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After their brilliant collaborations on Howards End and The Remains of the Day, director James Ivory and Anthony Hopkins reunited (along with producer Ismail Merchant and screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala) for this controversial film about the life and loves of the great artist Pablo Picasso. Hopkins is outstanding in the title role, portraying Picasso as a brilliant, manipulative egotist who used his power over women to fuel his artistic impulse and voracious sexual appetite.

But Surviving Picasso is not intended to be a screen biography and, as many critics noted in mixed reviews, this 1996 film fails to provide any substantial insight into Picasso's complex personality. It's more about Françoise Gilot (Natascha McElhone), the aspiring artist who was one of the few women to "survive" Picasso's love and emerge as a stronger, more confident person with a life of her own outside of Picasso's often destructive sphere of influence. McElhone is impressive in this breakthrough role, conveying the seductive effect Picasso had on women, but also holding her own against the artist's unpredictable temperament.

Surviving Picasso was based on the unflattering book Picasso: Creator and Destroyer by Arianna Huffington, so the Merchant-Ivory team did not have the cooperation of Picasso's estate. The result is a film that shifts its focus away from the artist and onto his positive and negative effect on those who entered his inner circle. It's a fascinating portrait of a fascinating man and his equally passionate lovers, fueled by excellent performances. Even though you know you're not getting the whole story of Picasso's best and worst behavior, the movie grabs and holds your attention. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Enduring Picasso
I find Anthony Hopkins to be a master at becoming whatever he intends to create. He was just as believable as President Nixon in "Nixon", as he was a madman in "Silence Of The Lambs". Here again, he does not dissapoint me. The movie is dark, and I would tend not to agree with the accuracy of the historical aspects of the film, but I did find Hopkins to be a compelling Picasso. And, yes once again, I found myself watching Pablo Picasso. I enjoy biographies of painters and creative souls, and I would be hard pressed to find a biography that is uplifting and has a happy ending. I found the same in "Surviving Picasso". It is a little long in the tooth, but I found the cinematography to be beautiful and again, Sir Anthony Hopkins' performance is beautiful. I would reccomend this for any Hopkins lover.

No me gusta all that mucho
While Anthony Hopkins is a good actor, you know, he's really not like Lon Chaney, Man of a Thousand Faces. By which I mean, there's a limit to his versatility, and "Surviving Picasso" is a case in point. I really didn't believe him as the Spaniard painter. He sort of reminded me of Otto Preminger's Mr. Freeze from Batman rather than the most famous painter of the 20th century. Try it for yourself to see if you survive to the end; I almost didn't.

Is there anybody better than Anthony?
If you love Anthony Hopkins and you love stories based on real (and very interesting) people, you will love this movie. Its a movie with a story of a man that has it all and wants more, he loves hard and paints beautifully, and Anthony Hopkins pulls it off beautifully playing Picasso. I was amazed at his ability to be romantic and seductive one moment, playful the next, and suddenly turn to a madman. It was beautiful.

MOSTLY A GREAT ARTIST
It's a common fact that great artists often make poor human beings, unable to connect with real life in a decent way.It was certainly the case with PABLO PICASSO and we knew that before this movie was made.The film seems to say that he only loved women for the sake of his art.Being SPANISH, he was a latin man with a deep inclinaison towards his own ego.His control over the people he knew really destroy them in many ways.While it is a work of fiction, the performances keeps it interesting ,even if we don't have to take it all too seriously.

Intriguing
I've watched this movie many times because I'm fascinated by the man, especially hoping to get a better understanding of what his life was like. The more I learn about him though, the more this movie is so one dimensional and inaccurate. It was based on the harshest biography of Picasso which is unfortunate because it gives a false impression of what he was really like. I would still buy it because the scenes are filled with his studios and artwork, however it would have been one of my all-time faves if it focused more on his work and his passion. ... Read more

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What happened to The 13th Warrior? Directed by John McTiernan (Die Hard), it's the tale of young Arab ambassador Ahmahd ibn Fahdalan (Antonio Banderas), who's vanquished from his homeland for loving the wrong woman. On his journeys he associates with a ragtag group of Vikings who are traveling back to their homeland to confront a nefarious threat that's cloaked in such superstition they're forbidden to speak its name. It is prophesied by a witch doctor that 13 warriors must confront the evil; however, the 13th chosen man must not come from the north. Suddenly Banderas is forced into the breach, somewhat against his will. More poet than battle-worn warrior, he must not only fight the aggressors but come to terms with the unfamiliar Norse culture. What follows is a vigorous and brutal adventure reminiscent of Kurosawa's Seven Samurai. Sumptuous and invigorating battle sequences fill the screen from beginning to end as the brave Norsemen battle insurmountable odds.

Sounds good. So why did this film, once known as the Eaters of the Dead, sit on studio shelves for two years? Presumably because of the thoughtless editing that trimmed down the film to its bare bones, crafting an actionfest out of an epic. It's not often that you crave for a movie to be longer, but The 13th Warrior could've benefited from fleshing out of its subplots and characters. On the surface it's good eye candy with some fine pulse-quickening moments, and Banderas and the accompanying cast turn in sympathetic performances, epitomizing camaraderie in the face of impending doom. However, if you're looking for a good thematic tale from the Dark Ages (akin to Braveheart), you may be disappointed. --Jeremy Storey ... Read more

Reviews (261)

Wonderful movie....mediocre DVD...
This is the film version of Michael Crichton's book EATERS OF THE DEAD. Told through the eyes of a young Arab ambassador Ahmahd ibn Fahdalan (Antonio Banderas) this is basically a retelling of one of literature's classic epics, Beowulf. Fahadalan is banished from his homeland for loving the wrong woman. On his journeys he meets up with some Norsemen and joins their encampment (look for Omar Sheriff in a small part as Translater.)

When they hear of trouble on one of their lands, the norsemen consult their oracle who tells them that 13 warriors must confront the evil (and of course the 13th chosen man must not come from the north). Thus Fahdalan is coerced into joining their ranks. What follows is a thrilling action/adventure Beowulf style as the group tries to battle against insurmountable odds to defeat the cannabilistic "Eaters of the Dead".

Besides from being well written adventure, it is a wonderful glimpse into norse culture and mythology. John McTiernan shows us a time filled with brave but very human characters where fealty to your lord and land meant everything -- where fighting for the greater good was more important than any one man's life. This is a story of courage and survival that is at times mesmeririzing to watch.

It's main weakness is that it was unanble to fit in all the nuances and relationshop complexities that the book described so well. Many key definative moments and characterizations (most notably the cultures of the norsemen and their relationship with their new arab "little brother") are lost or edited out. This I believe was not so much the fault of the director but of the studio who rushed to get the film released. My other complaint is with the DVD version of the film, which SHOULD have included an audio commentary of some kind, and preferably some of the deleted scenes which would have developed the film more thoroughly. This it is worth seeing for fans of epic adventure and mythology. Here's hoping for a Director's cut of The 13th Warrior to be released soon.....

John McTiernan's The 13th Warrior
Loosely based on Michael Crichton's novel "Eaters of the Dead," this is a triumph in the pre-gun action film genre.

Antonio Banderas plays an Arab who joins up with twelve Viking warriors recruited to fight what seems to be a band of cannibalistic monsters who are wiping out whole villages in the Norse land. Along the way, Banderas learns their language and begins to help the warriors, who doubt his fighting abilities because of his small horse and smaller sword. After repelling an attack, the warriors decide to track the cannibals back to their cave, where they kill a priestess. After making it back to their adopted village, they wait for the climactic, gory, and vengeful battle.

I think I liked this movie so much because it jumped feet first into the mayhem, and yet kept the picture centered around Banderas and the warriors. "Jurassic Park III" jumped into the mayhem, but then started killing characters off so fast, you did not care. Here, Banderas provides a solid anchor to the film, and his compatriots are very likeable.

Another plus: no forced romance. Banderas has a purely physical fling, but we do not have a Viking fall in love with a cannibal (ouch!) or Banderas discovering his paramour in his saddlebag at the battle so she can prove even women can fight people eaters. The story is very straightforward, think of it as a remake of "The Magnificent Seven" crossed with "Quest for Fire." Another plus is the fact that the Vikings do not suddenly invent the world's first grenade or a machine gun that shoots horse dung. They have swords and arrows. They fight with swords and arrows.

The location filming in British Columbia is breathtaking. The movie is very cloudy, dark, and grim, and this works. Jerry Goldsmith's score enhanced the creepiness of every scene, and McTiernan proves he can direct some excellent action film that have more behind them than just explosions (like the first "Die Hard", although avoid "Nomads").

I think the studio marketing department screwed up this film. I expected a weak comedy about peace lover Banderas trying not to fight in a war. The ad campaign never mentioned who the enemy was, or even what time period this took place in. I think action and Crichton fans will be impressed with this film. I know I was. I highly recommend "The 13th Warrior."

This is rated (R) for strong physical violence, strong gore, mild profanity, and adult situations.

Fantastic movie that could have been even better
This movie had the makings of an epic film that could have given competition to Lord of the Rings. It was a classic tale, with good casting and great costumes. The Viking band was reminiscient of the Seven Samurai or the Magnificent Seven. It was a little bit of a letdown when you realized the evil monsters were really just a bunch of cannibals, but they still turned out to be quite a challenge for the group of heroes. Had they not cut out so much of this movie, it would have been great, instead of just really good.

A definite buy. You will enjoy watching this one over and over again.

Great movie, but missing alot.
I saw this movie maybe 8 times on the TV and once in the movies theatre. I really loved the bad ass Viking characters. They were big, tough, and smart. One thing that appealed to me is that they wore armor from different places around the world (rome, spain, germany,etc), and even under danger they were always laughing. BUt just like the book (eaters of the dead) the characters werent explored. ya heres Ewogoth, kills a bunch of guys, then dies. There is little depth to the characters or the nordic ways. Both of those are what i want. And yet for some reason i really like this movie.

Intelligent, Imaginative, Well-informed, Well-interpreted
Anyone at all familiar with Anglo-Saxon literature, especially Beowulf, the Norse Sagas and the account of Ibn Fadlan, will quickly understand that this is a superior and intellectually sophisticated piece of creative film-making. Although it telescopes history from the 6th to about the 13th century, and throws in quite a chunk of what at best might have been folk-memory from a far earlier millenium, this doesn't bother me. It scores heavily in the accurate realization of the social values and fatalistic life philosophy of this period. Particularly good is the extreme pithiness of these Northeners' take on life. Let's be clear on this: these men were amazingly tough, but they weren't stupid, they were generous in spirit, and they had high concepts when it came to how a man should conduct himself. They just didn't believe in wasting words, or indulging in a lot of useless clever talk. They lived their lives in a harsh environment, at the very edge of a totally untamed natural world. The characters are excellently acted, and the direction is highly skilled. The location was effectively atmospheric, although a little too North American to be convincing --- the Denmark of Beowulf is in fact almost dead flat, although the idea of a cave behind a waterfall was imported from Iceland. The language question was very deftly handled. I didn't know they were speaking Gaelic, which somebody wrote, but they were certainly speaking Danish and Norwegian at times. Virtually all Northeners during this age could understand each other, although they would have spoken with varying accents. It seems tragic that the footage has obviously been mindlessly mutilated by what must have been a bunch of utter morons, the equivalent of all the dullards who have panned the film. Far too much is left unexplained and unresolved: the role of the nasty fellow called Unferth in Beowulf, for instance. I would very much like to see everything totally restored as the director originally intended it. It looks like almost an hour's worth has been chopped away. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Having developed his skill as a master of contemporary crime drama, writer-director Michael Mann displayed every aspect of that mastery in this intelligent, character-driven thriller from 1995, which also marked the first onscreen pairing of Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. The two great actors had played father and son in the separate time periods of The Godfather, Part II, but this was the first film in which the pair appeared together, and although their only scene together is brief, it's the riveting fulcrum of this high-tech cops-and-robbers scenario. De Niro plays a master thief with highly skilled partners (Val Kilmer and Tom Sizemore) whose latest heist draws the attention of Pacino, playing a seasoned Los Angeles detective whose investigation reveals that cop and criminal lead similar lives. Both are so devoted to their professions that their personal lives are a disaster. Pacino's with a wife (Diane Venora) who cheats to avoid the reality of their desolate marriage; De Niro pays the price for a life with no outside connections; and Kilmer's wife (Ashley Judd) has all but given up hope that her husband will quit his criminal career. These are men obsessed, and as De Niro and Pacino know, they'll both do whatever's necessary to bring the other down. Mann's brilliant screenplay explores these personal obsessions and sacrifices with absorbing insight, and the tension mounts with some of the most riveting action sequences ever filmed--most notably a daylight siege that turns downtown Los Angeles into a virtual war zone of automatic gunfire. At nearly three hours, the film qualifies as a kind of intimate epic, certain to leave some viewers impatiently waiting for more action, but it's all part of Mann's compelling strategy. Heat is a true rarity: a crime thriller with equal measures of intense excitement and dramatic depth, giving De Niro and Pacino a prime showcase for their finely matched talents. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (370)

Movie sizzle.. DVD extras fizzle...
HEAT is one of the best crime dramas ever made! Director Michael Mann's saga is simply a tried and true tale of good versus evil. Al Pacino plays an L.A. cop, who leads a team, that is hot on the trail of a band of criminals. The bad guys are led by mastermind Robert De Niro. Mann tells the epic with such precision and skill, that it is just flawless, from start to finish. Even though Pacino and De NIro do not share much screen time, the film has so much going on, that it almost does not matter. When the two mega-stars do act in the same scene, everything crackles with intensity, that is is almost palpable. The supporting cast is first rate. Val Kilmer, Diane Venora, Tom Sizemore, Ashley Judd, Natalie Portman, and JonVoight lead the way into putting this film in the "classic" catagory

The DVD is a major disappointment, due to the lack of any extras, save for a trailler and production info. I wish those in charge would consider a special edition reissue soon. The movie is a winner despite the DVD sans extras and should be part of anyone's film collection. Warner Home Entertainment GET CRACKING on HEAT 2 disc set!

Buy It!
This crime story contains one of the best scenes in movie history. Al Pacino sits down in a coffee shop and chats with Robert De Niro. One is an eccentric detective and the other a ruthless criminal. They talk about what they do for a living and how it effects them. It's a tense and dramatic moment and you have to wonder if the actors are actually talking about their character's lives or their very own. "Heat" is one of the most underrated crime/heist movies of the genre. It has extravagent action scenes, solid performances and cameos (Hank Azaria,Tone Loc,Natalie Portman) and an engrossing plot. My only complaint is the tacked-on ending which seems to belong in a B-movie. Warner Bros. did only an okay job bringing it to DVD so be warned. It's missing some of the special features we have come to expect (director's commentary, deleted scenes, etc). Michael Mann did an admirable job of showing the exploits of professional bank robbers and the detectives who chase them. It's rumored that one of the advisors to the film was one of the bank robbers who was later killed in the infamous North Hollywood Shootout in 1997. Enticed enough now? This is an action movie with class...buy it!

fantastic
this movie has some of the best acting i've ever seen. the plot is great and the action scenes are also great. the dvd i'm reviewing now lacks extras, but a special edition is supposed to come out later this year. some might not like it being three hours, but i think the three hours i spent watching were well worth it.

The best!
Great flick.....perhaps the best car chase scenes and most "tactically correct" fire and maneuver sequences ever filmed. Outstanding plot and great acting.

Long, but good
Pacino, De Niro, Kilmer, Voight all in one movie. Isn't that great? It is. This cop movie is not bad at all, especially the story and the personalities are well developed.

Pacino is sometimes a little too rude and the movie takes too long with 2 hrs and 45 minutes.

Still worth seeing if you have the sitting-flesh. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

This could be the most depressing movie ever made!
This could be the most depressing movie ever made! Don't watch it with a loaded gun in your hand.

Hard to sit through
Jack Nicholson normally plays roles of blistering intensity, but in 'Ironweed', he plays an aging, burned out bum. Nothing wrong with that, but Nicholson didn't seem right for it. Maybe DeNiro would have been more convincing. Nonetheless, the story is about a bum who keeps having flashbacks of his younger days when he was fighting working man. Apparently he accidently killed three people in his lifetime. All the killings were show in chronological order as 'Ironweed' progressed. I wasn't able to see the last killing because I couldn't finish the film. Only for die-hard Nicholson and Streep fans.

Breathtakingly sad & beautiful
Where do you start with a movie like this? The cinematography & art direction are stunning. Every single shot, every frame, is a Hopperesque masterpiece: colors, lighting, composition. It grabs you way way deep inside. The writing is of a rare pureness: concentrated & intense & head-spining. The excellent writer William Kennedy wrote the screenplay from his Pulitzer prize-winning masterpiece of a novel. You can't get better than that. And then the acting. What acting! Where to start? Tom Waits who sings even when he acts. Jack Nicholson always reaching - out & deep inside - tremendous! Never better. And the exquisitely divine (sorry, can't help it) Meryl Streep: beautiful, heartwrenching, pathetic, laughable, lovable & real. The part of a lifetime, no not just a lifetime, the part of an entire movie-making era. Lastly the direction by the masterful Hector Babenco. Thank you Snr. Babenco. You belong in the pantheon with Von Stroheim, Renoir, Fellini. Thank you. So why has this film fallen into the void of video oblivion? I guess because it's an honest no melodramatics or histrionics depiction of bums - real people who represent the alternative lives that all of us could be leading but would really prefer never be reminded of.

To Comfort The Dead
In highschool I came across a poem called The Projectionist's Nightmare, I don't recall the name of the poet but the poem's message is still very much with me. It described a wayward bird inside a movie theatre, where an audience was watching two poeple "being nice to each other". The bird crashes into the screen, its blood slithering onto the image, the spell is broken, the fantasy dispelled and the audience screams. Hector Babenco had already made this poem in substance in 1985s Kiss Of A Spider Woman where his lead character, a prisoner, escaped his miserable surroundings through memories and fantasies of a propaganda film. Two years later Bebanco would make Ironweed, and his lead character Frances Phelan (Jack Nicholson) is well past the dreaming stage, the only fantasies he has are of ghosts from his past.

Ironweed is a film many people would find slow. Nothing much happens and the characters don't change. The stark grim atmosphere and the dead end conditions unrelenting. There is no hope in the story of Frances Phelan. He has abandoned his family 22 years ago after dropping his 13 year old baby to its death. The film starts with him visiting his dead baby's grave for the first time, and then follows him around as he joins his companion Helen Archer (Meryl Streep) and his friend of sorts Rudy (Tom Waits). All three of them are alcoholics, and we watch as they wade through the alleys of Albany 1938 looking for a place to sleep . They get robbed, they see a homeless prostitute from Alaska die of cold and they get into fights. But there is no emotional release in their anger or in their better moments. You'd expect there to be emancipated joy when Streep sings in a bar in front of a full house, or rage when a bunch of kids rob them of all their money. But Streep is quickly back to her depression, and Nicholson shrugs off the robbery. All the characters in Ironweed are infact dead, they live off their memories, do what they have to do to stay alive as they await their physical death. Meanwhile there are quietly affecting scenes of closure as Nicholson visits his abandoned family and Streep remember her "musical days". Nicholson's and Streep's Oscar nominated performance are among their best.

Babenco holds his camera on his characters for a long time, as if waiting for them to crack. They never do because Ironweed is not angry, it doesn't have an agenda, it is just mournful. As I watched it for the first time tonight I became aware that the episodic cyclic nature of the film develops in the end to a complete whole. When the end credits roll you feel like you were standing too close to a painting, and now for the first time you are far enough to see it for the sad beautiful image it is. The famed author John Fowles said that we are all poets but few of us can write it. From the rhetorical dialogue of these hobos, the ugly poverty they endure, the dark allyways they inhabit and the ghosts that haunt them, Ironweed emerges as a sad and deeply affecting poem.

By far, this is Jack Nicholson's best performace
This film never received the attention it deserved. Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep both have fine performances, but Nicholson's stands out as he demonstrates a range of emotion and pathos not seen in his other work. The cinemaphotography and lighting as he drifts from the dreary reality of life on the streets to his inner world of neurotic fears, joys, and memories is fantastic. You will not forget this movie. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The best way to enjoy this 1997 thriller is to forget the much better film that inspired it (1973's The Day of the Jackal) and get whatever kicks you can from this heavy-metal remake. It's not bad as hokey thrillers go, but all of the original film's suspenseful finesse has been traded in (not traded up) for bigger, bolder action and nonsensical plotting. It's as if Hollywood had forgotten to create excitement without resorting to overblown action and heavy hardware, but there's ample compensation in the casting of Bruce Willis and Richard Gere. Willis is the elusive assassin known only as the Jackal, whose latest target (he uses a cannon-sized gun that's anything but inconspicuous) may be the first lady of the United States. Gere plays a former IRA terrorist who is recruited by the deputy head of the FBI (Sidney Poitier) to trace the Jackal's maneuvers, and Diane Venora offers some gutsy support as a Russian-born agent who assists Gere on his mission. The movie has fun turning Willis into a master of disguise, and Gere adds much-needed gravity to counter the plot's escalating absurdity, but this is the kind of film that falls apart if you think about it too much.--Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (88)

This really ain't a bad movie...
Okay, here we go. Bruce Willis stars as some assassin called "The Jackal" who has to blow the first ladies' head right off. Then, the F.B.I. finds out about this whole operation from a Russian who was zapped by the K.G.B. so they have no other choice but to release an ex-I.R.A. sharp-shooter named Declan Mulqueen. What's that? You expected more?! Oh, no, no, no. That is the entire plot. And although it sounds like a crappy plot that has more or less been done about a million times, The Jackal is truly a great film. I consider it to be the 2nd greatest action film of 97 (The first being Face/Off of course). I really would have given the film 5 stars had it not been for the boring lovey-dovey scenes between Richard Gere and the two women in this flick who carry a gun. His old girlfriend (who is a great shot.) and Major Valentina Koslova (played and voiced with a pretty good Russian accent by Diane Verona). But I'd have to say that the best thing about this movie is the way-cool, too-good-to-be-true music score! Carter Burwell did the music for the movie (he also did the great score to "Fargo"). So, if you haven't seen this movie yet...go rent it! And if you're a real die-hard-action-movie-lover...go buy this movie right now!!! You won't be disappointed!!!

great performances all around make this great movie
Another remake, a great movie - Day of the Jackal with the brilliant Edward Fox - so I tended to cringe in anticipation, but surprisingly this film scores a bullseye because of solid performances from Richard Gere, Bruce Willis, Sidney Poitier, Mathilda May (Lifeforce) but most especially from Diana Devora (the 13th Warrior, FX).

Gere plays Declan Mulqueen, an IRA terrorist who is in prison. He and Mathilda May were former lovers and worked with Willis, but he betrayed them. Diana Devora is a Russian intelligence officer, Valentina Koslova. She is working with Carter Preston US intelligence officer (Sidney Poitier) in taking down Russian Mafia. Only the Mafia wants to strike back and send the Jackal - Willis - on a assassination to make a statement by killing the First Lady. Devora and Poitier get Gere out of English jail, on a temporary leave, to help track down Willis. Willis is a master of disguise, so only Gere stands a chance of tracking him down before he completes his mission.

It's fast paced, yet leisurely plots Willis preparations for the kill. Well done from start to finish. Not better than the original, but just as enjoyable. Excellent soundtrack as well.

A Movie That Should Be More Popular
I personally love this movie. This movie features Bruce Willis as the Jackal, an assassin hired to kill a high level U.S. Government official. The Jackal has many identities, costumes, and contacts to help him along the way. The FBI, obviously trying to stop the Jackal before he kills, turn to the one type of person most unlikely to help them.... a terrorist. Deklin Moqueen, played well by Richard Gere, is enlisted to stop the Jackal due to their past history together. There are some shocking twists and turns along the way before the end. The end result is a movie that is unnecessarily being torn apart by critics, but will always have a nice spot in my DVD collection.

Note: Jack Black makes an appearance in this movie. This is one of the first movies I remember seeing him in. I won't give away what happens to him, but it definitely left an imprint in my mind.

Edge of Your Seat Suspense
Bruce Willis really is believable as the legendary Assassin by the name of the Jackal. This movie takes you from Europe to the USA to Canada and back. There are so many scenes where you bristle with anxiety due to Willis' intense manner.

This may be the best Willis performance ever. The movie is violent, yet, it is to an extreme, not gorey violence but it reflects the violent nature of the legend. Richard Gere is cast well, a little less believable than Willis, yet he does a good job of being intense in tracking Carlos the Jackal. The issue here is what will Jackal do next? Can he be stoppped?

Jack Black plays a very believable role of a somewhat bystander who meets a very violent end. You may want to close your eyes for that one.

I recommend not drinking any caffiene before this movie because it creates an edge right from the beginning. What was telling to me was that every interaction that Willis has creates tension, whether or not he is violent, you feel he may be at any time.

This movie of course is not for everyone yet it is not an action thriller that is silly in nature with gratuitous violence. It seems more of a lesson of the violent nature of the worst criminals in the world.

Use Once & Destroy
Not too good, not too bad, "The Jackal" is one of those average action movies that brings nothing new but it`s a competent and mildly pleasant product nonetheless. The plot is derivative and predictable, the characters are bland, yet director Michael Caton-Jones chooses some decent actors (Bruce Willis, Richard Gere), a neat soundtrack (Massive Attack, Primal Scream, Moby) and some decent action sequences that manage to deliver a minimum level of entertainment value. As far as popcorn movies go, there`s certainly worse, so this is a fair choice to spend a couple of mind-numbing hours.
Watchable but forgettable. ... Read more

Reviews (233)

A great movie, if a bit overrated.
The Insider

Score: 84/100

Whatever your personal opinions are about The Insider, you must admit that it is a well-made movie. If you dislike it, you can't exactly say that the effort wasn't a large amount for all the cast and crew. Because it was, and you can tell just by watching every minute of this long but rewarding crowd-pleaser starring New Zealand's Russell Crowe, in a performance that got him nominated for an Oscar. The film also earned 6 other nominations, and didn't win one of them, since there was too much competition. A shame, because this is such an intelligent and observing movie that you can't help but be intrigued.

This film tells the true story of Jeffrey Wigand (Crowe), a former tobacco executive, who decided to appear on the CBS-TV News show "60 Minutes." As matter of conscience partially prodded by producer Lowell Bergman (Al Pacino), he revealed that, the tobacco industry was not only aware that cigarettes are addictive & harmful, but deliberately worked on increasing that addictiveness. Unfortunately, both protagonists of this story learn the hard way that simply telling the truth is not enough as they struggle against both Big Tobacco's attempts to silence them and the CBS TV Network's own cowardly complict preference of putting money as a higher priority over the truth.

It's amazing how well this did with the critics, since it didn't get much attention at the box office or at home-video rental stores. But people, intelligently, liked Michael Mann's thrilling and dramatic film that, if sometimes a little boring for some audiences, manages to deliver first-rate performances from the cast and be memorable and vivid in your mind. The Insider's script is a majorly clever one, it literally blew socks off global viewers for it's pure sense of intelligence, the film was written by Michael Mann (we can't get enough of him) and Eric Roth (his promising co-writer).

In short: The Insider is a must-see in all aspects.

Gripping ethical study of doing the right thing
Combining a human drama and a capitalist dilemma, The Insider is a tour de force in its display of the paradox between corporations keeping corporate "secrecy" and telling the truth. Russell Crowe and Al Pacino deliver powerful, unforgettable performances as a CBS news producer(Pacino) and a big tobacco whistle blower(Crowe). The story encompasses the personal descision made by former tobacco exectutive Jeffery Wigand who blows the whistle on his former tobacco employers at a high personal cost, while simoultaniously nakedly exposing the conflict in many news rooms between telling the truth and corporate interests. The Insider digs deep into media ethics, asks the question as to who really is in charge of what we as a public see and hear and makes one wonder if our beloved capitalist country has become a corporate "Frankenstein." This film is a hit anyway you cut it, and will have audiences,not to mention journalism students, debating the messages in this for years to come. Kudos to director Michael Mann and to an outstanding supporting performance by Christopher Plummer who delivers a PLUM of a performance as 60 minutes anchor Mike wallace.

TOBACCO AVENUE
One of those films that I always meant to watch and only now, years after the fact, I get around to doing so, and I am a little disappointed. Docudrama about top tobacco corporate vice president who aligns with TV's "60 Minutes" to expose tobacco company standards is too narrow-minded in scope to encompass all the havoc the tobacco empire exposes on the world, relying on the sympathetic plight and near ruin of the family man executive whose behavior borders on paranoia and insecurity. Al Pacino as a "60 Minutes" producer and Russell Crowe as the reluctant crusader executive both seem overdrawn as characters, Pacino in his familiar nervous edgy urban guy persona and Crowe as the weakling confused executive both grow tiresome after a while. Still, the movie moves along briskly and a surreal sequence where a hotel wall becomes an imagined memory invokes the sometimes hopelessness of tobacco addiction. But why does the film feel the need to mercilessly pick on "60 Minutes"'s Mike Wallace? I seem to be missing the inside word here.

WAY OVERRATED HYPOCRISY
"Issues" liberals may be people of conscience with good intentions who give of their time, energy and money for a variety of causes to better society, usually by helping disadvantaged kids or the afflicted. Hooray for them. They cannot get too much applause for that. But they jumped on the anti-tobacco bandwagon, which is in my view real hypocrisy. First, Hollywood always displays macho men and femme fatale women smoking cigarettes and looking cool. Tobacco has been around for centuries. It is a legal product that people want. The fact that it is bad for you is simply common knowledge, yet trial lawyers, the biggest Democrat special interest group, file nefarious multi-million dollar class action lawsuits and tort claims against tobacco companies, as if some plaintiff who smoked for 50 years before getting lung cancer was forced by the company to do so.
During the Clinton years, the Democrats jumped on this issue like there was no tomorrow, actually making government ads against legal American tobacco corporations and the tobacco industry in a move that cannot be legal, civilly and maybe Constitutionally. These ads typically show a couple of (always) white tobacco execs plotting to poison kids, then laughing about it. Turn this ad around and direct it at anybody else and the hue and cry would be endless. These companies contribute enormous taxes and employ thousands. I myself was addicted to chewing tobacco (Copenhagen) for 16 years. I knew I had to quit, tried several times, but went back to it. I knew the dangers of snuff and that it was a disgusting habit. Nobody dragged my arm. I chose to do it, chose to quit, girded my will power and accomplished this task. Period. Just like George W. Bush when he quit drinking.
Speaking of alcohol, this is worse than tobacco. It causes drunk driving deaths and has to be as unhealthy as smoking cigarettes, but it is not a target. On top of that, the real kicker is that if you go to Hollywood parties, or hang out at certain industry hot spots in Studio City, Universal City, Beverly Hills, or Santa Monica, you will find movie executives puffing on huge cigars like the one Bill Clinton asked Monica to use as a phallic. Such hypocrisy.
Russell Crowe played a tobacco exec a few years ago opposite Al Pacino in "The Insider", a film that never got anywhere. The crux of the film was that Brown & Williamson, a tobacco road company with a long, venerable tradition in old Carolina, had...shock...hid the fact that cigarettes are bad for people. For decades.
Really? Bad for people?
Basically they went out and advertised their product like any other capitalist organization, in an effort to get people to buy it. People buy tobacco for the same reason I used to buy it. They know it is bad for them. They joke and call them "cancer sticks." Oh, but kids are being duped, they say. There is no group of individuals on Earth more acutely aware of the danger of smoking than kids, to my knowledge. When my daughter was six or seven she was all over this issue. These same anti-tobacco crusaders are the same ones who will argue six ways from Sunday that marijuana should be legal, too. Let them stop abortion before stopping smoking.

STEVEN TRAVERS
AUTHOR OF "BARRY BONDS: BASEBALL'S SUPERMAN"
STWRITES@AOL.COM

"I'm an Insider Too"
We all know that it's sometimes worth it to take a second look at a film you may have been dismissive of before. To say, I didn't "get" THE INSIDER the first time I saw it would be something of an understatement. I didn't see it as all that revelatory--"'Big tobacco' corrupt?" "Big media craven?" "Mike Wallace has an ego and a temper on the scale of Mt. St. Helens?" Quelle surprise! There was nothing particularly new about all that. In fact, the only big news was that Russell Crowe was going the DeNiro route and altering his physical appearance for the sake of his art. (OK, OK, not as extreme but he did put on a few pounds and donned a less than flattering grey toupe.)

Maybe it was something I ate that first time, though, 'cause the second time around, I have to admit, it was pretty riveting. This time out, I found the moral dilemmas facing Crowe's whistleblower and Pacino's muckraker TV producer pretty darn fascinating--despite the fact that I knew how it was all going to turn out. Oh yeah, and I finally got the fact that the title is supposed to be a little ambiguous and that,yes, Pacino's Lowell Bergman character is an "insider" too.

Sometimes I'm a little slow, but eventually, if I'm lucky, I catch on. THE INSIDER is a quietly powerful and effective film. Apparently, it didn't manage to convince Russell Crowe to quit smoking, but--as a morality tale and as sheer drama--it's still pretty darn effective. ... Read more

Description

Hot Hollywood star Ethan Hawke (GATTACA) is joined by Julia Stiles (10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU) and Bill Murray (RUSHMORE) in a hip, thoroughly contemporary adaptation of William Shakespeare's epic story of passion, betrayal, and revenge! The president of the Denmark Corporation is dead ... and already his wife is remarried to the man suspected of his murder! Nobody is more troubled than her son, Hamlet (Hawke).Now, after this hostile takeover, trust is impossible, passion is on the rise, and revenge is in the air! Also featuring Kyle MacLachlan (ONE NIGHT STAND), Liev Schreiber (SCREAM 3), Diane Venora (THE INSIDER), and Sam Shepard (THE PELICAN BRIEF) in an outstanding ensemble -- the power of Shakespeare's timeless words is matched by the stunningly modern look and feel of this widely acclaimed, highly entertaining big-screen event! ... Read more

Reviews (100)

"The Play's the thing," but not necessarily this film...
One of Shakespeare's greatest plays gets modernized and transported to New York City in the year 2000, with Ethan Hawke taking on the role of the brooding Prince of Denmark. This version of "Hamlet," written for the screen and directed by Michael Almereyda, initially holds much promise, with what appears to be an outstanding cast through which Almereyda can present his vision of this oft-told tale of murder and revenge. That "vision," however, turns out to be somewhat clouded, and though the basic story remains intact, it comes across as something of a "Cliff's notes" rendition that is less than satisfying. And by the end we realize, too, that not all actors-- even good ones-- are cut out to play Shakespeare.

Hamlet's father, the King/CEO of the Denmark Corp. has died, and within a month his mother, Gertrude (Diane Venora), has married his uncle, Claudius (Kyle MacLachlan), who has also taken over the company. Hamlet, now ensconced in the Elsinore Hotel, grieving for his father, is appalled by the marriage of his mother to his uncle, and moreover, with such haste; but it is done, and there is nothing he can do about it. Soon, however, Hamlet discovers that his father was, in fact, the victim of murder most foul, and vows to avenge his untimely demise. Immediately, he sets a course that will bring the perpetrators to justice; but it is a course that must necessarily end in tragedy for Hamlet, as well.

With his screenplay, Almereyda has retained enough of the basic story that even the heretofore uninitiated will be able to grasp Shakespeare's original intent, at least in regards to the plot. The presentation, however, falls entirely short of providing the full impact of the tragedy. Almereyda's approach is altogether too solemn and lacks the energy needed to truly bring this film to life. And while it's true that the story is inherently introspective and melancholy, the director fails to explore the many possibilities available to him-- especially with the contemporary setting-- that could have made this vibrant and exciting cinema, such as the way writer/director Julie Taymor brought Shakespeare's "Titus" to the screen so successfully. Add to that the fact that Almereyda's adaptation of the play is terribly wanting; the character development is lacking, and though the language of the play remains, Almereyda's judgment of what to keep and what to lose in making the necessary cuts to bring a four hour production down to just under two, are questionable. Hamlet's famous soliloquy, "To be, or not to be," for example, is truncated into oblivion. In the final analysis, this was a project perhaps too ambitious for Almereyda at this point in time; knowing what "happens" in the story is not the same as knowing what it's "about," and in some of the choices the director makes, it's obvious that the "essence" of the play has simply eluded him, much to the detriment of the overall film.

As far as performances go, they range from outstanding to the downright laughable, which is disappointing but not surprising, considering the eclectic nature of the cast. Liev Schreiber, who has one of the best voices in the business and the elocution to match-- custom made for playing Shakespeare-- is nothing less than exemplary in the role of Laertes, and among those assembled here is in a league of his own. A tremendously talented actor, Schreiber has not yet achieved the acclaim he so richly deserves, languishing too often in forgettable films like "Kate and Leopold" and "A Walk On the Moon," though he was perfectly cast as Orson Welles in the made-for-TV film, "RKO 281," in which he was brilliant. Without question, with his masterful interpretation of the material and his natural eloquence, he is the saving grace of this film, in which, alas, he is afforded a less than propitious amount of screen time.

Only two others in the film even approach Schreiber's level of excellence, the first being Kyle MacLachlan, in his portrayal of Claudius. MacLachlan, at least, finds the rhythm and flow in his recitations that make his character believable and convincing, and his scenes with Schreiber are the most interesting aspect of the film. The only other actor in the film who can stand alongside Schreiber and MacLachlan is Diane Venora. Unfortunately, in this offering, Gertrude has been reduced to a role of silent observer in most scenes; when she does speak, however, her words are well spoken and meaningful, and it's a shame that she is so grossly underused here by Almereyda.

Then there are the performances that fall into the "acceptable" category, but are far beneath the capabilities of the actors involved, respectively: As Hamlet, Ethan Hawke adopts a brooding attitude that is effective, but he fails to achieve the commanding presence necessary to make his Hamlet viable. Sam Shepard, as the Ghost of Hamlet's father, is simply unconvincing. And Julia Stiles, as the doomed Ophelia, seems to be grasping at straws in a vein attempt at finding her character, and of the three mentioned here, her performance seems the most strained and unnatural, though it is so with both Hawke and Shepard, as well. All of which points up that, again, not all actors can play Shakespeare. It's difficult; and those who make the attempt should be commended for it, even if the results are less than noteworthy.

Make that "most" of those who make the attempt; because in the case of Bill Murray, someone should have put a stop to it right out of the chute. Murray is arguably one of the best comic actors the screen has ever known, and that is not something to be taken lightly; comedy is one of the hardest genres to master, and Murray is one of the best. But his portrayal of Polonius is embarrassingly laughable; there's no other way to put it. And it's one of the many reasons that make this version of "Hamlet" forgettable. There's just no magic in it.

a very original and pivotal look at Shakespeare
This movie is perhaps the best version of Hamlet put to film. Less melodramatic than either Kenneth Branagh's or Lawrence Olivier's traditional versions of the play, Almereyda has created a film that uses Shakespeares text extremely effectively but at the same time this does not take away from the movie's visual quality. Cinematography and editing are perhaps the most important part in a film and the problem with bringing Shakespeare to film is that Shakespeare is about language not image. In terms of performances, Ethan Hawke offers a new interpretation of Shakespeare's most complex character. He portrays Hamlet as a confused adolescent and young filmaker, who is almost driven mad by what he sees in the world. He sees the world through the lens of his video cameras and Almereyda demonstrates this by adding a very dark and bleached look to the colors of the film.

This review is really just a brief outline of what could really be a long essay about this film's art. In short, the film is a masterpiece and bridges the gap between literal imagery and visual imagery.

Bad
There have been a number of brilliant adaptations of Shakespeare in the past few years which has updated and modernized the settings, but this isn't one of them.

The use of contemporary locations throughout this movie is sometimes clever or witty, but never really hits interesting and always distracts from the play. The main conceit -- Denmark as a corporation, etc -- just doesn't fit the language, and each time someone refers to CEO Claudius as "dread lord" it serves to remind us of just how poorly the metaphor works.

Hamlet spends much of his time with a video camera, and clearly the director thinks he has something very important to say on the media or some such, but I have no idea what.

Ethan Hawke's performance brings out the unenergetic side of the role, as half the film is him muttering iambic pentameter in a dull monotone. There's no straining against his inability to act, he just can't be bothered to. I suppose this is a valid interpretation of the role, but it's deathly boring.

Julia Stiles does not appear to understand most of the lines she is speaking.

I'd have to recommend the 1991 movie starring Mel Gibson over this one. At least Mel Gibson wasn't wearing a stupid hat.

Hamlet as a Rip-Off of Romeo and Juliet
I've seen most versions of Hamlet available on VHS or DVD, and this is absolutely the worst. One reveiwer here has pointed out that the cast's inability to handle the language is most likely the fault of the director; I'd say that's true, but the inconsistency and superficiality of the vision is also the fault of Michael Amlereyda. The source of the problem seems to be that no one involved in the movie (with the exception of Diane Venora, who has played numerous parts in Shakespeare, even in Hamlet, before) has any convictions about the play, their characters, or Shakespeare. Contrast this movie with Baz Luhrmann's innovative Romeo and Juliet, and you'll see Almereyda's inspiration. It seems as if he just wanted to cash in on the Romeo and Juliet craze--he even echoes that film by having Fortinbras' closing speech read by a newscaster on a TV set, as the final speech in Luhrmann's movie is read by a newscaster on a TV set. I'm not opposed to modernizations of Shakespeare--I'm opposed to thoughtless rip-offs.

I'd like to list the movie's redeeming qualities, but can think of none. Diane Venora is always worth watching, but she's much better as Ophelia in Kevin Kline's production.

"You come most carefully upon your hour."
This version is an interesting idea, at best. Instead of recieving letters, in this modern-day world they receive faxes. Some of the dialogue is over the telephone or on cam-corder. Great ideas, all. But it just doesn't flow as well as I had hoped it would. There are better versions of the play out there, my personal favorite being the Mel Gibson version, but the Keneth Branagh version is also superior. Ethan Hawke is the typically introverted Hamlet struggling with unnerving circumstances. He acquits himself with integrity, as do many others in this cast. But there was a strange casting choice in this particular version. Bill Murray plays the character of Polonius. For the most part, he is surprisingly good; but there are moments when it seems he just wants to laugh at the absurdity of the language. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of Shakespear. (...) ... Read more

Reviews (43)

Eastwood returns to directing
Eastwood's directorial debut was "The Unforgiven", a stylistic return to the glory days of the western. This time he has entered a new one, films about the death penalty. Eastwood plays a barely-sober hack newspaper reporter. His character is very enigmatic, although I think that was much more to do with Clint than with the story. He is walking a fine line between being a brilliant asset to the paper and being fired. You see, he has a tendancy to go on crusades, and he is about to embark on a fresh one with his current writing assignment. His job is to write a "human interest sidebar" about the execution of an accused murderer. The problem is, Clint thinks he's innocent. Is Clint stupid for going off half cocked? Is he just being reckless with his career, or is he brave in standing up for what he beleives is right? These are the questions the film asks us to contemplate as Eastwood gets clues and revelations about the case. I like to see Eastwood in this type of role, which is quite similar to that burgler one a few years ago. A low key guy struggling with his role in life. Quiet and subdued, he constantly wonders about what is the right thing to do. I was never a fan of "Dirty Harry", or those Sergio Leone films. We see a rare raw side of Clint Eastwood the man here, instead of Clint Eastwood the cardboard cutout. The title says it all, this is realistic, not superhero fantasy.

Worth seeing for stellar supporting cast performances
This is a decent, if not stellar, movie rental for those who like mystery/morality plays. I rented the video and then bought a previously-viewed copy to keep because of the fine support performances by Isaiah Washington and Lisa Gay Hamilton; these 2 tug your heartstrings with their portrayal of a loving couple facing the ultimate separation of an enforced death penalty. If you have the patience to sit through all the side stories (and there are way too many) told to illustrate that Clint's character is an aging hack without a personal life or moral conviction to speak of, then you'll see some great acting by Washington and Hamilton, as well as James Woods as Clint's editor. Other stupid side stuff: the inclusion of Clint's ex partner, their daughter, and his current wife in cameo roles and some haggling-for-money-sexual harrassment scenes by a homeless man intended to be humorous but which were just annoying and dragged the movie out still further. In conclusion, this film needed a much tighter editor/story but the supporting cast still makes it worth viewing.

Clint Is Still Number One
Clint Eastwood's 1999 release, True Crime, was based on an Andrew Klavan novel and filmed in a style that reminds me of movies made in the late 70's or 80's. As I watched the first few minutes, my first thought was that poor Clint was to old to portray the part of Steve Everett and this movie had been a waste of money. At first, it actually kind of "creeped me out" watching him come on to the beautiful young women in the movie, but you cannot always judge the movie by your first impressions. Steve Everett is a cheating husband, a horrible father, a recovering alcoholic, and a womanizer, but he is, first and foremost, a newspaper reporter with a "nose" for the truth. His boss, Bob Findley (Denis Leary), assigns him to cover an execution as a human-interest story. Bob has a hard time working with Steve, knowing that Steve has been sleeping with his wife, and struggles to maintain a professional office relationship. Steve has a hunch that Frank Beechum (Isaiah Washington), a black man convicted of the murder of a pregnant white girl, is innocent, but only has one day to come up with evidence before the execution takes place as scheduled. The plot to this movie is predictable and has been done in other movies many times, but Clint Eastwood's skill as a director turns this otherwise "dog" into a suspenseful thrill ride. The performances of Isaiah Washington and Lisa Gay Hamilton are precise and moving. James Woods is hilarious and Francesca Fisher Eastwood, Clint Eastwood's daughter in real life, is adorable. Michael Jeter, Michael McKean, Bernard Hill, and Diane Venora also give great performances and help make True Crime a very good movie that is definitely worth 127 minutes of your time. Oh, and about my first impressions, I was wrong, Clint is not too old for the part or the beautiful young women. Clint is still number one.

Eastwood Is The Man
Another great Eastwood directed film with terrific performances by everyone in the cast especially (i.e. Isaiah Washington, Lisa Gay Hamilton and James Woods). Eastwood is one of my favorite directors ever. If you are in any way familiar with an old radio show called "Nightbeat" this film is very similiar. This one has a very suspenseful ending.

A RACE TO THE FINISH
Okay, let's get two sore points out of the way: Yes, Clint is really a little too old for the leading role, especially in pairing him with such young ladies; and yes, James Woods goes way over top in his cartoonish role as Alan, the editor in chief. But, aside from that TRUE CRIME is an astounding work for the director Eastwood. The real stars of the picture, however, are Isaiah Washington and Lisa Gay Hamilton. As the doomed but innocent Frank Beecham, Washington controls his performance, making him both heartbreakingly real. No overacting here. He uses his face, his body, his voice to convey the hopelessness and fear of his impending execution for a crime he did commit. Hamilton as his wife, Bonnie, has a very demanding role, and her grip on this character is unbelievably subtle and intense. Some real tear-jerking scenes in this one. Hard to believe Washington and Hamilton were overlooked at Oscar time. Denis Leary is exceptionally good as Eastwood's boss who finds out his wife is sleeping with Eastwood. Leary could have taken this over the top, but he again controls the anguish, jealousy (both professionally and personally), and doesn't resort to familiar tactics. Bernard Hill as the warden, Michael Jeter as a key witness, and Michael McKean as a really scuzzy minister also do well.
Also, the lovely song voiced by Diana Krall, should have made it to the Oscar nominations too! Her voice reflects the hopelessness and despair of the film's script. The writers should also be commended for its faithfulness to Andrew Klavin's excellent novel.
A very good film and worth seeing.
IT MAKES YOU STOP AND THINK ABOUT THE DEATH PENALTY. ... Read more

Reviews (17)

"The Substitute" Review
Tom Berenger is the head of a top-secret team of mercernaries, who decides to infiltrate a Miami high school after his girlfriend is beaten up, Nancy Kerrigan style, by one of the students. As it turns out, the school is being run by drug dealers and gang goons who answer to the principal, a former cop who runs a high-grade drug lab out of the basement in the gym. Any movie with Ernie Hudson as an evil high school principal, a wacked-out William Forsythe, and Latin singer Marc Anthony as the juvenile leader of a gang creatively titled the "Kings Of Destruction" can't be all bad, can it? Think of it as "Dangerous Minds" written for Steven Seagal.

A Guilty Pleasure
Those of us who teach for a living enjoy a guilty pleasure in "The Substitute." While we'd never dream of ever harming any of our students--well, at least I'd never dream of it--the catharsis from a fiction about a good guy mercenary cleaning house of all the bad influences in an urban high school--violent punks, drug lowlifes and sociopath gangbangers and the evil adults who indulge their self-destruction--is just too wonderful to pass up. Tom Berenger eschews the angry racist persona he brought to life so ably in "Platoon" for a different man of action, in this case, Shales, a professional soldier with a heart and a brain. Besieged and assaulted by teenybopper thugs who work for the local drug kingpin, his teacher girlfriend turns to the only man who might be able to stop them, forcing Shales to go undercover as a substitute teacher to root out the source of the problems. While the script is fantasy and has very little to do with teaching, and the production values are on the "B" side, the able cast--including Ernie Hudson, William Forsythe, Richard Brooks, and many other familiar faces--plays it with just the right amount of humor and zeal. Director Robert Mandel infuses the production with a pace and wit that has helped other low-budget productions make it to cult status (think "Alligator"), and "The Substitute" deserves an audience. If you teach, put this one on your shelf for those days when you feel like you could use a mercenary to put some order back into the classroom for you!

Awesome
Nothing beats a teacher putting a bunch of wannabe tough guys in there place and making it look easy. Starts out with a former mercanary/marines girlfriend being assaulted by a gang from a local high school she teaches at. Completely fed up, Shale decides to take the matter into his own hands and fakes some credentials and becomes a sub at her high school. Highly recommended. You'll find yourself rooting for Shale the whole way.

let me tell you
the only reason i saw this movie cause it was filmed at my high school miami senior high.i wasnt going there at the time but my sister was. so i saw it and didnt like it much but it was cool to see the school on film and know ive been there millions of times. p.s the school is not all f**ked up like they showed it they spray painted it and messed it up for filming.

THIS IS THE BEST MOVIE TOM BERENGER HAS EVER BEEN IN
A TOUGH MERCENARY [TOM BERENGER] BECOMES A SUBSTITUTE TEACHER FOR A CRIME INFESTED SCHOOL. VERY INTERESTING. THIS IS PROBABLY AS GOOD AS A TOM BERENGER MOVIE IS GONNA GET. BELIEVE IT OR NOT, MARC ANTHONY [WHO'S BEST REMEMBERED FOR 1998'S ''I NEED TO KNOW''] ACTUALLY HAS A ROLE IN THIS MOVIE AS A GANG LEADER. THIS IS DEFINITELY WORTH WATCHING. FOLLOWED BY THREE DIRECT-TO-VIDEO SEQUELS. ... Read more

Reviews (21)

LOOKING FOR AN ECHO
IF YOUR AS YOUNG AS I AM,(62) THIS MOVIE AND THE SONGS STILL LIVE IN YOUR HEART AND WILL FOREVER. ALMOST EVERY SONG AND PIECE OF MUSIC TOLD OF OUR FEELINGS FOR AND OF THE LOVE OF OUR LIVES. LOOKING FOR AN ECHO IS OUR TIMES IN THE FIFTIES AND SIXTIES. GREAT GREAT MOVIE. I'LL BUY IT ON DVD BUT I WOULD RATHER HAVE IT ON VHS.

Whadda Good Movie!
I am a self-proclaimed doo-wop junkie, that finally saw a movie to do this music proud! I recently had the pleasure of seeing Kenny Vance and the Plantotones perform, which moved me to purchase the CD and the DVD! A fine cast, and heart-felt story combines with the music to make "Echo" a movie you can watch more than once. This is a real "sleeper", that needs to wake up more viewers!

Not often, a reel feel-good movie!
One wonders if the cast & crew of this wonderful flick thought they would/could succeed with: no guns, no blood, no explosions, no murders...beheadings, stabbings, etc.

If you love music, and have heard some fifties music, the kind that you just have to involuntarily sway and bob to....then this is your movie. It's wonderful, with a storyline and characters completely full bodied. And the music! Armand Assante playing against his usual form. And Diane Venora, a character so charasmatic, Assante isn't the only one that falls for her. We do, assisted by the best music score in a film since the Commitments! I love this movie! Makes me smile...."FEEL GOOD!".

Look No Further!
This is absolutely the best movie wrapped around fifties & sixties music that I have ever seen. The music of Kenny Vance is superbly woven throughout a very heartwarming story that makes you want to cry and cheer at the same time. This is the music WCBS-FM SHOULD still be playing! The locations in Brooklyn and Howard Beach are just great and add to the overall flavor of the movie. Don't hestitate, just buy it!

An average film
I love the oldies and Doo Wop and bought this movie based on the reviews here. I was very disappointed. This movie was average in every way. ... Read more

Amazon.com

"F/X" is Hollywood-speak for "special effects," those often-bloody tricks that fool us into believing a gun has been fired or a head has been blown off. Bryan Brown plays a freelance effects wizard who arrives for each job fully equipped in a customized truck, making it easy for him to roll from one gig into the next. Accepting a hefty chunk of change for one such job, Brown stages the death of a gangster for the Witness Protection Program. At least, that is what he is led to believe. Illusion, it turns out, is everything. Not knowing whom to trust or what to think, Brown soon finds himself playing a vicious game of cat and mouse with the bad guys. What gives this an added thrill is that Brown is not sure exactly who is the villain in his own personal mystery movie. It could be the gangster (Jerry Orbach), the government agents, or the police officer (Brian Dennehy) with whom he joins forces. Evenly paced and surprisingly cunning, this is will leave you guessing until the last squib has been fired. Brown and Dennehy were reunited less successfully in the 1991 sequel, F/X2. --Rochelle O'Gorman ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Refreshing Suspense Movie
F/X is an abbreviation for movie "special effects." Bryan Brown plays a special effects creator who unwittingly becomes part of a conspiracy. He is supposed to be a pawn who is to be eliminated. Instead of despairing and panicking, he uses his wits and his effects to elude his pursuers, who are not even identified until the end. F/X was produced in 1986, long before the sophisticated computer generated effects ubiquitous today. Yet the movie is not outdated. Rather, it is a classic that will leave you smiling. The clever, maze-like plot, and the great team of Bryan Brown and Bryan Dennehy add up to a refreshing, surprising classic of the 80's.

Sadly, the sequel - FX2 - is a big letdown.

Good Low Budget Fun!
Me and my brother were flipping through the TV channels, and nothing was on, I mean nothing. Anyway we got to the Movie Channel (STAR Movies) and saw what looked like the opening credits, and then big blue words came across the screen reading "F/X." So we watched it, saw if it was any good. Let me say we were pretty surprised! It was pretty obvious that it was shot on a low budget. That made me like it all the more! Becuase you usually get a famous rich director and writers to put together a good action/suspense movie. But those movies, sience the director has alot of money he just figures he'll blow the hell out of everything. It gets pretty annoying. But that is what I love about this movie. Sense they didn't have a lot of money they kept the movie good was the writing and directing. Dispite the name (F/X) it is not what the movie reliys on. It relies on a smart plot and even smarter plot twists. You never know who the villian is. Plus the well mantled suspense is a plus. I cant say the biggest part of the plot, but I can sya what it starts with. This aussie dude who makes special FX for movies (hense the name) is assigned to stage an assination on a gang member (but not really kill him, just make it look like he got killed with his special effect tricks. But after that it just takes so many turns, it makes it into a fantastic whodunit. I reccomend this for anyone who enjoys a well written and directed whodunit that will keep you thinking and guesing till the last bullet is shot.

F/X is a great movie with clever ideas in plot and action!
F/X starring Brian Brown and Brian Dennehy is a great Action/ Suspense thriller! This is about a special effects man who is hired by the Witness Protection program to stage an assination of a crime lord. Rollie Tyler(Brian Brown) was baited to take the blame for the assination and now he must prove his inoccents and must confront the man who framed him. Mason is the guy who hired Rollie Tyler (Brian Brown) to take the fall. Leo McCarthy(Brian Dennehy) is the tough Cop who must find Rollie and figure out who resposible for these deaths. A very ingenious movie! Clever plot with suprises and tricks! Highly Recommended!

A lot of fun
F/X was one of my favorite thriller of the '80s, a genuinely fun action film that takes itself just seriously enough to make its story credible but at the same time remains blissfully free of the delusions of grandeur that have led to so many overproduced, ultimately empty headed and painfully dull "thrillers" over the past couple of years. In short, F/X is the type of unpretentious, engaging film that could never be made by a Michael Bay or most of the other directors produced out of the Jerry Bruckhiemer School For Technocrats Who Like To Blow Things Up Real Good.

The always underrated australian actor, Bryan Brown, plays Rollie -- an independent special effects artist who specializes in creating gore effects for cheap horror and action films. Indeed, when we first meet him, he is working on a film that bares a hilarious resemblance to Brian DePalma's Scarface which, whatever its qualities, is most definitely represenative of the type of film that F/X strives not to become. Brown is recruited by an uptight but reassuringly paternal federal agent (Mason Adams) to help fake the death of a mobster (Jerry Orbach) about to go into the federal witness protection program. Once Brown agrees to help, he finds himself being targeted and pursued by mysterious killers who might be the government, might be the mob, or might be something else.

The film's main selling point is that, in order to protect his own life and clear his name once the police become convinced that he's a murderer, Brown is forced to rely on his expertise in hollywood special effects. While that certainly is true, it also makes the film sound a lot more gimmicky than it actually is. As opposed to its sequel, F/X never allows itself to become reliant solely on that gimmick. Instead, the film concentrates on presenting its fast-paced plot which, over the course of many twists and turns, avoids the common action film fate of collapsing on the wieght of its own complications. That said, the F/X sequences are pretty cool and the film's conclusion provides perhaps the wittiest advertisement for superglue that I've ever seen.

The film's main strength comes from the cast who all seem to be having a good time on screen and bring a surprising sense of conviction to roles that could easily have been played as B-movie stereotypes. Bryan Brown is one of those charismatic, obviously talented leading men who rarely gives a bad performance yet for whatever reason (though making movies like Cocktail probably didn't help) has never become a bona fide star. Playing the lead in this film, he proves that he did have the talent and the charisma to be a leading man and indeed, his low-key but likeable lead performance is reponsible for a great deal of F/X's strength. As the gruff police detective who becomes Brown's ally, Brian Dennehey is -- well, he's Brian Dennehey and, as always, that's more than good enough. That said, he also brings a welcome sense of humor to the proceedings and he proves once again that nobody in the '80s delivered profanity as wittily and skillfully as Brian Dennehey. The rest of the cast is full of character actors who all turn in nicely quirky performances with the standouts being Diane Venora who is sweet as Brown's girlfreind (whose ultimate fate -- if predictable -- is also well handled and rather sad), Cliff De Young who gives perhaps his best variation on his standard Yuppie henchman role in this film, Joe Grifasi as Dennehey's put upon partner, Mason Adams who perfectly captures the essence of everyone's kindly but kinda strange uncle, and the great Jerry Orbach who, playing a mobster with an all-important pace maker, overacts as if the world depending on it but is still a lot of fun to watch because, afterall, he's Jerry Orbach. They all come together to create (without any trendy angst or computerized special effects to show us what animated human beings look like when they get blown up) one of the most purely enjoyable movies of the '80s.

Starts well, meanders into blandness.
Bryan Brown is a special effects man who is caught up in a government conspiracy after a major mishap. This "high-tech" thriller begins fairly well before falling apart with badly choreographed action scenes, predictable twists, and a very underwhelming finale. ... ... Read more

Reviews (43)

Eastwood returns to directing
Eastwood's directorial debut was "The Unforgiven", a stylistic return to the glory days of the western. This time he has entered a new one, films about the death penalty. Eastwood plays a barely-sober hack newspaper reporter. His character is very enigmatic, although I think that was much more to do with Clint than with the story. He is walking a fine line between being a brilliant asset to the paper and being fired. You see, he has a tendancy to go on crusades, and he is about to embark on a fresh one with his current writing assignment. His job is to write a "human interest sidebar" about the execution of an accused murderer. The problem is, Clint thinks he's innocent. Is Clint stupid for going off half cocked? Is he just being reckless with his career, or is he brave in standing up for what he beleives is right? These are the questions the film asks us to contemplate as Eastwood gets clues and revelations about the case. I like to see Eastwood in this type of role, which is quite similar to that burgler one a few years ago. A low key guy struggling with his role in life. Quiet and subdued, he constantly wonders about what is the right thing to do. I was never a fan of "Dirty Harry", or those Sergio Leone films. We see a rare raw side of Clint Eastwood the man here, instead of Clint Eastwood the cardboard cutout. The title says it all, this is realistic, not superhero fantasy.

Worth seeing for stellar supporting cast performances
This is a decent, if not stellar, movie rental for those who like mystery/morality plays. I rented the video and then bought a previously-viewed copy to keep because of the fine support performances by Isaiah Washington and Lisa Gay Hamilton; these 2 tug your heartstrings with their portrayal of a loving couple facing the ultimate separation of an enforced death penalty. If you have the patience to sit through all the side stories (and there are way too many) told to illustrate that Clint's character is an aging hack without a personal life or moral conviction to speak of, then you'll see some great acting by Washington and Hamilton, as well as James Woods as Clint's editor. Other stupid side stuff: the inclusion of Clint's ex partner, their daughter, and his current wife in cameo roles and some haggling-for-money-sexual harrassment scenes by a homeless man intended to be humorous but which were just annoying and dragged the movie out still further. In conclusion, this film needed a much tighter editor/story but the supporting cast still makes it worth viewing.

Clint Is Still Number One
Clint Eastwood's 1999 release, True Crime, was based on an Andrew Klavan novel and filmed in a style that reminds me of movies made in the late 70's or 80's. As I watched the first few minutes, my first thought was that poor Clint was to old to portray the part of Steve Everett and this movie had been a waste of money. At first, it actually kind of "creeped me out" watching him come on to the beautiful young women in the movie, but you cannot always judge the movie by your first impressions. Steve Everett is a cheating husband, a horrible father, a recovering alcoholic, and a womanizer, but he is, first and foremost, a newspaper reporter with a "nose" for the truth. His boss, Bob Findley (Denis Leary), assigns him to cover an execution as a human-interest story. Bob has a hard time working with Steve, knowing that Steve has been sleeping with his wife, and struggles to maintain a professional office relationship. Steve has a hunch that Frank Beechum (Isaiah Washington), a black man convicted of the murder of a pregnant white girl, is innocent, but only has one day to come up with evidence before the execution takes place as scheduled. The plot to this movie is predictable and has been done in other movies many times, but Clint Eastwood's skill as a director turns this otherwise "dog" into a suspenseful thrill ride. The performances of Isaiah Washington and Lisa Gay Hamilton are precise and moving. James Woods is hilarious and Francesca Fisher Eastwood, Clint Eastwood's daughter in real life, is adorable. Michael Jeter, Michael McKean, Bernard Hill, and Diane Venora also give great performances and help make True Crime a very good movie that is definitely worth 127 minutes of your time. Oh, and about my first impressions, I was wrong, Clint is not too old for the part or the beautiful young women. Clint is still number one.

Eastwood Is The Man
Another great Eastwood directed film with terrific performances by everyone in the cast especially (i.e. Isaiah Washington, Lisa Gay Hamilton and James Woods). Eastwood is one of my favorite directors ever. If you are in any way familiar with an old radio show called "Nightbeat" this film is very similiar. This one has a very suspenseful ending.

A RACE TO THE FINISH
Okay, let's get two sore points out of the way: Yes, Clint is really a little too old for the leading role, especially in pairing him with such young ladies; and yes, James Woods goes way over top in his cartoonish role as Alan, the editor in chief. But, aside from that TRUE CRIME is an astounding work for the director Eastwood. The real stars of the picture, however, are Isaiah Washington and Lisa Gay Hamilton. As the doomed but innocent Frank Beecham, Washington controls his performance, making him both heartbreakingly real. No overacting here. He uses his face, his body, his voice to convey the hopelessness and fear of his impending execution for a crime he did commit. Hamilton as his wife, Bonnie, has a very demanding role, and her grip on this character is unbelievably subtle and intense. Some real tear-jerking scenes in this one. Hard to believe Washington and Hamilton wer