Reviews (14)

OUT OF THE CLOSET
A man fears his son is a serial killer; the son plays on this and torments his father; is he the culprit or is it the father? That is the premise in this low-key, yet tense and enthralling psychological drama. The answer is rather predictable, but thanks to the intense performances by Treat Williams, Linda Hamilton and Jonathan Jackson, the movie grabs you and doesn't let up until it's last mesmerizing scene. Williams has aged nicely, maintaining that handsome leading man quality, but has gone a little pudgy and hangs on to that guy next door persona. Hamilton, looking a little tired and older,nonetheless conveys a quiet sexuality and seems to enjoy her character; Jackson switches from smart-mouthed brat to the abused victim rather effectively. The direction is terse and not ostentatious, Powers letting the story tell itself.
A tight little overlooked film.

Vapid Entertainment
Skeletons in the Closet is a head-game style flick asking: Who's the Bad Guy? The father of a disturbed teenager starts to believe that his son is a serial killer. The son, for his part, seems to enjoy messing with his father's head. Linda Hamilton plays the father's girlfriend, who is caught in the middle between father and son, with both telling her that the other is paranoid.

Overall, this movie was a bit over reaching and predictable. There were no surprises and the script fails to deliver on the potential drama of the story. The acting in this movie is quite good and does help to deliver it from made for TV status. In fact, I have to wonder what Linda Hamilton was doing in this movie at all. Either her career is on the way down or her agent needs to suggest that she be more picky with her roles. Truly, her character could have been fully eliminated from the script without really losing anything.

I say go ahead and watch. It's not too bad, if you don't expect too much. It will at least help you to burn a couple of hours with some mindless entertainment. We all need that sometimes.

For DVD collectors: This DVD has basically nothing of interest. There are no extras beyond production notes, cast&crew, and the trailer. Kinda disappointing on that front.

Great Movie
Skeletons In The Closet was a really cool movie! I recently added this DVD to my own collection, and I'm glad I did! It may not have been the greatest phsychological thriller in the world, but it was definately worth watching. I was very impressed with Jonathan Jackson's performace as Will Reid's (Treat Williams) 18-year old son with some deep, emotional problems. Williams was great as Jackson's paranoid father who undoubtedly has some issues of his own. Linda Hamilton was O.K. with the part she was given, even though her role could have been completely omitted from the script and not have changed the movie one bit. This movie is definately worth watching!

Well worth it
A while ago my wife brought home this movie on VHS from the local movie joint. I rolled my eyes figuring she picked up another B-grade cheesy flick. Boy was I surprised. This movie is well acted and keeps your attention throughout. In has enough twists to keep you wondering who is doing what and what the full story really is. It doesn't rely on gore or shock value but rather mental games to keep you glued and wondering what is going to happen. Well worth the money and a great addition to any dramatic/thriller DVD collection.

GREAT MOVIE!
My Opinion May Seem A Little Biased because i was in the movie! it was filmed in Jackson New Hampshire, where i live so i got to be an extra in a couple of scenes. ANYWAY, this is a great movie and it keeps you on the edge of your seats. i HIGHLY recomend u buy this ... Read more

Reviews (29)

Campy fun
Let me start off by saying that I absolutely love the original Bring It On and have seen it so many times that I can recite the entire script along with the actors. Seeing as how I enjoyed the first film so much, I expected this to be nowhere near as much fun. I was wrong.

Bring It On Again (the title alone screams "direct-to-video B-movie sequel") is delightfully campy fun. The story isn't a direct rip-off of the original, like many DTV sequels are (see: Cruel Intentions 2) and actually had a fairly strong plot. Whittier Smith, a freshman in college who was a star high school cheerleader, trys out for the Stingers squad, the 7-time collegiate national champions. She and her best friend Monica make the squad and are soon getting themselves into trouble with the snotty head cheerleader, Tina (played excellently by Bree Turner). Soon enough Whittier and Monica get fed up with Tina and her drill seargant-like ways, so they quit and decide to form their own squad to compete at nationals. They assemble a squad of actors and interpretive dancers, who have nothing better to do since their clubs have been shut down. In a matter of weeks, Whittier must shape up her team for a competition in front of the school to decide which squad has the better moves.

In addition to the main cheerleading storyline, there's also a romantic interest for Whittier. That story fell flat, in my opinion, but thankfully it doesn't occupy much of the film.

Some may say the ending is predictable, but knowing how the original Bring It On ended, I was actually not completely sure until the winner of the competition was revealed. The cheer sequences are stunning and wonderful, although not entirely plausible given the timeframe of the film. Still, it's entertaining enough.

The acting in the film is better than is to be expected. Bree Turner was wonderful as Tina; she really nailed the role. Other great performances were turned out by Bryce Johnson and Joie Lenz (those two had wonderfully catty chemistry), and Dennis Hemphill, who was hilarious as a high-on-himself actor-turned-cheerleader.

In addition to the movie, there are a few special features tacked on to the DVD. They include some deleted and alternate scenes (most are throwaways and it's easy to see why they were cut), a trailer for the film, a "cheer along" that allows you to see the words to the opening cheer from the first Bring It On, the making of Bring It On Again featurette (following the film from casting to filming - pretty decent), "fun facts" to go along with a music video, and Tony G.'s cheer "dos and don'ts" which are basic rules for cheerleading as given by the film's choreographer. Nothing too exciting there, but we're given more than most DTV movies.

Overall, Bring It On Again was a fun experience. It has just the right combination of comedy, romance, and dance action to keep you entertained for the hour and a half that it's on your screen.

Bring this on, it's all good to me!!
I'm surprised at the reviews of this. I thought it was going to end up being really horrible. So I rented it and put up 2.75 hoping they would be wrong. I wasn't disappointed. I enjoyed this movie. I could see some similarities between this one and the first one. In the sequel, a girl name Whittier gets fed up with the squad she's in and decides to make her own, which in the end, ends up outcheering the varsity squad to go on. The ending is the best part. That's where all the good cheerleading moves are made. I do think the first one was better, but this one was watchable. I was also pleased to find a section full of DVD extras (A lot of DVD's have been skimpy in this section lately) They include a behind the scenes, a music video that contains little bubbles with facts about the movie (think pop-up video), the dos and don'ts of cheerleading with the movie's choreographer, a sing-along with the original cast of Bring It On, a trailer, and deleted/alternate scenes. I would definitely recommend renting this and possibly even purchasing it. I hope they release a third.

Awful sequel
This is one of the worst movies I've ever seen in my life. I was surprised by how much I loved and still love the first Bring it On, now that was a funny movie with a great cast (Eliza Dushku, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Bradford, Clare Kramer). I really want to help people out by warning them how truly terrible the sequel is. The dialogue is awful, nothing about this movie made me laugh. The mean blonde girl in the movie is so annoying I can't stand to look at her. I didn't even like the girl we were supposed to be rooting for. There was no chemistry with her "love interest", that storyline seemed thrown in just to mirror the first movie. None of the acting was good, all of the actors were probably either embarrassed to be in this movie or unknowns hoping this would be their chance on camara. The plot is not only dull but completely unrealistic, they take a bunch of college kids that have never had dance training and in a couple of weeks they're professional dancers who can do backflips and handstands. Yeah, right. The dance-off at the very end might of been good but I was about ready to throw something through my tv at that point so I can't really comment on it.

Rah Rah Sis Boom Bust
The first "Bring It On" film took me by surprise. I wasn't expecting to like it at all. Who knew that a story about dueling high school cheerleading squads would be any good? Since the first film made some cash, a sequel was made for the direct to home video market, hoping to recapture any success. To say "Bring It On Again" misses the mark might be harsh, but unfortunately, is not at all inaccurate.

This time, the competing teams are in college. In fact, the teams are from same school. The senior varsity sqaud faces off against a group of talented young freshman, who are forced to start their own squad. and go up against the snoots This a fight to represent the university in the national competition.

Directed by Damon Santostefano, he tries to recapture the spirit of the first film by populating it with perky, good looking, young actors. It's not enough though. While the film is great to look at, and the cast is adequate given the material, the story is basically the same. None of the charaters from the first film are here and it's hard to root for anyone. Just a pale imitation of characters we have already met. The fun factor has faded.

Given all of my observations about the film, I wasn't expecting much from the extras--if there were any at all, that is. All of the bonus material is meant to prop up the main feature and that's all. The alternate opening, deleted and alternate scenes, Cheer Dos & Don'ts, the fun fact trivia track, the on the set featurette, and Cheer-along mirror those extras on the original disc. Sadly they are not as much fun.

Bring It On Again is a sequel the world probably could have done without. Watch the original...

C-level movie
I thought about buying this movie for my sister, who loved the original "Bring It On". But before I bought, I decided to rent the movie for myself and see if it was any good. Wow was I dissapointed. The plot is almost identical to the original "Bring It On" but characters portrayed less fully and the cinematic quality much lower. My roomate and I fast-forwarded through the slow and painful dialogue to the cheer scenes, but poor film quality hurt the impact of amazing choreography in the cheer sequences. My favorite part of the movie was the cheer-along to the opening clip of the first movie...which I watched twice to rid my mind of second movie. If you liked the first "Bring It On", rent this movie first...hopefully you won't regret the loss of 3 bucks. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

JJ rules
I love this movie. It's also known as "Prisoners of Zenda, Inc" which is what i've known it to be. Jonathan Jackson put on a great preformance as two different characters. JJ is an amazing actor. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Tailor-made for family viewing, Madison is the kind of decent, all-ages movie that's all too rare these days, and that alone makes it a pleasant alternative to Disney and Pixar hits. And while this barely factual drama plays fast and loose with actual historical details in the sport of hydroplane racing, it's a rousing (if utterly conventional) tale of underdogs under pressure--a boat racer's version of Hoosiers, if you will. Jim Caviezel (The Passion of the Christ) stars as Jim McCormick, who drove the Miss Madison hydroplane to unlikely victory in the 1971 Gold Cup race in Madison, Indiana, where low morale and failing economy created a strong need for local heroes. It's a predictable movie in every way, with a heavy-handed screenplay and direction that's nothing if not earnest, but Caviezel's reliable as always, and the capable supporting cast includes Mary McCormack, Bruce Dern, and Jake Lloyd (from Star Wars: Episode I). Best of all, the recreations of early '70s-vintage hydroplane races are guaranteed to please devotees of the sport and anyone with a cinematic need for speed. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Cute, but trite.
As a sixteen year old girl, it can be difficult to find movies to watch with my parents. This one certainly qualified for that--it was moderately funny, had hardly any language, no "bedroom scenes" as my mother calls them, and ended happily. What violence there was revolved mostly around teenage boys acting tough. The basic premise--delinquent boys taken from civilization to learn how to shape up on a cattle ranch--was appealing enough. Practically everything that happened in the movie was a cliche, though. I knew how the movie would end before the opening credits were up. Still, it's something inoffensive to watch with the folks.

For the Family
Movie you can watch with your family. Stresses the alternative when wrong choices are made. Great movie for pre-teens and teens alike.

Hope Ranch Review
One of the better family type films I've ever seen. Bruce Boxleitner and Lorenzo Lamas take three out of control teens from the city and teach them country values. Although I would have loved to see this movie turn into a series I think it's a definite must see. ... Read more