SyxxNet

I'm gonna be totally honest, I liked this movie a lot, but it wasn't quite what I expected - or what I hoped for. First Descent's biggest problem is that it can't decide whether or not it's a history of snowboarding, or a movie focusing on six snowboarders, including legend Shaun Farmer and current superstar Shaun White, going freeboarding in the Alaskan mountains. It's footage is spectacular, particularly that of former world champ Travis Rice as he races to outrun an avalanche he's accidentally triggered, but I guess I had hoped to learn more about the boarders and their motivations than I did. The history was truncated more than just a little bit, but was enough to whet the appetite a bit.

My experience in seeing it was marred by a middle aged couple sitting across the isle from my fiancée and I, talking loudly and being generally obnoxious. They seemed either drunk or high, or both, but it was very distracting.

As a huge fan of Senor Blanco (and others), I definitely enjoyed the movie enough to recommend it to other boarders or boarding fans (I fall into the latter category), and will most certainly pick up the DVD when it's released. I enjoyed the glimpse into the way White thinks, even though I would have liked more of that part of the movie and less of the "history". If you're not a snowboard fan, however, you may find yourself bored to the max. The movie slows to a crawl at times. Overall, though, it wasn't a bad little film, and I can recommend it for fans of the sport.

On my Popcorn scale, it gets 3 1/2 out of five popcorn boxes, and a medium salt rating for action and language.

For months I have been worried, occasionally stewing, wondering if they could possibly translate the phenom of the Broadway show to the big screen.

Then the trailer hit screens late this summer, and I knew from the moment I saw it, that my fears were unfounded...And now, having the longest year of waiting since first hearing about the film, I can now safely say...

They GOT IT RIGHT!!!!!

If I haven't said it already, THANK YOU! While I thought that the omission of most of Goodbye Love was a bit jarring, since to me it's necessary to set up What You Own, and I missed some of the other songs being, well, SUNG, rather than spoken as dialogue, other than that I can't find another thing to complain about...

Any RENTHead who doesn't like it is nitpicking...because I am one, and I LOVED IT!

It's Oscar time....and it BETTER get nominated, because if it doesn't, it will show the Academy for the phonies they are!

THANK YOU Chris Columbus and the stars of the movie for making me believe again that a movie CAN be made of a hit Broadway musical without ruining it! You've taken my all time favorite musical and transplanted it to the big screen, and still captured the magic! My fiancée, who's review is elsewhere already (PlatinumRoseL), finally came to see the film with me, and was converted. And I left the theater GLOWING from RENT's wonderful spell! I will see it several more times, and will be first in line for the DVD when it comes out!!!!

THANK YOU! THANK YOU ! THANK YOU!

NO DAY LIKE TODAY!

I have just seen "Hero"...and words simply cannot comprehend what I have seen....

I can say this...It is the most incredible film I have ever seen. I count Crouching Tiger and the Lord Of The Rings trilogy among my favorite movies of all time. All of them have brought me in tears at one point or another...

"Hero" left me sobbing uncontrollably at the end...and wanting desperately to see it again.

Told with masterful craft, Hero shifts back and forth between story and flashback, and what took place in the past, when a group of assassins consipire to assassinate the man who rules this version of China.

Jet Li and Daoming Chen, as Nameless and the King of Qin, respectively, offer up both thoughtful and action filled performances. But Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung Chiu Wi steal the movie out from underneath Li as the crossed lovers Broken Sword and Flying Snow. Their story, told several different ways, will leave many people breathless trying to discern who's version of their relationship is the truth.

Zhang Ziyi, as my better half put it, is one of the most beautiful young women on Earth. And although her role is smaller than one might expect, it is pivotal to the story.

This cast weaves the tale so wonderfully, and brings you into their minds so masterfully, that you are simply drawn into the intricate details of their plotting and planning from each person's point of view.

The special effects are absolutely beautiful to watch, especially the incredible sword fight near the beginning of the movie with Nameless taking on Long Sky, played by legendary martial arts actor Donnie Yen. The incredible use of the rain, and the water, will leave even the most cynical person dazzled. I know, I was with one.

The score, by Tan Dun (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon) and performed by legendary violinst Itzhak Perlman, is, like CTHD before it, simply mesmerizing. They are aided by several other musicians and the drumming troupe TODO, who I am a huge fan of anyway, thanks to Elvis Stojko using their beats for several of his skating routines.

All the elements combine to make Hero a true experience.

I cannot say it enough. So let me say it again - "Hero" is NOT a movie; it's an EXPERIENCE.

My score- 10+++ (out of 10)

Don't read if you want to be surprised (Spoiler alert)

CTLG was another in the line of "nuclear war/confrontation" movies of the early 80s, along with "The Day After", "Threads", "By Dawn's Early Light", and "Special Bulletin". And of the "nuclear war" movies ("Special Bulletin" was about domestic terrorism using nukes), it was clearly the most chilling, at least to me.

Although I'm not certain, I believe that the movie was Canada's contribution to the genre; most of the actors are Canadian, and the "newscasts" during the movie happen on a network that begins with the letter "C".

The movie begins with a group of countries forming a "debtor's cartel" and defaulting on billions of dollars of payments to the US for loans made, and escalates from there into an oil embargo, and then clashes in the middle east. Through the movie we get the inside scoop on what's going on in Washington from a reporter working the story (Helen Shaver) and her boyfriend, who works in the White House (Michael Murphy). And we get how it is presented to the public on a network news program.

As the movie nears it's climax, the network's star reporter (Scott Glenn, doing some of his finest work as one of the most underrated actors of all time), aboard a US battleship in the Persian Gulf, is on the air with the network, live, when two nuclear bombs are used. All hell breaks loose.

The final shot of the movie is the President's Plane taking off from Andrews AFB in Washington late that night and the shot freeze-frames on the engines of the plane heading into the distance as the news coverage in the background goes to the piercing alarm used by the Emergency Broadcast System, and the announcer entones that the code name for nuclear war is Looking Glass. I was barely out of my teens when I first saw this movie, and it chilled me to the bone...and to this day, the site of a plane arching off into the night will bring the end of this movie back to my mind...

The movie is extremely (and I mean EXTREMELY) hard to find; i've long lost my video of it, and I would LOVE to see it come out on DVD. To my knowledge, at least where i've been, it's been seen or made available only three times. It originally aired as a feature on either HBO or Showtime (I forget which), then made it's way to the Fox Network as a "movie of the week" entry early in that network's history, and I have seen it only one other time, in a syndication movie package that aired on my local UPN affiliate sometime in the mid 90s.

If it ever airs in your area, GO OUT OF YOUR WAY TO SEE IT. Especially if you like this genre of film. It can be a bit slow moving at times, but overall, the experience will be a satisfying one.

My Score (out of 10) 9.5

There is no doubt in my mind that SB was one of the best tv movies ever made.

It was the first of a series of "nuclear war/nuclear confrontation" movies that aired within about a year of each other, including "The Day After", "Threads", "By Dawn's Early Light", and the sadly now-oft-forgotten "Countdown To Looking Glass".

But where all of those dealt with nuclear war or the onset of it, SB was about domestic terrorism. Ed Flanders, David Clennon, and David Rasche were excellent in their portrayals of the harried anchorman and two of the terrorists he spoke with on the live coverage of the event.

Shot to look like an actual news telecast, NBC freaked when they first saw it and put disclaimers everywhere, but people who tuned in late flooded local stations asking if it was real, though not on a scale that Orson Welles and company had happen when War Of The Worlds was broadcast in the thirties - and that's the difference between television and radio for you...

It's hard to believe that this movie, which won several Emmy awards including best TV Movie or Miniseries that year, was put together by the same team that later produced the intensely annoying "Thirtysomething" (and Clennon was also on that show). But when they do something right, they DO IT RIGHT.

As Leonard Maltin's review book puts it, "Way Above Average".

Now if we can just get them to release it on DVD....

My score: 12 on a scale of 1-10 (yes, that's how much I think of this movie...)

TROY was an interesting movie, and I'll probably buy the DVD when it comes out, but it won't be a repeat view at the movies for me. The first hour is so campy it's comparable to an episode of the old 60's BATMAN TV show, but the last 45 minutes or so saves the entire movie.

As a wrestling fan, I have to say that Brad Pitt does a great imitation of Raven, in his "everything is about me" attitude. Truthfully, ANYONE else would have been better in this role..including Raven himself, probably. Pitt is just SO over the top it's scary...and it marrs what otherwise would have been a great character. I didn't find myself liking the character at all, even for what it was...I found myself wishing his scenes would end ASAP.

The movie's true stars in my own opinion is Peter O'Toole, who should pull out an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor; and Eric Bana, who isn't one of my favorite actors, is fantastic as Hector. Orlando Bloom, who I usually like, is thrust in many scenes into a cowardly version of Legolas and sometimes his scenes are truly laughable.

Garrett Hedland, playing Patroclus, is the discovery of the movie...he often steals the scenes he's part of in such a way that he doesn't come across as over the top, but subtle...you have to be, since most of his scenes are with Pitt.

All in all it was an enjoyable almost three hours...but too much overacting will keep it from being the dynamically remembered epic that most of the critics out there are claiming it to be...

My score - 6

As one of the few people out there who had never read the HP books (deliberately, I might add), I was excited to see the movie because I wanted to see what the fuss was about.

I wasn't disappointed.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is an amazing film, and even though I was unfamiliar with the books or it's characters, I felt right at home in my local theatre with those around me who were familiar with the book. The movie takes the time to introduce the characters to those who might not be book fans, and weaves an incredible spell over all who see it.

Critics have been grousing about the films' length, but it's 2 1/2 hours flew by, and I didn't even notice it. I was too wrapped up in the story, watching young Potter come of age as he discovers his true heritage, and what power he can wield as a wizard in training. His two friends, Ron and Hermoine, are delightful as well, and to me they all come across as normal kids who just happen to me magically endowed.

I cannot wait to see the sequel when it comes out and HP&SS will definitely get some repeat business from me!

Score: 8.5 (out of 10)

Okay, here goes....

I am known for hating subtitled films by anyone who knows me. I have no patience for them, they are distracting and give me a headache whenever i've seen them before. So I was interested but not overly so when we decided to see this movie because of the subtitles.

I left the theatre two hours later with tears streaming down my face, my voice cracking, the hauntingly beautiful Yo Yo Ma-performed score emblazened in my musical mind, and planning to see it a second time in the near future.

In short...I know now what I will be rooting for come Oscar night. I am one of simple movie tastes...check out other reviews I have here for the variety I normally tend to see. But I had heard nothing but good to fantastic word of mouth about this movie, and I finally gave in to my fiancee's pleas to see it, and I am so very glad I did.

From the first moment of the movie, the cinematography is amazing. And while the subtitles were made a bit more annoying in the first few moments by a doofus sitting directly behind us reading them aloud (then laughing!) for his 3 under-ten children (thankfully they left before the movie was even half over), I found myself unconcerned by them in the first few moments.

This is NOT a movie to see if you cannot accept it as what it is. It is a lavishly produced fairy tale, not your average "chopsaki" movie. It is thoughtful in presenation, it's fight choreographer deserves a lapful of awards (although the wire flying was a bit annoying at times) and it's story presented matter-of-fact without any gloss or hype surrounding it.

Personally, I thought the scenes between the two young leads in the desert were the best in terms of action and dialogue. They had a chemistry that truly only comes off well in this sequence, and the director's execution of this entire series of sequences left me totally mesmerized.

For a guy like me, who used to rank stuff like "Encino Man" and "The Karate Kid" as his two favorite movies of all time. to like a movie like this is a bit beyond comprehension. But I didn't like it...I LOVED IT. And it now resides atop my list of my all time favorite movies. And if you can fly in an adult-oriented, chinese "Peter Pan" fairy tale, you too will be absolutely won over.

On My 1 to 5 scale......CTHD gets a 5+! A definate DVD keeper! It will get a TON of use in my house when it comes out!

I have been in love with Cardcaptors since it's premiere on KidsWB last year. While I have read nothing but negative comments about the american version in the past, for kids in the US, Cardcaptors is more than passable. It offers an intriguing storyline, excellent writing, more than passable acting, and good action adventure.

Those who are familiar with the original Japanese version, which is called "Cardcaptor Sakura", often slam the american verson, and it is probably not without merit, since many excellent anime series are often completely watered down and revamped when brought to the US. However, on it's own, Cardcaptors provides more than enough entertainment for all ages.

I admit I have not yet had the pleasure of seeing the original, which I recently ordered on video. But even so, the Americanised version provides me with great enjoyment, and was the first anime series I ever got into without prodding from my anime-fanatic fiancee.

3 out of 4 stars on my scale.

Having been familiar with the ORIGINAL X-Men (Angel, Beast, Iceman, Marvel Girl, and Cyclops) and having caught up a bit on the more recent adventures so I wouldn't be a total doofus for the movie, I find this series EXCELLENT!

I like the alternate concept, and the way the series is being handled, even if it doesn't mesh with the comic version. Seeing Kurt Wagner as a girl-crazy teen is hilarious, and his antics with Scott Summers has been the best part of this series. It's nice to see Scott a bit looser than he's ever been portrayed in any previous X-Men project.

The show's music score and title theme simply ROCK!

Here's hoping the ratings warrant this one being around for a long time.

Ok...here we have a japanese space epic set in the wonderful Japanese town of Beaver Falls.....BEAVER FALLS?

This is one of my favorite bad movies...it never fails to crack me up when we watch the MST3K version, although I could probably sit through it without the MST gang and still have fun doing the MST jokes myself.

I've seen worse...at least I can sit through this one...there are several movies I don't think I could stomach again, even on MST3K...most notably the horrible Red Zone Cuba and the equally absymal Future War...

I worked for a record store chain when I first saw this movie and there wasn't one person who worked at the store that didn't agree that it was one of the funniest, and sadly, most accurate movies ever made.

The movie succeeds on so many levels, it's just too hard to describe. I found myself identifying with every single character in some way, and Empire made it easy to laugh at the true insanity of what people who work retail go through: obnoxious customers, bosses that are cool, higher ups that suck, etc.

The movie made me a lifelong fan of Coyote Shivers' music (check out his CD if you haven't already -- it's a scream) and many of the talented players, but especially Ethan (Randall) Embry and Kimo Wills.

Highly recommended by this ex-record store clerk!

I Mean that literally!

I was going through a rough time in my life, and Encino Man was the only thing that could make me laugh!

Brendan Fraser was terrific, and I even learned how to like Pauly Shore after this movie...who up to this point I couldn't stand!

I saw it 8 (yes, that's EIGHT) times at the theatre in a four week period when it was out, and have watched it dozens of times since on video. Despite it's absurd premise, the movie worked for me, in the relationships that developed between Link, Dave, and Stoney, and the little family the three of them made.

It's goofy, it's at times stupid..and it's all around FUNNY! Just one of those little movies that if you will allow yourself to put reality on hold for 90 minutes, it can and will charm the socks off of you.