Decoy

Starring:Tomas Milian
Director: Teddy Sills, Don Medford, Michael Gordon, Stuart Rosenberg, Arthur H. Singer, David Alexander
Studio: Alpha Video
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

10 lesser-known but excellent Film Noirs make it to DVD

Film Noir Classic Collection, Vol. 4 (Act of Violence / Mystery Street / Crime Wave / Decoy / Illegal / The Big Steal / They Live By Night / Side Street / Where Danger Lives / Tension)
Starring: Van Heflin , Robert Ryan , Janet Leigh , Mary Astor , and Phyllis Thaxter
Director: Fred Zinnemann , John Sturges , and André De Toth
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Classics | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Classics | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Drama | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

Ace in the Hole - Criterion Collection
The Woman in the Window (MGM Film Noir)
Myrna Loy and William Powell Collection (Manhattan Melodrama / Evelyn Prentice / Double Wedding / I Love You Again / Love Crazy)
Cult Camp Classics 4 - Historical Epics (The Colossus of Rhodes / Land of the Pharaohs / The Prodigal)
Tyrone Power: The Swashbuckler Box Set (Blood and Sand / Son of Fury / The Black Rose / Prince of Foxes / The Captain from Castile)

ASIN: B000PKG7DE
Release Date: 2007-07-31

Description

Ex-World War II pilot Frank Enley (Van Heflin) is a respected contractor and family man. Then his troubled, gimp-legged bombardier (Robert Ryan) shows up with a gun and a score to settle. Perhaps neither man is what he seems to be as director Fred Zinnemann (The Day of the Jackal) guides a searing Act of Violence, "the first postwar noir to take a challenging look at the ethics of men in combat" (Eddie Muller, Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir). Murder lives on Mystery Street. John Sturges (The Great Escape) directs a revealing-for-the-era procedural about a Boston cop (Ricardo Montalban) solving a whodunit with the help of a Harvard forsensic expert (Bruce Bennett). Welcome to CSI Noir.

Customer Reviews:

10 lesser-known but excellent Film Noirs make it to DVD.......2007-04-25

This collection is the DVD debut for all ten of these films, and I don't even know if any of them are available on VHS. I've only seen them thanks to Turner Classic Movies playing them at odd hours, along with other cable channels presenting them over the years. They are excellent but not well remembered film noirs. I would rate them all between 4 and 5 stars. I thought I would list their descriptions, stars, and special features below, not in any particular order:

Crime Wave: (1954) Starring Sterling Hayden and Gene Nelson. An ex-con is trying to go straight, but circumstances force him into crime one more time. Gene Nelson plays a hard-nosed cop. Note a young Charles Bronson playing a minor role.
Commentary by James Ellroy and Eddie Muller
Crime Wave: The City is Dark
Theatrical trailer

Decoy: (1946) Starring Gene Gillie and Edward Norris. Sci-Fi meets Film Noir in this story of a woman who will stop at nothing to retrieve 400K stolen in a robbery. Gillie would make Barbara Stanwyck proud as she chews up man after man in her quest.
Commentary by Stanley Rubin and Glenn Erickson
Decoy: A Map to Nowhere
Theatrical trailer

Illegal: (1955) Starring Edward G. Robinson and Nina Foch. Robinson plays a D.A. whose upwardly mobile career faces a train wreck when a man he convicted is executed and then found to be innocent. After he hits bottom he resurrects his legal career, this time as a criminal attorney. The plot can be hard to follow, but Robinson's performance is great.
Commentary by Nina Foch and Patricia King Hanson
Illegal: Marked for Life
Behind the Cameras: Edward G. Robinson
Theatrical trailer

The Big Steal: (1949) Starring Robert Mitchum and Jane Greer. The lead duo from "Out of the Past" trade wisecracks and insults in a cross-country chase over a suitcase full of stolen money. For once, Mitchum is actually not the bad guy. Almost too much fun to be considered Film Noir.
Commentary by Richard B. Jewell
The Big Steal: Look Behind You

They Live By Night: (1948) Starring Cathy O'Donnell and Farley Granger. The story of an escaped convict trying to live a normal life with the help of his girlfriend. Granger plays the convict who isn't entirely bad, but not entirely reformed either.
Commentary by Farley Granger and Eddie Muller
They Live By Night: The Twisted Road
Theatrical trailer

Side Street: (1950) Starring Cathy O'Donnell and Farley Granger. Granger plays a struggling husband trying to make ends meet when he spots some cash lying around in an office one day. He takes the money, but finds out it is much more than he thought. When he tries to return the money, he gets caught up in a murder mystery. Hitchcock-like in its twists and turns.
Commentary by Richard Schickel
Side Street: Where Temptation Lurks
Theatrical trailer

Where Danger Lives: (1950) Starring Robert Mitchum and Faith Domergue. The plot is somewhat unbelievable, even for Film Noir, but Mitchum gives a strong performance that makes it worthwhile. Mitchum plays a doctor who becomes taken with a patient. Due to a concussion, his judgement becomes clouded and he believes he has murdered the patient's husband. He and the woman go on the run, have some strange adventures, and then Mitchum realizes what kind of illness his new girlfriend was being treated for in the first place.
Commentary by Alain Silver and James Ursini
Where Danger Lives: White Rose for Julie
Theatrical Trailer

Tension: (1950) Starring Richard Basehart and Audrey Trotter. Basehart plays a mild-mannered man whose salary and disposition are not enough for his wife. She leaves him for a tough and wealthy man. Why Basehart would want her back is anyone's guess, but he does and plans to murder his wife's new boyfriend. The tough guy is murdered, but not by Basehart's character.
Commentary by Alain Silver and Elizabeth Ward with Audrey Trotter
Tension: Who's Guilty Now?
Theatrical Trailer

Act of Violence: (1948) Starring Van Heflin and Robert Ryan. Van Heflin plays a family man trying to adapt to life after the war and internment in a prison camp. Enter Robert Ryan, who plays a man with Terminator-like determination in his quest to murder Heflin's character for something that happened during their joint stay in the German prison camp.
Commentary by Dr. Drew Casper
Act of Violence: Dealing With the Devil
Theatrical Trailer

Mystery Street: (1950) Starring Ricardo Montalban and Sally Forrest. Montalban plays a detective who, working with a forensics expert, tries to solve a murder case and exonerate the lone circumstantial suspect. One of the first films I know of to use science to help solve a murder decades before DNA made this aspect of crime solving so interesting and important.
Commentary by Alain Silver and Elizabeth Ward
Mystery Street: Murder at Harvard
Theatrical Trailer

The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother

Average customer rating:

A silly little movie, and a bit more.
The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother
One of Wilder's best.
Wilder
funny movie

The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother
Starring: Gene Wilder , Madeline Kahn , and Marty Feldman
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

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

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

The World's Greatest Lover
The Frisco Kid
Yellowbeard
The Mel Brooks Collection (Blazing Saddles / Young Frankenstein / Silent Movie / Robin Hood: Men in Tights / To Be or Not to Be / History of the World, Part 1 / The Twelve Chairs / High Anxiety)
Silver Streak

ASIN: B000E6ESJ4
Release Date: 2006-04-04

Product Description

The younger brother of the consulting detective tries to steal Sherlock's glory by solving an important case assisted by an eccentric Scotland Yard detective and a lovely but suspicious actress.

System Requirements:
Running Time: 91 Min

Format: DVD MOVIE

Amazon.com

After co-writing and starring in Mel Brooks' smash hit Young Frankenstein, Gene Wilder graduated to his own directing debut with another spoofy take on a cultural icon. The 1975 Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother gives Wilder some great trademark meltdowns, even if the movie doesn't sustain its initial comic energy. Wilder plays Sigerson Holmes, third (and bitterly resentful) brother to the more fabled Sherlock and Mycroft. Two Young Frankenstein co-stars help bring the game afoot: Madeline Kahn, as an opera singer with a problem in distinguishing truth from lies, and Marty Feldman, as a Scotland Yard man with "photographic hearing." The long early sequence that introduces all three characters to each other--and culminates in a lunatic song-and-dance number, "The Kangaroo Hop"--is truly funny, and Dom DeLuise summons up some broad yoks as a singer with a bad toupee. The British are represented by Leo McKern and Roy Kinnear, as well as a mysterious cameo by Albert Finney. (Mel Brooks isn't around, but you can spot his unmistakable pipes in a moment of voiceover.) Things become routine fairly quickly, and the last half-hour is something of a slog, so you'll have to be a Gene Wilder fan to love this one. Still, the rapport of Wilder and Kahn is something to behold: two expert comedians who always suggested an undercurrent of melancholy beneath their clowning. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews:

A silly little movie, and a bit more........2007-06-09

On the surface this is a silly Sherlock Holmes parody, courtesy of Gene Wilder and Co. And as a parody it works OK, though at times (several times) it is almost too silly.
However, there are several bonuses here:
1) Wilder is wonderful. Playing a character (Sigerson) who is wildly intelligent and talented. His character would be an absolute standout in any field he might choose to pursue - except his chosen field - following in the footsteps of his brother - Mr. Sherlock Holmes. As such we see this intelligent, talented fellow as a miserable failure who is just smart enough to realize by the end of the show the genius, competence and love of his brother.
2) The Sherlock Holmes of this movie is superb. Here, Sherlock, has a small and mostly behind the scenes role. But the Holmes we see is THE BEST HOLMES ever brought to film. He is simply superb.
3) The ending scene where Sigerson approaches a costumed Holmes and through eye contact conveys his understanding and acceptance of their relationship and acknowledges their relative skills and talents - this is a well done scene. It is worth watching a whole movie for a scene like this.
4) Lots of nice hat tipping to Holmesian lore.
5) The zany Moriarty. Leo McKern does a nice performance here.
6) As do all the "friends" of Wilder (Feldman, Kahn, De Luis, etc).

PS - I am not much of a Wilder fan - but his Sherlock Holmes alone - small as his role is - earns this movie 5 stars.

The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother.......2007-05-06

Always like Mel Brooks movies,, especially with Gene Wilder & Marty Feldman.
If you liked Young Frankenstein type comedy then you will love this.

One of Wilder's best........2007-04-12

This movie was most likely Gene Wilder's best. The story and main characters were clever and enjoyable. At times Wilder makes his movie too silly to the point of nearly insulting the viewer. If you like any of his work, you need to watch this one. Check out his World's Greatest Lover.

Wilder.......2007-03-30

I am a huge Gene Wilder fan and loved Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, The World's Greatest Lover, Stir Crazy, etc. This movie however just didn't work for me. With Kahn and Feldmon I thought this would be a winner, especially with Wilder writing and directing. I love his humor, but I just didn't laugh with this movie. I think this one you should rent first if you haven't seen it. It is certainly not for everyone judging by the wide swing of ratings.

funny movie.......2007-03-29

gene wilder is very funny in the movie--he always seems on the verge of losing his sanity. if you are a fan, you will like it. if not, you will like gene after seeing it.

Average customer rating:

Disappointing Lemon
Where's that DVD? Oh I see it!
The Wackiest Ship In The Army
Wrong Movie
They don't make 'em like this anymore.

The Wackiest Ship in the Army
Starring: Jack Lemmon , Ricky Nelson , John Lund , Chips Rafferty , and Tom Tully
Director: Richard Murphy
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

Classic Comedies | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

Comedy | Military & War | Genres | DVD | Video

Comedy | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

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

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

Mister Roberts
Operation Petticoat
Father Goose
Lt. Robin Crusoe, U.S.N.
You're in the Navy Now

ASIN: B0002TSZHY
Release Date: 2004-10-12

Description

Jack Lemmon and Ricky Nelson get that sinking feeling when they pilot THE WACKIEST SHIP IN THE ARMY in this hilarious comedy-adventure. During World War II, the Army recruits Navy officer Rip Crandall (Lemmon) to command a battered old schooner for a top-secret mission. Masquerading as a Japanese fishing boat, this nautical nightmare must smuggle a spy through mine-infested waters of the South Pacific. Unfortunately for Crandall, he has inherited a wild crew of butterfingered landlubbers, including First Officer Tommy Hanson (Nelson). Can the dedicated lieutenant whip these comically inexperienced gobs into shape in time to carry out their perilous mission? Starring: Jack Lemmon (2-time Academy Award® Winner, 1955 Mr. Roberts, 1973 Save the Tiger, 8-time Academy Award® Nominee), Ricky Nelson (Golden Globe® Nominee, 1959, Most Promising Newcomer).

Customer Reviews:

Disappointing Lemon.......2007-06-10

Somehow, I (we) remembered this movie differently from what we just saw and sadly, were dissapointed with the plot (if any), dialogue and the acting.

Where's that DVD? Oh I see it!.......2007-05-17

His is one outstanding film. It is funny, very funny - a real service comedy and it works on several levels. The cast is first rate. Jack Lemmon and Rick Nelson are perfectly cast. A very memorable movie all around. Fond memories.

The Wackiest Ship In The Army.......2007-03-28

This vhs tape was in excellent condtion. It arrived in just a couple of days of ordering and was very pleased with the condition the tape was in.

Wrong Movie.......2007-01-03

This isn't a bad movie, but what I had rather see is a compilation of the seasons that "Wackiest Ship in the Army" was on TV. The TV show was, all told, much superior to this movie. The missions they were sent on and the dangers that they faced were exciting, and at the same time done with much humor. I'm not knocking this movie at all, but I would prefer to see the several seasons of the TV show on DVD. McHale's Navy it definitely wasn't.

They don't make 'em like this anymore........2006-07-10

If you enjoy the comic antics of Jack Lemmon (Grumpy Old Men, Grumpier Old Men), give yourself a treat. Mr. Lemmon's earlier films are well written, campy, and just plain fun! Two of my favorite Lemmon films are HOW TO MURDER YOUR WIFE and THE WACKIEST SHIP IN THE ARMY. Give yourself a fun filled evening. Send the kids out for pizza, turn off the phone, pop some popcorn, and curl up on the sofa with THE WACKIEST SHIP IN THE ARMY. Don't expect a deep "meaningful" plot or some kind of political metaphor. Isn't it time for a good laugh, the way we use to?

Average customer rating:

"We mock what we don't understand"
5 star comment
Lame
Spies like Us
quite weak

Spies Like Us
Starring: Chevy Chase , Dan Aykroyd , Steve Forrest , Donna Dixon , and Bruce Davison
Director: John Landis
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

Farce | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

Comic Action | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

Espionage | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

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

All Deals | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

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

Three Amigos
Fletch Lives
Funny Farm
Fletch (The "Jane Doe" Edition)
The Great Outdoors

ASIN: 6305162042
Release Date: 1998-11-10

Amazon.com

Yet another bad movie in a lengthy string of losers for all three of the principals involved here: director John Landis and stars Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase. Chase and Aykroyd play a pair of bumbling would-be CIA agents who are spotted cheating on the entrance exam. So the CIA decides to use them as bait in a mission to flummox the Russians. Lots of pointless slapstick and mugging, but Landis hasn't made a genuinely funny film since Trading Places. Aykroyd and Chase seem smug and self-satisfied (don't they always?), as though they can rest forever on laurels earned during the 1975 season of Saturday Night Live. Look for a gaggle of film directors (Terry Gilliam, Joel Coen, Costa-Gavras) in cameo roles: that's the closest this film comes to cleverness. --Marshall Fine

Customer Reviews:

"We mock what we don't understand".......2007-05-25

How unique to see a movie in which Dan Aykroyd looks short!

There's nothing terribly wrong with "Spies Like Us". The plot is perfectly sound as the basis for a comedy, and Chase and Aykroyd do their best with the material. The problem is that it's just not that funny. There are only a handful of the laugh-out-loud moments that should serve as justification for the whole enterprise.

Another problem is that Chase's character is so hopelessly incompetent that he makes no contribution to the characters' mission whatsoever. Aykroyd's character could have done the whole thing by himself. This characteristic is not shared by "Ghostbusters" or even "The Blues Brothers", in which all the leading characters have particular technical and/or social skills that are essential to the success of the team. As an Aykroyd fan I'm always happy to see him playing courageous and competent characters, but Austin Millbarge is arguably **too** perfect; he doesn't have any of the kind of peculiarities that Aykroyd can get his teeth into as an actor, like Ray Stantz's childlike nature in "Ghostbusters" or Mother's outrageous conspiracy theories in "Sneakers".

5 star comment.......2007-03-09

The priduct arrived ahed of time, no problems, no dispute
and your reply made me feel very plesed to contact you again.

Lame.......2006-07-18

When John Belushi died in 1982, he left Dan Aykroyd with several scripts and the sad end to what could have been a great comedy team like Laurel & Hardy or Abbott & Costello.

Aykroyd filled John's spot in GHOSTBUSTERS with Bill Murray and hit comedy gold.

He filled SPIES LIKE US with Chevy Chase and came up snake eyes.

View at your own risk. At least it's not as bad as NOTHING BUT TROUBLE, easily one of the worst comedies ever made.

Spies like Us.......2006-07-03

I love this movie with a Paul McCartney song. I received it fast and at a great price.

quite weak.......2006-06-14

The story is about special agents saving the world from some bad guys in the US government. The idea is similar to the 007 movies, but it is really not comparable. The movie is quite primitive, the story is predictable, the jokes are about old Cold War era stereotypes. The acting would be ok for some late night show episodes but not a full length movie.

Average customer rating:

Relaxing comedy
My all time favorite comedy
The man with one red shoe
Very Funny early Tom Hanks movie (before he sold out to Hollywood)!
three stooge version

The Man with One Red Shoe
Starring: Tom Hanks , Dabney Coleman , Lori Singer , Charles Durning , and Carrie Fisher
Director: Stan Dragoti
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

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

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

Splash (20th Anniversary Edition)
Joe Versus the Volcano
Nothing in Common
Dragnet
The 'Burbs

ASIN: B0002B15X8
Release Date: 2004-09-07

Amazon.com

Adapted from a popular French comedy-thriller, The Man with One Red Shoe follows a concert violinist (Tom Hanks) used as a patsy in a conflict between two rival factions of the CIA. Singled out at the airport solely because he's wearing mismatched shoes, Hanks is henceforth believed to be a mole with important information; a rogue crew of agents follows him, searches his apartment, and even seduces him in order to find out what he knows. At the same time, loyal agents--who also believe he's a mole--follow and protect him from predation by the rogues. Lori Singer plays a beautiful blonde spy with a conscience and an astonishing backless dress; Dabney Coleman, Charles Durning, and Edward Herrmann are agents trying to second-guess each other; Jim Belushi plays Hanks's best friend, a jealous percussionist, and Carrie Fisher plays Belushi's wife, a flautist who's infatuated with Hanks and wants him to make some jungle love. Hanks plays it straight and is reliably pleasant. In the hands of Hitchcock, this might have generated some real suspense; as it is, it's amusing with some good twists, some weak gags, and one remarkable bicycle stunt. --Bret Fetzer

Description

In this hilarious undercover comedy, violinist Richard Drew (Hanks) is mistaken for a spy after wearing one red shoe and triggers a game of rivalry between two feuding CIA bosses (Charles Durning, Dabney Coleman). Though Richard is mugged, shot at and chased, he remains unaware that he is an object of suspicion and even falls in love with the agent (Lori Singer) who's trailing him. Meanwhile, his friend's (Jim Belushi) love-starved wife (Carrie Fisher) has designs on him as well.

Customer Reviews:

Relaxing comedy.......2007-04-15

This is a comedy that I like to see once in a while to relax!

My all time favorite comedy.......2007-01-27

Don't know why, but I come back to this film whenever I want a genuine laugh. It has all the elements here. Mistaken identity, goofy CIA agents, paranoid friend, sexy starlets. It's just a good comedy. Tom Hanks was just getting full recognition when this one came along. Nice to look back at his quirky comedies.

The man with one red shoe.......2006-11-06

Great movie and it was a pleasure buying it through Amazon.

Very Funny early Tom Hanks movie (before he sold out to Hollywood)!.......2006-09-19

Dir.: Stan Dragoti (or as some might call
him, Mr. Cheryl Tiegs)...Starring: Tom
Hanks, Lori Singer, Dabney Coleman, Jim
Metzman...[he played 'Oi-ving', the door
man in Crocodile Dundee I]. A fine remake
of the 1970 French comedy, 'The Tall Blonde
Man with one shoe.' Hnaks plays slighty flaky
classical musician who gets mistaken for agent
which invovles all sorts of chases lead by
hyper ambitious Dabney Coleman in one of his
best roles of the '80's! Singer and Hanks are
very good in here. If Tom Hanks had stayed with
comedy, he would have been maybe the best. Sigh...

three stooge version.......2006-05-03

This is the second remake of the original French version from around 1970. This one is the worst of the three. The gags remind me of the Three Stooges movies. They are overdone and drawn out to pad the movie to 90 minutes.

Average customer rating:

Listen guys, do I have to be around for this?
i liked this movie, i really did!
I'm glad Oscar voters didn't see this before they voted!
Not great, but it's decent.
Yawn............

Bait
Starring: Kirk Acevedo , Neil Crone , Megan Dodds , Jeffrey Donovan , and Kimberly Elise
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Crime | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

Comic Action | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

Comic Criminals | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

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

All Deals | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

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

Double Take
What's the Worst That Could Happen? (Special Edition)
Held Up
Exit Wounds
Money Talks

ASIN: B00003CXNG
Release Date: 2001-01-23

Amazon.com

When petty thief and hustler Alvin Sanders (Jamie Foxx from Any Given Sunday and The Wood) gets arrested for stealing shrimp, the worst of his problems would seem to be going to jail. Unfortunately, he ends up sharing a cell with a guy who, while stealing $42 million in gold from the Federal Reserve, double-crossed his partner--a partner with a knack for computers and a long memory. While being interrogated by a hardball Treasury agent (David Morse from The Green Mile), the double-crosser dies from heart failure. All the feds have are an incomprehensible message that was left with Alvin, so they decide to release him and use him as bait to catch the partner by secretly implanting a combination tracking device and electronic bug into Alvin's jaw. From that moment on, a surveillance team can follow Alvin's every move and hear his every word. Unfortunately, Alvin has a talent for getting into trouble--which means that the feds have to become his guardian angels so that he can serve his purpose. Bait certainly has its problems (there's a lot of fancy editing for no good reason, a few plot holes you could drive a truck through, and the actor playing the bad guy really wishes he was John Malkovich)--but even though it's nonsense, it's not predictable. The clever story moves along with surprising efficiency and has some successful comic bits. The characters can't be called well developed, but they aren't clichés; the movie doesn't require any great acting, but the cast is consistently engaging. In fact, Bait is one of the more enjoyable action movies of the past few years. --Bret Fetzer

Customer Reviews:

Listen guys, do I have to be around for this?.......2005-09-02

Are you familiar with concept of children's artwork? While it is not the greatest Picasso any three-year-old has ever accomplished with their fingers, you encourage them to do more. If painting is what makes them happy, there should be no reason a parent should hold that back on a child. Typically, if a child loves to paint or draw, you will immediately see the groundwork of their future style. You will begin to see their true form in these very primitive doodles. Well, this concept of children's artwork is how I felt about Fuqua's depressingly cheap and uncreative film Bait. While on all accounts it was a horrid film, it was impressive to see Fuqua's style begin emerging through even the messiest of moments. If you have seen either Training Day or King Arthur, you will be impressed with the birth of this director in his second film Bait. While Foxx gives a horrid, unchained performance, there are certain scenes, which define Fuqua and demonstrate his brilliance behind the camera. Sadly it only emerged in the final thirty minutes of the film, but if you focus just on those scenes, you will see why Fuqua's name appears on so many "Best Of..." film lists.

I will never disagree with someone that Fuqua's eye behind the camera is refreshing and unique. His ability to place a camera in the strangest of places to convey the simplest of emotions is shocking. I am surprised that more of Hollywood hasn't jumped aboard this bandwagon. Even in the silly feature Bait, you are witness to Fuqua's greatness. Two scenes that come directly to mind are the explosion scene near the middle of the film and the horse scene close to the end. In both of these scenes I saw the director Fuqua at work. Alas, in the rest of this film, all I saw was a combination of nearly every action film created. The likeable hero down on his luck that suddenly finds his life turned around by some unknown force is a classic structure that just needs to die in Hollywood. We have seen this two often, and no matter who you are (unless you are Charlie Kaufmann), you cannot recreate the wheel. It is just impossible with this genre, and it is proven with Bait. I was annoyed with Fuqua for just sitting back and allowing this to happen, which could explain why it took me three viewings to finish this film. I was just tired of the structure, and while I hoped that Fuqua would redefine it, he did not.

Then, there was the acting. While Jamie Foxx has never impressed me as an actor, I was willing to give this helmed vehicle a try. I wanted to see if he could pull off another dramatic role similar to Collateral. I was under the impression that perhaps this was the film chosen to show producers that Foxx could handle the role in Collateral. Again, I was disappointed. Foxx was annoying. Not in the sense that it was the way that his character was to be, but in the sense that it felt as if neither Fuqua nor Foxx took the time to fully train Foxx on what should be ad-libed and what should be used to further the plot. Instead, we are downtrodden with scene over scene of Foxx just trying to make the audience laugh. Adding second long quips and culture statements just to keep his audience understanding that he was a comedian first, an actor second. Fuqua should have stopped this immediately. Foxx's jokes destroyed his character, which in turn left me with nothing solid to grasp ahold of. Instead of character development, he would crack a joke. Neither style worked, no joke was funny. The rest of the cast was average. By this I mean I have seen them all in similar roles. They were brining nothing new to the table, nothing solid to the story, and nothing substantial to the overall themes of the film. They were pawns filling in dead air space. Fuqua had no control over this mess, and the final verdict only supports that accusation.

Overall, this was a sad film. With no creativity in sight and unmanaged actors just trying to upstage themselves, what originally started as a decent story eventually sunk faster into the cinematic quicksand. Foxx was annoying, without character lines, and a complete bag of cheese. In each scene I saw no emotion, and when emotion was needed to convey a message, he chose to take his shirt off rather than tackle the issues. Are my words harsh? I don't think so. When you watch any movie you want to see some creativity, some edible characters, and themes that seem to hit close to home. Bait contained none of these. While I will give Fuqua some credit for two of the scenes in this film, the remaining five hundred were disastrous. Apparently, I took the bait when renting this film, but now having seen it, hopefully I can stop others from taking that curious nibble.

Grade: ** out of ***** (for his two scenes that were fun to watch)

i liked this movie, i really did!.......2005-05-09

well i'm just a jamie fox fanatic, that's all. anything that he's in, i'll watch. and this movie had me on the edge of my seat. now there was some times i had to put my DVD player on pause because i did not want to see my Jamie get hurt, but i had to realize this was only a movie (yeah, yeah, i'm silly and trippin! so sue me!) but it was really fun to watch. i just think jamie foxx is so cute! i just love him. great action in this film. and David Morse was great too. i just want more Jamie, that's all.

I'm glad Oscar voters didn't see this before they voted!.......2005-04-25

Jamie Foxx deserved his Oscar for "Ray". Had he not been up against Morgan Freeman for "Million Dollar Baby" he may have deserved a second for "Collateral". (Though in comparison to "Ray" his performance there was decidedly second-rate.)I watched "Bait" to see what the other side of Jamie Foxx was like. There could very well be better examples of Foxx's comedic prowess, but this isn't it.

Antoine Fuqua has gotten a bad reputation. "Tears of the Sun" was mediocre at best. "The Replacement Killers" was loud, garish, and over-the-top. That one can be forgiven given its purpose but is unworthy of priase. "Training Day" was uncharacteristically wonderful and it was my first exposure to his work, so I was surprised that he was so reviled. Until now, that is.

"Bait" was shockingly violent. Sure, I've seen much worse, but they were not "action-comedies." Some of the images displayed here are not conducive to laughter. No big loss, there was no laughter to be had in the first place.

Not great, but it's decent........2004-05-15

I did not have high expectations for this film. The movie actually was not half bad. It's not great, but it will keep your interest. I think Jamie has the making of a potential action star if he gets a better developed script.

Yawn...................2004-02-05

Great, another pointless action movie that adds nothing to a tired, been-done-to-death genre. This thriller/ action/ suspense/ comedy combo doesn`t score well and is just another endless picture that makes little sense and has a contrived, unbelievable plot to match. Director Antoine Fuqua ("Training Day") offers a decent cinematography and an adequate urban soundtrack, but that doesn`t mean much when the characters are little more than carboard and the plot so bland. Forgettable.

Crime Wave / Decoy (Film Noir Double Feature)

Average customer rating:

Crime Wave / Decoy (Film Noir Double Feature)
Starring: Sterling Hayden , Gene Nelson , Phyllis Kirk , Ted de Corsia , and Charles Bronson
Director: André De Toth , and Jack Bernhard
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Classics | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Suspense | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Mystery | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Classics | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Act of Violence / Mystery Street (Film Noir Double Feature)
Illegal / The Big Steal (Film Noir Double Feature)
Where Danger Lives / Tension (Film Noir Double Feature)
They Live by Night / Side Street (Film Noir Double Feature)
A Bullet For Joey (MGM Film Noir)

ASIN: B000PKG7CA
Release Date: 2007-07-31

Average customer rating:

"Don't Move! Don't Move!"

The Playgirl Killer
Starring: William Kerwin , Jean Christopher (II) , Andrée Champagne , Neil Sedaka , and Mary Lou Collier
Director: Erick Santamaria
Manufacturer: Platinum Disc
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Crime | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Classics | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Horror | Genres | DVD | Video

Slasher Flicks | Horror | Genres | DVD | Video

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

All Deals | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

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

The Las Vegas Serial Killer
Poor Pretty Eddie
Contamination
Microwave Massacre
Shock

ASIN: B00005QJK3
Release Date: 1999-09-01

Customer Reviews:

"Don't Move! Don't Move!".......2003-04-13

In the 60's there was a brief spate of films depicting crazed artists that excelled at murdering women ("Track of the Vampire","Color Me Blood Red", etc).
William Kerwin (aka Thomas Sweetwood) takes a break from the Herschell Gordon Lewis movies to star in this classic tale of a handsome, talented artist who gets hired to be a handyman at a spoiled, rich girl's estate.
Unfortunately, Kerwin only likes girls for murdering. Needless to say, they're all foxy and are ready to jump him at the drop of a hat . He asks them to pose for him instead and then goes ballistic whenever they fidget! His face twitches uncontrollably and he stammers "Don't move! Don't move!" He kills them all (one scene with a harpoon gun) and wails "I told you not to move!"
Filmed in gorgeous Montreal, Canada on a Herschell-friendly budget, this movie has a brief appearance by Neil Sedaka in a small bathing suit, which may very well be the most frightening image in the movie.
The DVD transfer is excellent, surprisingly so given the budget and the age of the film. So when can we expect a DVD of the splendid "Nightmare In Wax"?

Average customer rating:

"Tim Holt B-Western Series ... Under The Tonto Rim (1947) ... RKO Radio Pictures"

Under the Tonto Rim
Starring: Lex Barker , Tony Barrett , Carol Forman , Herman Hack , and Harry Harvey
Director: Lew Landers
Manufacturer: Lions Gate
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Westerns | Genres | DVD | Video

Classics | Westerns | Genres | DVD | Video

4-for-3 All DVDs | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

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

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

Thunder Mountain
Wild Horse Mesa
Code of the West
The Arizona Raiders
Sunset Pass

ASIN: B000CRR3QA
Release Date: 2006-02-07

Customer Reviews:

"Tim Holt B-Western Series ... Under The Tonto Rim (1947) ... RKO Radio Pictures".......2007-02-15

RKO Radio Pictures present "UNDER THE TONTO RIM" (1947) (61 mins/B&W) (Dolby digitally remastered) --- actor Tim Holt graduated to starring his own series of 1940's "B" westerns and to playing solid supporting roles in higher budget features ... At the peak of his career in the 1940's "B" westerns, he was the "fastest draw" in the movies with the ability to draw his revolver in five frames of film (slightly over one sixth of a second) ... From 1941-43 and 1948-52 Tim Holt was a top ten box office star ... Inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 1991.

Under Lew Landers (Director), Herman Schlom (Producer), Zane Grey (Author of Novel), Norman Houston (Screenplay), Paul Sawtell (Original Score), J. Roy Hunt (Cinematographer), Lyle Boyer (Editor), Albert S. D'Agostino (Art Direction), Charles F. Pyke (Art Direction), Darrell Silvera (Set Decoration), John Sturtevant (Set Decoration), John Pommer (Second Unit Director), John C. Grubb (Sound Department), Terry Kellum (Sound Department), Russell A. Cully (Special Effects) ------ the cast includes Tim Holt (Brad Canfield), Richard Martin (Chito Jose Gonzalez Bustamonte Rafferty), Nan Leslie (Lucy Dennison), Tom Keene (Dennison), Carol Forman (Juanita), Tony Barrett (Roy Patton), Harry Harvey (Sheriff in Tonto), Jason Robards Sr. (Captain McLean, Arizona Rangers), Robert Clarke (Hooker, Dennison Henchman), Jay Norris (Andy, Rimrock Stage Driver), Lex Barker (Joe, Deputy in Tonto), Steve Savage (Curly, Tonto Rim Gang Member), Grahame Covert (Hostler), Dick Foote (Henry, Tonto Deputy), Lee Frederick (Hostler), Jack Gordon (Bartender in Tonto), Herman Hack (Tonto Rim Gang Member), George Magrill (Tonto Rim Gang Guard), Bud Osborne (Steve, Tonto Rim Gang Member) ------ the story line has plenty of action, comedy and exciting adventure with Tim Holt and his Irish American partner Chito Raffery taking on Tom Keene and his gang of desperadoes ... don't miss Tim being locked up in jail and as he let's the local Sheriff Harry Harvey in on the whole plan and hideout --- great stunt work by the RKO stunt personnel David Sharpe (stunt double: Robert Clarke) --- don't leave the theater until the final scene ... another winner from the vaults of RKO Radio Pictures --- this is a must watch for the B-Westerns fans in all of us.

BIOS:
1. Tim Holt (aka: Charles John Holt III)
Date of birth: 5 February 1918 - Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California
Date of death: 15 February 1973 - Shawnee, Oklahoma

Special footnote, Tim Holt had one of the leading roles in the Orson Welles 1942 drama,
"The Magnificent Ambersons" but the following year he became a decorated combat veteran
of World War II, flying in the Pacific theatre with the United States Army Air Forces as a B-29
bombardier. Tim Holt would return to filming after the war, appearing as "Virgil Earp" to Henry Fonda's,
"Wyatt Earp" in director John Ford's Western, "My Darling Clementine". Holt would next be cast in the role
that he is probably most remembered for and a film where his father appeared in a small part. Tim Holt portrayed
"Bob Curtin" next to the Humphrey Bogart character of "Fred C. Dobbs" in John Huston's classic, "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre".
Made in 1946, Holt did another four Western films before "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" would be released in 1948. Tim Holt made
two dozen more Western films until 1952 when the genre's popularity waned. He would be absent from the screen for five years until starring in a less than successful horror film in 1957 then appeared in only two more uninspiring motion pictures during the next fourteen years.
(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

2. Richard Martin
Date of birth: 12 December 1917 - Spokane, Washington
Date of death: 4 September 1994 - Newport Beach, California

Special footnote, Richard Martin an American actor began appearing in films under
contract to RKO in the early 1940s. Martin created the character of
Chito Jose Gonzalez Bustamonte Rafferty, the Irish-Mexican comic sidekick
of cowboy star Tim Holt, in the 1943 film "Bombardier", Martin played the character
in a series of 29 films through the early 1950s.Martin married actress Elaine Riley,
who co-starred with him in several films, retired from the screen to work in the
insurance business in the early 1950s.

3. Lew Landers (Director)
Date of birth: 2 January 1901 - New York, New York
Date of death: 16 December 1962 - Palm Desert, California

4. Zane Grey (aka: Pearl Zane Grey)
Date of birth: 31 January 1872 - Zanesville, Ohio
Date of death: 23 October 1939 - Altadena, California

Special footnote, Zane Grey Prolific American writer and pioneer of Western as a new literary genre
Grey's most famous book is "Riders of the Purple Sage" (1912), Inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners
of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 1977.

Hats off and thanks to Les Adams (collector/guideslines for character identification), Chuck Anderson (Webmaster: The Old Corral/B-Westerns.Com), Boyd Magers (Western Clippings), Bobby J. Copeland (author of "Trail Talk"), Rhonda Lemons (Empire Publishing Inc), Bob Nareau (author of "The Real Bob Steele") and Trevor Scott (Down Under Com) as they have rekindled my interest once again for B-Westerns and Serials --- looking forward to more high quality releases from the vintage serial era of the '20s, '30s & '40s and B-Westerns ... order your copy now from Amazon where there are plenty of copies available on DVD, stay tuned once again for top notch action mixed with deadly adventure --- if you enjoyed this title, why not check out VCI Entertainment where they are experts in releasing B-Westerns and Serials --- all my heroes have been cowboys!

Total Time: 61 min on DVD ~ Lions Gate Video ~ (2/07/2006)

Average customer rating:

The Decoy
Starring: Kreinbrink , and Graig
Manufacturer: Echo Bridge Home Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Westerns | Genres | DVD | Video

Product Description

The Great American Westerns Are Back! A classic tale of justice and revenge. Bonus Features include: Filmmaker's Commentary, Director's Featurette, From Script to Screen Featurette, Theatrical Trailer, Blooper Reel, Extended Uncut Scenes, Behind the Scenes Interview with Actor Kevin Market.

DVD:

DVD

3 Tough Guys Of The Silver Screen - Vol. 1 - Call It Murder

DVD: Red Skelton's Christmas Jollies

Chocky