5 comments about Dreamcatcher (Full Screen Edition).

1. I have NEVER walked out of a movie, however, I walked out of this one. This movie sucked so much. It would have not only been a waste of money, but time. I lost the money, but I sure as heck saved my time by walking out of the film.



2. Someone at my local movie group suggested this movie be re-titled "Earth Versus the Arse-Monsters". The idea was that such a stupid title would give the movie an appropriate cheesy B-grade air, allowing us to enjoy it on a so-bad-it's-almost-good basis. A movie called 'Dreamcatcher' based on a novel by someone the calibre of Stephen King just makes it all seem too serious.
   
   I think the big problem with this movie is that it's full of ideas that don't translate that well to the screen. For example, the "memory warehouse" works alot better as an abstact thought from a book. Seeing them depict an actual warehouse filled with physical memories that the character searches through comes across as silly instead of mysterious. Likewise, the concept of aliens breeding inside people's intestines could be horrific or disturbing, but actually seeing people exploding blood and flatulence from their backsides is just corny.
   
   It doesn't help that there were some very strange artistic decisions made here. Why the toothpick on the floor? Why the gun-telephone?? Why does Jonesy talk like a demented English butler when possessed?? What's with the eyebrows? There are just too many of these unintentionally funny moments that distract us. Likewise, the random gore, the often cheesy dialogue, and the cliched characterisation are more suited to a teen slasher flick than the supposedly serious movie this tries to be.
   
   To me, it appears the filmakers were uncertain whether to remain loyal to King's deeper, intellectual story or just go for a straight thriller/horror flick. In the end 'Dreamcatcher' doesn't really do either. It's too unintentionally silly and corny to take seriously, but too po-faced and self-conscious to be enjoyed as a mindless popcorn slasher. The fact that it can't appeal to either audience is obviously why it flopped. Perhaps it might have been better in a different format, but I feel 'Dreamcatcher' is one of those books that just doesn't work on the big screen. It should have been left alone.



3. I can't even descibe what was wrong with this one... You'll just have to see it to believe it. To be fair, I did watch it all the way through, and when the film was finished, I couldn't figure out what I had just witnessed. To say it was juvenile in scope would be an understatement. While I don't exactly care for the literature of Stephen King, I can't imagine how he could have been responsible for something like this. Kids, the bottom fell out on this one.



4. OK... so every now and then there is a movie that comes out that may be okay in it's own right, but has next to no similarities to the story on which it was based. I have been a Stephen King fan for years and have always made a point of reading his books before seeing any of the movies. I enjoyed the book, the story was great... I'm not sure what they screenplay writers read, but it was NOT the book. They got some of the basic plotline and such, but there was almost no character development (and where there was, it was wrong... totally different from the actual chracters in the book) and they must have been bored with their own work by the end, because what they put in for an ending was very simply made up. They missed the entire point of the book and went WAY off track. So if you like Stephen King, don't bother. If you like campy "B" movies and have never read a Stephen King book in your life... you may just like it.



5. Dreamcatcher is quite simply one of the most entertaining "bad" films of recent years. It needs to be included on those "worst films of all time" lists -- movies that manage to be more interesting & memorable that more respectable cinema. You've already seen Plan Nine from Outer Space, Robot Monster, and the entire catalog of infamously "bad" filmmakers like Ed Wood, H.G. Lewis, Doris Wishman, and Dwain Esper? Think you've seen it all -- seen how low it can go? Think again. This film has a lot of things that will stick in your mind, and possibly in your alimentary canal. You simply have to see:
   
   1. Aliens that invade rectal cavities, causing all kinds of rude noises and messy splatters.
   2. Morgan Freeman giving an over-the-top performance of a lifetime, ranting about "s--t weasels" and the like.
   3. A possessed character begins speaking, for no particular reason, with a ridiculous English accent. (Possessed by Malcolm McDowell, perhaps? Who knows?)
   4. A mentally-handicapped character is subjected to all manner of horrid abuse, in a scene that manages to combine the homo-erotic, the sadistic, and the scatological. You won't believe your eyes...
   5. A puzzling, out-of-left-field finale that will have you rolling on the floor in further disbelief. There's an "alternate ending" that's just as baffling.
   
   Plan a party. Invite all your friends...and enemies. Serve a lot of cheese, baked beans, and ginger ale. Close off any ventilation. Make your guests watch Dreamcatcher -- and you will live on in their dreams and nightmares -- FOREVER!!!

5 comments about Dungeons & Dragons (New Line Platinum Series).

1. I bought this DVD as a gift. The case was in horrible condition; it had stickers and tape all over it. I only paid a penny for it, so it was worth the price.



2. Once upon a time in a land not so far away, a callow youth named Courtney Solomon had a dream. So he saved his pennies and at the tender age of 20, secured the film rights to DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, and thence pursued his Holy Grail: a big-screen version of the much-loved neo-medieval role-playing game. For 10 long years he wandered in the Holly Wood in search of the all-important Green Light, until one day he chanced upon the Lord of High Concepts (Sir Joel of the Silver). A meeting was taken and thence, "a Courtney Solomon film" was born.
   
   Talented actors signed on for big paychecks, but now, so close to his dream, the novice filmmaker refused to allow his vision to pass into the hands of those more experienced, and he himself assumed the director's chair. Some $43 million later, he had his tale of the fair Empress of Izmer, whose rule is threatened by an evil mage, or magician. With the help of a dwarf, an elf, an apprentice mage and two thieves, disaster was averted . . . in Izmer. (Alas, the same can not be said of the tale itself, which stinketh like the breath of a dyspeptic dragon.) But for we collectors of BAD MOVIES WE LOVE, there is a happier ending.
   
   Laboriously expository and defiantly incomprehensible, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS seems to involve the hunt for an enchanted "rod," a threat to the prevailing "fabric of magic," the fight for democracy in the kingdom of Izmer, and the ritual humiliation of actors. In ascending order of ignominy: haughty apprentice mage bland Zoe McLellan; Skywalkerish commoner Justin Whalin (the new Sean Patrick Flanery or the new Robert Sean Leonard? Discuss); his bumbling sidekick Marlon Wayans (a black character straight out of Hollywood's 1938 playbook); Glenn Close-channeling Jeremy Irons; and fair-minded empress Thora Birch, (who models a series of headpieces cribbed from '70s disco album sleeves and throughout sustains the impression of having learned her lines phonetically.)
   
   Those schooled in the arcana of the phenomenally successful fantasy role playing game can best rule on whether Solomon's live action adaptation is a faithful depiction of its obsessive world of elves, dwarfs, and winged things, but even a babe in dungeonland can see that the leading fire breather in this malty brew of heroics and minutiae isn't a computer generated creature, but Jeremy Irons as the archvillain Profion. All goggle-eyes, exaggerated double takes and full-throated oratory, Irons howls, whispers and rages, as he struts about in Olivier's 'Hamlet' eyeliner. Luxuriously bellowing immortal lines like ''You! Are! Mine! Now!', he attacks and guzzles every shred of scenery as if he were playing King Lear at a suburban community theater. "With a dragon army at my command I can crush the empress!" he cries joyfully, bending at the waist and making little claws out of his hands. (It's Bad Movie Nirvana!)
   
   As Irons henchman Damodar, Bruce Payne runs a close second. A bald and burly centurion, Payne goes through the movie wearing metallic blue lipstick, (an obvious but puzzling reference to Petula Clark), terrorizing heroes Whalin and Wayans, whose destiny is to save the world - or whatever.
   
   With his long, chestnut lashes, cherubic cheeks and silky complexion, Whalen is significantly prettier than his female love interest - wholesome, magic-wielding librarian Zoe McLellan. Aided by a lissome elf and a grumpy dwarf, our heroes embark on a quest involving glowing rubies and secret scrolls. McLellan decides to join them, and after she kisses Whalen her glasses disappear and her backswept math-girl hairdo is magically transformed into a hipper center-part. Our heroic group must battle Payne for possession of a powerful thingummy that can control red dragons, which may or may not be bigger and meaner than the regular green kind. The thingummy itself is called a "rod," but strongly resembles our friend's old Dragon Bong. (A connection to the true Dungeons & Dragons universe at last!)
   
   Watch for an imitation STAR WARS bar scene and ex-'Doctor Who', Tom Baker, as a wise elf.



3. Despite the fact that I think this film rates lower than an otyugh's stool (D&D nerd reference there), I have seen it more times than I care to remember. I saw it once on a date at the cinema (she liked it), and a couple of times on video/dvd when I was trying to show just how horrible it was to friends. It is a film that gets worse with every viewing. There is always something new to be appalled by every time you watch it.
   
   Do not own this movie, it will infect other movies you own with its badness. Even milk will go off in close proximity to this drek. If (like me) you are a completist and have to see it "just to see what they did", borrow it or hire it (but then complain that the disc wouldn't play on your machine so that you can exchange it for something else).
   
   This movie commits the cardinal sin of being boring. It has a clunky script, questionable costume choices and as an adaptation of D&D, unforgivable. I know nothing about how to light a movie set, so when I notice that a scene has no atmosphere, there's something wrong.
   
   The cast could or might be OK in other circumstances, but with rubbish lines and a bad director, are left to flounder. I don't think I've seen Thora Birch since. Jeremy Irons, rather than flounder, clearly went insane for the duration of this shoot. His performance is, ahhh... colourful. Olivier's Richard the Third on crack? X 1000?
   
   The extras of this give a fairly good picture of why this film stinks. Yes, I watched them. The director's mummy bought him the director's chair, and he clearly shouldn't be trusted with sharp objects, let alone Jeremy Irons. Although the director professes a love of D&D, he clearly was never a dungeon master or ever read a fantasy book. And therein lies the problem with basing a film on D&D; the game is based on any number of sources and worlds, so what do you choose?
   
   And where were the monsters? D&D if its about anything, is about the monsters! OK we had some 2nd drawer CGI dragons (they're a given), and a beholder very shyly ran across screen in one scene, but what about the rest?! Where were the gnolls, bugbears, gelatinous cubes (OK, they are silly), etc?
   
   See Lord of the Rings. Even see Uwe Boll's In the Name of the King. It's better than this unflushable horror.



4. It has been many years since I watched this travesty of a film, but even after thousands of competitors, I still find Dungeons & Dragons to be the worst film I have seen. As a big fan of the D&D game (I grew up playing it for years) I had high hopes for the movie. A budget of 35 Million dollars at the time was quite a lot of money, and Jeremy Irons is one of my favorite actors (for Irons at his best, try the original Brideshead Revisited miniseries). It gives me no pleasure to pan the film, or Irons' performance in it, but there is just no other way... they just were both *terrible*. With cheezy special effects, ridiculous dialogue and acting that is scary bad, you wind up with one big mess. My favorite line from Irons as Profion was "I'm looking for my stone... I want my stone!" You can imagine with dialogue like *that,* the actors did not have a chance. Avoid at all cost.



5. I saw this as a teenager and it made me sick. I tried to watch it again on cable TV as an adult and it STILL sucks!

5 comments about Enter the Dragon (Keepcase).

1. A classic for any collection a must have for any Kung Fu or martial arts fan RIP Bruce Lee:(



2. Enter the Dragon was purchased because I have been a huge Bruce Lee fan since age 16, when he blew me away in 1973, ironically, I came to love and admire him only months before his death in July of 1973. I can recite most of the lines from the movie by memory, having seen it from start to finish 100s and 100s of times, I've lost count. Never in my wildest imagination would I think that one day I would be able to own my very own copy of this fantastic, action packed feature of the "Little Dragon"..Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon. I also purchased the soundtrack from the movie, and had numerous posters of my kung-fu hero. Anyone who compares Bruce Lee with today's action-stars e.g. Jackie Chan, Jet Li etc, is comparing apples to oranges..not even close. Although I do so admire these stars, they just aren't comparable to Bruce Lee, He stands alone, and always will. I will never get tired of watching Enter the Dragon to this day now at age 50+, best of the best.



3. All I can Say is That it's The Finest Martial Arts movie ever made.
   It's not just a movie there are great lessons to learn. check it out if you never watch it. you will not be disapointed.If you like a good action movie this is the one!



4. This is a great product. I ordered it for a gift and was happy to have it arrive on time.



5. The greatest martial artist who ever lived. Bar none. His hand punching speed was so fast, the camera's couldn't catch it. His feet kicking speed was so fast the camera's could not catch it. He had to slow down his hand punching and feet kicking so the camera's could catch a semblence of it. We will never see the like's of him again. Chuck Norris, the former Karate champion, even admits how great Bruce Lee was.

5 comments about The Incredible Two-Headed Transplant/The Thing With Two Heads.

1. The first movie with Rosey Grier is funny. Not hilarious. But it does have some decent laughs. It does try to be a serious movie which makes it less worthwhile to laugh at. But there is a long scene of a motorcycle chase that seemed like the director had no idea what else to shoot or was writing the story as he/she was shooting the movie.
   
   The second movie was more serious than the previous. But it does have some funny scenes. It is just too bad that both of these films tried to pull off a strong message about experimenting with the dead (ala: Frankenstein). It just was not necessary. Well, it is worth seeing if you know what two heads in a movie means. Otherwise, stick with one head.
   
   MV



2. THE INCREDIBLE TWO-HEADED TRANSPLANT! Man, I love saying that! A mad scientist (Bruce Dern) perfects his method of grafting an extra head onto one body. His assistant convinces him to use humans instead of the lab animals he's used to. This works out well, since the lumbering handyman (John Bloom from The Dark) is available, along w/ Cass, a notorious mass murderer who happens along. The good doctor performs his magic, creating a lumbering mass-murderer! This doesn't go over well w/ the doc's wife (Pat "Marilyn Munster" Priest), who had just escaped the eeevil Cass' clutches that same day! Enter Casey Kasem as the family friend and we're off! THE THING WITH TWO HEADS concerns a bigoted surgeon (Ray Milland from X: The Man W/ The X-Ray Eyes, The Premature Burial, and Frogs) whose head is stitched onto the body of a convict from death row (Rosie Grier from The Glove). Hilarity ensues when we see Milland's head next to Grier's, like some mutated toadstool! Lots of racial slurs and typical 70s groove-music keep things moving. This movie also contains one of the most idiotic multi-car chase scenes ever filmed! Yepper, buy this double-headed double-header immediately...



3. Two of the best forgotten classics. The Incredible Two-headed Transplant is a classic horror that have not been seen on tv for years. A killer/rapist head is put on a retarded handyman. That's when all hell break loose. The killer convinces the handyman to do his biddings. I get a great laugh when the handyman is called a bunch of names. The Thing with Two Heads is a classic about a bigot head is put on a black guy. This one is more of a comedy, then horror. Both classic are great to own I strongly recommend in your horror collection. Once again many thanks to MGM/Midnite movie for releasing great forgotten horror classic.



4. The Thing With Two Heads is a decent Blaxsploitation twist on the two headed man flick. A White bigot needing a Black man's body for survival actually was kind of cool and funny back in the day. Ray Milland and Rosey Grier really seem to be enjoying themselves and this is more comical than scary. It's the reason I gave this double feature a three star rating. Neither one of these films is a classic in my opinion but they are good time wasters and lately, people have been buying this dvd like mad. The Incredible Two Headed Transplant terrified me when I was a child and the idea of a serial rapist using a retarded man's body as an instrument of destruction is still disturbing. Albert Cole as psycho Manuel Cass was no Michael Myers but those glazed eyes and that demented laugh can really mess with a kid's mind. This is probably why you don't see it on television anymore. Bruce Dern will probably never live this cheesefest down but he wasn't bad in it. Overall, this double about unlikely doubles is beyond schlock with funky pimped out music (in both films), bad acting, choppy editing, lousy continuity, and some of the worst effects (if you can call them that) ever. Buy this only if you truly know what you're getting yourself into. I mean, look at all the used copies for sale on Amazon. After a good viewing or two, the average person will probably trade this dvd for a cold beer.



5. If you like two headed things. Then this is the movie set for you. In the first movie ("The two headed transplant") You have doctors grafting a head to put two people into one. But its the second movie that I liked the most. In the ("Thing with two head") You have doctors putting a racist white mans head next to a black man. You really have to see this one to believe it. It had me laughing so I gave it four stars. Im sure you'll like it too.

5 comments about Putting It Together: A Musical Review.

1. I know what you might be thinking: "ANOTHER Sondheim revue/concert/performance?" There are only so many "fresh" and "new" versions of "Send in the Clowns" and "Being Alive" a person can take, even if you have stars like Bernadette Peters singing them...
   
   Don't write this production off though. First, it does have a skeleton of a plot (although Pinchot himself admits in the opening number that "there's not an awful lot") which gives some structure to the show and lends to the emotion of several pieces. Carol Burnett and George Hearn play the rich, older couple and Ruthie Henshall and John Barrowman play the younger couple, with Bronson Pinchot acting as narrator/butler/any additional character who is needed. The plot involves the older couple finding themselves falling out of love with each other and the younger couple in the midst of falling in love with each other. All perform admirably, although for me Carol Burnett was the standout. Her performance is alternately devestating, cuttingly sarcastic, and hilariously hysterical.
   
   Thankfully, the production also avoids trying to include all of Sondheim's "hits." Although you will find a version of "Being Alive" (as a quintet!) and "Getting Married Today" (done only as Carol Burnett can do it), you will also find several of Sondheim's more obscure songs (at least for me). Songs such as "Bang!" and "Unworthy of Your Love" are perhaps less well-known, but brilliant all the same, especially as performed by Ruthie Henshall and John Barrowman. It was also interesting for me to see how each one of Sondheim's songs is taken out of the context of its original show and worked into a brand new setting. A song like "Hello Little Girl" takes on an entirely different meaning when sung by an old man as opposed to an actual wolf...
   
   Overall, the show was just the thing after huge megahits like Wicked, Spring Awakening, Jersey Boys, Legally Blonde, and in the Heights. An intimate night at the theatre, albeit viewed in your own home. You might not experience an exhilirating high after watching the show, but you'll leave with a renewed appreciation for Sondheim, his masterpieces, the theatre, and, ultimately, the different aspects of love.



2. I expected a central theme with an underlying score but all I saw was a disjointed attempt to showcase the various talents. The title says it all Putting it together. Yet. Very disappointing. ECurry



3. From start to finish a marvelous evening of Broadway in your own home. The performers are at the top of their craft, and the musical arrangements from various shows are artfully blended. A winner on all counts. Thank you Mr. Sondheim for your creativity that provides viewers with such a literate and pleasureable musical treat.



4. I first saw parts of the show on youtube and fell in love with it because Ruthie Henshall was in it and she is really amazing!!! I had to buy the dvd just to see what the other songs were like. The show is unbelievably entertaining. I read reviews saying that there's no plot. Well if you watch the songs fit together perfectly. or example "Hello, Little Girl" "My Husband The Pig/Everyday a Little Death" & "Everybody Ought To Have a Maid" show that the older man wanted to get with the younger girl but the older woman saw it and is disgusted so she gets a maid to cheat with. I thought that was a clever, Considering they are only using Sondheim songs!!! The actors did a great job Bronson Pinchot was unbelievable especially on "Bang!" & "Buddy's Blues" John Barrowman has a beautiful voice as displayed in his duet with Ruthie "Unworthy Of Your Love" Ruthie Henshall did amazing i hate when people say that she sings through her teeth, she only really does it in "Lovely" but she does have great teeth. Also her perormance of "More" really shows off her skills as a Dancer and shows that she's a Triple Threat!!! George Hearn does great as always! And Last But not least Carol Burnett!!! Carol really puts some humor in the show. She's amazing in "(Not) Getting Married Today" which is a very hard song. Overall a great musical review!!!



5. I loved this whole show, I only wish there was a soundtrack for this version of the show and not the older one with julie Andrews, everyone was amazing, i downloaded the original versions of the songs from the shows they were originally in and it just doesn't have the same feeling

5 comments about Angel and the Badman.

1. Gunslinger Quirt Evans always had a rough life. His parents were killed by Indians, and he was raised by cowboys. He is accustomed to a life of rootlessness, violence, liquor, loose women, and gambling. The sheriff follows this badman around, expecting to nail him on a new misdeed.
   
   All this seems to change, in this romantic old western, when Penelope, a young woman of the Quaker family that is nursing the bullet-wounded Evans back to health, falls in love with him. He gradually warms up to her. But she wonders--does love come all at once, or gradually? More important, are the feelings mutual?
   
   The Quaker family prays that a greedy neighbor will let them have enough water for their flocks. Evans goes to the neighbor, and uses "friendly persuasion" to get him to release the water. It is even better than that. He completely changes his attitude to the Quaker family. "God works in mysterious ways," the family concludes.
   
   In time, Evans has had enough of all the religiosity and "dullness". He leaves the farm, and goes back to his old life. Will he ever return to the heartbroken Penelope?
   
   Evans is about to have a shootout with the men who originally wounded him. Just then, the Quaker family arrives on horse-drawn cart. Penelope, adhering to the Quaker belief in non-violence, persuades Evans to turn over his gun to her. Evans is then told by his adversaries to move away from the women, and to turn around. What now? Is he dead meat?



2. One of my all-time favorite movies and, in my opinion, one of Waynes best. This one's got it all. Comedy, drama, and redemption. Both the John Wayne and Gail Russell give fine lead performances supported by a colorful cast of characters. I highly recommend this movie to all John Wayne fans. .



3. Although this version is advertised as "remastered," don't believe it. The video quality is terrible - grainy, fuzzy. Don't repeat my mistake.



4. I like John Wayne movies and this is one of my favorite! It is packed with action,passionate romance, and adventure!!



5. This is I think one of the stranger John Wayne westerns in many respects, with a mostly pacifistic message and virtually no gunplay. It's the first film he made with his own production company, John Wayne Productions - which eventually became the better-known Batjac - and it's one of just a handful of films he made in the genre from 1940-47, a period when most of his output was war films. The director is James Edward Grant, a screenwriter who was a friend of the Duke's and worked mostly with him and only had one other directorial credit seven years later - a Mickey Spillane film with the writer playing himself. It's probably fair to assume that Wayne had a lot of input on the direction of the film, which isn't necessarily a good thing, unless you think THE ALAMO and THE GREEN BERETS represent him at his finest.
   
   But not to worry, this is pretty decent, all around. Our lead is Quirt Evans, onetime lawman and now apparent gunfighter-for-hire, holed up just as the film begins at the farm of the Worths, a family of Quaker settlers, with a gunshot wound. Penelope Worth, the daughter, played by the stunningly gorgeous Gail Russell, can't help but fall for our hero of course, who decides to stick around and avoid his troubles for a little while after he heals up. Soon enough though he gets the itch to hit the trail again - and also feels self-conscious about this peaceful religious family helping him out (they go so far as to give him a Bible with his name embossed on it) and so takes off. After a period of hellraising in a wild town and losing money at a casino he decides to go into some rustling, but eventually has some second thoughts and ends up back with the Worths. That doe-eyed Penny is really something.
   
   Alas peace and quiet are not to be, as bad guy Laredo Stevens (Bruce Cabot) and his henchmen just won't let ol' Quirt be, despite his being reputedly the fastest gun in that part of the west. And Marshall Wist McClintock (gotta love the names in this film - there's also a "Hondo" which, like McClintock, provided a title for a later Wayne film) is keeping a serious eye on Quirt too, not believing for a second that he's ready to settle down with the peaceful Friends. Eventually Penny gets hurt, and Quirt can't take Laredo & company's actions any longer, and he decides to do something about it...but the ending of the film is in keeping (generally speaking) with the violence-as-last-resort theme, and I think you'll be able to guess what kind of choice Quirt will make, and also how Marshall McClintock will deal with the matter.
   
   It's a bit silly and the moralism a bit simplistic, but Wayne is fine, Russell is just lovely and quite believable as the lovestruck kid, and there's some terrific work from old stalwarts like Carey and Lee Dixon as Quirt's rather cynical but good-natured friend Randy, as well as a solid saloon brawl and some good riding stunts for all the action aficionados. All in all well worth a look for any fans of Wayne or westerns from this period. Alas there don't seem to be any really good prints of it around; I have this fairly poor VHS but it doesn't look like the DVDs that exist are all that much better, except possibly the Goodtimes disc that a few other reviewers have mentioned. That's probably the one to check out.

5 comments about The Trail to Hope Rose.

1. It's an old story about miners being used so harshly. This movie captures it well.I like good endings and this one has it. LDP is as good as ever.



2. This is the best movie I have seen in years and believe me I am 71 and have seen some. But Trail to Hope Rose has it all and Lou Dimond P. is the best young actor I love him. the movie is WONDERFUL. I bought it so I can see it when ever I like.
   C.S.
   Oklahoma. USA



3. This western should go down in history. It is that good. Lou Diamond Phillips is simple great in this show. Lee majors plays a Lawman and is really good in his role. I can't say enough about Ernest Borgnine. Just wonderful. It shows how hard life was and how they survived. Romance is fulfilling and rewarding. The life was not glamor but really normal. It was very hard working in the mines with little protection. Of course the bad guys try to take over but the law is firm. I loved everything about this movie. The woman that played the major role was great.



4. My family and I really like this movie. Lou Diamond Phillips and Ernest Borgnine are very appealing. Watch out for younger viewers, as there is drunkeness and domestic violence displayed.



5. This is a great cast and I love both Mr. Borgnine and Lou D.P. in this. I love Lou's laid back character and his "I'll have to think on that" attitude. There's a good lesson there. Lee Major's is a good guy in this, unusual for his later day roles.

5 comments about Full Eclipse.

1. What can I say? I love werewolf movies. But this one bites. (No pun intended). Max Dire (more wolf pun names), is a down-on-his-luck police detective. With a series of tragic events threatening to overwhelm him, Max gets involved with a therapy group whose leader is a werewolf (the Howling anyone?)

   At first intrigued by the group, Max soon learns that these officers mean business - they're injecting werewolf blood to fight crime.

   Okay, if you're like me, you might think the plot of this movie sounds cool. Werewolves as 'good guys?' A horror/police action movie? Well, I think again. The movie has some decent special effects, but THAT'S ALL. The script is poorly handled, the dialog amateurish, and the acting like cardboard. If you want a good 'werewolf movie' see dog soldiers. Much better.




2. After reading the other reviews, had to write this. I enjoyed the movie, thought the acting was allright, and the story line was pretty good. Also liked Bruce Payne in it. Not a great movie, but worthwhile werewolf movie to watch



3. It's very cool in my honest opinion and very good action and special effects! And the very hot Mario Van Peebles makes it AWESOME!!



4. 
   I brought the DVD based on the core story line. I love all werewolf movies hence it is extremely hard to make a werewolf movie I do not absolutely LOVE! Full Eclipse manages to be a werewolf movie I absolutely hate with a passion. I can handle lame sets, card-"bored" actors \ acting, bad special effects, cheesey looking werewolves, innane campy over the top dialogue almost anything. Sometimes bad werewolf movies like Wolfen among others end up being incredibly funny which make me like them immensely despite their downfalls. Full Eclipse is dull bad as anything I have ever seen and is not one bit funny at any point along the way.
   
   Full Exclipse lame from start to blessed finish takes itself way way way too seriously to ever for a moment be the least bit funny. Full Eclipse is trying desparately to be an action adventure flick but it never succeeds despite its many pathetic icreasingly lame attempts. I never ended up liking any of the characters despite getting to know them. Why these people did what they did was never fleshed out in ways that made me care about their mission. Full Eclipse came across as a job for B actors and everyone dutifully showed up said their lines worked on the set, put a way lame BUT completed film in the can and promptly went home to gag in isolated shame at the things they did for money that day.
   
   What I can not abide however is a movie that holds itself out to be a werewolf movie that tries unsuccessfully to be more than just a slash and burn horror fest. In a low budget werewolf movie you don't need lots of intense background build up on the characters you just want to see liberial doses of blood, gore and entrails spead all over the place. This movie spends way too much time slowly plodding along calling itself developing the characters. I gave the DVD one star because it did such a bad job of developing the characters depsite almost the entire film wasted in the effort.
   
   The real criminal in the making of Full Eclipse was the editor so much background stuff that should have ended up on the cutting room floor made the final cut into the film. The pacing of the film was so slow it put me to sleep twice before I finally managed to see all of it. Watching this werewolf flick was profound torture and I love most werewolf flicks. The full blooded dude to werewolf conversion in this movie was on the best I have seen but even that could not save this movie.
   
   Full Eclipse suffers from being BORING BEYOND ALL WORDS which is the one cardinal sin I will not forgive in a werewolf movie. Given the chosen path this Werewolf movie had staked out, even I could have made a far more exciting satisfying movie than what was slapped together in Full Eclipse. Full Eclipse is not bad HA HA is is bad... Snore Fest - ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ wake me up when it is over. If I had a choice between watching this movie again and getting a root canal I'd be off to the dentist Office with a Big Toothy Wolflike grin with hugs for my dentist for his kindness.
   
   Full Eclipse is painfully slow so bad that when my office has its annual DVD and Book Give away for charity I intend to offer Full Eclipse up for sacrafice. Full Eclipse is so bad I honestly do not want it in my collection and I rather pride myself on having most werewolf movies. Full Eclipse was so bad however it is one Werewolf movie I will brag about not having in my huge collection. If I could give Full Eclipse a less than one star rating I would. I have rarely been more disappointed by a werewolf movie. Dog Soldiers among others is much better choice than this mess.



5. ok he is a cop, he is also the man running a elite crime fighting unit that manages to wipe out all crime in an area then moves on.... however after investigation (mario van peebles) discovers this has happened over and over city to city so he begins to Investigate a past on his elite unit boss and finds out some very disturbing facts. it would seem the serum they take to Enhance them in battle is something not natural. so he delves deeper to bring about the Shocking conclusion to this Exciting movie. lost one star for just a touch of cheese on some of the acting.

5 comments about Incident In A Small Town.

1. When a small town attorney whose practice is failing is selected by government officials to be the means of railroading to the gallows a German soldier accused of murdering a beloved local physician, the case turns out to more complicated. The background is WWII and Germany is threatening to execute some American prisoners. Anyone in this small U.S. small town who takes on the case of a German prisoner will be villified.
   
   The actors in this film are uniformly excellent. In my opinion, This is Walther Matthau's outstanding role.
   
   Anyone will find watching this DVD most rewarding.



2. I highly recommend this the 3rd of the Harmon Cobb/Judge Bell series of movies. Harmon (Matthau) and Judge Bell (Harry Morgan) have been law partners for a period of time, but suddenly Judge Bell must leave to help his estranged daughter handle a delicate situation. The man who raped Judge Bell's daughter is back, and before you know it the Judge is accused of murdering this man. Harmon is on the spot to defend the Judge, but the situation seems out of control as Harmon is not allowed to let anyone know of the previous rape. The Judge's daughter doesn't want her son to know the truth about his real father. The Judge's life is in the hands of Harmon and the truth about who really killed the boy's father is becoming a true mystery. This is another great trial movie, and you can slip back into the late 1940's and remember when you were a kid at a great time to be an American.



3. I just finished watching Incident in a Small Town on a homemade video tape and was glad to see it is on DVD. I have watched them in Against Her Will and The Incident and was pleased to see them in a third pairing. I loved the old-time look to the movie about an earlier time where certain things were viewed in a different way. Judge Bell and his daughter Lily had a falling out, but now she is in a situation where she needs his help. A man from her past named Frank shows up, and turns out to be the father of her son John. At first Frank seems interested in getting to know John, who does not know the man is his father, but soon exhibits less-than-chivalrous behavior and ends up dead. It is Judge Bell himself who confesses to the crime, with Cobb representing him in the trial. Then Lily confesses to the murder, and it is up to Cobb to put the pieces together to reveal who really killed Frank. The movie ultimately has a happy ending with father and daughter reconciled, and the judge getting to know his grandson. I would recommend this movie and the other two for those who would like to experience a slower-paced life with two actors who paired up so well together.



4. A great show of characters. Cobb and Bell make the best duos in these feature films.
   
   Bell's daughter is having a problem with her son's father. She has to ask judge Bell for his help. It looks like they won't be able to bring justice but of course our heroes are up to par.



5. This third of three dramas with Matthau playing a lawyer, and Morgan a judge/lawyer, now teamed together as partners, is a partnership that ends (UNFORTUNATELY) with this final movie-length episode of fighting crime. They take place during in 1944, 1947, and 1953, respectively with the three movies. This is perhaps the best of the three, but that is hard to say for sure, and completely subjective. My suggestion is that you quickly buy all 3, you will want to see all three after seeing just one, watch them in order, and decide for yourself. I'm sure you will decide you got your money's-worth-plus.
   
   This "Incident in a Small Town" segment deals with a murder, and court room drama over who actually did the killing and the motive behind the act. It is tied together with such a integrated set of circumstances and relationships that guessing the startling conclusion is not worth the energy. Just sit back and enjoy drama done perfectly by the Matthau/Morgan paired leadership of the cast.
   
   The period scenes, sets, props, and all other details are so perfect you will enjoy the series for just the nostalgic romp back into time, even though the subjects presented in the cases are not the easy-living, innocent memories, most late 40s/early 50s productions try to present. These are all 3, emotional to the hilt, deep relationships addressed, and heart-warming for a conclusion. What's not to like, right?
   
   5-stars for all 3 dramas. Also see my reviews of:
   "The Incident"
   "Against Her Will: An Incident in Baltimore"

5 comments about The Laughing Policeman.

1. In the 1960s the writing team of Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo wrote police procedural mysteries based on the cops of the Stockholm PD--a sort of Swedish 87th Precinct series without a vestige of wit or humor, hence the ironic title. Oh, very gloomily Scandinavian! The books were immensely successful in Europe and even managed the almost unprecedented feat of jumping the Atlantic to become best sellers in America. "The Laughing Policeman" was probably the best-known book of the lot. It is still very much in print and well worth reading today.
   
   Inevitably the series was picked up on option by an American film studio. In 1973, "The Laughing Policeman" was filmed ... with a few changes.
   
   Ingmar Bergman may have been widely admired but he was not box office. No US studio was going to risk big bucks on unknown Swedish actors, nossiree. Walter Matthau was hired to play the lead detective and a young Bruce Dern to play his sidekick. (It should be remembered that in those days Matthau was still an all-around actor, and a good one; his talent had not yet disappeared beneath his comic persona.) If no Swedish actors, than certainly not Stockholm, a town that was presumably gloomy and dull. (Who knew? Who cared?) San Francisco was neither. That was the place!
   
   The movie starts out with a wordless sequence which begins at what was then called the Eastbay Terminal located at about First and Mission Streets. A miscellaneous lot of people board a small diesel bus decked out in the Municipal Railway's old green and cream color scheme that clearly bears the route designation "14 MISSION." The bus wends its way through the streets of San Francisco until one passenger uses an automatic assault rifle, called a "grease gun" in the script, to murder everybody else on the bus. The bus, no longer controlled by the now-dead driver, careens slowly through Chinatown, coming at last to a stop in a gentle crash. The mass murderer, face unshown, steps off and, so far as the puzzled detectives who soon arrive on the scene are concerned, vanishes into thin air.
   
   (Now, to any San Franciscan, a major mystery immediately appears: what in tarnation was a 14 MISSION bus doing so far off course--in Chinatown, of all unlikely places?)
   
   "The Laughing Policeman" was made in the era of the hugely successful Steve McQueen vehicle, "Bullitt," a police procedural set in San Francisco and almost dialogue-free. "The Laughing Policeman" is chattier, but not by much. I wouldn't be surprised to find that all the dialogue in the shooting script could be contained in under ten typewritten pages.
   
   Like "Bullitt" and another famous San Francisco mystery movie, "Vertigo," "The Laughing Policeman" is both an homage to the City and a travelogue. In "Bullitt," San Francisco is an action-oriented theme park suitable for chases up and down the hilly streets. In "Vertigo," San Francisco is a place of picturesque monuments that mask old sins. But in "The Laughing Policeman" the cameras dote on the sleazy underbelly of the City, familiar places in the daily slog of the natives but effectively invisible to the tourists.
   
   I lived in San Francisco for 31 years. I left it in 1973. This movie exactly captures the City as I remember it. (I visited San Francisco a couple of months ago. With the single exception of the Embarcadero Freeway, torn down after the big 1989 earthquake, hardly a brick or a hair has changed in any of the locations that appear on the screen.)
   
   All in all, this is a pretty good, terse, well-acted film that offers a respectable story and is at once a travelogue and time capsule.
   
   Give it a try. Five stars.



2. Gritty naturalism and Altman-esque crosstalk amid great Bay City location work inform this 70s procedural that entertains but misses the mark of being a classic. The picture's overlong with a few too many red herrings. Things pick up for the climax. (Indeed, the ingenious plot could be due for a remake.)
   
   Matthau is suitably low-key in the picture's admirably unsparing picture of the cop's home life. Lou and Bruce are along to jack up the energy.



3. The film begins in a transit station. A man makes a call from a telephone booth. [Remember them?] Another man watches and follows him. They get on a bus, a car follows them. Two more passengers get on the bus. A submachine gun sprays bullets! Then the credits show over the scenes. One passenger is barely alive. The police investigation begins. [They don't use rubber gloves.] One of the dead is police detective Dave Evans. The victims are checked and tagged. The bus is towed away. Detective Jake Martin returns home for sleep. What case was Dave Evans working on? The bodies are examined. The wounded old man said something. They find a package in Evans' desk. One is a picture of an old murder victim, Theresa a prostitute.
   
   The detectives begin their investigation. Can they find a lead? We see scenes of Frisco life to titillate the viewers. [The film begins to drag.] Jack Martin returns home. They investigate the leads, the old case checked by Evans. Then a crime occurs with a sniper in a house. The police invade and neutralize the sniper. [Is there a hidden agenda here?] "Get a haircut." Could Detective Larson use more diplomacy? One prisoner offers information for a deal. There is another scene in a residential neighborhood. [Believable?] "Was it something I said?" Will they enter without a search warrant? Marsha won't speak to anyone. Jack asks Leo to do a favor and watch a suspect from that old case. Could a wealthy investment advisor be a crook? [Is Leo following too close? Or is that just for dramatic effect?]
   
   More scenes of Frisco's cultural life follow to shock and amuse the viewers. Is Henry Camarero taking chances? Will Jake Martin try something? Will it work? So there is another car chase to provide action when the film begins to bog down. Would taking a bus help? Can you believe what happens next? Will lightning strike twice? There is a solution to the murders on the bus. This film shows no fog in Frisco! Films adapted from novels are simplified and seldom as good as the book. This story was modified to push its agenda. Per Wahloo wrote his series of mystery novels to document Swedish contemporary life. You can analyze this film for its purpose.



4. I watched this on the screen when it orignally came out. In fact I sat thru it twice in one night because it was so good.
   
   Bruce Dern and Walter were both excellent. Gripping storu and cast.
   
   Highly recommend!



5. Item was as described or better, arrived very quickly, professionally packed. Recommended. Great forgotten police mystery. Glad it's still available. Made back when films had plots. By-play between Bruce Dern and Walter Mathau also excellent