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Reviews
The Out-of-Towners (1999)
Underrated. "Say frisky!"
I don't understand why this movie has so many negative reviews. Certainly it is not as good as the original which starred the great Jack Lemmon and Sandy Dennis but it does have it's merits. Steve Martin is in top form, Goldie Hawn has some great lines and is cute as can be. John Cleese? Well he is just hilarious as an extremely rude and arrogant hotel manager who has some, shall we say highly unusual proclivities! It even has a cameo by then New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (as himself) who shows that he does indeed have a sense of humor as he views Martin and Hawn in a "compromising" position at Tavern on the Green in Central Park! There is also a great scene with an encounter group. This group has some sexual "issues" to discuss. Cynthia Nixon is a riot (and very sexy) as an extreme nymphomaniac! I'd jump in with her in a heartbeat (I think I'm the male equivalent of a nympho)!
The Cannonball Run (1981)
Jack Elam
This is a silly yet funny and enjoyable movie. It is the kind of silliness that requires the viewer to be in the proper mood for it to be truly appreciated. The film sports a great all-star cast including a very stunningly beautiful Farrah Fawcett. It also includes Roger Moore driving an Aston Martin complete with all the goodies, spoofing his James Bond movies. Watching the out takes as the credits roll indicates that the cast and crew truly had a ball making this flick! Jack Elam, in my opinion though steals the show in his absolutely hilarious turn as a demented, weird looking, drug addled doctor. I see his performance as being the funniest character in the movie.
Vacation (2015)
Terrible movie
This movie is just simply awful. Two of the most painful scenes? The whole "G man" thing at the dining room table. The visiting man and his son go through a very stupid routine with their G man crap and then to make matters even worse Rusty copies the G man act with HIS son. Having to watch this crappy shtick once is bad enough but then we have to endure it a second time with Rusty! The other scene is the "acting" of the Grand Canyon tour guide. That tour guide act is so utterly stupid he should have been cut from the movie. Talk about major cringe factor! There are many other painful scenes as well but I'll spare you the nausea of remembering them.
Dear Eleanor (2016)
Enjoyable movie filmed in my home area.
I might not have seen this movie except that I know that it was filmed in and around the area in which I live. It would have been a shame had I not seen it because I would have missed seeing a good road trip film! "Dear Eleanor" is about two girls on a cross country road trip from California to the east coast on a quest to meet Eleanor Roosevelt. However, other than a scene or two shot in Utah the movie was filmed almost entirely in and around my hometown of Longmont, Colorado (Population 90,000 plus and 35 miles north of Denver). For example, the scene that is supposed to be a Police station in Kentucky is actually an old library building in Longmont. A scene that shows the Chrysler going past Janie's Café is also in the older part of Longmont. There were numerous other scenes shot in Longmont including a farmhouse just outside of town and some of the interior shots in the film as well. Eleanor Roosevelt's house on the east coast is actually a house in old town Longmont. The scene where Bob Potter's truck breaks down and Billy Hobgood gives him a ride in his motorcycle's side car was shot just outside of Longmont. The town of Manteca Ca. in the film is actually the small town of Niwot, Co (about five miles from Longmont). The scene at the "Country Corner Store" and gas station is actually an abandoned store in the small town of Hygiene about a mile from the western edge of Longmont. The interior of what is supposed to be the Paramount theater in New York is actually a theater in Denver. It's too bad this film did not get a proper theatrical run. It was shot in 2:39:1 aspect ratio which would have been perfect for theater release. I do recommend this movie for at least a rental or good addition to any collection.
Dirty Dingus Magee (1970)
George and Lois
A silly movie, but not as bad as some say it is. If you are in the mood for something silly this fits the bill. George Kennedy was not really known for comedy but he pulls it off quite well here just as he did in the Naked Gun movies. A comment in another review on this site written by ed-shullivan in June of 2016 mentions that Frank Sinatra is too old for Michele Carey. I agree with that. Sinatra was 28 years older than Michele. However it was also mentioned that George Kennedy is far too old for Lois Nettleton. Actually George Kennedy was only two years older than Lois Nettleton. George was born in 1925 and Lois was born in 1927. Lois had one of the funniest parts in DDM as a nymphomaniac school teacher. She came on to every man she met!
Home for the Holidays (1995)
Tommy
I can't stand the character of Tommy in this movie. He is just a total a*****e. This dislike of him has nothing to do with the fact that Tommy is gay (I am male but I am not gay by the way). He treats everyone like s**t! The mean spirited things he says about the down-on-his-luck character portrayed by David Strathairn is just so extremely cruel and heartless! Tommy is just a very selfish, cruel, immature bastard! All he cares about is himself and as far as he is concerned everyone else can go to hell. Claudia tries to be kind to him but he is even cruel to her. He tells her to get in his car and then repeatedly screeches away from her leaving her on the sidewalk. Also, he intrudes on her in a very disrespectful, infantile way when she is showering, what a piece of s**t he is! To paraphrase Joanne: "Even if I just met him on the street and he gave me his phone number...I'd throw it away"! I wouldn't want to have anything to do with this reject! All the way through the movie I just want to punch his lights out! What an ass!! I believe that the proper term for a person who behaves in this manner is that he is a narcissist, and in the worst possible way!
Duel (1971)
Blu Ray widescreen edition available now!
Here we go again with this ridiculous rule of a 10 line minimum when most of the time a person making a comment can say what is needed to be said in only a few words. Oh, well, I'll try. Here we go. All I wanted to say is that this entertaining and suspenseful film is now available on Blu Ray! Here is the additional info. I can think of: The Blu Ray edition is presented in widescreen (1.85:1 aspect ratio). That makes this the first time this film has been available in widescreen. The Blu Ray also has 5.1 surround sound. It is a very good Blu Ray transfer although I found that I had to reduce the "sharpness" control on my HDTV somewhat to eliminate graininess. Otherwise picture and sound quality is very good for a 40 plus year old movie. There are nearly an hours worth of special features including A conversation with director Spielberg and one with the author.
Working Girl (1988)
katharine's office
If Katherine and Jack are so close to being married why does Jack not know that Tess is in Katherine's office? I would think that if a couple is that close to being married they would be quite familiar with each others offices. Anyway, I do like this movie. I've probably seen it 7 or eight times. I'm a heterosexual male, I love women and consider myself to be a gentleman and I feel so sorry for Tess in the horrible way that nearly everyone treats her! The character of Tess is that of a good woman and it hurts me to see a good woman mistreated. With the exception of Jack and her fellow secretaries almost everyone treats her like dirt! Including her sleazy "boyfriend" played by Alec Baldwin, her low as pond scum male co-workers not to mention the quintessential bitch Katherine! All of this, of course eventually results in a great "feel good" ending which causes me to cheer for Tess's triumph!
True Lies (1994)
Blu Ray!
I only give this movie 2 stars because it is NOT available in an anamorphic format. (It is NOT "enhanced for widescreen TV"). The video quality is very poor. This movie and "The Abyss" ( both James Cameron films) need to be released both on anamorphic DVD (for those who do not have Blu Ray) and on Blu Ray. It is my understanding that James Cameron must personally authorize a transfer to anamorphic DVD and a transfer to Blu Ray. I will not purchase either of these titles until they are available on Blu Ray. James Cameron needs to quit screwing around with his submarine and his other underwater adventures and get on the stick to get these two movies released in a proper format. He would probably make enough money off of the Blu Ray releases alone to finance more of his adventures!
A Bridge Too Far (1977)
One of the best
In my opinion, this is one of the best war movies despite several historic, equipment, uniform etc. errors. I put it right up there with The Longest Day, Tora, Tora, Tora and Patton. ABTF also has an impressive cast. Did anyone else notice that even "Cliff" from "cheers" (John Ratzenberger) is in this? He portrays one of Robert Redford's men. I noticed in the "Quotes" section someone wrote a sentence ending with :..."World War II era bomber dropping 'ordinances'." What a bomber would drop would be "ORDNANCE." There is no letter "i". An "ORDINANCE" (WITH an "i" is a municipal or county law. Or perhaps maybe this person DID intend to say that the bomber was dropping municipal laws!
Avanti! (1972)
Pamela Piggott overweight?
So the character of Pamela Piggott (portrayed by Juliet Mills) is supposed to be overweight? Really? She looks gorgeous to me. Every time I see her on screen I find myself smiling involuntarily. I find her to be very attractive, very pretty, very feminine and possessing a lovable personality. Considering that I am a single male, I would consider myself very fortunate indeed to have a fine lady like Pamela Piggott in my life! Okay, I have said everything that I need to say but I am getting a message that my review is too short! why is there a ridiculous requirement of a minimum of ten lines? If a person can say what they need to say in two lines why is ten lines required? It is simply a stupid requirement! Why force people to read more that what is necessary?
Firefox (1982)
boring
I'm a Clint Eastwood fan, since the days of the TV show "Rawhide." I feel that most of his movies are very entertaining. I particularly enjoy the "Dirty Harry" series, although the final Dirty Harry movie with the silly remote control car was disappointing. I found "Firefox," while marketed as an action movie, to be quite boring. The movie finally picks up the pace a little toward the end but the fake special effects (the MIG never looks real) and hokey dialog ("Check the tires and clean the windshield" or some such nonsense for example), when Eastwood lands next the sub to re-fuel are a big let-down. I still watch this movie occasionally but I usually fall asleep about midway through it.
Highway Patrol (1955)
same type of car
I've always thought it to be very interesting that all of the guest stars whether they be criminals or victims all drive exactly the same make and model of car. This is especially noticeable in the episodes made in about 1958. All of the cars used by criminals and victims are Plymouth Furys. Some are convertibles, some are sedans but they are always Plymouth Furys. This is a bit ridiculous as in reality criminals and victims in 1958 as well as any other modern year would have used a multitude of different types of vehicles. Granted, in 1958 the selection of vehicles may have been a bit less, but still, there were Buicks, Chevys, Pontiacs, Cadillacs, Olsmobiles, Fords, Mercurys, Lincolns, Ramblers, Chryslers, Dodges, etc. and all of the various models produced by each. For the show to assume that ALL criminals and victims would drive Plymouth Furys is simply ridiculous and unbelievable.
Riders of Destiny (1933)
Bisquits, not cookies. Good story.
First of all, joeytheBrit says that Cecilia Parker "...bakes cookies too." No, no, no. She does NOT bake cookies in this movie she bakes BISQUITS! Bisquits are entirely different from cookies! In the old west, biscuits were usually made with buttermilk and were eaten primarily with breakfast. Anyway, Joey is certainly correct in saying that Cecilia Parker is impossibly cute, I wish I could meet someone like her! As for the film itself the story is actually quite good and told in a fairly entertaining manner. Remember, this was filmed in 1933! The acting is just passable. Yakima Cannutt should have stayed with the stunt work as he was certainly no actor! John Wayne as "Singing Sandy" is ridiculous. The songs are just silly and don't belong in the movie. It is very obvious that Wayne did NOT do the singing. The voice in the songs sounds nothing like Wayne's voice. The songs only detract from the otherwise fairly decent story.
Next (2007)
unlikeable agent Ferris
Does anyone else hate "Agent Ferris" as much as I do? This woman is a total BITCH! She treats her co-workers and underlings like sh**! When casino security manager Roybal is brought in for questioning concerning the casino video he is very co-operative yet Ferris treats him like sh** as well. She is very arrogant and possesses a "better than thou" attitude. To make matters even worse, when she forces Liz (Jessica Biel) into the back seat of her car she FLAT OUT LIES TO HER telling her that "Frank" is a psychopath in order to coerce Liz into DRUGGING Frank!!! She unfairly uses people, unfairly intimidates people, and unfairly manipulates people. I have no use for people like this no matter what their "authority" is or what they THINK their authority is, and people who think that they are "better" than anyone else for whatever reason (wealth, community standing, employment position, etc). If agent Ferris was a real life person I would despise her!! I would have ABSOLUTELY NO RESPECT FOR HER WHATSOEVER. All of this is probably not the fault of actress Julianne Moore, it is, I imagine the way the part was written.
There's Something About Mary (1998)
"Greek chorus"-Jonathan Richman
My only complaint about the movie is the use of the "Greek chorus" composed of Jonathan Richman and a drummer (sorry, I don't know the name of the drummer). First of all Jonathan Richman can't sing worth sh** and secondly the Greek chorus is nothing but an annoying intrusion into the story. I watch this movie every now and then and I always mute the volume and fast forward through the scenes in which the Greek chorus appears. My absolute favorite scene in the movie is towards the end when Richman gets shot and falls into the water! I always say: YES!!!, good riddance! Too bad this didn't happen in the FIRST scene! Otherwise I think this is one of the funniest movies I've ever seen. Some people complain about the "lowbrow" humor, but actually, that's why it's so funny! Cameron Diaz certainly adds the appropriate eye candy!
Unstoppable (2010)
similarities
"Unstoppable" has many similarities to a another movie released back in the 1980's titled "Runaway Train" Starring Jon Voigt and Eric Roberts. The basic premise of an unmanned locomotive running at high speed is present in both films. The possibility of extreme and/or toxic disaster is a plot device in both films. Also similar is the disagreement among railroad officials concerning how to handle the situation, with one official wanting to derail the train and another official not wanting to derail it. The moving of one train onto a siding while the runaway passes and crashes into the last few cars of the train pulling onto the siding is also present in both movies. In "Runaway Train" there is much concern that the speeding train will not make it across an old trestle. In "Unstoppable" there is much concern that the speeding train will not be able to negotiate a sharp curve. There are other similarities as well, but these are the major ones I noticed.
Ordinary Decent Criminal (2000)
Linda, Linda, Linda!
Linda Fiorentino. Ohmygawd what a beautiful lady! Be still my heart!!! Oh, boy, here we go again with this ridiculous requirement of 10 lines! I said what I wanted to say in less than 15 words. Why, oh why, does IMDb require that people be unnecessarily wordy when what one desires to say can be done in only a few words. I can understand a maximum limit but the minimum limit of 10 lines is just silly. Anyway, I could watch Linda Fiorentino forever. She is simply gorgeous. Sheesh! I still don't have enough lines. How many ways can I say that Linda Fiorentino is hot?! Nope, still not enough. This is a fairly entertaining movie but I will say that Linda Fiorentino is the best part of the movie.
The Guardian (2006)
bar scenes
This is not a bad movie but nearly every military movie has a scene in which the "hero" bets his buddies that he can pick-up a woman in the bar that they happen to be in. Our hero, of course to the surprise of his buddies is successful and wins the bet. This same plot device is used in "Top Gun", "G.I. Blues", "annapolis" and who knows how many other military movies and "The Guardian" also uses this. Come on movie makers, drop this tired old cliché' and come up with something new! Oh boy, here we go again with this ridiculous requirement that my review must have ten lines! I've already said what is necessary, I don't need ten lines to present this view. Why is this ten line rule required? It simply makes reviews much wordier than they need to be!
D-Tox (2002)
underrated
This movie is definitely underrated. It is not a great movie by any means but it is better than the ratings it has received. It is a serviceable thriller. The worst part of it is Rance Howard. That guy absolutely cannot act! I have seen him in several movies and his "acting" is awful. It's actually painful to watch him try to get through a scene. Why anyone would have him in a movie is beyond me. Okay, here we go again with the "10 lines of text minimum. This is a ridiculous requirement! I have already said what is necessary for this review. I see no reason to be required to add unnecessary, wordy extra sentences just to make the 10 line requirement. Does anyone else agree with me?
Sleepless in Seattle (1993)
Walter's reaction?
First of all, I think this is basically a "chick" flick, but so what? I like it anyway. Now to my point. Walter seemed very nonchalant in receiving the news from Annie that she was leaving him for another guy. His calm, cool reaction doesn't seem very true to life from a guy who finds out his fiancé is leaving him. If I were in Walter's situation I would be devastated. I know this because I lost four fiancés to other guys. Each time I felt as if the girl had thrust her hand into my chest, ripped out my heart and threw it away! I wasn't angry with them but I was very hurt. As a result I have never married. Walter's reaction is much too calm.
Ben-Hur (1959)
"storyline" correction
First of all, this is a great movie. I generally don't care too much for this type of movie or the "swashbuckler" type movies but this one is a notable exception. The "storyline" review by Matthias Scheler is fine with one exception. Matthias states that a "brick" is accidentally dropped in the direction of the new Governor. In actuality it is a not a brick but rather it is a roof tile. Roof tiles, though still possibly lethal, are lighter than a brick and break apart much easier. Here we go again with this ridiculous "ten line" minimum requirement! When I can say what is necessary in less than ten lines there is absolutely no need for a ten line requirement! Why does this site insist upon contributors being more wordy than necessary? I have to write all this superfluous "fluff" just to make a change from "brick" to "roof tile." No one needs to read all of this extra "stuff."
Only the Lonely (1991)
Candy's brother
John Candy's "brother" states that Theresa is "plain." Is he freaking' BLIND!? She is BEAUTIFUL!! And SO sweet! I would marry Theresa in a heartbeat! I melt every time I see her! And she looks SO beautiful in that blue dress when Candy and O'Hara meet her for dinner! Gorgeous!! Small breasts? Who cares?, the size of a woman's breasts does not matter to me in the least. she is BEAUTIFUL! Great movie. I watch it over and over again. Here we go again with the "ten line" requirement! This is so ridiculous! I have already said everything that I need to say. Why does this site REQUIRE unnecessary wordiness? If I can say what is necessary in one to four lines why is more than that required? Doesn't make sense to me, does anyone else agree?
October Sky (1999)
space
I love this movie. First of all because my father was an aerospace engineer, specifically in the field of cryogenics. He worked in the space industry from it's inception in the 1950's to his retirement in 1979. He has been referred to as a "space pioneer." Among his last projects were cryogenic designs for the space shuttle orbiter, ground support systems for the shuttle and preliminary designs for the international space station. He authored several magazine articles and a manual that is still used by today's aerospace engineers. His shuttle designs are still used on every shuttle flight more than thirty years after his retirement. One could say that he was a "Rocket boy" himself! Secondly, it is just simply a well made, well acted movie. I watch it every October and never tire of it.
Always (1989)
anamorphic
This is a movie like so many others that begs to be presented in "anamorphic" or "enhanced for widescreen TV." In order to view it in it's proper 1:85:1 aspect ratio on my HDTV widescreen TV I have to set the DVD or Blu Ray player to 480P (instead of 1080P where it should be set). In addition, I have to set the TV itself to the "zoom" position and reduce the sharpness setting to about level 3 to keep the picture from being too grainy. These settings are inferior but at least this way I can watch the movie with it filling the entire screen. Please release this movie in proper anamorphic format or better yet, high def. Blu Ray!