrobatic TD catch against the Rams. But they don't mention that it was Victor Cruz's window into the starting lineup, since Hixon suffered a season-ending injury to his ACL on the play. I DID like that they didn't spend too much time on the shellacking that New Orleans put on the Giants on that Monday night.

The one major complaint that I had about the Giants "Road to SB XLII" set is addressed on this DVD, as the Super Bowl XLVI Post-game trophy ceremony is presented in the special features, along with Media Day highlights from the NFL Network, an interview with Eli Manning conducted by the man he supplanted as Giants QB...Kurt Warner, A interview with the Giants WR Corps, and a feature on Super Bowl XLII hero David Tyree.

Giants fans...I really can't wait for you to see this DVD!

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First, this isn't the Super Bowl XLVI "Road to the Super Bowl" production, which contains the entire Super Bowl and Playoff Games. That DVD collection should be out some time this spring/summer. "NFL Super Bowl XLVI Champions: 2011 New York Giants" is a Giants' 2011 highlight DVD/Blu-ray. It contains highlights of every regular season game, playoff game, and of course Super Bowl XLVI. There are some very nice special features too, which include:

Super Bowl XLVI Media Day

Super Bowl XLVI Post-Game Ceremonies

Super Bowl XLII Recap

The Eli Manning Conversation

Back To The Future

The Receiving Giants

Catching Up With David Tyree

2011 NFL Shots of the Year

2011 NFL Players Wired For Sound

2011 NFL Coaches Wires For Sound

The Blu-ray transfer is superb, and is a must have for any Giants' Fan.

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One thing's for sure is that Tom Brady proved that he is no longer an elite quarterback in the game (can he regain his elite status? maybe). Regardless, his terrible rookie-like mistakes cost the NE Patriots the Superbowl and handed Eli Manning an extra ring. Could the Patriots won in spite of Brady? maybe if they got really, really lucky and had a healthy Gronkowski. I give the Pats credit for being in a semi-rebuilding year and still making the Superbowl, but I give the Giants credit for not making any big mistakes. And while I admit that Manning's not an elite quarterback, he didn't make any big mistakes. And that is what you want out of your quarterback. Period. No big mistakes for Big Blue.

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Grand Hotel (2013)

The Best Picture of 1931-2 "Grand Hotel" deserved it's Oscar and deserves it's place in history as a forerunner of star-studded films to come. The cast alone is worth watching the film for. But the film stands on it's own as well and is smoothly done considering the intertwining stories of various people whose paths (and fates) cross in that posh Berlin establishment. Greta Garbo as a depressed ballerina is one reason to see this but there's John and Lionel Barrymore in great roles, Joan Crawford as an ambitious stenographer with moral issues, Wallace Beery and other recognizable actors in character roles. Warner Bros. has done a good job with the DVD print so this is definitely a collector's item. There are some amazing interior shots inside the hotel with a wonderful art deco look to them. This hotel where "nothing ever happens" is a must for vintage classic film lovers. It's a rare treasure that's been wonderfully preserved for future film lovers to enjoy. See it for a classic look at what going to the movies in the 30's used to be about.

"Grand Hotel" concerns guests staying at Berlin's Grand Hotel. There's the high strung, tempermental ballerina (Greta Garbo), the sassy vamp-like stenographer (Joan Crawford), the boorish industrialist (Wallace Beery), the stricken labourer (Lionel Barrymore)and the devilishly handsome baron (John Barrymore). These seemingly separate lives cross over some happily so, others with tragic circumstances all thoroughly absorbing and brilliantly performed. At the time of its release "Grand Hotel" was the first movie to feature more than one star above the title credits.

TRANSFER: After years of looking as though the camera negative had been fed through a meat grinder, this DVD digital remastering is a considerable improvement. Having said that, a lot of work is still needed to get this one looking up to par. Solid blacks are about the best thing on this DVD. Contrast levels appear too low in many of the scenes. There are a considerable number of age related artifacts and quite a bit of film grain present on this 70 plus year old classic. The audio has been extensively cleaned up but continues to exhibit considerable hiss. Truly, if this is a special edition it's one of the poorest I've seen.

EXTRAS: Some featurettes that round out the history if too briefly, of this classic film.

BOTTOM LINE: "Grand Hotel" is undeniably engrossing and a brilliant Oscar winner that is sure to enthrall for decades to come! For the film and NOT the transfer, this is an absolute must for your film library!!!

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Although the whole cast deserves accolades, it is the work of Lionel Barrymore that I find compelling. He plays Otto Kringelin, the regular working man who finds himself incurably ill. He decides to spend his last days in luxury at the beautiful Grand Hotel. He makes the acquaintance of a baron (his brother, John), acquires a girlfriend (Joan Crawford), and gets a chance to tell off his boss (Wallace Beery). He achieves the dream that many people have, but never realize. His acting throughout is honest and you find yourself cheering for him.

The casting of this movie shows absolute genius. Garbo is beautiful and engimatic as Grusenskaya the dancer, John Barrymore is the suave but impovrished baron masquerading as a jewel thief, Joan Crawford as Flamchen never looked more beautiful (although she appears in yet another of her stenographer roles), and Wallace Beery comes off well as the ruthless businessman. All of the personalities blend together to make this a memorable film.

The quote "Grand Hotel...people come, people go, nothing ever happens" is the opening and closing line of the movie, but don't let that fool you! A lot happens and this movie is well worth the time it takes you to see it.

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I have a particular affinity for films from the pre-code era, and "Grand Hotel" is by far my favorite of this genre. After numerous viewings, I began to understand this wonderful film as a portrayal of the tremendous struggle life must have been for Germans of the Weimar period, even for the entrepreneurial and aristocratic classes, especially in this critical year before power was handed over to Hitler. In this movie, everyone is broke except the mousy little clerk played by Lionel Barrymore, and every character is trying in his or her own way to achieve or hold on to the dream-world lifestyle they remembered from the days before the Great War. The hotel decor is very trendy (the bar seats its patrons practically above the heads of standees) and the rooms are large, plush and satiny.

The high point of "Grand Hotel", for me, is the central love scene between John Barrymore and Greta Garbo, which is probably the most gorgeous ever filmed -enchanted, poignant and steeped in doom. The actors were also demonstrably attracted to each other, adding depth and authenticity.

I have to disagree with another reviewer here: I find John Barrymore's performance quite restrained, even staid at times, and Garbo's very mannered (and -listen carefully -she says "I ouant to be alone", not "I vant..."). Barrymore did plenty of "over the top" performances, but this isn't one of them. Compare "Twentieth Century", "Midnight", or his last film, "Playmates". (Actually, "Playmates", an embarrassing stinker made the year before his death, is valuable for an amazing 30-second jewel in its center -a tearful impromptu rendering of as much of the Hamlet "To Be" soliloquy as the poor man can remember, in which he seems to grieve the own slings and arrows of his own life and to beg for release.)

Lionel is absolutely priceless, as skillful a comic actor as he is a dramatic one (it is said that comedy is much more difficult). Young Joan Crawford is breezy and delightful, with no evidence of the harridan she was to become later in her career. Wallace Beery is, as expected, wonderfully gross and heavy-handed, but the director forgot to tell him to lose the thick accent, since his character is supposed to be a native German speaker like everyone else (except, perhaps, Jean Hersholt's).

People say that this movie is dated. Of course it is! So are "It's a Wonderful Life", "Casablanca" and "The Wizard of Oz". Every movie, even a classic, carries the style and ambience -as well as the limited technology -of the era in which it was made. A film's date should not be a criticism but an invitation to a treat for latter-day viewers: time-travel into a universe their own older loved ones may have inhabited.

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MGM's 1932 all-star extravaganza, GRAND HOTEL, was the first of its kind to include several major box-office names in one production. The film utilized a wide range of filming techniques overhead crane shots, moving camera, cross cutting, artistic lighting and long takes to infuse emotion and drama into its premise which takes place entirely at a posh Berlin hotel while overlapping the individual crises of its patrons. It was a novel idea and proved extremely successful, spawning many similarly structured films such as DINNER AT EIGHT (MGM,1933), WEEKEND AT THE WALDORF (MGM,1945), THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY (Warner Brothers,1954), and THE V.I.P.S (MGM, 1963), to name a few.

Based on a novel and play by Vicki Baum, GRAND HOTEL was directed by Edmund Goulding and stars Greta Garbo, John and Lionel Barrymore, Joan Crawford and Wallace Beery all in roles of equal importance, and each shines in what counts among their best performances. The luminous Garbo is perfect as a tired of life ballerina, her stylized acting captures just the right note of eccentricity. This is the film in which she utters her signature line, "I want (not "vant") to be alone". Crawford is radiant, chic and sensitive as a stenographer assigned to work for boorish business magnate Beery, who, despite his villainous character, manages to generate our sympathy. Beery is the only one to affect a German accent which serves to underscore his menace and alienates him from the other characters. John Barrymore displays his celebrated profile and gives a touching and ultimately tragic portrayal as a thief forced into his trade out of dire need, and Lionel Barrymore is a likeable old fellow who believes he's dying and decides to live it up during his stay at the Grand Hotel.

The hotel itself figures as one of the main characters, and its elaborate art-deco design is showcased to great advantage, consisting of a circular construction and checkered floor tiles, topped off by the main lobby desk and telephone switchboard. Everything was given top-notch treatment, resulting in a film that epitomizes the Hollywood studio system at its very finest. Quality and dignity represented the order of the day in that classical period of filmmaking, and GRAND HOTEL met every expectation both critically and publically, going on to win Best Picture of 1932. To this day it's still regarded as one of the greatest films of its decade, and has been selected for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant".

The newest Blu-ray release of GRAND HOTEL from Warners is quite grand to be sure, with a clarity and density that outdoes the previous DVD. The grain configuration is tantamount to 35mm film, and details in clothing and background elements are readily apparent. This pristine presentation of an 81 year old film makes one appreciate even more the exceptional skill of the cinematographers of that time. Of course, they also had movie stars with the kinds of fabulous faces that the camera could adore. The audio on this release is clear and crisp, with voices registering at a pleasing pitch without any distortion. All in all, it makes viewing this vintage classic a very enjoyable experience.

The extras are all taken from the DVD: "Checking Out" a making-of documentary, the Grauman's Chinese Theater premiere newsreel, "Just a Word of Warning" Theater Announcement, the Vitaphone spoof "Nothing Ever Happens", and trailers for GRAND HOTEL and WEEKEND AT THE WALDORF a 1945 semi remake. The only new feature is a well researched commentary by Jeffrey Vance and Mark Vieira which adds insight and is particularly helplful to viewers who are challenged by older movies.

Highly recommended.

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Just Cause (2012)

There's more than the alligators lurking in the swamplands of the Everglades in this thriller. It's hard to know who to trust as a Harvard law proffessor(Sean Connery) who hasn't even had a case in 25 years, reopens one of a convicted killer(Blair Underwood) in Florida. There is evidence to support that his confession was beat out of him, and the proffessor intends to prove it.

Don't take anything for granted in this chilling mystery as the list of suspects grows. There's the tough lawman(Laurence Fishburne),the psychotic serial killer(Ed Harris) over in the next cell,and you may even suspect the alligators in the swamps for a while. There are many twists and turns that will have you wondering who done it? The prof's wife (Kate Capshaw)is even invovled. Lots of action, lots of gripping suspense to keep you glued to your seat. You wont want to miss a minute of it.

The cast listed above all do marvelous work in this film. But I must also mention that the legendary Ruby Dee makes a superb appearance, as well as Kevin Mccarthy and Hope Lang.

So let's talk about the DVD. Fabulous! Wonderful widescreen picture. The swamps never looked so clear. Colors looked perfect.Nighttime scenes were all perfectly visable. The sound in the Dolby Surround 2.0 was actually very good, probably could have been perfect in the 5.1 with all the action though. Don't look for any special features,this DVD has only the language selection of French.It's a great film to add to the thriller section of you DVD library(even without the extras)

So Look out for those alligators and enjoy.......Laurie

also recommended:Presumed Innocent

Hi..

I don't get why so many people didn't like this movie, and why is there all those negative reviews about the film ?

This film is just great, it has an interesting plot, great acting by all the stars and a good ending.

So don't you guys pay any attention to those negative reviews, this movie has it all.

I personally think that this is one of connery's best movies with an amazing performance by all especially connery !

And the scene where connery's character interviews Harris's character is one of my favourite scenes, quit memorable and thrilling !

This is a must BUY movie and is highly recommended !

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I remember the night I first watched this movie. I rented it at the Video Shop, without much enthusiasm & at the insistence of my roommate. Well, let me tell you, this Thriller is exactly that..THRILLING!! Every turn and twist imaginable is in this movie. Did he or didn't he kill that little girl? I was on the edge of my seat for most of the movie. Ed Harris is terrific as well as Sean Connery, who just keeps getting better with age. I recommend BUYING this movie. I have watched it about 4 or 5 times now and my heart races each and every time. [....]

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A bravo performance by the great Sean Connery, plus a fairly imaginative storyline, saves this one from mediocrity. The supporting cast is not bad, although you really never get to know them much. You may think that you see where this one is going, but there are surprises.

A young black man is on death row for a murder that he maintains he did not commit. Connery plays a liberal, anti-death penalty law professor who gets talked into trying for a new appeal in the case. Turns out that the convict was indeed beaten and coerced into making his confession in what was otherwise a fairly thin case against him. But all is not what it seems, and more would be telling. This one held my interest throughout. It has a somewhat strange moral message if you want to call it that.

One of the better suspense/murder films out there. This one is worth a try, especially for Sean Connery fans.

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Just Cause is one of those films that at first makes you wonder quite why it was so heavily slated when it came out nothing special but competent enough and with an excellent supporting performance from Ed Harris. Then you hit the last third and everything starts to get increasingly silly until you've got a killer with a flashlight strapped to his forehead threatening to fillet Sean Connery's wife (a typically mannered and unconvincing Kate Capshaw) and kid (a very young Scarlet Johannsen) in an alligator skinner's shack. The kind of movie that's probably best seen on a plane, and even then only once.

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Hitman (+ Digital Copy) (2007)

I didn't expect to be impressed with this movie because in my mind it was simply another flick made from a video game but man, I was blown away! In fact it was so enjoyable that ten minutes after finishing it I wanted to see it again, and that rarely happens. Never mind the few geographical errors, this movie is all action and there is no waste of precious minutes on mindless love scenes the one actually has one cut short by the main hero and it was humorous, how he was all business, him being this monk killer for hire who lives a chaste life. In a way it was like a James Bond character who actually didn't try to bed all the babes, impressive. And Timothy Olyphant was flawless, even thought I prefer men with longer hair he looked cool and totally acted the part, mysterious, brooding but with a heart in there somewhere.

Bald and serious, dressed in an expensive suit, red silk tie and an impeccably crisp white shirt the Hitman is a force to be reckoned with. He's not too emotional but rather straightforward with a little bit of a charm threw in as he works his meticulously planned hits until one day everything changes. In a very short time the predator turns into juicy prey and he must use all of his killer skills to catch the bad guys. Trouble is finding out who the bad guys are, I liked watching this movie without knowing anything about it, but I will just say it involved the Russian secret police and the Interpol chasing the Hitman while someone from the inside of his secret agency was trying to put him in the harm's way. The twists and turns, betrayals laced with action and ferocious weaponry all in one were a feast for the mind and eyes.

This movie was like a day at the beach, the bullets spraying the sky like the morning surf hitting the warm sand. Action galore and clever fights using all sorts of guns and ammo , hand combat and even a sword scene all mashed beautifully, it is all art, a ballet almost , full of grace with deadly intentions, I loved it and can't say enough good things about it.

Kasia S.

I really enjoyed this movie....I mean what is there not to like. You have a hitman (the sexy #47) who has been trained from childhood to be the best at what he does. Trained to hold his breath, shoot anything that moves from any distance, armed with sexy weapons and a barcode (tattooed beautifully in his scalp), along with an air of calm (that would make anyone scared who he faces), he is the perfect killing machine and running for his life. Determined to protect Nika, a prostitute to the President of Russia, from who else (her lover), #47 goes about the task of fighting the bad guys and righting what he thinks are wrongs. With a Interpol Cop on his heels, he attempts to uncover the truth about why someone he thought he killed wants him dead and what the whole thing is about. I enjoyed this movie...with its cool fight scenes and nice special effects. It was definitely worth renting on a Sunday afternoon.

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I had heard a lot of bad things and bad reviews about this movie. I was suprised when I watched it that it was as good as it was. I thought Timothy Olyphant did a good job and that the girl who played his love interest was also good and HOT. The guy that plays T-Bag on the TV show Prison Break was also good. I have never played this game but I thought the story was pretty solid. It kind of reminded me of The Bourne Identity as he is a trained super assassin from a place that churns them out and he has flash backs of good and bad things.

Anyway, the action rocked and it was exciting and entertaining beginning to end. It was pretty good and fun to watch.

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Yet another game to movie adaptation, but this one has a major difference. It's actually pretty damn cool.

Timothy Olyphant fits perfectly into the role of Agent 47, an orphan who is taken in and trained by an agency that trains children to be the most stealthy and deadly hitmen in the world. Agent 47 is the best of the best of all the Hitmen raised and trained by "The Organization." He is called in to perform on a hit on the Russian President Mikhail Belicoff, however the hit is a setup and 47 finds himself on the run from Interpol & The Russian Secret Police.

While on the run, 47 endeavours to get revenge and find the truth about who set him up and why. This unravels a tangled web of lies and deceipt as one by one he kills those who have done him wrong, including those who are also members of "The Organisation."

During his streak he comes across an unlikely companion in Nika Boronina who we come to see gives 47 emotions and feelings that he's never encountered before.

This is a really good movie and something that at times keeps so close to the game that you come to think this is a game in itself. Timothy Olyphant plays 47 incredibly and although 47 is conventionally an emotionless character but within the movie we are given emotion that is being held back. That may be a bit of an oxymoron but the way in which Olyphant portrays it is amazing as it's a character that has all this emotion built up inside but is trying to hold it back.

The action, dialogue and cinematography of this film I found to be incredibly intelligent. It has moments in it that you can identify to the game and there's one point in particular which the game itself is given a nod. 47 breaks through the window of a hotel room and it cuts to a vision of kids playing the video game hitman.

Overall this was a very, very good film which I have to admit I didn't really have high hopes for in the beginning. I am glad to say my preconceptions were changed within the first 5 minutes into the movie and I am sure to watch it again.

You should check it out whether you're a fan of the game or not, it's still a pretty special piece.

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Hitman was an enjoyable movie with references throughout towards to the video game series on which it is based on. They picked a good one (Timothy Olyphant-Scream 2, Live Free or Die Hard) to play the title character and he does so with style but also a fierceness as well. He dispatches any and all that come his way or end up and his already dead marks. From hand to hand combat, guns, sword fights with others like him from the Organization that trained, fed, clothed and made them into the powerful yet deadly freelance agents they are.

It is touched on his background with the organization but hope it might be expanded on in a future movie. Entertaining, action packed and loaded with violence add a little bit of storyline and you have a fun and far more entertaining movie than i thought it could be. Usually i'm not too hyped over video games made into movies, but Hitman isn't like that at all.

Very enjoyable.

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Enter the Dragon (2007)

So here it is... more than 30 years since the original theatrical release of Enter the Dragon, Warner Brothers releases the definitive 2 DVD Special Edition. It's a fine offering, long overdue, and considering the reasonable price, really offers a lot of nice extras, though most of them have been available elsewhere and have therefore been seen before (at least by rabid fans like me).

To start with, there is of course the movie Enter the Dragon (ETD) Bruce Lee's magnum opus that was not released until after his unfortunate death in 1973, but sealed his immortality. The plot is simple enough Bruce is a modern day Shaolin monk who is somehow enlisted by the British/Hong Kong government to infiltrate the island of Dr. Han (Shieh Kien), a crusty old renegade Shaolin gone bad who holds a yearly martial arts tournament to recruit talent for an international opium and prostitution racket. Roper (John Saxon), or "Loper" as Bruce says his name, is the established Hollywood caucasian star brought in because of reservations about Bruce's ability to carry the film, while Williams (Jim Kelly) is the token blaxploitation character who, this being the 70's, is kind of a Shaft/Superfly ass-kicker and, in the spirit of horror movies, is the first to die at the hand of Han actually, at his artificial, interchangeable, iron, and oftentimes bladed hand. Even Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung, as young Hong Kong stuntment before they became stars in their own right, make infamous appearances as guys on the receiving end of Bruce's wrath. But the real point, or value, of this movie is that Bruce Lee shines throughout with his incredible fight sequences he once again casts Bob Wall as whipping boy, hitting him with lightning fast punches, an insane skip side kick, and a great groin shot that still makes me wince despite hundreds of viewings; he has some fantastic weapons sequences with staff, double escrima sticks, and nunchaku; and he more than lives up to his reputation as the "man with three legs" as he demolishes armies of scrawny Asian guys whose gung fu is pitiful in comparison (check out the guy laughing in the background as Bruce connects three successive roundhouse kicks to one sap's head in the final mob fight). This was totally innovative and amazing in 1973 as the first ever martial arts movie made in Hollywood and despite all the subsequent copycats and modern day wire-fu flicks, no one has ever matched Bruce's intensity, charisma, and moves. There are some classic dramatic sequences as well with Bruce speaking English in his own voice (unlike all of his Hong Kong movies whose English versions are horribly dubbed), such as Bruce teaching a student and rapping him on the head as he expounds some homespun Zen philosophy or Bruce poignantly asking "why doesn't someone just pull a .45 and settle it?" Incidentally, this is the uncut version of the movie with some extra scenes not included in the theatrical release basically Bruce talking quasi-philosophy (well, actually, it's someone else dubbing in Bruce's voice) with his Shaolin elder that he later recalls in the final fight sequence.

Of course, few people who buy this DVD don't know all this already, so what's new? Well, there is a commentary track by producers Paul Heller and Fred Weintraub there's some interesting tidbits, but overall it's disappointingly uninspired. Then there's "Blood and Steel: The Making of Enter the Dragon" a newly produced documentary short that includes some rare and new footage a clip from Bruce's Hong Kong TV appearance in which he breaks 4 dangling boards; an interview with John Saxon, Lalo Schifrin, and the kid who gets smacked on the head by Bruce in the movie (now apparently a well-known Hong Kong director); and several minutes of on-location footage shot with Ahna Capri's handheld Super 8 camera that has never been seen before (it's short of amazing, but it's new and therefore gold to diehard fans). On disc 1 there's also a soporific Linda Lee (Cadwell) interview, another "making of" featurette with on-location footage shot by the AD, John Little's short "In His Own Words" featuring most of the Pierre Burton interview, and some old black and white movies (with sound) of Bruce kicking his buddies and hitting his heavy bag in his Los Angeles backyard though these have all been previously available in one place or another (including the 25th Anniversary ETD DVD).

Disc 2 includes all of the TV and theatrical trailers for the movie (somewhat repetitive) and two previously released Warner Brothers documentaries Warrior's Journey, which captures and knits together the lost Game of Death footage (GOD) in its available entirety, and Curse of the Dragon, a George Takei (Sulu of Star Trek fame) narrated documentary released around the time of Brandon Lee's death. These are both decent films, with Warrior's Journey a real gem with the GOD footage the definitive way to watch Bruce in widescreen duel nunchakus with Dan Inosanto and try to deconstruct Kareem Abdul Jabbar's fighting style while sporting the iconic yellow and black tracksuit revived by Uma Thurman in Kill Bill Vol 1. Curse of the Dragon is interview heavy (Kareem, Taky Kimura, Paul Heller, James Coburn, etc.) but also includes clips from Bruce's childhood movies, his Green Hornet screen test, his appearance at Ed Parker's Long Beach Karate touurnament, and some backyard work-out footage with Coburn. But once again, these films have already been released before on their own, so while decent, they're less than revelatory.

And so, what we have here is by far the best available version of ETD that now exists and probably ever will, complete with a lot of nice extras, most of which have been available elsewhere. It's nice to have it all in one package (there's no apparent need to sell Warrior's Journey as a standalone product anymore) at a reasonable price. On the other hand, Lee worshippers will no doubt wish that there was more why not include the complete Green Hornet screen test, or a Jim Kelly or Jackie Chan interview or commentary track, the complete James Coburn training session footage, all of the Ahna Capri film, more ETD outtakes, or maybe even "Kentucky Fried Movie," a parody of ETD released many years ago... but what can you do Bruce died 31 years ago and this is the legacy he left behind.

I recently watched Enter The Dragon on the Voom HD Kung-Fu network, and it looked relatively good, but not great.

The Blu-Ray version obviously got a lot more attention, care, and cleanup. It is by far the best looking and sounding version I've ever seen of the movie. It sounds like the bass was tweaked quite a bit, because whenever Bruce would hit one of his signature punches, my subwoofer put out one heck of a thump. It sounded great, if not a little over the top.

Some of the signature grain of the original is still there, but the images are much more crisp and sharp than any other version.

Definitely worth it for the Bruce Lee fans out there.

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I recently purchased a Playstation 3 and an HD LCD TV, and this is the first Blu-Ray disc that i have bought. Ive seen this movie dozens of times on TV, VHS and DVD and i thought i knew every fight scene back to front. Since seeing it today, i discovered how much i was missing in those old video formats. There really is that much more detail and smoothness in the images. Its a great showing for a 30yo movie. There is also a great deal of documentaries and extras if you dig that kind of stuff.

As for the movie itself...its a classic action movie with fantastic fight scenes, a convincing bad guy, funny bits, armies of dumb henchmen, hot chicks and Bruce Lee in his prime! What more could an action film lover want?

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I've watched the recent HD DVD version of this movie and found the picture quality excellent. The colors are richer and the overall quality appears to make the picture jump out at times when viewed with the Toshiba A x1 player.

I don't think it is fair to give the movie a low rating, as one reviewer did, based on the fact that it is an older movie. Comparing any older movie to modern day production values is misleading and inaccurate. Following this comparisson, one would have to give a low rating to all movies not done in the past few years.

Enter The Dragon was innovative for its time and utilized production methods that were top quality for its time.

The transfer itself is the citeria that the review should be judged on, which in this case is done quite well.

As for the comparrison to the 60's James Bond movies, the HD version of You Only Live Twice is superb. Yes, the fashion, music, dialogue,... are not modern day; how can a film escape it's own time period. However, the Connery Bond movie screenplays far outweigh the childish, comic book portrayals in the curent Bond films with only protracted stunt sequences to amuse a child like mentality.

It is interesting that for an "outdated" film like Enter the Dragon, it's character depictions, plot and fight choreography are most often duplicated by today's style of martial art movies.

Have today's "highly evolved" movies no original ideas other than replacing Lee's actual fighting skill, speed, gracefulness and charasmatic screen presence with acrobatic clowns whose abilities are enhanced with wire work.

The picture and sound quality of the HD Enter the Dragon is most striking when viewed on the Toshiba player. It is certainly more entertaining then watch a highly detailed HD version of the inane Pitch Black or recent Jackie Chan, Jet Li films whose silly plot lines and poor acting are to be ingnored just to impress friends coming over to view how amazingly life like the picture quality is!

Once the novelty of watching films on the superior HD DVD passes, classic movies will always stand on their own merit.

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This movie is a classic of any genre. It has such a great dated fill to it like other classic sixties and seventies films such as Goldfinger, Deliverance or Dirty Harry. I love the cast and their interaction. A Chinese, African American and white guy all fighting together like there's nothing out of the ordinary about it, which is how it should be. These days you would have to have some joke where the Chinese guy makes some "innocent" crack about the 'hood or the black man calling the white guy cracker. In this film everyone is treated with equal respect. It seems to me this is something that was more common place in films in the early seventies or maybe it was the influence of Bruce Lee's own philosophies. Whatever the cause, it's nice to see three different races represented as equals.

The plot is a cross between a James Bond movie and the standard Kung Fu pictures. Bruce Lee is recruited by a shadowy government organization to infiltrate a mysterious island as a participant in a Karate tournament. This is basically a character and action driven movie because there isn't much suspense. It's pretty much a given that Han is up to something.

Where this movie shines is the martial arts action. I originally saw Enter The Dragon as a double feature at the drive in in the early eighties. I remember thinking as I watched the first feature (Kill Or Be Killed) that the fighters were fast. That is until Bruce Lee came on. I had never seen anyone move that fast before or since. The final fight in the house of mirrors holds up well and is every bit as thrilling as any fight scene of today.

As for the bonus features, the trailers are interesting if for no other reason then it's amusing to see how far commercials have come. The interview with Bruce Lee is particularly poignant. It makes you wonder what would be next. He had a powerful personality and very definate views on fame and movie making. I think his films would have only gotten better and may have even brought equality and better roles for minorities to the movies decades sooner.

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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