Reviews

I have watched "Born Rich" several times, and I found it well done, and very informative. I am from a "middle-class" background, having been raised in the Washington, DC suburb of Fairfax, Virginia. I was not exposed to either extreme wealth or poverty. My parents divorced when I was nine, and I went into foster homes. My father died when I was 17, so I never had "excess" money. I had food every day, and a place to sleep, so I consider myself fortunate. This said, I find it hard to understand spending $600 on a purse. I don't have a problem spending money on nice things (I have had Harley-Davidson motorcycles, and I want to get another, when I can figure out how to pay for it now), it is the mentality of spending a lot of money just "because" it is a lot of money that I don't understand. The character of Karen on "Will & Grace" comes to mind.

I found Jamie Johnson very likable, and I'd like to talk to him sometime. He intrigued me, and I'd like to know what he has been doing since he made "Born Rich".

Wow, where do I start. I was stoked to find the DVD at Tower on Kapi'olani the other day. You see, I moved here in 1992 from Virginia, to have to move back in 1993 for another heart surgery. My 'heart" was left in Hawai'i, though. This film was made in 1998, and was not released in Virginia, so I missed it in theaters. I returned to Paradise in 2000. I kept hearing about this great film and how it put "North Shore" to shame, etc. They are two different films, different islands, different decades, and I love them both! Both show off the spectacular beauty that is The Aloha State. I have been to the Big Island several times, and plan to go back next month. I have also been to Maui, Kauai, and Molokai. Each is unique, but also uniquely Hawai'i.

I thought all of the acting was as close to excellent as I've seen in any other film. This film had my whole range of emotions going. I was at times excited, scared, angry, furious, thrilled, sad, and in tears more than once (I'm a 43 year-old guy, who has seen more of the world than I'd like to, let's leave it at that) If you don't shed a tear at the end of this movie, you need a pulse check.

The entire pastoral staff at my church (Hope Chapel South Shore, here in Waikiki) surfs, and I am buying them each copies of this movie. Come visit us at the Waikiki Community Center. I'll be the "haole" running the sound board at 10:30!

This series is currently (July, 2002) running on the Discovery "Wings" channel, on digital cable. I find it very interesting, and I wonder how a U.S. produced version would fare. I expect there wouldn't be enough action for the "Cops" jaded U.S. action audience.

After 2 heart surgeries, my first thought when I saw the big "STAR WARS" logo and heard the music, was that I didn't think I'd live to see this movie. I drank in every scene, finally getting backstory on Luke's uncle and aunt and Boba Fett. We see Anakin's first turn toward the Dark side of the Force. I still think Jar Jar had too many lines (5 or 6!), but that is a very minor criticism. George Lucas, the doctors say I won't live much longer (I'm only 43), but I am going to make it to 2005 to see Episode III! Thanks for keeping the Star Wars dream (and me) alive!

I agree with several other reviews concerning portraying locals as thugs and thieves, and that this isn't an Oscar quality movie. However, it was this movie that first showed me how beautiful O'ahu is. I ended up moving here from Virginia in 1992. The scenery was (and is) breathtaking, and watching the surfing was (and is) fantastic. As a haole, I got an education from the movie which kept me from making the mistakes Rick Kane made when he first got to Hawai'i.

If you live on O'ahu, or are visiting, and you find yourself in Waikiki on a Sunday when the waves are flat, come visit me at Hope Chapel-South Shore (at the Waikiki Community Center) - The entire pastoral staff surfs, along with most of the congregation. It is wonderful to hear God's word taught with surf illustrations.

Aloha!

Wayne

For whatever reason, I really like prison "reality" shows like "Oz" and what was known in the U.S. as "Prisoner: Cell Block H", and known in its' Australia home as simply "Prisoner". "The Big House" seems to be another great Aussie export. It is running in the U.S. on the Sundance Channel. It seems to be very well done, and I enjoyed the episode I saw. I will add this to my "hard time" list of shows to watch regularly. Good work!

Quite a few movies were made into television sitcoms. In my opinion, there are only two that were better than the movies - M*A*S*H, and The Odd Couple. In the case of The Odd Couple, it could be because I like Tony Randall and Jack Klugman as actors better than I do Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau, respectively. I am not aware of any network currently re-running TOC (as of December 2001), and I really miss it.

I have watched this movie about ten times now, and I notice something new and funny each time. I thought every character was well-played. Of course you have to suspend reality somewhat, but what horror/ reanimation movie doesn't require that. This movie is much more a comedy than a horror flick. The delivery of some lines is priceless Frank:"I can get a brain from my dad's lab!" Tuttle:"Oh, how convenient!" Perhaps this movie is better watched after a few beers - anyhow, it is my favorite in its' genre.

I was a manager for AT&T, fast-tracked for middle-management, and a volunteer fireman/EMT in my spare time. Then my genetic heart disease reared its ugly head, and everything changed. I am now disabled, and unable to work. What if I had known about this heart problem before I started with AT&T or the fire department? I am positive I would have had a vastly different, much lower paying job, and probably no medical or disability benefits. Fortunately, I have great benefits. However, if genetic testing had been done by my employer, they would have seen this, and probably not hired or promoted me. That is life now. Gattaca shows the probable future outcome of current genetic testing. Let us be very careful of the road we are now traveling down.

After seeing dozens of movies like "First Time Felon" "Oz" and "The Corner", I was thrilled to see a show that portrays black people as something other than drug dealers and victims of gun violence. As a white guy living in Honolulu, I don't have much contact with the black community. The media gives a slanted view of every subculture, so I know there are people who don't live in South Central. I wish there were a more balanced view, but that doesn't sell movies. Off of my soapbox now, I thought the production values were excellent, and I look forward to seeing future episodes.

This film seems designed just to shock - like we need more of these! I also noticed a comment saying how bad Xenia is. One mouse click would tell the uneducated that this film was made in Nashville, Tennessee. It is not representative of either Xenia or Nashville as a whole. It bugs me when people watch movies and then make judgments about towns based on the aforementioned. They are MOVIES not REALITY! That is not to say this kind of stuff does not exist, just don't confuse fantasy and reality. Also, someone mentioned that this had not appeared on IFC, and it was perhaps because their standards were higher. So much for that - IFC is showing this in November, 2001.

I thought the movie was OK - I have no first-hand knowledge of the punk scene, but I have been to SLC. I rode my motorcycle from VA to CA and I went through SLC. Going to Wyoming involves driving over I-80 on a winding mountain road (which is a beautiful drive). It was the view from this mountain pass that inspired Brigham Young to say "This is the place!", when the Mormons went to Utah. The moment you leave SLC going west, the road is dead flat for 110 miles of desert salt flats to the state line. Except for a few gas stops (with outrageously priced gasoline!), the next town of any size is Elko, 100 miles past the state line in Nevada. I'm sure enough people have made this trip to see the error (it is in "Goofs"). Also, Anarchy does not in itself mean chaos or fighting. The dictionary defines it as "a state of society without government or law" and "a theory that regards the absence of all direct or coercive government as a political ideal and that proposes the cooperative and voluntary association of individuals and groups as the principal mode of organized society." Anarchy may lead to chaos and fighting, but that isn't the definition of it. (I am neither an Anarchist or a Mormon, BTW)

Having seen most of the Sci-fi movies released since 1975, I have a pretty good idea of what makes a good Sci-fi movie versus a bad one. Most of the comments I could make have been made by others, so I won't be redundant. I will say that I think that "Red Planet" has the best space suits I have ever seen, and I'd love to get ahold of Val Kilmer's! (I love protective suits with helmets.) That said, it's a movie worth watching.

I agree this is a poorly made movie with practically no plot or decent storyline. However I haven't seen many other movies with so many muscular young men in black rubber suits (darn it!) I have looked long and hard, though! If I could find a movie with as many helmets as rubber suits, I would be in my element.

I have enjoyed "Magnum, P.I." since it came out and I was in High School. Funny, then, I hadn't even thought of visiting Hawai'i. As I got older, and the series went into syndication, I got interested in Hawai'i, and I started looking at "Magnum" more closely. In 1991 I visited O'ahu, and fell in love with the Aloha State. Now, as a permanent resident, my love for Hawai'i continues to grow, and I still enjoy "Magnum, P.I."

I really enjoyed this movie - I like prison movies in general (I'm not sure why -- I'm sure some shrink could make something out of it!) I spent one night in jail more than 20 years ago, and I knew then I would never go back - I got the individual version of "scared straight"! (I did get locked up in an isolation cell on Alcatraz for a couple of hours, compliments of a park ranger, but that's another story!) Anyway, the genre really interests me. The soundtrack, specifically "Sympathy for the Devil" by the Rolling Stones, was the perfect backdrop for the film. To this day, I think of "The Jericho Mile" every time I hear the song.

I don't understand this film. I even bought the DVD to see if there was an explanation of why it is so awful. None was supplied. I like Dane Cook, and I am sure he acted the way the part was written. I don't think he ad-libbed things like "The Raptor". Only top shelf actors are generally given the freedom to "over-write" the writer. So obviously the awfulness was written to be performed the way it was. Maybe Dennis Rodman was allowed to ad-lib his awfulness.

If I was allowed to use negative numbers I would give this film a -10 on a -10 to +10 scale. For the range I was allowed, I'll give it a 1.

We need an Arabic translation of this film, so that when we capture Osama bin Laden, we can prop his eyelids open with toothpicks and force him to watch it over and over again - yes, there is a cruel and unusual punishment worse than death.

I usually like Billy Zanes' work. In my opinion, this movie is probably the worst BZ movie I have seen. I tried to like this movie, but I didn't. I found it disjointed and hard to follow. I wasn't sure what the point was. Some people have commented on the cinematography. I thought it was poor at best. All in all, I was completely disappointed in every aspect of this picture.

If you don't go into this movie with overly high expectations, but just go with the flow, this movie can be very enjoyable. So it isn't Academy Awards material. How many movies are? Anyway, for a teen high-school love story, this isn't bad. I enjoyed the skating, even though I have been to Pittsburgh enough times to recognize most of the streets, and certainly the skyline. I am more bugged by the movies made in Canada that try to pass themselves as U.S. locations (that tax credit must be a real biggie!)

If you like fish-out-of-water movies or H.S. love interests, give Airborne a look.

I hope Mitchell eventually made his way here to O'ahu and surfed our waves! Now there is Airborne! (especially the latest thing, Kite surfing!)

Laters brah

Geez, couldn't they find a competent technical expert who knows at least SOMETHING about computers when they make a computer movie? I could find a 12 year-old who could have fixed the zillions of plot holes. One of these days Hollywood writers will learn that SILICONE was in breast implants, not computer chips (it's SILICON, stupid!) And the "computer" company headquarters building with a box office (I guess they sell tickets for tours!) Rutger Hauer (who looks HORRIBLE in this movie - who dressed him?) should ask any fourth grader about how many bytes there are in a megabyte (1,048,576 bytes, not 144,000.) I've never seen a movie use so much ammo without hitting anyone! And I guess the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg does not have CLASS (Custom Local Area Signalling Services) with caller ID and call trace. I'll never figure why anyone would have spent money to make such dreck. Insipid, inane, stupid, oh, let me count the adjectives! (by the way - which police department keeps booze in the fridge for everyone to nip at? And where is this hetero rubber/leather dance club in Silicon Valley?) This now tops my list of awful movies - yes, even worse than U.S. SEALS!

A couple of people have commented on Lori Petty's performance in Firetrap. I thought she was OK - however she was not a primary character at all in this movie, as far as I could see. I really like Lori - I thought she was superb in "Point Break". When Keanu Reeves and Lori were out on the ocean on surfboards, and Keanu's character Johnny, after a session of night surfing, says "I can't describe how I'm feeling!" Lori, in delivering her line touched the soul of every surfer when she said "You don't have to." Anyone who is over-the-top passionate about something like I am about surfing and the ocean knew EXACTLY what she meant because she so expertly delivered the line.

I really like Firetrap (I was a fireman for ten years). I can't agree that Lori was fantastic in this movie, though. It is absolutely no reflection on her, however. Her character simply was not given enough to really work with. I would fault the writers for this failing.

I agree that this is not the best movie ever made. Then again 99.999996% of movies are not. For what it is, I thought this was a pretty good film. I was very surprised to see Madonna act, as I have never seen her do anything but sing, and I don't care for most of her singing (the lyrics, not the voice). I thought she played Sam's mom very well. I have liked Benjamin Bratt ever since I saw him in "Demolition Man". He certainly has pumped up since then! I think he did what his character called for, and more. I was in tears at the end of the movie, but I am not ashamed to be a sensitive man. Rupert Everett certainly held his own. I love the IMDb, and I read every comment about the movies I watch. I enjoyed this more than I did "Titanic". Does that make this movie better than the big boat movie? No. They are different. I enjoy the fact I have really enjoyed some movies that have gotten a 3, and didn't care for The Godfather (IMDb #1). I try to watch every movie as a sole entity (except, obviously, those that are pre/sequels or otherwise connected purposely - Kevin Smith's View Askewniverse, for example). In reading these comments, I see that some people apparently go into a film with some pre-conceived idea of how the movie should be, and then rip it apart when it doesn't turn out that way, or sometimes if it does! I personally think that is somewhat unfair, but then again I applaud diversity, and that includes those who don't agree with me. I believe it was Voltaire who said "I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." That I am in total agreement with.

I saw this movie years ago, and I can still remember most of it. The newspaper delivery vehicle was great! For some reason, this movie has stuck in my memory as a movie I really enjoyed (versus the thousands of movies I've seen and either can't remember, or worse, want to and can't forget!) I hope I can catch it some time and get it on tape, as it apparently is not available at retail. In the years before the IMDb and Amazon, I can remember checking every video store I saw to see if they had a copy. Except for the non-dubbed version of "Mad Max" (which I got!), no other movie has inspired me to look for it so diligently. The Internet in this case is good and bad - good that it tells me the film is not available, and bad that it tells me the film is not available!