Manual Movie Reviews

I watched this movie twice in a row and cried most of the way through it both times. I had borrowed it from a high school student in a class that I substituted, and although my Spanish isn't that good, I loved it! Too bad there isn't a soundtrack! I am a true blue Alex fan ever since I heard him sing the first note of the first song, and I was thrilled to see this movie. Although I wasn't very big on his father, after watching the movie, I am now a fan of his as well. My student recommended that I look here to buy it, because I have looked unsuccesfully in all the local stores.

This film has a sort of grainy picture quality and it is teary and soapy! I LOVE IT! I love the way every dramatic scene is accompanied by the CHEESY organ music! And Vicente has a flair for comedy, there are several "charming" scenes...Vicente delivering the baby in the car, the puppet scene, the bunny scene!

The best reason to watch this DVD, of course, is to see the interaction between father and son Mexican superstars, Vicente and Alejandro Fernandez. Alejandro is SO young here, but he is SO beautiful, and sings like a god! The VOICE is incredible.

There are two songs in this film that I ADORE...."TIEMPO"...and "EL ANDARIEGO". I have not found Alejandro's version of Tiempo anywhere else....I have a cd of boleros by Vicente that include this song. (Actually, if you listen to Vicente sing it, you would almost think it was Alejandro)

The last scene is the reason that I bought the film in the first place....I wanted to see father and son sing TOGETHER! The last song is "Cuando Yo Queria Ser Grande"...this song is on Alejandro's first album....it is also one that he sings on tour with his dad. To see that beautiful face streaked with tears...father's hand reaching up to touch his son's face...the little wink (they BOTH do it)...it was worth every penny to see this!

My only disappointment with the DVD was that I had hoped it would have a language option...I know only limited Spanish, and the film does not have sub-titles. You don't really need to know what is being said to understand what is going on, its pretty obvious.

The DVD has an extra biography of Vicente not found on the VHS version...however, this too is in Spanish. Still, it is interesting to watch.

Es lo mejor que se puede ver en un DVD, a dos grandes estrellas de la musica Mexicana. Relata una historia conmovedora que muchos o casi muchos tienen la anegdota de haberla vivido. La magia digital a plasmado a estos dos grandes en formato DVD. No se puede dejar de apreciar el audio de *Cuando Yo Queria Ser Grande* tema principal de la pelicula....

This is yet another great movie from the remarkable year, 1939. I've always been curious as to what plateau the movies would have wound up on had it not been for the devastating chain of events called WWII, which had begun the year before in Europe and China.

Jean Arthur, one of Hollywood's great comedic actresses, plays a show biz type who, for reasons never made clear, has sailed into a backwater South American port. There she meets a bunch of guys who work for a rickety airline that needs to get a big mail delivery contract in order to survive. Cary Grant plays the leader of this group. He's been burned by women in the past, and, though attracted to Arthur, acts the tough guy who only cares about his job and his buddies. It doesn't take long for Arthur to decide that he's the one for her, but she's worldly enough to know that this is one catch that will be hard to reel in. Meanwhile, Grant and company have enough to keep them busy, as they battle wind, rain, fog, old airplanes, big birds and some very tall mountains in order to get said mail to its destination.

One thing I love about this movie is the way is never seems to take itself seriously. I don't know what the filmmakers intended, but much of it seems almost a satire of macho action pictures. Why else would they cast two such wonderfully funny stars in the leads?

Also of note is way the script addresse some tricky issues in the Arthur-Grant relationship by giving the movie a hopeful, rather than happy, ending. It leaves it up to the viewer to decide if this odd couple will make it or not.

The movie won an Oscar for Best Special Effects. Some of these are remarkable even today, while others are now laughably crude. But the special effects are just icing on the cake. Only Angels Have Wings is very much story driven. Nearly half of it takes place on one set, but the characters have so much going on that you hardly noctice the static setting.

Great supporting perfomances by Thomas Mitchell, Richard Bathelmess and a very young, inexperienced Riat Hayworth.

All in all, an endearing, highly entertaining movie.

What??? Yet another classic from 1939? Yes, and a darn good one, too! One of Hollywood's most perennial delights, this is a great film any which way you slice it. When showgirl Bonnie Lee (Arthur) is docked via her ship in the banana republic of Barranca, she's delighted to met two American flyers: Joe Souther and Les Peters (Noah Beery, Jr. & Allyn Joslyn). They fly for a cut-rate airline owned by softhearted Dutchy (Sig Rumann). The airline is run by hard-boiled Geoff (Grant) who, despite hazardous weather conditions, must maintain a regular flight performance in order to obtain the mail subsidy. Geoff is rather misogynistic because of a previously sour romance with another gal: Geoff's best friend Kid (Thomas Mitchell) tells Bonnie to keep away from him.....There's obviously much more to this exhilerating Columbia film which was originally entitled PLANE NO. 4. Based upon a story fragment in which director Howard Hawks wrote in 1938 entitled PLANE FROM BARRANCA. Hawks said that he conceived the idea for the story while he was flying with a Mexican bush pilot around Mexico. Lightweight leading man Robert Sterling made his motion picture debut here.

Only Angels Have Wings is a perfect example of an often ignored, but excellent, classic movie. Directed by Howard Hawks, and with a great cast, Only Angels Have Wings is half exciting adventure movie and half romantic comedy. The sense of setting and atmosphere is very good as well - you almost feel as though the movie transports you to the imaginary South American port town of Barranca. The movie describes the adventures of a group of pilots working in a very dangerous location - they are hemmed in by mountains, and constantly face bad weather conditions. More specifically, it focuses on Bonnie Lee (Jean Arthur), a chorus girl staying in the town, and her encounters with the tough boss of the business, Jeff Carter (Cary Grant).

The cast is very good. Cary Grant, though not playing his usual role, is excellent as the tough boss, who only flys when it is too tough for anyone else. Jean Arthur is sweet and believable as the stranded chorus girl, and the supporting cast, including a very young Rita Hayworth (in her first A-movie) is perfect.

Anyhow, if you haven't seen this hidden classic from 1939, what are you waiting for? The DVD is very good - the movie is very clear and sharp, and there are a few interesting special features as well (previews for other movies and old advertisement posters, for instance). But the movie alone is worth getting - it is a must have!

As a great admirer of the original series, and especially the pilot episode of "Tales From a Parallel Universe-- I Worship His Shadow" I can say without reservation that this is NOT the same series.

Instead, it is a formulaic T&A show aimed at 12-year old males (as evidenced by a previous review) and completely lacking in the originality and imagination of the original series.

The new actress who plays the reconstituted Xev is a constant distraction with her surgically-overenhanced lips that look like, well.... they look like wax lips that kids used to buy at the candy store. Her acting ability is on a par with the lips.

The robot head tends to scream almost constantly now. I find myself wishing for the witty repartee of Doctor Smith and the Robot.

I can't recall watching stories more poorly written. Of course, we always know that the Lexx will blow up the bad planet/space station at the end, and if not, Mandrid will arrive a few minutes later to consume what the Lexx leaves behind. And we can always count on Kye to pop out of his anti-toaster to provide some clarity to the bumbling Stanley, 790 and Xev. All predictible.

Even the T&A suffers in this show. In the original series, we did get a few real snippets now and then, but the main sex in this series seems to be in the form of anatomically correct female space stations and keys shaped like male reproductive organs. Yawn.

I found myself struggling to watch all the shows on this DVD, and also the Series 2, Vol. 1 DVD, which I bought at the same time. I honestly can't recommend them unless you are really, really into this show. In that case, you will find the lack of huge blocks of commercials will be well worth your money.

What we fans really need AND WANT is the original series to be released on DVD, especially episode one, which remains one of the most unusual, entertaining and creative Sci-fi stories done the the last 30 years.

Tired of the same old boring programs on TV, then you should watch Lexx. It's blend of sex, comedy, drama, and sci-fi is one of the best things on TV right now. I'm so sick of the same old boring sitcoms and reality shows that are all over the TV now. I don't want reality, I want to be taken away from it. Lexx isn't about reality, it takes us to another time and another place.

I have to say, this show has made me like sci-fi television all over again. If you've seen LEXX, you know what I'm talking about. It's way worth your money. For those of you who have never seen LEXX, give it try, it's funny, in depth {at times}, and very action packed. Trust me, I've seen every episode, you'll love it.

Javier Bardem plays "Victor" who has been trying very hard to find work to be an actor. With his agent he has been trying for fifteen months. While delivering pizza to a company, he realizes there is a room full of phone sex operators. Since acting auditions are not getting him anywhere right now. He decides to quit and leave town. His agent talks him out of it with a big movie company coming to town in a few weeks. In the meantime, he begins work as a phone sex operator. His first client is a man. The hot talk is a success. Now he tries his business with women clients and in person as well. This film is spoken in English and Spanish. Use of yellow subtitles in English is used. Rated R.

In the Spanish comedy, "Mouth to Mouth", Victor Ventura has dreamed of becoming an actor since boyhood. As a pizza delivery driver in Madrid, he waits for his big break, but after a run of bad luck, he turns to 'Hot Line' --a telephone--I'll euphemistically call it--entertainment operation run by a mother and son team. After telling himself that "rich guys get turned on by labourers", Victor uses Robert De Niro for inspiration and soon becomes a natural in the world of adult telephone entertainment.

Victor (known as Salvador at the Hot Line) picks up a regular male customer known as Bill. Victor also breaks the rules and becomes rather intimately involved with another caller who calls herself Amanda. Suddenly Victor finds himself up to his neck in intrigue--there's a femme fatale, a murder plot, and a multi-million dollar film.

Javier Bardem stars as Victor, and this role was created before Bardem became a recognizable name in Hollywood. Actually, I prefer "Mouth to Mouth" to any other film Bardem has made. He's got great comedic talent, and his facial features naturally lend themselves to being cast as the innocent, guileless fall guy. Several times during "Mouth to Mouth", Victor auditions for roles and comes off very credibly as the nervous wannabe performing an atrocious Broadway number, the foul-mouthed tough guy, and the great Latin Lover. He switches between characters and makes it look easy. When Victor takes his first phone call at the Hot Line he calls on all his acting talent to help him 'save' the call, and the scene is really well done. The culture of the Hot Line office is particularly amusing, and some of the calls are hilarious.

"Mouth to Mouth" almost has the feel of an Almodovar film--but this is mainly due to pacing and the character of Victor's agent, the semi-hysterical and babbling Angela. However, "Mouth to Mouth" is essentially a comedy and verves firmly away from the darker philosophical issues that Almodovar often wrestles with. "Mouth to Mouth" is a great foreign comedy, and I think most people could easily relate to its universal humour-displacedhuman.

This film touches on all the universally modern issues: love, sex, jealousy, money (the lack of it), homosexuality, friendship, and human need for one another.

The plot is to die for. A young, struggling actor, is out job and out of luck, but he needs to go on...So, he begins an adventure that is likely to end with a big mess.

At times, this film feels like a one man show or a stand-up act; nevertheless, absolutely all characters are well-developed and rich: the shady sex-line owner in need of his over-bearing mother's approval, the dancing girl in need of money, the plastic surgeon in need of love, the Hollywood lady producer in need of success, etc. As it is common in Spanish cinema, colors are very important in this film: red and black are the main ones. They symbolize passion, jealousy, crazyness, and sarcasm.

When you start watching this film, you can sit back and enjoy yourselves. By the end, you are likely to re-evaluate your opinions about issues raised. You're also likely to have a blast, in the process.

The first four episodes of Series Four were kind of lackluster, though they all had their high points. But starting with Xevivor, Series four chugs down some serious octane.

In Xevivor, Xev is both the prize and the judge in a reality show that is ultimatly attacked by savage carrots.

In the Rock, Stan becomes the King of Newfoundland. He has finally traveled far enough across the two universes to meet himself. Kai does a nice improv of the BrunnenG war song.

Walpurgis Night and Vlad both take place in Transylvania where Kai meets one of the few beings deadlier then he is.

Everyone should buy this and all the other Lexx DVD's and maybe they'll make a sequil to this wonderful series. But, probably not.

I am not a fan of sci-fi. i am not even a big fan of tv shows. but one night, i accidentally came across LEXX. I still to this day don't know why I watched the whole episode that i did, but i have been hooked ever since. If i was not around to watch it, I had to tape it.

For a show that's on the low end budget scale with cheesy effects, i find myself asking why do i watch a show, that not a single one of my friends, or family or work buddies have ever heard of! The reason is simple, LEXX is very origonal, funny, and believe it or not, smart. Where Star trek boldly goes, LEXX just wants to survive. Each Character is so compelling that you actually care about them. Stanley, the ... captian by mistake, Xev, the bombshell vixen warrior who constantly craves [love] but can't get it, and kia, the dead hero of the show (the mr. spock so to speak). I started watching during season 2, and watched every episode since. Try to catch it on the sci-fi channel, then buy any one of these dvd sets. It's very entertaining and never takes itself seriously, the ... graphics are hidden behind great acting (seriously) and complex but hilarious most of the time plots. Give it a shot...please.

"The Girl with the Hungry Eyes" is a short vampire story by Fritz Lieber. This movie takes the basic premise of the book- about a vampire who's a model and expounds on it. And it works. Christina Fulton makes a good vampire, by the way.

Kristina Fulton (sometimes billed as Christina Fulton) is one sexy vampire.

The plot's a bit strange; an old hotel resurects Kristina as a vampire after she committed suicide, then asks her to go & kill the person holding the deeds to the hotel (does the hotel want the deed so it own's itself? Hotel Liberation! Free the Hotels!)

But, visually, it's very interesting. And, did I say, Kristina's a sex godess? I've been waiting for this to come onto DVD for ages.

Now here is an unusual treat, this DVD has 2 versions on it, the original shorter Columbia Tri-Star cut and the Director's sexier and more sophisticated version.

Personally I prefer the Directors cut. Not only is it naughtier, but the soundtrack and sound design are inspired
as opposed to the Schlockier Studio overdub.

What do you think?

When I put this movie in my DVD player, I was expecting a heist with cool characters and snappy dialogue. Obviously I was way off! As the film unravelled ever so slowly, it just got more and more confusing, stupid, and pointless, and it stayed boring. Morgan Freeman's character didn't make sense and didn't have a point or a reason. The same was the case with Kirstin Dunst. I just can't believe that four big named (some highly acclaimed) actors would play these roles. I also can't believe that I sat through this entire movie. All in all, Levity was horrible and torturous. I would rather watch paint dry than watch this again. It is obviously not something that children would want to see, nor would they enjoy. It's R rating reflects a noticable amount of profanity.

LEVITY is a very quiet little sleeper of a movie. Written and directed by Ed Solomon it is a theme and variations on seeking redemption. A convict who accepts the punishment of life imprisonment for his murder of a young man in a fast food store 22 years prior is abruptly released by a prison board who decide that his exceptional prison behaviour merits his sentence being commuted. Suddenly thrust from his cell and accepted destiny back into the world where his crime occurred, the man's only drive is to find the sister of his vistim and make amends for his crime. He walks (somnolently, accompanied by the recurring ghost vision of his victim) thru the dark alleys of some unidentified wintry city, encounters a black 'minister/soup kitchen man', accepts employment as a custodian, and becomes involved with the minister's attempt to salvage the night clubbers who do drugs etc, falling into the chasm of despair from where the convict has history. His presence in this setting has some positive effects on the lost ones' lives. He finds the sister of the man he murdered and in attempting to make things right, saves her teenage son from his vendetta for revenge of his attempted murder. Gestures are made, things work out and other things do't work out: we are left without knowing the true results of these attempts at redemption.

The cast includes extraordinarily subdued and subtle performances by Billy Bob Thornton, Morgan Freeman, Holly Hunter, and Kirsten Dunst. The smarmy underbelly of a city is captured authentically and artistcially by the cinematographer, and the director paces this quiet, inward tale with a sense of a death march. Though there is no classical music reference made there is a strong resemblance to the mood and metier of the Shostakovich 15th String Quartet. And as 'chamber music' this fine little film will bear revisiting.

The word "levity" is supposed to mean "lightness", but there is certainly nothing light about this stark drama which deals with sin and redemption. Billy Bob Thornton is cast as a troubled man who has just been released from prison for killing a convenience store clerk in a botched robbery 23 years before. He plays the role with quiet stoicism, wears his graying hair shoulder length and speaks in a gentle voice as he returns to the neighborhood where the crime was committed.

Here, he meets Morgan Freeman, a storefront preacher with a secret of his own, and he's given a job as custodian of the place. Kristin Durst is one of the lost young people who he comes in contact with, and in his own simple way, he seems to be making a difference in her life. The person he has come here to meet, however, is the sister of the young man who he had murdered. Holly Hunter is cast in this role and they start to develop a deep friendship, especially when her son gets in trouble and Billy Bob Thornton comes to his aid.

There's a sadness and melancholy to the entire film, which is set on cold dreary winter streets. It's slow, bleak and rather creepy, especially when the hero is visited over and over again by the apparition of the young man who he has murdered. I found the concept interesting, the acting excellent and the story sad and depressing. And yet, it was a fine film.

As a North American, one is subject to films which are essentially shallow, mindless and repetitious. Rarely is there a film that comes as a surprise. However, Qué he hecho yo para merecer esto offers a completely different cinematic experience. Pedro Almodovar's use of dark humor in Qué he hecho yo is what I found most appealing. The film takes a peek into the lives of the members of a poor working class family and explores their many problems in a tragic but comic way. The film opens with a shot of an enormous apartment complex similar to "the Projects" of the United States defining the films dark aspects and the tragic situation of the family. Soon, the close up takes us into the tiny apartment which is decorated in humorously bad taste, "kitsch". This allows the audience to relax and laugh as it reveals the film's dark humor. Furthermore, the film deals with subjects such as prostitution, child molestation, adultery, murder, drug addiction, and poverty. What I found most interesting was the way in which Almodovar manages to poke fun at these issues. A North American film would never even dare to mention child molestation unless it suggested that the criminal would end up dead, however Qué he hecho yo presents a mother who allows her young son to live with his homosexual dentist after he makes advances towards the boy at his practice. Interestingly, it is one of the films funniest moments. Hence, the film is truly a must see for anyone wishing to escape the monotony of American cinema and who enjoys an unconventional dark comedy.

In Pedro Almodovar's fourth film "What Have I Done To Deserve This?" Gloria (Carmen Maura) lives in a tiny high-rise flat in Madrid which she shares with her boorish, lazy taxi-driver husband, Antonio, their two sons--one is a drug pusher and the other is a teen male prostitute, and Gloria's selfish mother-in-law who hoards her own supply of mineral water and cakes in a locked cabinet. Gloria scrapes by with a pittance doled out to her by her begruding husband, and she cleans homes and businesses to supplement their meagre income.

Gloria exists to serve and clean up for those she lives with, but underneath that harried housewife exterior boils a woman of passion--the film makes that clear very quickly, but will Gloria ever have the opportunity to be more than an unpaid maidservant? Gloria looks around at the four walls of her squalid tiny kitchen, and wonders how her life got to this point. She copes with her miserable, joyless existence thanks to an addiction to "no-doze" sedatives, but when she runs out of tablets one day, Gloria explodes.

Almodovar films always include deep friendships and loyalties between women, and "What Have I Done To Deserve This?" is no exception to this rule--Gloria's best friend and confidante is Cristal (played with great good humour by Veronique Forque). Cristal is a chatty prostitute who dreams of going to America. Her free-spirited ways are a threat to Antonio who can't really contemplate a woman like Cristal--a woman who may rent her body out temporarily, but she still remains owned by no-one. Cristal is Almodovar's prostitute with a heart of gold. She finds extra work for Gloria, and Gloria's friendship with Cristal eventually leads to trouble.

Some of the best scenes in the film involve Cristal--her open approach to life is hilarious, and some of the scenes with her clients are priceless--the professor who is doing 'research' and the exhibitionist who needs more than Cristal to make up an adequate audience.

While "What Have I Done To Deserve This?" isn't my all-time favourite Almodovar film, nonetheless, I do re-watch it from time to time, and it really is a great film. It is darker than some of his later films, and the bleakness may prove difficult for some viewers to see the film as a comedy. But the comedy is there--black comedy, but comedy nonetheless. The juxtaposition of the television romances next to the squalor of Gloria's real life are marvellously laced throughout the film. Keep an eye open for the ... dentist who wants to adopt Gloria's youngest son, Miguel. Due to themes and language ... this film is not for the kiddies--displacedhuman--www.Amazon.com Reviewer.

Almovodar's Best! (Terrible first date movie, however, with the opening sex scene). Humor along the lines of "Eating Raul".

This is the second best DVD from season two. It has the intro to the beautiful new Xev in Lyyka along with the introducion to Mantrid and a great comedic episode in love liner. A great way to start off season two.

I don't mean to disappoint anyone who are LEXX fans.I am also a Lexx fan and it wasn't long that Brian Downey wrote me and told me that there will me no more Lexx. That includes spin-off ideas and animation ideas. He told me so after rejecting my first animated Lexx script called "Stan's Dream" as an addition to the live show "The Net." I was hoping to have one wish. To became one of Salter Street's next scriptwriter.

This Is A Great DVD When I first viewed this series os Showtime, I have to admit, I thought it (wasn't good). I would'nt watch it at all. It was'nt until friends convinced me to give it another try, that I found that I really did like the show. I'm a big SciFi fan and this really is a great series. Unfortunatly, it has now been canceled. I am in the process of buying all the episodes. This is one of the best.

To say this movie is strange would be an understatement. The fact that it comes out of Cuba speaks to the heavy handed propaganda disguised amidst the glimmer of hope. Take three young people in an orphanage and quickly transform them into adults with problems, throw in a young female narrator(God/an angel?) who curiously speaks while underwater and you're following the lives of Julia, Elpidio and Mariana quicker than you can say bizarro mundo. Of the three characters I found Elpidio, the young street hustler-musician(featured on cover) to be the most interesting although all have their qualities. Coincidently he seems to get most of the films attention. One day while fishing a Greenpeace worker falls from a balloon in the sky, loses her wallet and Elpidio finds it and returns it to her(minus a few bucks) and they begin a relationship. She tries to help him escape Cuba, he is not sure if he should and consults his own voodoo for some help in making a decison. Remember, I said it was bizarre. The ballerina Mariana is a sexpot who can't seem to dance with a partner without being intimate and makes a promise to God to become celibate if she lands a desired lead role. Temptation she must resist as she auditions next to a young stud who falls in love with her eventually. Incidently Mariana's instructor is very good, she is a true disciplinarian who also likes the male dancers, even if they are half her age. The other life you follow in the movie is that of Julia who is a meek social worker, afraid to have a good time and actually faints at the mention of the word sex. People on the streets also faint when the word freedom is shouted out. She seeks some professional help which makes for some crazy life recreations. Our narrator is pulling the strings in the movie and magically informs the audience, while underwater, of what is going to happen to people who encounter each other in the movie. The movie is full of allegories and metaphors and with it's surreal imagery is a bit out there for most audiences. Sometimes the film borders on ridiculous and during these moments of wacky scenarios you might lose interest. If you don't say to yourself what the heck is going on at least once or twice you probably have lost total interest. There is enough interesting footage to keep you glued until the next fragment but it can be hard to follow at times. The colorful imagery is more overpowering than the bleek delapidated buildings of Havana but it does provide a curious contrast. The three character plot eventually comes to a conclusion, all the people meeting in the square downtown for the finale. All in all this is one of those strange independent film type movies. My own curiosity was peaked because I wanted to see what type of cinema is coming out of contemporary Cuba. In the end I came to the conclusion that the arts are alive in Cuba and the censorship dictates how much freedom filmmakers have. It is an interesting movie worth watching if you like Spanish language(it has subtitles) movies but not a great movie by any means.

One of my all-time favorite movies. Dance, sex, voudou, tourists, and a german ecologist intersect in Cuba. A bittersweet commedy with mystical overtones (undertones?) that winds up to a suspenseful conclusion.

This movie follows several characters during the Dia de Santa Barbara in Habana CUBA, illustrating how even the lives of veritable strangers are often intimately intertwined. This movie was released in selected markets in the US but was never marketed very widely, and it is a shame because it would have been an eye-opener for many and would have brought the beauty of Cuban art to Americans who are ridiculously barred from experiencing this on their own