Shiner (2000)

Starring:Michael Caine, Martin Landau, Frances Barber, Frank Harper, Andy Serkis, Claire Rushbrook, Danny Webb, Matthew Marsden, Kenneth Cranham, David Kennedy, Peter Wight, Nicola Walker, Gary Lewis (III), Derrick Harmon, Josephine Butler, Malcolm Tierney, Helen Grace, Joe Montana (II), Winston Ellis, Joanna Wake
Director: John Irvin
Studio: Miramax
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

Just a moving story
Great True Life Story
Overacted with a poor view of medical science
Black gold
Lorenzo's Oil

Lorenzo's Oil
Starring: Nick Nolte , Susan Sarandon , Peter Ustinov , Kathleen Wilhoite , and Gerry Bamman
Director: George Miller (II)
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B0001CNRAM
Release Date: 2004-04-06

Amazon.com essential video

With this powerful 1992 drama, director-producer George Miller (The Road Warrior) proved that a movie about a disease doesn't have to be a typical disease-of-the-week movie. Based on the real-life case of the Odones family, the story concerns 5-year-old Lorenzo, suffering mightily from an apparently incurable and degenerative brain illness called A.L.D. His parents, an economist (Nick Nolte) and a linguist (Susan Sarandon), refuse to accept the received wisdom that there is no hope, and set about learning biochemistry to pursue a cure on their own. The film becomes an intriguing scientific mystery mixed with a story of pain, grief, and the strain on the two adults. In other words, Lorenzo's Oil is similar to all those medical-mayhem TV flicks but with some key differences: a pair of great actors in Sarandon and Nolte--who actually do some of the finest work of their careers here--and Miller's bold and typically inventive direction. Miller, a doctor himself, refuses to shirk from the chaos and horrors of a child's agony, and he makes us hear the death chains rattling behind images that would be purely sentimental in another director's hands. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

Just a moving story.......2007-05-07

I just love this movie, it is so moving the dedication of the two parents and the horrible fight the little boy had to go through. The soundtrack is haunting as well. Great performances by all actors.

Great True Life Story.......2007-03-14

The struggles that parents go through during a child's illness are poignantly scripted. The stars all stand on their own merit. A great movie to open up the heart!

Overacted with a poor view of medical science.......2007-03-07

Nick Nolte whispers with an Italian accent through most of the film. Susan Sarandan makes you want to pull your hair out. Medical researchers are depicted as uncaring slackers or paperwork wonks. Oh, and Lorenzo's Oil is not actually effective in most cases of ALD. If you must buy it and watch it, please Google the ALD Foundation and note that they're really an excellent organization. But please don't let Hollywood sucker you into this; it's only partly a true story.

Black gold.......2007-02-25

Lorenzo's oil is a treasure of emotion and fearless acting. It took a lot of commitment and emotion to pull off this tour de force. The story is heartwrenching and relentless and the cast never flinches. It can make a heart of stone bleed and care deeply. This is a public service as well as first rate entertainment. Lorenzo's oil is a tribute to the human spirit. There has never been a challenge as daunting as finding a cure to Lorenzo's illness. The final chapter hasn't been written in the saga but the family went a long way to move mountains and almost accomplish the impossible. It is hard to fathom the heartache suffered for the family afflicted with a cruel disease. The courage to face it head on is a tribute to the human spirit. In the end it gives us hope for Lorenzo and others like him as well as others afflicted with other cruel diseases. Life can be cruel but in the end love can conquer all. This film proves that beyond a doubt.

Lorenzo's Oil.......2007-01-26

I and my wife like this movie because it shows the other alternative medicines that also is also backed with dedicated research. It also shows the sacrificial love of parents that aides in recovery.

Average customer rating:

ANOTHER RACIST MOVIE
Great family video
Good Family Film with Many Amusing Highlights
Decent family drama, not hilarious comedy.
Please avoid at all costs

Man of the House
Starring: Chevy Chase , Farrah Fawcett , Jonathan Taylor Thomas , George Wendt , and David Shiner
Director: James Orr
Manufacturer: Walt Disney Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B00008977A
Release Date: 2003-03-04

Description

Funnyman Chevy Chase (NATIONAL LAMPOON'S VACATION, CADDYSHACK) is Jack, a guy who's found the woman of his dreams (glamorous Farrah Fawcett). Too bad her stubborn 11-year-old son, Ben (Jonathan Taylor Thomas from TV's HOME IMPROVEMENT) thinks Jack is a geek! As a test, Ben coaxes Jack into joining the YMCA Indian Guides, led by a wacky suburban dad (George Wendt, Norm from TV's CHEERS). Chaos ensues as Jack struggles to prove to Ben that he's not totally uncool! From rain dancing to building a teepee, Jack will do anything to win Ben's approval -- and his mom's affection!

Customer Reviews:

ANOTHER RACIST MOVIE.......2006-09-24

I've Seen Many So Called Native American Themed Movies And Being Native
American I Am Very Displeased And Shock Of The Dvd Release Of (1995) Movie Man Of The House I And Many Other Fellow Native Americans Are Hurt With The Use Of Terms And The Imidtations Of Our Sacred Traditions The Word Indian Is Almost Constant In This Film Ben Archer (Little Wing) Played By Jonathan Taylor Thomas Be Friends Norman Bronski (Dark Eagle) Play By Zachary Browne Is A Boy That Gets Stuffed Into His Locker Daily By Bullies Who Introduces Jonathan Taylor Thomas And His Discouraging African American Friend Monroe Hill Played By Nicholas Garrett To The YMCA Indian Guides The Members Of The YMCA Indian Guides Wear Fake Jewlery And Their Caucasian Chief Chet Bronski (Chief Running Horse) Played By George Wendt Wears A War Bonnet To Their Meetings They Also Wear Headbands With A Single Feather In The Back And Sterotypically "trill" Aka War Cry And Wiggle Their Feathers In Excitement For Their New Members Chevy Chase Is Given The Disguisting Name Of Squatting Dog Mocking Our Sacred Name Given Ceremony By Jonathan Taylor Thomas Who Is Named Little Wing By Chevy And Also Jonathan Taylor Thomas Paints Chevy Chase's Face Purposly With A Smiley Face In The Middle Of His Forhead Further Mocking Our Personal Sacred Facial Symbols On Top Of That The Only Actual Native American Is Chief Leonard George Who Plays Leonard Red Crow And Teaches Them A So Called Actual Rain Dance That Works And At The End Of The Movie Makes The Sterotypical *how* Hand Signal When Monroe Hill Played By Nicholas Garrett Puts On The Headband Offered By Norman Bronski (Dark Eagle) Play By Zachary Browne On His Head So Instead Of Wanting To Learn About Native American Culture And Traditions Ben Archer Attempts To Get Rid Of Jack Sturgess A Man Who Has Been Dating Ben's Mother Sandy Archer Played By Farrah Fawcett And Has Recently Moved In With Them We Were Also Sickend By Chevy's Camp Fire Tale Use Of Sterotypical Native American Names And The Tone Of Voice That Is Seen In The Old Western Films Using Words Such As Many Moons Ago...etc All While Trying To Survive From A Drug Lords Minions Who Out Of Revenge Tries Mutiple Attemps To Kill Sturgess Who Help Convict Their Leader For Drug Trafficing We Don't Know About The Rest Of America But If Imatation Is The Highest Form Of Flatery Imagine What The Lowest Form Is!

Ps We'd Give It -0 Stars! For Children Based Native Movies Stay Away From Indian In The Cupboard (The Title Alone Should Make You Want To Stay Away) Disney's Pokahontas I And II And Disneys Peter Pan (For Its Native Scenes And Songs Such As "what Makes The Red Man Red") Disneys Tom And Huck (For The Character Injun Jo Who Plays The Villain) Their Just As Bad If Not Worse It's A Shame Because Native American Themed Movies Have So Much Potential To Break Those Stereotypical Borders

Great family video.......2006-03-24

When you realize that this DVD features both Chevy Chase and Farrah Fawcett, you are instantly suspicious since neither have made a good film in a long time since Fletch. However, add Jonathan Taylor Thomas and the three make a believable modern-day family thrown into turmoil over Jonathan Taylor Thomas' dislike of anyone trying to win his mom's (Farrah Fawcett's) love.

When the mobsters show up chasing after Chevy Chases character, the film comes into it's fullness and makes for a great movie with a satisfying ending.

Good Family Film with Many Amusing Highlights.......2006-01-25

Starring Farrah Fawcett Majors (Sandy, the divorced mom), Chevy Chase (Jack, the hot shot lawyer boyfriend/fiance who moves in with the divorced mom) and Jonathan Taylor Thomas (son, Ben, who has unresolved feelings of abandonment due to his real dad, suddenly and unexpectedly without remorse, having left him and his mom). The film is a classic comedy where Ben does what he can to test the new "dad-to-be". In fact, his whole plan is to drive Jack out of his mom's life. The fact is ... his plan backfires.

Jack does whatever it takes to win Ben over. He even joins the Indian scouts, a group in which Ben feigns interest, which he expects will send Jack over the edge. Surprisingly, it has the opposite effect, Ben ends up looking forward to the adventures in the wild, especially a planned canoe trip. Unfortunately, it is the one time Jack does not show up ... convincing Ben, Jack is like his dad.

Bigger problems loom in th horizon for Jack, who is nearly killed by the son of a mob-type stalker and his buddies who are exacting revenge for having placed his father in jail. The climactic build up and suspense in the film is worth viewing for oneself. This is a family entertainment style film where all the problems are resolved in the end. The film is amusing and makes the viewer feel good. While much of the film is predictable, that is why it does not disappoint the viewer. Erika Borsos (erikab93)

Decent family drama, not hilarious comedy........2005-06-18

As a Chevy Chase comedy, Man of The House is far from his funniest; however, it works well as a family drama.
The story's sort of an inverted "Courtship of Eddie's Father." In this case it's the boy's mother (Farrah Fawcett) who is single, and the boy (Jonathan Taylor Thomas of Home Improvement, Tom and Huck, etc.) is wary of her new fiancee, a prosecutor named Sturges (Chase). Still feeling burnt by his ex-dad, the boy tries everything to get rid of the prospective one. Some of this is funny, like when he paints Sturges's face with Indian war paint that won't come off, and the parts that aren't funny are still interesting and help develop the characters and story. I think the film is most effective in that it demonstrates the persistence of faith necessary to build a family, as Sturges doesn't give up on the boy, but continues to try to win his friendship after each prank by the boy, and each failure of his own. Competent acting by Thomas helps the film succeed on this score.
The subplot is about a hoodlum Sturges sent to prison, and his son and his thugs trying to get revenge on the prosecutor. Mostly this is supposed to be funny, but doesn't live up to Chase's usual standards. However, it does weave a bit of suspense into the story and provides a catalyst for Sturges to finally win over the boy's sympathies, as well as a climax with some action.
The supporting cast includes George Wendt (Cheers), who's mostly serious in this role, and Art LeFleur, who's funny as an Indian Guides martinet.
If you're looking for a hilarious comedy, don't look here; but if you're in the mood for a light family drama with a well-devoloped message and some humor, Man of the House will foot the bill with one family values caveat: Chase and Fawcett move in together before they're married.

Please avoid at all costs.......2005-02-05

Chevy Chase is dreadful in the lead as Farrah Fawcett's fiance and Jonathan Taylor Thomas is annoyning as the bratty kid that's just annoyning and a loser child actor(what movies has he starred since this one). The childish plot revolves around a single mom and her brat son who hates her new fiance and then he looks for ways to have fun with the bratty son and then the movie fails to entertain and the movie is basically a Disney movie with no point,plot,or substance that you will enjoy your time doing something better like mow the lawn,build a puzzle,or trying to match the cubes on a Rubik Cube. Even Max Keeble was more funny than this unfunny,unwatchable mess. [...]

Average customer rating:

Do not buy - 2.35:1 image is cropped to 1.33:1
The most boring western I have ever seen.
5 star gem
Unbelievable, NO, BELIEVEABLE
Highly recommended

Silent Tongue
Starring: Jeri Arredondo , Philip Attmore , Alan Bates , Billy Beck , and Clay Buckner
Manufacturer: Lions Gate Home Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000929UZK
Release Date: 2005-05-03

Customer Reviews:

Do not buy - 2.35:1 image is cropped to 1.33:1.......2005-06-27

Regional encoding is a sly device. People in the U.S., for instance, who want to see Sam Shepard's 1994 film 'Silent Tongue' will have to watch this bottom-of-the-barrel, pan-and-scan frisbee thrown out by Lions Gate. Meanwhile, folks in Germany have a decent 2.35:1 transfer with Region 2 encoding, which excludes most interested U.S. consumers.

Lions Gate. These folks are getting worse, more brazen in their lack of integrity. I mean, consider their cynical chop-and-dub job on the new release 'High Tension,' or their heavy promotion and wide distribution of garbage like 'House of 1000 Corpses' and 'Confidence' and simultaneous neglect of acclaimed films like 'Stevie' and 'May.'

The expense associated with giving consumers a 2.35:1 transfer is only marginally above that of a 1.33:1 transfer. The Lions Gate people are clearly bottom-line bean-counters who we must all hope will go bankrupt and disappear into a pile of ashes, if there's any justice in the world. Lot 47, Cowboy Pictures... it's the good guys who usually die, while rotters like Lions Gate live on with an undeserved longevity.

The most boring western I have ever seen........2004-11-03

Shut it off after a while. It was so slow getting started that I just could not get into the dull plot. I guess I'm not artsy-fartsy enough to understand it. Watching grass grow would be more entertaining. Give me, THE WILD BUNCH, SILVERADO,RIDERS OF THE PURPLE SAGE, OR LAST STAND AT SABRE RIVER.

5 star gem.......2004-09-29

this is great work,the story line alone is 5 stars all the actors male/female are extremely good.veiw this asap

Unbelievable, NO, BELIEVEABLE.......2004-02-16

One of the best. I've read the critics' reviews of Sam Shepard's directorial effort, hogwash. If you don't like what Shepard did in this one, you've missed the point of the movie. You can't roller-skate in a buffalo herd! There are two tragedies to this film: one, it has gone so unnoticed as a whole; two, Sheila Tousey has gone so unnoticed. I believe this is the greatest Native American actress. Couple this with Mr. Bates, Harris, Mulroney, Pheonix, Shepard and Ms. Arredondo, and it was a loser in any way??????

Highly recommended.......2002-05-02

Resonant. This is what good film-making is all about.

Average customer rating:

delightfull entertainment
Very entertaining!
Good show, but not the best of Cirque
Good Show
Excellent!!!

Cirque du Soleil - Nouvelle Experience
Starring: Irina Arnaoutova , Zdzislaw Pelka , Bogdan Zajac , Bruce Bilodeau , and Christophe Lelarge
Director: Franco Dragone
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005OOQ5
Release Date: 2001-10-30

Amazon.com

New experience indeed. Cirque du Soleil's Nouvelle Experience is another video compilation of acrobatic feats and inspired clowning. For example, four women on a suspended platform twist and contort their bodies until you'd swear their spines were made of rubber. Then lithe, muscular men and women launch themselves off of a teeter-totter so they can spin in all directions in mid-air; or they do the splits while walking on a tightrope; or they spin and balance umbrellas with their feet. Plus the stilt-walkers, the trapeze artists, the guy balancing on a giant ball--it goes on and on, all of it precise and impressive. A high point of this particular compilation is David Shiner's ingenious clown routine, in which he wordlessly convinces random audience members to be the actors in a silent movie. It's really, really funny. There's just not much else to be said about it. --Bret Fetzer

Description

The brilliant artistry of Cirque du Soleil has transformed the circus into an exciting, novel performance experience. Nouvelle Experience celebrates the magic of their innovative techniques and the genius of one of the most visionary groups of artists in the world. Included in the show that toured for 19 months in 1990-1991, performing to over 1.3 million people: Contortion, Korean Plank, Solo Trapeze, Tightrope, Aerial Straps, Acrobatics, Trampoline and Balancing on Chairs. 1991, 85 minutes.

Customer Reviews:

delightfull entertainment.......2007-01-04

Sweet, artful and inspirational fun for the entire family. The children return to watch it again and again, delighted by what the body and mind, in league with artful creative imagination, is capable of doing.

Very entertaining!.......2006-03-23

The clown routine had me laughing until it hurt! The rest is just amazing. You will really enjoy it.

Good show, but not the best of Cirque.......2005-04-15

This is some of the early work of Cirque du Soleil, which for a diehard fan may hold them enraptured for the entire show. But for most people, I think this will prove to be a pale comparison to some, most, or all of the newer shows such as Quidam or Dralion. But if you want to see how it all started, be sure to check out Nouvelle Experience, which was filmed in 1990-1991 and was one of the earliest Cirque shows, and is one which is no longer running.

One act which will make you laugh is the clown who gets people from the audience and will just have you laughing. This is one of the best clown acts I have seen in any Cirque show and is almost worth the cost of the DVD itself, though admittedly I am a diehard Cirque fan.

I am giving this 4 stars (probably deserves 5 because of the acts) but simply because I have seen so many outstanding out-of-this-world performances by Cirque, I must drop this down one star.

Good Show.......2004-10-23

You have to remember that this was not filmed for DVD. This show was filmed for VHS and was released first on VHS in 1991. So that's why it looks kind of dark and has not that many angles. The show is excellent. An earlier review mentioned there being a "high bar" act in this show, but there isn't. This DVD is great to have because this show is no longer performed live. All of the music from the great CD is in this live recording. I had seen "Nouvelle Experience" live, three times and this is the best version of it.

Excellent!!!.......2003-07-26

Music, artists, lightning, sequence, etc., etc. Everything is superb.

Average customer rating:

Low-Budget
Horribly Amateurish
"Hit me!"
What a Mess!
Not worth your time or money.

Shiner
Starring: Conny van Dyke , Scott Stepp , Derris Nile , Nicholas T. King , and David Zelina
Director: Christian Calson
Manufacturer: TLA Releasing
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Dante's Cove
Another Gay Movie
Third Man Out
Endgame
Exposed: The Making of a Legend

ASIN: B0002TT0A0
Release Date: 2004-10-19

Description

An intensely original and daring film, Shiner explores the dark crevices of love, desire and passion. The film revolves around three couples whose intimate, intense and occasionally abusive relationships provide frameworks for love. Raw and edgy, Shiner details the story of people who engage in consensual physical and emotional abuse as part of their sexuality. DVD Extras: Director & Stars Commentary, Behind the Scenes footage.

Customer Reviews:

Low-Budget.......2007-05-12

"Shiner"

Low-Budget

Amos Lassen and Cinema Pride

"Shiner" has great promise and could be so much better but don't let that stop you from looking at this interesting film. "Shiner" is made up of three interweaving stories of sex, abuse and obsession. It is a disturbing film and I think that is so because it deals with some of the realities of life. Tony (Scott Stepp) and Danny (Derris Nile) are participants in homoerotic activity (let that suffice for now); Elaine (Conny Van Dyke) AND Reg (Seth Harrison) have a somewhat normal relationship that becomes kinky after they argue; a stalker who follows a well built boxer (David Zelina) which ends in a confrontation.
As I watched this movie there were tines that I felt as if I was watching a run through rather than a finished movie. It was shot with a hand held video camera and consequently the picture is not always clear and the sound is terrible. But I still found it quite fascinating even though it is quirt sloppy. If you do not pay attention to the technical problems, this is a compelling film and the movie does have some highpoints. If you watch it with an open mind, there is something to be learned here about the way people handle obsession.
The three couples are dysfunctional to the letter. We get a look at the way violence and eroticism are meshed and how impossible to see where one stops and the other starts. The two supposedly straight guys enhance their friendship by beating each other and Danny wears his bruises with a sense of pride. Tony beats him so that we will have a "shiner" and thereby be able to achieve orgasm.
I am sure that somewhere in this film is a good idea. Whatever it is never makes it and the movie sinks under its own exploitive nature. There is a story to be told and one that should be heard. It's a pity that it did not happen here.

Horribly Amateurish.......2006-08-01

I'm all for giving aspiring filmmakers and actors a break, but this film is such a clunker it's painful to watch. The acting is unbearably clumsy and stupid, the script is just plain bad, and the cinematography is horrible. It looks like a high school project; I have no idea how it made it to DVD at all. A must to avoid.

"Hit me!".......2005-08-12

Badly acted, poorly photographed, and with a script that is made up mostly of profanity, Shiner has very little to recommend it, and to say that the film warrants merit because it delves into a culture that has never really been explored before is perhaps a bit of a stretch. Yet the film's obviously contentious subject matter may have been a little more bearable if it had been a better-made film.

Shiner is all about the exploration of fetish and kink; well actually, it's all about the exploration of "violent kink." Apparently there are people out there in society who get their sexual thrills from being beaten up and from beating up others. Whether these people actually exist is pretty much beside the point, because Shiner makes it plainly obvious that they're out there, and they're supposed to be rapaciously satisfying their violent sexual desires.

Centered around three dysfunctional couples, Shiner charts how violence and eroticism are inextricably intertwined and how it's supposed to be near impossible to see where one begins and the other ends. Tony (Scott Stepp) and Danny (Derris Nile) are two supposedly straight guys who enhance their relationship by beating one another up. Danny is so into getting hit that he wears his bruises like badges, his banged up face and chest a source of ineffable pride. While Danny masturbates, Tony pummels him with his fists, so that he'll get a good "shiner" and achieve orgasm.

The film opens as the couple meets Charles (Ryan Sotoros), in a bar. Together, they lure him into a back alley where he performs oral sex on Danny. Afterwards they beat him up, obviously getting off on the kinky scenario. But this is just a prelude and a homoerotic stimulant to their own private encounters, because later at home they act out their kinky desires on each other.

While Danny and Tony explore the limits of their relationship, Bob (Nicholas T. King), a timid and timorous young attendant, obsesses and stalks Tim (David Zelina), a third-rate boxer who works out at the local gym. Bob admits that he likes to look at hunky Tim, watching him work out, shower, and change in the locker room. Tim is even aware that Bob has stolen items from his locker for sexual gratification.

But Tim - who gets off on smelling old gym shoes - begins to feel threatened by Bob, eventually challenging him, and angrily asking him what he wants. Is he going to beat Bob up? Well, Tim is, at heart, a coward so perhaps he won't. Instead, Tim uses his Adonis-like looks and hunky body to attract the attention of anyone whose admiration may compensate for his own lack of confidence and low self-esteem.

A third couple is included to add the heterosexual element to the story, and perhaps also to show that straights have kinks too. Appearing like they're in a totally separate film. Elaine (Conny Van Dyke), Tony's roommate and Tim's sister, is dating Reg (Seth Harrington). Elaine kind of gets off on violence, as well, but Reg seems rather kind of confused about it all.

But by far, the most interesting dynamic takes place between Bob and Tim - probably because there's no gratuitous violence involved. Ensconced in a game of cat and mouse, the sexual tension between them both is rife. Tim feels that he has the upper hand, he walks naked around the gym, slamming open the doors of janitor's closets and toilet stalls, and calling out Bob's name. "I know you're looking at me from someplace, Bob. I'll show you what I know you want. You just have to ask for it."

Exhibitionist Tim craves to see the expressions on the faces of anyone admiring his physical attributes, his tight boxer's body, and his ruggedly handsome good looks. Tony and Danny, however, are far too over-the-top in their fetishes to imbue much sympathy with the viewer and they frustratingly dance around their attraction to each other. Their relationship, obviously the most exploitative and sensationalistic, is the one that shocks us the most.

Most of the acting never raises above the level of bad porn, with Nicholas T. King as David Zelina, as Bob and Tim, the only true standouts. It is their characters that haunt one after the movie is over. Zelina is not only a stunningly sexy man, but he delivers a powerhouse of menacing, interior aggravation on the verge of a meltdown. His glaring expressions, line delivery, and body language make Tim all the more hot-blooded and petrifying.

This is a rough, extremely low budget example of underground filmmaking. Shot mostly in people's apartments, exclusive gymnasiums, and in deserted parking lots, Shiner has a gritty, raw, almost half finished look. There's lots of blood, although the blood looks obviously fake, and the violence is muffled by lots of sharp, quick edits. Scenes build to physical and sexual climaxes emphasizing the idea of pain and pleasure as something that is inextricably interlinked.

There is probably a good movie buried deep beneath the surface of Shiner and there is certainly a story to tell about these sort of cruelty-dependent and freaked out relationships. It's just a pity that the movie sinks under the weight of its own brutal and exploitative nature. In the end, Shiner comes off as an emotionally bereft and bankrupt affair, a homophobic tirade that is full of unadulteratingly bad and almost unbelievable behaviour. Mike Leonard August 05.

What a Mess!.......2005-05-12

What an unfortunate mess is "Shiner." I wanted to like this over-the-top, anti-film aspirant, and in fact found a number of moments with powerful resonance. Sadly, those moments are few and far between. While I appreciate some of what Calson was attempting, any advantage aspired to by bare bones, no budget cinematography was destroyed with some truly atrocious editing that benefited the movie not at all.

While bad acting abounds in low budget (and big budget) cinema, Shiner has some remarkably bad performances that are nearly painful to watch. In particular the "straight" couple Linda and Young Guy. These are the two most poorly written characters offering almost nothing to the story. The acting is so abysmal and neither actor seems capable of resisting smirking or cracking up as they drearily drop their lines with an appalling lack of skill. The choppy editing almost lends the feeling that these roles were entirely gratuitous and dropped in to avoid the films being stereotypically cast as an oddball gay film. It would have been better off as such.

With all that is going wrong for it, there are several performances that seem to capture what Calson was hoping to get. In particular the story centering on Bob and Tim. These are the two most richly drawn characters and offer the most rewards with genuinely captivating performances by Nicholas T. King (Bob) and David Zelinas (Tim). Tim is a boxer with some serious issues. Remarkably low self esteem is disguised by an almost cartoon like arrogance that he wears like armour plating. Obsessed with Tim, the seemingly harmless yet ultimately creepy Bob, stalks the boxer in clasic cat-and-mouse fashion. When the tables are turned and hunter becomes the hunted, the resulting in the film's only genuine emotional catharsis. In a film so artificially hard-edged (that's a compliment) one character MUST have that revelatory break through (or breakdown, as the case proves here) and the final confrontation between Bob and Tim provide Zelinas and King opportunity to display some real acting chops.

As played by Scott Stepp and Derris Nile, Tony and Danny seem to be the focus of the movie, and despite some bravado moments of their own (including one truly disturbing scene revealing the sex/violence obsession), but they can't seem to escape a cartoon-like artifice and it's difficult to look at - or beyond their seeming one note symphony and find anything other than the obvious.

Ultimately this same raw material could (and should) be used to tell this story in better fashion. Alas, there really isn't much to recommend this yet, the performances by Messrs. King and Zelinas, really do offer something special and a glimpse of what might have been and are ultimately worth seeing.

Not worth your time or money........2005-04-27

Ordinarily, I would recommend renting a film that I consider pretty awful instead of wasting hard earned money buying it. But this dreadful piece of crap isn't worthy of a $3.00 rental fee. The Director and Director of Photography have absolutely no idea of what they're doing. The sound quality is abyssmal and the bad eidting decisions are mind-boggling. It all adds up to a completely unprofessional foray into what I would define as "cable access" moviemaking. Avoid this dreadful garbage and save yourself the frustration of trying to understand what essentially amounts to an incomprehensible telling of a laughably silly story.

Average customer rating:

.......ANNABELLA..........AT HER VERY BEST.....
Within An Environment Of Class.

Dinner at the Ritz
Starring: Annabella , Romney Brent , Vivienne Chatterton , O.B. Clarence , and Frederick Culley
Director: Harold D. Schuster
Manufacturer: Genius Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0002XCCXI
Release Date: 2004-01-01

Product Description

A grieving daughter tries to cope wit the murder of her father. But what troubles her most is that the killer is still on the loose and the suspects are all her father's colleagues. Now she must uncover the clues and catch the killer before they catch her!

Customer Reviews:

.......ANNABELLA..........AT HER VERY BEST............2007-04-28

I never saw this movie until now...in a nut/shell: a French woman exposes the culprits who made her father's death look like a suicide...a whodunit/melodrama mixed with a lil comedy; nonetheless, a very interesting film done up rather well, to say the least...Annabella never looked so gorgeous [showing no skin] and complemented by her professional poise and adroitness with the spotight all over her trim and shapely body is the show from start to finish...David Niven's penchant for sophisticated comedy at times, is her love interest as Anabella scores in a multifaceted role of a international beauty [English, Spanish and a Bombay Princess] traveling to Paris, the glitzy Monte Carlo casinos and a salacious millionaire commodore [Francis L. Sullivan] eyeing her at the tables, etc...all the time the lovely Annabella is bedecked in exquisite gowns...she and Niven dance like ONE and had chemistry on the dance floor...great close/ups of Annabella's face adds to her allure, enhanced with a natural, flirty French accent...much later on she teamed up with Tyrone Power in, "Suez" and they sizzled on film...end result they became hubby/wife for the WW2 years...never realized Anabella had.."IT"...'beautiful Anna' certainly fits her name...ANNABELLA....this film was made by a British organization and released in the USA by 20th-Century Fox....no doubt about it...this is a surprisingly singular show in the year of 1937....SSGT CHRIS SARNO-USMC FMF

Within An Environment Of Class........2005-08-28

This smoothly paced English made work has many advantages going: capable direction that includes thoroughgoing competence with editing processes, a talented internationally flavoured cast, striking settings, of which many are in Paris and along the French Riviera, a comedic yet accessible screenplay, and top-flight design of costumes and interiors for each scene. Beautiful Annabella has top billing as Ranie Racine whose financier father, despite his ostensible suicide, has to her mind been murdered, and in an attempt to determine the actual cause of her sire's death, Ranie links up with Paul de Brack, a British government agent seeking identical information (David Niven with his initial starring part in a major feature), the two formulating various undercover ploys during which they come upon a large banking scandal while, naturally, facing the pleasant bother of falling in love. Elegance is the keynote of the film, with the gowns and other costuming of René Hubert being specially effective in its fostering, while a Monte Carlo casino, a luxurious Mediterranean yacht belonging to a probable principal in the mentioned scandal, in addition to concordant venues, are harmoniously complemented by the breezy dialogue penned by Roland Pertwee with additions from Romney Brent who also plays as a journalist following along the same trail as are Ranie and Paul. From the cast come numerous fine performances, Annabella earning acting honours for her vivid turn as an amateur detective, and there are telling contributions from Francis L. Sullivan and Tyrell Davis, representatives of the Forces of Evil, Shakespearian player William Dewhurst as an enigmatic jeweller who aids Ranie with adornment for her disguises, radiant Nora Swinburne, who not surprisingly steals her two brief scenes and, ever at ease among the elite, Niven may not be overlooked in this pleasant cinematic soufflé.

Average customer rating:

Silver Blaze look out !
good film and great Holmes, but BAD LOOKING AND SOUNDING

Murder at the Baskervilles
Starring: Arthur Wontner , Ian Fleming (II) , Lyn Harding , John Turnbull , and Robert Horton (II)
Director: Thomas Bentley
Manufacturer: Alpha Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes
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ASIN: B00008ZL4R
Release Date: 2003-06-10

Customer Reviews:

Silver Blaze look out !.......2006-07-15

Murder at the Baskervilles is a new version of Silver Blaze. The evil Professer Moriarty is put in the film for some extra flavor so is Sir Henry Baskerville (who really has noting to do with the story). This is a great film.

good film and great Holmes, but BAD LOOKING AND SOUNDING.......2004-05-25

THIS MOVIE LOOKS VERY GRAINY AND THE SOUND IS FILLED WITH STATIC, but if you don't mind those things it's not bad. Wonter's films are in terrible shape, but he's damn good. I enjoy him in all his Holmes films despite their rough condition. I give Wonter 5 stars.

Unpublished Story (British Cinema Collection)

Average customer rating:

WWII London, with spies and black outs

Unpublished Story (British Cinema Collection)
Starring: Richard Greene , Valerie Hobson , Basil Radford , Roland Culver , and Brefni O'Rorke
Director: Harold French
Manufacturer: SHANACHIE
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0001BVD54
Release Date: 2004-04-06

Description

Unpublished Story is a suspenseful thriller which takes the action from the battlefields of Europe to the panic-filled streets and bomb shelters of London during the blitz. Richard Green and Valerie Hobson star in this gripping tale of wartime intrigue set in London during its gravest hour, the German bombings of World War II.

Customer Reviews:

WWII London, with spies and black outs.......2004-05-19

An English journalist just back from Dunkirk writes a story blasting a London-based peace-in-our-time organization, but the story is killed by a government agency. Are there Nazi sympathizers or just cautious bureaucrats in the agency? Is the peace group led by innocent dupes or by ruthless Nazi agents? The reporter intends to find out.

The movie isn't A-list, but it's better than a programer. It's a craftsman-like piece of work. In feature roles are two first-rate British character actors, Roland Culver (The Pallisers, Dead of Night) and Miles Malleson (Kind Hearts and Coronets, The Man in the White Suit)

Description

Power your way to dominance on the field, court, or mat. Power for Sports Performance provides the tools to build a program for your needs, your sport, and your goals.

Through a series of self-assessments, you will identify areas of improvement and establish a baseline for your training regimen. Then, discover the exercises that are best for enhancing power in sport-specific movements, starting with base-building exercises for developing basic strength and postural control, and advancing to a complex power program that combines resistance training and plyometrics.

Best of all, these programs and workouts may also be printed from the DVD, so you can take instruction directly onto the practice field or into the gym. With its progressive format and unique combination of exercises, the Power for Sports Performance DVD will help you power your way to excellence.

Description

This intense action-thriller features Academy Award(R)-winners Michael Caine (Best Supporting Actor, THE CIDER HOUSE RULES, 1999; HANNAH AND HER SISTERS, 1986) and Martin Landau (Best Supporting Actor, ED WOOD, 1994). It's a gritty tale of a mobster's troubled quest for power in the shady world of professional boxing. Billy "Shiner" Simpson (Caine) is a brash and ambitious boxing promoter who has everything riding on his son's ability to win an important title bout. But on the greatest, proudest day of his life, all that Shiner has worked for begins to unravel, sending him running from the police ... and seeking revenge! In the legendary tradition of the big screen's greatest mobster movies, you won't want to miss a moment of the hard-hitting entertainment in this suspense-filled thriller!

Customer Reviews:

Grim.......2004-08-15

I don't know. Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but I remember learning in high school English Lit several decades ago that there are three basic elements to a story: protagonist, antagonist, conflict. To me, "protagonist" implies someone that the reader (listener or watcher) can root for. Hold that thought.

In SHINER, Michael Caine plays Billy "Shiner" Simpson, a British boxing promoter so brutal and unsavory that he's been excluded from the "legitimate" fight world and limited to fringe bouts. Now, he's maneuvered his own son, "Golden Boy" Eddie, into an un-licensed match-up with an American lightweight title holder managed by Frank Spedding (Martin Landau). The big event in a dumpy arena is the high point of Billy's professional and personal life. And, by the way, he's bet everything he and his family own on the outcome. In any case, Eddie throws the fight in the second round. Later, as Billy angrily confronts his son in a blighted lot down by the railroad yards, the latter is shot dead by a hidden assailant. Totally bereft, Simpson sets out to find Eddie's killer and exact revenge. By this time, knowledge of Billy's character leads the viewer to expect that the vengeance won't be pretty.

Even another riveting performance by the great Michael Caine can't obscure the ugliness of this film. Aside from perhaps Eddie, who isn't around long enough, there's absolutely no major character in the plot worthy or capable of engaging the viewer's sympathy. They're all vicious, violent people: Billy, his two thuggish bodyguards, and Frank. A scene wherein Billy holds a gun to a pregnant woman's swollen belly is particularly noxious. Even Billy's two adult daughters are revealed to be chips off the old block when they get into a hair-pulling, slap fight.

The ending to SHINER is notably anti-climactic and grubby. And, before I forget, there's a subplot involving the police investigation of the fatal beating of a fighter in one of Billy's previously arranged exhibitions - a subplot so completely tangential as to be hardly worth this mention.

Eeeuwww!

Caine works.......2004-06-08

A lousy ending detracts from a fine performance by Michael Caine. He is worth your time.

SHINER: Reaching for the Gold Ring.......2003-08-31

SHINER is the rare movie in which nearly the entire cast have the same unreachable goal: to better themselves at all costs. Director John Irvin does a masterful job of presenting a variety of people, most of whom who ought to know better, who have spent a lifetime in the shadows of their more successful competitors and now struggle to stake out their own claim in a world that prizes only the gold ring of success. Michael Caine is Billy (Shiner) Simpson, a brute thug of a small time boxing promoter who is sure that he has been denied top tier status as a promoter only because of his humble origins. He has the drive to succeed but not the boxing talent. Now, his son, Eddie(Michael Marsden), is ready to fight for the light heavyweight championship of England. Eddie is the ticket that will let Billy pass through the ropes that have heretofore kept him out. Billy is so sure that Eddie will win that he bets his entire stake on a win. Eddie feels the huge pressure of knowing that his father's future rests solely on his fists, and he has to battle his own insecurities that gnaw at him even as he steps into the ring. Martin Landau has a standout role as the American promoter who cannot hide his disdain for the upstart Billy. The tragedy of SHINER is not based on a boxing loss nor would a win by Eddie validate the collective insecure egos of all concerned. The greatness of SHINER lies in its ability to evoke even a wretched sympathy for those who whine about their missed opportunity to hit it big.

Back to the Carter days..........2003-03-09

This tough British crime film stars Michael Caine as a violent-tempered boxing promoter, Billy Simpson (nicknamed Shiner) who's betting everything on his son to win an upcoming welterweight match against an American fighter--championed by none other than Martin Landau as an equally tough promoter. Things do not exactly go as Shiner hoped they would....

That's the plot focus but it's really the milieu of the British boxing world and Caine's outstanding performance that drive this baby home. Shiner not only has a violent temper; he's also convinced everyone's out to get him. Invoking the same gritty Cockney accent and gangster manner of the lead in the great 1971 Mike Hodges film Get Carter, Caine goes all out. You can see his whole face contort when he's in a rage (often). Compare this to his performance in The Cider House Rules and you can see the terrific range he has.

The supporting cast is very strong with excellent performances by Kenneth Cranham (from the notorious Hellraiser 2), Frances Barber, and many others. This is a great follow-up to Get Carter and an excellent addition to the director's (John Irvin) body of work. Check out his City of Industry with Harvey Keitel, another terrific tough crime film.

Michael Caine's Performance of a Lifetime.......2002-09-01

Billy "Shiner" Simpson (Michael Caine) is a shady boxing producer who has managed to arrange an important match between his son "The Golden Boy" and an American fighter.

Billy is on top of the world on the day of the fight--everything he has worked for culminates in this night--in this fight. And when things begin to unravel, Shiner does anything and everything to keep the fight and his vision of life on track.

Michael Caine plays this role as only he can. He is amusing and slightly sleazy one moment and deadly the next. Is he just a proud father who pushes his son, or is his ruthless ambition completely out-of-control? Michael Caine is the master of the "ice-cold glance," (notice how his eyelids actually shift shape)and this film showcases Caine's remarkable talent for moving seamlessly from a jocular role to instant evil.

If you are a Michael Caine fan, you may also enjoy "Get Carter." The original "Get Carter"--not the Stallone remake.

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