Reviews (65)

Another Carroll Ballard Classic...Fly Away Home is stunning!
As a longtime admirer of Director Carroll Ballard, I was thrilled when the Special Edition of "Fly Away Home" was released on DVD. I wish Anchor Bay had done the same treatment to Never Cry Wolf. But this film is a classic for all ages. Its parallel story to the real life Bill Lishman is more than entertaining, it tugs at one's heart. And Anna Paquin is stunning as Amy as she is in every film.

FLY AWAY HOME is also an environmental manifesto because it calls attention to the need for less development and more care for our habitat. I've rarely seen any comments along these lines and if you watch the movie closely, you'll realize that this is a call for change in scraping the land off and piling up huge neighborhoods and industry. It is testimony to the need for conservation in all countries.

Finally, Fly Away Home is a family film that breaches the silliness that too many youth movies have evolved to. This movie treats younger viewers with intelligence, not like an etcha-sketch.

I believe anyone with heart and soul will enjoy this movie for it will touch both.

Great Family Movie with Stunning Cinematography
This film has much of what perfect family films should have. Anna Paquin gives a quietly perfect performance as a girl whose mother has died, leaving her to go live with her estranged, and somewhat strange, father. Jeff Daniels plays the free-spirit, gruff, eccentric, semi-recluse inventor who is Anna's father. The awkwardness upon her arrival is almost tangible. What saves her, and the father-daughter relationship, is an orphaned family of Canada geese. Anna's character finds them in a patch of woods being developed into a subdivision or commercial complex, they imprint on her (Conrad Lorenz, the ethologist who figured out imprinting, would love this movie), and she has to teach the goslings how to be geese.

The lessons go well until Fall, when it's time for the young but full-grown geese to start thinking about migrating. How does a pre-teen girl teach young geese how to fly? She gets her eccentric inventor of a father to . . . well, I won't give everything away. Let's just say that this story has its ups and downs, but has a happy, but realistic ending. In the meantime, the process of teaching the geese to fly in the film leads to some incredible cinemagraphic sequences. The viewers get a bird's-eye view of geese flying, and feels as if the geese are right next to them.

Is this a complex, mulit-layed film full of sophistication and sub-plots? No way! This is a straightforward film about bonding and love - father-daughter bonding and love, as well as human-animal bonding and and love. "Fly Away Home" is a great movie to have at home and pull out on a rainy day to watch with your kids, from about age four up.

This movie makes my dad cry
And it's not just him. This movie came up amongst my friends in college and every female in the room said that their father KEPT watching this movie and they ALWAYS cried. Sort of brings a whole new meaning to the phrase "empty nest."

This movie is about Anna, who, after her mother's death in a car crash (Anna was also in the car), is sent to live with her slightly eccentric inventor father in Canada. He means well, but he just makes absolutely no sense to Anna. It is an exagerated case of "my dad is so weird" that any teenager can identify with. Meanwhile, the idea of a teenage girl is so foreign to her dad that the more he tries to bond, the more she stomps away.

Into the story comes a band of orphaned Canadian geese that Anna nurtures. They imprint her as their mother, so she more or less trains them. The only problem is that they must fly south for the winter, and Anna is their only role model. Luckily, she has a dad who builds space shuttles for fun. Suddenly, he has a way to connect with her and she has a reason to trust him.

Though it sounds sort of hokey, this movie that never delves into complete pathos. Instead, it is frequently quite funny and always touching. If you are looking for a father's day present, this is ideal. Just make sure to keep some tissues handy.

The Birds
This drama about a father/daughter relationship showed some promise in the beginning with a couple of tense scenes, but unfortunately the movie became more and more predictable and uninteresting as it went along. The main plot is about a 13 year old girl (Anna Paquin) whose pets consist in a bunch of baby geese. Problem is, as the geese grow up they will have to find their own way and fly away, so the girl and her father (Jeff Daniels) try to help the birds and end up guiding them to a safe place. Basically a feel-good-movie, "Fly Away Home" lacks dramatic tension, surprising situations and a solid plot. As it is, this drama is just a piece of harmless fluff with some pretty images and lots of boring scenes that seem endless and repetitive. The acting is competent and Carroll Ballard`s direction is equally decent, but overall this cinematic experience is way too lifeless, patchy and predictable. Children may like it, though, still this is nothing more than a cliched and unconvincing family movie.

Well-intended but not very challenging.

Young girl and dad help young geese fly south for the winter
The story of "Fly Away Home" is fairly predictable, in that we know full well that young Amy Alden (Anna Paquin) is going to persuade her father, Thomas (Jeff Daniels), to come up with a way of teaching a flock of adopted goslings how to fly and get them to a winter refuge in North Carolina. But predictability is not always a deterrent to a film being enjoyable or even inspirational, and you have to pity someone who cannot enjoy watching a bunch of baby geese running after Anna Paquin, convinced that she is there mother and therefore responsible for imprinting on them what they need to learn to survive. Besides, for what is ostensibly a children's film this one opens with a rather shocking scene, where we see a fatal car accident during the open credits while listening to a gentle melody. If there is anything that indicates this is more than your usual predictable children's film, this would be it.

If there is a flaw in "Fly Away Home" it is that the relationship between daughter and father takes a back seat to the story of the geese, so that the pathos that exists there is almost lost in the flapping of wings (but there is a nice moment and a good line when the father tells his daughter why he know what she can do it). They two have been estranged by distance (he returned to Canada while his wife and daughter lived in New Zealand), and living together is not improving things. He is an eccentric artist and inventor who cannot figure out how to connect with a living human being until the geese that come between them bring them together.

Fortunately, dad is spared the role of being the villain, because there are land developers at both ends of the flight and a wild life officer who knows what the rulebook says about domesticated geese. But those are just minor hurdles to the idea of flying 600-miles in four days in an ultra-light plane for Amy to lead her geese to their promised (wet) land. Yes, the idea that the clock is ticking and that bulldozers are ready to roll in North Carolina is all a bit much, but then there are moments, like when the ultra-lights and geese fly through the skyscrapers of Baltimore than just about take your breath away.

I was not aware until after I watched the film that director Carroll Ballard and cinematographer Caleb Deschanel had previously collaborated on "The Black Stallion," but that certainly makes sense because both films are perfectly willing to let pictures exist without dialogue. The other commonality is that "Fly Away Home" is another film that adults can enjoy just as much as the kiddies. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

EXCELLENT CHASE SCENES!!
This is a great movie, if you are looking for a good 50's era flick. There are plenty of great car chase scenes (mercs, fords, chevys, & an awesome lincoln) and a few good songs to boot. An all around good movie.

Red-hot rockabilly,smokin' tires and moonshine aplenty!
Andy Armstrong reaches far back into the hills and glens of smokey mountain moonshine running in the late '50's. The sounds of throaty engines bellowing down tranquil leaf-strewn winding backroads are punctuated only by wailing sirens, howling tires, booming gunshots and broken glass. Attention to detail is stunning,as the viewer is transported back in time to a back-woods struggle between family tradition, stormy relationships,personal pride, federal law. Classic rock-a-billy music from the Sun Record studio accompanies this vintage look at the emotions and reckless courage behind a dangerous battle to stop the flow of white lightning, once and for all, and the price that had to be paid. A smorgasbord of vintage 50's memorabilia with a kickin' rock-a-billy soundtrack awaits eager nostalgia and car buffs. Well done! Too bad it is no longer available in Canada for purchase... ... Read more

Amazon.com

There are some filmmaking teams that invariably bring out the best in each other, and that's definitely the case with director Carroll Ballard and cinematographer Caleb Deschanel.They previously collaborated on The Black Stallion and Never Cry Wolf, and Fly Away Home is their third family film that deserves to be called a classic. Inspired by Bill Lishman's autobiography, the movie tells the story of a 13-year-old girl (Anna Paquin) who goes to live with her estranged, eccentric father (Jeff Daniels) following the death of her mother. At first she's withdrawn and reclusive, but finds renewed happiness when she adopts an orphaned flock of baby geese and, later, teaches them to migrate using an ultralight. Sensitively directed and stunningly photographed, the movie has flying sequences that are nothing short of astonishing, and Daniels and Paquin (Oscar winner for The Piano) make a delightful father-daughter duo. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (65)

Another Carroll Ballard Classic...Fly Away Home is stunning!
As a longtime admirer of Director Carroll Ballard, I was thrilled when the Special Edition of "Fly Away Home" was released on DVD. I wish Anchor Bay had done the same treatment to Never Cry Wolf. But this film is a classic for all ages. Its parallel story to the real life Bill Lishman is more than entertaining, it tugs at one's heart. And Anna Paquin is stunning as Amy as she is in every film.

FLY AWAY HOME is also an environmental manifesto because it calls attention to the need for less development and more care for our habitat. I've rarely seen any comments along these lines and if you watch the movie closely, you'll realize that this is a call for change in scraping the land off and piling up huge neighborhoods and industry. It is testimony to the need for conservation in all countries.

Finally, Fly Away Home is a family film that breaches the silliness that too many youth movies have evolved to. This movie treats younger viewers with intelligence, not like an etcha-sketch.

I believe anyone with heart and soul will enjoy this movie for it will touch both.

Great Family Movie with Stunning Cinematography
This film has much of what perfect family films should have. Anna Paquin gives a quietly perfect performance as a girl whose mother has died, leaving her to go live with her estranged, and somewhat strange, father. Jeff Daniels plays the free-spirit, gruff, eccentric, semi-recluse inventor who is Anna's father. The awkwardness upon her arrival is almost tangible. What saves her, and the father-daughter relationship, is an orphaned family of Canada geese. Anna's character finds them in a patch of woods being developed into a subdivision or commercial complex, they imprint on her (Conrad Lorenz, the ethologist who figured out imprinting, would love this movie), and she has to teach the goslings how to be geese.

The lessons go well until Fall, when it's time for the young but full-grown geese to start thinking about migrating. How does a pre-teen girl teach young geese how to fly? She gets her eccentric inventor of a father to . . . well, I won't give everything away. Let's just say that this story has its ups and downs, but has a happy, but realistic ending. In the meantime, the process of teaching the geese to fly in the film leads to some incredible cinemagraphic sequences. The viewers get a bird's-eye view of geese flying, and feels as if the geese are right next to them.

Is this a complex, mulit-layed film full of sophistication and sub-plots? No way! This is a straightforward film about bonding and love - father-daughter bonding and love, as well as human-animal bonding and and love. "Fly Away Home" is a great movie to have at home and pull out on a rainy day to watch with your kids, from about age four up.

This movie makes my dad cry
And it's not just him. This movie came up amongst my friends in college and every female in the room said that their father KEPT watching this movie and they ALWAYS cried. Sort of brings a whole new meaning to the phrase "empty nest."

This movie is about Anna, who, after her mother's death in a car crash (Anna was also in the car), is sent to live with her slightly eccentric inventor father in Canada. He means well, but he just makes absolutely no sense to Anna. It is an exagerated case of "my dad is so weird" that any teenager can identify with. Meanwhile, the idea of a teenage girl is so foreign to her dad that the more he tries to bond, the more she stomps away.

Into the story comes a band of orphaned Canadian geese that Anna nurtures. They imprint her as their mother, so she more or less trains them. The only problem is that they must fly south for the winter, and Anna is their only role model. Luckily, she has a dad who builds space shuttles for fun. Suddenly, he has a way to connect with her and she has a reason to trust him.

Though it sounds sort of hokey, this movie that never delves into complete pathos. Instead, it is frequently quite funny and always touching. If you are looking for a father's day present, this is ideal. Just make sure to keep some tissues handy.

The Birds
This drama about a father/daughter relationship showed some promise in the beginning with a couple of tense scenes, but unfortunately the movie became more and more predictable and uninteresting as it went along. The main plot is about a 13 year old girl (Anna Paquin) whose pets consist in a bunch of baby geese. Problem is, as the geese grow up they will have to find their own way and fly away, so the girl and her father (Jeff Daniels) try to help the birds and end up guiding them to a safe place. Basically a feel-good-movie, "Fly Away Home" lacks dramatic tension, surprising situations and a solid plot. As it is, this drama is just a piece of harmless fluff with some pretty images and lots of boring scenes that seem endless and repetitive. The acting is competent and Carroll Ballard`s direction is equally decent, but overall this cinematic experience is way too lifeless, patchy and predictable. Children may like it, though, still this is nothing more than a cliched and unconvincing family movie.

Well-intended but not very challenging.

Young girl and dad help young geese fly south for the winter
The story of "Fly Away Home" is fairly predictable, in that we know full well that young Amy Alden (Anna Paquin) is going to persuade her father, Thomas (Jeff Daniels), to come up with a way of teaching a flock of adopted goslings how to fly and get them to a winter refuge in North Carolina. But predictability is not always a deterrent to a film being enjoyable or even inspirational, and you have to pity someone who cannot enjoy watching a bunch of baby geese running after Anna Paquin, convinced that she is there mother and therefore responsible for imprinting on them what they need to learn to survive. Besides, for what is ostensibly a children's film this one opens with a rather shocking scene, where we see a fatal car accident during the open credits while listening to a gentle melody. If there is anything that indicates this is more than your usual predictable children's film, this would be it.

If there is a flaw in "Fly Away Home" it is that the relationship between daughter and father takes a back seat to the story of the geese, so that the pathos that exists there is almost lost in the flapping of wings (but there is a nice moment and a good line when the father tells his daughter why he know what she can do it). They two have been estranged by distance (he returned to Canada while his wife and daughter lived in New Zealand), and living together is not improving things. He is an eccentric artist and inventor who cannot figure out how to connect with a living human being until the geese that come between them bring them together.

Fortunately, dad is spared the role of being the villain, because there are land developers at both ends of the flight and a wild life officer who knows what the rulebook says about domesticated geese. But those are just minor hurdles to the idea of flying 600-miles in four days in an ultra-light plane for Amy to lead her geese to their promised (wet) land. Yes, the idea that the clock is ticking and that bulldozers are ready to roll in North Carolina is all a bit much, but then there are moments, like when the ultra-lights and geese fly through the skyscrapers of Baltimore than just about take your breath away.

I was not aware until after I watched the film that director Carroll Ballard and cinematographer Caleb Deschanel had previously collaborated on "The Black Stallion," but that certainly makes sense because both films are perfectly willing to let pictures exist without dialogue. The other commonality is that "Fly Away Home" is another film that adults can enjoy just as much as the kiddies. ... Read more

Reviews (96)

The best movie I've seen in ages
If all you know of Jennifer Lopez is what you've seen and read in the tabloids and movie magazines, you'll be pleasantly surprised by this movie. Ms. Lopez has talent. I had only seen her in The Wedding Planner, where she was cute and appealing, but in Angel Eyes, she shines. I watched the movie twice the night it came on TNT (it was a double play), taped it, watched it every night that week, and finally ordered it.
Ms. Lopez portrays Sharon Pogue, a tough, yet vulnerable Chicago cop who is shunned by her family, despised by the criminals she tries to help, and hit on by her fellow officers.
Jim Caviezel is compelling as Catch, a man traumatized by an incident he can't remember, yet he has a sense of humor, and a warmth that has been missing from Sharon's life. Together they give each other the strength to face the future.
Shirley Knight is excellent, too, as the mystery woman in Catch's life, who holds the key to his past, but is patient enough to give him time to remember.
I promise you this movie will keep you spellbound until the very end, and then send you running to the video store for more of Jennifer and Jim.

Slow moving but beautifully crafted
I have to confess that I was a bit dubious about borrowing this DVD from my local library but the blurb on the case looked intriguing and as there was nothing on the telly worth watching, I thought, "what the heck!"
All I can say is, "what a little gem of a movie." Jennifer Lopez is a damn good actress, I don't care what anyone else thinks, but that girl is multi-talented. Not only she can act the socks off the likes of Gywneth Paltrow, she has the added bonus of being a red hot singer too.
The plot is quite complex but surprisingly easy to follow. Lopez plays a dedicated cop called Sharon who has her fair share of emotional demons to cope with, along with a stressful job, an over protective partner, and a dysfunctional family life that is just getting worse. James Caviezel plays Catch, a mysterious young man who comes into her life abruptly, saving her from a gun toting assailant. They know each other but are unable to voice this knowledge because they are perfect strangers...aren't they? The story steadily moves through Sharon and Catch's lives as they come to terms with secrets, family ghosts and their blossoming love for each other. This is an unusual love story, with great camera angles, and the flash back between past and present is done with a ghost like subtly that makes you shiver. And no, Jennifer Lopez doesn't burst into song every five seconds, in fact it is James Caviezel who has the musical ability, playing jazz on a trumpet in an elegant downtown bar as Lopez watches on in delight. Also the musical score is great which makes this film all the more watchable.
All the cast in this film are great, right down to Bob the stray mutt that Catch takes in and gives a home.
This is a smart film for smart people. So if you aren't smart, don't bother watching it, you won't understand it, and you might hurt your brain cells in the process.

I Fell In Love w/ Catch Too
I just saw this movie and was absolutely surprised. Like so many who fell pray to the marketing, I thought Angel Eyes was some type of suspense thriller about a cop and some stalker guy. I thought it was the 'same ol' thriller'. So, I'm just watching it.

I was blown away by the depth of the characters and the acting. Jim Caviezel is my new favorite after this. I loved him Frequency, The Count of Monte Cristo and The Passion. But this movie has convinced me of how wonderful of an actor he is. He brings Catch to life through his body language and eyes just as much as he does his line delivery. It was also great to Jennifer Lopez play a different type of character. I can't recall ever seeing her play a dramatic role and was surprised at how well she pulled it off. Most of her characters are more lighthearted than this one.

Those of you looking for a great romance, give this story a try. Jennifer Lopez plays Sharon, a Chicago cop trying to cope w/ the effects of growing up w/ a father who abused her mother. Jim Caviezel is Catch, a mysterious loner and amnesia victim trying to cope w/ the car accident that altered his life forever. The two are wonderful together and create a film that will warm the heart of any romance lover.

A great movie!
This movie gets to your heart no matter what, its a story about human feelings, tragedies and relation ships...you'll be truly impressed by the atmosphere of the movie, even the beginning is amazing! I was shocked when I first this movie, even made me a cry in some moments, its a special movie, good for parents and children, wife and husban. It shows how we can hurt the person we most love, by not admiting that we're not right, and what we did is wrong! Jennifer's character seems not to go on with nobody, the real reasons being well hidden in her heart, once you discover them , you'll see nothing is what it seems to be.
If you like this tipe of movies (dramas) you'll love this one, it will give you a lot to think of!

STUNNED
This is a very good movie. It has made me a fan of Lopez. There is a real depth to her acting. Caviezel was also great in his role. While some may say his acting was stiff, I don't agree.

This movie is not an action of supernatural movie. It's about decesions and events in the lives of the characters and how they cope with them. What is unique about this movie is that it never gets preachy or smary and like real life some issue are not resolved.

A short scene near the beginning of the movie examplifies the realism of this movie. The scene involves Lopez on a date. Anyone would be hardpressed to believe that Lopez would have a hard time getting a date. The movie handles this in a credible way. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

The original Robocop
Here is where they came with the idea.
This movie, doesn't have the $$$ that Robocop had in 1989. So don't expect great Special Effects...
It does have the original idea, and it is worth to see it.
I saw it in 1989, then I saw Robocop, I always like the Vindicator better.
I consider it a clasic for SCFI fans.

I HAVE FINALLY FOUND IT!
I was 2 years old when this movie came out. I did not know any English, but I loved this movie. When I was in pre-school, I told my teacher I had a friend named Carl who was burned real bad. Unbeknownst to her, Carl was the character in the movie. About 7 or 8 years ago, my grandmother threw away the recorded copy I had of this film. Never to see it or hear about it again. Now I have found it.

I think the other guy's got stock in this movie or something
Who's that other reviewer guy anyway? This movie was lame. Seriously so. Believe me, I watch crap like this for a living, and this movie sucks wind. Feeble acting, weak story attempt, and all around unwatchable, unless you're a Pam Grier or Stan Winston completist...

My favorite movie, ever!
When our hero complains to his boss, he is killed so his brain and eyes may be placed in a cyborg. Luckily, he escapes, but his computer controlled "rage response" forces him to brutally kill anyone who touches him. Pam Grier co-stars as the bounty hunter we all wish would track us down. Watch as the vindicator takes his revenge on the evil-doers who have wronged him! A satisfying onslaught leaves few survivors. For action-packed science fiction adventure, nothing beats the vindicator! ... Read more

Reviews (7)

PARADISE BY THE TRUCKSTOP LIGHTS
We've had THE HITCHER, HITCHER II, BREAKDOWN and others focusing on the plot of this movie. HBO films brings us Meat Loaf Aday (what a strange last name)in the role of a psychotic trucker who seemingly had a rather difficult youth. He overhears a couple having a slight argument regarding commitment and capitalizes on this when the woman decides she's not staying with her traveling comic boyfriend. Meanwhile studly boyfriend finds out that Meat Loaf may be responsible for the disappearance of a young girl. Hmmm...from hereon, it's a chase movie with some unusual dialogue between Meat Loaf and his captive, and some pretty scenery.
Meat Loaf, known for his bombastic career singing overwrought Jim Steinemann songs, does a commendable job in his role, but toward the end, he goes over the top, even if he is a psychotic. Kristin Davis as Sylvia is one of the movie's problems; she doesn't have the charisma to pull her role off. Lochlyn Monroe, who was so good in SCARY MOVIE, is lame in this role, trying so hard to be a studly Charles Bronson character. For a thriller, the movie is also very slow, in between the inevitable action scenes. The climax seems to borrow directly from BREAKDOWN, but it does maintain its suspense. I think BREAKDOWN is a far superior movie, but this one is okay.

thriller genre at its best
Best thriller since i know what you did last summer. watched it the other day. at first i thought they were making fun of joy ride with the character played meatloaf.in the end awesome thriller with a cool ending

the best thriller ever
the movie at first i thought was making fun of a hooror story because of the character played by meatloaf. in the end great awesome thrilling action movie that any person on the face of the earth should see.

A definate must-see
I remember first seeing Blacktop on Thriller Max on the 7th of this month. It was on at about three in the morning. I tell you, it was the best I've seen in the longest time. I had never thought of Meat Loaf as anything but a musician until I saw this movie. Jack was one of the meanest and scariest bad guys to date, and Meat really brought the character to life.

I saw it again late late last night (about 11:15) and it hasn't changed, thank God. A "must-see".

-Joshua Underwood, 15
July 19, 2002

Very good
for the man who couldn't handle a Harley back in '75! Someone tried to talk me out of getting this movie, but I'm glad I did anyway! The plot was interesting, and watching Meat and Kristin's characters connect in the beginning made me wonder what was going to happen next. Of course, the "deep dark family secrets" sequence made me wonder exactly what drove Jack to make friends with girls, take them out in Goliath, and eventually chop them up with a chainsaw and stick 'em in the freezer. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

In part 3, the goodlooking boys and girls come out to play!
Eighties horror movies, what would we do without them? Horror movies since the eighties have lost the gore and no budget effects that made them enjoyable to watch. Prom Night 3 achieves everything you could possibly want in a horror movie, goodlooking guys and girls, and did I mention the goodlooking guys?!:) Dylan Neal stars in this movie, and if he's hot now, he was certainly smoldering then!

The movie does have a certain budget look to it, but the story is straightforward and enjoyable, not to mention some of the best death scenes ever! I would really recommend this movie, and I would suggest inviting a few mates over, so you can have a laugh with the death scenes. Positively gory, but very well done. Enjoy!

Great movie, stupid ending!
If it weren't for the ending, I would have rated it 5 stars, but as many times before, the ending destroys a movie. But to the film. This is horror/comedy, so don't expect to be scared. But it has gore, and the one scene where Alex is running naked in the hall, reminds me strongly about Mr.Bean(! ) This time another Prom Queen return from the dead, and fall in love with one of the present students. But how far are they willing to go for love? Buy it, and find out.

this has got to be the stupidest movie ever made!
what?What? How could anyone give this movie five stars. It was the worst movie ever made. How could they take the prom night franchise and turn it into some lame horror movie. It's ridiculous. The plot was dumb and pointless and the one-liners absolutely not funny. The movie was a disgusting mix of sex and violence, that tried to hard to be funny and failed. this is definitely the most pointless movie and the worstsequel ever. DUMB! just plain dumb! The ending completely ruined even the few(1 or two) good parts in the movie.

Mary Lou Maloney, ruthless killer, comedy queen???
In this blood-soaked title, Mary Lou escapes from hell and returns to the high school for more carnage. Enter the afore mentioned "teen hunk". Mary Lou attempts to kill him but falls in love with him first. Following a night of passion with the ghost and finding himself in a "compromising" situation (lacking his clothes), Alex is caught in a web of murder, thanks to his new squeeze the ghost of Mary Lou. The actress that portrays Mary Lou is very talented but she dosent capture the flavor of the character. This movie starts a downhill slide for the series turning it into a 2hr. hack-n-slash fest. Take my advice and consider prom night 2 first, that is if you havent seen it. this movie is best described as a comedy with it's guts ripped out and exposed. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

And you thought gremlins were trouble...
Starring Zach Galligan of "Gremlins" and "Waxworks" fame, "The Lawrenceville Stories" are an innocent and impish foray into the friendships and rivalries of silver-tongued "Hickey" Hicks (Galligan), entrepreneur Doc Macnooder (Albert Schultz), and the sly Tennessee Shad (Nicholas Rowe). Set in a turn-of-the-century boarding school, these American Playhouse adaptations of Owen Johnson's "The Prodigious Hickey" and "The Tennessee Shad" are gently funny programmes suitable for the whole family. Movies which do books justice are few and far between, but when you have such fine actors in roles replete with witty dialogue and good-natured pranks, it's easy to overlook a plot change or two... Well worth the purchase if you're a fan of PBS programming.

Decent Disney Mini-Series
This 3 part mini-series is about students at the Lawrenceville School. As a former student there, i found the film most interesting. Unfortunately, it is a way more innocent version of my high school experience. It is still entertaining. The antics of Hickey, Doc McNooter and Tennessee Shad are quite fun while the Headmaster fights to keep it all together. An enjoyable 3 hours. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Kyle Chandler worth watching
Jon voight always brings to life any role he plays. Interesting storyline, different. Rodeo scenes very interesting. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Don't let the title put you off
This is not classic cinema, but it's perfectly good to watch on a rainy night when there's nothing else to do. A Martinez exudes laid-back sexuality and does his usual fine job as the good guy. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Interesting idea with mixed results
I feel like this plot has been done before - vignettes about the various occupants of a single hotel room - but I was still intrigued by this movie. The setting is a hotel in a cosmopolitan Canadian city. The stories - set in 1921, 1933, 1945, 1953, 1968, the late '80s to early '90s, and the turn of the millennium - do not follow each other in chronological order but are broken into short scenes and jumbled together in a creative if sometimes confusing (especially early on) manner.
As the box cover says, there are four lost souls, three love stories and one murder, the murder being part of one of the love stories. Some characters are easier to sympathize with than others. I really felt drawn to the sad Asian woman in an arranged marriage in the Depression era. I also rooted for the eccentric cuckold seeking his wife with the aid of a hotel detective in the noirish '50s story.
Mia Kirshner is sweetly seductive as the prostitute who agrees to annual liaisons with a besotted customer. Unlike the other stories, this piece allows for a passage of time within the story as we see the two meet for brief occasions over the next few years.
Other characters left me cold, like the two gay war veterans who betray one's fiance to satisfy their own sexual urges. Then there are the two millennial youths planning what turns out to be a suicide pact. The girl in this case was selfish and dishonest, yet the ending is supposed to be some magical completion of a circle. It was an unsatisfying ending.

Wow!
While I will admit that my true reason for watching Century Hotel was that I am a diehard Our Lady Peace fan, and frontman Raine Maida stars along side his wife Chantel Kreviazuk in the 70's scene, I was nothing less than amazed by this movie. The plot was nothing less than captivating, although the dvd was an hour and a half long, I felt as if I had only been watching for half an hour. The way the stories of the different decades intertwine with one another is beautiful, and definately leaves you waiting in anticipation for the next time each decade comes into focus. Each decade is different yet the characters all seem to be after the same things, love and inner peace. Although you only see each of them for a short time, it is very easy to relate to each of the characters in Century Hotel, regardless of the decade the scene takes place in. My only complaint about this movie isn't even in the movie itself, but rather in the Character bio feature of the DVD, whoever did the writeups has the years wrong on the release of Clumsy...1997, not 1999 as well as some other small errors, but like I said that has nothing to do with the movie. Century Hotel was beautifully made, the acting was amazing and I definately recommend this movie!

Fantastic Idea, Enjoyable Film!
Century Hotel has one of the most inrtiguing plots ever turned into a movie. It is the story of the life of a hotel room. The film tells seven tales of events which have occured in room 720 over the course of almost 80 years. Century Hotel, a fictional hotel, was opened in 1921. A newlywed couple arrive on opening night on their honeymoon. In 1933, an oriental women is mysteriousl prepared for to meet her husband, waiting anxiously to start a new life in a strange place. After World War II ends, a couple re-unites in the room, that is to say, two couples, but three people. A man and his fiance, and the man's homosexual boyfriend, who's relationship is unbeknownst to the fiance. In 1953, a film noir nightmare takes place, invovling detectives, missing spouses, and money. Then, we visit the 1960s, where a prostitute finds true love with a client. Emerging in the 1980s, a reclusive rock star conducts an affair with the made. Finally, on the eve of the new millenium, two new age youths ren-dez-vous in the newly restored room.

The idea is brilliant, the film is well done. One of the strange things with the film is that it is very unconventionally put together. Unlike most episodic films, where each story occurs after a previous one, these seven tales are interspliced. You see a bit of one story, then a bit of the next, then the next, then go back to a previous one and see more, then go to another.

What really makes this film is the acting. The stellar standout is Lindy Booth, in two roles. She is fantastic. I didn't even know she was both characters until the credits at the end. And although all the stories are intriguing, the 1921 vignette is my favorite one.

A large Canadian production, Century Hotel will probably not be fully appreciated in the United States. However, if a Hollywood exec sees it, maybe they'll realize that it would make a perfect big budget american star studded extravaganza. If the haphazard editing would be changed into a more typical style, and some really big named stars come in to play the parts. ... Read more

Reviews (20)

Put Away Your Preconceptions
Before I saw "The Crew," I didn't have many expectations of it. To my surprise and pleasure, "The Crew" turned out to be much better than a mere formula movie about oldsters.

Four former mob "goodfellas" (played by Burt Reynolds, Seymour Cassel, Richard Dreyfuss and Dan Hedaya) live on the edge of poverty in South Miami. Their art-deco neighborhood is rapidly gentrifying, and soon their apartment is going to go condo, which they can't afford. Immediate action is required.

What do goodfellas do? They "whack" (kill) people, of course. And there is killing in this surprise of a movie, but not the type you'd expect. This is a fast-paced, zippy movie that happens to have a lot of black humor. You know who the heroes are, but it takes almost until the end of the film, but where and how the enemies get their due is nicely surprising.

All the performances were just fine. Early in the movie, Burt Reynolds, reduced to fast-food work to make ends meet, growls at a customer, "Special orders DO upset us," and promptly loses his job. The film is ripe with situational wit of that type. The relatively unknown Seymour Cassel had to carry a lot of the acting, and he held his own along with the three other stars.

A special plot twist involves former singer (and now character actress) Lainie Kazan, the wife of a restaurant owner who runs into the Crew at an inopportune moment. Her scenes are played way over-the-top and in this context, it works brilliantly.

The Crew is certainly not the best gangster comedy ever, but it holds up well. I can heartily recommend it.

Geriatric Goodfellas
"The Crew" is comprised of Richard Dreyfuss (Bobby), the brains of the outfit, Burt Reynolds (Bats), the hot-tempered muscle, Seymour Cassel (Mouth), the quiet ladies man and Dan Hedaya, who plays "The Brick." He's not stupid but, as Dan says in his interview segment, "I guess his thought process is a little different from most people." The movie starts out with a flashback of them as four young wiseguys pulling a job, then flashes forward to them as four old men sitting on a porch. Bat turns to Bobby and complains, "You said the good times were gonna last forever." Bobby replies, "I thought we'd be dead by now!" The story concerns them trying to save their rundown, Miami Beach apartment house (the Raj Mahal) from going condo. Each of their schemes backfires and gets them further into trouble with the local drug lord and the police. The plot twists hold one's interest throughout the film, but the quirky lead characters really carry this picture. "The Crew" is a movie that proves that Mafioso are people too!

Watch them do their stuff!
This movie was not a box office hit when it was released just a few months ago, but dreams do sometimes come true.

Starting in New Jersey in 1968, we follow the lives of four 'has-been' gangsters. Now retired and living peaceably in The Raj Mahal in Miami Beach, they attempt to make one last heist. So as not to be evicted (who wants to be homeless?) from this run-down hotel, they plot a way to save their special home. Look for the pink ostrich.

Burt Reynolds looks good as an old man and is funny like in those 'Bandit' movies. Richard Dreyfuss who won an Academy Award for his role in THE GOODBYE GIRL and was great in MR. HOLLAND'S OPUS (I loved that music!) showed his winning style. Seymour Cassel who was in Bill Murray's RUSHMORE and Dan Hedaya (Detective Jack in SHAFT), round out the foursome.

When you need a laugh, rent this one from the local video store (better yet, buy it here at Amazon.com), sit back and enjoy. If you liked GRUMPY OLD MEN, you'll love these "grandfatherly gangsters" who are not quite 'over the hill' yet. Stephen Iervolino compared this film ro 'GoodFellas' in LAUNCH. This parody is better than either or both/and in a class all its own.

An Easy Movie To Watch !
Just sit back and enjoy this flick. It's not going to win any awards but it is good lighthearted fun.

Definatly worth a look, very funny and well done
The Crew is acually a very funny enjoyable movie. I will admit the plot is a little weak, but it's not horrible. It is basically about four ex crew members {Dreyfuss and company} want to stay in their appartment, so of course they set up a fake killing to keep their appartment. And along the way they meet a firy widow { Kazan}, a tenasious stripper { Jeniffer Tilly}, and a policeinvestogator who might just be Dreyfuss's long lost daughter { Carrie Anne Moss}. A bit corny......Yes but still very enjoyable. Without a doubt the three major female roles are what holds together this film. Kazan is hillarios as the old widow deli owner. Tilly is great and very enthusiastic as the female stripper "dating" one of the crew members for the money. And Moss is exellent as the police officer { in a short seen you get to see her do two more matrix kicks! don't miss it} and her part is no doubt way to short. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A Must See - Two Thumbs Up
I saw the original Broadway play years ago but frankly the movie is much better. Now that we're 20+ years into the AIDS pandemic, it's a little shocking to go back and see how things were in the beginning. However, all is handled nicely and what makes this movie a must see are the actors. Jonathan Hadary is spectacular but the best gem in this movie is Colleen Dewhurst. You will fall in love with her as she explains life. Rent it. Buy it. See it.

beautifully written
Although Larry Kramer's The Normal Heart is listed as the first Broadway production about AIDS, William M Hoffman's As Is was produced on Broadway the same year and won the 1995 Desk Drama Award for best new play and an Obie for Distinguished Playwriting. But whilst The Normal Heart is, to date, yet to be filmed (a version to be directed by Barbra Streisand was aborted after a public falling out between Streisand and Kramer), As Is was made for TV. In his introduction to OutFront, a collection of contemporary gay and lesbian plays, Don Shewer claims that As Is is the best play written about AIDS yet, since it looks at the disease from a social and personal point of view (as opposed to Kramer's political part self-serving autobiography, part jeremiad), and unlike Kramer's unrelenting despondence, Hoffman insists that where there is life, there is hope. The theatrical origins of the play are still in evidence in this cable production, from Colleen Dewhurst's opening and closing one-take monologues to camera as a hospice worker, and the shorthand dialogue style that Hoffman often employs. Director Michael Lindsay-Hogg seems so terrified of the Masterpiece Theatre brand of filmed play that he misguidedly utilises staccato editing and pseudo-documentary confessions, which only make the dialogue seem more theatrical. And the level at which he pitches the score by Peter Matz doesn't help. The studio sets also reveal how underpopulated (and presumably underbudgeted) the project is, and when we get a street scene it's like a breath of air. However with all this said, it is the eloquence of Hoffman's text that rises above the director's misteps. The depth of the play comes from the observed detail of gay lifestyle. The premise is that Rich has returned to his ex-lover Saul after being diagnosed with AIDS, and this returning allows for both a re-examination of the relationship and also the climate that made gay men so susceptible to the virus (though we do see a woman in Rich's therapy group who has been infected by her IV drug-user husband). Adapting his own play, Hoffman has made minor cuts and lost a hotline sequence that I didn't like anyway. In spite of the blackness of the subject matter, he easily interjects humour. The bar scenes are particularly funny in their self-consciousness, and we get the gallows humour of the gay men. Jonathan Hadary originated the role of Saul on stage and here he is magnificent. It's the kind of performance that an actor can easily be defined by, with subtleties and emotion concealed under the guise of a stereotype. Robert Carradine's Rich is less assured. Perhaps these kind of martyr roles are impossible to play, or perhaps it is that the carers of those facing death have the meatier parts since they get to stay. Plus Saul is the one to explain the title. Carradine's face is too much a reminder of his relatives, he isn't believable as a gay man, and his rage seems constricted. Saul's big reaction to Rich's "selfishness" in hospital seems therefore unprovoked. The staging of a fall in the hospital is also reminiscent of the final scene in Camille, which I would like to think is intentional, though I have my doubts. My favourite scene is the one where Rich's shamed brother visits him. The expectation of gay moral superiority is not met and we are touched by the brother's efforts to empathise with someone he realises he does not want to lose. Joanna Miles as Rich's actress friend is warm but has little to do except introduce him to her cousin Chet, (gorgeous Doug Annear) who will break up the relationship, though Hoffman gives short shift to explaining Chet's fate. Lindsay-Hogg lingers on Miles' farewell to Rich in hospital, in the same way he pauses after more than once we are told how gay men have abandoned their infected partners, making a cinematic judgment. Thankfully Dewhurst's appearances let us hear her throaty chuckle.

Beautifully written
Although Larry Kramer's The Normal Heart is listed as the first Broadway production about AIDS, William M Hoffman's As Is was produced on Broadway the same year and won the 1995 Desk Drama Award for best new play and an Obie for Distinguished Playwriting. But whilst The Normal Heart is, to date, yet to be filmed (a version to be directed by Barbra Streisand was aborted after a public falling out between Streisand and Kramer), As Is was made for TV. In his introduction to OutFront, a collection of contemporary gay and lesbian plays, Don Shewer claims that As Is is the best play written about AIDS yet, since it looks at the disease from a social and personal point of view (as opposed to Kramer's political part self-serving autobiography, part jeremiad), and unlike Kramer's unrelenting despondence, Hoffman insists that where there is life, there is hope. The theatrical origins of the play are still in evidence in this cable production, from Colleen Dewhurst's opening and closing one-take monologues to camera as a hospice worker, and the shorthand dialogue style that Hoffman often employs. Director Michael Lindsay-Hogg seems so terrified of the Masterpiece Theatre brand of filmed play that he misguidedly utilises staccato editing and pseudo-documentary confessions, which only make the dialogue seem more theatrical. And the level at which he pitches the score by Peter Matz doesn't help. The studio sets also reveal how underpopulated (and presumably underbudgeted) the project is, and when we get a street scene it's like a breath of air. However with all this said, it is the eloquence of Hoffman's text that rises above the director's misteps. The depth of the play comes from the observed detail of gay lifestyle. The premise is that Rich has returned to his ex-lover Saul after being diagnosed with AIDS, and this returning allows for both a re-examination of the relationship and also the climate that made gay men so susceptible to the virus (though we do see a woman in Rich's therapy group who has been infected by her IV drug-user husband). Adapting his own play, Hoffman has made minor cuts and lost a hotline sequence that I didn't like anyway. In spite of the blackness of the subject matter, he easily interjects humour. The bar scenes are particularly funny in their self-consciousness, and we get the gallows humour of the gay men. Jonathan Hadary originated the role of Saul on stage and here he is magnificent. It's the kind of performance that an actor can easily be defined by, with subtleties and emotion concealed under the guise of a stereotype. Robert Carradine's Rich is less assured. Perhaps these kind of martyr roles are impossible to play, or perhaps it is that the carers of those facing death have the meatier parts since they get to stay. Plus Saul is the one to explain the title. Carradine's face is too much a reminder of his relatives, he isn't believable as a gay man, and his rage seems constricted. Saul's big reaction to Rich's "selfishness" in hospital seems therefore unprovoked. The staging of a fall in the hospital is also reminiscent of the final scene in Camille, which I would like to think is intentional, though I have my doubts. My favourite scene is the one where Rich's shamed brother visits him. The expectation of gay moral superiority is not met and we are touched by the brother's efforts to empathise with someone he realises he does not want to lose. Joanna Miles as Rich's actress friend is warm but has little to do except introduce him to her cousin Chet, (gorgeous Doug Annear) who will break up the relationship, though Hoffman gives short shift to explaining Chet's fate. Lindsay-Hogg lingers on Miles' farewell to Rich in hospital, in the same way he pauses after more than once we are told how gay men have abandoned their infected partners, making a cinematic judgment. Thankfully Dewhurst's appearances let us hear her throaty chuckle. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

And you thought gremlins were trouble...
Starring Zach Galligan of "Gremlins" and "Waxworks" fame, "The Lawrenceville Stories" are an innocent and impish foray into the friendships and rivalries of silver-tongued "Hickey" Hicks (Galligan), entrepreneur Doc Macnooder (Albert Schultz), and the sly Tennessee Shad (Nicholas Rowe). Set in a turn-of-the-century boarding school, these American Playhouse adaptations of Owen Johnson's "The Prodigious Hickey" and "The Tennessee Shad" are gently funny programmes suitable for the whole family. Movies which do books justice are few and far between, but when you have such fine actors in roles replete with witty dialogue and good-natured pranks, it's easy to overlook a plot change or two... Well worth the purchase if you're a fan of PBS programming.

Decent Disney Mini-Series
This 3 part mini-series is about students at the Lawrenceville School. As a former student there, i found the film most interesting. Unfortunately, it is a way more innocent version of my high school experience. It is still entertaining. The antics of Hickey, Doc McNooter and Tennessee Shad are quite fun while the Headmaster fights to keep it all together. An enjoyable 3 hours. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Young girl and dad help geese fly south for the winter
The story of "Fly Away Home" is fairly predictable, in that we know full well that young Amy Alden (Anna Paquin) is going to persuade her father, Thomas (Jeff Daniels), to come up with a way of teaching a flock of adopted goslings how to fly and get them to a winter refuge in North Carolina. But predictability is not always a deterrent to a film being enjoyable or even inspirational, and you have to pity someone who cannot enjoy watching a bunch of baby geese running after Anna Paquin, convinced that she is there mother and therefore responsible for imprinting on them what they need to learn to survive. Besides, for what is ostensibly a children's film this one opens with a rather shocking scene, where we see a fatal car accident during the open credits while listening to a gentle melody. If there is anything that indicates this is more than your usual predictable children's film, this would be it.

If there is a flaw in "Fly Away Home" it is that the relationship between daughter and father takes a back seat to the story of the geese, so that the pathos that exists there is almost lost in the flapping of wings (but there is a nice moment and a good line when the father tells his daughter why he know what she can do it). They two have been estranged by distance (he returned to Canada while his wife and daughter lived in New Zealand), and living together is not improving things. He is an eccentric artist and inventor who cannot figure out how to connect with a living human being until the geese that come between them bring them together.

Fortunately, dad is spared the role of being the villain, because there are land developers at both ends of the flight and a wild life officer who knows what the rulebook says about domesticated geese. But those are just minor hurdles to the idea of flying 600-miles in four days in an ultra-light plane for Amy to lead her geese to their promised (wet) land. Yes, the idea that the clock is ticking and that bulldozers are ready to roll in North Carolina is all a bit much, but then there are moments, like when the ultra-lights and geese fly through the skyscrapers of Baltimore than just about take your breath away.

I was not aware until after I watched the film that director Carroll Ballard and cinematographer Caleb Deschanel had previously collaborated on "The Black Stallion," but that certainly makes sense because both films are perfectly willing to let pictures exist without dialogue. The other commonality is that "Fly Away Home" is another film that adults can enjoy just as much as the kiddies. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

good inspirational almoast peaceful movie
i throughly enjoyed this movie the best part is that it's a true story. I found it very peaceful too when the birds were flying it may move a little slow for some people but I found that to be part of it's charm ... Read more

Reviews (2)

And you thought gremlins were trouble...
Starring Zach Galligan of "Gremlins" and "Waxworks" fame, "The Lawrenceville Stories" are an innocent and impish foray into the friendships and rivalries of silver-tongued "Hickey" Hicks (Galligan), entrepreneur Doc Macnooder (Albert Schultz), and the sly Tennessee Shad (Nicholas Rowe). Set in a turn-of-the-century boarding school, these American Playhouse adaptations of Owen Johnson's "The Prodigious Hickey" and "The Tennessee Shad" are gently funny programmes suitable for the whole family. Movies which do books justice are few and far between, but when you have such fine actors in roles replete with witty dialogue and good-natured pranks, it's easy to overlook a plot change or two... Well worth the purchase if you're a fan of PBS programming.

Decent Disney Mini-Series
This 3 part mini-series is about students at the Lawrenceville School. As a former student there, i found the film most interesting. Unfortunately, it is a way more innocent version of my high school experience. It is still entertaining. The antics of Hickey, Doc McNooter and Tennessee Shad are quite fun while the Headmaster fights to keep it all together. An enjoyable 3 hours. ... Read more

Reviews (20)

Put Away Your Preconceptions
Before I saw "The Crew," I didn't have many expectations of it. To my surprise and pleasure, "The Crew" turned out to be much better than a mere formula movie about oldsters.

Four former mob "goodfellas" (played by Burt Reynolds, Seymour Cassel, Richard Dreyfuss and Dan Hedaya) live on the edge of poverty in South Miami. Their art-deco neighborhood is rapidly gentrifying, and soon their apartment is going to go condo, which they can't afford. Immediate action is required.

What do goodfellas do? They "whack" (kill) people, of course. And there is killing in this surprise of a movie, but not the type you'd expect. This is a fast-paced, zippy movie that happens to have a lot of black humor. You know who the heroes are, but it takes almost until the end of the film, but where and how the enemies get their due is nicely surprising.

All the performances were just fine. Early in the movie, Burt Reynolds, reduced to fast-food work to make ends meet, growls at a customer, "Special orders DO upset us," and promptly loses his job. The film is ripe with situational wit of that type. The relatively unknown Seymour Cassel had to carry a lot of the acting, and he held his own along with the three other stars.

A special plot twist involves former singer (and now character actress) Lainie Kazan, the wife of a restaurant owner who runs into the Crew at an inopportune moment. Her scenes are played way over-the-top and in this context, it works brilliantly.

The Crew is certainly not the best gangster comedy ever, but it holds up well. I can heartily recommend it.

Geriatric Goodfellas
"The Crew" is comprised of Richard Dreyfuss (Bobby), the brains of the outfit, Burt Reynolds (Bats), the hot-tempered muscle, Seymour Cassel (Mouth), the quiet ladies man and Dan Hedaya, who plays "The Brick." He's not stupid but, as Dan says in his interview segment, "I guess his thought process is a little different from most people." The movie starts out with a flashback of them as four young wiseguys pulling a job, then flashes forward to them as four old men sitting on a porch. Bat turns to Bobby and complains, "You said the good times were gonna last forever." Bobby replies, "I thought we'd be dead by now!" The story concerns them trying to save their rundown, Miami Beach apartment house (the Raj Mahal) from going condo. Each of their schemes backfires and gets them further into trouble with the local drug lord and the police. The plot twists hold one's interest throughout the film, but the quirky lead characters really carry this picture. "The Crew" is a movie that proves that Mafioso are people too!

Watch them do their stuff!
This movie was not a box office hit when it was released just a few months ago, but dreams do sometimes come true.

Starting in New Jersey in 1968, we follow the lives of four 'has-been' gangsters. Now retired and living peaceably in The Raj Mahal in Miami Beach, they attempt to make one last heist. So as not to be evicted (who wants to be homeless?) from this run-down hotel, they plot a way to save their special home. Look for the pink ostrich.

Burt Reynolds looks good as an old man and is funny like in those 'Bandit' movies. Richard Dreyfuss who won an Academy Award for his role in THE GOODBYE GIRL and was great in MR. HOLLAND'S OPUS (I loved that music!) showed his winning style. Seymour Cassel who was in Bill Murray's RUSHMORE and Dan Hedaya (Detective Jack in SHAFT), round out the foursome.

When you need a laugh, rent this one from the local video store (better yet, buy it here at Amazon.com), sit back and enjoy. If you liked GRUMPY OLD MEN, you'll love these "grandfatherly gangsters" who are not quite 'over the hill' yet. Stephen Iervolino compared this film ro 'GoodFellas' in LAUNCH. This parody is better than either or both/and in a class all its own.

An Easy Movie To Watch !
Just sit back and enjoy this flick. It's not going to win any awards but it is good lighthearted fun.

Definatly worth a look, very funny and well done
The Crew is acually a very funny enjoyable movie. I will admit the plot is a little weak, but it's not horrible. It is basically about four ex crew members {Dreyfuss and company} want to stay in their appartment, so of course they set up a fake killing to keep their appartment. And along the way they meet a firy widow { Kazan}, a tenasious stripper { Jeniffer Tilly}, and a policeinvestogator who might just be Dreyfuss's long lost daughter { Carrie Anne Moss}. A bit corny......Yes but still very enjoyable. Without a doubt the three major female roles are what holds together this film. Kazan is hillarios as the old widow deli owner. Tilly is great and very enthusiastic as the female stripper "dating" one of the crew members for the money. And Moss is exellent as the police officer { in a short seen you get to see her do two more matrix kicks! don't miss it} and her part is no doubt way to short. ... Read more