Don Movie Reviews

Not the greatest WW II movie I've ever seen. During that time Hollywood could throw practically anything on the screen and people would come to watch it. This has the usual cast of 4-Fs acting brave, and Don Ameche, usually a laughing boy in lighthearted musicals, is particularly ludicrous as a tight lipped officer who sternly goes around making hard decisions that have to be made. Why couldn't he at least have sung one song to Betty Grable? Aside from these quibbles, this movie is good because it is about a more interesting, innocent time in America when Americans were naturally patriotic and patriotism wasn't a product of corporate America.

Most of the reviewers of A WING AND A PRAYER focus on the historical background that led up to the battle of Midway. It is quite true that when this film was released in 1944, much of the data that Americans now take for granted was not available or well-known. However, when critics harp on the background of the film rather than on its cinematic virtues, I think that some injustice is done. Putting aside the technical lapses--and I grant there were more than a few--the film itself did what its producers wanted. It roused the patriotism of America in a way that is still vastly entertaining today. Director Henry Hathaway got the most out of a sterling cast led by Don Ameche and Dana Andrews as Navy officers who every day had to balance the brute exegencies of war against its inevitable human cost. For a film about war, there is remarkably little war in it. Most of the action is the drama resulting from human interaction. Unlike most navy war films of the time, A WING AND A PRAYER tried to show the behind the scenes mechanics of war more than the bang-bang of anti-aircraft. It is this concentration on how to get a carrier fleet ready for the business of war that lends this movie its undeniable aura of plausibility. Pilots and crew are shown facing the stress of pre-combat with not all of them surmounting it. It is not until the end that American planes get busy shooting at the Japanese. There is a quite effective scene in which the captain, played by veteran character actor Charles Bickford, plays the radio broadcasts of combat over the ship's PA system. As the crew hears the shouts of men and the clangor of planes, the crew is mesmerized by the vicarious sounds all around them. A WING AND A PRAYER is one of the less heralded WWII films that chose to focus more on the events leading up to combat than on the combat itself. For those who have personal experience of combat, this movie rings as resonant a bell as any other movie that emphasizes the opposite.

You'll find some war footage I haven't seen elsewhere! Film is one to savor the life aboard a carrier in WWII.

You know, I've even shown this to fellow fans of the Firesign Theatre, who purportedly wrote this piece of dreck, and even THEY can't find much to like about it. (Peter Bergman appears as a bartender for about five seconds.)

Don Johnson, who looks fresh out of high school, and John Rubinstein, who looks fresh out of rehab, play gunslingers in a town that is OBVIOUSLY just flats with no actual buildings. That's the cool, groovy, 60s point, get it? It's just a movie, maaaan.

And it's a movie that's more interesting to watch from a stunned, "why did they make this" sense of wonder than from a "boy, I sure like 60s Westerns" point of view. Called the "first Rock and Roll Western," it's more a kind of surreal trip of a film, with smoke-hazed nods to Bunuel and Peckinpah.

One thing about the relationship between the two friends/gunslingers/eventual enemies that is a little creepy is that there seems to be a kind of "more than just friends, nudge nudge" feeling to their relationship. Your milage may vary.

I'm not going to bother to tell you what it's about, since it doesn't really matter. All I know is, I have never loaned a DVD to so many people and had them all give me the same reaction: "Get This Piece of ... out of my house!" That alone keeps it from being a one-star movie.

An absolute must-have if you're an Elvin Jones completist. Is there one of those out there?

The plot is a parody of Hermann Hesse' Siddartha. It is the life story of Gautama Buddah. This novel was very popular in colleges in the late 60's and early 70's

After reading the reviews for this film, you will realize that Zachariah is a "Love it or hate it" phenomenon. If you can't appreciate camp, then you have no business watching this one. I am in the "Love it" category myself. For me, the Elvin Jones drum solo is enough reason to buy this one. I am also a fan of Country Joe, and I enjoy all the music in this one. The fiddler's tune always sticks in my head for days after I hear it. Of course, the acting is horrid. You have to expect that (Although Elvin Jones is surprisingly good). The homo-eroticism is a bit silly, but so is everything else in this one. The Herman Hesse connection really takes it to another level. It amuses me to no end that this silly romp is based on a serious work of literature and is remarkably true to the original (Except for the ending).

Oh my God!!! Do not waste your time watching this awful movie with which has an even more awful cast...I think that one star is really pushing it as the film was so bad that I switched it off less than half way through. I am a great boxing fan and would normally love to watch any movie, BUT, I draw the line when the movie is so bad that you actually wish that you hadn't wasted your time watching it and would rather go to the denstist and have all your teeth removed with the use of acid (and that is without painkillers)... An awful movie that is not even worth a star - I just wish that it could be given a minus number it is honestly that bad!!!

it's been a long time, since i've bothered to write a review, seems these days, movies are all so, normal, nothing unique about them, it's sad really, this film, is unique, I relate this film to scarface, as well as blowing me away, ving rhames, makes you believe he is the great don himself, he took on the mob, and he lived, and he killed a man, and beat it, then he killed another, and he got misdeamanor, the man is a icon, one of the greatest showboats, to have ever lived, he's also very intelligent, and it's true, he shouldn't have got such a bad rep, but baby, that sells, violence, sex, crime, it all sells,the media, you know, this film is a 100 stars, if you don't see this, then I pity you, if you say this movie is ..., like reviewer number one, then your an ..., this film is brilliant, a masterpiece, this film is also almost out of print, obviously, like divinci, a true artist, isn't respected till he is gone, wan't a real world example? look at tupac shakur, when don is gone, no one will ever be like him again, so relish, his kinglyness, and buy this video, before it is, to late.

I have never seen a movie where the main character was portrayed with this kind of realism. I thought it actually WAS Don King the first time I saw this movie. Ving Rhames should have won Oscars, Emmys, and every kind of conceivable award for his portrayal of Don King. I mean he even has the voice inflections and mannerisms of Don King down to such a science it is unreal. I have never seen an actor portray anyone that well. I wish I could give this movie 10 stars. Ving Rhames IS Don King, from beginning to end. The man should have won an Oscar and an Emmy. I can't emphasize ENOUGH how well Ving Rhames plays Don King. I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend this movie.

THIS TIME, KID GETS ENGAGED, AND HE THROWS A BACHELOR PARTY AT HIS HOUSE. MY QUESTION IS WHO CARES? KID N PLAY HAD GOTTEN PLAYED OUT AS RAPPERS BY THE TIME THIS MOVIE CAME OUT. THE ONLY FUNNY MOMENTS COME FROM BERNIE MAC AND REYNALDO REY. I WAS GONNA GIVE THIS ONE JUST 1 STAR, BUT AFTER SEEING HOUSE PARTY 4, I DECIDED TO CHANGE IT TO 2 STARS. BUT STILL, AVOID THIS TRASHY SEQUEL.

I first said that this movie was better than House Party 2, but boy, was I wrong. The only saving grace to this movie was Bernie Mac. Immature had some okay moments in here too, but the whole House Party movie theme was becoming stale by the time 1994 rolled around. And the jokes were just awful.

[...] i saw the good in the series when I saw house party 3. there are cool groups like immature, kid n play, TLC, R.a.s posse. This is a movie to top all movies, I mean with actors like Bernie Mac, Chris Tucker. This movie all fits together after immature [mixing] up orders and telling everybody that the bachelor party is their house. the characters are good too. Kid n play, plays fiancee vita, marques, romeo, Ldb, sex as a weapon, and many others. The only problem this movie has is IT LACKS [...]!!!!! Other than that, the movie is good. catch this movie on starz next time it comes on, word out.

Whom Gods Destroy (2 stars)-The second of the insane asylum/ penal colony episodes is no better than the first (Dagger of the Mind). The episode has the cold, impersonal feel that was becoming a staple at this point in Trek's run (at least in part attributable to the actors having to act of character [witness the recondite Spock here], the executive producer's let's get this over with approach, and a growing sense that the run was over.) A telling scene has Kirk and Spock seated, with Garth and his cohorts standing behind them. Are the slouching Kirk and Spock's snickering, knowing, and tired expressions aimed at Garth's entourage of misfits, or at us, the audience? Most of the make-up, costumes, and equipment are retreads, and the plot too has nothing new to say. As in other third season shows, we have sadism for its own sake. The cruel and childish antics are reminiscent of the recently finished Plato's Stepchildren. But as in the real world, evil for evil's sake would surface all too often in the 3rd season.
In this sense the stylistically trippy 3rd season is actually more realistic than the idealistic 1st season. Oh well, at least this episode's finale holds out some hope for Garth and company's redemption. Too late for the viewer! (2 stars)

The Mark of Gideon-Another episode struggling to fill up its allotted 50 minutes, this one features Kirk and a beautiful lady alone on the (?) Enterprise. I know I've said in other reviews that I don't hold Star Trek to a high plausibility standard, but this episode even offends my sensibilities. Rebuilding a ship like the Enterprise, to perfection? Spock, and the transporter system in general, getting fooled again (as in the prior episode)? Not to mention the extent of the overcrowding on Gideon!
The episode's few pluses include the subtle, macabre twist on the Kirksploitation element seen in Wink of An Eye (even if it too is farfetched here, and there for that matter), as well as the return of some of the eerie atmospherics of some of the earlier 3rd season shows. Examples of the latter include the faces seen in the windows and the camera shots of Kirk alone on the bridge. Props should alsi be given for the fact that the episode addresses overpopulation, however crudely. (2 stars)

Volume 36 of the Star Trek DVD series includes two of the better episodes from the tail end of the TV series' third and final season on NBC. Both these epiosdes are fairly decent despite the typical third season flaws.

WHOM THE GODS DESTROY is simply a fun Star Trek episode. Kirk and Spock beam down to the prison planet Elba II to find that Garth of Izar (Steve Ihnat), an infamous Star Fleet Captin who wiped out an entire race, has taken control of the prison complex from Governor Cory. Using his ability to shapshift into different characters Garth attempts to take over the Enterprise. This episode is actually pretty laughable. Garth's evil plan is way too far fetched to even work. But perhaps the producers wanted to point out that the character was utterly insane. It's the cast of colourful characters and the over the top acting that save this one. Ihnat is great as the bantering Garth and Yvonne Craig (Batgirl from the TV show Batman) makes a great acting appearance as Marta (the green alien woman). Ironically the third Batman guest star to appear in a consecutive Star Trek episode. Too bad Adam West, Burt Ward, Burgess Meredith and Caesar Romero never showed up as guest stars huh?

MARK OF GIDEON is a little more serious and almost creepy. Another Star Trek issue oriented episode. This time tackling overpopulation problems and contraception. Most of the screen time is given to Shatner and guest star Sharon Acker who plays Odana. There is great chemistry between the two and the acting in this episode is quite good. Good casting and a strong plot overshadow the obvious production budget flaws on this episode (most of it was filmed on the Enterprise set). The Gideon council leader, Hodin, is played by David Hurst, who made a hilarious appearance as Baron Von Klutz on the Monkees TV series. Here though he plays a suprisingly serious role as the main antagonist.

Overall a good set of third season episodes. One laughable one a little more dark and serious. Considering that the tail end of the final season was filled with bad episodes this is quite refreshing to watch becuase these are a few better episodes from the wildly uneven third season. Highly recommended!

Two more great episodes from TOS in which Kirk gets AN ORION SLAVE GIRL in "Whom Gods Destroy". He dukes it out with an insane Starship Captain as well who can morph into anyone he chooses.
In "Mark of Gideon", TOS tackles the problem of overpopulation & birth control...and Kirk gets the girl AGAIN!

In the future, Aliens that looked like Humans land on earth in Peace and they becoming a society mixed with the Humans. When a cop (James Caan) is teamed with his new partner, which is a Alien named Samuel 'George' Francisco (Mandy Patinkin). Together, they are teamed to ferrot out the Prepetrators of a Series of Mysterious Murders among the aliens.

Directed by Graham Baker (Omen:The Final Contact) made This familiar but fascinating Sci-Fi Thriller has it`s good moments. Terrific performances by Caan and Patinkin. This film didn`t do too well at the Box Office but it gained a Cult Following on Video. Followed by T.V. Series and Two made for T.V. Films, based on the T.V. Series. Super 35. Grade:B+.

Alien nation is so novel and clever that its already over before you realize that it is the same basic buddy cop theme that's been done to death in Hollywood. The "murder to cover up a drug conspiracy in high places" plot is more than a bit familiar, but the writers came up with a fascinating science fiction premise that made the end product entirely worth while. Nothing in the performances apart from the special effects is earth shaking, but the screenwriter did a magnificent job in creating a film that holds the attention and engages the interest. This was a very worthy project and never seemed hackneyed, although there are a lot of similar films that do so almost effortlessly. I recommend it heartily.

Excellent movie, possibly overlooked by many people. The aliens have landed, and thank God they are not the Aliens from LV-426. They come to live here and try to get along. They are smart, they work themselves hard, they are an employer's dream. And, they are not always well liked by the earthlings. We just don't always seem to like these "beings". Outstanding movie about a xenophobic cop and his alien partner investigating a series of violent crimes in the alien areas. It's hard to compare this to a buddy-cop movie, or something like Brother From Another Planet. Either way, this movie is very well done, and is a great film for sci-fi or any other class of film.

If you're into cheesy horror films, then this movie is a good rental. If anything, you'll get your money's worth sitting around with a group of friends and laughing at the cheesiness of it all.

Perhaps the only two good things about the film were Chris Harmony's acting and the gratuitous nudity!

OK, agreed, I've seen worse.

It is very typical horror movie, when everyone should be running for the door they're gathering their things - or going to the cellar. When they went back into the house for the third time I was a little annoyed.

It wasn't that bad of a movie; however, they cheezed out at the end when they put words up telling what happened to the leftover characters...except I'm not sure if anyone really cared...I know I didn't.

If you like campy, independant horror flicks, you should enjoy this one. Not too cheesy and not too serious- The acting is pretty good and the special effects are decent. The storyline is fairly well-developed for a movie of this nature. I thought the ending was very good. Also reccommended: The Seven Doors of Death and The Dead Hate The Living.

sci-fi is a good vehicle to make a movie about something most people 'haven't' experienced. in the context of a simple story that has nothing to do with the reader, an author can hide a lot of clues, words and metaphors that trick the user into remembering something he forgot when he was born. everything, EVERYTHING, about eXistenZ, from the way the actors talk to the lines to the fleshy living portals to the fast cuts, it's all reminder text. if you can trace back half of it, you remember more than i do. this movie is destined to go WAY over most people's radar, like naked lunch, because they've never played with anyone in this life and they don't know how to trace back a metaphor until it becomes relevant. this movie is a serious trip for serious explorers, it has a lot of -info- packed into it, it's medicinal. do you know what i mean? this reality is only a practice round! love each other and shine your eyes!

here's a riddle: what lasts for 'twenty minutes' and causes you to completely leave this body?

If you thought "Dark City", "The Matrix", "The Thirteenth Floor", and "The Game" were the ultimate Gnostic examinations of what True Reality is and which life...or lives...or reincarnation...or half remembered-half forgotten former life you might be accessing again...then move over... "ExistenZ" is the FAR OUT experience of a lifetime... actually of several lifetimes...or of two different lifetimes...at the same time. These films all "appear" to be science-fantasy or suspense...but don't let that fool you... actually Gnosticism attempts to do that very thing...fool you...but for you own good...so you will see the Truth, but not KNOW it immediately for what it actually is...for in the phoney world that most people call "real," appearances themselves are deceiving! Who is the "enemy" of life and the world? Is it "corporate" buyers and sellers -- or is it the demonic nature of the whole "world system" of matter and materialism itself that is ultimately seeking to do us in? Do you have free will -- or are you a manipulated puppet and slave? And WHO is manipulating you ...and giving the orders? All of these questions pop up and down and up again...rearranged in multiple guises and different lives; and different identities are switched at the drop of a consciousness in this fantastic film! Nothing is always what it seems...and he who is friend one moment, may very well turn out to be he who is enemy is just a split second of soul/mind switching. There aren't many films like this one (even though "Dark City" is still the most poetic and allegorically/symbolically stylish)! Buy this...experience this...scratch you head over it for an eternity...or maybe two...or three. It's worth every penny!

I saw thirty minutes of this movie and at the end of this movie the two main characters kill the creators. I found this movie a great film that shows how violence in video games may influenced people to use violence in real life.

Return to Tomorrow-In this offbeat episode, aliens change venue from giant spheres to crewmember bodies. Most of this episode lacks the action feel of many of its neighbors; it has an operatic, schmaltzy feel more akin to Metamorphosis or several 3rd season shows. Yet, I actually feel the episode takes a turn for the worse when the plot takes several predictably threatening turns. The action and drama are turned up, but at the expense of some of the episode's uniqueness; it becomes just another Enterprise in danger episode. It might not have been so bad to have the occasional feel-good show in which an interaction with aliens was synergistic from the get go.

Tidbit: This episode must beat out Spectre of the Gun for the 'longest teaser' award. Doohan, as was so often the case, played the voice of Sargon here. Muldaur would reappear in the superior Is There in Truth No Beauty?, as well as on The Next Generation. (3 stars)

Patterns of Force: The Nazi episode has to rank near the bottom of Trek offerings, if only because it is in such poor taste. What were they thinking? I'm tempted to give the episode at least some support for the fact that it has plenty of action, but after being reminded by other reviewers just have off-base Kirk's speech was (the one that seems to equate the Nazis with other holders of absolute power), I can't give the episode any extra props. There could be no better example than this episode of the dangers inherent in drifting too far away from the tenets the show was founded upon. At times it worked, like in A Piece of the Action, but you can almost watch things getting out of hand as the second season progressed. Bread and Circuses flirted with the line; Patterns of Force crossed way over it. (1.5 stars)

REVIEWED ITEM: Star Trek® Original Series DVD Volume 26: Return to Tomorrow © / Patterns of Force ©

RETURN TO TOMORROW © PRELIMINARY BRIEFS:

Moral, Ethical, and/or Philosophical Subject(s) Driven Into The Ground: Coping with human frailties; taking risks

Milestone Moment: First appearance of Diana Muldaur on Star Trek, as Ann Mulhall. She would appear in a later episode of the original series ("Is There in Truth no Beauty?"), and spend the second season on NextGen as Dr. Crusher's replacement.

Expendable Enterprise Crewmember ('Red Shirt') Confirmed Casualty List: None

REVIEW/COMMENTARY:
The rehashing of the aliens-who-take-human-form-and-start-acting-human-but-cannot-handle-it story (also covered in 'By any Other Name' and 'Requiem for Methuselah') doesn't exactly make this particular outing a paragon of originality. Fortunately, Shatner's exaggerated gestures and pantomimes during the scene where Sargon's consciousness takes over Kirk's body helps lighten things up quite a bit. I also loved the piping up of the Star Trek love theme when Kirk grabs his first glance at Ms. Mulhall. Man, the guy just ain't got no self-control at all, does he! It's like he's the Bill Clinton of Starfleet- well, except he has far better taste in women!

Oh, and let's not forget his "risk is our business" spiel, which I consider to be THE most overdone bit of heavy-handed monologue in the whole series! Talk about driving your point home with a sledgehammer...

PATTERNS OF FORCE © PRELIMINARY BRIEFS:

Moral, Ethical, and/or Philosophical Subject(s) Driven Into The Ground: Cultural contamination; the horrific result of a cause gone wrong; the folly of hatred

REVIEW/COMMENTARY:

All right my fellow Trekkies, let's go down our list:
A planet of 1930s-era mobsters (A Piece of the Action)- check. A planet populated by an American Indian tribe ('The Paradise Syndrome')- check. A world where Kirk and crew are forced to live-and perhaps die- in a western ('Spectre of the Gun')- check. A world where the Roman Empire survived and continued conquering all the way to the 20th century ('Bread and Circuses')- check.

All right, looks like all of Earth's most significant historical periods have been exploited to their fullest extent by our gallant Enterprise stalwarts, and- what's that, you say? Nazi Germany? Well, um... wouldn't that be kind of touchy? Oh, we're NOT gonna go with the parallel-planet evolution/history theory gimmick to explain this one? Well, that's new, but how- oh, some ET-studying professor's gonna ignore the Prime Directive (can't blame Jimmers on THIS one!), and come up with the bright idea to unite and guide an alien society using a form of government that led to earth's most horrific conflict? Wow, what a GREAT idea! Why didn't I think of that? Fortunately (or in this instance not-as-unfortunately), Jimmers and everbody's fave 'pointed-eared hobgoblin' manage to keep things from gettin' worse, as well as teach the TV audience a lesson in what results when you mess with another culture. Go team!

My favorite moments in this particular eppie are the ones where Kirk and Spock are disguised in their Nazi military uniforms. Every time I see them in their fascist garb, flashes of the bumbling Colonel Klink and his incompetent sidekick Sgt. Schultz from 'Hogan's Heroes' run through my mind! They just look so goofy in their getups, it's almost laughable (Kirk and Spock, that is). Adding to the hilarity, albeit unintentionally, is the ironic fact that William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy are Jewish!

'Late

Volume 26 of the Star Trek DVD collection contains two more excellent episodes from the second season. Both the episodes here are very well written and are classics!

RETURN TO TOMORROW has some wonderful acting performances by the cast which tends to overshadow the story. Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Dr.Ann Mulhall (played by Diana Muldaur) discover a lost race of beings on a distant planet. The only surivivors left of this race are Sargon, his wife and Henoch (an old enemy of Sargon's). The aliens ask for the use of Kirk, Spock, and Mulhall's bodies to construct robot structures for themsleves to live in. In return the beings will give the Enterprise crew all the advanced knowledge they possess. Things work at first but Henoch decides he likes Spock's body and turns against Sargon in order to keep the vulcan's body. Now it's up to Kirk and Sargon to try and get Spock back into his own body! RETURN TO TOMORROW has some memorable performances particularily by Diana Muldaur whose character was excellent and I thought she should have been a regular on the show. With all do respect to Nichelle Nichols and Majel Baret but I don't know if they could have pulled this performance off. This episode really brought out the fact that Star Trek lacked a strong female role indeed, and perhaps Dr. Ann Mulhall was the character the series needed. Unfortunetly her character was never used again and Muldaur only returned in the third season as a different character. RETURN TO TOMORROW is a very good Star Trek episode and it's priceless to see Kirk's bonding with Sargon because we get to see Wiliam Shatner overreacting at his best.

PATTERNS OF FORCE is one of my favourite Star Trek episodes and I am amazed at how many reviewers have lamb-basted this episode. I always thought this episode was one of Star Trek's finest. It dealt with a real life Nazis and the fear of a Holocaust. It was well written and well acted and in my opinion it may be on of the best Star Trek episodes ever. The Enterprise crew arrives at Ekos where Federation cultural observer John Gill was working to find a planet run by a Nazi government and John Gill being The Furor. The Zeon people, from a neigbouring planet of the same name, are considered to be a plague to the Ekosians and the Nazi government will stop at nothing to wiped this race of people off the galaxy. Kirk and Spock beam down to find themselves sneaking around in Nazi uniforms trying to figure out what caused this madness and how to correct it. PATTERNS OF FORCE tackles the holocaust issue head on and that may be the reason why some reviewers were offended by this episode. However PATTERNS OF FORCE is an excellent episode of Star Trek. The hatred that Ekosians have for Zeons is simliar to that of the hatred the Nazis had for Jewish peope. Keep in mind that this was the 1960's and it's amazing that PATTERNS OF FORCE was even excepted passed first script reading, being as offensive as it was (especially to Shatner and Nimoy who are both Jewish and being asked to run around in Gestapo outifits). To this day it remains the only Trek episode banned in Germany but PATTERNS OF FORCE is still one of Star Trek's gutsiest scripts written. This episode's message comes on strong and clear and the story is quite compelling. This makes PATTERNS OF FORCE one of the finest Star Trek episodes ever in my opinion.

Overall Volume 26 is wonderful. Both episodes are some of the best and PATTERNS OF FORCE must definetly be seen. I found that episode fascinating and it brought out the sad truth of how absolute power corrupts even with the best intentions. A few sounds problems in the episode apparently but other than that this one is a keeper! Highly recommended!