Reviews

This is the first "Mystery Woman" movie I have watched. The editing and dialogue of this movie is HORRIBLE.

"I need to ask you a few questions" "Sure" "Do you know Jim?" "Yes" "Do you know anything about him?" "No" "Anything else you can tell me?" "No" "Thanks" "Sure"

There are no gaps, pauses, or room to take a breath in the dialogue. It was obvious this is on purpose. In a two person exchange, one person is responding to an asked question before the camera edit can show the response.

Not a bad movie for a TV mystery but the editing is distracting.

Bud Spencer stars in the first of several cop comedy/action films as the character Inspector "Flatfoot" Rizzo. It was released in the US drive- in/exploitation theaters in 1975 but it was made two years earlier. The film is essentially a travelogue of the Asia Pacific region with Bud visiting temples, casinos, and a sumo wrestling match while chasing clues that he believes will lead to a mole on the police force.

With a little more character development and less slapstick, this could have been a very nice thriller. As it is, it is a pleasant 70's action film that is light on plot.

A contract killer for the CIA is framed for a crime. While being pursued by the police and other "contractors", the killer searches for a McGuffin to clear their name.

Sound like the Bourne Identity/Supremacy/Ultimatum? It's actually the plot to this film. Instead of Matt Damon, we have Swedish model Frida Farrell. Nick Mancuso is her former boss who may not be the father figure he once was.

The movie has several action scenes that are well played, with Trinidad filling in as an exotic location. Not a lot of explosions but very realistic compact action with a few gunfights. If this movie was truly made for $500k, then I tip my cap to the movie makers. For one-hundredth the budget of a Bourne film, you get a very good copy.

Rhett Giles steals his screen time as a fellow contractor in pursuit of our heroine.

On the downside, the movie tries to get the action started in the first three minutes and does a poor job of setting up the premise. The use of jump cuts to speed up the second unit footage during the first half of the film gets old in a hurry. But these are minor issues. I have seen major studio releases that have a fraction of the energy this one contains.

By the way, I hope government offices are not as cramped as the ones shown on this film. Frank Mancuso probably filmed all his scenes in one day.

Definitely worth a rental or a slot in your Netflix queue.

Pretty slick production for a short film.

A heavy metal high school student wants to be popular... just like the school jock. So, he conjures a spell from the Book of Pure Evil and his wish comes true. Unfortunately, not all wishes come true as expected. A dream date may suddenly turn into a nightmare. And Todd is not the only student with dreams that can be fulfilled with the book.

Two thumbs up to the writers, director, and performers. The production is high quality with the feel of a dream state. It is a comedy with a Poe like finish. I wish they could flesh this out to a full length film.

Richard Davis is the head of Trademark Properties in Charleston, South Carolina. He buys houses that are "fixer-uppers" and turns them into attractive homes very quickly. This type of quick buy and sell is referred to in the real estate business as "flipping a house", where the show gets its name.

The show does a nice job of showing what is often involved in buying and selling properties: inspections, getting owner to sell, permit issues, neighborhood thieves, etc. The first couple seasons of "This Old House" with Bob Villa was WGBH buying a house, fixing it up, and re-selling it while trying to make a profit. Same concept here, but the producers feel they need to add some reality show basics as well: watching co-workers skeet shoot, some kind of verbal conflict every show, but every one is happy at the end. The conference meetings are also a bit much. These are the parts of the show that look staged.

The producers were also smart to include two of Richard's female assistants in all of the episodes. Ginger is a young woman that helps with finding properties and closing the deals on purchases. She appears to be Richard's protégé. Dawn is a little older and in the middle of a pregnancy as the show starts. She is the project leader that makes sure all the construction on properties goes smoothly. A no-nonsense kind of person that is perfect as a team leader.

I hope A&E picks this up for more seasons. The show puts a "realistic" face to all the HGTV and PBS fluff that shows how to turn a closet into a beautiful home in 30 minutes. "This Old House" used to do this but not for a long time. Buying and selling a home is a big deal and there is a lot of work that goes into working on a house. I am sure that there are many more people that make Trademark Properties what it is today. Hopefully, we can see more of these folks.

I caught this on Cinemax in the mid-1990's. The cable channel was celebrating documentaries by showing several throughout a single month. When the promo mentioned Ross' name, I knew I had to tape this one. I loved "Sherman's March" when I first saw it on PBS back in the 80's and I never realized that he made more films (this was in the days prior to IMDB). "Something to Do with the Wall" was shown only twice that month. I must preface my comments by mentioning that it has been almost ten years since I last watched this film.

It's a unique documentary considering the fact that Ross was making the documentary about the Berlin Wall just before history was about to change. He was able to go back and re-interview the main subjects of his original project. Residents that remember the days without the wall tell their stories to Ross. Rarely does a historian get a chance to document his subjects while the history books are being written.

I like Ross' style of documentary filmmaking. Through a heavy dose of narration and insightful comments, the viewer is drawn into the subject. He makes you want to understand why he thinks this subject is important. Michael Moore uses a similar tone in his films, but Ross is always sympathetic and tells you that these are his thoughts and feelings, not the truth. The truth is for you, the viewer, to decide.

As a movie, this flick is awful. The script is written like a bunch of drunken guys sat around a table while making up story lines that get more outrageous as the movie progresses.

With that said, watching the movie for the cast, the set design, and the stilted dialog, its pretty funny. Look at the expressions on Burt Reynolds face. He looks like a guy thinking to himself "where did I go wrong ?". Billy Drago can't believe he is in the same scene with Burt.

With all these cameos, one can't help to think that Larry Bishop called in a bunch of favors for this film. Every actor chews up the scenery like hungry termites. Gabriele Byrne and Jeff Goldblum have a shouting match for no reason at all. Its funny to watch but it has no purpose.

The movie takes place on two giant sets that are barely decorated. Huge curtains and a lot of smoke are the only decorations. They could easily be in a warehouse on a back lot.

I definitely recommend you watch the movie, just don't expect a "Goodfellas" or even "Johnny Dangerously" quality film.

I did not know much about this film when I went to see it in a nearly empty megaplex. After three commercials and six trailers, I was ready for the two hour + roller coaster ride.

You can check out the other reviews for the plot line, for what its worth. For me Jason Lee, Penelope Cruz, and Kurt Russell were the greatest things in this film. Tom played the rich boy/elephant man part a bit over the top. Cameron was okay as the young Fatal Attraction Glenn Close. The soundtrack was awesome: any film that uses Todd Rundgren gets bonus points.

This movie makes me want to check out the original "Open Your Eyes" to see what made Tom buy the rights for the story.

Some folks have said that this is not a formulaic film. Take parts from "The Matrix", "The Usual Suspects", and "Overdrawn at the Memory Bank", and you pretty much have "Vanilla Sky"