Reviews

Quite simply - this is the Batman movie true Batman fans have always wanted to see. It begins with the experiences of young Bruce Wayne as he encounters true fear for the first time, then witnesses his parents murder. Then it flashes forward to the day his parent's murderer is released from jail after turning informant for the DA's office. We see Bruce struggle to find meaning in the fact he is robbed of the chance to get revenge when the object of his hatred, the murderer, is assassinated by a mob boss's lackey just before Bruce would have killed him with a gun. Thus begins Bruce's 7 year journey to understand the criminal mind, and his concurrent search for the skills to combat criminality and true evil with justice.

I had no trouble at all watching this on DVD. The plot unfolded nicely, and answered all the questions I raised as the story progressed. I was a little disappointed by the ant-climax after the final battle, but it works because who would expect a career murderer (Van Helsing - played by Hugh Jackman) to actually walk away with "the girl."

The use of CG in this film is better than anything I've seen, and the information in the DVD extras about how it was done is great. This period fantasy piece does push the envelope of CG technology, raising the monsters to a level of realism almost believable, and the performers seemed to have had fun making the film.

I found this to be very entertaining, and so did my wife. We will be adding it to our permanent collection soon.

First, let me acknowledge that there are some unanswered questions. First, just what did Creasy do that caused him to feel so completely down on himself before he met Pita? That question is never answered, only vaguely hinted at, at best. OK, so he was a professional assassin. No big deal - he did what he was paid to do, and he was good at it.

So, what happened? Did he accidentally kill a bus of Catholic School girls when completing an assignment? I wish we knew.

Other than that, the movie did make a lot of sense to me. It had a believable plot, and moved in a logical way. Yes, Creasy's desire for revenge is predictable, but looking at the character, in his state of mind, it would also be his only shot at redemption. He is using this terrible gift he spent 18 years training to refine to close the books on people who make a living causing harm and pain to innocents. The only other choices he seems to have are to run away to the US, or go to Mexican prison for killing 2 "off-duty" cops that were in uniform at the scene of Pita's kidnapping.

The biggest problem I had with the whole story was the ending. In the last minute, there should have been a pan shot of the bad guys driving away, with Creasy's dead body in the back seat, going to a wide-angle view of the two cars rolling down the highway - and erupting into flame just after Creasy's watch "alarm" beeps. Mission accomplished.

I have no use for people who have to tear anything creative to pieces. This isn't supposed to be an Oscar winner - it's a summer movie. It has good action, the story is plausible enough to hold interest, and the relationships are well enough developed that you care about (Jack) Kyra before the end arrives. I liked that Riddick put his life on the line to save hers at one point. This is a well made, well acted, acceptable summer action flick. Don't try to get it to make any more sense than that, because it won't. Riddick is still a loner, still a killer, and still finds himself manipulated by larger issues into doing "the right thing" despite himself. He gets to kick ass and take names in the higher issue of serving good - and he gets one hell of a good reward for doing it. Who could ask for more?

The older one tries to take the high road. He becomes responsible, taking care of his sick mother and younger brother while continuing to go to school (he's 12). The younger one gives in to his anger, and becomes destructive, spiteful, and violent. The older does his best to protect the younger, until the actions of the youngest brother take the life of the son of one of the town's richest men (also responsible for the murder of their father). This seemingly random killing is anything but, because young Tommy is sick, dying, and no longer cares about being careful. The conclusion is a great scene, though a bit predictable. A very high quality independent movie.

This is a show that suffers only slightly by having a predictable ending. That said, the characters are well rounded, the acting is passable, and the cameras used intelligently. This is the story of a woman who, thinking she has become a widow due to a hurricane, is holding a reception for her missing husband, and the interaction of the guests and relatives as we work toward the conclusion. The writing and dialogue are well done, and the use of humor throughout is a bonus since the story isn't a comedy.

Alright, I acknowledge that there are cheezy scenes. I also realize that the "bad" singer is a Cindy Lauper clone, and that Vanity was a protege of Prince. All that aside, I think the filming was great. The scenes were well shot, the music did a terrific job of matching the scenes and setting the mood, and even the comedy helped to keep the show from being too much of a fight flick - in other words it was more real than most shows. The script was easy to follow (alright, predictable) but it's necessary to reach a broad audience. The fight coreography was well done, and Leroy's struggle to believe what everyone is trying to tell him about himself is the real jem of the show - who among us doesn't struggle with such problems at times?

I've seen many worse movies that got better reviews by IMDb users.

That said, I think the main reason that this movie didn't get the good reviews that it could have gotten was that the script writers didn't follow the book very well. I've read the book several times, and loved it more every time. The same can't be said for repeat viewings of this movie. I applaud John Travolta for his intention to get the book made into a movie, but I feel that more time should have been taken in the scripting before the production started.

Some basic corrections:

The book is over 1000 pages long. You can't take the middle 300 pages and write the script from that without destroying your audience. The problem is, you're dropping them into the story with no background, and then cutting them off without the ending. Mr. Travolta, you should know better - this is one of the simplest mistakes to avoid.

If more time would have been spent developing the Psychlo teaching machine, that would have handled nearly all of the criticism of the humans learning to fly Harrier jets and build bombs so quickly.

Also, in the book Johnny had to do a lot of traveling (to other continents) and learn to speak several languages (with the Psychlo teaching machine and archive language tapes) to recruit his rebel force before he could train them. This wasn't covered in the movie at all.

So, Mr. Travolta, if you want someone to help with a sequel, perhaps I'm your man. At least I am familiar with the storyline!

Finally - people shouldn't be using IMDb movie reviews to beat the soapbox of religion - unless it is an integral plot point of the movie being reviewed. L. Ron Hubbard did start a religion - it is recognized in every court of the land as such (including the Supreme Court of the United States) - but it has nothing to do with this book/movie. Get over it. I have read better than half of the reviews on this movie, and the best that I can say about them is that most were written by illiterate cavemen/women who shouldn't be allowed access to computers!

Perhaps that explains why this movie was reviewed so badly - it was over their heads! 7.5/10

This was a good story, that was ruined by being over worked and under edited. It was at least a half-hour too long, and as a result it suffered by loosing my interest several times. I found it a chore to sit through it.

It would almost be enough that this is based on a Stephen King novel, but that it is also a breakout role for Sissy Spacek, supported by the likes of John Travolta and Amy Irving is almost too much. This is a true thriller; it has mystery (what are her powers, and what are their limits?) and horror. This is on my "not to be missed" list!

I think the cinematography is great, the use of the dark sets is tops, and the plot is well thought out. The use of titles is superb. However, the odd thing to me is that almost every element of Bob Kane's "Batman" comics is seen here in the criminal called "the bat." He leaves messages addressed to the police commissioner, he wears a bat-head shaped mask, he climbs on roofs, etc. As a big fan of Kane's "Batman," I truly love this movie. One of the silent era's sleeping gems.

I first read the book about two years ago, and loved the re-telling of the Legend of King Arthur from the female point-of-view. However, due to it's length, and detail, I doubted that it could be done on film. Boy, was I ever wrong!

First, I must comment on the casting. I have always enjoyed Juliane Margulies in ER, and Angelica Huston in everything she has done, but they both eclipse their former work with the quality delivered here. There is a scene near the end of part one where they get into an argument, and the emotion is so RAW that I nearly called 911! Terrific!

Next, major cudo's to the set and design people. The costumes are well done and true to period (almost - it depends on whether you hold with Camelot being dated to the mid 400's AD or the 1400's AD). Next, the scene with Arthur & Morgaine at the Beltaine feast, where they are in costume and unaware of each other's identity, was very cleverly done. I liked the details on the wall of the chamber, and the markings on Juliana's face, arms, and legs. Nicely done.

All together, this is a fairly faithful reproduction of the book, and a story worth taking the time to watch.

but I think a lot of people missed the underlying moral lesson with this one. You see, as is beginning to be known due to a few high-profile celebrity cases, THE MEDICAL ESTABLISHMENT DOESN'T WANT YOU TO GET BETTER! It is a profit motive business that doesn't make money if you are healthy. Forget all the altruistic reasons someone might start going to Med School - because by the time they graduate they are in debt up to their eyeballs and have had it pounded into them for 7+ years that they NEED to make lots of money just to break even on the school loans. Add to that the fact that every hospital and specialty practice he/she might join is also after profit, and mortgaged up to it's ears for buildings, equipment, etc. - you can begin to see why the Adone's needed to go against what everyone wanted to find their own cure - because nobody wanted one. This is also true for almost every other condition known - like endometriosis for one. The standard and recommended actions are to prescribe medicines that, according to the Physician's Desk Reference, are known to cause the problem to worsen. So, what does a good GYN doc turn to next? Surgery. And if that doesn't work? Radical Surgery (hysterectomy) and hormone replacement for life. My wife was looking at the last option at the tender age of 29 - with no children - after 14 years of pain. A chiropractor TOTALLY cured her in about two weeks, using nutritional supplements. The GYN didn't want to believe it was possible, and never credited the chiropractor's actions with the turn around.

so I gave it a shot, and it was worth the time. After being disappointed with Smith in "Wild, Wild West," I was glad to see him in something with more substance, and this really came through for him. He never gets his feathers ruffled, and always has the right answer for the situation - leading me to believe he may be much more than he seems. But the ending, when the (now a very senior adult) kid who helped him caddy is leaving the golf course and Vance is waving to him to "come on," I felt he must have been something like an Angel.

All in all, a very real film about normal people having to deal with very real problems. Nearly every living war vet can relate to this one.

as a fan of the original series, I hoped this would be more serious. Yes, it has three women. Yes, it has action. But the light-hearted campy handling left me wishing I'd watched something else. I laughed quite a lot, but it wasn't what I wanted to do while watching a movie with this title.

than a 4th movie. I like the way Lambert's character "passes the torch" to Paul's. It was a nice touch, and answered some of my questions from the start of the series.

I thought the story was fully developed, but had hoped from the advanced publicity that the ending would be better handled.

With the usual plot twists that keep you interested. An added bonus is Ann Heche (and many other actresses) in some graphic shower scenes. I liked it, for some light entertainment. It was good enough to keep me from changing the channel, but I don't feel compelled to watch it every time it comes on.

the greatest casualty may be due to Red Tape. Not only does this film benefit from some true TALENT in the acting department, but Howard Deutch does a great job of portraying the sad state of Veteran's Care in the US. No, this does not appear to be "based on a true story," but it is typical of what goes on in the VA Hospitals; as a former Army Medic (now a Service Connected Disabled Vet) I know whereof I speak. I highly recommend this film!

and then some. I have never been a fan of his work, and this was DOWN to his usual standards. In other words, I thought this was an insult to my intelligence, and resented being asked to sit through it by my wife (a Larroquette fan). It was stupid, and all of the "gags" seemed forced.

Hollywood script from the beginning. I've always been a sucker for a movie based on "true life" but this one is a cut above average, due in no small measure to the talent of Gooding and DeNiro. These two deserve to be recognized as among the best of this generation of stars from Tinseltown. This movie pushes them to perform at their best, and they shine. Billy Sunday was himself a military legend, but his contribution to this story was a surprise, given the character of the rest of his service (after loosing his dive status). The actions he took to help Carl (beginning with passing his final and graduating him) show his conflict; his social understanding on one hand and his sense of Honor on the other. Honor wins in the end, but gets tested over and over.

A plastic surgeon gets suspicious when the police question him about the death of a model he's worked on, and learns that all the models he's worked on who came in with "shopping lists" of miniscule changes that "had to be fixed, so I could be perfect," are dead. Susan Day has just come in with a list of her own, and he decides to keep an eye on her - and learns of a plot to use computer generated images made from detailed electronic measurements of the models to replace live models for commercials and acting. One bonus is about 3 minutes of Susan Day being measured, sans clothing. Let's face it, every boy who grew up watching "The Partridge Family" dreamed of the chance to see her like this! (The nudity is handled tastefully - there's nothing graphic.)

H.G. Wells had to build and test a time machine, before he could write a "fiction" story about one. However, a contemporary of his needs to evade police, who are madly searching for him - because he's the most notorious serial killer in London's history, Jack the Ripper. Jack learns of Herbert's success with time travel, and decides it's the ultimate escape. However, once the machine has come back and Wells learns that the Ripper has gone to the future, he must himself fetch the Ripper back (for he alone knows how the machine works AND has the ability to identify the fiend). To protect Utopia, he goes forward, and meets a pleasant, single bank teller, who is able to help him get a lead on his prey, until she becomes the Ripper's next target!

Very thought provoking, and leads you to wonder, "At what point does it stop so I can wake up?" I love how most of the actors play characters in more than one level of the reality, lending a dream-like sense of "deja-vu" to each new level.