Talisman

Talisman


Starring:Parish, Jones, Adelman, Goia
Studio: FULL MOON
Product Type: DVD
The Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Orlando! Bloom! can't! act!
  • An ok adaptation for the classic but not on par with the other two films
  • Excelente aventura
  • Gotta Have All 3
  • "The DVD box #2"
The Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers
Starring: Sean Astin , Sean Bean , Cate Blanchett , Orlando Bloom , and Billy Boyd
Manufacturer: New Line Home Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Similar Items:
  1. The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring (Platinum Series Special Extended Edition)
  2. The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King (Platinum Series Special Extended Edition)
  3. The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King (Widescreen Edition)
  4. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Two-Disc Special Edition) (Harry Potter 2)
  5. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Two-Disc Special Edition) (Harry Potter 1)

ASIN: B00005JKZV
Release Date: 2003-08-26

Product Description

Frodo Baggins and the Fellowship continue their quest to destroy the One Ring and stand against the evil of the dark lord Sauron. The Fellowship has divided and now find themselves taking different paths to defeating Sauron and his allies. Their destinies now lie at two towers - Orthanc Tower in Isengard, where the corrupted wizard Saruman waits and Sauron's fortress at Baraddur, deep within the dark lands of Mordor.
Running Time: 179 min.

Format: DVD MOVIE

Amazon.com

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers is a seamless continuation of Peter Jackson's epic fantasy based on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. After the breaking of the Fellowship, Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) journey to Mordor to destroy the One Ring of Power with the creature Gollum as their guide. Meanwhile, Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Legolas (Orlando Bloom), and Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) join in the defense of the people of Rohan, who are the first target in the eradication of the race of Men by the renegade wizard Saruman (Christopher Lee) and the dark lord Sauron. Fantastic creatures, astounding visual effects, and a climactic battle at the fortress of Helm's Deep make The Two Towers a worthy successor to The Fellowship of the Ring, grander in scale but retaining the story's emotional intimacy. These two films are perhaps the greatest fantasy films ever made, but they're merely a prelude to the cataclysmic events of The Return of the King. --David Horiuchi

Customer Reviews:

3 out of 5 stars Orlando! Bloom! can't! act!.......2007-06-12

I first saw this when it came out and like many people I was quite excited to see a full length live action (ie non animation) version of books that were a big part of my growing up years.

Although back then I enjoyed the film, looking back at it for the first time in many years later, I was surprised at my reaction to it. The visuals are still great, and the CGI still holds up pretty well. But the main problem I had with the film was the acting. It ranges from good to poor, but for me it's this inconsistency that stops me from getting immersed in the film. The film has a glaring conflict of acting styles from the quite old school Shakespearean of Ian McKellans Gandalf, to the "Method" acting of Aragorn, to just plain wooden-ness. There's an obvious problem with accents too, so we have American's trying to sound English, Australians trying to sound English, Australians trying to sound Irish, Londoners trying to sound like they're from Cornwall, and nobody really getting it totally right. For such a big budget movie, this lapse of quality is surprising. And, as my review header may suggest, I think Orlando Bloom is the worst screen actor I've yet seen. He's not just mediocre or okay, he's sometimes so bad, so woodenly earnest in his delivery that I actually laughed out loud a few times. "You would die before your stroke fell!" ranks up there with some of the all time worst acting performances in film history. If he was told to show grief he would furrow his brow a bit and frown. If it was surprise he was trying to convey he'd widen his eyes a bit and open his mouth a bit. It's all there in the movie.

The "comic relief" scenes with Gimli are only slightly less annoying than Jar Jar Binks too.

I can look back on this and enjoy some bits in this film and the other films of the trilogy but I don't believe that this series of movies is going to ever be classics of the future. Classics don't have you squirming in embarrassment at the acting.

2 out of 5 stars An ok adaptation for the classic but not on par with the other two films.......2007-05-15

**Warning this review contains many spoilers** For staters I personally love the Lord of the Rings. This includes the movies but more so the books. I thought The Fellowship of the Rings was as near perfect an adaptation as a movie could have come to the book and I feel the same way about The Return of the King. Both are among the best movies I have ever seen. The Two Towers, however, falls short of it's antecessor's and predecessor's near perfection. When I first read the book I was amazed and fell in love with the powerful story and characters Tolkien had created but when I saw the movie I was very dissapointed. I have thought long and hard about what I don't like in this film and in fact I just finished watching it again. I also want everyone to understand that I'm not some crazed fan who is upset that they didn't include everything in the movie that was in the book. I am somewhat of a film maker myself and I know all to well how important pacing is. So here is my review from a film student's perspective.

The movie starts out very strong. The opening flashback to the fight in Moria is a masterpiece and probably the films strongest momment. We then meet up with all the old characters from the first movie. These opening scenes are very well done with some amazing cinematography, music, and special effects. These scenes are also very well paced. Jackson keeps the movie moving along and manages to introduce the new characters without ever getting off topic (something that plagues him later on). To be honest I have no complaints about these early scenes.

However, the film starts to go downhill about halfway through. To make Lord of the Rings more politically correct Jackson needed more female characters. So he expanded the role of Arwen. This worked great in the first one and I think her inclusion adds a lot to The Return of the King also. But in this one she just seems tagged on. There is a flashback sequence where we see her and Aragorn in Rivendell. At first this seems to work but it just goes on and on. It could have easily been cut down. To drag the story down even more right after the flashback we are treated to the films most unnecessary scene were Jackson totally gets off topic. We flash to present Rivendell where Elrond convinces Arwen to leave for Valinor. I was pretty sure that that was what Aragorn just did in the flashback. I simply became bored with the scene's redundency. To drag this vital middle section of the movie down even further Jackson cuts to some kind of weird flashforward to Aragorn's death. This is completely redundant to the point of the scene which is itself unnecessary. But this wasn't enough to get me to dislike the entire movie I was still looking forward to watching the rest.

However, my hopes were soon destroyed for the movie's second most unnecessary scene came right after it. Instead of simply having some nice and much needed character development as they march to Helm's Deep Peter Jackson decided to throw in probably the dumbest plot twist he could have: Aragorn dies... well not really but you think he does. For some reason Jackson felt it was important to throw a battle in and for some reason (God knows why) he thougth it would help the movie to make everyone think Aragorn was dead. At this point I totally started to lose interest in the movie. In a film the middle is one of the most important points for that is when you start building to the climax. Instead we get 15 minuets of slowmotion shots of everyone mourning Aragorn's death only to have him show up a little while later. I was just so bored at this point I could hardly stand it.

Luckly the pace starts to pick up but instead of getting exicted in anticipation for the big battle I just found myself thinking get on with it. All the very necessary character develoment before the battle could have easily taken the place of the unnecessary mess of scenes that didn't even appear in the book itself. But at last the battle arrived. Despite the King's long and boring monologue before it the battle was great... at first. The problem: it was just too long. It took away far to much from Fordo and Sam. To make things worse Jackson decided to trash Tolkeins wonderful ending with Frodo, Sam, and Gollum. Instead we get some poorly written scene that takes us way way off topic, farther off topic than any of the pointless scenes Pater Jackson wrote for the movie thus far. It is a scene that features a character no one cares about: Faramir. So what is this scene, well Faramir takes Frodo all the way back to Gondor! At this point I realized that Peter Jackson is quite possilbly one of the worst writers in Hollywood (an opinion that King Kong supports). The only reason the other two movies were so great was because he stuck more closely to the source material. Any auhtor or writer could have told him that this was a big mistake and totally off topic but apparently the other people who helped him write the script were either amazingly stupid or in a big hurry to finish the script in time. I just don't understand why someone would scrap a classic ending to a classic novel written by a master storyteller in favor of some poorly written, uncreative, and redundent garbage. I have been pretty supportive of all the changes Peter Jackson made but this crosses the line. Never have I seen a director with the ego to alter a beloved story so profoundly in favor of his own ending. When you choose to adapt a novel you lose some degree of creative freedom and this is just the most unbelievable example of a director going to far.

My last bit of criticism is directed at the way Jackson decided to end the film. He some reason thought that he needed some closure for the movie (despite the fact that there's a sequel) so he had Frodo and Sam make up only to have them start fighting again at the start of the third film. This was a poor choice but since he completely ruined the cliffhanger ending I guess he needed some kind of closure to end it with. But once again his poor ability as a storyteller shows because now we find ourselves with a fade out almost exactly like the ending to the first one and it seems like Fordo and Sam have made no progress whatsoever in the journey. A poor ending to a dissapointing followup to one of the best movies of our time. The only thing that saves this film from becoming analogous to The Matrix Reloaded is what little remains of Tolkien's masterpeice inside this shell of egotism that Jackson poorly constructed.




5 out of 5 stars Excelente aventura.......2007-05-13

A mi modo de ver fiel a la version escrita, aunque le hayan cortado la parte final para insertarla en el retorno del Rey. Como las otras dos pelicuals recomendable!.

5 out of 5 stars Gotta Have All 3.......2007-04-27

the ring trilogy is the ultimate battle between good and evil...and the same struggle within, that we all must face...
if i could choose a character out of middle-earth, and become that character, i would choose king theoden...i watch his parts over and over..like "where is the horse and the rider?" and i love some of his other lines...like when his men say,"but we cannot defeat them" ...and theoden replys, "no" ... "but we will meet them in battle, none the less" or somethin' like that.(but that is in the third movie) :-)
...he's so dang tuff! and wears really cool armor.
i happen to like those hollywood battle scenes, alot, so i enjoy watching the battle at helm's deep, over and over.
and, of course, at the same time, we have little frodo...where the internal conflict resides...different kind of battle...but same problem...
"good 'vs' evil".
but i don't wanna be frodo...i want to be theoden.
who would you choose?

wake.

3 out of 5 stars "The DVD box #2".......2007-04-11

Well, this is by far the BEST DVD box that i ever bought, as a fan of tolkien those extra cenes just blown me away, i feel like it was a new Lord of The Rings movie.If you're a fan of Middle Earth this dvd is a "must have" in the dvd section.

One of the extra scenes show the relationship of Boromir and his brother Faramir back at Gondor, and what happens before Boromir travel to Rivendell to join the Council of Elrond and the Fellowship of the Ring, just stunning.

Buy the Return of the King and Fellowship of the ring too, you will not be dissapointed.
Born on the Fourth of July (Special Edition)
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Born on the Fourth of July
  • Intensely moving exploration of the Vietnam War years
  • "This must be hell.!!"
  • Cruise's performance is one of his best...,
  • Stone's best; Cruise's best and never more timely than now
Born on the Fourth of July (Special Edition)
Starring: Seth Allen (II) , Raymond J. Barry , Anne Bobby , Tom Cruise , and Amanda Davis
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Similar Items:
  1. Platoon (Collector's Edition Steelbook)
  2. Coming Home
  3. JFK - Director's Cut (Two-Disc Special Edition)
  4. The Deer Hunter (Universal Legacy Series)
  5. Hamburger Hill

ASIN: B0002V7ON8
Release Date: 2004-10-19

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Born on the Fourth of July.......2007-07-06

Helmed by "Platoon" director and Vietnam vet Stone, "Born" is a profoundly moving portrait of a macho athlete whose horrific battle experience causes him to reassess his politics and reorient his give-`em-hell attitude. Cruise, in an ambitious turn away from heartthrob roles, plays Kovic with precision and conviction, especially at his darkest moments, delivering the finest work of his career. Co-written by Stone and Kovic, "Born" reflects the pain and anger felt by an entire generation of returning US soldiers, and will leave a lasting impression.

5 out of 5 stars Intensely moving exploration of the Vietnam War years.......2007-04-19

Born on the Fourth of July follows the journey of Ron Kovic from his innocent childhood in the 1950's through his experience in the Vietnam war and its aftermath. His painful journey reflects the tumultuous journey that America took during the Vietnam War years.

Tom Cruise, delivering an intense performance as Kovic, and director Oliver Stone, a Vietnam Veteran, allows us to share in the raw emotions of the character. John Williams provides a brilliant score to add to the emotional punch.

This film was made when Stone could command a big budget post-Platoon and before he succumbed to the excesses of his later films - Born on the Fourth of July stands as his finest film.

5 out of 5 stars "This must be hell.!!".......2007-02-22

To be in a hot sun in a thick heavy uniform is very hard especially for those who never been in hot countries.You'd get easily confused and combined stupidities.
This movie features an ambitious young man dreams to be a hero of his land fighting enemies in other people's land.Ron Kovic has been brought up in a good family,but ends up for the rest of his life on a wheelchair.This... must be hell.
If you're born without legs,you'd never feel this kind of suffering.if you don't have love but have your legs,it would be different.Think what war can do to your children.
Kovic is interprated by Tom Cruise, an actor we have never seen so sad and depressed like in this movie.Oliver Stone is to me the 'Hero' of Vietnamese war's movies.Never forget that handsome Yankee Doodle Boy as young Kovic too.

4 out of 5 stars Cruise's performance is one of his best...,.......2006-12-19

Everything that people love and detest about Oliver Stone's films is in full flower here--ambitious theme, strengthen visual style, undisguised political biases...

The film is also an important turning point in Tom Cruise's career, completing his transformation from rising star to serious actor... He received his first Academy Award nomination for his role as antiwar activist and Vietnam veteran... Though Ron Kovic's story is presented as a distillation of the political and a violent social commotion that America went through from the mid-sixties to the mid-seventies... At heart, it's propaganda...

Stone begins the story as a twisted cinematic version with boys playing war in suburban woods... It's Massapequa, Long Island, 1956...

Ron Kovic grows up as a typical American white kid who believes in God, country, sports, and sex... His father's (Raymond J. Barry) leaving his forceful mother (Caroline Kava) as the dominant personality in the home... To Ron, she's a repressive slave driver who sets a standard he can never measure up to... That, in part, is why he enlists in the Marines, straight out of high school... Cut to the Cua Viet River, October 1967, where Sgt. Kovic is in his second tour...

The short vision of Vietnam that Stone presents here is even more surreal and horrifying than the violence in "Platoon." An attack on a village is a disaster, and the Marines' retreat from it is even worse for Kovic... That nightmare is settled when Kovic is seriously wounded, sent to a MASH unit, and then to a Bronx Veteran's Administration hospital...

Paralyzed from the waist down, Kovic sank into a deep depression... From that moment, the next hour or so is a steep downward spiral of self-pity, drunkenness, anger, misery, and, most important, guilt over one incident for which he cannot forgive himself... It's honest, unflattering, and ugly...

Cruise's performance is one of his best, capturing both the cocky, insecure young man and the haunted veteran...The motion picture is never boring and, until the last reel, the action moves forcefully...

If Stone had elected in the middle section to spend less time rolling about with pleasure in Mexican fleshpots and to pay more attention to Kovic's full development, he might have created the antiwar epic he was aiming for, revealing the physical and psychological costs of one of the most tragic events in history...

5 out of 5 stars Stone's best; Cruise's best and never more timely than now.......2006-10-21

How could it have happened? Thousands of innocent soldiers and civilians killed for nothing? The most powerful nation on earth, having free speech and a free press, duped into a totally unnecesary and even counterproductive war? A Congress fooled by a dissembling and deceitful administration, with few dissenters.

Well, it happened again in 2003, and watching this movie, one of my favorites, is even more heartbreaking now than it was when I first saw it years ago. It's a period piece starting in the '50s, beautifully filmed, wonderfully acted, and perfectly capturing the spirit of three decades that I know well from personal experience. It's the story of Ron Kovic, who volunteered for duty in Vietnam, was severely wounded, and returned to find that not only had the war been unnecessary, but he and his fellow veterans were not all that welcome, especially when they started exercising their rights to protest the continuation of the war.

This is Stone's best movie by far. The joys of family life, the horrors of war, the pain of catastrophic injury, the trauma of alienation, the exhilaration of redemption... all are depicted movingly and accurately. In this movie, Stone is uncharacteristically as understated as John Williams' wonderful score. There are scenes, such as when Cruise's character, based on a real story, returns to his old neighborhood on Long Island to find his parents,family, and neighbors uneasily prepared for him, that always bring tears to my eyes. But that is just one of many such scenes.

Stone also is dead-on in his depiction of the attitude of the American public toward returning Vietnam veterans and the veterans' despair and bitterness. Alas, I fear that we have not seen yet the development of those same feelings as we have yet to see very many returning Iraq War veterans in this war, which never made any sense, but we will.

It's amazing to watch this movie again now and to see all the parallels with Vietnam, beginning with the killing of innocent civilians, confusion in the fighting, deaths of minority and working class kids, etc.

Like I said, it is heartbreaking to see this happen again, but this movie ought to be re-released or be shown in schools. Of course, being realistic, it has so much profanity and explicit references to sex that it will never be seen by those who ought to see it--impressionable kids who are brainwashed by government propaganda.

A side note: George W. Bush was probably at the 1972 GOP Convention that is depicted in the last part of this movie, so he was probably there when Ron Kovic and other Vietnam Veterans against the War were spit upon and gassed by police. Why John Kerry and his campaign did not bother to mention this--and a number of other things having to do with unnecessary wars--in the 2004 campaign is beyond me.

This is a movie to watch with your teenage son or daughter and to discuss afterward.
Dungeons & Dragons (New Line Platinum Series)
Average customer rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
  • This was a joke right?
  • Not as bad as most would have you believe.
  • This "movie" is truely awful
  • A setback to the genre
  • Dung and a drag.
Dungeons & Dragons (New Line Platinum Series)
Starring: Lee Arenberg , Tom Baker , Thora Birch , Jeremy Irons , and Edward Jewesbury
Director: Courtney Solomon
Manufacturer: New Line Home Video
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Similar Items:
  1. Dungeons and Dragons- Wrath of the Dragon God (Widescreen Edition)
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  3. Fantasy Quest
  4. Earthsea
  5. Dark Kingdom - The Dragon King

ASIN: B00003CXQM
Release Date: 2001-05-22

Amazon.com

There is trouble in Izmer. With the emperor dead from an assassin's poison, the 16-year-old princess Savina (Thora Birch) inherits not just the throne but also the royal scepter, which has the power to command gold dragons. With a youthful idealism, she decides all people should be equal, from lowly commoners to the ruling-class, magic-wielding mages. This doesn't sit well with the mages, so Archmage Profion (Jeremy Irons) leads a revolt in the Council against Savina's rule, forcing her to relinquish the royal scepter. In order to maintain her power, she decides she needs the rod of Savrille, which can control red dragons. To retrieve it, she hires two bumbling thieves, Ridley (Justin Whalin) and Snails (Marlon Wayans), and an apprentice mage (Zoe McLellan). The true trouble in Izmer is the fact that it's a poorly imagined world that cribs more from Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark than it does from the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game that shares its title. Director Courtney Solomon optioned the rights to the game in 1991, when he was 21, and should have spent the years since then drafting a coherent script. Mediocre special effects take precedence over story, and the actors try to make up for that by hamming it up. Irons, in particular, covers his embarrassment by chewing the scenery and spitting it out. Often unintentionally funny, Dungeons & Dragons is that fun kind of bad movie, whose cult status would be all but guaranteed if it weren't for a slow second act mired in the boring bumbling of the awkward thieves. Still, there are plenty of laughs to be had. --Andy Spletzer

Customer Reviews:

1 out of 5 stars This was a joke right?.......2006-12-03

This was almost as bad as those nerdy guys out in the park acting out scenes from the game in their cheaply made costumes. Well, actually I'd rather watch them than this movie. At least I can throw things at them. All I have to say for this movie is wow...I would not want this put on my resume if I had any involvement in it.

3 out of 5 stars Not as bad as most would have you believe........2006-10-22

While not a masterpiece of any kind (the film barely exceeds mere competence) I didn't find D&D to be as bad as the negative reviews claimed. I put off watching it for so long for this reason, but it was enjoyable enough.

Comparisons to the LOTR trilogy are inevitable, so I'm not going to avoid it. I didn't really like the LOTR trilogy. It just seemed to be a bunch of movies that everyone was forced to like and if you didn't then there must be something wrong with you. Yes, they are much, much better made than the rather quaint D&D, but if you want a smaller, unassuming fantasy ride then don't completely rule this movie out.

The visual effects and production design of D&D are very similar to Paul Anderson's Mortal Kombat. Yes, it looks fake, but with just a little bit of suspension of disbelief you'll not even notice. I have a feeling that Courtney Solomon tried really hard to make it a good film but his talent doesn't extend as far as his enthusiasm.

In terms of character and story it is all pretty bland and generic. There's nothing in this movie that you haven't seen somewhere else. The actors do their best with the tepid dialogue and almost manage to not look embarrassed. The best thing about the film is it's surprisingly ferocious (maybe a bit too OTT) sound design. And the Dragon fight at the end was impressive for a medium budget film.

I was actually surprised to find Joel Silver's name on the closing credits. I will assume that without him the film would have been a REAL stinker. And what's with that ending?

Either way, I am still interested in the sequel.

The DVD is in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen with a very loud Dolby 5.1 sound design.

1 out of 5 stars This "movie" is truely awful.......2006-04-09

I'm a big fan of the role playing game called Dungeons and Dragons. However, this pile of dung masquerading as a movie bears no resemblance to the game. Do not waste your time watching this atrocity. This movie is just plain bad, bad, bad!

3 out of 5 stars A setback to the genre.......2006-04-08

Like everybody else... I feel the need to qualify the beginning of my review by saying that I have been a fan of DnD and fantasy for well over a decade. When I first heard this movie was coming out I was extremely excited, and friends and I went to see it on one of the first nights. When I left.... well, I wondered how, after soooo many years of waiting and finally getting a real big screen debut for the genre, they could drop the ball so very very badly. The worst part is, there was a really good movie in there somewhere, just dying to get out. They clearly did their work on the special effects, which were excellent, but they tripped very badly with the dialogue and storyline. Even the casting (take away the dialogue) wasn't all that bad. Everybody certainly looked the part, but it all ended up feeling very contrived. The comic relief was heroically unfunny, and the "serious" scenes turned out to be the true cause for amusement.

Now, several years (and viewings), later, I don't hate the movie.... I just look at it as a wasted opportunity. Had they really done their homework on this one, I truly think this could have launched the fantasy genre into the mainstream, but as it is I think it did more harm than good. It reinforced the idea that DnD is stupid, hokey, and a game played only by strange repressed teenagers. I had hoped that this could open the door for things like the "Dragonlance" Chronicles, or some of the "Forgotten Realms" storylines to make it into production (much like X-Men did for the comic book genre). Alas, such will have to wait.

All told, this is an average movie that fans of fantasy, with suitably low expectations, can enjoy. It could have been so much more, and I think that is where a lot of the fans venom is coming from. Try to enjoy it for what it is, because our movie options in the genre are severely limited, and despite its flaws there are some redeeming qualities that make it fun enough to watch.... that being said, I've also heard rumor that the movie gets that much better after a couple beers. Enjoy.

1 out of 5 stars Dung and a drag........2006-03-30

OK, first things first true believers - The Curmudgeon is NOT a D&D fan. I've nothing against it or anything (I don't think it's nerdy or whatever), it's just never been my bag. But I was VERY excited when I saw this movie was being released. Why?

Simple - the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon, which was by far the coolest cartoon of the 1980's. It smoked He-Man, Thundercats and any other contender and became one of THE best experiences of childhood. So while a movie based on the board game would have been cool, I was secretly hoping for a movie based on the cartoon. Come on - Hank and his flaming bow and arrow? Sarcastic Eric and his shield (you'd think the Dungeon Master would have thrown a SWORD in there too?), Bobby the Barbarian.. and let's not forget the uber bad-ass - Vengar himself. Let's face it folks - done right, it would have been AWESOME.

But we didn't get that - we got, well.. who knows? The plot is so incoherent and amateurish it could have been based on a game of Hungry, Hungry Hippo's. And whilst great acting is never the prime goal in these sorts of movies, special mention MUST go to the utter lack of any conviction the actors here have in their performances, coming across as just stepping out of a Snow White pantomime.

And then there's Jeremy Irons. Bit of a superb actor is our Jeremy, and I'm sure he thought at first he had signed up to a classy fantasy movie, thinking perhaps of Sir Alec Guiness in Star Wars. Then he read the script and saw the talentless monkeys he was working with and went full out into giving the worst performance of his entire career, not so much saying his lines as yelling them and spitting at the camera in an attempt to hide his embarrassment. Easily the best thing of the movie.

The producers obviously thought it was going to do well judging by its laughably hopeful ambiguous ending. Not a chance in hell, guys. You had your chance and you blew it with this dragon turd of a film.

Stick with the boxset of the cartoon, and see how fantasy really SHOULD be presented.

The_Curmudgeon_Hates_You@yahoo.co.uk
The Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers (Full Screen Edition)
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Orlando! Bloom! can't! act!
  • An ok adaptation for the classic but not on par with the other two films
  • Excelente aventura
  • Gotta Have All 3
  • "The DVD box #2"
The Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers (Full Screen Edition)
Starring: Sean Astin , Sean Bean , Cate Blanchett , Orlando Bloom , and Billy Boyd
Manufacturer: New Line Home Entertainment
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Similar Items:
  1. The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring (Platinum Series Special Extended Edition)
  2. The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King (Platinum Series Special Extended Edition)
  3. The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King (Widescreen Edition)
  4. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Two-Disc Special Edition) (Harry Potter 2)
  5. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Two-Disc Special Edition) (Harry Potter 1)

ASIN: B00009APK1
Release Date: 2003-08-26

Amazon.com

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers is a seamless continuation of Peter Jackson's epic fantasy based on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. After the breaking of the Fellowship, Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) journey to Mordor to destroy the One Ring of Power with the creature Gollum as their guide. Meanwhile, Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Legolas (Orlando Bloom), and Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) join in the defense of the people of Rohan, who are the first target in the eradication of the race of Men by the renegade wizard Saruman (Christopher Lee) and the dark lord Sauron. Fantastic creatures, astounding visual effects, and a climactic battle at the fortress of Helm's Deep make The Two Towers a worthy successor to The Fellowship of the Ring, grander in scale but retaining the story's emotional intimacy. These two films are perhaps the greatest fantasy films ever made, but they're merely a prelude to the cataclysmic events of The Return of the King. --David Horiuchi

Description

Frodo Baggins and the Fellowship continue their quest to destroy the One Ring and stand against the evil of the dark lord Sauron. The Fellowship has divided and now find themselves taking different paths to defeating Sauron and his allies. Their destinies now lie at two towers - Orthanc Tower in Isengard, where the corrupted wizard Saruman waits and Sauron's fortress at Baraddur, deep within the dark lands of Mordor.

DVD Features:
DVD ROM Features:Exclusive online content
Documentaries:2 in-depth programs that reveal the secrets behind the production of this epic adventure, including:? --On the set - The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" (Starz/Encore special) (14:10) --"Return to Middle-earth" (WB special) (45:10)
Featurette:8 featurettes originally created for lordoftherings.net: -Forces of Darkness -Sounds of Middle-earth -Edoras & Rohan Culture -Creatures -Gandalf the White -Arms & Armor -Helm's Deep -Gollum: Andy Serkis, Bay Raitt
Interactive Menus
Music Video:"Gollum Song"
Other:Short film by Sean Astin "The Long and Short of It" Preview of Electronic Arts' video game, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King An inside look at the Special Extended DVD Edition of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Exclusive 10-minute behind-the-scenes preview of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
TV Spot
Theatrical Trailer

Customer Reviews:

3 out of 5 stars Orlando! Bloom! can't! act!.......2007-06-12

I first saw this when it came out and like many people I was quite excited to see a full length live action (ie non animation) version of books that were a big part of my growing up years.

Although back then I enjoyed the film, looking back at it for the first time in many years later, I was surprised at my reaction to it. The visuals are still great, and the CGI still holds up pretty well. But the main problem I had with the film was the acting. It ranges from good to poor, but for me it's this inconsistency that stops me from getting immersed in the film. The film has a glaring conflict of acting styles from the quite old school Shakespearean of Ian McKellans Gandalf, to the "Method" acting of Aragorn, to just plain wooden-ness. There's an obvious problem with accents too, so we have American's trying to sound English, Australians trying to sound English, Australians trying to sound Irish, Londoners trying to sound like they're from Cornwall, and nobody really getting it totally right. For such a big budget movie, this lapse of quality is surprising. And, as my review header may suggest, I think Orlando Bloom is the worst screen actor I've yet seen. He's not just mediocre or okay, he's sometimes so bad, so woodenly earnest in his delivery that I actually laughed out loud a few times. "You would die before your stroke fell!" ranks up there with some of the all time worst acting performances in film history. If he was told to show grief he would furrow his brow a bit and frown. If it was surprise he was trying to convey he'd widen his eyes a bit and open his mouth a bit. It's all there in the movie.

The "comic relief" scenes with Gimli are only slightly less annoying than Jar Jar Binks too.

I can look back on this and enjoy some bits in this film and the other films of the trilogy but I don't believe that this series of movies is going to ever be classics of the future. Classics don't have you squirming in embarrassment at the acting.

2 out of 5 stars An ok adaptation for the classic but not on par with the other two films.......2007-05-15

**Warning this review contains many spoilers** For staters I personally love the Lord of the Rings. This includes the movies but more so the books. I thought The Fellowship of the Rings was as near perfect an adaptation as a movie could have come to the book and I feel the same way about The Return of the King. Both are among the best movies I have ever seen. The Two Towers, however, falls short of it's antecessor's and predecessor's near perfection. When I first read the book I was amazed and fell in love with the powerful story and characters Tolkien had created but when I saw the movie I was very dissapointed. I have thought long and hard about what I don't like in this film and in fact I just finished watching it again. I also want everyone to understand that I'm not some crazed fan who is upset that they didn't include everything in the movie that was in the book. I am somewhat of a film maker myself and I know all to well how important pacing is. So here is my review from a film student's perspective.

The movie starts out very strong. The opening flashback to the fight in Moria is a masterpiece and probably the films strongest momment. We then meet up with all the old characters from the first movie. These opening scenes are very well done with some amazing cinematography, music, and special effects. These scenes are also very well paced. Jackson keeps the movie moving along and manages to introduce the new characters without ever getting off topic (something that plagues him later on). To be honest I have no complaints about these early scenes.

However, the film starts to go downhill about halfway through. To make Lord of the Rings more politically correct Jackson needed more female characters. So he expanded the role of Arwen. This worked great in the first one and I think her inclusion adds a lot to The Return of the King also. But in this one she just seems tagged on. There is a flashback sequence where we see her and Aragorn in Rivendell. At first this seems to work but it just goes on and on. It could have easily been cut down. To drag the story down even more right after the flashback we are treated to the films most unnecessary scene were Jackson totally gets off topic. We flash to present Rivendell where Elrond convinces Arwen to leave for Valinor. I was pretty sure that that was what Aragorn just did in the flashback. I simply became bored with the scene's redundency. To drag this vital middle section of the movie down even further Jackson cuts to some kind of weird flashforward to Aragorn's death. This is completely redundant to the point of the scene which is itself unnecessary. But this wasn't enough to get me to dislike the entire movie I was still looking forward to watching the rest.

However, my hopes were soon destroyed for the movie's second most unnecessary scene came right after it. Instead of simply having some nice and much needed character development as they march to Helm's Deep Peter Jackson decided to throw in probably the dumbest plot twist he could have: Aragorn dies... well not really but you think he does. For some reason Jackson felt it was important to throw a battle in and for some reason (God knows why) he thougth it would help the movie to make everyone think Aragorn was dead. At this point I totally started to lose interest in the movie. In a film the middle is one of the most important points for that is when you start building to the climax. Instead we get 15 minuets of slowmotion shots of everyone mourning Aragorn's death only to have him show up a little while later. I was just so bored at this point I could hardly stand it.

Luckly the pace starts to pick up but instead of getting exicted in anticipation for the big battle I just found myself thinking get on with it. All the very necessary character develoment before the battle could have easily taken the place of the unnecessary mess of scenes that didn't even appear in the book itself. But at last the battle arrived. Despite the King's long and boring monologue before it the battle was great... at first. The problem: it was just too long. It took away far to much from Fordo and Sam. To make things worse Jackson decided to trash Tolkeins wonderful ending with Frodo, Sam, and Gollum. Instead we get some poorly written scene that takes us way way off topic, farther off topic than any of the pointless scenes Pater Jackson wrote for the movie thus far. It is a scene that features a character no one cares about: Faramir. So what is this scene, well Faramir takes Frodo all the way back to Gondor! At this point I realized that Peter Jackson is quite possilbly one of the worst writers in Hollywood (an opinion that King Kong supports). The only reason the other two movies were so great was because he stuck more closely to the source material. Any auhtor or writer could have told him that this was a big mistake and totally off topic but apparently the other people who helped him write the script were either amazingly stupid or in a big hurry to finish the script in time. I just don't understand why someone would scrap a classic ending to a classic novel written by a master storyteller in favor of some poorly written, uncreative, and redundent garbage. I have been pretty supportive of all the changes Peter Jackson made but this crosses the line. Never have I seen a director with the ego to alter a beloved story so profoundly in favor of his own ending. When you choose to adapt a novel you lose some degree of creative freedom and this is just the most unbelievable example of a director going to far.

My last bit of criticism is directed at the way Jackson decided to end the film. He some reason thought that he needed some closure for the movie (despite the fact that there's a sequel) so he had Frodo and Sam make up only to have them start fighting again at the start of the third film. This was a poor choice but since he completely ruined the cliffhanger ending I guess he needed some kind of closure to end it with. But once again his poor ability as a storyteller shows because now we find ourselves with a fade out almost exactly like the ending to the first one and it seems like Fordo and Sam have made no progress whatsoever in the journey. A poor ending to a dissapointing followup to one of the best movies of our time. The only thing that saves this film from becoming analogous to The Matrix Reloaded is what little remains of Tolkien's masterpeice inside this shell of egotism that Jackson poorly constructed.




5 out of 5 stars Excelente aventura.......2007-05-13

A mi modo de ver fiel a la version escrita, aunque le hayan cortado la parte final para insertarla en el retorno del Rey. Como las otras dos pelicuals recomendable!.

5 out of 5 stars Gotta Have All 3.......2007-04-27

the ring trilogy is the ultimate battle between good and evil...and the same struggle within, that we all must face...
if i could choose a character out of middle-earth, and become that character, i would choose king theoden...i watch his parts over and over..like "where is the horse and the rider?" and i love some of his other lines...like when his men say,"but we cannot defeat them" ...and theoden replys, "no" ... "but we will meet them in battle, none the less" or somethin' like that.(but that is in the third movie) :-)
...he's so dang tuff! and wears really cool armor.
i happen to like those hollywood battle scenes, alot, so i enjoy watching the battle at helm's deep, over and over.
and, of course, at the same time, we have little frodo...where the internal conflict resides...different kind of battle...but same problem...
"good 'vs' evil".
but i don't wanna be frodo...i want to be theoden.
who would you choose?

wake.

3 out of 5 stars "The DVD box #2".......2007-04-11

Well, this is by far the BEST DVD box that i ever bought, as a fan of tolkien those extra cenes just blown me away, i feel like it was a new Lord of The Rings movie.If you're a fan of Middle Earth this dvd is a "must have" in the dvd section.

One of the extra scenes show the relationship of Boromir and his brother Faramir back at Gondor, and what happens before Boromir travel to Rivendell to join the Council of Elrond and the Fellowship of the Ring, just stunning.

Buy the Return of the King and Fellowship of the ring too, you will not be dissapointed.
Talisman
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • weird little flick
  • Actor is great
Talisman
Starring: Walter Jones , Jason Adelman , Billy Parish , and Walter Emanuel Jones
Director: Victoria Sloan
Manufacturer: FULL MOON
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00009MEGA
Release Date: 2003-07-22

Customer Reviews:

3 out of 5 stars weird little flick.......2006-07-08

A boy travels to an Eastern European boarding school searching for his sister. It's close to the millennium and there is a dark angel being summoned from his resting place (the talisman). The angel is making human sacrifices to bring about the end of the world.


This is one of those weird low budget films that can be very enjoyable if seen with the right audience.

I personally loved the dark angel, but then again, I've always been a sucker for big bald scary guys. (This one kind of looks like Dimmu Borgir's drummer, Nick Barker). On the downside, the acting was very very VERY weak and the attempt at a twist ending sucked. However, the setting had a nice dark feel to it.

This movie has a lot of potential in a remake.

5 out of 5 stars Actor is great.......2004-05-17

I have to say Billy Parish is a fantastic actor, but I am partial. I know him. However, I feel this is a good movie to watch. It is not a blockbuster, but it has a good story of a brother and sister torn apart by a legend. It has many good qualities of acting and breaking out to be noticed, finally. The Power Ranger actor supported Billy in his role. Great! Watch it!
Jackie Chan Adventures - The Search For The Talisman
Average customer rating: 3 out of 5 stars
  • Ugh. What is with this format?
  • One more thing!
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  • My son watches this over and over...
  • You'll never know . . .
Jackie Chan Adventures - The Search For The Talisman
Director: Phil Weinstein , and Frank Squillace
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
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  1. Jackie Chan Adventures - The Shadow of Shendu
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ASIN: B00005O5BN
Release Date: 2001-10-23

Description

JACKIE CHAN'S ADVENTURES is the exciting new animated series from world-famous action hero Jackie Chan. You've never seen Jackie like this! Archeologist Jackie Chan's eleven-year-old niece Jade proves action runs in the family when she arrives from Hong Kong to live with Jackie and his wise, old uncle in San Francisco. Meanwhile, Jackie has found an ancient Chinese talisman, and now he's got government agents and gangsters chasing after him. Soon, Jackie and Jade learn the secret powers of the Rooster talisman and must use magic and martial arts to stop the villainous Valmont and his thugs from stealing the powerful prize for their own purposes. When Jackie and Jade travel to Mexico to find the next talisman, Jackie ends up in the ring with world class wrestler El Toro Fuerte. He quickly discovers the Ox talisman but Valmont's goons are on his tail. Jackie and Jade team up with the mighty wrestler to battle the bad guys in a championship match of good vs. evil.

Customer Reviews:

1 out of 5 stars Ugh. What is with this format?.......2004-08-28

Man, I love this show. I haven't seen it in such a long time, but it's still up there in my five favorite cartoons of all time. Which is why I'm very upset with the manner in which these episodes were released on DVD. I mean, really. What IS this? Is it so much to ask for this show to be released by season as most shows are, with complete theme song and credits for each episode and no editing? Jeez. I realize it's neither the most brilliant nor the most popular television program ever conceived, but c'mon, DVD people, throw us JCA fans a bone here! Everyone else is doing it right. Surely a regular DVD release is not so much to ask?

3 out of 5 stars One more thing!.......2004-05-04

Having taped Jackie Chan Adventures on both Kids WB! and Cartoon Network, and having recently purchased all three JCA DVDs used (never pay retail!) I can WITHOUT A DOUBT say that these episodes are intact AND that they are edited.

Wha?! You ask.

Depends on the episode. Some are completely intact. Some are missing from a few seconds to a few minutes. This has more to do with each DVD's combining three episodes into a "movie". While some complain that the intros are missings, this is not completely accurate as some are and some are not. Some actually have trimmed scenes... Where these DVDs really deviate is by playing one opening credit, all three episodes in "movie format", then all three "Ask Jackie" spots and finally a combined ending credits. Strangely, though they use the opening theme music during the end credits as adopted in later seasons NOT the "Chan is the Man" song originally used.

Why Columbia/Tri-Star (Sony distributes the show, but not the DVDs) chose to go with the "movie format" instead of just a straight-forward Episode 1, Episode 2, etc. and then stopped making the DVDs with Episode 9 is beyond me. I would like to see a Season One, Season Two, Season Three, and Season Four box set (especially since JCA has been picked up for a fifth season) with each episode being treated as an individual, hence my only giving these DVDs three stars each.

1 out of 5 stars Love the show, hate the DVD.......2004-04-26

I have loved this series since the beginning, and that is the problem. I bought the DVD thinking that it would be a favorite show on an excellent format. However, much to my chagrin, Sony decided to omit the first minute and a half of every episode. Seems pretty stupid to me.

5 out of 5 stars My son watches this over and over..........2004-04-20

My son loves this DVD. He plays it over and over again. We took it with us on vacation and his grandparents enjoyed watching it. It was very well done.

3 out of 5 stars You'll never know . . ........2003-05-17

Here's the thing I want you to know . . . I enjoy the cartoon. I think the series is pretty good. It's good a pretty good basis for an ongoing story. The characters and enjoyed - the heroes are likeable and the villains are believable. However, Columbia/Tri-Star never finished putting out the series on DVD. So, you'll never know how the series ends if you stick to picking it up on DVD. Sure you can catch reruns on Fox and Cartoon Network, or figures out good triumphs over evil. But, just wanted you to know . . .
Born on the Fourth of July
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • I couldn't watch this movie until now-16 years later!
  • This movie sucks
  • Limey Vision
  • Welcome antidote
  • Platoon is better.
Born on the Fourth of July
Starring: Seth Allen (II) , Raymond J. Barry , Anne Bobby , Tom Cruise , and Amanda Davis
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00004Y7T6
Release Date: 2000-10-31

Amazon.com essential video

The second film in Oliver Stone's Vietnam trilogy moves from the brutality of war in Platoon to its equally traumatic aftermath. Based on the memoir of combat veteran Ron Kovic, the film stars Tom Cruise as Kovic, whose gunshot wound in Vietnam left him paralyzed from the chest down. He is deeply embittered by neglect in a veteran's hospital and by the shattering of his patriotic idealism because of the horror and futility of the Vietnam conflict. While painfully and awkwardly adjusting to his disability and a changing definition of masculinity, Kovic joins the burgeoning movement of antiwar protest, culminating in a climactic appearance at the 1976 Democratic national convention. A powerfully intimate portrait that unfolds on an epic scale, Born on the Fourth of July is arguably Stone's best film (if you can forgive its often strident tone), and Cruise's Oscar-nominated role is uncompromising in its depiction of one man's personal anguish and political awakening. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars I couldn't watch this movie until now-16 years later!.......2005-12-19


When this movie was released in 1989, I had been married for the second time for one year. I was involved in marriage, family, career and had left the 60s behind for awhile. I had the privilege of doing that; Ron Kovic could not. Reading the reviews at that time, I knew this movie would be too intense for me, and a few years later, when my husband would suffer a major stroke and become partially paralyzed himself, causing both of us to endure years of rehabilitation, I deliberately avoided the movie whenever it aired on TV. What I had glimpsed was too raw and authentic--I had enough of that in my own life.

But I watched it tonight on AMC and marvelled at the film--Stone's brilliant directing, Kovic's terrible honesty about his journey, Cruise's willingness to "go there." This is perhaps Stone's greatest movie, thoughtful to the tiniest artistic detail; director is too shallow a title for his achievement with this film. Kovic--it is his story that inspires me to write this review. Three years after my husband died--he lived nearly 10 years with his disability--I understood all too well Kovic's path. The fact that he kept going, that he didn't give up even when life was dark, painful, and utterly bizarre is simply amazing. Having to face "aloneness" and "dependence" and life without "equipment" is the most terrifying experience one can deal with. My husband had me. He knew he was loved everyday. Ron had none of that, but, thank God, he found a community and a mission--one that he sought and created. What kind of strength is that? It comes only when you face that awful test in life that none of us wants, that we'll do anything to avoid. Those who have encountered it are either dead by choice or alive and transformed. Kovic went through it, came out the other end, and I'm in awe.

1 out of 5 stars This movie sucks.......2005-03-26

This is one of the most pointless movies that I have ever seen. I guess one of the points to the movie that I missed was that I was supposed to feel sorry for Ron throughout the movie. The only time I ever felt sorry for him was when he was stuck in the hospital and no one took care of him. With the exception of him becoming disabled and was in the hospital, I felt that he brought a lot of his troubles on himself.

Another point to this movie that I missed was that his being disabled and fighting in a terrible war gave him an excuse to do whatever he wanted. Rather than getting a job or doing something useful, he drank, told his sad story to anyone who wanted to listen, and cussed at his parents who take care of him. Oh yeah, he took a trip to Mexico to be touched by a hooker and fought with another disabled vet.

The third point that I missed was that Ron changed his view on the war because of everything that he suffered. Going back to point number one I felt that he brought a lot of the troubles on himself. Before he went on his trip to Mexico, his girlfriend rejectes him because he is disabled and doesn't agree with her views on the war. The movie also shows his brother arguing with him over the war.

The last point that I missed in the movie was that I am supposed to think that Ron found some kind of purpose in his life by speaking out against the war. So what? He does it because of point number three. Ron has only changed his views on the war but he is still the same selfish person that he was before the war. I'd be really impressed if he did something for someone else or thought about someone else.

So unless you agree with what the director is trying to say-don't watch this movie because it is pointless.

4 out of 5 stars Limey Vision.......2005-02-10

Flint Westwood Here - its late here in Limey Land - the 51st State of the US of A. I am quite shattered at this stage. As for Mr Cruise, he ROCKED in this movie. The beard never suited him though, although, he looked much better with a beard in Collateral. This was his mistake, not getting his beard trimmed. I think he must have thought he was a hippy at the time. Led Zep all looked like extras from Catweasle around 1972. Whats Catweasle I hear you Yankees cry. Its a Brit show about a crazy looking wizard from the 13th Century. Cruise's beard looks just like Catweasle's. Perhaps Cruise should have been a time traveller like Dr Who. Never mind.

FLCW 9.2.2005

4 out of 5 stars Welcome antidote.......2004-10-25

'Born On The 4th Of July' was originally supposed to have been made in the 1970's with Al Pacino playing Ron Kovic. However, after major financial backers pulled out of the project the film collapsed, but Stone made a solemn promise to his fellow Vietnam veteran that when he became more successful, he would try a 2nd shot at it.

We see the innocence of early 60's America in Cruise's eyes as well as a heavy dose of Polish Catholic guilt. 'Born On The Fourth Of July' acts as a useful antidote to hero worship. Cruise's performance is powerful and unrelenting and Stone manages to pull off something poigniant in his writing, (personal relationship dialogue has never been his strong point).

Although many seem to disparage the film on historical grounds, both Kovic and Stone are veterans of Vietnam, which in my mind lends the film a tinge of authenticity. Stone has chosen to be a popular film maker and popular film is always more emotional than intellectual. He has used Kovic's experience as a symbol of the U.S. experience of Vietnam in general. Stone himself has even admitted that there were inaccuracies in the film and that he has used 'generic' historical moments. But the fact that there were protests against the Vietnam war cannot be denied.

As a popular film-maker Stone knows that the majority of his audience do not read history books. If film can make history come alive more than books can and help drive the discussion about the war among a mainstream audience, then Stone has done his job.

4 out of 5 stars Platoon is better........2004-09-24

Tom's performance is the best thing in this movie, the score is good, the cinematography is good, its pretty powerful and has some shocking things in it, it also explains alot about the truth of vietnam, everything else is good but not great. There is some smut that could have been taken out, it also ends to abruptly and i would like to know what happened to him, did he die, or live happily or well as happily as he could ever after, what happened? Besides those 2 flaws its pretty good, but platoon is better. Toms best performance is in The Last Samurai which is also a better film. I hope Alexander proves to be Stone's best which i think it will be. 7 out of a 10 for this movie.
The Scent of Green Papaya
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • A Buddhist Cinderella?
  • Super Movie! Beautiful, Dreamy, Sensual, Sad, and Funny
  • Sensitive Portrayal of Unexpected Love
  • Sublime
  • beautiful movie.
The Scent of Green Papaya
Starring: Tran Nu Yên-Khê , Man San Lu , Thi Loc Truong , Anh Hoa Nguyen , and Hoa Hoi Vuong
Director: Anh Hung Tran
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B00005RDRN
Release Date: 2001-12-18

Amazon.com

"Watching it is like seeing a poem for the eyes." That's how Chicago Sun-Times critic Roger Ebert described this exquisite, Oscar-nominated, French-Vietnamese film from 1993, which begins in the 1950s and ends more than a decade later during the early years of the Vietnam war. The story is set almost entirely in a Saigon house where a 10-year-old orphan girl named Mui arrives to work as a servant. As she grows into a beautiful young woman, Mui is quietly and carefully observant of everything around her, from the scent of green papaya (hence the title) to the relationship between her employers. The film takes its visual cues from Mui's observations--it's a placid, soothing film that lingers over the physical and emotional details of its setting and story.

What's really astonishing about this beautiful film is that director Anh Tran Hung shot it entirely on a soundstage in Paris, but the sights and sounds are so completely convincing that you'd swear the setting is an actual home in Saigon. This remarkable craftsmanship remains invisible to the viewer, and the seductive progression of the story unfolds with exacting visual precision. It's a film about Mui's growth and development, but also about her benevolent effect on the world around her. As such, it's a movie to savor like no other, life affirming and glorious in the memorable depth of its captivating simplicity. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

3 out of 5 stars A Buddhist Cinderella?.......2007-02-10

I beg to differ from those who rated this movie 5 stars. There's no doubt that this movie is beautifully filmed and produced. The sight, the sound and the implied scent of nature produce an astounding mix. It is a feast to our senses. But film is ultimately compromised by a lack of dialogue and dramatic content. I guess one can argue that the film is self-contained within the director's minimalist framework. But there's a big gap in our suspense of disbelief to have the young master to stumble upon his servant girl secretly trying out his fiance's lipstick, and realizing how beautiful (both outward and inward) she is, then follow her trail back to her room and inpregnate her. All this without them ever speaking single a word to each other (or at least not anything meaningful that I can recall), is just not quite convincing. And how do we know that this young master is any better than the good-for-nothing head of the house from the previous family? Both of them are musicians after all. I think the second part of the movie is particularly weak. I can accept the main character being shy and reticent when she was a little girl in the first part of the movie. But the fact that she stays that way after she has growup is disappointing. I also expect something to be said about the 2 little brothers in the second part since their different personalities were so painstakingly portayed in the first part. They just disappeared from the second part of the movie.

5 out of 5 stars Super Movie! Beautiful, Dreamy, Sensual, Sad, and Funny.......2007-01-07

This is a fantastic film. Unlike many Asian films, it has a plot and characters that are understandable. The cinematography is superb. The directors wife stars in this movie (as the grownup Mui) as well as Cyclo, and Vertical Ray of the Sun. Its hard to take your eyes off her. The little girl who plays Mui as a child is terrific as well. Little Tin is funny when he tries to torment little Mui. My wife is Vietnamese and I recognize the family structure where the father (and other men) mostly does what he pleases and the wife takes care of the entire family. That is the way this movie plays out. I have seen reviews where the music was said to be bad. I disagree entirely. I thought it worked very well throughout the film. Too bad this DVD movie is currently out of release in the US. I had to buy mine from England. Used DVDs are going for $90. Mine was new and cost $44 with shipping. It's a keeper. If you enjoy movies like this, also try 3 Seasons (Ba Mua). You will love it.

5 out of 5 stars Sensitive Portrayal of Unexpected Love.......2007-01-06

This film captures beautiful images as seen by the naked eye when the camera hones in on such natural wonders as a frog on a large green leaf, an ant carrrying a crumb or a papaya tree with green ripening fruit located outside one's window. Or when the camera scans the the interior of the home and captures oriental lattice work on a porch railing or a screen wall divider or porcelain vases on a credence. These images are impressed both on the viewer and on the mind of Mui, a nine year old Vietnamese girl from a small village who gets a job as servant in the household of shopkeepers. The artistic use of cinematography leaves the viewer with a sense of wonder and anticipation, expecting to be spellbound by even more mysterious oriental imagery - the viewer will not be disappointed! This feeling and tone is mesmerizing as so much beauty and such a wonderful love story unfolds ... with a minimum of dialogue.

Mui learns the household routine from an older servant ... She awakens early to make breakfast, cleans the floors on her hands and knees, and learns to prepare delicious and colorful meals using a wok....The family has three sons, one is older, almost an adult, two are younger - the middle son is about 11 or 12 years old, the youngest is about 5 or 6 years and very mischevious. The family business is selling textiles. Mui is treated kindly and later learns the family had a daughter who would be exactly Mui's age. She died of a mysterious disease. There is slight tension within the family regarding the business. The wife runs the business impeccably. She keeps accounts accurately and locks up the cash in a safe. Her husband often spends his time daydreaming and playing an oriental stringed instrument, sometimes accompaned on a flute by the eldest son. In the past, the husband had abruptly left the household, taking all the cash and likely gambling away their savings. After one such episode, his baby daughter became ill and died exactly the day before he returned. This event haunts him ...

One day, the servants were awaiting his return for dinner but he does not show up. The wife was notified. She checked his room and then went to the safe only to discover all the household cash and savings were gone. He did not break his gambling habit. His wife gave some gold earrings to pawn to have enough money to buy rice for the meals. She sold some of her antique vases to make ends meet. Eventually, he returned but was ill. Despite the best Oriental medicine, including acupuncture and moxibustion, his health deteriorated and he died. Ten years passed and the textile business was waning. Mui was still employed by the same family who were contemplating sending her to work for a wealthier family since they could not afford to keep her any longer.

Mui accepted the news sadly and received a pearl necklace and gold bracelet as parting gifts from her former mistress. The mistress tearfully bid her good-bye, telling Mui how much she appreciated having her live in their home, feeling Mui was like her own daughter. Mui became the only servant to a bachelor musician/composer who was engaged to be married. His fiance intimated and teased him about having a young pretty servant but he ignored her jibes. The fiance was a modern VietnaMmese woman for the 1950's. She felt secure in her position and looked forward to an upper class lifestyle. Her confidence gradually eroded into jealousy as she suspected the musician had feelings for Mui and even possibly a physical relationship ...

Mui discovered a sketch of herself in a drawer in the musician's bedroom. She also found a tube of lipstick left there by his fiance . Despite her shyness, one day, when the musician was not at home, she dressed up in a silk dress and Vietnamese silk pants, putting on the lipstick and viewing herself in the mirror, dreaming of a lifestyle outside of the one she lived. That very day, the musician came home early. He wandered around his house, trying to find Mui. They were playing hide-and-seek, a cat-and-mouse game with each other. She deftly hid behind a door as he came around the corner and did not find her. She darted into her room and took off her fine clothes and lipstick. He silently tip-toed to her part of the house,gingerly opened her door ... and his fiance's greatest fears became realitiy. The film very sensitively portrays the unraveling of their engagement and delicately intimates the growing love between the musician and his servant. All of it is shown naturally, yet without any explicit scenes. By far, this is among the best oriental love stories ever shown on film. Erika Borsos (pepper flower)

5 out of 5 stars Sublime.......2007-01-04

The Scent of Green Papaya is a feast for the senses. It has an easy-going pacing that allows the watcher to fully take in all of the subtleties and richness the film has to offer. so if you are in a hurry, or can't adapt from hollywood pacing, this is not the film for you.

it has been years since my first viewing, but i remember the ending being a surprise as it leapt forward in time. even with the this leap, the film is well rounded, conveying a deep empathy and understanding for the characters.

it's as much about the magic and wonderment of childhood as it is ultimately a love story.

5 out of 5 stars beautiful movie........2006-07-20

The story is a simple one, without guile or subterfuge, so there is no need for deep analysis of symbols and metaphors. What makes the Scent of Green Papaya a work of art is the way that the cinematography showcases the lush and lovely sets, and most especially, the magically playful musical score, which adds an air of whimsy to otherwise mundane moments. Together, they capture the essence of everyday life in post-colonial Vietnam, yet ironically, the Scent of Green Papaya was filmed in its entirety on a sound stage in Paris.

Born on the Fourth of July - DTS
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • I couldn't watch this movie until now-16 years later!
  • This movie sucks
  • Limey Vision
  • Welcome antidote
  • Platoon is better.
Born on the Fourth of July - DTS
Starring: Seth Allen (II) , Raymond J. Barry , Anne Bobby , Tom Cruise , and Amanda Davis
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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