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Whenever a farm kid gets accepted to a fancy college, there is the potential for comedy (Loser) or for thriller-like tragedy (The Skulls). From the opening voice-over narration, Stonebrook opts to be the fish-out-of-water thriller. With the help of a friend of the family, 23-year-old Erik (Brad Rowe) gets a scholarship to the Ivy League-type school called Stonebrook. His dorm-mate is a nerdy hacker named Cornelius (Seth Green). When his scholarship is yanked, the two of them team up to pull increasingly ambitious scams to keep him in tuition money, eventually crossing paths with mob boss Mr. Tali (Stanley Kamel). While Rowe is perfectly fine playing off his Brad Pitt looks with his Brad Pitt style of indifferent acting, Green turns in a disappointing performance. The stronger actor of the two, Green has been consistently good in movies (Austin Powers) and on TV (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), but for some reason this time he decided to overplay his nerd characteristics as if he were a reject from Weird Science. Then there's the plot. With its scams within scams within scams, logic soon flies out the window and the question of who's scamming whom is quickly replaced with "Who cares?" In the end, Stonebrook wants to be a college version of The Usual Suspects but doesn't quite make the grade. --Andy Spletzer ... Read more

Reviews (4)

a master at work
a down to earth plot coupled with some excellent action...I'm not sure how Ed Parker directed this movie though, as one review suggested, since Ed Parker died in 1990.

Great style excellent movie
Actually Jeff Speakman studies a form of Martial Arts called American Kenpo that was founded by Mr Ed Parker. My son and I both study American Kenpo and love to pick out the diffferent techniques that Jeff Speakman's using in the film. Ed Parker is responsible for directing all the fight scenes in the film. Ed Parker is responsible for teaching such notables as Jeff Speakman, Elvis Presley, and Blake Edwards to name a few. He also was the one that is responsible for introducing Bruce Lee to the Hollywood jet set and getting him started in films.

KENPO MASTER JEFF SPEAKMAN DOES IT AGAIN
LIKE ALL SPEAKMAN MOVIES THERE ARE PERIODS IN THE MOVIE THAT WILL BORE YOU, BUT IF YOU ARE A DIE HARD SPEAKMAN FAN LIKE MYSELF YOU CAN EXCEPT THIS. SPEAKMAN DOES HAVE TO ACT IN THIS AND ALL HIS OTHER FLICKS. HE HAS TO ACT TO BE COOL BECAUSE HE IS NOT AS NATUAL AT IT AS LET'S SAY STEVEN SEAGAL. ALL IN ALL FOR THE BUDGET THAT SPEAKMAN FILMS HAVE THIS IS A PRETTY GOOD MOVIE, THOUGH NOT NEARLY AS GOOD AS THE PERFECT WEAPON. ( BUT THEN AGAIN PERFECT WEAPON IS THE BEST MOVIE EVER MADE). SO IT COMES DOWN TO THIS. IF YOUR NOT A JEFF SPEAKMAN FAN AND WOULD'NT KNOW HIM FROM A STRANGER ON THE STREET, SAVE YOUR MONEY, AND GO CHECK OUT THE NEW STEVEN SEAGAL MOVIE AT THEATERS. ON THE OTHER HAND IF YOU ARE A KENPO ARTIST LIKE MYSELF THIS MOVIE IS ONE OF SPEAKMAN'S BEST, SO I WOULD RECOMMEND PURCHASING THIS MOVIE, AND ALL OTHER SPEAKMAN MOVIES. MY ONLY WISH IS THAT SPEAKMAN WOULD GO BACK TO HIS ORIGINAL IDEA TO PROMOTE MORE KENPO IN HIS MOVIES, BUT WE'LL HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE.

Pretty good!
If you can get by a few inconsistencies, this isn't a bad movie. Let's do the inconsistencies first. In the scene where Speakman is getting his paper he is clearly wearing clothing that says kenpo (Speakman's martil art). So why is everyone so amazed when he dusts the car-jackers off? But this is little stuff. Speakman does a good job playing the reluctant hero, not everything works for him, he makes mistakes. Good plot, and a couple of good fights. Look for the cameo of Judo Gene Lebell (for you Martial Artists this is another inconsistency: the scene where Lebell gets Jeff in a choke and Jeff justs slips out. As good a Martial Artist as Jeff Speakman is, I don't hink anyone has just slipped out of a choke by Gene Lebell in the last forty years!) ... Read more

Description

When Chloe (Larisa Miller), an over-eager college instructor, becomes infatuated with a rare treasure, the Icon of Artemus, it lands her husband John (Rob Lowe) and their marriage in dangerously deep water. A wealthy and ruthless collector covets the icon and will stop at nothing to win it, so when Chloe rescues the artifact, the enraged collector sets out in pursuit. Now a new twist in underwater terror awaits them as they risk their lives in a desparate attempt to "Escape Under Pressure." ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Action romance novel to the big screen
Move over Bruce Willis and Steven Seagal; here comes Rob Lowe. This has the ruthless bad guy frustrated by ex-military reluctant hero. There are "stay in the car scenes", and "I do not believe you" scenes. Lots of bombs and explosions and water. Tempered by gushy love and unrequited love on a verbal level.

Basic story line is an international art thief hires hit men with lots of equipment to recover a statue. Parallel to this is the story of a woman who thinks her husband is boring and goes on vacation. Too bad for both groups as hubby shows up to recover wife and just happens to have extraordinary military skills.
Will the bad guy get the statue?
Will the lovers get together?
Or do the all get wet under pressure?

Badly Written and Boring
Escape Under Prssure was one big bore. A group of eighth graders could have written something better.

The dialog is just plain stupid. I understand that the writer of this movie has gone back to working for a lawn maintenance company, and is given nothing more complicated than trimming shrubs.

Entrapment, and ..Baywatch
Like a gruesome car wreck, this movie holds your attention.... An American couple on board a Greek ship, find themselves in the middle of a dramatically overplanned international scheme to steal a valuable Greek artifact. It wasn't so much the implausible plot, but the laughable similarities to some of the movies we know and love-and yes the Hasselhoffian manner in which John Spencer (Rob Lowe) manages to exert himself in his efforts to save the day. This Hollywood mutation was however, fairly entertaining. Highly recommended for a 3am veg-fest. ... Read more

Description

She is a respected doctor and pioneer of woman's rights. She decides on a political career. The media gets hold of a small indiscretion in her past. It causes a political frenzy. She is forced to make a choice...speak her mind and preserve her self-respect at the risk of losing the campaign, or play the media game. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

excellent, little known film
this is a great video, apparently not available everywhere. for people who liked "the candidate," "the contender," and other stuff like that, this is a must see.

A convincing portrayal of the media's role in politics!
This movie (which was based on the play "An American Daughter", by Wendy Wasserstein), shows how the media can turn an innocent past mistake by a political candidate (Christine Lahti) into an issue that the whole country is talking about. Sound familiar? Issues like this constantly plague the news now, and this movie shows how ludicrous it all is. Tom Skerritt is in this movie too, an adds quite a convincing performance as Lahti's seemingly weak husband.

Two thumbs up for the movie and for Lahti!! I feel this is one of Christine Lahti's best performances. She takes you inside the life of a politician, who is being shunned by the media (thus, the nation) for reasons that are debatable.

Great Flick!
This movie brilliantly explores the challenges of being a woman and having power. In order to achieve, women are forced to sacrifice so much, and are often sabotaged by a society that feels threatened by their accomplishments. With suburb acting, this movie rings particularly true in our modern age. ... Read more