Sonny

Starring:Cary Wilmot Alden, Doug Barden, Brenda Blethyn, Scott Caan, Seymour Cassel, Marc Coppola, Josie Davis, James Franco, Bernard Hocke, David E. Jensen (II), Karen Kaia Livers, Wallace Merck, Willie Metcalf, Katherine Randolph, Janet Shea, Harry Dean Stanton, Mena Suvari, Graham Timbes, Brenda Vaccaro
Studio: Hbo Home Video
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

Critically hailed as an instant classic, Clint Eastwood's Letters from Iwo Jima is a masterwork of uncommon humanity and a harrowing, unforgettable indictment of the horrors of war. In an unprecedented demonstration of worldly citizenship, Eastwood (from a spare, tightly focused screenplay by first-time screenwriter Iris Yamashita) has crafted a truly Japanese film, with Japanese dialogue (with subtitles) and filmed in a contemplative Japanese style, serving as both complement and counterpoint to Eastwood's previously released companion film Flags of Our Fathers. Where the earlier film employed a complex non-linear structure and epic-scale production values to dramatize one of the bloodiest battles of World War II and its traumatic impact on American soldiers, Letters reveals the battle of Iwo Jima from the tunnel- and cave-dwelling perspective of the Japanese, hopelessly outnumbered, deprived of reinforcements, and doomed to die in inevitable defeat. While maintaining many of the traditions of the conventional war drama, Eastwood extends his sympathetic touch to humanize "the enemy," revealing the internal and external conflicts of soldiers and officers alike, forced by circumstance to sacrifice themselves or defend their honor against insurmountable odds. From the weary reluctance of a young recruit named Saigo (Kazunari Ninomiya) to the dignified yet desperately anguished strategy of Japanese commander Tadamichi Kuribayashi (played by Oscar-nominated The Last Samurai costar Ken Watanabe), whose letters home inspired the film's title and present-day framing device, Letters from Iwo Jima (which conveys the bleakness of battle through a near-total absence of color) steadfastly avoids the glorification of war while paying honorable tribute to ill-fated men who can only dream of the comforts of home. --Jeff Shannon

On the DVDs
Like the film itself, the two-disc special edition of Letters from Iwo Jima is predominantly Japanese in content, and that's as it should be. Disc 1 presents the film in a flawless widescreen transfer, with a Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround soundtrack that perfectly captures the film's wide dynamic range. The optional subtitles can be turned off for those wishing to immerse themselves in a completely Japanese viewing experience. Disc 2 opens with "Red Sun, Black Sand: The Making of Letters from Iwo Jima," a 20-minute behind-the-scenes documentary that concisely covers all aspects of production, from director Clint Eastwood's initial decision to create a companion piece to Flags of Our Fathers, to interview comments from principal cast and crew, the latter including Flags screenwriters Paul Haggis and Letters screenwriter Iris Yamashita, costume designer Deborah Hopper, editor Joel Cox, cinematographer Tom Stern, production designer James Murakami (taking over for the ailing Henry Bumstead), and coproducer Rob Lorenz. "The Faces of Combat" is an 18-minute featurette about selecting the Japanese (and Japanese-American) cast of Letters, and how they were chosen through the international collaboration of Eastwood's long-time casting director Phyllis Huffman (who turned over some of her duties to her son while struggling with terminal illness) and Japanese casting associate Yumi Takada, who filled important roles with Japanese celebrities (like pop star Kazunari Ninomiya, who plays "Saigo") and unknown actors alike.

"Images from the Frontlines" is a 3.5-minute montage of images from the film and behind-the-scenes, set to the sparse piano theme of Eastwood's original score. The remaining bonus features chronicle the world premiere of Letters in Tokyo on November 15, 2006. The premiere itself is covered in a 16-minute featurette taped at the famous Budokan arena, where we see the red-carpet procession, a full-capacity audience despite cold November weather, and introductory comments from the film's primary cast and crew, many of them quite moving with regard to the satisfaction of working on a film that helps Japanese viewers come to terms with a painful chapter of their history. The following day's press conference (at the Grand Hyatt Tokyo hotel) is a 24-minute Q&A session covering much of the same territory, with additional testimony from principal cast & crew. Throughout this two-day event, it's clear that Eastwood (referring to himself as "a Japanese director who doesn't speak the Japanese language") was warmly embraced by the Japanese, and that Letters from Iwo Jima had served its intended purpose, reminding us of the horrors of war while uniting both Japanese and Americans in somber reflection, 61 years after the battle of Iwo Jima. --Jeff Shannon

Description

Nominated for 4 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Clint Eastwood's Letters from Iwo Jima tells the untold story of the Japanese soldiers who defended their homeland against invading American forces during World War II. With little defense other than sheer will and the volcanic rock of Iwo Jima itself, the unprecedented tactics of General Tadamichi Kuribayashi (Ken Watanabe, The Last Samurai) and his men transform what was predicted to be a swift defeat into nearly 40 days of heroic and resourceful combat. Their sacrifices, struggles, courage and compassion live on in the taut, gripping film Rolling Stone calls "unique and unforgettable." It is the powerful companion piece to Flags of Our Fathers.

Forrest Gump (Two-Disc Special Collector's Edition)

Average customer rating:

Forrest Gump (Two-Disc Special Collector's Edition)
Starring: Joe Alaskey , Sam Anderson , Geoffrey Blake , Charles Boswell , and Michael Burgess
Manufacturer: Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( F ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Special Editions | Fully Loaded DVDs | Features | DVD | Video

Two-Disc Special Editions | Fully Loaded DVDs | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Braveheart
Saving Private Ryan (Special Limited Edition)
Rain Man (Special Edition)
The Shawshank Redemption (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Schindler's List (Widescreen Edition)

ASIN: B00003CXA2
Release Date: 2001-08-28

Amazon.com essential video

The Academy Award winner for Best Picture, Best Director Robert Zemeckis, and Best Actor Tom Hanks, this unlikely story of a slow-witted but good-hearted man somehow at the center of the pivotal events of the 20th century is a funny and heartwarming epic. Hanks plays the title character, a shy Southern boy in love with his childhood best friend (Robin Wright) who finds that his ability to run fast takes him places. As an All-Star football player he meets John F. Kennedy; as a soldier in Vietnam he's a war hero; and as a world champion Ping-Pong player he's hailed by Richard Nixon. Becoming a successful shrimp-boat captain, he still yearns for the love of his life, who takes a quite different and much sadder path in life. The visual effects incorporating Hanks into existing newsreel footage is both funny and impressive, but the heart of the film lies in its sweet love story and in the triumphant performance of Hanks as an unassuming soul who savors the most from his life and times. --Robert Lane

Average customer rating:

Citizen Kane
Starring: Georgia Backus , Fortunio Bonanova , Sonny Bupp , Ray Collins , and Dorothy Comingore
Director: Orson Welles
Manufacturer: Turner Home Ent
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Classics | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Two-Disc Special Editions | Fully Loaded DVDs | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Casablanca
On the Waterfront (Special Edition)
Chinatown
The Graduate
Sunset Boulevard (Special Collector's Edition)

Accessories:

Citizen Kane
Working with Orson Welles
Citizen Kane (Score Re-recording Of 1941 Film)

ASIN: B00003CX9E
Release Date: 2001-09-25

Amazon.com essential video

Arguably the greatest of American films, Orson Welles's 1941 masterpiece, made when he was only 26, still unfurls like a dream and carries the viewer along the mysterious currents of time and memory to reach a mature (if ambiguous) conclusion: people are the sum of their contradictions, and can't be known easily. Welles plays newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane, taken from his mother as a boy and made the ward of a rich industrialist. The result is that every well-meaning or tyrannical or self-destructive move he makes for the rest of his life appears in some way to be a reaction to that deeply wounding event. Written by Welles and Herman J. Mankiewicz, and photographed by Gregg Toland, the film is the sum of Welles's awesome ambitions as an artist in Hollywood. He pushes the limits of then-available technology to create a true magic show, a visual and aural feast that almost seems to be rising up from a viewer's subconsciousness. As Kane, Welles even ushers in the influence of Bertolt Brecht on film acting. This is truly a one-of-a-kind work, and in many ways is still the most modern of modern films from the 20th century. --Tom Keogh

Average customer rating:

Okay for a TV movie
Ruffian, Horse Racing, And The Decade Of The 1970s
The Legend of the Real Life Black Beauty
What About Her Legacy?
Finally, a movie about Ruffian

Ruffian
Starring: Sam Shepard , Frank Whaley , Jason Douglas , Laura Bailey , and Christine Belford
Director: Yves Simoneau , and David Dwyer
Manufacturer: ESPN Original Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Sports | Genres | DVD | Video

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

Barbaro - A Nation's Horse
Ruffian: A Race Track Romance
Ruffian: Burning from the Start
Barbaro: The Horse Who Captured America's Heart
The Life & Times of Secretariat, an American Racing Legend

ASIN: B000OCY7KI
Release Date: 2007-06-12

Description

(Sports / Doc) Based on the story of the great filly who was undefeated until suffering a fatal breakdown in a match race against Foolish Pleasure at Belmont Park in 1975 . Only lasting two short seasons on the track, Ruffian was unbeaten through her first ten starts - shattering records at nearly every race. It was the much anticipated 11th race, on July 7, 1975 in front of a packed house at Belmont and a television audience of 18 million viewers, that proved to be her last. Hailed as the battle of the sexes, Ruffian went head-to-head with Kentucky Derby winning colt Foolish Pride, in what became the last match race in professional horse racing. Just short of the one mile marker, Ruffian went down hard with a broken leg, ultimately leaving doctors with no other option than to put the horse to sleep. The next day, she was buried at Belmont and to this day remains the only horse granted that honor.

Customer Reviews:

Okay for a TV movie.......2007-06-19

This review is for the TV movie, which I viewed. I haven't seen the DVD extras, so I can't rate them. This movie was probably as accurate to the facts as one could expect for a TV movie. It has the usual dramatic device of a protagonist (Nack) who is around for nearly every scene, even though in reality he wasn't. I agree with one of the other reviewers that it's a little disappointing to see horses that look much older and heavier (probably quarter horses) portraying the tall, slender Ruffian, but I suppose it can't be helped, given the limitations of the filming process and budget. Overall, this is worth seeing if you're a fan of Ruffian or horse racing in general. The TV broadcast did include some very short clips of some of Ruffian's actual races. I hope the DVD includes more of that.

As an aside, there are several mistakes in the description of the movie's story on the Amazon product description page. Ruffian isn't the only horse buried at Belmont (she was the first), she was injured well before the mile marker, the date was July 6th, and she didn't fall hard on the racetrack. Also, the second time Foolish Pleasure is mentioned, his name is listed as Foolish Pride. Pretty sloppy on the part of whomever wrote that story description.

Ruffian, Horse Racing, And The Decade Of The 1970s.......2007-06-15

When I heard they were making a film about Ruffian, my first reaction was that I didn't want to see it and relive the emotions I felt back in 1975 while watching the match race on TV.

But by the time the movie debuted on ABC, I decided to watch it and I'm glad I did. Seeing the movie helped put it back in perspective and made me remember the glory of Ruffian and not just the tragic ending.

If you are too young to remember 1975 or weren't born yet, please watch the movie to see the cultural significance of the "He vs. She" match race. It was an indelible part of the 1970s decade, coming on the heels of the 1973 Billie Jean King vs. Bobby Fisher tennis match, and the rise of Women's Lib.

There are a lot of other things about that tumultuous decade that we'd like to forget (such as polyester!), but in horse racing, it was the best decade of all. Three smashing Triple Crown winners in Secretariat, Seattle Slew, and Affirmed; the rise of jockey Steve Cauthen as a household name; women jockeys breaking down the doors of the men-only club; plus Ruffian and other horse racing greats such as Spectacular Bid, Forego, and Alydar.

There are always inaccuracies that plague horse racing movies, and the Ruffian movie is no exception. Workout scenes show Ruffian alone with no other horses on the racetrack. I worked as an exercise rider for 20 years at Thoroughbred racetracks, and believe me, horses don't train alone. There are hundreds of horses on the track galloping and breezing during training hours, which really changes the dynamic of the scene.

The horse they used as Ruffian on the racetrack was a fairly decent representation of the real Ruffian, but the horse they used for the barn scenes looked like a Quarter horse, and just stood there like a nag. I'm sure it was for practical reasons, they needed a quiet horse to put up with all the filming, but I wish the barn-scene horse was more true to Ruffian's looks and personality. Ruffian was an extremely high spirited horse, she kicked up a fuss on a regular basis, and part of her allure and fame was due to her high voltage personality.

Even though in reality Bill Nack's character wasn't there for Ruffian's every move, I don't have an objection to him constantly being in and around the Whiteley barn as Bill Nack helped explain and drive the story. If the story was told from Frank Whiteley's perspective alone, it would have been a near-silent movie as he was cranky and didn't say much in real life.

In the 30+ years since Ruffian died, she has stood the test of time as an all-time great. Sports Illustrated included Ruffian as the only non-human on their list of the top 100 female athletes of the 20th century. The Blood Horse Magazine ranks her #35 in their top 100 racehorses of the century.

Real footage of Ruffian racing is shown at the end of the movie, it's a great addition as she truly was a dynamo. The inaccuracies I stated above don't detract that much from the real story, so I am giving it my top rating.

The Legend of the Real Life Black Beauty.......2007-06-13

My late father worked in horse-racing in NY for 35 years,
and I grew up listening to horse stories. No horse ever
captivated my heart and mind in quite the way that Ruffian did.
She was the real life Black Beauty for millions of little girls,
and the day she died, I walked away from horse-racing forever.
I was seventeen years old.

While the film may not be 100% historically accurate,
it was accurate enough to break my heart all over again
and send me hunting through my drawers to find my old Match Race
pins so I could hold Ruffian one more time while I cried for her.

It was accurate enough to make my best friend scream and grab her own
bad leg (previously broken several times)when Ruffian's leg snapped.
I think Ruffian's story still has the power and the magic to make little
girls everywhere believe that anything is possible, and that they can
truly be Champions like the Magnificent, Tragic Ruffian.
I will be going back to Belmont to visit Ruffian's final resting place
one more time.

Sam Shepard and the rest of the Ruffian "crew" did an excellent job
of portraying both the love and the limitations inherent within
the close-knit support system of the beloved Heroine Filly.

What About Her Legacy?.......2007-06-13

I think the movie was humble, in that it did not credit Ruffian, rather, let the facts speak instead; it did mention at the end, where it listed who went on to do what, that it was the last match race in professional horseracing. However, Ruffian's legacy may be much more: For example, the Wikipedia (where they edit each other's writing mercilessly) article about her recalled that,
'Her breakdown and tragic death led to a public outcry for more humane treatment of racehorses. One result was that medications, such as Lasix for bleeding and corticosteroids for inflammation and pain management, came into common use in racehorses.'
The article goes on with the rather astute observations that,
'While helping the horses in the short term, the increased use of medications at the track had a downside, as many horses were raced while injured. It can be argued that thoroughbreds are becoming more delicate as a result; racehorses today run only half as many starts before retirement as did their counterparts 50 years ago. Some of this effect is likely also due to breeding practices that select for horses likely to have short, brilliant careers--like Ruffian's--instead of the traditional racing career which might have lasted several years. Indeed, Ruffian's bloodline may be considered at least partly to blame for her broken leg; her sire, Reviewer, suffered three breakdowns.'
The movie shows Ruffian's burial at Belmont, also mentioned in Wikipedia, but neither point out that she has been the only horse honored with burial there. ESPN's coverage of the 2007 Belmont Stakes seemed complete, but failed to show Ruffian's grave at the pole or make the connection, upon the occasion of Rags to Riches being the first filly to win in over a hundred years, that their host, ABC, would air the movie Ruffian later that evening, about a filly who was leading to have won at the same Belmont Park, had a foreleg not broken, or anything about her. Certainly the movie, much less ABC, has no responsibility for ESPN or Wikipedia content, so I plead guilty to being a Monday-morning quarterback (I am interested in contributing to Wikipedia, but feel that I would have to return to college in order to wade through all their rules and regulations, etc.).
Yes, I specified 'foreleg,' as both the movie and the article mention her other leg breaking, but which leg is her 'other leg?' The article refers to Ruffian 'thrashing about wildy' coming out of anesthesia, so as to break the cast and her 'other leg' (front, presumably), but the movie only illustrated a running motion with her front legs, breaking the 'other.' Also not shown in the movie is the description in the article of how far/long she ran on after her leg broke, 50 yards, or as one account put it, to the effect that, the ambulance was there by the time she quit running. Perhaps the post-surgery running effort shown was chosen to illustrate this part of her reaction, the story of which may have gotten better over time. Without meaning to criticize the movie or the article based merely upon my own incomplete research, I point out these elements and the others as worth a look, because the running lame and fighting surgery, for example, touched the hearts of the country, I am sure, and are, therefore, important parts of her history/story.
The movie does show Ruffian's grave marker with epitaph paragraph, but in a flash like credits; to read it, I will have to buy this DVD and put it on pause, or else drive up to Belmont Park, in which case I could find out, too, if she is buried at the finish pole or the flagpole, or, maybe they are one in the same. You may also wish to see my Listmania list, 'Great Horse Movies on DVD.'

Finally, a movie about Ruffian.......2007-06-12

While it's not perfect, nor as lush as what could have been done from the Jane Schwartz Ruffian source material, this is an above-average TV movie. It's very well-acted, has beautiful cinematography, and well-drawn characters.

Average customer rating:

Excellent :)
"That woman deserves her revenge... and we deserve to die."
Vol 2 is better
kill bill vol. 2
A Letdown

Kill Bill, Volume 2
Starring: Larry Bishop , Sonny Chiba , Sid Haig , Samuel L. Jackson , and Gordon Liu
Manufacturer: Miramax Home Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

Thrillers | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

DTS | Fully Loaded DVDs | Features | DVD | Video

( K ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Kill Bill, Volume 1
Pulp Fiction (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
Reservoir Dogs (15th Anniversary 2-Disc Special Edition)
Sin City - Unrated (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
Kill Bill - Volume 1 (UMD Mini For PSP)

ASIN: B00005JMUA
Release Date: 2004-08-10

Amazon.com

"The Bride" (Uma Thurman) gets her satisfaction--and so do we--in Quentin Tarantino's "roaring rampage of revenge," Kill Bill, Vol. 2. Where Vol. 1 was a hyper-kinetic tribute to the Asian chop-socky grindhouse flicks that have been thoroughly cross-referenced in Tarantino's film-loving brain, Vol. 2--not a sequel, but Part Two of a breathtakingly cinematic epic--is Tarantino's contemporary martial-arts Western, fueled by iconic images, music, and themes lifted from any source that Tarantino holds dear, from the action-packed cheapies of William Witney (one of several filmmakers Tarantino gratefully honors in the closing credits) to the spaghetti epics of Sergio Leone. Tarantino doesn't copy so much as elevate the genres he loves, and the entirety of Kill Bill is clearly the product of a singular artistic vision, even as it careens from one influence to another. Violence erupts with dynamic impact, but unlike Vol. 1, this slower grand finale revels in Tarantino's trademark dialogue and loopy longueurs, reviving the career of David Carradine (who plays Bill for what he is: a snake charmer), and giving Thurman's Bride an outlet for maternal love and well-earned happiness. Has any actress endured so much for the sake of a unique collaboration? As the credits remind us, "The Bride" was jointly created by "Q&U," and she's become an unforgettable heroine in a pair of delirious movie-movies (Vol. 3 awaits, some 15 years hence) that Tarantino fans will study and love for decades to come. --Jeff Shannon

Description

With this thrilling, must-see movie event, writer and director Quentin Tarantino (PULP FICTION) completes the action-packed quest for revenge begun by The Bride (Uma Thurman) in KILL BILL VOL. 1! Having already crossed two names from her Death List, The Bride is back with a vengeance and taking aim at Budd (Michael Madsen) and Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah), the only survivors from the squad of assassins who betrayed her four years earlier. It's all leading up to the ultimate confrontation with Bill (David Carradine), The Bride's former master and the man who ordered her execution! As the acclaimed follow-up to the instant classic VOL. 1 -- you know all about the unlimited action and humor, but until you've seen KILL BILL VOL. 2, you only know half the story!

Customer Reviews:

Excellent :) .......2007-06-18

Uma Thurman, swords, kung-fu,& Quentin Tarrentino ... how can you go wrong?

"That woman deserves her revenge... and we deserve to die.".......2007-06-01

All grown men have a little boy in their heart that still surfaces for playtime every now and again...some fellows more so than others, and it's always so much fun to go back. That is one of the many reasons I enjoy having a son waiting to greet me when I come home from a day of work or a long business trip. On the flip side, Quentin Tarantino gets to go back to being a boy every time he goes to work, and I say good for him.

The Kill Bill movies are a potent effusion of likely all the things Quentin grew up with. Westerns, Kung-Fu movies, Samurai movies and other action films that helped mold and create his robust imagination. Now, he can take the ideas that inspired him as a child and make them even better for the next generation of action-craving bloodthirsty little children. Kill Bill volume 2 is more than a derivitive tribute film, it is an elicitation of massive nostalgia, excentuated keenly by incredible dialogue. Other than function well as a conclusion to the series, it is actually quite different from Kill Bill volume 1 in a few ways. Kill Bill volume 1 contained mostly introductions, followed by bloody action as Beatrix Kiddo took on and took out Vernita Green, O-Ren Ishii, Go-Go Yubari and of course the Crazy 88 (yes, all 88 of them). But in Kill Bill volume 2, I felt like those were merely the supporting villains as Kiddo takes on the more resourceful and profound antagonists in this film; Elle Driver, Budd and of course Bill himself. The sequel, unintentionally perhaps as the two were written and filmed together, possesses more depth than the first part. There is more room for dialogue and that is of course a great thing because outrageous and unlikely dialogue is one of Quentin's strengths, and it serves here to make the characters even more unearthly and super-hero-like then in the first film.

Overall, in volume 2 we get to see how Beatrix learned her skills and we learn more about the relationship between her and Bill. It all leads up to an often criticized climax between Bill and Beatrix. Between the dialogue and David Carradine's performance, the climax helped me enjoy this film a bit more than volume 1. So, if you prefer action and violence you will like the first movie better, but if you just so happen to get caught up in the characters along the way and have an appreciation for the kind of concentrated cultural yearning crossed with mythical level characters that only a Tarantino film can deliver, then Kill Bill volume 2 is a great cap to the two films. For me, simply put, together they make one amazing movie.

Vol 2 is better.......2007-05-27

You've seen vol 1 and thought do I really want to sit through another 2 hours of swords and kung-fu? Well vol 2 is the much better film, so the answer is yes.

Curiously enough although Vol 2 is longer, it seems to have a tighter construction. Some of the chapters are breath-taking, perhaps because they are shorter. The Pai-Mei chapter is simply marvellous. Uma Thurman gets her training with Pai Mei and Bill tells her "remember no sarcasm, no back-talk at least not for the first year or so, gonna have to let him warm up to you"! The Pai Mei chapter ties a lot of things together as well.

Oh yes in vol 2 we get to see Bill for the first time. David Carradine is great, very cool, and occasionally seems to become Kwai Chang Caine again all these years later.

I'd recommend seeing Vol 1 first, although it isn't quite as essential to do this, as it is to watch vol 2 after watching vol 1.

This is fabulous entertainment made by a master film-maker and I strongly recommend it.

kill bill vol. 2.......2007-04-19

i tend to bounce back-and-forth in my mind as to which half of the "kill bill" story i like better. as of writing this review, i'm going to have to go with "vol. 2", perhaps just because it's the one i've seen more recently, but i'm thinking there's more to it than that, so i'll try to get to those points instead.

first off, this really is like splitting hairs, picking which volume is better. now, believe all of those who point out how incredibly different the movies are because they are absolute night and day, but equally good and, more importantly, equally enjoyable.

i guess the one and only edge that i'd have to give "volume 2" is that the character's you get to spend time watching in this half (alongside the Bride, who is just as awesome here as in "vol. 1") are just more in-tune with what i like to see. for example:

-i LOVE the character of Bill, and found the scenes between he and the Bride to be among my favorite ever "ex-lover" face-off's in all cinema. they're is certainly a nastiness to the scenes, but you can SEE the two of them still deeply caring for another, despite themselves, esp. upon the conclussion of their showdown. it is just excellent.

-Michael Madsen's Bud is quite possibly the most difficult character to not like in any movie ever. despite his actions toward the Bride (no more detail. don't want to ruin anything in case you haven't seen it.), you just can't help but kinda feel for the guy. i mean, a dude that has to take junk off his boss, clean up nasty toilet water at a [...]-hole strip bar, then go home to his El Paso trailer to sit alone and listen to Johnny Cash records just kinda screams "feel bad for me" even if we really don't wanna. Bud is awesome, and i like having more of him, so yet another nod to "vol. 2".

-Pei Mei is freakin' awesome, esp. if you love the old kung-fu movies that the "kill bill" series was so lovingly created to replicate. awesome!

-Elle Driver is my absolute favorite member of the divas, so her being more prominant in this half alone makes me love it, love it, love it! just EXACTLY what a "bad guy" bad girl should be, man. all this, and the revelations made during the throwdown between she and the Bride just makes that fight (and the conclussion of said fight) SO much cooler it's just insane!

there is one more character in this movie that i thought was a really neat addition, but to talk about this is to REALLY ruin the movie, so just in case, i'll let you guys decide who you think belongs in this fifth spot.

overall, "kill bill" start-to-finish is outstanding in everyway, but i wanted to yack about "volume 2" today, so that's that. thanks for reading and enjoy!

A Letdown.......2007-04-03

I liked the first volume, despite the fact that it was mostly plotless, because it was very pretty in all its carnage. Volume 2, however, spends a lot of time on a plot that bothered me more and more when I thought about it. In the end, I found it overly simplistic and irritating (trying not to give anything away here). I kept waiting for a twist that never came. While the first volume was mostly fluff, a lot of style with no substance, it was enjoyable as that at least. The second volume has more plot, but this does not end up as more substance. But in the second volume, the time that is spent on the plot takes away from the style and we end up with two and a half hours which are not very enjoyable.

Average customer rating:

Idiocracy
Starring: Luke Wilson , Maya Rudolph , Dax Shepard , Anthony 'Citric' Campos , and David Herman
Director: Mike Judge
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

Satire | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

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

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( I ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Borat - Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (Widescreen Edition)
The Illusionist (Widescreen Edition)
Little Miss Sunshine
The Departed (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Children of Men (Widescreen Edition)

ASIN: B000K7VHOG
Release Date: 2007-01-09

Amazon.com

Given that Office Space is a bona fide cult classic, it comes as some surprise that Mike Judge's follow-up wasn't more heavily promoted. Granted, this live-action comedy is a darker, more pointed proposition, but it's unfortunate that few theater patrons got the opportunity to, well, judge for themselves. In Idiocracy, the King of the Hill creator visualizes what would happen if Devo's proposition--that mankind is in the process of devolution--came to pass. The catalyst: the overeducated start having fewer children while the undereducated have more. Enter Joe (Luke Wilson), a military librarian with no family and even less ambition. The Pentagon chooses him for a top-secret hibernation project due to his extreme "average-ness." They select Rita (SNL's Maya Rudolph), a prostitute, for the same reason. When the experiment goes haywire, the two emerge 500 years later--rather than one. Now it's 2505 and they're the brightest people in the over-polluted land. Everyone else is, basically, Beavis and Butt-head. Yes, the satire couldn't be less subtle, but the premise gives Judge license to make as much fun of junk food pop culture as dystopian classics like 1984 and Planet of the Apes. Wilson wisely plays it straight, even if the actors who surround him sometimes succumb to excess. And the effects may be cheesy, but that just adds to the fun. Idiocracy features former footballer Terry Crews (Everybody Hates Chris) as President Camacho and Dax Shepard (Punk'd) as Joe's futuristic friend Frito. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Description

From Mike Judge, one of the creative minds behind Beavis and Butt-Head, King of the Hill and Office Space, comes an outrageous sci-fi comedy that'll make you think twice about the future of mankind.

Meet Joe Bowers (Luke Wilson). He's not the sharpest tool in the shed. But when a government hibernation experiment goes awry, Bowers awakens in the year 2505 to find a society so dumbed-down by mass commercialism and mindless TV programming that he's become the smartest guy on the planet. Now it's up to an average Joe to get human evolution back on track!

Amazon.com

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. --Jeff Shannon

Description

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!

Average customer rating:

Hairspray
Starring: Sonny Bono , Ruth Brown , Josh Charles , Divine , and Jason Downs
Director: John Waters
Manufacturer: New Line Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $9.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( H ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Cry Baby (Director's Cut)
Hairspray (2002 Original Broadway Cast)
Little Shop of Horrors
Hairspray: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Cry Baby: Original Soundtrack Album

ASIN: B00006RZ9Y
Release Date: 2002-11-05

Amazon.com essential video

John Waters made his bid for PG respectability with this enjoyably trashy comedy about the racial integration of a teen dance show on Baltimore television in the early '60s. Waters, as always, makes a virtue of junk culture and the powerful emotional forces it can represent as kids vie to get on the show. Meanwhile, a parade of former stars (Pia Zadora, Debbie Harry, Sonny Bono) and pseudostars (Divine, Ricki Lake) cross the screen, playing freakish characters absorbed by thoughts of fame. (Waters himself turns up as a weirdo psychiatrist.) This transitional film for Waters is rough going at times and not as interesting or funny as his later features Cry-Baby and Serial Mom, but it's worth a look. --Tom Keogh

Average customer rating:

Cruising (Deluxe Edition)
Starring: Al Pacino , Paul Sorvino , Karen Allen , Richard Cox , and Don Scardino
Director: William Friedkin
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Thrillers | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

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

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

The Panic in Needle Park
Zodiac (Widescreen Edition)
Prince of the City (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Deliverance (Deluxe Edition)
Dante's Cove - The Complete Second Season

ASIN: B00005JO5L
Release Date: 2007-09-18

Predator (Widescreen Two-Disc Collector's Edition)

Average customer rating:

Predator (Widescreen Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger , Carl Weathers , Elpidia Carrillo , Bill Duke , and Jesse Ventura
Director: John McTiernan
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

Thrillers | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Horror | Genres | DVD | Video

Sci-Fi Action | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

DTS | Fully Loaded DVDs | Features | DVD | Video

( P ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $9.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Predator 2 (Two-Disc Special Edition)
The Terminator (Special Edition)
Terminator 2 - Judgment Day (Extreme DVD)
AVP - Alien vs. Predator (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
Terminator 3 - Rise of the Machines (2-Disc Widescreen Edition)

ASIN: B000244EMO
Release Date: 2004-08-10

Amazon.com essential video

Rambo meets Alien in this terrific science-fiction thriller from 1987, directed by John McTiernan just a year before Die Hard made him Hollywood's most sought-after director of action-packed blockbusters. Arnold Schwarzenegger leads an elite squad of U.S. Army commandos to a remote region of South American jungle, where they've been assigned to search for South American officials who've been kidnapped by terrorists. Instead they find a bunch of skinned corpses hanging from the trees and realize that they're now facing a mysterious and much deadlier threat. As the squad is picked off one by one, Arnold finds himself pitted against a hideous alien creature that's heavily armed and wearing a spacesuit enabling the creature to render itself invisible. The title says it all in describing the relentless, escalating action that follows, maintained by McTiernan with an abundance of visual flair. The film's special effects are still impressive, and stunning locations in the Mexican jungles create a combined atmosphere of verdant beauty and imminent danger. The plot doesn't hold up to much scrutiny, but the movie's so exciting and tightly paced that its weaknesses seem irrelevant. --Jeff Shannon

Description

The ultimate hunter meets the ultimate adversary?in the ultimate Collector?s Edition DVD! Arnold Schwarzenegger wages an all-out war against an unseen enemy, a force more powerful and deadly than any on Earth?because the Predator is not of this Earth. Now, you can explore the depths of the Predator jungle with this all-new 2-disc set packed with over 5 hours of out-of-this-world extras, including an in-depth documentary, director?s commentary, never-before-seen bonus footage, revealing featurettes and more!

DVD:

DVD

Creature (REGION 1) (NTSC)

DVD: Pistoleros Del Rio Bravo

First Do No Harm