Goosebumps -The Haunted Mask (1995) Review

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(More customer reviews)Well, i figured it would be much eaiser to use the kids reviw-less time spent, more wrighting! A message to everyone who has not seen this movie - Your missing out on a classic. The move is about a girl named carly beth ( Wich in itself is creepy) who is allways getting picked on. Chuck and Steve,two classmates, are allways playing jokes on her, trying to scare her. Which by the way allways works. Carly Beth Wants to get eternal revenge on them for thier crule tricks, so, she goes out to find a scary mask. One day she stumbles into a novelty shop and basicly steals a mask. By the way, allthough this movie was made from smaller childeren, I found the mask scary. The artsits did a great job. It really looks real! Im a teenager and i was scared! Well, slightly anyhow. The rest of the plot developes into a halloween night of revenge and the creepy thruth about the mask at the end.
I rememeber seeing this episode when i was small, and it was hard to follow the plot twards the ending at a young age. The part when the store keeper ( wich by the way is a pretty good actor) explains how the masked got to be, didnt make sence to me untill i saw it recently, and its still a bit fuzzy. I recamend this to anyone. Unless they are like 4 and get sacred by anything like I was. However, I have never read Further than the first chapter in this book, wich is written wonderfly. I have heard that twards the end it tends to run off course a bit.
Carly Beth and her friend are pertrayed perfectly, as are Chuck, Steve, and all the other characters.
A Few Complaints:
1. The Acting is overall OK. I understand this was made for Tv and they are child actors, but they coudl have brushed up a bit. ( espacially in the scene where carly beth in studdering uncontrolably to the store keeper)
2. Just a little something that bothered me- The canadian acent. Personaly, I think the Canadian acent is an awsome acsent within itself, but in the movie it was a bit odd. Ex. " TELL CARLY BETH YOUR SORRY(SOOWREY)" in the grave yard sene, but hey it wasnt anything big!
3. The graphics are halariouse! THE PART WHEN THE HEADS ARE FLOATING IS JUST TOO MUCH! but hey it add to the feel.
Over all the message is this - YOU NEED TO OWN THIS EPIC PEICE OF ART!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THEY REALLY DIDI A GREAT JOB ON KEEPING EVERYTHING CREEPY!!!!

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Carly Beth is quiet and shy -- easily scared and overly trusting.She's never seen such a great Halloween mask -- really scary, really creepy, and really life-like.She has to have it -- to scare those boys who tease and humiliate her all the time!And when she does get it, the mask is every bit as weirdly spooky as she had hoped it would be. But wearing the mask seems to be causing strange things to happen to her and other people.Can the mask -- the symbol of her revenge -- be the cause of it all?What strange powers could a Halloween mask have?Unwilling to give up the mask, or to believe that it could be evil, she keeps on wearing it -- only to discover one day that she can't take the mask off.Carly Beth and the mask have become one.

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Shigurui: Death Frenzy Complete Box Set Review

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(More customer reviews)"Shigurui Death Frenzy" is among the most twisted anime I've ever seen and an outstanding vengeance tale from a culture stuffed to the gills with similarly-themed works. It is based on true events (whatever credibility you give to that) and takes place in feudal Japan under the Tokugawa shogunate. It's spectacularly graphic in both the sex and violence departments, but features extremely beautiful artwork and a pace and tone that is almost Kurosawan in it's meticulous and thoughtful storytelling and features a very gorgeous traditional Japanese soundtrack. But as artistic as it is, there enough mayhem, nudity, and general psychosis here to rival any Asian grindhouse flick I've ever seen. This one is not for the kiddies.
In the opening sequences the audience is treated to a retainer pleading with his daimyo to allow a tournament to use wooden blades rather than steel ones lest their most talented samurai die needlessly. He then opens up his slit belly and pulls his entrails out with his bare hands, telling his lord that that would be the only result of a tournament using real swords. His final plea falls on deaf ears and bloodthirsty eyes that have more than a hint of madness in them. As the tournament begins we see the first two samurai face off. It is a one-armed swordsman versus a blind samurai. While the audience mocks the pair, it is soon obvious that the two are not only skilled warriors, but have a past together. The story of "Shigurui" is that past.
Rewind to a few years back in time and we meet earnest sword pupil Gennosuke Fujiki and Seigen Irako, a stranger to the Kogan dojo who seeks audience with the sensei. The two clash, leaving Fujiki embarrassed and possibly stripped of his status as the heir to the deadly techniques of the sword school. Kogan Iwamoto is the deranged sensei whose advanced age regularly leaves him in a state of vulgar dementia with a string of neverending drool in the corner of his mouth and a habit of urinating on himself even as he performs feats of swordsmanship. Even more disturbing, the man still has a sexual appetite when in his glassy-eyed stupor. As Kogan's concubine Lady Iku, she gets to bear the brunt of that, though the sensei's own daughter gets a taste as well. The children of the town sing a song about Iku's body bringing misfortune and death to all of her lovers, but that doesn't deter Irako but getting a piece of the action. This is something that he will regret as he seeks the title of heir to the secrets of the Kogan style. And eventually, each and every character will regret the chain of events that forms.
As I said before, "Shigurui" is not for kids even if it does seem like a typical samurai anime on the surface. There's plenty of viscera, eyeball abuse like you wouldn't believe, decapitation, and dismemberment. In fact, the Kogan school seeks to spread it's name not by killing those who challenge it, but by "giving them a new look" which is to say the cut off various facial features so all of Japan can see their prowess rather than hear about it. Then there's the graphic sexual content which includes watching Kogan's drool fall upon his daughter as he "inspects" her suitability for breeding, a rather explicit but brief glimpse of cunnilingus -which I've NEVER seen in an anime (and no, I don't count hentai as true anime)- and a woman getting her nipple sliced off then watching her attacker pick it up and lovingly place it upon his tongue. Yeah, this is twisted stuff. Kogan is among the most intimidating and disgusting villains ever and the rest of the cast are more tragic victims then heroes. In fact, I think it's safe to say that there are no heroes here at all; just brutality, cruelty, and selfish deceit.
I really wish I could give this a perfect score because it is so harsh and uncompromising but still manages a plethora of beautiful and artistic flourishes that give this anime a credibility that few examples of the genre have anymore. But there is a fatal flaw that left me feeling less then thrilled at the conclusion in spite of the fact that the final kill is quite possibly the most impressive I've ever seen animated. While it is the best samurai anime I have seen in a long time, at only 12 episodes "Shigurui" becomes a victim of it's own slow pacing during the second half and the viewer can't help but feel a bit cheated at the lack of resolution in the story. After the amazing setup of the first episode, we never see it revisited for a fitting conclusion. It's almost like the staff got bored and just decided to move on before the story was done. A few more episodes -even one- could have easily garnered this show an unapologetic five star rating. But frankly, it's close enough. This is an anime that will absolutely warrant repeat viewings.
I am very pleased to say that this anime has been released in a full boxed set right off the bat. None of the month(s)-long waits and customer-gouging
while each disc is released individually. Thanks, Funimation! While there is not much in the way of extras on the discs, there is a "marathon play" feature which means that the discs will play as a continuous film rather than making you fast-forward through the opening and closing credits every 20 minutes. I hope to see more of these things in the future. They are reason enough to buy this set. If we support more quality anime releases that take the fans' wishes into account, maybe we'll see more of this kind of thing.
"Shigurui: Death Frenzy" is an outstanding adult anime that stops just short of all-time greatness, but is still an absolute must-own for fans of animated sex, violence, and chanbara films. The soundtrack, animation, plot, and characters are all first-rate. It's some of the best of classic Japanese arthouse cinema with all the cheap thrills of the grindhouse. Buy, buy, buy!
4 1/2 stars, rounded up for treating the fans right.

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Item Name: Shigurui: Death Frenzy Complete Box Set [Blu-ray]; Studio:Funimation

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Kill Bill Vols. 1 & 2 (Box Set) Review

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(More customer reviews)Once upon a time in El Paso, Texas a wedding party is slaughtered execution style. However, it turns out that the Bride (Uma Thurman), who is pregnant, is not dead but in a coma. Four years later she wakes up, no longer pregnant, in time to save herself from insult being added to her injury. Then the Bride puts together her list of people to kill: (1) Vernita Green (Vivica A. Fox), (2) O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu), (3) Budd (Michael Madsen), (4) Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah), and (5) Bill (David Carradine). In "Kill Bill, Volume 1," the Bride only gets to the first two names on her list, albeit not in that order the way the film is cut, and then proceeds to the rest in Volume 2. This does not constitute a spoiler because you cannot have a film called "Kill Bill" that does at least get to the title character, regardless of the results. But then this was a do-it-yourself "Box Set" (I bought the two DVDs and they gave me a box to put together).
There is more happening in the each film besides the kill list, such as an anime telling us how O-Ren Ishii became the Queen of the Tokyo underworld and the training sequence in which the Bride studies with the great Pai Mei. But in the first film the primary emphasis is on how the Bride takes out her first two victims and the triumph of style as substance, especially when style means fountains of blood gushing from human beings that would make Akira Kurosawa proud. With "Pulp Fiction" Tarantino made his impression upon our ears with scene after scene of great dialogue. No wonder the soundtrack for that film had clips of some of what came rolling off the tongues of the actors (usually Samuel L. Jackson, who only plays a corpse in these films). But with "Kill Bill, Volume 1" Tarantino's blood feast is mostly for the eyes. This film is not for everybody, but then what Quentin Tarantino film ever was?
The biggest complain about Volume 1 is that it has the two most memorable sequences in the entire epic, namely watching O-Ren Ishii and her posse walk glide into the House of Blue Leaves with the blasting soundtrack giving them energy and the final showdown in an exquisite garden at night with gently falling snow where O-Ren in her white kimono and the Bride in her yellow biker suit do their dance of death with Japanese steel. Nothing in Volume 2 tops either of those scenes, which is not necessarily a bad thing, just a cinematic reality.
The caveat when Mirimax decided to split this four-hour revenge film into two volumes was that those who sensed a lack of character development and motivation in Volume 1 would be appeased by what was put forth in Volume 2, and this is indeed the case. We finally get to go back and see a couple of pivotal scenes set before the "beginning" of the film's opening, such as the massacre at the Two Pines wedding chapel. The net result is that character is more important than killing in the last half of the film, which makes sense because it would really be virtually impossible for the Bride to slice and dice more opponents than she did at the House of Blue Leaves.
I watched Volume 1 on DVD again before I went to see Volume 2 in the theater, which I thought would put me perfectly in the narrative flow. However, Quentin Tarantino has set up his audience just to play with their minds, which, of course, is what he was doing from the start and at the climax of this film I was not at all sure who, if anyone, was going to come out alive. Certainly what happens with numbers 3 and 4 are not what you expected after seeing the fate of numbers 1 and 2, but that certainly puts what happens with the final name on the list up for grabs.

There are a lot of oppositions between the two halves of this film. The beautiful setting of the duel between the Bride and O-ren in the gentle falling snow is countered by the showdown with Budd (Michael Madsen) in the harsh sunlight of his trailer in the desert. Having devoted an entire chapter to Hattori Hanzo creating his most perfect sword for the Bride, it is amazing how hard it is to get the sword out of its scabbard in this one. Volume 1 was a feast for the eyes, but in Volume 2 Tarantino's dialogue becomes more prominent, although not quite up to the level of "Pulp Fiction." But the dialogue is important because before we get around to the titular business of this film, the Bride and Bill have got to have themselves a conversation. Sound also matters more in this film: there is one sequence that is effectively done in the dark.
I am barely acquainted with the genre of Hong Kong films that Tarantino was apparently weaned on, so everything is fairly new to me and consequently smacks more of homage than parody, which is no doubt the director's intent. I probably will not go out and check out some of the films that inspired Tarantino to do "Kill Bill" which have been pointed out to me, because they will undoubtedly pale in comparison to the slicked up version that he is serving for our American palates. All things considered, I have a definite preference for Volume 1, which seems to run counter to the prevailing sentiments, but it took me a while to be comfortable with how the two parts fit together. The key thing is that they do, without Volume 2 being simply more of the same, because it is definitely not. There is something to be said for Tarantino pulling out all the stops just to have fun.

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Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill, Vol. 1 is trash for connoisseurs. From his opening gambit (including a "Shaw-Scope" logo and gaudy '70s-vintage "Our Feature Presentation" title card) to his cliffhanger finale (a teasing lead-in to 2004's Vol. 2), Tarantino pays loving tribute to grindhouse cinema, specifically the Hong Kong action flicks and spaghetti Westerns that fill his fervent brain--and this frequently breathtaking movie--with enough cinematic references and cleverly pilfered soundtrack cues to send cinephiles running for their reference books. Everything old is new again in Tarantino's humor-laced vision: he steals from the best while injecting his own oft-copied, never-duplicated style into what is, quite simply, a revenge flick, beginning with the near-murder of the Bride (Uma Thurman), pregnant on her wedding day and left for dead by the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad (or DiVAS)--including Lucy Liu and the unseen David Carradine (as Bill)--who become targets for the Bride's lethal vengeance. Culminating in an ultraviolent, ultra-stylized tour-de-force showdown, Tarantino's fourth film is either brilliantly (and brutally) innovative or one of the most blatant acts of plagiarism ever conceived. Either way, it's hyperkinetic eye-candy from a passionate film-lover who clearly knows what he's doing.

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Nurse Jackie: Season One (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)Having never watched the Sopranos (heresy, I know), I didn't have any preconceived notions of what type of person Edie Falco should or should not be playing. Many of my friends tell me that the character of Nurse Jackie is a far cry from her Carmelo Soprano alter-ego.
Jackie is a full time nurse in a public hospital in New York City. Like most nurses and emergency medical workers, she is overworked and underpaid and trying to make do with what life has handed to her. On the surface, she is hardworking nurse who is a loving mother of two little girls and a devoted wife to Kevin Payton who runs a local bar. Scratch the surface just a little bit and the perfect facade peels away to reveal a drug addicted adulterer who regularly breaks the laws in order to suit her own perceived morals.
Nurse Jackie tackles quite a few heavy subjects during its initial season including assisted suicide, underage children caring for their parents, as well as the rigors of raising children who aren't quite perfect. Medical dramas are a dime a dozen and the comedy versions just always seem to be lacking substance, however the staff writers of Nurse Jackie do a masterful job of mixing the heavy subjects in with very lighthearted, almost slapstick humor.
While the Peyton household hasn't been expanded on very much (honestly you could replace the husband and two little girls with bricks and you probably wouldn't notice much difference), the hospital staff shines in every way. Doctor O'Hara is the archetypal rich doctor as well as the "straight man" for most of Jackie's exploits. While her character was explored a little bit in season one, there wasn't a lot invested yet. Doctor Cooper is the hotshot doctor straight out of Med School looking to make his mark. He's cute and naive and looking to make sure everyone thinks of him as their buddy while trying to become a serious doctor at the same time. Zoey is the nurse counterpart to Cooper; the truly naive nursing student straight from school who hasn't had her spirit crushed by the real world. The rest of the hospital staff, Miss Akalitus, Mo-Mo, and Thor, all play delightful comedic foils throughout the season. The cast list would not be complete without the mention of Eddie, the hospital pharmacist who "supplies" prescription pills to Jackie because he believes he is doing his duty as a good boyfriend. Eddie unfortunately does not know that he is being used by Jackie who has a happy family at home as well as a husband with whom we are led to believe she is still in love with.
Fans of shows like ER will appreciate the drama, however it should be noted that Nurse Jackie is relatively light on the medical science side of the house. While drugs are described, procedures mentioned, there is very little step-by-step-to-recovery type documentation on a per patient level. You'll see gunshot wounds come in, chest tubes inserted, CBC and toxicity reports ordered but not a lot of breakdown into why a doctor orders which test, why they should look at alternatives, etc like in ER. Nurse Jackie was written in order to revolve around the nurse not the doctor, and as such there is a much higher emphasis placed on patient care rather than just medical procedures.
My only gripe with Nurse Jackie is that there is zero conflict resolution throughout the entire season. Season one ended with a cliffhanger and as with all other Showtime/HBO episodic shows, the next season will not premier until sometime in the next year. All of the "will she get caught?" questions that you develop from episode one will still be there after you finish episode twelve (with a few dozen extra questions thrown in by then for good measure). Other than that, Nurse Jackie is a great show, and I suppose that the fact that I want Season Two to start right now! attests to how addicting the series is.

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Three-time Primetime Emmy® winner Edie Falco is "outstanding” (TIME Magazine) as Jackie Peyton, a nurse trying to survive the chaotic grind of saving lives in a hectic New York City hospital. Sharp-tongued and quick-witted, Jackie’s a woman of substance who knows how to handle it all. With a white lie here, a bent rule there, and a steady dose of pain relievers for her chronic back pain, Jackie does whatever it takes to get the job done. See why critics call NURSE JACKIE "wildly entertaining” (TV GUIDE Magazine) and "a habit well worth acquiring” (THE WASHINGTON POST) in these bitingly funny episodes from the first season of the groundbreaking series.

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Red Review

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(More customer reviews)I can't comment on the DVD because I only saw the screener for this movie but that makes no difference, except if I wanted to judge the quality of the transfer in terms of video and audio fidelity.
Red made official selection for the Sundance Film Festival and deservedly so. Director Lucky McKee's telling of a man seeking justice for the murder of his dog is emotionally gripping yet ultimately satisfying in a Death Wish sort of way. The film works in terms of its directing and acting, which made me feel it's the best independent movie I've seen in a long time and possibly the best movie of 2008--period!
Robert Englund's performance, though short, was dead on. I think he's really come far as an actor. I found his portrayal of an unemployed carpenter, who happens to be the father of one of the three teens who shot Ludlow's dog, to be very convincing. He's matured as an actor and should do more roles outside of horror.
Tom Sizemore does a good job playing the evil father of the boy who shot the dog. He's your typical hunter-businessman who beats his wife and rules his household with authority. In other words, his morality is always at an all-time low.
Brian Cox, of course, stole the show with his role as the owner of Red. As a viewer, I felt convinced that he really lost his dog. In fact, so much so, that it got to the point where I wanted to jump into the television screen and help him get those suckers.
I will definitely own the DVD when it comes out. I can't imagine not adding this to my collection.
If you own a dog and think of it as being more than just a dog, perhaps more like a member of your family, you'll find this a difficult watch but bearable.
Those who are for animal rights in all forms will definitely find that your quota of vengeance will have been filled after seeing this poignant film.

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An older, reclusive man, Avery, (Brian Cox) has a best friend in his dog RED. When three teens kill Red for no reason, Avery sets out for justice and redemption, attempting to follow the letter of the law.But when the law fails him, and the boys' father (Tom Sizemore) clearly defines right and wrong in his own way, Avery must use whatever means possible.

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I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) Review

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(More customer reviews)Yes, "I Know What You Did Last Summer" does seem like some corny teenybopper popcorn flick; but it's not. Believe me, I went into this film with pretty low expectations, but was pleasantly surprised with the level of terror provided! And it's not cheap terror, it's genuine because of the suspense director Jim Gillespie consistently builds.
It's the fourth of July and four friends Julie James (Jennifer Love Hewitt), Ray Bronson (Freddie Prinze Junior), Helen Shivers (Sarah Michelle Gellar), and Barry William Cox (Ryan Phillippe) are celebrating their high school graduation and Helen's beauty pageant win. On their way home they hit a man walking down a curved corner in the road. They panic when they learn he's dead and in hopes of saving their futures, decide to dump the body into the ocean. The four friends make a pact to keep it a secret. It was an accident, but it was one they cannot forget.
Their friendships are ruined and they all leave for college and don't talk to each other; they are all depressed and upset. When Julie returns home for summer vacation there is a letter waiting for her. It reads, "I Know What You Did Last Summer". Frightend, Julie goes to find her old friends for help. Was someone else there that night? They think it's only a prank until a man in a slicker with a hook begins to stalk the four friends and torment them in the most vile and disgusting ways imaginable (dead bodies in their trunks, cutting off their hair in sleep, trying to run them over, etc.
Realizing that if they don't find out who's doing this and get rid of him fast, they'll be dead, they search for answers, all the while receiving even more terrifying threats. It sure is a thrilling ride and there are a remarkable number of points in this movie when you jump in fright and scream!
One reason this movie is terrifying is because the situation the characters are in could happen to anybody. Hitting someone with a car could happen to anybody, and what happens after the crash is also believable. The acting by Jennifer Love Hewitt and Ryan Phillippe are phenomenal coming from such young actors. These two are now big stars, but they weren't when they did "I Know What You Did Last Summer" so it's interesting to see how they were before they were famous. Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Junior aren't quite as convincing as Hewitt and Phillippe, but they are still enjoyable.
The script for "I Know What You Did Last Summer" was adapted from Lois Duncan's best-selling novel by Kevin Williamson, the writer of "Scream". Yes, the script is in good hands! Williamson's script is a very visual one filled with twists, witty dialogue, and plenty of scares.
The DVD for "I Know What You Did" last summer values quality over quantity and provides only a theatrical trailer and commentary. The trailer is terrifying, very enticing and fun to watch. The commentary by director Jim Gillespie is very informative and insightful for fans of the film. It focuses mainly of production design, but has some interesting blurbs about music, casting, and script changes. Gillespie has a wonderful Scottish accent, which makes the commentary even more delightful to listen to.

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Kill Bill - Volume One (2003) Review

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(More customer reviews)"Kill Bill" is an anomaly in today's Hollywood culture. Here is a movie that neither makes you think too hard nor tears at you heartstrings--and it is a truly excellent flick. Under the shrewd (and possibly insane) hands of Quentin Tarantino, "Kill Bill" details an ultrally brutal and even more emotionally statisfying quest for revenge.
Beat to a bloody pulp and shot in the head and left for dead at her wedding day, The Bride (Uma Thurman, whose name is never revealed) is carted away in a four-year-long coma. She wakes up and vows revenge. And, oh, does Thurman play revenge well. It seems that the supporting cast (Lucy Lui, Vivica A. Fox, among others) truly beat Thurman to the edge of death. Her eyes convey her emotion--the limited and brief dialogue isn't even necessary. She is surpremely convincing in every aspect of her performance, even throughout the amazingly stylish fight sequences (which put "The Matrix" to shame). She fights like a pro with samurai swords, lethal daggers, butcher knives, and frying pans.
One of the main draws to this redefining adventure is the hilarious subject matter. Tarantino goes overboard. Blood flies about like fruit punch, gushing out of wounds like a torrential downpour (sometimes, in fact, you will even wonder if the human body has that much blood), and in any other movie, that gore would force you to leave--but here, it doesn't. Why? Because Tarantino never takes himself too seriously. Fight scenes are punctuated with effective and sometimes laughable dialogue. But beneath the hokey action scenes and the cute quips, there is a real movie at work here. Tarantino dances about the timeline, bouncing the story back and forth to a dizzying point, which forces your full attention on the gradually unfolding general story. The cliffhanger ending merely seals the deal.
"Kill Bill" deserves all of the accolades it gets. Although it may seem to be a hackfest on the surface, there is true talent at work here. Uma Thurman and Lucy Lui give inspiring performances; the story, however linear it may be, it instantly grabbing; and Tarantino's masterful direction is as inspiringly as it is slightly distubring. A true masterpiece. One of the films to beat for 2003.

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The acclaimed fourth film from groundbreaking writer and director Quentin Tarantino (PULP FICTION, JACKIE BROWN), KILL BILL VOLUME 1 stars Uma Thurman (PULP FICTION), Lucy Liu (CHARLIE'S ANGELS, CHICAGO), and Vivica A. Fox (TWO CAN PLAY THAT GAME) in an astonishing, action-packed thriller about brutal betrayal and an epic vendetta! Four years after taking a bullet in the head at her own wedding, The Bride (Thurman) emerges from a coma and decides it's time for payback ... with a vengeance! Having been gunned down by her former boss (David Carradine) and his deadly squad of international assassins, it's a kill-or-be-killed fight she didn't start but is determined to finish! Loaded with explosive action and outrageous humor, it's a must-see motion picture event that has critics everywhere raving!

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Derailed (Unrated Widescreen) (2005) Review

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(More customer reviews)They are the critics, especially those writing reviews collected online. Part of this is that they want Jennifer Aniston to be cast, as usual, as the wholesome girl next door.
The critics saw all the surprises ahead of time. I really didn't and I enjoyed them. (If you figured out the twists in A Beautiful Mind, you can guess this, too.)
Another possible reason for the tepid reviews is that it is an upsetting movie with several horrific scenes of violence. No doubt about it, it simply isn't a likable movie; if you were to take your kids --dont!-- they'd have nightmares.
Financial advisor Lucinda Harris (Jennifer Aniston) and ad guy Charlie Schine (Clive Owen) have an illict affair after a chance meeting on a commuter train. But it doesn't go smoothly and soon they are victims of an extortion plot.
As usual, the advertising agency scenes are off the mark. What is a "commercial executive?" Even though we see Charlie at work what exactly does he do? (Even What Women Want -- a much better film -- went wrong here.) Even worse, there is no there there to the financial advisor scenes. So both characters' jobs are Hollywood hooey.
Both the main chracters are in a complete bind between family conflicts -- Charlie has a sick child -- high-pressure jobs, their shared secret, and their shared victimhood.
As in all the Hitchcock films, the victims can't go the police. (Remember how threatening the police officer is to Marion Crane -- Janet Leigh -- in Psycho?)
Surely this is no Hitchcock masterpiece, but it is an entertaining and twisty thriller.
The screenwriter Stuart Beattie also wrote the far better Collateral. Maybe the more you liked Collateral, the less you will like Derailed?
Even with two well-known stars, there is zero anticipatory buzz about this movie. We all know Jennifer Aniston from Friends on TV, but Mr. Owen has been in many excellent films: Sin City, Closer, The Bourne Identity, Gosford Park, Croupier.
Rappers RZA and Xzibit are well-cast supporting players. Vincent Cassel captures the essence of the chameleon-like villain. You want to throttle him throughout the picture.
Did the studio that released this picture have little faith in it? The marketing budget and the short marketing time frame -- a few weeks in advance, not months -- suggest that's true. Maybe their dismissive attitude was conveyed to the critics.

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Death Sentence (Unrated Edition) (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)DEATH SENTENCE is a tough movie to watch, not because it is a poorly made film, but because of the degree of violence that, once started, is mayhem on a roller coaster ride. Though based on a novel by Brian Garfield, the script by Ian Jeffers is a patchwork quilt - the holes show whenever the police arrive on the scene. James Wan, of the 'Saw' movies fame, directs with a keen eye for breathless action sequences and almost intolerable suspense timing that makes the film fly through the 111 minutes of the Unrated version.
During the opening credits we are introduced to the perfect family via home movies and domestic scenes: Nick Hume (Kevin Bacon) is the devoted father, Helen (Kelly Preston) his bright and loving wife, Brendan (Stuart Lafferty) is the golden boy son with all the hockey laurels, and Lucas (Jordan Garrett) the younger 'also ran' son. The glitch in this family's happiness happens one night when, out of gas while driving home from a hockey game, Nick stops at a gas station and while Brendan is in the convenience store a gang comes in and murders the store owner and Brendan: the reason for the killing is not robbery but an initiation rite into a gang accomplished by young Joe Darley (Matt O'Leary) and the demand of his older brother Billy (Garrett Hedlund, in a very out of character role from his usual 'Troy', 'Friday Night Lights', 'Eragon', 'Georgia Rule' persona). Nick witnesses the killing and when the lawyers and police work with him in the aftermath to 'arrange a deal' instead of a murder trial, Nick decides to take matters in hi s own hands.
The Darley brothers are part of a ruthless gang sponsored by their own father Bones Darley (John Goodman, in a very dark and well-realized role). Nick stalks Joe Darley and murders him, and once the deed (that happens to begin a gang war against Nick) is done the terror begins. The gang is out to kill not only Nick but Nick's family also. How this pursued and pursuers game works out furnishes the remainder of the film. It is the old eye for an eye story that ends in tragedy for everyone concerned.
When the film is dealing with the 'family' and the 'gang' the dialog sparkles, but when the police, headed by Detective Wallis (Aisha Tyler), become involved the aid from the police becomes as ludicrous as the dialog placed in their mouths. Kevin Bacon gives a bravura performance as the gentle father driven to murderous madness and Garrett Hedlund matches him as the ruthless and terrifying gang leader Billy. There are enough sidebars about father/son relationships on both sides of the plot line to make the movie have a message. But in the end it is the wildly frantic camera action and directorial decisions by Wan that make this a horrifying and arresting film. Not for the queasy viewer. Grady Harp, January 08

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DEATH SENTENCE - DVD Movie

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Leverage: The First Season (2008) Review

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(More customer reviews)This series features a modern day Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men -- or in this case, men and women -- pulling off cons, capers, and heists that redress wrongs, return ill-gotten gains to their rightful owners, and also pad the pockets of our heroes.
Though it's tempting to focus on the excellent cast, who do a uniformly stellar job with the scripts, the greatest strength of this show is in the writing. The stories are focused as much on revelation and development of the characters and their histories and interactions as on the clever and intriguing plots. The characters are given depth and dimension -- not to mention humor -- and the viewer finds as much to care about in each of them as in how the caper of the week will play out.
An outstanding opening season for this new series. Not to be missed.

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Leverage is a slick and crafty drama following a team of expert thieves that take down corrupt corporations in elaborate high-tech schemes. Insurance investigator Nate Ford (Academy Award-winner Timothy Hutton) exposed scams and recovered stolen items worth millions. But his life hit the skids when his insurance company allowed his ailing 8-year-old son to die. Years later, Nate gets even as the leader of a specialized team of thieves, computer experts and con artists that right corporate and governmental injustices against honest citizens. To expose corruption, Nate will do wrong for all the right reasons –– he will provide Leverage.

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Last House on the Left (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)Wes Craven's The Last House on the Left was released in 1972 and I heard from many people who were old enough to see it when it first came out (like my dad) that it was the most shocking thing anyone had ever seen. To this day the original is still a raw and often disgusting piece of cinema, so being that in 2009 films can push the envelope even more, I didn't know how far this thing would go.
It's shocking, brutal and gross, but it didn't just go the buckets of blood route. Yes, there is some gore, but compared to films like Hostel and SAW this is quite tame. What does get under your skin is the rape scene. I read that some people witnessed others leave the theater at this point and they never came back. I guess they didn't see the original or read up on what they paid to see before plopping in their seat. It shows little skin compared to the 1972 version, but it's a long scene that is painful to watch.
The cast is quite good, though most are actors whose names you won't know. The father, played by Tony Goldwyn, and the leader of the killers, played by Garrett Dillahunt were the standouts.
For a film as gritty as this one, the cinematography is polished and takes away a little bit of the raw power that the original had. I actually don't think Wes Craven's 1972 flick holds up well today and thought this remake was better.
Make sure you are in the right frame of mind before seeing this one. By that I mean, don't watch The Last House on the Left and expect to be in a good mood when you leave. While it's a pleasure to see the parents take out the villains one by one to avenge their daughter, you will leave the theater looking for the bright sun to make you feel clean again. Too bad it was raining when I got out. Don't worry, I think I'll be okay.

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Renowned horror director Wes Craven returns to the scene of the most notorious thrillers of all time in this darkly disturbing reimagining of The Last House on the Left. After kidnapping and ruthlessly assaulting two teen girls, a sadistic killer and his gang unknowingly find shelter from a storm at the home of one of the victim's parents-- two ordinary people who will go to increasingly gruesome extremes to get revenge. Loaded with shocking twists guaranteed to leave you on edge, it's the ominous film critics call, "One of the best horror remakes ever made" (Scott Weinberg, Fearnet.com).

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The Brave One (Widescreen Edition) (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)Trauma, severe trauma, can unleash aspects of the human personality that may appear as a stranger within. Such is the premise for this well-constructed film by Neil Jordan (screenplay by Roderick Taylor and Bruce Taylor), and while the neither concept of trauma-altered personality or revenge tales is new, THE BRAVE ONE alters the vengeance idea just enough to make it credible and to even draw the viewer into believing that what the character is doing is justified and right! And that is perhaps the most frightening aspect of this terrifying film.
Erica Bain (Jodie Foster) is a night radio talk show performer, a woman who walks the city of New York gathering sounds and observing the mysteries of the 'safest big city' and relates her observations poetically to a large radio audience. Erica is engaged to young physician David (Naveen Andrews) and the couple are very much in love. One night on an evening stroll with their dog they are attacked by thugs, beaten with pipes, and David is killed while Erica narrowly survives. Upon awakening from her coma she is devastated by her loss of David and becomes a strangely haunted woman, unable to sleep, unable to get immediate help from the police, and turns to purchasing a gun in an attempt to right the wrongs she has suffered. This new 'person' or 'stranger within' happens to witness a murder in a little store and to her amazement she responds by killing the murderer. A similar situation happens on the subway where two thugs threaten people, threaten Erica, and Erica again responds by killing the thugs. She feels driven to avenge the death of her David, but at the same time fears her own inner stranger. Erica returns to her radio show, under changing instructions form her boss Carol (Mary Steenburgen), and finds the changes in her psyche result in bracing her listeners about fear on the streets. In her audience is Detective Mercer (Terrence Howard) who has personal problems related to the fact that he has been unable to arrest a known killer. Mercer connects with Erica in various ways, she interviews him for her show, and the two bond. Erica trusts Mercer, wants to share what she is doing, yet hears his frustration about not being able to seek his own brand of revenge frustration against the oily killer he pursues, and decides to eliminate that trauma for Mercer. As the tension builds, the identity of Erica's assailants is discovered, and how she deals with these thugs (and with Mercer's interaction in the solution) forms the surprising ending for the film.
Too little has been written and said about the quality of performances from both Foster and Howard in this tense thriller. These two actors deliver performances so sensitive in execution that memories of previous similar films evaporate. This is a tough film to watch for all the violence not only on the screen but from within the characterizations by the actors (with the capable direction of Neil Jordan), but it is for this viewer one of the strongest films of the year. Perhaps now that the DVD can be viewed within the safety of the home more people will pay attention to a film that deserves awards. Grady Harp, February 08

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"Why don‘t they stop me?" Erica Bain wonders. Bain, a popular N.Y radio host, watched her fiancé die and nearly lost her own life to a vicious, random attack. Now she discovers a stranger within herself, an armed wanderer in the urban night, out for vengeance and at war with her own soul. Two-time Academy Award winner Jodie Foster, as Erica, joins Oscar nominee Terrence Howard, as a determined cop hot on her trail. Erica?s future is uncertain, but one thing is not: THE BRAVE ONE is a high- tension thriller that packs a visceral and emotional punch.

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A Man Apart (2003) Review

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(More customer reviews)Rating System:
1 star = abysmal; some books deserve to be forgotten
2 star = poor; a total waste of time
3 star = good; worth the effort
4 star = very good; what writing should be
5 star = fantastic; must own it and share it with others
STORY: DEA agent is out to take revenge on the drug dealers that killed his wife.
MY FEEDBACK:
1) Forget XXX or Fast & Furious, this is a much better Vin Diesle movie (Pitch Black is still his best though). Vin does some decent acting and his general charisma carry a large portion of the movie.
2) Good attempt at developing the relationship of Vin's character with other characters in the movie
3) Not a huge action flick but enough guns to keep this drama moving
4) Some suspension of belief is needed in this movie
5) Seemed the editing didn't explain a plot twist or two but cut things out leaving gaps in the story.
OVERALL: We enjoyed the movie and didn't feel like we wasted out time with it.

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Vin Diesel stars as a DEA agent on a deadly vendetta to take down the powerful drug cartel that killed his wife. DVD Features:Deleted Scenes:Seven Deleted ScenesOther:Widescreen & Fullscreen on one discTheatrical Trailer

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The Punisher (2004) Review

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(More customer reviews)And someone somewhere calls "The Punisher" a box-office failure, because it does not hit the number 1 spot, both Daredaevil and Hulk were #1 in the Box Office. I paraphrase Thomas Jane when I say that the film industry is in a sorry state if this is how we gauge a successful film...

I have been a Punisher fan since 1986 (thanks to my best friend Morris Koplow. Morris, if you read this, Thank you. I can never repay you for the enjoyment this Comic has brought me.).

After lagging book sales in Marvel's Punisher, Punisher: War Journal and Punisher: War Zone, executives at the comic powerhouse decide to follow a sad trend at the time and "redefine" the Punisher Character. Simply put, Marvel wrote Frank Castle into a depression and left him with no alternative but to end his own life, something DC did with it's own vigilante, creatively titled "Vigilante". The results was a rippling sense of betrayal for the fans, who felt that Castle was never written to be so weak as to suicide.

A few years later, Marvel breathed life into the Punisher through one of the classicly odd returns. Castle was resurrected by angels. This, too, did not fly (imagine a tank with little butterfly wings). Then Garth Ennis took over.

Ennis's work with the Punisher has brought back the grit and out and out nastiness that Frank Castle has always had. It was this work that the movie has been based on.

Yes, there has been "creative liberties" taken with "The Punisher", but they have been, for the most part, all for the better.

In the Comic, Castle loses his wife and two children to a mafia hit crew. While a justifiable reason to enter a world of vengence and punishment in comic books, film-goers wouldn't justify Castle waging a never-ending one man war on crime for that easily. Thus, wiping out his entire family was the key.

The Crime family (Make no mistake, Travolta and company were 100% unadulturated criminals, all businesses were fronts/laundering for their activities) in question certianly never appeared in any issue of the Punisher comic, but when the hero's "Rogue Gallery" is largely the cast of the Godfather, Casino, Goodfellas, Donnie Brasco, Resevior Dogs, etc, etc..., then a specific villian is not necessary, especially since most Punisher fans cannot name the Mafia Family that called the hit on Castle's family in the original comic. No, I don't remember who it was, either... The inclusion of "The Russian" was certainly a treat for any one who has read Ennis's "Welcome Back, Frank" and I hope that they can find a believable way to bring him back for the sequel (maybe get Nash some lessons in Russian and accents so we can get some of "The Russian's" fantastic dialogue).

Castle's Neighbors were taken DIRECTLY out of the Comic. Bumpo and Spacker Dave were near perfect castings and the only real difference with Joan in the film vs. the comic was that Rebecca Romijn-Stamos is more attractive, less mousey and attempted to be Castle's love interest. Like the comic, they proved that Castle was not completely devoid of humanity, nor unredeemable.

The Hero: Tortured, depressed and he enjoy's his Whiskey... Sounds about right for a man who just witnessed his entire family slaughtered and his wife and son run down by a pick-up truck loaded with "Goomba's". Thomas Jane's portrayal of Frank Castle is everything you expect it to be, if Castle was a real person driven to extremes. Jane captures to essentials of the character, and like Christopher Reeves, Ron Pearlman, Brandon Lee, Tobey Maguire and Hugh Jackman in their respective comic book films, molds the details to himself, making himself a living breathing Frank Castle. Jane is superb. He does what many thought was impossible, that being making himself into a live-action comic book character, without benefit of additional makeup or masks, and makes us believe that Frank Castle roamed the earth.

The Villian: Travolta is always a wonderful villian. Normal he "chews scenery" left and right and the audience is right with him. Not in "The Punisher". Travolta was still excellent and quite a urbane and sophistcated villian, but he was not the madman that most people expect from Travolta (IE: Face/Off and Broken Arrow). Will Patton was the "Mad Dog Villian" in "The Punisher" and while I would have preferred his end go differently, it was still satisfying to watch and his performance was certainly fun.

The action, overall, fed the story, as it should have. I personally would have liked to have seen a little more action from Castle, but I certainly wasn't disappointed in what I received. Many fans of the comics have commented that the violence in the film did not match that of the comic (the comic being more graphic). According to Thomas Jane, the plans for the second Punisher film will take the violence up a notch, almost as if (to my mind), that Frank Castle's morality was slipping away from him during the first film and the second will show the grotesque that Castle has become with the death of his family.

Overall, "The Punisher" 2004 film is as accurate and true to Punisher canon laid down by Marvel and Garth Ennis as Sam Rami's Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2 films have been to the "Webbed Wall-Crawler's" own canon setup by Stan "The Man" Lee and Steve Ditko. I cannot recommend this film enough, especially to fans of Comics, High-Action films and "The Punisher" himself. It truly is under appreciated and one of the best and most accurate comic films ever.

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Each DVD at launch will include a 28 page mini-comic inside the amray case. The comic is the first ever prequel comic to a movie. It is an alternate origin story to the Punisher and ends with the opening dock scene of the movie.It is written by Garth Ennis, premiere writer of Punisher comics, and the cover is illustrated by Tim Bradstreet. The comic is being written exclusively for this promotion, and will not be anywhere else in the marketplace for 6 months. The comic is full color and has a retail value of $2.25. 10,000 comics out of the total run will have a unique cover and be positioned as a limited edition.They will be randomly inserted into the DVDs and randomly distributed to retail.

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One Eight Seven (1997) Review

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(More customer reviews)I have been very fortunate to have a great job as a teacher. I have been lucky enough to see all different types of schools: rural, suburban, and urban. My three years in a Bronx high school were some of the most challenging, frustrating, rewarding, scary, funny, heartwarming, and gutwrenching of my life. Inner-city teaching is truly one of the toughest jobs in the world.
There have been many movies about inner-city teachers: Dangerous Minds, The Substitute, Teachers, The Principal just to name a few. While none of those movies are terrible and some were fun to watch, none of them really showed what it is like to be a teacher. 187 is the only teaching movie I have seen that captures the emotions a teacher goes through teaching in that environment.
Now parts of 187 get carried away. I won't deny that. But the basic theme of what can happen if a teacher takes a situation to the level of the students is universal. No teacher is going to hunt down his/her students like in the film but again the basic idea of how to handle a threat or violence in a school is universal.
I also like how the film discussed how Samuel Jackson's character is trying to regain his desire to teach and playing that off the young idealistic teacher and the burned out teacher. These are real characters and I felt the comparisson and outcomes was extremely credible.
Bottom line is this, I do not think non-teachers will love this movie they might like it. But this is a teachers movie. Again, its goes over the top at times but the basic themes and emotions are extremely accurate.
This is a powerful and realistic film.

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A vicious high school student is dead.A gang hit?An act of sudden rage? Or did a once-idealistic teacher finally snap?The issues and the tension hit home when Samuel L. Jackson stars in a gritty urban-school thriller that's "gripping, high-octane entertainment" (Newhouse News Service).

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