Description

In TOP GUN, Tom Cruise stars as Maverick, a talented training pilot in an elite U.S. school for fighter pilots. When he stumbles upon some MiG's over the Persian Gulf, and his wingman panics, Maverick cleverly talks him through the situation to safety. Consequently, he is moved up in rank and sent to the Top Gun Naval Flying School. There he has several conflicts with other students while trying to live up to his deceased father's reputation.Unable to cope with the death of his best friend, and fellow pilot, Goose, Maverick contemplates dropping out, but follows through with his dream and ultimately becomes one of the "best of the best." ... Read more

Reviews (209)

Fun, but not realistic.
"Top Gun" is not the movie to watch if you are looking for authentic military activities. It is, however, a showcase for Tom Cruise to show how hot he and his band of young stud actors are. Cruise plays Maverick, a crack Navy pilot who get the chance to go to the elite Top Gun Avaiation School. There he is placed in competition with other excellent pilots, but his cheif rival is Iceman (Val Kilmer). This is your standard story of a boy wonder trying to prove himself to a father figure. The romance with his instructor is also sort of superficial. It is, however, very funny to watch all the bloated egos trying to function, resulting in very funny lines of dialog. Also the dog fights are very cool and exciting. Good job Tony Scott. I have met a lot of pilots who act just like these guys, but it didn't seem as funny at the time, though.

Top Gun
This movie is an awesome hit from director Tony Scott (also directed Beverly Hills Cop, Enemy of the State,and much more) dense with fun and excitement that will keep you FLYING for as long as you like. Tom Cruise (Days of Thunder, Jerry Maguire, etc.) stars as hotshot fighter jet pilot "Maverick" Pete Mitchell, who is elected with his partner "Goose" (Anthony Edwards) to enter the Navy's very competitive "Top Gun" program, where many comparible opponents challenge him to win the top rank, including "Iceman" Tom Kusansky (Val Kilmer) and "Slider" (Russ Rossovich). Stars Kelly McGillis as Mitchell's girlfriend, with appearances by Michael Ironside, Clarence Gilyard Jr., Meg Ryan (as Goose's wife), and Tim Robbins. A great action film.

Top Gun baby!
TOPGUN..wat can i say. i grew up watchin this film ,its fun, exciting,thrilling and above all SEXY..tom cruise has never looked soo hott...this movie has given a new meaning to the song 'Youve lost that loving feeling' youd be surprised how many pilots, footballers sing this to girls in bars...it has an amazing soundtrack. 'take my breath away' performed by berlin is a wonderful emotional lovesong that truly melts your heart. so if your a fan of a little romance then this will be a movie top of your list. i know a lot of my boy friends have enjoyed this film so its not just a sloppy romance for girls. the boys get a kick out of 'Maverick' the stud played by Cruise who is 'one hell of an instinctive pilot' who learns never to leave his wing man. His best friend 'Goose' is the coolest character hes so entertaining. there are really fun sexy catchprases, such as 'goose ya big stud take me to bed and loose me forever' and 'son your ego is writing checks your body cant cash'
Top gun is a great movie to just chill out with some popcorn on the sofa and watch with your best friends. ill guarantee you will definately enjoy it.
"there are no points for second place in Topgun." (girls checkout the volleyball scene...mmm)

Awesome Movie!
This movie is a definate classic. The story line is interesting and not mindless like many of hollywoods other movies. Plus we have a beautiful guy with a smile that will make you melt playing the sensitive yet daring main charecter; need I say more? Be careful about chosing when to watch this though, you may have trouble focusing your brain on anything other than Tom Cruises amazing smile.

Top Gun Favourite.
Absolute cheese on a stick, but Top Gun proves that that's not always a bad thing. This movie's got everything - an arrogant prodigy who'd be out on his ass if he wasn't so good, a sensible, more down to earth best friend, a love interest, an arch nemesis and his dumb sidekick, a few cool high fives and catchphrases, the emotional death scene, a euphoric victory act and of course, some unforgettable action sequences. What more could any red-blooded child of the eighties ask for?

Anyone born around 1980 will remember how everyone was doing that double high five and saying 'talk to me Goose' to the kid next to them in class. Certainly one of my all time favourites - entertaining stuff. ... Read more

Description

A young woman's life begins to resemble the daytime TV talk show she works for after she is persuaded to snoop through her boyfriend's Palm Pilot and discovers more than she wants to know about his past - and present. ... Read more

Reviews (19)

Personal involvement
I enjoyed this movie for two reasons. One, I was stationed in West Berlin during the final years of the Cold War and had personal involvement with Checkpoint Charlie, the Berlin Wall, and watching Mig aircraft flying overhead. Number two, we watched them film some scenes with Anthony Edwards and Linda Fiorentino (hubba hubba!) on Mehringdamm right below the windows to our barracks rooms! It was really cool watching the movie at the Air Force theater across the street and recognizing scenes where they filmed. This is a fun movie, and it makes me wax nostalgic for the "good ol' days" when we knew who the enemy really was...

GOTCHA!!!
Gotcha stars Anthony Edward of ER and Jsu Garcia of Wildcats and Nightmare of Elm Street as two high school kids who go to Europe for vacation.

Garcia, thinking he's a player, leaves Edwards to himself where he meets with up Sasha, played by Linda Forientino, who comes off as a very mysterious person with an awsome accent who takes interest in virgins.

she seduces and uses Johnathan (anthony edwards) into going with her to the commuinst East Berlin for some business that she has to tend to. Edwards, being blinded by love, doesn't know what's going on, but soon will, in a hard way.

Gotcha is an awsome movie with rich cinemetography as the film was shot in Europe.

excellent movie!! i recommend it.

YAY!!
What a flashback! My cousin and I watched this movie the summer I was 13, and we spent the rest of that month constantly quoting the scene from the restaurant (avec de l'eau!) and laughing hysterically! This is just a great fun movie, and I am so happy to see it's finally on DVD. I'll be sending it to that cousin for his birthday and I know he'll love it!

Just a fun movie!
It's no James Bond, but it's no Top Secret either. Gotcha has some real humor, but not at the expense of a storyline or real suspense either. It's a fun movie to get caught up in and while it's not a classic mystery or spy thriller, there is a decent amount of guess work you have to do to figure it out.

If you enjoy an entertaining film with a bit of wit and some nostalgia from the Cold War days, you'll like this movie.

Gorgeous scenery, and Paris ain't bad, either.
Ronald Reagan was making "Evil Empire" speeches, the Berlin Wall was up, and Anthony Edwards had hair when he made this Cold War spoof about a naive American college student visiting Europe for the first time, who loses his virginity to an older film student -- or is she a spy? There are some clever plot twists, some nice shots of Paris, Berlin, and the UCLA campus, and a tiny bit of buddy-bonding.

But for guys, the main reason to rent or buy this movie is the beefcake: Both Anthony Edwards and Jsu Garcia (his sleazoid roommate) display astonishingly gorgeous physiques. ... Read more

Reviews (155)

Little known movie is a gem
Miramax, the premiere producer and distributor of independent films in the world, gave Playing by Heart a limited and uninspired theatrical release in January 1999. They sold it as a comedy. It's actually a drama. Perhaps Miramax was too busy promoting its hugely successful Oscar contenders, Shakespeare in Love and Life is Beautiful. Whatever the case, don't let the fact that you may not have heard of Playing by Heart deter you. It's a fine movie and a welcome alternative to the cartoonish megahits we were offered this summer.

Essentially, the film is a study of how people handle the powerful emotion called love. The couples we meet range from the very young to the old. As we watch these people deal with affairs of the heart, it is slowly revealed to us that each of them is somehow involved with everyone else. I won't tell you how.

Leading the fantastic cast are Sean Connery and Gena Rowlands, who play Paul and Hannah, a couple on the eve of their fortieth wedding anniversary. Amidst the joy, a new problem and an old one threaten to ruin the occasion. Hugh and Gracie [Dennis Quaid and Madeline Stowe] have been married fourteen years. They have forgotten how to love one another. Meredith [Gillian Anderson] is the bitter victim of a marriage that failed for reasons neither she nor her ex-husband could prevent. She has adopted the hard edge of a person who believes that love will never work for her. When she meets Roger [Anthony Edwards], the attraction is there, but her acquired defense mechanisms make the relationship seem doomed. When young actress, Joan [Angelina Jolie], spies Keenan [Ryan Philippe] in a hot disco, she falls for the kid. Keenan has a major broken heart, and Joan has her work cut out for her. Finally, Mildred [Ellen Burstyn] must reach out to her estranged son, Mark [Jay Mohr], who is dying of AIDS.

I think Miramax decided to call this a comedy because director Willard Carroll delivered a sophisticated movie. You cannot have a film devoted to the subject of love without having scenes where hankies are required. He shows these moments without dwelling on them. He quickly moves on to the next event. And he does find a lot of humor in the frustrations and the self-doubts that come with love.

I had a couple of problems with Playing by Heart, but both of them were fairly minor. The subject matter is one more commonly associated with French and Italian movies. It is not one we Americans are incapable of doing well, but often, as here, we put so many stars in the vehicle that it gets overwhelmed. Happily, the ones in Playing From the Heart are generally excellent actors. The movie also suffers a bit from being too well constructed and written. The result is that several of the couples are interesting enough to fill a whole picture on their own, and we feel a bit cheated that we saw so little of them. Despite these little flaws, it remains one of the best and most original romantic movies of late.

There is such a wide age range in these love stories that one or more is bound to affect you. My personal favorite was the young couple, Keenan and Joan. They seemed such a perfect fit. Angelina Jolie is a consummate actress, and she may have inspired Ryan Philippe to give his best performance to date.

Talking about love is.........
When most movies boast of an "all-star cast," what they usually mean is 2, maybe 3 big name actors + a bunch of people you've never heard of. Not so with this film. With the likes of Dennis Quaid, Sean Connery, Madeline Stowe, Gillian Anderson and Angelina Jolie, this one truly lives up to the promise of having a celebrity-filled cast. They could have funded the first manned mission to Mars with the payroll of this movie. Even better, these are all cream-of-the-crop actors, as opposed to being big-name pseudo actors (like Keanu Reeves, for instance).

The story is about 3 sisters (Stowe, Anderson & Jolie), all of whom experience various troubles regarding men. Stowe's character is involved in a passionless marriage; the only way she can feel alive & vibrant is by engaging in a lascivious sexual arrangement with a fellow apartment tenant.

Anderson plays the sister "in the middle" who has been burned by men in her past & is apprehensive and more than a little bit reluctant to "play the field" again.

Jolie's persona, meanwhile, just plain can't seem to find the right guy. She goes thru frequent romances, but never finds a worthwhile partner to hang on to.

In the meantime, their parents are having their own marital troubles. Closing in on their 40th wedding anniversary, they cannot help but summon up ghosts of past lovers.

The tale is presented in a very different way than any other film I have ever seen. We see the characters deal with their individual struggles, then their stories are woven together at the end. This is a fascinating "angle" by which to detail the narrative.

The film is very well done & all of the acting performances, as expected with this ensemble, are impeccable. Jolie, in particular, stands out. The acting job she delivers is magnificent; I become a bigger & bigger fan of her's each movie I see her in. This is one of the best "date" movies I have ever seen; funny, yet emotionally poignant. Sometimes, it's best to play by heart.

IT`S A MUST ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS
.....and the screenplay is wonderful as are the actors. There are no fancy camera-angles or MTV editing of high speed(compared to Moulin Rouge and William Shakespeare`s Romeo+Juliet - classics in their own right), but the camera let the protagonists do their jobs and they do it admirably... Not that every character is of importance; I prefer Connery, Rowlands, Jolie and Philippe; but we all have our favorites... It`s a movie that few people would find dull, boring or just bad.... It`s a low-key masterpiece:-)

Great cast, unique movie
Not many people have heard of this movie, much less seen it, which is odd condsidering the number of well-known actors it stars. A few famous faces are Sean Connery, Dennis Quaid, Angelina Jolie, Gillian Anderson, and Madeline Stowe. The movie centers around several romantic relationships that you know are interconneted, but don't find out how until the end. If you're looking for romance, drama, and don't mind some tears, I would highly recommend this movie. It's become one of my all-time favorites!

Lots of heart
This is a warm and touching movie. Often when movies try to tell multiple stories at once it's just confusing but this works so well. Give "heart" a chance. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Great movie for kids
We are fans of the original Thunderbirds series. We went to the movie with our children and were not disappointed. It was really very entertaining and exiciting. Our kids thought it was fantastic! All they wanted to do is play Thunderbirds for the next week. The movie is not some work of art and the middle of the show depicts teenagers coming of age-not award winning writing here. What it does have going for it is some good rescues, good digital effects, no guns fired at anyone, strong female characters that can kick some butt, good updates to the super rescue machines, and one scene with a hand reaching for a throttle control with wires clearly visible. Despite all this die hard original Thunderbirds fans may not may still complain-missing the cheesy supermarionation(?sp) effects. You must see this with kids 5-12 years old.

THUNDERTURD
I HAVE NOT ACTUALLY SEEN THIS MOVIE, BUT I AM A HUGE THUNDERBIRDS FAN. IT IS ONE OF THE ALL TIME BEST SHOWS (AFTER THE SIMPSONS) THE TRAILER LOOKS LIKE THEY JUST WANT TO MAKE MONEY BY BUTCHERING A CLASSIC SHOW. IF YOU WANT A GOOD THUNDERBIRDS MOVIE BUY THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO AND THUNDERBIRDS 6. IF YOU CANT, GO LOOK AT A PILE OF DIARREAH, IM SHURE IT WILL BE BETTER THAN THIS MOVIE.

One word: GAY!
OH puhhleeeaaaaazzzzzzzzzeeeee! This movie looked stupid from the first time i saw the trailer! I think the movie is about this loser (and ugly) kid in the future that "wants to be the hero" or something like that. Do NOT watch this movie. I haven't seen it and i already know FOR SURE that this'll FLOP like crazy!!!!! ... Read more

Reviews (81)

My favorite romantic comedy
I usually don't like romantic movies. I mean let's face it they are usually predictable and the two stars have no chemistry. However, when done right a romantic comedy can work. In The Sure Thing it works. John Cusack stars as Walter Gibson a freshman at a small northeastern college. He has been down on his luck in the woman department. He meets a girl, Alison in his English class. They have a Pseudo-date and it ends badly. Walter decides to take a cross-country road trip to meet with his friend Lance (played by ER's Anthony Edwards when he still had hair.) Lance assures of a sure thing upon his arrival. He of course through some unfortunate luck and show tunes is stuck with Alison on the road trip. What I liked was the honesty of this movie. Cusak's character learns about women, relationships and the actual meaning of the word love by being stuck with Alison. She learns to loosen up, and accept people for what they are. In every successful relationship that I have had, that is what happens. I learn from her and she learns from me. Yes, the end is a little predictable and it is a little dated, but the story is funny and pretty dead on.

A Sure Winner
The Sure Thing is director Rob Reiner's second film and his first conventional movie after the mockumentary format of This Is Spinal Tap. The film has the classic teenage plot of boy meets girl, girl at first hates boy and then in the end they end up together. But instead of being just another cliché, The Sure Thing features such likable and winning performances by the two leads, John Cusack and Daphne Zuniga, that it becomes a memorable and lovable film. Mr. Cusack stars as Walter "Gib" Gibson who is in a slump when it comes to getting girls. Everyone around him at his New England campus seems to be scoring, except him. He meets a pretty girl, Alison (Ms. Zuniga) in his English class and tries to hook up with her. Alison is a straitlaced girl, who schedules everything she does to the second, while Gib is a spontaneous guy who lives life minute to minute. Alison agrees to tutor Gib in English and he tries to seduce her, but he fails miserably and she ends up hating him. His best friend from high school, Lance (Anthony Edwards) is out at college in California where he has set up a date for Gib who is a "sure thing". All Gib has to do is get to California by 12/22 and he's in. The problem is he has no money to fly, so he finds a ride with a couple who are driving out to Los Angeles. As fate would have it, Alison is also in the car as she is heading out to see her boyfriend in LA. The couple Gary Cooper and Mary Ann Webster are upbeat squares who sing showtunes on the trip. Gary is played by a young Tim Robbins in one of his first roles. Gib and Alison are constantly bickering at one another and eventually they are thrown out of the car and forced to hitch. Along the way, Alison starts to see the real charm in Gib and starts to fall for him. Eventually they reach LA and go their separate ways. They both end up at the party where Gib meets his sure thing (Nicolette Sheridan). Jealousy ensues between the two and Gib eventually takes his sure thing up to Lance's bedroom. The movie flashes forward where Gib and Alison are back in English class and we learn that Gib didn't cash in on his sure thing and Alison and Gib end up sharing a kiss under the stars. Mr. Cusack got his first leading role after a series of bit parts and he shines in his opportunity. He shows that offbeat charm that would become his signature trait. Mr. Reiner perfectly captures life on the road in America and the film is a low-key success.

What's Important
This 1980's teen genre comedy is not as good as the earlier "Ridgeway High." It's not as good as "Pretty In Pink" or the other John Hughes movies. But it has its moments and certainly is far better than the awful "Valley Girls" which appeared in 83. Rob Reiner has an easygoing hand on the direction. He's not going to be remembered as Hitchcock or Ozu, but again, sweet comedy is Reiner's best stuff. I always found John Cusak movies vaguely unsatisfying. His roles are the smart aleck kid that revolts against middle-class etc... But in this movie of boy-girl opposites, he's good, even handsome in a Tom Cruse way. Alison Bradbury is fine as the anal co-ed, and thank you movie god, she's a brunette, not a blonde. This is a "Road" flick and the usual rain drenched hitchhiking scenes unfold. America is big and beautiful. Hard to miss with this material. The moral, getting laid is less important than finding someone you adore. Not a bad idea.

Who invented liquid soap and why?
The Sure Thing has to be the most quotable movie of all time. When I saw it for the first time in the 80s I didn't appreciate it for what it was. When I rediscovered it in the early 90s I couldn't believe what a gem this movie is.

"excuse me I see a sweet young thing whose sarong needs adjusting"

Funny!
While this isn't as good as SAY ANYTHING..., John Cusack's later movie, it is still very good and very funny. John Cusack is better in his earlier romantic comedies like this one, SAY ANYTHING...(a classic and my favorite movie) or the hilariously offbeat BETTER OFF DEAD than he is today (with the exception of HIGH FIDELITY, I didn't like AMERICA'S SWEETHEARTS at all). He is very funny throughout the whole movie, but my favorite scene of his is in the pool scene when he's imagining his future ("When I get out of jail, I'm 36 years old.") if his love interest doesn't help him pass English. The love interest, Daphne Zuniga, is also very funny (especially when she tries to prove to J.C. in the car that she's not stuck-up-if you've seen the movie, you know which scene I mean). Overall, very funny. Like all romantic comedies, it is predictable, but the comedy, good acting and chemistry make this movie not MONEY FOR NOTHING. ... Read more

Reviews (209)

Fun, but not realistic.
"Top Gun" is not the movie to watch if you are looking for authentic military activities. It is, however, a showcase for Tom Cruise to show how hot he and his band of young stud actors are. Cruise plays Maverick, a crack Navy pilot who get the chance to go to the elite Top Gun Avaiation School. There he is placed in competition with other excellent pilots, but his cheif rival is Iceman (Val Kilmer). This is your standard story of a boy wonder trying to prove himself to a father figure. The romance with his instructor is also sort of superficial. It is, however, very funny to watch all the bloated egos trying to function, resulting in very funny lines of dialog. Also the dog fights are very cool and exciting. Good job Tony Scott. I have met a lot of pilots who act just like these guys, but it didn't seem as funny at the time, though.

Top Gun
This movie is an awesome hit from director Tony Scott (also directed Beverly Hills Cop, Enemy of the State,and much more) dense with fun and excitement that will keep you FLYING for as long as you like. Tom Cruise (Days of Thunder, Jerry Maguire, etc.) stars as hotshot fighter jet pilot "Maverick" Pete Mitchell, who is elected with his partner "Goose" (Anthony Edwards) to enter the Navy's very competitive "Top Gun" program, where many comparible opponents challenge him to win the top rank, including "Iceman" Tom Kusansky (Val Kilmer) and "Slider" (Russ Rossovich). Stars Kelly McGillis as Mitchell's girlfriend, with appearances by Michael Ironside, Clarence Gilyard Jr., Meg Ryan (as Goose's wife), and Tim Robbins. A great action film.

Top Gun baby!
TOPGUN..wat can i say. i grew up watchin this film ,its fun, exciting,thrilling and above all SEXY..tom cruise has never looked soo hott...this movie has given a new meaning to the song 'Youve lost that loving feeling' youd be surprised how many pilots, footballers sing this to girls in bars...it has an amazing soundtrack. 'take my breath away' performed by berlin is a wonderful emotional lovesong that truly melts your heart. so if your a fan of a little romance then this will be a movie top of your list. i know a lot of my boy friends have enjoyed this film so its not just a sloppy romance for girls. the boys get a kick out of 'Maverick' the stud played by Cruise who is 'one hell of an instinctive pilot' who learns never to leave his wing man. His best friend 'Goose' is the coolest character hes so entertaining. there are really fun sexy catchprases, such as 'goose ya big stud take me to bed and loose me forever' and 'son your ego is writing checks your body cant cash'
Top gun is a great movie to just chill out with some popcorn on the sofa and watch with your best friends. ill guarantee you will definately enjoy it.
"there are no points for second place in Topgun." (girls checkout the volleyball scene...mmm)

Awesome Movie!
This movie is a definate classic. The story line is interesting and not mindless like many of hollywoods other movies. Plus we have a beautiful guy with a smile that will make you melt playing the sensitive yet daring main charecter; need I say more? Be careful about chosing when to watch this though, you may have trouble focusing your brain on anything other than Tom Cruises amazing smile.

Top Gun Favourite.
Absolute cheese on a stick, but Top Gun proves that that's not always a bad thing. This movie's got everything - an arrogant prodigy who'd be out on his ass if he wasn't so good, a sensible, more down to earth best friend, a love interest, an arch nemesis and his dumb sidekick, a few cool high fives and catchphrases, the emotional death scene, a euphoric victory act and of course, some unforgettable action sequences. What more could any red-blooded child of the eighties ask for?

Anyone born around 1980 will remember how everyone was doing that double high five and saying 'talk to me Goose' to the kid next to them in class. Certainly one of my all time favourites - entertaining stuff. ... Read more

Reviews (20)

Two comedy classics on one DVD!
-INTRODUCTION: The Revenge Of The Nerds films are comedy masterpieces. And finally, the first two entries in the series have arrived on DVD - together on a single disc! Read on for my review of the films, as well as the DVD itself.

REVENGE OF THE NERDS - 1984
Two lifelong friends (portrayed by Robert Carradine and Anthony Edwards) have finally gone off to college. Unfortunately, these guys are two of the biggest nerds on the face of the earth. Combine that with the fact that they are freshmen, and you've got trouble. They meet with immediate resentment, getting thrown out of their dorm and being forced to live in the gym! Among the tormentors is none other than Ted McGinley of Happy Days and Married With Childen fame. Fortunately, they aren't the only freshman class outcasts. Joining forces with a loser (Curtis Armstrong), a black homosexual (Larry B. Scott), a Japanese exchange student (Brian Tochi), a dork with a bad haircut and even worse eyesight (Timothy Busfield), and a pre-teen genius (Andrew Cassese), the nerds plot revenge against their tormentors.

REVENGE OF THE NERDS II - 1987
Some time has passed since the first film (probably one year.) And everyone's favorite gaggle of nerds is chosen to represent Adams College at a fraternity conference in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Unfortunately, the Alpha Beta fraternity (the guys that tormented them in the first film) also have representatives at the conference, so the geeks must once again find a way to stand their ground.

FILM OPINIONS:
The first film is a comedy classic, no questions asked. Honestly, who WOULDN'T laugh at a fraternity full of nerds doing a panty raid on a sorority house? However, the film does question reality - there's NO WAY a college would force its freshman class to move into the gym and give its dorm to jocks. Likewise, many of the actions you see in this film would get students expelled. And do you see anyone getting expelled in the film? Nope. Likewise, it's a movie about college life, but there's only ONE SCENE in the entire movie that takes place in the classroom! The second film is really more of the same, but it's not quite the masterpiece the first one was. Still, it's worth watching.

DVD:
The DVD is nice, but it's severely lacking in the extras department. All you get are the trailers for both of the films, and the trailers for both of the Porky's films. I guess you can't expect to have a whole lot of extras, since it's two films on one disc.

OVERALL:
Eighties comedy films are the best comedy films of all time, and this collection beautifully demonstrates that. If you sit down and watch these films, I guarantee you - it will be impossible not to laugh.

Nerds on DVD
While the first of the Revenge of the Nerds films helped to breathe new life in the struggling teen film market and moved the genre back to college all the while helping to create a newer "hipper" version of the "nerd" character in teen cinema - the same cannot be said for its sequel. Still, it's refreshing to see Jeff Kanew's first successful feature film, as long as it doesn't make you wonder how a director with a gift for great comedic direction managed to lose his way with such dismissable tripe as 1989's Troop Beverly Hills and the flabby Kathleen Turner pic V.I. Warshawski. Nevertheless, Revenge of the Nerds still works as a triumph in teen cinema with a talented cast (led by Robert Carradine, Anthony Edwards, and a delightfully evil Ted McGinley - before Happy Days, The Love Boat, and Married With Children turned him into a one-dimensional acting joke). Even the normally noxious Timothy Busfield has fun with his role as the violin playing Poindexter. With a story that celebrates (however problematically) diversity in class, race, and sexuality - the film succeeds on a level beyond merely making the audience laugh. Add to this a touchingly heartfelt final speech by Anthony Edwards, and there is only one way that the sequel could have gone - down.
Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise has neither the sensitivity nor the humor of the first film. Directed with heavy handed excess by Hollywood uber producer Joe Roth (you have probably stumbled into a few of his sequels - most notably Young Guns II and The Exorcist III - not to mention his directing work which includes 1990's passable Coupe DeVille and last years America's Sweethearts), Roth manages to strip mine the first film of its humor and originality and replaces its gentle approach to T&A with a hamfisted collection of fart jokes. It does have some grin worthy moments (such as the memorable zen loogie), but its otherwise a xerox of the first film, faded and uninspired. It may please die hard fans of the series, but I was disappointed at the young age of 14 - and 14 year olds aren't hard to impress.
Still, the DVD is worth picking up if only for the beautiful transfer of the first film, which is both impressive in its visual design - taking the production beyond the sitcom modeled standard for eighties comedies. I believe that the second film is packaged with the first because Fox knew that people were unlikely to buy it on its own. I know I would be.

movie
Follow the nerds through life. They try to act cool and hang out with the popular kids but are never accepted. So they hang out together and get into some crazy stuff. Fun pointless movie that has had way to many movies dedicated to them.

Revenge of the Nerds
I watched Revenge of the Nerds hundred times, they really awesome. Before there was American Pie Kevin Meyers, Jim Levinstien, Chris 'Oz' Ostreicher, Paul Finch, Michelle Flaherty, Buffy the Vampire Slayer Xander Harris and Willow Rosenberg their was Revenge of the Nerds. Ted McGinley came from Happy Days,The Love Boat, Married With Children and Hope & Faith became their enemy and their friend three and four made him a great actor. Anthony Edwards came from Top Gun and ER made Gilbert the leader of Tri-Lams into a great actor. Bradley Whitford came from The West Wing into people love to hate. Revenge of the Nerds were like the American Pie Guys of the eighties. They always said Nerds always Rule in the eighties, Ninties and the millenium.

funny
Revenge of the nerds is one of the funniest movies ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!***** stars
Ive never seen number 2 but im gona see it soon ... Read more

Description

In TOP GUN, Tom Cruise stars as Maverick, a talented training pilot in an elite U.S. school for fighter pilots. When he stumbles upon some MiG's over the Persian Gulf, and his wingman panics, Maverick cleverly talks him through the situation to safety. Consequently, he is moved up in rank and sent to the Top Gun Naval Flying School. There he has several conflicts with other students while trying to live up to his deceased father's reputation.Unable to cope with the death of his best friend, and fellow pilot, Goose, Maverick contemplates dropping out, but follows through with his dream and ultimately becomes one of the "best of the best." ... Read more

Reviews (209)

Fun, but not realistic.
"Top Gun" is not the movie to watch if you are looking for authentic military activities. It is, however, a showcase for Tom Cruise to show how hot he and his band of young stud actors are. Cruise plays Maverick, a crack Navy pilot who get the chance to go to the elite Top Gun Avaiation School. There he is placed in competition with other excellent pilots, but his cheif rival is Iceman (Val Kilmer). This is your standard story of a boy wonder trying to prove himself to a father figure. The romance with his instructor is also sort of superficial. It is, however, very funny to watch all the bloated egos trying to function, resulting in very funny lines of dialog. Also the dog fights are very cool and exciting. Good job Tony Scott. I have met a lot of pilots who act just like these guys, but it didn't seem as funny at the time, though.

Top Gun
This movie is an awesome hit from director Tony Scott (also directed Beverly Hills Cop, Enemy of the State,and much more) dense with fun and excitement that will keep you FLYING for as long as you like. Tom Cruise (Days of Thunder, Jerry Maguire, etc.) stars as hotshot fighter jet pilot "Maverick" Pete Mitchell, who is elected with his partner "Goose" (Anthony Edwards) to enter the Navy's very competitive "Top Gun" program, where many comparible opponents challenge him to win the top rank, including "Iceman" Tom Kusansky (Val Kilmer) and "Slider" (Russ Rossovich). Stars Kelly McGillis as Mitchell's girlfriend, with appearances by Michael Ironside, Clarence Gilyard Jr., Meg Ryan (as Goose's wife), and Tim Robbins. A great action film.

Top Gun baby!
TOPGUN..wat can i say. i grew up watchin this film ,its fun, exciting,thrilling and above all SEXY..tom cruise has never looked soo hott...this movie has given a new meaning to the song 'Youve lost that loving feeling' youd be surprised how many pilots, footballers sing this to girls in bars...it has an amazing soundtrack. 'take my breath away' performed by berlin is a wonderful emotional lovesong that truly melts your heart. so if your a fan of a little romance then this will be a movie top of your list. i know a lot of my boy friends have enjoyed this film so its not just a sloppy romance for girls. the boys get a kick out of 'Maverick' the stud played by Cruise who is 'one hell of an instinctive pilot' who learns never to leave his wing man. His best friend 'Goose' is the coolest character hes so entertaining. there are really fun sexy catchprases, such as 'goose ya big stud take me to bed and loose me forever' and 'son your ego is writing checks your body cant cash'
Top gun is a great movie to just chill out with some popcorn on the sofa and watch with your best friends. ill guarantee you will definately enjoy it.
"there are no points for second place in Topgun." (girls checkout the volleyball scene...mmm)

Awesome Movie!
This movie is a definate classic. The story line is interesting and not mindless like many of hollywoods other movies. Plus we have a beautiful guy with a smile that will make you melt playing the sensitive yet daring main charecter; need I say more? Be careful about chosing when to watch this though, you may have trouble focusing your brain on anything other than Tom Cruises amazing smile.

Top Gun Favourite.
Absolute cheese on a stick, but Top Gun proves that that's not always a bad thing. This movie's got everything - an arrogant prodigy who'd be out on his ass if he wasn't so good, a sensible, more down to earth best friend, a love interest, an arch nemesis and his dumb sidekick, a few cool high fives and catchphrases, the emotional death scene, a euphoric victory act and of course, some unforgettable action sequences. What more could any red-blooded child of the eighties ask for?

Anyone born around 1980 will remember how everyone was doing that double high five and saying 'talk to me Goose' to the kid next to them in class. Certainly one of my all time favourites - entertaining stuff. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Great movie for kids
We are fans of the original Thunderbirds series. We went to the movie with our children and were not disappointed. It was really very entertaining and exiciting. Our kids thought it was fantastic! All they wanted to do is play Thunderbirds for the next week. The movie is not some work of art and the middle of the show depicts teenagers coming of age-not award winning writing here. What it does have going for it is some good rescues, good digital effects, no guns fired at anyone, strong female characters that can kick some butt, good updates to the super rescue machines, and one scene with a hand reaching for a throttle control with wires clearly visible. Despite all this die hard original Thunderbirds fans may not may still complain-missing the cheesy supermarionation(?sp) effects. You must see this with kids 5-12 years old.

THUNDERTURD
I HAVE NOT ACTUALLY SEEN THIS MOVIE, BUT I AM A HUGE THUNDERBIRDS FAN. IT IS ONE OF THE ALL TIME BEST SHOWS (AFTER THE SIMPSONS) THE TRAILER LOOKS LIKE THEY JUST WANT TO MAKE MONEY BY BUTCHERING A CLASSIC SHOW. IF YOU WANT A GOOD THUNDERBIRDS MOVIE BUY THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO AND THUNDERBIRDS 6. IF YOU CANT, GO LOOK AT A PILE OF DIARREAH, IM SHURE IT WILL BE BETTER THAN THIS MOVIE.

One word: GAY!
OH puhhleeeaaaaazzzzzzzzzeeeee! This movie looked stupid from the first time i saw the trailer! I think the movie is about this loser (and ugly) kid in the future that "wants to be the hero" or something like that. Do NOT watch this movie. I haven't seen it and i already know FOR SURE that this'll FLOP like crazy!!!!! ... Read more

Amazon.com

What do you do when you're given the deadline for the end of the world? Steve De Jarnatt's insidiously clever and utterly gripping nuclear thriller begins as a romantic lark--amiable swing trombonist Anthony Edwards meets girl of his dreams Mare Winningham--and turns into a nightmarish vision of society out of control. It all turns on the chance pick-up of a ringing pay phone at 4 a.m. and a panicked voice breathlessly warning Edwards that World War III has been launched. Genuine wake-up call or elaborate prank? De Jarnatt plays his hand close to the chest, which only increases the unnerving tension as word spreads like a contagion. Future E.R. star Edwards is perfectly cast as the everyman driven to reckless desperation and director De Jarnatt creates wonders on a small budget. His vision of L.A.'s Miracle Mile gripped in the blind panic of a careening traffic jam is both believable and chilling. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Reviews (32)

Love uprooted by reality
This movie starts as a beautiful love story. Harry (Anthony Edwards) and Julie (Mare Winningham) meet at a museum and become attached immediately. They can both tell they've met the right one and want to see more of each other. But Julie has to work that night at the coffee shop. Harry goes back home to take a nap and will meet her at quitting time: 12:15 A.M. But, as fate would have it, the electricity goes out at Harry's place, he oversleeps due to the alarm not sounding, and he ends up being over 3 1/2 hours late. Julie has gone home in despair. He tries calling her at the phone booth next to the restaurant and has to leave a message. He leaves the booth, buys a paper, hears the phone in the booth ringing and picks up in mild anticipation. But it isn't Julie. It's someone at a missile silo trying to call his Dad. "We're locked in", he says, trying to warn his Dad. "50 minutes and counting". "This is it, this is really it, this is the big one. Thor Arthur 66DDZ....It's for real Dad, this is no drill." Edwards asks him, "What are you talking about?" "I'm talking about nuclear fu----g war", the voice says. After some communication the caller realizes he dialed the right number but the wrong area code. Harry figures it has to be a joke but it sounded too real for him to be sure. He goes back into the coffee shop and tells the customers what he just heard. Naturally, no one wants to believe it. But a woman in the restaurant with a laptop computer and cell phone who has connections high up in government takes what he has to say very seriously. She asks him to repeat what he heard. She thinks it's for real, after contacting people in "D.C." "Four out of five are now in transit to the extreme Southern hemisphere". She finds that "more than just very curious". All but two people in the restaurant are convinced and are frantically preparing to escape. But Harry's only thoughts are about Julie. If this is really the end he has to find her building and get her and try to escape this insanity. He has less than 45 minutes.

Not Even Slightly Relaxing
"People always think they have so much time... to do all the things they'd like to do..." Years after seeing this film, that line is one of the main things that still sticks with me.

This movie was an early effort by Anthony Edwards and Mare Winningham. The basic idea is of a young couple who has just started falling in love, and begun thinking of planning a life together -- only to find that World War Three has suddenly begun. Anthony Edwards is planning to meet Mare Winningham after work, which for her is about one o'clock in the morning. She works at one of those all-night coffee houses, in Los Angeles. He sets his alarm clock for midnight, and tries to catch a few hours of shut-eye before their date.

The writer, or maybe the director (I'm not sure) did something really clever here. One of the film's characters absently throws away a lit cigarette butt, which, unbeknownst to the the character, gets picked up by a bird. The bird wishes to incorporate the butt into its nest, and does so. However, because the butt still has a slight spark left in it, the butt ends up setting the nest on fire. The small nest fire does not spread, but it does have the effect of burning through the insulation of the electrical wires upon which the nest sits. As luck would have it, these wires are the ones which supply Anthony Edwards' building with electricity. So when the power fails, so does his alarm clock, although he remains ignorant of the entire sequence of cause and effect behind this event... this little sequence makes us think of the many chains of events going on all the time, outside our own circle of awareness, which could eventually have some impact upon us. In the case of the bird with the cigarette butt, the result is that Anthony Edwards is three hours late to meet Mare Winningham, who of course has already gone home in a state of depression. However, the fact that he is late for their date has another chance result -- he happens to be standing near a payphone, right outside Mare Winningham's coffeehouse, when it rings. The caller is part of another, far more deadly unseen sequence of cause and effect, going on out in the world beyond L.A. We never find out the details of what has been going on in the place where the caller is calling from, (a missile silo), or the events in Washington and Moscow that led up to the random phone call. Unfortunately, the sequence in which the caller is playing a part seems to have come to a horrifying conclusion -- the caller claims that a nuclear war has been declared, completely unknown to U.S. citizens, in the middle of the night.

Anthony Edwards isn't even sure if the phone call is real. Obviously it was a wrong number. Besides, perhaps someone is just playing a prank! Then again... perhaps someone is NOT playing a prank.

A hyper-efficient, high-octane, female stockbroker, played by Denise Crosby, happens to be in the coffeehouse when Anthony Edwards staggers dazedly in. She assesses the situation, and decides to IMMEDIATELY hire a jet airplane to take her, and whoever can keep up with her, to the extreme southern hemisphere. (Radiation is expected to be a little less awful there, in most nuclear war scenarios). She behaves how people SHOULD behave in a situation like this -- efficiently, swiftly, decisively. But how many of her fellow mortals can live up to her excellent standards?

The answer is, basically, none. Total panic engulfs the entire city in a matter of minutes, as news spreads about the phone call. Most terrifyingly, no one seems capable of doing the one thing that they must do, which is simply to drop everything and flee immediately. Everyone keeps thinking of that one more thing they "need" to do, before seeking shelter outside the city. Eventually... well, I'll let you see for yourself.

This is a terrifying movie. For another film that is very similar, but even more graphic, I recommend that you look for the 1984 British TV-movie "Threads," witten by Barry Hines. "Threads" can be found on the British Amazon.com, or in online auction houses if you search for the two terms "threads" and "war" together, in the fields for VHS or DVDs. If you'd like some real, serious information about about nuclear war, (which hardly anyone seems to possess), try "The Cold and The Dark: The World after Nuclear War" by Paul Ehrlich and Carl Sagan, with a forword by Lewis Thomas. You could also read "Planet Earth in Jeopardy: Environmental Consequences of Nuclear War," by Lydia Dotto.

I need a miracle!
When I first rented this movie in the early 1990s I wanted to buy it, but it was out-of-print on VHS. I figured I would never be able to purchase it, but the world of DVD has changed that. Thankfully, its release on DVD is a very welcome addition to my cinematic library.

Anthony Edwards, best known for his portrayal of Goose in TOP GUN, plays an everyday guy. Mare Winningham plays and everyday girl. The two fall in love & look like they're well on their way to living happily ever after when their Romantic interlude is interrupted by a nuclear war.

There is nothing more heartbreaking than a terminally ill person who has only weeks or months to live. Situations like that bring out the best in all of us. We treat that person like royalty as we know they will not have a tomorrow; every moment counts.

However, in a grotesque world where EVERYONE is terminally ill, with only hours or perhaps minutes to live, things don't work like that. Instead what you end up with is anarchy & absolute mayhem. It is this snapshot of the death throes of a civilization that forms the centerpiece of this movie's plot.

The film has some very nice symbolism. I particularly liked the obvious parallel between the end of mankind and the demise of the dinosaurs. The scene of the two being trapped in the helicopter is a nice touch as well as it brings out the clausterphobic terror of a nuclear war. Quite simply, there IS no place to run to, and there is no escape.

At the beginning of the film, inside a museum of Natural History, there is a voiceover on a presentation of the history of the universe. A 15-20 billion year old universe, a 4 & 1/2 year old planet, sundry lifeforms that have taken millions of years to evolve. The film is noteworthy for how it makes one realize that nearly every species on earth could be wiped on in a matter of days.

While the Cold War is now over & terrorism is the new threat that has emerged to cause us all anxiety, this movie remains a classic. I cannot help but think that the human race is not "out of the woods" as far as a nuclear arms race goes. Someday there will likely be a country that will stockpile enough nukes to take the place of Russia as a nuclear weapons rival. If / when that happens, MIRACLE MILE will have more relevance to our day-to-day lives than ever.

Glad I discovered this one
My mate lent me this amazing little film and after viewing it I immediately ordered my own copy.
This is a very compelling and weirdly hypnotic film that is quite difficult to shake from your mind for days afterwards. I liked the cinematography very much with its bright, saturated colours that contrast very nicely with the dark subject matter.
The performances hold the attention too with a very strange collection of characters.
Bleak, brave, exciting and curiously affecting.

a fantastic FALLIN
mind TINGLIN mood enhancing adrenaline pulsating CLEVER love DROPS a bomb THRILLER on TWO kinda normal GEEKY characters,THIS movie is theYIN yang when its comes to AVANTE GARDE home spun,techno the film editing is ALMOST NUCLEAR in its WOW,TAKE ME THERE cinema like BEING THERE IN SOME SPECRACLE,before THE lights go OUT,and STARRY eyed ENDURING, suspense LEADING UP TO embrase,LOVE CONSUMATED in GOOD OLE IN mating ritual, hesitant steps TOWARD AND BACK, its a RITUAL, i can watch over, the journey INTO THE FALLIN into LOVE. ... Read more

Description

After the death of his wife, veterinarian Chase Matthews (Anthony Edwards, TV's ER) and his 13-year-old son Jeff (Edward Furlong, Terminator 2: Judgement Day) move to Ludlow to rebuild their lives. Antagonized by the neighborhood kids, Jeff befriends another outsider, Drew Gilbert, who lives in fear of his cruel stepfather Gus (Clancy Brown, Highlander). After Gus cold-bloodedly shoots Drew's beloved dog, the boys bury the body in the local Indian burial grounds - a place rumored to have powers of resurrection. When evil is awakened, the boys realize that sometimes you should just led dead dogs lie. ... Read more

Reviews (41)

Entertaining, but not as good as the original.
Pet Sematary Two is totally different from the original movie. It takes place in the same town, but with a different cast. The movie is about a 13 year old boy named Jeff Matthews, played by Edward Furlong (T2 Judgement Day, American History X) visiting his actress mother on set, while filming a low budget horror movie. While she was filming a scene, she gets electricuted and dies. Jeff and his father Chase Matthews played by Anthony Edwards (Revenge of the Nerds, TVs ER) move to Ludlow from Los Angeles to start a new life. His father was a vetinarian. Jeff goes to his first day of school and brings his kitten with him. After school, a punk named Clyde Parker takes his kitten and runs off with his friends. Jeff goes after him in his bicycle and they get to the path that leads to the Pet Sematary. Clyde and his friends tell Jeff about the rumors of the Burial Ground. Clyde offends Jeff by telling him to bury his mom in the burial ground and pray for her to come back. Jeff throws a punch at him, and Clyde goes off and kicks his ass. Jeff goes into the Pet Sematary to get his kitten out of the cage and becomes friends with Drew. An overweight kid with a mean, strict stepfather named Gus, played by Clancy Brown,(The Shawkshank Redemption)who is the town sheriff. Gus shoots and kills Drew's dog Zowie and buries him at the Indian Burial Ground with Jeff,wondering if it will work. Zowie comes back deadly and angrier. Gus gets upset and grounded Drew for lying to him saying he buried his dog. On Halloween, Jeff and Drew meet Clyde and his gang at the Pet Sematary where he told everybody about what happened to the Creed family. Gus, later finds out where Drew was at and starts to beat him. Zowie comes to the rescue and kills Gus. Drew and Jeff bury him at the Micmac Burial Ground and he comes back alive. He kills Clyde with a motorcycle, kills Drew and his mother in a head on collision with a potato truck, buries Clyde at the burial ground, digs up Renee and gets Jeff to bury her at the burial ground. She comes back killing Jeff's housekeeper, Clyde comes back trying to kill Jeff. Jeff and his dad put up a fight and kill all the dead ones and move out of the town. This movie is worth renting and watching. The first one is worth buying, but only rent this movie. It's an entertaining movie.

PET SEMATARY 2
PET SEMATARY 2 is the sequel to Stephen King's original PET SEMATARY. Jeff Matthews moves to the town of Ludlow with his father after his Hollywood star mother is accidentally killed while making a horror movie. Jeff makes friends with a local boy named Drew who has a dog named Zowie and a mean stepfather named Gus, who also happens to be the sheriff in Ludlow. When Gus shoots Drew's dog, Drew takes Jeff with him to bury the dog in the Indian burial ground that's next to the local Pet Sematary. When the dog comes back from the dead, Jeff begins to wonder if he should bury his mother in the burial ground. This is a decent, well-acted sequel.

Ick.
This sequel is a disgusting splatterfest with the bare bones of a story wrapped around it. Anthony Edwards (who should have known better) and Edward Furlong (who shouldn't have, probably) star as a father and son who move to the town which the Creed family from the first movie didn't have so much luck in. Mayhem ensues. A zombified sheriff oozing face goo onto his cute little screaming wife as he sexually assaults her... A box full of chewed-up kittens... A young boy getting his neck snapped in a scene which winds up being played for laughs... These scenes are not just disgusting, they are in bad taste.
The first movie was not "Silence of the Lambs"-caliber cinema either, but at least it was scary and a decent "popcorn" movie. It was gross too, but it was practically "Annie" compared to this sequel's pointless, offensive gore-a-thon. Apparently the filmmaker's goal was to make as many audience members as possible flee the theater retching. Mission accomplished. Shame on you, Dr. Greene!

PEOPLE NEVER LEARN
Why is it that even though every one knows the story of THE MONKEY'S PAW, people tend to want to bring the dead back, when they know it's not gonna be pretty. Mary Lambert's PET SEMATARY TWO is a disturbing, dark, brooding movie, where children and pets are wasted very casually. Especially brutal is the fate of Andrew (Jason McGuire). But here's my overall take:
THE SCRIPT: Stephen King wasn't happy, but he still let it come out, huh? Actually, the script's not that bad, it's just so dark and foreboding. SCORE: 3
THE CAST: I've never been a fan of Edward Furlong, but this is the first time he didn't tick me off through the whole movie; he obviously enjoys playing the cynical, dark, deep kid; Anthony Edwards is ineffectual, too zombielike; Clancy Brown is marvelous as Gus, especially when he returns from the dead; Jared Rushton (Big) is good, too, as the psychotic to be Clyde; and Darlanne Flugel is richly exotic as Furlong's dead mother.
SCORE; 4
TECHNICALLY: Up and down; the effects of the dog are sometimes good, and other times, very noticeably inept; the score does nothing to enhance the film, but when you're marketing for teenagers, it's inevitable; direction is a little slow at times. SCORE: 3

Very worthy sequel
Most people prefer PET SEMATARY II over the original because it's more fun and not nearly as disturbing. The original has images that stay with you for weeks, whereas the sequel is basically just a huge, fun gorefest. It still is very spooky and quite good, even though Stephen King put up a huge fight for it not to go to theaters and wanted all the video and DVD copies in the world destroyed. I think it's a very well-done sequel and you'll like it if you liked the original. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Following their super-quirky films Twin Falls Idaho and Jackpot, the Polish brothers take a leap of faith with their third picture, Northfork. And it pays off handsomely. Somewhere in the desolate Midwest, the town of Northfork is about to be drowned in the waters held back by a new dam. It's up to a group of men (in identical black suits and fedoras) to clear out the last stubborn landowners. Meanwhile, a deathly ill boy bargains with a delegation of heaven-sent searchers--at least that's what they seem to be. Is this Fargo meets Touched by an Angel? That's the peculiar feel of this otherwise unclassifiable movie, which veers from academic artiness to wacky blackout humor. Who can explain the restaurant where diners must guess the lone menu item? And who would want to? James Woods and Nick Nolte lead a game cast through this oddly winning enterprise. --Robert Horton ... Read more

Reviews (53)

Indescribably beautiful, albeit a bit confusing.
Northfork (Michael Polish, 2003)

Michael and Mark Polish, the same writing team behind the delightfully twisted Twin Falls, Idaho, now unveils Northfork. I'm not sure there are enough good things I can say about this movie, and yet I feel I lost a lot in translation from the big screen.

The basic structure around which all the stories revolve is the moving of the (real) town of Northfork, Montana, to higher ground in 1955. Various subplots involve three teams of related men hired to move the locals who refuse to leave their homes; the priest who runs the local orphans' home, which is left with a sole orphan to place; and four individuals impossible to describe who are searching for a relative.

The acting in this film is simply superb, which is to be expected given its high-powered cast. James Woods, Nick Nolte, Kyle McLachlan, Claire Forlani, Daryl Hannah, Peter Coyote, Michele Hicks, Ben Foster, and Anthony Edwards, among many others, all make appearances (one wonders only why the Polish brothers didn't case their favorite actor, underrated comic genius Garrett Morris, in this one). The sound transfer to the DVD is one of the worst I've ever heard, however; the voices are mixed so painfully softly compared to the ambient sound that subtitles are a necessity in some parts of the film unless you want the cops citing you for noise violations. Use the subtitles. You want to catch what's going on.

Despite the darkness of the locations and cinematography (which lends the film a claustrophobic, ominous air throughout), the main feeling of the work is a sense of pure whimsy. Angels in Montana in 1955? Well, that would seem to be the case, along with a conspiracy to hunt them down and amputate their wings. James Woods actually says the words "Whatchoo talkin' bout, Willis?" and pulls it off. The eviction agents find themselves in increasingly absurd situations as they travel from house to house, and the orphan, who is terminally ill, orchestrates wilder and wilder delusions in his head. (Possibly. It gets hard to tell what's real and what's going on in the boy's head.) I'd be hard-pressed to call Northfork a comedy, but it contains moments of sheer comic genius.

Brilliant. ****

Indeed Odd
I fully agree that this movie was odd. This was our first experience with the Polish brothers. Throughout the movie my husband kept asking now who is that? Whose house is that? We compared it to "Vanilla Sky" which we also walked out of the theater going "Oookay and Huh?" It was a good movie though. Incited discussion.

beautiful
This is a very beautiful, but rather confusing movie. You feel the progress of the plot in your emotions, but you're not quite sure what the progress is. Nevertheless if you think, you can piece together a general idea of what it's about, and a general idea is all you really need to watch something (if you're in doubt, watch Akira or spend some time as a working immigrant). The movie feels slow, but when it's over it seems very short, and you wish it lasted longer. It has a soundtrack of haunting music box melody, oldtime 50s tunes (we are not speaking of rock music), and one other style, used to great effect in one of the funny parts. The overall mood is melancholy, but also often very beautiful; sometimes pensive; sometimes a sense of wonder; sometimes very funny and sometimes dry. This movie has something for everyone, and is mixed and out there enough for everyone to think it is weird. You'll be glad you watched it, but no one else will be able to predict why you'll feel that way.

The worst movie I have ever seen
This is truly the worst movie I have ever seen. It transitions in and out of some bizarre dream state and offers nothing to engage the viewer (except for some interesting cinematography).

I typically trust film critics' tastes, however they were severely off the mark with this film. It upsets me to think that I have wasted my time and money.

View at your own risk!

Offbeat but beautiful meditation on change and acceptance
In 1955, the town of Northfork, Montana was flooded when the gates of a completed dam were closed. Against this backdrop, two related stories are told. In one, three teams of men, motivated by rewards of lakefront property, attempt to get local die-hards to move on before their homes are flooded. This story is filled with humor - visual gags, offbeat characters, and a 100% off-the-wall scene at the local diner. But there are human touches, too, as one father-and-son team argue over whether to save their wife/mother's coffin from the rising flood.
In the other story, Father Harlan (played with heart-breaking tenderness by Nick Nolte) takes care of Irwin, a young orphan who is dying. As Irwin drifts in and out of consciousness, his fevered mind creates visions of angelic beings and reunion out of the landscape and his pitifully few belongings - a model airplane, a comic book, bird feathers he's collected.
This film is very carefully crafted. The two, interleaved stories are visually unified by the "big sky" landscape and a color palette of muted blues, grays, and tans (everything - land, water, buildings, machinery, people - is color-coordinated). The transitions between the two stories deliberately link the fantasy-like character of Irwin's angelic visions with the absurd elements in the evacuation story, and at one point suggest that Irwin's dreams may not be that far off the mark. And finally, Nolte's monologue, inspired by his own experience, goes straight to the heart of the matter.
The result, for me, was a gentle and moving meditation on the inevitability of change and loss, and the grace we find through humor and acceptance. This is visual poetry, a movie to watch again and again. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The exceptionally fine cast--Susan Sarandon, Tommy Lee Jones, J.T. Walsh, Mary-Louise Parker, Anthony Edwards, William H.Macy, Anthony LaPaglia, Ossie Davis, and Brad Renfro--goes a long way toward making The Client one of the more solidly enjoyable screen adaptations of a John Grisham southern gothic legal thriller. Teen-hearthrob Renfro is a natural, playing a kid whose life is in jeopardy after he witnesses the death of a Mob lawyer. Susan Sarandon is the attorney who decides to look after the boy; nobody can match her when it comes to playing strong and protective maternal figures (Thelma and Louise, Lorenzo's Oil, Dead Man Walking). Sarandon won her fourth Oscar nomination as best actress for this role, before finally winning the following year for Dead Man Walking. Author Grisham was so impressed with former window dresser/fashion designer/screenwriter-turned-director Joel Schumacher's work on this movie that he later asked him to direct A Time to Kill. --Jim Emerson ... Read more

Reviews (46)

THE CLIENT
A sterling cast headed by Oscar - nominated Susan Sarandon makes this slick thriller the adaptation of a John Grisham bestseller. Mark Sway (Brad Renfro) witnesses the suicide of a Mafia lawyer, who confesses that the mob was behind the murder of a U.S. senator. Mark's brother is traumatized into a coma by the incident; gangster Barry Muldano (Anthony LaPaglia) is soon on Mark's trail, and in desperation, he arrives at the office of recovering alcoholic lawyer Reggie Love (Sarandon). With the mob after them, and a ruthless federal attorney Roy Foltrig (Tommy Lee Jones) trying to force Mark to reveal what he knows, Love battles to guarantee the safety of her client and his family. The relationship between Reggie Love and Mark Sway is the center of the film, adding considerable character development to plot's routine elements. Director Joel Schumacher helmed another Grisham adaptation, A Time To Kill, in 1996.

Excellent Movie From a Terrible Book
"The Client" is a movie that profiled the American Justice system drenched with beaurocracy, and the particular story of a young child and his family caught up in it. An 11 year old backwoods punk kid named Mark Sway (Newly introduced Brad Renfro), is a witness to the suicide of a lawyer involved in a high profile Mafia case. Being the only witness, he is now pressured by the US Attorney's office to talk...and by the Mob not to. US Attorney Roy Fortrigg is played flawlessly as always by award winning actor Tommy Lee Jones, who battles Mark's dedicated lawyer (Susan Sarandon) to make the boy tell all and vault himself to Governor of Louisianna. If I was making this movie, I would think that it would fall apart on the child's role...but it didnt. Brad Renfro was as good as they come, playing a stubborn punk kid who refused to be intimidated by Fortrigg, and tried not to let the Mob get to him either. Another stellar performance was played by Kim Coates, one of the big Mob boss's henchmen. After seeing "The Client" I checked out a few other of his roles...needless to say they were mostly the "bad guy" parts. The movie was gripping in every sense with suspense, action and hardball legal dialogue that trully capture the reality of a high-profile criminal justice case. From start to finish I enjoyed the movie very much and cant turn it off to this day if I flip by it on television. I think "The Client" is a great purchase idea...and again I dont recommend the book.

Reggie to the Rescue.
You gotta hand it to John Grisham: Nobody has the various lawyer cliches down pat as well as him - in fact, it almost seems as if he invented or at least, reinvented many of them. As in most of his thrillers, we get a whole handful in "The Client": the slimy mafia lawyer, the power-hungry politician-to-be, the self-aggrandizing ambulance-chaser, the grandfatherly judge and, of course, the motherly family law practitioner who turned to legal practice after overcoming a few troubles of her own. I think that leaves only the greedy corporate attorney, his cousin the corrupt judge and their perpetual antagonists, the starving public interest lawyer and the inquisitive student prodigy unrepresented here; but still, not a bad collection for a single thriller, even by Grisham. (And that doesn't even include the count of dumb and/or malicious cops, slick tabloid journalists and ruthless mobsters running around in this story.) But never mind: "The Client" is one of John Grisham's best-ever novels, and this movie surpasses many another big-screen adaptation of his books by several leagues. For Grisham at the top of his game is also an excellent storyteller, and in the hands of director Joel Schumacher his tale of beleaguered eleven-year-old Mark Sway who gets in trouble by becoming the reluctant last confidant of suicidal defense attorney Jerome "Romey" Clifford comes to life in spot-on and truly gripping fashion.

Although not even a teenager yet, Mark (Brad Renfro) is as tough as they come - a Memphis trailer park kid who gets most of his education on life's really important aspects from TV, has already helped his mom (Mary-Louise Parker) get rid of the wife-beating guy he now calls his "ex-father," and since then has been the man in the house, taking care of his eight-year-old brother Ricky whenever their mother is at work (i.e., most of the time). So Mark doesn't scare easily; and even if he really is afraid, he'd rather drop dead than admit it. But with both the mob *and* the feds on his trail - the former out to kill him before he can share the dirty little secret they suspect Romey has spilled before blowing out his brains, the latter hell-bent on making him share that very secret - even Mark has to face the fact that he is in way over his head ... and yes, he's scared, too; and not just a little. Worse, his brother is out cold, in hospital being treated for post-traumatic stress disorder because watching Romey's suicide was more than his delicate eight-year-old soul could take, and their mother is in hospital with Ricky on the doctor's orders because Ricky might need her when he wakes up. (Consequently she's also out of a job, because her sweat-shop employer doesn't take kindly to this sort of family emergency). Reluctantly, Mark therefore concludes that he needs an attorney. And in short order, he lands on the doorstep of Regina "Reggie" Love (Susan Sarandon), middle-aged but only a few years out of law school, through which she put herself after her husband left her for a younger woman, not without depriving her of their children's custody and branding her an unfit mother. But what starts as a hesitant relationship at best on Mark's side soon turns out his one stroke of luck, because Reggie is probably the only lawyer in town not afraid to take on even powerful U.S. Attorney "Reverend" Roy Foltrigg (Tommy Lee Jones) and the FBI, and ultimately willing to put her own job at risk for her client.

While condensing some of its elements, the movie's screenplay follows Grisham's novel fairly closely, taking part of its dialogue straight from the book. Yet, "The Client" lives not only from John Grisham's gripping story but also - and primarily - from its characters and outstanding cast, including the ever-reliable J.T. Walsh (FBI Agent McThune), William H. Macy (Ricky's doctor), Anthony Edwards (Reggie's assistant Clint), Ossie Davis (Judge Roosevelt) and Walter Olkewicz ("Romey" Clifford). Unquestioningly most memorable, however, is the quintet at the movie's center. Brad Renfro was selected by Schumacher for his first-ever screen appearance as Mark because he had a somewhat similar background as the story's hero and thus, an intuitive understanding that, along with his innate toughness, ultimately proved more convincing than the acting skills of more experienced child actors; and indeed, he so compellingly carries his part that he deservedly garnered a 1995 Young Artists Award. Susan Sarandon earned another Oscar nomination for her portrayal of Reggie, who actually listens to her clients and makes sure even those of their desires that may seem trivial to others are taken care of; such as Dianne Sway's wish for a walk-in closet. (Sarandon's Academy-Award nomination was her fourth after "Atlantic City," "Thelma & Louise" and "Lorenzo's Oil;" but although she had to wait yet another year to finally score an Oscar with "Dead Man Walking," "The Client" at least won her a BAFTA Award). Tommy Lee Jones plays the bible-quoting Foltrigg with his tongue firmly planted in his cheek and thus, although occasionally terrifying, makes him a more complete and almost even likeable character; much more so than he is in Grisham's novel. Mary-Louise Parker's Dianne Sway truly brings to life the young besieged trailer park mom desperately trying to get a grip on her life, and Anthony LaPaglia finally is simultaneously frightening and unintentionally funny as the slick but not overly bright mob killer Barry "The Blade" Muldanno, the source of Clifford's (and consequently everybody else's) problems.

So, watch this for the outstanding performances of the five central characters as well as the fine ensemble cast, for one of John Grisham's most gripping yarns, and for Joel Schumacher's excellent editing and sense of place. This may not be a major milestone in movie history (except regarding Brad Renfro's career of course), but it's without question one of the best thrillers of the past 15 years and easily recommended on that basis alone.

TENSE ADAPTATION OF GRISHAM'S NOVEL
In his first film, Brad Renfro (Apt Pupil) walks away with THE CLIENT. His performance carries the entire movie, and he is a jewel. From his southern accent to his bullheaded obstination, Renfro creates a portrait of a child looking for love and leadership. He and his little brother witness the suicide of a gangland lawyer, who before dying tells Renfro where the body of a murdered senator is hidden. Tommy Lee Jones as a slick Federal attorney decides that Renfro knows the location and wants the boy to talk. Bright Renfro decides he needs a lawyer and ends up with Susan Sarandon, in her fourth Oscar nominated performance. Of course, since the little boy has become a media darling, the bad guys want him too. The expected chase begins, but not before some touching and exciting sequences occur.
Director Joel Schumacher keeps things moving nicely and elicits strong performances from a rather starstudded cast: Mary Louise Parker as Renfro's mom; Ossie Davis as a no nonsense judge; Micole Mercurio as Sarandon's nice mama; Anthony LaPaglia as the slimy murderer; Anthony Edwards as Sarandon's assistant, and Bradley Whitford as the yuppie lawyer. Ultimately though, it's the power of Renfro and Sarandon's performances that catapult this movie into its stratosphere. Sarandon and Renfros scenes together sparkle and their final scene is a real tearjerker.
Grisham liked this adaptation and he