Patton

Starring:George C. Scott, Karl Malden, Stephen Young, Michael Strong, Carey Loftin, Albert Dumortier, Frank Latimore, Morgan Paull, Karl Michael Vogler, Bill Hickman, Pat Zurica, James Edwards, Lawrence Dobkin, David Bauer, John Barrie, Richard MÃ¼nch, Siegfried Rauch, Michael Bates, Paul Stevens, Gerald Flood
Director: Franklin J. Schaffner
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com essential video
One of the greatest screen biographies ever produced, this monumental film runs nearly three hours, won seven Academy Awards, and gave George C. Scott the greatest role of his career. It was released in 1970 when protest against the Vietnam War still raged at home and abroad, and many critics and moviegoers struggled to reconcile current events with the movie's glorification of Gen. George S. Patton as a crazy-brave genius of World War II.

How could a movie so huge in scope and so fascinated by its subject be considered an anti-war film? The simple truth is that it's not--Patton is less about World War II than about the rise and fall of a man whose life was literally defined by war, and who felt lost and lonely without the grand-scale pursuit of an enemy. George C. Scott embodies his role so fully, so convincingly, that we can't help but be drawn to and fascinated by Patton as a man who is simultaneously bound for hell and glory. The film's opening monologue alone is a masterful display of acting and character analysis, and everything that follows is sheer brilliance on the part of Scott and director Franklin J. Schaffner.

Amazon.com

In his most effective thriller since Enemy of the State, Tony Scott makes time travel seem plausible. It helps that his New Orleans hero, ATF agent Doug Carlin (Denzel Washington in his third go-round with the director), spends more time in the present than the past. In order to catch a terrorist, FBI Agent Pryzwarra (Val Kilmer) invites Carlin to join forces. They have the technology to see the past. He has the expertise to interpret the data. Unfortunately, the bomb has already gone off and hundreds of ferry passengers have died. Then there's the body of a beautiful woman, Claire Kuchever (Paula Patton, Idlewild), that turns up in the vicinity of the blast. Evidence indicates she was killed beforehand. Since the FBI enables him to observe Claire prior to her murder, Carlin gets to know what she was like and finds himself falling in love. He becomes convinced that the only way to solve the case--and prove her innocence--is to travel to the past. But as Pryzwarra's colleague, Denny (Adam Goldberg), argues, "You cannot go back in time. It's physically impossible." Or so he says. Déjà Vu is constructed around a clever script and executed by a top-notch cast, notably Washington, Patton, and an eerie Jim Caviezel (miles away from Passion of the Christ). In shedding the excesses of recent years--the sadism of Man on Fire and weirdness of Tarantino favorite Domino--Scott re-affirms his rep as one of the action movie's finest practitioners. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Description

Academy Award(R) winner Denzel Washington (Best Actor, TRAINING DAY, 2001) joins forces with blockbuster producer Jerry Bruckheimer and mega-hit director Tony Scott for DÉJÀ VU — the powerful, fast-paced action-thriller with a spectacular mind-bending twist. Called in to recover evidence in the aftermath of a horrific explosion on a New Orleans ferry, Federal agent Doug Carlin (Washington) gets pulled away from the scene and taken to a top-secret government lab that uses a time-shifting surveillance device to help prevent crime. But can it help Carlin change the past? Hold on to your seat for an explosive and intriguing thrill ride you'll want to experience again and again.'

Customer Reviews:

A movie worth watching!.......2007-06-29

Deja Vu brings to the screen the story of an ATF agent as he tries to find those responsible for detonating a bomb aboard a riverboat in New Orleans killing hundreds of people. The investigation will lead to some unexpected discoveries including one that would blow most peoples' minds in a heartbeat...
There are slight hints of the X-Files, and strong elements of Timecop (Jean Claude Van Damme), Frequency (Dennis Quaid, James Caviezel), and The Lake House (Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock).
Denzel Washington, Paula Patton, and the rest of the cast, have truly outdone themselves with their performances, which are outstanding to say the least! All the actors, without exceptions, give it their 100% and it really shows (the chemistry is AMAZING)! Very well written and very well presented, the movie is without a doubt guaranteed to provide more than just a few thrills, not to mention a few tears.
The setting, the plot, the dialogues, and the music are all wonderful!
In conclusion, Deja Vu is a movie definitely worth watching and one to seriously consider adding to your movie collection as it is one of those films that gets you and keeps you thinking long after it's over. 4.5 Stars

Captivating Movie From Star To Finish!.......2007-06-29

Wasn't quite sure what to expect when I rented this movie.... It was a lot better than I anticipated as I thought it would be some cheesy suspense movie, but it wasn't.

It was a combination action/suspense, science-fiction, time travel, and a bit of romance thrown in at the end kind of movie. The acting was superb as well as the storyline.... With the created/fabricated technology and time travel used in movie, I wasn't sure how it all was going to fit together! But everything worked itself into a neat tightly fit package by the end of the movie.

A pretty interesting take on reaching back into the past to investigate the present.......2007-06-20

Denzel Washington always makes me want to believe in any movie he is in. Here he plays ATF agent Doug Carlin who is brought in to investigate a ferry bombing that killed more than 500 people. Some odd details start bothering him including the body of Caire Kuchever (played very well by the beautiful Paula Patton). At first she looks like another victim of the blast on the ferry, but Agent Carlin notices some things that don't match up.

Agent Pryzwarra (a nicely done turn by Val Kilmer) brings Carlin into a special investigative unit that has a special tool to view a stream from the past. I can't get into details of this team or much more of the movie because unraveling it is part of the fun of the film. You know from the title of the film that it has something to do with reliving the past, but how this film does it is pretty fresh. There is one very cool car chase that includes trying to drive in the present to keep in view the villain in a car from the past and is something I hadn't seen before.

Yes, there are things in the plot that require artificial limits on things and require the cast to say and not say or do or not do things that would make things much more mundane and realistic, but still, as a romantic thriller, it is a pretty good entertainment. And they do pull things together more neatly than one might expect from the early scenes.

So, enjoy the film. It is a pretty good way to have some fun.

Not A Cool Movie.......2007-06-20

Denzel Washington in this movie is way too emotional and not nearly as cool as in other movies like "Training Day". He was basically a stalker!

Another thing I didn't like about this movie is the computer graphics. The director must have believed we will think the past viewer CG so cool and like it so much that he used it over and over again. On the contrary, I feel slightly insulted to be thought of that way. I like computer graphics in movies that are used to reproduce reality to show spectacular scenes that cannot be shot otherwise, like those in Star Wars episodes. However, I loath CG used as if it were something cool, e.g. CG on computer user-interface. When PCs are so ubiquitous these days everybody can tell a good user-interface from a bad one. And bad ones are not cool to me, no matter how much computer graphics you put into it. They should have just showed the past viewer as a Windows-based application as would be developed in research institutions in reality today.

I know what Deja Vu 2 will be!.......2007-06-17

This 'Time-Machine' gets into the hands of the US government.
They make one that is about a 100 times larger, consisting therefore, of 100 times more bolts, screws and monitor screens. (surely the US government will be able to afford that)

Then, (here comes the exciting part) President Bush come up with the brightest idea he has ever come up with in his presidential carreer. He sends groups of well-trained specialists (bringing high tech technology with them) that will prevent all the evil that has ever infected the history of humanity.
So, one group to prevent 911, one group to prevent WorldWar2, another to prevent WorldWar1, another to prevent poverty, and so on... Now the great thing is, it doesn't matter if these specialist groups die while on their mission in the past because they will be alive in the future anyways. (Like denzel washington, who still was alive in the end of the movie)

Ultimately, the result is a dreamworld. A world with no terrorism, war or anything evil in large scale. Paradise.

Everyone lives happily ever after. The end of the Movie.

But wait a second, is time travel really possible? You never know what humans will be able to do in the future...

Switch on CNN or any international news program and you will find out that DejaVu 2 might be a silly daydream. Today, there is more terror and evil than ever. Nobody has ever come from the future to help us eliminate all this terror for us.
If time travel was possible, our world would have been eliminated of evil by now...

Average customer rating:

When will we get the widescreen version????
Heroes, laughs and drama, without the need to think
Laugh it up with "Down Periscope"
Welcome Aboard
Funniest Navy movie ever made!

Down Periscope
Starring: Kelsey Grammer , Lauren Holly , Rob Schneider , Harry Dean Stanton , and Bruce Dern
Director: David S. Ward
Manufacturer: Fox Home Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00013RC70
Release Date: 2004-02-03

Amazon.com

Kelsey Grammer stars as the captain of a rust-bucket submarine who is fighting for his career by proving his skills in a contest against far more sophisticated ships. Rob Schneider provides comic support as an uptight ensign, and Lauren Holly plays an officer who has to fight her own will-they-accept-me-because-I'm-a-woman anxieties. The film didn't do well at the box office, but it is actually pretty funny, Grammer is enjoyable, and the above-the-water/below-the-water action sequences are as good as any in most submarine films. --Tom Keogh

Description

Kelsey Grammer sails from TV's "Frasier" to the big screen in this screwball comedy co-starring Lauren Holly and Rip Torn. Veteran skipper John Dodge (Grammer) will never be a textbook officer, but he's a brilliant seaman who's always wanted to command a nuclear submarine. Unfortunately, Admiral Graham (Bruce Dern) would rather sink the fleet than give Dodge his own boat. So Dodge is given the helm of a diesel-powered WW2 sub crewed by a collection of maladjusted, mistake-prone misfits. Then he's tagged "the enemy" in a crucial war game, and ordered to take on the U.S. Navy's best. Batten down the hatches for unstoppable hilarity that takes 200 years of naval tradition¿and throws it all overboard!

Customer Reviews:

When will we get the widescreen version????.......2007-06-12

It is definitely NOT widescreen. The trailer is 2.35:1 widescreen. The movie is as said 1.33:1 with the tops and bottoms cut off to make it 1.85:1. TERRIBLE. It is the same thing they did to the Kung Fu TV show First season. When will they put it out in Panavision 2.35:1????????

The movie is one of my favorites but watching the DVD is like watching the VHS tape. Pan and Scan. When will these studios learn to put out their movies in Origal Aspect Ratio??? Most people have widescreen TVs now. Let's get with it.

Heroes, laughs and drama, without the need to think.......2007-06-01

While this movie is no Caddyshack or Police Academy, it can hit the spot when you are looking for a movie you can enjoy, without being asked to think.

Laugh it up with "Down Periscope".......2007-05-19

What a terrific movie! All the characters are very believable, and what a bunch of characters they are. Too bad some of them don't appear in more movies. Lots of talent there! One expects stellar performances from the likes of Kelsey Grammer, Harry Dean Stanton, Bruce Dern, William H. Macy, and Rip Torn, and they deliver. But the lesser-known actors do an outstanding job as well. (Some great-looking guys are in this flick! I could watch Brad Tatum flex his muscles all day -- Jonathan Penner and Duane Martin are very easy on the eyes, too.) The humor is there all the time, in varying degrees, from dry and subtle to out-and-out slapstick, and it all works. There's not a player in this movie who doesn't bring great skill and great "business" to his or her part. As a confirmed landlubber, I have no idea if the "underwater" scenes are real or not, but they work for me. The plot has some neat twists and turns, and you'll find yourself laughing hysterically, sitting on the edge of your seat, wondering how they'll get themselves out of one fix after another, and constantly rooting for the unconventional crew of the ancient USS Stingray. From the piss-ant Exec Officer who gets to walk the plank, to the super-slob cigar-chomping king of the mess hall, to the electrician whose brain has absorbed a little too much voltage, to the sonarman who talks to whales, you'll come to love every crew member. Don't miss this movie!

Welcome Aboard.......2007-05-14

If you love Kelsey Grammer as Fraiser, you'll fall all over again with him as a Captain. Who doesn't love a man in a uniform;) Down Periscope is funny, charming and over all a great movie to sit back and enjoy. The mis-fit crew is All-Star and makes the movie 10 times better. Love it!!

Funniest Navy movie ever made!.......2007-05-11

I was in the Navy for 20 years and met many an officer similar to that of the XO, played by Rob Schneider (love him!). Unfortunately, none of them ever met the same fate that Rob Schneider met (did I mention I love him?!), but many did meet other fates that eventually weeded them out of the Navy.

I also met many an officer similar to the Skipper, played by the ever-so-lovable Kelsey Grammer (love him, too!) and I loved every one of them. They made my time in the Navy worthwhile.

This was, without a doubt, the funniest Navy movie I have ever seen. I have seen it several times and laugh just as hard as the first time. Can't wait to see it on DVD. Anybody who does not laugh at this movie needs some serious laughing therapy.

Average customer rating:

The Cure for the Common Man...
Will, Kevin, and New York, New York
Funny, refreshing and oh so much fun, exactly what I've been waiting for...
great date movie
Almost perfect

Hitch (Widescreen Edition)
Starring: Will Smith , Eva Mendes , Kevin James (III) , Amber Valletta , and Julie Ann Emery
Director: Andy Tennant
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000957O82
Release Date: 2005-06-14

Amazon.com

Will Smith's easygoing charm makes Hitch the kind of pleasant, uplifting romantic comedy that you could recommend to almost anyone--especially if there's romance in the air. As suave Manhattan dating consultant Alex "Hitch" Hitchens, Smith plays up the smoother, sophisticated side of his established screen persona as he mentors a pudgy accountant (Kevin James) on the lessons of love. The joke, of course, is that Hitch's own love life is a mess, and as he coaches James toward romance with a rich, powerful, and seemingly inaccessible beauty named Allegra (Amber Valetta), he's trying too hard to impress a savvy gossip columnist (Eva Mendes) with whom he's fallen in love. Through mistaken identities and mismatched couples, director Andy Tennant brings the same light touch that made Drew Barrymore's Ever After so effortlessly engaging. As romantic comedies go, Hitch doesn't offer any big surprises, but as a date movie it gets the job done with amiable ease and style. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

The Cure for the Common Man..........2007-06-28

Typically when I'm choosing a movie to watch in my spare time, I will choose from action, drama, comedy, sci-fi, thrillers, etc. (what you would basically expect from any guy), I can honestly say that I very rarely choose a romantic comedy, and never a musical. However, sometimes a romantic comedy comes along that looks interesting and funny to me, generally because the premise is different from most or because I like the stars in it, or simply because my wife chooses the movie for our movie night. In the case of "Hitch" it was a combination of the first 2 factors, but for some reason my wife and I never got around to watching this movie in theaters, and for the longest time on DVD. But recently, we sat down and watched it, and I must say that even though many critics and some moviegoers weren't entertained that much by the movie, I found it to be highly enjoyable and one of the better romantic comedies I had seen.

"Hitch" is the story of Alex 'Hitch' Hitchens (Will Smith), a man whose job is to find ways for a man to successfully woo the woman of his choice into a successful dating relationship. Hitch is a man that is good at his job, but never really finds the time for his own dating life. When Hitch begins coaching a pudgy accountant (Kevin James) on how to get noticed by an attractive, wealthy heiress, his own love life begins to blossom, but through a series of mishaps starts to go horribly awry. Inevitably leaving Hitch wondering why he can make love happen for complete strangers but never for himself. But before he can figure out what's going on in his life, a newsreporter (Eva Mendes) is trying to uncover the true identity of this so-called 'Date Doctor', and after protecting his identity for so long Hitch finds himself in the media crosshairs, and the real kicker is, it's his new girlfriend that put him there.

As far as romantic comedies go, most of them are generally predictable to some extent, sometimes the predictability of these types of films lends to boredom for me. However, there are a few romantic comedies that manage to be predictable, yet still entertain, and then there are the few (very few) that just surprise you by not being all that predictable. "Hitch" falls somewhere between somewhat predictable and not all that much, there are the typical romantic comedy elements that are crucial for this type of film. For example, guy finds girl, impresses girl, things get serious, some secret about guy is discovered by girl, girl breaks up with guy, guy proclaims love for girl, and all is well with the world - those are your basic elements (give or take one or two) to almost every romantic comedy these days, and "Hitch" contains several of them. The difference for me was that unlike a lot of other romantic comedies where the story is so thin and the humor is virtually non-existent that you find yourself already knowing how the movie will end and checking your eyelids for holes within the first 30 minutes due to boredom, "Hitch" keeps things going at a very steady pace with plenty of laughs and clever dialogue that I never got distracted by getting ahead of the story, and remained entertained throughout. Probably the element I enjoyed the most of the movie was the way the character of Hitch had taken a by-the-book approach to dating, as far as his tips go, that worked like a charm for every guy that he tutored, yet could never get the same approach to work for him, and in the end he discovers that love, much like life, isn't always so simply figured out.

The performances by the cast were uniformly strong, Will Smith and Kevin James out-shined everyone, which wasn't really all that surprising given their comedic and acting talents. Eva Mendes was very endearing as the woman that Hitch is trying to start a relationship with, and she shows a great on-screen chemistry with Will Smith that made their couple very believable. The story as I said earlier contained many of the familiar elements of most romantic comedies, yet still entertained me, and I never felt like I'd seen it all before. The ending is what you expect, and of course hope for in this type of movie, but the execution of the ending was done in a very interesting and unique way that I didn't expect, probably making it a much more enjoyable ending than most.

With all of that being said, "Hitch" isn't the most original romantic comedy, but there are numerous elements that are unique, and allowed me to overlook the same old elements that are so tried and true to this genre. It was a very entertaining movie, that provides you plenty of laughter and leaves you feeling good, which is what these movies should do.

"Hitch" is rated PG-13 for language and sensuality.

Will, Kevin, and New York, New York.......2007-06-27

Every role is perfectly cast in this romantic comedy/buddy movie. Kevin James and Will Smith are funny, but never over-the-top in roles that could have gone silly with less capable actors.
The movie is also a love affair with Manhattan. Every scene takes place in one distinctly New York spot after another. I loved each one.
By the way, the soundtrack for Hitch is great, too.

Funny, refreshing and oh so much fun, exactly what I've been waiting for..........2007-06-26

While `Hitch' may not be the most original romantic comedy to hit the big screen it's one of the most enjoyable. Will Smith is always entertaining and effortlessly captivating, but this time, with the pairing of the breathtaking beauty known as Eva Mendes and the hilarious Kevin James, Smith is brought to the top of his game. The script is sweet and refreshing, the dialog is smart and funny and the acting is top notch. Eva Mendes is not only beautiful but charming and funny. She keeps proving with each role no matter how thankless that she is more than a pretty face. This role is not thankless, thankfully, but just the same she's a star. The real standout though is Kevin James who outdoes himself. I've always loved James' standup and his show `The King of Queens' but here he really blows me away with his natural charm and humor.

Smith plays Alex `Hitch' Hitchens, a date doctor as it were, who helps coach men into successful relationships. His latest project is Albert, an overweight accountant who has fallen for the rich and beautiful Allegra Cole, a woman many may consider out of his league. With Hitch's help Albert begins to woo Allegra and a mutual attraction between the two is formed. In the meantime Hitch himself finds he's been struck by cupids arrow, falling for columnist Sara Meles, and soon we discover that Hitch is about as helpless as the men he coaches. Between the two couples hilarity ensues and the audience is never left bored or wanting.

As may well be expected events line themselves up to expose Hitch and his clientele and threaten to end both sets of blossoming relationships. All is good though and the ride is a fun and entertaining one. The chemistry between the entire cast is fantastic. James feeds Albert enough charm and tenderheartedness that the audience falls in love with him alongside Allegra and Mendes plays Sara with enough sass and smarts that we can easily understand why Hitch is so absorbed in her. Smith may be the star but with a cast this impressive he gladly shares the spotlight and the praise with his co-stars. It's fun and breezy entertainment suitable for the entire family and will go down as one of my favorite romantic comedies of late.

great date movie.......2007-05-18

This is the kind of movie you could cuddle up and watch with a 1st, 2nd or 3rd date (especially a 3rd). Will Smith has made a great comical come-back!

Almost perfect.......2007-05-11

When I first saw the trailer for "Hitch" back in 2004, I couldn't wait to see this movie, because this role seemed tailor made for Will Smith, and it definitely was. Smith as dating consultant Alex Hitchens (aka "Hitch") is very much like the real Will Smith - tall, dark, handsome, suave, outgoing and humorous. This is quite a change of pace for him since Will is such a huge star of some of Hollywood's biggest action blockbusters ("Men In Black", "Independence Day", "Bad Boys", "I, Robot", "Enemy of the State"); romantic comedy isn't something he's done but he is a natural in this role. He's a coach for men looking for serious relationships but have no clue as to how to win over the women of their dreams. He's good at what he does. He is able to parlay his skills into a very lucrative yet inconspicuous career for himself.

Enter Kevin James (TV's "King of Queens") as Albert Brennaman - a bumbling, asthmatic accountant who is everything that Hitch is not. He is secretly in love with a rich heiress/socialite, Allegra Cole (Amber Valletta, "What Lies Beneath", "Premonition"). Albert's company oversees her financial and business interests. But because Albert lacks confidence in himself, and is clumsy, overweight and shy, he thinks he has absolutely no chance in hell of getting with this woman. However, there is a quiet charm and sensitivity about Albert that you can't help but find to be appealing - like a big teddy bear that you just want to hug! He enlists the services of Hitch, who is called "The Date Doctor", and that's when the fun begins. Hitch teaches him the right things to say, the right things to do, and little by little, the formally inattainable Ms. Cole becomes closer to being attainable to Albert. I thought the scenes between Will and Kevin were hilarious, and they have great on-screen chemistry. Hope to see them paired up in something again in the future.

However, Hitch's romantic life doesn't quite flow with the same ease that his clients have. Eva Mendes ("Training Day", "Out Of Time", "Ghost Rider") plays Sara Melas, a gossip columnist who takes her job a bit too seriously and the object of his affection, but nearly everytime they go out he does something wrong, or something embarrassing happens. I like Eva Mendes as an actress, but I found her character of Sara to be obnoxious at times and other than her being attractive, I couldn't understand what Hitch saw in her. I enjoyed her scenes with Hitch when she let her guard down, but otherwise, she rubbed me the wrong way with her self-righteous and shrewish attitude.

I really enjoyed this movie up until three-quarters of the way - then the behavior of certain people started to annoy me with an incident that really wasn't that big a deal, and then blown so far out of proportion that all of the main characters ended up unhappy. For that reason, I had to dock it one star. However, "Hitch" DOES conclude with a happy ending so it wasn't all that unpredictable. It has its flaws, but it is definitely worth watching, and one of the better romantic comedies that have been released in the past few years.

Sidenote: There are some interesting extras on the DVD, such as deleted scenes, which I'm glad they didn't include in the final edit because it would have made the film too long (like what was done with the unrated version of "The 40 Year Old Virgin" DVD). In this case, less was definitely more. :-)

Average customer rating:

Not wonderful
The Client
Good movie, however, we have the positives and the negatives.
mostly good, some flubs
Action thriller with emotion.

The Client
Starring: Susan Sarandon , Tommy Lee Jones , Mary-Louise Parker , Anthony LaPaglia , and J.T. Walsh
Director: Joel Schumacher
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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The Pelican Brief
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ASIN: 6304712952
Release Date: 1997-12-17

Amazon.com

The exceptionally fine cast--Susan Sarandon, Tommy Lee Jones, J.T. Walsh, Mary-Louise Parker, Anthony Edwards, William H. Macy, Anthony LaPaglia, Ossie Davis, and Brad Renfro--goes a long way toward making The Client one of the more solidly enjoyable screen adaptations of a John Grisham southern gothic legal thriller. Teen-hearthrob Renfro is a natural, playing a kid whose life is in jeopardy after he witnesses the death of a Mob lawyer. Susan Sarandon is the attorney who decides to look after the boy; nobody can match her when it comes to playing strong and protective maternal figures (Thelma and Louise, Lorenzo's Oil, Dead Man Walking). Sarandon won her fourth Oscar nomination as best actress for this role, before finally winning the following year for Dead Man Walking. Author Grisham was so impressed with former window dresser/fashion designer/screenwriter-turned-director Joel Schumacher's work on this movie that he later asked him to direct A Time to Kill. --Jim Emerson

Description

Settle in. Take a deep breath. Hold tight. The best screen version yet of a novel by John Grisham (The Firm, The Pelican Brief) delivers all-out, moment-by-moment suspense! Headliners Susan Sarandon and Tommy Lee Jones join newcomer Brad Renfro in The Client, a whirlwind thriller that "starts like a house afire and keeps on blazing" (Chicago Tribune). Renfro plays Mark Sway, an 11-year-old torn between what he knows and what he can never tell. A hitman will snuff him in half a heartbeat if Mark reveals what he learned about a Mob murder. An ambitious federal prosecutor (Jones) will keep the pressure on until Mark tells all. Suddenly, Mark isn't a boy playing air guitar anymore. He's a pawn in a deadly game. And his only ally is a courageous but unseasoned attorney (Sarandon) who risks her career for him...but never imagines she'll also risk her life.

Customer Reviews:

Not wonderful.......2007-06-14

The Client was a disappointment.

I thought the book was very good and some of the characters in the book were outstanding. The movie was not coherent and certainly not at the level of the book.

The Client.......2007-01-29

Sarandon is always good but if you like Tommy Lee Jones you will love it.

Good movie, however, we have the positives and the negatives........2006-10-07

Plot: A mafia lawyer commits suicide. But before he does, he forces 11-year old Mark Sway (Who lives with his brother and mother in a trailer park) into the car. And so he tells Mark secrets about where Loisianna Senator Boyd Boyette was buried. Since Mark's little brother has a stress syndrome (he can't see anything scary), Randy Sway had to go to the hospital. Ever since his father was divorced, he tends to believe that lawyers are morons (at times, they can get in the way) and gets his info about courts and judges on T.V. Mark meets Reggie Love, a woman lawyer who used to have a drinking problem; at first, he doesn't trust her. After many pelts by F.B.I, mafia, and annoying reporters (already sick of Elvis sightings), Mark has to trust her.

Positives: Mark is told by Reggie that he can't lie, or he'll be just like them (mafia). As such, the mafia in this movie are seen as a bunch of criminals. Even though Mark was threatened by a very nasty mafia "dude", he tries to tell the truth, he didn't tell about where Boyd was buried. Many scriptures from the bible are written in cells and there is a picture of Jesus in the hospital. Though Mark can be a pest at times, Reggie tries to help him because she cares about him.

Negatives: For those people who don't like cursing, there is a moderate amount of cussing in the film. 1/3 of them comes from Mark Sway's mouth, which disturbed me a bit. Mark also gives a mafia guy the middle finger secretly. Mark disobeys his mother by going in the woods and therefore, getting mixed up with all this. Mark got his info about an affair like this on T.V, and he claims that he saw a guy having his legs blown off because of the witness protection program (on T.V, though this isn't shown). Due to medication, Mark's mother fights the F.B.I at one point, though you have to watch to find out.

Funnies: In the hospital, "Elvis" complains about his guitar. The way Reggie deals with Mark at times can be humorous.

Conclusion: If you can take the negatives, then I highly recommend this movie. Though, I'd like to say that you shouldn't buy "The Client" To anybody younger than thirteen because even though violence is rarely seen.

mostly good, some flubs.......2006-06-02

The movie started out nice and exciting, then, unfortunately, every few scenes would have a slip in reality that makes you say "oops".
Here are just a few:
1. Boy does not actually see a man die, but is traumatized nevertheless (for the balance of the movie).
2. Person shoots a lock open with gun (just like in the movies), though it never happens in real life.
3. In a closed dark boathouse, there are the convenient reflections of light on the water to illuminate everything we need to see.
4. At least one, if not two, people should have fired or not fired their gun (I don't want to spoil it). Instead, we get the usual Hollywood "talk-down"... (oops, I spoiled it).
5. In one scene, the police supposedly have cordoned off a parking lot to try to locate someone, yet there are many pedestrians, and in fact it is the important escape scene in a car that just drives through among the cop cars.

Apart from those and other similar gaffes, it was a well-made movie with a long list of notable actors. I enjoyed some supporting characters (Anthony LaPaglia, JT Walsh) more than the top 3 leads, however.

The DVD has some skimpy text-based extras about cast/crew, a few boring paragraphs of "behind the scenes", a bit of text about casting Brad Refro, and some "reel recommendations" that show the cover of some related DVDs.

If you are not picky about "reality points" you can easily add another star.

Action thriller with emotion........2006-05-23

A mixture of well-developed characters, seemingly inescapable situations, mystery, thrilling action and truly scary moments make this film a solid piece of work. The seasoned and talented cast add the spice that makes this a tasty thriller for any fan of the cinema. Emotion spills effortlessly into every corner of the film, spreading 'human' moments everywhere. There's never a dull moment.

Average customer rating:

A movie worth watching!
One of Denzel's best ....
A different approach to a typical "action movie"...
Be ready for Phenominal Sound!
Same old story line.

Deja Vu [Blu-ray]
Starring: Denzel Washington , Bruce Greenwood , Paula Patton , and Val Kilmer
Director: Tony Scott
Manufacturer: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: Blu-ray

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ASIN: B000N6UERK
Release Date: 2007-04-24

Product description

Denzel Washington, producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Tony Scott ignite a firestorm of excitement with Déjà Vu on Blu-ray Disc®. This powerful, fast-paced action-thriller will "keep you bolted to your seat" (Pete Hammond, Maxim) as it blows you away in this jaw-dropping format. Called in to recover evidence after a horrific explosion, Federal agent Doug Carlin (Washington) is taken to a top-secret government lab that uses a time-shifting device to help prevent crime. But can it change the past? Negotiate every mind-bending twist and turn with visually spectacular 1080p, while the walls tremble around you in 5.1 48 kHz, 24-bit uncompressed audio. You'll have a blast experiencing it again and again in Blu-ray™ High Definition!

Customer Reviews:

A movie worth watching!.......2007-06-29

One of Denzel's best ...........2007-06-13

Deja Vu [Blu-ray] Perhaps because we had not seen this film before, we were completely satisfied with Deja Vu. The Blu-ray edition was worth the added expense and Denzel was excellent. Recommend this for an evening of compelling movie-watching. It has a story and the story keeps you involved.

A different approach to a typical "action movie"..........2007-05-17

I watched the blu-ray version of this film, and the picture is stunning. Color saturation, black levels and sheer image crispness make this movie one of the finest i've seen yet on blu-ray. As for the movie's story it's pretty simple. Washington is an atf-agent sent to investigate a bombing aboard a New Orleans ferry where he meets Val Kilmer's character. Kilmer's an fbi agent who is in charge of a top secret "surveilance" project assined to this case as well. It's pretty clear early on that there is going to be some time travel in this flick, especially with a title like "Deja-vu". But the director knows how implausible this premise is, and tries hard to pull the viewer into the emotional side of this bombing first. This works with a lot of help from Washington's conviction to a beautiful victim of the attack...or is she? All the little clues of her death & the case in general don't add up. This combined with Denzel's performance makes the viewer care. It makes us want to stop this thing before it ever happens. I could empathize with Washington's desperation to try anything to help the girl, and of course stop this 'terrorist attack'. It's at this point where the film draws you into the techincal side of how Kilmer's fbi-team accidentally figured out a way to witness the crime scene before it actually happens...hmm. Anyhow, there are some nifty action pieces a lot of which revolve around the premise that all the events leading up to the attack are intertwined. True, there are a few times where whats happening onscreen can be a little confusing. That's okay. The movie-goer is supposed to be in a flux at these times. It's all going somewhere, so don't overthink it. One could endlessly analyze all of the parallels of time-travel until...well, the end of time, (ha-ha)...instead, just roll with the premise of this film, and have fun. It's a typical good-guy/bad-guy action movie, but with a fresh approach to the genre.

Be ready for Phenominal Sound!.......2007-04-19

Sound of Blu-ray DVD just amazing,
Get your home theater ready to Experience crystal beyond HD clarity home theater mix of "Deja Vu"

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Same old story line........2007-04-10

Mr. Washington needs to find a new story line...Deja Vu. Same old stuff!

Average customer rating:

PATTON WAS NOT CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!!
AFI rip-off
The best ww2 movie
The Last Generation of True Warriors
Fanastic, moviemaking at its best

Patton
Starring: George C. Scott , Karl Malden , Stephen Young , Michael Strong , and Carey Loftin
Director: Franklin J. Schaffner
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000EHSVS2
Release Date: 2006-05-23

Amazon.com essential video

One of the greatest screen biographies ever produced, this monumental film runs nearly three hours, won seven Academy Awards, and gave George C. Scott the greatest role of his career. It was released in 1970 when protest against the Vietnam War still raged at home and abroad, and many critics and moviegoers struggled to reconcile current events with the movie's glorification of Gen. George S. Patton as a crazy-brave genius of World War II.

Description

A critically acclaimed film that won a total of eight 1970 Academy Awards (Including Best Picture), Patton is a riveting portrait of one of the 20th century's greatest military geniuses. One of it's Oscars went to George Patton, the only Allied general truly feared by the Nazis. Charismatic and Flamboyant, Patton designed his own uniforms, sported ivory-handled six-shooters, and believed he was a warrior in past lives. He outmanuevered Rommel in Africa, and after D-Day led his troops in an unstoppable campaign across Europe. But he was rebellious as well insight and poignancy, his own volatile personailty was one enemy he could never defeat.

Customer Reviews:

PATTON WAS NOT CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!!.......2007-06-21

George Patton was a Military Historian, a friend to animals regardless of what you see or hear, and probably the most effective combat strategist of the 20th Century. You can't see this film and see the entire picture. You must read outside of this film, like his own biography "War As I Knew It", as well as read the works by Omar Bradley. Did you know that George Patton was born in Los Angeles County? That's right, like me he was BORN IN L.A. He was born in Pasadena. Did you know he saved the horse breed known as Lipizzaner Stallions from extinction? That's right, the nazi germans had taken the last of what was left of the breed and rounded them up from the rest of Europe to be a nazi prize of achievement, being that they are the most famous and most reliable horses in the world for what was needed in the cavalry. George Washington, Alexander Hamilton and several other famous Revolutionary War heroes rode Lipizzaners. They will not shirk under gunfire or cannon. After the war, the russians had appropriated these animals from the defeted nazis in their sector of conquer, and had planned to have the last of these famous, magnificent animals slaughtered for meat for their soldiers. George Patton found out about this, and forced the russians to turn the animals over to the United States, and Patton himself overseen the safe and secure shipment of these animals back to America. Because of him, these animals survived and thrive today, and to date have sired over 25,000, effectively repopulating the species forever. George Patton also spoke 17 different languages, knew every war and every battle ever fought by anyone in the history of the world, and thought that History should be a priority discipline tought in American schools. He effectively changed the sentiments of the United States Education Department, and now History is taught alongside Mathematics, English, Speech, Physical Education, and all other required pre-teen and teen studies, as a result of Patton's influence. He was a brave human being that was fearless and yes, ruthless, but he was also one of the most far-seeing, one of the most intellectually gifted, and one of the kindest human beings that ever lived. I love this film, but in actuality the slapping incident is taken out of context. You have to realize that some soldiers were put to death for cowardice during World War II. Patton did this man a favor, and like the movie says, he intendid to "ruffle his pride a little bit" and to "remind him of his obligations as a man and a soldier". Don't judge Patton by this film alone. Patton was also a direct descendant of Hugh Mercer, who was George Washington's closest and most trusted friend. General Mercer was killed at the Battle of Princeton during the Revolutionary War. You must understand a man's motive's before you can pass judgement on him. If George believed in past lives, it's because he had a spiritual connection, something that most people don't have at all, with his and our past, as well as the past of people all over the world that did battle for what the believed to be right...Honor, Glory, and Dignity. Never forget that George deeply loved America and all She stands for, and believed in God. Start with this film, and proceed to all the literature about Patton available. He was a remarkable human being that loved God and loved his country.

AFI rip-off.......2007-06-21

The new AFI top 100 film list appeared today and Patton was absent. I will not disparage the films that made the list, but at least 20 of them are lesser films than this masterpiece: oscars for best picture, actor, director, and script. This is a great war film, a great biographical film, a great film. The dialogue is consistently memorable, the set pieces unforgettable. Scott is brilliant; this is his masterwork (in a career consisting of multiple contending efforts). If you have not seen this film see it now. As one of my college teachers once said, "If you have not read The Brothers Karamazov go directly to the library and do it. You might die without having read it." The same advice applies to Patton.

The best ww2 movie.......2007-06-14

Patton is a great bio and war movie. Patton is accurate the dialouge when he slaps the solider at the hospital is word for word what was said. The combat scenes are realistic and the rivalry with Montgomery is. At Sicily Patton was determined to beat Montgomery to Messina and did at great cost.When Pattons army is going up those icy roads to releive Bastonge is one of the best parts, and a highlight of ww2. Patton has a great theme song. The opening speech is memorable George s. Patton was one of Americas greatest generals and this movie shows why.

The Last Generation of True Warriors.......2007-04-02

War reached its ultimate state - in both grandeur and tragedy - with WWII, and Patton was perhaps the best personification of both its aspects. George C. Scott was in this movie able to capture the conflicts and limitations of modern warfare and to display the ancient traditions of the soldier in a way no one else has. The movie does an admirable job of depicting the final years of WWII from both the Allied and Axis sides of the European war. If the movie can be faulted at all, it is in its tendency to romanticize war though the personality of this great but flawed man.

Fanastic, moviemaking at its best.......2007-03-19

The best movie I have seen in a very long time. Scott's portrayal of Patton is incredible, the only real deficency being that Patton himself actually had a more high-pitced voice. This is Patton as the General himself would have wanbted to be portrayed.

Average customer rating:

Yes, We are Marshall!!
Great family movie
WE are uplifted
when is we are marshall coming out on dvd?
Power is in the facts, not the presentation

We Are Marshall (Widescreen Edition)
Starring: Matthew McConaughey , Matthew Fox , Anthony Mackie , David Strathairn , and Ian McShane
Director: McG
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005JPBO
Release Date: 2007-09-18

Amazon.com

There seems to be no end to beating-the-odds football movies these days, and if they all peak with a breathless moment of anticipation during a clutch play, then We Are Marshall, based on a true story, has plenty of (mostly good) company. Matthew McConaughey plays Jack Lengyel, who becomes head coach--more or less by default--of Marshall University's rebuilding varsity football team in Huntington, W. Va., after the school's 37-member team and coaches (and a number of others) die in a plane crash in the Appalachian Mountains on Nov. 14, 1970. Facing an indifferent college president (David Strathairn) ready to shut the football program down, a morose assistant coach (Matthew Fox), and a charged-up player (Anthony Mackie) who missed the doomed flight due to an injury, Lengyel is faced with fielding a new team and putting the players through their paces. There are the usual, perhaps too-familiar, training montages and field action, but screenwriter Jamie Linden and director McG (Charlie's Angels) also draw some very good peformances from the likes of Kate Mara and Ian McShane, contributing to an emotional tapestry conveying a powerful sense of how such a sizable loss affects a small community. --Tom Keogh

Description

Based on true events, "We Are Marshall" tells the inspiring story of how a small town in West Virginia, steeped in the rich tradition of college football, struggled to cope with a devastating loss and restore their community after one of the worst disasters in the history of American sports. On the evening of Saturday, November 14, 1970, a chartered jet carrying Marshall University's football team, coaches and fans, was on its way home from a hard-fought game in North Carolina. Less than a minute before its scheduled landing at Tri-State Airport, the plane crashed in the Appalachian Mountains, killing everyone aboard: 37 players, eight coaches and university staff, the flight crew, and 25 prominent Huntington citizens who had made the trip as they always did to cheer their "Thundering Herd." In the aftermath of this stunning tragedy, university president Dedmon (DAVID STRATHAIRN) prepared to suspend the school's football program for the season--perhaps indefinitely. Assistant coach Red Dawson (MATTHEW FOX), who narrowly missed the ill-fated flight, couldn't face going back onto the field. But in Huntington, Marshall football has always been more than a sport: it's a way of life. And this town would rally to save it. After some initial setbacks, they found hope and strength in the leadership of outsider Jack Lengyel (MATTHEW McCONAUGHEY), a young coach determined to rebuild Marshall's football program and, in the process, help to heal the community. Less than a year later, on September 18, 1971, Marshall University's brand new Thundering Herd was poised to stage one of the greatest comebacks in collegiate sports. A raw, youthful and inexperienced squad, patched together under the guidance of Lengyel and Dawson, they would defy overwhelming odds just to march onto the gridiron for the school's first game since the accident. That season, it didn't matter whether Marshall won or lost.

Customer Reviews:

Yes, We are Marshall!!.......2007-06-02

I have lived in Huntington, WV almost my entire life and attended Marshall University. I was a small child when the plane crashed in 1970. I remember, first hand, what our town and community went through after the tragic loss of so many lives. When I first heard that the movie was going to be made, I was both thrilled and trepidatious. Could a big time Hollywood movie capture the real event with integrity, honesty and respect? The answer is a resounding Yes!

McG, McConaughey, Fox and the rest of the cast and crew treated our story with all of that and more. The movie is historically accurate, (thanks to a great script by Jamie Linden) the acting is excellent, the soundtrack is fabulous, and McG - thank you for filming a good portion of this movie in Huntington!

This movie was not only "necessary" but a story that applies to so many other "rise from the ashes" events in our world today. I know it would seem easy for me to love this movie because I lived it, but my adoration for this film actually comes from the efforts and dedication that the film makers put into this project. They took a true story and made it into a movie that can touch the heart of anyone who sees it.

For those critics who spend too much time focusing on the "pacing," and "spirituality" or other minutia, you're missing the point. This isn't a film for pretentious, overly analytical critics or Sunday School debate. Enjoy this film for what it is. It was intended to share an uplifting and heart-warming true story and to evoke understanding, empathy, courage and determination. If you have any humanity in you, you will like this movie! GO HERD! WE ARE MARSHALL!!

Great family movie.......2007-06-01

Get ready to cheer "We are Marshall!" Such a good and moving movie. The actors were cast perfectly. I never pictured Matthew McConaughey as a nerdy guy but he fit the bill. It was done well and in a very respectful way from both perspectives of whether they should or shouldn't have played that next season.

WE are uplifted.......2007-04-10

One of the best film's I've in quite awhile.I won't go into details as other's have done that here.However, I have some good friends that were students at Marshall and their son and mine are best buds, and he came and lived with awhile, for reasons I don't need to go into here except they are not bad ones.
After my son and I saw the movie we had wished we had invited our Marshall friends to go with us. They did finally see the movie and it was quite emotional for them especially having been students there at the time this took place.
They say it's pretty damn accurate.
I told my son as soon as this movie is avaiable on DVD I've got to have this in my movie collection. The emotion I felt leaving the theater was overwhelming. A great movie about FB and the human spirit.

when is we are marshall coming out on dvd?.......2007-04-07

I thought this movie was great and I was wondering when will it be available on dvd?

Power is in the facts, not the presentation.......2007-03-05

Ah yes, the obligatory motivational sports movie, where adversity, tragedy and all impossible odds are overcome and is topped off by a sugar-coated Hollywood finale. Hmm, not quite in this case. Based on real events, We Are Marshall suceeds on the basis of its factuality, leading cast, and the fact it doesn't try to sweeten the deal with an ending far removed from the reality it's based upon. Despite this, the pacing is often problematic, and certain scenes wring the drama dry by virtue of the cliched performances therein.

The greatest bouyancy factor in this film is Matthew McConaughey himself, and is the perfect candidate for the coach who revives the team. The college president, David Straitharn, also pulls through and adds immensely, as does Anthony Mackey as Nate. Without them, however, the remaining characters are not suffused with enough character development to make them memorable. All the new players that are recruited are so one-dimensional it's downright pathetic, in fact. In other films of this ilk(Mighty Ducks comes to mind) the characters are given greater depth and add to the movie by their presence. Here unfortunately, the new players are more like stage props; nothing is added, other than the obvious existence of a football team.

Pacing can destroy even the best of films, but done properly, it can salvage even the most stinking wreck of celluloid. Unfortunately, We Are Marshall is far closer to the former. The more dramatic scenes jump awkwardly from one to another, interspersed with the occasional scene of irony or comedy. The interaction between Chris's girlfriend and his father, for example are too undistinguished to be effective. There is nothing to elaborate on their relationship, only the memory of their loss which is never pursued beyond "the ring". Adding to the irony is the ending itself, which despite being a powerful clincher, proves that this film would have been even more powerful as a documentary, given the heart-wrenching course of events it's based upon.

While this is not to say the movie shouldn't have been made, it wasn't overly necessary either. If I was to rate this movie on its comparative handling of most other hollywood sports films "based on true events" I would have given it 5 stars. But viewed objectively, there is too many shortcomings to allow me to be blindsided by the tragic subject matter.

Average customer rating:

"We have 18 days before it hits Earth..."
Armageddon
Action Packed And A Whole Lot Of Fun!
The perfect movie for stupid people!
Like a good friend

Armageddon
Starring: Ben Affleck , Clark Heathcliffe Brolly , Steve Buscemi , Ken Hudson Campbell , and Keith David
Manufacturer: Buena Vista Home Entertainment / Touchstone
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00000G3PA
Release Date: 1999-01-05

Amazon.com essential video

The latest testosterone-saturated blow-'em-up from producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Michael Bay (The Rock, Bad Boys) continues Hollywood's millennium-fueled fascination with the destruction of our planet. There's no arguing that the successful duo understands what mainstream American audiences want in their blockbuster movies--loads of loud, eye-popping special effects, rapid- fire pacing, and patriotic flag waving. Bay's protagonists--the eight crude, lewd, oversexed (but lovable, of course) oil drillers summoned to save the world from a Texas-sized meteor hurling toward the earth--are not flawless heroes, but common men with whom all can relate. In this huge Western-in-space soap opera, they're American cowboys turned astronauts. Sci-fi buffs will appreciate Bay's fetishizing of technology, even though it's apparent he doesn't understand it as anything more than flashing lights and shiny gadgets. Smartly, the duo also tries to lure the art-house crowd, raiding the local indie acting stable and populating the film with guys like Steve Buscemi, Billy Bob Thornton, Owen Wilson, and Michael Duncan, all adding needed touches of humor and charisma. When Bay applies his sledgehammer aesthetics to the action portions of the film, it's mindless fun; it's only when Armageddon tackles humanity that it becomes truly offensive. Not since Mississippi Burning have racial and cultural stereotypes been substituted for characters so blatantly--African Americans, Japanese, Chinese, Scottish, Samoans, Muslims, French ... if it's not white and American, Bay simplifies it. Or, make that white male America; the film features only three notable females--four if you count the meteor, who's constantly referred to as a "bitch that needs drillin'," but she's a hell of a lot more developed and unpredictable than the other women characters combined. Sure, Bay's film creates some tension and contains some visceral moments, but if he can't create any redeemable characters outside of those in space, what's the point of saving the planet? --Dave McCoy

Product Description

From the blockbuster-making team who produced and directed PEARL HARBOR and THE ROCK (Jerry Bruckheimer and Michael Bay) comes the biggest movie of 1998 -- ARMAGEDDON! Starring the explosive talents of Bruce Willis (DIE HARD), Academy Award(R)-winners Ben Affleck (GOOD WILL HUNTING) and Billy Bob Thornton (SLING BLADE), Liv Tyler (INVENTING THE ABBOTTS), Steve Buscemi (CON AIR), and Will Patton (INVENTING THE ABBOTTS), ARMAGEDDON is a meteor storm of action-adventure moviemaking that has you on the edge of your seat forgetting to breathe! When NASA's executive director, Dan Truman (Thornton), realizes the Earth has 18 days before it's obliterated by a meteor the size of Texas, he has only one option -- land a ragtag team of roughneck oil drillers on the asteroid and drop a nuclear warhead into its core. Spectacular special effects, laugh-out-loud humor, great characters, riveting storytelling, and heartfelt emotion make ARMAGEDDON an exhilarating thrill ride you'll want to experience like there's no tomorrow.

Customer Reviews:

"We have 18 days before it hits Earth...".......2007-06-10

This action-packed, fast paced, movie has it all and it keeps your attention as well. People need to understand that Hollywood makes millions of dollars with this particular style of film, and who is to blame them. If something gives you a positive outcome, then it would be foolish not to attempt it again. I also understand that there are those movies that are on a category of their own and that break the boundaries of a typical Hollywood movie. But, Armaggedon serves its main purpose. It keeps you entertained and it has all the elements that make an action movie great. Michael Bay and Jerry Bruckheimer are a lethal combination when it comes to this particular genre of movies, and I feel that is an honest compliment to admit that they are two of the best out there. Job well done!

Armageddon.......2007-06-08

All the right stuff for this gang.... What a way to save the world.

Action Packed And A Whole Lot Of Fun!.......2007-06-04

I don't understand it when people say that this movie is not realistic, it never claims to be! It is a fun ride with with a great sound track and cast. I don't want this type of movie to be realistic, it would be too boring! This was the biggest hit of the year it was released for good reason......IT'S ENTERTAINING!!!!! That is what a movie should be! I watch a movie to escape and be swooped away from reality and that is what Armageddon does very well. If you can't just sit back and enjoy this movie with some popcorn and a soda than I feel sorry for you. Life is too short to not enjoy a great flick like Armageddon! I can't wait until it comes out in HD! Now go put the DVD in the player and hang on! :-)

The perfect movie for stupid people!.......2007-05-30

Armageddon ranks up there with one of the absolute worst movies I've had the misfortune of seeing. It gives new meaning to the phrase 'over the top'. (Bigger is not better). Why is it that Hollywood insists on giving 99% of the attention to ridiculous special fx and 1% to the script/writing? Mega budget blockbusters like Armageddon are the most guilty of misappropriation of resources. Somebody please make Michael Bay and Jerry Bruckheimer stop ...

Like a good friend.......2007-05-12

The music, how it is cut and taken - has a good feeling about it. One of those film I put on while I'm home doing something. And it keep's me company.

It's a Wonderful Life (60th Anniversary Edition)

Average customer rating:

It certainly is a Wonderful Life!
It's a Wonderful Life
Quintessential christmas movie
It Was Indeed a Wonderful Life!
A Timeless Classic

It's a Wonderful Life (60th Anniversary Edition)
Starring: James Stewart , Donna Reed , Lionel Barrymore , Thomas Mitchell , and Henry Travers
Director: Frank Capra
Manufacturer: Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000HEWEJO
Release Date: 2006-10-31

Amazon.com essential video

Now perhaps the most beloved American film, It's a Wonderful Life was largely forgotten for years, due to a copyright quirk. Only in the late 1970s did it find its audience through repeated TV showings. Frank Capra's masterwork deserves its status as a feel-good communal event, but it is also one of the most fascinating films in the American cinema, a multilayered work of Dickensian density. George Bailey (played superbly by James Stewart) grows up in the small town of Bedford Falls, dreaming dreams of adventure and travel, but circumstances conspire to keep him enslaved to his home turf. Frustrated by his life, and haunted by an impending scandal, George prepares to commit suicide on Christmas Eve. A heavenly messenger (Henry Travers) arrives to show him a vision: what the world would have been like if George had never been born. The sequence is a vivid depiction of the American Dream gone bad, and probably the wildest thing Capra ever shot (the director's optimistic vision may have darkened during his experiences making military films in World War II). Capra's triumph is to acknowledge the difficulties and disappointments of life, while affirming--in the teary-eyed final reel--his cherished values of friendship and individual achievement. It's a Wonderful Life was not a big hit on its initial release, and it won no Oscars (Capra and Stewart were nominated); but it continues to weave a special magic. --Robert Horton

Description

George Bailey has so many problems he is thinking about ending it all - and it's Christmas! As the angels discuss George, we see his life in flashback. As George is about to jump from a bridge, he ends up rescuing his guardian angel, Clarence. Clarence then shows George what his town would have looked like if it hadn't been for all of his good deeds over the years. Will Clarence be able to convince George to return to his family and forget suicide?

Customer Reviews:

It certainly is a Wonderful Life!.......2007-06-27

Not only do I own this movie, I have the board game as well. No Christmas season is complete without at least one viewing of this classic movie. It stresses the idea of being grateful for what you have and seeing the silver lining in any given situation. Children of all ages should watch this one every year.

It's a Wonderful Life.......2007-06-25

The quintessential Frank Capra film and a heartwarming holiday treat year in and year out, "Life" is the ultimate optimistic statement on the value of love, life, and community. Capra's masterful handling of the bittersweet storyline--in which Bailey sacrifices his own dreams to run the family savings-and-loan business and keep his hometown of Bedford Falls out of Potter's greedy paws--is pure Hollywood magic. Reed and Barrymore give exceptional performances, but Stewart, in one of his all-time great roles (a personal favorite), is the dynamic, all-too-human force holding it all together. Revived in the '70s after languishing in copyright limbo, "Life" is nostalgic and achingly sentimental, but doesn't shrink from portraying the dark side of American life. If "Zuzu's petals" don't put a lump in your throat, wait till a revivified George finds a special surprise waiting for him back home. Let those tear ducts flow, because "It's a Wonderful Life."

Quintessential christmas movie.......2007-06-11

This movie is a tradition in our house during the Christmas season to watch at least once! It never grows old to see Jimmy Stewart realizing that being rich sometimes has very little to do with how much is in your bank account and more to do with how many friends you have. Get the hot chocolate out, cuddle up with your sweetie, build a roaring fire in the fireplace and put the DVD in the machine and remember that your life does matter in the world.

It Was Indeed a Wonderful Life!.......2007-06-04

What would the Christmas holiday season be like without Frank Capra's 1946 classic, It's A Wonderful Life? For millions around the world, watching this inspiring, heartwarming movie starring Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed is as much a part of the Christmas celebration as putting cookies and milk out for Santa Claus, caroling, drinking eggnog, or trimming the tree.

Of the hundreds of movies I've seen during the forty-one years I've lived so far, there isn't one I can think of that is so quintessentially American as It's A Wonderful Life. Part comedy, part melodrama, and part supernatural fantasy, the film recounts the life of an apparently ordinary guy, George Bailey, who keeps getting the short end of the stick when it comes to realizing his extraordinary dreams and plans for the future.

However, I've learned first-hand that professing my love for this film is sure to provoke arguments with those who accept the ethics of objectivism (the philosophy of Ayn Rand). On its face, the message of the film appears to endorse self-sacrifice for the good of others. But I disagree with that interpretation. In fact, I think that the choices made by George Bailey during his life were truly wonderful, embodying a full and proper conception of personal, long-term self-interest, but without preaching egotism.

The movie opens to the voices of George's loved ones, family and friends who are sending up prayers to God to take care of and watch out for George, who's fallen on the hardest of hard times on Christmas Eve. George's bad luck doesn't look like it's about to change when he is assigned a guardian angel ("second class") named Clarence, a benevolent bumbler who hasn't even "earned his wings." We then learn what has brought George Bailey to the brink of tragedy as director Capra tells the man's life story in a long flashback that makes up most of the picture.

Ever since boyhood, George Bailey has been there for others. When he was twelve, he rescued his brother, Harry, from drowning in a pond after he had crashed through the ice while sledding. Later, working as a drugstore delivery boy, he prevented his distraught, drunken boss from accidentally dispensing poison in prescription capsules.

As he grows up, George dreams of bigger things than can be found in the confines of his small town: seeing Europe, becoming a civil engineer. About to head off to tramp through Europe before going to college, he shares with his girlfriend, Mary (Donna Reed), his secret aspirations:

"Mary, I know what I'm gonna do tomorrow and the next day, and next year and the year after that. I'm shaking the dust of this crummy little town off my feet and I'm gonna see the world! I'm gonna build things: I'm gonna build airfields. I'm gonna build skyscrapers a hundred stories high! I'm gonna build bridges a mile long!"

But at every crucial turn in his life, George's grandiose dreams are thwarted by the responsibilities of everyday life. As he's about to set sail, he learns that his father had a fatal stroke. After the funeral, George stays in Bedford Falls to run the Bailey Bros. Building and Loan, the family business that his father and Uncle Billy (Thomas Mitchell) had built up, rather than allow it to slip into the grasp of the family's avaricious nemesis, Mr. Potter (Lionel Barrymore). Potter is the town's Scrooge-like magnate, a corrupt, power-lusting slumlord who owns most of the key businesses in Bedford Falls. George puts his dreams on hold while he manages the business--and while he watches his younger brother, Harry, go off to college instead.

Then, rather than jump at the opportunity to invest in the promising plastics industry, George instead goes after his real love, Mary, finally proposing to her. One of the movie's pivotal scenes occurs on the day of their marriage. Just as they are about to embark on their European honeymoon, fate again steps in: their wedding date is "Black Tuesday," October 29, 1929--the day of the stock market crash. En route to the train station, George and Mary see the people of Bedford Falls running toward the building and loan. George rushes over to find that Uncle Billy has panicked and shut the doors to depositors, having disbursed all the money on hand. Worse, Mr. Potter telephones and tells George that he will "help" bail out the building and loan by offering its members fifty cents on the dollar for every share.

While everyone is losing his head, George keeps his cool, despite the throng of terrified customers demanding their money. George staves off the building and loan's collapse not by whining to the crowd to bail him out, but by appealing to their long-term self-interest: by asking them not to sell out their future to Potter.

"You're thinking about this place all wrong, as if I have the money back in the safe. The money's not here. Well, your money's in Joe's house, that's right next to yours. And the Kennedy house, and Mrs. Maitlin's house and a hundred others. You're lending them the money to build, and then they're going to pay it back to you as best they can....Now, listen to me, I beg of you not to do this thing. If Potter gets a hold of this building and loan, there will never be another decent house built in this town.... Joe, you had one of those Potter houses, didn't you? Well, have you forgotten, have you forgotten what he charged you for that broken down shack? Here, Ed, remember last year, when things weren't going so well, you couldn't make your payments? Well, you didn't lose your house, did you? Do you think Potter would've let you keep it? Can't you understand what's happening here? Potter isn't selling, he's buying! And why? Because we're panicking and he's not.... Now, we can get through this thing all right, we've got to stick together, though. We've got to have faith in each other."

I once argued with an Objectivist about that scene, maintaining that George and Mary did the right thing by using their $2,000 honeymoon nest egg to help their depositors weather the storm. But all my friend could see in that scene--indeed, in the whole movie--was altruism. "One of the very first lines in that movie," he told me, "is `he never thinks of himself'!"

But was that true? Consider what would have happened had George and Mary gone on their honeymoon instead of bailing out their building and loan. Yes, they would have had an enjoyable, relaxing couple of months in Europe; but what would they have come home to? The business that George's father had sweat blood to create and keep afloat would have gone bankrupt. Not only would George and Mary have had no source of income, but their depositors--family, friends, loved ones--would have seen their life savings evaporate. The housing development George had built would have fallen into Potter's hands.

For George, the choice was between short-term pleasure and long-term priorities. Did he choose irrationally?
What makes It's A Wonderful Life work so well is that we get to see a different, less readily apparent kind of heroism in George Bailey. Sure, it's easy to notice and admire the swashbuckling valor of a Scarlet Pimpernel or the "damn the torpedoes" military bravery of a John Wayne. But the real world doesn't always present opportunities for obvious and flamboyant heroism. More often than not, it presents instead tough value choices that reveal an individual's true priorities--and his true character.

It's A Wonderful Life is a testament to the power of free will when the going gets tough. In every instance when George faces adversities, he could easily make the easy choice, opting for the fleeting promise of instant gratification. But instead, he consistently makes the harder decision to delay immediate pleasure in order to achieve or preserve his larger, lasting, most profound values.

Today, most people watching the scenes in the building and loan's offices probably cannot quite grasp the bold, life-changing message on the banner that hangs there: "Own Your Own Home." But I remember as a kid talking with my father about what it was like for him growing up in a Depression-era coal mining town in West Virginia. "You had to have at least a fifty percent down payment to buy a home in those days," he told me. "If you were poor, you had to rent." More than any other movie I've seen, It's A Wonderful Life makes real the enormous benefits of the credit revolution, a tribute to "man's faith in man."

To Frank Capra, it was men like George Bailey who helped lift the working class into the middle class. Capra considered this film his personal favorite, and put into it a lot of his own experiences as a first-generation immigrant from Sicily. It's A Wonderful Life is his love letter to the American Dream.

What makes the movie so credible, and Jimmy Stewart so believable as George Bailey, is that he and Capra had both faced those tough choices just months before it was shot. It's A Wonderful Life was the first movie they worked on after World War II. Shortly after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Stewart joined the U.S. Army Air Force and served as a decorated bomber pilot. Capra spent most of the war shooting the Why We Fight series of propaganda films that proved so crucial to the Allied war effort. Both men could easily have avoided service: Capra was too old when the war began, and Stewart flunked his first physical, being too thin for service. But they put aside the glamorous lifestyle and money Hollywood afforded them for the higher purpose of defending America and freedom. I only wish that such values were held in higher esteem by Americans now, in supporting the war effort against the terrorist threat. Today,