Amazon.com

Two years before he let it all hang out in Boogie Nights, former rapper and Calvin Klein underwear model Mark Wahlberg played the psychotic boyfriend in this derivative but surprisingly effective thriller, aptly described by producer Brian Grazer as "Fatal Attraction for teens." Reese Witherspoon plays Nicole Walker, the unwitting teenager who gets the hots for David McCall (Wahlberg). David only seems like a nice guy until he gets upset by the girl's overly protective father. That's when hell breaks loose and the love-struck Romeo turns into a deadly threat who just won't go away. You'd think this kind of material would be beneath the talents of a fine director like James Foley (whose credits include At Close Range and Glengarry Glen Ross), but Foley gives the film just the right blend of style and tension to match Wahlberg's breakthrough role as an all-too-believable teenage maniac. You might feel silly afterwards, but don't be surprised if you find yourself getting caught up in the expertly manipulative suspense. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (90)

Fear Rocks!!
This movie is the most terrifying movie that I have ever seen.(And I am a horror-movie buff) This movie is so creepy, so electrifying that it is scary(please excuse that punn) This movie has a hot young cast of some extremely talented actors, including the beautiful Alyssa Milano and Reese Witherspoon, and a young fellow of the name Mark Wahlberg. I can pretty much tell what is going to happen with movies. I couldn't tell a thing in this movie. This is not just your run of the mill teen hororr/suspence/thiller/Mystery type of movie. This movie is a great movie to enjoy and a great life-lesson (or moral, if you will) wihout actually living it. I won't tell what the lesson is, but Reese Witherspoon is generally in movies that teach something at the end, so be sure to look for it at the end and during this film. This movie is so great in every way possible. By far the best[for me] hororr film of them all! Great movie!!! Very similar to "Fatal Attraction" But, geared towards a teen auidence. Both films are great, but also both have cerin material that DIDN'T have to be in there. VERY realsitic, in the sense that there are teens who choose to...ummm...well spend "quality" time with each other, and do live to regret that "quality" time spent. Alot of the time, that person that you spent the time with, ISN'T the person you thought they were. Very creepy. "Fatal Attraction" and "Fear" are similar, and different at the same time. "Fear" is pratically a re-make of "Fatal Attraction" which it sortta is...

FEAR ITSELF
Maybe it's derivative, but FEAR packs a punch due to the expert direction of James Foley and the dead-on performances of Mark Wahlberg, Reese Witherspoon and William Petersen. Nice girl Reese (beautiful and a marvelously talented actress) goes along with pal Alyssa Milano to a club where she catches the eye of hunky David McCall (Wahlberg, in a chilling and good performance). Of course, once she finds herself falling for him, she sees a violent and darker side as he attacks her best friend and pushes her in the face. David, being the charming psychopath he is, manages to patch things up, and then things really start firing up. Petersen's father is a devoted, family man, who truly loves his daughter. When he realizes Wahlberg is not the Prince Charming he appears to be, he warns him to stay away from his daughter. But Wahlberg won't take no for an answer, so he rallies up his drug-dealing friends and attacks the home of Reese and her family. A tense, nerve wracking ending with powerful performances.
A guilty, but enjoyable, pleasure, showing that Wahlberg has more than a buff body to credit his success.

Amazing
This is a classic. Reese Witherspoon is so cute, and as if we didn't all know so is Mark Walberg. Put them together and you've got a hit. This is my favorite movie ever and I am a video freak. I couldn't even imagine what was going to happen next. It was scary yet romantic. I love it, however I wouldn't recommened this movie for anyone under the age of 16

Does anyone knows????
Hi there! I loved the movie, it's really great. Now I'm looking for the soundtrack... does anyone knows where can I get it???? PLEASE!!! if you can tell me I'll be so grateful!!! My email is: gpalomo@telecontacto.com.mx
THX
G.

It could really happen
When 16 year old Nicole meets David McCall for the first time, he is a sensitive and caring man. Over time they build a deep relationship. All the problems start after their first intimate encounter. David goes wacko with jealousy, beating up one of Nicole's best friends, who happens to be a guy. Nicole is torn between wanting to stay with him and never wanting to see him again. After a riff with her father, Nicole runs off temporarily with David. Later that night she catches him with her best friend. She dumps David and turns her back on her best friend Margo (Alyssa Milano), not letting her explain what really happened. David ends up stalking Nicole and essentially holding her family hostage.

Creepy in a way because it's a situation that can, and I'm sure has, happened. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Penny Marshall directed this well-intentioned drama-comedy about a middle-aged advertising executive (Danny DeVito) whose heart has never been in his work. Fired for incompetence, DeVito's character is on the skids; but then comes an unusual job offer: Teach a bunch of boot-camp army recruits to read and think. The first-time teacher leads the uniformed men and women to an appreciation of Shakespeare, but he still has to grapple with his own problems with commitment and responsibility. Watching this film is like staring at a pool of broken eggs that never quite becomes an omelet. The story's promise is always there, but the satisfaction never quite comes.Still, there are some nice moments, and the whole thing works better on video than it did in the theaters. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (27)

Comedy plus Shakespeare
I can't believe that only 10 people have wrote a review for "Renaissance Man." I thought it was a lot more popular than that and I know that it deserves all the praise and popularity that it can get! Bill Rago (Danny DeVito) takes a job as a teacher in the Army even though he doesn't have any teaching experience and doesn't really want the job. Yeah I agree that that does sound a little far fetched, but not all movies have to tell a true story!

Bill doesn't exactly know what to teach about, so he just teaches the 'students' about something he really likes, the book, Hamlet. Will the army students enjoy learning about Hamlet or will they think it's boring? Will Bill Rago be a good teacher or a fluke? I recommend watching the movie to find out.

I thought "Renaissance Man" was a great movie. Unlike what many people might think or might had heard about it previously, it's not really a full-fledged comedy movie. Danny DeVito is hilarious in the movie and the part that I'll remember the most from the whole movie is one of the funniest parts I've ever seen in any movie!! I couldn't quit laughing at the part where Danny DeVito got to the top of a tall place in the army, and he has to try and work his way down with a rope even though he's TERRIFIED of heights. "Renaissance Man" has a few other hilarious parts, but really when it all comes down to it, it's more of a drama movie and more of a feel-good movie than it is a comedy. Not that that's bad, but that's the only complaint I have whatsoever about the movie, it could've had a few more hilarious parts where more people would have given it rave reviews and remembered it the rest of their lives. However, it wasn't bad enough to take away any of my rating for it, so I still give it a 5.

If you like great comedy/drama movies, I recommend getting "Renaissance Man." You'll laugh your head off and feel the drama at the same time.

Genius Point
Danny DeVito was perfect for his character as Bill Rago. The story is about an unemployed man who becomes a teacher in the Army to train eight iffy soldiers. DeVito's job is to teach his kids to comprehend. The thing is, if DeVito fails, that's it for these guys, they're out of the Army and out of a job. DeVito instructs the kids early in the film to bring something to read to class. Then a soldier asks DeVito what he was reading. He responds, "Hamlet." One of the soldiers then identifies the book as a story about a little bitty pig. But as anyone knows it is written by Shakespear. The kids show great interest in it. The film goes on and DeVito starts to bond with the kids he once hated.

DeVito had been typecasted as a man who is halfway good/halfway bad due to his roll in "Taxi," but he shows his true acting talent here in this film. Rent it, it's a great movie.

I Love this Movie!!!!!!!!!!!!
I love this movie. All of the great actors and actresses that are in this movie are incredible. I can't get enough of this movie. I watch it almost everyday. This movie is a classic. This movie is to me as The Godfather is to guys. That's how much I love this movie.

Danny De Vito
I simply adored this movie with Danny De Vito! I really cracked up with the scene where he goes up the victory tower and has to come down. I also love Lillo Brancato and his impersonations of "Scarface" and the "Raging Bull." I'm not a real Shakespeare fan, but I admit that I definitely got into this movie. Danny is on my top 10 of favorites.

Above average and more sensible than you think
Yes, there really are English teachers in the Army. My sister-in-law was a civilian hired to improve the writing and reading of GIs who needed extra help. This is a very funny movie and Danny Devito makes it worth watching. It takes the right teacher to make Shakespeare worth reading. I'd have paid a lot more attention in English class if I had a teacher like him! ... Read more

Reviews (204)

"I liked him, right up until the moment I shot him."
Well done! Now THIS is what I call a popcorn movie. No big drama, no great life issues; just a fun plot, great action, and good looking people packing the screen. "The Italian Job", a remake of the 1969 Michael Caine flick, is cinema escapism at its best and a great bet for a Friday night date.

Mark Wahlberg stars as Charlie, acting head of a gang of high-tech, high class thieves. He's taking over for his mentor (played by the always welcome Donald Sutherland) as his team sets up a brilliant scheme for $35,000,000 in gold bars (the "Italian Job" of the title).
But things don't go quite as planned, and one year later Charlie reassembles his mates, plus his mentor's daughter (Charlize Theron) to take revenge on the man who betrayed them and set things right once and for all.

The action here is splendid, imaginative and well filmed. The script is tight, with plenty of snappy lines to go around (including a great running gag about just who invented Napster) and the musical score is surprisingly nice. All the actors have fun with their roles, especially Seth Green as a computer geek and Edward Norton as the slimy bad guy. And of course there's Wahlberg.

I like Mark Wahlberg. I can't help it. I like him more with every movie he makes. I like his quiet, confident walk, his little boy smile, and the way his forehead crinkles whenever somebody yells at him. He seems to actually get better looking as the movie goes along, and his chemistry with Theron is low-key but sexy.

I give "The Italian Job" five stars not because it was a masterpiece, but because I had a great time and know the film will hold up well with future viewings (it was a lot like "Ocean's Eleven" in this regard). Go on and see it; you'll like it. And probably want a Mini when you get out.

GRADE: A-

(By the way, I LOVED the way our heroes never carried guns or shot anybody. Old school baby!)

A slick, and brilliantly done caper.
A group of expert thieves led by mastermind Charlie Croker (Mark Wahlberg) and his father figure mentor, John Bridger (Donald Sutherland), successfully steals 35 million dollars worth of gold from a Venetian safe. But they are quickly double-crossed by one of their own partners in crime, who kills Bridger and forces the others to plummet into an icy river, leaving them for dead.
A year goes by and Croker contacts Stella (Charlize Theron), Bridger's daughter and a safe-cracking expert, and tells her that he has picked up the trail of the man who killed her father. He invites her to join his team and help reclaim their gold and avenge John Bridger's death.
Don't be discouraged from watching this movie by believing it to be a modernized remake of the 1969 classic. While there are definitely some connections between them (a plot-driving gold heist, car chases involving mini coopers and the movies' titles), this one is an excellently executed, Gary Gray film that shines on its own.
In a tight, solid plot it combines fast-paced action, thrilling suspense, clever and daring heists, great locales, state-of-the-art technology, engaging and witty characters, and a healthy dose of comedy skillfully added in all the right places. And the fact that it leaves out any unnecessary dramatic, life-altering issues makes it even more fun to watch.
The enjoyable mix of characters flawlessly portrayed by the actors, come alive through smart, snappy dialogues and believable characterizations. The choice of good, old-fashioned stunts that lend authenticity to the action over the not always effective CGI special effects, and the surprisingly pleasant musical score, give this movie the perfect finishing touch.
Sit back and enjoy the ride!

cute movie.....
cute movie, but there was a bit too much mini-cooper in it.

come on, is this a movie or commerical?

Fast paced suspenseful action...
Charlie Croker (Mark Wahlberg) has planned a gold heist with a group of professionals in Venice, Italy, that displays his sophisticated style without using violence. In order to accomplish the heist Croker has asked the old-timer John Bridger (Donald Sutherland) to help crack the safe in which the gold is located. They get safely away with a large amount of gold, however, Steve (Edward Norton) has decided to keep all the gold for himself and kill the rest of the group. Steve shoots John while the rest of the group escapes, but they decide on settling the score with Steve as they decide to take the gold back with the help of John's daughter Stella (Charlize Theron). The Italian Job is a fun and suspenseful action film with car chases and dubious schemes, which leaves the audience with a good cinematic experience.

Kinetic script!
This is a movie plenty of action. The script runs about an old thief who decides make the las robery. Thirty five millions in gold is a great temptation . But suddenly there will be a twist of fate.
Wonderful locations and excellent special effects. Shuterland as always, steals the show. Walberg is OK and the cosmic beauty of Charlize Theron plays a convincing role.
There are many hair raising sequences.
A good entertainment but without the punch of the previous version from the sixties. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Even if the notorious 1970s porn-filmmaking milieu doesn't exactly turn you on, don't let it turn you off to this movie's extraordinary virtues, either. Boogie Nights is one of the key movies of the 1990s, and among the most ambitious and exuberantly alive American movies in years. It's also the breakthrough for an amazing new director, whose dazzling kaleidoscopic style here recalls the Robert Altman of Nashville and the Martin Scorsese of GoodFellas. Although loosely based on the sleazy life and times of real-life porn legend John Holmes, at heart it's a classic Hollywood rise-and-fall fable: a naive, good-looking young busboy is discovered in a San Fernando Valley disco by a famous motion picture producer, becomes a hotshot movie star, lives the high life, and then loses everything when he gets too big for his britches, succumbs to insobriety, and is left behind by new times and new technology. Of course, it ain't exactly A Star Is Born or Singin' in the Rain.Writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson (in only his second feature!) puts his own affectionately sardonic twist on the old showbiz biopic formula: the ambitious upstart changes his name and achieves stardom in porno films as "Dirk Diggler." Instead of drinking to excess, he snorts cocaine (the classic drug of '70s hedonism); and it's the coming of home video (rather than talkies) that helps to dash his big-screen dreams. As for the britches ... well, the controversial "money shot" explains everything. And the cast is one of the great ensembles of the '90s, including Oscar nominees Burt Reynolds and Julianne Moore, Mark Wahlberg (who really can act--from the waist up, too!), Heather Graham (as Rollergirl), William H. Macy, John C. Reilly, and Ricky Jay. --Jim Emerson ... Read more

Reviews (248)

Why don't you feast on that?
Boogie Nights is a very stylish and funny film that is sure to please movie fans. While its slightly subtle and offbeat humor may be lost on some viewers, Boogie Nights is a hilarious movie.

The film is centered around the rise and fall of adult film star Dirk Diggler (played by Mark Wahlberg). Diggler starts out as a polite, bright-eyed kid but is slowly corrupted by life in the fast lane. Wahlberg gives a great performance as the dopey Diggler, whose words aren't necessarily meant to be funny yet often come off as hilarious.

The supporting cast also does an excellent job in this film. John C. Reilly plays Diggler pal and fellow adult film star Reed Rothchild to perfection. Reilly is funny throughout the movie, but stands out particularly in a scene where he is being interviewed about the impact of movie violence on viewers. Burt Reynolds, Julianne Moore, Don Cheadle, William H. Macy, and Philip Seymour Hoffman also deliver very strong supporting performances.

It's hard to explain what makes Boogie Nights such an entertaining movie. The humor in the dialogue is often quite subtle, but is nevertheless very effective. The characters are colorful and really seem believable despite their sometimes odd behavior and personalities.

Director/writer Paul Thomas Anderson did a great job with this film. Viewers are sure to feel empathetic towards the characters as they struggle and yet will likely find themselves laughing at just how bad and weird things get at times.

The scene that best sums up Boogie Nights as a whole occurs when Diggler, Rothchild, and friend Todd Parker find themselves in the home of an oddball drug addict trying to sell him some bad dope. The use of music and camerawork in this scene really creates a feeling of tension, yet viewers will probably be tempted to laugh at some of the various events of the scene. I won't say exactly what happens, but the entire sequence shows how Boogie Nights is a dichotomy of the laughable and the tragic.

In short, Boogie Nights is a very entertaining and memorable film. Wahlberg's portrayal of Dirk Diggler is top notch and the other actors also do excellent work in the film. Boogie Nights seems to get better with each subsequent viewing and I highly recommend the movie to fans of subtle and slightly dark humor.

Worthwhile
Boogie Nights is an entertaining movie, but not a fantastic one. While Burt Reynolds and of course Don Cheadle are solid choices for their roles, the film hinges largely on the performance and natural charisma of Wahlberg, who is possibly the only actor who could even be imagined in this role without risking his career. Claims that the story is based on that of John Holmes are nothing but publicity to give it more legitimacy than a completely fictional narrative about the porn industry, which is really what it is. Wahlberg's character bears no specific resemblance to Holmes whatsoever, and the narrative is entirely generic of its topic: pool parties, drug use, filming porn scenes. The "big package" schtick is too repetitive and overdone, and in fact is the main drama of the entire film: Will we get to see it after witnessing the jaw-dropping over-reactions of nearly everyone else who appears on screen, or not? Such tension. Wahlberg's persona is portrayed as overly stupid, almost appearing to have a significant mental impairment, and with minimal comic advantage. His total wide-eyed gullibility gets tiring, but is balanced somewhat by the grittier drug deal scenes in the second half of the film.

Although this film does have its moments and is worth watching overall, it is not a legendary cinematic achievement.

Interesting, but good
Boogie Nights is a good movie(i watched it last night) with a lot of good actors just some of the scenes seemend to drag but you want to see what happens. while i was watching it seemend like it lasted about 4 hours and i just began to get bored with it but it still kept an intresting story with great performances from Burt Renyolds, Mark Whaelberg, and Julianne Moore

This movie was funny, touching and even nostalagic
When I first saw this film, I was skeptical, thinking it was a low-brow glossed-over "milk the renewed interest in Disco".

I am pleased to say I was wrong!!

In a very elite cast, I thought Mark Wahlberg, as "Dirk Diggler" aka John Holmes, the well-endowed porn king who winds up a hapless coke addict "stole the show". Growing up in this "era", it was very nostalgic to see Hi-Fi's, 70's hair, and the soundtrack brought back the whole era, along with a story of people who extended themselves past their most essential limit- that of self-control.

I rated it a "5 of 5"; to all who enjoy it, "54" is a must-see, also!!

the arrival of a truly great director
although Hard Eight was the first time people may of heard of Paul Thomas Anderson (and a really great movie also) Boggie Nights was the film that truly marked the arrival of great director..for my money this movie is a well made and ENTERTAINING (something many film makers forget about) as almost any films to come out in the last 10-15 years. great story arc..well written script..authentic feel, without trying too hard for that 70's cheesiness it just seems natural..and just flat out stellar performances from a huge cast...too me while not on the same level it has the same sweeping through the gutter, rags to riches to rags feel as Goodfellas..and like that movie gives realness and depth to a group of people who live outside of the world the rest of us live in..but are still effected by it...P.T. Anderson with his next movies Magnolia and Punch Drunk Love cemented his place as one the great directors in hollywood...check out Boogie Nights to see where it started ... Read more

Reviews (86)

"Hit" and Run
When four hitman decide that they are going to kidnap the boss's daugter and ask for ransom, problems arise, when Melvin (Mark Wahlberg) is set up to take the fall. At the same time, he is set to meet his girlfriend Pam's (Christina Applegate) parents, all three of whom, know nothing about his true line of work This under appreciated action/comedy from Che-Kirk Wong, has more going for it, than most folks think it does. The trick to watching this, is to just watch the movie, for its fun factor. If you expect it to be a dramatic look at hitmen and the mob--forget it. The action sequences are well done and fun to watch. The movie is a breezey 91 minutes and that's also a plus. Wahlberg, Lou Diamond Phillips, Bokeem Woodbine, and Antonio Sabato Jr. have good on screen chemistry. The rest of the players fit pretty well too It's nice to see some of them break out into more of a comedic role then is the norm for some of the cast.

The DVD extras include an enjoyable commentary track with the director, writer, and producer of the movie. The handful of deleted scenes are very good too. It also has the theatrical trailer (just as you might expect). The film is presented in both widescreen and fullscreen formats, so that viewers can choose their poison in that regard If you like action comedies then I would certainly recommend THE BIG HIT to you. Give it a shot.

Very amusing and very action-packed!
This movie was a real blast, both with the action and more so with the sometimes childish but often funny spoof element! Mark Wahlberg plays Mervin Smiley, a sexually insecure potential hitman who works for godfather Avery Brooks(Sisco from Deep Space Nine to you Trekkies!), along with assorted colleagues. When Smiley finds he is several thousand in debt due to women messing him around for his money and failed hits, he decides to kidnap a Japanese girl, the daughter of an industrialist on the verge of hara-kiri after his movie flops! It just so happens that this girl is the god-daughter of his boss. As if that wasn't enough, his copy of the video KING KONG LIVES is overdue! Oh dear . . . The results are fast, frenetic and hilarious. Elliot Gould appears as the on-the-wagon father of another potential fiancee(Christina Applegate, who is a real hottie). And when his bosses learn of his unauthorised kidnapping, the fun bursts into stylised action with gunfights and explosions galore! John Woo produced this, and it shows well! This has something for Hong Kong action fans, something for teenage airhead humour freaks and a little bit of girl power for chick-flick lovers. Everyone will enjoy this, in other words!

Total Crap
This movie is total garbage. My friend brought it by and we watched it and it was so bad I had to come on here and write a review. The acting is crap, the storyline sucks, it is an attempt to make a "cool, hip" hollywood movie that failed miserably. The writing and dialouge are terrible, this movie doesn't even deserve 1 star. Total B movie crap.

What can I say? I dig the film.
I've trashed more than my fair share of big, brainless action flicks for being stupid, unbelievable, and nasty. But for some reason, either by merit of the film itself or some fluke in my taste, I like THE BIG HIT. If the former is true, here is why.

There are those of us who peruse the direct-to-video bins of action and horror movies in a desparate search of fun. THE BIG HIT, although released theatrically, is everything that you desire while looking at direct-to-video crap, but never get, and its infinitly better.

Make no mistakes: this movie is vulgar, crass, and shameless. It even crossed my line with the vomiting scene, but I managed. The film finds hit man Melvin Smiley set up to take the fall for a major screw-up by his hipster co-workers whilst dealing with being a pushover to his fiancee and girlfriend.

Maybe the fact that this film has such a plot, a plot that is relevant to the action and interesting is what makes it exciting. The characters are stimulating and provided vibrant dialogue. Through the pretty routine directing, it's Ben Ramseys script that makes the thing so fun. The action sequences are pretty by the numbers, as I've mentioned, but there are moments or rhythm and sublime carnage beneath the rest of it.

The film has a hard-hitting and pulsating score by Graeme Revell, which is also notable in its genre for its themes and concentration on doing more than making noise.

Be warned: those who do not tolerate profanity, violence, and general disregard for morals (these are hit men, after all) should not view. If you do not fall into that category, and like a bit of ultra-violence brimming with wit and style, there is a very good chance you will like this movie, and almost NO chance that you will regret seeing it.

Or like I said, it might have just been a fluke in my tastes...

Silly, but undeniably fun.
I remember first seeing the previews for The Big Hit and thinking to myself, "this is going to be one terrible film." Then I actually rented it, and found myself enjoying the movie immensely. Oh, it's one silly action film, but it's fun usually for all the right reasons, so that's why I'm recommending it. And this says a lot, believe me, because I find 3/4's of the movie's cast utterly revolting (Antonio Sabato, Jr., Christina Applegate, Bokeem Woodbine, Lela Rochon, and Elliot Gould all in the same movie, and I still somehow enjoyed it).

Mark Wahlberg stars as Melvin Smiley, a hitman with a heart of gold, sort of. Outside of his dubious career, he's a relatively nice guy with an airhead fiancee (Applegate). Anyway, his hitman buddies, specifically Cisco (Lou Diamond Phillips), devise a plan to kidnap Keiko Nishi (China Chow), the daughter of a super-rich Japanese businessman, not knowing the man has just went bankrupt (shown in a hilarious scene). Anyway, they have to store Keiko at Melvin's house, and he's forgotten that his fiancee and her parents are visiting for the weekend. To make matters worse, Keiko is the goddaughter of the hitmen's boss, Paris (Avery Brooks), who's looking to crack down on the guys who kidnapped her.

The Big Hit desires to work as an action and comedy, and succeeds quite well at both. The shootouts are pure Hong Kong-style (no surprise, it's directed by Kirk Wong), outrageous but cool to watch. The fight scenes are kinetic and well-choreographed, with the performers displaying some nice, agile moves without really going into all-out martial arts (by this, I'm referring to the final fight in the video store). None of the action is superspectacular or completely memorable, but it's all exciting and lots of fun, which is what it should be.

Director Kirk Wong also shows a capbable hand at humor. For once, the majority of the film's jokes actually work. Even a long-running gag involving Melvin and his overdue rental of King Kong Lives pays off in the end. A lot of people are going to find this humor stupid, but for me, it was stupid and funny. Some of these jokes probably wouldn't naturally be funny, but the cast (particularly Lou Diamond Phillips) pulls them off with a great sense of comic timing. Hell, I even laughed during that obvious "tracebuster" joke.

As I said before, most of the cast members are those I generally try to avoid when I watch movies and they're terrible here, but they're offset by the film's leads, thankfully. Mark Wahlberg is not a great actor by any stretch of the imagination, but he's likeable and perfect for this part. The lovely China Chow is a spirited foil for Wahlberg, she's smart, funny, and sassy, and also the film's most genuinely likeable character. Naturally, the film progresses by developing some romantic chemistry between her and Wahlberg, and to my surprise, those scenes actually work.

Stealing virtually the whole film is Lou Diamond Phillips (who I've always liked), who's hilarious as the two-timing hitman Cisco. Off the top of my head, I believe this is his only comic performance to date, and he's so good at it, I wish he'd delve into the genre more often. The always solid Avery Brooks has a few throwaway scenes, but it's always nice to see him in a role outside of Deep Space Nine. All in all, The Big Hit was a good time, never truly excellent as an action/comedy (it needs more even plotting and less superfluous characters) but just enjoyable enough, and that was good enough for me. ... Read more

Reviews (408)

The Perfect Storm The Perfect Movie on dvd
Directed by Wolfgang Peterson who has a career
for making great films like the "The NeverEnding Story", "The Perfect Storm" was another great film into Mr. Peterson's resume.

The perfect storm, is based on the book written by Sebastian Unger. It's the true account of a group of fisherman who , in October 1991, died in the worst storm in the century, sacrificing their lives because they were doing their duties
and trying to put food on the table for their families.

There are many reasons I liked this movie:
1) The characters are real and genuine
2) The movie has a lot of heart, action, drama and suspense
3) The movie does have a certain mystique and aura around it, due to the fact that these are very special people whom if you met them you've probably wouldn't forget.

The cast and crew is made up of Billy Tyne
(George Clooney), captain of the Andrea Gail, Bobby Shatford (Mark Wahlberg) ,a beloved
fisherman in Gloucester, Mike "Bugsy" Moran
(John Hawkes), Dale Murphy (John C. Reilly) , David "Sully" Sullivan (William Fichtner). All these characters were loved in their community.

To feed their loved ones, the fisherman go to the Great banks to catch as many fish as possible but they don't see that a huge Hurricane named " Grace" is headed their way, a deadly storm in fact. The fisherman's boss though, Mr. McNally I believe is his name, pays them very little and makes even fishing a hassle for them. The men though still go out to see despite this because of their great love for the see.

One of the characters that are shown
at the beginning is Christine Cotter (Diane
Lane), Bobby's girlfriend, who has an undying love for him, even though she knows that fishing in rough waters can be dangerous.

Making the characters more realistic and with a real storyline the movie shows the mixed hate/love relationship, the crew has with Captain Billy (Clooney). It's debatable whether Tyne might
have been at fault over the dealth of his shipmates. During one scene Tyne, gets a message about the upcoming storm, however, he doesn't immediately make the crew think about how dangerous it is. He instead just leaves the decision in their hands, but another Captain might have taken control and said the hell with the trip.

Each characters has a story to them, it's not just that these guys were average joes and they worked a crummy job, no, they were very much by everyone and the extras on the dvd prove that with all the interviews by people in the community.

The visual effects for the movie are outstanding, it is a very big budget production loaded with great sets and great models..

The movie was a box office hit, and received
praise for all the actors in it like Clooney and Walhberg.

The effects were done by award winning special effects ma Stan Winston and ILM , the same group who gave us the effects for "Terminator 2",
and "Jurassic Park" to give two examples.

The Dvd for the movie comes with many extras:

*Three Documentaries one by HBO called
"Creating the Storm" which has interviews with Bobby Shatford's family,i former Captains of the Andrea Gail, and interviews with local fisherman who know all about the characters involved. Then other documentary on the dvd is called "Witnessing the Storm" which has photos from the storm in 1991 and many interviews on it

Next is the commentary. The commentary
is actually split differently during one
commentary I believe you have Wolfgang
Petersen talking about the film. The other
commentary has Sebastian Unger who talks
about how afraid he was if his book on
the storm would fail,and then how great he felt when the families of the fisherman told
him how good a job he did with it.

With all visual effects, story, good acting
and great directing by Wolfgang "Perfect
Storm" is a very good movie, by a guy
who hasn't really done bad movies.
In fact Wolfgang's next movie is "Troy"
with Brad Pitt. So check that out and check
out this one.

Fantastic Special Effects!!!
The Perfect Storm has some really great special-effects. The movie starts out a little slow describing all the characters and their relationships but then moves along at a breathless pace. You get so caught up with the crew in the middle of this greatest storm in recorded history that you can't take your eyes away from the screen. This storm occurred in the Atlantic Ocean in October 1991, a true story. You feel like your on the ocean with the crew it is so realistic. It even made me feel seasick at times. George Clooney & Mark Wahlberg did a wonderful job as the two main characters. There are a lot of surprises in this film. You get a good feel for the life & people involved in this tough fishing port of Gloucester, Massachusetts.

I only had one problem with this movie, and it was the soundtrack. I felt the music was really appropriate and well-done, but it should have been toned down a little. It overpowered the actors words to the point where you couldn't tell what they were saying. At least during the storm it would have been better to have no music at all and just the natural sounds. Other than that it's a great movie that I will definitely watch again. The special features & documentaries are great on this DVD version, that explain how the film was made. Really quite interesting

lukewarm
I really wanted to like this movie but it came off as a bland viewing experience. A lot of it had to do with poor casting...Clooney (IMO) is not a good actor so without a strong lead, the rest of the ensemble faltered. I don't remember much of a soundtrack-a good musical score would of greatly improved this film.
As a New Englander, I find it quite tiresome to listen to ridiculous interpretations of the local dialects. Obviously most of the actors could not speak it, so the few who tried, looked even more stupid. I would of been happy if they had spoken in their natural accents (even if by fluke, someone was from the South, per se)-at least a viewer can justify it by interpreting the character as a transplant; a horrible rendition of a dialect is just that...horrible, and it is very distracting. The hollywood adaptation of New England locals always strikes me as an insult. It seems fair to state that these filmmakers from the west coast don't know enough about the people and culture of New England either.

No suspense whatsoever
It's hard to get psyched for a movie when you basically know the ending. How can you sustain any kind of tension or suspense? That's a key problem with most movies which are deemed "historical". What most great historical films have done is examine the aspects of the history and demonstrate how the forces came together to create that ending. Think of GLORY or THE LONGEST DAY. They don't even have to be war stories. Think of A NIGHT TO REMEMBER or SEABISCUIT, for that matter.

The problem with THE PERFECT STORM is that there is no suspense, essentially. We know the crew ignored or were deprived the information that things were going to get a little rough in the North Atlantic, and its boat got walloped. I don't know how Wolfgang Petersen or the script writers could have created the suspense, and it's not a reviewer's job to make recommendations. But as it is, I found myself increasing impatient during the first half of the film. Let's just get to the F/X and get it over with, I thought.

The performances, I have to say in all fairness, are good, considering what the actors had to work with. The F/X were great, of course. But I still left this film with an empty feeling. Pass on this one.

Very depressing, but still a good movie.
This film truely has some great special effects, good acting, heart, but the one thing that it lacks is that positive ending that even the saddest films have. The film was very depressing in every sense. George Clooney, Mark Whallberg, and the rest of the cast all did a great job. The cinematography was brilliant. All in all the film is something you need to follow up with a happier movie. If you are in the mood to be crushed stay away. I reccomend this film to people who love special effects films. Two sad thumbs up. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The pre-Titanic Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Jim Carroll, the poet and musician who spent much of his adolescence addicted to heroin and shooting hoops with fellow Catholic high school kids. As a biography, the film doesn't amount to more than the sum of its gritty scenes of smack use, violence, perversions (poor Bruno Kirby plays a lecherous coach who comes on to young Jim), and the usual scream-and-puke dramas that go along with a cold-turkey session. Director Scott Kalvert doesn't seem to realize that most people don't know who Carroll is and therefore can't possibly understand why they should care about his gutterball youth. DiCaprio, having nowhere to go with his performance but maintain Carroll's tailspin, is boring and redundant. Some kind of allusion to the literary and rock & roll life that follows the mess we're watching might have been helpful.--Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (86)

A gritty, realistic film with wonderful acting performances.
"The Basketball Diaries" is a gritty, uncompromising look at a basically good guy's decent into heroin hell. The cast, headed by Leonardo DiCaprio, is superb; the screenplay doesn't pull any punches. Realistic, shocking, eye-opening, the film gives DiCaprio and Mark Wahlberg the chance to display their true talents and really ACT -- these fellows do a terrific job because it all looks so REAL. What a great film with an ending I guarantee you won't expect -- connoisseurs of fine films and DiCaprio fans should check it out -- this is a real movie with a real script and real acting, and the characters and storyline aren't larger than life. They're real as life, and that's not something you see on TV every day. END

Gritty, Powerful And Well-Acted
The name Jim Carroll may not be familiar to mainstream, radio-friendly listeners, but to those who know about rock poetry and Punk Carroll is one of the genre's greatest word-players along with Patti Smith and has recorded two especially noteworthy works, "Catholic Boy" and "The People Who Died," which sound like wonderfully gritty hybrids of beat poetry and Punk rock. "The Basketball Diaries" is based on Carroll's novel of the same name which is a testament of his days living in the streets of New York during which he became addicted to heroin, saw friends either die or spiral down into self-destruction and eventually found his talent for words as an exit out of the hell he was trapped in. As a movie, the story comes alive with a powerful impact. Director Scott Kalvert does not make the movie into an obvious anti-drug message, instead the story of Carroll's teen years is simply just...told. There is almost a documentary-like realism in how scenes are put together, nothing feels false but instead chillingly real. Anyone who has lived in an environment like this or attended high school in the more gritty, violent sections of a city can instantly relate to the people and events. The actors bring these characters to live with great believability, Leonardo DiCaprio broke through with this role, but even his recent work in films like "Titanic" and "Gangs Of New York" seems more tame compared to his brilliant, effective performance here. The scenes where Carroll is addicted to heroin and lives in the junkie underworld are performed by DiCaprio with a vivid realism that is disturbing. One reviewer here complained about the movie missing a plot, plot is not something central here, the story is central and it is the story of a very talented young man gripped by addiction in a world where vices and the darker side of life can easily suck you in. And of course, there is some great music here by Soundgarden, The Doors, The Cult and a great highlight which is Carroll performing "Catholic Boy" with Pearl Jam. In the history of rock music there are many popular stories of addiction from Iggy Pop to Scott Weiland, Carroll's is brought to life in a movie that breathes and doesn't need to throw the message in your face, the message is right there in the story itself.

Those are the people who died.......
Jim Carroll's autobiographical life story is the basis for this cult classic of the early 90's. Leonardio DiCaprio plays Jim Carroll a poet writing basketball star at a Catholic prep school in Manhatten who's future comes tumbling down when he gets addicted from glue sniffing to heroin. Mark Wahlberg co stars as Mickey his partner in crime as they skip school and do drugs, Jim realizes his future of becoming a pro basketball player are gone when he sees a local kid that he used to run with that decided to stay clean makes it to college ball. Eventually his mother kicks him out and he is saved by a black preacher an ex drug user from the streets takes him in. A powerful story about addiction and the negative affects it has on one's dreams. Leonardo DiCaprio's performance was amazing & makes you wonder how accurate it was of Carroll. The soundtrack also is amazing, essential to collection & a must see film.

well done
This is the most accurate depiction of dope addiction I've seen (drugstore cowboy too). From sticking a cutoff straw in a bag for a toot in the highschool bathroom or lockerroom, to the sick daydreams, to the fiending, the pure exileration of copping bags, to the allure of the needle. I started doing dope at 15 (1994)and stopped at 19, 6 years ago in 3 days. I saw this movie in 97 and I havent seen it since. Definitly not a movie you will want to watch over and over.

Like a drug, film has very high highs and very low lows
Don't take my middle of the road three star rating as a sign of apathy. This movie is one you will either love or hate, and in my case I very much enjoyed certain things and very strongly disliked others.

Obivously the big draw in this movie is Leonardo DiCaprio. I have to say, he does an outstanding job with this role. In the true story of drugged-out high schooler Jim Carroll, he thrives on the type of script Academy Awards are made out of: tons of opportunities for him to be high, low, enraged, in sorrow. There are a lot of opportunities to use his physicality in the role, and he seizes every one. In particular I think of his drug withdrawal sequence and he and his friends' mourning the death of a close friend by getting drunk and playing basketball in the rain.

The plot has a sixteen year old Jim Carroll playing high school basketball. Three of his teammates are his best friends, and when not on the basketball court, they tend to find all kinds of "innocent" trouble around New York (knocking over food vendor carts, for instance). Another outlet of energy for Jim alone is his diary where he records sensations he feels in his young life.

His search for sensation and his friends' desire to find trouble coalesces in experiments with drugs like cocaine and herione. As Jim notes in the monologue of the movie, there is no such thing as a part-time addict. They fall further and further into the downward spiral in an effort to evade pressures from school teachers, coaches, and parents.

Some of the scenes in this movie are very gripping and visceral. However, the links between these scenes tend to be bogged down in poor directing. I realize this movie was a lower budgeted one, but there really is no excuse for having a movie made in 1995 that looks like it was made in 1985. While the performance by DiCaprio is extraordinary, the directing is lackluster. Poor camera angles, helpless lighting, bit part actors who look and sound amateur; those should all be blamed on the director.

However, this movie is worthwhile if you are one who has a particular interest in either Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Wahlberg (he stars as a main character and one of Jim Carroll's best friends), or the subject matter. I have to say I thought "Trainspotting" handled the subject of drug use extremely well, but this movie is right up there in the ability to depict the sensations felt by those addicted. ... Read more

Reviews (408)

The Perfect Storm The Perfect Movie on dvd
Directed by Wolfgang Peterson who has a career
for making great films like the "The NeverEnding Story", "The Perfect Storm" was another great film into Mr. Peterson's resume.

The perfect storm, is based on the book written by Sebastian Unger. It's the true account of a group of fisherman who , in October 1991, died in the worst storm in the century, sacrificing their lives because they were doing their duties
and trying to put food on the table for their families.

There are many reasons I liked this movie:
1) The characters are real and genuine
2) The movie has a lot of heart, action, drama and suspense
3) The movie does have a certain mystique and aura around it, due to the fact that these are very special people whom if you met them you've probably wouldn't forget.

The cast and crew is made up of Billy Tyne
(George Clooney), captain of the Andrea Gail, Bobby Shatford (Mark Wahlberg) ,a beloved
fisherman in Gloucester, Mike "Bugsy" Moran
(John Hawkes), Dale Murphy (John C. Reilly) , David "Sully" Sullivan (William Fichtner). All these characters were loved in their community.

To feed their loved ones, the fisherman go to the Great banks to catch as many fish as possible but they don't see that a huge Hurricane named " Grace" is headed their way, a deadly storm in fact. The fisherman's boss though, Mr. McNally I believe is his name, pays them very little and makes even fishing a hassle for them. The men though still go out to see despite this because of their great love for the see.

One of the characters that are shown
at the beginning is Christine Cotter (Diane
Lane), Bobby's girlfriend, who has an undying love for him, even though she knows that fishing in rough waters can be dangerous.

Making the characters more realistic and with a real storyline the movie shows the mixed hate/love relationship, the crew has with Captain Billy (Clooney). It's debatable whether Tyne might
have been at fault over the dealth of his shipmates. During one scene Tyne, gets a message about the upcoming storm, however, he doesn't immediately make the crew think about how dangerous it is. He instead just leaves the decision in their hands, but another Captain might have taken control and said the hell with the trip.

Each characters has a story to them, it's not just that these guys were average joes and they worked a crummy job, no, they were very much by everyone and the extras on the dvd prove that with all the interviews by people in the community.

The visual effects for the movie are outstanding, it is a very big budget production loaded with great sets and great models..

The movie was a box office hit, and received
praise for all the actors in it like Clooney and Walhberg.

The effects were done by award winning special effects ma Stan Winston and ILM , the same group who gave us the effects for "Terminator 2",
and "Jurassic Park" to give two examples.

The Dvd for the movie comes with many extras:

*Three Documentaries one by HBO called
"Creating the Storm" which has interviews with Bobby Shatford's family,i former Captains of the Andrea Gail, and interviews with local fisherman who know all about the characters involved. Then other documentary on the dvd is called "Witnessing the Storm" which has photos from the storm in 1991 and many interviews on it

Next is the commentary. The commentary
is actually split differently during one
commentary I believe you have Wolfgang
Petersen talking about the film. The other
commentary has Sebastian Unger who talks
about how afraid he was if his book on
the storm would fail,and then how great he felt when the families of the fisherman told
him how good a job he did with it.

With all visual effects, story, good acting
and great directing by Wolfgang "Perfect
Storm" is a very good movie, by a guy
who hasn't really done bad movies.
In fact Wolfgang's next movie is "Troy"
with Brad Pitt. So check that out and check
out this one.

Fantastic Special Effects!!!
The Perfect Storm has some really great special-effects. The movie starts out a little slow describing all the characters and their relationships but then moves along at a breathless pace. You get so caught up with the crew in the middle of this greatest storm in recorded history that you can't take your eyes away from the screen. This storm occurred in the Atlantic Ocean in October 1991, a true story. You feel like your on the ocean with the crew it is so realistic. It even made me feel seasick at times. George Clooney & Mark Wahlberg did a wonderful job as the two main characters. There are a lot of surprises in this film. You get a good feel for the life & people involved in this tough fishing port of Gloucester, Massachusetts.

I only had one problem with this movie, and it was the soundtrack. I felt the music was really appropriate and well-done, but it should have been toned down a little. It overpowered the actors words to the point where you couldn't tell what they were saying. At least during the storm it would have been better to have no music at all and just the natural sounds. Other than that it's a great movie that I will definitely watch again. The special features & documentaries are great on this DVD version, that explain how the film was made. Really quite interesting

lukewarm
I really wanted to like this movie but it came off as a bland viewing experience. A lot of it had to do with poor casting...Clooney (IMO) is not a good actor so without a strong lead, the rest of the ensemble faltered. I don't remember much of a soundtrack-a good musical score would of greatly improved this film.
As a New Englander, I find it quite tiresome to listen to ridiculous interpretations of the local dialects. Obviously most of the actors could not speak it, so the few who tried, looked even more stupid. I would of been happy if they had spoken in their natural accents (even if by fluke, someone was from the South, per se)-at least a viewer can justify it by interpreting the character as a transplant; a horrible rendition of a dialect is just that...horrible, and it is very distracting. The hollywood adaptation of New England locals always strikes me as an insult. It seems fair to state that these filmmakers from the west coast don't know enough about the people and culture of New England either.

No suspense whatsoever
It's hard to get psyched for a movie when you basically know the ending. How can you sustain any kind of tension or suspense? That's a key problem with most movies which are deemed "historical". What most great historical films have done is examine the aspects of the history and demonstrate how the forces came together to create that ending. Think of GLORY or THE LONGEST DAY. They don't even have to be war stories. Think of A NIGHT TO REMEMBER or SEABISCUIT, for that matter.

The problem with THE PERFECT STORM is that there is no suspense, essentially. We know the crew ignored or were deprived the information that things were going to get a little rough in the North Atlantic, and its boat got walloped. I don't know how Wolfgang Petersen or the script writers could have created the suspense, and it's not a reviewer's job to make recommendations. But as it is, I found myself increasing impatient during the first half of the film. Let's just get to the F/X and get it over with, I thought.

The performances, I have to say in all fairness, are good, considering what the actors had to work with. The F/X were great, of course. But I still left this film with an empty feeling. Pass on this one.

Very depressing, but still a good movie.
This film truely has some great special effects, good acting, heart, but the one thing that it lacks is that positive ending that even the saddest films have. The film was very depressing in every sense. George Clooney, Mark Whallberg, and the rest of the cast all did a great job. The cinematography was brilliant. All in all the film is something you need to follow up with a happier movie. If you are in the mood to be crushed stay away. I reccomend this film to people who love special effects films. Two sad thumbs up. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Billed as "an existential comedy," I Heart Huckabees is a flawed yet endearingly audacious screwball romp that dares to ponder life's biggest questions. Much of director David O. Russell's philosophical humor is dense, talky, and impenetrable, leading critic Roger Ebert to observe that "it leaves the viewer out of the loop," and suggesting that Russell's screenplay (written with his assistant, Jeff Baena) is admirably bold yet frustratingly undisciplined. Russell's ideas are big but his expression of them is frenetic, centering on the unlikely pairing of an environmentalist (Jason Schwartzman) and a firefighter (Mark Wahlberg) as they depend on existential detectives (Lily Tomlin, Dustin Hoffman) and a French nihilist (Isabelle Huppert) to make sense of their existential crises, brought on (respectively) by a two-faced chain-store executive (Jude Law) and his spokesmodel girlfriend (Naomi Watts), and the aftermath of 9/11's terrorism. No brief description can do justice to Russell's comedic conceit; you'll either be annoyed and mystified or elated and delighted by this wacky primer for coping with 21st century lunacy. Deserving of its mixed reviews, I Heart Huckabees is an audacious mess, like life itself, and accepting that is the key to enjoying both. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (154)

Not for everyone, but I loved it
This is an absurdist, symbolic, farcical fable, a brilliant satire of a sick society peopled, inevitably, with sick persons - guess who? - ourselves!
The film tells us to ask "How am I not myself?" and indicates that "we bring our own chains". Its critique exists at several levels - the psychological, the familial, the societal, the cultural, the political,the philosophical, the corporate/financial, the technological, thus exemplifying one of the film's basic themes i.e. the interconnectedness of all things.
Beneath the comedic surface, the ideas of several thinkers are invoked: Kafka, Sartre,Camus, Buber, Orwell, Illich, Derrida,Whitehead, Freud. Most are not mentioned by name, but their ideas are there.
I thought the acting was mostly superb. Jude Law's portrayal of Brad was especially salient. Early on, his manic good humour had many false, strangely inconsistent notes, as he acted it, suggesting the falsity of his corporate 'performance' -a great portrayal, I thought, by a good actor playing a bad actor.When Brad's brittle facade finally crumbled, I found it quite moving. Naomi Watts, a fine actress, was also very good here, as her facade also crumbled. Tomlin's acting ability was not fully exploited but she had good moments - her subtle non-verbal acting at times was amusing and effective.Hoffman was amusing. Albert and Tommy were well played, good guys with serious flaws - Albert thinks he's a good poet and that that will help his cause. Tommy is so anti-petroleum that he rides a bicycle to fires! Yes, weird, unrealistic, out of touch, but they help each other. Great film, I think - lots of meat there, I could see it again. Of course,the film has its defects, indeed some people may see it as pretentious, incoherent nonsense - but that's life. Tastes vary.

I Hurt Huckabees
What was this film lacking?
Talented actors, check
Cinematography, check
It must have been the directing, the writing or both.

Contrary to my expectations, this film struck me as complete bologna. From the opening scenes to the end, which I saw only out of a regrettable sense of obligation, I didn't believe a line, a block, a shot, or anything else. I felt insulted by its lack of subtlety and obvious, inartistic and sophomoric presentation of its theme. This is a horrible film.
It makes a mockery of profound questions and important issues.
This movie would be rad if you were ripped on a heavy hallucinogen (Oh man, dude, its like...the meaning of life n stuff ya know? Floating eyeballs, whoa!). Otherwise, rent something else.

Watching this movie is like watching two, oblivious, 12 year-old rich kids make a feeble attempt at having a conversation about the hardships of poverty. Unfortunately, some executive producer provided David O. Russell with the funds necessary to create a film about something which is, apparently, completely outside of his grasp.

What I am about to say is a stretch, a last desperate attempt to say something positive about a true terd.
Maybe this film is a satyr on the cheesy "new-age" psychotherapy movement and utterly shallow and un-insightful answers to life's big questions. Maybe it's trying to say that affluent Americans seek easy, self-centered, superficial, irrational and convenient answers to difficult questions. But why make a blasé film about a blasé response to an interesting subject?
Its just a bad film.

Star-Studded Cast in Russell's Existential Screwball Misfire
There is an odd idiosyncratic appeal to this movie, but it's really not enough to warrant a recommendation from me. The concept is certainly original as the story follows Albert Markovski, an angry, questioning environmental activist as he tries to piece together a strange series of coincidental run-ins with a tall African man with the help of a couple of oddball "existential" detectives. That's only the beginning, as the detectives get involved with the huge department store chain, Huckabees, which has agreed to sponsor Albert's green-friendly program to prevent construction of a store on a marshland. This type of movie requires Woody Allen's perspective on nihilism combined with Alexander Payne's humanistic sensibilities. Unfortunately director/writer David O. Russell lets his ambition get the best of him, and he has made a movie that wants to be intellectual and funny but ends up being neither.

It's a shame because he has assembled a star-studded cast of capable actors, but in a certain way, their presence only compounds the problem since their contributions look so disjointed in what amounts to a convoluted story of self-discovery. The more central problem is that Albert, as played with enervating surliness by Jason Schwartzman, is not really a sympathetic protagonist, so the eccentric characters surrounding him do not really have anything that distinct with whom to bounce their extreme behavior. As the mind-bending duo Vivian and Bernard, Lily Tomlin and Dustin Hoffman (with an unflattering Emo Philips haircut) are as comically delightful as the script allows them to be, as they snoop to find the greater meaning of Albert's situation and spout their banal universe-is-a-blanket philosophy without irony. Their nemesis is Caterine Vauban, played with awkward remoteness by revered French actress Isabelle Huppert, who really doesn't seem like she knows what she's saying.

Caught between the adversarial philosophies is not only Albert but also Tommy Corn, an oil-hating, post-9/11-traumatized firefighter who sides with Vauban's belief that everything is meaningless; Brad Stand, the corporate climber who caves into his own shallowness; and Dawn Campbell, the Huckabees model spokesperson inevitably coupled with Brad but finding her own inner self as an Amish handmaiden complete with bonnet, overalls and dirty teeth. Mark Wahlberg plays Tommy in his familiar roughhewn manner; Jude Law struggles with a non-descript American accent as he convincingly plays the conniving golden boy Brad gone to seed; and Naomi Watts makes Dawn as air-headed and unfulfilled as her character proves to be.These characters have a meltdown in one form or another, and that's about the only connective theme in the plot. Otherwise there is really no conclusion to derive from the shenanigans Russell has set up here and consequently no emotional pay-off. There are some interesting cameo appearances in the film - the still-great looking Tippi Hedren as the head of the effort to save the marsh; Talia Shire (Schwartzman's real mother) as Albert's cold-fish mother; Jean Smart as a religious zealot mother who has "adopted" the African that Albert has been tracing; and even country superstar Shania Twain, the subject of Brad's ongoing schmooze story about the perils of eating chicken salad.

There is a lot of smart dialogue here, but it sputters by so fast and without apparent purpose that I couldn't appreciate most of it. But what the movie lacks the most is the heart in its title as Russell seems carried away by his cleverness and his thwarted attempts to concoct a cerebral screwball farce. Nice try but it doesn't work. The single edition DVD has audio commentary by Russell, as well as some contributions form Schwartzman, Wahlberg and Watts. While it helps to hear Russell's point in creating scenes and reinforcing the messages he is trying to convey here on existentialism, it's also a chore to make such connections as you're watching the movie. It certainly didn't interest me in getting the second disc of the special edition package.

A mess, but an often exhilarating and totally original one
David O. Russell's I HEART HUCKABEES is, I think, a real original: an unironic comedic attempt at exploring the meaning of our existence in this world. It's not a totally successful experiment. Its biggest flaw is its occasional preachiness: a little less sheer talk might have gone a long way. (And yet, I think this movie is much more stimulating than Richard Linklater's visually interesting but frankly rather boring WAKING LIFE.) And ultimately, I'm not sure if I HEART HUCKABEES, for all its intelligence and ambition, adds up to much more than "life is a rollercoaster ride that is worth riding" in the end.

Still, I HEART HUCKABEES is so defiantly original, so committed to working out its existential themes right on the screen, and sostrange, that it's worth seeing simply to experience the ride. The plot---such as it is---is a muddled mess, and its themes don't necessarily converge to make for a satisfying whole. But, for all its flaws, the movie will certainly leave you with somethingto think about---perhaps, whether you believe your existence ultimately has meaning in the grand scheme of things. In its sheer ambition and intellectual rigor, I HEART HUCKABEES is worth seeing...and worth reflecting upon afterwards. Recommended.

I HATE Huckabee's!
What a waste of talent.This stinker is the most boring, nonfunny "comedy" I have seen in many years.I warn you, do not subject yourself to this rubbish.Even worse than THE LIFE AQUATIC!Although, when a movie gets to that level of worthlessness, it is kind of hard to pick between them. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

bill paxton rocks
I love this film,check it out now! artisan could have putit in widescreen,with some extas,but the great film more than makes up for it.Mabye since lionsgate owns artisan we will get a special edition.

An Excellent and Underexposed Film
Traveller takes on the subject of the eponymous groups of ethnic Irish con artists (there are also Scottish and English counterparts)of the Southeastern, Central and Southern United States with considerable (but not complete) authenticity. These groups typically fall short of the 'big cons' described in The Sting and some other con artist films, and instead concentrate on selling defective trailers and doing "homers" or construction and driveway repair scams. What the film does best with its fine cast of perfomers (even Mark Wahlberg, a vastly overrated actor does a good job playing himself in a role where it fits) is give an insight into the social milieu of the Travelers. This which forms a culture much like that of gypsies, which few Americans realize exists among peoples who came here from the British isles. Bill Paxton does his usual fine job in an understated role and my only criticism is that the film is just a bit quick and incomplete in providing a resolution of the issues. When Traveller was released it wasn't pushed very hard or circulated very widely and, as a result, few people were aware of it. This was an injustice, because it is far above the norm of Hollywood productions.

Well Done Flick
I picked up this title, solely based on the cast. And they do not disappoint you. Very strong acting, and a tidy little story line, keeps this movie well paced. A great little sleeper. Bill Paxton is amazing. If you him enjoyed 'One Fasle Move', this film takes his acting back to those days. So pick it up, and enjoy.

Excellent
This is the best movie i do...

Love you all... Bill Paxton...

Interesting, original concept
An interesting, original movie based on reality. Screenwriter McGlynn wrote his script after doing much research into American gypses of the south.

McGlynn's Nicholl Fellowship award-winning script had tremendous potential, which director Jack Green does not entirely live up to, but it is still an enjoyable movie. ... Read more

Reviews (667)

Good movie, packed DVD
Why 5 stars? Well I looked at what everyone else was writing, and as far as their complaints go, they seemed to be frustrated with some dialogue issues and logistics in the characters. I saw most of the original Planet of the Ape films, and while they were fascinating, they didn't quite stack up to this.

The dialogue, were it was corny "Get you stinking hand off me" was one of a few inside jokes within the movie that was a referrence to a Charlton Heston line in Planet of the Apes. As I recall this was the first line the Apes spoke in the film (as Attar demonstrated). Heston spoke those same words (from a different point of view) to the apes when he was captured, much to their surprise. There a quite a few inside jokes in the movie. So you need to be familiar with th first film to appreciate this one.

It also makes intriguing referrences to cultural issues of the past, in particular, slavery, using humans and apes. Course there is more to the story. Planet of the Apes was always breaching ground for Civil Rights. This was a more emphatic example.

The costumes and special affects were stellar. Definitely two Oscars will nodded for makeup and costumes. Tim Burton did a good job in directing and respects go to the screenwriter for his visions. THis was a labor 12 years in the making with numerous names attached (Arnold S. and Oliver Stone at one time).

The DVD is loaded with everything you could want. I got some kind of limited edition CD-Rom. Not sure if everyone else got it, but it offers cast interviews as well. I and my parents enjoyed it, so good for the 20- somethings and 50- somethings..

Not a remake of the original but a totally different story
First let start off by saying that this is not a remake of the 1968 classic but a totally different telling of the story. I respect Tim Burton for not trying to do your basic remake, which consists of updated special effects but the same story. The story in this movie is entirely different than the original. Other than the fact that Apes are involved there are very few similarities. The story is well thought out and keeps you engaged throughout the movie. Tim Burton also knew that Mark Wahlberg is no Charlton Heston, so he kept his dialogue to a minimal. Actually Tim Roth and Michael Duncan Clark have more dialogue in the movie than Wahlberg does. Rick Baker does an outstanding job with the makeup, which allows the actors facial expressions to come through which is key for this type of movie. I will not ruin the ending but will tell you that it is unique and as unexpected as the first one was in 1968. Now onto the DVD, the Anamorphic transfer is flawless and the DTS 5.1 soundtrack is superb. The video shows no signs of edge enhancement, artifacting, or color bleeds. The blacks are deep and rich and all the colors are vibrant. The DTS 5.1 audio track is just awesome; it utilizes the rears and subwoofer frequently. All dialogue is focused on the center channel and is well balanced. The DVD has more special features than any other DVD to date. There are at least 6 documentaries, a "first person" point of view feature, and all the other normal fanfare that comes with a special edition DVD. This by far and wide is Fox's best DVD to date as it pertains to special features.

not a very good version
this is tim burtons adaption of the original movie from 68.the story strays way off course from the original but is way funnier.marky mark stars in it.oh yeah!now will take it seriously.as if it wasnt bad enough we were watching a bad remake of an old classic,now it stars one of the worst bands in histories brothers.bbbboooooooooooooo!the kids will like it.tim burton directed it.besides the lack of keeping with the original and bad casting,this movie is good.it is a disapointment from a lot of his far better movies though.there are a lot of racial undertones in it.they are done in a funny way.is this even possible?its kind of a down but still manages a 3 star rating due to tim burtons masterful save.

loved it!
I'm an "Apes" kid who grew up on Planet Of The Apes, Beneath The Planet Of The Apes, Escape From The Planet Of The Apes, Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes, Battle For The Planet Of The Apes, Return To The Planet Of the Apes animated series, The Planet Of The Apes comic book series, The Planet Of The Apes TV series, The Planet Of The Apes novel...I loved all of this Apes stuff. Why? Because it was FUN. Sadly it seems those days are gone for good and their ain't too many folks left who get the fun of these sort of things. It's clear that Tim Burton still gets it. He obviously loves the Apes movies and he grew up with all of those same movies and fun Ape toys that I did. His version is a loving tribute to that period of time in his childhood when the whole world seemed to have gone ape. He's even thrown in an ending that's not unlike the ending of the original novel. That novel inspired the movies, but none of them tried to stay true to that idea until Burton's version. Burton is obviously a fan of the Apes craze that made many a youngster want to battle talking apes or be talking apes. He captures that sense of wonder that many of us experienced in our Ape invaded youth, but he also doesn't take the whole thing too damn seriously. There are plenty of laughs here too. It's a big fun talking Apes movie that's just as much FUN as the ones that so many of us loved in the old days. I wondered, laughed, marveled, and had a great time being a kid again. I couldn't have asked for anything more. If Burton hadn't directed this thing I'm sure I would have got a hell of a lot less. Burton "gets" FUN.

(...)
am a big Tim Burton fan, I've practically seen
all his movies: "Batman" , "Sleepy Hollow", "Edward Scissorhands", "The Nightmare before Christmas" are the Directors best works to name a few.

But when I first heard, that Director Tim Burton
was going to make a remake of the original classic sci fi movie "Planet Of The Apes" with Charlton Heston, I was skeptical. Everyone knows that remakes of classic movies 90% of the time, plain suck. The movie remake of "Psycho" is a good example. I was further skeptical that Tim Burton's remake would equal the success of the original because all the ideas thought possible were used for the "Planet Of The Apes" series and movies.

Apes going into space, an Ape's son taking over the world, and even mutant beings are just a couple of the ideas that were used for the four sequels and 2 television series that wanted to profit of the 1968 film. Now after watching the film , my gut instinct told me I was right. The New version of Planet of The Apes is highlly predictable, copying a large bulk of material from the original, with brief differences.

Probably the biggest problem is that this movie itself has is the lame, and dumbest ending I've seen. It makes me laugh just thinking about it. It makes me laugh more because this was a Tim Burton film. In fact, the ending looks like it was written by a 13 yr old, who has too many cheap sci fi films with bad endings. The end of the film, lets you down with an incredibly stupid ending that makes you feel like you wasted time watching it.

Even Tim Burton commented after the film, that he would not make another sequel. Apparently, even he knew that his movie failed. Now my review of the film:
Planet of The Apes starts with great visual effects,
as we learn that an Air Force Space Station has occupied the universe. Mark Walhberg plays Captain Leo Davidson,
who is teaching scientific chimps how to pilot space vessels for research. Basically, the chimps are sent as probes , if you will, to uncharted planets. However, something goes wrong, and the head chimp, gets lost on a voyage to a planet. Davidson, caring for the chimp, disobeys orders and goes after him.
Now then comes the copying of the original film into the remake,but Burton tries his best or worst to not make it look like a copycat film.

Davidson is eventually captured by the Apes of the Planet. Just like the original film, the Apes personality traits are split by class. The warriors are made mostly of Apes and Gorillas. The lying and cunniving politicians are made up of Urangantans. While the more sympathetic apes relate more to the chimp class.

In the original fim, Charlton Heston has the famous line that all fans know when he is captured by the Apes:
"Let go of me you damn dirty ape".

However, Burton changes the script to not copy the original. In the remake, it is the ape who use a line similiar to this:

"Let go of me you damn dirty human"

Lol. I laughed for a while when I saw this.
It's just a very dumb scene. Because even Burton changed the lines, it's still trying to copy that classic scene from the original. Anyways Davidson is captured and eventually meets the head Ape of the planet. Davidson is eventually put into the lines of human slaves that the apes have. Here also Burton tries to add differences between this film and the original. If you recall in the original, Charlton Heston was the only human who could think and talk, while all the over humans either had labotomies or had their throats cut out.

This made Heston's character, Taylor, much more unique and dangerous to the apes. In the remake though, Burton makes it so all humans can talk. This made Walhberg's character not as unique and dangerous, as the original Heston characterm, hell it made him average, not standing out from the crowd.

Tim Roth, plays the evil General Thade who is the military dictator in control of the planet. For the most part, Roth's part is admirable, he does display that aura of intimidation and fear, that all villians in the movie have, but all of this is ripped to shreds by the horrible ending of the film.
Eventually Davidson and the rest of his human and ape friends stage a revolt against General Thade to see who will rule the planet.

This is actually one of the few good points of the film,Burton gives you the hope that things will turn out the best in the end, but not necessarily... Without giving away the ending of the film, all I can say is that it is one of the cheesiest, dumbest endings I've seen!!! In fact, my first reaction to the ending was disbelief, followed by sheer laughter. I couldn't believe that Burton had done that type of ending. The ending reminds me of those low budget, cheap sci fi endings from the 1950's and 60's. If I wanted to see sci fi movies with a cheap , laughable, ending I would watched the reruns of "Mystery Science Theater 3000"!!.

What upsets me about the ending, is that before the ending, we are lead to believe that the movie is going to end one way. In fact, if the movie ended up the way I thought it was going to end, I would have given it a perfect 10!!! But Burton (I don't know what he was thinking)sabotages, the good film with a cheap ending, that leaves you feeling rip-offed. He is not the only guy to do this, the legendary Roman Polanski likewise had the dumbest ending of his career in the movie "Femme Fatale" with Antonio Banderas.

Several weeks after the movie was released, Burton said he would not do a sequel to "Planet Of The Apes". It seems that Burton himself, knew that he messed up a perfectly good film and , proved that remakes of classic films should be left alone. I am big Tim Burton fan, but the remake of "Planet Of The Apes" is probably the worst film that he has done. ... Read more