Reviews

This documentary was a disappointment until I realized that the one who did it is also responsible for "An Inconvenient Truth." Then I understood the subliminal intent.

The person who created this escapade into educational failure was forced to correctly put significant blame on the Teachers Union, while incorrectly giving teachers themselves a slide. That created the false illusion of objectivity.

But the fact remains that you learn what you want to learn. Asian children tend to do very well in spite of language and cultural differences. Whether liberals want to accept it or not, the failure of our educational system is 50% teachers and 50% poverty of the mind in certain communities.

My wife and I just saw this and were blown away. The visual effects are masterful and the 3D gimmick actually works well for a movie like this.

The theme is not original, but who cares. The movie just sucks you in. Picture it as "Dances with Wolves,"... future world. You have that sappy "noble savage" stuff combined with hostility towards the military, but the sci-fi fantasy mix works.

We went to see this flick with more curiosity than belief that it was really that good. But early on, the acting and direction was so good that it was apparent the movie had potential. But oh, those visual effects really were spectacular.

Throw in Aliens and Star Wars concepts and it's a well done, winning combination that holds your interest. Time flies and you walk away exclaiming "wow."

Okay, if you're a mindless child who likes a thin obvious plot with endless impossible shooting, you'll probably like this. If you're a "PC" fanatic who believes (to quote this movie) that anyone who owns a firearm is a "gun Nazi," you might enjoy the contrived massage that the Hollywood crowd seems to think might validate a total waste of time.

I'm not going to tell you what this horror show is about because spoilers aren't even worth description. The ultimate duplicity of the affluent progressive left involves their penchant for making big bucks filming blood, nutty violence and reducing firearms to little more than license to kill anything for the fun of it. They then wrap the entire escapade in a contrived moral lesson that anyone who owns a firearm is crazy, violent, punky and worthy of institutionalization or death.

I can't tell you how juvenile this movie really is. It glamorizes the irresponsible gun culture of gangster rap, indicts anyone who believes that the Second Amendment in the Constitution as blood thirsty and claims that firearms manufacturers are maniacs. All this exists, with the underlying desire to turn a buck while hiding behind a phony moral message.

This movie really stinks, but the money grubbing Hollywood crowd smells even worse.

I give this 3 out of 10 stars because a nice dog has a walk on appearance.

Want to watch a really rotten cops and bad guys movie? Well, you've come to the right place. Want to see a recruitment film for the NYPD? Just drop this DVD into your player, stretch your imagination to the absurd, slug down a dose of bad acting and hold on for a smear of nonsense.

I was born in Brooklyn, live in Brooklyn and will probably die in Brooklyn. I have more knowledge than most of the New York City Police Department and a narcs division that is typical of large urban areas.

This movie was utterly unrealistic, from the Ham handed Russian Mobsters who would rather kill high ranking NYC Officials than attempt far more efficient bribery, to the "dedicated" narcs.

Mobsters and police have always had cozy relationships in urban areas. More children of police have been sent to college on vice payoffs than you can imagine. I could go on an on, but why waste your time and mine. This movie was given a "5" rating rather than one lower, because I watched it to completion.

Then again, this says more about my being visually lazy, than the films ability to hold any interest.

For decades now, the Western movie has migrated into the genre gone into outer space. In itself, this isn't bad as Star Wars and others took the concept off-world.

Westerns still existed, but they took on the milieu of the spaghetti flick or preachy political correctness that demeaned the underlying theme.

3:10 stands alone in several ways: First, it's one of those rare events where a remake is actually better than the original. Secondly, the Western moral theme is done with such subtlety that its gradual development within the characters appears like a ballet.

Direction and photographic style was excellent as was the acting. Timing worked like the ticking of a well tuned pocket watch. Artistry such as this hasn't been seen since "High Noon." What else can I say, other than my wife and myself were totally swept up... and she doesn't even like Westerns.

A must see.

9 out of 10!

Why people can't just sit back and enjoy a fun film without terminal dissection is beyond me.

My wife and myself are middle age. My lovely wife doesn't even like this type of movie. But none the less, we found this movie to be very well cast, well directed and possessing of a good many humorous one-liners that really worked.

Is the movie "formula?" Definitely. Is it deficient in the qualities that make for a fun and enjoyable DVD? No way. Both my wife and myself had a really fun and entertaining evening watching Cursed and you will too.

What a refreshing movie to watch.

I saw this movie with my father in 1966. He always loved the bi-planes of World War I and they thrill me to this day.

The title, though central to the theme of the movie is really a misnomer to the enjoyment of this film. You actually get to see r-e-a-l aircraft in combat without the cartoon effects of CGI.

This is movie making in the school of the other Cinamascope greats: Somewhat weak on plot, but so absolutely cool in visual execution, that you overlook the script's lack of depth.

I'm not saying that this movie doesn't have a plot. It's a solid story with somewhat shallow character development. But in the end, the characters were secondary to a story of bravery, early air war history and tactics and the wearing away of chivalry in an era of a nation fighting for survival in the end of hours.

Acting was good, direction was fine and choreography using actual aircraft was among the last of it's kind.

I give this an 8 out of 10 for displaying concrete reality in an era of cartoon gimmicks.

My wife and myself went to see this movie with a bit of trepidation, because we'd read the book. We were not disappointed.

Sadly, most of the people in the theater were above the age of 35, which says something about our deficient educational system and left leaning culture.

It's become the norm that while fighting Europeans with a Nazi philosophy is noble, battling Nazi types of Asian Background such as the Japanese of the 40's, or the Islamo-Nazi's of today's genre is somehow immoral. Too many of us seem to have been infected with Steven Spielberg syndrome.

In any event, this is more than a movie about Marines battling to secure a sliver of volcanic island in a war against a brutal philosophy that believed a neo-jihadist death for your warrior god guaranteed a favored place in heaven.

Clint Eastwood has developed into an excellent director. He faithfully captured the relationship between soldiers and (as with the book), spent most of the movie revealing how young men in a particular place in history, became involuntary symbols for the last conflict before a Politically Correct spin mechanism didn't interpret anything America was something ugly.

I spent almost twenty years wearing a uniform. My family were the molders and core makers who labored in a Brooklyn New York foundry to produce the Iwo Jima statue that is proudly displayed in Washington DC.

Flags of Our Fathers faithfully displays Americans as human, fundamentally decent, idealistic and self-sacrificing.

We left the theater rather subdued, but filled with a better understanding of how fundamentally different we are from most of the world. If you want a blow by blow description, go see the movie.

National Geographic's "Inside 911" and United 93 are without a doubt, the best DVD's on the Arab Islamic Terrorist attack on the United States. But while United 93 was narrowly banded, Inside 911 was far more comprehensive.

In spite of being a documentary, Inside 911's DVD is incredibly gripping. It will keep you at the edge of your seat. This is particularly true of disk 2 entitled "zero hour." A unique reality of this documentary is that it reveals the heroic actions of civilians who risked and sacrificed their lives to save others. It wasn't their "job," but it became their self-appointed mission. This is perhaps the most elevated level of heroism of all.

Realistically, police efforts are downgraded because they were far less directly involved. The firemen's actions were exemplary and they made extreme sacrifices. But again, more lives were saved by civilians working in the towers than any other group.

Unfortunately, we live in a society that lauds civil servants and diminishes the heroism of people wearing suits and ties. This is very sad because what happened in response to the terrorism of September 11th showed American citizens at their best.

It is also a pity that actions of the new terror-Nazis of the world have subsequently been twisted by the pathology of left-wing denial and conspiratorial driven mental illness.

You'll either love this or hate this. I don't play video games at all, but found it intriguing to the point of fear for the art and its future.

The effects were low end by todays standards. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of the acting and atmosphere more than made up for any loss of spoon fed CGI.

The cast was all star, in spite its low budget.

Obviously, they took a pay cut to indulge in a truly original production.

8 out of 10 for the thrill of it all.

Have we lost our humor in America? This is a very funny movie. In many ways it's a dark comedy with a happy ending. But it moves quickly, is a parody on timely issues and has some of the best physical acting you'll ever see.

Jim Carrey and Tea Leoni work very well together. And while the 1977 original had two of my favorite people (whacko politics aside for Jane Fonda because she was a hoot in Barbarella), I think this version was more light hearted and more up to date.

I have a strange feeling that younger people didn't understand the concept, 20-30's thought it implausible for them and people above were frightened by its premise.

7 out of 10 for an entertaining time.

Munich is a fine piece of excellent acting, fine directing and first class "progressive" propaganda. It's worth seeing, just as long as you keep aware of what's going on.

Don't be fooled by the fact that the Director and Screenwriter are of Jewish background. The Director (Spielberg) is a notorious supporter of the dovish Israeli "Left," and someone who wants to disarm the American people with the exception of government employees and his own bodyguards. The screenwriter has stated on more than one occasion that the nation of Israel should not exist.

I'm Jewish myself as well as an American Reserve officer holding the rank of Lieutenant Colonel so I guess nobody can point and claim that I'm an anti-Semite. But more than anything, I'm an American who knows what's needed for the survival of the world's democracies.

This movie is very well done and as with all well done propaganda pieces, the underlying themes are slowly revealed in the later half. These include: (A)Arab terrorists just want a little understanding. (B) Israeli's are a cold hearted bunch of efficient killers. (C) The only claim that Jews have to their biblical homeland is their ability to take it from the misunderstood Arabs (although few Arabs lived their prior to the late 1800's and they were mostly tenant farmers for Ottoman Turkish absentee landlords). (D) Finally, the most all consuming philosophy: "Violence is never the answer to violence." And with that last bit of nonsense, the movie ends and you are left to wonder why America fought the American Revolution, World War I, World War II, etc. You are left to ponder whether anything is really worth fighting for because everything is relative and there is neither good or bad. There is no difference between violence or responding to violence for self-defense or national survival.

How could such a well made movie make one feel so empty! Maybe because in spite of all it's violence, "Munich" is devoid of any sense of direction.

Where do I begin? "V for Vendetta" is a fun movie, with an annoying aftertaste that gets more pronounced as you leave the theater and begin the walk home.

I never read the book. I don't believe that a movie must stick to the dogma of the book that was its inspiration. It's a movie, with liabilities and assets that don't necessarily work in both mediums.

It should be noted that as a right-of-center libertarian type who believes that the United States is the last hope for maintaining liberty in the world, I view things from a particular perspective.

I like the concept of fighting for freedom in a repressive society. I'm not against the concept of using violence to overthrow tyranny. I don't mind borrowing themes from different movies and books. And I think that Natalie Portman is maturing into a decent actress. I don't even mind the occasional cliché, even if it pokes fun at my wonderful United States.

But you know... you can't base a movie on clichés and political correctness. And that is exactly what the core theme of this movie is all about.

I don't believe what I'm about to say involves spoilers and apologize if it inadvertently does, but in this flick, the villains are Christian males of European extraction, hereafter referred to as "Pale Faces." The film takes place in England. The United States is a warmongering trouble maker who has screwed up the world and the British Torries are a bunch of authoritarian tyrants who have turned Great Britan into a police state.

In England everyone is a "Pale Face," because they have expelled or killed everyone else. Naturally, the expelled Arab Moslems, West Indians and Africans were total innocents. They were in no way responsible for the violence, drug dealing and terrorism that apparently made the "Pale Face" majority kick out the Labor Party and vote for Torry fascists. And the British Labor Party (renoun for passing anti-free speech legislation and firearms confiscation laws) has passed from the scene.

But wait folks, because it doesn't end here. Homosexual "Pale Faces" have been forced back into the closet and the Koran has been banned because it is a tremendously beautiful and profound work of art. Naturally, nothing is mentioned of the Bible where the Book of Psalms is generally considered to be one of the best done prose ever written. That goes well with the rapist pedophile Christian clergy that support the tyranny and are even in it's government.

After all, we know that Moslem clerics are universally peaceful, never condone violence, believe in free speech, religious freedom, strenuously object to honor rapes and slowly sawing infidel's heads off like turkey legs.

The only thing omitted to make this skewed scenario complete would be to have a few Jewish Doctors harvesting the organs of illegal aliens for sale in Tel Aviv. But I guess that would be too much, even for the Worchowski brothers to capitalize on. And by the way, I'm a practitioner of the Jewish faith and a military officer, so get over it.

What a world! What a world! This is definitely not Kansas anymore.

Up from the ashes comes a "Pale Face" hero in a mask. But wait a minute. He's not really a "Pale Face," because diabolical genetic engineering has morphed him into a scarred and mangled "any man" (or "any person" if you wish).

Natalie Portman gets her head shaved, truth and justice reigns and it can be assumed that ethnic drug dealers, terrorists and illegal aliens are invited back into England to restore civilization under a Socialist Labor government.

Somebody give me a break.

This is not the first of Hollywood's agenda driven movies that begins decently and descends into a childish, Progressive agenda. They assemble a good cast and attempt to draw you in with what appears to be a good plot. But just when you are prepared to settle in to watching a decent movie, they deliver a final third act culmination that only the simple minded or hopelessly indoctrinated could accept.

This movie sets up the possibility of rigging a jury in a civil suit with some fairly interesting twists. At first, it seems as if using firearms manufacturers as the foil is incidental and secondary. But in Hollywood's quest to keep firearms from the hands of "the little people" and limit firearms to their personal bodyguards and government bureaucrats, they insult the rest of us by concluding that all other firearms owners are criminals or maniacs.

In their final pathetic attempt at securing justice through the plots growing implausibility, they culminate everything with a poorly played out ripoff of the excellent, "12 Angry Men." Runaway Jury leaves you feeling as if you have been played for a fool. That this can be considered intelligent entertainment is an insult to the viewer. At best, it is a plot that might be written by some immature High School students living on Manhattan's left wing Upper West Side or San Francisco.

5 out of 10 for some decent acting and a talented staff. The writers, Producers, Director and studio should be ashamed of themselves.

I've been in the military for almost two decades now and have never seen a more ridiculous representation than this foolish but somewhat entertaining movie.

This movie is little more than a poor ripoff of the excellent, well acted, finely directed "Full Metal Jacket." That's really all there is to say other than the fact that the Hollywood kabal has struck again in its attempt to denigrate American soldiers and portray them as a bunch of savage morons.

As an aside, have you noticed that since the terrorist attack of 911, the media folks on the left coast have been too cowardly to produce a movie about Arab terrorism? They are now held up as as innocents exploited by America.

Maybe they're afraid that one of them will place a bomb in their autos. Or just maybe, they feel that they can make more money in overseas sales by denigrating a military that has been the historical guarantor of their own liberty and right to be irresponsible.

6 out of 10 because I managed to sit through the whole thing.

Albert Brooks is not one of my all time or even a mid-level favorite. He's always reminded me of someone who is simultaneously constipated and burdened with chronic heartburn.

With that out of the way, my wife and myself went on a date to the local movie theater this weekend and saw "Looking for Comedy in the Moslem World." This is really funny stuff, from concept through execution. But the humor won't grab you by the neck and shake you till you "get it." It won't hold up a cue card and tell you when to laugh. And it won't slam you in the face with a cream pie.

Don't listen to anybody hand you their politically correct nonsense about this movie being offensive. To anyone whose mind rises above the level of nit picking, they will leave the theater feeling light hearted and very entertained.

8 out of 10 (actually it's 7.5 out of 10 but who cares)

My wife and myself just came back from seeing the King Kong remake on Christmas day. This is not my wife's genre and yet, she was completely captivated.

Other than Kong, there were no hero's in this movie. It was very much like the first in concept, but taken to a new and sometimes over the top level by CGI. But as with the original, King Kong revolves around the relationship between a lonely warrior ape, a young lost depression era gal and the exploitation of a callous humanity.

As corny as it sounds, there wasn't a sound from the audience throughout the movie. You could sense their involvement and undoubtedly a sense of being drawn into what is probably one of the most well known Greek tragedies in the cinema.

When the movie ended, the audience broke into applause followed by throngs of the silent and emotionally drained leaving a theater broken hearted.

King Kong was a true hero in the classic tradition. He lived his life on his own terms and died in the same way, departing an alien world with heroism and class. He personified the savage primate who found a heart.

What a heartbreaking rush. We went home and hugged our dog.

9 out of 10

The acting was good as was the movie... until the final half hour. It's here that the Hollywood progressives turned a solid plot into a pretzel and substituted continuity with partisanship.

I took this DVD out of my player to my wife's rants of "why did we waste two hours of our life watching this garbage propaganda?" This is why I love her. She cuts to the chase.

So, what did we learn from this junk? That's easy: Even trashy Democrats are better than the best Republicans.

That's home spun Hollywood philosophy folks. Brought to you by the people that haven't come out with a Tom Clancy genre Arab terrorist flick since 3,000 Americans were murdered. These are the effete cowards that smugly think they can alter the American culture to their own smug and feckless theology.

"The Contender" goes beyond disinformation. And while it slickly imposes a progressive ideology (replete with the righteousness of breaking into every American's home and taking away their firearms), it shows how little Sillywood thinks of our intellect and logic.

4 stars out of ten for decent acting.

Back in 1983, my wife and myself watched a 12 part series on TV. My wife thought it was very good. I thought it was excellent. The leading roll was played by an actor named Sam Neil who played the master spy Sidney Reilly as if he were made for the part.

For two decades, I spoke about this series and spent the last of these years waiting for the DVD.

Well, we've viewed the four disk DVD set and I can tell you that Reilly Ace of Spies is even better than I remembered. My wife (a critical reviewer) was just as impressed... far more so than she was some two decades ago.

I won't go into a plot explanation of this series because you can read the bio of Sigmund Rosenblum (aka Sidney Reilly) in many movie reviews and several books. What I can say is that the series very closely parallels what was written about him.

Worthy of note is the acting of Sam Neil, who reached his acting peak in this initial major work.

Mr. Neil (not normally known for his dynamic theatrical presence) played his roll with a versatility that moved easily from calm sophistication to blistering intensity. Keep track of his eyes. They speak with a communicative clarity that he has rarely been equaled.

I'm giving this DVD series a never bestowed (by me) 10 out of 10. A Must see and a classic work.

My wife and myself live in a typically upscale "progressive" NY section. That's why we were only two of twenty five people in our local theater when Team America had its first weekend opening.

We were the small, libertarian minority of the neighborhood. And we couldn't stop laughing.

Team America is outrageously funny and one of the most politically inciteful movies of our generation. It panders not one bit to either the hard right or progressive left, exposing the nature of their pathology and virtue.

In point of fact, Team America shouldn't really be analyzed to death because you lose the humor. If you think the Southpark series is "anti-progressive" or "an instrument of Satan"... well maybe Team America isn't for you.

But definitely go see this movie if you can laugh at the puppetry of life. You'll love this typically raunchy, astute presentation. And yes... the puppet sex is a hoot.

8+ out of 10

My wife and myself have just seen "I Robot" and really enjoyed it.

Who cares that it was only inspired by the immortal short story. It was certainly far better than "Independence Day" and the dirth of other indifferent sci-fi movies that have come out over the years. The premise is very solid and the re-concept has substance.

While the movie had violence, it wasn't gratuitous and there was no gratuitous sex to boot. You have a solid premise, some excellent visual effects (and we are not people impressed with CGI), some excellent twists and nice acting.

I Robot doesn't use an "Independence Day" appeal for human patriotism to mask poor acting and execution. It doesn't manipulate your emotions like "AI". And unlike AI, it doesn't have a conclusion designed to make you feel stupid if you admit to its disconnected ending.

I won't begin to give you the plot. It would reduce your enjoyment. All I'll say is that to appreciate this movie, you must love sci-fi, have an understanding of human nature and appreciate graphics that work.

7 out of 10 for a movie, but I gave it an 8 because there are so few decent sci-fi's around and it's a genre that we love.

Am I missing something?

I love Bill Murray, and Scarlett Johanssen is maturing into one of the better new stars, with a delectably "human" shaped figure and expressive face. You have solid direction and cinematography displaying a tapestry of Japan's pop culture. Maybe it was a poor plot that failed to inspire. No, couldn't be that, because there was no plot to speak of.

Without giving away whatever plot outline there was (because an actual plot was non existent), Bill Murray was the cliched rich guy who long ago settled in to a married life that was depressingly mundane at best. Scarlett Johanssen played the very bored, bright educated young woman who seems early on, to have surrendered any personal direction in life. Rather she chose treding time as an appendage to her vocationally preoccupied equally young husband. In short... a future divorce waiting to happen.

These two environmentally alienated people meet in an unfamiliar environment and slowly grow on each other. It seems that neither can sleep, probably because deep down, they realize that life is ticking by like an old regulator clock with a broken chime. In some ways, you might say that Bill Murray's character sees Scarlett as the embryo of his present existence. Scarlett bonds to Murray for a taste of her own developing life drama.

Yeah... so what. If you're a teenager with limited witnessed time on earth, all this might seem intriguing. But in fact, if you strip "Lost in Translation" of its Japanese environment and planted it in Chicago, or Atlanta, or Boise or anywhere else, it would be crashingly dull.

Funny Part: The Japanese hooker. Earlier funny part: Long winded director of a whiskey commercial.

Tasteful Theme: No gratuitous sex.

When the film was over, my wife and myself scratched out head, because there really wasn't an ending in the true sense of the word. But then again, there wasn't a beginning or a middle either.

For very good acting, direction and cinematography, I give Lost in Translation a generous 6 out of 10.

My wife and I just got back from seeing the new Matrix. What a disappointment!

You get to see the human city of Zion. Most everyone there is black. Few whites or Asians and they are mostly old or goofie. The fighting heroes are mostly black also. Not bloody likely based on my experiences in the military. And everyone dances to jungle drums played by a Reggae band (no kidding). How "PC"

Agent Smith (one of my favorites in the original) is a rebel program but just goes around trying to kill Neo and replicating himself for some unexplained reason.

The vaunted car chase in the movie is about twenty minutes long and becomes tedious. All FX. Comes nowhere near the reality chase in the French Connection although it might satisfy post pubescents.

Has a cliffhanger ending that leaves you saying "who cares."

Caryl and myself are both sci fi nuts. We'll watch any crap of this genre. Caryl gave the new Matrix 2 stars out of four. I give it a low 2 1/2 stars for old times sake. Wouldn't even buy the DVD.

***** out ot 10 and generous at that