5 comments about On the Beach.

1. The movie (2 part originally on Showtime) is fantastic. This release from Platinum may have good picture quality, but MPEG-1 (EP) motion. If you know what that means, then you know why. If you don't know what that means, get ready to make an appointment with the eye doctor.



2. I read Nevil Shute's book several years ago and thought it amazing. Recently, when culling some books from my bookshelves, I re-read it once again one afternoon. When I read the book the first time, I didn't even know of this classic film. However, I had learned of it since I reading the book the last time, so I ordered this film and, of course, the classic with Gregory Peck and Ava Gardner.
   
   The cast here was wonderful. The only exception to this was Armand Assante's performance here. I used to think Assante was superb- an underrated wonderful actor I didn't get to see too much. Here, though, he sounded an awful lot like Rocky Balboa. I guess that's okay-- I mean, there are Submarine Commanders that can sound like Rocky Balboa but, sometimes, it was off-putting. Other than that, he was good and still very likable.
   
   Rachel Ward's performance was good. I think her character was probably the most difficult to play (as was Ava Gardner's in the first movie). Her character had to be brash, wild, remorseful, drunk, sad, smart, lonely, and regretful while still remaining empathetic. She did succeed but, like Ava Gardner before her, I found myself critiquing her performance rather than getting completely lost in the movie. Still, she did do a very good job and never went over the edge into parody (which could have been easy to do).
   
   The young Australian couple (Mark Pennell and a young woman whose name escapes me) were perfect. They played their roles with remarkable depth and were probably the best of the bunch.
   
   The story is truly staggering. Taking place in Australia, the citizens are the last known society waiting for imminent death by radioactive fallout which is slowly moving across the earth. Everyone else is dead and they, too, will be dead soon. This film is about how this small group of people spend their last months.
   
   (Shute's book is not perfectly written. I remember he calls the baby "it" so many times it was a bit disturbing. Parents don't refer to the baby as "it" too many times after he or she is born! However, certain characters and the story itself are so memorable, despite the book's flaws, that it is a must-read.)
   
   This movie is wholeheartedly recommended. Especially if you are sharing it with your (older) children, I think they'd be more interested in this version than the older one. There are little changes from the book to the movie that seem to work here but were truly astounding in the book. The most important change, I think, is how Captain Towers dealt with his family's believed demise. In the book, Towers spoke of them as if they were still alive-- so horrid was the consideration of anything else. Moira, towards the end, found purpose in helping him perpetuate this belief and found the purpose she was looking for in doing this. Here, though, Captain Towers deals with it a bit more realistically. The choice the filmmakers made here was the weaker choice, in my opinion.
   
   They did make some good choices, too, though- a lot of them. In this film, we see the cast members getting sick (with the notable exception of Assante's and Ward's characters-- they still look like movie stars). And, it works here. It's not so we get disgusted. It works on a human level-- not as a special effects "gross out". We are supposed to be appalled at what radiation can do and we are. Additionally, we see more city scenes-- how the city is changing over the last few months-- we see a quite civilized society change as the end nears. This definitely makes what's happening more believable.
   
   Some people may take issue with the major ending change for Captain Towers and Moira. I do, too, I guess. But, I do think this ending is more believable than the book's ending and is a teeny bit of brightness in an otherwise totally horrific situation.
   
   I wound up watching both this movie and the original within the same two weeks. Honestly, this film was better with the exception of Armand Assante's performance (which was good, but not of Peck's caliber.). Both are worth seeing. If you can take two stories about Armageddon, order both these films.



3. Originally my intent was to catch the first few minutes of this movie, and then dismiss it and get on with my weekend. After all, how many doomsday movies can you name that didn't leave a bitter taste in your mouth at the sheer lameness of Hollywood's tear-jerking and corner-cutting? How many doomsday movies out of Hollywood manage to make you think? Thankfully, this production had the Australians on board.
   
   The imagined cataclysm, rewritten for the new millennium, was instantly plausible, and then over in a flash, and the movie immediately cuts to the predicament of the USS Charleston's crew. They are as much on edge as the viewer, yet this is one of the stiffest scenes of the movie, and the next few minutes seem to bode very poorly for the plot. There is the temptation to prejudge the movie as a steroidal and grotesquely superficial action flick.
   
   But the plot instantly takes a turn, the tension subsides and is put in perspective, and the movie takes off spectacularly. From then on out, "On the Beach at Night," the Walt Whitman poem whose first stanzas inspired the title of the novel, is an entirely apt metaphor for the subtleties of the story's unfolding. It moves documentary-like, with characters who face a nearly inconceivable collective dilemma, and who only gradually begin to internalize their own exceedingly lonely demise, wherein they must cut themselves off from everyone and everything they once knew.
   
   To be sure, one can still fault the movie later on for a few more scenes that suffer from stiff and monochromatic acting. And there are a few poorly staged scenes too. But the momentary interruptions can almost be counted on one hand: Tower's chance meeting with Moira; a few crew members who can't hide their Aussie accents; Tower's mindlessly growing confidence in their mission; the apparent absence of *any* survivalist movements as they begin their trip north; the scenes of Osborne driving in a Ferrari through post-apocalypse Melbourne, without apparent concern for gun-toting carjackers; a cargo freighter clearly visible in the background when, near the end, Admiral Tower walks the cliffside. All those flaws can be quarantined to particular scenes, and do not take away from the whole.
   
   And indeed, the plausible update to the initial premise is reprised through other plot twists -- notably, the source of the siren-like call of Anchorage, and then the fate of San Francisco. Along the way, even the bit parts turn out to be very well acted.
   
   The movie takes more than a half an hour to wind down, and in so doing takes an enormous risk. But the cast is quiet and reserved, and this production pulls off a long adieu better than any I can remember. There are subtlely jolting touches along the way -- Melbourne radio signing off, a family embracing and tenderly remembering their best moments together, and a home, like the wider world, eternally emptied of all life.
   
   I cannot say that I will find many opportunities to share this movie within my immediate circle. It's certainly not appropriate for kids. It is, all the same, the sort of film that sticks so thoroughly in one's mind that it'll jolt you back to those few hours whenever you chance upon it again.



4. This made-for-TV updated version of "On The Beach" did not add any corrections to the science part. Was to chicken to say that the war started by a third country with an other country's markings on the plane. (The purpose for our missile defense system.) The characters were modified to reflect today's politically correct characters. The government would never let this Dwight Towers near a sub. He can not follow orders and thinks love is greater than his duty to his country or crew. Moira Davidson the young lady without direction is exchanged for Moira Davidson lush owner of a travel agency. Mary Holmes a demure housewife that cant look at the facts is exchanged for an architect that can not look at the facts. The purpose of the story is lost in some sort of sci-fi thing.
   
   
   Yes the book was written in the Cold War Era environment. However I believe it is timeless. Someone else must think so or they would not have made an updated version for our no too distant future. Yet some characters are predictable. Even those character that change easily through some sort of epiphany can be predictable. The basic story is that Albania sends a plan with a major country's markings and we retaliate. However this is not a pacifist (don't build bombs book). This is not a sci-fi book. It could be a speculative fiction or just speculative.
   
   The book On the Beach as most books is more complete in the characterization and description of the story. One the people is a cross of characters. The captain, Dwight Towers, is well trained and loyal to the U.S. to the end. He takes the sub out to international waters, as Australia is an ally, but not the U.S. Moira Davidson realizes that Dwight is married and helps him buy a pogo stick for the kid. She also decides to make something of herself by going to secretarial school. Others plan for next year.
   
   The audiocassette is unabridged and has the full impact of the book. The only drawback is if you listen to it on the way to work, everyone will notice that you are depressed.
   
   The movie On the Beach (1959) Stays fairly loyal to the feel, with a few minor changes. Some of the changes were necessary due to the difference in media. However others were a little distracting. They used major stars that overshadowed the character that they were playing. Ava Gardner was just a tad old for the part of Moira Davidson. However the movie still let the characters be real and predictable.
   
   
   
   
   On the Beach ~ Gregory Peck



5. I loved the original movie (with Gregory Peck and Ava Gardner) when I saw it a few months ago, and then read the book. Both were great.
   
   This movie remake, however, is absolutely terrible. Armand Assante simply cannot act. Rachel Ward was all too predictible as Moira, and the dialogue that was invented for this version was excrutiating.
   
   Stick with the originals - this one will make you cringe.

5 comments about Barbie Fairytopia.

1. it's all good transaction was seemless best of all my daughter loves the DVD good seller fast and honest



2. ALL OF THESE I ORDERED FOR MY GRANDDAUGHTERS. BUT WAS SO VERY PLEASED. WITH THE STORIES. I AM INJOYING THEM MYSELF. THAY WILL BE HERE IN MY HOME. FOE THEM TO ENJOY WITH NANA. THANK YOU FOR SUCH WONDERFUL. DVDS. YOU ARE NEVER TO OLD TO LEARN THE GOOD FROM YOUR YOUNG



3. Anything by Barbie is amazing and the Fairytopia series is my favorite. But make sure you check out Barbie in the Princess and the Pauper. It is the best Barbie movie ever made!!!



4. I just love Barbie so when my Grand daughter sees them show one I get it and they love all the colore and songs and stories to them.
   So if your child loves Barbie they will love this one to



5. My girls, ages 4 and 2, really like this movie. They find the Fungi (the "bad guys") a little scary. They also point out that Laverna is really mean. The Fungi are gross-looking (in my opinion) and kind of creepy. Other than that, the movie has a good message about doing what is right, and about being unselfish.
   
   
   Barbie Fairytopia

5 comments about Doctor Who - The Beginning Collection.

1. I was very happy to have purchased this collection... I just recently became a fan of the New Doctor and I have taken some time to watch some of the older series. This 3 story run (story two giving us our first look at long time Doctor adversary The Dalek's) was a great introduction to this long running series. And the character of the Doctor himself in this, his first incarnation.
   
   Despite the relative contrived nature of the first story, the second and third made for it's simple plot with great zeal. It was a good start for what has fastly become one of my favorite series. Granted I have in no way seen all of it's episodes, or for that matter all of the incarnations of the Doctor. But of what I've seen so far has made me think The Doctor Who series is one of the most interesting and imaginative I've had the pleasure of catching. And I hope to be a fan for a long time to come.
   
   And as an avid television watcher and reader I can appreciate a good beginning... We all want to know how our favorite stories began. And this is an aspect of that... Sure it doesn't tell us why The Doctor left his home and in fact much about him, but it does show us a Doctor Who whom is not exactly the Doctor we know. A man who is not as happy to be among humans in the 20th century. Younger, in ways, more foolhardy and impetuous. And at the same time Old and angry.
   
   In short, a wonderful beginning.



2. I was getting ready to buy this, then i looked up the episode guide. There are suposed to be 30 episodes in all for the first doctor. Not 4!!!!!!!!!! It should be around 15 hours with each episode being about 30 minutes. When someone gets smart and finally starts to put all episodes/seasons of the old ones in 1 package each, ONLY then will i buy them!!!!!!!!!!!!!



3. This is Doctor Who. The beginning. The essence. It all begins here. This is must have Who. The set is a collection of three storeis, and all three are gems. An Unearthly Child tends to get overlooked because the Daleks put the show on the map, but it is a brilliant episode that starts things off. It is hughly entertaining and holds up better than most Who episodes because it is one of the historical episodes(pity those were abandoned for a long time). Watch the character of the Doctor really evolve here from paranoid traveller, to fearful, to protector. The Edge of Destruction, a 2 parter, is also routinely overlooked, but it should not be. How many shows could succesfuly pull off an entire episode in one room. It is one of the scariest episoded ever and again allows the characters and their relationships with one another evolve. As for the dalek episode....it is a classic.



4. Doctor Who - The Beginning CollectionAn excellent DVD to see the very beginnings of Dr. Who. Just as entertaining as the most recent.



5. It's really very easy to dismiss what a perfect storm came together in the 1963 to create the worlds longest running sci-fi progamme that became an institution. At 27 year old first time producer (Lambert), an out of work playwright (Nation), an aging tough guy (Hartnell), and a budget close to nothing, which they nearly blow through on the first two stories. See the beginning of it all.

5 comments about The 4400 - The Complete Second Season.

1. This show first caught my eye when I was flipping through the channels, and I saw an ad for it. I decided to check it out and I was hooked! The characters are well developed, and very involved. I don't want to give much away, but the relationships between the 4400 and the NTAC agents are so inter-twined that it makes Tom and Diana's job quite difficult. I would recommend this show to anyone who is a fan of Sci-Fi shows.



2. This season fell short, in my opinion, of number 1. There was less action, suspense, even the storylines seemed to dwindle.
   I wanted to see more of the 4400's powers, but what little powers they showed, they werent as impressive as in the previous season, although there is a reason for that, which I wont give away.
   Yet although season 2 fell short, I still love the show, and will continue to watch it.



3. It's not the type of show that you can start watching in season two, but if you liked season one, this is a must. I have seen the entire series, and it just keeps getting better and better, with each year building on the last. This is one of a very small number of shows in the genre that puts thought before flash and plot before special effects. I can't say enough good things about the series.



4. Things start to heat up. As more and more the difference between P postitives and what use to be normal flares. Can't spoil it. You need to watch for yourself.



5. I ended my review of the First Season of "The 4400" with hopes that things would start to improve. I said, "While this short season is extremely flawed, it's also entertaining television... (Many) aspects of it still make it a good show, but the acting, writing, and use of music needs to improve a considerable amount before this can be a show that I can truly appreciate."
   
   So it pretty much comes down to three things. Did the acting, writing, and use of music improve a considerable amount?
   
   ACTING
   Having watched this season in full, I'm looking back at my review for the previous season, and am shocked that I said "Patrick Flueger as Shawn is simply awful." And then, it was true, which makes his acting in this season that much more impressive. He rises from the weak link of the cast to arguably the best, giving emotional and raw performances that really sell the character in a way that the first season never did. I even got misty eyed, due to his evocative and heart-wrenching performance in the final two episodes of the season. The entire cast really steps it up, which really helped in elevating this show from "meh" to something I truly look forward to watching.
   
   USE OF MUSIC
   Much better. Insanely huge improvement. It seemed that each episode of the first season was scored by "Now That's What I Call Music," what with every emotional scene backed up with a popular song. It really ripped me out of the episode. That is not at all an issue in this season.
   
   WRITING
   Again, much better. Risks are taken, especially as the larger story arc of the season begins to develop, and the writers implement Lostesque twists to keep viewers on their toes. There are a few weak efforts, especially in the earlier episodes of the season, but by the time the episodes start being less-standalone and more vital to the overall series arc, things really get moving in a nice way. Don't get me wrong, the standalones are good too--and some of them, such as the completely stellar "Suffer The Children," are great--but the writers seem to feel more at home with the episodes that move the overall plot of the season forward.
   
   8/10

5 comments about Dinotopia (TV Miniseries).

1. I can't understand why it seems everyone has to take "polar opposite" sides on this movie. It is simply a composite of all the episodes in the mini-series, edited into a single movie and is easily worth the price. My children love it and I wasn't expecting a "blockbuster". Regardless of what happened to the series it scores as a big hit in my household.



2. GREAT PRICE. EVERYTHING IS AS SAID. AAZON IS THE BEST INTERNET SHOPPING. PRODUCT WAS WRAPPED AND SHIPPED IN A PROFESSIONAL AND TIMELY MANNER.



3. Two half-brothers and their father in a plane, crash in the sea. The brothers survive and enter the world of Dinotopia, a world in which dinosaurs live with humans... David will try to become one of the Dinotopians, while Carl wants to go back to his world.
   
   This is quite fun - at times - though I found the CGI was not that great; the acting isn't the best either; and the dinosaurs are... well... entertaining at best.
   
   My problem with this tv movie is that it is way too long. Those five hours could easily have been crammed into a regular feature of two hours; there was just too many scenes that weren't needed.
   
   Enjoyable for the family. Most kids would love this!



4. "Dinotopia", based on the best selling series of books, sounded compelling on paper. People crash land in a country where humans and dinosaurs live together in peace&harmony. It's an interesting series, with some potentially good ideas, with a pre-Prison Break Wentworth Miller and David Thewlis as a surprisingly sympathetic villain.
   
   In "Dinotopia", Miller and Tyron Leitso star as a pair of half-brothers who crash land in Dinotopia. (To make this movie family-friendly, they describe their late father as "socially active") They are greeted by the presiding matriarch, Alice Krige. Since they are in a worker's paradise, they can't choose their own jobs. She also has them listening to dinosaurs pound their feet, getting them into polytheistic/pantheistic meditation. Furthermore, the half-brothers must abide by Dinotopia's laws. They must be vegetarian-and the kicker- they can't fight in self-defense if carnivorous dinosaurs attack. In the meantime, the half-brothers end up smitten with the mayor of Waterfall City's daughter. (In a not-so-family friendly twist, she skinny dips with one of them,but nothing results from the love triangle) They also encounter the free-thinking villain, David Thewlis. He wants the people of Dinotopia to have freedom of thought and freedom of motion,as well as the freedom to defend themselves- but he's stigmatized.
   
   The sunstones that are defending Dinotopia from carnivorous dinosaurs are failing. The half-brothers embark on a quest to restore them. As for the love triangle, it's left unresolved.
   
   "Dinotopia" has some good special effects and great acting. Krige is at once menacing and maternal as Dinotopia's leader. She's the organic, vegetarian Borg Queen. The script is turgid. There are aspects problematic for youngsters. "Dinotopia" isn't utopia. It's loveably bad. It has dinosaurs! So why complain?



5. I looked every where for this movie, found it on Amazon. Great price and quick delivery. Thanks Amazon

5 comments about Ghost Hunters - Season 2, Part 1.

1. The Second season part 1 is a mish-mash of good and great investigations. What makes this dvd stand out is the 2 never before seen investigations included in the special features as well as all the deleted and extended scenes from each investigation on this DVD set. Episodes to really watch are the U.S.S. N. Carolina with some great spooky events, and the Queen Mary with some of the best debunking done by the team, as well as, important extended scenes with further information.



2. Now, I understand that Sci-fi isnt selling these items anymore on itunes as a video download... b/c NBC isnt doing that (and NBC Universal owns Sci-fi I think) whole itunes thing anymore. But I have a major complaint.
   
   Why is it that you only do these video downloads for PC's only and for portable video players that very few people actually own? I was seriously looking forward to catching up on season 4 - and loading them onto my ipod and I can't.
   
   I understand that the TAPS guys have no control over how their content is sold, so I am not pissed at them, I am pissed that the people who think that making this stuff compatable for pc's only and for crappy portable video players is okay. It's not. Compress these items for OSX too please... we like our TAPS and we like to watch them on Apple products. And no, I am not a fanboy(girl) but yes, I would like to be included!
   
   THX.



3. This is a great show some spots are a little scary but Tango & Steve Spider's are Hilarious!
   
   DISC 1: EPISODE 201 Case 1: Myrtles Plantation * EPISODE 202 Case 1: Grafton Case / Case 2: Cranston Case * EPISODE 203 Case 1: Deville House / Case 2: Brennan's Restaurant
   
   DISC 2: EPISODE 204 Case 1: Mordecai / Case 2: USS N. Carolina * EPISODE 205 Case 1: Bradley Playhouse / Case 2: Harris Firehouse * EPISODE 206 Case 1: Ledge Lighthouse / Case 2: Merchant House
   
   DISC 3: EPISODE 207 Case 1: Tanguay Home / Case 2: Sutcliffe's House * EPISODE 208 Case 1: Astor's Newport Mansion / Case 2: Roselle Park * EPISODE 209 Case 1: Worthington Home / Case 2: Rolling Hill Asylum
   
   DISC 4: EPISODE 210 Case 1: Eastern State Penitentiary Revisited / Case 2: Ogden House * EPISODE 211 Case 1: Winchester House / Case 2: Queen Mary + NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN BONUS: Carousel Gardens / Spanish Military Hospital = (Total Running Time - 47:09)
   
   
   GH2-PART 1, DISC 1:
   
   DELETED SCENES: EPISODE 201 [MYRTLES PLANTATION] + Brian Can't Stay Up + Hotel Briefing + Tech Walk + Steve Demons Equipment + Wireless EVP Test = (Total Running Time - 13:57)
   
   DELETED SCENES: EPISODE 202 [GRAFTON CASE] + Couple Bedroom Tour + Andy & Dustin Debunk Door + [CRANSTON CASE] + Parents Bedroom Tour + Brian & Grant Re: Antenna = (Total Running Time - 5:22)
   
   DELETED SCENES: EPISODE 203 [DEVILLE HOUSE] + Gator Boat Tour + [BRENNAN'S RESTAURANT] + Brian Gets Spotted + Brian & Kristyn Scene = (Total Running Time - 5:23)
   
   
   GH2-PART 1, DISC 2:
   
   DELETED SCENES: EPISODE 204 [USS N. CAROLINA] + Steve & Andy In Power Room + Capt. Torpedo Story + Grant & Jason Explore Ship + TAPS Goofs Off + Another Story = (Total Running Time - 7:04)
   
   DELETED SCENES: EPISODE 205 [BRADLEY PLAYHOUSE] + Prop Closet + Brian & Steve Investigate Mirror Seat + Split up and Listen = (Total Running Time - 4:02)
   
   DELETED SCENES: EPISODE 206 [MERCHANT HOUSE] + Postcard + [LEDGE LIGHTHOUSE] + The Briefing + EMF Reveal + Steve Drops Lantern = (Total Running Time - 4:20)
   
   
   GH2-PART 1, DISC 3:
   
   DELETED SCENES: EPISODE 207 [TANGUAY HOME] + The Pitch + Drive To Investigation with Kristyn + Additional Tour Story + EVP Work on Basement + Basement Investigation + [SUTCLIFFE'S HOUSE] + Growl Briefing + Basement Investigation + Heard a Sound + Moving Book + John's Experience = (Total Running Time - 9:56)
   
   DELETED SCENES: EPISODE 208 [ASTOR'S NEWPORT MANSION] + Eyewitness Story + Coffin Prink + Steve & Carl Investigate Bedroom + Brian Has Left Taps + [ROSELLE PARK] + Steve on IR Camera = (Total Running Time - 6:19)
   
   DELETED SCENES: EPISODE 209 [WORTHINGTON HOME] + Drive to Worthington Extended Scene + EMF Work Extended Scene + Dave Wearing Tiara Extended Scene + Drum Extended Scene + The Findings with Tango + [ROLLING HILL ASYLUM] + Amateur Orb Scene = (Total Running Time - 6:38)
   
   
   GH2-PART 1, DISC 4:
   
   DELETED SCENES: EPISODE 210 Office Gag + Dave Hobbes Gets Fired = (Total Running Time - 1:36)
   
   DELETED SCENES: EPISODE 211 [WINCHESTER HOUSE] + The Blue Orchid Room + [QUEEN MARY] - Frog Noise Tour Extended Scene + Dave's Story + From Reveal Story + Donna's Command Central = (Total Running Time - 7:06)
   
   NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN BONUS: Carousel Gardens / Spanish Military Hospital = (Total Running Time - 47:09)



4. Well now these shows are right up my alley! I love Grant and Jaye alot and these guys have made ghost hunting fun but also turned the whole thing into a science with all their gadgetry and very awesome take on the ghost world. Jay and Grant are both very charasmatic as is the team they put together each show to hunt the ghosts. I really highly recommend any Sci-fi Ghost Hunter shows that you haven't yet seen on Sci-fi.



5. I've only recently been introduced to Ghost Hunters and found this DVD very entertaining. The way TAPS (The Atlantic Paranormal Society) goes about their investigations is quite unique. I was expecting something along the lines of how a psychic picks up "feelings" or "voices in their head" which of course the rest of us don't experience. Instead TAPS conducts a scientific analysis of the situation. The haunting is then either verified or debunked. More than not, at least in this season, they are debunked. Instead of feelings, they use equipment, such as EMF readers, infared cameras, digital cameras, and digital voice recorders to try and catch EVPs.
   
   The real charm of the series comes from the individuals that play a part of the TAPS team. Both Jason and Grant are very likable characters. They are hard-working family men who work for Roto-Rooter during the day, but hunt ghosts at night. They each have children and place an increased importance on cases that involve children. The other members of the team from Donna to Brian to Andy each have great characteristics that make them entertaining to watch.
   
   The product itself contains 4 discs. Each disc is broken down into 3 episodes (2 on the last DVD along with 2 unseen adventures). The episodes can be viewed independently or one after the other automatically. There is a bonus feature of deleted scenes. I really wish they just would have included those scenes in the episode which they belong. It would have made for a cleaner product. All-in-all this is well worth the purchase and I am looking forward to watching their other DVDs!

5 comments about The Cell (New Line Platinum Series).

1. Certainly this is disturbing, like all serial killer movies, but it has visually stunning special effects, sets, costuming and make up. The use of color and imagery is amazing, and the transformations of the characters from ordinary to nearly god-like beings transfixes. The story is not particularly unique, abused child grows up to be a serial killer, but the way in which the protagonists enter his mind certainly is. They have the killer in custody for most of the movie, and their task is to find his latest victim who will soon die from drowning. Jennifer Lopez is perfect for this role since she is capable of portraying a nurturing-mothering type and a tough/take-care-of-business-even-if-I-have-to-kill-type. I don't think there's really a way to save someone who has become a monster, but the movie tries to do so in a death-resurrection, water-purifying scene near the end. They do save the victim so this has somewhat of a happy ending. I enjoyed watching this more for the visual beauty of it rather than the story, but the story itself is interesting for those who can stomach the disturbing parts.



2. I think the best way to describe `The Cell' is to imagine `Law & Order: SVU' if it were on the Sci-Fi channel. Catherine Deane fits nicely into the `Olivia Benson' role, the sympathetic and emotionally attached partner to Peter Novak's `Elliot Stabler' character, the aggressive and angry FBI agent. If you think about `The Cell' in this manner then you are bound to find enjoyment out of it. It's not all that deep emotionally, but it suffices as a decent thriller thanks to some dedicated performances by the entire cast, especially D'Onofrio (of `Law & Order: CI' fame), on whom the entire film depends.
   
   So the whole plot is `way out there' and requires a real suspension of disbelief (but then again this is a Sci-Fi movie, so we are expected to believe `anything' is possible). Carl Stargher is a sadistic serial rapist who tortures his victims by drowning them slowly and then bleaches them and makes them up to look like dolls, and then ditches them in the river. Peter Novak is the FBI agent on his tail and when he finally captures him Stargher falls into a coma, a coma that he will never wake up from, and so Novak enlists the help of psychotherapist Catherine Deane to help. Deane has been using a new technology that allows her to enter the minds of comatose patients and try and coax them out of their sleeplike state. She is asked to enter the mind of this killer in order to find out where he stashed his latest victim; that way they can find her before it is too late and she drowns to death.
   
   Once inside Stargher's mind, `The Cell' transforms from a `Law & Order'esque thriller to an all out horror film complete with some of the most grotesque yet stunningly brilliant imagery I have ever seen. It is here that the film truly shines as D'Onofrio is allowed to take full reign of his character and dominate his surroundings.
   
   More on Vincent in a minute.
   
   The film thrives on the `Alice in Wonderland' gone horror type vibe that runs throughout the scenes within Stargher's head. Everything scene is inspired by some of the most bizarre paintings and artist's imagery around, and the end result is a completely engrossing and stimulating cinematic experience. Whether you are watching a horse be dissected or watching a strange tribalesque baptism or witnessing Vince Vaughn's intestines being slowly pulled from his stomach you are in for a very strange yet very intoxicating ride. There is nothing `pretty' about this world, yet it is gorgeously constructed to become like sinners-candy for the mind. You won't find any of this appealing, but you won't be able to turn your head either.
   
   Here is where I find a bit of a sore-point as well though. The film in essence is nothing more than a glorified train-wreck. There is nothing of any substantial value. The characters have no real depth (even Stargher is a complete cliché) and so when all is said and done the only real reason to remember this film is the glossy presentation (that, and D'Onofrio). The plot is different and the whole `get inside your mind' approach was neat, but in the end it becomes nothing more than a decent Sci-Fi film. There is no real human development so we wind up not really caring one way or the other.
   
   The acting though is a highlight. Vaughn and Lopez do enough to sell their performances, especially Lopez who actually is a decent actress when the quality of the film is right for her. The quality on `The Cell' isn't particularly high, but she works hard to make her character believable. The real star though is none other than Vincent D'Onofrio who just grabs hold of her character and dominates this movie. One minute he's solemn and disturbed as he `cleans' his victim (one of the most unsettling scenes in the film, yet one of the best acted) the next he is commanding and dominating as the lord of his world; and yet still he captures menace and insanity as he playfully toys with Vaughn's organs. His range is magnificent here and his performance is key to the success of the film. If he had not nailed this performance than this film wouldn't even be worth its technical brilliance.
   
   In the end I can recommend `The Cell' based on the visuals and D'Onofrio. Honestly, as a Sci-Fi thriller is works very well. I may not have enough meat on its bones to constitute a smart and memorable cinematic experience, but it will dazzle and disturb you while you watch it, so who cares if you forget most of what you've seen when the credits finish their stroll.



3. This film is a must see, just for the mind bending imagery.
   Fascinating, beautiful and just plain trippy.
   Too bad the story and the acting pretty much stink.
   Honestly I can barely remember the story, can we say... unmemorable?
   Not a must own but a must rent.
   Check your brain at the door with the story.
   Still, you won't see another movie with such crazy visuals.
   Recommended viewing, recommended turning the volume off.



4. This is a disturbing movie; I had to watch it in segments, as the bizarre nature of the violence was unnerving. Vincent D'Onofrio plays a serial killer with a bizarre way of handling his victims. He snatches females and places them in a glass cell with food, water and a toilet. A video camera records their actions and then after a time, water is released into the cell and they are drowned. All of this is automatic; the killer does not have to be present at the actual murder. After they are dead, he removes the body, bleaches it white and turns it into a "doll."
   Vince Vaughn plays an FBI agent on the trail of this killer. Using the clue of an albino dog, he is able to track him down and execute a raid on his house. Unfortunately, the D'Onofrio character suffers a schizophrenic seizure and goes into an unrecoverable coma. Since he had just snared another victim and the cell is at another location, the FBI team is desperate to find her before she is murdered.
   Jennifer Lopez plays a worker in an unusual psychiatric clinic. Using body suits, chemicals and data transfers between minds, they are able to connect her into the mind of a patient. The goal is to coax the mentally ill person into a cure. However, the process is very hard on Lopez, there is the real danger that she could take on the madness of a patient.
   In their desperation to find the last woman kidnapped, the FBI team requests that the Lopez character perform the process on the D'Onofrio character. This leads her down a path of bizarre and fantastic scenarios done with superb special effects. Some of the scenes are gross, others are beautiful and you can understand how living them, even in a fantasy, has the potential to drive you to madness.
   This movie is intense; it is a horror film in combination with a murder thriller. At times it is riveting yet there are other times you want to turn your head in disgust. Whatever else it may be, it stays in your mind for some time after you watch it.



5. I know just about everyone has bad things to say about this movie. And I think I know why. Bad casting. Jennifer Lopez was cast probably because she - like the movie - is very nice to look at. If they had cast someone else like Julianne Moore or even Nicole Kidman (also nice to look at, but less overtly) and switched Vince Vaughn for someone better. (I even imagined the two of them as Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, pre Mr. & Mrs. Smith - not bad, right?) Vincent D'onofrio is AWESOME in this movie. He is just as awesome as Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Without a Trace)'s accent is terrible. But, if you can overlook the casting errors (and there are many) and just revel in the interesting storyline and eerie beauty of Tarsem Singh's visuals, you'll like it.
   
   It's got a good plot. SPOILERS. Jennifer Lopez is like the only therapist in the free world who has the emotional stability (she genuinely cares) to do this science thing where she enters into her patients' minds. It's very Sixth Sense, in that Katharine (J-Lo) must help Vincent D'onofrio's character and locate this missing girl, so she can vicariously help Edward, her young patient who's in some type of coma, whose parents are aprehensive of J-Lo's methods.
   
   The visuals are stunning and very cool. It was 99 or so when this movie was filmed so it's less CGI fake looking Golden Compass polar bears and more like, real-life-used-as-art. It's awesome. Not scary, just very visually beautiful and an interesting concept. Some people say that story is sacrificed for the visuals. Maybe. I personally don't think so. The plot is solid from the beginning to the end and the ending isn't stupid. It's not as good or surprising as the ending to the Sixth Sense, but it's a good visually stunning movie.

5 comments about 28 Weeks Later (Widescreen Edition).

1. There's always that extra obstacle to conquer when making sequels, for the lovers of the first movie the second needs a reason to exist, it has to be real, strong and carry the story further than one could have imagined. I really enjoyed "28 Days Later" because I got to see it in a half empty theater with a friend, and it felt so real and brutal that I walked out with my knees shaking. Then I saw this movie at home and while it still made me cringe I don't think that it was the lack of super sized screen that made the movie feel smaller than the first, somehow as good as it was there were flaws to it that made it hard for me to give it more stars.
   
   Overall I'm glad I saw it, it was scary, bloody, gross, there was lots of close run ins and plenty of super hungry, super fast infected zombies but the little things that allowed the outbreak spread again made me shake my head in disbelief. At one point I was laughing (the scene in the dark at the stadium escalator) because it was so ridiculous and then I was flabbergasted at the bad decisions, like the new kids who arrived at the cleaned now London sneaked out to get something from their old home even thought it was forbidden to leave, they simply took this dramatic stance against everyone's safety as they opened the portals to hell for everyone else. I was surprised to see who was the main carrier of the virus and then who spread it to everyone else, I know the zombies were fast but the so called safe army guarded compound was like kindergarten during an Easter egg hunt, the infected ravaged anyone they pleased and it seemed that even all those weapons and precautions didn't do much to stop the spread.
   
   The movie looked good, I liked the eerie and forlorn mood and it was a good chunk of horror watching on a rainy Sunday but the little bits of stupidity that well, allowed for the sequel to exist were little too much. At the end it left me feeling depressed, so I guess goal accomplished! Not bad but not the greatest although worth the watch for horror fans. I am guessing that if there is another entry it will be called 28 months later, now that would be interesting to see...
   
   
   - Kasia S.



2. 28 Weeks Later (Widescreen Edition)
   "28 Weeks Later" is a successful follow-up to "28 Days Later", even though I rarely like sequels. It is a different movie with different character motivations. I really like the way Robert Carlyle's character haunts the film. I won't be a spoiler, but the end is as chilling as it is slightly confusing. I recommend it on its own merits, but do see "28 Days Later" first, to see how the virus began. I only wish Cillian Murphy had made it into the sequel, however, as I said, these are different characters, and they are well-played out.



3. Zombie movie, zombie movie, zombie movie. If that's your cup of tea, this is Darjeeling. It has all the expected ingredients, and is aimed to please. Halfway through the film, some similarities to the situation in "Aliens" occurred to me, but "Aliens" was a great film with themes and acting that transcended horror. This movie is just "aim to please," and that's about all, but done with a good budget. As in most standard horror films, there are characters who commit some stupid, and often selfish, acts, leading to the usual sense of overwhelming annoyance in the viewer. Isn't it funny that the main ingredients in standard horror films is a sense of overwhelming annoyance, overwhelming anticipation, and overwhelming terror? "28 Weeks Later" will serve up large, satisfying proportions of all three for all the zombie ravenous out there. Eat it up and keep your heart pumping for the next coming feast. The party never ends. Aaaarh, slobber, slobber.
   
   Viewing suggestion: check out "Children of Men" if you haven't already. Same kind of energy, but that one borders more on the great. The Spanish directors have arrived.



4. "28 Weeks Later" picks up where "28 Days Later" left off. The virus that's been turning ordinary human beings into flesh-eating zombies has apparently run its course, the infected humans have all died of starvation, and Britain is slowly being repopulated with many of the citizens who fled the scene at the start of the epidemic. One of those returnees is Don (played by Robert Carlyle), who is suffering from survivor's guilt after leaving his wife in a moment of panic to be devoured by the creatures. Or was she? Suffice it to say, it's hard to keep a good virus down and soon London is in the grip of a major new outbreak of the illness. Rose Byrne, Jeremy Renner, Imogen Poots and MacKintosh Muggleton (what a great name!) play various characters who spend the bulk of the movie running for their lives from the menace.
   
   Zombie pictures have become such a staple of the horror movie genre that it is hard for anyone to do anything particularly novel or original with them anymore. Zombie bites human, human turns into zombie, new zombie bites another human, and on it goes ad infinitum. That scenario may have been fresh and exciting when George Romero first introduced it to the world in "Night of the Living Dead" back in 1968, but it has been diluted through repetition and overuse ever since (partly by Romero himself with his endless, ever diminishing variations on the theme). The one innovation the original "28 Days Later" came up with was to speed up the zombies' movements so that they were no longer the lumbering creatures that anyone's 85-year-old granny could easily outrun.
   
   "28 Weeks Later" has some genuinely suspenseful moments and a nice post-apocalyptic feel in its early stretches, but, like its predecessor, it tends to devolve into a tedious shooting-gallery sideshow the longer it goes on. Director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo's hurdy-gurdy filmmaking style, which is intended to replicate the chaos and pandemonium of the situation, often leads more to confusion than to clarification for the audience. Still, the movie contains a few cool plot twists and raises some thorny ethical issues, such as whether or not innocent people are to be sacrificed if that means ensuring the safety of the population as a whole. And there is certainly more than enough bloodshed and general mayhem to keep the zombiephiles among us rooted to our seats. Even the undead can have fun with that.



5. "28 Weeks Later" is one of those rare sequels that is better than the first movie, 28 Days Later (Widescreen Edition). This time there is less of an attempt to make a "deep" movie and switched to a standard formula of suspense and action (oh, and gore too). Other reviews have covered the plot lines, so I will not rehash them here. The film has a strong story line, good acting, good suspense, and great special effects.
   
   Recommended for fans of the genre.

5 comments about Ella Enchanted (Full Screen Edition).

1. Even though this movie had a lot of "spoof" stuff in it, I thought it was great. I love Anne Hathaway. I have a lot of her movies. Great buy and my 4 year old sat and watched it with me too and she laughed through the stuff she understood.



2. I for one really enjoyed Ella Enchanted, a satirical revisiting of Cinderella.
   
   I think I liked it better than the more critically acclaimed "Enchanted". Ella will never be a great classic, but it does have its' moments. Like its' young star it is funny, sweet and pretty to look at.
   
   This a great tween-age film.



3. Great and easy transaction--fast shipping and product arrived in great condition. I would definitely recommend this seller!



4. great movie! the whole movie is 100% entertaining!buy this movie or your collection is not complete!



5. So Cinderella comes around fractured with a prince
   with a wicked uncle as well as a wicked step mother for ella.
   An the enchantment of always doing what she is told
   with this beautiful star brings up some startling
   fantasies in the male audience?
   I like fairy tales and Anne Hathaway,
   but I think she deserved a better movie!
   The studio special effects in the forest
   are kind of poor, as is the dialog in many cases.
   The jokes almost come off too.
   A little better script with an actress like this and you might of had a classic.

5 comments about Encino Man.

1. This is not great art, this is only great fun. I typically never watch anything more than twice, once at the theater and then once again at home if it's really good. I watched this at my 8 year old nephew's house, laughed till my sides hurt and promptly ordered the dvd for myself. I've now watched it at least 6 times. Every time I need a good laugh, in goes Encino Man. My wife likes it just as much as I do. Good clean fun.



2. I brought this movie based on the fact that I watched it when I was younger and that I love it to pieces. I had to have it in my collection. I found the movie quite entertaining and funny as heck.



3. Loved this movie since it came out, so I've had both the vhs tape and the dvd of it. Has anyone else noticed that on the dvd version, a part is missing? When Dave and Stoney are trying to teach Link how to fight to defend himself - at the end of that scene - you don't hear Stoney's wonderful line, 'Ow, my pancreas!'
   
   What's up with that?
   
   Oh, and I'd just like to point out that the movie Clueless (another great flick) owes a good part of its linguistic brilliance to Encino Man.



4. i got this thig because it said that it resembled WAYNE's WORLD,a masterpeice.it doesnt , all this says is that ALL of these actors should deserve to die. this movie could be the leading cause in mass suicide.
   horrible,just a horrible movie. DONT see it, please!



5. I don't need to review this movie in detail, it's a classic for me, I love it, grew up with it, etc etc. I just thought I should mention a flaw I noticed with the DVD release and that is that an entire line/joke from the movie seems to have been cut out from the DVD.
   
   In the scene when Pauly Shore and Sean Astin are taching Link to defend himself, wrestle, karate, etc. Link picks Pauly Shore up over his shoulders, spins him around a few times and drops him hard on the floor. When this happens Pauly Shore is SUPPOSED to go "owww, my pancreas." When this movie came out and was popular that was one of the really funny and memorable lines in the movie that people would go around repeating. It helped make Pauly Shore a big star in the 90's with his Weasil Lingo. However, it seems that in the DVD the "owww, my pancreas" was just taken out of the film entirely, not dubbed over or anything, just gone, and I can't imagine why because it wasn't vulgar or inappropriate in any way. It was just funny, and in a comedy movie those things are kind of important.
   
   I'd be curious to know from anyone else who knows the movie well and has a copy of the DVD if that line is missing from their copy as well.
   
   It might not seem like THAT big of a deal, but trust me, it sucks the humor right out of the scene. That line was the big pay-off of that scene, and was funny and popular enough to turn into sort of a catch phrase in the early 90's. So watching the movie and noticing that is kind of a disappointment, which is why I have to take a couple of stars away from the DVD. There is a short making-of kind of featurette from 1991 with a few of the big cast members in it, which for a fan, still makes owning the DVD worth it at a low price, along with having it in Widescreen, but if I'm being honest, when viewing the movie itself, I tend to just watch my old VHS copy, because it's 100% complete, no missing material.
   
   Thought that people who really love this movie should know. If you're just a casual viewer, you probably won't mind this little flaw.