Sphere

Starring:Dustin Hoffman, Sharon Stone, Samuel L. Jackson, Peter Coyote, Liev Schreiber, Queen Latifah, Marga GÃ³mez, Huey Lewis, Bernard Hocke, James Pickens Jr., Michael Keys Hall, Ralph Tabakin, Antonio LaBell
Director: Barry Levinson
Studio: Warner Home Video
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

From yet another derivative science fiction novel by Michael Crichton comes this equally derivative and flaccid movie, in which three top Hollywood stars struggle to squeeze tension and excitement out of material that doesn't match their talents. You're supposed to find awe and mystery in Crichton's story about a team of scientists and scholars who discover a 300-year-old alien spacecraft deep on the ocean floor, but mostly you feel that this is all much ado about nothing. The exploration team consists of a psychologist (Dustin Hoffman), mathematician (Samuel L. Jackson), biochemist (Sharon Stone), and an astrophysicist (Liev Schreiber), and when they enter the alien ship they discover a mysterious sphere inside. What they don't know is that the sphere has the power to manipulate their thoughts and perceptions, and before long the scientists' undersea habitat is a veritable haunted house of frightening visions and creeping paranoia. Who can be trusted? What is the sphere's purpose, and why is it on the ocean floor? Sphere makes some attempt to answer these questions, but the film is a mess, and it leads to one of the most anticlimactic endings of any science fiction film ever made. There are moments of high intensity and psychological suspense, and the stellar cast works hard to boost the talky screenplay. But it's clear that this was a hurried production (Hoffman and director Barry Levinson made Wag the Dog during an extended production delay), and as a result Sphere looks and feels like a film that wasn't quite ready for the cameras. Though it's by no means a waste of time, it's undeniably disappointing. The special edition DVD includes audio commentary by Hoffman and Jackson and a behind-the-scenes featurette, Shaping the Sphere: The Art of the Special Effects Supervisor, exploring the alien ship's design and creation by special effects technicians. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

Great Sci-Fi.......2007-05-20

NORMAN "I hate to be the one non-scientist who
picks this up, guys..."

There is a hole in this "Sphere".......2007-04-02

One wonders what happened to this movie that could have turned it into such a shaggy dog. The cast is first rate(Dustin Hoffman , Samuel L. Jackson , Sharon Stone) and a first rate director in Barry Levinson, but the sum doesn't equal the whole in this mess.
A recently found spaceship in the ocean is found to be 300 years old and still working it appears. So a group is sent to check it out. They find smoke and mirrors but very little substance as this movie unfolds , and it takes 2 & 1/2 HOURS to get to the weakest ending of a movie in a long time!!!!!!
This shows signs of production problems and even post filming cuts and still it comes down to great talent wasted on a movie that wouldn't pass muster as a Saturday morning cartoon much less a major motion picture.

This movie sucks ass.......2006-12-31

I just finished watching it. I have to agree with the negative reviews here. It's a confusing, boring and stupid movie.

Not Too Bad A Film, But--.......2006-12-28

When a movie starts with almost five minutes of slow, dull, opening credits, you know that is not a good sign of things to come. While the original book by Michael Crichton is not the best science fiction that he has written, it is a story told by a competent author, however, the movie version is not nearly as competent as it has some plot holes an eighteen-wheel truck can roar through. But putting aside the plot, the directing and the acting by its stars, Dustin Hoffman, Sharon Stone, and Samuel L. Jackson-- makes the movie fairly watchable.

Critics complain about the ending, though, and rightfully so. But the fault lies not with anybody associated with the movie, but with Michael Crichton himself who seems to have written himself into a corner and didn't know how to get out of it in a better way. I won't give away the ending, but I will say that it's sometthing of a disappointment. But right up til the end, the movie is enjoyable enough so for that reason I give it three stars .

As an added feature we get, among other things, some less than thrilling look at the production designer's job, which can be forgotten about, but also Samuel L. Jackson's commentary on the film which is both really nteresting and enjoyable to hear.

Inexplicably bad. What happened??.......2006-12-03

This movie is bad and it's the kind of bad that makes movie fans ask, "What in the world went wrong?" You start with a Michael Crichton novel, add Barry Levinson, a cast featuring Sam Jackson, Sharon Stone, Peter Coyote and, yes, Dustin Hoffman...and you end up with an inexplicably bad product. The special effect look expensive...and bad. The plot starts off ok, if somewhat formulaic and then just falls apart. Dustin Hoffman's performance, even, is laughable...something that just is never said of Dustin Hoffman. There just HAS to be a fascinating backstory to what went wrong and if someone would film the backstory, THAT would be a good movie, I'd bet.

Average customer rating:

how good is Contact!

Contact/Sphere
Starring: Jena Malone , David Morse , Jodie Foster , Geoffrey Blake , and William Fichtner
Director: Robert Zemeckis , and Barry Levinson
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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The Abyss (Special Edition)
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Twister

ASIN: B000FOPPEM
Release Date: 2007-01-02

Description

Is something or someone out there? Messages from outer space raise hopes (and, for some, fears) that intelligent beings from light years away are reaching out to us...and sending design plans for the machine that can take us to meet them. Jodie Foster and Matthew McConaughey star in and Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump) directs an exhilarating adaptation of Carl Sagan's Contact (Side A), the dazzling tale of humanity's greatest voyage of discovery. The excitement runs deep in Sphere (Side B) as officials find a huge spacecraft that plunged into the Pacific - 300 years earlier. Dustin Hoffman, Sharon Stone and Samuel L. Jackson lead an underwater expedition into the mysterious craft in this adventure directed by Barry Levinson (Rain Man) and based on Michael Crichton's novel. Step aboard for a new dimension in thrills!

Customer Reviews:

how good is Contact!.......2007-05-13

A surprisingly good film based on the SETI project, with a great question at the end!!
I did not find Sphere to be as interesting as Contact.

Average customer rating:

Les Respectables: Live au Centre Bell
Starring: Les Respectables
Manufacturer: Sphere Canada
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | International | Styles | Music

International | Music Video & Concerts | Genres | DVD | Video

Action Collection (The Perfect Storm/Deep Blue Sea/Sphere)

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Action Collection (The Perfect Storm/Deep Blue Sea/Sphere)
Starring: Action Collection
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

( A ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Action & Adventure | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

Description

Get these three aquatic thrillers for one low price! Deep Blue Sea: Researchers on the undersea lab Aquatica have genetically altered the brains of captive sharks to develop a cure for Alzheimer's disease. There's an unexpected side effect: the critters got smarter . . . and meaner. The Perfect Storm: It's Halloween, 1991. Near Gloucester, Massachusetts, the six members of the Andrea Gail, a swordfishing boat, head out to sea for their last trip of the season. Unbeknownst to them, a shockingly brutal storm is slowly gaining steam. Before the National Weather Bureau has a chance to inform the crew of the impending danger, it's too late. The resulting battle with three merging weather fronts--an unheralded natural disaster--is grueling and tragic. Based on the true-life best selling novel by Sebastian Junger, The Perfect Storm stars George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Diane Lane and is directed by Wolfgang Petersen. Sphere: Far below the surface in the mid-Pacific, U.S. officials have isolated what may be the greatest discovery in human history. They've found a huge spacecraft that plunged into the depths 300 years ago.

THE MASSAGE THERAPY VIDEO LIBRARY: Vol. 2 - Physio-Sphere Therapy ( A New Modality)

Average customer rating:

THE MASSAGE THERAPY VIDEO LIBRARY: Vol. 2 - Physio-Sphere Therapy ( A New Modality)
Starring: Massage Therapy Video Library
Manufacturer: VIEW Inc.
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Special Interests | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Fitness & Yoga | Genres | DVD | Video

( T ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Special Interests | Independently Distributed | Stores | DVD | Video

Independently Distributed | Indie & Art House | Stores | DVD | Video
ASIN: B000B8V59G
Release Date: 2005-08-22

Description

Massage Therapy Video Library, Vol. 2 (Physio-Sphere Therapy: A New Modality), developed by Richard M. Royster of The Upledger Institute, utilizes 65cm and 85cm inflated balls in a series of exercises.An innovative hands-on approach that enables therapists to deal more effectively with certain areas. DVD Chapters include:

Introducing Physio-Sphere Therapy (P.S.T.)

Moving Exercises

Posterior Positions

Anterior Positions

Breath Awareness Exercises

Exercise To Do By Yourself

P.S.T. for Cyclists

Tips for Different Sports

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