fgunther's reviews

Dull Demi, going thru the motions. Ditto Prochnow. Ominous portents that elicit yawns. Michael Biehn trying to be dynamic, which ain't his shtick.

To quote Buffy Summers, "If the apocalypse comes...beep me."

Going back to sleep now.

From what I've read of other's comments here, you either love this show or hate it. But, for a show that was so quickly cancelled by some knucklehead suit at Fox, it has certainly inspired strong feelings.

Having seen this series on DVD, in the order that Joss Whedon intended (Fox royally messed up the continuity by their inane scheduling), I've decided - it is simply superb TV. Probably the best I've seen in a long time.

Like all Joss Whedon shows, it's based on simple storytelling, with a few mystery elements to keep you thinking. But a great cast and some excellent writing make this well worth watching.

I hope the upcoming movie will resolve a couple of mysteries:

Just who is the Shepherd, really?

Just how powerful is River Tam?

In the meantime, if you can rent, buy or steal (just kidding) the DVD set, do it. Even if you're as skeptical as I was, you might be won over. As others have said, it's the Old West in outer space, with some great twists, eg, a courtesan/call girl whose profession is so highly regarded that she makes the ragtag crew respectable by her presence. Very imaginative.

After reading some of the scathing reviews here, I'm almost afraid to say I actually liked this film. It's no dumber than the Austin Powers movies, and, IMHO, a lot more intelligent than the Halloween movies. And, yes, I definitely enjoy gazing upon the unclothed female form, of which there is a gorgeous plentitude here.

Demi Moore should have taken classes from Elizabeth Berkley before making "Stripper"; I've never seen a better, or more comical, on-screen enactment of a private lap dance. Poor Kyle McL must have needed a boatload of cold showers after shooting that scene a few times.

Anyway, after checking Paul Verhoeven's list of movie credits, which tend heavily toward scifi drama, I figure he made this movie as a comic change of pace. A for effort, C- for execution!

This movie gets my ultimate compliment; I might actually rent it again. 7**/10.

The producers united a superb cast, with a storyline that gave potential for a wonderfully escapist adventure flick. It starts out well, with a great attention-grabber of an opening. At that point it deteriorates into mindless, confusing drivel, too painful to detail here. My only question is, how could the director totally waste superb talents like Mr. Connery and Peta Wilson? Who wrote this cr_p, a corporate focus group? Deeply disappointed.

Low-key, well written and very well acted.

Kathryn Morris is a find, and the supporting cast is way above average.

Anyone who really likes CSI and Without a Trace will enjoy this gem.

After watching two episodes, I've decided Eliza Dushku deserves better than this. She is far and away the best part of this series.

The supporting cast is straight out of 90210, exuding California cool, and the storylines so predictable that...well, why bother watching?

Too bad, a fine actress wasted on dreck probably written by a focus group. They need a new paradigm (sorry, couldn't resist the corporate meeting cliche).

Just a simple little film, wonderfully done. An Irish ballad in pictures, a skillful rendering of legend and family.

Sort of "Quiet Man" meets "Ring of Bright Water."

If the folks who butchered "Mists of Avalon" had only hired John Sayles...

The first 25 minutes consists of all the scenes going in circles, so that people are walking on floors, walls and ceilings in turn - why, I don't know. The director ain't no Stanley Kubrick, all it does is make folks dizzy. Between that and the dim lighting, not to mention the too-loud "background music" which sounds exactly like a beehive, the average intelligent viewer has no clue what the heck is going on.

Do we really need to watch a guy ride a stretcher in an ambulance for 2 minutes, with no dialog?

What a waste of 60 minutes of my life. I stopped watching at that point, even the delectable Monica Bellucci couldn't save this mess.

The folks who've commented on this movie earlier have said it all, much better than I could. Mary McDonnell leads a fine cast, with Bill Cobbs outstanding as the Conductor who offers Charlie another chance at happiness in life. This film borrows some ideas from "Needful Things", and a healthy dose from the classic Twilight Zone episode "A Stop at Willoughby", stirs, blends well and produces an evocative masterpiece.

Great movie for a date - heck, you can always watch the end again in the morning, if you get distracted.

Quite simply, the age-old, always new story of two people who fall in love, a love that is doomed from the start.

He's a homicide detective, a man who brings killers to justice. She's a vampire, a deadly predator who must kill to live. And they fall deeply in love, as he begins to learn her true nature.

Not a chick flick per se, just an exceptionally good TV film, with a superb cast. No one does vulnerable strength better than Susan Dey.

I gave it a 7 out of 10. Decide for yourself.

From what I could see, the only reason this movie exists is to give some very beautiful Playmates multiple opportunities to display the nude female figure divine. Regretfully, the nude scenes are (for me anyway) pretty much destroyed by poor editing; the constant cuts and pseudo-artsy close-ups become very distracting after a while. Maybe they were trying to avoid letting us see the silicone <grin>?

The "actresses" can't act, even with their clothes off! Most of the characters are obviously speaking a different language overdubbed in English. As for the storyline, well, it's got so many holes in it, I wouldn't even know where to begin. Even the fights are poorly staged, their impact destroyed by dumb closeups and dizzying, confusing scene jumps.

Too bad, with a little effort, it could actually have been a fairly decent movie. The first step would have had to be, give the Playmates some acting lessons. Both vertical and horizontal.

One positive note: the scenes in which the women struggle to learn the fighting arts are actually quite well-done. You get the feeling the actresses enjoyed learning how to fight, and put themselves into it, without any phoniness.

This show takes a cast of top-notch pros (like Lindsay Crouse and Erick Avari, just to name two) and uses their talents to the hilt.

The storytelling is taut and well-paced, the secondary characters very well-written (check out Cleo the hooker in "Silver Strangler").

In a word, I like this show.

I watched this flick from beginning to end, and enjoyed every minute.

Granted, there are a few implausibilities (all the killers dressed in black, with long black raincoats?), but it was easy for me to ignore the minor glitches and just kick back.

Saul Rubinek makes a very good villain, just enough over the top not to be totally implausible. And with Kim Cattrall and Carroll O'Connor adding their nickels' worth...

Enjoy.

A strong beginning segues clumsily into a dark and confusing middle.

• Plot devices spring up out of thin air, with little rhyme or reason. EG, the powerful daddy, the buddy with nautical connections, ad nauseam.

• For most of the film, the lead actors seem to swallow the majority of their lines, which are anyway spoken so low as to be unintelligible. If I hadn't had closed captioning, I wouldn't have understood half the dialogue. Is this a thing with "artsy-house" films?

• Does Gabriel Byrne have narcolepsy here, or does he simply wish he were in a more intelligent movie?

Too bad, if it had kept up with the strong beginning, this could have been an excellent film. What a waste of talents like Robert Loggia and Bob Peck.

Summary: better than any sleeping pill.

In spite of some obvious flaws, notably an over-the-top villainess (whom I still found myself rooting for), this film kept my total attention from start to finish.

Negative note: why does anyone cast Anthony Michael Hall as anything other than a corpse in a box?

The storytelling is good, the direction crisp, and Alexandra Paul is a pleasant surprise to me (sorry, I never watched Baywatch or Melrose Place - to me, Tom & Jerry cartoons had much greater entertainment value. Hey, what can I say? I'm a guy).

My recommendation: kick back, relax and enjoy. It's better-than-average entertainment, and didn't strain my aging brain cells. And Alexandra is very easy on the eyes.

Many others have analyzed this film's flaws, and they are there. I won't enumerate them.

But, this is the first time I've seen Asia Argento on film, and, guess what? She is definitely an ACTRESS. Basically, she is this movie, and she carries it off excellently. I couldn't stop watching, as she lead through one transformation to the next, in her descent into madness. Whoa!

One quibble: the ending is weak. Someone as imaginative as Dario could definitely have done much better. But, that said, I still give this film an 8 1/2. A disturbing masterpiece.

There is so much going on in this movie, it would be hard to capsulize everything, so I won't even try.

Lindsay Felton does an outstanding job as the newly paralyzed Anna Morgan, and as the movie's narrator. She comes across as a real person, with hopes, fears and frustrations like everyone else. The film spends time introducing her family, and, quietly, subtly and intelligently showing us a bit about each person, in a realistic way.

Perhaps my only quibble about this movie would be, Anna is described as a champion gymnast before her injury. Having seen what sylphs most female champions are, it's hard to believe someone as abundantly endowed as Anna...OK, stopping now.

It's an excellent little slice-of-life movie, with a fairly realistic portrayal of dealing with paraplegia (eg, the constant shifting of weight in the wheelchair, to avoid pressure sores and circulation problems). Perhaps the movie's strength is, the wheelchair is only part of the story. The family is the main story.

OK, if that's not clear, just watch it for yourself. It's not syrupy or Disneyfied, just honest, gentle storytelling.

As a youngster, I collected all the Robert E. Howard stories I could find, and I have the entire Conan series in paperback, most published around 1970. The forewords in most of these books gave a brief, often shockingly inaccurate description of Howard's short, unhappy life, and his suicide at age 30. One callous editor even made the comment in the foreword about the loss to fantasy writing when `he blew his silly brains out.' (sic)

This movie, based on Novelyne Price's book, is a moving account of his relationship with the only woman he ever dated. And, while it makes it clear how much his mother controlled him, it avoids the mistake of becoming too deeply psychoanalytical. Instead, it simply tells the story, and tells it clearly. Renee Zellweger, minus blonde hair and Hollywood glamour, is a genius at conveying a complete sentence of feeling with just a look, and overcomes the fashions of the 30's to look glowingly beautiful. Vincent D'Onofrio brings Robert Howard to the screen, in all his complexity, as both a very likable and totally frustrating character.

It was hard to watch, as the relationship blossomed, and then foundered. I found myself wishing they could make it work, even when I knew it was doomed. It's neither an upbeat movie nor a three-hankie weeper; it's just life. Probably why the suits in Hollywood couldn't figure it out.

I gave it a 9. 'Nuff said.