Don Movie Reviews

My husband and I are big fans of Alias. When we saw this at our local video store, we couldn't wait to see it. How disappointing! The writing and editing are dismal, the chemistry between Michael Vartan and Natasha Henstridge is missing that special something that gives movies like When Harry Met Sally and You've Got Mail their magnetism. The movie isn't so bad that you feel compelled to turn it off, but we found ourselves caring more about the best friends getting together than the main characters. All in all, we were hoping to see the kind of passionate intensity that smolders between Michael Vartan and Jennifer Garner in Alias. This movie lacks that fire between the main characters. Without it, it becomes obvious how poor the writing and editing are.

I thought the movie had a good plot, but the writing was terrible! It was totally unrealistic - they meet and fall in love in like 2 days...i know its supposed to be "love at first sight" but they both don't get married because of some person they met over the weekend. The only reason to see it is because MICHAEL VARTAN is in it. Overall, if you have nothing else to watch, watch it. but don't watch this instead of another movie

I just rented this for 99cents, expecting this to be some corny, silly movie, probably with people lying or deceiving one another (which is so common in movies lately)in order to fall in love, yet I was so surprised to find a very sweet, serious, romantic movie - not alot of comedy, but that was fine. I thought the characters were great - their personalities fit there actions - it wasn't a "You've got Mail" but I don't think they were going for the "Romantic Comedy" necessarily. Just a clean, sweet, honest movie. I really appreciated that they got together without dishonesty. Oh, yes, it had two love stories in it -- that even made it better!! I loved it... enuf to buy it!!! I think I like it equally as much as "You've Got Mail."

Although the drama on stage was disappointing, Muti and the vocalists create terrific music. It is unfortunate that the recording quality is only mediocre. Furthermore, the stage lighting was inappropriately dim for capturing the opera on tape, and most of the scenes are excessively gloomy. All in all, this performance fails to demonstrate the strengths of the DVD format.

Mozart's operas have never been the easiest to set, and this production's director does little to alleviate that stigma. The sets are austere and repetitive, the costume design is good but hackneyed by overuse, and the lighting often obscures the more delicate details of the staging. But, if the backdrop to the music is slightly disappointing, the music itself is anything but. Mutti leads a roaring interpretation that lets down neither his lightning fast tempo nor the jubilent spirit at the heart of Mozart's music.The casting is superb! From Zerlina (Metzner), meek and innocent (even through her final curtain call) to Leoporello (Desderi) whose antics on the stage make us fall in love with his character to Thomas Allen's Don Giovanni who is the perfect blend of regality and wickedness. All around this is the best recording of Don Giovanni available on DVD, and one those eager to aquire Mozart's grand masterpiece in this format first need look in to.

This is the best performance of Don Giovanni that I have seen yet.Except for a little backround noise, it was really great.I loved Thomas Allen's and Natale De Carolis's singing.The sets were also very nice.I happen to think that Zerlina was a little smarmy, but she sang well.This opera was recorded nicely,and I would reccomend it to anyone.I wish I saw it live!

This movie is a heartwarming tale of a rich boy at a toy store that wants a funny black man as a toy. The two clown around and become friends as not stop hijinks ensue. The adult man and rich boy even take a bath together. Jackie Gleason is funny, but not as funny as he was in gremlins. The rich boy is still acting, but now in [***] movies. His name in the movie is Master Bates. You couldn't top that if you tried.

So many people try to turn this movie into a battle about race. Lest we forget that Richard Pryor is the hero in this movie teaching the boy NOT to be racist, arrogant or judge people. In the end the Klan and the other racists get what they have coming to them. So enjoy this movie for what it is; Lighthearted, simple, fun and hysterical, nothing more and nothing less.

this was one of my favorite movies growing up as a child, I used to watch it over and over again during my summer vacations. to be honest, i do not think it was intentional to put a african-american man on this movie being bought by a white man. i just feel that richard pryor was the best comedian during this time (and to this day still is) and he was the best fit for this movie, just a coincidence. if there was some type of racial motivation, richard pryor would have not taken this role. people that make ignorant comments is what keeps racism going..

The menu was useless..would it have been too much trouble to label the items to make finding the stupid content easier?
The films were a ridiculous unwatchable total joke..in fact I couldn't sit through any of them they were so GODAWFUL BORING!!

As far as the 3D effect goes...there wasn't any! Even if the 3D effect WOULD have worked..what's so interesting about watching a couple of kids throwing a football back and forth?...then seeing some people wearing cheap, and I DO mean cheap rubber masks pointing things at the camera. It took me 10 minutes to even FIND this section which added to my already dissapointment.

The rest of the garbage on this disc is stuff picked up off projection booth floors. If you enjoy reading advertisements you'll LOVE this section!

I bought it, fast forward through the features, found the "so- called" easter eggs, removed the disc from the dvd player and placed it in the garbage for the garbage man to take the next trip. I'm saving the container..might be useful someday. Come to think of it, I could go skeet shooting with the disc itself.

First off, 99% of the people out there should skip this DVD. The movies are awful, and the 3-D does not work very well on TV. But if you are interested in the traveling spook shows (also called ghost shows) of the forties and fifties, then this DVD is a goldmine. A couple great interviews with ex-spook show performers, lots of poster art, trailers, and old instructions on how to make some of the effects. Getting to all of these features requires some bind clicking, but that is part of the fun. It's like finding secret doorways in an old house. If you have no interest in the bygone ghost shows of the middle part of the last century, then, by all means, steer clear of this DVD.

That's what I hear from people who realize I purchased this DVD...but man, I'm glad I did! It's a treasure hunt through a haunted house that you experience by clicking your remote control. There are tons of Easter eggs here with theatrical featurettes and promos a-plenty! Of course, the 30+ minute farce MONSTERS CRASH THE PAJAMA PARTY is so bad, it makes Ed Wood look like Spielberg. This is a loving "retro-mentary" on the old spook shows that movie houses used to present live onstage with a horror feature; magic shows, monsters, ghosts in the audience and scads of ghoulish fun all meant for the kids! There's no friggin' way any theater these days would have the guts to do this stuff without worrying about getting reprimanded by some activist group. And the early 60's feature TORMENTED is great schlock horror! Total enjoyment for everyone and such a wonderful, forgotten part of cinema history that someone had the good sense to preserve for us all!

Adrienne Barbeau, in tight shirts or low-cut gowns, sometimes running, sometimes wet. Oh, and in one scene for DVD viewers only, bathing in the swamp for some gratuitous topless shots. That, in short, is about all this movie has going for it.

Adapted from a DC Comics character, Swamp Thing joins the ranks of comic adaptations that should never have been. On the side of evil is a 2-dimensional evil botanist (Louis Jourdan) and an incompetent band of commandos (David Hess, Nicholas Worth, et al). The hero is a GOOD botanist (Ray Wise) who transforms into the rubber-suited title character (Dick Durock) and is lovesick for Barbeau. They all muck about in the swamp searching for the ultimate glowing green fertilizer.

If you have a hankering to see director Wes Craven at his worst or Barbeau's breasts at their best, this is a must-see. There's no other reason to go near it.

1) Wes Craven directs. First big budget film for him and arguably paves the way for "Nightmare on Elm Street". 2) Adrienne Barbeau bouncing about through the film, including a bathing scene in the swamp with her exposed flotation devices. 3) Great transfer. If you remember seeing this washed out, muddy film in the theatres, you will be thrilled to see it on DVD. An unrestored trailer on the DVD unintentionally highlights the incredible difference. 4) Choice of widescreen or full screen. Some people HAVE to have one or the other. 5) Hard to find, impossible to rent. After a mother a couple years back raised such a stink at Blockbuster for the nudity in the film (it is PG, but as it was made in 1981 and there was no PG-13 rating yet, basic nudity WAS ok), it was pulled from the entire chain. Ramifications reached all the way to MGM who discontinued the DVD. It is now out of print with no talk of being rereleased. 6) Big monsters in silly rubber suits fighting. Enough said. 7) Incredible cinematography. Don't let the cheesiness of the movie fool you. The swamp locations in this now restored version are rarely seen on film. 8) Barbeau escapes from the para-military unit no less than three times in the movie. Where did these guys get their training? 9) Four page leaflet included. Don't you hate DVDs without a chapter card? Don't you wish DVDs with a chapter card gave more info? There are some tasty tidbits on this one. 10) It's a movie of a comic book character. These will ALWAYS be collectible sought after. Go ahead, buy it!

Well folks, here it is: Swamp Thing! If you're like me and were a kid at the time this film came out(and could be caught on HBO at any given time of the day, along with The Beastmaster and Superfuzz), you probably have a special place in your heart for it, be it good or bad. This film puts you in a time warp and brings back fond memories of your childhood. If you see it for the first time as a mature adult, you won't be too impressed, but when you're a kid, this is just the coolest thing. Looking back, it's funny to think that Wes Craven directed this film, but I prefer all of his old stuff to the crud he does now. I was lucky enough to buy this right after it came out, coz certain schmucks decided to pull this dvd. I don't know who it was specifically, but they pressured MGM(who have been saints for releasing these old forgottem gems) to recall it. A TRUE AMERICAN TRAGEDY! Swamp Thing gets recalled yet we still have copies of Dude, Where's My Car? and Ghost Ship floating(get it? "Floating?" Ghost Ship Floating?) around the retail and rental stores. Swamp Thing is a great piece of cinema history and should be released again. If you happen to find a copy that some ignorant fool decided to sell to a buy/sell shop, you'd better consider snatching that up before you head to Starbucks for a shot of expresso. You'll thank me later.

Where's the widescreen version? And why, when it's officially listed as 125 minutes in the "flat" version is this DVD release 108 minutes?

Shame on Fox.

I don't know why Fox Video cut close to twenty minutes off this film for DVD. Most VCR prints of this movie run a 125min long. Plus it's only shown in full screen format. This was one of the first widescreen movies ever filmed. I'm surprised they didn't release it in it's widescreen format. Although with all this missing from the dvd the Big Trail is still a great movie to watch. This was John Wayne's first starring role as the lead character and he gives it his best. Wayne plays a scout leading settlers to there new homeland. On his Journey Wayne tries to win the heart of a young woman who wants nothing to do with him at first. But that changes when he goes on the search for the men that killed a friend of his. A great movie that deserved a better DVD. In the furture I would like to see The Big Trail in it's original widescreen format with restored footage. I heard that the film was up to 154min long. It would be great to get to see that cut of the movie if it still exsits.

The Big trail tells the epic story of a wagon train of pioneers and pilgrims going into the west to find a fertile valley in Oregon, and their trials and tribulations getting there. The party encounter Indians, bad weather and hunger, while a couple of treacherous renegades are being hunted by a trapper (John Wayne) for murdering his friend in cold blood.

This seminal western proves two things: Director Raoul Walsh knew exactly where to put his camera, and - John Wayne was a STAR from the word GO. Incredibly, this film flopped and Wayne was relegated to run-of-the-mill cowboy movies for 9 years, until re-discovered by John Ford. Wayne's delivery and acting is flawless in the Big trail, he nearly puts the other actors to shame with his easy swagger and grace. He was also incredibly handsome, looking like a Californian surfer crossed with a Versace model in this. The hard-bitten look of his later westerns is not visible (well, he was 23!)

As for the rest: If you consider the mileage on the Big trail, it stands up very well. It's entertaining for a movie this old, and the easy humor is very attractive. There is a plot; you've seen it before, but probably in films made much later. In some ways, it follows in the steps of the Covered wagon, (1923). The scenes where the pioneers cross the river and the mountain plateau are excitingly edited; it looks like Walsh put his extras in real physical danger! There are also beautiful natural wonders and vistas in this movie, originally filmed in a 70mm process called Grandeur. (my disc was full-screen, I guess the widescreen version is lost).

The dialogue is sometimes memorable: A great line delivered by Wayne to rouse the spirits of the party stuck in my memory: "YOU KEEP FIGHTING -THAT'S LIFE! YOU STOP FIGHTING - THAT'S DEATH!" Old Abe Lincoln couldn't have said it better...

On the down side: The love story is not well developed, (Wayne's character would never have settled down with this girl!) and Tyrone Power sr. as Flack overacts to the nth degree. Ian Keith (mr. Thorpe) is a cardboard villain. The ending is a bit wet, but on the whole not too bad.

You can safely buy if you find the Fox budget DVD of the Big trail. The mono sound is good, the picture-quality reasonable. No extras here, but I didn't miss them. I've got my American history books.

The term 'campy' was probably intended to describe cheesy monster movies of the 50s like THE GIANT GILA MONSTER. Horror films preceding this decade and following it have tried to scare audiences in a serious way, usually with middling success. In the 50s however, the possibility of a nuclear holocaust convinced more than a few directors that a new and untrod direction in cinematic fear was needed. This direction was to dump some truly ridiculous monsters on the screen, usually with dancing rock and rollers, and go for the cheap laughs. Such a direction was undoubtedly facilitated by an equally cheap budget that did not allow for convincing special effects or a talented cast or gifted script writers. Director Ray Kellog is typical of his contemporaries in that he presents a menace to mankind in which the monster's lethality is confined to a limited target population, either country bumpkin types or jitterbugging teens. The 'monster' was either a giant reptile, as the Gila monster in this movie, or smaller and recognizable variants of known animals like the predatory shrews of THE KILLER SHREWS (also directed by Kellogg). It is difficult to assume that Kellogg really believed that a sequence of shots with a lizard slithering around and through some toy mockups would scare anyone over the age of ten. Far more likely is the belief that he wanted to use the non-existent fear factor as a blanket by which he could raise some threads and peek at an assortment of 50s style themes and fads. It cannot be a coincidence that the scourge of rock and roll, which was thought by the stiff collar crowd to be the undermining of our youth, was loudly trumpted in nearly every third scene. Don Sullivan, who plays the ukelele plunking hero, sings some truly awful songs that are meant to be a jibe at rock and roll but emerge more as an abortive aspirant to star in Hee Haw. TGGM contains the usual range of cinematic cliches from the hayseed but earnest sheriff to the goofy teens (played by actors at least ten years olders than their parts) to a monster that leaves the audience truly gasping at its inept level of non-lethality. As often was the case in this genre only the youthful protagonist could figure how to to slay the dragon. The ending reminded me of that which often closed television juvenile shows of the era--the remaining cast gathered in a circle to hold hands and laugh, possibly to reassure us that the dragon has been banished, but more likely to indicate that they could hardly believe that anyone would pay the price of a ticket to see this one.

My fellow Motorheads will get a kick out of this movie simply for the period hot rods; a half-dozen T-buckets powered by the long gone Flathead Ford V-8! I often wonder what happened to those old rides, hopefully some were perserved.

As for the movie itself, well it's bad but doesn't take itself too seriously. Too much 1950's stuff is crammed into the movie for a two hour horror flick. Hot rods, rock and roll, teen angst, rich vrs poor, and of course the rich girl dating the poor boy. All this and a giant Gila monster! They could have had about three decent movies (budget allowing of course) out of this low budget gem that tries to do too much with way too little.

Viewed as a fun piece of nostaglia it is certainly worth watching.

I first discovered the film, "The Giant Gila Monster" while watching Mystery Science Theater 3000. While the commentary given by the characters on the show really made this film funny, watching the film by itself also lent some humor.

The story centers around a small town that is ravaged by a giant gila monster that emerged from the desert. While the gila monster wreaks havoc on the town and the town's people, the audience is also treated to the singing of Don Sullivan, who plays the lead. While it was funny at first, by the end of the movie you'll want to scream if you have to hear the song, "Laugh Children Laugh" one more time!

All in all, I did like this movie. It's interesting to see the archaic special effects that were probably cutting edge back in 1959 and compare them to the out-of-this-world effects used now. For those of you who love those old, drive-in movies that are purely for entertainment this is the one for you!

The term 'campy' was probably intended to describe cheesy monster movies of the 50s like THE GIANT GILA MONSTER. Horror films preceding this decade and following it have tried to scare audiences in a serious way, usually with middling success. In the 50s however, the possibility of a nuclear holocaust convinced more than a few directors that a new and untrod direction in cinematic fear was needed. This direction was to dump some truly ridiculous monsters on the screen, usually with dancing rock and rollers, and go for the cheap laughs. Such a direction was undoubtedly facilitated by an equally cheap budget that did not allow for convincing special effects or a talented cast or gifted script writers. Director Ray Kellog is typical of his contemporaries in that he presents a menace to mankind in which the monster's lethality is confined to a limited target population, either country bumpkin types or jitterbugging teens. The 'monster' was either a giant reptile, as the Gila monster in this movie, or smaller and recognizable variants of known animals like the predatory shrews of THE KILLER SHREWS (also directed by Kellogg). It is difficult to assume that Kellogg really believed that a sequence of shots with a lizard slithering around and through some toy mockups would scare anyone over the age of ten. Far more likely is the belief that he wanted to use the non-existent fear factor as a blanket by which he could raise some threads and peek at an assortment of 50s style themes and fads. It cannot be a coincidence that the scourge of rock and roll, which was thought by the stiff collar crowd to be the undermining of our youth, was loudly trumpted in nearly every third scene. Don Sullivan, who plays the ukelele plunking hero, sings some truly awful songs that are meant to be a jibe at rock and roll but emerge more as an abortive aspirant to star in Hee Haw. TGGM contains the usual range of cinematic cliches from the hayseed but earnest sheriff to the goofy teens (played by actors at least ten years olders than their parts) to a monster that leaves the audience truly gasping at its inept level of non-lethality. As often was the case in this genre only the youthful protagonist could figure how to to slay the dragon. The ending reminded me of that which often closed television juvenile shows of the era--the remaining cast gathered in a circle to hold hands and laugh, possibly to reassure us that the dragon has been banished, but more likely to indicate that they could hardly believe that anyone would pay the price of a ticket to see this one.

My fellow Motorheads will get a kick out of this movie simply for the period hot rods; a half-dozen T-buckets powered by the long gone Flathead Ford V-8! I often wonder what happened to those old rides, hopefully some were perserved.

As for the movie itself, well it's bad but doesn't take itself too seriously. Too much 1950's stuff is crammed into the movie for a two hour horror flick. Hot rods, rock and roll, teen angst, rich vrs poor, and of course the rich girl dating the poor boy. All this and a giant Gila monster! They could have had about three decent movies (budget allowing of course) out of this low budget gem that tries to do too much with way too little.

Viewed as a fun piece of nostaglia it is certainly worth watching.

I first discovered the film, "The Giant Gila Monster" while watching Mystery Science Theater 3000. While the commentary given by the characters on the show really made this film funny, watching the film by itself also lent some humor.

The story centers around a small town that is ravaged by a giant gila monster that emerged from the desert. While the gila monster wreaks havoc on the town and the town's people, the audience is also treated to the singing of Don Sullivan, who plays the lead. While it was funny at first, by the end of the movie you'll want to scream if you have to hear the song, "Laugh Children Laugh" one more time!

All in all, I did like this movie. It's interesting to see the archaic special effects that were probably cutting edge back in 1959 and compare them to the out-of-this-world effects used now. For those of you who love those old, drive-in movies that are purely for entertainment this is the one for you!

The term 'campy' was probably intended to describe cheesy monster movies of the 50s like THE GIANT GILA MONSTER. Horror films preceding this decade and following it have tried to scare audiences in a serious way, usually with middling success. In the 50s however, the possibility of a nuclear holocaust convinced more than a few directors that a new and untrod direction in cinematic fear was needed. This direction was to dump some truly ridiculous monsters on the screen, usually with dancing rock and rollers, and go for the cheap laughs. Such a direction was undoubtedly facilitated by an equally cheap budget that did not allow for convincing special effects or a talented cast or gifted script writers. Director Ray Kellog is typical of his contemporaries in that he presents a menace to mankind in which the monster's lethality is confined to a limited target population, either country bumpkin types or jitterbugging teens. The 'monster' was either a giant reptile, as the Gila monster in this movie, or smaller and recognizable variants of known animals like the predatory shrews of THE KILLER SHREWS (also directed by Kellogg). It is difficult to assume that Kellogg really believed that a sequence of shots with a lizard slithering around and through some toy mockups would scare anyone over the age of ten. Far more likely is the belief that he wanted to use the non-existent fear factor as a blanket by which he could raise some threads and peek at an assortment of 50s style themes and fads. It cannot be a coincidence that the scourge of rock and roll, which was thought by the stiff collar crowd to be the undermining of our youth, was loudly trumpted in nearly every third scene. Don Sullivan, who plays the ukelele plunking hero, sings some truly awful songs that are meant to be a jibe at rock and roll but emerge more as an abortive aspirant to star in Hee Haw. TGGM contains the usual range of cinematic cliches from the hayseed but earnest sheriff to the goofy teens (played by actors at least ten years olders than their parts) to a monster that leaves the audience truly gasping at its inept level of non-lethality. As often was the case in this genre only the youthful protagonist could figure how to to slay the dragon. The ending reminded me of that which often closed television juvenile shows of the era--the remaining cast gathered in a circle to hold hands and laugh, possibly to reassure us that the dragon has been banished, but more likely to indicate that they could hardly believe that anyone would pay the price of a ticket to see this one.

My fellow Motorheads will get a kick out of this movie simply for the period hot rods; a half-dozen T-buckets powered by the long gone Flathead Ford V-8! I often wonder what happened to those old rides, hopefully some were perserved.

As for the movie itself, well it's bad but doesn't take itself too seriously. Too much 1950's stuff is crammed into the movie for a two hour horror flick. Hot rods, rock and roll, teen angst, rich vrs poor, and of course the rich girl dating the poor boy. All this and a giant Gila monster! They could have had about three decent movies (budget allowing of course) out of this low budget gem that tries to do too much with way too little.

Viewed as a fun piece of nostaglia it is certainly worth watching.

I first discovered the film, "The Giant Gila Monster" while watching Mystery Science Theater 3000. While the commentary given by the characters on the show really made this film funny, watching the film by itself also lent some humor.

The story centers around a small town that is ravaged by a giant gila monster that emerged from the desert. While the gila monster wreaks havoc on the town and the town's people, the audience is also treated to the singing of Don Sullivan, who plays the lead. While it was funny at first, by the end of the movie you'll want to scream if you have to hear the song, "Laugh Children Laugh" one more time!

All in all, I did like this movie. It's interesting to see the archaic special effects that were probably cutting edge back in 1959 and compare them to the out-of-this-world effects used now. For those of you who love those old, drive-in movies that are purely for entertainment this is the one for you!

This movie might seem funny and amusing the first time you watch it. I am not a very big scooby doo fan, and I have to put up with my parents making me watch this movie with my sister in order to stop her tantrums about five times a week.
The plot is extremely boring--you might expect more twists and originality in the plot in most scooby doo movies, and the characters were so.... I can't find a word to describe it.
What I mean to say is, if you have younger siblings who are mad about scooby doo and 'trying' films that have originality whatsoever, this is not the video to get.

It is a very rare movie that does have the rest of the Scooby Doo gang (Fred, Daphne & Velma). This movie just has Shaggy, Scooby and Scrappy Doo. If you have seen the series or any of most of the movies , it is always Fred, Daphne, and Velma that makes Shaggy and Scooby to do stuff, they don't want to do. I wish more epoides and movies like this. And if the gang has to be around, then I wish that Shaggy and Scooby boss around the others, and making them do things they don't want to do. As the movie opens, Shaggy (Casey Kasem), and Scooby-Doo and Scrappy Doo (both voiced by the late Don Messick), are on the road like for Ms. Grimwood's finshing school for girls, but they run find Calloy Miletary School, and the school they want is next doors, which turns to be Ms. Grimwood's school for ghouls. THey meet Ms. Grimwood (Glynis Johns), and meet the residents Sibella (Susan Blu), Else Frankteen (Pat Musick), Winnie the Werewolf (Marlyn Schreffler) Phantasma (Russell Taylor) and Tanis (Patty Maloney) who badly wants to the trophey in the annaul volley ball game against Colonol Calloway's (Ronnie Schell) boys, who look foward to beat the girls again, in which they do it every year.

This is a super DVD. However, it does have one MAJOR flaw. I am sure that you are wondering what the one flaw is right? Well, I will tell you. The one flaw that this DVD has is SCRAPPY DOO!! I HATE Scrappy Doo. He gets on my nerves. This movie could have been so MUCH better without Scrappy Doo.

Now, that I have gotton out my hate for Scrappy I will talk about the DVD it's self. It is a SUPER movie. It has a great plot with great characters, minus Scrappy Doo. Oops, sorry I mentioned my hate again over Scrappy Doo. Oh, well. This film is very entertaining. One of my favorite characters in it is Dracula's daughter. Dracula has a daughter? He sure does. So does the Wolf Man, The Mummy along with a few other monsters.