Reviews (6)

American Dreams Is Fabulous
I just found out about the new American Dreams Season One DVD that will be released in September. Thank God that my birthday is in August so I can order it! I started watching American Dreams in September of 2003 and fell head over heals in love with it! Even though I did not grow up in that generation, my goodness, I can certainly relate to their family's way! Watching the show is one of the highlights of my week. I already know that this DVD will be awesome, and I haven't even seen it yet. I definately suggest everyone get the DVD. I sure will.

What a great family show!!
I have watched every minute of American Dreams since it began and LOVE it!! I'm a Baby Boomer who lived through the tumultuous 1960's and this show portrays the unrest very accurately. It's a great family show and I applaud NBC for renewing it!!

One of the Best!!!
This is one of the best shows on today. It's great for the whole family. I'd love to know what the extras on this DVD will be and I can't wait for it to come out.

Great Show!
From the first promo I saw for "American Dreams" in the summer of 2002, I knew I would love this show and I was right!

This is such a great show for the entire family. It surprises me that it doesn't do better in the ratings than it does.

I was born in the late 60's, so I can kind of relate to how the Pryor's family life plays out ... having only one television set (and only having 3 channels to choose from), one telephone, buying and listening to 45's (for those younger ones of you out there, these are the single records) on a tabletop record player, penny candy that actually cost a penny, Coca-Cola in glass bottles, getting into movies for 50 cents, having a sit down dinner with your family most every night (exceptions were Friday & Saturday nights) of the week ... especially Sunday and so many other things. I love this show, because it reminds me so much of being a child in the late 60's in early 70's.

If you haven't ever watched "American Dreams", I suggest you buy the DVD for Season 1, catch up on Season 2 by reading episode synopsises at nbc.com and start watching Season 3 at 8 p.m. on Sunday night starting September 26th!

American Dreams is awesome
I love this show so much. Even though i wasn't born in this generation, each week, i tune in. The music of American Bandstand is amazing. The special guest stars were awesome. I love how the Pryor family always has something going on. I can't wait to watch the 3rd season. Meg pryor and Roxanne are really funny and cool, while Patti is a brat. Will is adorable, and JJ Pryor has issues with Beth. JJ is also very cute! anyways I would recomend this dvd to anyone. ... Read more

Reviews (66)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Amazon.com

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

Reviews (74)

Enjoyable but Rather Dumb
Think about it folks. You are running Washington's Dulles airport. Some evil baddie terrorists cut out your radio communications to incoming planes so they have nothing to do except circle around for the next couple of hours until they start running out of fuel. By then you are told, they will be allowed to land if and only if you cooperate with the baddies. The baddies have not, however, cut your capacity for ordinary telephone communications. You can still call the government and ask them to, e.g. send along a bunch of special forces. What do you do? Easy really. You call the Pentagon where they have all the technical resources of the world's biggest ever military superpower. Somewhere in there is a little man with very very thick glasses who knows lots and lots and lots about radios. In about two minutes he's speaking to the pilots of all affected airlines and quietly rerouting them to unaffected neighbouring airports. Then you tell the terrorists to get stuffed and quietly get on with your job.

Consequently I'm afraid this whole movie is premised on a supposed crisis that it is completely impossible to take remotely seriously. It's a huge plot hole and not the only thing that's silly about the plot of this movie. The climactic fight scenes on the wing of a jumbo jet about to take off are ludicrous in the extreme. And why the devil did the baddies ask for a jumbo jet when there are only a handful of them - so there would be room for the fight scene obviously! Really we have to say of the Die Hard franchise the same thing sensible people say about the Alien series. One is terrific; three is pretty good; two is by miles the weakest of the three.

There are other reasons aplenty. Notably the baddie. Rickman and Irons and 1 and 3 gave us splendid classic mad genius villains. William Sadler's evil Colonel Stuart is pretty pale in comparison. We first meet him stark naked practicing his tai chi moves and then zapping his TV remote control in the manner of a small boy playing at shoot outs. I think this is meant to make him look tough and scary. It just makes him look ridiculous and ridiculous he stays. Then we get William Atherton reprising his unscrupulous journalist role from the first movie as he shares an aeroplane with Mrs McClane but here it's badly overdone and with a misjudged attempt at humour. Dumb nonsense really none of which is to say it's not a reasonably enjoyable crash bang wallop popcorn action movie if, as even the best of us occasionally are, you're in the mood for that sort of thing.

Die Hard I; II; and III - Great 5.1 sound
Recently, I picked up each single disc version of Die Hard I; II; and III at bargain prices.Since there are plenty of reviews, I will keep this short.All three of the movies are great, with plenty of action.I like the second movie best.

The best part is the transfer to DVD.The video transfer is wonderful and the 5.1 sound is superior.There is excellent usage of the low bass and the surround speakers.All three movies are a definite purchase.

There are rumors of a Die Hard IV.....

Another Christmas, another terrorist crisis for John McClane
"Die Hard" has become the standard by which every action film made since 1988 has been judged and almost invariably found wanting. Films were sold in Hollywood on the basis of being reduced to such ideas as "'Die Hard' in a bus" (i.e, "Speed"). Of course another Hollywood tradition is to make a sequel of any successful film, so in 1990 Bruce Willis went back in front of the camera, this time with director Renny Harlin ("The Long Kiss Goodnight"), to do a sequel. "Die Hard 2: Die Harder" is not as good as the original, but it does have a self-reflexivity that (for the most part) makes this film work. Ultimately I would rate this at 4.5 stars, but by the standard of sequels that is an exceptional accomplishment, so I round up.

The plot for "Die Hard 2," which is more unsettling today than it was at the time, has a group of terrorists taking control of Dulles International Airport in Washington D.C in order to secure the release of a South American drug lord (Franco Nero) on his way to the United States for trial. If their demands are not met, they are going to start crashing the circling airplanes. Once again, John McClane (Willis) is in the wrong place at the wrong time, at the airport to pick up his wife, Holly (Bonnie Bedelia), who is on one of those circling airliners. McClane picks up on something wrong and when the airport cops refuse to take it seriously he starts pursuing it on his own, getting in deeper and deeper into the situation. Soon it is clear that what we have here is "Die Hard" in an airport.

As I indicated above, the self-reflexivity of the film works in its favor for the most part. The exception to this idea is when McClane repeats the "Yippie-kay-yay" line from the first film, albeit in a large context this time around, put the best example is when a bewildered Holly turns to her husband and asks "Why do these things keep happening to us?" Otherwise, throughout the film what McClane did at the Nakatomi Building comes into play as various characters either dismiss him out of hand or take him seriously because of his reputation. The first time around it was his anonimity that was one of his biggest weapons; this time his "fame" is a double-edged sword.

In many ways this sequel follows the original. But the scope has been enlarged as other parties besides the terrorists become much more problematic for our hero than they were the first time around. Plus, this time McClane gets to keep his shoes on, which is good because there is a blizzard going on in addition to the all the terrorist fun. Actually, there is probably too much going on, because "Die Hard 2" lacks the driving focus of the original. It also lacks as strong of a villain, with William Sadler's Colonel Stewart being restrained to the point of inertness. Granted, it would be hard to top Alan Rickman's Hans Gruber, but they certainly could have found something and someone that would have worked a lot better.

They could not work Reginald Veljohnson in for anything more than a cameo in this one, but the cinematic law of convenient coincidences finds William Atherton's slimy reporter stuck on the plane with Holly. Of the new members of the supporting cast Art Evans as Chief Engineer Leslie Barnes, who can come up with creative problem solving in an emergency, Dennis Franz as Capt. Carmine Lorenzo, the airport chief of security who has no use for McClane, Tom Bower as Marvin, who lives in the bowels of the airport with all of the maps, John Amos as the major from special forces who taught the bad guy everything he knows, and future senator Fred Dalton Thomas as the man in charge of the airport control tower.

In the final analysis despite the problems with this movie, especially in comparison to the original, it is Bruce Willis as John McClane who makes this work because he manages to keep his character as more or less a real person in extraordinary circumstances. He is not as strong as Stallone or Swarzenegger and he is not as smart as Harrison Ford or whoever is playing James Bond in any given year. But he has enough to get the job done. More importantly, I did not have the sense of disappointment that so often comes at the end of movies with this one, which is a pretty good bottom line for anything coming out of Hollywood. We will have to see what happens with the upcoming "Die Hard 4.0" next year.

ahhhh, the memories.
I recommend this title to those who saw it way back in the day back in '90 and want to revisit (like me). Make no mistake that the genre has been done to death some time before and definitely afterwards. There are so many cliches in the sequences. However, this movie that 'launched a thousand careers' should not have that held against it. It was a joy going back and reliving all the action, no matter that it was predictable at times. Listening to director Renny Harlin's commentary was enlightening because he had no illusions of the limitations the genre has to adhere to, especially at that time. And gladly, he had a lot to talk about during the course of the film. Hardly any silence once he got going.
This, being the Special Edition, is the preferrable version of the DVD. Thank goodness the menus are not drawn out too long and I can access the options. Sometimes 20th Century Fox gets carried away with the menu effects and I have to wait too long to exercise my options (X-Men, anyone?). Two discs come in the package. And you can probably guess that the first disc is the main feature along with commentary and obligatory language, subtitle and audio options. And you might have guessed that the second disc is all the production and behind-the-scene documentaries (which, in total, is a little more generous than I expected).
But to reiterate, The movie is a little dated and the dialog is stuff you've heard before. Newer cinema buffs may not find much here if they haven't seen it. Rent first and decide. But fans of the series should not pass up the chance on this Special Edition. Yippee ki yay. Four stars, not quite five.

Good action flick that perpetuates a myth
I enjoy all of the Die Hard movies.They are great action flicks, and this one is no exception.

While McClane is at Dulles Airport in D.C. waiting for his wife to arrive, terrorists take over the airport's air traffic control system.

There are numerous "shootouts" with the terrorists and McClane, as in the other movies, is the reluctant hero.

Early in the movie, McClane is trying to explain to the airport's security director (Carmine) about the terrorist, and says: "That punk pulled a Glock 7 on me. You know what that is? It's a porcelain gun made in Germany. It dosen't show up on your airport X-ray machines, and it cost more than you make here in a month."

There is no such thing as a "Glock 7".This is a perpetuation of the "plastic gun" myth that was started in the mid 80's by an erroneous newspaper article about the Glock 17.This myth is still being hyped by many, including Kerry & Edwards during their recent unsuccessful presidential campaign.

It's always fun to see "facts" in movies (fantasy) get used in the real world.I guess some people can't tell the difference. ... Read more

Description

The body of a young woman is found in a ditch in the woods of the small California coastal town of San Benito. SANDRA BULLOCK ("Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood," "Miss Congeniality"), stars as Cassie Mayweather, the seasoned homicide detective and crime scene specialist assigned to the case along with her new partner San Kennedy (BEN CHAPLIN - "Lost Souls," "The Thin Red Line"). The two dectectives make their way through microscopic hints of evidence, which seem to indicate a random act of violence, but Cassie has a gut feeling that there is more to this murder than meets the eye. Something about this case reminds her of her past exactly at a time when she is asked to appear at a parole hearing on an old police matter. These events force Cassie to revisit the past. ... Read more

Reviews (106)

An Well Done Thriller saved by Sharp Performances.
An Police Detective (Sandra Bullock) investages the Serial of Brutal Murder Crimes with the help of her Partner (Ben Chaplin). When two intelligent but deranged teenagers (Ryan Gosling & Micheal Pitt) find ways to hide all the evidences and clues before the Cops do but there's no such thing as a Perfect Crime.

Directed by Barbet Schroeder (Barfly, Reversal of Fortune, Single White Female) made a Smart Suspense-Thriller with an Good Script by Tony Gayton (The Seaton Sea). Bullock, Gosling, Pitt & Chaplin gives Terrific Performances bring this film to life with fine cinematography by Luciano Tovoli (Suspiria, Tenebre, Titus). Bullock also Executive Produced the film. DVD's has an sharp anamorphic Widescreen (1.78:1) transfer and an fine Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. DVD Extras are:Commentary Track by the Director, Behind the Scenes featurette & more. Do not miss this fine film. Grade:A-.

MURD3R 8Y NUM8ERS
Homicide cop Cassie Mayweather (Sandra Bullock, who also executive produced)discovers the body of a female strangulation victim wrapped in plastic. But the problem with the investigation is that two rich kids, Michael Haywood (Ryan Gosling from BELIEVER) and Justin "Bonepart" Pendleton (Michael Pitt) have planned the murder and are observing the cops as they uncover each clue they have planted for them.
Directed by Barbet Schroeder (SWF, BARFLY) MURDER BY NUMBERS sometimes echoes Hitchcock's ROPE. Gosling and Pitt are good as the rich kids whose "perfect murder" turns out to be anything but. The planning behind the murder will fascinate crime buffs, and MURDER BY NUMBERS basic premise is helped considerably by strong performances from Gosling and Pitt; though the movie tends to fluctuate a bit in the last half hour. Still recommended. Luciano Tovoli's atmospheric photography aids greatly in helping maintain viewer interest.

Dumb and depressing!
This movie is so boring that I like literally found a cure for caffeine overload! Nothing is worth pointing out because there is virtually nothing worth watching iwth this film. Nothing else to say but that this crime borer is one to pass up.

A potentially great movie murdered by weak story.
I am very dissapointed with this movie even when my expectations were modest.

Two young men, likely around high school age, try to attempt to pull of what would likely be the 'perfect murder' and try to get away with it. Sandra Bullock plays a police detective with a psychologically painful and checkered past who is aiming to investigate and find out what happened when a women was found dead in a river recently.

This movie is unbelievably predictable that there is little of anything that instantly grabs your attention. The acting is incredibly hammy and it almost feels like you can tell that Sandra really wanted to walk off the set of this film and for good reason: "Murder by Numbers" is absolutely boring and never gets off the ground. The characters are weak and without any personality and the dialogue is virtually nonexistant.

A major dissapointment to say the least. Try out "Blood Work" instead because it is far superior even if it suffers too from some weaknesses.

Dull and Predictable Thriller
Extremely boring and unconvinced crime thriller in which two psycho teenagers commited a murder just to prove to them selves that they are genious. But they have to confront smart police officer (played with no intensity by Bullock)who take up the investigation of the gruesome case. Predictable, dull and unsuspenseful. A waste of time, in fact. ... Read more

Description

The body of a young woman is found in a ditch in the woods of the small California coastal town of San Benito. SANDRA BULLOCK ("Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood," "Miss Congeniality"), stars as Cassie Mayweather, the seasoned homicide detective and crime scene specialist assigned to the case along with her new partner San Kennedy (BEN CHAPLIN - "Lost Souls," "The Thin Red Line"). The two dectectives make their way through microscopic hints of evidence, which seem to indicate a random act of violence, but Cassie has a gut feeling that there is more to this murder than meets the eye. Something about this case reminds her of her past exactly at a time when she is asked to appear at a parole hearing on an old police matter. These events force Cassie to revisit the past. ... Read more

Reviews (106)

An Well Done Thriller saved by Sharp Performances.
An Police Detective (Sandra Bullock) investages the Serial of Brutal Murder Crimes with the help of her Partner (Ben Chaplin). When two intelligent but deranged teenagers (Ryan Gosling & Micheal Pitt) find ways to hide all the evidences and clues before the Cops do but there's no such thing as a Perfect Crime.

Directed by Barbet Schroeder (Barfly, Reversal of Fortune, Single White Female) made a Smart Suspense-Thriller with an Good Script by Tony Gayton (The Seaton Sea). Bullock, Gosling, Pitt & Chaplin gives Terrific Performances bring this film to life with fine cinematography by Luciano Tovoli (Suspiria, Tenebre, Titus). Bullock also Executive Produced the film. DVD's has an sharp anamorphic Widescreen (1.78:1) transfer and an fine Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. DVD Extras are:Commentary Track by the Director, Behind the Scenes featurette & more. Do not miss this fine film. Grade:A-.

MURD3R 8Y NUM8ERS
Homicide cop Cassie Mayweather (Sandra Bullock, who also executive produced)discovers the body of a female strangulation victim wrapped in plastic. But the problem with the investigation is that two rich kids, Michael Haywood (Ryan Gosling from BELIEVER) and Justin "Bonepart" Pendleton (Michael Pitt) have planned the murder and are observing the cops as they uncover each clue they have planted for them.
Directed by Barbet Schroeder (SWF, BARFLY) MURDER BY NUMBERS sometimes echoes Hitchcock's ROPE. Gosling and Pitt are good as the rich kids whose "perfect murder" turns out to be anything but. The planning behind the murder will fascinate crime buffs, and MURDER BY NUMBERS basic premise is helped considerably by strong performances from Gosling and Pitt; though the movie tends to fluctuate a bit in the last half hour. Still recommended. Luciano Tovoli's atmospheric photography aids greatly in helping maintain viewer interest.

Dumb and depressing!
This movie is so boring that I like literally found a cure for caffeine overload! Nothing is worth pointing out because there is virtually nothing worth watching iwth this film. Nothing else to say but that this crime borer is one to pass up.

A potentially great movie murdered by weak story.
I am very dissapointed with this movie even when my expectations were modest.

Two young men, likely around high school age, try to attempt to pull of what would likely be the 'perfect murder' and try to get away with it. Sandra Bullock plays a police detective with a psychologically painful and checkered past who is aiming to investigate and find out what happened when a women was found dead in a river recently.

This movie is unbelievably predictable that there is little of anything that instantly grabs your attention. The acting is incredibly hammy and it almost feels like you can tell that Sandra really wanted to walk off the set of this film and for good reason: "Murder by Numbers" is absolutely boring and never gets off the ground. The characters are weak and without any personality and the dialogue is virtually nonexistant.

A major dissapointment to say the least. Try out "Blood Work" instead because it is far superior even if it suffers too from some weaknesses.

Dull and Predictable Thriller
Extremely boring and unconvinced crime thriller in which two psycho teenagers commited a murder just to prove to them selves that they are genious. But they have to confront smart police officer (played with no intensity by Bullock)who take up the investigation of the gruesome case. Predictable, dull and unsuspenseful. A waste of time, in fact. ... Read more

Description

Get ready for "the mother of all comedy events" (Pat Collins, WWOR-TV/New York) as Robin Williams and Billy Crystal play a flaky writer and an uptight lawer teaming up to track down a runaway teen each thinks might be his son. Year: 1997 Director: Ivan Reitman Starring: Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, Julia Louis-Dreyfus ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Quite Funny
This movie really is pretty funny. Crystal is always funny and Williams, well, what can I say... the guy is funny even if he's not trying to be! Crystal plays a straight-laced lawyer while Williams plays a total psychotic, who really wants to believe he has a son so he'll have a reason to stay partially sane.

This movie's plot may be a bit thin, but who cares because the cast is great. The short version of the plot is that a worried mother recruits two men to find her runaway teenage son. How does she get them to agree to find him? She tells each of the men(obviously not thinking that they may run into each other while searching for the boy) that he is the father. This leads to a silly comic pairing.

There are all kinds of great things in this movie. Crystal and Williams are great together. Mel Gibson makes a cameo-- watch closely because you might not recognize him!! The band Sugar Ray is also in the movie. Cool things like that!

This may not satisfy a hunger for laugh out loud, slap on the knee kind of funny, but it's still funny, with a charming ending.

MUCH funnier than I expected
After looking at the rather....well, dumb cover, and reading the synopsis, I expected it to be a rather medicore movie. Boy was I wrong. I'll tell ya, the script ain't gold, but Billy Crystal and (especially) Robin Williams make this movie quite funny as heck. Everything from Williams' opening lines/scene about how depressing his life is, to his amusing vulnerability, to the way Billy Crystal wittily mocks everybody, makes this movie quite a delight. And notice how I used the actors' names instead of the characters' names. That is because, like I said, it is the talented and hilarious acting that saved this movie from potential mediocracy.

The script isn't anything particularly special, and there is only one somewhat major flaw with it: Williams and Crystal are deceptively sent by a former girlfriend of both of theirs on a search for a boy who she claims to be the son of both of them. But near the end, it is never explained why she does that, instead of....oh I dunno, hiring a detective, or looking for him herself? While this kind of takes away from the believability of the story, the story isn't where the movie is meant to shine so it doesn't end up meaning much.

Williams plays the perfect total loser, and Crystal the witty, successful lawyer, in this movie sprinkled with more than enough hilarious and memorable scenes. If it weren't for a tighter script, it would've gotten five stars. Definatley worth a rental, and most likely a purchase if you're either a Billy Crystal or especially (since he was the focus of the majority of the better jokes) Robin Williams fan.

Best actors but script doesn't do justice.
Overall, I have always enjoyed Robin William and Billy Crystal's performance in many other movies, but I must admit to my surprise that it wasn't making me laughing on the floor as I usually do. The script was boring and the plot was downright disppointing. Didn't like the ending. It was like a stupid wild goose chase for both of them and end up accepting that the mother of the son lied to them. Which is really a bad example for younger audience to see this and thinking it's normal for mothers to lie. I hope someday to see both Robin and Billy to act together in another movie in the near future and hopefully better script than this one.

Distinctly Average In All Departments
The premise of Fathers' Day sounds like one of those ideas that was hatched in a boardroom rather than a creative mind. A woman tells two former boyfriends that they are the father of her teenaged son, who has run away. Naturally, these guys become instantly paternal, reluctantly join forces, and set out to find the kid who may or may not be theirs.

The teaming of Robin Williams and Billy Crystal provides some good moments, although at times Crystal seems to be too much of a straight man. Williams has plenty of scope to be...well, himself - which means that some sickly sentimentality is eventually allowed to creep in. In fact, the film is quite promising until the pair of wannabe dads make contact with their supposed offspring. The kid turns out to be such a snivelling loser that any sane person would disown him rather than try to save him from the conveniently cartoonish drug dealers he owes lots of money to. Junior is also infatuated with a girl who couldn't care less. When she finally tells him that he is boring, you find yourself shouting "Yes!" at the screen.

Even so, Williams and Crystal provide plenty of pleasant and undemanding entertainment along the way. But the film is so built around them that it wastes the talents of Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Natassia Kinski. Having said that, there is a nice uncredited cameo by Mel Gibson.

Not a bad film if you're looking for a nicely mindless comedy. But everyone involved has done much better work elsewhere.

Williams & Crystal make the best movies!
This movie is about a runaway 16-year-old named Scott. The mother goes to two men that she knew and tells them they are the father. First she tells Jack Lawrence (Crystal), a lawyer and he doesn't want to go look for him. Then she tells Dale Putley (Williams) who is a retarded, lonner, and empty life writer who decides to look for him. So the two end up traveling together to find Scott. See what goes wrong next after Dale passing out, crying constantly, getting HOT coffee poured on his nuts, and being a idiot. ... Read more

Description

On an ark the size of a house, they quietly headed down the Amazon. For the others, it was a chance for adventure. For outlaw Joam Garral, it was the only way he could go back to Brazil. And while the muddy Amazon water hides its bloodthirsty denizens, even greater danger lurks for Garral. His secret past gets out and a ruthless bounty hunter is hot on his trail. Now deep in the jungle, there's no turning back and few make it out alive! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Satisfactory
Satisfactory adventure film. There are enough tense moments to make the film interesting. The story moves along quickly. The film and actors will win no awards but I found the movie enjoyable enough. ... Read more

Amazon.com

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

Reviews (66)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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