Reviews (79)

Underrated Excellent Black Comedy.
An Middle Age Woman by the name of Mona Dearly (Bette Midler), which she drove everyone crazy in the small town from the state of New York. But when Mona dies, while driving herself into a river. But it's turns out to be an act of murder. Chief of Police:Wyatt Rash (Danny DeVito) starts to invesgate the murder but Mona had herself a town full of enemies, including her cheating husband (William Fichtner), her heartless dimwit son (Marcus Thomas), her husband's mistress (Jamie Lee Curtis), the chief's daughter (Neve Campbell) and the chief's daughter fiance (Casey Affleck). Although People did hated the late Miss Dearly alot, it's up to the Chief to find, who's the blame for the murder but the town's people rather wants to know who to thank.

Directed by Nick Gomez (Illtown, Laws of Gravity, New Jersey Drive) made a Clever Off-Beat Black Comedy that was a Box Office Disapointment in the Winter of 2000. It's also One of the Most Underrated Comedies in Years. DeVito, who is also One of the Executive Producers in the film, He gives a good-hearted performance in the movie. Affleck is also good as the nervous fiance to the chief's, who might have been involved with Mona's Death. The lighlight of the film is the highly good comedic cast. The Canadian DVD has an sharp Pan & Scan (1.33:1) transfer and an good-Dolby Stereo 2.0 Surround Sound. While the Canadian DVD has no extras. While the American DVD is Presented in an anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1) Presentation with Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. DVD Extras are a Trailer, Director's Commentary and Deleted Scenes with/without Commentary. This Misunderstood Comedy is a Forgetten Gem, don't miss it. Will Farrell has a Cameo in the film. Written by Peter Steinfeld (Analyze That, Be Cool). Grade:A-.

Bette Midler as Royal "Pain" with 9 Lives
Bette Midler, once again playing herself, gives everybody and their brother daily doses of annoyance. An entire family, including the in-laws want to do away with "Mona". Set among trailer park country bumbkins, the story is one rollercoaster ride of physical and mental abuse. Fans of Bette Midler and Danny DeVito may have the stomach to sit through this whole fiasco. Comedy fans with somewhat lofty standards may want to pass on this jumbled-up non-sense. A few quick laughs will keep you from getting angry about your time investment, but most folks sure can do much better than this. It'll do in a pinch.**

Best comedy ever!
This is one of my favorite movies. I can watch it over and over and still crack up. I like dark humor and this movie is hysterical. It deserves a watch.

Dark Humor Aint for Everyone
This is a hilarious movie. The actors in this movie should all be commended for giving subtle, laugh-your-tail off funny performances. The folks who gave it low ratings don't get dark comedy and/or were expecting typical character portrayals from the big name stars (particularly DeVito and Midler).

My husband and I hadn't expected much from this film because the trailers were so cryptic and we personally aren't too into Bette Midler, but from the first to last scene we were in stitches. Example: Neve Campbell's character freaks out when her fiance (played by Casey Affleck) tells her he killed Mona. As she storms off, saying that now she has to deal with her fiance being a murderer while taking care of wedding plans, he weakly calls after her, "We need milk." Another example: Mona's two sons go to her gravestone and see that the inscription says, "Demoted mother, wife, and dressmaker." One guy looks at the other and says, "I didn't know mom was a dressmaker," and the other says, "Me neither." Although I'm sure I'm killing the humor by trying to relay it without context, comic timing, or nonverbal communication, this is the kind of humor that you'll find in "Drowning Mona." If you're offended by this kind of thing, don't bother. Everyone in the town hated Mona, so a lot of the jokes center on her death.

And I've gotta' respond to reviewers who didn't see the point of the Yugos' omnipresence, even though it sort of detracts from the funniness. As a plot device, it's necessary precisely because Yugos were such cheap and unsafe cars that Mona's brakes could possibly have failed due to manufacturer error. If everyone had been driving Porches, there wouldn't have been any mystery at all. Also, you can't help but laugh when every character in the movie jumps in a colorful little bumper car, which sometimes needs a running start, to get around.

My friends took it, I left it
I rented this video with my four girlfriends on one of our annual weekends away. Three of us fell asleep and thought it was a horrible movie (and I'm a Bette Midler fan). The other two laughed their heads off and swear to us that it is the best movie ever. We tease each other about it to this day (two years later). ... Read more

Description

Sissy Spacek stars in this bittersweet drama about a young mother, her two sons and the mysterious benefactor who touches them all. Frustrated by her dead-end job as a telephone operator and divorced from her drunken second husband (Sam Shepard), Nita finds comfort and understanding in the arms of a passing sailor (Eric Roberts). When he leaves, Nita resolves to pick up her boys and start a new life. But first she must confront backstabbing townspeople and the violent Triplett brothers (William Sanderson and Tracey Walker) in this suspense-tinged story of being scared, being alone, being in love and being strong enough to face the truth. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Great until the end
Another teriffic performance from Sissy. The perfect role for her. As with several other of her movies, she has such a nice, warm relationship with children (The River, Coal Miner's Daughter. The inner strength she shows in dealing with her situation, the way she holds her own with her boss and the townspeople, is remarkable. Very nice little nude scene too! Only the ending was a disappointment, going from a truly heart warming story to a "Halloween" ending was all wrong. Still, very much worth seeing.

Raggedy Man: Starts Strong Finishes Weak
Sissy Spacek has made a career of playing the rural disadvantaged woman in so many films that to watch her places the viewer in a comfortable cinematic chair from which to watch her battle entrenched odds. In RAGGEDY MAN, Sissy is Nita, a World War II wife whose husband has mysteriously left her and her two young boys to an uncertain economic fate. Nita is a telephone operator who plugs into war news on a daily basis and thus incorporates the frequent death notices of local soldiers into her already fractured life. She is pretty,lonely, overworked, and underpaid. And to a pair of rednecked brothers, she is clearly undersexed as well. Nita wants nothing to do with them or with any man either until a handsome sailor Teddy (Eric Roberts) strolls into her life and sparks fly long enough for the town gossips' tongues to wag. Teddy is welcomed into Nita's life as a reminder that passion is not extinguished within her. Her two boys bond immediately to Teddy. Overseeing all this is the mysterious scarred Raggedy Man, a local oddball who performs chores and seems to stare at Nita and the enfolding drama within her house. The major problemof RAGGEDY MAN is that director Jack Fisk fails to integrate the trio of Nita, Teddy, and the Raggedy Man. If the focus was to be on the strains of life for a single woman in the South of the World War II era, then the movie should have stayed on topic. And for most of the film, it does, and the viewer learns to care for Nita and her boys as they decide how and to what extent Teddy can fit in. Yet this scarred stranger intrudes too often to dilute the viewers' interest. Further, there is no interaction between Teddy and him. The ending tries vainly to justify the Raggedy Man's appearance at convenient times with no one able to recognize him or guess his identity until a surprise ending of violence. By this time, sailor Teddy is long gone and RAGGEDY MAN concludes in an uneasy stasis of diverted audience identification. RAGGEDY MAN had the potential to be a truly captivating exploration of how some people unexpectedly reach out to like minded souls only to find that society can be a destructive wild card factor, but in this case, the attempt to introduce an element of mystery was incompatible with stark human drama.

A Slice of Life
This quiet and gentle film is proof that sometimes less is more. Sissy Spacek is terrific as a young mother of two boys struggling to survive in rural Texas during WWII. Director Jack Fisk takes a slow and life like approach that showcases Spacek at her very best. Add to this film a restrained score by Jerry Goldsmith that perfectly frames life in a small rural town during the 40's and you have a very special film.

The film opens in Edna, Texas in 1940 where Nita (Spacek), her newborn baby boy in her arms, sees husband Sam Shepard having a good time in a bar, with someone else. Four years later she is divorced and scratching out a living as a telephone switchboard operator in Gregory, Texas where her job has apparently been frozen. Henry Thomas and Carey Thomas Jr. are both amazingly good as her two boys. Both Nita and her boys are lonely, but Nita is not lonely enough to give in to the small minded Triplett brothers, excellently played by William Sanderson and Tracey Walker.

Her life changes when a sailor passing through this backwoods town takes a real liking to her boys and her, and Nita begins to have feelings for him as well. Eric Roberts gives an affecting performance as Teddy, who loves Spacek and takes her boys to see their first John Wayne picture show. But there is a mean spirited atmosphere of jealousy in the town and someone besides the Triplett brothers has been keeping watch over these proceedings; a mysterious disfigured hobo known throughout the town as the Raggedy Man.

When Teddy finally has to leave there are some truly moving scenes between he and Nita, and he and the boys. He says he will look her up when and if he returns and since director Fisk has taken the time to show a real love develop, we know he will. But upon his leaving she finally finds out the truth about her work status and makes plans to leave for San Antonio. The Triplett brother's lust will manifest itself in violence before she leaves. But there may be a flaw in their attempt, as they have forgotten about, the Raggedy Man.

This is a small wonderful film with a performance by Spacek that is one of her best. It is quiet and gentle, but not soon forgotten. This is a very little known and neglegted treasure you really have to own.

Badlands
Let me start off by saying that Sissy Spacek is my favorite actress of all time. I haven't watched all of her movies but after seeing Badlands, I was blown away by her acting. After following up on her other movies, such as Carrie, I saw her talent and she stands out like no other actress does, I love her accent!

Flawless acting and direction
I fell in love with Eric Roberts after seeing this film. His portrayal of the jilted sailor who finds a brief ray of happiness with Sissy Spacek was teriffic - all the energy and optimism of young love shone through in his performance. If he had continued to make movies this good, he would have been a huge star.

Sissy Spacek gives her usual flawless performance, creating a rich, three dimensional character. The kids in this film are absolutely wonderful.

Worth getting, worth watching, and it still holds up after all these years. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Add The Man from Elysian Fields to the list of essential movies about the pains of writing. This wry comedy-drama charts the frustrations of a financially strapped novelist (Andy Garcia) as he desperately and secretly agrees to be an "escort" for ladies who need, ah, escorting. This leads him into a Faustian bargain to help a beautiful client (Olivia Williams) whose husband, a once-great, now-dying writer (a mighty James Coburn), is struggling with a final work. Of course the fact that the men are sharing a project and a woman complicates matters--and Garcia's loyal wife (Julianna Margulies) is curious about all these nights spent away. The movie explores different levels of compromise and betrayal, yet it remains tartly amusing throughout. And it has a glorious casting inspiration: the director of the mysterious escort service is played by Mick Jagger, looking decadently elegant and purring like a vaguely satanic Siamese cat. --Robert Horton ... Read more

Reviews (24)

Writer's Blockhead
Well, let's see. When his first novel (entitled "Hitler's Child") fails to generate sales and his publisher refuses to print his second book, what is a starving writer to do?

Work for a male escort service, of course!

As goofy as this premise is, THE MAN FROM ELYSIAN FIELDS actually delivers a compelling story that is both fun and painful to watch. Unable to get his old job back and desperately strapped for cash, hard luck novelist Byron Tiller (Andy Garcia) is lured by the seductive enticement of "easy money" as an escort for Elysian Fields, a playground for rich, neglected housewives. Problem is, there's nothing "easy" about Byron's new career, and this character learns lesson after lesson--about himself, about the importance of his marriage--via a very unforgiving school of hard knocks.

The tragic irony of this film manifests itself over and over. By trying to provide for and protect his family, Byron's poor decision to join Elysian only serves to destroy it. And naturally--irony of ironies--Byron's best client is the exotic, beautiful Andrea Alcott (Olivia Williams), who just happens to be married to Pulitzer-prize winning novelist Tobias Alcott (played wonderfully by James Coburn). The ailing Tobias seeks Byron's aid to rewrite his last novel; the young writer eagerly agrees; the stage is set for dismal, heartbreaking disappointment (should have insisted on a written contract, dude).

Garcia is so soft-spoken and restrained in this role, even after getting knocked down again and again, that I--unlike some of the reviewers here--actually was relieved when he finally unleashed some anger and frustration by trashing the wardrobe room at Elysian Fields. I'll bet the character felt better; I know I did.

Mick Jagger as the articulate, whiskey-sipping proprietor of Elysian Fields was an unexpected and delightful surprise. The ending was a bit uneven and sappy, but entirely predictable. For all you struggling writers out there, I would recommend you forego becoming an escort and pick something safer. Sword swallowing comes to mind.
--D. Mikels

If something sounds too good to be true, it usually is.
In the film, "The Man from Elysian Fields," Andy Garcia plays the morose married writer, Byron Tiller. Tiller's one book "Hitler's Child, " isn't exactly a best-seller, and now he's almost finished book number two. Tiller's publisher won't even publish this second book. Tiller's wife, Dena (Julianna Margulies) is so unshakeable in her belief that both the book and her husband will be whoopingly successful, that Byron can't break the news that there will be no second book--no advance--no great writing career.

Desperation leads Byron to Elysian Fields--an elite male escort agency that just happens to be conveniently located next to his drab little office. The owner of the agency, the fascinating Luther Fox (Mick Jagger) offers to provide Byron with work, and so Byron accepts. His first assignment, as luck and Hollywood would have it, is to accompany porcelain beauty, Andrea Alcott, for a night on the town. Now Andrea is married to Byron's idol--popular author Tobias Alcott. Byron finds the situation intriguing and delectable enough to leave moral scruples behind as he fills in for Tobias in the bedroom too, but things are not quite as they seem, and Byron has a nasty illogical lesson waiting for him.

The film possessed many allegorical elements--Elysian Fields is, of course, in mythology, the place where souls go after death. Luther Fox is certainly a believable satiny evil Satan--by offering Byron an evening with the wife of a literary giant, he tempts him into selling his soul. Supernatural elements are weaved into the story and the set designs, but the film doesn't seem to know quite what to do with the layers of meaning created in the plot. So instead, the film disintergrates nonsensically into codswallop--sarcastic, world-weary, elegant Luther Fox turns into a pathetic love-lorn reject, and Byron's hell is laced with the promise of Hollywood happy endings. A sad disappointment indeed--why bother to lace the story with allegory and then suddenly switch gears half way through? Splendid performance from Mick Jagger--he redeemed this film for me--displacedhuman--Amazon Reviewer.

Very Poorly Written
It is ironic that this movie should pertain to the subject of writing, as it is very poorly written.
A MICROCOSM of this can be seen at the end, where the author reads his supposedly "breakthrough" novel: anybody over an amateur level readily recognizes what he is reading as extremely poor, extremely amateurish writing. It is also interesting that John Grisham is referred to once in the movie as a paragon of good writing--as though "fast food" writing ever qualified as very good intellectual reading meat.
The stupidity of the protagonist in not procuring a contract for his services strains credulity.
The likelihood that a well-known author would acquiesce to co-author his last book strains credulity.
The very stilted dialogue of this movie strains credulity.
Mick Jagger did a great job acting, but it's not enough to save this stinker.
The guy who wrote this movie neither understands good writing nor was capable of it.

The Man From Elysian Fields
My husband and I enjoyed this movie very much. Even though the story line was a bit of a downer at times, it was still very entertaining and kept our interest throughout the entire movie. Andy Garcia and Mick Jagger did an excellent job in conveying the desperation they each felt during critical moments in their lives. James Corburn and the actress who played his wife were good in their roles, as well.

a 10 star movie-must see!!!
Husband and I loved everything about this movie. Don't need to elaborate-read the previous reviews. Please rent, won't be disappointed ... Read more

Description

Randolph Smiley (ROBIN WILLIAMS) has it all - as the costumed star of the highest rated kid's show on TV, "Rainbow Randolph" has a Manhattan penthouse, a Times Square billboard featuring his beloved character, cars , boats, horses and all the indulgence that celebrity brings. Until he get's caught by the Feds in an under the table bribe, busted and instantly reviled, Randolph is a star no more. Enter Sheldon Mopes (EDWARD NORTON) and his alter-ego "Smoochy", a puffy, fuscia rhinoceros. Smoochy is the perfect remedy for what ails the networks...Now it's Smoochy who's got the swanky penthouse, the Times Square billboard and the smooth-talking agent (DANNY DEVITO). Sheldon soon learns that children's television is a dangerous world steeped in corruption, back-stabbing and violence with his biggest problem being Rainbow Randolph. Broke and homeless, Randolph seeks revenge on the Rhino that stole his job and his house; he's convinced the foam rubber carpetbagger is the face of evil sent by the devil to destroy him and he will not sleep until Smoochy takes a permanent dirt nap. ... Read more

Reviews (134)

This movie kicks..., critics don't know...
If your open-minded and got a sense of humor (not one of those stupid... romantic comedy or "goonie-google" white sense of humors) this movie will make you laugh so hard that you'll be having a six-pack at the end. God Bless the cynics and the sadistics because if you don't fall some where in between those two categories you won't fully enjoy this masterpiece.

"SMALL BUT FIERCE !!!"-Rainbow Randolph.

Brilliantly, ingeniously twisted...
This film boasts one of Robin William's finest comedic performances, as a scorned ex-kiddie show host hell-bent on revenge, as well as some excellent, hilarious work from the likes of Ed Norton, Danny DeVito, and Jon Stewart. It also boasts amazing directing from Danny DeVito, in this, his most accessible (yet still, thankfully, demented) work yet.

This film is a freewheeling satire of the dumbing-down and commercialization of children's television, and has a ball taking pot shots as such kiddie pop culture travesties as Barney the Dinosaur. The twists and turns that the plot takes are not only completely unpredictable, but hilarious to boot, as our beloved purple...um...rhino, gets involved with everything from the Irish Mafia to the Ice Capades. There a few moments in this film where you will literally need to have your jaw scraped off the floor, and also hold your sides, in pain, from laughing too hard.

Now, not everybody enjoys or "gets" this type of humor. If you are a fan of very dark comedy, I would recommend you pick this film up instantly. If you're not, you just might find yourself not enjoying yourself very much.

The funniest black comedy I've seen in a long time!
Upon learning of Robin William's decision to take on some more darker roles in future movies, I was definitely interested and intrigued by this career move... in watching 'Death to Smoochy' I knew he definitely did NOT make a mistake in being in this film. The film is not only a laugh out loud, almost nonstop laugh fest, but it also does an excellent job at poking fun and showing the darker side of children's television. and there is a great dichotomy in the characters of Rainbow Randolph and Sheldon Mopes (played respectfully by Robin Williams & Edward Norton). both characters represent two complete opposite ends of the spectrum in regards to light and darkness within us. Rainbow Randolph is a corrupt, selfish, greedy, manipulative degenerate person, while Sheldon Mopes is honest, kind, caring, and a sweet person, but even these qualities don't exactly make him perfect either. but regardless of their rivalry and all the other circumstances that threaten to destroy them both...this is one of the coolest and funniest films I've ever seen...

A real sick comedy
I'm not going to go on and on like i usually do because words can not discribe how sick and funny this film is. Seeing that this film comes from the brains of DeVito, your in for a rare treat of real sick demented belly-gut laugh humor.I have a great respect for Ed Norton as an actor. I believe he is one of Hollywoods most gifted and veritile actors to ever come down the pike. In this film you'll see even a different Ed Norton,,,,a real sick Ed Norton. He is GREAT!Can't wait for the DVD!

!this movie was funny as hell!
this movie was the funniest movie ive ever seen i hope they make death to smoochy 2 ... Read more

Reviews (2)

I can't believe I spent more then 10 bucks for this
Perhaps at the time this was considered a great movie. Me being a bondage fan was looking forward to this film with high enthusiasm. What I found was just far too low in terms of quality. I'm not looking for James Cameron quality but I was expecting this film to stress on the fantasy as opposed to straight-out sex in every scenario.

To keep it short.

Pros: some decent looking women and has bondage.
Cons: the women may be decent looking but don't meet what you'd expect, poor execution, you should stick to watching Baywatch.

The First is the Sleaziest
The first in a trilogy of films starring Cheri Cafarro (the winner of a Bridget Bardot look-alike contest) as Ginger MacAllister, "the female James Bond". Ginger, although she has no training in things like law enforcement or detective work, is recruited by an agency to take down a small time blackmail and drug ring in New Jersey. Copious nudity and badly-staged violence probably made this one a big hit at the drive-ins. The other two films, "The Abductors" and "Girls Are For Loving" had bigger budgets, and ALL rate VERY low on the Political Correctness scale. Your enjoyment will be directly related to your taste for sleazery. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Ride 'em, cowgirls!
Angelica Huston rocks in Buffalo Girls, in which she plays Calamity Jane. This movie plays fast and loose with history and fiction, but what good 'true' movie doesn't. A great take on a woman's perspective of the Old West.

Some fun in the wild west...
I really bought the movie because Liev Schreiber was in it. But it turned out to be sort of fun. Good for a Friday night at home.

Buffalo Girls
The original version of this movie was great. Huston is superb as Calamity Jane, and Melanie Griffith is a great madame.

But this version has been hacked to death by some uncaring editor. It has lost it's continuity and is very dissappointing.

Women in the Old West
Ok, so you have to get through some TV movie hokieness to appreciate this movie. At first, I was distracted by the awkward direction, acting, and accents, and the general TV-movieness of it all. But as the movie went on, I was able to overlook those things and started to enjoy it, especially Angelica Huston as Calamity Jane. Some quality about her, a grittiness and strength, seems just right for the role.

Melanie Griffith is not always a favorite of mine, but she has a sweetness that makes her Dora enjoyable. Gabriel Byrne as the lovelorn Blue makes a good match for her. He is suitably and touchingly romantic here, not as much "darkness" to his character as in most roles.

I enjoyed their story, though I was distracted at first by that heavy Texas drawl issuing from Byrne's mouth. It was fine when I got used to it, though it did start me thinking that probably there were a lot of cowboys with Irish, Scandinavian, German and other accents--immigrants. The only reason we think of all cowboys with a Texas drawl is Hollywood.

I also thought the movie shortchanged Indian women a bit. What does Blue's Native American wife think of being married to a white guy who doesn't love her? That's sad for her, and in a movie about women of the Old West, would have been a good angle to the story.

Westerns usually show Indian women as victims or passive prizes for "sympathetic" white men. In reality, Indian women often had much more autonomy and power than European women. The idea of being given as a "prize" to a white men would have been entirely against their culture. (To learn more about Native American women, I recommend the writings of James Alexander Thom, a historical novelist whose wife is Native American.)

On the plus side, I liked the alliance between Calamity and Annie Oakley. So much better than making them enemies. And the story about Jane's daughter was touching, even though I knew it was pure fiction.

This is a good movie to while away a winter weekend. It would also be good for parents looking for good viewing material for pre-teen to young teen girls, even though I have a problem with anything that portrays prostitution as a good career choice for women. The angle is downplayed, though. Enjoyable and recommended.

buffalo girls
This is a very touching movie about lives at the end of the period known as the "wild west. The acting is done well, well known actors are in the movie. I recommend it to anyone, especially women, who are interested in the old west. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Fist of the North Star (Hokuto no Ken, literally Ken theGreat Bear Fist) which premiered on Japanese television in 1984, lookslike a Saturday morning version of Mad Max starring a caricature ofSylvester Stallone. Searching for his lost love, Julia, Ken(shiro) wanders anEarth that was devastated by nuclear war. In each episode, he takes on a newsadistic motorcycle gang. (Food and water are scarce, but there's apparentlyplenty of gasoline.) In his travels, Ken acquires two sidekicks: Bart, acomic musician-thief, and Lynn, an adoring little girl. Ken is the lastmaster of secret Chinese martial arts techniques: his specialty is makingfoes blow up from the inside. In every episode, several heads explode,actions that would be quite gory if they weren't so crudely animated. (Rated13 and older, but more appropriate for 15 and older: considerable violence,profanity, grotesque imagery, alcohol use) --Charles Solomon ... Read more

Amazon.com

Call it "Desperate Movie," because this ludicrous thriller deteriorates into unintentional comedy. For reasons that are never explained, a sociopathic killer (Michael Keaton) is the only available bone marrow donor for the cancer-stricken son of a San Francisco cop (Andy Garcia), who must capture the killer alive after a laughable escape in a labyrinthine hospital. The ensuing manhunt relies on plentiful plot holes and ridiculous shortcuts (like Keaton's use of a surgical laser to cut leg irons, or accessing hospital schematics from a prison computer). Self-consciously shot in film noir style, the cat-and-mouse routine leads to a briefly impressive car chase, but the premise (which even the movie's original press notes described as "intriguing, if unlikely") is based on "moral ambiguity" that doesn't translate from script to screen. Instead of forcing Keaton's typically "sick genius" to prove his ingenuity, the film pits him against a squad of cops who couldn't find a beer in a crowded pub. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (23)

Too Fast & Slick For It's Own Good!
Boy this movie is fast. It certainly uses all it's cards at once and doesn't save enough moderately and sparsely. It really reminded me of Speed in some stark way.

Michael Keaton acts great, trying to be a Hannibal. He pulls it of well. Andy Garcia does an OK job but his acting wasn't spectacular.
For some inane reason I wanted Keaton's evil character to win through in the end. Wasn't he abused or something as a child. Again that's reverse psychology - the viewer going for the bad guy ala Hannibal.

The Australian DVD version has about 30 extra minutes of interviews and behind the scenes footage. That is something you Americans it looks like, don't appear to have. But we missed out - we didn't have any closed captions or subtitles. That would've been handy considering some of the dialogue was incomprehensible.

Overall I think this movie was too fast for it's own good. It should have slowed down a bit so the viewer isn't overloaded with too much pace. The aftertaste of the movie was one where you won't want to watch it again. But during it did have massive classic potential. But giving the viewer too much can lessen the goodness and impact of the movie...

Rating: 2 and a half stars out of 5!

Some plot is missing, but it has its exciting suspense
Peter McCabe (Michael Keaton) is in jail for several murders. He is one of the most dreaded criminals in his prison. However, a cop, Frank Conner (Andy Garcia), finds out that Peter is the only one who can save his son by giving him a bone marrow transplant. Peter agrees to do so after getting several of his privileges, such as smoking, back. However, things take an interesting twist after Peter somehow escapes while in the hospital. Frank can't allow anybody to kill Peter because that would kill Frank's son, but he also doesn't want Peter to do what he is known for, being a murderer.

I can't believe that "Desperate Measures" isn't getting a lot better ratings than it's getting. I thought it was a great movie. I like for movies to have a plot, and I'll admit that this movie is choppy in that department, but it does feature one of Michael Keaton's best job as an actor and it has great suspense. That's why I really liked "Desperate Measures." If you can put up with a movie that doesn't have one of the best plots in the world, but one that has good acting and great suspense, I recommend getting "Desperate Measures."

Just sad
Plot, writing, and dialog are rediculous. Both actors could do a much better job, but given the sillyness of the whole thing, did passibly well. Really silly b-movie horror ending. Yuck.

One of the best physcotic thrillers you'll come across
This movie has its point and the cast are amazing, especially Acadamy Award winning actress Marcia Gay Harden. Action, Suspense, Thriller and drama provided, this movie is all what it is, Andy Garcia and Michael Keaton provide their best preformance and the race to save Andy's child begins...

Best to watch it in Widescreen.

Good Movie
This is a good movie.Not classic but not stupid a good suspence/action flick.Andy Garcia is a good actor ... Read more

Reviews (94)

A Classic Cult Film!!!
Repo Man is THE classic cult movie. It's a real original! A wacky and complex masterpiece that defies description. Emilio Estevez, in his one and only good role, is the title character, a teenage punk who lives with his hippie parents in L.A. The always brilliant Harry Dean Stanton is the veteran repo man who takes Estevez under his wing and shows him the ropes of the trade. To reveal more would be wrong, one of the many pleasures of this movie is the wild surprises and twists that the film springs on us. Let's just say the film mixes a punk attitude with bizarro science fiction, hysterical comedy, satire, a GREAT soundtrack and much more. With this film and the brilliant Sid & Nancy (another film you should see if you have'nt)Alex Cox announced himself as a great director. Unfortunately, he seemed to want to self destruct a promising career with the release of two deeply flawed but nonetheless interesting films Walker and Straight to Hell. This is a man who needs to direct again? Where is he now??

Cult classic
Of all the low-budget films to come out of the Eighties, Repo Man, Alex Cox's dark cult comedy about Eighties urban sprawl and alien paranoia, is one of the better ones. Emilio Estevez stars in one of his earliest roles as Otto Parts, your modern apocalyptic teen up to his armpits in drugs, sex, and parental neglect. He soon finds a way out through Bud (Stanton), an ace repo man, who gives him a job and teaches him the ways of the car repossessing trade. The two wander through the guts of L.A. in search of a '64 Chevy Malibu, priced at 50 thousand dollars, and run into a cast of bizarre street characters: feds, girls in distress, a lobotomized nuclear physicist, and really, really dumb criminals. Estevez gives one of the best performances of his career, honing his acting skills as a punk white boy just in time for his role in Coppola's The Outsiders, released later that year. Cox, who wrote and directed the film, creates a strange but hilarious view of our culture, a brilliant satire on modern society.

What the f*ck do I know?
One thing I do know is this film is a modern day masterpiece.Unlike anything made before it.A true work of art and absolutely essential to any great DVD collection.Better than Gone With The Wind.It will make you wanna go to L.A. but stay home and watch Repo Man instead.I really wish they'd release the made for TV version of it as well.Along with the high art of Richard Elfman's brilliant Forbidden Zone, Repo Man is in a class all by itself.SUPERB!

not what i had expected
I was thouroughly pleased upon seeing repo man. Though i Admit it was defintitletely not what I had expected. A friend recomended the movie to me saying it was apunk rock thing, and it was actually an acurate portrayal of the punk rock lifestyle of the 80's. WHOA no way, thats the last time i trust that guy. What I did discover was a magical glowing, flying spacecar, which everyone and their mother wanted. It's brilliant, just half way through the movie it takes a twist for the strange. I'd recomend this movie to anyone. This is probably Emelio's only good performance ever so that makes the movie that much more special.

"The more you drive, the less intelligent you are."--Miller
Wow, ummm....interesting. Finally something different. No, I mean this is REALLY different. About time to, cuz lately I've seen a string of bvad movies, so it's nice to see something cool and original every now and then. Otto (Emilio Estevez) is a Los Angeles punk, a loser with no direction and no role models. But he discovers a code of honor and higher purpose when he joins a select group of latter-day knights: the repo men. As a fledging apprentice, Otto slowly learns the ways of these high-caliber, overmedicated auto repossessors. And when a $20,000 bounty is placed on a mysterious missing car, Otto eludes the police, feds, religious cultists, and other repo men in a frantic search for this holy grail. Could one man's destiny lie in the back of a 1964 Chevy Malibu? For some, actually for many, this film will come of as stupid and random, but for those of us who "get" it, this is a breathe of fresh air. Using clever, if somewhat odd, story telling, this film should keep you entertained and amused throughout the entire duration of the film. I say rent first, then but. ... Read more

Amazon.com

You wouldn't know it by watching the mostly ridiculous escapades on display in Wild America, but this comedy/adventure for young boys is marginally based on the true story of Marshall, Mark, and Marty Stouffer, three young brothers who successfully pursued their dream of becoming wildlife filmmakers. From their home in the South, the Stouffer boys embark on a cross-country trek to the West, where they hope to get rare footage from inside the dreaded Cave of the Sleeping Bears. Along the way they encounter cute British tourist girls, deadly alligators, a rampaging moose, and an Air Force fighter on a bombing range. In other words, Wild America is about as contrived as it could possibly be and still claim to be based on reality, but it is harmless enough for young viewers with its wholesome message about bravery, hard work, and family togetherness. Jonathan Taylor Thomas (from television's Home Improvement) leads the young cast of adventurers. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (36)

Three cute boys, 'N' loads of cute animals!!
I think the title kind of explains it all really. Three guys going off into the wild of America, on a mission to find a cave filled with a thousand bears, although being told that they sleep alone, the boys don't believe anyone, find the cave, and have loads of adventures along the way!! Jonathan Taylor Thomas played a great part in this movie and he really narrated it well too! As I live in the UK, I was lucky enough to see it while I was in America, I'd always liked Jonathan and Devon's films, and this was another one I HAD TO HAVE!!! I would also say that this is a great film for all the family, only recently has it been released in the UK, but I bought it in America, luckily I have an international VCR. This film is way cool. I would really reccommend it.

It could have been better.
Wild America isn't that wild. It still has good story elements too it, but you feel cheated when you realize the kids in the movie didn't go anywhere but to a bunch of unknown areas. So much for going across America. The actors fit the movie perfectly. Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Devon Sawa, and Scott Bairstow seem to be enjoying their roles as the three boys who hit the road to film animals. The music is ok and the cinematography is wonderful. I wish they would have seen more animals. The movie made me smile throughout, but many aspects of the movie could have been better. Their trip across so called "America" could have been extented greatly and the mystery man should have been removed. He's just a waste of time and talent by Danny Glover. The DVD version has the widescreen aspect and the original trailer, plus a bunch of info on the movie. The Movie is rated PG for Profanity and violence, mainly. The swearing is totally pointless and if it were gone, would have made a better movie overall for kids. Watch at your own risk.

Great all round film!
I first saw this film in 1999 I loved it.The first thing that grabbed my attention was the 3 brothers and their relationship throughout the film and how it changes.The storyline with the youngest brother marshall was great.The film is like an adventure story,the type you would of loved to have gone on! Traveling,being young,free and inexperienced at almost everything.its a bit like a coming of age film,finding yourself etc.This all sounds heavy but its not,the film is filled with humour from the brothers and all the other characters,the animals are great and some even get in on the humour too.The music even grabs me,the whole thing is a feel good factor of a film,one I would recommend anyone watching of any age.

Not Bad
Okay so I wouldn't say this is the best movie I've ever seen. But I still really enjoyed it. I liked how they showed the relationship between the three brothers. Sure they picked on JTT but they still protected him especially Devon Sawa. He was more protective of him than Scott Bairstow. I liked the end and How JTT showed there father that they needed to find there own dream and the permission to follow them. So I'd reccomended it to Brothers and children 10 and Up. Sure The animals looked fake but It was still enjoyable.

An enjoyable, interesting plot with well-done acting
I haven't seen this movie too often, but I really enjoy it every time that I do. Why? Because it is full of fun, adventure and mild comedy. The acting is wonderful, all of the three boys are terrific. However, this isn't necessarily a movie for younger children-it is geared towards pre-teens and teenagers. There is obscenities, implications, and alcholol use that isn't right for everyone.
But, it is mad up for in the interesting plot. I don't know how much of this is true, but I enjoy it just the same. ... Read more

Reviews (94)

A Classic Cult Film!!!
Repo Man is THE classic cult movie. It's a real original! A wacky and complex masterpiece that defies description. Emilio Estevez, in his one and only good role, is the title character, a teenage punk who lives with his hippie parents in L.A. The always brilliant Harry Dean Stanton is the veteran repo man who takes Estevez under his wing and shows him the ropes of the trade. To reveal more would be wrong, one of the many pleasures of this movie is the wild surprises and twists that the film springs on us. Let's just say the film mixes a punk attitude with bizarro science fiction, hysterical comedy, satire, a GREAT soundtrack and much more. With this film and the brilliant Sid & Nancy (another film you should see if you have'nt)Alex Cox announced himself as a great director. Unfortunately, he seemed to want to self destruct a promising career with the release of two deeply flawed but nonetheless interesting films Walker and Straight to Hell. This is a man who needs to direct again? Where is he now??

Cult classic
Of all the low-budget films to come out of the Eighties, Repo Man, Alex Cox's dark cult comedy about Eighties urban sprawl and alien paranoia, is one of the better ones. Emilio Estevez stars in one of his earliest roles as Otto Parts, your modern apocalyptic teen up to his armpits in drugs, sex, and parental neglect. He soon finds a way out through Bud (Stanton), an ace repo man, who gives him a job and teaches him the ways of the car repossessing trade. The two wander through the guts of L.A. in search of a '64 Chevy Malibu, priced at 50 thousand dollars, and run into a cast of bizarre street characters: feds, girls in distress, a lobotomized nuclear physicist, and really, really dumb criminals. Estevez gives one of the best performances of his career, honing his acting skills as a punk white boy just in time for his role in Coppola's The Outsiders, released later that year. Cox, who wrote and directed the film, creates a strange but hilarious view of our culture, a brilliant satire on modern society.

What the f*ck do I know?
One thing I do know is this film is a modern day masterpiece.Unlike anything made before it.A true work of art and absolutely essential to any great DVD collection.Better than Gone With The Wind.It will make you wanna go to L.A. but stay home and watch Repo Man instead.I really wish they'd release the made for TV version of it as well.Along with the high art of Richard Elfman's brilliant Forbidden Zone, Repo Man is in a class all by itself.SUPERB!

not what i had expected
I was thouroughly pleased upon seeing repo man. Though i Admit it was defintitletely not what I had expected. A friend recomended the movie to me saying it was apunk rock thing, and it was actually an acurate portrayal of the punk rock lifestyle of the 80's. WHOA no way, thats the last time i trust that guy. What I did discover was a magical glowing, flying spacecar, which everyone and their mother wanted. It's brilliant, just half way through the movie it takes a twist for the strange. I'd recomend this movie to anyone. This is probably Emelio's only good performance ever so that makes the movie that much more special.

"The more you drive, the less intelligent you are."--Miller
Wow, ummm....interesting. Finally something different. No, I mean this is REALLY different. About time to, cuz lately I've seen a string of bvad movies, so it's nice to see something cool and original every now and then. Otto (Emilio Estevez) is a Los Angeles punk, a loser with no direction and no role models. But he discovers a code of honor and higher purpose when he joins a select group of latter-day knights: the repo men. As a fledging apprentice, Otto slowly learns the ways of these high-caliber, overmedicated auto repossessors. And when a $20,000 bounty is placed on a mysterious missing car, Otto eludes the police, feds, religious cultists, and other repo men in a frantic search for this holy grail. Could one man's destiny lie in the back of a 1964 Chevy Malibu? For some, actually for many, this film will come of as stupid and random, but for those of us who "get" it, this is a breathe of fresh air. Using clever, if somewhat odd, story telling, this film should keep you entertained and amused throughout the entire duration of the film. I say rent first, then but. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The dark, brooding tone of Conan the Barbarian is replaced in this rousing sequel by a lighter, more humorous tone and one of the campiest casts ever assembled. This time, Conan is assigned by a duplicitous queen (Sarah Douglas) to escort a virgin princess (Olivia d'Abo) on a treacherous trek to a crystal palace where they will retrieve a priceless gemstone. Basketball champ and self-described Lothario Wilt Chamberlain plays Bombaata, a warrior sent on a secret mission to kill Conan, and the androgynous Grace Jones plays Zula, a wild woman who becomes Conan's loyal ally. Some consider this sequel a disappointment, but the film makes no apologies for its silliness, and that's the key to its success as gloriously pulpy entertainment. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (56)

Not horrible but not great
Call this more like 2 1/2 stars. This movie may actually be a bit closer in spirit to a true swords and sorcery epic than the first movie. We've got evil queens, evil wizards, monsters, etc...

Unfortunately, Conan is even saddled with a bigger cast of companians. Mako is back as the wizard, Tracy Walter plays a thief for comic relief, then we have Oliva D'Abo as a Princess, and Wilt Chamberlain and Grace Jones rounding out the cast.

This is some of the worst casting EVER! Jones, Chamberlain and Walter are totally out of place in this movie. Chamberlain is even more wooden than Arnold, Jones basically scowls and growls for 90 minutes and Walter sounds like a hillbilly in ancient times.

The special effects are B movie at it's best. Poorly looking rubber costumes. Conan's nemesis from the books and comics, Thoth Amon comes off as totally pathetic.

It's not all bad. Arnold himself holds things together as best he can and the action scenes are well done. Still, We have yet to see anyone do a REAL good swords and sorcery/fantasy movie(discounting Lord of the Rings, of course).

King Kull with Kevin Sorbo was yet another slap in the face to fans of Robert E. Howard.

Quirky casting decisions quickly sink this "Conan" sequel
The 1982 film "Conan the Barbarian" is the film that gets the credit (or blame) for turning Arnold Schwarzenegger into a movie star, but it should be remembered more as the best Sword & Sorcery film produced to date. The main reasons, besides Schwarzenegger cutting an imposing figure as Conan, flexing his muscles and swinging his big sword, was that director John Milius treated the characters seriously and avoided descending into camp. But for the 1984 sequel "Conan the Destroyer," the key factor seemed to be coming up with casting in a similar vein to the logic that had landed Arnold the role.

The story of "Conan the Destroyer" was by Roy Thomas and Gerry Conway, a pair of writers for Marvel Comics. Thomas was the writer for Marvel's "Conan the Barbarian," often adapating Robert E. Howard's stories, whether they were originally Conan stories or not. The story is a basic quest story where Conan escorts a virgin princess to bring back a powerful gem from a crystal palace, which will then be returned to a queen (Sarah Douglas), who turns out to be evil and wants to sacrifice the princess so the gem can used to summon an ancient demon, at which point wackiness will ensue.

The problem is not in the story, which certainly allows you to string together a series of Sword & Sorcery adventures, but in the casting. The princess is played by Olivia d'Abo, who simply looks too young (i.e., Conan was forever leaving pregnant princesses behind in his various adventures but there is not chance for that sort of chemistry here). Her body guard, Bombaata, is played by basketball Hall of Famer, Wilt Chamberlain, while Zula, the warrior woman who joins the group is played by Grace Jones, the singer/dancer/model/crazy woman. Comic relif, which was relatively absent in the orignal film, is provided by Tracey Walter as Malak. With such casting the descent into camp becomes inevitable. Besides, there is nothing in this film even close to rivaling Arnold's best moments in the original (especially since the final shot of the old King Conan is recycled from the first film).

Those who have actually read the originally Conan stories will also find it rather distressing that Toth-Amon, the great Stygian wizard who was Conan's biggest enemy in the Howard stories, is reduced to a pit stop on this quest (I remember thinking at the time that this was the equivalent of Darth Vader being one of the guys that got dispatched at the Cantina in "Star Wars"). Thomas and Conway were upset by Stanley Mann's final screenplay, as well as the finished film, and ended up turning their story into the graphic novel "Conan and the Horn of Azoth," with art by Mike Docherty (all the names got changed to avoid any confusion).

Ultimately, "Conan the Destroyer" gets three stars because we round down simply to make sure that it is clear that "Conan the Barbarian" was a better movie. Besides, this 1984 film pretty much killed the franchise, although Milius is apparently preparing a 2005 film "King Conan: Crown of Iron," which there being a lot of speculation as to who will play Conan now that Arnold is Governor of Cal-e-fornia (the hot names are apparently all wrestlers).

Awful movie. I wish I could forget it
The masterul epic quality of "Conan the Barbarian" demanded an epic sequel. Instead, what we were given was a parody.

In the first movie Conan's character was well developed, you saw what happened to him over the course of his life, what created him, and what his motivations were.

In this movie, Conan is reduced to a bodybuilder in a fur diaper.

Conan's companions in the first movie were formidible accomplices who Conan respected. In this movie, Conan's companions, especially the annoyingly sniveling cretin Malak, (played by Tracey Walter) have no redeeming qualities at all. I kept hoping Conan would impale him and put us out of our misery. I was constantly lead to wonder "Why is Conan hanging around with this guy?"

Sandahl Bergman in the original movie was a Valkyrie. She was amazingly beautiful, but also amazingly powerful and dangerous.

In the second movie we were given Grace Jones. Please. Not only is she unattractive, her character was essentially unbelievable, crude and repulsive. The notion that she could portray any kind of a warrior was laughable.

The villains in the first movie are fearful. James Earl Jones as Thulsa Doom, Sven Ole Thorsen as Thorgrim and Ben Davidson as Rexor come across as men who could perhaps beat Conan. It made the outcome uncertain and Conan's eventual victory that much more powerful.

In this movie the villain is a guy in a monster suit, and a rhino horn with poorly done special effects. It is so ridiculously, lame that Conan must drop his sword and arm wrestle the monster for a fair fight. Wilt Chamberlain, while a creditable athlete, simply did not have the screen prescence necessary. One look at him and it was obvious that Conan could take him. Chamberlain didn't do the role justice.

In the first movie, magic was just that. Magic. It was dangerous, expensive in terms of life and used only in dire circumstances. In this movie magic is reduced to the level of a bad "Dungeons and Dragons" game. I halfway expected The wizard (Mako) to pull out some oddly shaped dice and roll them in his battle with the Man Ape/Toth-Amon.

In the original movie, Conan ponders The riddle of steel, he's a thinker and a man of action. He speaks little. In this movie, talks toomuch, Conan rescues a blonde girl and is betrayed by the evil stepmother. It was a variation of Snow White, Cimmerian style. At least there weren't seven dwarves.

Finally, Conan movies should be R rated. The world of Conan is violent, brutal, lusty and grim. Solutuions ot problems are found with the edge of a blade, not with talk. This watered-down milquetoast version of a Conan adventure was designed to pander to a family friendly audience and D&D geeks. There's plenty of family entertainment out there, and to bring adapt Conan to that environment is wrong.

It's too bad that John Milius was not in charge of this movie. The suits in Hollywood had their way and this movie stinks as a result. The fans lost, because instead three movies we only get one good one, one bad one, and if a third is ever made, it likely won't star Arnold in the title role. What a missed opportunity. It could have been SO much better.

If you like the Conan stories, ignore this film, and stick to the one and only Conan movie.

the greatest
this is the best one cuz this one has more speical Affects and it has monster like the other one didn't and this had more fighting and more wizards now this was the best one of all thats what i think get this,it's a really great movie Arnold kicks @$$ on this movie but i think he should just get about valeria.but this is a great and powerful movie

A Must-have
Among Arnold's early movies, this one stands out for the eclectic supporting cast. His early movies were remarkedly free of any acting on his part; I suspect he was still learning English then. But one way to make him look better is to hire nonactors, or miscast semiactors. Enter Wilt and Grace. (Later, Richard Dawson). This is as much a collectible as Terminator 2. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Finally!
Finally, Martin Schenk's debut film Blast is being released on DVD in Region 1. I've been wanting to see this film for quite some time now. Unfortunately, it never got a wide theatrical release.

The film has been available on Region 2 DVD for at least a few months now, in Greece, Finland, and probably a few other countries (I'm only sure about Greece and Finland though).

The scary thing is, the disc released in Finland is pan and scan. That is completely unacceptable. All I can say is, the Region 1 disc better be widescreen, preferably 16x9 enhanced. There is NO excuse nowadays for not releasing a film (especially a new film!) in its original aspect ratio.

Here's hoping for a 16x9 enhanced DVD that deserves 5 stars! ... Read more

Amazon.com

Undercover Brother
Blaxploitation movies deserve a good spoofing, and Undercover Brother tweaks the subgenre with a few good laughs. But what might have been an Afro-centric Austin Powers (adapted by John Ridley from his Internet film series) is instead a lackluster comedy with one basic joke: "Whitey"--personified as a faceless corporate despot known as "the Man"--has the power, but black folks have soul. With enough funk to make Shaft look passé, Eddie Griffin plays "U.B." with an oversized 'fro and a firm grasp of comedic possibilities. He's recruited by the B.R.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D. (an all-black justice league) to foil the Man's plan to derail a Colin Powell-like presidential candidate (Billy Dee Williams), and U.B.'s undercover exploits keep the slim plot moving. Denise Richards and Neil Patrick Harris are gamely ridiculed as token white allies, and it's all in good fun as director Malcolm D. Lee (Spike's cousin) finds room for mild jolts of relevant social commentary. --Jeff Shannon

How High
Grab your favorite munchies, kids. Red and Meth, that dope-addled dynamic duo, are going to Harvard! And while it's not an episode of Masterpiece Theatre, How High is destined to become a guilty pleasure of the cannabis crowd. The plot's a familiar one--take the basic selling points of any Cheech & Chong movie (a pair of shambolic protagonists who smoke lots of weed while slinging slang and driving funky, '70s-style cars), graft them onto a generic "raising hell on campus" teen movie scenario, and shake vigorously. The result is a prosaic effort that does contain some all-too-brief moments of genuine humor. Red and Meth, a.k.a. Redman and Method Man, may look like the world's oldest freshmen, but both offer genial performances, especially Method Man, who imbues the character of Silas with a dog-eared gentleness that raises him above the film's leaden script and plasticine directing. --Rebecca Levine ... Read more