Tracs Movie Reviews

I agree with the first reviewer. I was looking forward to watching this serial but the transfer to DVD is so poor that I gave up after the 2nd chapter.

Yes, I too have fond memories of this serial,but this is a poor quality transfer, inferior even to vhs copies I have come across in the past. 'Nuff said.

I mistakenly purchased this DVD (PHANTOM EMPIRE: Part 2) thinking I'd get the entire serial, but all in all, this is a pretty fun viewing. Gene Autry falls into a subterranian city named Murania, and must fight to stay alive against the wicked queen that rules there. Very silly robots about in this story, with short-brimmed cowboy hats on top of their box-like features. A rebellion is being planned, as on the surface of the earth evil scientists plot to steal radium from the Radio Ranch. On top of all this, Radio Ranch is endangered by Gene Autry's inability to make it to perform on his radio show!
Complete with horse chases, sword fights, and deadly technology, this is a fun serial to watch. The print isn't great, but it is watchable and costs little for the entire collection. A very rare entry into the science fiction/western genre and a lot of fun!

Agree that it was beautifully filmed, but.... there must have been a great deal lost in the translation.

I got a copy of the film 'Promised Land' from a friend. It is set in a small midwestern town where high school basketball is king. Sounds rather like Indiana, doesn't it? This gave the initial appeal to me, as films like this can help me understand the people in the area better -- at least, this is my hope, since I am not an Indiana native.

The actors are all very young. The film stars a very young Keifer Sutherland (Danny) and Meg Ryan (Bev) as a rather unlikely couple. The real 'star' of the film, the one who gets top billing, is Jason Gedrick (Hancock), whose career has been rather less prominent than Sutherland's or Ryan's. Tracy Jo Pollan (Mary) also stars in one of her few starring film roles. Pollan is now much better known through her marriage to Michael J. Fox.

The plot is a rather simple one. Four characters -- a high school basketball star (Hancock), a cheerleader (Mary), a dropout (Danny), his wife from a western state (Bev)-- all get tangled together in a final blow-up in the small hometown. The film opens during the all-important last moments of a basketball game. Of course, our guys win; the basketball star announces he's leaving for college, and the dropout announces he's leaving town. The cheerleader is left behind, but has hopes of her own.

Fast-forward two years. The basketball star is back home, working as a policeman. We slowly discover during the course of the film that he didn't make it as a college basketball star, and couldn't stay in college any other way. Mary, meanwhile, has gone off to another college, but has come home for the Christmas holiday, and as Hancock tries to rekindle old feelings, probably largely derived from hoping to recapture feelings of past glory, she feels pressured.

Danny, in the meanwhile, has gone out west and married Bev, a strange and wild woman. We learn that Danny has spent time in jail, and has never had a steady job or stable life. We don't learn as much about Bev through her speech, but can assume as much is true for her through her behaviour. Danny and Bev marry is a bizarre Las Vegas wedding ...and begin the long trek back home so she can be introduced to the family for Christmas (something that takes Bev by surprise).

Danny comes home and, in the course of various strange happenings, ends up with Bev in a convenience-store robbery. Hancock is the officer called to the scene, and ends up shooting Danny dead.

There are many unrealistic parts to the plot. Few high school jock stars are as likely to be friendly toward the dropouts as Hancock is toward Danny, for instance. When Danny returns home and goes to a bar, his friends wave hello, calling out 'Hi, Senator!' Apparently, Senator was his mock-ironic nickname in high school. One of his friends asks if he has become a senator yet; I hope that small-town folk aren't this unaware of the ways of political reality!

However, many of the emotions and situations ring true. Hancock's frustration with having reached the pinnacle of his life's glory at age 18 are very present; Mary's resistance at being drawn back into that life, yet still being attracted to Hancock is understandable. Bev is a strange character overall. She possibly represents the wildness that was lacking in the sombre (read - boring) small town environment.

'In a small town like that, you only get to make about one mistake.' Danny says this to Bev, and that is a real insight. Small towns are the same the world over -- those who don't leave remember everything for generations.

The production quality of the film is fairly good, but as one of the earliest of the Sundance productions, it lacked a budget for the final, Hollywood polish. The director, Michael Hoffman, does not have an extensive filmography, but has directed such diverse films as Soapdish, Restoration, and A Midsummer Night's Dream. A little editing. The acting is good, but not great. The script is sometimes lacking, but passing fair. The characters are people who begin to spark an interest, but are ultimately unsustainable. Had there not been the emotional and violent ending (very uncharacteristic for the town, one imagines), there would be little memorable.

This is a slice of American life in the middle; not the top, nothing glitzy or glamourous here, but not the bottom either. A very different view of high school and college-age years than typical Hollywood fare -- hopes have been dashed, if there were hopes at all, and the future stretches out in front, but as a rather bleak picture of sameness.

The film does not have a happy ending. Perhaps even without the shooting at the end, there would not have been a happy ending. Does one want a fast death in a blaze of glory, or a slow death by mediocrity? Sometimes that seems like the only two options for many people, and not just those in small towns. Ultimately, there is no Promised Land here. It is something these characters aren't permitted to enter, because it has been defined beyond their abilities to attain.

This film is largely overlooked, and has many points in which improvement can be made. Ultimately, it hangs together adequately, but not superbly, and perhaps that is ultimately its downfall.

The American Dream is something different for everyone and cannot easily be defined. This film does a pretty fair job on debunking the generalized commonly accepted myth of the standard American Dream theory, espeially as it is based on true events. James Newton Howard was just starting back then and his brilliance shines through magnificently in his score. The film craft itself beautifully rendered, well acted and is to me well balanced and paced for the subject matter. I have to dust it off every once in awhile to remind myself what the potentials and pitfalls of being American is all about.

The collection of Dick Tracy movies offered by the Roan Group is much better, and the Roan DVDs offer all of the movies on two discs. This set is not worth spending your money on. You will pay a lot more for a lot less by buying this.

In 1945, the world beheld Dick Tracy, a popular comic strip, materialize to screen. The first film (which is not in this collection), was entertaining, but lacked the excitment, and the panache of the comic strip.
RKO Radio Pictures (it's distributar), realized this, and started to make pictures that were almost identical to the beloved comic strip.
"Dick Tracy Meets Cueball", was in the greatest Gould tradition. For one, Morgan Conway is just the image of good old Dick, and the story, is amazingly entertaining. (...)

Gabby Hayes in drag. Enough said

This DVD "Winds of the Wasteland" and "Lucky Texan" offers two great early John Wayne westerns. Basically, if you enjoy the old 1930's B westerns you should purchase this DVD. I am buying all of the B movies I can find so I can be certain I'll have them preserved on DVD for my grandchildren to enjoy.

Yeah, if you're a film student, you could see this movie for tips. But to see this movie for pleasure, DO NOT BUY IT! It was a total waste of money for me. The acting was horrible, I laughed through the whole movie. I wanted to fall asleep. People seem to like this movie for its "gore humor", but I think the director tried too hard with that. Maybe the movie was suppose to look like crap, and that's what makes it good. That factor didn't appeal at all to me. The movie has that horrible 80's horror movie feel, and that killed it at the very beginning. The tall skinny blonde, the main character, should have rehearsed being sadistic a little longer. I think I liked two of his killings, I must admit. Not bloody and gory enough, but it was good enough. This DVD is the DVD I hide in the back of my collection, its an embarassment.

Now and then I try to rent a low-budget film to try to see how the 'tricks' are made. I'am a film student at Florida Atlantic University. I found 'KILLING SPREE' last year and was blown away! On ever level this movie delivers! The storyline is funny and unique and the gore is so slapstick and nice to look at -great eye candy. But what makes this movie is Asbestos Felt. His presence in the film is electrifying. He is like a cartoon character that has come to life. It's a shame that I haven't seen him in anything since. But if my-or my colleagues projects get off the ground Asbestos is the first person I'd try to contact. Now I got the bootleg edition of this on DVD first which had some half-naked woman with a machette on in and I was disapointed by the image quality. This new 'official' release is much better print but it could have been a little better. There is little spots and hairs that show up plus a little compression which enlarge the grain in some shots. The extras are great! I was very surprised, because this is a rare movie. It has an awesome informative documentary that was it's own film back in 1996-so it's great that they included it. The DVD also has a trailer, deleted scenes, TV spots, cast & crew interviews which are included for the DVD toward the end of the Documentary.
Also included are the cast audio commentay throughout the film which is so funny and informative. It does include director commentary but I only listened to it once because it is a little boring. If anything you should see this movie for Asbestos Felt! But if you are into the genre of horror/gore, low-budget films, or anything interesting in the subject of film-this is a MUST SEE!!! My fav. films are not really rooted in horror either.
The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, Scarface, and KILLING SPREE are my fav. films. Asbestos Felt is GOD

Whisper Kill wasn't the best movie but it was ok. The story didn't made sence but when I watched the movie over and over again then It started to make sence.I wouldn't call this a horror movie but a drama movie.It showed that a killer has feelings in this movie.This film was not rated but to me it should be rated PG-13 or rated R.This movie was like the movie Scream but a 1988 version.I reccomend if you rent this movie than buy the movie.

Fine and suspencefull movie from a good Ed McBain novel-buth as always:the book is better. Randy Quaid is no Steve Carella and also Bert Kling is not well typed. Plot is O.K. buth movie could be more complete or complex ,as the book is. Buth all McBain is welcome-even to compare with other McBain items.

I saw this movie as a kid and I loved it. It stars a child actor with progerian disease as an alien stuck in Aurora. A few children and a crotchety old man become friends with the alien and help him. Its quite cheesy but its a cute little tale with lots of magic.....a true 80's movie.....but definitely one of the cheesiest.

The Dick Tracy movies from RKO offer a lot to keep them fresh even many years later. Without ever seeming spoofy, they inject a lot of Gould's cartoony sensibilities into what are basically hard-boiled thrillers.

Dick Tracy Vs. Cueball offers fewer of these virtues than others. I enjoy all of these pictures, but will use this space to say why you may enjoy others better.

Among DTvC's debits are the fact that Cueball is dull: he's simply a big bald thug, strong but not particularly smart. In addition, Vitamin Flintheart plays a role in this film; the actor portraying him is excellent, but the character is annoying and (despite his prominent role in the comic strips) out of place here, even though he is given a task to perform in the plot.

The movie's worst crime is that Tracy's sidekick Pat is made to be too [clumsy]- three times Cueball escapes due solely to his incompetence.

This is well-acted for a B-programmer, by a colorful cast, some of whom are given far too little to do. It is also less of a mystery than others; even when we know who is doing the killing in other Tracy movies, we don't know why. Here we know everything, and the story just sort of plays out without any real momentum being built until there is only 10 minutes left. There is a good chase climax which culminates ultimately in a weak, cop-out ending. There are also few of the noirish expressionistic shots that made the others so watchable. Like I said, it's all fine, but there are other episodes that are better than merely fine.

I like fan-favorite Ralph Byrd in the Tracy role as well, but Morgan Conway always seemed more the Tracy type to me, and he acquits himself well in this, one of his two attempts. Anne Jeffries is also very appealing as Tess. But then you consider that other episodes also included Boris Karloff, Anne Gwynne and Jane Greer, then you start to wish for more here.

I can't recommend buying this one individually when there are cheap collections of two or more Dick Tracy movies out there, but it IS inexpensive. And the quality of the dvd is quite good. I have noticed a marked increase in quality from Alpha Video since they first started to sell dvds.

Bottom line: I recommend Dick Tracy, Detective and Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome over this one, for their more offbeat and chiaroscuro qualities.

John Kennedy Brascoe (Dan Anderson), former Navy Seal, is betrayed by his partner, Cody (Olivier Gruner), who fingers him as a traitor and thief. Brascoe is given a honorable discharge. His young son however, is struggling from cancer which will cost be very expensive. Brascoe teaming up with an old friend, Sparks (Michael Madsen), attempt to steal money from a billionaire to pay for his sons medical treatment.

I was a bit skeptical, being an Olivier Gruner fan after seeing his last movie, Crackerjack 3, that the movie would once again be a major disappointment. However, the story in this movie is very solid. Dan Anderson, in his first feature-film, gives a honorable attempt but falls short. Luckily, he is backed by Michael Madsen in his part. Olivier Gruner has a small part but still gets to show off what he has, martial arts and army skills. There really aren't very special effects in the movie besides small arms fire and small explosions, so don't be watching for those when you watch the movie.

Overall, the movie is worth seeing. It is by far the best performance of Olivier Gruner as a villain. The story is original and after watching the movie, you don't feel mad about what you just sat through. If you pick-up the DVD version, don't expect anything but the Trailer as an extra.

I was disappointed with this movie. I expected it to make me jump at least once. It did not. The best thing going for it is a funky kind of comedy. It is definitely not a movie that I would want to watch again and again, although I did enjoy it the first time. I would advise you to rent it before buying a copy. Once you see it, you may well decide that it is not a "keeper."