Reviews (333)

65 Million Years is Well Worth the Wait!
Intense, supersonic-paced science fiction adventure finds paleontologist Alan Grant (Sam Neill) and company invited to a remote tropical island theme park inhabited by genetically engineered dinosaurs! The awe and wonder is abruptly replaced by terror and a fight for survival after the park's security system is sabotaged, granting the resurrected behemoths free run of the island!

Director Spielberg is at his creative best in this tour de force of suspense, acutely blending action, thrills, awe and humor. Equal to the challenge is composer John Williams with an appropriately rousing and kinetic score that sounds something like Stravinsky on melodic steroids!

Expert direction, superb performances (Richard Attenborough is particularly effective as the eccentric billionaire entrepreneur, John Hammond) and breathtaking, unprecedented visual effects (the ILM computer generated dinosaurs are completely convincing!) more than compensate for less than dimensional characters and rudimentary plot. Along with the action and fun, "Jurassic Park" also raises some serious questions about the ethics of advanced science and cloning.

Perhaps Steven Spielberg's best adventure film, "Jurassic Park" truly is a cinematic masterpiece and one of my five favorite films of all time!

Unbelievable
Jurassic Park has got to be one of the greatest movies of all time. The directing, animatronics, acting, graphics, and casting were perfect in this movie. The beginning was perfect, no sitting around waiting for action. It opens with a worker being attacked by a velociraptor and Muldoon(Bob Peck) trying to help him.

You meat a character named Nedry(Wayne Knight) who is working for a company that will pay him 1.5 million dollars if he steals the dinosaur embryos.

Then some other stuff happens, yaddah yaddah, anyway, Grant(Sam Neill), Ellie(Laura Dern), Gennaro(Martin Ferraro), Malcolm(Jeff Goldblum), and Hammond(Richard Attenborough), reach the island. The island is owned by Hammond the billionaire. It is a theme park with real dinosaurs. The main four go on a tour with Hammond's grandkids.

Needless to say, the tour goes bad. Nedry steals the embryos, pulls the power and runs off. The five remaining characters are stranded out by the tyrannosaur paddock. Ellie has already gone back to the visitor's center where she, Hammond, Muldoon, and Mr. Arnold(Samuel L. Jackson) try to figure out what Nedry has done.

The tyrannosaurus escapes, eats Gennaro and nearly kills everyone else. Moments later Ellie and Muldoon come to try and find everybody, but they have left. They find Malcolm lying in a pile of hay, and the two cars destroyed.

Now Grant, and the two grandchildren, Lex and Tim, must find their way back to the visitor's center while Ellie, Malcolm, Muldoon, Hammond, and Mr. Arnold try to get the power back.

This was THE movie of my generation
As a college student now, I was 9 years old when Jurassic Park hit theaters and it couldn't have come at a better time. Watching it again, Jurassic Park holds up as great entertainment, even if the characters and storylines seem a bit flimsy at times. It's probably more worthy of 4 stars than 5, but hey, this is the movie of MY generation and I'm not going to apologize for its rating. Jurassic Park continually reminds its viewers that Steven Spielberg is the greatest entertainer since Walt Disney. Constantly filling the screen with visual treats, keeping the plot moving at a brisk pace (once the obligatory exposition is filled in), and allowing us to enjoy ourselves without stooping too low, nobody does blockbusters like this man. Since he was to direct Schindler's List that same year, this was more or less his kiss-off to the popcorn genre he helped invent (consisting of classics like Jaws, Raiders, and E.T.--some with more dramatic substance than others, but all damn entertaining). Like I said, I was nine when this movie premiered and I still remember watching in the dark theater as the whole show unfolded--perhaps taking it for granted that movies should be so thrilling and fun, and that every filmmaker was capable of such wonders. Wrong on both accounts, but it did spur me on to shoot my first movie on video camera that summer (admittedly, it was highly derivative). Now I'm a film student...thanks Steve
5/6

"This is a UNIX system. I know this"... And black leather?
Jurassic Park is good entertainment, but take most of the "science" it presents with a grain of salt.

All the characters seem to think the idea of cloning dinosaurs is a good idea except chaos theorist Goldblum who wonders if we should do what we apparently can do.

Innovative in its presentation of realistic looking dinosaurs, Jurassic Park is the name of a new dinosaur-based theme park that is sabotaged while a few scientists and kids are on a pre-opening tour. It becomes an adventure to see who will escape alive.

The movie is best when there are dinosaurs on screen.

Mostly good acting by Laura Dern and Sam Neill as dino experts, Jeff Goldblum as the chaos theory mathematician, and Richard Attenborough as the park designer. The kids, played competently by Ariana Richards and Joseph Mazzello had some of the best lines.

An entertaining adventure, but no big concept. Not quite the same level as Raiders of the Lost Ark, or Jaws.

The only nit-picks include wondering why Jeff Goldblum wears black leather to the tropics, and why a pre-teen girl can save the day on a complex computer (again - see S1m0ne) with her knowledge of UNIX.

DVD has wide-screen movie, a behind the scenes documentary, and a few other minimal goodies.

More Than Just A Movie...
Jurassic Park was more than just a movie. More than an event. It was a full blown phenomenon! Steven Spielberg is the unrivalled king of such films. Every few years he puts out another spectacular that sweeps the world and sets a new standard (like Jaws, Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, E.T., Raiders Of The Lost Ark, etc.). This time out, we've got resurrected dinosaurs running amok! The basic plot has stranded people on dino-island trying to keep from becoming dino-chow. You've got your scientists (Sam Neil, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum), your crazy zillionaire (Richard Attenborough), a greedy, lecherous computer geek (Wayne Knight), a sleazy lawyer, and two cute kids to round out the cast. You even get Samuel L. Jackson as a chain-smoking computer tech guy! Throw in an approaching hurricane, and you've got the perfect monster movie! It's usually not the "deep" storyline (except in the cases of Spielberg epics like Schindler's List, Amistad, Saving Private Ryan, The Color Purple, etc.) that causes the phenomenon. It's his way of thrilling us and breaking new cinematic ground that we love. I knew when I first saw JP that I was in for a blast. At the same time, I also knew that I wasn't going to see Hamlet or Macbeth! Jurassic Park blew my mind with it's realistic T-rex, Raptors, Triceratops, and the rest. We saw dinosaurs that were not rubber, clay, or robots (well, at least not robots that looked like robots)! We got CGI that put flesh on 65 million year old bones! The team that made this movie are legendary, and have pushed special effects to stratospheric heights. JP is a true milestone that stands the test of time. Belongs in every DVD collection... ... Read more

Description

Peter Weller and Judy Davis play a hip couple who open a trendy L.A. Boutique to finance a "civilized" divorce in a biting tale of our times. "The sexiest, smartest comedy this decade has produced" (Harper's Bazaar) Year: 1994 Director: Michael Tolkin Starring:Peter Weller, Judy Davis, Patrick Bauchau ... Read more

Reviews (4)

The best film ever made about LA
Ten years after its release, Steve Martin's LA Story has a cult following for its adept interpretation of vapid and decadent Los Angelinos. Though LA Story came out in 1990 and seems to lampoon the 80s, Michael Tolkin goes way beyond his collaborative work with Robert Altman(The Player) with this pitch black comedy.

The film is way ahead of its time. Hollywood has yet to examine the decadent 90s in any way. Here we have characters who are more Clinton era than American Beauty. Pretty astute, considering that the film was released in 1994!

Look for top performances from Peter Weller, Judy Davis, and great supporting work from Adam West, Sandra Seacat, and a pre-Pulp Fiction Samuel Jackson. Hopefully, some of the great camera work an slick visuals will find its way on to DVD in the near future.

maria ellingsen wasted- i got lost watching it
This film is a mess. It features a load of stars and made no sense at all. The great Icelandic actress Maria Ellingsen appears once or twice and is her exceptonal is wasted in this film. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone.

A brisk stroll through Yuppie hell
Michael Tolkin's "The New Age" was the most scathing movie indictment of the American dream gone Sonoma catalog since Albert Brooks' brilliant satire "Lost In America". "The New Age" re-teams the "Tracy & Hepburn" of indie film, Peter Weller and Judy Davis, who were also the wacked-out couple in "Naked Lunch". Instead of heading off in an RV to go "find themselves", Judy and Peter decide to "simplify" thier over-extended Yuppie lifestyle by chucking it all and opening up a Beverly Hills boutique. Hilarity ensues....right? Actually, the movie takes a more low-key,sometimes cruel, black comedy approach to its subjects as they proceed to go into a tandem midlife crisis. Along the way, most trendy southern California fads are lampooned, recalling the film "Serial", which savaged the Bay Area Yuppie/New Age scene in the same fashion. Good supporting performances abound; the biggest surprise is Adam "Batman" West, who is priceless as Weller's father. West plays the wryly acerbic, aging Lothario with much aplomb.(Where has he been?!) Highly recommended.

I like Michael Tolkin, okay?
This movie meant a lot more to me after I lived in Phoenix, Arizona for a year, which is as far west as I want to go for the rest of my life. It's much more interesting to observe empty, soul-less people from a safe distance. It's funny. See "The Rapture," too. Thanks. ... Read more

Reviews (137)

The hard choices that have to be made every day
Starring Ben Affleck and Samuel L. Jackson, this is the story of how a seemingly small fender-bender incident changed the lives of two men forever. Affleck is cast as Gavin Banek, a young Wall Street lawyer married to the boss's daughter, who is on his way to court to file some papers that were obtained unethically. He doesn't have the document with him, however, and realizes he lost it during his encounter with Jackson on the expressway. Jackson, cast as Doyle Gibson, is a recovering alcoholic, who is also on his way to court. He's in the process of obtaining a mortgage on a modest house and is trying to keep his wife from moving across the country with his two young sons. When he is 20 minutes late for the custody hearing, he loses his case. Both men are now hurtled into a series of confrontations with the kind ofescalating intensity that kept my eyes glued to the screen as the tension increased.

The screenplay, by Chap Taylor and Michael Tolkin, was excellent, and kept the audience not only wondering what would happen next, but also gradually understanding the character of each man, and how this affected their next moves. The plot twisted and turned as the men became more and more real, with the human frailties that hurtled the action along, showing how the way that each had been living his life contributed to what would happen next. Some deeply moral and ethical questions were raised with no easy answers. And in, at the end, as each man had to deal with his own personal demons, the conclusion was resolved on a positive note, leaving everyone wiser.

Roger Michell, the director, was able to get outstanding performances out of all of the supporting cast members, as well as the stars - most notably Toni Collette as a colleague and sometime mistress of Affleck, Amanda Peet as his wife, Sidney Pollack as the head of the law firm, and Kim Staunton as Jackson's wife. The New York setting was also wonderful and I'm glad that a decision was made not to edit out the World Trade Towers. It was a real and important part of New York, and I personally enjoyed seeing them there, a visual reminder of how quickly things can change, which fit in perfectly with the story.

I highly recommend this film, not just for the action, but also for the uncompromising view of how a person's character determines the outcome of situations and the hard choices that have to be made every day. See it!

A surprisingly good film about modern morality
Despite trailers portraying the movie as an action flick, Changing Lanes really is a morality story. How far would you go, who would you hurt, to save yourself?

Skillfully telling the story of an essentially good-at-heart lawyer (Ben Affleck) at the verge of becoming corrupt amidst an unsavory law firm, and the story of a father (Samuel L. Jackson) losing custody of this two sons, Changing Lanes presents the dark side that is present in everyone. This is a small story about how a minor car accident can escalate and bring out the worst in people. Everyone's been in similar situations, and that experience makes this film very personal.

Aside from the questions this film raises on morality, it remains unpredictable. Where is it going? How will it end? So many films follow a predictable storyline today, its refreshing to not know the outcome here.

Changing Lanes is a surprisingly good film, and while it may not be a masterpiece, it is an intelligent and thought-provoking film that will force you to contemplate your own moral identity.

It is a crime to make movies this bad
Yet another masterpiece that everybody is praising. Starring Ben Affleck(who plays a hotshot lawyer and whose long chin and bad acting always get on my nerves) and Samuel Jackson( who plays divorced father of two). Ben is supposed to be in court and so is Samuel. They get in the traffic accident and when Ben wants to just give Samuel a check because he is in a hurry, Samuel wouldn't take it because he wants everything to be "just right"(whatever the hell that means). Ben decides the hell with this and leaves. Samuel is late for court and because it was for a custody hearing, judge awards custody to his wife. He is royally pissed. Then, we go back to Ben who realizes he left an important document in Samuel car. Okay, Ben is pissed too. He tries to track down the other guy who promptly tells Ben to go to hell. Shortly thereafter he realizes that there is some fun to be had at Ben's expense and sends him a fax(although how he gets Ben's number is not explained) indicating he has the document and is not giving it back. Ben, who is pissed beyond belief decides to have some revenge and hires a hacker to screw Samuel's credit history. Next step, Samuel unscrews the wheel of Ben's car making a serious car accident a sure thing. Ben has the stage at this point and he threatens Samuel's kids. And so it goes. Oh, somewhere in the middle, Ben discovers that his boss(who is also his father-law) is a crook and he has to do some serious soul searching which almost made me lose my lunch(it was that painful to watch). Of course, at the end, everybody does the right thing-meaning that both men stop acting like lunatics and try to make amends. To say that it was boring, would be an understatement. To say that it was a good movie would be a crime against humanity

Many wrongs never make right
This is a movie with no heroes, no nudity, no CGI and practically no fancy stunts, yet somehow it manages to hold your interest.

After feeling genuine hatred for the two lead characters, more so for Banek (Affleck) than Gipson (Jackson), I found that the ending wrapped up too quickly, too conveniently and too smoothly, and while it was reasonably watchable the first time, I probably wouldn't want to see it a second time.

Both Affleck and Jackson play their parts convincingly, and make it almost believable that a fender bender could lead to such chaos. In the real world however, Banek should have wised up to his work situation from the beginning, and Gipson would have certainly fallen off the wagon. Personally, I could never be charitable to a man who purposely sets out to destroy my family's chance for happiness, or lies about my kids safety, which makes the somewhat neat ending leave a bad taste in my mouth.

The bankruptcy story thread was unconvincing. The highly paid professional just accepting his failure with a shrug off is just not realistic. There are other parts of the movie where the lead characters cause significant damage to office property without repercussions, and some of the support actors tenuously cling to the storyline like afterthoughts.

Considering that this movie is about greed, arrogance, despair, revenge, deceit and blackmail, it does very well to maintain a reasonable entertainment value. The "positive message" comes too late to be of significant redeeming value.

Jackson's performance carries the movie as far as it can go.

"You're addicted to chaos."
'One Wrong Turn Deserves Another", that's the tagline for the film Changing Lanes (2002), starring Ben Affleck and Samuel L. Jackson, directed by Roger Michell, someone I've never heard of before here, but I found out he also directed the Julia Roberts film Notting Hill (1999), which I have yet to see, mostly because Julia Roberts kinda scares me with those big horse teeth of hers.

As the film begins, we sort of meet two individuals, a fancy schmanzy lawyer named Gavin Banek (Affleck) and a telephone insurance salesman Doyle Gipson (Jackson). The two men, while both on their way to court, Banek involved in a case worth a lot of money to the law firm he's a partner in, and Gipson involved in a custody hearing with his divorced wife, get into a car accident with each other. Gipson wants to handle the situation in the correct manner, but Banek, who caused the accident, has little time to deal with the formalities, tries to deal with the matter expeditiously, pawning off a blank check on Gipson, leaving not only the scene of the accident, but leaving Gipson stranded as his car is totaled. In his haste, Banek accidentally leaves an important document with Gipson, one that could potentially cost his firm over 100 million dollars and even prison time for Banek. As a result of the accident and being stranded by Banek, Gipson misses his appearance, and the court rules against him, allowing for his ex-wife to move away with their two sons. Banek, in the meantime, is allowed until the end of the day to produce the lost document, and later discovers Gipson still has possession of it, but is disgruntled over the treatment he received from Banek and losing his custody hearing, setting up a cycle of revenge between the two men, each sort of 'one upping' each other to increasingly dangerous and life-altering levels.

First of all, I just had a hard time buying Affleck as a partner in a big law firm, despite the fact that his father-in-law, played wonderfully by Sidney Pollack, is also a partner. I think he's a decent actor, a bit over-rated, and he's certainly got the smarmy quality down, inherent in many of his roles, but I didn't feel like he had the level of intelligence required to hold the position he does...and are all lawyers smarmy, greedy, opportunistic liars looking to rip people off? Maybe...I don't know, but this movie would have you believe so...Jackson is pretty good, but he's pretty much playing a role I've seen numerous times before from him, the angry, loud black man who yells a lot. It's toned down a little here, but not much. In the film, we find his wife left him because of his problem with alcohol and his addiction to rage. Throughout the film, she would seem on the verge of possibly reconciling with him, but then would quickly change her mind. This happened three or fours times, and given the film takes place over the course of one day, I could see where Jackson's character might react the way he does, given that she has such a penchant for flip flopping. One of the things I disliked about this film was each time one of the main characters would initiate some form of revenge on the other, they would suffer from moralistic pangs, which would soon pass as the cycle continued. And honestly, there weren't really any likeable characters in this film, despite any attempts of redemption by the characters within the story. Banek is a self-serving lawyer, one whose professional dealings seem awful shady (he struggles with this throughout most of the movie, as we are supposed to believe his conscious is now bothering him, despite his previous actions). Oh yeah, he's also an adulterer...and Jackson's character, a recovering alcoholic telephone insurance salesman with confrontation issues, one who his AA sponsor (played by William Hurt) say is 'addicted to chaos'. We do see him desperately trying to put the pieces of his life back together and develop a relationship with his two young sons, but I always got the feeling like his attempts were always too little, too late. I did like the performances by Pollack and Hurt, even though they got so little screen time and it seemed like their characters were a bit contrived as plot devices, both seemingly only present to serve as external forces for good, with Hurt and Jackson, and bad, with Pollack and Affleck, to put it simply. Toni Collette makes an appearance or two, as a colleague of Affleck at his law firm, but her character is almost a non-character, offering little more than a foil for Banek to bounce off of as he deals with his conscience. And I have to say, while I think she's normally an attractive woman, she did not look good here, with here bleached out hair. I was expecting a much different direction at the end, as the film reminded me slightly of the 1993 Michael Douglas film Falling Down, in that events continuously build on each other leading to an inevitable conclusion, but here, things wrapped up just a bit too convenient for my tastes, especially given the self destructive nature of the characters and events that transpired.

The wide screen anamorphic picture here looks wonderful, and there are a few special features available including a really worthwhile commentary track by the director, a 15 minute 'Making of' featurette, deleted and extended scenes (only about three total and not really offering much more to the story), a five minute 'A Writer's Perspective' featurette, and a theatrical trailer for the film. The product page here mentions alternative endings, but I didn't see those listed in the special features of the disc. By the way, if you ever get into a one upping contest with Samuel L. Jackson, check your car's lug nuts regularly.

Cookieman108 ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Although it eventually runs out of smart ideas and resorts to a typically explosive finale, this above-average thriller rises above its formulaic limitations on the strength of powerful performances by Samuel L. Jackson and Kevin Spacey. Both play Chicago police negotiators with hotshot reputations, but when Jackson's character finds himself falsely accused of embezzling funds from a police pension fund, he's so thoroughly framed that he must take extreme measures to prove his innocence. He takes hostages in police headquarters to buy time and plan his strategy, demanding that Spacey be brought in to mediate with him as an army of cops threatens to attack, and a media circus ensues. Both negotiators know how to get into the other man's thoughts, and this intellectual showdown allows both Spacey and Jackson to ignite the screen with a burst of volatile intensity. Director F. Gary Gray is disadvantaged by an otherwise predictable screenplay, but he has a knack for building suspense and is generous to a fine supporting cast, including Paul Giamatti as one of Jackson's high-strung hostages, and the late J.T. Walsh in what would sadly be his final big-screen role. The movie should have trusted its compelling characters a little more, probing their psyches more intensely to give the suspense a deeper dramatic foundation, but it's good enough to give two great actors a chance to strut their stuff.--Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (121)

Here's To Successful Negotiations!
The Negotiator is an action flick starring Samuel L. Jackson and Kevin Spacey. Samuel L. Jackson plays Chicago Police Department Hostage Negotiator, Lt. Danny Roman. Roman is an expert at dissolving critical hostage situations, keeping a level head and making quick on-the-spot decisions. When Roman's partner approaches him with information about money embezzlement within the department, cool methodical Roman decides to investigate. But before he can begin, Roman's partner is killed, and Roman is framed for murder. With no where to go except jail and his back against the wall, Roman does the only thing he can do - He takes the one man he believes responsible for the murder as his hostage. In to talk with Roman about releasing his hostage is Lt. Chris Sabian, played by Kevin Spacey. As the plot thickens, we learn that everyone is suspect, including Roman's friends within the hostage negotiations unit.
Expertly played by Samuel L. Jackson. It seems he can do nothing wrong. Kevin Spacey is excellent as Lt. Sabian. Fast-paced, action-packed, and unpredictable at times, this movie is great for anyone who loves action and suspense.

Negotiator negotiates with an negotiator
Intense, packed of 140 minutes of action. Witty and demand the audience as a certain intelligensia, the Negotiator delivers a good, quality entertainment.

Focal upon the corruption and misuse of welfare fund in the Chicago Police Department, the Negotiator Danny Roman (played by Samuel Jackson)found his friend dead and himself in this web of dirty little tricks. He was convicted of murdering his friend with his own gun and accused of making up a fictitious informer.

Asking for justice, he became a hostage-taker of his own colleagues and several innocent citizens, he locked himself and others in the internal investigation office. He called for Chris Sabian (Kevin Spacey), a cool and cerebral negotiator from another precinct, to begin a negotiation process of finding the truth. The bad and corrupt guys within the Police, however, determined to thawrt Danny's plan.

Director F. Gary Gray successfully tells of a very realistic story with, on occassions, powerful images. You hold your breath tight, waiting for the next step both negotiators might take. The result is a constantly engaging experience, interlocking story and a complete satisfaction.

The Negotiator (1998)
Director: F. Gary Gray
Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Kevin Spacey, Ron Rifkin, John Spencer, J.T. Walsh.
Running Time: 135 minutes.
Rated R for violence and language.

When the director has the lucky chance to work with not just one, but TWO of the most exceptional modern actions of the past decade, he should have been licking his chops in anticipation. Director F. Gary Gray (whose previous work was with Ice Cube and Chris Tucker in "Friday") uses the likes of Samuel L. Jackson and Kevin Spacey to his advantage, creating a fast-paced action-drama that uses both actors as chess pieces that are intertwined in a suspenseful race against time.

Jackson stars as an extremely successful hostage negotiatior who loses his partner in an accident. When he is framed for the accident as murder, he takes matters into his own hands by taking hostages himself. Kevin Spacey is the top-of-the-line officer assigned to assist the police department with consultations with Jackson, only to find himself in the most unique hostate situation he has ever encountered. Both must learn to trust each other, with Jackson attempting to find the true answers about his partner's death and Spacey trying to keep his incredible reputation in tact.

Gray does a fine job using the intense script (which unfortunately does have a few logical lapses), producing a motion picture that possesses all the essential ingredients to be a successful and enteraining flick. Jackson is very good in the lead role, while Spacey is as his usual best. Although F. Gary Gray was lucky enough to have excellent people for support, he does a fine job pulling off one of the better action thrillers of the year.

An Smart Action/Thriller.
One of the finest Police Hostage Negotiator:Danny Roman (Samuel L. Jackson) is framed for murdering his best friend (Paul Guilfoyle) and for embezzling money from his union`s pension fund. When nobody doesn`t want to believe him for not killing his partner & embezzling money. He decides to takes Hostages & try to clear his name. The only person, who could help him in this Situation is another Top Negotiator (Two Time Oscar-Winner:Kevin Spacey).

Directed by F. Gary Gray (Friday, A Man Apart, Set It Off) made a entertaining, suspenseful, action-thriller made surprisingly believable, thanks to Jackson & Spacey terrific performances and especially the Supporting Cast are Strong. The film wasn`t a Hit, when it was release in the Summer of 1998, despite Good Reviews by Critics & Audiences, who seen the film. This film did much better on Video. The Script might have some logic lapses but it`s a gripping & well-made taut thriller. Gray`s Best Film to Date. Written by James DeMonaco & Kevin Fox. Super 35. Grade:A-.

Action Jackson.
Samuel L. Jackson has become quite adept at portraying intense characters who are both likeable and bothersome. His cop in "The Negotiator" is a desperate man, who although perhaps innocent of the charges against him is certainly capable of having done them. By taking hostages, he automatically guarantees himself prison time even if he is exonerated of the murder charges against him, and yet this character cannot help but be likeable and sympathetic in Jackson's hands. Kevin Spacey's negotiator is both arrogant and clever, and the climax of the film shows his expertise at both negotiation and deception. A good suspenseful action film, with Jackson at times over the top but always in charge. ... Read more

Amazon.com

There's a succubus--a female vampire with a disturbingly sexual modus operandi--thinning out the male singles-bar population in New York, and it's up to a young Southern divinity student and his friends to stop her from continuing to act upon her hellish urges. A funky urban nightmare from quadruple-threat newcomer James Bond III (actor, producer, writer, and director), this self-assured debut is notable for being the first all-black horror film in quite some time. One of the few films of merit to be released by the notoriously low-rent Troma Studios (home of The Toxic Avenger, Surf Nazis Must Die, and many others), it's a provocative and scary movie with a professionalism that belies the obviously minuscule budget. The exquisite cinematography is by Spike Lee regular Ernest Dickerson. --Andrew Wright ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Demons, Fortune Tellers, Religion, Oh my!
This movie is one of the best horror films. The plot is original, the actors believable, the sets very visual... even the soundtracks pretty good! The special effects are fair. The plot involves an attractive womans quest to destroy cheating men in general and in particular, a young man who hopes to become a minister. Alas, he is the last of his line. Whats her deal? Buy it and see! Several known performers in this film: Melba Moore, Hardison, TWO Jacksons (one famous Samuel, oh and Freddie) The climax of the film is intense, the ending is excellent. Bored with other horror films because they're all clones? Buy this one then.... it's a standout!

A very good and scary black horror film since Blacula.
I also liked Vampire In Brooklyn, but if I was to choose between Vampire In Brooklyn and Def by Temptation, I would have to say that I liked Def by Temptation better.

Good movie, Not for kiddies.
A young religious scholar takes time out to visit a friend. While he is in town, he meets a very seductive woman with one thrill -- to secure a soul.

Standard B-Movie fare
'Def by Temptation' is the tale of a young preacher-in-training (James Bond III, who also wrote and directed the flick) who takes a break from his studies to spend time with his childhood friend (Kadeem Hardison) in NYC, obstensibly to get to know a little about the world. He gets a little more than he bargains for, as he gets caught in the web of a demoness who is single-handedly depopulating a pick-up joint. (The demon preys on human weaknesses, such as lust and greed.) The big question: Will the young preacher remain pure and alive, or will he join the demon's list of victims?

Pacing- and story-wise, this is a standard B-Movie. It's a touch more upscale/serious than a typical Troma release, but it still has its share of humorous moments. The cinematography and lighting is above average... and there's actually a bit of acting going on in a number of scenes! (James Bond III is not one of the highlights, unfortunately.) There are a number of confused moments in the storyline, but none are fatally distracting, so, all in all, this is a fun romp.

Note for Samuel L. Jackson fans: Jackson's character is actually rather important to a number of the elements of the plot, but its hardly 'truth in advertising' to list him among the film's stars. The minutes he spends on screen can be counted on one hand.

Decent Movie, Deals with Real Struggles
As an avid fan of movies from the vampire genre, I wasimmediately drawn to this one based on the detailed review of AndrewWright of Amazon.com. However, to my surprise, the movie is not about vampires, but instead about the eternal struggle that men are confronted with--temptation. Bond portrays a minister "to-be" who comes from a long line of ministers. Struggling with the question as to whether there is more to life than the ministry, he visits his childhood friend, Hardison, who is a struggling "B" movie actor in New York. Little did he know that he would encounter a demon temptress named, you guessed it, Temptation, who, like the reviewer stated, is single-handedly destroying the men from a local "pick-up" joint.

What makes this movie interesting is also what makes it a little campy. The seductress plays on the main sexual deviations of men: each concluding with real, and relevant, endings to the perpetrators. The real storyline poses the question, "Can you resist Temptation in this life to do what God requires of you?" This is a question which is posed bluntly, and those who answer no, meet gruesome ends.

Overall, the storyline is good, the acting decent, and Cynthia Bond as the temptress is hot. This is overall a good movie and well worth viewing. ... Read more

Reviews (623)

movie is so strong it is unbreakable
I think M. Night Shyamalan has proven that he is one of the most talented new directors today. The Sixth Sense is truly awesome, and Signs is his masterpiece. Unbreakable is definitely the lesser of the three 'big' movies Night has made, but that isn't saying it is a bad film. It's just a testimony to how good Signs and Sixth Sense are. Unbreakable is a great film itself. Bruce Willis and Samuel Jackson give great performances. As always the visuals (especially color) play a huge role in the telling of the story. And there is Night's twists at the end. The movie is shown in what can only be called a comic book style. I don't mean overdone or campy, but the colors, camera movements, everything about the film suggests a comic book feel. It's really a well done movie, and like his other movies, one that has to be watched many times to get it all.

The dvd is packaged in an elegant slip cover, 2 disc edition, with a replica of Alex Ross's art. There is no commentary track, which is a shame. Filmmakers like M. Night Shyamalan, David Fincher, Tarantino, and the Coen brothers shouldn't be allowed to not have commentary tracks on their dvds. There is just too much going on and too much that is missed by not having commentary. What it does have is a behind the scenes featurette that is very well done (not like all those we've seen that are basically 20 minute summary/trailer). There's also a featurette that discusses comic books and superheros. There are storyboards and deleted scenes (and some great scenes were deleted from this movie).

What makes this film especially interesting is that instead of making a movie about a superhero, like most filmmakers would do, Night makes the movie about a man discovering he is a superhero. That's it. Simple, elegant, brillaint. M. Night Shyamalan will one day take his place amongst the great directors like John Ford, Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, Sergio Leone, Martin Scorsese, and Orson Welles. And The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, and Signs are just the beginning.

Half good movie, half meandering thesis
It's been a while since I've seen a thriller with a more assured opening. The flashback to Elijah Price's (Samuel L. Jackson) birth. The scenes of David Dunn (Bruce Willis) on the train, trying in vain to make some human contact. And the train wreck, never shown but subtly alluded too in a way that made my heart skip a beat, that will bring both these men together. These moments are handled stylishly, but with a genuine purpose.

Director M. Night Shyamalan frames his shots wonderfully, controlling the symbolism with an iron hand and creating the tone with a painter's palette. Watch for his repeated use of the motif of things turned upside down (a comic book, a child watching TV, etc.) that, while being brutally obvious, never becomes heavy handed. And he seems to drag a wonderful performance out of Willis, an actor who usually bores me. Bruce plays a character in the midst of some depressing times, but manages to imbue him with a sense of play and willingness to go on. The film was building up a reservoir of good will; I was willing to let it meander, with a purpose, towards the twist ending that I'd heard so much about without learning of its details.

Sadly, things horribly go wrong.

Like Icarus, the film's wings melt when it tries to fly too close to the sun. Around the time David goes to meet Elijah for the first time in his art store, and Jackson lays bare the film's narrative conceit, Shyamalan ceases his attempts to make a movie, and what follows is more like a thesis paper:

"It is the purpose of this film to prove that comic books, like hieroglyphics, are an important communications tool in contemporary society, shaping our myths and defining what it means to be human."

Whatever. I didn't buy it. Maybe if I had a comic book collection of over 3,000 issues, and I'd spent over a year of my life reading through them (as the film's title card declares to be average statistics for a comics fan) I might have been able to follow the film down this precarious plane. But as things stand, I thought it was just silly.

Even though he begins the film with promise, and the idea of him as an unwilling, unknowing superhero is somewhat intriguing, Willis blows all the good will he'd built up in the film's first third. He rarely shifts out of first gear, playing all his scenes with that self-important whispered delivery he's developed over recent years. It subverts the few moments of charisma that he vainly tries to engineer, such as a dark but funny scene in his weight room, where he accidentally discovers some unusual powers. (Question: If David Dunn were truly "unbreakable", wouldn't he have been able to keep some of his hair? Just curious...)

Taking their cue from the film's star, the rest of the cast seems to have trained at the Bruce Willis School of Comatose Acting. Samuel L. Jackson is stripped of his vitality as he's saddled with a hideous fright wig and a wheelchair, not to mention of series of ludicrous monologues, that aim for philosophical but land firmly on pretentious. Robin Wright Penn is quite ridiculous as Willis' wife. She tries in vain to bring some humanity to Audrey, but is weighed down by some clunker dialogue of her own ("No shooting friends, Joseph!" she says to her son at one point, with utmost sincerity; is a laughably bad line that got funnier and funnier after dozens of times rewinding to listen to it again and again). Spencer Treat Clark as Willis and Penn's son is not up to the task of the emotional scenes he's asked to play, and his affection for his father has no basis in reality.

As for that notorious surprise ending, well, Shyamalan proves once again that he knows how to catch the audience off-guard. Only by the time the sheet was pulled back, and the mystery revealed, I found myself asking "Yeah... so what?" By that time, the movie had so lost my trust that the ending truly didn't matter. If the rest of the movie were up to par, the ending would have been a mind blower. As it is, it is just a curiosity. Waiting for this final revelation was the only thing that kept me going. If not for that final gimmick, I would have given up much earlier.

The true, hardcore comic fan may get a kick out of this flick. For the rest of us, unable or unwilling to buy into its contrived mythology, the goings will be a lot harder. I found it to be a sloppy and sub-standard piece of filmmaking, loaded with potential but unable to nurture any of it to a satisfying product.

Interesting Premise But
It's just too slow and lugubrious. All the scenes are dark and depressing. I felt like asking someone to turn on the lights! Fine acting, cinematography and all that, but I'm really not a big fan of comic books, and especially not of movies made about comic books. If I had known that this movie was a comic book story I would have never rented it. If you like comic books, you'll probably love it.

What happened?
Sadly, this movie was not a box office smash. And that, my friends, I just cannot figure out.

This movie is outstanding. Pure and simple. Its one of the few in my collection that I can go back to time and again and really enjoy watching.

The acting is excellent, the editing flows very well and the cinematography is great. Then there is the story and concept. Take comics and strip away the leotards, capes and unbelievable super powers and you end up with people who are amazing for believeable "powers". This concept is put into great contrast with the two main characters.

The only downside is that I think most folks will have the ending pegged before it comes around. But it remains an excellent story that is well told.

Sadly, since it did not bring in the profits it should have, we may never see a sequel or follow on effort.

GREAT MOVIE
I agree that this could've been much better but it is still a great movie overall. This movie was written, produced, and directed by M. Night Shyamalan (Signs, The Sixth Sense). The main characters in this movie are David Dunn (Bruce Willis) and Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson). David is in a terrible train accident and he is the sole survivor without a single scratch on him. He then meets Elijah who thinks David is a hero. Specifically he thinks David's a comic book hero. Elijah tries to convince David and his family that he is a hero while David tries to remember his past. David remembers that he never was sick and he never had a broken bone which leads him to thinking he is a hero which then he becomes frustrated and doesn't really know what to think of at all.

The ending was surprising but you could kind of see it coming. I thought the ending was going to be really great but it turned out just to be good.

There are about an hour of special features on the second disc, which are great, but I was hoping there was more.
Special Features:
-Behind the Scenes with Bruce Willis (15 minutes)
-Comic Book and Superheroes with Samuel L. Jackson (20 minutes)
-The Train Station Sequence multi angle
-A short film from M. Night Shyamalan (3 minutes)
-7 Deleted Scenes all introduced by M. Night Shyamalan (30 minutes):
Elijah taken Away
Audrey in waiting room
David in shower
Elijah at fair
David with priest
Audrey calls David
Weightlifting in locker room

I figured they could have put a couple of the deleted scenes in the movie especially David with priest and Elijah at fair.

Overall this movie was great and I am glad to own it. If you were a fan of Sixth Sense I recommend this. It isn't scary or anything like that but you do have to pay attention to it to finally get it at the end. It really comes together when you get it then you enjoy the movie more. ... Read more

Reviews (173)

A great movie.
A young man by the name of Clerence (Christian Slater) gets to meet a bright wide-eyed Prostitute named Alabama (Patricia Arquette) falls in love at first sight and then they get married. But the Couple takes a wrong turn, when Clerence told the wrong suitcase from a Pimp (Gary Oldman), which Clerence did kill him. Then Clerence & Alabama finds out that the suitcase is full of cocaine and than they decide go to L.A. to sell it and cash it in, while the Mafioso (Lead by Oscar-Winner:Christopher Walken) are searching for the Drugs and the Couple.

Directed by Tony Scott (The Hunger, Top Gun, Enemy of the Gates) made an excellent, clever thriller with romance. Excellent Performances from the Cast, including:Dennis Hopper, Val Kilmer, Micheal Rapaport, Bronson Pinchot, Brad Pitt, Saul Rubinek, Chris Penn, Tom Sizemore, Samuel L. Jackson, James Gandolfini & Conchata Ferrell. This wasn't a huge success at the Box Office but it did recieve great reviews by Critics and it become a Cult Classic. DVD's has an terrific anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1) transfer and an digitally remastered-Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound (Also on DTS). DVD's has three separate feature-length Audio Commentaries by Stars:Slater & Arquette, Director:Scott & Writer:Quentin Tarantino. DVD has nearly 30 mintues of Deleted Scenes (also an Alternate Ending) with/without commentary by the director & writer. This DVD has great extras. Tarantino wrote a terrific written script, which he's best known for Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction & Jackie Brown. This DVD is a great 2-Disc Set. Do not miss this great film. Panavision. Grade:A.

Stay True To Yourself
Directed with a slick style by Tony Scott (Top Gun, Spy Game), True Romance, boasts an all star cast, a cool soudtrack, and a great script from Quentin Tarantino. He would of course, go on to write and direct Resevior Dogs, and Pulp Fiction. I happen to think though, however, that the script for this film is Tarantino's best work in anything he's ever done. Period I know I'm probably in the minority with that opinion, but most of the the other films he's written/directed himself, have a samenees to them.

Clarence Worley (Christian Slater) likes comic books, Kung Fu Films, and Elvis. He leads a fairly normal life, that is, until he meets call girl Alabama (Patricia Arquette). After a spending a passionate night together, they declare their love for each other, and they decide to get hitched. Clarence is visited by the ghost of Elvis (Val Kilmer) who tells him that he should kill Alabama's pimp Drexel (Gary Oldman)... Dennis Hopper Michael Rappaport Christopher Walken and Brad Pitt also star in this quirky, sometimes dark, love story.

The 2 disc DVD director's cut is a must for fans of the film, over the movie only disc version, that still available.

Disc One has the unrated director's cut of the film. There are 3 audio commentary tracks. Each one offers a unique perspective on the same film and it's kind of fun to have these different takes on the same film. All of the tracks are decent and never lag (especialy Tarantino's who barely misses a beat) The director's storyboard track allows for a side by side comparison between the final film and how Scott laid everything out beforehand. DVD-ROM stuff includes the original script, production notes, and a web site archive with a few links

Disc Two has interviews with both cast and crew, some interesting on the set footage. Cast members offer audio reactions to specific scenes that they appear in as they watch them--this is really cool. Comments are from Hopper Kilmer Pitt and others There are a number of deleted scenes that can be viewed optional commentary from Scott. The best extra is the alternate ending. Rounding out the extras are the ususal trailers and photo galleries and such.

This 2 disc set comes highly recommended

excellent
I loved this movie. Christopher Walken and Dennis Hopper we're absolutely fantastic. I was really dissapointed that we didn't see more of Walken throughout the film. The thing that impressed me the most about it though was how each role no matter how small was executed to perfection. Bradd Pitt, Chris Penn, James Gandolfini, Vincent Donofrio? There are two many roles to mention. Scott did an excellent job with the script although it may have a sunnier disposition than Tarantino's other films.

Tarentino's Frist - Possibly His Best...
I recently read Tarantino's original screenplay to "True Romance". Apart from the change in narrative structure (non-chronological), it hints to a bleaker, grittier urban drama, with a tragic ending. It would have been very interesting to see the final film in Tarantino's vision.

Tony Scott's sugar-coated adaptation works wonders though. It was made very clear in the script that the relationship between the two leads was very strong. Scott took this unison and gave the film a fairy-tale tone. The villains in the film are very colourful, contributing to the feel that Scott has established. Hans Zimmer's score does nothing better, than to enforce this vision.

The cast is one of the most impressive line-ups I've ever seen. Much of the film rests on the shoulders of Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette, both characters come off very likable with clear, clean, simple motives. These are career performances. Dennis Hopper gives good in his limited screen-time as Christian's ex-cop, ex-alcoholic father. It is in his time shared with Christopher Walken (being a one-scene wonder, like in "Pulp Fiction"), that he comes off at his best. The Sicilian scene is Walken's most intense since "Deer Hunter". Gary Oldman also gives another deliciously evil and memorable performance, the man is a chameleon, he is yet to unimpress me.

But one of my favourite things about the cast is seeing then-relative-unknowns Samuel L. Jackson, Brad Pitt and James Gandolfini in small, but memorable roles. A real shame that Jackson's performance was cut down heavily from the script, some of the dialogue in his one scene was very amusing, if maybe a little offensive to some.

"True Romance" is a brilliant crime drama, and a perfect (if phased) introduction to Tarantino's work, it is probably the most accessible film he's penned. People will always ponder over whether or not Tarantino's directorial version would have been better, but they can always rest-assure that Scott has given a wonderful adaptation, supported by a very strong cast. It could have been much, much worse.

great scott
what the hell is tony scott doing??? quentin tarantino really knows how to ruin something potentially good. ... Read more

Reviews (185)

A fine fast-paced, junk food movie
I spent my hard earned cash for a matinee fully expecting to watch a big, loud, dumb, mindless and escapist action packed film filled with gun-fights, fist fights, stuff blowing up, mean Euro-trash villains (in this case a real slimy Gaul), a team made of devoted experts, decent enough acting and a few funny lines as well as a passable performance by the young Mel Gibson-like Colin Farrell and I have to say, my money was well spent.

SWAT has the potential to be the TOP GUN for special police forces. SWAT contains TOP GUN'S romanticized vision of ripped warrior bodies performing great feats of physical skill. Like TOP GUN'S Navy Pilots and their super sonic jets, this super Police force expertly manipulates specific technology to defeat the forces of evil. A warrior's complete and total command over the tools of the trade- guns, cars, clubs and each other makes such films work as effective recruitment tools. Who wouldn't want to be part of such an expert team?

SWAT embraces all the required clichés befitting a proper action/cop picture: the[rear-end] chewing by-the-numbers captain, the hardened veteran (played with the usual strength and charisma by the always excellent Samuel L. Jackson), the roguish rebel, the tough female partner, the shapeshifting turncoat and the family man as sacrificial lamb.

If someone wants a decent action-adventure, no thinking required, entertaining junk food movie that provides temporary satisfaction, SWAT serves the bill.

This movie stinks
Collin Farell can't act for sh....

I saw this movie one a VCD...think god I didn't pay 8 bucks for a ticket for this crap in a box...

What a dumb film...Samual L. Jackson saved it....Movie sucked pretty much.....Horrible casting...Worst then Phone Booth...Acctually Phone was worse then this........they both suck pretty much...

I wish i could give it a -000000/5...

Worst movie I've seen last summer...

Later...

Saw it for the first time on TV last night....Bad Film!
I skipped this one in theater because it looked cheesy and man is it ever. Colin Farrel and Sam Jackson's talents are wasted in this mess of an action movie and the dialogue and realism of SWAT is below-average at very best. Don't even rent this stinker, catch it on cable for free.

Slickly produced mainstream action fluff
Based on the 70's cop drama TV show, S.W.A.T. is pure slickly produced mainstream action fluff of the highest degree. Beginning with a rebellious and disgraced SWAT member (Colin Farrell) who is picked to join a new squad (which includes Michelle Rodriguez, LL Cool J, Brian Van Holt, and Josh Charles) by a fresh out of retirement sergeant (Samuel L. Jackson). Soon afterward, the head of a European drug cartel (Unfaithful's Oliver Martinez) is captured and offers 100 million dollars to whoever breaks him out of prison, and the crew ends up having their hands full when anyone and everyone comes out of the woodwork to claim the bounty. The film looks great and his some great action scenes, and the cast is nicely assembled, but it's an ultimately shallow experience. If you're a mainstream action fan, this is worth a look, but there's better, more character driven action films out there that are more than worth your time.

aight
this movie was very tight. and this movie is also better than you got served. ... Read more

Description

A "Buppie" investment broker falls for a free-spirited beauty bringing comedic chaos upon his button down career and lifestyle. A romantic lark with a dynamic rap soundtrack starring Halle Berry (The Flintstones) Year: 1991 Director: Kevin Hooks Starring:Tommy Davidson, Joseph C.Phillips, Halle Berry ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Halle Berry Was The Bomb.....
I watched this movie and was totally into it from the start! I love the characters so much and how well they interact together... I even had to stare when Halle Berry was dancing at the club... and I was in total awe and had to say Go... Natalie...Go Natalie...which is the name of her character in this movie... My favorite part had to been when Waymon has to get her back...and his homeboy says.."Hope he brought his knee pads!" So how romantic was that...I love this cause Natalie has a dream to be a club owner....and that is something that I have been wanting to do for a long time now :)

PERIOD PIECE
Yeah Strictly Business is a period piece. A lot of these types of movies with young black stars were being made then. Of course it's not a GREAT movie. Was it meant to be? I recall going to see it at the movies with some of my boys. It was very enjoyable at the time and very fun. Halle was a relative newcomer then and we all thought she was fly. Just a fun feel good movie.

Feel-Good Formula Movie
It's clear that this movie isn't going to win any awards, but if you want a simple formula movie, Strictly Business is good way to spend an hour and a half. I read Leonard Maltin's review and its strikes me as funny that he would even mention anything having to do with money or how easy it is to make. Did anyone question the reality of Richard Gere marrying a street prostitute in Pretty Woman? Or how easy it was for Forrest Gump to turn his simple boating enterprise into an empire with holdings in Apple? Let's be careful about how and why we evalute the "realism" in movies. Strictly Business is a mildly entertaining, 2-star movie, that is as realistic and complex as a 2-star movie can be.

NOT THE BEST WORK FROM TOMMY DAVIDSON
IT'S STRAIGHT AND ALL HALLE BERRY LOOKS FINE AND YOUNG.TOMMY DAVIDSON ACTS LIKE HE'S READING THE SCRIPT RIGHT THERE ON THE SET.THE MOVIE AIN'T WORTH GETTING TRUST ME.ONE LOVE.

light-hearted
this film has something catchy about it.it's pretty average but the story holds my attention everytime i see it.from the business world to the party scene very interesting. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Let's see--he's been Han Solo in three films and Indiana Jones in three more. So why shouldn't Harrison Ford take on a new continuing character in Tom Clancy's CIA analyst Jack Ryan? In this film, directed by Phillip Noyce, Ford picked up the baton when Alec Baldwin, who played Ryan in The Hunt for Red October, opted for a Broadway role instead. In this film, Ryan and his family are on vacation when Ryan saves a member of the British royal family from attack by Irish terrorists. The next thing he knows, the Ryan clan has been targeted by the same terrorists, who invade his Maryland home. The film can't shed all of Clancy's lumbering prose, or his techno-dweeb fascination with spy satellites and the like. But no one is better than Ford at righteous heroism--and Sean Bean makes a suitably snakey villain. --Marshall Fine ... Read more

Reviews (58)

Patriot Games - A fine adaptation of Clancy¿s masterpiece!
Not for honor. Not for country. For his wife and child. These three bold statements are emblazoned on the cover of the DVD which, quite briefly, sums up the theme behind this fairly decent adaptation of Tom Clancy's best selling novel of the same name. While, as with all of the "Clancy" movies, the screenplay, written by W. Peter Iliff is very loosely based on the actual novel, this film is excellent as a stand alone. A minor note about the screenplay, they should've stuck with the original ending from the book, it would've been much more dramatic. This film certainly stuck a little closer to the original novel than the summer 2002 adaptation of "The Sum of All Fears."

Replacing "The Hunt for Red October's" Alec Baldwin and Gates McFadden (best known as Dr. Beverly Crusher from Star Trek The Next Generation) as Jack and Cathy Ryan are Harrison Ford and the ever beautiful Anne Archer. The films producers couldn't have made a better choice to fill these two integral roles. Reprising the role of Admiral James Greer, James Earl Jones gives another fine performance. The recently departed Richard Harris of Harry Potter fame performs admirably as well. Samuel L. Jackson does well with the role of Commander Robbie Jackson, fellow professor and best friend to Jack Ryan. Performing admirably in the primary antagonist's role is Sean Bean of Lord of the Rings fame. Outstanding performances by all mentioned.

The score, performed by James Horner, is quite in keeping with his usual high standards. It meshes beautifully with every scene. The DVD itself is not much to speak of, in that the only feature on it is one theatrical trailer. Ultimately this is fine though, as I rate/review movies based on the movie itself, not all of the extraneous other items...

Dr. John Patrick Ryan and his family are on a working vacation in London, England. As he and his family meet up in a park, what appears to be IRA terrorists, blow up a car and are attempting to kidnap members of the Royal family. Throwing caution to the wind, Jack Ryan jumps into the fray...

What follows is an extremely intriguing and well made movie. Many "Clancy" fans may not have found this film to be up to the standards of his novels. This, in my opinion, is not the case, being that it is entirely impossible to film a five hundred plus page novel into two hours. This is not the "Patriot Games" that I've read a couple times now, but it is very good as it stands on its own merits.

I highly recommend this film to all those who are interested in a good, suspense filled and action packed thriller. {ssintrepid}

Protecting His Family
Harrison Ford was a great choice to take over the role of Jack Ryan in Patriot Games. Ford has that everyman quality that works really well when he finds himself and his family (wife Anne Archer and daughter Thora Birch) thrust into international events when they witness an assassination attempt on a British royal. Ford thwarts the attempt, which makes his family revenge targets. The assassins, an Irish militant group, counts amongst its members, a hotheaded Sean Bean who makes it his mission to kill Ford, Archer, and Birch. But needless to say, Ford has other ideas!

Patriot Games is a well-crafted thriller from director Philip Noyce. He keeps the tension going from the beginning, mixing periodic bits of action into the drama that drive the film to its' climax. There's also a good mix of gadgetry and politics to spice the plot up as well.

Ford does a great job portraying the hero as a family man out to protect his loved ones. Archer is an ideal, classy wife, and Birch isn't the typically annoying or cute movie kid ... she's very likeable. Samuel L. Jackson is wasted in a smaller role as Ford's buddy, while Bean and Patrick Bergin make the most of their bad guy roles.

I've seen a lot of action films that have the heart stopping chases and intrigue, but Patriot Games is a step above them. It's a great combination of cast, director, story, and action, and it holds up to repeated viewings.

Slasher films a poor substitute
For sheer excitement on the edge of your not-so-easy chair, there's nothing like a good Jack Ryan story, and I think this is the best of them. The plot involves one of the most obsessed bad guys you'll ever see, a fanatically militant member of an IRA splinter group whose attack on the British royal family is thwarted almost unconsciously by Ryan, who is visiting England as a tourist/lecturer. Now ex-CIA, Ryan's family is nearby, and family is central in this tale of the cold-blooded world of international espionage and terrorism. The family angle is one that keeps the story so chilling throughout, as the terrorist's brother is shot to death by Ryan as he ruins their try on the royals, and our star villain then sets out to stalk Ryan and his wife and daughter.

The film moves at an almost perfect pace, and unveils to us some modern aspects of this shadowy world. For instance, even Ryan, played with understated perfection by Harrison Ford, is creeped out by his participation in a nighttime strike on a desert camp believed to be IRA training ground. In this scene he and several other jacket-and-tie types watch soldiers take out this nest of vipers a half-world away, thanks to infrared and satellite technology, all while detached voices calmly note "Target neutralized" and spies dressed like businessmen smile and nod while whispering to one another in thorough detachment from the blood and guts of the operation. All this technology and we are not removed from the days of the rich people perching on hills near the battles of Civil War days, sipping tea while viewing the entertainment.

I cannot give less than five stars to a film that draws me in so completely as this one, making me feel the tension with such clarity and indeed making it so easy to actually hate the villain. Yet the film strikes sour notes with the drunken Richard Harris's half-hearted performance as an IRA bigwig, and with the cliched ending moment of an otherwise superb boat chase at the film's climax. Two distracting moments would mean a score of 9 on a scale of 1 to 10, or, in Amazon terms, 4-1/2 stars. These being minor, a full five stars is quite reasonable. Nearly a perfect action film; even the understated music score is just so right that it can't be imagined being done any other way.

Reasonably good film - but what 'good' things?
I must admit to being disappointed in this version of the Clancy novel. Much as I like Harrison Ford, One can't help thinking Baldwin would have done a better job in portraying Ryan once again.

Sean Bean is eerily psychotic as Sean Miller - the man on an obsessive hunt for vengeance after the death of his brother at Ryan's hands, but there is an awful appearance by Richard Harris as a stereo-typical IRA man who forges an almost symbiotic relationship with Ryan.

Having said that, the end of the film is well-done and gripping - if you can manage to suspend belief that the security in place to protect the Ryans and their high-ranking visitor could possibly be so slap-dash.

In amazed disbelief at the previous critic who states that the IRA have done some 'good things', I am just sat here wondering what they could possibly be.

Perhaps he is thinking of the Warrington bomb - left randomly in a waste-bin in a crowded shopping centre? That had the distinction of killing two children.

Or perhaps the Omagh bombing? Scores of innocents died there, including a party of visiting Spanish schoolchildren.

Maybe the Rememberance Day parade at Inniskillen? Among the many Irish victims, I suppose the best known was an 18yr old Student Nurse.

Or the Harrods bomb, or the Hyde Park bomb, or the Chelsea Harbour bomb?

The knee-capping of young Irish men who refute the 'cause' or happen to disagree with them?

Could it be the weapons assistance and training with well-known Arab terrorist groups?

Or the solid refusal to lay down their arms and resort to the political process/ballot box in spite of the on-going Peace Process . . .

Just one or two of those 'good' things . . .

Patriot Games, Sean from Dublin
In many respects the film is an improvement upon the original book. The main plot remains fairly intact, but is greatly simplified. This makes the film much more accessible than the book, although purists will miss some of the endless details from the book. By having a minor member of the royal family as the target rather than Prince Charles the film is also more plausible and less cheesy.

Some individuals seem to feel that somehow the IRA is portrayed in a bad light. But it is scarely mentioned, as it is clearly stated that it is a splinter group not the the main branch or the terrorist organisation. Though admittedly one can draw fairly obvious comparisons in that both are vicious terrorist organisations willing to use violence against any who stand in their way. Those who seem to feel that the IRA are a noble bunch of freedom fighters might do well to look at the numbers and occupations of their victims. They include women and children as well as many other innocent bystanders and social undesirables in the view of the IRA. The unwillingness of Sinn Fein to place its faith in ballot box by disarming its supporters also illustrates the nature of the organisation.

Overall it is a good film, with impressive acting, special effects and a sound plot. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

The second sequel to the mold-making action film Die Hard brings Detective John McClane (Bruce Willis) to New York City to face a better villain than in Die Hard 2. Played by Jeremy Irons, he's the brother of the Germanic terrorist-thief Alan Rickman played in the original film. But this bad guy has his sights set higher: on the Federal Reserve's cache of gold. As a distraction, he sets McClane running fool's errands all over New York--and eventually, McClane attracts an unintentional partner, a Harlem dry cleaner (Samuel L. Jackson) with a chip on his shoulder. Some great action sequences, though they can't obscure the rather large plot holes in the film's final 45 minutes. --Marshall Fine ... Read more

Reviews (84)

Bruce does the sweaty-vested hero thing again...
Director John McTiernan returned to helm the 3rd part to the Die Hard trilogy, which regains much of the fun action that was missing in Renny Harlin's Die Hard 2. Bruce Willis does the sweaty-vested action hero thing again as John McClane, and to good effect. The main villain, played by Jeremy Irons, is much better than the weak bad guys in DH2, and the inclusion of Samuel L. Jackson makes it even better. Great stunts, action, one-liners, explosions and music. Fine extras too, with a featurette and trailers.

Die Hard With a Vengeance
The heat is on again as Bruce Willis plays Detective John McClane battling a very intelligent mastermind through out the streets of New York city. In NY, there has been a bomb explosion and the man responsible wants John McClane in this case for some reason. It seems that the main villain in this movie is known as "Simon" (Jeremy Irons)but is really the brother of Hans Gruber, the villain in the first Die Hard, who seeks revenge on McClane. Although that is what it seems, Simon's main goal is to steal truck loads of gold bars from the NY Federal Reserve Building. Simon admits hiding a very large bomb in NY. John and a Harlem dry cleaner, Zues (Samuel)L. Jackson go through wierd obstacles in order to find this bomb. All die hard fans will love all the bomb explosions, fast car drivings, and gunshootings throughout this movie. This is the best Die Hard throughout and I think anyone else would to if they get this.

Decent action scenes can't save middling DIE HARD III
John McTiernan returned to direct this second follow-up to McTiernan's original DIE HARD from 1988, but unfortunately all his considerable skill and energy can't rise above screenwriter Jonathan Hensleigh's generic script. DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE could easily have been LETHAL WEAPON 4 (maybe it almost was), and the script does little to make it stand out from other buddy action-movies (although Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson undoubtedly do work well together). As for the action scenes, they're certainly well-executed, but there's just no real momentum connecting the action scenes the way there was in the second half of DIE HARD 2. In VENGEANCE, there's just one action scene piled upon another, and the whole thing simply feels like an incoherent mess, which certainly was not the case in the first two films of the series.

DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE will certainly entertain action fans, since the action scenes are undeniably creative and well-mounted. Compare VENGEANCE to the first two DIE HARDs, though, and there's no contest. DIE HARD will forever be an action classic, and DIE HARD 2 was a generally worthy sequel. In that company, DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE is merely average.

Hard Not to Like
DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE does not have the emotion and consistency of the first two movies. It doesn't happen on Christmas Eve like the other two. John Mclane's wife, Holly (Bonnie Bedelia) isn't in it. Finally as in the first two films, the terrorism happens in the confines of one specific area (i.e. Die Hard: in a high rise building, Die Hard II: at an airport). This adventure is all over the map in New York City. However, it is one of those movies that grows better with repeated viewings, somehow works better on the small screen, and also helped by the chemistry of Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson. Jeremy Irons is decent as the villian and overall an above average action thriller.

A Sign of the Times
The most flattering appraisal one could give of "Die Hard With a Vengeance" is "moronic". What else is one to remark of a movie in which people are manifestly killed for the pleasure of the audience watching it? It is a sign of our profoundly debased and witless times that the same rating of 3.5 stars should have been given by a pundit to this brutal, vainglorious, and puerile film as he had elsewhere deigned to give to a very different film, "Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet" (1940; director William Dieterle; starring Edward G. Robinson, in a magnificent performance), which concerns the historical career of a famous medical scientist and his brilliant and heroic accomplishments, which quite literally saved countless millions of human lives. ... Read more

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The award-winning HBO series Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child provides updated cartoon versions of the classics that will hold your kids' attention without banging them on the head with themes. This very sweet version of Pinocchio features a star-studded voice cast, including Will Smith, Chris Rock, Charles S. Dutton, and Della Reese. Although this may make the take sound strictly African American, the spin is decidedly multicultural. Gepetto becomes "George" and Pinocchio, being "chips of pine and oak off the old block" is called "Pinoak." The big spin is on Pinocchio's insect friend, who in this version is a termite named "Woody," played with a rascally style well suited to Chris Rock. If the kid wants you to watch with him or her, you will surely enjoy watching Reese "do her thing," as she says, which is a nifty Motown number called "What's Right What's Wrong." Rock gets his chance to get down with a rap called "No Strings Attached," even if the accompanying break dance is ill served by the rudimentary drawings and movement of the characters. Older viewers may cringe at the crude animation, but it is totally appropriate for its intended audience. The villainy is very low-key so as not to disturb. And the time-honored theme that you can only be a real boy when you learn to tell the truth makes for a story that can only end "happily ever after." --Lloyd Chesley ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Wonderful
The celebrity cast, Della Reese, Will Smith & Chris Rock was great. My two year old sat thru the entire video & he never does that. The songs were beautiful & my kids loved it. Can't wait to see the others in the Happily Ever After series! ... Read more

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Boaz Yakin's astounding debut feature looks at the violent world of the projects through the eyes of a 12-year-old drug runner. Sean Nelson delivers a quiet but intense performance as Michael--street name Fresh--a cynical but introspective kid grown up fast and hard on the killing streets of the projects. Samuel L. Jackson costars as Fresh's estranged father, a speed chess hustler in the city park whose dispassionate philosophy--the chess board as life--becomes the film's central metaphor, as Fresh plots a brilliant, coldly brutal plan to save himself and his junkie sister from his world of drug dealers and street violence. Yakin's assured direction delivers a vividly realized world in bold, crisp images and an austere but poetic style that captures the dispassionate point of view of a heart-hardened adolescent street survivor. The excellent score by former Police-manStewart Copeland, his most haunting since Rumblefish, mixes smooth symphonic sounds with bluesy guitars and syncopated percussion, giving the soundtrack the same sad intimacy as Yakin's visuals. The world of Fresh is alive with danger thatthreatens to extinguish all the wonder and joy of childhood--the film's most devastating moment observes Fresh helplessly trying to stop the bleeding of a schoolmate, a girl he has a crush on, caught by a stray bullet from a senseless playground murder. As Fresh loses his innocence playing street thugs and drug dealers like pieces on a chess board, he becomes the greatest victim of all. --Sean Axmaker ...