Amazon.com

"This movie is cursed!" exclaimed movie-magazine headlines regarding Exorcist: The Beginning, but those dire warnings turned out to be exaggerated. Considering a tumultuous production history that actually did seem cursed, Renny Harlin's much-maligned prequel to The Exorcist is a surprisingly competent, serious-minded shocker filled with the same anxious foreboding that made the 1973 original so phenomenally effective. The story lacks focus and feels cobbled together (perhaps the result of its tortured development, which included the untimely death of original director John Frankenheimer), but Stellan Skarsgård is well-cast as Father (now Mr.) Merrin, a lapsed Catholic priest summoned to East Africa in 1949 to retrieve a demonic idol. He discovers a buried church, a vast underground cavern, demonic possession, and a legacy of carnage that preys upon guilt-ridden memories from his parish in Nazi-occupied Holland. Harlin delivers the gross-out moments that Warner Brothers demanded, but otherwise shows remarkable restraint while cinematographer Vittorio Storaro delivers doom-laden visual atmosphere. It's not the classic many were hoping for--not even close--but it's still a win-win scenario for horror fans, since it's rumored the unreleased and "abandoned" version directed by Paul Schrader will be paired with this film for its DVD release. Comparisons will no doubt prove interesting. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (121)

Skip this crappy film
Genre: Horror

Genre Grade: B-

Final Grade: C-

This prequel ain't got nothing on the original, but it still offered a few thrills to get me interested. It seemed like it was incredibly long, and in the end it tries to shock you with a surprise but you really don't even care enough to notice. The characters were weak (unlike the original) and the plot was too reliant on traditional "suspense" moments of the horror genre. This movie could have been a lot better I think, especially when it's focused on the (fictional) spot where Lucifer fell from Heaven. The few moments of demonic possession did hold true to the original, which I give the director some credit for, though not much. Skip this one unless you really love the Exorcist franchise.

A surprisingly worthy prequel to The Exorcist
I was quite prepared to be less than enthusiastic about this prequel to one of the truly immortal films of all time.The unfortunate death of John Frankenheimer, the original director, fanned rumors that the whole production was cursed, there's a lot of talk about the original version of this prequel being abandoned by yet another director (Paul Schrader), and I heard almost no one in my circle of acquaintances discussing this film at all after its release.The whole idea of prequels is also pretty tricky in and of itself, as even the great George Lucas has learned.I really didn't bring too many expectations of any kind with me into Exorcist: The Beginning, and maybe that's why I was actually quite impressed by what I saw.Stellan Skarsgard, it must be said, turns in an excellent performance as Father Merrin.This really is an excellent film and, in my opinion, a worthy prequel to The Exorcist.

Don't go in looking for projectile vomiting and head-spinning; this is not The Exorcist.There is a surprising amount of depth here for those willing to immerse themselves in the story.There will be demonic special effects for all those who care only about that kind of thing, but you will have to wait a little longer than you might like to see them.Exorcist: The Beginning is not really about Lucifer or demonic possession or even exorcism per se; this story is really about Father Merrin and how this great man of the cloth lost and then regained the faith that would later transform him into the man we all know as The Exorcist.Humanity and faith are always more powerful themes than evil and doubt - less exciting, perhaps, but much more meaningful.

The action here takes place in 1949 in eastern Africa, where a Christian church has recently been unearthed by archaeologists - a Christian church that dates back to a time long before Christianity made its way to that part of the world.Merrin, then an ex-priest, is charged with aiding the dig and locating an iconic sculpture of a demon's head.The situation on the ground (which is said to be the spot where Lucifer originally fell after he was cast down from heaven) is less than ideal: local tribesmen are afraid that a great evil will emerge from the buried structure, the British army is wary of a tribal rebellion there, and decay and misery (not to mention flies and less savory insects) seem to engulf everything in the humid atmosphere.The original leader of the expedition has been consumed by madness, a number of men have disappeared, and Merrin finds scenes of desecration inside the ancient walls of the church (including the proverbial upside-down cross of Jesus). Soon, a local boy is taken ill after witnessing a traumatic event, begins showing signs of possible demonic possession - and then everything really starts to fall apart around Merrin.The film may move too slowly for some viewers for the first hour, but I think the director did a wonderful job of building suspense for the showdown we all know is yet to come.The ancient, remarkably preserved church hides many secrets of a most unsavory nature, and it is here that Merrin's lack of faith in the God he once served is eventually challenged by a manifestation of evil powerful enough to break down the formidable barriers he has placed around his tortured soul.

The reasons for Father Merrin turning his back on God and the church serve as the emotional centerpiece for all that is to come.It is hard to imagine the Father Merrin we know from The Exorcist having ever abandoned his faith or entertained unholy thoughts, but this prequel makes clear, in the most poignant ways possible, how such a tragedy transpired.Merrin is a man truly and justifiably haunted by his memories.It takes a face-to-face meeting with evil incarnate for Merrin to find what he has lost in himself and in his God.The final confrontation, which comes with something of a twist, is almost anti-climactic, largely because the job is much easier than it should be (very little of the battle is waged on psychological grounds).The special effects are well-done, but a lot of the R rated material here seems contrived, actually taking something away from the power of the film's story of redemption lost and regained.

This is really quite a dark film, as you might expect, but more so for the psychological and human aspects of the story than for the outwardly demonic manifestations of evil.There is a significant amount of gore and demonic symbolism in the film, but my reactions to the film were much more internal than external.Obviously, Exorcist: The Beginning didn't deliver what many Exorcist fans expected of it but that does not make it a bad movie.In my opinion, this film is vastly underrated.

pretty good
it wasn't as good as the first one, there were some cool scenes that were pretty freaky, you know, like possessed people saying crazy stuff and dogs eating people. but there was a little romance tossed in so i had to fast forward through that stuff.

Wish I could give it 0 stars...
Exorcist: The Beginning is one of the worst movies I have ever seen. I don't see how anyone could possibly enjoy this movie. The original Exorcist is a very terrible film too. I was so dissapointed when I saw it for the first time. I was expecting a 4 star horror film, but all I got was a new, quick way to fall asleep. I haven't seen II or III, but I definetly don't recommend The Exorcist or Exorcist: the Beginning.

Pleasantly surprised...
I'm not the biggest horror film fan. Partially because my wife hates them, so I never get to see them. So if I am going to see something, it's more likely to be an action movie or possibly a comedy.

Every once in a while, the wife is out of the house and I get in the mood for a horror movie. Recently I decided to pick up Exorcist: The Beginning. Having not seen the original Exorcist, I didn't really know what to expect. I was a little bit apprehensive, because sequels often stink, and prequels are even worse.

Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised with this prequel. It's not going to win any awards or anything, but it was actually pretty good. It was a bit predictible in places, but I, for one, didn't see the ending coming at all.

The extent of the special features, aside from the director's commentary, is an eight minute behind the scenes featurette and the original trailer. It would have been nicer if the behind the scenes featurette had been longer. It would also have been nice to see how some of the make-up effects and special effects were done. Unfortunately, they skimped a bit on that.

If you're in the mood for a movie with a few scenes that will make you jump, pick up the Exorcist. ... Read more

Reviews (71)

Great swashbuckling fun!
This film features everything a good pirate flick should: stormy seas, a spectacular naval battle, a sexy pirate captain (Geena Davis) and buried treasure complete with a treasure map written in latin (the preferred language of pirates).

This is one of the few times I've seen Davis in a leading role; normally, she is a supporting actress. She pulls it off quite well, although in a couple of scenes her acting is a bit wooden. Frank Langella stands out as an old-salt, ruthless pirate while Matthew Modine is great as the movie's comic relief.

What really makes this movie worth buying, tho, is just how well done it is. The 17th century sets are lavish - you feel as tho you are back in the period in which the movie takes place. The soundtrack is riveting, and I found the sound of the DVD quite excellent. Not sure if they did anything different than they do with other DVDs, but it sure seemed like the audio was a notch above most DVDs - esp in the storm sequence.

This is the kind of movie that critics make a living off of by slamming. What does this mean for the rest of us? Why, it means that it's a fun time to be had by all! And may the movie critics goto Davy Jones locker...

A swashbuckling pirates tale!
When the piratess Morgan Adams (Geena Davis) loses her father, she becomes captain of his ship and crew. As her first act as captain, she decides to search for the treasure on Cutthroat Island. But the actual map for Cutthroat Island is in three pieces, one of which she got from her father. The other two are with her uncles, the cowardly Mordachai (George Murcell) and the evil Dawg Brown (Frank Langella). So Morgan, with the help of her crew and the somewhat untrustworthy thief, William Shaw (Matthew Modine), she sets off to take all the maps and find the treasure of Cutthroat Island.

A very entertaining movie filled with action, adventure, and piracy on the high seas, "Cutthroat Island" is a pure adventure movie. The plot is pretty mediocre, allowing as much action and suspense to be put in the story. It's your typical pirate story though, pirates must find, understand, and figure out the map leading to a mysterious island with hidden treasure of unthinkable riches. But throwing in a tough, hard-bitten, and beautiful piratess was a pretty nice touch, including a thief to provide some comic relief.

Geena Davis surprises me again with her talent in being able to play many different roles from a ghost in "Beetlejuice", a baseball player in "A League of Their Own", a mother full of heart in the Stuart Little movies, and now a piratess in "Cutthroat Island". She gets to give plenty of punches plus handle the cutlass with ease as she fights pirates, the military, and her uncle. She's definitely very cool! As for Matthew Modine, I had never seen him in any movies before but I found him astoundingly funny though he gets plenty of action. He in a way reminds me of Cary Elwes as Wesley in "The Princess Bride" with his sarcastic humor and boundless enthusiasm. Oh, it was also a special treat to see the young and sweet Christopher Masterson as Bowen. Though his role was small, he was excellent as a cabin boy with his obvious admiration and loyalty to his captain. He's probably more known as Chris Masterson, starring in "Dragonheart: A New Beginning" and also starring in the series, "Malcom in the Middle".

So if you're in the mood for a movie with giving off lots of action, energy, suspense, and swashbuckling, make time to watch "Cutthroat Island". Rated PG-13 for the action and fighting and also for some innuendo.

Excellent Story; DVD Just Doesn't Make the Cut
I caught this movie in the theater. I loved it. As soon as the DVD was released I purchased it with great enthusiasm. When I got home and played the DVD I discovered, to my great disappointment, that it is in the wrong format and displays with very poor quality. The video looks horrible. I returned the DVD for a refund.

Technical Details for the curious:
While this DVD offers both full-screen and wide-screen versions of the movie, the wide-screen version is not anamorphic. That means when you play it on your new TV it just looks bad. If you have an older TV and don't care about video quality you probably won't notice or care about this.

I just don't understand. If you're going to stick with VCR-quality transfers, why bother making a DVD. Oh, I forgot. A DVD disc costs pennies so it's cheaper than ever to dump trash on consumers. I'm so glad we have these forums to share this information.

Stop the trash talk!
4 and 1/4 Stars
I recommended this movie instead of Pirates of the Caribbean .... Given that, I have to defend it against the bitter nay-sayers. Don't get me wrong, Pirates had many positive aspects - Depp's performance chief among them; and yet, it was just too kid friendly (well duh, that's Disney). I whole heatedly believe that Cutthroat was as good, if not far better than Pirates. I would yield to the arguments that the acting here is a bit cheeky, and the editors could have been a touch more through. Beyond that, I don't know what the fuss is about. Maybe the other reviewers just couldn't stomach a (historically improbable) female pirate. Well, I think this movie was a lot of fun, but apparently there are some who didn't care for it. The best advice I can offer here is for all of you out there to watch it, and make up your own minds.

CutRate Bargain
Think of it: You can own $92,000,000 worth of movie making for one ten-millionth of the production price: that's like a nickel per explosion. Can you walk up to anyone on the street, hand them a quarter and say, "Please blow five things up for me"? Of course you can; sometimes someone might even blow something up. But with this movie, it's a sure thing.

This movie has its flaws. For the money spent to make it, you'd think someone would have thrown in some free looping so misinflected dialogue could be corrected. The chase and action scenes are rarely plausible (surely not every cannonball would have hit a powder keg). Whatever happened to the third ship that was at CutThroat Island? Wait, who cares? ... Geena Davis wears a corset.

The DVD menu system on this disc is very strange. When you choose "Coming Attractions" from the "Theatrical Trailers" menu, you're presented with a list of eleven movies; no trailers, just the names of eleven movies and tiny pictures of their movie posters. When you choose "Jump to a Scene" from the main menu, you're given a choice of only nine scenes (there are thirty in the movie, which you *can* manually advance to). Fortunately, the movie itself looks and sounds great. Frank Langella and Maury Chaykin turn in characteristically good performances, Matthew Modine and Geena Davis acquit themselves well if not perfectly, and Christopher Masterson (Francis on "Malcolm in the Middle") does pretty well for a 15-year-old.

While there are better pirate films out there, CutThroat Island isn't all that bad of a film. Granted, once in a while something will jar you out of your suspension of disbelief, but then Geena will walk by in her corset, buckling (or unbuckling!) her swash, and all will be forgiven. Don't expect too much and you won't be disappointed. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Director Renny Harlin (Cutthroat Island) took the reins of this 1990 sequel, which places Bruce Willis's New York City cop character in harm's way again with a gaggle of terrorists. This time, Willis awaits his wife's arrival at Dulles Airport in Washington, D.C., when he gets wind of a plot to blow up the facility. Noisy, overbearing, and forgettable, the film has none of the purity of its predecessor's simple story; and it makes a huge miscalculation in allowing a terrible tragedy to occur rather than stretch out the tension. Where Die Hard set new precedents in action movies, Die Hard 2 is just an anything-goes spectacle. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (66)

Suprisingly Weak
The first, and worst, sequel to Die Hard, is terrorised by the same plot as the original. While waiting for his wife's plane to arrive at Dulles Airport (on Xmas Eve), McClane notices a few suspicious exchanges between a group of men amidst the busy yuletide passengers.

Before you know he is neck deep in trouble with an army of mercenaries, led by Colonel Stewart (William Sadler), who are hell-bent on setting free a corrupt South American General/Drug Baron (Franco Nero). There are more bad guys than before. And more suspension of disbelief is required.

There are so many plot holes and illogical moments that the film almost drowns in its own absurdity. But there is enough action and stunts to cancel it out and distract our attention. Though they not presented in a breathtaking or memorable way. It's all too generic and a bit mean-spirited. No audience nowadays would be satisfied with it so prepare yourself for 80's violence.

William Sadler and Franco Nero lack the callous efficiency of Alan Rickman. And a hero can only be measured by his nemesis. But most of the time McClane is just capping off nameless mercs. How boring. Tho this should not be blamed on Sadler, he has a threatening and intense presence and as he has proved himself in movies like Trespass and Demon Knight. Too bad his character here is so badly written and underdeveloped. I'm sorry but blowing up 250 people off-screen to show how evil you are just won't cut it.

This was Renny Harlin's second movie of 1990 (the other was Ford Fairlain) and it is without a doubt the movie that made him a certified action director. It was a tough, and huge, movie to pull off. He just pulled it off with no particular charm. Though he does a wonderful job of capturing the look and feel of an East Coast winter. The wide-open snowfields and ice-covered runways will definitely make you feel chilly.

Although this is another problem. The first Die Hard worked entirely within the space of Nakatomi Plaza. It was claustrophobic and almost plausible. The scale and scope of Die Hard 2 is too big for its own good. Similar to the problems of ID4, the staples of reality are ripped out with ignorance and over-confidence. The bulk of the film is nothing but one dumb action scene after another. It doesn't make for coherent viewing.

Die Hard 2 is a definite lag in between both of McTiernan's very strong outings. By today's standards it seems dated and very 90's. Which is a shame considering the original and 'With A Vengeance' are, in a way, 'timeless'. It's movies like this that inspired 'Last Action Hero'.

Filmed in Panavision, the 2.35:1 anamorphic picture is superb looking with true blacks (a lot of this film is set at night) and nice fleshtones. Fire effects and colors look beautifully orange and overall the quality is top notch aside from a few instances of minor pixelation.

The gunshots are loud and ferocious in both the Dolby Digital and DTS tracks. All explosions and every punch and kick are rendered with amazing clarity. Some of the surrounds tend to stick to mono but the plane crash in the middle of the movie will convince it is actually happening in your living room. Dialogue scenes tend to stick to the front speaker and the musical score by Michael Kamen is well recorded and is sure to excite.

Renny Harlin's commentary is much more interesting that John McTiernan's fatigued and labored effort on the first movie. Harlin talks about the characters more and how he prefers his movies to be in terms of motivation and why characters should smoke only if it is necessary. Among other things. Such as how many of the effects he did then, in many different ways, would be so much quicker and easier to do today in Digital CGI.

The Featurette was made for Fox TV back in 1990 and it is a bit better than the usual, self-congratulatory nonsense that bogs down most featurettes. But it still can't resist talking about how 'great' the movie is. Tho thanks to this extra we now know that most of the snow in the movie is shredded soap. A second, 4-minute, Featurette is basically an extended trailer.

There are a few deleted scenes that are not that interesting and it's easy to see why they were cut from the film. Although the alternate scene on how McClane gets to the Annex Skywalk (The Boiler Room) is quite cool.

The interview with Renny Harlin and the Villain's Profile are promotional titbits in which they discuss how to direct a high-concept sequel and how to be an evil bad guy.

Behind the scenes and storyboards focuses on 2 scenes. The first is 'Breaking the Ice' and the second is 'Chaos on the Conveyor Belt'. The storyboard and film comparison is for the 'Skywalk Ambush' sequence.

Visual effects breakdowns explore, in great length and tedious, repetitive slo-mo, the Ejector seat scene and the Airport Runway. These are basically green-screen evolutions. The other model effects scenes broken down are 'Chopper', 'Airplane Models' and 'Wing Fight'.

Fast-paced follow-up fueled by thrills...
While not as original or inspired as the first, "Die Hard 2: Die Harder" is still an action-packed, slick movie with twists and turns fit for a roller-coaster ride of pure mayhem! Bruce Willis reprises his role as John McClane, this time in trouble at a Washington D.C. airport, where terrorists have taken the air traffic control captive. With McClane's wife on one of the stranded planes, our hero races to kick the butts of the bad guys once again! This is a worthy follow-up to the 80s hit film, with some cool action sequences and some pretty decent scripting.

Almost as good as the original
Count me among the few, it seems, who believe DIE HARD 2 to be almost as good as the original DIE HARD. I personally don't understand why this sequel always seems to be undervalued in favor of the jaggedly uneven, incoherent DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE.

Certainly DIE HARD 2 is not as good as the original. It lacks the first film's grittiness and claustrophobic atmosphere (but of course a loss of the latter was expected when the scriptwriters expanded the playing field to an entire airport as opposed to one floor of a highrise); its villain is no match for DIE HARD's subtly chilling Hans Gruber; and director Renny Harlin disappointingly favors action over those little human touches that so distinguished the original, insteading favoring more action. (Besides, couldn't the screenwriters have come up with a more creative plot than simply recycling the general structure of the original? But hey, this is a Hollywood product, where it's best not to take too many chances in the quest to cash-in on a big success, which DIE HARD certainly was.)

All that being said, the action sequences are undeniably thrilling---the action of the second half, particularly, moves so quickly from one great setpiece to another that the momentum never lets up 'til the very end---and Bruce Willis is just as good as he was in the original, proving that he will always be John McClane in my mind. All in all, DIE HARD 2 is arguably even MORE entertaining viscerally than DIE HARD.

In short, DIE HARD will forever be a genre classic, but DIE HARD 2 is a worthy sequel when it comes to pure action---and when you are talking about action movies, isn't the action what's really important anyway?

A fan's review
I would like to start by pointing out that this movie gets a lot of crap. A LOT. This is in no way as bad as the reviews may make you think, and in fact this is my favorite Die Hard film.

I'm a huge fan of the series. I've seen them all plenty of times, and this one stands out for me. I'm not the only one, either; Ebert also claims this to be the greatest Die Hard. You've heard the same complaints about this movie a thousand times, I'm sure of it. But what tends to be left out is the amazing special effects, the truely die hard enemies, and the perfectly directed action scenes. This was directed by a different director than the other two blockbusters. Die Hard 2 also made the most money at the box offices. It really is the best!

Overreaches but still exciting
While this installment is the weakest of the three, it still has some exciting moments. All in all, I think the film tried so hard to top the first (best) Die Hard film, that the failure is that much more evident.

The characterizations are not as well fleshed-out as in the others. The action scenes become predictable and less exciting as the movie progresses.

I had to laugh at one of the BIGGEST continuity flaws I've ever witnessed in a big-budget movie: the plane that crashes is forced to the ground by lack of fuel. Why, then, does it explode in a HUGE fireball if it's out of gas? Somebody screwed up. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Geena Davis and her former husband, director Renny Harlin, attempted to pick up the pieces after the debacle of their box-office disaster, Cutthroat Island. What they came up with was this repulsive ode to American film noir, based on a script by Shane Black (Lethal Weapon) about an amnesiac schoolteacher (Davis) who searches for her true identity and finds she is actually a secret agent immersed in a deadly plot to topple the government. Mechanistic in its violence, obnoxious in its attitude, the film makes Davis, a once-promising actress, nothing more than a special effect. She tosses one to sadists in the audience by allowing her character to be beaten, punched unconscious, and tortured. The DVD release has optional full-screen and widescreen presentations, plus Dolby surround sound, theatrical trailer, cast information, optional French-language soundtrack and optional Spanish subtitles. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (87)

The best movie since Citizen Kane!!!
This is by far, the greatest movie I have ever seen. I don't know who this Leonard guy thinks he is, but he oughta be fired. 3.5?!? He probably fell asleep while watching, if it's even possible considering the movie's supreme greatness. Anyhoo, Geena Davis starts out as an innocent, kind-hearted school teacher, suffering from amnesia. Then one night she is attacked in her home by a man, and she kills him by her own hands. From this point on she begins to learn more about her past. As it turns out, she was a assassin for the CIA! How cool is that!? She teams up with Samuel L. Jackson, a private investigator, in search of discovering her past. A perfect blend of humor and action, along with some of the best action scenes I've ever seen.

An Excellent Actioner.
A Woman in her Mid-Thirty by the name of Samantha Cain (Oscar-Winner:Geena Davis) doesn't know, who she really is, because of her Amnesia and not knowing, who the father of her child (Yvonne Zima). Samantha is now in her life as a School-Teacher, living with a caring boyfriend (Tom Amandes), who loves Samantha and her Child. Then Samantha is slowly finding out about her Past with Pieces of her Memories. But her mysterious former employers want her dead, she pursued by Hi-Tech Assassins from a Corrupted Goverment Renegades. Samantha is helped by a low-rent, wise-cracking Private Detective (Samuel L. Jackson), who help her uncover her past before they turn up dead.

Directed by Renny Harlin (A Nightmare on Elm Street 4:The Dream Master, Cliffhanger, Cutthroat Island) made a Extremely Entertaining Action film that knows how to thrill the audiences. The Plot might seems Hokey and Fat-Fetched for some but Shane Black (Lethal Weapon), who wrote this film does actually works. This has some of the most spectacular action scenes, ever filmed. Davis looks great in this. The film ended up being a Box Office Disappointment in Theatres. This has an terrific score by Alan Silverstri (Predator) and Dazzling Visual Effects. This is a Action-Charged Flick. Don't miss it. Larry King plays himself in a Cameo near the Closing Credits. Super 35. Grade:A-.

politically correct Hollywood garbage
I don't hold spy thrillers to high standards of plausibility, but there are limits beyond which politically correct Hollywood impulses make these productions painful to watch. Apparently Arabs are simply unacceptable villains as terrorists--who could imagine Arabs indulging in terror? The CIA (or its nameless intelligence agency stand-in) is at the top of the Hollywood list, however (followed by neo-Nazis and businessmen). Except it's the CIA from an alternate universe: all-knowing, all-competent. This movie manages to up the P.C. a notch beyond the others, however. Not only is the CIA going to kill thousands in Niagara Falls in a poison gas attack to help it lobby for a budget increase, it's going to leave the body of an innocent Arab at the scene for a scapegoat. You would think that they would be too embarrassed to keep this in circulation after 9/11, but being P.C. means never having to say you're sorry.

Wow Humm Baby! Jerry Mouse! Cute!
Genna Davis gives a good performance as a woman trying to remember her past as a secret agent. Unlike her previous Oscar winning gem in The Accidental Tourist, she does a 180 degree turn in this role as a character smooth as silk & cold as ice. Samuel L. Jackson is once again one of the most diverse actors in Hollywood with this supporting role. Overall, this is a surprisingly good action drama with lots of suspense. It works!

will keep you sitting on the edge of your seat!
This movie is stupendous from the beginning to the end! Geena Davis plays the part of a woman who has had amnesia for eight years and bore a daughter and doesn't know who the father is. She is the average good mother with no idea that her past was filled with just the opposite of that tranquil representation.

She has hired Samuel Jackson, a second-rate gumshoe, to try and trace her background. By chance he stumbles upon a clue, but before he can get to her, she is attacked in her home by a madman out to kill her. She discovers she has amazing skills in defense.

She and Samuel team up to chase down the clues he has found and end up in a dangerous game of espionage, murder and more!

The movie was thrilling, with just enough touches of humor and wit to give it a humanistic touch. The movie is smooth, connected and thrilling from the beginning to end. Enjoy! ... Read more

Reviews (109)

One Of The Better Sequels
A Nightmare On Elm Street 4 picks up where Part 3 ended. The remaining dream warriors are knocked off one by one as Freddy is ressurected. The powers of Kristen go into Alice,played exceptionally well by Lisa Wilcox. Alice becomes the hero as she must battle Freddy. I love this movie. It's definitley better than Parts 2, 5, and Freddy's Dead. The movie is more colorful, splashy, and fun than others. The effects were outstanding and Robert Englund was electrifying. The movie was definitley going for fantasy/horror/comedy this time around, but that's okay. It still makes for an entertaining movie. This movie is special to me because it was the first Freddy movie I saw in theaters. I was instantly hooked. The movie is a great carnival ride filled with stylish direction by Renny Harlin. Many fans dismiss this movie because of it's splashiness, but that's what makes this movie good and stand out among the others. Nightmare 5 ventured away a bit and got a little darker, almost a little too dark, and that's great. But this one is still better. It's a definite must for any fan of this type of movie. It was my favorite sequel until Wes Craven's New Nightmare.

Well Made, Well Conceived, Sequal.
A Nightmare On Elm Street 4 The Dream Master is a very, very good entry in this awesome horror series.

The film picks up a few years after Dream Warriors. Kincaid (Ken Sagoes), Joey (Rodney Eastman), and Kristen (no longer Patricia Arquette, but Tuesday Knight) are living in their own homes now, no longer the mental hospital. They're pretty happy until Kristen has a nightmare and pulls Joey and Kincaid into it. They just get mad because Freddy Kreuger's nowhere to be seen. Meanwhile, Alice (Lisa Wilcox), Kristen's good freind, has a lot to worry about at home. Her father's an alcoholic and takes his anger out on her and her brother, Rick.

Soon, Freddy is revived (in a very interesting way, I might add) and kills both Joey and Kincaid. When Kristen finds out about this, she tries hard to stay awake, but when her mother sneaks sleeping pills into her drink, she eventually fails. Freddy forces her to pull Alice into her dream, and Alice witnesses her getting burned up. However, Kristen transports her powers into Alice, and, as Freddy kills off all of her freinds one by one, Alice gains the strenths.

Nightmare On Elm Street 4 is a very good, well crafted, well written and directed, thriller that never lets up on its excitement or its fun. Directed quite well by Renny Harlin (The Foot Shooting Party, The Long Kiss Goodnight, Cliffhanger, Die Hard 2), who brings to the film a classy look, with some brilliant camera movements, and some cool death sequences. Most of the actors in this film do quite good, most noticably Lisa Wilcox as Alice. Of course, Robert Englund's terrific as the one, the only, Freddy! This is the point where he gets funny instead of scary, as he's cracking off one-liners nearly every second. He's still not quite as goofy or cartoony as he'll become in Freddy's Dead. But I don't mind either Freddy. The scary Freddy's cool, and the funny one's cool, too. Also, look for Robert Shaye (the films producer) in one scene as a teacher lecturing on dreams.

The DVD is pretty good (I own the box set). There's good picture quality to take your breath away. You've just gotta get down on your hands and knees and thank the good lord that these movie's aren't owned by Paramount. Because, they would never go out in a box set. They'd never have any special features, and the picture and sound would be horrible. Thank God that Paramount rejected these movies. Anyway, you also get two audio options, original mono, and 5.1 surround (YES!!!). Extra features incclude a "Jump To A Nightmare" scene navigation, cast and crew biographies as well as the standard scene selection and english subtitles. For DVD-Rom you can read the script while watching the movie, and also play the dream warriors trivia game. If you're playing this trivia game to unlock the eigth disk in the box set, don't get excited. The codes don't work when you type them in on that disk. Anyway, the only difference here from the box set is that you get BOTH a 1:85:1 widescreen anamorphic format and a 1:66:1 standard version. I still have trouble seeing why people would even want to watch a movie in standard, you can't see anything! Also is a cool trailer.

Well, all in all, this is a great movie, on a good DVD. I'd say you should buy this, but really, just get the box set. You'll be happy you did! [...]

Belongs on the comedy shelf
This was the first of the horrible NOES sequels. First of all, Patricia Arquette did not return to reprise her role as Kristin. Second, Freddy was supposed to be scary?? With all his wisecracking and stupid humor, he seemed like a washed up has been comedian. Trust me on this one, any ANOES's after part 3 is a waste of money.

Four down; three to go
Sigh... like the first three 'Nightmare' flicks, the fourth one doesn't strike me as bein' all that scary. Sure there's the usual gruesome imagery that made me go "ugh"-- the whole roach-motel dealie bein' one of these "ugh" moments-- but otherwise I didn't exactly jump outta my skin or have any sudden arrhythmia attacks while watchin' this. The only real gross-out part for me was near the end, where all the souls of the kids Freddy took out try to bust out of him. I also wasn't too big on the somewhat silly manner in which Freddy gets 'killed' here; I mean, really-- a look at his own reflection in a cracked mirror is what does him in? How underwhelming...

But in spite of my less-than-rave-review of this flick, I did enjoy the silliness of its courageous yet hokey and predictable attempts at givin' me a fright. Helping things out was the usual array of inventive Freddy kills & gags to keep things fresh (heh) including the aforementioned roach motel dealie, a waterbed drowning, a deflation and a frighteningly-fun shot at 'Jaws'.I also liked our fave undead madman's turn into a more comedic figure while still maintaining that menacing edge. And they even managed to improve the look of Freddy's 'burn' makeup/appliance job, which looks almost realistic in this go-'round. I guess New Line finally decided to pump some real money into the franchise, hmmm? Heh...

'Late

Excellent sequel..!! -Enjoyable sequel..!! -A fun ride..
A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: -The Dream Master.. -1988..
came out on august the 15th.. -Which came early right
before my birthday.. -When I saw the film.. -I was
really enjoying the sequel..

Dream Master.. -Was a fun ride at the beginning.. -It
introduce some new fresh characters.. -One's we never
seen in a long time.. -Those actors are not so famous
today.. -Big deal.. -Dream Master.. -Directed by; -Die
Hard 2.. -Renny Harlin.. -Prison.. -Give's a thrill
ride two remember..

Harlin seem's two be focusing on a lot of special effects..?
and the character development.. -He doe's not let loose
with the camera at all time's..!! -He stay's right in the
horror blend; -action.. -Harlin make an excuse for Die hard
2 two be known for this film.. -Like many other horror
directors gone off two bigger project's..!

This is also one of my favorite; -campy sequel's.. -All these
focus on the camp value.. -Robert Englund.. -Doe's a really
great job in comedatic performance..! -Englund.. -Being the
next Johnny Carlson.. -Jacky Gleason..! -Is top notch..!
Englund goe's that direction where he keep's cracking one
liner's..! -Will never for get..!

This is the fourth installment..! -Fan's also hated this..!
those are fan's in poor taste.. -Oh well.. -I've really
like this installment.. -The script is so so long.. -The
movie is so long.. -It don't know when two quit..? -It is
like a machine that keep's going until we finally get the
where the director is going with his style..?

Harlin doe's a beautiful job..! -Painting his new victim's
where he the writer wants him two..? -Wes Craven is also
still involved with the series..!! -Not as an Executive
producer this time..

The movie begins with Kristen Parker..! -Played by; -Tuesday
Knight.. -Instead of the draggy Arquette.. -Ho fitt's quite
well into her nastailgia.. -Perfromance..! -Kristen walk's
up two a little girl.. -Ho asks.. -"Where's Freddy.."? -And
the little girl say's; -"He's not home.."? -Then she looks
straight at the house.. -It begins two poor rain and thunder..

She walk's up two the house as we here the elm street children
chant the same nursery song.. -1, -2; -Freddy's comming for
you.. -Big mistake in asking the little girl where she say's
"He's not home." -Right..! -So the kids sing song like in
part 3.. -As she enters the house and is blown in the basement..! -She call's for; -Joey; -Kincaide.. -Survivor's

from the previous installment..?

Kincaide.. -Ken Saggoe's.. -From; -Dream Warrior's..!!
Doe's this funny; -Anthony Anderson gig where he say's. -"All
Kristen.. -Not again.." -His other part where he say's two
Kristen.. -"Cut it out.. -Kristen..? -You are putting a dent in
my beauty sleep.." -Right after Kristen's line..? -Then
she brings the dang dog in right after feeling the cold
pipe's in her dream..!!

The dream saga continue's..!! -This time..!! -With a set of
fresh kid's in the neighborhood..!! -As we meet Kristen's
friend.. -Alice Johnson..! -Play by; -Lisa Wilcox.. -A
really pretty girl ho will meet Freddy later on in the
film.. -We meet her drunken father ho don't seem two give
no sense two this movie what's so ever..?

Then we meet; -Ric.. -Danny; -at the school..!! -Ric doe's
and love's the Karate stuff he doe's at home..? -I've also
love Freddy's one liner where he has killed Kincaide in
the beginning of the flick.. -Where he say's.. -"I'll see
you in hell.." -And; -Freddy Say's; -"Tell them..? -Freddy sent yah.." -One down.. -Two go two go.." -Then their is
Joey bedroom sequence where freddy attack's him..?

I love the naked chick..! -Ho got that idea..!! -And that line where freddy say's; -"How's this for a wet Dream.."
cerntainly annoy's me..? -someone said that line part 2..
Remember; -Grady.. -Running the track meet..! -Their are a lot of one liners threw out the film..? -The movie goe's on two hole set of kill's.. -My favorite is where Kristen meets Freddy in the boiler.. -Freddy say's; -"Elm Street's last breat.. -Farewell.." -After the sand pitt thing..

Sorry for saying everything about the one liner's..! -I'm
am just trying two explain the people ho have not seen a
"Nightmare.." -Movie before.. -Or; -have seen the other's..?
And they've shooed not feel left out.. -Freddy doe's the
ultimate weapon of this film..!! -Is the Debbie Cochroach
sequence.. -Great F**ck moment their..?

I love the part where Alice goe's straight into the black
and white movie screen.. -Freddy also crack's another liner
where I'm not going two give away..? -The ending is down
right not a dissappointment.. -Such as Alice circiling
around the neigborhood.. -Getting hit by the tree..!!
and taking Dan two the hospital..? -Also fighting Freddy
in side some church at the end..?

So..!! -Their it is..!! -My thought on this excellent
blood fest.. -For the Krueger addict's like me..?

Sorry for giving it all away..! -I hope this review will
be helpfull in the future..?

For those ho don't want a watch a; -"Nightmare.." -Movie..

Have fun..!! ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Cliffhanger a blockbuster hit!!
CliffHanger made in 1993 is one of the most exciting action films on screen. The stunts and location in the movie are unbelievable.

It stars Sylvester Stallone as Gabriel Walker, and (Michael Rooker)as Hal Tucker as 2 climbing experts whose friendship comes to an end, when Tucker's girlfriend , Sarah
falls to her death while climbing when Gabe tries to rescue her. Tucker blames Walker for the accident and hasn't forgiven him ever since.

Jess Dieghan ( Janine Turner) plays Gabriel girlfriend and coworker on these hi-risk rock climbing jobs.

The basic plot in CliffHanger is that a group of terrorists led by a madman named Qualin (John Lighgow) are stealing money from the Treasury Department and making their escape through an airplane. Mr. Travers is the Treasury Agent who is assigned the task of showing an FBI agent, Mr. Mateson, how to find the sum of money that was stolen from Treasury department. However, Mr. Mateson's true job is to find the traitor inside the Treasury Department. It just so happens that Mr. Mateson, is on the same airplane that the terrorist, and the traitor
is, and in a really great scene, blows away a couple of the terrorists and puts their plan to steal the money on hold.

Eventually, Mr. Qualin and his remaining terrorists friends escape, but not before the money they stole gets tossed into the icy mountains below them. Qualin and his friends, stranded on the mountains, and angry about losing their money, come up a with a plan to get back.

They pretend to be stranded on the mountains, and call in a rescue team to get them, and to eventually force them to get their money.

The rescue team answers and you guessed it, it's Gabe Walker and his ex friend Hal Tucker who answer the call.
Now the action really stars and Gabe, and his friends must try to find a way to stop the madman Qualin and his terrorists.
There are really some amazing stunts in Cliffhanger. There are great action scenes, including a big avalanche scene, there is also a great scene in which Gabe literally
surfs on the ice while avoiding the machine gun bullets of the terrorists chasing them.

Stallone's character, Gabe is also a very smart guy, he comes up with some pretty good plans to foil Qualin's plan, while at the same time using his strong muscles as an added weapon. Stallone is his usual calm and cool self, delivering the smart, but lethal Walker, and gives his character some depth throughout the movie.

John Lighgow is also great as Qualin. Litghow has made a good career playing the psycho. In the memorable Ricochet, his acting as the psychotic left a lasting impression with me.

Now there's probably some people who already have seen Cliffhanger before, but the DVD delivers the movie in a way you haven't seen before

Dvd features:

* Trailer
*Special look at the special
effects of the movie
*Deleted scenes

The movie was directed by Renny Harlin, another one of those directors that don't get the spotlight but who have directed many blockbuster movies including:

*Die Hard 2
*Driven

Furthermore, the hits that Harlin has directed have been made into
games: Cliffhanger was made for the Sega Genesis, Supernes and Gameboy. The games for it, are actually pretty good. Likewise Die Hard 2 was made for the pc and Playstation, along with Driven for the Gameboy Advance.

So Cliffhanger is an awesome movie, and now with the special DVD for it, it's definitely worth seeing once again.

Wow! Cliffhanger it is!
What a Great Movie! Within the first 10 minutes of this movie, I was exclaiming out loud - "why haven't I heard of this film before?" Talk about edge-of-your-seat ... the opening scene deserves a place in film making history as one of the all time openings. It's already been tributed - the second "Pet Detective" movie opening spoofs this film's opening, complete with the red helicopter and breathtakingly high altitude climbing.

Janine Turner is Stallone's sensible and grounded girlfriend who flies a helicopter and assists with rescue missions, but it's Stallone who gets caught up in a story of intrigue and greed against the backdrop of beautiful outdoor mountainous areas. There are subplots and chase scenes.

Very believable with an interesting plot and reasonably good character development, lots of excitement and very well done. Highly recommended for an evening's entertainment.

breathtaking
this movie will blow you away, I mean literally, theres no denying its great scale of sequences and action. this is non-stop with guys comign after Stallone and Turner for the money. the opening is a grabber for sure and the end is explosive. Lithgow is a good badguy as well and Leon was perfectly killed off, talk about a icicle threw his chest, man, but a more disturbing movie with an icicle is in Die Hard 2 where Bruce Willis stabs the guy in the eye with an icicle and then breaks it off in there, ehhh. other cast members include Ralph Waite, Caroline Goodall, Michael Rooker, Max Perlich and Rex Linn.

Wow! Cliffhanger it is!
What a great movie! Within the first 10 minutes of this movie, I was exclaiming out loud - "why haven't I heard of this film before?" Talk about edge-of-your-seat ... the opening scene deserves a place in film making history as one of the all time openings. It's already been tributed - the second "Pet Detective" movie opening spoofs this film's opening, complete with the red helicopter and breathtakingly high altitude climbing.

Janine Turner is Stallone's sensible and grounded girlfriend who flies a helicopter and assists with rescue missions, but it's Stallone who gets caught up in a story of intrigue and greed against the backdrop of beautiful outdoor mountainous areas. There are subplots and chase scenes.

Very believable with an interesting plot and reasonably good character development, lots of excitement and very well done. Highly recommended for an evening's entertainment. ... Read more

Amazon.com

This mega-budget action epic flopped at the box office with a resounding thud, and it probably deserved that fate for not living up to its lavish potential. But Cutthroat Island has had a healthy shelf life on video, and digital video disc can only improve the film's potential as a spectacular guilty pleasure. Geena Davis plays Morgan, the swashbuckling daughter of an aging buccaneer who inherits one-third of a map to a secret pirate treasure. But the map is in Latin, and she needs a lowdown thief and scoundrel (and presumably a Latin scholar), played by Matthew Modine, to translate the map when they obtain the other two pieces. That's when the mayhem begins and the dashing duo race for the treasure against Morgan's scheming uncle (Frank Langella) and a hoard of greedy pirates. With wall-to-wall action ably handled by Davis's then-husband Renny Harlin, Cutthroat Island is more fun than its box-office performance would indicate. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (71)

Great swashbuckling fun!
This film features everything a good pirate flick should: stormy seas, a spectacular naval battle, a sexy pirate captain (Geena Davis) and buried treasure complete with a treasure map written in latin (the preferred language of pirates).

This is one of the few times I've seen Davis in a leading role; normally, she is a supporting actress. She pulls it off quite well, although in a couple of scenes her acting is a bit wooden. Frank Langella stands out as an old-salt, ruthless pirate while Matthew Modine is great as the movie's comic relief.

What really makes this movie worth buying, tho, is just how well done it is. The 17th century sets are lavish - you feel as tho you are back in the period in which the movie takes place. The soundtrack is riveting, and I found the sound of the DVD quite excellent. Not sure if they did anything different than they do with other DVDs, but it sure seemed like the audio was a notch above most DVDs - esp in the storm sequence.

This is the kind of movie that critics make a living off of by slamming. What does this mean for the rest of us? Why, it means that it's a fun time to be had by all! And may the movie critics goto Davy Jones locker...

A swashbuckling pirates tale!
When the piratess Morgan Adams (Geena Davis) loses her father, she becomes captain of his ship and crew. As her first act as captain, she decides to search for the treasure on Cutthroat Island. But the actual map for Cutthroat Island is in three pieces, one of which she got from her father. The other two are with her uncles, the cowardly Mordachai (George Murcell) and the evil Dawg Brown (Frank Langella). So Morgan, with the help of her crew and the somewhat untrustworthy thief, William Shaw (Matthew Modine), she sets off to take all the maps and find the treasure of Cutthroat Island.

A very entertaining movie filled with action, adventure, and piracy on the high seas, "Cutthroat Island" is a pure adventure movie. The plot is pretty mediocre, allowing as much action and suspense to be put in the story. It's your typical pirate story though, pirates must find, understand, and figure out the map leading to a mysterious island with hidden treasure of unthinkable riches. But throwing in a tough, hard-bitten, and beautiful piratess was a pretty nice touch, including a thief to provide some comic relief.

Geena Davis surprises me again with her talent in being able to play many different roles from a ghost in "Beetlejuice", a baseball player in "A League of Their Own", a mother full of heart in the Stuart Little movies, and now a piratess in "Cutthroat Island". She gets to give plenty of punches plus handle the cutlass with ease as she fights pirates, the military, and her uncle. She's definitely very cool! As for Matthew Modine, I had never seen him in any movies before but I found him astoundingly funny though he gets plenty of action. He in a way reminds me of Cary Elwes as Wesley in "The Princess Bride" with his sarcastic humor and boundless enthusiasm. Oh, it was also a special treat to see the young and sweet Christopher Masterson as Bowen. Though his role was small, he was excellent as a cabin boy with his obvious admiration and loyalty to his captain. He's probably more known as Chris Masterson, starring in "Dragonheart: A New Beginning" and also starring in the series, "Malcom in the Middle".

So if you're in the mood for a movie with giving off lots of action, energy, suspense, and swashbuckling, make time to watch "Cutthroat Island". Rated PG-13 for the action and fighting and also for some innuendo.

Excellent Story; DVD Just Doesn't Make the Cut
I caught this movie in the theater. I loved it. As soon as the DVD was released I purchased it with great enthusiasm. When I got home and played the DVD I discovered, to my great disappointment, that it is in the wrong format and displays with very poor quality. The video looks horrible. I returned the DVD for a refund.

Technical Details for the curious:
While this DVD offers both full-screen and wide-screen versions of the movie, the wide-screen version is not anamorphic. That means when you play it on your new TV it just looks bad. If you have an older TV and don't care about video quality you probably won't notice or care about this.

I just don't understand. If you're going to stick with VCR-quality transfers, why bother making a DVD. Oh, I forgot. A DVD disc costs pennies so it's cheaper than ever to dump trash on consumers. I'm so glad we have these forums to share this information.

Stop the trash talk!
4 and 1/4 Stars
I recommended this movie instead of Pirates of the Caribbean .... Given that, I have to defend it against the bitter nay-sayers. Don't get me wrong, Pirates had many positive aspects - Depp's performance chief among them; and yet, it was just too kid friendly (well duh, that's Disney). I whole heatedly believe that Cutthroat was as good, if not far better than Pirates. I would yield to the arguments that the acting here is a bit cheeky, and the editors could have been a touch more through. Beyond that, I don't know what the fuss is about. Maybe the other reviewers just couldn't stomach a (historically improbable) female pirate. Well, I think this movie was a lot of fun, but apparently there are some who didn't care for it. The best advice I can offer here is for all of you out there to watch it, and make up your own minds.

CutRate Bargain
Think of it: You can own $92,000,000 worth of movie making for one ten-millionth of the production price: that's like a nickel per explosion. Can you walk up to anyone on the street, hand them a quarter and say, "Please blow five things up for me"? Of course you can; sometimes someone might even blow something up. But with this movie, it's a sure thing.

This movie has its flaws. For the money spent to make it, you'd think someone would have thrown in some free looping so misinflected dialogue could be corrected. The chase and action scenes are rarely plausible (surely not every cannonball would have hit a powder keg). Whatever happened to the third ship that was at CutThroat Island? Wait, who cares? ... Geena Davis wears a corset.

The DVD menu system on this disc is very strange. When you choose "Coming Attractions" from the "Theatrical Trailers" menu, you're presented with a list of eleven movies; no trailers, just the names of eleven movies and tiny pictures of their movie posters. When you choose "Jump to a Scene" from the main menu, you're given a choice of only nine scenes (there are thirty in the movie, which you *can* manually advance to). Fortunately, the movie itself looks and sounds great. Frank Langella and Maury Chaykin turn in characteristically good performances, Matthew Modine and Geena Davis acquit themselves well if not perfectly, and Christopher Masterson (Francis on "Malcolm in the Middle") does pretty well for a 15-year-old.

While there are better pirate films out there, CutThroat Island isn't all that bad of a film. Granted, once in a while something will jar you out of your suspension of disbelief, but then Geena will walk by in her corset, buckling (or unbuckling!) her swash, and all will be forgiven. Don't expect too much and you won't be disappointed. ... Read more

Reviews (326)

The best shark film since Jaws?
Whilst 'Jaws' featured a (realistic) half-glimpsed shark sweeping through the water like a stream-lined demon, chasing unfortunate humans with a preternatural hunter-instinct, 'Deep Blue Sea' goes more for the 'here's a great big CGI shark chasing a mixture of cliched characters through some utterly implausible yet big blockbuster situations' approach. Spot the difference?

Not that 'Deep Blue Sea' was utterly devoid of hope. One scene early on features Samuel L. Jackson looking down at the surface of the pool, and a distorted image of a shark the size of a bus swims past. It's one of those 'take-your-breath-away' moments, that makes you go: 'woah, this is gonna be good.' But then, suddenly, we go underwater, and the film dies. The animatronic sharks were quite cool. The CGI sharks were absolutely appalling, and being as most of the film was CGI, it looked like some two-bit cartoon extravaganza. Each of the 'terrifying' death scenes were some of the most hysterical moments I've ever watched. Computerised sharks is one thing, but computerised people, with arms and legs kicking around like some wind-up bath-toy? It was the fact that you never really see the shark until right at the end that made 'Jaws' scary; the mako sharks in 'DBS' are unveiled after about five minutes in all their too-smooth-to-be-real glory. The scene in 'Jaws' where Richard Dreyfuss is in the cage peering out into the murky ocean was one scene they couldn't steal; the CGI water was absolutely crystal clear so that no matter how far away the shark seemed to be, we could see it.

The story line is rather plodding, our hapless heroes blundering from one mishap to the next. The initial moral question about genetic manipulation, and the quest for a cure for Alzheimer's seemed to be forgotten quite early on in place of the 'who's going to die next' formula. The sharks were hyper-fast and hyper-intelligent one moment, then really slow and kind of stupid the next (they recognise the gun, but with their highly evolved sense of smell, one of them can't smell gas). Oh, and every character is munched with one chomp, except a particularly tough rap star, whose leg is made of titanium. I'll touch briefly on the characters: rigid, cardboard, who really cares if they live or die? The only exception to the rule is LL Cool J, whose preacher cook is humorous, interesting and always a pleasure to watch. The only saving grace of this movie, and the only reason it got two stars, was LL Cool J. Admittedly, he plays it very similar to his role in Halloween H20, but why change a formula that works? The rest of the film can sink to the bottom. And don't get me started about Saffron Burrows...

Surprisingly good would be shlock thriller
So many sci-fi/horror films since Aliens hit in 1986 have tried to take the formula of "take a bunch of people, confine them with whatever killer beasts we can think of, and see who survives". Rarely it comes off as enjoyable, but Deep Blue Sea is a surprisingly good sci-fi yarn that is entertaining and surprising until the credits roll. The oh so hot Saffron Burrows plays an Altzheimers researcher who is experimenting on a trio of Mako sharks in the undersea complex of Aquatica. However, some never thought of side effects have happened, and now she and the crew (which includes Thomas Jane, Samuel L. Jackson, LL Cool J, Stellan Skarsgard, Michael Rapaport, Jacqueline McKenzie, and The Soprano's Aida Turturro) are swimming for their lives. Director Renny Harlin (Cliffhanger, Die Hard 2) pretty much does the same thing here that he did with Nightmare on Elm Street 4; sacrifice tension and suspense for blood and gore; but it surprisingly works. The performances are great, and the special effects are good considering the time the film was released. This is the film in which Jane would get noticed and his first in a leading action hero role which he has since followed in Dreamcatcher and the upcoming The Punisher, and his action hero talents are on high display. All in all, Deep Blue Sea is worth checking out.

14 year old Michelle
I loved this movie! My brother saw it with his friends when it came out, and I loved movies like these but was not able to see rated R movies, but my mother made & exception because my bro saw it first and said that it good, this movie is probbly the most realalistic when it comes to the sharks, shark attack scene's and special effect's, the cast was great, and the cast is & inportent part of a movie, with a bad cast it reck's the whole movie, but everything about this movie rocked, the shark's are so real, it's scary, I'm still shaky about going in the water, the shark's are anamatronic, outside of the really gruseum attack's, that's another thing, if you like movies like this and want violence, gut's, blood, gore and scary diolouge, then this movie will be your favorite, I own the movie, and just to let you know about the badder stuff in it, such as Profanity and Sexual content here's the 411, they have the F- word in it 4 times, though on of the time it is not clear because the man is gasping for air when he say's it, it has G-D- in it like 3 times, (YUCK!) and other not so bad languge that you can watch on t.v., and as far as sexual content, there is none, except when a girl takes her clothes off so her clothes don't catch on fire, but she's in her underwear, you could see that part on t.v., that's another thing, DON'T WATCH IT ON T.V.! They butcher the scene's, it ruin's the movie, watch it on dvd, they take out a few shark attack scene's, This movie is probbly my favorite in this genera, all in all, it rock's WATCH IT! NOT ON T.V.!

DEEP BLUE SEA
THIS IS SUCH A GOOD MOVIE. I LOVE IT. ITS MY 5TH FAV. MOVIE. ITS GREAT. THE SHARKS LOOK SO COOL AND IT MAKES U HAVE THAT OLD FAMILOR FEELING. ITS NOT SAVE TO GO BACK IN THE WATER.

No Jaws, in a class of its own
Deep Blue Sea is one of those new millenium type shark movies.
Little character, big action- lots of CGI monsters and guts.
But don't get me wrong, its all good, well, mostly.
The acting from the main cast (Saffron Burrows, Thomas Jane, LL Cool J, Samuel L Jackson) is reasonable enough for this type of movie.
The effects are mid-range. Absolutely awesome robotics is hindered by poorly crafted CGI sharks.
Explosions and debris abound, all well presented and created.
Some 'shocking' deaths of important characters when they shouldn't have, stunted people's ideas and viewing pleasure, but had some very good action sequences, example the shark attacks in the elevator shaft and Burrows' bedroom.
Relatively well done directing from Renny Harlin, okay script-with some good emotional and comedic moments. ... Read more

Reviews (58)

Masterpiece it is NOT
The Adventures of Ford Fairlane, starring Andrew Dice Clay. Raw, raucous, and totally unconventional. Unbelievable. Un-f@*!ing-believable. I don't need to recap the film as most of the other reviewers have summed up the story succinctly. Ya gotta love the cameos, Sheila E, Morris Day (remember The Time?), David Bowie, and the cast has Lauren Holly (the sexy redhead cop in Picket Fences...mmmm..wanted her so badly....mhmmm...but she had to kiss Dice...yuuuuuuk!), Ed O'Neill, Gilbert Gottfried (in a role that puts Howard Stern to shame!)

I originally bought this movie on VHS because I am a long-time Yello fan and I discovered that Yello scored the movie. I bought it on VHS years ago, watched it once and was disgusted that Yello had put their name on such trash. I could see why Yello never scored another film. Well, I just watched it again, with fresh eyes, and despite the fact that there is not much Yello, other than some clips from their 1990 album Baby (I now understand why Baby was such an uneven album, many of the songs were written for this film and they just don't flow properly in an album format. That or they are too closely tied to the same storyline as the film.) Yes, despite the fact that there was less fresh Yello in the film than I wanted, the film is actually well crafted. I planned on watching just a bit of the beginning to check out again how much Yello is in the film, and I simply couldn't stop watching. Two hours later and I discover there is a DVD version. While it is not my standard fare in humor and style, I am going to have to get the DVD to see what it looks like in widescreen format.

My first watching years ago was on a small television, so perhaps that had something to do with my first impression of "::shrug::" Watching the VHS version on my projector the other night was a completely different story. You really need to consider how easy it is to get bored by a film when it is on a tiny TV screen. Watching it in a larger format or in the theatres gives a whole new twist and perspective to the viewing. Definitely worth the trouble here.

While I am not fond of the humor, I give the movie a solid three stars, maybe 3-1/2 or 3-3/4. Sorry Dice, I just can't bring myself to give you four stars...no dice.... Definitely worth the time and effort to buy in DVD and view on a large screen, and enjoy the soundtrack on something better than crappy old worn-out VHS.

An entertaining trashy comedy.
An crime fighting Rock & Roll Detective (Andrew Dice Clay in a vulgar comic performance) has been hired by his best friend (Gilbert Gottfried) & an mystery woman (Priscilla Presley) to find an missing young groupie (Maddie Corman), who could be linked to the mystery death of Bobby Black (Vince Neil of Moltey Crue) is murdered on Stage. Soon the hippest detective is having problems with his secertary/girlfriend (Lauren Holly) and an Cop (Ed O`Neill) but the worse he gets involved with an sleazy ruthless record executive (Wayne Newton) and a merciless hit man (Robert Englund).

The film is a gulity pleasure, directed by Renny Harlin (A Nightmare on Elm Street 4:The Dream Master, Driven). Andrew Dice Play`s Performance keeps the film entertaining. This was a Box Office disapointment for Harlin. Harlin did get Fans from this film, years later after this film`s release. DVD has an sharp anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1) transfer (also in Pan & Scan) and an good-Dolby Stereo 2.0 Surround Sound. DVD has a Interesting Commentary Track by the Director, Music Video, a Featurette and the Theatrical Trailer. This is an very underrated comic film, which is not for all comic tastes. Panavision. Grade:A-.

So many as*ho*es, so few bullets
Finally, one of the best movies comes to DVD. After having checked the availability for the past ten years I finally discovered this gem at a local Wal-Mart in the worthless bin. This has to be the best thing I have ever purchased for $5. Anyway, THANK GOD!

"No Thanks! I've got me own!"
All I have to say is....IT'S ABOUT F****N' TIME!!!!!!!!! A cult classic that made the term, "cult classic", mean something. Now if we can just get "The Soldier" starring Ken Wahl, and "Robin Hood: Men in Tights" starring Cary Elwes, then we'll ALL be happy little DVDites!!!!!!Go to Amazon.com and tell them what you want to see on DVD. MAKE THEM RELEASE IT!!!!!! Later people.........

finally!!!! the dvd i've been waiting for.
Andrew Dice Clay as Ford Fairlane is one of the most underated movie characters of all time. The movie comes off a little dated after all these years , but is still great fun. Cameos from Robert Englund , Ed O'Neal and Kari Whuer. The dvd is awesome. The commentary is good , a very short making of and the trailer.
Maybe one day a sequel? ... Read more

Reviews (66)

Suprisingly Weak
The first, and worst, sequel to Die Hard, is terrorised by the same plot as the original. While waiting for his wife's plane to arrive at Dulles Airport (on Xmas Eve), McClane notices a few suspicious exchanges between a group of men amidst the busy yuletide passengers.

Before you know he is neck deep in trouble with an army of mercenaries, led by Colonel Stewart (William Sadler), who are hell-bent on setting free a corrupt South American General/Drug Baron (Franco Nero). There are more bad guys than before. And more suspension of disbelief is required.

There are so many plot holes and illogical moments that the film almost drowns in its own absurdity. But there is enough action and stunts to cancel it out and distract our attention. Though they not presented in a breathtaking or memorable way. It's all too generic and a bit mean-spirited. No audience nowadays would be satisfied with it so prepare yourself for 80's violence.

William Sadler and Franco Nero lack the callous efficiency of Alan Rickman. And a hero can only be measured by his nemesis. But most of the time McClane is just capping off nameless mercs. How boring. Tho this should not be blamed on Sadler, he has a threatening and intense presence and as he has proved himself in movies like Trespass and Demon Knight. Too bad his character here is so badly written and underdeveloped. I'm sorry but blowing up 250 people off-screen to show how evil you are just won't cut it.

This was Renny Harlin's second movie of 1990 (the other was Ford Fairlain) and it is without a doubt the movie that made him a certified action director. It was a tough, and huge, movie to pull off. He just pulled it off with no particular charm. Though he does a wonderful job of capturing the look and feel of an East Coast winter. The wide-open snowfields and ice-covered runways will definitely make you feel chilly.

Although this is another problem. The first Die Hard worked entirely within the space of Nakatomi Plaza. It was claustrophobic and almost plausible. The scale and scope of Die Hard 2 is too big for its own good. Similar to the problems of ID4, the staples of reality are ripped out with ignorance and over-confidence. The bulk of the film is nothing but one dumb action scene after another. It doesn't make for coherent viewing.

Die Hard 2 is a definite lag in between both of McTiernan's very strong outings. By today's standards it seems dated and very 90's. Which is a shame considering the original and 'With A Vengeance' are, in a way, 'timeless'. It's movies like this that inspired 'Last Action Hero'.

Filmed in Panavision, the 2.35:1 anamorphic picture is superb looking with true blacks (a lot of this film is set at night) and nice fleshtones. Fire effects and colors look beautifully orange and overall the quality is top notch aside from a few instances of minor pixelation.

The gunshots are loud and ferocious in both the Dolby Digital and DTS tracks. All explosions and every punch and kick are rendered with amazing clarity. Some of the surrounds tend to stick to mono but the plane crash in the middle of the movie will convince it is actually happening in your living room. Dialogue scenes tend to stick to the front speaker and the musical score by Michael Kamen is well recorded and is sure to excite.

Renny Harlin's commentary is much more interesting that John McTiernan's fatigued and labored effort on the first movie. Harlin talks about the characters more and how he prefers his movies to be in terms of motivation and why characters should smoke only if it is necessary. Among other things. Such as how many of the effects he did then, in many different ways, would be so much quicker and easier to do today in Digital CGI.

The Featurette was made for Fox TV back in 1990 and it is a bit better than the usual, self-congratulatory nonsense that bogs down most featurettes. But it still can't resist talking about how 'great' the movie is. Tho thanks to this extra we now know that most of the snow in the movie is shredded soap. A second, 4-minute, Featurette is basically an extended trailer.

There are a few deleted scenes that are not that interesting and it's easy to see why they were cut from the film. Although the alternate scene on how McClane gets to the Annex Skywalk (The Boiler Room) is quite cool.

The interview with Renny Harlin and the Villain's Profile are promotional titbits in which they discuss how to direct a high-concept sequel and how to be an evil bad guy.

Behind the scenes and storyboards focuses on 2 scenes. The first is 'Breaking the Ice' and the second is 'Chaos on the Conveyor Belt'. The storyboard and film comparison is for the 'Skywalk Ambush' sequence.

Visual effects breakdowns explore, in great length and tedious, repetitive slo-mo, the Ejector seat scene and the Airport Runway. These are basically green-screen evolutions. The other model effects scenes broken down are 'Chopper', 'Airplane Models' and 'Wing Fight'.

Fast-paced follow-up fueled by thrills...
While not as original or inspired as the first, "Die Hard 2: Die Harder" is still an action-packed, slick movie with twists and turns fit for a roller-coaster ride of pure mayhem! Bruce Willis reprises his role as John McClane, this time in trouble at a Washington D.C. airport, where terrorists have taken the air traffic control captive. With McClane's wife on one of the stranded planes, our hero races to kick the butts of the bad guys once again! This is a worthy follow-up to the 80s hit film, with some cool action sequences and some pretty decent scripting.

Almost as good as the original
Count me among the few, it seems, who believe DIE HARD 2 to be almost as good as the original DIE HARD. I personally don't understand why this sequel always seems to be undervalued in favor of the jaggedly uneven, incoherent DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE.

Certainly DIE HARD 2 is not as good as the original. It lacks the first film's grittiness and claustrophobic atmosphere (but of course a loss of the latter was expected when the scriptwriters expanded the playing field to an entire airport as opposed to one floor of a highrise); its villain is no match for DIE HARD's subtly chilling Hans Gruber; and director Renny Harlin disappointingly favors action over those little human touches that so distinguished the original, insteading favoring more action. (Besides, couldn't the screenwriters have come up with a more creative plot than simply recycling the general structure of the original? But hey, this is a Hollywood product, where it's best not to take too many chances in the quest to cash-in on a big success, which DIE HARD certainly was.)

All that being said, the action sequences are undeniably thrilling---the action of the second half, particularly, moves so quickly from one great setpiece to another that the momentum never lets up 'til the very end---and Bruce Willis is just as good as he was in the original, proving that he will always be John McClane in my mind. All in all, DIE HARD 2 is arguably even MORE entertaining viscerally than DIE HARD.

In short, DIE HARD will forever be a genre classic, but DIE HARD 2 is a worthy sequel when it comes to pure action---and when you are talking about action movies, isn't the action what's really important anyway?

A fan's review
I would like to start by pointing out that this movie gets a lot of crap. A LOT. This is in no way as bad as the reviews may make you think, and in fact this is my favorite Die Hard film.

I'm a huge fan of the series. I've seen them all plenty of times, and this one stands out for me. I'm not the only one, either; Ebert also claims this to be the greatest Die Hard. You've heard the same complaints about this movie a thousand times, I'm sure of it. But what tends to be left out is the amazing special effects, the truely die hard enemies, and the perfectly directed action scenes. This was directed by a different director than the other two blockbusters. Die Hard 2 also made the most money at the box offices. It really is the best!

Overreaches but still exciting
While this installment is the weakest of the three, it still has some exciting moments. All in all, I think the film tried so hard to top the first (best) Die Hard film, that the failure is that much more evident.

The characterizations are not as well fleshed-out as in the others. The action scenes become predictable and less exciting as the movie progresses.

I had to laugh at one of the BIGGEST continuity flaws I've ever witnessed in a big-budget movie: the plane that crashes is forced to the ground by lack of fuel. Why, then, does it explode in a HUGE fireball if it's out of gas? Somebody screwed up. ... Read more

Reviews (53)

Cliffhanger
Renny Harlin's action flick Cliffhanger is an exciting adrenalin-pumping ride. And while it could be described as "Die Hard on a Mountain", it's still exhilarating fun that's one of Stallone's best films.

John Lithgow is the movie's main villain, and he works his stuff to great effect, and set up against Stallone's he-man heroics, the two are both tremendous. And the action ante is set up far more than other Die Hard rip-offs such as Executive Decision. Renny Harlin's direction makes the film's tendencies toward brutal violence get rather extreme at times, and to see Stallone manage to beat the meatloaf out of the bad guys after getting wasted is sometimes beyond believable, but as the DVD's deleted scenes show, they actually toned down the film's superman-like qualities to good effect.

Action aside, the plot is silly at times and some of the characters are taken straight from the big book of bad movie stereotypes. But Stallone's devotees don't care, as this film can be seen now as nostalgic after seeing the big guy's recent flop movies (Get Carter). And Harlin, from Die Hard 2 fame, brings much of the same cool action and stunts, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Action at it's most outrageous (Except maybe for Face Off).

Action & Scenery a plus...
Has Sylvester Stallone ever made a 5-Star movie? You bet. "Rocky" is one, and "Cliffhanger" is the other. John Lithgow plays the perfect villan set beautifully in the snow covered Rockies. This movie is non stop action and it has a bit of everything... like a nice plane crash scene; above average dialogue (yes, even for Sly); some good chases; kids on snowboards; and innocent people being mamed. There's even a few touching moments with Sly and his girlfriend (or should we say exgirlfriend?). This DVD package offers some nice features and the widescreen version with the great views is the only way to go. Stallone's made a ton of movies and this one is easily one of his best. Great action flick!

Exciting action flick, though not up to DIE HARD
A previous reviewer called CLIFFHANGER a "guilty pleasure," and that is pretty much the way I see the film.

CLIFFHANER was a return to action form for its star Sylvester Stallone, after he had made his indelible mark on the genre with his RAMBO trilogy in '80s. His character here, Gabe Walker, is drastically scaled-down, befitting the film's "high" concept, which is basically "DIE HARD on a mountain."

Okay, so the premise (which is actually credited in this movie to a man named John Long) is not breathtakingly original---a nasty group of robbers led by evil Eric Qualen (John Lithgow, effectively playing his role to the hilt) lose three cases of American money in the Rockies and force Walker and companion Hal Tucker (Michael Rooker, he of HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER) to help them find it. Director Renny Harlin---who also directed DIE HARD 2---brings all his action expertise to bear on the thin plot and actually succeeds in crafting a good action film out of it. He was lucky in getting cinematographer Alex Thomson on his team, and Thomson makes the most of the Italian Dolomites (standing in for the Rockies) mountain settings by creating shots that revel in its scenic grandeur and impart an appropriately dizzying sense of vertigo to the proceedings. And Harlin uses his penchant for fast action pacing to good effect here, generating an exciting sense of momentum that hardly ever lets up until the final showdown.

So, as action entertainment, CLIFFHANGER can be counted as a success. So why do I find it a "guilty" pleasure rather than simply a pleasure? Well, I have to admit that I found some of the violence in the second half of the film a little too much at times---not only gratuitous but sometimes downright brutal. The first half of the film is much more discreet with the bloodshed, relying more on genuine suspense-building and awesome special effects and stunts to make its proper effect (the first twelve-minute sequence is arguably the last word in sweat-inducing suspense and mounting tension). In the second half, though, the script (credited to Michael France and Stallone) and director let rip with gory abandon, and thus we get images of a black bad guy getting skewered upon a stalactite by the hero, and scenes like Tucker being kicked in the ribs and nose like a soccer ball for a good minute or so by a British terrorist (with some tasteless slo-mos to draw out the grand brutality). Did we really need to be subjected to such witless violence? Do the filmmakers assume th