Breakdown

Starring:Anne Gwynne
Studio: Alpha Video
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

Pedro! Viva!
Great collection to have
VIVA PEDRO
You have to appreciate the improbable and ridiculous
It's about time Pedro's older (and best ) movies were available in USA format!

Viva Pedro - Pedro Almodovar Classics Collection (Talk to Her/ Bad Education/ All about My Mother/ Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown/ Live Flesh/ Flower of My Secret / Matador / Law of Desire)
Starring: Pedro Almodovar Classics Collection
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Similar Items:

Volver
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Pan's Labyrinth (New Line Two-Disc Platinum Series)

ASIN: B000EAT24G
Release Date: 2007-01-30

Amazon.com

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown Pedro Almodovar broke into the art-house mainstream with this wild, manic comedy about a gaggle of women and their various problems with men, be they married lovers, cheating husbands, fiancés, or terrorists. Almodovar's long-time leading lady, Carmen Maura, stars as an actress (famed for her laundry detergent commercial as the mother of a sloppy serial killer) who's just been dumped by her married lover. In the midst of trying to track him down for a face-to-face confrontation, she crosses paths with her lover's son (Antonio Banderas), his unbalanced wife (Julieta Serrano), and his new girlfriend (Kiti Manver). Adding more fuel to the fire is the hapless friend (Maria Barranco) who got involved with a Shiite terrorist and is now being hunted by the police. Almodovar, a master of farcical screwball comedy, manages to keep all these balls in the air in dizzy, hilarious style without once losing his momentum. Chock full of the director's over-the-top stylization, in terms of both story and sets, the film is a hilarious yet heartfelt marriage of kitsch and drama, verging on parody but never going entirely over the top. Maura is absolutely breathtaking as the unhinged lover, dispensing wise advice to others while trying to keep a semblance of sanity, and the supporting cast is quintessential Almodovar, including a brief but memorable turn by Banderas in what could have been a bland, go-nowhere role. Nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar in 1989. --Mark Englehart

All About My Mother After her son is killed in an accident, Manuela (Cecilia Roth) leaves Madrid for her old haunts in Barcelona. She reconnects with an old friend, a pre-op transsexual prostitute named La Agrado (Antonia San Juan), who introduces her to Rosa (Penélope Cruz), a young nun who turns out to be pregnant. Meanwhile, Manuela becomes a personal assistant for Huma Rojo (Marisa Paredes), an actress currently playing Blanche DuBois in a production of A Streetcar Named Desire. All About My Mother traces the delicate web of friendship and loss that binds these women together. The movie is dedicated to the actresses of the world, so it's not surprising that all the performances are superb. Roth in particular anchors All About My Mother with compassion and generosity. But fans of writer-director Pedro Almodóvar needn't fret--as always, Almodóvar's work undermines conventional notions of sexual identity and embraces all human possibilities with bright colors and melodramatic plotting. However, All About My Mother approaches its twists and turns with a broader emotional scope than most of Almodóvar's work; even the more extravagant aspects of the story are presented quietly, to allow the sadness of life to be as present as the irrepressible vitality of the characters. Almodóvar embraces pettiness, jealousy, and grief as much as kindness, courage, and outrageousness, and the movie is the richer for it. ----Bret Fetzer

Talk to Her
Writer-director Pedro Almodóvar makes another masterpiece with Talk to Her, his first film since the wonderful All About My Mother. Marco (Dario Grandinetti) is in love with Lydia (Rosario Flores), a female bullfighter who is gored by a bull and sent into a coma. In the hospital, Marco crosses paths with Benigno (Javier Camara), a male nurse who looks after another coma patient, a young dancer named Alicia (Leonor Watling). From Benigno's gentle attentiveness to Alicia, Marco learns to take care of Lydia... but from there, the story goes in directions that deftly manage to be sad, hopeful, funny, and creepy, sometimes at the same time. The rich human empathy of Almodóvar's recent films is passionate, heartbreaking, intoxicating--there aren't enough adjectives to praise this remarkable filmmaker, who is at the height of his powers. Talk to Her is superb, with outstanding performances from all involved. --Bret Fetzer

The Flower of My Secret
Pedro Alomodóvar made this misfired, rambling comedy about a romance novelist (Marisa Paredes) whose crumbling marriage has left her depressed and unable to work. At a low point, she writes a scathing indictment of her own books (which are penned under another name), with no one realizing critic and author are one and the same. Almodóvar ( Law of Desire) has the start of a great idea here, and for once, he's direct about his sympathy for a character. But nothing else about The Flower of My Secret is so clear. Despite its unusual allegiance to the straightforward "women's films" of the 1950s, this movie blows it by becoming needlessly complicated over extraneous junk, forcing one to grope in the dark for Almodóvar's point. -- Tom Keogh

Bad Education
Writer/director Pedro Almodóvar's dark, sexy Hitchcock homage is his best work since his Oscar-winning All About My Mother, and deepened by a sun-dappled sadness. Handsome, enigmatic Ángel (Gael García Bernal) arrives at the Spanish movie offices of director Enrique Goded (Fele Martinez) and happily proclaims that he's actually Enrique's long-lost school chum Ignacio--an announcement that is both less than convincing and more than it seems. A novice actor, Ángel pitches a semi-autobiographical screenplay in which he's determined to star, a revenge-laden reflection of the doomed love he and Enrique shared as boys before a pedophile priest cruelly intervened. The script, and the lost days it recalls, carefully unfurls into a series of brooding movies-within-movies and memories-inside-memories, which allow the sensual, multiple-role-playing Bernal to give the performance of his young career--among other things, he makes a stunningly convincing drag queen--and Almodóvar the opportunity to movingly suggest that people will pay any price to ensure that their stories are told. -- Steve Wiecking

More Stills from Pedro Almodovar Classics Collection(click for larger image)

More Pedro Almodovar at Amazon.com

Songs of Almodóvar CD
Volver
The Films of Pedro Almodóvar

Customer Reviews:

Pedro! Viva!.......2007-05-14

I was familiar with the movies. They were part of a Retrospective about 6 yrs. ago at the Museum of the Moving Image. The box set is great!! The layout is fabulous. I had all the other movies except Matador. This is a must have for any Pedro fan. It is only missing High Heels, one of Pedro's best.

Great collection to have.......2007-05-13

I am a big fan of director Pedro Almodovar's films and this collection of 8 of his best movies is a must-have. These timeless movies are presented in a nice, space-saving box. I recommend it wholeheartedly to any fan of Almodovar.

VIVA PEDRO.......2007-05-12

Brilliant fimmaking, enormous vairety, lovely transfers. The material is difficult ot see. If you didn't catch these things when they were first released, you are up the creek. The theatrical reissue that was meant to promote the video release didn't last long enough for me to see but one of them. The dvds of most are out print, but I had LIVE FLESH, TALK TO HER and BAD EDUCATION on dvd and WOMEN ON THE VERGE on laser disc. But still, I had to have the set. Really terrific. got a good price at amazon Marketplace and i'm totlaly satisfied.

You have to appreciate the improbable and ridiculous.......2007-05-01

A pretty good collection, if strangely inclusive of BAD EDUCATION, a recent film, with the older batch of films, mainly of 1980s. This could be because LAW OF DESIRE's film director character is a forerunner of the film director in the later film. The problem is in reviewing the collection or the individual films. For instance, there are 3 documentaries on the filmmaker included on an extra disk. Otherwise the movies are presented w/English subtitle options but no extras, except for one of them.

Almodovar's style as a whole is for wildly improbable plots involving situations and characters that run of the mill people would never experience. American film reviewers love this, as they love French farce, and so give these films a free pass, awarding a blue ribbon. The true question is whether the same films would be as highly reviewed if the identical screenplay were presented as a solely American product.

Almodovar's film staples include (on the 8 films represented in this package): (1) Penelope Cruz going into labor (ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER; LIVE FLESH). (2) The homely guy is always slick, a real winner, at least professionally, and sometimes a film director (BAD EDUCATION; LAW OF DESIRE). (3) There's always strained theatrical moments, such as presentations of A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, that take up much screen time, and often are comical without being meant to be. Ditto a usage of older films that his characters seem to be greatly influenced by. (4) The cute guy, who in real life would probably be greatly sought after as a romantic partner, is always a loser who becomes obsessed with another person or thing to the detriment of everything else (LIVE FLESH; LAW OF DESIRE; BAD EDUCATION). (5) Usage of FF nudity is primarily male. (6) Everyone in the world (or at least Spain) is personally acquainted with a transexual or transvestite.

Briefly, on the films themselves, ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER is a tear-jerker that goes to extremes and unfortunately goes on way too long. Good acting, but improbable characters and their life histories make this film an experience to endure.

BAD EDUCATION has the superlative Gael Garcia Bernal in it, and is also a blatant indictment of the Catholic Church's methods. The twists and turns in the plot make it worthwhile as well as uniformly good performances. Unusual film from this director, who usually focusses more on the women. For those squeamish of homosexual content, this film is not nearly as explicit as LAW OF DESIRE.

LAW OF DESIRE has the young Antonio Banderas seducing/seduced by a film director whom he is obsessed with. There is FF nudity from Banderas and others. Rather interesting, not quite a thriller, but an ending that brings the story-line full circle in a way. Rather a moral on how what you're looking for may be staring you in the face but you have to be prepared to take it. I found the plot weak whenever it got into the ancillary characters, as they were unnecessary to the main plot but presumably there to soften the main character of the film director.

LIVE FLESH is an unbelievable situation of a young man from prison subsequently having affairs with two police officers' (one of whom he'd shot and crippled) wives. Unfortunately this plot was wholly predictable though improbable. Too many cliches of drunken criminal cop abusing wife, etc. At times seems it was meant to be a music video, and should have been, with pop songs used as narrative.

TALK TO HER, generally considered one of the more popular Almodovar films, and a quiet, sincere character piece. I could easily have lived without the scene of the shrunken man interacting with a woman's nude body; that was outrageous for the fun of it, I guess. But from what appeared to be a would-be homosexual union between two men veered in another direction that also made the ending quite believable. It set up cliches only to knock them down.

WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN has provided me an obsession with gazpacho that has haunted me to this day. I didn't watch it again via this collection, but realized I have no memories of the film from first seeing it, except that it was fun; so that tells me nothing of the plot is essential, and I probably didn't identify with the characters.

THE FLOWER OF MY SECRET is weird, as it takes off from the scenario of ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER, which isn't a good thing. It's about a writer's crisis, this time her own self-conceit being played out on a public stage, as she is both a well known author but also writes under a pseudonyn attacking her own work. Meanwhile, her marriage is falling apart. So she's really a woman having an identity crisis, as an artist, and as a woman. Maybe it takes a person who's undergone an identity crisis to understand this one.

MATADOR can be summed as "Can two serial killers find happiness in death with each other?" Add Banderas as a sexually confused young man who appears to have occasional perfect-radar psychic abilities and a young woman who's been sexually assaulted three times and is quite casual about it, and a closeted gay detective, and a psychiatrist who wants to seduce basically anybody, and you pretty much have a would-be psychology thriller very confused about what's going on. The film has the confusion one would expect from a wholly improvisational piece, like the director was making it up as they went along in the filming. I am blinded by the idea any of these characters would even exist in real life, except for the detective, so find it amazing they'd actually be stumbling into each other's orbit. A fun movie to spend some time on, as it is an entertaining mix of psychological motivations and I guess you can breathe easy nobody like this lives on your block.

It's about time Pedro's older (and best ) movies were available in USA format!.......2007-04-24

I have been an Amoldovar fan for more than twenty years (at least). I'm glad that he's gotten more American recognition now, but his older movies are still my favorites ( and so hard to find not that I'm no longer in a big city with great art and foreign film theaters. I'm so glad this incredible collection is finally available! (Not to mention that Matador and Law of Desire are some of the best acting Banderas has ever done!)

The Call of Cthulhu: The Celebrated Story by H.P. Lovecraft

Average customer rating:

Many happy returns
About as good as you could hope for
Brilliant and original
A lot of fun
"Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn"

The Call of Cthulhu: The Celebrated Story by H.P. Lovecraft
Starring: Matt Foyer , David Mersault , and Noah Wagner
Director: Andrew H. Leman
Manufacturer: Microcinema DVD
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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The H.P. Lovecraft Collection Volume 1: Cool Air
The H.P. Lovecraft Collection Volume 3: Out of Mind
The Resurrected
The H.P. Lovecraft Collection Volume 2: Rough Magik
Dagon

ASIN: B000BQTC98
Release Date: 2007-05-29

Product Description

Written in 1926, just before the advent of "talking" pictures, The Call of Cthulhu is one of the most famous and influential tales of H.P. Lovecraft, the father of gothic horror. Now the story is brought richly to life in the style of a classic 1920s silent movie, with a haunting original symphonic score. Using the "Mythoscope" process a mix of modern and vintage techniques, the HPLHS has worked to create the most authentic and faithful screen adaptation of a Lovecraft story yet attempted. From the cultists of the Louisana bayous to the man-eating non-euclidean geometry of R'lyeh, the HPLHS brings Cthulhu to the screen as it was meant to be seen. Eighteen months of production and a cast of more than 50 actors went into making this film a period spectacle that must seen to be believed. The DVD includes The Call of Cthulhu (47 minutes, black and white), the high-fidelity and "Mythophonic" soundtracks, a 25 minute "making-of" documentary featurette, two slide shows, deleted footage, a prop PDF of the Sydney Bulletin and more. To appeal to Lovecraft fans throughout across the globe, this DVD provides intertitles in 24 languages including: Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Euskera, Finnish, French, Galician, German, Hungarian, Irish, Italian, Lithuanian, Luxmbourgish, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish and Welsh. These aren't just subtitles either they are the real title cards rendered tastefully in each language. If you thought the story was scary before, wait until you see it in Welsh!

Customer Reviews:

Many happy returns.......2007-07-03

This is a classic film, and I was happy to find it. I collect these and this copy is in very good condition, was delivered fast, and without a problem. Amazon makes it all easy.

About as good as you could hope for.......2007-06-26

I mean, this isn't exactly a story that was begging for a screen adaption, being largely composed of three episodes of research, and only two of them had any action in them. And the idea of a silent movie seemed a little precious, trying to emulate the era of the stories themselves (or even a bit before them, actually).

But it turned out really well, and very entertaining. The bit on the island moved fast and was very well done, with the expressionistic cityscape, the groovy stop-motion monster, and my favorite part, where one of the crew manages a seemingly-impossible demise straight out of the book. There were lots of clever little touches, a lot of care and effort, and while somewhat short, there was never any feeling like any extra would've added much. The effects were just cheesy enough to be fun, but not so over-the-top as to be condescending or snide; enough affection for the source material to keep is straight, but still with a sense of fun.

Very enjoyable.

Brilliant and original.......2007-06-26

A spectacular piece of work. Not only is it an excellent and faithful adaptation of Lovecraft - no mean feat in itself - but it's a wonderfully realized film in its own right. Visually stunning, beautifully acted, brilliantly directed, great music, great sets, great animation. Making it a silent film was a stroke of genius. The "short subject" on the making of the film gives me even more respect for the problems solved to create this. This is the most original film I've seen since Maddin's "Cowards Bend the Knee" and Ladd Ehlinger's "Flatland." It is GREAT to see folks not bending beneath the heel of Hollywood and mass tv culture, but pursuing their own visions in their own way. Gives me hope for our future after all. Keep it up! I'll be looking forward to any new projects this group pursues.

A lot of fun.......2007-06-17

I am not a big Lovecraft fan but found this low (or no) budget flick to be a lot of fun. It is amazing to see what a group of dedicated fans can accomplish with a little ingenuity and creativity.

"Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn".......2007-06-12

If you know what my title means (i.e. "In his house at R'lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming") then chances are you were hooked on H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos long ago, in which case this film really is meant for you. There have been so many film adaptations of Lovecraft's work and themes that there is even a Lovecraft film festival every year in Portland, OR; yet none of them have seemed to get exactly right the sort of nameless horror and ineffable dread that Lovecraft writes about so memorably in his stories. (How could they? Any attempt to match his effects is ultimately doomed to failure since his point always has to do with a kind of sublimity in horror that cannot be matched on the screen.) Probably the most ingenious method to circumvent this is this film, which takes the most central story to his entire mythos and imagines it in the filmic terms Lovecraft himself might have been familiar with when the story was written in 1926, presenting the story as a silent film with period costumes and sets, scratchy film stock, stop-motion animation (a la the original Twenties version of THE WOST WORLD), and a very effective symphonic score (available either in high-fidelity on the DVD or in "Mythosound," which reproduces the mono effects of the period). The result comments not only ingeniously on Lovecraft and the Cthulhu mythos but also on early film as a genre, and suggests that the two might have been mutually influenced by some of the same ideas (such as shown in post-Impressionism--the film begins with the execution of a jigsaw puzzle of van Gogh's "The Starry Night"--and German Expressionism). This is what india film should do--challenge our expectations and make us see things in a new way, while simultaneously providing a rattling good show.

Average customer rating:

YOU STOLE MY STORY.
Uninspired performance from Johnny
Insane People Shouldn't Write Reviews!!/Let Me
(CAUTION - PARANOID PSYCHOSIS & MENTAL ILLNESS STEREOTYPE & STIGMA SPOILERS)
"I'm Sure Eventually that her Death will become a Mystery even to me"

Secret Window
Starring: Johnny Depp , John Turturro , Maria Bello , Timothy Hutton , and Charles S. Dutton
Director: David Koepp
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B0002234LS
Release Date: 2004-06-22

Amazon.com

Johnny Depp gets high off another acting challenge in this tricky adaptation of a Stephen King yarn. Although the mood is too sinister to allow for the mischief of his Pirates of the Caribbean turn, Depp still manages to embroider his role here with plenty of quirky business. He plays a writer, depressed and nearly divorced, who's stuck in an isolated cabin (shades of The Shining) when a stranger (John Turturro) arrives, accusing him of plagiarism. Writer-director David Koepp (Stir of Echoes) does his best to make the rickety material compelling--he gets the maximum out of the cabin set, for instance--but the problems inherent in the King story eventually win out. The climactic scenes are particularly unpleasant, especially in contrast to the cleverness of Depp's performance. A Philip Glass score adds class, but this one ultimately feels like a disappointment. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews:

YOU STOLE MY STORY........2007-06-27

This movie was on television a few months ago. My daughter who is 15 years old, watched the movie also. She loves Johnny Depp, so I got the movie for her. It's funny, and psychological to me. Poor Mort, his mind was so messed up he couldn't tell reality from fiction. The DVD also has features about the story. It explains certain scenes about the movie also deleted scenes. I really liked the man Mort made up Mr. Shooter. The beginning of the movie" You stole my story" I recommend this movie to any person who likes Johnny Depp.

Uninspired performance from Johnny.......2007-04-09

I was really disappointed in this movie, as Johnny Depp seems to sleepwalk through the entire role, and shows none of his previous greatness from other roles. And the two tone hair? Not a good look.

My dad has all of Stephen King book's but the last couple he has read, he has either struggled to get into, or found it was too similar to previous novels. I've read a couple, but watching this, I discovered every Stephen King stereotype/cliche is included. The loner eccentric writer, by himself in the middle of nowhere, the strange man - just everything about this film.

There's also a very unexpected twist, which not only ruins what was already a mess before the twist hits, but comes so abruptly, that you have to actually pause the film and work out what on earth is going on. The 'twist' has become the most overused solutions in Hollywood in thrillers etc of the past few years, and they're getting worse, and more predictable each time. For me, the twist completely ruined this film. Other reviewers disagree.

Maria Bello, the fabulous bar owner from Coyote Ugly, is seriously underused, and underdeveloped as a character, that it's a waste of time in even having her in the movie.

Major disappointment. See some of Johnny's earlier films for his best work. And if you want to see something really off the wall, watch Benny & Joon.

And on that note: "Rah! Rah! Rah!"

Quite.

And there was absolutely nothing 'thrilling' about it.

Insane People Shouldn't Write Reviews!!/Let Me.......2007-02-28

Okay that other guy who reviewed this is insane as H.

This movie is awesome. Johnny Depp gives a brilliant performance as author Mort Rainey. If you read the book then you know the story and hopefully you also know that movies won't ever be completely the same as the book. So don't be mad at the movie just get used to it.

(CAUTION - PARANOID PSYCHOSIS & MENTAL ILLNESS STEREOTYPE & STIGMA SPOILERS).......2007-02-23

This is an awesome awesome movie. I say that because it is one of the best renditions Hollywood has ever done of a person suffering from "psychotic depression." Johnny Depp (who is effected by it) lets the viewer watch this illness evolve in a slow journey down into the dark pit of insanity. The audience experiences this pure psychosis in a fashion that is authentic to the T.

The movie ingeniously shows this form of stress-induced-insanity which is so brilliantly triggered by (1) finding your wife in bed with her boyfriend, (2) the impending divorce, (3) Depp having to move out of his house and into a summer house on a lake, and (4) the inevitable financial stress on this lead character. I mean, oh my god, he must be running about 500 stress points! That's enough to trigger a psychotic attack on anyone who is predisposed to psychotic mental illness (paranoid schizophrenia, psychotic bipolar, psychotic depression, post-partum psychosis - about 8 million US people).

This is exactly the type of stress that triggered me to go into an almost identical type of psychotic episode a number of years ago while an army officer assigned to Germany. For me, the stressors were very similar to the movie - move to Europe, new platoon leader, financial difficulties, relationship stress, new language to speak, etc.

Psychosis means delusions and the movie very realistically showed the onset of the "persecutorial delusion" (where you think someone is coming to get you) by showing Turturro coming to get Johnny. And then the formation of the potentially more serious "grandiose delusion" where you think that others (real people) are conspiring against you. This is where some psychotic people will actually lash out at others, and by so doing, if they harm them, they become criminally insane. Of the 8 million of us who have this type of psychotic illness, about 50,000 of us will do this. We'll read about the next one in the newspapers next week. Almost all of these will be done by people who did not know they had a psychotic illness, were not previously diagnosed and were not medicated. And this is exactly Depp's situation in the film (I have psychotic bipolar and must take lithium for mania, and Zyprexa for psychosis daily).

Psychosis also means hallucinations. And Turturro has this part by playing an "imaginary paranoid hallucination antagonist." This is really an ingenious Hollywood technique because it helps others in our society understand psychosis by showing a visual hallucination. I believe the technique was first used in "Beautiful Mind." This phenomenon, coupled with the delusions, is what makes paranoid psychosis a horrifying experience.

The movie shows this paranoid delusional psychosis very well and Depp actually lashes out at a number of people in his psychotic episode. For me, I got these same types of delusions and similar hallucinations in Germany but never lashed out at others - therefore I got an honorable discharge as a captain, after getting out of the stressful situation and the psychosis dissipated.

I liked the above parts of the movie very well for its authenticity - it was good. However what I didn't like about the movie is that it went way over board in the number of homicides. This just adds to the mental illness stereotype and the stigma. And so more people won't go in and get help when they should be getting help and medication. It took me 23 years before I got help. Why? Because of the stigma and fear. Maybe if society didn't have this stigma, we wouldn't have these types of terrible tragedies like in this movie. My heart goes out to anyone who has been impacted by this.

Society has available the medicine and counseling which is needed to eliminate this type of tragedy. Maybe if they educated the masses in a smart way we could eliminate it. But instead we "monsterize" this illness by this type of movie.

"I'm Sure Eventually that her Death will become a Mystery even to me".......2007-02-22

Hey. Johnny Depp can act. He basically carries this movie on his back to the promised land of 4/5 star movies. Thats not to say that the other actors are bad, they are all good, no one stands out as a total [...] job that says he/she is only in it for the money. A few points on the movie:

First of all this is a horror movie and I was surprised that I was on the edge of my seat. This is why I contend that PG-13 movies can be just as scary as R rated movies. The atmosphere is great and I was, like I said, on the edge of my seat. The biggest thing that helps this movie is the Unknown. Most R rated movies show you the monster/pysho/math teacher/maniac and take away the element of the unknown(Of course I'm not saying that R rated Horror movies are not scary, I'm just saying that PG-13 movies can be scary too). In this movie you know the villain is [...] character but you still feel like there is more to it than that and of course there is.

Secondly, this movie also has some good parts in the middle of it. With a lot of these movies with a big twist at the end the middle can get boring and pointless because the ending is really all that matters. But Johnny Depp once again comes to the rescue and gives us some good humour which adds to rewatchability.

And finally the ending is, in my opinion, great. I loved the direction, I loved the acting, yea the story did get a bit uninvolving, but this is still a very good movie which all should see....

Average customer rating:

Great movie
"But I still have to face the hours, don't I?"
Sadness with no escape
I Don't Think Some People Got The Point
Very very deep

The Hours
Starring: Nicole Kidman , Julianne Moore , Meryl Streep , Stephen Dillane , and Miranda Richardson
Director: Stephen Daldry
Manufacturer: Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
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The Hours
Far from Heaven
Mrs. Dalloway
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ASIN: B00005JKTI
Release Date: 2003-06-24

Amazon.com essential video

Delicate and hypnotic, The Hours interweaves three stories with remarkable skill: in the 1920s Virginia Woolf (Nicole Kidman) grapples with her inner demons and slowly works on her novel Mrs. Dalloway; in 1949 housewife Laura Brown (Julianne Moore) feels her own destructive impulses; and in 1999 book editor Clarissa Vaughn (Meryl Streep)--much like the title character of Woolf's novel--prepares to throw a party, in honor of her dearest friend, a seriously ill poet (Ed Harris). Small details reverberate from story to story as a powerhouse cast (including Allison Janney, Toni Collette, Claire Danes, Jeff Daniels, John C. Reilly, Stephen Dillane, and Miranda Richardson) gives subtle and beautifully modulated performances. In the hands of director Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot), The Hours is almost more a piece of music than a story, and like music, it may move you in unexpected ways. --Bret Fetzer

Description

THE HOURS tells the story of three very different individuals who share the feeling that they have been living their lives for someone else. Virginia Woolf (Kidman) lives in a suburb of London in the 1920's as she struggles to begin writing her first great novel, Mrs. Dalloway, while also attempting to overcome the mental illness that threatens to engulf her. Laura Brown (Moore), a young wife and mother in post-World War II Los Angeles, is just starting to read Mrs. Dalloway, and is so deeply affected by it that she begins to question the life she has chosen for herself. Then, in contemporary New York City, Clarissa Vaughan (Streep) is a modern-day mirror image of Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway as she plans what may be the final party for her friend and former lover, Richard (Harris), who is dying of AIDS.

Customer Reviews:

Great movie.......2007-07-04

... my wife got this to see with her friends ... they loved it ... must have been heartwarming with honest, realistic emotions and without melodrama, violence or chase scenes. Hope that helps.

"But I still have to face the hours, don't I?".......2007-06-22

"A woman's whole life in a single day. Just one day. And in that day her whole life." (Virginia Woolf)

A very special place is reserved in my DVD collection for "The Hours", a treasure-work of inner conflict, self-questioning and the human eternal quest for purpose. And successes. And defeats. This movie is as delicate, as rude, as poignant and as moving as any movie can be. Contradictory? Definitely yes, but in the end as Borges' once said "cannot possibly contradict myself for I am made of multitudes"...

The lives of three women separated by several decades within each other, are pieced together in an impossible puzzle of simultaneous stillness, even though in each one of them, events, decisions and fates are rapidly unfolding and developing in simultaneous momemtums that will eventually lead to destiny.

Writer Virginia Woolf (Nicole Kidman) in 1921, submerging more and more in the depths of mental illness but still as coherent and logic as a human being can possibly be. Unrestful housewife Laura Brown (Julianne Moore) in 1951, tormented and trapped by a life she doesn't remember anymore how could have possibly happened. And busy entertainer Clarissa Vaughan (Meryl Streep) in 2001, who everybody perceives as ok, but in reality she's not. Their lives intertwined by The Hours... And in the background just the sadness of consequence. Of cause, and effect.

To try and describe how colossal is the role of Ed Harris in this movie is simply impossible. Mr. Harris delivers what to date I believe to be one of the best performances by a male actor, ever. Of course "The Hours" has a top of the line cast. Put that together with a great book, script and a marvelous director (Stephen Daldry, who in 2001 directed the beautiful movie "Billy Elliott") and you will get this: a feature film as simple, and yet as profound and labyrinthic "The Hours".

Sadness with no escape.......2007-06-17

Well, if this movie sets out to emphasize what Virginia Woolf was doing with "Mrs. Dalloway" or what Michael Cunningham was intending to achieve with his book, then the movie succeeds. At least with me. What is sad is to think a sad story may be what it takes to achieve it.

I Don't Think Some People Got The Point.......2007-06-09

This is a very deep film that actually needs to be viewed several times over since the underlying story is like weaving a pearl necklace. The times and plots go back and forth, yet when all is over, the entire necklace represents a sad storyline that spans generations.

I am not going to rehash the story or give a spoiler, but if you did not like the film the first time around, give it another chance. It is a work of cinematic art.

The DVD contains lots of extras, one of which is a brief outline of Virginia Woolf.

Very very deep.......2007-05-24

Wow! Not a movie for the depressed indivual on medication. Very moving.

Average customer rating:

Pleasant love story
Shadyac, take it from me and TLC, don't go chasing waterfalls.
Dragonfly
I'll admit it... (possible spoiler - don't read if you haven't seen it)
Good Family Movie

Dragonfly (Widescreen)
Starring: Lisa Banes , Kathy Bates , Kevin Costner , Matt Craven , and Kathryn Erbe
Director: Tom Shadyac
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
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No Way Out

ASIN: B00005JKZH
Release Date: 2002-07-30

Amazon.com

"Belief gets us there," explains nun Linda Hunt to grieving widower Kevin Costner, an emergency room doctor whose ordered world is startled by "messages" from his dead wife. She's talking about the journey from life to death, but it describes the doctor's road from fact to faith equally well as he puzzles out the otherworldly events of his life. Costner's mourning comes off less lost and sad than simply emotionless and inert, but he finds good support from Kathy Bates as his sassy neighbor. Her appearances, along with a few startling horror-movie-type shocks, energize a film otherwise shrouded in loss, grief, and the hushed mood of supernatural spookiness. It's like a fusing of Ghost, The Sixth Sense, and The Mothman Prophecies, a New Age melodrama in a sentimental key that works through a rather contrived mystic mystery to a glowing climax. This is less a ghost story than a modern twist on the old-fashioned miracle. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews:

Pleasant love story.......2007-06-21

First, I do have to say I like Kevin Costner is just about any movie, but this brought out a very gentle side of Costner.
The movie is part spiritual, mystery, thriller, romance and love. It is definitely, "what would and how far would you go to unearth a mystery and give your love and life for the one you were meant to be with."
I really like the movie-I own the movie (B)

Shadyac, take it from me and TLC, don't go chasing waterfalls........2007-05-19

The concept of death surrounds me recently. Not that friends and/or family or passing away, but with the films and television programs that I have been watching recently, it seems to be a common occurrence. I am in the middle of viewing full seasons of "The 4400" which deals with the death of some to cause a "ripple effect" that would heal the world, "Monk" - which in each episode someone dies and it is up to Shalhoub to solve the mystery of the dead person, and surprisingly I am trying to figure out "Lost", which is teetering on the exploration of the possible death/purgatory of its central characters. So, with all this "death" surrounding me, why not pick up a film that may give me a chuckle (due to the director's prior comedic turns) as well as give me a new insight on the unknown explanation of the death phenomenon. One would hope that this would be the case with "Dragonfly", but upon a second viewing - as well as the voice of director Shadyac informing us that he didn't enjoy the final cut of this film - it was only discovered that Kevin Costner cannot paint us a picture of death - nor should we ever ask him to.

To be utterly up front with anyone reading this review, I am not going to paint a pretty picture of what I witnessed with this outing. There was nothing, I repeat, nothing of value with this film that tried to blend the teary eye of Costner with that of "The Sixth Sense". First time drama director Shadyac (who would be better known as the founder of "Ace Ventura"), cannot seem to grasp this film as he continually combines cliché elements from other films, random occurrences that never quite link us to the ending, and a complete waste of actual talent. He has the blocks to build the story, but instead he just tosses them into a waterfall hoping that they will land upright. Was this a supernatural thriller, was it a romantic drama, or was it just another venue for Kevin Costner to attempt to apply his "leading man" status to? For me, I couldn't quite see where Shadyac was going or what genre he was interacting with. The trouble begins with the story, of which couples with soul-mates, dragonflies, and coming back from the dead, as well as what a popular majority thinks. Listening to the commentary, Shadyac explains that his cut of the film wasn't as received as the final cut because too many people knew the ending prior to it happening. In my eyes - that is worthwhile if the story continues to attract us - but in "Dragonfly" that is not the case. The story is trite and quite dull, leading to an ending that surprises mainly because you don't care any further. Joe Darrow lost his wife, cannot cope even months later, and begins to think that she is contacting him from the dead - but for what reason? If you weren't pulled in by my synopsis, then I do not suggest viewing this film because in 22 words, I have probably told you everything.

The acting is atrocious, possibly the worst roles created for two very talented actors. I am speaking of both Costner and that unknown talent that normally reverberates from Kathy Bates, but seemed to be missing this time. Perhaps it is the tone, the vague symbolism, or just the fact that these two needed paychecks that soured this film, but instances were not connecting. By the big "surprise" at the end, we are either so tired of the events or have (in my case) forgotten them, that there is no "gasp" or shock, merely just excitement to have a finale to this horrid broadcast. Shadyac has talent as a director, I even find myself laughing at "Bruce Almighty", but drama is not his cup of tea. This film was too dark without any signs of light, which can be a good thing for skilled directors, but not for first-time Shadyac. He needed a blend of comic with the eerie unknown, which would have offset the disaster this train was headed towards. Costner couldn't carry Shadyac's work, and became murky and muddled through the middle. He had no central focus, so we - as audience members - didn't know who he was. Was he crazy or just in love? How come we never saw his love for his wife? Unanswered questions that Shadyac and Costner never allowed anyone to answer.

To add to my disgust was the filming overall of this movie. Just as I was confused as to the real ending to the film, I am sure that those involved were equally as confused. We move, rather quickly, from children seeing the dead, to dragonflies, to white water rafting, all the way back to some native tribe in South America. It just seemed like we were jumping rather quickly, but in the wrong direction. Without giving it away, I had forgotten the main element to the ending when we got to it because we were muddled with so many other un-needed moments that the ending just seemed watered down and dull. Honestly, I was bored with this movie because it lead us down one path, somehow jumped to another, and tried to make it back to that original path that was already lost and forgotten. The music didn't match with the actions or emotions of the characters, the hints were hidden and expected, there was no moment of self-discovery. There wasn't a scene in the film where I suddenly went, "oh, I get it" -- and that is sad. "Dragonfly" had the potential, I just felt that Shadyac was behind the wheel of a vehicle that he couldn't control, and as you listen to the commentary, you can sense (and at times hear) that he didn't want to be behind the wheel at all.

"Dragonfly" is a pointless corporate film driven to bring in more money while capitalizing on the income produced by "The Sixth Sense". There are borrowed elements that Shadyac cannot control as well as actors that walk through their scenes wondering when the paycheck will arrive at their doorstep. This is the worst film to see Kathy Bates perform, and Costner continues to dig himself a bigger hole. As you listen to the commentary, this film underwent quite a bit of changes due to viewer issues and response, which I think is the worst way to edit a film. Shadyac has no problems saying that he edited this wrong, and that he didn't like "x" scene, and that he felt this was completely amateurish - which only helps solidify a inner feeling of disappointment with the film. He selflessly promotes "Bruce Almighty" during this film, which drove the nail further into the already built "Dragonfly" coffin. I do not suggest this film to anyone unless you like your water from the tap, meaning that if you don't mind drinking muddled, tainted, and possibly poisoned liquid - than "Dragonfly" will be the film for you. It was that bad.

Shadyac, take it from me and TLC, don't go chasing waterfalls.

Grade: * out of *****

Dragonfly.......2007-05-08

Very good movie. Most interesting as it starts as sorta very sad when the doctor loses his wife while she was on a missionary trip. Couple of weird and a little scary movie until the end which is a heartfelt surprise. The doctor (Kevin Costner) wins something most beautiful. It's definately worth watching.

I'll admit it... (possible spoiler - don't read if you haven't seen it).......2007-05-06

At the end of the movie, I get all choked up and some wet brinely-like substance drips onto my face out of the corner of my eyes. I first rented this movie when it came out a few years ago and really enjoyed it. I tend to leave it on whenever I see it on any of the cable channels that show it often. The last scene in the jungle of Venezuela is just beautiful and, seriously, being the father of a baby boy and a 3 year old beautiful little girl, I can never get enough of that scene. I completely feel Kevin Costner's emotion come through in this scene and the whole movie as well. Great acting, very nice plot and an awesome soundtrack make this well worthwhile. The only reason I gave it 4 stars is because, for as enjoyable as it was, the only movies that get 5 stars for me are the classics like To Kill A Mockingbird, Blazing Saddles, Schindler's list etc.

Good Family Movie.......2007-04-02

It's not a great movie, but is good. I especially enjoyed the fact that there was no profanity, nothing gory, etc. I wish other "new" movies would learn from this. It's not necessary to use foul language three times per sentence, nor to show limbs being chopped off to provide entertainment.

Average customer rating:

Does Philip Glass make films now?
99.9% Cocoa
I love George Clooney
Sci-fi for the thinking person
Far Inferior to the Original

Solaris
Starring: George Clooney , Natascha McElhone , Viola Davis , Jeremy Davies , and Ulrich Tukur
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
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Solaris (Score)

ASIN: B00009ATIX
Release Date: 2003-07-29

Amazon.com

A curious mix of science fiction and metaphysical love story, Solaris centers around Chris Kelvin (George Clooney), a psychologist sent to investigate why a space station orbiting an alien planet has stopped communications. The planet has the power to delve into human psyches and re-create lost loved ones--in Kelvin's case, his dead wife (Natascha McElhone), whom he then wants to bring back to Earth. Director Steven Soderbergh (Traffic, Erin Brockovich) fills almost every shot with faces and bodies, as if to emphasize the human soul rather than outer space as the movie's true subject. Unfortunately, the vagueness of the environment--combined with a script that implies more than it shows--serves to dislocate our ability to engage with the characters, rendering Solaris emotionally inert. Jeremy Davies, as a lingering crew member, brings a hint of humor to the otherwise serious-minded proceedings. --Bret Fetzer

Description

Superstar George Clooney turns in a stellar performance in this "brilliant sci-fi movie" (New York Daily News) from Academy Award winners Steven Soderbergh (2000 - Best Director, Traffic) and JamesCameron (1997 - Best Picture, Titanic). Aboard a lonely space station orbiting a mysterious planet, terrified crew members are experiencing a host of strange phenomena, including eerie visitors who seem all too human. And when psychologist Chris Kelvin (Clooney) arrives to investigate, he confronts a power beyond imagining that could hold the key to mankind's deepest dreams?or darkest nightmares. Co-starring Natascha McElhone and Jeremy Davies, Solaris is "mind-bending!" (Rolling Stone)

Customer Reviews:

Does Philip Glass make films now?.......2007-07-02

This film is an unbearably boring, irritatingly pretentious waste of celluloid. Were it filmed digitally, it would have been a waste of precious binary code. It raises rather under-elaborated metaphysical questions about life and death (at a sub-glacial, coma inducing pace) then fails to provide any meaningful message. After 90 minutes of waiting for something to happen, something actually does, for which I was extremely grateful: the credits rolled. Video stores should be forced to apply warning stickers to the boxes.

99.9% Cocoa.......2007-06-24

Some people just don't like dark chocolate. This movie gets short shrift from reviewers who don't care for its slow pace and that it requires a bit of thinking. The reviewer below suggests that Clooney would rather not have done this film. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, Clooney applied for this role. This is a love story and a psychological mystery/sci-fi/thriller. It's an intensely suspenseful and fascinating story in which all the actors give excellent performances.

I love George Clooney.......2007-05-10

GREAT MOVIE! Well any movie with George Clooney is a great movie in my book. But it has a very good Story too.

Sci-fi for the thinking person.......2007-03-21

Solaris explores ideas about what it means to be human.

It has the feel of a European-made film, but with a Hollywood budget.

Soderberg, James Cameron, and George Clooney deserve high marks for being uncompromising in keeping to the spirit of the the book.

The original Russian film was long, talky and slow-moving - with poor special effects. The original Lem book was also rather wordy. Soderberg explores similar ideas but keeps things moving forward and concise.

The production design and visual effects are really cool.

Be warned this film is for the 2001:A Space Odyssey crowd, not for the Alien(s) crowd.

A fine achievement by the film-makers.

Far Inferior to the Original.......2007-03-16

Solaris is a movie that moves so slowly, it is often near the point of rigor mortis. It is a dumbed down version of the original Soviet movie. It is proof that sometimes American movies can be far inferior to Communist flicks.

George Clooney continually has this look on his face like he's wondering just how did he let his agent talk him into this film. The rest of the acting is similarly poor.

Watch the original movie before you ever watch this, unless you are suffering from an acute case of insomnia.

Average customer rating:

schizophrenia
Emotionally Powerful
A beautiful mind
Wow wonderful movie do not let anyone give it away to you

A Beautiful Mind
Starring: Jennifer Connelly , Russell Crowe , Adam Goldberg , Ed Harris , and Judd Hirsch
Director: Ron Howard
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B000FVQLQQ
Release Date: 2006-08-22

Description

Winner of 4 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, A Beautiful Mind is directed by Academy Award winner Ron Howard and produced by long-time partner and collaborator, Academy Award winner Brian Grazer. A Beautiful Mind stars Russell Crowe in an astonishing performance as brilliant mathematician John Nash, on the brink of international acclaim when he becomes entangled in a mysterious conspiracy. Now only his devoted wife (Academy Award winner Jennifer Connelly) can help him in this powerful story of courage, passion and triumph.

Customer Reviews:

schizophrenia.......2007-06-08

An excellent overview of the struggles and tortuous life of a schizophrenic. It brings to the attention of the public the pain and suffering both of the person who is mentally ill, and the caregiver.The movie is excellent.

Emotionally Powerful.......2007-05-08

This film was just flat out enticing. I have watched it over and over again, and it never seems to lose its value. Crowe is a great actor, and pulls off his role with perfection. This is one of my most favorite movies ever, and is one of the very few that ever made me tear up. Some may find the beginning to be a little slow, but after about twenty minutes of watching, you'll be hooked. Don't miss this one!!!

A beautiful mind.......2007-02-06

Excellent ! A story especially close to me as my ex-wife suffers from this same disorder.

Wow wonderful movie do not let anyone give it away to you.......2006-10-17

I saw this movie when I was working at a mental hospital. I helped me to understand what schizophrenia might be like to some people. If you want to know about that watch this and do not learn to much about the movie it will reck it. Just know that this is very well done and respectfully done. It is based on a true story, but not a documentary. The acting is excellent. If you want to understand more watch this. It is a beautiful movie.

Average customer rating:

Boring till the last 5 minutes
I love this movie!
watch something else
It was horror...horrible to watch
TV movie with some cursing...

Session 9
Starring: David Caruso , Stephen Gevedon , Paul Guilfoyle (II) , Josh Lucas , and Peter Mullan
Director: Brad Anderson (II)
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
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THE EYE OF DANVERS: A HISTORY OF DANVERS STATE HOSPITAL

ASIN: B00006AUIG
Release Date: 2002-08-13

Amazon.com

Few things are more sure-fire creepy than huge abandoned buildings, and Session 9 has one of the eeriest buildings you've ever seen. A hazardous-materials-cleanup company has been hired to eliminate asbestos tiles and other toxic material from a gigantic mental hospital that had been shut down in the 1980s. But as one member of the team starts to nose into old files in the office, he uncovers a series of tape recordings of psychiatric sessions--nine of them--related to a notorious sexual abuse case. Soon, toxic materials and dark spirits start to merge. Like The Blair Witch Project (and most horror movies, really), Session 9 is longer on atmosphere and dream logic than story--but the atmosphere is effectively unsettling. A strong cast (including Peter Mullan, David Caruso, and Brendan Sexton III) do an effective job of slowly cracking under stress and evil influences. --Bret Fetzer

Customer Reviews:

Boring till the last 5 minutes.......2007-07-03

This movie was dull until about the last 5 minutes when the pace picks up a bit, its not scary or atmospheric, the mental hospital does not look old or drab enough to give it that old scary feel.
I like David Caruso and think he is a great actor, but why he signed up for this I don't know.
Obviously once again I missed something with all the good reviews this film got, maybe I fell asleep again !!

I love this movie!.......2007-07-03

This is one of my all time favorite movies. One of the best psychological thrillers that I have ever seen. The creepiness factor never diminishes for me. Even on repeated viewings, I am still captivated by it.

watch something else.......2007-06-26

ok it's about group of laboureres who get un-hinged by vibes and finding old case-notes in an abandoned looney-bin.The acting and dialogue is garbled i couldn't follow this movie at all.It just scrambled my brain for an hour or so.

It was horror...horrible to watch.......2007-06-16

Oh My Gosh...not a horror movie..not a creepy movie..not a scary movie..the most boring movie of all time..YES!!! that is it BORING and STUPID

TV movie with some cursing..........2007-05-07

I was led astray by the good reviews of this movie on Amazon. Good acting and taut direction can only cover the inadequacies of the script for so long. I could not empathize with any of the main characters. You can only drag the suspense for so long until you HAVE to pull the rabbit out of the hat and give the folks a show as to WHAT you're trying to sell as 'scary'. That's basic script writing, and if you can't keep people in the seats during the last five minutes of your movie, then you are bound to lose them well before the middle act.

Save your money; there's a lot more/better scares out there in low budget horror-land. I wish I did...

Average customer rating:

Jessica Langes best performance
A brilliant film
more or less accurate; strong performances
Disturbing, in every sense
disappointing

Frances
Starring: Jessica Lange , Kim Stanley , Sam Shepard , Bart Burns , and Jonathan Banks
Director: Graeme Clifford
Manufacturer: Starz / Anchor Bay
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B00005OCK1
Release Date: 2002-02-19

Amazon.com essential video

Jessica Lange gives a career performance in a role she was born to play: the talented and troubled Frances Farmer. Farmer's awful trajectory travels from bright Seattle girl to 1930s Hollywood starlet to degraded (eventually lobotomized) mental patient. Lange, who has the blond, clean look of Farmer's heyday, goes into these places with the fierce abandon of a true believer. Her performance, the lush John Barry score, and the period re-creation are all worth applauding; almost everything else fails. Everyone except Farmer is grotesquely caricatured to fit the movie's thesis, which is that if you are intelligent and nonconformist, the system will resolutely destroy you. (The medical establishment is evil incarnate.) This simple conclusion seems inadequate and disrespectful of Frances Farmer's tragic problems. For a radiant glimpse of what the real Farmer had to offer, see Howard Hawks's Come and Get It, which bristles with excitement over a new discovery. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews:

Jessica Langes best performance.......2007-06-27

Frances Farmer was ahead of her time. They didnt know what to do with her and she didnt help herself at times. Jessica Lange gives her best performance in Frances. Sam Sheperd and Kim Stanley do great. Frances is a great film, it has all the qualites.

A brilliant film .......2007-06-05

A brilliant film -- but troubling, very troubling. Jessica Lange gives one of greatest performances of any american actress ever. Kim Stanley also gives one of the greatest character performances ever. These two are unforgettable.

The facts of Francis Farmer's life are not entirely accurate in the film ... but Jessica Lange captures her spirit. She traverses an emotional range which few actresses are capable. She moved what could have been a mundane biographical story into the realm of art.

This is a film which should move you and has some very important things to say about the human spirit ...

more or less accurate; strong performances.......2007-05-25

This is from 20 years ago or so---the mostly true story of outspoken actress Frances Farmer, beset on all sides by her pushy mother, Hollywood gossip columnists, and movie studio suits. The lobotomy scene has been discredited, but the rest--with the lunatic asylums and all their accompanying unpleasantness-- may be true. Jessica Lange gives a powerful performance alongside Sam Shepard and Kim Stanley. Great perfomers, all.

Disturbing, in every sense.......2007-04-20

This is one of the most horrifying, heartbreaking stories I have ever seen. There are a lot of reviewers here who contest the authenticity of the storyline, but even if what is depicted is even remotely true, here is a life that no-one deserves.

I don't agree with a lot of what Jessica Lange has to say, but I have tremendous respect for her acting ability. Her portrayal of an unbalanced, threatened, hounded woman, is without peer. In this film, she portrays the film star Frances Farmer, showing a very controversial, headstrong woman, a no-no in the day of Farmer's rise and fall. Attacking a hairdresser, being pulled over by the police, then attacking a police officer, and being convicted of Contempt of Court, yes, she needed to learn a lesson. But people in authority don't like people who make waves.

The story follows her life, so to speak, through some rough times, some happier times, and, what I would call one of the saddest, most frustrating, completely horrifying things to happen to somebody. She's happy, she knows what she wants, and is ready to begin anew, without Hollyweird. The typical stage-mother sees this as a bad idea, and a fight ensues. Since she was stripped of her legal rights as an adult, her mother's decisions count, not hers, and in one of the most vicious things one could do to another person, commits Frances to a mental intstitution a second time. Seeing her sitting there, remembering her life when it was better, in a crowded mental infirmary, surrounded with the dregs of society, drugged, hair chopped off, restrained, tied down and raped, this is an excruciating scene to watch. As with the Ice-Pick Lobotomy. Detractors of this film say this didn't happen to her, but it DOES happen. Or, at the very least, it did happen to people. Like an earlier scene, where the doctors strapped her to a bed, and injected her full of Insulin, telling her it was a tranquilizer. Watching convulsions isn't a pleasant experience, and having one, I can't imagine.

The written narration at the end of the film says, "She died as she lived: Alone."

Yes, this is one brutal film, one that can leave a viewer exhausted, physically, as well as emotionally, and will stay with you for a very long time, knowing how people tend to treat someone who is a little "different."

disappointing.......2007-04-02

i had never known that there was a movie made about the life story of one of my very favourite singers patsy cline.well they needn't have bothered as it was a very much by the numbers story something definetely not above anything that you would see as a midday movie on any weekday.i liked both of the main actors,jessica lange and ed harris.the problem for me was that there was no attempt at conveying any real depth to the characters.whilst i appreciate that there has to be some element of fiction in most bio-pics anyone watchimg the movie and not having heard of patsy cline would be none the wiser for her motivations and driving forces.the only saving grace for me was that patsys singing was used in the movie to at least try to convey the quality that others saw in her singing.

Average customer rating:

Tops for action and suspense thanks to Kurt Russell
A Fun And Exciting Thriller!
Exciting Movie!!
Simply one of the best....
Classic Kurt Russell!

Breakdown
Starring: Kurt Russell , J.T. Walsh , Kathleen Quinlan , M.C. Gainey , and Jack Noseworthy
Director: Jonathan Mostow
Manufacturer: Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Crime | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

Thrillers | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Neo-Noir | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

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( B ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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ASIN: 6305182086
Release Date: 1998-12-01

Amazon.com

Tautly directed and superbly photographed, this crowd-pleasing thriller from 1997 is indebted to Steven Spielberg's Duel, but more closely resembles Dead Calm in its strengths and weaknesses. Kurt Russell plays a stressed-out husband whose wife (Kathleen Quinlan) disappears after their car breaks down in the desert. Tracking her whereabouts leads to an interstate theft and kidnapping ring, and as Russell pursues--and is pursued by--a vicious redneck played to perfection by J.T. Walsh (in one of his final film roles), the movie succumbs to several tense, but utterly conventional action sequences. That doesn't stop the movie from being an above-average nail-biter. It is so effectively directed by co-writer Jonathan Mostow that even the more surreal situations seem plausible and altogether unsettling. Russell's performance is key to the film's success--he's smart enough to be admirable, and we can readily identify with his frustration, confusion, and torment. Through him, Breakdown takes on the edgy quality of a wide-awake nightmare. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

Tops for action and suspense thanks to Kurt Russell.......2007-04-09

Breakdown is excellent. Kurt Russell delivers the goods through his charcter's pain, frustruation, anger, you name it. Ive never been so emotionally involved in a movie before. I was yelling at the screen, gritting my teeth. I dont want to give anything away but let me tell you, when a movie makes me become emotionally involved its done its job. Kurt Russell is awesome...one of his best movies ever ( Be sure to check him out in any of his roles in the John Carpenter movies). JT Walsh also does a fine job as well as the rest of the cast. Great from start to finish, Breakdown is what good tight film making (and superb acting) is all about.

A Fun And Exciting Thriller!.......2006-10-17

This is a fun and exciting thriller that is highly recommended. Sure, there are plenty of holes in the story, but that doesn't stop it from being an edge of your seat thriller. Jeff (Kurt Russell) and his wife Amy (Kathleen Quinlan) are travelling to California in their new car. They are driving along in the barren, solitary and open expanse of the southwestern USA, when something causes their car to break down. [Hence the title of the film] Stopping to assist them is a kind and friendly truck driver (J.T. Walsh). He's a real nice guy. Or is he? There is more to his character than the viewer initially realizes. And events are going to take a very ominous turn.

Further, the truck driver (Walsh) even suggest's that Amy be given a lift to town in his truck where she can call a tow truck, while Jeff makes sure no one steals his car. Jeff awaits patiently, however, he is able to get the car started once again. When he goes to the cafe where his wife is expecting him, she is nowhere in sight. Moreover, no one in the cafe has ever even seen his wife. Thus begins a panic search by Jeff to locate her, with the help of the police: Who think the wife just left him over an argument. But things turn very strange when Jeff is asked to do something [No spoilers]. Who was the stranger in the truck? And where is Amy? The film is very suspenseful, and the late J.T. Walsh gives an outstanding performance as a good Samaritan, who claims he never saw Jeff's wife and doesn't know what all the fuss is about. [No spoilers]. Highly recommended This is an excellent and fun suspense thriller.