Author Topic: DSigs What I'm Watching (Read 40175 times)

DSig · « **Reply #60 on:** June 22, 2012, 11:36:49 PM »

Young Frankenstein: Special Edition (1974/United States)
IMDb | Wikipedia

	Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (United States)
Director:	Mel Brooks
Writing:	Gene Wilder (Story By), Mel Brooks (Story By), Gene Wilder (Screenwriter), Mel Brooks (Screenwriter), Mary Shelley [Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley] (1797) (Original Characters By)
Length:	106 min.
Video:	Widescreen 1.85:1
Audio:	English: Dolby Digital: Mono, French: Dolby Digital: Mono, Spanish: Dolby Digital: Mono, Commentary: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo
Subtitles:	English

Stars:
Gene Wilder as Dr. Frederick Frankenstein
Marty Feldman as Igor
Peter Boyle as the Monster
Teri Garr as Inga
Cloris Leachman as Frau Blücher
Madeline Kahn as Elizabeth

Plot:
Mel Brooks' monstrously crazy tribute to Mary Shelley's classic pokes hilarious fun at just about every Frankenstein movie ever made. Summoned by a will to his late grandfather's castle in Transylvania, young Dr. Frankenstein (GENE WILDER) soon discovers the scientist's step-by-step manual explaining how to bring a corpse to life. Assisted by the hunchbacked Igor (MARTY FELDMAN) and the curvaceous Inga (TERI GARR), he creates a monster (PETER BOYLE) who only wants to be loved. CLORIS LEACHMAN, MADELINE KAHN, KENNETH MARS and GENE HACKMAN co-star in this inspired vision of lunacy.

** Complete Plot (with spoilers) **

(click to show/hide)

Dr. Frederick Frankenstein (Gene Wilder) is a respected lecturer at an American medical school and engaged to the tightly wound Elizabeth (Madeline Kahn). He becomes exasperated when anyone brings up the subject of his grandfather, the infamous mad scientist whose experiments in re-animation led to the creation of a monster. To disassociate himself from his legacy, Frederick insists that his surname be pronounced "Fronk-en-steen".

When a solicitor informs him that he has inherited his family's estate in Transylvania after the death of his great grandfather, the Baron von Frankenstein, Frederick travels to Europe to inspect the property. At the Transylvania train station, he is met by a hunchbacked, bulging-eyed servant named Igor (Marty Feldman), who is there to drive Frederick in a wagon to the Frankenstein estate, but not before mocking Frederick's pretentions by insisting that his name be pronounced as "eye-gore." Accompanying Igor in the wagon is another servant, a lovely young woman named Inga (Teri Garr). Upon arrival at the estate, Frederick meets the forbidding housekeeper Frau Blücher (Cloris Leachman), whose name causes horses to rear up in fright. Though his family legacy has brought shame and ridicule, Frederick becomes increasingly intrigued about his grandfather's work, especially after Inga assists him in discovering the secret entrance to his grandfather's laboratory. Upon reading his grandfather's private journals, Frederick is so transformed that he decides to resume his grandfather's experiments in re-animating the dead. He and Igor resort to robbing the grave of a recently executed criminal, and Frederick sets to work experimenting on the large corpse. Matters go awry, however, when Igor is sent to steal the brain of a deceased revered scientist; startled by lightning, he drops the correct brain on the floor and instead returns with an "abnormal" brain (which he subsequently refers to as "A-b (Abby) Normal"), which Frederick unknowingly transplants into the corpse.

Soon, Frederick is ready to re-animate his creature (Peter Boyle), who is elevated on a platform to the roof of the laboratory during a lightning storm. Eventually, electrical charges bring the creature to life. With Frederick's help, the Monster makes its first halting steps, but, frightened by Igor lighting a match, attacks Frederick and must be sedated. Upon being asked whose brain was obtained, Igor confesses that he supplied "Abby Normal's" brain (the brain he stole had been labeled "abnormal"), whereupon Frederick attempts to strangle him.

Meanwhile, the townspeople are uneasy at the possibility of Frederick continuing his grandfather's work. Most concerned is Inspector Kemp (Kenneth Mars), a police official who sports an eyepatch and monocle over the same eye, a creaky, disjointed wooden arm, and an accent so comically thick even his own countrymen cannot understand him. Kemp visits the doctor and subsequently demands assurance that he will not create another monster. Upon returning to the lab, Frederick discovers that Frau Blücher is setting the creature free. After she reveals the Monster's love of violin music, and her own romantic relationship with Frederick's grandfather, the creature is enraged by sparks from a thrown switch, and escapes from the Frankenstein castle.

While roaming the countryside, the Monster has frustrating encounters with a young girl and a blind hermit (Gene Hackman); these scenes directly parody the original Frankenstein movies. Frederick recaptures the Monster and locks the two of them in a room, where he calms the Monster's homicidal tendencies with flattery and fully acknowledges his heritage, even shouting out emphatically, "my name is Frankenstein!" (with the normal pronunciation).

After a period of training the Monster to function in polite society, Frederick offers the sight of "The Creature" following simple commands to a theater full of illustrious guests. The demonstration continues with Frederick and the Monster launching into the musical number "Puttin' on the Ritz", complete with top hats and tails. Although the monster can only shout his song lines in painfully high-pitched monotones, he dances impressively with almost perfect timing. The routine ends disastrously, however, when a stage light explodes and frightens the Monster, who becomes enraged, pushes Frederick, and charges into the audience, where he is captured and chained by police.

After being tormented by a sadistic jailer, the Monster escapes, then kidnaps and ravishes the not unwilling Elizabeth when she arrives unexpectedly for a visit. Elizabeth falls in love with the creature due to his inhuman stamina and his enormous penis (referred to as Schwanstuker or Schwanzstück — a Yiddish word from Schwanz, "tail", which also is German slang for "penis", and Stück, "piece").

The townspeople, led by Inspector Kemp, hunt for the monster. Desperate to get the creature back and correct his mistakes, Frederick plays the violin to lure his creation back to the castle. Just as the Kemp-led mob storms the laboratory, Frankenstein transfers some of his stabilizing intellect to the creature who, as a result, is able to reason with and placate the mob. (Much of the creature's plea for understanding is adapted directly from dialogue in Mary Shelley's novel. In doing so, Brooks' comedy presents Shelley's original theme more accurately than perhaps any other "Frankenstein" film.) The film ends happily, with Elizabeth married to the now erudite and sophisticated Monster, while Inga joyfully learns what her new husband Frederick got in return during the transfer procedure (the Monster's Schwanzstück).

Extras:

Scene Access
Audio Commentary
Feature Trailers
Deleted Scenes
Featurettes
Gallery
Interviews
Outtakes/Bloopers
Closed Captioned

My Thoughts:

'Young Frankenstein' (1974) is directed by Mel Brooks (he was writer/director and often actor and producer for 'The Producers' (1968), 'The Twelve Chairs' (1970) a great underrated film, 'Blazing Saddles' (1974), 'Silent Movie' (1976), 'High Anxiety' (1977), 'History of the World, Part I' (1981), 'Spaceballs' (1987), 'Life Stinks' (1991), 'Robin Hood: Men in Tights' (1993) and 'Dracula: Dead and Loving It' (1995). It was co-written by Gene Wilder.

It stars Gene Wilder (Dr. Frederick Frankenstein), Marty Feldman (Igor), Peter Boyle (the Monster) and Teri Garr (Inga). With co-stars Cloris Leachman (Frau Blücher), Madeline Kahn (Elizabeth), Kenneth Mars (Inspector Kemp). Also featuring Richard Haydn (Herr Falkstein), Liam Dunn (Mr. Hilltop) and Danny Goldman (Medical student). There are bit 'cameos' from Gene Hackman (Harold, The Blind Man) and Mel Brooks (Helga's Father / Werewolf / Cat Hit by Dart / Victor Frankenstein (voice) (uncredited).

As have had said before, 'Young Frankenstein', 'Blazing Saddles' and possibly 'Robin Hood: Men in Tights' and 'Spaceballs' are the funniest of Mel Brooks movies. (okay .. maybe 'The Twelve Chairs' (1970) more of a preview of what was to come with 'Blazing Saddles' ). Having just come off 'Blazing Saddles' the team of Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder are hitting the peak of their team work with 'Young Frankenstein'.

The jokes and gags (some that are easily missed Dr. Frederick Frankenstein: "[pause, then] Abby someone. Abby who?" .. Igor: "Abby... Normal". ) and continue throughout the entire movie. The film in black and white really gives the right ambiance. It is said that the equipment used in the laboratory is really the original equipment from the 1931 film 'Frankenstein'. I love this movie. Although there are 5-6 other Mel Brooks movies that i love I think this is his best. Just fickle that way.

Rating: I give this 4.5 of 5 stars.

DSig · « **Reply #61 on:** June 23, 2012, 06:30:34 AM »

The Wedding Planner (2001/United States)
IMDb | Wikipedia

	Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (United States)
Director:	Adam Shankman
Writing:	Pamela Falk (Writer), Michael Ellis (Writer)
Length:	104 min.
Video:	Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1
Audio:	English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, English: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround, Commentary: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo
Subtitles:	English, French, Spanish

Stars:
Jennifer Lopez as Mary Fiore
Matthew McConaughey as Steve Edison
Bridgette Wilson-Sampras as Fran Donolly
Justin Chambers as Massimo
Judy Greer as Penny

Plot:
Mary Fiore (Jennifer Lopez) is the wedding planner. She's ambitious, hard-working, extremely organized, and she knows exactly what to do and say to make any wedding a spectacular event. But when Mary falls (literally) for a handsome doctor (Matthew McConaughey), her busy yet uncomplicated life is turned upside down - he's the groom in the biggest wedding of her career! Will she help him walk down the aisle with his internet tycoon girlfriend (Bridgette Wilson-Sampras), or will Mary finally get to be the bride herself? As this sweet romantic comedy proves, when it comes to love, you can never plan what's going to happen.

** Complete Plot (with spoilers) **

(click to show/hide)

After planning and coordinating another successful wedding ceremony, Los Alamitos wedding planner Mary (Jennifer Lopez) is re-introduced to childhood acquaintance Massimo (Justin Chambers) by her father (Alex Rocco) who wants the two of them to marry. Mary, however, is not impressed and instead remains focused on her ambition to become a partner at the wedding company she works for. As a way to persuade her boss, Geri (Kathy Najimy), to accept her as a partner, Mary pursues and is hired by catering heiress, Fran Donolly (Bridgette Wilson) to plan her society wedding to long term boyfriend ‘Eddie’. While on the phone reporting her success Mary’s shoe heel gets stuck in a manhole cover. While she attempts to free herself a taxi collides with a rubbish dumpster and it comes hurtling towards her. A man standing nearby rushes in and pulls her away just before the dumpster crashes. Mary manages to thank the man before fainting.

She later wakes up in hospital and the man who saved her is revealed to be the local pediatrician, Steve Edison (Matthew McConaughey). When Mary’s friend and colleague Penny (Judy Greer) arrives she persuades Steve to attend an outdoor movie screening with them at the park, only to make up an excuse to leave the pair alone. At the movie Mary and Steve dance but just before they are about to kiss a heavy downpour begins and they run for cover.

A few days later Mary and Fran are at another of Mary’s weddings and Fran teases her for her dreamy look before Mary tells her about her movie date. Later on Mary is attending a dance lesson with another of her clients. Fran is also attending and introduces Mary to her fiancé ‘Eddie’ who turns out to be Steve. When Fran leaves the pair to dance together Mary angrily rebukes him for leading her on and going behind Fran’s back.

Mary is left wondering whether she should continue to plan Fran and Steve’s wedding, while Steve is left wondering whether his chemistry with Mary is a sign that he shouldn’t be marrying Fran. Penny persuades Mary that her career is more important than whatever attraction she might have felt for Steve and Steve’s colleague persuades him that the connection he had with Mary was just the result of pre-wedding nerves.

When they arrive at a potential wedding venue in Napa Valley, Massimo appears and, to Mary's confusion and horror, introduces himself as her fiancé. Later when the four of them, along with Fran’s parents, are riding on horseback through the estate, Mrs Donolly’s singing frightens Mary’s horse and it rushes off with a terrified Mary clinging on. Steve instantly gallops after Mary and rescues her from the out of control horse. When the pair are alone he bitterly rebukes her for condemning his actions when she was also engaged.

At home, Mary’s father excitedly talks about her upcoming wedding, only for her to reveal that she and Massimo are not engaged before scolding her father for trying to arrange her marriage. Her father then reveals that his wedding with her mother, which Mary had always seen as the perfect marriage, was actually arranged and only became a loving relationship months later, leaving Mary feeling very confused. Mary, Fran and Steve visit another potential wedding venue. Differences in opinion between the couple begin to emerge but Steve agrees with whatever makes Fran happy. Fran reveals she is going on a week-long business trip, leaving Mary and Steve to continue with the wedding preparations. The pair apologise for their angry words. While looking for flowers they run into Keith and Wendy. Mary reveals that Keith was her fiancé, Wendy was his high-school girlfriend and during their rehearsal dinner she found them making out. That night a drunk Mary laments over Keith being married and expecting a baby while she is still alone and miserable. Steve comforts her and insists that Keith was a fool to pick Wendy over her. He then leaves but quickly returns and confesses that he has feelings for Mary. She sadly replies that she respects Fran too much to let anything happen between them and sends Steve away.

Fran returns early from her trip and comes to speak with Mary. Mary fears that Steve has revealed his feelings for her but instead Fran reveals she doesn’t know if she is in love with Steve anymore. Ignoring her heart, Mary persuades Fran to go ahead with the wedding. At a birthday party they are both attending, Massimo offers Mary a heartfelt proposal and after a little hesitation she finally agrees to marry him. The two couples prepare for their weddings. When the day arrives Mary leaves Penny to coordinate the Donolly wedding before she goes to the town hall to marry Massimo. Before the wedding starts, Steve takes Fran for a walk and asks her if they’re doing the right thing. Fran eventually admits that she doesn’t want to get married. The pair part as friends and Fran leaves to go on their honeymoon alone. Penny reveals Mary’s plans to Steve and he rushes off to stop her. At the town hall, Massimo and Mary prepare to marry but her father stops the ceremony, realising that the wedding is what he wants for her and not what she wants. Mary, who has given up on true love, insists that life isn’t a fairytale and marrying Massimo is the right thing to do. Steve arrives to find Mary’s father and Massimo outside. Massimo reveals that he couldn’t go ahead with the wedding knowing that Mary was not in love with him and actually in love with Steve. Steve reveals his feelings to Mary’s father, who tells him to go and get her. Steve and Massimo ride off on Massimo’s scooter to the park where another outdoor movie is starting. Steve finds Mary, asks her to dance and the pair finally kiss.

Extras:

Scene Access
Audio Commentary
Feature Trailers
Bonus Trailers
Deleted Scenes
Featurettes
Production Notes
DVD-ROM Content
Closed Captioned

My Thoughts:

'The Wedding Planner' (2001) is a romantic comedy directed by Adam Shankman (directed 'Bringing Down The House' (2003), 'The Pacifier' (2005), 'Bedtime Stories' (2008) along with credits for producing, acting and choreographer. Written by Michael J. Ellis.

It stars Jennifer Lopez (Maria 'Mary' Fiore) (my favorites include 'The Cell' (2000), 'Angel Eyes' (2001) and 'Enough' (2002)), Matthew McConaughey (Dr. Steven James 'Steve/Eddie' Edison) (my favorites being 'A Time to Kill' (1996), 'Larger than Life' (1996), 'Contact' (1997), 'EDtv' (1999), 'Reign of Fire' (2002), 'Sahara' (2005) and 'Fool's Gold' (2008)), Bridgette Wilson (Francine 'Fran' Donolly) and Justin Chambers (Massimo).

It also features Judy Greer (Penny) (my favorite 'Cursed' (2005)), Alex Rocco (Salvatore Fiore), Charles Kimbrough (Mr. Donolly), Joanna Gleason (Mrs. Donolly), Fred Willard (Basil St. Mosely), Lou Myers (Burt Weinberg), Frances Bay (Dottie), Kathy Najimy (Geri), and Dan Finnerty (Best Man).

This is a romantic comedy so there isn't a lot to really say. The plot line seems to be somewhat standard but it is well written with some fun dialog. The acting is good (or as good as modern romantic comedies get .. I am watching 'People Will Talk' (1951) while i am writing this and the comparisons in acting is stark ). The movie did very well at the box office and started at number 1 the weekend it opened.

I would be very happy to recommend this to anyone who likes romantic comedies .. 'chick flicks' it is fun and there are a lot worse ways to waste a couple of hours.

Rating: 3of5 stars

DSig · « **Reply #62 on:** June 23, 2012, 09:38:56 PM »

Darkness Falls: Special Edition (2003/United States)
IMDb | Wikipedia

	Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (United States)
Director:	Jonathan Liebesman
Writing:	John Fasano (Screenwriter), James Vanderbilt (Screenwriter), Joe Harris (Screenwriter), Joe Harris (Story By)
Length:	86 min.
Video:	Anamorphic Widescreen 2.40:1, Pan & Scan 1.33:1
Audio:	English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, French: Dolby Digital: 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo, Commentary: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo
Subtitles:	English, French

Stars:
Chaney Kley as Kyle
Emma Caulfield as Caitlin
Lee Cormie as Michael
Grant Piro as Larry
Sullivan Stapleton as Matt

Plot:
An Eye for an Eye. Your Life for a Tooth.

As a young boy, Kyle (Chaney Kley) claimed to have seen the tooth fairy. He also claimed she tried to kill him.

Now over twelve years later, Kyle has left the town that never believed him. He has also left behind the two people who thought he was telling the truth, his childhood girlfriend Caitlin (Emma Caulfield) and her younger brother. And when evil again emerges in Darkness Falls, Kyle must return to do battle with the winged creature of doom he saw that night so many years ago. Because evil is back with a vengeance. And it's not leaving without Caitlin's brother.

** Complete Plot (with spoilers) **

(click to show/hide)

The story of the town Darkness Falls, (which is based on the town of Fall River, Massachusetts) begins with the legend of a widow, Matilda Dixon, who was adored by all the town's children. Matilda gave them gifts and gold coins when they lost a tooth, thus earning her the name "Tooth Fairy."

After a fire in her home left her horribly disfigured with an extreme sensitivity to light, she wore a porcelain mask, and only went out at night.

Although the children adored Matilda, the adults were suspicious of her and one day, when two children went missing, the townspeople quickly blamed Matilda and hanged her, ripping off her porcelain mask and exposing her face to the light. Out of anger and betrayal, Matilda promised her vengeance. Soon afterward, the two missing children returned home unharmed. The town, realizing their mistake, quickly buried Matilda's body along with their secret.

The story of Matilda Dixon, the Tooth Fairy, is told to many generations after the murder, and it is believed that her spirit visits children on the night they lose their last baby tooth, where she seeks her vengeance if they see her.

The story begins when Kyle Walsh, an antisocial teenager, befriended only by his secret infatuation, Caitlin Greene, loses his last baby tooth. He soon realizes that the story of Matilda Dixon is not just a fable when he sees her in his room. Realizing that light is her weakness, he shines a flashlight into her face and hides in the bright lights of the bathroom. His mother, in trying to convince him there's nothing in his room, is killed after seeing the Tooth Fairy. The next morning, as the police arrive, Kyle is taken to a mental hospital after speculations that he himself killed his mother.

Twelve years later, Caitlin Greene calls a secluded Kyle to ask for his help with her younger brother, Michael, who refuses to sleep in the dark. After a visit to the hospital to talk to Michael - with his bag of flashlights, his "peace of mind" - Kyle soon realizes that Michael has had an encounter with the Tooth Fairy. Michael, like Kyle, now has a gripping fear of the dark, and is thought to have gone insane. Afraid of the truth, Kyle at first denies any relation to his condition, and walks away from Caitlin.

United with his childhood neighbors, Kyle attempts to warn others of the Tooth Fairy and tells them to stay in the light. The ridicule that he faces leads to the death of many townspeople. He soon gains allies as they realize the truth within his story. To add to the terror, a storm causes a disturbance in the power grid for the town, just as Kyle loses his bag of flashlights to the police when he is arrested and questioned about the sudden rise in the death toll. After convincing the police that his story is true, Kyle, Michael and Caitlin decide to lead the Tooth Fairy to the largest source of light in the town - the lighthouse. They are assisted by several medical personnel, all of whom are killed by the Tooth Fairy on the way.

In an attempt to destroy her, Kyle truly faces the demon as he rips off her porcelain mask and ignites her. This fate is tested when another young child loses his last baby tooth and awaits the Tooth Fairy, only to find, to the audience's knowledge, that his mother replaces the tooth with a gold coin, indicating that the story is over and the tooth fairy has been destroyed forever.

Extras:

Scene Access
Audio Commentary
Deleted Scenes
Featurettes
Closed Captioned
Storyboards, The Legend of Matilda Dixon

My Thoughts:

Genre: Horror / Thriller
Have I seen it before: Yes
Do I Like it as much: Yes
Rating: 3.of5

'Darkness Falls' (2003) is directed by Jonathan Liebesman (the ones I have seen are 'Battle: Los Angeles' (2011) and 'Wrath of the Titans' (2012) ). Written by Joe Harris (this is the only one I have seen, and 'The Tripper' (2007) co written with David Arquette who directed).

It stars Chaney Kley (Kyle Walsh) ('Legally Blonde' (2001) the only other one I saw him in, 'Mr. Blue Sky' (2007), 'Jimmy and Judy' (2006), 'Gotham Cafe' (2005) and 'Skin Horse' (2003) and several TV shows), Emma Caulfield (Caitlin Greene) (I have seen none of these .. 'Bandwagon' (2004), 'Hallow' (2007), 'Why am I Doing This' (2009), 'TiMER' (2009), 'Confined' (2010) and 'Removal' (2010) and several TV shows) and Lee Cormie (Michael Greene) (I haven't see any of these .. 'Australia On Trial' (2012), 'The Colour Blue' (2011), 'Underbelly' (2010) and 'December Boys' (2007) and a couple of TV shows)

Also with Grant Piro (Larry Fleishman), John Stanton (Captain Thomas Henry), Sullivan Stapleton (Officer Matt Henry), Steve Mouzakis (Dr. Peter Murphy), Peter Curtin (Dr. Travis), Emily Browning (Young Caitlin Greene).

'Darkness Falls' is to my way of thinking, Jonathan Liebesman's best film. I did like his 'Battle: Los Angeles' .. i thought the filming was good but 'Wrath of the Titans' was just so so. But 'Darkness Falls' is really good/great. I think the direction and filming did increase the anxiety factor in the film. I also think that the actors did a good job. They played their parts well without seeming to just walk through it. It has to be hard to play off of/pretend to be afraid of something that isn't there. So acting they did well.

I also like this much better than the critics did. Over at Rotten Tomatoes (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/darkness_falls/) only had the movie at 9% out of 126 reviews. Look .. this isn't rocket science .. it is a scarey movie. Seldom are there totally new/unseen bits.

I recommend this to anyone who likes the genre and who is just looking to be entertained.

DSig · « **Reply #63 on:** June 23, 2012, 10:28:09 PM »

People Will Talk (1951/United States)
IMDb | Wikipedia

	(United States)
Director:	Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Writing:	Joseph L. Mankiewicz (Screenwriter), Curt Goetz (Original Material By)
Length:	110 min.
Video:	Full Frame 1.33:1
Audio:	English: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo, English: Dolby Digital: Mono
Subtitles:	English, Spanish

Stars:
Cary Grant as Doctor Noah Praetorius
Jeanne Crain as Deborah Higgins
Finlay Currie as Shunderson
Hume Cronyn as Professor Rodney Elwell
Walter Slezak as Professor Barker

Plot:
"People Will Talk" is a "brilliant comedy" (ASHVILLE MOUNTAIN XPRESS) that also possesses a rare and engaging poignancy.

Screen legend Cary Grant stars as Dr. Noah Praetorius, a lovable professor and head of a medical clinic who becomes the subject of a McCarthy-style investigation initiated by a jealous colleague (Hume Cronyn). Along the way, Praetorius befriends and ultimately marries a young woman who attempts suicide when she discovers she is pregnant.

But, as the witch-hunt into the good doctor's personal life progresses, so do the laughs in this well-crafted, all-star treasure that should be part of every film lover's collection of classics.

** Complete Plot (with spoilers) **

(click to show/hide)

People Will Talk describes an episode in the life of Dr. Noah Praetorius (Grant), a physician who teaches in a medical school and founded a clinic dedicated to treating patients humanely and holistically. The plot contains two parallel story lines: a professional-misconduct challenge brought against Praetorius by his more conventional colleague Dr. Rodney Elwell (Cronyn), who dislikes Praetorius's unorthodox but effective methods; and the struggle of a distressed young woman named Deborah Higgins (Crain), who falls in love with Praetorius while dealing with an out-of-wedlock pregnancy. The film also highlights Praetorius's close friend and confidant, physics professor Lyonel Barker (Slezak), who plays bass viol in the student/faculty orchestra conducted by Praetorius.

Elwell's misconduct suit
At the start of the film, Elwell has hired a detective to investigate Praetorius. A housemaid (Margaret Hamilton) who once worked for Praetorius reacts visibly when Elwell asks her about Praetorius's mysterious friend Mr. Shunderson, who rarely leaves Praetorius's side and has a deep, intuitive understanding of human and animal nature.

Elwell's detective discovers that Shunderson was once tried for murder, and Elwell calls for a misconduct hearing against Praetorius. At the hearing, Praetorius explains that he started his career in a small town by opening a butcher shop as a front for his undeclared medical practice, because the people of the town didn't trust doctors. Elwell tries to discredit Praetorius's methods, but Praetorius defends his use of faith in healing, describing how he was forced to leave town after his maid discovered his medical degree.

Praetorius refuses to answer questions about Shunderson, but Shunderson explains that he served 15 years in prison for the alleged death of a man who had tried to murder him, then somehow survived being hanged after actually murdering the man, who had gone into hiding during the first trial. When he woke up, he was lying on a table in front of Praetorius, who was at that time a medical student examining what he believed was a corpse. Praetorius kept Shunderson's survival a secret, and Shunderson became Praetorius's devoted friend. After this story is told, the chairman concludes the hearing in Praetorius's favor, and Elwell walks away alone and discredited.

Deborah Higgins
Meanwhile, Deborah enters Praetorius's life, displaying signs of emotional distress. After she faints during a lecture, Praetorius examines her and informs her that she's pregnant. Upset by this news, "Mrs. Higgins" admits that she's not really married. The unborn child's father is dead, and knowing about her condition would be too much for her own father to bear. In a hallway near Praetorius's office, she shoots herself.

After successfully operating on Deborah, Praetorius tries to calm her by telling her there was a mistake in her pregnancy test, but she has fallen in love with him, and becomes upset at her own embarrassing behavior. She runs away from the clinic, forcing him to find her so he can tell her she really is pregnant.

Praetorius and Shunderson drive out to where Deborah and her father Arthur live, a farm owned by Arthur's brother John. Deborah and Praetorius hide Deborah's shooting incident from her father, who is a failure in life and lives unhappily as a dependent of his stingy brother. Deborah is his only pride in life, which might become intolerable for him with a baby to take care of and his daughter's reputation ruined.

While showing Praetorius the farm, Deborah admits her love for him. She also wonders why he is visiting and begins to suspect that he is attracted to her. After she seductively interrogates him, they share a passionate kiss. They soon get married, and Arthur comes to live with them. A few weeks later, Deborah suggests to Noah that she may be pregnant, and he admits that she was pregnant all along. She ruefully concludes that he married her out of pity, but he convinces her that he really did fall in love with her.

For some reason, Praetorius's misconduct hearing was scheduled for the same time as the student/faculty orchestra's concert. After the hearing and Praetorius' acquittal, the film ends with Deborah, Shunderson, and Barker in the audience watching Praetorius conduct the orchestra in the finale of Brahms's Academic Festival Overture : Gaudeamus Igitur ! .

Extras:

Scene Access
Feature Trailers
Gallery
Closed Captioned

My Thoughts:

Genre: Romantic Drama (with bits of humor)
Have I seen it before: Yes
Do I Like it as much: Yes
Rating: 4of5

'People Will Talk' (1951) is directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz (the ones I have seen are 'The Ghost and Mrs. Muir' (1947), 'No Way Out' (1950), 'All About Eve' (1950), 'Julius Caesar' (1953), 'The Barefoot Contessa' (1954), 'Guys and Dolls' (1955), 'Cleopatra' (1963), 'There Was a Crooked Man' (1970) and 'Sleuth' (1972)). The original play was written by Curt Goetz with updating by Joseph L. Mankiewicz for the screen.

It stars Cary Grant (Dr. Noah Praetorius) (although there are to many to list here are a few of my favorites .. 'Topper' (1937),'Bringing Up Baby' (1938), 'The Philadelphia Story' (1940), 'His Girl Friday' (1940), 'Arsenic and Old Lace' (1944), 'The Bishops Wife' (1947), 'Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House' (1948),'To Catch A Thief' (1955), 'An Affair to Remember' (1957), 'North by Northwest' (1959), 'Charade' (1963) and 'Father Goose' (1964)) and Jeanne Crain (Deborah Higgins) (ones i have seen 'Cheaper by the Dozen' (1950), 'Man Without a Star' (1955), 'The Fastest Gun Alive' (1956) and many others i have not seen including many TV shows).

Also features Finlay Currie (Shunderson) gives a very understated performance, Hume Cronyn (Prof. Rodney Elwell) great actor and i loved him in '*batteries are not include', Walter Slezak (Prof. Barker) another wonderful character actor in many many things, Sidney Blackmer (Arthur Higgins) was the father in 'High Society' and was in 'Outer Limits' episode 'The Hundred Days of the Dragon', Basil Ruysdael (Dean Lyman Brockwell) and Katherine Locke (Miss James).

I think that 'People Will Talk', though probably one of his least known works, is one of my favorite Cary Grant movies .. at least those of the romantic, comedic persuasion. I think his timing and character is great in this film. He is very likeable .. you care about what happens to him. Jeanne Crain is also very good in this. I liked her character and wanted to see what would happen. The direction is good. The filming is good but there are a few places that the picture seems to change, as if they went from film to video .. which they couldn't because there was no video then. But that doesn't really distract from the viewing. I stongly recommend this to anyone. It is great entertainment.

DSig · « **Reply #64 on:** June 24, 2012, 03:45:47 AM »

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events: Widescreen Collection (2005/United States)
IMDb | Wikipedia

	Paramount Home Entertainment (United States)
Director:	Brad Silberling
Writing:	Robert Gordon (Screenwriter), Daniel Handler [Lemony Snicket] (Original Material By)
Length:	108 min.
Video:	Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1
Audio:	English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, French: Dolby Digital: 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital: 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo, Commentary: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo
Subtitles:	English

Stars:
Jim Carrey as Count Olaf
Liam Aiken as Klaus
Emily Browning as Violet
Kara Hoffman as Sunny
Shelby Hoffman as Sunny

Plot:
Dear Viewer,

If you enjoy movies filled with singing rabbits, exploding spaceships, or cheerleaders, you are holding the wrong DVD entirely.

This movie is extremely alarming, an expression which here means "a thrilling misadventure involving three ingenious orphans and a villainous actor named Count Olaf (Carrey) who wants their enormous fortune." It includes a suspicious fire, delicious pasta, Jim Carrey, poorly behaved leeches, an incredibly deadly viper, Meryl Streep, and the voice of an impostor named Jude Law. The only things that could make such a spectacle more upsetting are special features, such as commentary by me or outtakes involving nervous laughter.

I am bound to continue my research into the lives of the Baudelaire orphans, but you are free to seek lighter fare, like bleu cheese fondue.

With all due respect,
Lemony Snicket

** Complete Plot (with spoilers) **

(click to show/hide)

Lemony Snicket (Jude Law) hides in a clocktower while writing his documentation about the three wealthy Baudelaire children: Violet (Emily Browning), Klaus (Liam Aiken), and Sunny (Kara and Shelby Hoffman). One morning, Mr. Poe, the family banker (Timothy Spall), informs the children that their parents have perished in a fire that also destroyed their mansion. Mr. Poe then sends the children to live with Count Olaf (Jim Carrey), an actor who is their closest relative. After arriving at a nice house, Justice Strauss, Olaf's neighbor, informs them that Olaf is across the road, in a squalid, hideous house. Olaf treats the children awfully, giving them a long list of chores to do everyday. On the day Olaf is granted full custody of the children, however, he brings them out for a drive, and makes a stop at the Last Chance General Store to pick up some sodas. The orphans realize that Count Olaf has parked the car on a grade crossing and intends to have them killed by a passing train. Through an improvised device by Violet, they are able to pull the switch protecting a track merge a few feet short of the crossing in the nick of time, diverting the train to the other track. Mr. Poe sees Sunny sitting in the front seat and takes the Baudelaires from Olaf, arguing that no responsible parent would let a child Sunny´s age unattended on a car´s front seat, although he doesn´t believe Klaus when he tells him that Olaf tried to kill them. Olaf, pretending to have an emotional goodbye with the Baudelaires, promises that he will find them again and get their fortune one way or another.

Mr. Poe sends the Baudelaires to live with their uncle, Dr. Montgomery Montgomery (Billy Connolly), a cheerfully eccentric herpetologist. The Baudelaires live happily with Uncle Monty, who plans a trip with them to Peru, and they spend their time preparing for the journey in Montgomery´s Reptile Room. Uncle Monty also tells them that he has recently discovered a new snake and called it the Incredibly Deadly Viper and intends to present the snake to the scientific community. The viper almost escapes and tries to bite Sunny, but Monty tells the children that the snake's name is a misnomer, intended as a prank to his fellow herpetologists for making fun of his name, and it is perfectly harmless. Their stay with him is cut short when Olaf appears in disguise as an Italian man named Stefano, who Uncle Monty hired to replace his assistant, Gustav (who is implied to have been murdered by Olaf). The Baudelaires recognize their ex-guardian, and try to warn their uncle many times, but they are either impeded by Olaf, or misinterpreted by Montgomery, until the earlier murders Monty and frames the Incredibly Deadly Viper for the killing. Mr. Poe arrives at the scene, but, as usual, doesn´t believe the children when they try to explain Stefano´s identity. As the disguised Olaf prepares to spirit the children away, Sunny reveals the snake's true gentle nature, and Olaf's plot is exposed. Olaf abandons his disguise and escapes.

The orphans are then sent to live by Lake Lachrymose, where their Aunt Josephine (Meryl Streep) resides in a house perched precariously on the edge of a cliff overlooking the waters of the vast Lake Lachrymose. The lake is infested with leeches that will devour a human if they enter the water after eating without waiting an hour. Josephine presents an odd obsession with grammar, and has numerous irrational fears such as: the refrigerator falling down and crushing someone, the doorknobs shattering into pieces, and the stove catching on fire. It is revealed that she greatly fears the lake itself(her husband, Ike, was eaten by the Lachrymose Leeches), yet her fear of realtors prevents her from moving; she now can only look at the lake through an enormous window located at her library. However, Olaf arrives once again, disguised as a sailor named Captain Sham (Wayne Flemmings), and tries to seduce Aunt Josephine (by pretending grammar is the most important thing to him and that he lost his leg to the leeches by not waiting and hour after eating). The Baudelaire children attempt to persuade their aunt that Sham is Count Olaf, but she doesn't believe them, mainly because Captain Sham doesn't have a tattoo of an eye on his ankle, which is Olaf's distinguishing feature.

One afternoon, the children come home to find the library´s Wide Window shattered and a suicide note from Aunt Josephine, saying that she is putting them under the care of Captain Sham. Klaus quickly realizes that it is a code because Josephine was particular about her and the children's grammar, but many mistakes were made. The orphans discover that the code spells "Curdled Cave", referring to a cavern located at the other end of the lake. A hurricane starts to tear the house apart and the children discover a room of photographs and documents which apparently contain clues to the cause of the fire that killed their parents, but the orphans are forced to escape, and the room with all the documents, falls to the Lachrymose Lake with the rest of the house. Traveling via boat, they find Aunt Josephine hiding, and she tells the Baudelaires that Olaf forced her to write the note, but added the mistakes to reveal her location to the children. After convincing her to come back with them, despite her fear of Olaf, Josephine reveals that the children´s parents were the leaders of a secret organization that investigated fires, and all of their previous caretakers had been members of this mysterious organization. Before aunt Josephine can explain further, they encounter the Lachrymose leeches. Count Olaf arrives and rescues the children, but leaves Josephine to be eaten alive by the leeches. Mr. Poe arrives, and gives custody back to Count Olaf, seeing how he rescued the children. During the conversation, Poe reveals to Olaf that the Count wouldn´t inherit the children´s fortune even if they died, with the exception of blood relatives, or married couples. After thinking for a moment, he invites Mr. Poe to his latest play.

The play is titled The Marvelous Marriage and stars himself and Violet as the leads. In the play, his character is supposed to marry Violet's character. Mr. Poe, his wife, and various people arrive for the opening night. Klaus quickly realizes that the wedding in the play is real, and it will allow him to gain access to her inheritance. This move is accomplished by Olaf's casting of Justice Strauss, as the supposed judge in the play; with her in this role, the marriage is technically legal. To ensure Violet's cooperation, Olaf holds Sunny hostage in a birdcage high above his tower. Klaus manages to escape the play, and goes to save Sunny using a grappling hook and climbs the tower. He arrives and, as he tries to free Sunny, one of the Count´s associates, a man with hooks for hands, tries to kill him, but falls out the window. Sunny points out a gigantic eye to Klaus, and as he approaches it, he notices it matches an illustration found at their Aunt Josephine´s secret room. Meanwhile, Violet tries to sign the wedding certificate using her left hand, which would have nullified the marriage, however, Olaf notices and prevents it. Immediately after Violet signs the document, he declares that the play has ended, and reveals his scheme to Mr. Poe, and the rest of the audience, saying that there is nothing they can do to stop him, now that he is legally married to Violet, and taunts them for not believing the Baudelaires when they tried to tell them of his evil plans. Klaus discovers that the eye is actually a complex light-focusing apparatus that Olaf apparently used to set fire to the Baudelaire mansion, and uses it to burn Olaf and Violet's marriage certificate from the tower. Olaf is arrested, and the narration of Lemony Snicket explains that the count is then sentenced to endure every unfortunate event he put the children in before being sent to jail. However, Lemony Snicket admits, this is not true, as the Count vanished after a jury of his associates declared him innocent. Mr. Poe drives the children to a new home, but makes a stop to let the orphans say goodbye to their old home. At the ruins of the Baudelaire Mansion, the three orphans receive a letter their parents sent to them during a journey to Europe, but had gotten lost in the mail. The envelope also contained a spyglass, similar to the ones Klaus noticed Aunt Josephine, and Uncle Monty possessed. The film ends with Mr. Poe´s car driving away to the distance through a road flanked by trees, and the narrator (Lemony Snicket) hiding his report on the Baudelaires on the clock tower.

Extras:

Scene Access
Audio Commentary
Feature Trailers
Deleted Scenes
Featurettes
Outtakes/Bloopers
Closed Captioned

My Thoughts:

Genre: Drama with Comedy bits
Have I seen it before: Yes
Do I Like it as much: Yes
Rating: 4of5

'Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events' (2004) is a brilliant movie directed by Brad Silberling (the ones I have seen are 'Casper' (1995) and 'City of Angels' (1998)) from the books 'The Bad Beginning', 'The Reptile Room' and 'The Wide Window' which are the first 3 of 13 stories (only 10 at the time of release of the movie) by Daniel Handel using the pen name of Lemony Snicket and with the screenplay by Robert Gordon ('Addicted to Love' (1997) a brilliant movie staring Meg Ryan and Matthew Broderick, 'Galaxy Quest' (1999), 'Men in Black II' (2002) and 'Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow' (2004) as producer).

It stars Jim Carrey (Count Olaf) (with movies i like the most being 'Earth Girls are Easy' (1989), 'Ace Ventura: Pet Detective' (1994), 'The Mask' (1994), 'Dumb and Dumber' (1994), 'Batman Forever' (1995), 'The Truman Show' (1998), 'Man on the Moon' (1999) and 'Me, Myself & Irene' (2000)), Emily Browning (Violet Baudelaire) (with small parts i've seen her in 'Ghost Ship' (2002), 'Darkness Falls' (2003)), Liam Aiken (Klaus Baudelaire)(with small parts I have seen in 'Stepmom' (1998) and 'Road to Perdition' (2002)), Kara and Shelby Hoffman (Sunny Baudelaire) and the Voice of Jude Law (Lemony Snicket).

Also features Timothy Spall (Mr. Poe), Billy Connolly (Uncle Monty), Meryl Streep (Aunt Josephine), Catherine O'Hara (Justice Strauss) and Cedric the Entertainer (Constable). With Luis Guzmán (Bald Man), Jamie Harris (Fernald the Hook-handed man), Craig Ferguson (Person of Indeterminate Gender), Jane Adams and Jennifer Coolidge (White-Faced Women), Wayne Fleming (Captain Sam), Dustin Hoffman (Critic), Daniel Handler (Lemony Snicket) (Photographer, Deborah Theaker (Mrs. Poe).

When I first heard about this moving coming out i became very interested in the books and started reading them .. i couldn't stop and read the 10 that were out at the time. I did read the final 3 and found them just as good. Although I had read the books I went into the movie with little expectation. I do tend to let movies speak in their own voice and that is exactly what this movie does. It does have the flavor of the books but it does vary in several ways.

That being said, I found this to just as good as the books. The flavor and characters are consistent with the books. The characters of Count Olaf, Violet Baudelaire and Klaus Baudelair are true to the books though I think that Count Olaf is a bit more zany in the movie than in the books.

By the way there is a great wikipedia article on the book series A Series of Unfortunate Events and here is the link to the official site for the books series. It is a create fun site.

I would strongly recommend this movie to anyone (unless they don't like Jim Carrey). It is simply great entertainment.

DSig · « **Reply #65 on:** June 24, 2012, 05:22:09 AM »

Basic (2003/United States)
IMDb | Wikipedia

	Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (United States)
Director:	John McTiernan
Writing:	James Vanderbilt (Original Material By)
Length:	99 min.
Video:	Anamorphic Widescreen 2.40:1
Audio:	English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, French: Dolby Digital: 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo
Subtitles:	English, French

Stars:
John Travolta as Hardy
Connie Nielsen as Osborne
Samuel L. Jackson as West
Tim Daly as Styles
Giovanni Ribisi as Kendall

Plot:
Academy Award© nominees John Travolta (Best Actor in a Leading Role, Pulp Fiction, 1994) and Samuel L. Jackson (Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Pulp Fiction, 1994) team up with action director John McTiernan (Die Hard, The Hunt for Red October, Predator) in a white-knuckle "thrill ride with a twist you won't believe!" (MairiAnna Bachynsky, ATV/CTV ENTERTAINMENT). Also starring Connie Nielsen (The Hunted, Gladiator), Giovanni Ribisi (Gone In Sixty Seconds), Brian Van Holt (Black Hawk Down), Taye Diggs (Chicago) and Roselyn Sanchez (Rush Hour 2).

A DEA officer (Travolta) is recruited to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a famed U.S. Army drill instructor (Jackson) and a group of cadets on a routine military exercise in the jungles of Panama. But the journey to uncover the truth leads to some dangerous and unexpected places when two rescued survivors tell dramatically different versions of what transpired. "Totally Mesmerizing." (Lisa Petrillo, WFOR/CBS (Miami)/EXTRA)

** Complete Plot (with spoilers) **

(click to show/hide)

Extras:

Scene Access
Audio Commentary
Feature Trailers
Featurettes
Production Notes
Closed Captioned

My Thoughts:

Genre: Drama / thriller
Have I seen it before: No
Do I Like it as much:
Rating: 3.5of5

'Basic' (2003) is a very good thriller directed by John McTiernam (the ones I have seen are 'Nomads' (1986) a very under rated film staring Pierce Bronsan, 'Predator' (1987), 'Die Hard' (1988), 'Medicine Man' (1992), 'Last Action Hero' (1993), 'Die Hard with a Vengeance' (1995), 'The 13th Warrior' (1999), 'The Thomas Crown Affair' (1999) and 'RollerBall' (2002), with screenplay (and produced) by James Vanderbill ('Darkness Falls' (2003), 'Zodiac' 2007), 'The Amazing Spider-Man' (relaunch) (2012) and the upcoming 'The Amazing Spider-Man 2' (2014).

It stars John Travolta (DEA Agent Tom Hardy)(with my favorites being 'Blow Out' (1981), 'Get Shorty' (1995), 'Michael' (1995), 'Phenomenon' (1996), 'Broken Arrow' (1996), 'Civil Action' (1998), 'The General's Daughter' (1999), 'Domestic Disturbance' (2001) and 'Wild Hogs' (2007)), Connie Nielsen (Captain Julia Osborne)(with the ones I have seen being 'The Devil's Advocate' (1997), 'Rushmore' (1998), 'Soldier' (1998), 'Mission to Mars' (2000), 'One Hour Photo' (2002), 'The Hunted' (2003), 'The Ice Harvest' (2005)) and Samuel L. Jackson (Master Sergeant Nathan West) (with my favorites being 'Coming to America' (1988) funny bit, 'Sea of Love' (1989) just a bit part, 'Strictly Business' (1991) another bit part, 'Patriot Games' (1992), 'Amos & Andrew' (1993) a brilliant role, 'Die Hard with a Vengeance' (1995), 'The Great White Hype' (1996), 'The Long Kiss Goodnight' (1996) another great role for him, 'Sphere' (1998), 'The Negotiator' (1998), 'Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace' (2003) and 'Shaft' (2000) and many more).

Also features Tim Daly (Colonel Bill Styles), Giovanni Ribisi (Second Lieutenant Levi Kendall), Brian Van Holt (Ray Dunbar), Taye Diggs (Jay Pike), Dash Mihok (Mueller), Cristián de la Fuente (Castro), Roselyn Sánchez (Nuñez) and Harry Connick, Jr. (Dr. Peter Vilmer).

Although this film did not get very good reviews, I think this is a great 'who done it' with some very nice twists and turns. The filming and direction are very tight. The characters believable. A possible downside to this movie is that you have to pay attention or you might miss some clues as to what is going on. I would recomment this to anyone who likes thrillers and good entertainment.

DSig · « **Reply #66 on:** June 24, 2012, 06:51:21 AM »

Darkness: Unrated Version (2002/United States)
IMDb | Wikipedia

	Dimension Home Video (United States)
Director:	Jaume Balagueró
Writing:	Jaume Balagueró (Writer), Fernando de Felipe (Writer)
Length:	102 min.
Video:	Anamorphic Widescreen 2.40:1
Audio:	English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, French: Dolby Digital: 5.1
Subtitles:	English, French, Spanish

Stars:
Anna Paquin as Regina
Lena Olin as Maria
Iain Glen as Mark
Giancarlo Giannini as Albert Rua
Fele Martínez as Carlos

Plot:
This extended unrated version of the hit thriller Darkness teams award winner Anna Paquin (X-Men ) with Lena Olin (Hollywood Homicide, Chocolat) and Iain Glen (Resident Evil: Apocalypse, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider) as a family whose life forever changes when they move into a new home with an ancient secret! Not long after Regina (Paquin) begins living in her family's remote country estate, she learns that there's something horribly disturbing about the old place. Even as her parents dismiss her concerns, strange things begin to happen whenever the lights go out. Soon Regina realizes that a series of escalating supernatural events will unleash the full evil that resides in their house...and once it's released you'll experience it like never before in this scarier, more shocking unrated version!

** Complete Plot (with Spoilers) **

(click to show/hide)

Forty years after an unfinished occult ritual resulted in the disappearance of six children, an American family has moved into a never-before inhabited house in Spain. The mother, Maria (Olin), wants to get the place in order, while the father, Mark (Glen), goes to work, and their children, teenager Regina (Paquin) and her younger brother Paul (Enquist), try to settle into their daily routines.

It helps that Mark's doctor-father, Albert Rua (Giannini) has furnished them with their residence and is nearby, especially when Mark begins to suffer from some mental breakdown attacks that periodically reoccur. Regina is not only worried about him, but also Paul who is now scared of the dark for the first time. The young boy has reason for that, however, as there seems to be some sort of supernatural force beneath his bed. Furthermore, there are instances when figures of children are seen standing in the shadow and darkness, watching the family.

As Paul becomes more scared and their father increasingly unstable, Regina eventually figures out it must have something to do with their home where the power is lost everyday. With the help of her new friend, Carlos (Martinez), the two eventually meet the man, Villalobos (Reixach), who designed the house, and learn that it was built for a supernatural ritual requiring the sacrifice of seven children (each sacrificed by "hands that love them") to coincide with an eclipse that only occurs every forty years. With the next one quickly approaching, and now armed with the knowledge that the earlier occult ritual needs one more death to be completed, Regina races to make sure that Paul is not the final victim.

Taking a shortcut through her grandfather Albert's house, Regina finds out that her grandfather is, in fact, a member of the cult which has been performing these satanic rituals. Her grandfather explains that in the ritual forty years ago, there actually were seven children in the original ritual, the seventh child being none other than Regina's father, Mark. Albert did not sacrifice his son because at the last minute he realized that he did not love Mark. Waiting 40 years he has brought Mark and his family to the house with the intention of making sure Mark is sacrificed during this eclipse by "hands that love him." Armed with this knowledge, Regina races back to her home to find her father in the midst of another nervous breakdown, choking on pills as the eclipse begins. Maria tries to perform a tracheotomy on him, but is unable to bring herself to make the cut. Regina volunteers to, but inadvertently causes his death. Since Regina genuinely loved Mark, the ritual is finally complete. The darkness then takes the form of Regina and Paul, convincing their mother to turn off the lights. The darkness kills Maria, and then takes the form of Regina's friend Carlos, who picks them up in his car. The real Carlos arrives at the house, only to be killed by the darkness. The movie ends with the fake Carlos drives Regina and Paul into a dark tunnel, where it is implied that the darkness kills Regina and Paul.

Extras:

Scene Access
Feature Trailers
Bonus Trailers
Featurettes
Closed Captioned

My Thoughts:

Genre: Drama / thriller
Have I seen it before: Yes
Do I Like it as much: Yes

Rating: 3.5of5

'Darkness' (2002) is a very good horror film directed by Jaume Balaguero (I believe that 'Fragile' (2005) is the only one I have seen) and written by Jaume Balaguero and Fernando de Felipe.

It stars Anna Paquin (for me her best films have been 'X-Men' (2000), 'Almost Famous' (2000), 'X2' (2003), 'X-Men: The Last Stand' (2006) and her great protryal of Sookie Stackhouse in the HBO series 'True Blood'), Lena Olin ('Havana' (1990), 'Mystery Men' (1999), 'The Ninth Gate' (1999), 'Chocolat' (2000), 'Queen of the Damned' (2002) and 'Hollywood Homicide' (2003) ) and Iain Glen ('Gorrilas in the Mist' (1988), 'Lara Croft: Tomb Raider' (2001), 'Resident Evil: Apocalypse' (2004), 'Kingdom of Heaven' (2005) and 'Resident Evil: Extinction' (2007) along with staring in the Showtime show 'Game of Thrones').

It also features Giancarlo Giannini (Albert Rua), Fele Martínez (Carlos), Stephan Enquist (Paul) and Fermin Reixach (Villalobos).

First, I really like this type of movie. I like the intensity without the blood spatter. I have always found that what you don't see is much more scary than what you might see. I also like Anna Paquin in this. But I like her in most everything I have seen (that is a double entendre). Lena Olin is great as the mother who is on the precipice of sanity/insanity. And Iain Glen is excellent depicting the complete lost of sanity.

I really do like this movie. It does raise my hackles and gets me looking into the shadows. Just what a movie like this should do. I recommend this to anyone who likes the genre. It can be intense so it isn't for everyone.

DSig · « **Reply #67 on:** June 24, 2012, 07:37:43 AM »

The Whistleblower (2010/United States)
IMDb | Wikipedia

	(United States)
Director:
Writing:
Length:	0 min.
Video:	Widescreen :1
Audio:
Subtitles:

Stars:

** Complete Plot (including spoilers) **

(click to show/hide)

Extras:

My Thoughts:

Genre: Drama / thriller
Have I seen it before: No
Do I Like it as much:

Rating: 3.5of5

'The Whistleblower' (2010) is a thriller film directed by Larysa Kondracki and written by Larysa Kondracki and Eilis Kirwan.

It stars Rachel Weisz (Kathryn Bolkovac) (ones that i have see are 'Chain Reaction' (1996), 'Stealing Beauty' (1996), 'The Mummy' (1999), 'Enemy at the Gates' (2001), 'The Mummy Returns' (2001), 'About a Boy' (2001), 'Runaway Jury' (2003), 'Constantine' (2005), 'The Fountain' (2006), 'Eragon' (2006), 'Fred Claus' (2007), 'Definitely, Maybe' (2008) and 'Lovely Bones' (2009)), Vanessa Redgrave (Madeleine Rees) ('Murder on the Orient Express' (1974), 'The Seven-Per-Cent Solution' (1976), 'A Man for All Seasons' (1988), 'Mission: Impossible' (1996) and 'Deep Impact' (1998)), Benedict Cumberbatch (Nick Kaufman) ('The Other Boleyn Girl' (2008)) and David Strathairn (Peter Ward) ('A League of Their Own' (1992), 'Passion Fish' (1992), 'The Firm' (1993), 'The River Wild' (1994), 'Dolores Claiborne' (1995), 'Home for the Holidays' (1995), 'Lathe of Heaven' (2002), 'Twisted' (2004), 'Good Night, and Good Luck' (2005), 'Fracture' (2007), 'The Bourne Ultimatum' (2007) and 'The Spiderwick Chronicles' (2008)).

It also features Roxana Condurache (Raya Kochan), Monica Bellucci (Laura Leviani), Nikolaj Lie Kaas (Jan), Anna Anissimova (Zoe), David Hewlett (Fred Murray), William Hope (John Blakely).

This is a very good thriller based on the life experiences of Kathryn Bolkovac. It is the story of the corruption and sex trade trafficking that went on in post-war Bosnia and the ties with a company called Democra Security which was a U.N. contractor. This movie is tense and the story tracks very well. Rachel Weisz is very good in this and her character is someone you take an interest in. This movie will back any suspicions you might have about the corruption in all forms of governmental interventions in countrys politics.

I like this one very much and am happy to recommend it to anyone.

DSig · « **Reply #68 on:** June 24, 2012, 07:43:29 PM »

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968/United States)
IMDb | Wikipedia

	Warner Home Video, Turner Entertainment Company (United States)
Director:	Stanley Kubrick
Writing:	Stanley Kubrick (Screenwriter), Arthur C. Clarke (Screenwriter)
Length:	149 min.
Video:	Widescreen 2.20:1
Audio:	English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, English: PCM: 5.1, French: Dolby Digital: 5.1, German: Dolby Digital: 5.1, Italian: Dolby Digital: 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital: 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital: 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround
Subtitles:	Chinese, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish

Stars:
Keir Dullea as Dr. Dave Bowman
Gary Lockwood as Dr. Frank Poole
William Sylvester as Dr. Heywood R. Floyd
Daniel Richter (1939) as Moonwatcher
Leonard Rossiter as Dr. Andre Smyslov

Plot:
Stanley Kubrick's dazzling, Academy Award®-winning** achievement, a compelling drama of man vs. machine, a stunning meld of music and motion. Kubrick (who co-wrote the screenplay with Arthur C. Clarke) first visits our prehistoric ape-ancestry past, then leaps millennia (via one of the most mind-blowing jump cuts ever) into colonized space, and ultimately whisks astronaut Bowman (Keir Dullea) into uncharted realms of space, perhaps even into immortality. "Open the pod bay doors, HAL." Let an awesome journey unlike any other begin.

**1968: Best Visual Effects (Kubrick).

** Complete Plot (with spoilers) from Wikipedia **

(click to show/hide)

The film consists of four major sections, all of which, except the second, are introduced by superimposed titles.

The Dawn of Man
A tribe of herbivorous early humans is foraging for food in the African desert. A leopard kills one member, and another tribe of man-apes drives them from their water hole. Defeated, they sleep overnight in a small exposed rock crater, and awake to find a black monolith has appeared in front of them. They approach it shrieking and jumping, and eventually touch it cautiously. Soon after, one of the man-apes (Daniel Richter) realizes how to use a bone as both a tool and a weapon, which they start using to kill prey for their food. Growing increasingly capable and assertive, they reclaim control of the water hole from the other tribe by killing its leader. Triumphant, the tribe's leader throws his weapon-tool into the air as the scene shifts (via match cut) from the falling bone to an orbital satellite millions[22] of years in the future.

TMA-1
A Pan Am space plane carries Dr. Heywood R. Floyd (William Sylvester) to a space station orbiting Earth for a layover on his trip to Clavius Base, a US outpost on the Moon. After making a videophone call from the station to his daughter (Vivian Kubrick), he encounters his friend Elena (Margaret Tyzack), a Russian scientist, and her colleague Dr. Smyslov (Leonard Rossiter), who ask Floyd about "odd things" occurring at Clavius, and the rumor of a mysterious epidemic at the base. The American politely but firmly declines to answer any questions about the epidemic.

At Clavius, Floyd heads a meeting of base personnel, apologizing for the epidemic cover story but stressing secrecy. His mission is to investigate a recently found artifact—"Tycho Magnetic Anomaly One" (TMA-1)—"deliberately buried" four million years ago. Floyd and others ride in a Moonbus to the artifact, a black monolith identical to the one encountered by the apes. The visitors examine the monolith, and pose for a photo in front of it. While doing so, they hear a very loud radio signal emanating from within the artifact.

Jupiter Mission
Eighteen months later, the American spaceship Discovery One is bound for Jupiter. On board are mission pilots and scientists Dr. David Bowman (Keir Dullea) and Dr. Frank Poole (Gary Lockwood), and three other scientists who are in cryogenic hibernation. Most of Discovery's operations are controlled by the ship's computer, HAL 9000 (voiced by Douglas Rain), or simply "Hal", as the crew call it. While Bowman and Poole watch Hal and themselves being interviewed in a BBC show about the mission, the computer states that he is "foolproof and incapable of error." Hal also speaks of his enthusiasm for the mission, and how he enjoys working with humans. When asked by the host if Hal has genuine emotions, Bowman replies that he appears to, but that the truth is unknown.

Hal asks Bowman about the unusual mystery and secrecy surrounding the mission, but interrupts himself to report the imminent failure of a device which controls the ship's main antenna. After retrieving the component with an EVA pod, the astronauts cannot find anything wrong with it. Hal suggests reinstalling the part and letting it fail so the problem can be found. Mission control concurs, but advises the astronauts that results from their twin HAL 9000 indicate the ship's HAL is in error predicting the fault. When queried, Hal insists that the problem, like all previous issues with the HAL series, is due to "human error". Concerned about Hal's behavior, Bowman and Poole enter one of the EVA pods to talk without the computer overhearing them. They both have suspicions about Hal, despite the HAL series' perfect reliability, but decide to follow his suggestion to replace the unit. As the astronauts agree to deactivate the computer if it is proven to be wrong, they are unaware that Hal is reading their lips through the pod's window.

While Poole is attempting to replace the unit during a spacewalk, his EVA pod, controlled by Hal, severs his oxygen hose and sets him adrift. Bowman, not realizing the computer is responsible for this, takes another pod to attempt a rescue, leaving his helmet behind. While he is gone, Hal terminates the life functions of the crew in suspended animation. When Bowman returns to the ship with Poole's body, Hal refuses to let him in, stating that the astronaut's plan to deactivate him jeopardizes the mission. Bowman manually opens the ship's emergency airlock and bodily enters the ship risking death from lack of oxygen. After donning a helmet, Bowman proceeds to HAL 9000's memory core intent on disconnecting the computer. Hal first tries to reassure Dave, then pleads with him to stop, and finally begins to express fear—all in a steady monotone voice. Dave ignores him and disconnects each of the computer's memory modules. Hal eventually regresses to his earliest programmed memory, the song "Daisy Bell", which he sings for Bowman.

When the computer is finally disconnected, a pre-recorded video message from Floyd plays. In it, he reveals the existence of the four million-year-old black monolith on the Moon, "its origin and purpose still a total mystery". Floyd adds that it has remained completely inert, except for a single, very powerful radio emission aimed at Jupiter.

Jupiter and Beyond the Infinite
At Jupiter, Bowman leaves Discovery One in an EVA pod and finds another monolith in orbit around the planet. Approaching it, the pod is suddenly pulled into a tunnel of colored light,[23] and a disoriented and terrified Bowman finds himself racing at great speed across vast distances of space, viewing bizarre cosmological phenomena and strange alien landscapes of unusual colors. He finds himself, middle-aged and still in his spacesuit, standing in a bedroom appointed in the Louis XVI-style. Bowman sees progressively older versions of himself, his point of view switching each time, alternately appearing formally dressed and eating dinner, and finally as a very elderly man lying in a bed. A black monolith appears at the foot of the bed, and as Bowman reaches for it, he is transformed into a fetus-like being enclosed in a transparent orb of light.[24] The new being floats in space beside the Earth, gazing at it.

Extras:

Scene Access
Audio Commentary
Feature Trailers
Featurettes
Interviews

My Thoughts:

Genre: Science Fiction
Have I seen it before: Yes
Do I Like it as much: Yes

Rating: 4.5of5

'2001: A Space Odyssey' (1968 with filming starting in 1965) is a masterpiece of science fiction, direction and cinematography. Directed by Stanley Kubrick (my favorites being 'Spartacus' (1960), 'Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb' (1964), 'A Clockwork Orange' (1971), 'The Shining' (1980), 'Eyes Wide Shut' (1999) plus work on 'A.I. Artificial Intelligence'), and co-written by Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke (favorite works include 'Childhood's End' (1953), '2001: A Space Odyssey' (1968), 'Rendezvous with Rama' (1972) and 'Fountains of Paradise' (1982)).

It stars (what i have seen)

Keir Dullea (Dr. David Bowman) ('Bunny Lake is Missing' (1965), '2010' (1984), 'Alien Hunter' (2003) in a bit part, and many possible TV shows)
Gary Lockwood (Dr. Frank Poole) ('Wild in the Country' (1961), 'Splendor in the Grass' (1961), 'Firecreek' (1968) and several TV shows)
William Sylvester (Dr. Heywood R. Floyd) ('Heaven Can Wait' (1978) plus several TV shows)
Douglas Rain (the voice of the HAL 9000) (voice in 'Sleeper' (1973) paying homage to '2001: A Space Odyssey', '2010' (1984) as the voice of the HAL 9000 ).
Daniel Richter (the chief man-ape)

The film also features Leonard Rossiter (Dr. Andrei Smyslov), Margaret Tyzack (Elena), Robert Beatty (Dr. Ralph Halvorsen), Frank Miller (mission controller), Edward Bishop (lunar shuttle captain), Edwina Carroll (Aries stewardess), Penny Brahms (stewardess), Heather Downham (stewardess), Alan Gifford (Poole's father), Ann Gillis (Poole's mother).

First, this film has been written about before here by Achim here but I have just picked up the Blu-Ray version of the movie and since I haven't seen it for a very long time I thought I would add my 2 cents worth.

There really isn't anything new with this discussion. I don't buy a lot of Blu-Ray discs but normally only for 'special' movies. To me this includes movies that the visuals are so outstanding that I want the best possible showing I can get. '2001: A Space Odyssey' definitely falls into this category.

The artwork, cinematography and direction of this film is simply brilliant. If for nothing else this would be enough to to purchase the Blu-Ray version. But this film has much more. Now I don't pretend to understand all the nuances of the film. I don't pretend to understand the total 'message' (if there is one) of the film. But then this is quite often the case when I read Arthur C. Clarke stories. But I find the story engaging. From the 'Dawn of Man' and the monolith's involvement (alien involvement? "God's" involvement) with the evolution in thought/behavior of the apes, to the possible evolution in man to the 'Star Child'.

I believe that this movie is a milestone. Not only in the process of filming but also in the process of story telling. To me the thought and process that went into this film, in all facets of the film, is simply staggering. I do not understand those that do not enjoy this film, but my feelings are that 'they' just over think the movie. If you try to find explanations in this film I don't believe you will. This is a film that has to be experienced. I would recommend this to anyone who likes thrillers and good entertainment.

DSig · « **Reply #69 on:** June 24, 2012, 09:51:04 PM »

Sneakers: Widescreen (1992/United States)
IMDb | Wikipedia

	Universal Home Video (United States)
Director:	Phil Alden Robinson
Writing:	Phil Alden Robinson (Writer), Lawrence Lasker (Writer), Walter F. Parkes (Writer)
Length:	125 min.
Video:	Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1
Audio:	English: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround, French: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround, Spanish: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround
Subtitles:	English, Spanish

Stars:
Robert Redford as Martin Bishop/Martin Brice
Ben Kingsley as Cosmo
Sidney Poitier as Donald Crease
David Strathairn as Erwin "Whistler" Emory
Dan Aykroyd as Darryl "Mother" Roskow
River Phoenix as Carl Arbogast
Mary McDonnell as Liz

Plot:
Robert Redford leads an all-star cast in one of the most satisfying suspense films! Computer expert Martin Bishop (Redford) heads a team of renegade hackers — including a former CIA employee (Sidney Poitier), a gadgets wizard (Dan Aykroyd), a young genius (River Phoenix) and a blind soundman (David Strathairn) — who are routinely hired to test security systems. But Bishop's past comes back to haunt him when government agents blackmail the "sneakers" into carrying out a covert operation: tracking down an elusive black box. Along with his former girlfriend (Mary McDonnell), Bishop's team retrieves the box and makes a stunning discovery — the device can break into any computer system in the world. With factions from all sides willing to kill for the powerful box, Bishop and his team embark on their most dangerous assignment ever in this exhilarating high-tech caper from Phil Alden Robinson (Field of Dreams).

** Complete Plot (with spoilers) from Wikipedia **

(click to show/hide)

In 1969, Martin Brice and his friend Cosmo have broken into a university's computer and are now hacking into other computer networks. Martin leaves to get a pizza and witnesses the police enter the building and arrest Cosmo. Martin then goes on the run.

Twenty years later, Martin, now using the alias "Bishop", runs a tiger team of security specialists who use unorthodox methods of testing physical and electronic security for companies in San Francisco. The team includes: Donald Crease, a former CIA officer and high-strung family man; Darryl "Mother" Roskow, a conspiracy theorist with unsurpassed technical skills and dexterity; Carl Arbogast, a young genius; and Erwin "Whistler" Emory, a blind phone phreak with perfect pitch and an acute sense of hearing.

One day, Martin is approached by two National Security Agency officers, Dick Gordon and Buddy Wallace, who reveal they are aware of Martin's past and true identity. In exchange for clearing his record, as well as a sizable cash payment, they ask Martin to recover a "black box" decoder device that mathematician Dr. Gunter Janek has supposedly been developing for the Russian government under the guise of a company called "Setec Astronomy." Martin recruits his former girlfriend, Liz, a pianist/piano teacher who knows about his double life, to help. His team is ultimately successful in locating and retrieving the box.

Whistler becomes curious as to the box's function and begins to examine it with Mother and Carl's help. They learn that the box contains an advanced algorithm that can essentially break any encryption code, which they prove by breaking into the computer systems of the Federal Aviation Administration, the national power grid, and other heavily secured networks. At the same time, Martin and Liz, along with Crease and his wife, figure out while playing Scrabble that an anagram of "Setec Astronomy" is "too many secrets". Quickly realizing that any government in the world would kill to possess the box, Crease orders a lockdown of the building until they can return the device to the NSA. When Martin and Crease meet the agents to exchange the device, Crease discovers that Janek has been murdered, and interrupts the exchange. The two flee the scene, but only after an unknowing Martin had given the box to the men. They soon learn that Gordon and Wallace were never NSA agents, and that Janek was working on the box for the NSA. Martin turns to a friend from the Russian Consulate, Gregor, who is able to identify Gordon and Wallace as rogue agents. Before Gregor can reveal who they are working for, his limo is pulled over by fake FBI agents, who murder Gregor, and kidnap Martin, framing him for the crime.

Martin awakes in an unknown office to find his old friend Cosmo, once thought to have died in prison, alive and well. Cosmo, bitter over being abandoned by Martin, reveals that he developed ties with an organized crime family while incarcerated. Using his hacking skills for their benefit, their influence helped him escape prison and become quite wealthy. He goes on to reveal that he is behind the fake agents, and that he wants the box so that he can destabilize the world's economy, thus bringing about the total anarchy the two had believed in back in 1969. Cosmo offers Martin the chance to work with him, but Martin refuses. To retaliate, Cosmo uses the black box to break into the FBI database and connect Martin's current alias with his real name, then has his men dump Martin in the city. Martin reunites with his crew and they relocate to Liz's apartment. They call the NSA using call routing to prevent tracing and offer to recover the box in exchange for amnesty. While discussing the situation with NSA supervisor Bernard Abbott, their location is almost traced and they decide to steal the box themselves to use as leverage, after they learn that Abbott cannot guarantee their safety without the box. With Whistler's help, Martin is able to recreate the route during his kidnapping to a toy company, which is a front for Cosmo's schemes. The team identifies Cosmo's office, its security features, and the route to enter it, through a neighboring office belonging to nerdy and straight-arrow toy designer Werner Brandes. To obtain the necessary vocal passkeys, the team convinces Liz to go on a rigged computer date with Brandes.

Eventually, Brandes becomes suspicious of Liz's actions, and brings her to Cosmo; when Liz offhandedly mentions her dissatisfaction with computer dating, Cosmo immediately suspects a plot (because what reliable computer would match artsy Liz with nerdy Werner?), realizes Martin is up to something, and locks down the facility. Cosmo tracks Martin to the building's rooftop where the rest of the team is escaping, and demands the box at gunpoint. Martin reluctantly hands over the box, tells Cosmo that 1969 had been a prank rather than a cause, and departs. They are gone before Cosmo discovers that Martin has given him a duplicate box. When Martin and his team return to their offices, they are surrounded by armed NSA agents led by Abbott. Martin realizes that the box will only work on American encryption codes, and that the NSA wants it to spy on other U.S. agencies. Before Martin hands over the box, he asks that his record be cleared, and Abbott agrees. Martin prompts the other team members to demand their own personal desires, with Abbott ultimately unable to refuse. Creese get tickets for he and his wife to Portugal, Madrid, Athens and Tahiti. Mother gets a Winnebago with burgundy interior. Carl gets the telephone number of the female officer of the NSA, and Whistler asks that the government make peace on earth and goodwill to all men. The box is handed over, but after the agents leave, Martin reveals he took out the key processor that contains the critical algorithm, rendering it useless.

In a postscript, we find out that the team has used the processor to steal money from the Republican National Committee, driving it to bankruptcy, and used the stolen money to make massive anonymous donations to various charities including Greenpeace and the United Negro College Fund.

Extras:

Scene Access
Feature Trailers
Production Notes

My Thoughts:

Genre: Drama (also described as 'Caper' film)
Have I seen it before: Yes
Do I Like it as much: Yes

Rating: 4of5

'Sneakers' (1992) is a a fine 'Caper' film directed by Phil Alden Robinson (my favorites being 'All of Me' (1984), 'Fletch' (1985), 'In the Mood' (1987) a very fun movie, 'Field of Dreams' (1989) a must see/have and 'The Sum of All Fears' (2002)) and written by Phil Alden Robinson, Walter F. Parkes (that i have seen involved as writer/producer etc with such movies as 'WarGames' (1983), 'Awakenings' (1990), 'Little Giants' (1994), 'To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar' (1995) a brilliant movie, 'The Peacemaker' (1997), 'Men in Black' (1997), 'Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street' (2007) and many more) and Lawrence Lasker ( that i have seen with credits for 'WarGames' (1983), 'Project X' (1987), 'Awakenings' (1990)).

It stars (what i have seen) a great ensemble case of

Robert Redford (Martin Bishop/Martin Brice) (so many credits by my favorites as actor are 'An Unfinished Life' (2005), 'The Last Castle' (2001), 'Spy Game' (2001), 'Indecent Proposal' (1993), 'The Natural' (1984), 'Brubaker' (1980), 'The Way We Were' (1973), ' Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid' (1969))
Ben Kingsley (Cosmo) (once again my favorites are 'Gandhi' (1982), 'Dave' (1993), 'Death and the Maiden' (1994), 'Species' (1995), 'The Tale of Sweeney Todd' (1998), 'Rules of Engagement' (2000), 'Sexy Beast' (2000) I have problems with this movie but his performance was very stong, 'Suspect Zero' (2004), 'BloodRayne' (2005), 'Stutter Island' (2010))
Sidney Poitier (Donald Crease) (favorites being .. 'No Way Out' (1950), 'Blackboard Jungle' (1955), 'The Defiant Ones' (1958), 'Lilies of the Field' (1963), 'The Bedford Incident' (1965), 'A Patch of Blue' (1965), 'Duel at Diablo' (1966), 'In the Heat of the Night' (1967), 'Guess Who's Coming to Dinner' (1967), 'Shoot to Kill' (1988) great action drama and 'Little Nikita' (1988)
David Strathairn (Erwin "Whistler" Emory) (favorites being .. 'A League of Their Own' (1992), 'Passion Fish' (1992), 'The Firm' (1993), 'The River Wild' (1994), 'Dolores Claiborne' (1995), 'Home for the Holidays' (1995), 'Lathe of Heaven' (2002), 'Twisted' (2004), 'Good Night, and Good Luck' (2005), 'Fracture' (2007), 'The Bourne Ultimatum' (2007) and 'The Spiderwick Chronicles' (2008))
Dan Aykroyd (Darryl "Mother" Roskow) ('The Blues Brothers' (1980), 'Neighbors' (1980 greatly under rated, 'Doctor Detroit' (1983), 'Trading Places' (1983), 'Ghostbusters' (1984), 'Dragnet' (1987), 'The Couch Trip' (1988), 'The Great Outdoors' (1988), 'Ghostbusters II' (1989), 'Loose Cannons' (1990), 'My Girl' (1991), 'Nothing But Trouble' (1991), 'Coneheads' (1993), 'Exit to Eden' (1994), 'North' (1994), 'Casper' (1995), 'Celtic Pride' (1996), 'My Fellow Americans' (1996), 'Sgt bilko' (1996))
River Phoenix (Carl Arbogast) (due to his short life this list is short but with some great works 'Explorers' (1985), 'Stand By Me' (1986), 'Little Nikita' (1988), 'Running on Empty' (1998) this being my favorite, 'My Own Private Idaho' (1991))
Mary McDonnell (Liz) ( billiant in 'Battlestar Galactica' (2004-2009), 'Dances with Wolves' (1990), 'Grand Canyon' (1991), 'Mumford' (1999), 'Donnie Darko' (2001) and 'The Closer' (2009-present)

The film also features Stephen Tobolowsky (Werner Brandes), Timothy Busfield (Dick Gordon), Eddie Jones (Buddy Wallace), George Hearn (Gregor), Donal Logue (Dr. Gunter Janek), Lee Garlington (Dr. Elena Rhyzkov) and James Earl Jones (NSA Agent Bernard Abbott).

This is a great action/drama 'caper' film. The characters are excellent and the story line is tight. All the actors seem to work well together and their experience tends to make their work seamless. Ben Kingsley makes an excellent bad guy and plays well against Robert Redford. No rocket science here but good story. I would recommend this to anyone who likes good entertainment.

DSig · « **Reply #70 on:** June 24, 2012, 11:25:11 PM »

Gunfight at the O.K. Corral: Widescreen Collection (1957/United States)
IMDb | Wikipedia

	Paramount Home Entertainment (United States)
Director:	John Sturges
Writing:	Leon Uris (Screenwriter), George Scullin (Original Material By)
Length:	122 min.
Video:	Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1
Audio:	English: Dolby Digital: Mono
Subtitles:	English

Stars:
Burt Lancaster as Wyatt Earp, Marshal
Kirk Douglas as Dr. John 'Doc' Holliday
Rhonda Fleming as Laura Denbow
Jo Van Fleet as Kate Fisher, Doc's Woman
John Ireland as Johnny Ringo, Clanton's Hired Gun

Plot:
A gang of ruthless outlaws...a pair of larger-than-life heroes...a timeless tale of good versus evil. Blended together, the result is a sprawling, epic adventure bigger than the wild frontier – Gunfight at the O.K. Corral'! Acclaimed actors Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas team up to rid Tombstone, Arizona of the murderous Clanton gang in this all-star, action-packed classic. When lawman Wyatt Earp (Lancaser) and gunfighter John "Doc" Holliday (Douglas) ride into town, they find themselves pitted against one of the biggest foes ever encountered, in the form of Ike Clanton (Lyle Bettger) and his ruthless gang. It isn't long before the confrontation explodes into a survival-at-all-costs battle, with Rhonda Fleming, Jo Van Fleet, John Ireland, Dennis Hopper, DeForest Kelly, Martin Milner and Lee Van Cleef among those swept into the drama and the excitement of one of the Wild West's most legendary events!

Extras:

Scene Access
Closed Captioned

My Thoughts:

Genre: Western
Have I seen it before: Yes
Do I Like it as much: Yes

Rating: 4of5

'Gunfight at the O.K. Corral' (1957) is a a fine western film

produced by Hal B. Wallis ('Little Caesar' (1931), 'The Adventures of Robin Hood' (1938), 'Santa Fe Trail' (1940), 'Sergeant York' (1941), 'The Maltese Falcon' (1941). 'They Died with Their Boots On' (1941), 'Casablanca' (1942), 'Yankee Doodle Dandy' (1942), 'King Creole' (1958), 'G.I. Blues' (1960), 'Blue Hawaii' (1961), 'Girls! Girls! Girls!' (1962), 'Fun in Acapulco' (1963) and 'True Grit' (1969)
directed by John Sturges (my favorites being 'Bad Day at Black Rock' (1955), The Old Man and the Sea (1958), Last Train from Gun Hill (1959), The Magnificent Seven (1960), Sergeants 3 (1962), The Great Escape (1963), The Satan Bug (1965), Hour of the Gun (1967), Ice Station Zebra (1968) and Joe Kidd (1972))
written by Leon Uris from a story by George Scullin

It stars (what i have seen)

Burt Lancaster (Marshal Wyatt Earp) ('Sorry, Wrong Number' (1948), 'Jim Thorpe – All-American' (1951), ' The Crimson Pirate' (1952), ' From Here to Eternity' (1953), 'Trapeze' (1956), 'The Rainmaker' (1956), 'Elmer Gantry' (1960) great movie .. hard to watch, 'Birdman of Alcatraz' (1962), 'The Professionals' (1966), 'Valdez Is Coming' (1971), 'The Island of Dr. Moreau' (1977), 'The Osterman Weekend' (1983), 'Tough Guys' (1986) and 'Field of Dreams' (1989)
Kirk Douglas (Doc Holliday) ('The Glass Menagerie' (1950), 'The Big Sky' (1952), '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea' (1954), 'Man Without a Star' (1955), 'Lust for Life' (1956), 'The Vikings' (1958), 'Last Train from Gun Hill' (1959), 'Spartacus' (1960), 'Lonely Are the Brave' (1962), 'The War Wagon' (1967), 'There Was a Crooked Man...' (1970), 'Saturn 3' (1980), 'The Final Countdown' (1980), 'The Man from Snowy River' (1982), 'Tough Guys' (1986) and 'Greedy' (1994)
Rhonda Fleming (Laura Denbow) ('Abilene Town' (1946))
Jo Van Fleet (Kate Fisher) ('East of Eden' (1955), 'Cool Hand Luke' (1967) and 'I Love You, ALice B. Toklas (1968)
John Ireland (Johnny Ringo) (' My Darling Clementine' (1944), 'Red River' (1948), 'The Fast and the Furious' (1955), 'Spartacus' (1960), 'Wild in the Country' (1961)
Lyle Bettger (Ike Clanton) ('Drums Across the River' (1954), 'The Lone Ranger' (1956) and lots of TV shows most of the time as a bad guy)

The film also features Frank Faylen (Cotton Wilson), Earl Holliman (Deputy Sheriff Charlie Bassett), Ted de Corsia (Shanghai Pierce), Dennis Hopper (Billy Clanton), Whit Bissell (John P. Clum), George Mathews (John Shanssey), John Hudson (Virgil Earp), DeForest Kelley (Morgan Earp), Martin Milner (James 'Jimmy' Earp), Lee Van Cleef (Ed Bailey) and Jack Elam (Tom McLowery)

First note that for Dennis Hopper this was his 4th role, with more time in this than in the other films. With some great supporting work by Jack Elam, DeForest Kelly (Dr Leonard McCoy on 'Star Trek' (1966-1969). This is a great western from the '50/'60.

There is little historical accuracy in this movie (there is a great article with additional links to historical information about all participants at Wikipedia) .. true there was someone named Wyatt Earp and Doc Holiday, and there was a town named Tombstone .. but that is about as close as this movie gets.

That being said, this is great entertainment from a period in American films that brought us many great movies of this type. The characters are well written and portrayed. The filming direction and cinematography is stunning. I like this version as well as the 'Tombstone' (1993) and 'Wyatt Earp' (1994). I think they all bring unique features and viewpoints. Although i like some slants on characters better here or there (for example the playoff between Val Kilmer (Doc Holliday) and Michael Biehn (Johhny Ringo) in 'Tombstone' is very good) I think that the 1957 version holds up as well as the newer version.

For anyone who likes the western genre I heartily suggest this film.

DSig · « **Reply #71 on:** June 25, 2012, 03:59:24 AM »

The Sentinel: Widescreen (2006/United States)
IMDb | Wikipedia

	Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (United States)
Director:	Clark Johnson
Writing:	Gerald Petievich (Original Material By), George Nolfi (Screenwriter)
Length:	108 min.
Video:	Anamorphic Widescreen 2.40:1
Audio:	English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, French: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround, Spanish: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround, Commentary: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround
Subtitles:	English, Spanish

Stars:
Michael Douglas (1944) as Pete Garrison
Kiefer Sutherland as David Breckinridge
Eva Longoria as Jill Marin
Martin Donovan as William Montrose
Ritchie Coster as The Handler

Plot:
Michael Douglas, Kiefer Sutherland, Eva Longoria and Kim Basinger head up "the perfect cast" (CBS-TV, Sacramento) in this gripping suspense thriller that delivers "nonstop action around every turn!" (NBC-TV, Houston).

There's never been a traitor in the United States Secret Service...until now. And the evidence points to Pete Garrison (Douglas), one of the most trusted agents on the force. Now on the run, with two relentless federal investigators (Sutherland and Longoria) hot on his heels, Garrison must fight to clear his name and thwart an attempt on the President's life before it's too late!

** Complete Plot (including spoilers) from Wikipedia **

(click to show/hide)

Pete Garrison (Michael Douglas) is a Secret Service agent and one of the personal bodyguards for First Lady of the United States Sarah Ballentine (Kim Basinger), with whom he is having an affair. He is one of the oldest and most experienced agents, having been involved in saving Ronald Reagan's life during the Reagan assassination attempt.

A fellow agent and close friend, Charlie Merriweather (Clark Johnson), is murdered. Garrison gets word from a trusted informant that the killing of Merriweather is related to an assassination plot against the President. The intelligence provided by the informant reveals that a mole with access to the President's security detail had provided information to the assassins.

The Secret Service Protective Intelligence Division, led by Garrison's former protégé and ex-friend David Breckinridge (Kiefer Sutherland) with rookie partner Jill Marin (Eva Longoria), is tasked with investigating the plot, which begins with polygraphs for every agent. Meanwhile, the mole discovers the discussion with the informant and Garrison's affair with the First Lady, and attempts to blackmail Garrison by luring him to a coffee shop known to be a meeting point for Colombian gangs. After failing the polygraph test (for lying about the affair), Garrison becomes the prime suspect for providing the information to the assassins.

Breckinridge confronts Garrison at home and begins to interrogate him. The source of rancor between them comes to light: Garrison supposedly had an affair with Breckinridge’s wife and caused the breakup of their marriage, which he denies. Garrison escapes capture and conducts an independent investigation of the assassination plot, while making brief contact with the First Lady to deny his involvement. He tries to contact the informant who gave him the tip, but finds that he has been killed.

Breckinridge gets the drop on Garrison but refuses to kill him, despite giving other agents "shoot to kill" orders. Using his contacts with sympathetic agents and family members, Garrison learns the assassins are headed to Toronto to attack the president at the G8 summit. Garrison tells Marin of the discovery but later finds that any incriminating evidence has been removed before she can arrive.

The First Lady discloses her affair with Garrison to Breckinridge, who now believes that Garrison is innocent. Together in Toronto, they discover the identity of the assassins and the mole, senior agent William Montrose (Martin Donovan), who was never polygraphed. Montrose is in charge of directing security at the G8 summit.

The leader of the assassins, The Handler (Ritchie Coster), tells Montrose to give him the President. Montrose attempts to refuse, but there is a threat to the lives of the agent's wife and two daughters if he backs out. Emotionally torn, Montrose is instructed by The Handler to lead the President to the summit while jamming the communication radios; the assassins shall handle the rest.

On the night of the President's speech, Breckinridge and Garrison race to the summit. The assassins, dressed as Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) ERT operators, kill several agents and try to kill the President. Montrose reveals he is the mole to the President, despite the assassin's threats against Montrose's family. Montrose is ultimately killed by one of the assassins in the stairwell.

Garrison, Breckinridge and Marin kill the remaining disguised assassins while safely bringing the President and First Lady up to the summit to be evacuated. With all of his accomplices dead, The Handler comes forward dressed as an RCMP officer to personally kill the President and First Lady. He grabs Sarah Ballentine hostage and aims his pistol to shoot the President, but Garrison shoots him dead.

In spite of the events, Garrison is forced to take an early retirement due to the disclosure of the affair with the First Lady, who looks on sadly from her window as Garrison leaves the White House. He does, however, make peace with Breckinridge, who finally realizes that Garrison never slept with his wife. Breckenridge tells Garrison that he is meeting her later on to talk things over.

Extras:

Scene Access
Audio Commentary
Feature Trailers
Deleted Scenes
Featurettes
Closed Captioned

My Thoughts:

Genre: Drama, Thriller
Have I seen it before: Yes
Do I Like it as much: Yes

Rating: 3.5of5

'The Sentinel' (2006) is a thriller

produced by Michael Douglas (other producer credits include 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' (1975), 'The China Syndrome' (1979), 'Romancing the Stone' (1984), 'The Jewel of the Nile' (1985), 'The Ghost and the Darkness' (1996). 'One Night at McCool's' (2001)
produced by Marcy Drogin
produced by Arnon Milchan 'Brazil' (1985), 'Pretty Woman' (1990), 'Under Siege' (1992), 'Natural Born Killers' (1994) and 'Unfaithful' (2002)
directed by Clark Johnson (my favorites being 'S.W.A.T.' (2003) along with a number of TV shows/series including 'La Femme Nikita' TV series (1998), 'The Shield' TV series (2002–2008), 'Homeland' TV series (2011)
written by George Nolfi from a novel by Gerald Petievich (credits include 'Ocean's Twelve' (2004), 'The Bourne Ultimatum' (with Tony Gilroy and Scott Z. Burns) (2007), 'The Adjustment Bureau' (2011) (also Director/Producer)

It stars (what i have seen)

Michael Douglas (Pete Garrison) ('Coma' (1978), 'The China Syndrome' (1979), 'The Star Chamber' (1979), 'Romancing the Stone' (1984), 'The Jewel of the Nile' (1985), 'Fatal Attraction' (1987), 'War of the Roses' (1989), 'Black Rain' (1989), 'Basic Instinct' (1992), 'Falling Down' (1993) a monster of a movie, 'Disclosure' (1994), 'The American President' (1995), 'The Game' (1997) another great movie, 'Wonder Boys' (2000), 'Don't Say a Word' (2001) a great thriller, 'The In-Laws' (2003), 'You, Me and Dupree' (2006), 'King of California' (2006)
Kiefer Sutherland (David Breckinridge) ('Max Dugan Returns' (1983) real early bit part, 'Stand by Me' (1986), 'Lost Boys' (1987), 'Young Guns' (1988), 'Young Guns II' (1990), 'Flatliners' (1990), 'A Few Good Men' (1992), 'The Three Musketeers' (1993), 'The Vanishing' (1993), 'The Cowboy Way' (1994), 'Eye for an Eye' (1996), 'A Time to Kill' (1996), 'Dark City' (1998), 'Phone Booth' (2003) real creapy voice, 'Taking Lives' (2004)
Eva Longoria (Jill Marin) (includes TV series 'Desperate Housewives' (2004-2012)
Kim Basinger (First Lady Sarah Ballentine) ('Mother Lode' (1982), 'Never Say Never Again' (1983), 'The Natural' (1984), 'Nadine' (1987), 'Bless the Child' (2000), 'The Door in the Floor' (2004), 'Cellular' (2004)
Martin Donovan (William Montrose) ('Insomnia' (2002), 'Agent Cody Banks' (2003), episodes of 'Weeds' (2005)
Ritchie Coster (The Handler) ('The Thomas Crown Affair' (1999), 'The Dark Knight' (2008), 'Let Me In' (2010) and the 'Bounty Hunter' (2010)
David Rasche (President Ballentine) ('Best Defense' (1984), 'Cobra' (1986), 'Made in Heaven' (1987), 'Delirious' (1991), 'That Old Feeling' (1997), 'Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood' (2002), 'Burn After Reading' (2008)
Blair Brown (National Security Advisor) ('The Paper Chase' (1973), 'Altered States' (1980), 'Continental Divide' (1981) BRAVO, 'The Astronaut's Wife' (1999), 'Space Cowboys' (1999) plus many TV shows/series including 'The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd', 'Fringe' (2008-present) and 'Falling Skies'

This film also features Kristin Lehman (Cindy Breckinridge), Raynor Scheine (Walter Xavier), Chuck Shamata (Director Overbrook), Paul Calderón (Deputy Director Cortes), Clark Johnson (Charlie Merriweather), Raoul Bhaneja (Aziz Hassad), Yanna McIntosh (Teddy Vargas), Joshua Peace (Agent Davies), Simon Reynolds (Tom DiPaola), Geza Kovacs (Agent Turzanski), Jasmin Geljo (Assassin), Danny A. Gonzales (Hugo Ortega), Jude Coffey (Field Agent Welke), Clark Johnson (Agent Charles ("Charlie") Merriweather )

As a disclaimer, I should say that I am not a big Kiefer Sutherland fan. But luckily, like the other movies I like that he has been in .. he is not 'the star'. It is Michael Douglas who I like in most things I have seen him in. So with that out of the way .. I really like this movie. I find it very intriging. The story line is good and the execution is very good. The filming and acting are great in this one. I like the intensity of the situations in the movie and the way the characters worked them out.

Michael Douglas, like Harrison Ford, is very good in these types of movies. Don't give them comedies to play in (oh my 'The In-Laws' was not very good) as they really don't have the timing for that. But give them a good thriller .. good source material and associated characters to play against and they are gang busters.

I suggest this movie for anyone who likes the thriller genre.

DSig · « **Reply #72 on:** June 25, 2012, 05:40:19 AM »

Last movie of the day ..

Jack Reed: One of Our Own (1995/)
IMDb

	(United States)
Director:	Brian Dennehy
Writing:	Brian Dennehy (Writer)
Length:	94 min.
Video:	Full Frame 1.33:1
Audio:	English: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo
Subtitles:

Stars:
Brian Dennehy as Jack Reed
CCH Pounder as Mrs. Harris
Charles S Dutton as unknown
Susan Ruttan as unknown

Plot:
When his partner is killed, Jack Reed (Brian Dennehy) is framed for the murder. In order to hide corruption that extends to the highest levels of City Hall, murders are being committed and Jack is a suspect. To avenge his partner's death and protect his innocence, he must capture the drugged-out killer and unveil the corrupt politicians who hired him.

Extras:

Scene Access

My Thoughts:

Genre: Crime Drama
Have I seen it before: No
Do I Like it as much:

Rating: 3of5

'Jack Reed: One of Our Own' (1995) is a Crime Drama (first in a series)

produced by Patricia Clifford
produced by Brian Dennehy
produced by Barbara Kelly
produced by Steve Krantz
produced by Donald Kushner
produced by Peter Locke
directed by Brian Dennehy
written Brian Dennehy & Bill Phillips

It stars (what i have seen)

Brian Dennehy (Sgt. Jack Reed) ('Semi-Tough' (1977), 'Looking for Mr. Goodbar' (1977), 'Foul Play' (1978), '10' (1979) just a bit part but very good, 'First Blood' (1982), 'Never Cry Wolf' (1983), 'Silverado' (1985), 'Cocoon' (1985), 'Legal Eagles' (1986), 'The Man from Snowy River II' (1988), 'Cocoon: The Return' (1988), 'Presumed Innocent' (1990), 'Tommy Boy' (1995), 'Ratatouille' (2007) plus a lot of TV shows)
Charles S. Dutton (Lt. Charles Silvera) ('Cat's Eye' (1985), 'Crocodile Dundee II' (1988), 'Alien 3' (1992), 'The Distinguished Gentleman' (1992), 'Rudy' (1993), 'A Time to Kill' (1996), 'Mimic' (1997), 'Black Dog' (1998), 'Cookie's Fortune' (1999) one of the great movies of all time, 'D-Tox' (2002), 'Gothika' (2003), 'Secret Window' (2004), 'Legion' (2010) and many TV shows)
Susan Ruttan (Arlene Reed) ('Krippendorf's Tribe' (1998) and TV series including 'L.A. Law' (1986-1993), Jack Reed series of TV movies, and others
Kevin Dunn (Phil Brenner) ('Mississippi Burning' (1988), 'Blue Steel' (1989), 'The 'Bonfire of the Vanities' (1990), 'Hot Shots!' (1991), 'Only the Lonely' (1991) , 'Chaplin' (1992), 'Dave' (1993), 'Little Big League' (1994), 'Chain Reaction' (1996), 'Godzilla' (1998), 'Almost Heroes' (1998), 'Small Soldiers' (1998), 'Snake Eyes' (1998), 'Stir of Echoes' (1999), 'Transformers' (2007), 'Lions for Lambs' (2007), 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen' (2009), 'Unstoppable' (2010), 'Transformers: Dark of the Moon' (2011) and many TV Shows.
Suki Kaiser (Sarah Landry) ('Virgin Suicides' (1999) and many TV series and TV movies including the 'Jack Reed' series, 'Nash Bridges' and the great 'Kingdom Hospital' mini series.

This film also features Michael Talbott (Eddie Dirkson), Bernie Coulson (Mike Quinn), Amber Benson (Nicole Reed), Cusse Mankuma (Bobby Dixon), Justin Burnette (John Reed Jr.), Megan Leitch (Rebecca), Louis Ferreira (Mick Williams), CCH Pounder (Mrs. Harris), Terence Kelly (Pete Myers), Lorena Gale (Anne Kelfer), Betty Phillips (Mary Quinn), Lance Gibson (Manny Campton), Henry Beckman (James Quinn)

Let me say that this being a TV movies there are breaks in it that breakup the flow of the movie. With pet peeve out of the way I have to say that I like this. It is a good addition to my collection and I will watch it again. It isn't quite as powerful as the 'Jessie Stone' series of movies but different writers and cinematographers .. different outcomes. As always I like Brian Dennehy and in this he does his usual good job. He has a very commanding presence in movies and I like that.

I suggest this movie for anyone who likes a good crime drama.

DSig · « **Reply #73 on:** June 25, 2012, 08:23:21 PM »

Just watched ..

Derailed: Unrated Version: Widescreen Edition (2005/United States)
IMDb | Wikipedia

	Genius Products, The Weinstein Company Home Entertainment (United States)
Director:	Mikael Håfström
Writing:	James Siegel (Original Material By), Stuart Beattie (Screenwriter)
Length:	112 min.
Video:	Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1
Audio:	English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, French: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo
Subtitles:	English, Spanish

Stars:
Vincent Cassel as LaRoche
Clive Owen as Charles Schine
Addison Timlin as Amy Schine
Melissa George as Deanna Schine
Jennifer Aniston as Lucinda Harris

Plot:
Married man Charles Schine (Clive Owen) meets Lucinda Harris (Jennifer Aniston), a high powered businesswoman, on a commuter train one morning. An innocent conversation leads to an evening drink. Before either one can stop it, their aroused passions lead to a sizzling one-night stand. Suddenly a stranger explodes into their world, threatening to expose their secret, and lures them into a terrifying game with more surprises than they saw coming.

** Complete Plot (with Spoilers) from Wikipedia **

(click to show/hide)

Charles Schine (Clive Owen), is a Chicago advertising executive, whose tale is being written down by an unidentified man in a prison cell. A flashback of several months shows Charles with his wife and teenage daughter. Charles's marriage is deteriorating, and his daughter suffers from diabetes, requiring expensive medication.

On a commuter train, Charles encounters an alluring woman named Lucinda Harris (Jennifer Aniston). She is a married financial adviser. A mutual attraction develops, and the two begin meeting frequently. Ultimately, they decide to consummate their affair and wind up in a seedy hotel. An armed man— later identified as Philippe LaRoche (Vincent Cassel)— bursts into the hotel room, beats Charles, and brutally rapes Lucinda. Charles and Lucinda agree not to report the crime, as they do not want their spouses to learn of the affair. Shortly after, Charles is blackmailed by LaRoche, who threatens to kill his family if he doesn't pay $20,000, which Charles promptly pays. A month later, the attacker calls again, this time demanding $100,000.

Charles tells Winston Boyko (RZA), an ex-con, about LaRoche and asks for advice. Winston offers to scare LaRoche away in return for 10% ($10,000) of LaRoche's demand. Charles embezzles the $10,000 from his employer. However, LaRoche shoots Winston dead. Charles is questioned by detective Franklin Church (Giancarlo Esposito) about Winston's murder. Later, he receives a call from LaRoche: He has Lucinda at gunpoint, and will kill her if Charles doesn't bring the $100,000 immediately. Charles takes the money from an account meant specifically for his daughter's medical treatment; the payoff complete, he and Lucinda say a tortured goodbye.

When he stops by Lucinda's office and asks for her, he is shown a woman who is the actual Lucinda Harris. The woman he met on the train is really Jane, a temporary employee, who was impersonating Lucinda. Charles realizes Jane was in on the scam. He tracks her down and sees her kissing LaRoche. Determined to retrieve his stolen $100,000, he follows Jane's moves and sees that she has suckered another unsuspecting businessman. He returns to the hotel where Jane, LaRoche, and their partner Dexter (Xzibit) are setting up their new mark. Jane and the businessman go inside the room; Charles waits for LaRoche to approach, and knocks him unconscious before he enters. He breaks in and demands the return of his money. A gunfight ensues and everyone gets shot but Charles. After the melee, Charles watches the false Lucinda die and leaves with his briefcase, which still contains his money.

Charles is arrested for embezzling the $10,000 that he paid Winston and is sentenced to six months of community service teaching. During one of his classes, he comes across the story about him that was being written at the beginning of the film. The unknown writer instructs him to go to the laundry room—there, he finds LaRoche, who survived the gunfight. LaRoche threatens to continue interfering with his life but Charles stabs him to death. As he leaves, he encounters Detective Church. Though suspicious of Charles, he lets him return home to his wife and daughter.

Extras:

Scene Access
Feature Trailers
Bonus Trailers
Deleted Scenes
Featurettes
Closed Captioned

My Thoughts:

Genre: Drama, Thriller
Have I seen it before: Yes
Do I Like it as much: Yes

Rating: 4of5

'Derailed' (2005) is an excellent thriller

produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura ('Four Brothers' (2005), 'Constantine' (2005), 'Stardust' (2007), 'Transformers' (2007), '1408' (2007), 'Shooter' (2007), 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen' (2009), 'Red' (2010) and 'Transformers: Dark of the Moon' (2011))
screenplay by Stuart Beattie (from novel by James Siegel) ('Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl' (2003), 'Collateral' (2004) and '30 Days of Night' (2007))
directed by Mikael Håfström ('1408' (2007))

It stars

Clive Owen ('Gosford Park' (2001), 'The Bourne Identity' (2002), 'King Arthur' (2004), 'Sin City' (2005), 'Children of Men' (2006), 'The International' (2009) )
Jennifer Aniston ('The Object of My Affection' (1998), 'Office Space' (1999), 'Iron Giant' (1999) voice only, 'Rock Star' (2001), 'The Good Girl' (2002), 'Bruce Almighty' (2003), 'Along Came Polly' (2004), 'The Break-Up' (2006), 'The Bounty Hunter', 'Horrible Bosses' (2011))
Vincent Cassel ('Elizabeth' (1998), 'The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc' (1999), 'Brotherhood of the Wolf' (2001), 'Shrek' (2001) voice only, 'Oceans Twelve' (2004), 'Oceans Thirteen' (2007), 'Eastern Promises' (2007) and 'Black Swan' (2010))
Melissa George ('Dark City' (1998), 'The Limey' (1999), 'Down with Love' (2003), '30 Days of Night' (2007) and several TV shows/series)

This film also features Addison Timlin (Amy Schine), RZA (Winston Boyko), William Armstrong (Accountant), Tom Conti (Eliot Firth), Rachael Blake (Susan Davis), Richard Leaf (Night Clerk Ray), Xzibit (Dexter), Catherine McCord (Avery Price Receptionist), Denis O'Hare (Jerry the Lawyer), Ortis Deley (Cop), Georgina Chapman (Candy), Giancarlo Esposito (Detective Franklin Church), David Morrissey (Sam Griffin)

This film has been previously reviewed by samuelrichardscott HERE.

I find this to be an excellent thriller. The first time I saw it I really had no idea what was going on. And even now, putting aside knowing what will happen, the film is still very very good.

This is probably my favorite Jennifer Aniston film. She doesn't play an airhead (her primary role in most things) and plays her part very well. Darkness that I didn't really know she could do.

Clive Owen is also great in this. He plays the role of the business man, trapped in circumstances that become completely out of his control, very convincingly.

And Vincent Cassel is also great in this. His role is crucial to the film and he does it well. I really like this film.

I just picked it up to bolster the Thrillers in my collection. I highly recommend this to anyone who likes thrillers.

DSig · « **Reply #74 on:** June 26, 2012, 05:09:22 PM »

The Door in the Floor: Spotlight Series (2004/United States)
IMDb | Wikipedia

	Universal Studios Home Video (United States)
Director:	Tod Williams
Writing:	John Irving (Original Material By), Tod Williams (Screenwriter)
Length:	111 min.
Video:	Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1
Audio:	English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, French: Dolby Digital: 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo
Subtitles:	English, French, Spanish

Stars:
Elle Fanning as Ruth Cole
Jeff Bridges as Ted Cole
Kim Basinger as Marion Cole
Jon Foster as Eddie O'Hare
Larry Pine as Interviewer

Plot:
Four-time Academy Award® nominee* Jeff Bridges and Academy Award® winner** Kim Basinger give stellar performances in this critically acclaimed film, adapted from the #1 best-selling novel, A Widow for One Year, by Academy Award® winner† John Irving.

The Door in the Floor chronicles one pivotal summer in the lives of famous children's book author Ted Cole (Jeff Bridges) and his beautiful wife, Marion (Kim Basinger). It is a provocative story about one couple's emotional journey into a world of daring sensuality and stunning honesty.

*Best Supporting Actor – The Contender (2000); Best Actor – Starman (1984); Best Supporting Actor – Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974); Best Supporting Actor – The Last Picture Show (1971)

**Best Supporting Actress – L.A. Confidential (1997)

†Best Adapted Screenplay – The Cider House Rules (1999)

** Complete Plot (with spoilers) from Wikipedia **

(click to show/hide)

The film is set in an exclusive beach community on Long Island, where children's book author and artist Ted Cole (Jeff Bridges) lives with his wife Marion (Kim Basinger) and their young daughter Ruth (Elle Fanning), who usually is supervised by her nanny Alice. Their home is filled with photographs of the couple's teenaged sons, who were killed in an automobile accident; the tragedy left Marion deeply depressed and her marriage in shambles. The one shared experience that holds the family together is a ritualistic daily viewing of a home gallery of family photographs of the deceased sons.

Ted and Marion temporarily separate, each alternately living in the house and in a rented apartment in town. Ted hires Eddie O'Hare (Jon Foster) to work as his summer assistant and driver, since his own license was suspended for drunk driving. An aspiring writer, Eddie admires Ted, but he soon discovers the older man is a self-absorbed womanizer with an erratic work schedule that leaves the young assistant to fill his time as best he can. Eddie and Marion soon engage in a sexual relationship, which seems not to bother Ted, who is enjoying trysts of his own with local resident Evelyn Vaughn (Mimi Rogers) during sketching sessions at which she serves as his model. When Ruth walks into the room while Eddie and her mother are making love, Ted becomes upset with his wife and advises Eddie he may have to testify about the incident if Ted decides to fight for full custody of the child.

Marion eventually leaves Ted and their daughter, taking with her all the photographs and negatives of her dead sons, save one that is being reframed after it was broken, injuring Ruth. Eddie takes the initiative to retrieve the one remaining reframed picture so that Ruth can have at least one partial image of her brothers.

Ted confides in Eddie the story of the car accident that caused his sons' deaths. Ted suggests his and Marion's drunkenness and Ted's failure to remove snow from the rear tail and turn lights likely contributed their sons' deaths. Eddie learns more about what may have contributed to Marion's intense despair, mental states, and choice to abandon her remaining child. At the end of the film, Ted does not fully understand why Marion left, and he questions, "What kind of mother leaves her daughter?"

At the end of story, Ted, stops while playing in his squash court alone, looking at the camera with sadness? lifts "the door in the floor" and goes in.

Extras:

Scene Access
Audio Commentary
Feature Trailers
Featurettes

My Thoughts:

Genre: Drama
Have I seen it before: Yes
Do I Like it as much: Yes

Rating: 4of5

'The Door in the Floor' (2005) is an excellent drama

produced by Anne Carey
produced by Michael Corrente
produced by Ted Hope
screenplay by Tod Williams from the novel by John Irving
directed by Tod Willieams ('1408' (2007))

It stars

Jeff Bridges as Ted Cole ('The Last Picture Show' (1971), 'The Iceman Cometh', (1973), 'Thunderbolt and Lightfoot' (1974), 'Rancho Deluxe' (1975), 'King Kong' (1976), 'Heavens Gate' (1980), 'Cutter's Way' (1981), 'Tron' (1982), 'Kiss Me Goodbye' (1982), 'The Last Unicorn' (1982), 'Against All Ods' (1984), 'Starman' (1984), 'Jagged Edge' (1985), 'Nadine' (1987), 'Tucker: The Man and His Dream' (1988), 'The Fabulous Baker Boys' (1989), 'The Fisher King' (1991), 'The Vanishing' (1993), 'Fearless' (1993), 'Blown Away' (1994), 'Wild Bill' (1995), 'White Squall' (1996), 'The Mirror Has Two Faces' (1996), 'The Big Lebowski' (1998), 'Arlington Road' (1999), 'The Muse' (1999), 'K-PAX' (2001), 'Seabiscuit' (2003), 'Iron Man' (2008), 'The Open Road' (2008), 'The Men Who Stare at Goats' (2009), 'Tron: Legacy' (2010), 'True Grit' (2010)

Kim Basinger as Marion Cole ('Mother Lode' (1982), 'Never Say Never Again' (1983), 'The Natural' (1984), 'Nadine' (1987), 'Bless the Child' (2000), 'Cellular' (2004), 'The Sentinel' (2006)

Jon Foster as Eddie ("Thirteen Days" (2000), "Life as a House" (2001), "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines" (2003))

This film also features Bijou Phillips (Alice), Elle Fanning (Ruth Cole), Mimi Rogers (Evelyn Vaughn), Donna Murphy (Frame Shop Owner), John Rothman (Minty O'Hare), Harvey Loomis (Dr. Loimis)

I have just watched this after not seeing it since it came out. I got it because I remembered that I liked it .. i just didn't remember how much I liked it.

The role of Ted Cole is another great role for Jeff Bridges. Although this film is a little more "down" than some of his other great roles and quirky characters (Jeffery "The Dude" Lebowski ("The Big Lebowski")
Max Kline ("Fearless") to name just a few). This film is a complex narrative of a couple coming apart (were they ever together?) after a tragic accident. And Jeff Bridges does an excellent job of weaving the story.

Kim Basinger is also excellent in this film. Marion Cole is a complex character suffering loss of more than that caused by the accident. The ?love? of a young man and walking away from her young daughter, these are the some of the things entering into Marion Cole's life.

I highly recommend this to anyone who likes dramas.

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