Enigma

Starring:Dougray Scott, Kate Winslet, Saffron Burrows, Jeremy Northam, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Tom Hollander, Donald Sumpter, Matthew Macfadyen, Richard Leaf, Ian Felce, Bohdan Poraj, Paul Rattray, Richard Katz (II), Tom Fisher, Robert Pugh, Corin Redgrave, Nicholas Rowe, Angus MacInnes, Mary MacLeod, Michael Troughton
Director: Michael Apted
Studio: Sony Pictures
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
In this twisty thriller about Britain's secret code breakers during World War II, Tom Jericho (Dougray Scott, best known as the villain of Mission Impossible 2) devised the means to break the Nazi Enigma code, but a relationship gone awry sent the erratic genius into a breakdown. Now the Nazis have switched their codes, just as huge convoys of ships with crucial supplies are crossing the Atlantic--and squads of U-boats are hunting for them. With the help of his former lover's roommate (the ever-adorable Kate Winslet) and under the watchful eye of a suspicious intelligence officer (Jeremy Northam), Jericho struggles to figure out if there's a spy among the code breakers as they fight to crack the new Nazi ciphers. The plot gets extremely tricky but the excellent cast keeps you engaged. Written by the extremely tricky playwright-screenwriter Tom Stoppard (who cowrote Shakespeare in Love and Brazil). --Bret Fetzer

The Beales of Grey Gardens - Criterion Collection
Average customer rating:

Assault on Reason

I adored this movie, absolutely mad about it.

Well worth the 32 year wait

Still making money off of Big Edie & Little Edie?

The Beales revealed

The Beales of Grey Gardens - Criterion Collection
Director: Albert Maysles , and David Maysles
Manufacturer: Criterion
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video
General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video
DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video
( B ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Used DVDs | Stores | DVD | Video | Action & Adventure | African American Cinema | Animation | Anime & Manga | Art House & International | Classics | Comedy | Cult Movies | Documentary | Drama | Educational | Fitness & Yoga | Gay & Lesbian | Horror | Kids & Family | Military & War | Music Video & Concerts | Musicals & Performing Arts | Mystery & Suspense | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Special Interests | Sports | Television | Westerns
All | Criterion Collection | Stores | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Grey Gardens - Criterion Collection

Grey Gardens - A New Musical (2006 Original Broadway Cast)

Pandora's Box - Criterion Collection

The Fallen Idol - Criterion Collection

My Life at Grey Gardens: 13 Months and Beyond

ASIN: B000IY02W4
Release Date: 2006-12-05

Description

The 1975 cinema vérité classic Grey Gardens, which captured in remarkable close-up the lives of the eccentric recluses and cousins to Jackie Onassis, Big and Little Edie Beale, in their decrepit East Hampton mansion, has spawned everything from a midnight-movie cult following to a Broadway musical remake an upcoming Hollywood adaptation. Now, Albert and David Maysles have revisited their landmark documentary with a sequel of sorts, culled from hours of never-before-seen footage recently found in the filmmakers' vaults.

Customer Reviews:

Assault on Reason.......2007-06-24

Showing up 30 years after the original, and undoubtedly here to capitalize on the smash Broadway play and upcoming fictional feature film, "The Beales of Grey Gardens" scoops up whatever was left on the editing room floor, puts them together like links of sausage and calls itself a movie. That's fine, they have some decent material here, but still this experiment of filming Jackie O's reclusive, deranged relatives is nothing more than a prehistoric "Osbournes". To its credit it feels much more organic as it is not burdened by MTV style editing or staged feuds with their neighbors. We just sit around and watch crazy people sink further and further into their own messed up world. Of course it is entertaining, but as a movie it doesn't really work. For a comedy it just isn't funny enough and for a tragedy it just isn't sad enough. How can we feel sad for these people, ignorance is bliss, as they say, and Big Edie and Little Edie are both more than stocked up in both departments.

I think a main theme here is taking yourself out of civilized society and entering an alternate reality. My hatred of people is well documented, but I am at least smart enough to surround myself with them for the sake of my own mental health. And so while I admit that I had a lot of fun at their expense I must emphasize the point that I am not judging them. How could I considering that my apartment looks like the Unabomber lives there, and that I eat ice cream out of the carton, and that I sit around prattling off conspiracy theories. Then again, I never danced around in front of my mother singing show tunes. And I certainly never burned a hole in my house and then had a raccoon come and take up residence within it. So like that trip to see the crazy old aunt nobody talks to anymore this trip begins to wear thin about an hour in.

With very few people around to stop their wild-eyed pontifications they just went on believing their own version of the truth. This becomes painfully apparent when Little Edie begins equating alcohol to "orgies" and "exploding livers". Later she rails against private and public property in the same rant, quite obviously not knowing the difference. It is my theory that when men go crazy they direct it outward, but when women go crazy everything is directed inward, and this is a perfect example. Little Edie means and does no harm to anybody else, but you listen to her talk for five minutes and you realize that this is one lost little girl. The film fails because, like Spike lee's "Next Movement", you really can't turn deleted scenes into a movie. They were deleted for a reason, not to mention that it is near impossible to create a narrative structure out of leftovers. **1/2

I adored this movie, absolutely mad about it........2007-06-11

Everyone else has already said how wonderful the "new" footage, how beautiful the scenery, how in-depth the exploration...I agree with them all. I adore this film and am so grateful it has been made available (I would have taken it as raw footage). I just wanted to mention that the subtitles are way off in many, many places. I'm from Long Island, a native speaker of the LI accent, and I've seen Grey Gardens probably around 500 times. I know what they're saying and it is not what is printed in the subtitles much of the time. Perhaps whoever did the subtitles is not a LI native. It's not really a complaint, but if you really want to know what they're saying you just have to listen closely and let your ear guide you, because if you take your info from the subtitles, it sometimes alters the actual meaning of what they're saying. I hope this helps someone--it's my good deed for the day.

Well worth the 32 year wait.......2007-06-09

Though I had watched "Grey Gardens" at least 2000 times since 1975, last fall, I went to the Castro Theater in San Francisco to see the new print of it with an audience for the first time since the Bouvier-Beales were introduced to me in '75.

That night, an appearance by Jerry Torre was incentive for me to see "Grey Gardens" on the big screen. I had just purchased the Broadway cast album and the song "Jerry loves the way I do my corn" was repeating in my brain as I waited in the long line to get into the theater.

Over 30 years of viewing, the Maysles film had made the Beales virtual friends of mine. Once upon a time, when I said that "Grey Gardens" was my favorite film, nobody had heard of it.

I did not know that a second feature would follow the interview with the "Marble Fawn".

As Ms. Beale pranced through the yard singing "You Ought to be in Pictures," my heart felt as though I was visiting an old friend.

As true today as it was in 1975, you'll either be fascinated or repelled by "The Beales of Grey Gardens." I now have two favorite films.

One thing is certain: you'll never forget them.

Al, if you're reading this - thank you!

Still making money off of Big Edie & Little Edie?.......2007-05-22

As a great fan of Big Edie & Little Edie I was naturally delighted to see the new footage. However, after reading Lois Wright's book about the 13 months that she actually lived with the Beales' in which she reveals that the Maysles agreed to give them 40% of the profits, but yet they were starving during the Premiere and while it was showing at theaters. The Maysles promised to pay their grocery bill, which they did not, and soon after the grocer cut off their credit. At Big Edie's funeral, Little Edie was upset that they were even there - they were made to stand at the back of the funeral service & denied permission to attend the graveside service. I do not know what the ultimate outcome was & if indeed they honored their agreement to give the Beales their 40%. But, back to "The Beales of Grey Gardens" I was as captivated as much, if not more so, than the first film. I think the footage was more revealing and showed a more unvarnished version of the Beales, which endeared me even more to these two incredible entertaining, intelligent, witty & enchanting ladies.

The Beales revealed.......2007-03-08

The "Beales of Grey Gardens" brings home the story of Big Edie and Little Edie as introduced in the original "Greygardens". It is very helpful to view "Greygardens" first because it provides the background for the more in-depth presentation of their relationship and history.

Average customer rating:

Oldboy Review
TRULY SHOCKING
Revenge Taken to The Extreme!!!
Boring and Outrageous
Brilliant master work from Park Chan-Wook

Oldboy
Starring: Min-sik Choi , Ji-tae Yu , Hye-jeong Kang , Dae-han Ji , and Dal-su Oh
Director: Chan-wook Park
Manufacturer: Tartan Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Art House & International | Genres | DVD | Video

Adventure | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

Drama | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Asian Horror | Horror | Genres | DVD | Video

J-Horror | Horror | Genres | DVD | Video

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

( O ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

General | Foreign & International | Stores | DVD | Video

General | Indie & Art House | Stores | DVD | Video

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
Lady Vengeance
Audition (Uncut Special Edition)
A Tale of Two Sisters (Deluxe Edition)
Ong-Bak - The Thai Warrior

ASIN: B0009S2T0M
Release Date: 2005-08-23

Amazon.com

In the realm of revenge thrillers, you'd be hard pressed to find more ultra-violent vengeance and psycho thrills than in the creepy story of Oldboy. This Korean import made a pop splash at the Cannes Film Festival and during its limited theatrical run thanks to the imprimatur of Quentin Tarantino, who raved about it and its visionary director, Chan-wook Park, to anyone who would listen. It's easy to see why QT fell in love with the grindhouse attitude, fast-paced action, violent imagery, and icy-black humor, but it's a disservice to think of Oldboy as another Tarantino homage or knockoff. The darkly existential undercurrent in the themes that Oldboy traces over its life-long narrative arc is much more complex and deeply disturbing than anything of its kind. The movie's tagline is, "15 years of imprisonment... 5 days of vengeance." The imprisonee is Oh Dae-Su, an ordinary Joe who is snatched off a Seoul street corner and locked away in a dank, windowless fleabag hotel room for the aforementioned 15 years. Just as abruptly he is released, and thus the five days begin. Why did this happen to Oh Dae-Su? Ah, but that would be telling, and in fact we don't know ourselves until the final wrenching scenes.

Oldboy breaks into a classic three-act saga, the first of which details the hallucinatory period of imprisonment in which Oh Dae-Su wades from mild insanity to outright psychosis in the hands of unseen yet attentive captors. Act 2 is the revenge, when an entirely different tone takes over and Oh Dae-Su moves with single-minded purpose and clarity. It's this section that has gained the most notoriety, primarily for the claw-hammer dentistry scene, the one-man-army tracking shot, and the wriggling octopus that Oh Dae-Su consumes in a sushi bar (he's been dead so long he simply needs life back inside him in any way possible). In act 3, answers finally start to emerge and the sinister atmosphere grows even more profound--not without a healthy dose of extra bloodletting, of course. Oldboy is an undeniably poetic masterpiece of tension, fury, and dynamic craft. Ultimately, its epic cycle of tragedy is of the sort that mankind has been inflicting upon itself for all time. Some of the images may be gruesome, but all converge into a kind of beauty. It's in the telling of this lurid tale that these details become one and the memories of pain ultimately heal. --Ted Fry

Description

Oh Dae-su is an ordinary Seoul businessman with a wife and little daughter who, after a drunken night on the town, is abducted and locked up in a strange, private prison. No one will tell him why hes there and who his jailer is and his fury builds to a single-minded focus of revenge. 15 years later, he is unexpectedly freed, given a new suit, a cell-phone and 5 days to discover the mysterious enemy who had him imprisoned. Seeking vengeance on all those involved, he soon finds that his enemys tortures are just beginning.

Customer Reviews:

Oldboy Review.......2007-07-04

What can I say? For the first half of the movie I was lost. It was only at the last 30 minutes the movie caught my interest. It was not the worst film I have seen but it certainy was not for me.

TRULY SHOCKING.......2007-06-26

Incredible. Shocking. Heart-wrenching. Bloody. Violent. Amazing. This movie is a rollercoaster ride from beginning to end. This is definitely a "revenge" movie on all fronts.

During the movie the hunter becomes the hunted. There are surprise twists and turns that are truly shocking. This is actually a movie within a movie and it will definitely surprise the hell out of the first time viewer.

This is not a movie for those who have weak stomaches. There is such strong violence and gore -- yet it is essential to the movies plot and various sub-plots.

I gave OLDBOY 5 stars. There is so much going on in the movie and it is all tied together so neatly at the end that it just amazed me. The acting is great, the storyline is great. It is an intense action movie that will absolutely thrill any one who enjoys revenge movies.

Revenge Taken to The Extreme!!!.......2007-06-15

If you like revenge films, you will not be dissapointed with this one. This is the Craziest movie i have ever seen,especially the ending!!!
This is truely one of the best foreign films i have ever seen.
This is A dvd that you must add to your collection!!!

Boring and Outrageous.......2007-05-31

Oldboy was gratuitously violent and warped. Sadly, the violence wasn't even creative or exciting. The scenarios were also too improbable and forced -- for example, the ending scene with the tongue as well as the incestuous relationships. The only impression I got was that the director enjoyed creating a deep sense of meanness, sort of like when a psychopath goes DEFCON-1 on some innocent person walking on the street. I can see why Oldboy was highly regarded by the Virginia Tech mass murderer Cho Seung-hui.

Brilliant master work from Park Chan-Wook.......2007-05-26

Based on Garon Tsuchiya's manga, Oldboy is about Oh Dae-su, an ordinary salaryman type, who is held at a police station for being drunk. Afterwards, he is kidnapped, locked up in a hotel-like room without windows, gassed repeatedly so the room is cleaned and so he can get a haircut and clean clothes, and kept there for 15 years. "If they had told me then that it would be fifteen years, would it have been easier to endure....or harder?" His only contact to the outside world is the TV. "It's both a clock and a calendar. It's your school, your home, your church, your friend... and your lover

It's after being let out and into "life in a bigger prison" that Oh Dae-su's quest really begins. Who imprisoned him and why? He is given a cell-phone and a wallet full of money by a scraggly bum, then goes to a sushi restaurant where he meets Mido, a beautiful young woman who takes pity on him and takes him back to her place when he collapses. It also appears he has been hypnotized during his imprisonment--but why? His nemesis, a man later identified as Lee Woo-Jin, is quite the mastermind. When they first confront each other, Lee gives him five days to find out the truth, or he will kill Mido. If Oh Dae-su wins, Lee promises to kill himself.

Through clues of finding out which Chinese restaurant provided him with the same potstickers he ate for 15 years, he finds Mr. Park, the owner of the hotel where he was imprisoned. It is here that two memorable scenes occur, one a tooth torture scene where he extracts Mr. Park's teeth out with a hammer, all set to Vivaldi's "Winter" section of the Four Seasons. Using such music in such a scene adds a bit of humor in it. He then takes on a handful of Park's thugs armed only with a hammer, his fists, and keeps on fighting even though a knife is plunged into his back. The sardonic smile on his face when he encounters an elevator full of thugs is priceless. Guess what happens to them?

The theme of revenge and Lee Woo-jin's attitude, "Whether it is a grain of sand or a rock, in water they both sink alike" implies that no sin is too small for revenge. He later tells Oh Dae-su, "Seeking revenge is the best cure for someone who has been hurt. Try it. ... Once again, revenge is good for your health." But to quote Hamlet, aye, there's the rub. "But what happens after you've had your revenge? I bet that hidden pain probably emerges again." The whole point is that this isn't about Oh Dae-Su's revenge on Lee Woo-Jin, but vice-versa. As someone who holds grudges easily, I can easily relate to what Lee says.

Oh Dae-Su's introspection in seeing who it was he had offended reveals that every life is far from perfect. "Study your whole lifetime," he is told by Lee. But he also realizes that his imprisonment has changed him, as he figures Mido wouldn't like him the way he was before imprisonment. But there is hope for redemption, as seen in the scene with snow, symbolizing a clean new start.

This was actually the second film I'd seen with Choi Min-sik, the first being Shiri, but so far, this is his master performance, a creditable and credible performance as Oh Dae-Su. He later appears as the villainous Mr. Baek in Lady Vengeance. Yu Ji-Tae scores well as the devilish but weak Lee Woo-Jin, and has a cameo in LV. Ditto for Kang Hye-jeong as the cute-as-a-button Mido. She is a TV reporter in LV. And Oh Dal-Su (Mr. Park) plays the bakery owner Mr. Chang in LV.

The movie's score is another triumph. Whether it is the upbeat techno beat of the opening shot of Oh Dae-su grabbing onto the suicidal man's tie, the haunting quiet ambience during Oh's fight with Han in Lee Wu-Jin's penthouse, the Godfather-like waltz that is Lee Woo-Jin's theme, and Mido's sad theme with clarinet and strings, the music team scored a big triumph.

This is hailed as the best in Park Chan-Wook's trilogy in story-telling, film-making, acting, and techniques. One of the best films I've seen in awhile.

Average customer rating:

Who killed the knight?
Special Features not included
ONLY FOR CHESS GAME LOVERS!
Paudge Behan Fans Attention
Tepid murder mystery

Uncovered
Starring: Kate Beckinsale , John Wood , Sinéad Cusack , Paudge Behan , and Peter Wingfield
Director: Jim McBride
Manufacturer: Lions Gate
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Suspense | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Mystery | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

4-for-3 Art House & International | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

4-for-3 Drama | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | 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:

The Dreamers (Original Uncut NC-17 Version)
When Will I Be Loved
Havoc (Unrated Version)
Haunted
Mischief

ASIN: B0001932ZU
Release Date: 2004-03-16

Customer Reviews:

Who killed the knight?.......2007-06-05

Medieval paintings and a chess game seem like unlikely murder components, but they set off the whole plot of art puzzle/murder mystery "Uncovered." The adaptation of Arturo Perez/Reverte's novel is picturesque and has some good acting, but suffers from a total lack of suspense when it comes to whodunnit.

Art student Julia (Kate Beckinsale) is delighted when an X-ray of a old painting shows a Latin inscription: "Who killed the knight?" The trio in the painting includes a medieval duke, his young wife, and a French knight who was pretty obviously having an affair with the wife. With the help of her cheating ex-boyfriend and mysterious chess prodigy Domenec (Paudge Behan), Julia unravels the question of who killed the knight -- and why the picture was altered after it was finished.

But that isn't the end -- Julia's ex-boyfriend turns up dead in the shower, and the kindly old owner of the painting dies within days. And with each death, a corresponding ivory chess piece is left on Julia's doorstep. As brutal heirs and conniving art dealers scrabble for the painting, Julia tries to unravel who is behind the killings -- before black queen takes white queen...

"Uncovered" is more interesting as a clever art puzzle than a murder mystery, set in Barcelona's sunny colourful streets and ancient castles. It is genuinely fascinating to see the hidden meanings of the chess game and its hidden meanings, as well as the politics of Burgundy versus France. This part is intriguing, intelligent, and genuinely has an element of classical mystery.

Unfortunately, it sags when it turns into a murder mystery (with a bit of nudity thrown in), loosely tied into the medieval murder with the use of chess pieces. The murderer's identity is glaringly obvious even before he's killed anyone, and the campy, shrieky finale suffers because you already know who he is. Even the callous heirs to weren't enough to throw off the scent.

This was only Kate Beckinsale's second major role, so perhaps she can be forgiven her mediocre performance. She's middling most of the time, and occasionally lapses into hysterical crying. John Wood is a scene-stealer as the devoted gay guardian Cesar, backed by Sinéad Cusack as a catty aging party-girl and Michael Gough as an ailing aristocrat. No, I don't know by British actors are playing a slew of Spaniards, but they do a good job.

"Uncovered" is an intriguing art mystery, but it trips over itself in the second half when it becomes a mysteryless mystery. If it weren't for that, it would be simply brilliant.

Special Features not included.......2007-05-15

This picture is based in the famous spanish novel "La Tabla de Flandes" from Arturo Perez Reverte (Alatriste), but the picture is boring, with slow and bad acted characters. This particular DVD doesn't include subtitles,not even spanish nor english. In this case the box announce this special features, watch out with this problem.

ONLY FOR CHESS GAME LOVERS!.......2007-05-10

THIS MOVIE WAS VERY BORING!IF YOU LIKE TO PLAY CHESS-YOU'LL LIKE THIS MOVIE.THIS IS A MYSTERY BASED ON BEING SOLVED BY FINDING CHESS PEICES,AND THEIR CLUES.

Paudge Behan Fans Attention.......2007-03-08

Uncovered is one of Paudge Behan's earlier movies and as in all of his films he is wonderfull add a very young Kate Beckinsale and you have a great film. This is one you have to watch to appreciate and I think once you have seen it you will want to watch it again. So grab a glass of wine sit back and enjoy you are in for a surprising treat.

Tepid murder mystery.......2007-02-18

In "Uncovered", Kate Beckinsale plays a woman living in Barcelona Spain restoring a very valuable 500 year old painting of two men playing chess and a woman watching them. She discovers an inscription on a layer of paint underneath the top layer that translates to "who killed the knight". The painting's owner tells her the story of an ancestor being murdered and he may be the knight in question. She discovers the mystery centers on the game of chess being played in the painting and enlists the help of a young chess genius to deconstruct the game and predict upcoming moves. As she investigates the mystery however, people around her begin to die.

"Uncovered" is a trite mystery. It's enjoyable to watch to an extent, but it has a very annoying soundtrack and the acting isn't particularly good, even Beckinsale in an obviously early role for her (and her haircut is awful). There is no real suspense to anything that happens. The chess game in the picture being at the center of the mystery was interesting as was comparing the moves to what happened 500 years ago and what was happening now, but the movie as a whole never grabs you completely. The tone is a little too light and airy for a murder mystery.

Average customer rating:

A must for Herzog fans
Wonderful films, Anchor Bay has a few problems
Lost & Found: "Fata Morgana"
Manufacturing defect?
Werner Herzog - An Unconventional Study

Werner Herzog Collection
Starring: Werner Herzog Collection
Manufacturer: Starz / Anchor Bay
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Art House & International | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

( W ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Documentary | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

Drama | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

Art House & International | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

General | Foreign & International | Stores | DVD | Video

Boxed Sets | Foreign & International | Stores | DVD | Video

Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski: A Film Legacy
The White Diamond
Herzog on Herzog
The Wild Blue Yonder
Burden of Dreams - Criterion Collection

ASIN: B0001ZX0F6
Release Date: 2004-08-03

Customer Reviews:

A must for Herzog fans.......2007-05-30

With or without Klaus Kinski, Werner Herzog takes us into strange realms of the human spirit. This collection is eclectic, wonderful, and an absolute must for Herzog fans. Hypnotized actors, evil little people, gorgeous, capable Eva Mattes, and the indescribable Bruno S. make up this disturbing, brilliant collection. Ann Doreen

Wonderful films, Anchor Bay has a few problems.......2006-04-17

These are stunning films. "The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser" is one of the classics; the shot of the rye field in the wind alone is worth the price of admission. It's good that Anchor Bay is emphasizing that they'll rectify defective disks, though, because problems abound. Thanks to an earlier reviewer for posting their complaints URL! On my copy of "Kaspar Hauser" the commentary simply won't turn off (and it's not that I haven't figured out how, because it turns off on the other disks). Then occasionally it turns off all by itself, but if you try to get the subtitles, it turns back on -- so you can't watch the film WITH subtitles but WITHOUT commentary. Exasperating! While I was fiddling with commentaries, however, I managed to watch the whole of "Heart of Glass" with commentary. "Heart of Glass" is not the most accessible film -- not because, as Herzog says, it's slow, but because hypnotized actors are more like zombies than actors. But the film with the commentary on is the most surreal, fascinating experience -- the stories behind the making of the film are an artwork in themselves. The same is true of "Kaspar Hauser" -- an unintended benefit of the disk problem. Providing Anchor Bay makes good on their defective disks, this is a great set.

Lost & Found: "Fata Morgana" .......2005-12-29

I've encountered a snag with "Fata Morgana" as well-- in my case, it was missing entirely. However, I contacted Anchor Bay's feedback department (http://www.anchorbayentertainment.com/index.asp?p=FAQ_Problem) and they sent me a fully functional DVD pretty quickly. I'm glad they did, as it's a gorgeous piece well worth seeing.

Manufacturing defect?.......2005-08-03

Has anyone else had a problem with 'Lessons of Darkness/Fata Morgana'? I've tried two different copies of this box set and the same few minutes at the end of Fata Morgana won't play. It skips and goes back to the DVD menu.

Regardless of that, the box set is worth it. An amazing collection of films, well put together. I want to see the end of 'Fata Morgana', but the other six movies are spectacular.

Werner Herzog - An Unconventional Study.......2005-03-14

Those that are new to the world of Werner Herzog are advised to stay away from this boxset until they discover his collaborations with actor Klaus Kinski... The HERZOG/KINSKI boxset (also from Anchor Bay) is essential, and should be your first exposure to this challenging director's work.

Those of you that have seen his more famous works (AGUIRRE, NOSFERATU, FITZCARRALDO, etc.) and want to explore further into Herzog's catalogue, then this is the ideal boxset. It's important to note, though, that it's a fairly unconventional series of films that vary wildly from style and genre.

There are only two "conventional" films in this boxset and those are THE ENIGMA OF KASPAR HAUSER and STROSZEK. Despite the fact that both films have fairly linear plots, they often slip into the director's notorious weirdness (the final few minutes of STROSZEK for instance).

There are three documentaries in this boxset. LITTLE DIETER NEEDS TO FLY is the most straightfoward of the bunch but features a riveting story of wartime survival. LESSONS OF DARKNESS is about the burning of the oil fields in Iraq, and it features an almost subliminal science-fiction approach to the material (if I wasn't told about it in the liner notes, I don't think I would have picked it up on my first viewing). FATA MORGANA is certainly a strange film, the genesis of which came about Herzog's desire to film mirages in the desert.

Rounding out the package are the two feature length experimental films, and the real highlight of this boxset. HEART OF GLASS is a bizarre twist on a local folk tale in which the entire cast (with the exception of one character) performed under hypnosis... the effect is startling and quite eerie. EVEN DWARFS STARTED SMALL is my favorite of the director's non-Kinski films, and simply defies explanation... dwarfs, camels, cars riding around in circles, chickens. It's all an exercise in absurdist anarchy, and you simply can't stop watching it.

Recommended for fans of the surreal.

Average customer rating:

Really enjoyable @}->---
Hearts In Atlantis was a pleasant surprise!
I must say, it was really good.
Wonderful!
Mediocre mimicry of other, better films

Hearts in Atlantis
Starring: Anthony Hopkins , Anton Yelchin , Hope Davis , Mika Boorem , and David Morse
Director: Scott Hicks
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Period Piece | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

( H ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Apt Pupil
Stephen King's: Sometimes They Come Back
The Night Flier
Dreamcatcher (Widescreen Edition)
Dolores Claiborne

ASIN: B00005UQ9V
Release Date: 2002-02-12

Amazon.com

Fans of The Green Mile and The Shawshank Redemption will feel a similar affection for Hearts in Atlantis, a Stephen King adaptation that again finds the horror writer in more mainstream waters, with a bit of dabbling in the supernatural. When mysterious out-of-towner Ted Brautigan (Anthony Hopkins) moves into the boarding house that 11-year-old Bobby Garfield (Anton Yelchin) shares with his self-involved mother (Hope Davis), Bobby jumps at the chance to befriend an adult who talks to him straightforwardly. Ted enlists Bobby to read him the newspaper daily--and to keep an eye out for the "low men" bent on capturing Ted, who possesses a strange mind-reading power. Hopkins is in fine form, ably matched by the phenomenal young Yelchin, but director Scott Hicks (Shine) more often than not flattens out the dramatic arcs of the story, despite all the intriguing turns the film takes. Thankfully, though, the schmaltz factor is kept to a minimum, making Hearts in Atlantis a heartfelt coming-of-age drama. --Mark Englehart

Customer Reviews:

Really enjoyable @}->---.......2007-06-29

This is a movie I had always wanted to see but never got around to until now. I wish I hadn't waited so long.

It's a nice simple story of childhood memories and it tells the story of Bobby Garfield who lives with his mom (his father has passed away). Into their lives as a border, comes the mysterious Ted Brautigan (Anthony Hopkins - who Oprah has even said that he can captivate her by simply reading the Yellow Pages). He befriends Bobby and while this doesn't please Bobby's mother, it is good for him because he's lost his father. Bobby comes to see that Ted has special powers. The story goes on to show the two spending the summer together and with Bobby's friends Carol and Sully.

I don't want to spoil this by sharing too much, but you should know that this is a nice film that is really adult Bobby's reflections of his past after he learns of a friends death. I found it touching and sweet and very different to how I imagined. Anthony Hopkins is such a brilliant actor and in fact all of the acting was done well by the entire cast.

If you are looking for an innocent, moving movie, then try this. It might be based on a Stephen King book, but it's not filled with any horror that some of his books contain. This is a nice family movie that I'm going out to purchase now that I've seen it and fell in love with it. I could easily watch it a few times more.

Hearts In Atlantis was a pleasant surprise!.......2007-06-16

Every now and then a story will come along that you place no expectations on but will leave you pleasantly surprised, Hearts In Atlantis was that kind of movie. I'll admit here that I'm not a huge fan of Anthony Hopkins and I still find it hard not to think of him as Hannibal Lecter from Silence Of The Lambs, but Hopkin's role as Ted Braughtigan was truly memorable and a huge testament to his acting ability. The line "sometimes when you're young, you have moments of such happiness, you think you're living in someplace magical, like Atlantis must have been... then we grow up and our hearts break in two" will stay with me for a long time. No doubt I will end up buying the book by Stephen King on which the movie was based. This is indeed a coming of age story rich with an element of supernatural suspense that I will enjoy watching again and again.

I must say, it was really good........2007-04-21

I have read and reviewed the book by Stephen King, and it was excellent. before I watched it, I found out that it mainly adapted the first story in the book. That was alright, for it was the longest and the best of the stories in the book. I watched it last night, and I loved it. It mainly stuck to the story on which it was based (The screenwritter to this film is William Goldman who wrote the great adaptation of Stephen King's Misery). Sure, it got rid of the references to Stephen King's The Dark Tower book series, but that was perfectly fine. My guess for why they got rid of the links from that series is because no one has filmed them. Well anyways, the acting in this film is exceptional (especially by Anthony Hopkins and David Morse. The cinematograpy and music are well done too. I will recomend this to fans of Stephen King and of this kind of genre. I hope that someday the studios direct a sequel or sequels based on the other story segments in the book. They could film the second story (which is also the title story) and call it Hearts In Atlantis II. Then they can film the last three stories Blind Willie, Why We're In Vietnam, and Heavenly Shades Of Night Are Falling into one film and call it Hearts in Atlantis III. We could have a Trilogy of movies based on the book. If they do it, I would pay to see it.

Wonderful!.......2007-04-13

The movie is a about growing up in the 1960's and the relationship between a boy and a surrogate father. It was teriffic, particularly if you've read any of Stephen King's Dark Tower Series, as there is overlap with several characters including the low men.

Mediocre mimicry of other, better films.......2007-04-02

This movie felt really contrived. While I tend to like just about anything Anthony Hopkins is in, this role wasn't meaty enough for his talents. The movie reminded me somewhat of Stand by Me, which was much better done and which I felt this one was trying to imitate, albeit with the seams showing. In Hearts in Atlantis, I couldn't get past how unrealistic the lines of dialog assigned to the children were. They spoke and acted with a maturity that is way beyond their tender ages of eleven, and it didn't seem natural. It ruined the movie for me. I kept thinking "real people don't speak and act this way." The plot just dragged along, and I kept waiting for the movie to "start." And then it was over. I detected stylistic elements of The Green Mile in it, in terms of mood and format (including even a common actor to both movies, David Morse). In fact this movie reminded me of numerous others. Only problem is, they were all better.

Average customer rating:

scooby meets tron
GOOD CONCEPT
Acceptable, But Not Great
If you're 5 - 14 or just a Scooby fan you'll problemly love this film!!
a good movie!

Scooby Doo and the Cyber Chase
Starring: Scott Innes , Joe Alaskey , Bob Bergen , Grey DeLisle , and Tom Kane (II)
Director: Jim Stenstrum
Manufacturer: Turner Home Ent
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Animation | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

3-6 Years | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

7-9 Years | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

10-12 Years | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

Fantasy | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Animation | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

4-for-3 Kids & Family | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | 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

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

Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders
Scooby-Doo and the Monster of Mexico
Scooby-Doo! And the Witch's Ghost
Scooby-Doo and the Legend of the Vampire (Snap Case)
Scooby-Doo and the Loch Ness Monster

ASIN: B0006H31TY
Release Date: 2005-02-08

Description

Retitled Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase Like, compu-zoinks! Scooby-Doo and the gang face their most electrifying adventure ever when they are zapped into a high-tech computer game in this all-new movie! When Scooby-Doo and the gang try to capture the Phantom Virus, they are accidentally transported into a video game based on their own Mystery, Inc. adventures. While pursuing the Phantom Virus through the game's ten outrageous levels, the gang travels from the prehistoric past to the space-age future and even tangles with a hair-raising horde of virtual villains from their most famous capers! Log on today!

Customer Reviews:

scooby meets tron.......2007-02-05

This is one the several movies in the poplar cartoon Scooby Doo movie series. A word of warning this movie has several parts with mild cartoon violence, mild scary images and mild thematic elements which might make this movie to dark and intense for kids under the age of 7 unless supervised by at least two parents or guardians. In this movie Scooby and the gang go to Hawaii were and ancient tike god is terrorizing the locals can scobby and the gain stop this terror and solve the mystery find out in the exciting conclusion.

GOOD CONCEPT.......2007-01-20

SCOOBY DOO
AND THE CYBER CHASE

I was in Wal-Mart the other day when I noticed a Scooby Doo movie was on sale for $4.88, so naturally I had to get it. I remember when I was a kid I loved Scooby Doo so I couldn't pass on this at such a low price. The film is about Scooby and the gang going to visit a friend of there's that is creating a game based after their mysteries. After arriving there they find that a cyber ghost called the Phantom Virus is terrorizing the place so naturally they decide to try and catch him. The thing is, they get zapped into the computer game which some how can transfer real things in and out of it by using a gun looking thing. Once in the game they have to travel threw ten levels seeking Scooby snacks in each to go to the next. To be honest the idea is great but it was executed poorly, if it would have been done correctly it could have been as good as the Scooby shows I watched growing up. They even brought back some villains from the old classic episodes like the Creeper, so the potential was there. I guess the fault rests on the shoulders of writer Mark Turosz and director Jim Stenstrum, they did pretty good I guess but could have done better. In all this was a decent film but compared to the ones I grew up watching this doesn't compare,

Acceptable, But Not Great.......2006-07-11

If you follow my reviews, you know that I really liked "Zombie Island" and "Witch's Ghost," and that I didn't care much for "Alien Invaders." While this 4th chapter is possibly a step up from "Alien Invaders," it fails to reach the dramatic and suspenseful and even comical levels of the 1st 2 chapters. Scooby and the gang go to meet a friend at a university. After a somewhat tense moment with an uptight but possibly virtuous security guard, they meet their friend Erick, his friend Bill, and their professor. They explain the existence of a phantom virus (that we have already met). And we are told that someone must have created it. Many sparks of Scooby's former days are gone, and even the appetites of Scooby and Shaggy don't bring the laughs they once did. (Compare their eating scene here to their much better one in "Witch's Ghost!") Well, Scooby and the gang somehow get zapped into a video game. While this may work for some, it doesn't work for me. Perhaps I am too old school, but this takes away too much credibility. To be sure, "Zombie Island" and "Witch's Ghost" did cross the boundaries of believable in some ways. But the major difference is that they kept the story plausible for so long, and then gradually eased the implausible aspects in. It's often a challenge, but it can be done. (It just isn't in this 4th chapter.) On the plus side however, this enables the gang to go through a series of different adventures while we wonder who zapped them in. Sadly, another mistake is that it becomes virtually obvious who did it in the very 1st of several levels. Call me a perfectionist, but they could have AT LEAST waited until the 2nd level before they gave any clues. (Let alone such an obvious one!) If we are willing to overlook this, we may find it interesting to see the gang go from the moon, to Ancient Rome, to the age of dinosaurs, and a number of different adventures. Finally, they reach the last level Cyber Land. After meeting their cyber doubles (who for the most part look like the Scooby gang from the original episodes) they learn that they must defeat the monsters on the last level to exit the game. I'll admit it was nice to see some monsters from their past (including the Creeper and the Tar Monster). As we approach the danger point of revealing the ending, it's somewhat anticlimactic seeing that even a fool would have known so long ago who created the virus. As I said, this 4th chapter is acceptable, but not great. Young children will probably like it, but the cutoff age may be surprisingly young. Fortunately, the later Scooby movies were to improve. Thank goodness for the excellent 5th chapter "Legend of the Vampire" and the surprisingly good 8th chapter "Aloha Scooby Doo."

If you're 5 - 14 or just a Scooby fan you'll problemly love this film!!.......2006-06-11

I usually could solve the mysteries within 10 minutes. But this movie kept me guessing. It was really funny to see the characters more modernized in this, and what the retro counterparts looked like. The kids love it; they had asked to watch it twice this week. They can never get enough of Scooby, most of the DVDs related to this famous dog are close to being worn out.

While this was a fun movie, the only complaint that I had about it was Shaggy's voice. I know it's not Casey Kasem, and it's too obvious. But once you get past that, it's not a problem. The other characters are voiced decently (they have had plenty of people voicing Velma and Daphne, but if they replaced Fred's voice, it would be a gaping hole--Frank Welker's voice is very key to the character). It's nice to know that some things don't change (like Fred being "all-ego"). But the idea of seeing him sans-ascot was pretty gutsy (that ridiculous red ascot MADE Fred in the original series!). Scooby-Doo sounded the same, and he was just as love-able as ever (I never liked the cartoon much until I was the live-action film, but I ALWAYS loved Scooby!!!). Velma, however, is still my favorite character--she's smart, and sometimes has great one-liners. Daphne, for once, isn't the damsel-in-distress---she's resourceful and smarter than her cyber-counterpart. Fred was pretty cool, and Shaggy, as always, is a scene-stealer, but he's Shaggy--he doesn't need a reason.

Other than that this was a decent film--plenty of laughs, and lots of adventure. If you like vintage Scooby-Doo, then this movie might peak your interest. The animation is great-and just as colorful as the original! It's a cyber chase film definitely worth a look at.

a good movie!.......2005-12-08

When Scooby and the gang are zapped in cyber land, they must finish all the levels in oder to go back in time.

In the Realms of the Unreal - The Mystery of Henry Darger

Average customer rating:

Darger Inspires, Film-Maker Not So Much
Henry da Man
Unreal world? Or was Henry Darger an Ultra-Realist?
Fascinating Study of Adult Sexual Ignorance or Immaturity
Very Bizarre...

In the Realms of the Unreal - The Mystery of Henry Darger
Starring: Larry Pine , Dakota Fanning , Frier McCollister , Wally Wingert , and Janice Hong (II)
Director: Jessica Yu
Manufacturer: Fox Lorber
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Biography | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

Art & Artists | Special Interests | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

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

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

Tarnation
Henry Darger: Art and Selected Writings
How to Draw a Bunny
The Devil and Daniel Johnston
Me and You and Everyone We Know

ASIN: B00094ARX2
Release Date: 2005-06-21

Description

Henry Darger, an elderly recluse, spent his childhood in Illinois's asylum for feeble-minded children and his adulthood working as a janitor. He lived a quiet, nearly solitary existence, but his imaginary life was exciting, colorful and sexually provocative. When he died in Chicago in 1973, his landlady discovered in his room 300 paintings, some over 10 feet long, and a 15,000-page illustrated novel (The Realms of the Unreal), which told the epic story of the virtuous Vivian Girls leading a child slave revolt against the evil Glandelinians. Featuring Dakota Fanning (Hide and Seek) and Larry Pine (The Royal Tenenbaums) as narrators and imaginative animation of Darger's work, Oscar® winner Jessica Yu (Breathing Lessons) brings to life one of the twentieth century's greatest self-taught artists.

Customer Reviews:

Darger Inspires, Film-Maker Not So Much.......2007-06-26

Henry Darger is very inspirational. To characterize his art, as some have, as an offshoot of mental illness is insulting to Darger's legacy. Because he was different, solitary, does not make him mentally ill - he seemed to function as a person, hold a job, etc - why does this make him insane? Choosing solitude should not be considered an illness.

The director took too much liberty in the choice to animate his drawings, and did it badly, to add insult to injury. Underemphasis on the Catholicism is also a problem. I hate to bring it up, but perhaps being Asian might be a slight barrier to fully understanding the Catholic aspect.

The little girl voice is especially irritating, as it sounds like she needs to blow her nose really badly throughout all her narrations. I kept wanting to shout "Hey, somebody get the litte girl a kleenex!"

Henry da Man.......2007-05-14

I feel totally inspired by this documentary about Henry Darger, orphaned and victimized by child-slavery. That he could express his innermost needs thru his personal art and writings, never making art because he desired any sort of admiration from others. I find the story so touching, yet funny that he really didn't realize that little girls don't have penises~~or who knows, maybe he fantasized that they did! His art was his own and nobody else's. For those of us who have felt such intense isolation from others, here is a hero!

Unreal world? Or was Henry Darger an Ultra-Realist?.......2007-04-13

This is a fascinating film of one of the 20th Centuries most important artists: Henry Darger. Filmmaker Jessica Yu had some hard choices to make, but presents a Darger self portrait, an observers portrait, and partial exploration of Darger's interior world in the film's three narrative veins.

My own criticism, and this is frankly a minor quibble, is that too little is made of Darger's Catholicism. Henry Darger assisted (read: attended) at Mass sometimes five times a day, this in addition to his life's work, and his job, and his weather observations. Too little is made of this dimension of Darger's self-construct and in the way others saw him.

But this is a forgivable flaw. Jessica Yu's portrait is an excellent first approximation of a fascinating artist and man, and her film invokes the lesson amplified by Walker Percy and commanded by the Church: there is an infinity in any human soul. May we meet Henry Darger in paradise now that we have been given the grace to see his interior world this side of the veil.

Fascinating Study of Adult Sexual Ignorance or Immaturity.......2006-08-26

To me, the most fascinating aspect of this movie is that Henry seemed to be utterly ignorant of the differences between boys and girls. When I was growing up, nudity between the sexes was utterly taboo - we had to be very careful to explore each other without alerting out parents. Those little kids who did not have or take those opportunities invariably said the sexual differences were that boys had short hair and wore pants and girls had long hair and wore dresses. Henry either never was able to see the physical differences between the sexes, or he did so late he was psychologically unable to accept the differences. Thus, he drew his naked little girls as he would have imagined them as a little boy - like his body, but with long hair.

Unable to relate to the opposite sex, which also would have made him an oddity to his own sex, he withdrew more and more into his own imaginary world. In an effort to make sense of his life, and possibly to find some social acceptance, he grew into a faithful Catholic. He might have felt at home in the Church because he learned sexual mores through the Catholic orphanages he grew up in, and then those mores were reinforced through the Church in homilies and other teachings of the late 19th Century and early 20th Century.

This movie is a study of this interrelation between his utter lack of knowledge, yet fascination with little girls and his absorption of the catechism of the Catholic Church. To create his own reality since he couldn't comprehend the larger social actuality, he wrote and drew the world as he saw it within this context. The movie, especially to one who is interested in sexual paraphilias or sexual immaturity in an adult, is interesting in this respect.

Very Bizarre..........2006-08-17

Well many people have claimed Henry Darger was retarded which makes no sense considering his achievements. He wrote a 15,000 page plus book withs hundreds and hundreds of paintings for it. Do you know one mentally challenged person who can sit down and write 10 good pages or one good drawing? No but from what I've seen in this film Mr Darger was probably an autistic savant. Savants are very anti-social can't hold up common everyday tasks but are absolute geniuses at subjects like math or drawing. All these things fit Henry Darger's life. Many people claim that he was a genius writer which although he was a good one he obviously didn't set out to write a fantasy novel. Henry Darger was deeply religious but also had witnessed much child cruelty during his early years.
Mostly he set out to tell a tale of how children are abused constantly but sets it in a grand religious style story. As for why he gave girls male body parts. Many people once again make him try to seem like a genius that he was representing that women could be as strong as men by having their parts which is not only absurd but sexist too. Darger simply didnt know that girls had different parts than boys. That is my take on the life of Henry Darger.

PS Many people have different views on his life and many people will disagree on how I explain his story but there's no true answer to his story.

Average customer rating:

Great Thriller!
Where do they find these criminals?
Predictable
Chilling and tense thriller all the way along !
Good Thriller.....

Don't Say a Word
Starring: Victor Argo , Sean Bean , Famke Janssen , Oliver Platt , and Michael Douglas
Director: Gary Fleder
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Thrillers | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Mystery | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

DTS | Fully Loaded DVDs | Features | DVD | Video

( D ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Mystery & Suspense | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

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

Domestic Disturbance
High Crimes
Changing Lanes
Panic Room (Superbit Collection)
Twisted (Special Collector's Edition)

ASIN: B00005JKIV
Release Date: 2002-02-19

Amazon.com

Adapted from Andrew Klavan's bestselling suspense novel, Don't Say a Word is a suitable companion to director Gary Fleder's earlier hit Kiss the Girls, with solid performances serving a plot that begins promisingly. The tension starts when the daughter of a topnotch New York psychiatrist (Michael Douglas) is kidnapped by a bitter ex-con (Sean Bean) with an old score to settle. Aided by an unwitting colleague (Oliver Platt), Douglas can save his daughter by extracting crucial information from a traumatized patient (Brittany Murphy), while his bedridden wife (Famke Janssen) and a tenacious detective (Jennifer Esposito) do their part to solve the mystery. Fleder pushes all the routine buttons with effectively somber style, so Don't Say a Word will satisfy anyone with a preference for high-anxiety thrillers, even as it grows increasingly conventional; it's entertaining without being particularly original. It's a by-the-book programmer, just right for rainy-day viewing. --Jeff Shannon

Description

Michael Douglas is "tremendous" (Tribune News Services) inthe psychological thriller "in the classic Hitchcock tradition" (The New York Observer). When The daughter of a prominent new York psychiatrist (Douglas) is kidnapped, his only hope for her safe return is to pry a 6-digit number from the memory of a troubled teenage girl - and time is running out!

Customer Reviews:

Great Thriller!.......2007-05-30

This movie is by itself a great thriller and well worth the viewing. While some have complained about 'unoriginality' I have to say, come on, originality?

After past half century of movie making most themes have been heavily used the only thing that counts is making it fresh, making us want to watch it, and this movie did that. It gave us new twists, interesting scenes, and great acting notably by Sean Bean who was a brilliant villian and overall priceless addition to the movie.

Where do they find these criminals?.......2007-03-03

This was a pretty typical thriller in that it didn't really thrill. The bad guys were cookie cutter crooks. I think it was the same group of incompetents that Harrison Ford had to deal with in Firewall. There were a few twists here, but they were all forced and predictable. This film kept a pretty good pace and was somewhat entertaining, but it has all been done before, over and over again in these formula thrillers that studios churn out like TV episodes. I guess if you like Michael Douglas you would like this movie, but I've seen too many films with pretty much the same plot and the same bad guys that self-implode to really enjoy this one. Worth a rental.

Predictable.......2007-01-04

Not a bad film, pretty prdeictable, if you like Michael Douglas you will like this film.

Chilling and tense thriller all the way along !.......2006-11-19

Among the most reminded thrillers of this last decade this film occupies a status place among the best ones. Its original script, its superb edition process, the admirable footage, the fluid camerawork, the fascinating performances of all the cast, are decisive factors that add a special attractive to a sinister plot.

An invaluable jewel is the driving force of this brutal episode; this betray will origin a devastating murder under the Metro wheels; a child will be shocked since that merciless homicide; and ten years after, those assassins will be set free and the plan is to kidnap the wife and daughter of a famed psychiatrist in order to obtain the required information in order to find the clue and so to get that coveted jewel.

Recommended.

Good Thriller............2006-03-05

I found this show was a good thriller. Brittany Murphy does a great job playing a "disturbed" girl and Michael Douglas does a good job playing her psychiatrist. Murphy's character pretends to be psychotic in order to remain in mental institutions because there is someone out there that wants something from her..... something that she has in her memory. She finds safety remaining in mental institutions. There is alot of good suspense in this movie like when Douglas' character's daughter is kidnapped being held hostage in return for the secret Murphy has in her memory..... a number. Douglas must then do what it takes to save his daughter and his patient. Good acting, good suspense and overall a movie that keeps you interested. Good movie to rent if you have not seen it before. Worth seeing.

Average customer rating:

It is desent
Hell raiser inferno sucked and still sucks
No hell left to raise
i like it, most people don't, but i do
LMAO!!!!!

Hellraiser - Inferno
Starring: Craig Sheffer , Nicholas Turturro , James Remar , Doug Bradley , and Nicholas Sadler
Director: Scott Derrickson
Manufacturer: Dimension
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Horror | Genres | DVD | Video

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

General | Mystery & Suspense | 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

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

Hellraiser VI - Hellseeker
Hellraiser - Bloodline
Hellraiser - Deader
Hellraiser - Hellworld
Hellbound: Hellraiser 2

ASIN: B00004Y634
Release Date: 2000-10-10

Amazon.com

This is the first Hellraiser sequel that doesn't bear the imprimatur of creator Clive Barker, and that makes it a sequel that many Hellraiser fans will want to disown, but they shouldn't dismiss it altogether. Now under the control of Miramax producers Bob and Harvey Weinstein, the franchise takes an entirely new direction, and Inferno is primarily a detective thriller in which a corrupt cop (Craig Sheffer) takes on a case that will judge his soul and, ultimately, damn him forever. His judge and jury will be Pinhead (Doug Bradley) and his legion of twisted Cenobites, but before he can be tried and condemned, Sheffer's cop will watch as those around him are killed off one by one, leaving a trail of blood (and telltale severed fingers) that leads back to the torment of his own youth.

So, what you really have here is a variation on It's a Wonderful Life and A Christmas Carol, with all the themes reversed to hellish extremes. The plot doesn't hold together all that well, but you can't fault the film for establishing and maintaining a heavily somber tone. This is pretty dark stuff, after all, and although Hellraiser fans will lament that Pinhead's appearance is relatively brief, he's presented here in an intriguing new light--not merely an icon of pain and suffering, but a giver of counsel and justice to those (like Sheffer's cop) who arguably deserve the eternal anguish they will receive. Does that make Pinhead a good guy? If this otherwise lugubrious sequel achieves anything, it's that it raises that question and lets the viewer decide. --Jeff Shannon

Description

A spine-tingling thriller, HELLRAISER: INFERNO is the next inescapably terrifying chapter in the heart-stopping HELLRAISER series! It's the powerful story of a shady L.A. detective (Craig Sheffer -- THE PROGRAM, A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT) who finds himself lost in a darkly nightmarish world of evil when he solves the mysterious puzzle box that releases the diabolical demon, Pinhead! As those around him begin to meet tragic fates, he sets out to conquer the horrifying Pinhead and escape eternal hell! Also starring popular Nicholas Turturro (TV's NYPD BLUE, EXCESS BAGGAGE), HELLRAISER: INFERNO combines great special effects and relentless thrills to deliver exciting, edge-of-your-seat entertainment!

Customer Reviews:

It is desent.......2007-02-04

Hellraiser: Inferno is probably the best of the far too many films to follow the orginal two classics, Hellraiser and Hellbound.

I do not think Inferno is great and I do not think it compares at all to the 1st two films, but is superior to the pointless gore fests of Hell On Earth and Bloodline and the laughable parts of the series in 6, 7, and 8.

Inferno returns to the orginal idea of the 1st two films in that it revolves around how solving the box brings both mental and physical suffering to the individual who opens it.

Inferno focuses more on the mental aspect and perhaps shows more in depth the hell Frank went through in the orginal film through the eyes of Joe Thorne.

When it comes to Pinhead, I think less is more. I feel that he was far overexposed in parts 3 and 4 and it limited his effectiveness when he did appear. Though his overall appearence in Inferno is brief, it is powerful nonetheless.

Unlike most of the Hellraiser sequals, Inferno actually has good acting and a decent plot with some substance.

Though I doubt anyone will be blown away by Inferno, it is definatly worth seeing once.

Hell raiser inferno sucked and still sucks.......2007-02-01

After solving a creepy puzzle, unscrupulous Det. Joseph Thorne (Craig Sheffer) finds himself trapped in hell with the hair-raising ghoul Pinhead (Doug Bradley) and a murderer at large. Thorne tries to outwit Pinhead and discover the killer's identity in an effort to escape, but the trail keeps leading back to one man: Thorne. As his transgressions begin to torment him, Thorne learns the real meaning of the word .Hellraiser and Hellraiser 2 apparently jaded me. I really didn't enjoy this movie. Although the plot itself was a decent one (though a bit slow moving at times), the acting was terrible, the special effects left plenty to be desired, and it just wasn't a Hellraiser movie, at least to me. I might have at least not hated this movie if I had no expectations. However, when I rent a Hellraiser movie, I expect Cenobites and Pinhead. I expect good dialogue and a creepy factor of 10.

I don't expect crappy acting, moralistic dialogue, and, of all things, NARRATION. Hellraiser movies are supposed to make you creep out and think a bit. If the movies make you think about the dualistic nature of humanity, that's great, but I don't want first person narration expounding on it.

I don't know which was worse -- Hellraiser 4 or this one. This movie bares so little resemblance to the original that it shouldn't even have the title. Do yourself a favor and re-rent the first or second of the series. Or better yet, read the novela they're based on.Do yourself a favor and pass this disgrace.

No hell left to raise.......2006-10-24

After Hellraiser 1 and 2, the series became increasing boring, pointless and without meaning. I couldn't wait for this episode to end. Another hellraising piece of boring garbage. Guys, give it a rest and Clive, please DON'T remake Hellraiser 1. Don't do it. Just walk away. It's already been trashed and drained of meaning 6 times or is it 7?

i like it, most people don't, but i do.......2006-09-20

Hellraiser: inferno is one one those special horror flicks, this is one of the hellraiser sequels that fans often put down, this one along with hellseeker are considered the dead sequels, meaning all of the fun of the original films is gone, i disagree, i thought hellseeker definately needed some things to make it better, even though the great ashley laurence from the original made a comeback, that film didn't serve the series well, and the same is often said for this film, but there is a very unique feeling about this film that i think completely sets it apart from the rest, people complain often that pinhead isn't in this film enough, i love pinhead but quite frankly they have already done enough about him with hellraiser 3, i think pinhead's impact on this film is so much greater with his short cameo than it was in any hellraiser movie since the original, and the fact that he was even performed breifly by james remar made even cooler in my opinion, this one has something to it that i like specifically in light of the entire series, i guess i see this film from a different perspective, but all i have to say is it deserves a chance.

LMAO!!!!!.......2006-05-19

This is the funniest film i have seen in ages, and i owe all the comedy to the last bit where the detective is ripped apart by the chains barely holding the tip of his skin, I laughed so hard at that, and it's the only bit i watch now, in all the horror films i have seen, this is probably one of the worst, but that bit alone makes this a 5 star.

Oldboy (Three-Disc Ultimate Collector's Edition)

Average customer rating:

Oldboy Review
TRULY SHOCKING
Revenge Taken to The Extreme!!!
Boring and Outrageous
Brilliant master work from Park Chan-Wook

Oldboy (Three-Disc Ultimate Collector's Edition)
Starring: Min-sik Choi , Ji-tae Yu , Hye-jeong Kang , Dae-han Ji , and Dal-su Oh
Director: Chan-wook Park
Manufacturer: Tartan Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Art House & International | Genres | DVD | Video

Drama | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

( O ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

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

Art House & International | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

General | Foreign & International | Stores | DVD | Video

Boxed Sets | Foreign & International | Stores | DVD | Video

General | Indie & Art House | Stores | DVD | Video

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
Lady Vengeance
Audition (Uncut Special Edition)
A Tale of Two Sisters (Deluxe Edition)
Ong-Bak - The Thai Warrior

ASIN: B000HLDFM2
Release Date: 2006-11-14

Amazon.com

Description

Tartan's top selling Asia Extreme title gets the deluxe treatment with this ultimate collector's set. Oh Dae-su is an ordinary Seoul businessman with a wife and little daughter. After who, after a drunken night on the town, he is locked up in a strange, private "prison" for 15 years until he is unexpectedly freed. He's determined to discover the mysterious enemy who had him locked up.

Customer Reviews:

Oldboy Review.......2007-07-04

What can I say? For the first half of the movie I was lost. It was only at the last 30 minutes the movie caught my interest. It was not the worst film I have seen but it certainy was not for me.

TRULY SHOCKING.......2007-06-26

Revenge Taken to The Extreme!!!.......2007-06-15

Boring and Outrageous.......2007-05-31

Brilliant master work from Park Chan-Wook.......2007-05-26