Reviews (2)

THE best movie, ever!!
WHY ISN'T THIS OUT ON DVD????? Uncle Meat is a work of genius that has stood the test of time - a brilliant dissection of the commercial music industry and art in general. The film offers great comedy, surreal footage and awesome avant garde musical performances. Frank Zappa is a genius! The best part is you can watch this again and again and never get bored, every time you discover something new. This has to be my favorite movie of all time. Highly recommended. Apple-O

For hardcore Zappa fans ONLY
Man, I'm a pretty big Zappa fan, but this isn't the easiest movie to sit through. If you've seen 200 Motels, you have a basic idea of what to expect from Zappa the film-maker. However, while 200 Motels was bizarre, Uncle Meat is just plain inane. The movie follows no direction at all. Scenes of people talking about unrelated things are just stitched together to make the movie. The one thing that makes the movie worth seeing is the performance of the concert that appears on the "Ahead Of Their Time" CD. Even that isn't really enough to encourage anyone to pay anything over [dollar amount] for the movie. [...] ... Read more

Amazon.com

Ben Stiller's directorial debut was this sporadically successful twentysomething comedy that tries too hard to codify the generational experience of its young adult characters. Winona Ryder plays a still-unformed woman struggling with career and relationship issues, Janeane Garofalo portrays her best friend, and Ethan Hawke and Stiller play the two lovers pursuing her. The story is as also about generation-X confusion over how to get by in a hand-me-down world with not much to get excited about, a world filled with a pop culture currency of bad music and poetry slams. The film's chief strength is its appealing cast, which is bolstered by appearances from David Spade, Renee Zellweger, Kevin Pollak, Jeanne Triplehorn, and Stiller's mother, Anne Meara.--Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (59)

I Loved this Movie!
I Loved this movie! It had everything: comedy, realism, and the ability to make you laugh and cry. The acting is superb. Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke, Janeane Garofalo, Steve Zahn and Ben Stiller are excellent.
Lelaina Pierce (Ryder) is the valedoctorian of her college and should have her entire life mapped out for her, but all she has is a job at a morning talk show called 'Good Morning Grant' where she makes barely enough money to cover her rent. (For all those Frasier fans out there Grant is well acted by John Mahoney who plays Frasier's father on the show.) Her best friend Vickie (Garofalo) has just been promoted to manager at the Gap, and her other friend Sammy (Zahn) is coming to terms with his sexuality. Troy (Hawke) is her other troubled best friend who is the lead singer of a band and is in love with Lelaina. Lelaina videotapes all her friends making a documentary about their lives and their troubles, and she meets a guy named Michael (Stiller) who she begins dating, and who wants to turn her documentary into a television show for the network he works for called In Your Face TV.
The movie has a plot that appears so simple, yet it applies to everyone everywhere. It tries to answer the question: what to do when you just get out of college and where should life go?
Lelaina is also trapped in a love triangle and has to decide who she wants to be with more: Hawke, her closest friend or Stiller (who makes an excellent directorial debut), someone who loves Lelaina but also wants to profit from her documentary.
There are cameos from actors such as Renee Zellweiger, David Spade, and Swoozie Kurtz (who plays Lelaina's mother in one scene).
This film is one of my favorite movies of all time and is one that should be more well-known. It also has a fiere soundtrack, featuring artists like the Knack (Sharona), and Lisa Loeb, so I highly suggest you buy that as well.
"There's no point to all of this. It's just a random lottery of meaningless tragedy and a series of near escapes. So I take pleasure in the details. You know... a quarter-pounder with chesse, those are good, the sky before it starts to rain, the moment where your laughter becomes a cackle... and I, I sit back and smoke my Camel Straights and I ride my own melt..."-Troy from Reality Bites...
SO BUY THE MOVIE!

Awakenings
This romantic comedy/ coming of age/ drama/ teen movie presents an intriguing an amusing look at the lives of the twentysomethings, showcasing their conflicts and doubts after graduation.

Director Ben Stiller offers an interesting snapshot of the mid nineties, presenting a curious perspective of that zeitgeist and its atmosphere.
Stiller himself, Winona Ryder and Ethan Hawke play three dazed and confused young adults who have to deal with troublesome situations and decisions in a turning point of their lives. The story focuses, with humor and some depth, the difficult and contrived process of growing up, offering characters that have contradictory views and ideas of the world.
The movie wisely covers multiple problems of the Genration X crowd, like the stuggle to find a decent job, the indecisions after graduation, the price of independence or the choices about love. Although this picture has a few years, it still seems fresh and poignant today, focusing situations that occur everywhere.

"Reality Bites" is a fine, witty and clever flick, that despite its somewhat predictable plot proves to be a noteworthy and entertaining effort. A little gem and a good one to watch with a group of friends, since most youngsters can relate to it.

Reality Does Bite, but This Movie Rocks
In what was perhaps one of the most overhyped movies at the time, "Reality Bites" proves to be in the Zeitgeist of the mid- '90s but for different reasons than you might thing.

It was not the movie that came to define a generation in story, tone, or soundtrack the way "The Graduate" captured the moments of its time (for that you should watch "Singles"). "Reality Bites" did, however, capture the what was expected of the generation - to be unemployed, irrevent, speak in a pop-culture lingo, and wrestle with the meaning of irony. In spite of what expectations were placed on the generation (or the movie), "Reality Bites" remains funny ten years later.

Watch to see the last of Winona Ryder's great roles as she struggles with her relationship with Ethan Hawke. Enjoy the moment when we are introduced to Janeane Garofalo as she shimmies to "My Sharona." And enjoy the film that brought Ben Stiller into the mainstream as a leading actor.

The anniversary DVD is a great opportunity to rediscover the movie and appreciate the on-screen appearences of up and coming Gen-X Hollwood - David Spade, Renee Zellweger, and Steve Zahn all appear. And be sure to check out Lisa Loeb's music video for "Stay," as directed by Hawke.

Yes, Reality Bites Sometimes
"Reality Bites" stars Oscar nominees Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke, plus Ben Stiller, Jeneane Garofalo, and Steve Zahn. Ben Stiller makes his fine directorial debut in this film. This is a great coming-of-age comedy proving that being independant isn't as great as it looks. The plot of four college graduates moving into a house together is highly entertaining, especially considering all four people have opposite personalities. All of them combined as one adds lots of laughs: a college valedictorian, a sexually active person, a non-motivated rocker, and a mellow person hiding a secret. Comedy and drama combine in the perfect scenes, namely everyone's life struggles, the making of the documentary, and falling in love. Though certain life aspects could have been expressed more thoroughly, the film ideas are brilliant. The acting from all the performers are great, especially Winona Ryder. All offer their own movie theme perspectives, which are mastered greatly. "Reality Bites" is a great memory flashback from a great entertainment era, the mid-90's. This will surely entertain many audiences.

This is the best movie
I can't express how classic this movie is. If you have ever seemed to quetion what the hell you are going to do with your life or questioned relationships with friends, this is the movie for you. It's funny, sad (happy sad), and the soundtrack is nothing but early 90's classics. BUY IT! You can't beat the cast...Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke, Ben Stiller, and Geneane Garofolow (can't spell her name). ... Read more

Amazon.com

Made in 1970, this film was nominated for an Academy Award for BestForeign Film in 1972. This is Kurosawa's first color film, and there seems to be an almost psychedelic overlay to his production palette. The story revolves around a collection of characters held together only by the frayed thread of poverty. Rokkuchan (Yoshitaka Zushi), a teenager with the mind of a boy, is obsessed with trolley cars. He draws them from every angle in vivid colors. His despondent mother (Kin Sugai) hangs them lovingly on the walls and windows of their simple home.

Every morning Rokkuchan goes out to his imaginary trolley car and makes his way through the surrounding slums. His neighbors include a humble man with a terrible limp and an unforgiving wife, two couples who color-coordinate their husband-swapping, and a sad derelict man with an adoring but doomed little boy. During the day, father and son pass the time building a dream house in their minds. At night they sleep in an abandoned car.

While visually compelling, the film lacks connection between the characters, which leaves the viewer feeling disjointed and somehow lessens the emotionalimpact of these tragic stories. But as a slice-of-life look at how people maintain simple dignities in the face of great hardship, it is definitely a film worth seeing. --Luanne Brown ... Read more

Reviews (8)

First colour film by Kurosawa is sadly underrated work
If I were living like any of the people of the Tokyo slums in Akira Kurosawa's first colour film, Dodes'ka-den, like them, I'd be living in illusion and imagination to counter the squalid conditions. Living for them, but in my case, it'd be drowning. That's the premise of this movie, a testament to the human spirit and how it keeps on going despite adversity.

There's no plot in this film, as it tells of the various people living in the slums, some in coloured tin corrugated roofs, others in dirty, dingy travesties of huts, and in the case of an oddball boy who pretends he's a streetcar conductor and spends all day shuffling to who knows where. He goes through the motions, putting on his cap, pushing the buttons, pulling levers, and muttering the words "Dodes'ka-den." Which leads to the title. It's a Japanese onomatopoeia for the sound a train makes on the tracks. Roughly translated, it's like clackety-clack. The smaller kids who see him throw pebbles at him and cry out "trolley crazy."

My favourite characters are the bedraggled derelict and his young son who live in a beaten up, wheelless VW bug. The son goes out at night and gets scraps from a friendly sushi shop man. During the day, the father discusses their dream house, and we see his designs, from the gate, fence, and house, come alive, with dramatic sounds and colour. He must have been an architect or designer, and he escapes his squalid condition by envisioning a dreamhouse. There's a vivid example of colour cinematography at work, when standing under glaring yellow sky, we see the eerie blue light cast on him and his son, ill from food poisoning.

The drunken buddies who swap wives are two of the most colourful, but there's an interesting theme. Both couples are colour coordinated, clothes, house, even wash basins. And at times, they swap wives. The yellow husband is so drunk, he stays at his buddy's red house and with his wife, while his buddy goes to his house. Wonder how many bottles of sake they drink after work. But the wifeswapping has dual meaning, an escape from the ordinary, but also a lack of symmetry that is restored when both yellow-coded husband and wife are reunited and the same with the red-coded couple.

Then there's Tamba, the druggist, a man in his seventies or early eighties who's a wise, sage, and compassionate character. The way he defuses a violent sword-wielding drunk is amazing! I won't get into specifics but he shames the drunk into going to bed. He also helps a man wanting to commit suicide a reason to go on living. He seems to represent the face of an older and uncomplicated Japan, experienced by the past, living as he can in the present.

Hei is the most haunting, and his eyes are that of a dead man. He never says a word in the movie, and it's clear that he has been deeply traumatized by something in his past, which we learn later. It's as if his soul has been drained. A character looks at a tree and wonders what kind of tree it is, before saying "it's no longer a tree when it's dead." Substitute man for tree and we get Hei. Oh, and me as well.

Shima is a salaryman who's nice enough, but he has a funny walk nearly like the Monty Python's Ministry of Silly Walks man and a facial tic that drives him into a brief fit, complete with snorting. The tic represents that there's more to a person than a mere flaw.

Some of the info we get from the gossiping circle of women who spend the day doing the laundry in the slum square, including a sensuous long-haired woman who seems to know it all, and witnessing the parade of life.

This was Kurosawa's first of seven colour films and its failure culminated in him attempting suicide. Understandable, as despite its being panned, it's actually a sober, at times depressing, but ultimately hopeful look at people. Very underrated film that's deeply in need of reappraisal.

the beauty inside
Dodeskaden portrays the beauty inside the struggle and pain of human existence.The images will never leave me. This and Itami's " Tampopo " are my all time Japanese cinema favorites.

and one fourth of a star.
Along with the Adventures of Baron Von Munchausen, this is one of my favorite "faith" movies of all time. Dont get me wrong, Im not even attempting to compare it to Baron...just to say they brought about similar changes in my teenage years, a time when I was contemplating suicide. Cant be that dramatic anymore.This and Mishima really helped just for that day...watching it at the library. Its too bad Mishima is so much money, but owning Dodes Ka-Den is enough. Do yourself a favor and buy it.

And now for something really different...
Kurosawa's first color film originally came in at 244 minutes and the studio executives were aghast. They quickly cut it to about 140 minutes and reportedly destroyed the original negative in so doing. This along with the lack of public and critical acceptance at the time drove the great genius to a suicide attempt. In it's original form it could well have been Kurosawa's great masterpiece. As it is, it's a little quixotic and hard to follow, but a stunning piece of movie making. The children's train drawings shown during the prayer scenes were collected by Kurosawa from children all over Japan for this film. It is pointless to recap the story, but I just say to you see it and you'll never forget it. Perhaps Criterion could find the orignal version when it comes out on DVD, let's hope so!

"Do-des-ka-den" Reverberates Through the Years
I saw this film more than 25 years ago and it still makes me smile when I ride a trolley or train. It takes very little imagination for me to convert the sounds of steel wheels on rails into the simple do-des-ka-den cadence. And with the conversion of sound comes an alteration of vision as through the trolley windows, I see Pittsburgh's urban humanity through the compassionate lens Kurosawa's uses to show his brave characters. This was my first experience with Kurosawa, and I always imagined this film as his version of "Cannery Row". ... Read more

Amazon.com

Don Knotts and Tim Conway star in The Private Eyes, a 1980 comedy about two bumbling detectives solving a murder. It's an impressively incompetent affair. Every ancient joke falls with a muffled thud as Knotts and Conway ham their way through the pointless story: The lord and lady of a capacious manor are killed, and the lord's ghost seems to have returned to knock off the staff one by one. There's an austere housekeeper, a snooty butler with compulsive twitches, a sexy upstairs maid, a deformed groomsman, and a buxom young heir to the estate, who of course is going to be in some state of undress before the movie is over. People get killed, their bodies disappear, Knotts and Conway wander aimlessly through secret passageways, dimly seeking some way out of this movie. Conway cowrote the script, so he gets most of the blame; Knotts was probably just happy to have the work. --Bret Fetzer ... Read more

Reviews (55)

Never take yourself seriously
Don Knotts and Tim Conway are the experts at not taking themselves seriously. The best way to give an understanding of how wild this movie is is to simply point out that comic genius Don Knotts plays the straightman to Tim Conway's magnificent imbecile. Of course none of it makes sense - it was never meant to! That's part of the joke. My family has worn out one copy of this video. Not even the classic 'Walk this way' from Young Frankenstein can match up to the take on that joke in this movie. My mother begins laughing at it several minutes before they actually perform it, it's so funny! I'm willing to bet Tim Conway made up the 'Wookalar' story on the spot, from the incredulous look Don Knotts gives him. Great double feature with Clue!

Oh how I remember this movie!
I can remember my mom first getting this movie for me when I was about 3 years old, and she told it had Don Knotts & Tim Conway from "The Apple Dumpling Gang" in it! To this day it continues to make me laugh, and it is one of those movies which has withstood the test of time! But with these 2 comedy greats playing the spoofs of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson to solve a murder in a dark haunted mansion, it's a movie every family of any age will treasure! A must for the whole family!

This movie is hilarious
It's a true comedy classic - you'll laugh til you fall out of your chair! And it is climactic too!

slippery sleuths
great comedy team as wats &holmes like the beach wagon etc they realy left a mark ...

"A Sound? You mean like a Wookalar would make?" "Koowah!"
First the DVD review: This DVD was/is put out by "Hens Tooth" video. (Hens Tooth?) Features the original theatrical trailer, which in itself is a gem; a wonderful stills gallery featuring behind the scenes making of the movie...priceless! And an awesome commentary by Tim Conway and the Director Lang Elliot who offer tons of little know facts and insight to this classic! This DVD is crisp and clear and so is the sound! The only thing this DVD lacks are the deleted and alternate scenes and alternate angles they showed on TV back in 1984. (see below for details) But, I'm happy to take what they give!

I know this is going to sound odd, but this is my favorite comedy of all time! No question! I have always been a big fan of Tim Conway and Don Knotts! (Who isn't?) Both men are absolute geniuses and have been underused since this movie came out back in 1981. This movie left a huge impression on me when I was a kid! I have always wanted a house just like the one in this movie! Who wouldn't want a 252 room estate! You could almost sleep in a different room for a full year! I was equally impressed when I found out the house in this movie is a real house! It's the Biltmore House and gardens. The real house is in Asheville North Carolina. Although the Biltmore House doesn't have 252 rooms (darn!) it is an absolutely gorgeouse manor! I highly recommend you check out their website! They will even send you a free brochure which pulls out into a mini poster! I have one on my wall right now! Very cool!

Anyways, back to the review...This is one movie that can be shared with the whole family! When this movie came out I was 10 years old and was so impressed by the look of it, the hysterical comedy, the cast, and the mystery storyline! You had to be there, but everytime and I mean EVERYTIME I saw this movie the theater was packed and sold out! Movies back then would run for 3-6 months at a time! (this is before even video and vcr's) I would clip every article or advertisement for this movie and I still have them today in a scrapbook! Yes, I am a fan!

Tim and Don play two ameturish private detectives who are called in to investigate the murder of Lord and Lady Morley, the owners of the estate. Don plays the straight guy to a T! Tim plays a wacky, paranoidish, inventor/detective. One of Tims inventions is called a time gun, which goes off every hour! He is also afraid of a legendary creature called the "Wookalar"! A half pig half human creature that will "suck your brains right out your nose!" Very funny stuff! You have to see it for yourself! The two detectives run into a myriad of funny characters along the way in the Manors staff and housekeeprs/caretakers! Just when they think they know who the killer is..that suspect ends up dead! Hilarious!

Now, here is something to note: I was extactic when this movie first aired on TV back in 1984 and happily taped it! Lucky for anyone else who taped it (and still has the tape like me!) because they showed scenes and alternate takes/angles that are NOT IN THIS DVD! They show a scene with Trisha Noble and Tim Conway eating dinner at a loooong dinner table that is just hilarious! Tim dresses up as Don's character, in hopes of "fooling" the killer, as a decoy. Trishas character just beats the crud out of Tim as she gets upset when people try to "trick" her! Hilarious!
The next scene they showed was an extra scene of Tim trying to send off a Homing pigeon, with an update of their investigation to Scotland Yard. Tim has a whole crate of homing pigeons and every time he trys to send a message something happens to the bird! So, in the deleted scene Tim paints a pigeon black, so no one can see it at night thus nothing should happen to it, and when he throws it out the window of his room...the pigeon goes but the wings stay in his hands! Cruel? Yes, by todays standards, but still funny!
Next, there is an alternate scene when the maid is preparing tea for Tim and Don and the killer slips poison in their cups. And there are a couple of alternate angle shots throughout the TV version.

This is an absolute classic comedy! Buy it before it goes out of print! ... Read more

Reviews (2)

a wonderful surprise
I had never heard of this film. Why not! I ran across it at a local video store, checked out the cast and director, and decided to rent it. // There is great good humor in this movie of brothers coming of age,and there is the correct amount of pathos in a family coming to terms with an unexpected death. // Lee Grant handles the cast and the story with a deft and knowing touch. But I ask again why wasn't this movie properly promoted.

Daphne made this film worth seeing
The scene with Daphne Zuniga -- the longish scene, that (thank goodness!) just kept going on and on -- made this movie worth watching. She is a genuine pleasure to see onscreen. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Very dissapoiting...NOT what I expected
After loving Halloween 2, and it's creepy hospital setting, I was very excited to hear that there were two other hospital-slashers in the early 80's; this and "Hospital Massacre". I hadn't been able to find these two movies until I went to this video store out of town that is known for having a HUGE selection, as well as a lot of hard-to-find movies. I was very pleased to not only find "Visiting Hours" and "Hospital Massacre", but a whole other bunch of scary movies I wanted to see. I got "Sleepaway Camp 2", and then decided to get only one hospital movie; I chose "Visiting Hours" due to the supieror cover art. Well, it's no Halloween 2. In fact, it's not even a slasher movie!; it's purely a drama, laced with thriller/suspense elements. And it's boring, boring, boring...One other problem is that alot of the movie foucuses on the killers personal life. We see him talk and act in his "normal" life. This not only made it more boring, but it made it so the guy wasn't even so scary anymore! The hospital setting is not that creepy even, and the parts in the hospital that are soppoused to be suspensful and scary don't happen till towards the end. Other Notes: "Visiting Hours" was actually based off a book, which is now out of print. And most horror films based off books aren't always all that exciting. This isn't...Lastly, this is a very "mature" kind of horror film; it isn't something you'd watch on Halloween with a group of freinds, and doesn't have the thrills and chills of "Halloween 2" or the fun of the "Friday the 13th" series. And don't be fooled by the cool box art!

"Visiting Hours" misses more than hits
A brutal, anti-woman lunkhead (Michael Ironside) begins to stalk television journalist (Lee Grant) after she delivers an over the edge editorial on women's rights. He attacks her in her home, where she is wounded but escapes. He soon follows her to the hospital, where he waits for his second chance. Some unpleasant scenes, such as when he cuts the hose on an elderly woman's respirator and we watch her face contort in horror as she suffocates. Another charmer is when he stabs a nurse with a kitchen knife and then photographs her as she lies moaning in pain on the floor. He even kicks her legs for effect. Okay, I'll stop before I get on a roll. Lee Grant gives an awful performance, and she's an annoying crier to boot. William Shatner is wasted in a small supporting role. Watchable, but not much going here.

tepid revenge flick
If you crossed "Halloween II" with "I Spit on Your Grave" and subtracted the sex & nudity of the latter, you'd get "Visiting Hours," a would-be horror movie that pits an outspoken TV personality (Lee Grant, in an awful performance) against a hulking, muscular freak who has a personal vendetta against her (although it's not made clear exactly WHAT that vendetta is). He attacks her in her home once, and when she's transferred to a hospital, there's even more chances for his deadly intent. Unfortunately, this is less a horror film and more a portrait of Humans Behaving Badly, with Michael Ironside doing a good job of being imposing and threating, but also unrelentingly unpleasant as a result. Jean-Claude Lord's direction sucks the suspense out of scenes, and in the end, "Visiting Hours" is just one big 'kill-or-be-killed' festival with the typical undercurrents of misogyny. Avoid it.

visiting hours
.i love horror shows,and this one is the most terrorfing one i ever did see, it keeps you on the edge of your seat .knowing that at any moment some one will be making you jump right out of your skin.

visiting hours
love to see the closet sceen,with the pictures of the dead he has on the wall in his closet. ... Read more

Reviews (11)

So-so Noir Film Featuring Sam Jackson and Milla Jovovich
"No Good Deed" is based on Dashiell Hammett's short (and very short) story titled "The House on Turk Street" which is included his book "The Continental Op." The original short story appaered in 1924, but as is often the case with film adaptations, the story is extended to cover its running time, perhaps stretched beyond its limit.

In this noir film, not an "op(erative)," but a cop Jack Friar plays the usual role of reluctant hero. Jack is asked to search the whereabout of a missing girl when he, being an amateur cellist, is about to join in the classic music festival. Against his better judgment, he promises to seek for her, and goes to "the house on Turk Street." Too late that he realizes he stepped into the wrong place where he, or any other cops, should not be.

There he encounters a motley group of criminals, who plan to get easy money from a bank. Captured by them, Jack has only his brain to rely on, to get away from this big trouble.

Be warned. This is a noir film, which means you cannot look for any conherent logics (can anyone summerize the plot of "Maltise Falcon"?) There are so many incredible decisions the characters make, or so many unbelievable coincidences. If you don't like these kinds of situations too good to be true, just forget about the film.

But the film looks beautiful as noir, and director is Bob Rafelson, who recently gave us atomospheric "Blood and Wine." "No Good Deed" has also equally credible sinister atmosphere, thanks to production designer Paul Peters and photographer Juan Luiz-Anchia. If you love this genre, you might find the film more engaging than other movie fans do.

As to actors. Sam Jackson is as good as ever (have we seen bad Sam Jackson?) but his actions sometimes lack convincing touch, not because of his acting, but because of the plot (Amazon's editorial review is perfectly right). As a femme fatale Erin who must survive, using whatever method she can grab, you can see Milla Jovovich, whom I thought, though she is doing her best, still slightly is miscast. But some people might find otherwise, so leave it to other reviewers.

More interesting and funny is the couple of Mr./Mrs. Quarre, played by Joss Ackland and Grace Zabriskie. They are simply amusing to see, with the wicked humor only those veterans can show. Oh, and I almost forgot to say that Stellan Skarsgard is the leader of the criminal group, whose character is always full of menace hidden under his calm attitude. He makes a great contrast with Doug Hutchison's most dangerous computer wiz that appeared on the screen.

"No Good Deed" is not good indeed, but its characters are drawn farily well, and the film manages to show some nice atomosphere of noir films. I don't think not many people have seen it, and that is understandable, but those who like the genre will find it pretty interesting.

By the way, in the film, you hear an old song "I'm not Your Stepping Stone" originally played by the Monkees. Of course, Bob Rafelson was producer of this popular TV series (1966-68), and the version you hear here is performed by Peter Rafelson, his son who is also known for Madonna song.

We Are The Pawns
No Good Deed is yet another example of a movie, with a fine cast, that despite that, ends up as a film with wasted potential instead.

While investigating a missing persons case, detective Jack Friar (Samuel L. Jackson), is captured and held hostage by a group of sadistic thieves. This group of waywards are in the process of pulling off an elaborate bank heist and Friar must be dealt with. Cruel mastermind Tyrone (Stellan Skarsgård, manipulative girlfriend Erin (Milla Jovovich), and deranged henchman Hoop (Doug Hutchinson) are locked in a dangerous game of deceit, double cross and romantic intrigue, making Jack a pawn in the lethal high stakes plot. Against the odds, Erin and Jack find themselves erotically drawn to each other, igniting a volatile love triangle that turns deadly as the body count starts to rise.

Based on a short story entitled 'The House on Turk Street' by Dashiell Hammett, No Good Deed, is directed by Bob Rafelson. With the likes of a talented cast, and under the usually sure handed stewardship of the man behind Black Widow & The Postman Always Rings Twice, I expected a better film. Things end up as a convoluted mess, rather than a taut thriller, that it should have been. The acting is ok but the script has a few holes in it, to subvert any strides, the movie makes. It's hard to imagine that this passes for anything resembling "film noir" though.

Aside from the theatrical trailer, the DVD, doesn't have any other extras. I was also shocked to find, that the only version of the film that's available, is in the full screen format. Huh?? What gives Obviously, having a widescreen viewing option, would have been the fair way to go. 2 stars for the actors involved...but a real disappointment otherwise.

HAS GOOD ACTORS IN IT, BUT...
DURING A MISSING PERSONS INVESTIGATION, A COP [SAMUEL L. JACKSON] GETS KIDNAPPED BY A GANG OF THIEVES. MEANWHILE, AN ELABORATE BANK ROBBERY IS ABOUT TO GO DOWN. OF COURSE, SAMUEL DOES GREAT AS ALWAYS, BUT THE SCRIPT AND ESPECIALLY THE VERY SLOW PACE BRINGS IT DOWN. WHAT SOUNDED LIKE A GOOD MOVIE TURNED OUT TO BE A DISSAPOINTMENT. FAR FROM BEING THE WORST MOVIE YOU CAN RENT, BUT, IT'S JUST NOT AS GOOD AS IT SOUNDS. MAYBE NEXT TIME, THEY WON'T TAKE ALL DAY TO GET STARTED.

Name of the song
Movie was ok, like both Samuel L Jackson and Milla but was disappointed. But does anyone remember the name of the song that Milla and Samuel play together - her on the piano and him on the cello - she asks him if he has ever played it and hands him the sheet music. thanks

anon
this movie is like eggs and biscuit on a thursday mornin' ... Read more

Reviews (10)

A movie that is deserving of being re-released.
I think Tommy Lee Jones does a wonderful job of portraying the life of an actual person. He shows you the many different sides, good and bad, of a man who probably wishes his life would have been different, better, and probably wishes he was never born.

Tommy Lee Jones is superb in his portrayal of Gary Gilmore.
What a great movie! Tommy Lee does a superb performance portraying the convicted killer Gary Gilmore. Tommy Lee and Roseanne Arquette really make this movie execiting. I think this is one of the finest true life dramas ever produced. BRING BACK THIS MOVIE!! I would really like to purchase this movie. Why isn't it available? I'm sure I am not the only one who would like to purchase it. Please BRING IT BACK!

EXECUTIONERS SONG TOMMY LEE JONES
Tommy Lee Jones is clearly outstanding as Gary Gilmore. He captures the expressions and emotions behind the character like noone else could. The drama takes you through the craziness that Gary Gilmore had throughout his life and shows the love-hate relationship that friends and family had for him. Tragic, yet facinating, this movie is sure to hold your interest time after time.

The Real Gary Gilmore is lost here
I found this movie rather disappointing.After reading the Pullitzer Prize winning novel by Norman Mailer,& an in depth interview with Gary Gilmore by Playboy in 1977,it is for certain that Gary Gilmore was not accurately portrayed in this movie.The book was well researched based on actual court transcripts,letters between Gary & Nicole,& interviews with several people who knew the convicted murderer.
In the movie,the man was played with far too much feeling.The character came across as too mannerly & wimpy.The real Gary was no wimp by any stretch of the imagination.Consider a man at 35 who spent half of his life locked up.A man who killed 2 men execution style for no reason whatsoever - without even batting an eye.A guy like that is not going to be overly sensitive.The movie portrays him as a sensitive person.In actual fact he was quite intelligent,but rather curt & aggressive in interview,& only showed any iota of feeling for his mother,his brother,& Nicole,& even then it was basic.
Maybe it was in part due to the fact the movie was made for TV.The first part of the movie I kept wondering when the real Gary would come across.It was only in the second part where Gary was captured,that parts of the real Gary Gilmore were allowed to shine through.Some things were true to form,for instance when the Judge asked Gary what his preferred mode of execution would be,Tommy Lee played that out exactly as it should be with the exact words Gary said.There were a few other scenes where he played it well.I don't think it had anything to do with the acting at all.It was probably the fault of writing & directing that caused the essence of the real man to be lost.As well I think Roseanna Arquette made Nicole seem a lot more intelligent than she really was.
What this movie needed was to show the character as hard,edgy,& aggressive.The movie should also have captured the period with more 70's hit songs,than just a couple with a great deal of hokey country tunes for the soundtrack.Also they completely botched up the music that actually played in the van when Gary was taken to the cannery for his execution.The real song that played would have been perfect because of the lyrics,but the filmmaker botched that up too,& once again,on comes another hokey,tear in yer beer country tune.
If you want to find out about the real Gary Gilmore,read the book by Norman Mailer.It's fascinating & factual.If you can get a hold of that back issue -The April 1977 issue of Playboy,that contains the powerful interview with Gary Gilmore ,GET IT!It's very enlightening & profound.Check out the A & E biography of him,& get a hold of Mikal Gilmore's book about his brother.
This movie is well cast,& fairly good.However you only get a tiny glimpse of the real killer here.

One of the BEST!
One of the best movies period! Tommy Lee Jones is great as Gary Wayne Gilmore. Rosanne Arquette does an outstanding job as Gary's wife and Eli Wallach is outstanding as Gary's uncle. The foreign version (in english) is better than the US version as it includes extra scenes. Should be released on DVD. ... Read more

Reviews (41)

interesting movie, even better song
Quite a strange movie...hats off to Brendan Fraser, I never knew he could handle such a role. It's worth a viewing just for that. I did get a little irritated at Ashley Judd's clothing, or lack of though. The best part of the film for me was the spooky PJ Harvey song during the ending credits, does anyone know if this can be found on an album or single? I've watched the movie twice just to catch who performed the song.

Not much plot but great to look at.
This film has a very simple plot that says nothing new but it serves as a platform for a beautiful piece of film making art.

A young man, Darkly Noon (Fraser) who has had a very strict religious upbringing, runs in terror through the forest where he is found, rescued and taken to an isolated cabin in the depths of the forest. There, he meets Callie (Judd) who befriends and takes care of him.

Darkly has never before seen a woman like Callie and he finds that she arouses feelings in him that he thinks are very wrong. Later, when Callie's lover Clay returns, Darkly spies on them. Believing that what they are doing, is as wrong as what he finds himself doing, he is torn between his strict upbringing and a his new feelings.

Callie and Clay are the only two people in a position to help him but they remain oddly unaware of the explosion that is building inside Darkly. Eventually, he can take no more and exactly what you expect to happen does.

It's not a new storyline but the film is carried by Ashley Judd's acting and some wonderful cinematography. The forest becomes a weird, threatening and surreal place where Callie reigns like some irresistably lovely fairy queen. Judd gives the character a credible mix of open friendship and compassion while being fully and unquesioningly committed to her mute partner Clay.

Ridley's Surreal Film Plus The Hairy Armpits Of Ashley Judd!
Written and directed by little-known, Phillip Ridley (The Reflecting Skin), 1995's "The Passion Of Darkly Noon" is an almost ethereal Grimm's twisted fairy-tale that turns quicky into spiraling jealousy, self-mutilation, pyschosis and death.

A confused young man, Darkly Noon (Brendan Fraser) stumbles into a forest clearing and is picked up off the road and taken to a farmhouse inhabited by a mute carpenter, Clay (Viggo
Mortensen) and his beautiful but very hirsute lover, Callie (a Clorox blonde, hairy armpitted, scantily dressed and very sweaty, Ashley Judd).

We discover that Darkly has fled from a strict religious commune/cult which has been ransacked by local rednecks who have shot and killed his parents.

While Clay is away, Callie will play and so, Callie decides to "take in" Darkly as one of the family. Darkly lives in the loft of the barn, spies on Callie, lusts after Callie and after Darkly does some "spanking the monkey" in the hayloft while watching her, he is just about to make his move when Clay arrives back home. Darkly is immediately enraged with passion, lust, jealousy and most with religious contempt and righteous indignation! He inflicts pain upon himself, has visions in the woods, and finally has a religious experience that leads him to some "very un-Christianlike" behavior to say the least, smiting everyone in his path.

This film is not for everyone. Even fans of Frazer and Mortensen won't approve because they both play roles that are far from their normal typecasting. Although everyone turns in decent performances some viewers might be disappointed. But hey! If you like Ashley Judd, barbed wire and hairy armpits this will be right up your alley!

Happy Watching!

Powerful statement
The Passion of Darkly Noon is a strange, mesmerizing film that you can't help but get sucked into when you turn it on. It stars Brendan Frasier, Ashley Judd and an early role from Aragorn - Viggo Mortensen, sporting the same scruff and locks as he did in LOTR. The film is permeated with bizarre imagery, very much dream-like, as another review noted.

To me the film deals with the repression of feelings. Darkly Noon, the Brendan Frasier lead, was raised in a cultish Christian community which was pillaged by nearby townsfolk - they killed all of the cult, leaving only Darkly Noon alive. He finds his way onto Ashley and Viggo's ranch where they invite him to stay.

From here we see Darkly try to express his sexual feelings for Ashley, feelings which he was never allowed to express as a normal boy developing into a man, and he expresses them in the most horrific ways. The only way he knows how to appropriate his new feelings of lust is by hurting himself - using barbed wire, glass, etc. - and eventually others. It's a powerful statement that feelings left unexpressed (or rather, disallowed to express) will still evince themselves in one way or another, sometimes in very bad ways.

We also learn that Brendan Frasier is a great actor and it's unfortunate he always chooses roles like Dudley Dooright and George of the Jungle. The last thing we learn is that Ashley Judd is really, really hot. But we knew that already.

dark, disturbing, provoking
This oddball film is not for the taste of everyone, and even fans of Viggo Mortensen and Brendan Fraser might not care for it, though the should appreciate the fine performances from these talented actors.

Darkly Noon is not the description of a time of day but the name of Brendan Fraser's disturbed character. He is the product of an overly religious parents. When they are murdered, Darkly escapes to the forest and is later found and taken to a couple Callie (Ashley Judd) and Clay (Viggo). They are lovers, which quickly becomes the centre of Brendan's problem and their nightmare. His religious upbringing disdain they are living "in sin", but as Judd nurses him back to health, he becomes obsessed with her. The conflict of his physical desires, the growing obsessed clashing with his religious teaching pushing him over the edge. It is easier to believe she is a witch twisting his mind, than to deal with his own feelings of jealousy and sin for wanting her.

Amazing film, when Fraser, Judd and Mortensen were not the powerhouse names they are now. Fine performances from them all.

Something that you either love or will hate, but doubt anyone will be unmoved. ... Read more

Reviews (20)

It's not British, it's Australian
Another reviewer made the mistake of calling this a british movie...it is not, it's Australian. That fact is what makes the movie interesting. It's an Australian surfer movie...and that's not something that's too common. As a Zeta-Jones fan, I rented this and liked her in the role. Sean Pertwee and Ewan McGregor play their roles well enough to make this a passable moive. I would liked to have seen a bit more surfing footage, and a little less dialog (after all, this was supposed to be a surfing flick), but still, it wasn't too bad, and worth watching for Zeta-Jones fans.

Awesome
Blue Juice is an absolute classic which sums up the Cornish surfing community very well. The film and countryside is true to Kernow and as a Cornish surfer myself, know alot of people in situations very similar. Although actual footage is limited, its a film about their lives rather than a surfing vid. It is balanced well and is funny, true to life and shows what some of our lives down here are really like.

Good no-brainer
This is a great cute movie if you don't want to have to think too hard. Some classic funny lines, really goofy characters.

JC (Sean Pertwee) must prove his worth as a surfer (in England!) where surfing barely exists. Kind of a cute twist on the surfer movies: it's cold and there's really no waves to speak of. But once in a blue moon, these huge waves come in and that is when JC must prove himself.

BUT... his girlfriend (Cahterine Zeta-Jones) will disown him if he even tries! So, here lies the issue. Does he pronounce his love and forget the stupid wave, or is he influenced by his childhood friends who care nothing for intimate relationships?

Unrealistic, sure. Of course. But cute.

Plot is thin, but the characters are memorable and there are some truly classic funny lines. JC's childhood friends (Ewan McGregor, Peter Gunn and Steven Mackintosh) are hilarious characters and are all portrayed very well. Definitely worth the rental price, or buy it used.

A couple things I don't understand:

WHY ON EARTH IS THE PRICE SO HIGH!?!?! What's up with that? But it used.

WHY is Ewan McGregor on the front cover, as if he is the main character? Yes, he plays a pivotal character - JC actually forsakes his love to save Dean's pride and his life. But shouldn't Sean Pertwee be the one on the cover with Catherine Zeta-Jones? As cute as McGregor is, he never looks this clean-cut (or sane) in the movie!

bought this for ewan but love Sean Pertwee as well now
I always made fun of the surfer dudes before seeing Ewan in this movie. I loved the acid trip scene where Ewan gets embarrassed over his friend's behavior although he gave him the acid. Check out the braided hair on Ewan as well and they had a cool song and sock/p*nis scene as well.

Blue Juice the reivew
In one part of the moive I think you sould look away on that one. Trush me. The legend is here it's JC (Sean Pertwee). In the moive he has the look's and fame and he has it all: And he has the hottest girl in town her name is Chloe (Catherine Zeta Jones). Ok one of his friend's (Ewan McGregor) enter him in a dangerous surfing contest, poor JC he must risk his life or his one ture love.

Which one is it going to be? The girl or the contest???

In the moive he said he is out of shape and he can't surf like that anymore. In the moive he said he almost die form that foolishly stuff. Once he had it all but now I don't know about that one.

Well, enjoy the moive I did you will too!!!!! ... Read more

Reviews (132)

A Must For King Fans; For The Others, Read On...
At the outset I'd like to say that King's fans are gonna love this one. It's a bit slow, long, but it's spooky, scary, terrifying, nightmarish, and it delivers an unforgettable message at the end. Vintage King.

Now, for the rest...

A weird guy shows up in an island in Maine (King's favorite State), and kills an old lady for no real reason. But he doesn't go away - he waits to get arrested. In this case, however, the real prisoners are the residents, some of whom are murdered in vicious ways by the stranger, with the help of his ominous-looking cane.

Colm Feore is terrific in the role of the evil man, while Tim Daly does a decent job as the town grocer and Constable. The really cool thing about this film is that you never notice the length (close to 4 hours!), as scene after scene captures your imagination and tortures your soul.

Small town mentalities and moralities are exposed for what they are - cheap, narrow, selfish, and deadly. Each character has (or has had) a past (or present) that they'd never like the world to ever know. But the stranger (the Legion) knows EVERYTHING about everyone.

As secrets come out, and as hidden conflicts are brought out into the open, one can see the characters change faces. When the main objective of the stranger is revealed by him during a town meeting during the course of the storm, it's time for soul-searching and morals-testing. None emerges unscathed, except Tim Daly and his wife, though in completely opposite ways.

The ending is definitely not satisfactory, and seems forced to deliver some sort of closure to the viewer.

In summary- Positive things:

1. Good, strong character development.

2. Powerful storyline.

3. Intelligent, relevant screenplay.

4. Good photography.

5. Excellent acting by most.

6. Wonderful music score.

Negative things:

1. Length (some people will definitely groan!)

2. Unsatisfactory ending.

3. Colm Feore is not used very well.

4. Slow beginning, with a few scenes of really bad dialogue delivery and acting.

Finally A King Film You Can Watch ...
...without wanting to smash your tv-set.

This movie had to be good, because Stephen King himself wrote the screenplay - which was an original screenplay and no adaptation from one of his story. King wrote this sinister little tale especially for ABC television and I have to admit, that beside the fact that it is a good story for a cold night, snow piling up outside, it is a very good mvie as well. I loved the actors, the filming and just every minute of the 4-hour mini-series. I even watched the whole thing just listening to Stephen King's commentary (although I skipped the parts director Craig Baxley commented) - the commentary was as good as the movie itself, because it was not some poor strawhat talking about something, but Stephen King doing what he can do best: not commenting, but telling. Stephen King gives very delightful inside-information on the making of the movie and talks about works related to this movie, how he came across the idea for the story (it was partly influenced by a play by Friedrich Dürenmatt King had a part in when being in High School), how he tried to work it out, stuff like that. So this is a very interesting bonus for every Stephen King fan: you get a very good movie and a very fine commentary by Stephen King, with all the information and all the amusing details 'n' extras.

Story's Rough Cut: Small town off the coast of Maine, Little Tall Island, the setting of "Dolores Claiborne" - "life on the island is different from the life on the mainland." Stranger makes the small township aware of his evil presence by murdering an old woman, Martha Clarendon, and therefore arrested - "because I choose," as the stranger, André Linoge, claims. Linoge knows all the dirty little secrets of the clean-shirted islanders and he wants what he inevites, unless he will not go away. What exactly Linoge wants, you have to find out for yourselves, sorry. It is worth finding out, believe me, just this one time! ;-)

Let me finish with a praise for the movie by some newspaper I do not remember, "it is a high-voltage, spine-tingling shocker, which has been called one of the best King films ever!" It sure is.

Don't waste your time
I really like Stephen King, but this has got to be one of his worst works ever. EVER. The plot is intruiging, but the movie is sooooo long. It's like, what, five hours? The movie pulls you in with an interesting begining, and keeps you watching with a so-so middle, but there is really no point. There is so much unneccesary information and there are so many pointless scenes. Yeah, like, seven people or so die, but there isn't really anything all too exciting about it. After a while, this movie becomes quite annoying, and you just want to see what the guy wants, and what he wants is rather idiotic, and is very anti-climactic. So, in my opinion, don't waste your time watching this.

"Gimme what I want and I'll go away."
Gimme what I want and I'll go away. Gimme what I want and I'll go away. Gimme what I want and I'll go away. Gimme what I want and I'll go away. Gimme what I want and I'll go away. Gimme what I want and I'll go away. Gimme what I want and I'll go away. Gimme what I want and I'll go away. Gimme what I want and I'll go away. Gimme what I want and I'll go away. Gimme what I want and I'll go away. Gimme what I want and I'll go away. Gimme what I want and I'll go away. Gimme what I want and I'll go away. Gimme what I want and I'll go away. Gimme what I want and I'll go away. Gimme what I want and I'll go away. Gimme what I want and I'll go away. Gimme what I want and I'll go away. Gimme what I want and I'll go away. Gimme what I want and I'll go away. Gimme what I want and I'll go away. Gimme what I want and I'll go away. Gimme what I want and I'll go away. Gimme what I want and I'll go away. Gimme what I want and I'll go away. Gimme what I want and I'll go away. Gimme what I want and I'll go away. Gimme what I want and I'll go away. Gimme what I want and I'll go away. Gimme what I want and I'll go away. Gimme what I want and I'll go away. Gimme what I want and I'll go away. Gimme what I want and I'll go away. Gimme what I want and I'll go away. Gimme what I want and I'll go away. Gimme what I want and I'll go away. Gimme what I want and I'll go away. Gimme what I want and I'll go away. Gimme what I want and I'll go away. Gimme what I want and I'll go away. Gimme what I want and I'll go away. Gimme what I want and I'll go away. Gimme what I want and I'll go away. Gimme what I want and I'll go away.

Was that annoying? Now you know how I felt going through this film.

He wants a kid. That's what he wants. He wants a kid. There, I just saved you three hours of agonizing torture.

Good movie, loses it at the end
I watched Storm of the Century yesterday, with low expectations. However, it did exceed them. At 4 1/2 hours long, you need to have a lot of patience with it. The movie maintained a good element of mystery, but about two hours in the movie you'll want it to speed up. It has its quick gasps and scares, and the usual King twistedness. The movie also made some good Roanoke references. The most dissapointing part of the movie was the end. The solution to the problem was the one you expected so, it lost the element of mystery towards the end. The movie is not really scary as you watching it, but in the dark, some scenes of it come back to you. I would see it if you have a decent amount of time on your hands and nothing else to do. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

The Mystery is Why This Isn't on DVD Yet!
I remember watching this movie when it was first shown on TV and I think it originally had a longer title, like The Mystery of Caroline or Who is Caroline? or something like that and I think it was later shortened to Caroline? Stephanie Zimbalist has always been one of my favorite actresses and I think she was terrific in this intriguing mystery and supsense movie about a woman who may or not be Caroline, a young woman who disappeared and thought to have died. She claims she is Caroline but is she or isn't she is the question. I highly recommend this movie and I wish this and her other movies would be transferred to DVD and I hope they put her TV show Remington Steele on DVD in complete season sets!

Wonderful Story
Wonderful story, set in the 1950's, of a woman who comes home to her wealthy family who thought she had died in a plane crash many years ago. Or is she an imposter? She must convince everyone that she is really Caroline, and find out if she is welcome in her family and community after letting everyone believe she was dead for so many years. As she gets to know her family again, she attempts to make positive changes in the lives of her skeptical young half brother and disabled half sister.

I'm surprised this movie is not yet on DVD. We have a couple of VHS copies at my library and they have been checked out nearly 400 times. This movie is almost never on the shelf.

A Wonderful Movie and it Should be on DVD!
I remember watching this movie when it first aired on TV and I believe it originally had a longer title but has been shortened to Caroline. Stephanie Zimbalist is one of my favorite actresses and I think she was very good in this intriguing mystery and supsense movie about a woman who may or not be who she says she is. I wish this and her other movies would be transferred to DVD and I hope they put her and Pierce Brosnan's TV show Remington Steele on DVD in complete season sets!

applejack's review of caroline?
this was a wonderful and exciting movie. It was inspiring and somewhat humerous at times. It was also very informative on just how far people will go to accomplish their greed and selfishness. It plays upon the family image of loving parents to their children.

"Caroline?"
This is a wonderful movie. It doesn't matter what genre you usually like or are most comfortable watching. This film is well crafted and cast, with remarkable and memorable performances. Best of all is Stefanie Zimbalist, who is as memorable in every performance, each different, as is her wonderful father, Efrem Zimbalist jr. Enjoy the movie! ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Fluffer Stuff
First Off this DVD only has 5 episodes

1. Out of the Past
2. Out of the Past II
3. Nightcrawler
4. The Lotus and the Steel
5. The Final Decision (Bonus)

Only 1 episode really has to do with Wolverine. The rest is fluff. In "Out of the Past" Part one we see how Wolverine got his claws. In "Lotus and the Steel" he goes back to a monastery in Japan. In the third and fifth episode, Wolverine is just a regular X-men. This DVD is just a way the studio can make a quick buck because of the X-men 2 Movie hype. The X-men Animated Series is great and should be released as a BOX SET, not single discs. But getting back to the DVD. There are other episodes that are probably better for this DVD. Like “Red Dawn” with Omega Red, “Repo Man” which tells of his claws and time with Alpha Flight. “Weapon X, Lies, and Videotape” tells of his time as Weapon X. And “Old Soldiers” which is about his adventures in WWII with Captain America. But technically the transfers to dvd look clean and crisp.

They shouldn't tease us like this.
I like these episodes. In fact the bonus episode The Final Decision may be one of the best X-men episodes, but come on. I wish they'd start releasing the whole series on DVD. The way they've done it, they're just teasing all of the fans out there. Throwing us a bone every now and then.

I think there were probably some episodes that might have given us more insight into Wolverine than some of these did. Weapon X, Lies, and Videotape would have been a good one, but They're still good episodes. I love the commentary. It's very good, although he could be a little more relevant at times. I'd say over all it's an excellent DVD, picture and sound are great. It's just too little, but it's not too late. If they'd get a TV station to start showing this again, peak some interest in the young kids, they could sell the whole series on DVD and it would sell great. It's one of the greatest cartoon series of all time and they should market it more.

What i really wanna see...
I bought this DVD, it generally was good, however it's sopposed to be about the history of WOLVERINE, not his "currrent" adventures... the WWII episode would have been better & some of the other Weapon X and Sabretooth oriented episodes would have been welcomed, personally I WOULD KILL(literally) for a boxed set of all 76(or so) episodes, in their entirety on DVD... that would make the greatest Chirstmas gift ever, now that's an X-FANS dream come true!!

With Wolverine, everything is great!
I'm sorry others seemed disappointed in this DVD collection, but I was utterly satisfied! Something else that satisfied me completely, as far as Sci-Fi/Action books are concerned, was THE ADVENTURES OF DARKEYE: CYBER HUNTER...an extremely fast-paced book that takes place in the 23rd Century and reads like a script for a movie due to its unique "log entries" that really pushes the story along! Great read! I highly recommend it!

Incredibley dull films.....
Very cheaply put together DVD on Wolverine and some forgetable shows from the early 90's X-Men series, horrible edited in this DVD sad to say. The Chris Claremont interview shows what a dull/uninventive writer he really is. I'm glad he's not involved with the X-Men movies in any way. Only Stan Lee is. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

BLACKTHORNE'S GREAT GREAT GREAT GRANDSON?
Sorry - I love this movie! It is like seeing Pilot Major John Blackthorne's great great great grandson, showing up in our time with a PhD, and displaying all the best characteristics of his sexy and suave, great great great grandfather. The story is an amusing murder mystery, but Richard Chamberlain's acting is wonderful. He is sexy, sensitive, smart, and totally in control as Dr. Nat Bridger, University professor - turned sleuth - investigating the murder of his brightest student. Dr. Bridger has great on-screen chemistry with Ridley, his love interest, and causes the screen to sizzle with some very steamy bed and shower scenes and particularly when he gives Ridley a licentious look and says, "I knew what you were offering". He is dashing, daring, debonair, and deliciously Blackthorne with his great beard, masculine bearing, and sexy samurai personage. Maybe Blackthorne made it out of the Japans after all........chuckle.

yawn.
This movie was just plain dull so don't bother. I am a Richard Chamberlain fan and after seeing Shogun and The Thorn Birds this movie is just a waste of his talent and my time.

Muder By Phone
Alright...'Murder By Phone'. It was an okay movie. I definitely think it could've been a lot better. It's one of those cheesy 80s horror flicks. I found it more funny than scary, though I admit, I'm gonna be scared to answer the phone for a while! This movie is pretty much about a crazed murderer dude who kills his victims by calling them + then playing a high frequency sound which makes them have like convulsions + then he sends high voltage through the phone + they die. This movie is also a little confusing at times. (Keep in mind, I saw the movie at like midnight) This is DEFINITELY a REALLY good movie to watch with a bunch of your friends during a sleepover in the middle of the night! ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

You are now entering Interzone, William S. Burroughs's phantasmagorical land of junk, paranoia, and crawly things. Best travel advice:"Exterminate all rational thought." In David Cronenberg's superbly shot, unnerving warp on the Burroughs novel, the novelist himself becomes a main character (played in an implacable monotone by Peter Weller), with elements from Burroughs' life--including the shooting of his wife during a "William Tell" game, and bohemian friends Kerouac and Ginsberg--added to frame the book's wild visions. This is, ironically, a somewhat rational approach to an unfilmable book (and it makes a hair-curling double bill with Barton Fink, another look at writerly madness, with both films sharing Judy Davis). Cronenberg is a natural for oozing mugwumps and typewriters that turn into giant bugs, of course. But in the end, this is really his own vision of the artistic process, rather than Burroughs's hallucinatory descent into hell. --Robert Horton ... Read more

Reviews (62)

It's a literary high
Cronenberg's version of Naked Lunch is a brilliant combination of Burroughs' novel and Burroughs' life. He blends the true story of Burroughs life (and his reason for writing) with the surreal dark-comedy 'routines' of the novel until they become one story. The story is a quiet hallucination featuring exterminators, addiction, typewriters in the form of insects, typewriters that grow genitals, a global conspiracy of intelligence agents, the drug trade, homosexual ambiguity, writer's block, accidental murder, and literary paranoia. None of these elements is explored completely. Instead, Cronenberg touches on each one until they form some strange, underlying logic.

This edition of the DVD has enough extras to make it the only version of Naked Lunch you'll ever have to buy. (They won't release a bigger, better edition later.) The BBC documentary is okay. It's about 45 minutes long, giving Cronenberg and William Burroughs a lot of time to speak. (Burroughs is particularly good, with a dry sense of humor and a habit of saying obvious truths that make people uneasy.) The second disc also has stills from the special effects team, showing how the various creatures and organic typewriters were developed.

But it's the first disc --- the movie itself --- that makes it worth buying and watching. The special audio track, shared by Peter Weller and Cronenberg, adds a lot of useful background information. The film itself is bright and sharp, a perfect example of DVD clarity. I highly recommend this DVD to anyone who is interested in the best films of the 1990s. Naked Lunch didn't make as big an impact in theaters as it did in book stores, but it should have.

"It's time to do our Wiiliam Tell Act"
Talking slithering strangely sexual typewriters, addicts of cockroach-exterminating pyretheum powder (who like to breath on cbugs and watch them die while on it), thick-fluid sipping mugwhump creatures, an assortment of strange parasitic characters to represent the sinister parts of you you never knew ere there, and a high as a kite protagonist to narrate it all. What more can I say? This is both a brilliant representation of William S. Burrough's no-holds-barred dark imagination and director Cronenburg's as well, both with the twisted audascity to take all these horrific atroscities of reality and fantasy and breath eroticism & mystery into them...

Impossible to describe or even explain (almost but not quite as incomprehensible as FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS), the movie is not exactly a telling of the book Naked Lunch (even though some characters, namely the vile mugwhumps, show up) as it is a telling of Burroughs writing the book and what he may have imagined while writing it.

THe film starts out with the main character William Lee and his even more "creepy" (if anyone in the Burroughs line ever wanted to label what's inside themselves) wife, Joan, are addicted to the roach powder pyretheum, which Lee obtains thru his job as an exterminator. After playing a drunken William Tell act with his wife and blowing her head off so to say (which actually happened to Burroughs and his wife, and is said to have sparked the writing of Naked Lunch), he escapes to Tangiers, Mexico (with a "ticket" which actually appears to be a syringe). There he flows into a seemingly hallucinatory Interzone--a place populated by all the things mentioned above and tons more weirdness. He also meets the wife of a bisexual author who looks almost identical to his wife...and they engage in a particularly freaky sexual practice in which a typewriter tries to join in. If I say any more, the plot will be totally given away, so just watch, and compared to all the elaborate twists and turns on this unreal path to hell, I've said very little.

Great performances from Roy Sheider (who plays Dr. Benway, another character direct from the book), Paul Weller as Lee, Judy Davis as Joan and the other Joan, and Robert A. Silverman as a truly unique black centipede meat salesman with a disquieting manor (the black centipede meat, as well as Burroughs' thoughts on how centipedes controlled many Interzone lives, were from the novel). You'll either be completely confused or completely tripped out of yr. mind, but you won't leave the film unchanged...just like Burroughs' writings.

welcome to interzone!
In my opinion, Cronenburgs best film, or at least that i've seen. Amazing movie, Peter Weller (robocop) does an awesome job too. One of those joints you pop in the player and are thinking about it a week after you've viewed it. Runaway to Interzone with talking typewriters, giant sea centipedes, and the innermost sanctum of paranoia, bizarre eroticism, delusion, hallucination, and beautifully depressing schizophrenia. It's something else. Tough movie to describe, definitely required viewing for anyone with oddball tastes like mine and a good respect for a true artists unique vision (in this case two artists, Cronenberg and Burroughs). p.s. (just don't ever try the William Tell party trick)

Out to Lunch
If you're going to watch this film then you pretty much already know what you're in for. Take Cronenberg and Burroughs, mix them together and you've got yourself a pretty weird film. And it is weird, but it's also so much more. It deals with addiction like no other film has. Specifically how addiction effects the creative process. This is far from youre average nice Saturday night film viewing, but it's a real treat nontheless. Criterion has once again done an amazing job. I'd be surprised if there's ever a better release of the film.

David Cronenberg's Very Best
Before you even try to watch this movie, realize that David Cronenberg's films are among the most bizarre and perplexing films you will ever see. If you like your films to stick to traditional narratives and standard plot devices you will probably hate 'Naked Lunch' (and any other David Cronenberg film yo