Amazon.com

How long will truck tires last on top of molten lava? A surprising amount of time, apparently, according to this wild and wildly improbable disaster movie. Pierce Brosnan stars as a government geologist who shows up in a small Washington town to check out an active volcano, and in doing so gets in the way of the local-development agenda of the mayor (Linda Hamilton). Mother Nature soon levels the playing field, however, quite literally, as the pair and sundry kids and others try to keep ahead of the volcano's many spin-off problems. Roger Donaldson (The Bounty) directed, and if the film is remembered for nothing else, its special effects are unnervingly realistic, no doubt drawn in part from research into the Mount St. Helens disaster. The DVD release has a widescreen presentation, director commentary, behind-the-scenes material, and optional French and Spanish soundtracks, plus optional Spanish subtitles. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (99)

An explosive treat!
Dante's Peak seems like the ideal place to live... the serenity of the mountainous landscape and the friendly atmosphere seems to wipe out the fact that the town is nestled at the base of a dormant volcano. However, when the U.S.G.S. begins to pick up signals from the volcano that indicate a possible eruption, they send Harry Dalton (Pierce Brosnan) to investigate. While there, he befriends town mayor Rachel Wando (Linda Hamilton) and informs her of the risks. When he begins to get the city council into an uproar, his advisor shows up to cool things down and wards off any ideas of an eruption. But the symptoms begin to grow, and soon, ash and rock are flying in the sky as the mountain explodes upon the small township. It's a race for survival for Dalton and Wando, as they must search for Wando's children and get them out before the impending final showdown with the volcano. Digital Domain's special effects contribute so much to the story, making it real and placing its characters in real peril. Suspense, action, romance and a terrific cast make this disaster movie a winner. The DTS version is remarkable, and it is recommended that this be the version you buy.

Fun and intense action!
Action, suspense, and intensity abide in the effects-driven disaster film "Dante's Peak," a movie that will leave you awestruck and numb. I was completely enamored by almost everything the movie had to offer, even if some of the scientific information was a bit far-fetched to make room for the plot's twists and turns. Actors bring life and a human factor to the movie, but the real action lies with the astounding special effects used to bring a volcanic eruption to vivid and detailed life.

When seismic readings and graphs point to some geologic activity going on around the small town of Dante's Peak, the United States Geological Survey sends volcanologist Harry Dalton to investigate the possibilities. His arrival brings a silent tension on the town, which becomes voiced when he, along with Mayor Rachel Wando, come across two badly scorched bodies in the local hot springs. Dalton believes that the volcano may be "waking up" from a dormant period, but his boss shows up to calm his theories and instill calm back into the town council. Of course, the movie points in all directions to the impending eruption, in subtle ways that the characters have no interaction with.

From here, the group of scientists begin taking samples, surveying the landscape as well as taking helicopter trips into the volcano to determine if the recorded activity is of any consequence for worry. Meanwhile, Harry and Rachel get close, and their delicate relationship is put in the balance when the warning signs become more fervent, forcing them to call an evacuation of the entire town. But it comes too late, and soon everyone is fleeing for their lives as the mountainous volcano begins to spew hellfire and ash into the air, destroying the landscape and casusing massive destruction that stands in the way of Harry and Rachel's escape.

"Dante's Peak" follows a very well-known pattern for the duration of its plot: a situation that has implications of disaster is presented, one person knows what it going to happen but no one listens, and then all hell breaks loose. This movie carries off this particular structure quite well: it starts out slow and then speeds up to full speed, never slowing down and heightening the suspense given us by the incredible action sequences, smart dialogue and intense and vivid special effects that are the showcase of the movie. I found myself cheering it on in places, becoming completely enamored with what was going on, and satisfied with the final outcome of the movie.

The special effects for this movie are stupendous, and add a lot to the atmosphere the movie portrays. From the moment the mountain begins erupting, the effects give us the feel that everything is larger that life, from the volcano itself to the large, expansive cloud of ash that spreads across the sky and keeps the sun from penetrating. The nice thing about this film is that most of the effects are done with miniatures, giving it a mucher richer look than if it were only done with computerized effects. The sound is incredible, bass-heavy and prominent in wrapping us up in the action. All of these elements at work put us right in the middle of the film, bringing us into the experience as we hold our breath for the next new twist.

The scientific aspect for this movie is, for the most part, authentic, and while there are certain liberties taken, it is evident that the filmmakers wished for it to be as true to life as possible. Dalton throws out a lot of technical terms and phrases, making the sincere and believable. Allusions to eruptions and catastrophes of the past give the movie a sense of foreshadowed doom, while also keeping the suspense building. The overall effect this portion of the plot will have on you is overall intellectually backed up by facts and data, which keeps the movie real to life while keeping it moving.

The two main leads for the film are excellent in their roles, adding a lot to the experience. Pierce Brosnan is the ideal Harry Dalton: rough, rugged, and totally charming. He has the image of a loner who is looking for the right person. He also has a starkly emotional human side to his personality, as is shown in the beginning sequence when he loses his fiancee in a volcanic disaster. Linda Hamilton, playing Rachel, has a complex role of leader, damsel and mother. She does all three of them at different points, and her ability to combine her performance into all of them makes her performance the best of the film.

"Dante's Peak" is the kind of movie you watch with eagerness for the next scene, and then when it's over, all you want is more. The action comes to a screeching halt, and you've been throttled with so much of it already that to have it stop is murder. The movie is one that shakes the senses, and makes us believe in movies that have romance, suspense, intense action and rousing suspense.

Excellent movie with a realistic twist.
Many seem to have hashed "Volcano" which came out around the same time as "Dante's Peak" and it's a shame because both of them are highly realistic and te things that happen in them could literally happen in real life. Both of them are really excellent disaster flicks and are enough to really make you 'think' but even then they deliver incredible amounts of entertainment. In all honesty though, "Dante's Peak" is more realistic and has a more compelling twist to it due to the volcano's more destructive power.

In this case, a small town is thriving in the mountains of Washington state and has recently been declared one of the best places to live in in the United States. Dr. Harry Dalton, a scientist is sent to the vicinity to survey unusually high geological activity but one day he makes an alarming discovery that the volcano that the town sits on the base of, has come back to life and geological surveys have cofirmed that Dante's Peak is about to erupt in a cataclysmic eruption and wipe out the town and it's people. Rachel Wando, the town's mayor along with Dalton now must try to evacuate the town before the volcano erupts but their safety is stifled by their economic interests.

This is a really excellent and highly compelling movie. The special effects are absolutely thrilling and highly realistic and the movie's plot and script are very good. The lava and plumes of ash and dust are highly realistic looking and scary to watch as the volcano starts spewing out it's contents into the atmosphere and surrounding vicinity. The characters are excellent even though the acting could've been a little better but the acting for the most part is excellent by almost if not the entire cast.

I was thrilled to see this on the big screen because I have had a longtime fascination with volcanoes for almost my entire life and "Dante's Peak" succeeds in delivering a thrilling tone and is very enjoyable for most of its length. The DTS edition is absolutely incredible because the sound quality is a gargantuan improvement on both the VHS and older DVD editions and if you have a stereo system with speakers all around you, then hook them up and the surround audio speakers will make you feel almost like you're back at the movie theatre with the awesome sound quality.

If you can, get this movie whenever possible because it is a really excellent natural disaster thriller and delivers far more scares than these so called 'horror' movies because most of them are just mindless gorefests that are more gross than scary but "Dante's Peak" is scary because it is so realistic and such things could happen and could turn out much worse. For example Mt. Rainier near Seattle could erupt at any time and cause a lot of damage nearby and Seattle may be choked with dust if a full blown eruption occurs even though the city and most of its suburbs would pull through relatively unscathed apart from having a snow of volcanic ashes but it could cause social instability. Even Mt. St. Helen's caused a great deal of destruction and wiped out a large amount of forests around it. "Dante's Peak" is an excellent movie that should not be passed up. End of story.

Thar She Blows
Ever since seeing the preview, I have wanted to see Dante's Peak. While waiting for it to be released, a second film called Volcano suddenly popped up. Dante's Peak had Pierce Brosnan (playing a character named Dalton) and Volcano had Tommy Lee Jones. Peak also had the creative talents of Michael Crichton. Volcano had none. But, having finally seen Dante's Peak I have to say that Volcano was the better movie.

Brosnan is part of a national team that keeps an eye on volcanic activity. He is sent to the town of Dante's Peak to see if there is reason for further testing. He goes, he looks and he becomes convinced that the sleeping volcano will blow sometime soon. Unfortunately he has no real evidence. The rest of the team arrives and they can find no justifiable evidence. Guess what? Brosnan is right and the volcano blows. There is a rather amusing scene where in order to survive the shockwave, Brosnan and the town's mayor must seek shelter in some unstable mines (an idea that only works when the alternative is certain death). In the end there is no town but almost no casualties thanks to Brosnan and the rest of the team.

The scenes with the volcano erupting were quite spectacular but they were not enough to carry the film. It is an almost intellectual endeavor as opposed to the pulse-pounding of Crichton's previous film Twister. Obviously meant to ride the wave of Twister's success, Dante's Peak fails to make the grade. In Twister we cared about the research team and their work. In Peak all we are concerned with is how soon everyone will be convinced the volcano is unstable. Plus, several twisters buoy up a film better than one volcano (unless handled as it was in Volcano). So go ahead and see Dante's Peak if you want but you will probably agree that there is something just not right.

Gripping!
While it contains remarkably realistic special effects, those who have been told that "Dante's Peak" is merely a piece of "eye candy" can consider themselves among the woefully misinformed. It isn't a simple sugar-coated snack to be consumed and hastily digested; it is an elaborately composed symphony of a film. It contains riveting performances, breathtaking locales, a captivating love story and an extremely agile dog. Thus, the "eye candy" label would be ill-suited for this particularly film and more properly directed at other assembly-line disaster movies. Reader, I assure you, after one viewing you will understand: to watch "Dante's Peak" is to have your retinas treated to 109 minutes of cinematic fillet mignon.

The story involves the charmingly quaint town of Dante's Peak and its charmingly quaint inhabitants. While the town is the embodiment of peace and tranquility, there is trouble brewing beneath the surface. Geologist Harry Dalton (played with unwavering masculinity by Pierce Brosnan) and Mayor Rachel Wando (played with unwavering masculinity by Linda Hamilton) believe the town in danger of being destroyed by an unexpected eruption from the presumed-dormant neighboring volcano. Their quest to rescue the town meets resistance in the form of a stubborn city counsel, Dalton's ignorant boss and, of course, an enormous volcano.

It should be noted that "Dante's Peak" is the perfect star-vehicle for Pierce Brosnan. He is pitch-perfect as the resolute Dalton. In fact, it occurred to me while watching the film that nobody other than Brosnan could have played the role (he just looks like a "Harry Dalton," doesn't he?). In the face of Mother Nature's wrath, Brosnan provides the searing rivers of magma with a worthy human adversary. Early in the movie, his character is introduced vigorously doing a grueling set of pushups. Seeing this, we immediately think, 'The volcano doesn't stand a chance.' Indeed, Brosnan is a force of nature all his own.

The film itself is an uplifting one; a tribute to the human spirit. The only thing which disappoints me is that a sequel has yet to materialize. Years have passed since the film's initial release and it has failed to escape the consciousness of movie-goers. "Dante's Peak" has given us such rich characters and wonderfully-realized scenarios, who wouldn't want to witness the further exploits of Harry Dalton & Friends? Personally, upon first viewing the film, I envisioned a trilogy. I could imagine a sequel where the U.S. government calls Dalton out of retirement to stop the potential volcanic eruption of Mount Rushmore. Perhaps in the third installment Dalton & Co. could be thrust into the deep unknown of outer space as they investigate the unusual seismic activity of a dormant volcano on Mars. These sequels, I believe, would prove to be lucrative for the studio while also satiating the overwhelming public thirst for more "Dante's Peak."

Regardless of how many sequels are made, the original film will always remain a classic. A skillfully-crafted spectacle filled with wonderful performances and indelible images, you don't have to be a geologist to realize that "Dante's Peak" is a gem. ... Read more

Reviews (199)

The Best Historical Film of the Year (2001)
THIRTEEN DAYS is simply outstanding! One of the best historical films I have ever seen! It is even more "History" then "Hollywood".

I think the Cuban Missile Crisis is one of the most important events in American History. However, many younger Americans know so very little about the very important events depicted in this carefully planned and conscientiously researched film.

Steven Culp's portrayal of Robert F. Kennedy was simply uncanny. It has got to be difficult to act as a person so many people know so well. I thought his performance was fabulous. Kevin Costner played the role of presidential aide Kenneth O'Donnell. His performance was very good however; his Boston accent was terrible and really does get on your nerves, especially in the beginning of the film. Bruce Greenwood plays John F. Kennedy and does this great president justice.

I highly recommend the infini film DVD version of this movie. The Beyond the Movie features are wonderful. The Historical Figures Commentary features archival audio of John F. Kennedy, Robery McNamara, P. O'Donnell, Pierre Salinger, Sergie Khrushchev, and many others. There is a 48 minute documentary entitled "Roots of the Cuban Missile Crisis" which features film footage from the era along with modern interviews covering post World War II United States and Soviet relations. There are also historical biographies of all the major figures in the movie too.

If you enjoy historical movies this one is a must see!

On The Brink
In October 1962, the world came closer to nuclear extinction than it ever had before or would again. When a U-2 spy plane photographed the installation of Soviet ballistic missiles on the island of Cuba, the United States and its president John F. Kennedy were faced with a monumental dilemma: how to force the Soviets to withdraw the missiles without touching off World War III. That is the story ingeniously told in the terribly underrated political drama THIRTEEN DAYS, one of the best films of that type since ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN.

Seen through the eyes of JFK presidential adviser Kenneth O'Donnell (Kevin Costner), THIRTEEN DAYS is a fascinating look at the machinations that went on in the highest circles of power in Washington during that traumatic time known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. Bruce Greenwood, known prior to this for playing bad guys (DOUBLE JEOPARDY; RULES OF ENGAGEMENT), gives an extremely credible portrayal of John Kennedy, who finds himself caught between a rock and a hard place. On one side are the Joint Chiefs of Staff, led by staunch Cold Warriors General Max Taylor and Dean Acheson, pushing for an invasion and surgical strike against the missiles. On the other is the president's own conscience, for he knows that anything as rash as what the Joint Chiefs are leaning hard on could mean the end of life on Earth.

Alongside Greenwood's sterling performance, Steven Culp portrays his brother Bobby Kennedy with the right tact and straight-forward believability. Costner's heavy Boston accent is not always credible, but this is only a minor flaw in his performance as Ken O'Donnell, which is otherwise quite good. A true standout performance is Michael Fairman's portrayal of UN ambassador Adlai Stevenson, a former presidential candidate and an old "political cat" who denounces the Soviet Union's stonewalling at the United Nations in front of the world--"Yes or No?! Don't bother to wait for the translation"; "I'm prepared to stay here until Hell freezes over, if that's what it takes!"

David Self's screenplay is very cagily based on White House tapes, documents, and memos from that two-week edge-of-the-seat rollercoaster ride the human race had to endure. It all comes together under the crisp, taut direction of Roger Donaldson, who directed Costner in 1987's NO WAY OUT. Even though it is a rather long film at 146 minutes, it plays like Great American theatre, the kind that Hollywood has somehow left behind in its rush for big bucks.

Like any film drama based on real events, besides the slight fictionalizations, a person's knowledge of these events might make THIRTEEN DAYS predictable. But the reason these kinds of films work is not so much the end result as to finding out how the end result was achieved. That is the real triumph of this movie, and why it ranks very close to ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN, in my book.

Boring
I saw this film in a history class I was taking and it definitely was not viewed for the sake of accuracy, more as a comparative piece to an actual historical documentary and I must say I found the documentary of still pictures & voice overs more entertaining. I struggled to stay awake during this drag of a movie.

Spell binding from beginning to end
I had seen this movie only in bits before on TV but had never seen the whole thing. I recently purchased it and within the last week have literally watched it again and again. I can only vaguely remember hearing the words "Cuban Missile Crisis" when I was 8 years old and had no idea just how close we came to WWIII. This is an excellent, attention holding film. I loved Kevin Costner in this and also "JFK - a must see also". Both Greenwood and Culp did a wonderful job of portraying the Kennedy brothers. I would highly recommend this movie. Use both this and JFK to educate your children, if you can get past the foul language somehow.

COMPARE THE CUBAN CRISIS WITH IRAN-CONTRA
"Thirteen Days" re-created the Cuban Missile Crisis, elevating the Kennedys to virtual sainthood while painting Curt LeMay as an advocate for nuclear holocaust. It was a fantastic picture, like many of them, but in it is an interesting scene in which Kenny O'Donnell, played by Kevin Costner, tells a Navy plot to lie to LeMay about being shot at, because LeMay would supposedly have ordered a strike if he had been. The film paints this lie as the right thing to do because it advocates the Kennedy's position, which was to maintain level heads and a calm demeanor. However, in 1987 Ollie North was excoriated by the Left for lying about the funding of anti-Communist guerrillas, which was Reagan's position. Funny about that.

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

Reviews (13)

A Comic Hostage Drama?
That's the basic problem. This film can't seem to make up its mind whether it wants to be a comedy or a hostage drama.

The acting is really pretty good -- how can it not be with Robin Williams, Tim Robbins and Fran Drescher? But the audience never knows whether to laugh or cry.

Five stars for creativity and taking a big chance. Unfortunately it doesn't work.

The Reasons They Hated It Are The Reasons I Love It
Critics (and I guess most audiences) seem to dislike this movie for looking like one kind of movie and yet turning into another and for not deciding whether it wants to be a comedy or a hostage drama. The beauty of the film the many times I have seen it is that it DOES make one both "laugh and cry," or, if not cry, "laugh and care" as though the characters are worth emoting with a little. Why is that bad? I don't know.

The other major criticism is similar, it is that the film should be either about sly carsalesman in a competition for their jobs or it should be about a hostage crisis and not spend the entire exposition setting us up for a car sales competition. Again, that the movie should pick what it is about more clearly, is the critique. This criticism seems thoroughly not to feel with the movie but impose expectations of formula unfairly on a surprising movie. The movie sets up the audience to empathize with the screwed up priorities of its screwed up protagonist (Robin Williams) only to put those priorities and all of his life in perspective with the insurgance of Tim Robbins' character into the situation.

It is a great movie about rediscovering what is important when there is a gun to one's head. AND a really funny comedy, so it is a movie that works both dramatically and comedically and genuinely turns me from a little sleazed by the beginning to feeling a little warm and gooey inside by the end. If only more films moved in that direction, daring to break with formula and introduce genuine drama while still managing to uplift the spirit by the end in a way that feels genuine, maybe we'd have more than one or two comedies worth watching every year.
Plus, Tim Robbins and Robin Williams are perfect in their roles and there's always the pre-nanny Fran Drescher to get a kick out of.

A movie that is definitely worthwile and deserving of the DVD release that it likely will be unthinkingly and unjustly denied.

Ex-Mork turns to selling cars!
Robin Williams,the brilliant comedian who delighted audiences starring on the ABC sitcom "Mork & Mindy",is a car salesman named Joey O'Brien. Joey is divorced with a teenage daughter who lives with her mother and Joey's ex-wife Tina(Pamela Reed). Joey also is having an affair with a married woman,Joy Munchack(pre-The Nanny Fran Drescher). First,Joey helps a funeral director place a coffin inside a pick-up truck,with the new widow nearby. Joey sells the widow a car before her husband's interment. "You sleaze! You are the scum of the earth!",the widow tells Joey. Tim Robbins is Larry,the violently crazy husband of Donna(Annabella Sciorra),one of Joey's co-workers. All hell breaks loose at Turgeon Auto when Larry crashes through the establishment's windows via his motorcycle with a semi-automatic gun in hand. He wants to kill the guy who's having an affair with Donna. Larry holds everybody at TA hostage,even Joey. Joey confessed to Larry,that Joey was having an affair with Donna. Joey has two other problems. He has to sell 12 cars by closing time to keep the business alive and his and Tina's daughter Lisa is missing. Joey confuses Lisa with Lila(Lori Petty),Joey's freaky fashion designer girlfriend. Happily,Lisa safely returns with her boyfriend Louie. Director Roger Donaldson previously directed Tom Cruise in 1988's COCKTAIL. If you love cars,this film is for you.

I will love this movie forever!!!
My mom bought a copy of this video at a garage sale when I was about thirteen and I've watched it over and over and over for the past ten years. I've never gotten tired of the emotional ups and downs that this story puts you through. The script is wonderful and the acting is exceptional. In fact the movie is really great all around.
I think that one of the things about this movie that appealed to me as a teenager was the idea that life can't be defined as solely comedy or drama. Sometimes the you end up caring about people who are upsetting your existence and sometimes the people who upset your existence are ones that you care about. In the end, though, things are more or less okay. I think this movie does a wonderful job of illustrating that notion, although on a much exagerrated level. (Really,how boring would a realistic movie be???)
Recently I've noticed that I've lost that copy my mom found for twenty-five cents and I'm excited to buy it on dvd.I'd highly recommend this movie and have for ten years.

Pure Americana
For us living outside the US Cadillac Man is a masterpiece of a light comedy, a sort of essential oil of Americana.
People and situations are both funny, real and so human, so far from the boring, rigid realities of old Europe.
We love it. ... Read more

Amazon.com

This 1988 effort at creating a milestone coming-of-age story with the impact of The Graduate is commendable, but the results are mostly shaky and garish. Tom Cruise plays an ambitious young man who arrives in New York City and becomes known as a flashy bartender in a hot club. After falling for Elisabeth Shue's girl-next-door character, however, his desire for success causes him to travel down a more selfish path with an older woman. The film, directed by Roger Donaldson (Bounty), is built on entirely on appearances (Cruise's star charisma) and flash (the way Cruise and his character's bartending mentor, played by Bryan Brown, toss bottles of booze around). The more interesting and underlying themes, however, particularly the hero's obvious Oedipal dilemmas, are lost beneath this window dressing, as if everyone involved was afraid to commit to the story's intrinsic value. Cruise fans might want to take a look at this, but otherwise there isn't much to recommend it. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (60)

Cocktail: More Than the Sum of its Parts
In most Tom Cruise movies, he is in earnest, with his Julia Roberts smile often carrying the day. It is to his early films that the viewer must turn to see him enjoying himself. In COCKTAIL, director Roger Donaldson shows a side to Cruise that seems to have disappeared shortly after the release of this movie. Cruise is a bartender who hooks up with fellow bartender Bryan Brown in what at first seems to be a buddy movie. The chemistry between the two is palpable with Brown as the sage guru of alcohol and Cruise as his quick study grasshopper. Had the movie limited itself to that level, the result almost certainly would have been more of interest with Cruise taking on the George role and Brown as Lenny from OF MICE AND MEN. Enter rich girl Elizabeth Shue as the romantic interest for Cruise. She tries mightily to generate sparks but she is overshadowed by the male bonding between Brown and Cruise.

What makes this movie sizzle is not the plot, in whose predictability one has seen dozens of times before, but in the dazzling melding of song and surprisingly competent acting by all concerned, especially by Bryan Brown, who shows one happy side to the world but does not permit anyone to see the darker layer underneath. In a film that is clearly designed to appeal more to a music hungry audience than to a critic who seeks traditional ways to judge a movie, COCKTAIL stands as a vastly entertaining movie that, if you delve beneath the color and noise of a throbbing musical score, you will also see a film that has a few enduring comments about the need of one man to find respect from his peers even if it means that this education comes at at high price.

So Awful that it's Amazing!
Every now and then a film comes along that has such poor acting, insane plot twists, and utterly absurd screenplay that you can't help but enjoy it....alot! "Cocktail" is just that film! With Tom Cruise as an arrogant, young, uber-bartender, the always amusing Bryan Brown as his English mentor, and Elizabeth Shue as the woman Cruise falls for, you've got quite a cast! Throw in some startling and bizarre apperances by Kelly Lynch, Gina Gershon, and that white guy from the Jeffersons and you get an interesting ensemble.
Watch it just once, and some of the amazing one-liners will stick in your head ("beer is for breakfast around here...drunk or begone," or just about any of Coughlin's Laws). The banter between Cruise and Brown is quite interesting, as is their highly coordinated bar stunts. Shue is fun to watch in every scene, though not as fun as she was when she was getting it from all those guys backdoor-style in "Leaving Las Vegas."
All in all, "Cocktail" will puzzle you, startle you, surprise you, and, like a good bartender, keep you coming back, round after round!

Cocktails Galore!
Brian Flanagan(Tom Cruise) plans with his middle-aged buddy Doug(Bryan Brown) to open a cocktail bar Cocktails & Dreams. He studies bartending at a community college. The professor(Paul Benedict of TV's The Jeffersons) threatened to fail Brian after making a harsh comment. At his first bartending job,while fresh in college,Brian doesn't toss around the booze and glasses like novice bartenders do. As his skills improved,Brian had the patrons singing,"Addicted To Love",the late Robert Palmer's hit song. While on holiday in Jamaica with Doug and Doug's new bride(Kelly Lynch),Brian meets a pretty girl named Jordyne Mooney(Elisabeth Shue). Jordyne's girlfriend passed out on the beach after a champagne binge and a sunbath. Brian saved the girlfriend's life. Brian and Jordyne are romantically involved until Jordyne catches Brian with another woman,this one wealthy like Doug's new wife. Doug made a bet that Brian can't hook up with a wealthy woman. Brian accepted the bet since it was a dare. When Brian visits Jerry's Deli back in New York,where Jordyne works as a waitress,Jordyne drenches him with various entrees. Brian showed up at Jerry's to apologize to Jordyne for hurting her,but had no chance to do so. So Brian goes to Jordyne's penthouse apartment where he meets her father Richard(Laurence Luckinbill). Richard offers $10,000 to "get Brian out of Jordyne's life". Jordyne's is now pregnant with twins and Brian is the father. Brian tears up Richard's written check("This is how hung up on money I am."). Doug wound up drinking himself to death on a vessel. Brian returns to the Mooneys' apartment and proposes to Jordyne. At the newly opened Flanagan's,Brian and his new wife are toasted by Brian's uncle,who himself owns a tavern. Director Roger Donaldson subsequently directed 1990's CADILLAC MAN.

Molotov cocktail please!
God what a turkey! But it was the 80's afterall.

good gawd!
this 'movie' is the most excerable lesson in bad marketing, mass production over art and a super egotistical 'star' whose hang ups about his height have overwhelmed to the degree that everything he does, every choice he makes, further renders him as hollow.
this is TOM 'VERY DULL KEN DOLL' CRUISE at his worst.
this whole movie out to prove his studliness 'hey gals watch me shake this tom collins'.
ooooh baby.
rake up another million tommy boy,
but in years to come you'll be forgotten (unlike the far greater artist; johnny depp, who turned down this piece of junk, as he did top gun and days of thunder). ... Read more

Reviews (26)

INTRICATELY CRAFTED POLITICAL THRILLER
If only the ending could be just a tad different, this would be twice as popular as it ever got. The topnotch, passionately made film largely goes unsung, a bit like "The Siege," only because it threw away all the riveting plot twists when it reached its ho-hum finale (some may call it a great final twist).

Quibbles aside, this fast paced nail-biter may be one of the quickest 2 hours of cinema ever filmed. Costner plays a Navy commander assigned to a high level post in the DOD, where he, and the Secretary of Defense become embroiled in a murder/scandal. The bulk of the film chronicles the Departments Under Secretary's attempts to quash the problem. A high level Russian mole in the U.S. government is being pursued throughout the film. The chase keeps narrowing down more and more drawing the government officials closer and closer to the culprit. The tension became almost unbearable as the mole was about to be trapped.

Costner, for a change, is really convincing in his role, the tight dialog helping him immeasurably. Sean Young actually smiles in this movie and looks twice as good as all her other newer movies put together. Gene Hackman has the usual commanding screen presence.

All in all, a fabulous politically charged thriller you ought not to miss!

Good suspense, excellent on first viewing
An early Kevin Costner film which many argue is one of his best. Filmed in 1987, "No Way Out" focusses on a cover up where Kevin Costner is assigned to frame the wrong person. The problem is, he is the wrong person. He then has to find a way to identify the true killer while saving his own butt in the process.
Sean Young stars as an unconvincing lover of both Kevin Costner and Gene Hackman. As one reviewer said, she does not pull off enough charm to convince the viewer that she is worthy of such attention from these men.

How does "No Way Out" fare 15 years on? I admit, I loved this film when it first came out, but now it just reeks of the 80's. Bad music, bad costumes, and quite poor acting from Sean Young and Kevin Costner. Kevin comes across as if he is in a daze the entire movie. Still, for those who have not seen it before, there are some definite suspenseful moments.

DVD SUMMARY: An early DVD release by MGM, and despite it being labelled as "16:9 enhanced", it is not. Nevertheless, the picture is surprisingly clear for a film of its age. The sound quality is just average.

A well-made political thriller with some pleasant twists...
Having lived around the outskirts of Washington, D.C. myself, it's always a nice treat to watch a film that literally takes place right where I have stood, at one time or another. It's just very fun to know that a famous movie was shot where you once walked. (Although I now regret visiting the set of "101 Dalmations" in London--that's one story I don't often tell people with a smile on my face.)

At the beginning of "No Way Out," we get to see Washington from above as the camera glides through the air, swerving and going around in circles, until we land inside a small interrogation room housing a convicted murderer (Kevin Costner), who is in fact innocent and has been framed. "When's he coming out?" he asks as he walks over to a one-way mirror and looks through the glass. Right as we start to think, "Whom is he talking to?" (Or "Does he mean Hackman?" if you've read anything about the film), we fall backwards in time and land in the same place some number of months earlier.

"No Way Out" is a government thriller about an officer wrongly accused of murder--when the Secretary of State himself is the culprit trying to avoid a scandal by launching a top-secret cover-up. Costner is the officer, and Gene Hackman is the Secretary of State. After meeting a beautiful young woman (Sean Young) at a party, Costner takes her into a limo and they have a quickie--before they even know each other's names.

What's this got to do with anything? Why is my review so choppy and linear-challenged? We'll get there.

The relationship between the two turns into a big romance until Costner is sent out to sea, where he saves a sailor from falling overboard and is praised in all the papers--where his girlfriend back home sees his face and is reminded of him. (Now she's the mistress of Hackman, by the way--that complicates matters quite a bit.)

When he arrives back home, they go on a romantic getaway--but Hackman finds out and accidentally murders the girl while trying to get her to tell him the name of her lover. Ready to turn himself in, Hackman is persuaded by his gay friend to cover everything up and blame someone else. The gay man even goes and gets rid of the evidence himself--with pride, I might add. (It's like Mr. Burns and Smithers from "The Simpsons"--the latter loves the former, but the former is too powerful and naive to ever notice.)

The clever twist in "No Way Out" is that Costner knows Hackman killed Young, but Hackman doesn't know that he knows that. (Get it?) As he runs around the Pentagon and other government establishments, the evidence starts to pile up against him--the negative off the back of a Polaroid camera, a few eyewitnesses who claim they saw a man outside Young's apartment the night of her murder, etc.

The great thing about "No Way Out," and another factor that separates it from the rest of its kind, is something that's hard to explain to someone who hasn't seen the film. Essentially, no one knows who killed the girl--and Costner isn't placed under arrest straight away because no one has uncovered any evidence pointing towards him. As the negative off the back of the Polaroid is scanned through a computer and painstakingly altered to reveal the man's face on the photo, Costner runs around trying to eliminate evidence before anyone finds out. The photo will eventually reveal his own face, yes, but he has a number of hours until then to find the true evidence that convicts Hackman.

This is a smart thriller with a few pleasant twists, particularly the very end. It's not a great movie by any means, but it's well-acted and solidly directed by Roger Donaldson, who also made last year's "The Recruit" with Al Pacino and Colin Farrell. The guy obviously likes government thrillers. This one is a lot more plausible than "The Recruit," too.

A really good politcal thriller. Good suspense film.
Kevin Costner, Gene Hackman, Sean Young, and supporting cast all turn in excellent performances in this underrated but very effective political thriller. This is a very good and effective movie dealing with inside Washington politics and intrigue, and international espionage. The plot moves at a breakneck pace, there are few draggy lulls of the type that plague so many movies these days, and the film never fails to capture and retain the viewer's interest. This is a great "beer and chips" film for a Friday evening.

No spoilers here, but just let it be said that as one watches the film, it twists and turns and continues to surprise the viewer. Costner is very effective here, Gene Hackman has his usual presence, and overall, this film solidly succeeds in its goal, which is to entertain. Recommended.

Gold-Standard of Political Thrillers now on DVD
Often, a film is compared to "No Way Out"--it's a gold standard of political thrillers. Made in the 80's, it holds up well in its genre. Now it's on DVD (without many "extras"--just the release trailers) and that's worthwhile if you are a political thriller fan.

Gene Hackman does his usual excellent job as a power-monger Secretary of Defense. He plays it subdued with restrained violence; you know this is a man capable of nearly anything. Will Patton is stunning as the bootlicking lackey, and Costner is reasonably good as the hapless pawn (?) of the Secretary's machinations. Sean Young plays a nervy, Washington bimbo. She's annoying, but actually, that seems to be part of the character and I thought she was superbly cast. The horror of the 80's overly-ornate costuming and gaudy makeup are the only hint of the age of this film.

The story is laden with clues dropped in a seemingly meaningless way and the tension builds superbly, racheting suddenly with a surprise in the action. At the end, another surprise is delicious, especially if you picked up all the red herrings (I didn't. Maybe you will.) If you love political or espionage thrillers, this one has a great payoff. ... Read more

Reviews (46)

Fun and Sexy Alien flick.
A secret experiment involves human DNA and alien DNA to make a female being who is a hybrid of both, it's now on the loose in Los Angeles only wanting to mate and kill.

Exciting Sci-fi horror thriller with good if slimy special effects not for the squeamish, but "Sil" the alien woman played by Natasha Hensreigh is absolutely gorgeous all the way as a perfect woman! if you enjoy Sci-fi movies then rent this one.

Also recommended: Return of the Aliens- The Deady Spawn, John Carpenter's The Thing, Alien, Ghosts of Mars, The Fifth Element, Lifeforce, Pod People ( MST3K episode), Aliens, Critters 1 & 2, Event Horizon, Total Recall, Starship Troopers, Predator, Contamination, Dog Soldiers, The X-Files Movie, Resident Evil, Predator 2, Alien3, Alien Resurrection, and The Terminator.

even the greatest ideas can become a failiure in wrong hands
Through SETI research, scientists have come up with an alien DNA and instructions on how to combine it with human DNA so the product could adapt to life on Earth. Initially excited, the scientists working on the project soon get scared of their achievement, and want to gas the little girl, while the team leader Fitch (Kingsley) can't hide tears. Unfortunatly, the creature's got different plans... The opening scene's fantastic.

I don't get it? How can someone take such a great idea and turn it into something as messed up? A few monts old girl who looks like a 12-year-old escapes from the laboratory and learns of betrayal and malice. What a potential for a great story! E.T. would have been utterly forgotten was this script written by someone with but a speck of talent! A creature who half belongs to this world is set free in it, an utter tabula rasa, fighting with it's dual personality and trying to get a grip over her existance while pursued by her creator and a specialist team assembled to kill her (a freelance hitman, an empath, a molecular biologist and another guy, I forgot his profession). Can you see the potential? What would it be like if a human was thrown in the world with no knowledge whatsoever? Better yet, an alien - human crossbreed? How does it learn? What are it's instincts? How does it feel, how does it react after being so betrayed by the only creatures she knew? What's it like to have the only person that ever showed sympathy twoard you (Fitch) suddenly turn against you? How do you react to knowledge you can fully communicate to these people around you, since the team has an empath on? What happens when you figure out just WHAT are you? What happens once your people from outta space realise you're not in on their plan, 'cause you can't be, 'cause they didn't teach you anything? And furthermore, the movie has KINGSLEY on crew, and the other actors who aren't bad if they only have something to work with. This could've been GREAT.

But is this pursued? No. Instead, the girl transforms (in a very lame scene, you'll notice if you saw a lot of horror movies)into a sex bomb whose only idea is to procreate and while it tries to do this, it kills everything in it's way and showing a lot of her body while doing so. Whenever the story tries being insightful, it quickly backs away. There's some lame psychological transformation of a trusting child to an omnipotent creature as she realises she's much better (physically) than humans, but it's set in the 356th plan of the story... Pah. It's hardly got any logic in it at all. Fitch, Kingsley's character, is great because it's Kingsley, but everything else just isn't worth it, even tho the actors did GREAT considering what they had to work with - a lame plot, lame subplots and silly dialogues.

A good passtime, I saw worse movies, granted... so if you're in for a good time and some fun with a lot of gore and sex, the movie's OK; but if you want something more, pass on this one.

Remarkably restrained
Okay, face it. This is not a great movie. It can be enjoyable to watch, and Natasha Henstridge is ... and fun. Having said that, there is no doubt that the plot tends to be silly at times, and there are more than a few holes in the script.
The odd thing about this film is how little "blood and gore" it really shows. So many movies go overboard in that department. And although there are a lot of uncomfortable scenes in the film, without exception they do not linger any longer than absolutely necessary. Lighting, camera angles, and cuts are designed to leave much to the imagination rather than parading body parts until you want to -- well, you get the idea. An awful lot of moviemakers could learn something from this "little" film.
I must admit -- I enjoy this film. (I also admit that I don't always watch the last scene.) But most of all, I have a list of movies that I wish showed the kind of (don't laugh) subtlety in cinematography that this one does. Think about it.
And enjoy the film. It is supposed to be fun. And it is.

THE THUMB SCENE...
...alien hottie kidnaps girl - ties her up in bed and decides to crash for the night next to her hostage. They both wake up in the morning - apparently kidnapped chick was tired too - however, at dawn she starts her whimpering because mean alien hottie is a tad bit threatening and is not a bit interested in hearing pleas of innocence. Alien babe hatches an idea and proceeds to cut her thumb off in front of tied up hostage who predicatively amps up the scarred voltage accordingly. Alien then cuts off hostage chick's thumb and leaves by herself. What is she up too? She dumps the kidnapped girl's severed thumb in the garbage. Later on: she ends up being chased in the Hollywood hills. The good guys are on the trail and with helo's too! After a few minutes of intense chasing the Specie drives randomly off the road and down an embankment with hostage tied in the passenger seat (we must assume that she went back to the house and got her). Remember creature-feature fans, that our Alien has never been to the Hollywood hills and does not know the land. Well well, as luck would have it there is and Explosive Box that the car is going to hit...alien dives out just in time and car explodes. Wow! So, thumb is taken back to HQ where (now, this isn't shown so I'm just guessing) they confirm that it was from the alien on the lamb - never mind that the fried corps was in the passenger seat. This movie is about as dumb as it gets, but still - it ain't too bad. Have fun and enjoy the crappy movies in life!

Fun, But Not Up To Its Potential.
The main problem I saw with Species was the uneven plot. At the beginning of the movie, young Sil (played for 15 minutes by Dawson's Creek's Michelle Williams) is set up to be gassed. Sil is an alien life form caught by some secret company that monitors extra terrestrial activity. As the gas spews out, Sil jumps through the glass and escapes. At the beginning, she doesn't understand or realize why she is evil, and that was a potential interesting story arc. In several scenes, she questions the way she is and wants to know why. These parts of the film are thoughtful and rather interesting. Sil grows quickly into an adult alien who is in the body of the super hot Natasha Henstridge. When she feels like it, she morphs into an alien creature designed by none other than Alien's H.R. Giger (though not quite as impressive as that film's monster). After about 45 minutes, Sil's wonder for the way she is goes out the window and she just goes on a killing rampage, going home with horny men and slaughtering them in various ways. The movies still fun from this point, but Sil becomes less interesting as a character and just becomes a monster. The special effects are gooey and well done, the acting is fine (aside from the stupid psychic dude, who's character I hated) and Sil looks great without a shirt on (these scenes are much to short, though). Overall, Species had potential at the beginning to make Sil into the good guy and her hunters into the bad guys, but instead it took the easy way out and made her a bad girl hunted down by good guys. It's like two movies blended together: a well made, compelling one and a silly B-movie.

The DVD from MGM is good. It has an aspect ratio of 2:50:1 (or something like that) and it anamorphic for widescreen TVs. It is presented in 5.1 surround and features a trailer. I would have liked a commentary by Natasha Henstridge, but alas, the disc is bare boned. ... Read more

Reviews (199)

The Best Historical Film of the Year (2001)
THIRTEEN DAYS is simply outstanding! One of the best historical films I have ever seen! It is even more "History" then "Hollywood".

I think the Cuban Missile Crisis is one of the most important events in American History. However, many younger Americans know so very little about the very important events depicted in this carefully planned and conscientiously researched film.

Steven Culp's portrayal of Robert F. Kennedy was simply uncanny. It has got to be difficult to act as a person so many people know so well. I thought his performance was fabulous. Kevin Costner played the role of presidential aide Kenneth O'Donnell. His performance was very good however; his Boston accent was terrible and really does get on your nerves, especially in the beginning of the film. Bruce Greenwood plays John F. Kennedy and does this great president justice.

I highly recommend the infini film DVD version of this movie. The Beyond the Movie features are wonderful. The Historical Figures Commentary features archival audio of John F. Kennedy, Robery McNamara, P. O'Donnell, Pierre Salinger, Sergie Khrushchev, and many others. There is a 48 minute documentary entitled "Roots of the Cuban Missile Crisis" which features film footage from the era along with modern interviews covering post World War II United States and Soviet relations. There are also historical biographies of all the major figures in the movie too.

If you enjoy historical movies this one is a must see!

On The Brink
In October 1962, the world came closer to nuclear extinction than it ever had before or would again. When a U-2 spy plane photographed the installation of Soviet ballistic missiles on the island of Cuba, the United States and its president John F. Kennedy were faced with a monumental dilemma: how to force the Soviets to withdraw the missiles without touching off World War III. That is the story ingeniously told in the terribly underrated political drama THIRTEEN DAYS, one of the best films of that type since ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN.

Seen through the eyes of JFK presidential adviser Kenneth O'Donnell (Kevin Costner), THIRTEEN DAYS is a fascinating look at the machinations that went on in the highest circles of power in Washington during that traumatic time known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. Bruce Greenwood, known prior to this for playing bad guys (DOUBLE JEOPARDY; RULES OF ENGAGEMENT), gives an extremely credible portrayal of John Kennedy, who finds himself caught between a rock and a hard place. On one side are the Joint Chiefs of Staff, led by staunch Cold Warriors General Max Taylor and Dean Acheson, pushing for an invasion and surgical strike against the missiles. On the other is the president's own conscience, for he knows that anything as rash as what the Joint Chiefs are leaning hard on could mean the end of life on Earth.

Alongside Greenwood's sterling performance, Steven Culp portrays his brother Bobby Kennedy with the right tact and straight-forward believability. Costner's heavy Boston accent is not always credible, but this is only a minor flaw in his performance as Ken O'Donnell, which is otherwise quite good. A true standout performance is Michael Fairman's portrayal of UN ambassador Adlai Stevenson, a former presidential candidate and an old "political cat" who denounces the Soviet Union's stonewalling at the United Nations in front of the world--"Yes or No?! Don't bother to wait for the translation"; "I'm prepared to stay here until Hell freezes over, if that's what it takes!"

David Self's screenplay is very cagily based on White House tapes, documents, and memos from that two-week edge-of-the-seat rollercoaster ride the human race had to endure. It all comes together under the crisp, taut direction of Roger Donaldson, who directed Costner in 1987's NO WAY OUT. Even though it is a rather long film at 146 minutes, it plays like Great American theatre, the kind that Hollywood has somehow left behind in its rush for big bucks.

Like any film drama based on real events, besides the slight fictionalizations, a person's knowledge of these events might make THIRTEEN DAYS predictable. But the reason these kinds of films work is not so much the end result as to finding out how the end result was achieved. That is the real triumph of this movie, and why it ranks very close to ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN, in my book.

Boring
I saw this film in a history class I was taking and it definitely was not viewed for the sake of accuracy, more as a comparative piece to an actual historical documentary and I must say I found the documentary of still pictures & voice overs more entertaining. I struggled to stay awake during this drag of a movie.

Spell binding from beginning to end
I had seen this movie only in bits before on TV but had never seen the whole thing. I recently purchased it and within the last week have literally watched it again and again. I can only vaguely remember hearing the words "Cuban Missile Crisis" when I was 8 years old and had no idea just how close we came to WWIII. This is an excellent, attention holding film. I loved Kevin Costner in this and also "JFK - a must see also". Both Greenwood and Culp did a wonderful job of portraying the Kennedy brothers. I would highly recommend this movie. Use both this and JFK to educate your children, if you can get past the foul language somehow.

COMPARE THE CUBAN CRISIS WITH IRAN-CONTRA
"Thirteen Days" re-created the Cuban Missile Crisis, elevating the Kennedys to virtual sainthood while painting Curt LeMay as an advocate for nuclear holocaust. It was a fantastic picture, like many of them, but in it is an interesting scene in which Kenny O'Donnell, played by Kevin Costner, tells a Navy plot to lie to LeMay about being shot at, because LeMay would supposedly have ordered a strike if he had been. The film paints this lie as the right thing to do because it advocates the Kennedy's position, which was to maintain level heads and a calm demeanor. However, in 1987 Ollie North was excoriated by the Left for lying about the funding of anti-Communist guerrillas, which was Reagan's position. Funny about that.

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

Reviews (2)

nice music
french composer francis lai wrote the music to this film. he's also written the score for love story , a man and a woman and les miserables - 1995 french version. i love to watch the film because of spacek's great acting as well as the emotional impact of the score.

Based on a True Story!
A little while Ago we rented the Movie Marie: A True Story which has a fantastic cast. Sissy does an excellent Job playing a woman who is working her way up the latter of Politics after she left her abusive husband with her three kids. She becomes a woman who looks through papers and decides who will be released from prison, and who won't, and when Marie discovers a problem in the System, she also discovers that some people, Including the Mayor, are taking payoffs to set Rapers and Murderers free, back into society, to harm again. You definetly want to see this movie, but I'd suggest renting it first,................ ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Could have happened in New Zealand
This film had some impact on thoughtful people in New Zealand between its release and the end of the conservative Muldoon administration in 1984. The prime minister in Sleeping Dogs behaves in ways strikingly similar to NZ Prime Minister Robert Muldoon's policies, 1975-1984. Faced with economic decline, Muldoon attacked immigrants, anti-apartheid protesters, homosexuals, trade unionists, indeed any interest he thought he could use to divert attention from his government's performance. Perhaps it's a testament to how stoic New Zealanders are that an insurgency of the sort depicted in this film did not develop in this small South Pacific nation. The film departs from C.K.Stead's novella, "Smith's Dream" upon which it is based, in three main respects. First, the "man alone" theme is sold much more gently in the novel than here. In the film, Smith's Kiwi independence is at times a violent impulse. Second, the link between the secret police commander and Smith is much clearer in Stead's book. In the film, we know they are familiar with each other but not why. It's therefore hard to understand how they relate to each other subsequently. Third, the insurgency is a communist one in the novella. In the film, this isn't clear and for the most part the cold war links are not made (except for Warren Oates' post-Vietnam US military advisers), making it harder to see the events in context. I assume the intent on the part of the screenwriters was to avoid anything that took our attention away from the "man alone" theme. One of the screenwriters and the actor who plays the character "Bullen" in the film - the multitalented Ian Mune - has appeared in many NZ films since the early 1970s, including "The Piano." He has an amusing - to me anyway - cameo in "Lord of the Rings" as a town watchman who challenges the wraiths outside the village with the pub.

Neil stars in New Zealand/ U.S film debut
The first film New Zealand film ever to be released in the U.S reflects the political and social issues of NW during the late 1970's early 80's. Neil stars as a political outcast that leaves his wife and child behind after being alienated by the oppressive government and a workers strike gone wrong. Interesting story line is confusing to follow and some odd direction bring down the points a little. Although, it is important for U.S viewers to remember NOT to get caught up in the specific issues within the film that we do not understand, because after all, we do not live in New Zealand, and could not possibly come to fully comprehend the political issues of the time period. I recomend that viewers pay attention more to the characters and the interesting course they take rather than the actual issues presented in the film, because they will prove to be hard to follow.

The accent does it!
I found this film really interesting just able to listen to the New Zealand accent! Its so interesting to see a whole film in that accent, most films one sees usually being made in hollywood etc. So, it gives a bit of insight into New Zealand also, it was also the first New Zealand film released in the US. The film, made in the late 70s, obviously in the middle of the cold war, has a background with one government trying to keep in power, and then group of guerilla revolutionaries! Very funny senario to imagine in little New Zealand. Sam Neill plays a guy, so it says on the blurb, 'running from a broken marriage' and then he gets caught in the middle of the government and revolutionaries, both dangerous and willing to go to extrodinary lengths and violence to acheive their ends. The film also shows some of the beauty of the New Zealand landscape. I found this movie very enjoyable. ... Read more

Reviews (46)

Fun and Sexy Alien flick.
A secret experiment involves human DNA and alien DNA to make a female being who is a hybrid of both, it's now on the loose in Los Angeles only wanting to mate and kill.

Exciting Sci-fi horror thriller with good if slimy special effects not for the squeamish, but "Sil" the alien woman played by Natasha Hensreigh is absolutely gorgeous all the way as a perfect woman! if you enjoy Sci-fi movies then rent this one.

Also recommended: Return of the Aliens- The Deady Spawn, John Carpenter's The Thing, Alien, Ghosts of Mars, The Fifth Element, Lifeforce, Pod People ( MST3K episode), Aliens, Critters 1 & 2, Event Horizon, Total Recall, Starship Troopers, Predator, Contamination, Dog Soldiers, The X-Files Movie, Resident Evil, Predator 2, Alien3, Alien Resurrection, and The Terminator.

even the greatest ideas can become a failiure in wrong hands
Through SETI research, scientists have come up with an alien DNA and instructions on how to combine it with human DNA so the product could adapt to life on Earth. Initially excited, the scientists working on the project soon get scared of their achievement, and want to gas the little girl, while the team leader Fitch (Kingsley) can't hide tears. Unfortunatly, the creature's got different plans... The opening scene's fantastic.

I don't get it? How can someone take such a great idea and turn it into something as messed up? A few monts old girl who looks like a 12-year-old escapes from the laboratory and learns of betrayal and malice. What a potential for a great story! E.T. would have been utterly forgotten was this script written by someone with but a speck of talent! A creature who half belongs to this world is set free in it, an utter tabula rasa, fighting with it's dual personality and trying to get a grip over her existance while pursued by her creator and a specialist team assembled to kill her (a freelance hitman, an empath, a molecular biologist and another guy, I forgot his profession). Can you see the potential? What would it be like if a human was thrown in the world with no knowledge whatsoever? Better yet, an alien - human crossbreed? How does it learn? What are it's instincts? How does it feel, how does it react after being so betrayed by the only creatures she knew? What's it like to have the only person that ever showed sympathy twoard you (Fitch) suddenly turn against you? How do you react to knowledge you can fully communicate to these people around you, since the team has an empath on? What happens when you figure out just WHAT are you? What happens once your people from outta space realise you're not in on their plan, 'cause you can't be, 'cause they didn't teach you anything? And furthermore, the movie has KINGSLEY on crew, and the other actors who aren't bad if they only have something to work with. This could've been GREAT.

But is this pursued? No. Instead, the girl transforms (in a very lame scene, you'll notice if you saw a lot of horror movies)into a sex bomb whose only idea is to procreate and while it tries to do this, it kills everything in it's way and showing a lot of her body while doing so. Whenever the story tries being insightful, it quickly backs away. There's some lame psychological transformation of a trusting child to an omnipotent creature as she realises she's much better (physically) than humans, but it's set in the 356th plan of the story... Pah. It's hardly got any logic in it at all. Fitch, Kingsley's character, is great because it's Kingsley, but everything else just isn't worth it, even tho the actors did GREAT considering what they had to work with - a lame plot, lame subplots and silly dialogues.

A good passtime, I saw worse movies, granted... so if you're in for a good time and some fun with a lot of gore and sex, the movie's OK; but if you want something more, pass on this one.

Remarkably restrained
Okay, face it. This is not a great movie. It can be enjoyable to watch, and Natasha Henstridge is ... and fun. Having said that, there is no doubt that the plot tends to be silly at times, and there are more than a few holes in the script.
The odd thing about this film is how little "blood and gore" it really shows. So many movies go overboard in that department. And although there are a lot of uncomfortable scenes in the film, without exception they do not linger any longer than absolutely necessary. Lighting, camera angles, and cuts are designed to leave much to the imagination rather than parading body parts until you want to -- well, you get the idea. An awful lot of moviemakers could learn something from this "little" film.
I must admit -- I enjoy this film. (I also admit that I don't always watch the last scene.) But most of all, I have a list of movies that I wish showed the kind of (don't laugh) subtlety in cinematography that this one does. Think about it.
And enjoy the film. It is supposed to be fun. And it is.

THE THUMB SCENE...
...alien hottie kidnaps girl - ties her up in bed and decides to crash for the night next to her hostage. They both wake up in the morning - apparently kidnapped chick was tired too - however, at dawn she starts her whimpering because mean alien hottie is a tad bit threatening and is not a bit interested in hearing pleas of innocence. Alien babe hatches an idea and proceeds to cut her thumb off in front of tied up hostage who predicatively amps up the scarred voltage accordingly. Alien then cuts off hostage chick's thumb and leaves by herself. What is she up too? She dumps the kidnapped girl's severed thumb in the garbage. Later on: she ends up being chased in the Hollywood hills. The good guys are on the trail and with helo's too! After a few minutes of intense chasing the Specie drives randomly off the road and down an embankment with hostage tied in the passenger seat (we must assume that she went back to the house and got her). Remember creature-feature fans, that our Alien has never been to the Hollywood hills and does not know the land. Well well, as luck would have it there is and Explosive Box that the car is going to hit...alien dives out just in time and car explodes. Wow! So, thumb is taken back to HQ where (now, this isn't shown so I'm just guessing) they confirm that it was from the alien on the lamb - never mind that the fried corps was in the passenger seat. This movie is about as dumb as it gets, but still - it ain't too bad. Have fun and enjoy the crappy movies in life!

Fun, But Not Up To Its Potential.
The main problem I saw with Species was the uneven plot. At the beginning of the movie, young Sil (played for 15 minutes by Dawson's Creek's Michelle Williams) is set up to be gassed. Sil is an alien life form caught by some secret company that monitors extra terrestrial activity. As the gas spews out, Sil jumps through the glass and escapes. At the beginning, she doesn't understand or realize why she is evil, and that was a potential interesting story arc. In several scenes, she questions the way she is and wants to know why. These parts of the film are thoughtful and rather interesting. Sil grows quickly into an adult alien who is in the body of the super hot Natasha Henstridge. When she feels like it, she morphs into an alien creature designed by none other than Alien's H.R. Giger (though not quite as impressive as that film's monster). After about 45 minutes, Sil's wonder for the way she is goes out the window and she just goes on a killing rampage, going home with horny men and slaughtering them in various ways. The movies still fun from this point, but Sil becomes less interesting as a character and just becomes a monster. The special effects are gooey and well done, the acting is fine (aside from the stupid psychic dude, who's character I hated) and Sil looks great without a shirt on (these scenes are much to short, though). Overall, Species had potential at the beginning to make Sil into the good guy and her hunters into the bad guys, but instead it took the easy way out and made her a bad girl hunted down by good guys. It's like two movies blended together: a well made, compelling one and a silly B-movie.

The DVD from MGM is good. It has an aspect ratio of 2:50:1 (or something like that) and it anamorphic for widescreen TVs. It is presented in 5.1 surround and features a trailer. I would have liked a commentary by Natasha Henstridge, but alas, the disc is bare boned. ... Read more

Reviews (63)

Great Reimagining of an Old Story
Although this is not a new story on film, it is an excellent reworking of it. Mel Gibson and (pre-Hannibal) Anthony Hopkins are excellent as Fletcher Christian and William Bligh. This version adds backstory: Bligh and Christian were friends before their tragic journey that would leave one on trial and one marooned. The story is told via flashbacks by Bligh in front of a court-martial headed by the legendary Lawrence Olivier. This is not your typical production of the Bounty story, this beginning proves it. Next we are shown something of Bligh: he is an aging, ambitious Navy man who wants to advance with this mission: bring bread fruits from Tahiti to the colony in the West Indies, where a famine is occuring. After accomplishing their mission, some sailors, notably Churchill(Liam Neeson, excellent), decide to stay on the island. Punishing them has detrimental effects for Bligh's popularity. Bligh soon is out of control, and it is time for Christian to stage his mutiny. Beautiful photography is just a part of its brilliance. Modern audiences will love this retelling of a classic tale, and it has a stellar cast, high production values, and has that sense of adventure that is essential. A great film.

A Balanced Presentation of the Famous Mutiny
The third time is the charm. I think this is the best of the three versions of "Mutiny on the Bounty." Captain Bligh was of humble origins and had achieved a high position in the British Navy through hard work and effort, not connections. Anthony Hopkins' performance makes that clear. As portrayed by Mel Gibson, Fletcher Christian is very shallow and immature, but Gibson is much more convincing than the foppish Marlon Brando. Finally, this film has the most authentic flogging scene. In the 1936 version, we saw only two or three lashes. In the 1962 remake, we are asked to believe that a sailor could take two dozen lashes with a cat-o-nine tails without crying out. In "The Bounty," Liam Neeson turns in a masterful performance. We hear his muffled screams (he is wearing a gag) and see several lashes strike his realistically-bloodied back. This version is also the first that gives any meaningful details of Captain Bligh's courageous journey back to England. An excellent work.

Being two things at the same time.
I've not seen either preceding version of Mutiny on the Bounty (neither Gable's nor Brando's) so my review reflects only the value of this flick independant of how it may compare with it's antecedents.

On the whole, this is a compelling movie.

It's creators understood the value of embodying two polarizing forces within the same character or situation. By exploiting that tension, you create real drama. It's a simple formula, but easier said then done.

Fortunately both Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins are able to pull it off elegantly and seamlessly.

Gibson is simultaneously pulled by both the responsibility of loyalty and the passion that any vital man possesses.

Hopkins is divided by both the egoists desire to create a legacy and the LACK of male vitality that usually fuels such desires.

Of the two, Hopkins part is much tougher, yet he captures it in all it's poetic sadness.

In watching a conflict like this, everyone has to chose a side. I relate much more to Gibson, his disloyalty notwithstanding, as he allowed himself to be led more by power than form. (And I saw this before Mel became one of my all time great heroes for his phenomenal work in THE PASSION.)

Hopkins was an old man in the dark days of pre-Viagra civilization. He just didn't have any mojo left and his men sensed that.

Given that he was cooped up in a boat with ALL MEN for countless days, it boggles the mind that ANY man would not feel he had found absolute paradise when landing on Tahiti and all that it offered. And I mean ALL.

Mel of course understood exactly what they had swung into and, given his game, quickly began enjoying it to it's fullest.

That is essentially what this movie is about. The conflict between true, perhaps even raw passion and an old decaying passion limping along on it's last pathetic leg while attempting to provide some subtext for it's existence.

Two best scenes:

1) Mel and his Tahitian bride coming together for the first time.

2) The bitter tears shed by Mel's father-in-law as his daughter chose to go with Mel rather than remain with him.

BTW - I don't know why the last 3 reviewers of this film are all from the Ann Arbor/Plymouth Michigan area. Perhaps we just enjoy tropical climates more than others around the country!

Wonderful characterizations - especially Hopkins' Bligh
This isn't a simple retelling of the story of the "Mutiny on the Bounty" with a vicious Captain Bligh and a troubled, but virtuous Mr. Christian saving the crew from unbearable cruelty. This is a much better story.

The movie begins at the trial at the Admiralty of Lieutenant Bligh for losing the HMS Bounty. The movie flashes back to the story from this trial periodically. This device allows the movie to focus on key points in a story that takes place over well more than a year without having to try and keep a strict narrative together.

Bligh has been assigned to go to Tahiti to get Breadfruit plants and take them to Jamaica to provide cheaper feed for the slaves and while he is doing that he wants to circumnavigate the globe - a career-making move in 1787. Assigned to Bligh as first mate is John Fryer who is doubtful about going round the Horn off the southern tip of South America that is noted for its mighty storms. Bligh brings along his friend Fletcher Christian as the officer after John Fryer.

After they finally reach Tahiti and negotiate to get the breadfruit, they have to wait for them to grow. They are there many months longer than expected and the men get attached to the local women who are mostly bare breasted and very agreeable companions. Discipline breaks down.

Bligh remains above all the fraternization, but has a hard time pulling the crew back together and as they set sail for home he applies harsh discipline to get the crew back into fit condition and sets a course that upsets the men. Christian has his own resentments and torn loyalties, but does lead the crew in mutiny and sets Bligh adrift in a small open launch (it was only 23 foot long and 6 foot 9 inches wide). Bligh's courage and magnificent seamanship got them through the 3,618 nautical mile journey without loss of life in 47 days. The movie isn't quite accurate about the survival of all the crew.

Christian goes back to Tahiti but is forbidden to stay. The mutineers and some Tahitians end up on a then unknown island and their descendants live there to this day.

This movie was made in 1984 as a vehicle for Mel Gibson's charisma and blazing stardom. He is charismatic and has some good lines and does them well. His Christian is torn, but also self indulgent and sometimes petulant without much discipline. The star of this movie, and becomes more so each time I see it, is Anthony Hopkins playing Captain Bligh. He is wonderful in this role. His characterization is quite complex. His Bligh is a good man without charisma who tries to hold order with a discipline that becomes harsher as the men resist. In this movie there isn't a single villain with good guys, it is a confluence of flaws in all the characters that leads to the breakdown.

My favorite portion of the movie is in the open launch. I find those scenes particularly powerful.

My least favorite aspect of the movie is the musical score by Vangelis. He was a hot commodity in the early 1980's having done "Chariots of Fire" and "Blade Runner" (his most effective score). Here it gives a strange quality to a movie taking place in the 18th century. This is especially so since there are large portions of the movie without background music and when the synthesizers come in they are too noticeable. For me, and maybe not for you, but for me, it makes the movie sound too much like "Blade Runner". It is a small point, however. This is a very good movie.

Confusing
I must say that this is the first film or book I've been fully exposed to concerning the Bounty and its men. I was drawn to this DVD primarily because of my secret love affair with Mel Gibson (he doesn't know about it; that's what makes it secret).

But I was hoping the story would be exciting and well-written too. Except for very good acting by a number of persons, including Wi Kuki Kaa as the king of Tahiti and father of Christian Fletcher (Gibson)'s love interest (That little--never mind.)Considering both Gibson and Sir Anthony can act with both hands tied behind their back balancing a dolphin on their heads, I was not surprised by the characterizations of Mssrs. Bligh and Christian--a ray of light in the film. The scenery is magnificent, and the storm scenes exciting. But rather than sail, it floundered.

My problem with this film was believability. In short, since the overall theme was a cruel ship's master driving his first mate and others to mutiny, I expected to find Bligh's character to be some shade of ruthless. I also thought he was supposed to run the ship with obsessive authoritarianism, carping at the crew for the slightest departure from English decorum. A scene of the crew dancing reluctantly to a fiddle tune (the world's first aerobics class!) certainly exhibited a difference between captain and crew as to what they thought sailors should be doing. But is that any different than drills current people in the service (whether in Britain or elsewhere) are told to do? At any rate, the dance "class" seemed more the idea and for the enjoyment of the 3rd in command, who seemed to get a lot of joy out of it, not the captain, who looked on nervously.

It was only after several people had deserted, his first mate directly disobeyed orders, and all the sailors were involved in behavior not appropriate for officers to be doing in public, that he really made waves.

But that is part of the problem, too. Up until that point, the movie seemed like an apologia for Bligh. But after he did get fed up to the gills, ordering cruel punishments for small infractions, and re-ordering the ship back through a dangerous zone for his own glory, that didn't seem the case. Note, however, that all this occurred after the mutineers were hatching their plot. Neither Bligh nor Christian come out smelling like an anenome in this seafaring tale.

This would have been a fine movie to rent. It's exciting at points, beautiful, and romantic. But as a story, it does not hang together well. I would not recommend shelling out any fins to buy it.

(But don't pirate it either, that's illegal). ... Read more

Reviews (22)

Why remake a bad film in the first place?
The Getaway is based on the 1972 action thriller from director Sam Peckinpah. This remake is fairly better because of James Woods, who is a major improvement over whoever played the Jack Benyon character in the original.

The Getaway is really just a teched-up version of the original, with added sex/nudity, a lot more bloodletting and shootings, and more profanity. In the long run, it's a pretty b