Amazon.com

Sometimes it's hard to tell if The Mask (or Jim Carrey's in-your-face mugging in general) is actually funny, or just bizarre and grotesque. And sometimes it just doesn't matter. Carrey plays a shy, Jerry Lewis-like nerd who discovers an ancient mask that magically transforms him into a green-faced, zoot-suited Tex Avery cartoon character with no inhibitions. As Roger Ebert said of Carrey in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, the actor performs "as if he's being clocked on an Energy-O-Meter, and paid by the calorie expended." If that's your kind of humor, you'll love The Mask; if not, you may need a valium or two to sit through this one. Digital video disc extras include two deleted scenes and a commentary track from director Charles Russell. --Jim Emerson ... Read more

Amazon.com

If you're going to submit yourself to a dazzling example of mainstream action, this thriller is as good a choice as any. Eraser is a live-action cartoon, the kind of movie in which Arnold Schwarzenegger can survive nail bombs, hails of bullets, an attack by voracious alligators ("You're luggage," he says, after killing one of the beasts), and still emerge from the mayhem relatively intact. Arnold plays an "eraser" from the Federal Witness Protection Program, so named because he can virtually erase the existence of anyone he's been assigned to protect. His latest beneficiary is an FBI employee (Vanessa Williams) who stumbled across a secret government group involved in the sale and export of an advanced weapon capable of shooting rounds at nearly the speed of light. Fantastic action sequences are handled with flair by director Charles Russell (The Mask), so it's easy to forgive the fact that this movie is almost completely ridiculous. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (52)

Eraser is one of of Arnold's best action films.
Eraser is Arnold's action spectuclar in years scene The terminator, Total Recall, Terminator 2: Judgement day and True lies. the story is about US Witsec officer John Kreuger (Arnold Schwarzengger) who protects, and takes out the ID's of federal witness's where he is recruited to protect witness Lee Cullen (Vanessa Williams) who is trying to get evidence about a weapons company selling new deadly guns, where Lee is a target of the company's renegades, where John plans on helping her, as his Witsec friend Robert (James Cann ) is invovled with them as John goes to put a stop to the madness. The film features very good special effects featuring Arnold firing EM rail guns, beging attack by crocodiles and sky diving out of a plane, if your a Arnie fan buy this right now or rent it in you nearest video store END

ERASER??? More like TRUE LIES 2! A real Arnold thriller!!!
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER explodes to the TV screen as U.S. MARSHALL JOHN KRUGER of the WITNESS PROTECTION PROGRAM, assigned to protect LEE CULLEN (Vanessa Williams), a woman who is willing to testify against illegal weapon dealers. But, something goes wrong. A fellow Marshall and friend of JOHN's is working for the wrong team and trying to cover up the deadly plot to take out KRUGER's witness. Now, everyone at WITSEC is trying to kill KRUGER and CULLEN believing that they are the real enemies. Will ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER be able to prove his innosense and save the day in an explosive action thriller?!!!

Directed By: Charles Russell (The Mask, Bless the Child) and starring ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (End of Days, 6th Day, Predator), JAMES CAAN (Mickey Blue Eyes), VANESSA WILLIAMS, and DANNY NUCCI (Crimson Tide, The Rock, Titanic)- ERASER is an action rush of sheer explosive adventure!

MOVIE NOTE: This movie might as well be TRUE LIES 2. ARNOLD is back, he's a U.S. MARSHALL SPY-Like hero, He has big guns, he's protecting a woman against a vengeful nemisis, he has great one-liners, he battles terrorists, crocodiles, jumping out of a speeding plane- trying to catch his parachute, shooting huge EMP guns, breaking into a high security weapons building, and blowing up a house by making a trap that will light a fuse in the house! That is TRUE LIES 2 to me! Anyway, we'll have to see what TRUE LIES 2 has in store for us when it comes to theaters sometime within the next 5 years...

MY REVIEW: This movie ROCKS! The special effects are great, the stunts and action sequences rule, the story, acting and directing are spectacular, and the humor is good too! THIS MAY NOT BE ARNOLD's BEST FILM EVER, BUT IT SURE MAKES HIS TOP 10 LIST!!!

Rent this movie or buy this movie today action fans!

ERASER is rated "R" for STRONG LANGUAGE and STRONG ACTION VIOLENCE THROUGHOUT. 1 hr 55 min.

Excellent action thriller!
Austrian accented "Terminator" actor Arnold Schwarzenegger hits another home run in his career in the 1996 action thriller entitled "Eraser" and let me tell you, this movie is truly unsettling and not to mention will make you angry as such acts could in fact happen in real life as we know it although the items are a bit far-fetched with today's technologies.

A special agent U.S. Marshall named John Kruger works for the Witness Protection Agency, an organization that takes witnesses of major crimes away, wipe out their identities, in order to shelter them from potential criminals who aim to kill those who witness their crimes. His latest mission is to protect a worker named Lee Cullen (Vanessa Williams) who works for a corporation named Cyrez that produces top secret weapons but a massive scandal is brewing and Lee discovers what's really going on and aims to expose the scam to the FBI. However, high level government marshals who are crooks themselves aim to kill Lee and Kruger to attempt to stop the truth from coming out. The Cyrez corporation, under the leadership of a corrupt CEO, is involved in an illegal arms deal with a Russian Mafia hitman who has had a history of murder and terrorist acts against civilians. The arms deal involves trading extremely advanced weapons that don't use any conventional ammunition and instead use magnetic pulses to fire rounds of aluminum at nearly the speed of light and if the arms trade succeed it will bring forth a horrific new era of high-tech terrorism worldwide and John Kruger must stop the arms shipment before it's too late while also protecting lee from corrupt high-ranking officials participating the scam.

If Lee Cullen and John Kruger are killed, then the FBI will lose any leads and/or evidence to bring the Cyrez officials to trial and to expose the scandal to the public.

This movie sometimes makes me angry not because it is bad because it is a really great movie but it's the whole concept of high-ranking government officials actually being a part of the problem than as the people trying to fight the criminals committing these crimes. I sometimes wonder how one can be able to fight such acts of capitalist greed even if they're totally fictional events.

The special effects while limited are really well done especially with the way the bullets create those smoke trails when speed through the air at speeds nearly that of light plus the action sequences are really awesome especially towards the climax.

The high-tech weapons are really terrifying with not only the light-speed ammunition but also how they seemingly can scan through buildings and make out movements all around the immediate vicinity. One can't help but feel really paranoid when viewing the scenes where they scan the area when seeking their targets.

Once again Arnold Schwarzenegger hits another home run right out of the ballpart playing the U.S. Marshall John Kruger. Arnold's action sequences are once again in top form as he fights against the crooks aiming to eliminate both Kruger and Lee. If you loves his "I'll Be Back" and/or "You've just been terminated" lines from the "Terminator" movies, then he comes up with another brilliant line which is "You've just been erased". God I love it. Vanessa Williams is also very good playing Lee Cullen as she tries to escape the assassins pursuit of her while trying to deliver the evidence of the crime to the FBI. In all honesty, Vanessa is far better when she's acting in movies and singing and releasing albums as opposed to wasting her time on these numerous bland commercials and infomercials!!

My favorite though of the main characters was Star Trek actor James Caan. Man, his portrayal of the traitorous agent Degeurin is absolutely terrifying and truly vivid and brings the horrifically callous nature of the corrupt agent to 'life' on the movie. I just can't help but feel really sometimes ticked off at Deguerin because of his horrific acts against the country but I've got to admire Caan's incredible acting in this movie because he was perfect for the role of the bad guy and Deguerin is one of the greatest bad guys I had seen in many years at the time of this movie's release.

While only a minor role, James Cromwell's performance as the CEO of the Cyrez corporation was also compelling and sometimes really scary. While not as bad as let's say Deguerin, Cromwell's character in this movie is just enough to make you upset at his callous nature.

Other favorites are the late Joe Pastorelli as Johnny C. along with his mob crime family and some of the characters are really funny especially Johnny C. It's really sad that Pastorelli departed us so soon because he was a talented actor. I also thought that the late Joe Viterelli was phenomenal playing the pug-faced mafia gangster. :-(

This movie is really very well done and delivers incredible action sequences, not to mention an original plot idea. The DVD as of this writing offers little of anything in the way of bonus material but is a grand improvement on the VHS.

Really excellent action-thriller! 2 Thumbs up!
Austrian accented "Terminator" actor Arnold Schwarzenegger hits another home run in his career in the 1996 action thriller entitled "Eraser" and let me tell you, this movie is truly unsettling and not to mention will make you angry as such acts could in fact happen in real life as we know it although the items are a bit far-fetched with today's technologies.

A special agent U.S. Marshall named John Kruger works for the Witness Protection Agency, an organization that takes witnesses of major crimes away, wipe out their identities, in order to shelter them from potential criminals who aim to kill those who witness their crimes. His latest mission is to protect a worker named Lee Cullen (Vanessa Williams) who works for a corporation named Cyrez that produces top secret weapons but a massive scandal is brewing and Lee discovers what's really going on and aims to expose the scam to the FBI. However, high level government marshals who are crooks themselves aim to kill Lee and Kruger to attempt to stop the truth from coming out. The Cyrez corporation, under the leadership of a corrupt CEO, is involved in an illegal arms deal with a Russian Mafia hitman who has had a history of murder and terrorist acts against civilians. The arms deal involves trading extremely advanced weapons that don't use any conventional ammunition and instead use magnetic pulses to fire rounds of aluminum at nearly the speed of light and if the arms trade succeed it will bring forth a horrific new era of high-tech terrorism worldwide and John Kruger must stop the arms shipment before it's too late while also protecting lee from corrupt high-ranking officials participating the scam.

If Lee Cullen and John Kruger are killed, then the FBI will lose any leads and/or evidence to bring the Cyrez officials to trial and to expose the scandal to the public.

This movie sometimes makes me angry not because it is bad because it is a really great movie but it's the whole concept of high-ranking government officials actually being a part of the problem than as the people trying to fight the criminals committing these crimes. I sometimes wonder how one can be able to fight such acts of capitalist greed even if they're totally fictional events.

The special effects while limited are really well done especially with the way the bullets create those smoke trails when speed through the air at speeds nearly that of light plus the action sequences are really awesome especially towards the climax.

The high-tech weapons are really terrifying with not only the light-speed ammunition but also how they seemingly can scan through buildings and make out movements all around the immediate vicinity. One can't help but feel really paranoid when viewing the scenes where they scan the area when seeking their targets.

Once again Arnold Schwarzenegger hits another home run right out of the ballpart playing the U.S. Marshall John Kruger. Arnold's action sequences are once again in top form as he fights against the crooks aiming to eliminate both Kruger and Lee. If you loves his "I'll Be Back" and/or "You've just been terminated" lines from the "Terminator" movies, then he comes up with another brilliant line which is "You've just been erased". God I love it. Vanessa Williams is also very good playing Lee Cullen as she tries to escape the assassins pursuit of her while trying to deliver the evidence of the crime to the FBI. In all honesty, Vanessa is far better when she's acting in movies and singing and releasing albums as opposed to wasting her time on these numerous bland commercials and infomercials!!

My favorite though of the main characters was Star Trek actor James Caan. Man, his portrayal of the traitorous agent Degeurin is absolutely terrifying and truly vivid and brings the horrifically callous nature of the corrupt agent to 'life' on the movie. I just can't help but feel really sometimes ticked off at Deguerin because of his horrific acts against the country!

Other favorites are the late Joe Pastorelli as Johnny C. along with his mob crime family and some of the characters are really funny especially Johnny C. It's really sad that Pastorelli departed us so soon. :-(

This movie is really very well done and delivers incredible action sequences, not to mention an original plot idea. The DVD as of this writing offers little of anything in the way of bonus material but is a grand improvement on the VHS.

Action packed fun for the masses!
This movie is awesome!!! Starring Ahnold as an adventurous U.S. Marshall he is assigned to protect a female witness to an illegal arms deal between a U.S. business and Russian mafia terrorists and the witness and Ahnold are the targets for assassination by the corrupt federal marshalls taking part in the arms deal. The arms shoot rounds of aluminum near the speed of light. California's governor once again hits another home run with awesome acting and incredible special effects. Go and see this movie today!!! ... Read more

Description

Born the bastard son of a hundred maniacs, demented killer Freddy Krueger is back for fresh victims in this hallucinatory shocker co-written by original creator Wes Craven (Scream 1, 2 and 3). The last of the Elm Street kids are now in a psychiatric ward where Freddy haunts their dreams with unspeakable horrors. Their only hope is dream researcher and fellow survivor Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp of the original "Nightmare"), who helps them battle the supernatural psycho on his own hellish turf. ... Read more

Reviews (129)

One of the better installments of the series
After the waste that was Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge, Wes Craven returned to co-write this third installment (which thankfully ignores anything that happened in Part 2) with director Chuck Russell (The Scorpion King) at the helm. Here we are introduced to Kristen (Patricia Arquette) who is admitted in a mental institution with other teens who all share the same dreams of being stalked by a familiar razor clawed killer. An older Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp returning in her role from the original film) is now a dream specialist and she tries to help the kids, and the final solution is to enter the dream world and do something no one else has dared do: beat Freddy at his own game. Dream Warriors is one of the better installments of the series, and the return of Langenkamp and Craven as a co-writer are reasons why enough, but Russell's great direction helps elevate Dream Warriors above many of the other films in the series. My only problems are this is where Freddy began to pop out one liners and be funny, and while that is amusing itself for a while, it does get boring and Freddy just doesn't seem as scary after a while. Also, the film can be a bit cheesy at times, and don't even get me started on the theme song done by Dokken. Laurence Fishburne has a small role, and John Saxon has a brief returning role as Nancy's father. All in all, next to the original film and New Nightmare, Dream Warriors is the best in the series, but sadly most of the remaining films in the series would continue a downward trend.

Elm Street 3 delivers well designed sequel by series creator
After a lackluster 1st sequel, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, attempts to take the series back to its roots. It has been an unmarked amount of time since part 2 and Freddy has returned since then to slaughter the children of the parents who murdered him. Our prime location changes, for the first time, from Nancy Thompson's house to an asylum full of kids who are scared to sleep. A new patient, Kristin Parker (played by Patricia Arquette) arrives and also dreams of a red and green sweatered man with knives for fingers. The doctors decide that all these kids need is a good night's rest and usually sedate them. Sadly, this leads to the children being unable to awaken fro their Freddy nightmares.

A suprise entrance by Nancy Thompson (played by Heather Langenkamp), who has not been seen since Elm Street 1, is a welcomed addition to this movie. Her past with Freddy adds immediate extra excitment to the film when the killer lays eyes on her and whispers only "... you..."

The film shows off group unity against Freddy instead of the usual kill-off-one-by-one formula. Another first for the series is the deaths become much more spectacular. And Freddy's darkness begins to fade in favor of quip one-liners.

Overall, I do not know exactly what Wes Craven's role in this movie was, but this sequel remains hailed as the best sequel in the series. A huge step up from part 2 indeed.

psycho therapy
a burnt up freak is nasty to look at and child murder is disgusting in the very least.at least theyre teens so its not quite as bad.the teens are in a asylum in this one and freddy comes to thier dreams to hack them up again.they explore dream powers and use them to ward off his attacks.if you let your kids under 12 at minimum watch this,someone should lock you up.even at 12,this is an abselute minimum.16 is far better.wes craven dreamt this one up.his movies-with the freddy exceptions-all suck!#3 is the best of them all!scary?not really.intense?you bet!a nurse chick takes off her top just before trying to kill one of the patients.she was really freddy who used the dudes wet nurse dream to lure him into a deadly trap.as with all the freddy flicks,all the male stars are losers and the chicks arefly by night hussies.the special effects rock in this one.there are 8 parts to this series now,the last one where freddy and jason went at it.who knows whats next.i thought up freddy vs jason in the mid 80s.hollywood is just so slow.

Three down... four to go
Sigh... it seems the further I delve into the 'Nightmare on Elm Street' movie series, the more underwhelmed by the 'scariness' of it all. Was this stuff really considered horrific when it first came out? Personally, I think it's more of an unintentional comedy, 'cuz I laugh most at the nightmare/death scenes, rather than get all shocked an grossed out by them.

On the upside, I found quite a few of the various deaths and gags shown here rather creative, if not particularly chilling. The blood-vessel-stringed marionette sleepwalk, the giant Freddy-worm tryin' to chow down on a potential victim, one little lady's "big break in TV", Freddy's syringe-finger attack, and the wheelchair-from-hell were some of the more entertaining pieces in this flick. I also kinda liked the return of a couple characters from the first 'Nightmare' to help out our little wacko-ward-imprisoned dream warriors. Might as well try to get the fans of the original flick to come on down to the 'Plex after the downright silliness of Part 2, heh. Speakin' of the dream warriors: another cool angle they threw in here was that of the heroine leading a group of teenagers against the main man to try & take him out once and for all-- which, judging from the subsequent sequels, was ultimately unsuccessful. Which reminds me of what that kid in 'Last Action Hero' said: "Ya can't die 'til the grosses go down!" And yes, I DO like 'Last Action Hero', thank you very much! And yes, I AM ashamed of this fact...

Also included-- with the help of a mysterious nun-- are a couple more revelations regarding the origin and back-story of everybody's fave undead Christmas-sweatered dreamland slasher, which judging from the films I've seen seems to be a standard gimmick they throw into each 'Nightmare' flick. Eh, I guess slow, incremental character development is better than no development at all, hmm? And I'm glad to see they improved Freddy's 'burn' makeup job, which looks a little bit better than the one in the first flick, and a LOT better than what I saw in part 2!

Following the closing credits featuring a little tune by 80s hair-metal group Dokken (remember that whole MTv "Rockin' with Dokken" dealy goin' on at the time this came out? No? Me neither), the VHS edition of this film includes a teaser trailer, and interview sessions with the various creative folks involved in the project. Ya know, the director, producer, writers, and such. I tried to watch this particular segment all the way through, but after five minutes of watching & listening to these guys prattling on about 'taking Freddy back to his roots' and other such pretentious pap, I rewound the tape and returned it immediately to the place I rented it from. Sheesh, and I thought those endless effects-laden 'traveling inside of V'Ger' scenes from 'Star Trek: The Motion Picture' were tedious to sit through!

'Late

Best out of them all..!! -A clever script..!! -By Wes..
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: -Dream Warrior's.. -1987.
Is the best out of them all.. -But is no excuse too
ignore the zany Part 2. -Freddy's Revenge. -Executive
producer. -Wes Craven.. -No what he was going two do.. -Is two
deliver a power house bomb.. -So he did.. -With the

clever.. -Dream Warrior's. -I herd that Robert Englund
did a pitch.. -Which was; -"Welcome too Prime time..!
Bitch..!" -Great line.. -Mr. -Englund.. -I've also
enjoy the beginning sequence.. -Such as Kristen ho
gets two sleep.. -Wake's up in the yard of the old
Thompson House.. -Now decaying and Rotting.. -Kriten
here's scratching noise.. -Which is Freddy's own

Claw.. -Kristen walk's up two the house.. -What is
the best thing of this sequel.. -That we get the Elm
street children.. -Jump roping.. -Singing that 1, 2
Freddy's, -comming for you.."? -I loved that tone it
has.. -A lot better then what Jesse Walsh's
sister in her bedroom..!

I also love the scene where Kristen is running from

Freddy after a huge explosion in the furnace.. -As
we see the skulls of dead children.. -What a moment..!
that was.. -And, -finding the butchard children
hanging in his hellish room.. -Which has full of
them..! -Really creepy..!

Then Kristen wakes up a scream.. -Run's in the bathroom..?
she turns on the sink.. -As Freddy's arm pops up two
life.. -A memorable moment their..? -But their are a
lot of memorable moment's in the Mental Hospital..?

Such as the girl getting her head suck in the T.V.
Set.. -By the powerless evil Freddy..? -I've also enjoy
where the kid walk's like a puppeter at the begining of
the hospital..! -And Freddy make's him fall's too
his timely death..

Freddy soon know's how the kid's work on their power..?
but the kid's won't know how too defeat him.. -One by
one they die off.. -The kid's are not that smart..!
but Kristen.. -Joey and Kincaid survive two.. -A
Nightmare on Elm Street -4: -The Dream Master..

Though.. -This is a great script..! -We've have the
nune ho talk's about Freddy being raised up by his
1'000. -Maniac's.. -Which is my favorite thus far
from the movie.. -I've also enjoy the ending.. -Which
down right suck's.. -Such as Nancy being gutted by
Freddy..

Director.. -Chuck Russell give's us a strong movie.
and the music is differ from Part's, -1, -2..

But; -Dream Warrior's.. -Knew what it was doing..
It just want's two entertain us with it's own imagination.. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Sometimes it's hard to tell if The Mask (or Jim Carrey's in-your-face mugging in general) is actually funny, or just bizarre and grotesque. And sometimes it just doesn't matter. Carrey plays a shy, Jerry Lewis-like nerd who discovers an ancient mask that magically transforms him into a green-faced, zoot-suited Tex Avery cartoon character with no inhibitions. As Roger Ebert said of Carrey in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, the actor performs "as if he's being clocked on an Energy-O-Meter, and paid by the calorie expended." If that's your kind of humor, you'll love The Mask; if not, you may need a valium or two to sit through this one. Digital video disc extras include two deleted scenes and a commentary track from director Charles Russell. --Jim Emerson ... Read more

Reviews (78)

Hello, Cameron Diaz And A Job Well Done Mr. Carrey
I must say that after watching such films as ,She's The One, and others starring Cameron Diaz I was not entirely impressed with her portfolio but when I got this DVD and gave it a quick viewing I must say I was(cough, cough) wholeheartily impressed with her performance. Okay, aside from watching this movie in that Music Television sort of way that totally discounts any of the other action going on other than the beautiful women being creatively(yet tastefully, yeah right) photographed I actually found this flick to be very appealing. I really don't know whether to call ,The Mask, a musical comedy, a romantic comedy, or a fantasy but I'm sure it's a bit of each. This is certainly a movie that showed Jim Carrey to be a good addition to the cast. His cartoonish comedy fit the role of a man with a love of cartoons very well, or should I say,"Like a glove."(I'll apologize in advance for the quote from Ace Ventura Pet Detective)The singing scenes were great. I have to admit I laughed a lot particularily during the scene with the cops instead of arresting Stanley Ipkus(How the hell do you spell that name?)they sang and danced to the "Cuban Pete" song. The other singing scene in the Coco Bongo with Carrey and Diaz dancing was not to shabby either. Ipkus's buddy Charlie was funny in a corny kind of way. His line about always wanting to say I believe it was take them away boys or something to that effect added to the cheese factor(Hey, I like cheese) The actors who played the officer and the sidekick in pursuit of the man in the green mask(AKA Ipkus) were very funny and the joke about the impossible pajamas was witty to say the least. The cameo by Ben Stein of Win Ben Stein's Money and Ferris Bueller's Day Off was also well placed. You know, the villain had a very Eric Roberts like aura about him.(Naturally, I didn't like him) So ,The Mask, is for anyone who deep down inside is a love crazed fiend with or without a really bad set of pajamas.(And of course a green mask of the night god Loki) The Mask is certainly worth a look, maybe even two.(hundred?)

Carrey'd Away
THE MASK is the film that made Jim Carrey a movie star. Carrey plays Stanley Ipkiss, a nerdish bank worker, whose hum-drum life is about to change in a big way. Stanley finds an ancient mask, that alters his personality, and causes his innermost feelings and desire to surface. The once shy nerd turns into a green face, big grinning party animal. Directed by Charles Russell, who allows Carrey to be his over the top antic self, as his cartoonish alter ego, The Mask, wisely keeps things moving at a brisk pace. Some of the Mask's bits are real howlers, like the first time he tries to woo the lovely Tina Carlyle (Cameron Diaz in her big screen debut), or the climax, when he tries to defeat the evil, Dorian Tyrell (Peter Greene), who wants to use the mask's power for dastardly deeds. Stanley's dog and sidekick Milo (almost) steals the show with a few antics of his own. The film has plenty of laughs and some fine F/X--a winner especially if you are a fan of Carrey's. Viewers can choose to watch the film in either Widescreen or Pan and Scan formats

The extras on The Platinum Series DVD are pretty good too. The commentary track from Russell is never dull. The deleted scenes offer a few more laughs from Carrey. Production notes, cast and crew information, and the theatrical trailer, round out the DVDs "added value material".While the handfull of extras are nice to have, Jim Carrey is the real reason to buy this disc. Recommended for the fun of it.

FUN HAS NEVER BEEN SO GREEN
Did you know that this excellent comedy was planed to be a horror?! Based on popular comic, THE MASK would be a storu about green killer who tells sarcastic remarks, while he's tearing a part his victims with an axe. But, when director Chuck Russell got Jim Carrey for this role he decided to do a comedy. And lucky for him and us he did a great job. I remember when I saw THE MASK for the first time. Fantastic story, interesting characters, and of course, Jim Carrey in role which made him famous. Story is about unsuccessful, shy banker who comes in possesion of an ancient wooden mask which turnes him into a wild, green, party creature who now has everything: powers, money and love. It influented on me so much that I find the same dog like Milo (that is one damn smart dog!). Carry gave the best of himself: he danced, sang and made jokes all the time. Cameron Diaz left me breathless, and two caps..., well, see it for yourself. This film guaranties fun whole 90 minutes it lasts and trust me, you will love it.

I got my copy in a box of CORN FLAKES!
You know you've hit rock bottom when your movies come free inside a box of CORN FLAKES! Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha!!!!!!!

The movie, it was great for the kids, although there was some pretty suggestive stuff in there.

For anyone over the age of 10 this is NOT a good movie, I think Jim Carrey is good- but I'm not a big fan of his movies. Dumb & Dumber will always be my favorite Jim Carrey film, and his Andy Kaufman was good.

The Mask....it's just your typical Carrey flick. You might as well get Ace Ventura or Liar, Liar. It's ALL the same.....

Sorry, Jim

Jim Carrey's best film to date!
I still get lots of laughs watching "The Mask" after a full decade since it's release to theatres and even to this very day, "The Mask" stands as Carrey's greatest movie to date even amidst the funny films he's done since then.

The character John Ipkiss is a worker in NYC whose job goes down the toilet until he discovers an ancient artifact that resembles a mask of some sort and when he puts it on, it causes him to transform into a wildly erratic genius who goes totally beserk and Ipkiss decides to use the mask to fight crime in NYC but his mask is saught by a greedy criminal mastermind bent on taking over New York and kidnaps Ipkiss's love interest and threatens to kill her if time runs out and now Ipkiss with the power of hte mask must stop the madman before it's too late.

The ride throughout this movie is just hilarious and the comedic wit of Jim Carrey carries this film the whole way through. Go and get this movie as soon as possible. It's a classic for all ages to come. ... Read more

Reviews (216)

Entertaining but lacks intelligence
Always the victim of impulse buys,...I have purchased 'The Scorpion King' today along with a new Sony progressive scan DVD player (model NS715P, see separate review.) After viewing the movie I can not say I was not entertained to some degree or totally disappointed with the flick. Aside for some major flaws in the plot and historical reality, the movie was watchable. I feel I must point out the flaws as I always do and two of the largest lay on the shoulders of the Villain played by Steven Brand. Why on earth would the director and casting allow a British actor to present his lines in native accent? Hugo Weaving (agent Smith) did not do it in 'The Matrix,' why would Steven Brand do it here? Second, in one scene, he used a French phrase, this a language not born until the seventh century. C'est plus qu'un crime, c'est une faute.

Overall, like its sister series 'The Mummy' and ' The Mummy Returns,' this DVD is full of interesting extras and vignettes worth watching. However, the feature lacks intelligent dialogue, is tainted with twenty-first century humor and all the CG special effects could have spent more time rendering in the computers (the snakes were ridiculous and half the ants were missing shadows). I choose to save ten dollars and not buy the release that included the CD soundtrack. Why, oh why a hard rock soundtrack for such a period movie? I might recommend this movie, but I would not have bought it had I rented it first.

rocks 2nd film
a assassian in biblical times is hired to kill some big shot wizard elsewhere.rock is the assassian.the only popular character is the rock.kids around 10 and up should be able to handle it.this is the rocks 2nd best movie id say.it was suprisingly good considering nearly every other movie starring a wrestler-including the mummy returns-sucked.its a action/fantasy type deal.there are a number of half naked chicks in this one.the rocks sidekick is the idiotic type you just keep wishing would die the whole damn time like the donkey on shrek.it is very good,but nearly as good as the wwe and hollywood would have you belive.

The Rock as the Scorpion King
The Rock, Dwayne Johnson, former WWF Champion, and the
People's Champion makes his first leading role acting debut as the Scorpion King.

The Scorpion King is the prequel to the Mummy Returns in which the Scorpion King is killed and later tried to be revived.

The success of the Mummy Returns and the Mummy lay in it's great story, action, effects and characters. The addition of the Scorpion King character in the Mummy
Returns was a big hit with movie fans. The Rock's brief role in that movie made a lasting impact on fans and the fans wanted more.

Chuck Russell , the director of this movie, obviously took the success, that the character of The Scorpion King had in ''The Mummy Returns'' and added more depth and detail.

The Rock underwent sword training, staff training, cardiovascular training for the Scorpion King. Being over 5 time WWF Champ , the Rock already had
the work ethic , dedication and charisma for the role. Although this is not mentioned. part of ''The Scorpion King's'' success lay on the fact, that the story is also similiar to the ''Conan The Barbarian'' movie with Arnold Schwarzenger.

In fact, comparing the 2 movies, one can see that the Rock in a much shorter time, has become a greater actor than Arnold Schwarzenger.

In his first films Arnold's movie and acting were less than stellar, so the Rock has managed to not only leave an impact with movie critics but entertained them as well. The Scorpion King is about an evil king, Memnon (Steven Brand), an evil king who has slaughters dozens of people including the village of Mathayus (The Rock).

Mathayus is a desert assasin and a great warrior. Pretty soon , the people who fear Memnon agree that Mathayus must get rid of him. However, Memnon's sorcererss, Cassandra (Kelly Hu) plans to kill anyone trying to take over the land.
Mathayus , the greatest warrior in the world, does not plan to let this happen, must kill Memnon before it's too late, and claim his right as the Scorpion King.

In his quest, Mathayus is joined by Balthazar (Michael Clark Duncan) and many others who will fight side by side to get Memnon. This is where the real actions begins, as we are treated to a bunch of violent, but cool action scenes involving
swords , spears and more. The visual effects are also extremely well done,
if you have seen the effects for ''The Mummy'', or ''The Mummy Returns'' then you won't be satisfied by the effects of this film.

Interesting notes about the Scorpion King:

The Discovery Channel recently had a special about uncovering a real life Scorpion King in Egypt, so the movie itself is not entirely made up. The success of the Scorpion King has spawned a couple of great games including a Gameboy Advance version and a planned Playstation version.

Overall, the Rock does a successful and great acting role in his first lead, since ''The Mummy Returns''. ''The Scorpion King'' has plenty of action, visual effects and romance, to please even the most diehard fan. If you are already a fan of ''The Rock'' you are going to be very satisfied with this flick.

Even if you are not a fan of ''The Rock'' I am sure you still love this great prequel to ''The Mummy Returns''.

Not a patch on The Mummy series - but still good.
I can officially say, hands down, I loved The Mummy & The Mummy Returns. Of course, they both had Brendan Fraser in them - always helps. You know what I hate? When films get released, and then they do a prequel. That's what annoys about me the Stars Wars or whatever movies. What is the point?!

But OK, "The Rock", otherwise known as Dwayne Johnson, only had a small, what could almost be called a cameo, in The Mummy Returns. He almost appears from nowhere in the movie, just for a couple of small scenes at the start, and a major scene at the end - but I suppose he's all done by CGI at the end. And to capitalise on his role, Stephen Sommers made a prequel, to explain (albeit not very well) how Mathayus the Scorpion King came to be in The Mummy Returns. And I'm still lost.

In The Mummy Returns, Mathayus the Scorpion King looks practically evil, and he really does look different in this. Obviously, they had to give him extensions again, just to keep the continuity, and making me relive my days as a professional Barbie doll hairdresser - I was just itching to braid his hair! I think this was set about 10 years before The Mummy Returns too?

What's different between The Mummy movies, and this, is the lack of obvious special effects. Whereas in The Mummy movies, you had people being sucked quite literally dry, or being eaten by beatles, which demanded lots of CGI, there's not very much in this. (If you were a cynical person, which I'm so-o definitely not, then you could say it was due to lack of budget, due to the fact that The Rock got his hands on $5.5million for doing this movie) It's back to basic sword/fist fighting for The Rock, and lots of flexing of muscles. He quite literally romances the clothes off Kelly Hu - which wasn't hard, considering she didn't wear that much during the movie - and does all these weird looks, which totally reminded me of Brendan Fraser/Keanu Reeves/a guy I know! Although I desperately wanted to braid his hair, I think it would have more suitable to have short hair - plus he looks cuter with short hair. Can you imagine having to film days of scenes in the desert with hair like that?! I'd be pulling the extensions out there and then!

There's been rumours (or maybe it's truth by now, I'm not totally 'up' on movie/actor news - I need to get down on my hands and knees for that kinda info and beg) that Dwayne will be the next Dirty Harry. HUH?! Where did that come from? OK, so we all know Clint Eastwood is on the wrong side of 70 to be doing anymore Dirty Harry movies. (I've said that now, and thinking he's only 68 or something like that), but Dirty Harry is a character. Maybe if you were to say that he was going to be the next Arnie (with those muscles, hell yeah!), but you can't say someone's gonna be the next so-and-so character. A character is meant to be unique, and the actor who plays him will always be known for playing that character. I'm sorry, but if he does decide to do a Dirty Harry movie, a) Clint will have something to say about it, b) I can't see my mum liking it and c) people reviewing it will make endless comparisons.

There's heaps of extras on this, as is on both Mummy DVDs. And they literally take years to get through. Most of them aren't that much worthwhile - unless you're interested in breath-by-breath breakdowns of scenes - so all I was interested was the outtakes! But if you're into those kinda extras (which I'm not, I'd be braindead by the end of them - wait a second, am I?) then you'll be in your element with the DVD.

This is a good film. Anyone who follows The Rock in his career as a wrestler, will probably notice little titbits like he uses the same moves or does "the stare", but I'm not. So he's an OK actor, a little bit wooden sometimes, but no one's perfect.

The Legend?
This was a B movie with some interesting references. I remember the TV adcvertisements when the movie was first released -- The LEGEND of The Scorpion King. Well, there were quite a few legends that rated mention through the characters of the movie. We have Mnemnon of the Greeks, Mattithias of the Hebrews, Seth of both Hebrew and Egyptian legend, Isis of the Egyptians, Acadians and a ziggurat of the city of Ur, and a few others. If you have some background in ancient legend, the first mention of one name and you start listening for others. Also deserving of mention is that the city that the Scorpion King takes is Gamorrah of Hebrew legend -- with the mention of Sodom as a rival city. I can't say much more about the plot. ... Read more

Amazon.com

When Maggie (Kim Basinger of L.A. Confidential and Batman) comes home to her apartment building one night, she discovers her estranged, drug-addict sister Jenna huddling in the doorway. Jenna promptly abandons her newborn baby with Maggie, who proceeds to raise the child as her own, despite evidence of autism. But as the little girl, Cody, gets older, what seemed to be autism starts to manifest itself in more startling ways. At the same time, a series of child murders are sweeping the city--murders conducted by a mysterious cult with supernatural matters on their mind. Bless the Child starts promisingly, with subdued, creepy scenes contrasted with more outrageous moments like swarms of computer-generated rats. Fans of religious horror movies will enjoy its twist on The Omen, with an angelic child instead of a demonic one--only the child is still pretty eerie. The special effects go a little overboard towards the end. Jimmy Smits (Price of Glory) costars as an FBI cult chaser, and Rufus Sewell (Dark City, Cold Comfort Farm) gives a pleasantly restrained performance as the charismatic cult leader. Alsofeaturing Christina Ricci as a cult escapee and Ian Holm as a Jesuit priest.--Bret Fetzer ... Read more

Reviews (45)

Great remake of a classic thriller.
The remake of The Blob is a high octane monster movie packed with attacks and effects, for the first forty-five minutes or so. Then it slows down a little and settles into the typical monster on the loose with the teenagers saving the world plot that make those drive-in schlock fests of the fifties so much nostalgic fun.

Once again a meteorite slams into earth and from within it slithers a blob of protoplasm that absorbs any flesh it comes in contact with. As the blob grows it becomes more and more aggressive in its attacks, each a show stopper, until it's oozing down main street USA, the populace running for their lives. Can it be stopped?

Writer/director Chuck Russell (who co-wrote this with The Shawshank Redemption's Frank Darabont) is an obvious fan of fifties horror, this movie being one on 80s cinema steroids. While he doesn't neglect the characters, developing most of them enough to care about whether or not they are engulfed or narrowly escape the horrible fate of being an evening snack for the overgrown amoeba, the individual attack scenes are the highlights. Well worth the purchase price, or at least a rental. Recommended.

True 80's Horror
1988's The Blob is a sure horror movie for any type of horror movie fan. And for a remake, it does justice for its original. A feat some remakes never come close to doing. Maybe that's just my personal opinion, and I stand true to it.

The film's not just an update to the 1958 version of The Blob, it's more of a different turn on the story. We're taken to a small town where basically everyone knows everyone. It's your average day Mayberry type deal. We're introduced to many residents of the town, but the two main ones are the star cheerleader (Shawnee Smith as Meg Penny) and the town rebel (Kevin Dillon as Brian Flagg). When the two cross paths as a result of some of the blob's terror, we follow these two as they fight for their town and for their lives.

The Blob has a pretty equal formula for a great, fun horror movie. Of course for any horror movie, there's got to be tense scenes. The film has it's share of some. Most noteable are the whole diner / diner lady chase scene, and the oh-too-great theatre / sewer chase scene. Those two scenes are basically the whole movie, but they make for great viewing! Not only for the intensity, but for the great shooting and colorizations that are there. And the gore? Aw man, the gore is plentiful here. We get gooey body parts, the blob engulfing and then melting body parts off, and more of the gooey melted body parts. It's crazy. Yet not totally overdone. If I dare say, "tastefully" done to please any gore fiend. As usual, for any horror movie, we get cliched characters, but they are all handled well here. Shawnee Smith is wonderful as the heroine. She kicked major [behind] here. Kevin Dillon is kind of stale at some times in the movie, but he pulls through and makes a viewer happy. The supporting cast have their own little perks.

Chuck Russell, director of The Blob, knew what he was doing when he made this movie. And in itself, 1988's The Blob has become it's own cult classic.

SILLY PUTTY
Let's not compare Chuck Russell's "revisiting" of the classic 1958 movie which was one of Steve McQueen's first starring roles. Thirty years of cinematic improvements make a comparison wholly unnecessary and unfair. THE BLOB, as envisioned by Chuck Russell (Eraser), is a scifi gorefest, with some imaginative effects and its own brand of intense mayhem.
A meteor crashes to earth near a small ski-resort town. The kindly old "can man" finds the crash site, and plays around with some messy looking stuff oozing from the meteor. This stuff is actually some kind of viral mess that absorbs and spreads like wildfire. One of the main differences in the two movies is that in this version, is the monster from outer space, or...ha, no spoilers. Suffice to say, things are not what they seem.
The cast is a mixture of good performers and adequate ones. Good: Jeffrey DeMunn as the sheriff who has the hots for the town's kindly restaurant owner, played with youthful elegance by Candy Clark (American Graffiti). Also good: Art LaFleur as the pharmacist and papa to heroine Shawnee Smith (merely adequate). Kevin Dillon swaggers like a James Dean wannabe but matures as the picture moves on and he becomes a likely and likeable hero. Joe Seneca as the mysterious doctor is surprisingly effective in a villainous role for a change, and Donovan Leitch in his little screen time evokes a rare mature teenager. The scene in the pharmacy where a friend of Leitch's purchases condoms is pretty funny. As for the horror scenes, they're good: the blob in the restaurant wherein the cook goes down the drain; the stampede in the movie theater when the blob takes center stage; and the finale with the snow machine. All well done and effective. Compared to a lot of really bad horror movies currently going straight to DVD, THE BLOB is a cut above the rest, and remember, there's always rooms for jello!!!

Too gruesome to be fun
The 80's remake of The Blob has much wilder special effects but every time The Blob shows up your stomach turns its not as fun as the 5o's version when you couldn't wait to see more Blob. Characters in this movie are the biggest problem THEY ALL DIE. You can't follow anyone cause they die in the next two minutes. And the two chosen characters are less than interesting. Not great. Music by Michael Hoenig. Check out The Stuff its pretty bad too but in a fun funny way.

Jelly good fun
The Blob is a fun movie. It is nothing more. It is nothing less. It won't win any awards for acting or plot, but then it was never really meant to. You see, this '80s remake of the 1950-something [ahem] "classic" is really just a ridiculous b-movie with fancy special effects.

The plot is almost as absurd as the title, following what appears to be a colossal alien jelly as it rampages through an American town, munching on its inhabitants and generally being a bit of a nuisance. Cue face melting, blood spurting and lots and lots of gore.

The acting is as cheesy as everything else in the movie, and the very idea of a psychotic blob murdering people is somewhat laughable, but as i already mentioned, this is an entertaining Saturday night horror film. ... Read more

Reviews (216)

Entertaining but lacks intelligence
Always the victim of impulse buys,...I have purchased 'The Scorpion King' today along with a new Sony progressive scan DVD player (model NS715P, see separate review.) After viewing the movie I can not say I was not entertained to some degree or totally disappointed with the flick. Aside for some major flaws in the plot and historical reality, the movie was watchable. I feel I must point out the flaws as I always do and two of the largest lay on the shoulders of the Villain played by Steven Brand. Why on earth would the director and casting allow a British actor to present his lines in native accent? Hugo Weaving (agent Smith) did not do it in 'The Matrix,' why would Steven Brand do it here? Second, in one scene, he used a French phrase, this a language not born until the seventh century. C'est plus qu'un crime, c'est une faute.

Overall, like its sister series 'The Mummy' and ' The Mummy Returns,' this DVD is full of interesting extras and vignettes worth watching. However, the feature lacks intelligent dialogue, is tainted with twenty-first century humor and all the CG special effects could have spent more time rendering in the computers (the snakes were ridiculous and half the ants were missing shadows). I choose to save ten dollars and not buy the release that included the CD soundtrack. Why, oh why a hard rock soundtrack for such a period movie? I might recommend this movie, but I would not have bought it had I rented it first.

rocks 2nd film
a assassian in biblical times is hired to kill some big shot wizard elsewhere.rock is the assassian.the only popular character is the rock.kids around 10 and up should be able to handle it.this is the rocks 2nd best movie id say.it was suprisingly good considering nearly every other movie starring a wrestler-including the mummy returns-sucked.its a action/fantasy type deal.there are a number of half naked chicks in this one.the rocks sidekick is the idiotic type you just keep wishing would die the whole damn time like the donkey on shrek.it is very good,but nearly as good as the wwe and hollywood would have you belive.

The Rock as the Scorpion King
The Rock, Dwayne Johnson, former WWF Champion, and the
People's Champion makes his first leading role acting debut as the Scorpion King.

The Scorpion King is the prequel to the Mummy Returns in which the Scorpion King is killed and later tried to be revived.

The success of the Mummy Returns and the Mummy lay in it's great story, action, effects and characters. The addition of the Scorpion King character in the Mummy
Returns was a big hit with movie fans. The Rock's brief role in that movie made a lasting impact on fans and the fans wanted more.

Chuck Russell , the director of this movie, obviously took the success, that the character of The Scorpion King had in ''The Mummy Returns'' and added more depth and detail.

The Rock underwent sword training, staff training, cardiovascular training for the Scorpion King. Being over 5 time WWF Champ , the Rock already had
the work ethic , dedication and charisma for the role. Although this is not mentioned. part of ''The Scorpion King's'' success lay on the fact, that the story is also similiar to the ''Conan The Barbarian'' movie with Arnold Schwarzenger.

In fact, comparing the 2 movies, one can see that the Rock in a much shorter time, has become a greater actor than Arnold Schwarzenger.

In his first films Arnold's movie and acting were less than stellar, so the Rock has managed to not only leave an impact with movie critics but entertained them as well. The Scorpion King is about an evil king, Memnon (Steven Brand), an evil king who has slaughters dozens of people including the village of Mathayus (The Rock).

Mathayus is a desert assasin and a great warrior. Pretty soon , the people who fear Memnon agree that Mathayus must get rid of him. However, Memnon's sorcererss, Cassandra (Kelly Hu) plans to kill anyone trying to take over the land.
Mathayus , the greatest warrior in the world, does not plan to let this happen, must kill Memnon before it's too late, and claim his right as the Scorpion King.

In his quest, Mathayus is joined by Balthazar (Michael Clark Duncan) and many others who will fight side by side to get Memnon. This is where the real actions begins, as we are treated to a bunch of violent, but cool action scenes involving
swords , spears and more. The visual effects are also extremely well done,
if you have seen the effects for ''The Mummy'', or ''The Mummy Returns'' then you won't be satisfied by the effects of this film.

Interesting notes about the Scorpion King:

The Discovery Channel recently had a special about uncovering a real life Scorpion King in Egypt, so the movie itself is not entirely made up. The success of the Scorpion King has spawned a couple of great games including a Gameboy Advance version and a planned Playstation version.

Overall, the Rock does a successful and great acting role in his first lead, since ''The Mummy Returns''. ''The Scorpion King'' has plenty of action, visual effects and romance, to please even the most diehard fan. If you are already a fan of ''The Rock'' you are going to be very satisfied with this flick.

Even if you are not a fan of ''The Rock'' I am sure you still love this great prequel to ''The Mummy Returns''.

Not a patch on The Mummy series - but still good.
I can officially say, hands down, I loved The Mummy & The Mummy Returns. Of course, they both had Brendan Fraser in them - always helps. You know what I hate? When films get released, and then they do a prequel. That's what annoys about me the Stars Wars or whatever movies. What is the point?!

But OK, "The Rock", otherwise known as Dwayne Johnson, only had a small, what could almost be called a cameo, in The Mummy Returns. He almost appears from nowhere in the movie, just for a couple of small scenes at the start, and a major scene at the end - but I suppose he's all done by CGI at the end. And to capitalise on his role, Stephen Sommers made a prequel, to explain (albeit not very well) how Mathayus the Scorpion King came to be in The Mummy Returns. And I'm still lost.

In The Mummy Returns, Mathayus the Scorpion King looks practically evil, and he really does look different in this. Obviously, they had to give him extensions again, just to keep the continuity, and making me relive my days as a professional Barbie doll hairdresser - I was just itching to braid his hair! I think this was set about 10 years before The Mummy Returns too?

What's different between The Mummy movies, and this, is the lack of obvious special effects. Whereas in The Mummy movies, you had people being sucked quite literally dry, or being eaten by beatles, which demanded lots of CGI, there's not very much in this. (If you were a cynical person, which I'm so-o definitely not, then you could say it was due to lack of budget, due to the fact that The Rock got his hands on $5.5million for doing this movie) It's back to basic sword/fist fighting for The Rock, and lots of flexing of muscles. He quite literally romances the clothes off Kelly Hu - which wasn't hard, considering she didn't wear that much during the movie - and does all these weird looks, which totally reminded me of Brendan Fraser/Keanu Reeves/a guy I know! Although I desperately wanted to braid his hair, I think it would have more suitable to have short hair - plus he looks cuter with short hair. Can you imagine having to film days of scenes in the desert with hair like that?! I'd be pulling the extensions out there and then!

There's been rumours (or maybe it's truth by now, I'm not totally 'up' on movie/actor news - I need to get down on my hands and knees for that kinda info and beg) that Dwayne will be the next Dirty Harry. HUH?! Where did that come from? OK, so we all know Clint Eastwood is on the wrong side of 70 to be doing anymore Dirty Harry movies. (I've said that now, and thinking he's only 68 or something like that), but Dirty Harry is a character. Maybe if you were to say that he was going to be the next Arnie (with those muscles, hell yeah!), but you can't say someone's gonna be the next so-and-so character. A character is meant to be unique, and the actor who plays him will always be known for playing that character. I'm sorry, but if he does decide to do a Dirty Harry movie, a) Clint will have something to say about it, b) I can't see my mum liking it and c) people reviewing it will make endless comparisons.

There's heaps of extras on this, as is on both Mummy DVDs. And they literally take years to get through. Most of them aren't that much worthwhile - unless you're interested in breath-by-breath breakdowns of scenes - so all I was interested was the outtakes! But if you're into those kinda extras (which I'm not, I'd be braindead by the end of them - wait a second, am I?) then you'll be in your element with the DVD.

This is a good film. Anyone who follows The Rock in his career as a wrestler, will probably notice little titbits like he uses the same moves or does "the stare", but I'm not. So he's an OK actor, a little bit wooden sometimes, but no one's perfect.

The Legend?
This was a B movie with some interesting references. I remember the TV adcvertisements when the movie was first released -- The LEGEND of The Scorpion King. Well, there were quite a few legends that rated mention through the characters of the movie. We have Mnemnon of the Greeks, Mattithias of the Hebrews, Seth of both Hebrew and Egyptian legend, Isis of the Egyptians, Acadians and a ziggurat of the city of Ur, and a few others. If you have some background in ancient legend, the first mention of one name and you start listening for others. Also deserving of mention is that the city that the Scorpion King takes is Gamorrah of Hebrew legend -- with the mention of Sodom as a rival city. I can't say much more about the plot. ... Read more

Reviews (216)

Entertaining but lacks intelligence
Always the victim of impulse buys,...I have purchased 'The Scorpion King' today along with a new Sony progressive scan DVD player (model NS715P, see separate review.) After viewing the movie I can not say I was not entertained to some degree or totally disappointed with the flick. Aside for some major flaws in the plot and historical reality, the movie was watchable. I feel I must point out the flaws as I always do and two of the largest lay on the shoulders of the Villain played by Steven Brand. Why on earth would the director and casting allow a British actor to present his lines in native accent? Hugo Weaving (agent Smith) did not do it in 'The Matrix,' why would Steven Brand do it here? Second, in one scene, he used a French phrase, this a language not born until the seventh century. C'est plus qu'un crime, c'est une faute.

Overall, like its sister series 'The Mummy' and ' The Mummy Returns,' this DVD is full of interesting extras and vignettes worth watching. However, the feature lacks intelligent dialogue, is tainted with twenty-first century humor and all the CG special effects could have spent more time rendering in the computers (the snakes were ridiculous and half the ants were missing shadows). I choose to save ten dollars and not buy the release that included the CD soundtrack. Why, oh why a hard rock soundtrack for such a period movie? I might recommend this movie, but I would not have bought it had I rented it first.

rocks 2nd film
a assassian in biblical times is hired to kill some big shot wizard elsewhere.rock is the assassian.the only popular character is the rock.kids around 10 and up should be able to handle it.this is the rocks 2nd best movie id say.it was suprisingly good considering nearly every other movie starring a wrestler-including the mummy returns-sucked.its a action/fantasy type deal.there are a number of half naked chicks in this one.the rocks sidekick is the idiotic type you just keep wishing would die the whole damn time like the donkey on shrek.it is very good,but nearly as good as the wwe and hollywood would have you belive.

The Rock as the Scorpion King
The Rock, Dwayne Johnson, former WWF Champion, and the
People's Champion makes his first leading role acting debut as the Scorpion King.

The Scorpion King is the prequel to the Mummy Returns in which the Scorpion King is killed and later tried to be revived.

The success of the Mummy Returns and the Mummy lay in it's great story, action, effects and characters. The addition of the Scorpion King character in the Mummy
Returns was a big hit with movie fans. The Rock's brief role in that movie made a lasting impact on fans and the fans wanted more.

Chuck Russell , the director of this movie, obviously took the success, that the character of The Scorpion King had in ''The Mummy Returns'' and added more depth and detail.

The Rock underwent sword training, staff training, cardiovascular training for the Scorpion King. Being over 5 time WWF Champ , the Rock already had
the work ethic , dedication and charisma for the role. Although this is not mentioned. part of ''The Scorpion King's'' success lay on the fact, that the story is also similiar to the ''Conan The Barbarian'' movie with Arnold Schwarzenger.

In fact, comparing the 2 movies, one can see that the Rock in a much shorter time, has become a greater actor than Arnold Schwarzenger.

In his first films Arnold's movie and acting were less than stellar, so the Rock has managed to not only leave an impact with movie critics but entertained them as well. The Scorpion King is about an evil king, Memnon (Steven Brand), an evil king who has slaughters dozens of people including the village of Mathayus (The Rock).

Mathayus is a desert assasin and a great warrior. Pretty soon , the people who fear Memnon agree that Mathayus must get rid of him. However, Memnon's sorcererss, Cassandra (Kelly Hu) plans to kill anyone trying to take over the land.
Mathayus , the greatest warrior in the world, does not plan to let this happen, must kill Memnon before it's too late, and claim his right as the Scorpion King.

In his quest, Mathayus is joined by Balthazar (Michael Clark Duncan) and many others who will fight side by side to get Memnon. This is where the real actions begins, as we are treated to a bunch of violent, but cool action scenes involving
swords , spears and more. The visual effects are also extremely well done,
if you have seen the effects for ''The Mummy'', or ''The Mummy Returns'' then you won't be satisfied by the effects of this film.

Interesting notes about the Scorpion King:

The Discovery Channel recently had a special about uncovering a real life Scorpion King in Egypt, so the movie itself is not entirely made up. The success of the Scorpion King has spawned a couple of great games including a Gameboy Advance version and a planned Playstation version.

Overall, the Rock does a successful and great acting role in his first lead, since ''The Mummy Returns''. ''The Scorpion King'' has plenty of action, visual effects and romance, to please even the most diehard fan. If you are already a fan of ''The Rock'' you are going to be very satisfied with this flick.

Even if you are not a fan of ''The Rock'' I am sure you still love this great prequel to ''The Mummy Returns''.

Not a patch on The Mummy series - but still good.
I can officially say, hands down, I loved The Mummy & The Mummy Returns. Of course, they both had Brendan Fraser in them - always helps. You know what I hate? When films get released, and then they do a prequel. That's what annoys about me the Stars Wars or whatever movies. What is the point?!

But OK, "The Rock", otherwise known as Dwayne Johnson, only had a small, what could almost be called a cameo, in The Mummy Returns. He almost appears from nowhere in the movie, just for a couple of small scenes at the start, and a major scene at the end - but I suppose he's all done by CGI at the end. And to capitalise on his role, Stephen Sommers made a prequel, to explain (albeit not very well) how Mathayus the Scorpion King came to be in The Mummy Returns. And I'm still lost.

In The Mummy Returns, Mathayus the Scorpion King looks practically evil, and he really does look different in this. Obviously, they had to give him extensions again, just to keep the continuity, and making me relive my days as a professional Barbie doll hairdresser - I was just itching to braid his hair! I think this was set about 10 years before The Mummy Returns too?

What's different between The Mummy movies, and this, is the lack of obvious special effects. Whereas in The Mummy movies, you had people being sucked quite literally dry, or being eaten by beatles, which demanded lots of CGI, there's not very much in this. (If you were a cynical person, which I'm so-o definitely not, then you could say it was due to lack of budget, due to the fact that The Rock got his hands on $5.5million for doing this movie) It's back to basic sword/fist fighting for The Rock, and lots of flexing of muscles. He quite literally romances the clothes off Kelly Hu - which wasn't hard, considering she didn't wear that much during the movie - and does all these weird looks, which totally reminded me of Brendan Fraser/Keanu Reeves/a guy I know! Although I desperately wanted to braid his hair, I think it would have more suitable to have short hair - plus he looks cuter with short hair. Can you imagine having to film days of scenes in the desert with hair like that?! I'd be pulling the extensions out there and then!

There's been rumours (or maybe it's truth by now, I'm not totally 'up' on movie/actor news - I need to get down on my hands and knees for that kinda info and beg) that Dwayne will be the next Dirty Harry. HUH?! Where did that come from? OK, so we all know Clint Eastwood is on the wrong side of 70 to be doing anymore Dirty Harry movies. (I've said that now, and thinking he's only 68 or something like that), but Dirty Harry is a character. Maybe if you were to say that he was going to be the next Arnie (with those muscles, hell yeah!), but you can't say someone's gonna be the next so-and-so character. A character is meant to be unique, and the actor who plays him will always be known for playing that character. I'm sorry, but if he does decide to do a Dirty Harry movie, a) Clint will have something to say about it, b) I can't see my mum liking it and c) people reviewing it will make endless comparisons.

There's heaps of extras on this, as is on both Mummy DVDs. And they literally take years to get through. Most of them aren't that much worthwhile - unless you're interested in breath-by-breath breakdowns of scenes - so all I was interested was the outtakes! But if you're into those kinda extras (which I'm not, I'd be braindead by the end of them - wait a second, am I?) then you'll be in your element with the DVD.

This is a good film. Anyone who follows The Rock in his career as a wrestler, will probably notice little titbits like he uses the same moves or does "the stare", but I'm not. So he's an OK actor, a little bit wooden sometimes, but no one's perfect.

The Legend?
This was a B movie with some interesting references. I remember the TV adcvertisements when the movie was first released -- The LEGEND of The Scorpion King. Well, there were quite a few legends that rated mention through the characters of the movie. We have Mnemnon of the Greeks, Mattithias of the Hebrews, Seth of both Hebrew and Egyptian legend, Isis of the Egyptians, Acadians and a ziggurat of the city of Ur, and a few others. If you have some background in ancient legend, the first mention of one name and you start listening for others. Also deserving of mention is that the city that the Scorpion King takes is Gamorrah of Hebrew legend -- with the mention of Sodom as a rival city. I can't say much more about the plot. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

wise investment
this collection is a must have if you grew up watching arnold. great choice of movies,any arnold fan should be very pleased. ... Read more