Tracs Movie Reviews

This is a really good movie about a road trip gone bad, finding out who you are, what you're made of and what's imporant to you, and what you'll give up for it. What begins as a quest for a meaningless sexual encounter ends with personal growth beyond what anyone would have expected. In between is an amsuing set of events that endear the characters to the viewer. Definitely worth a look!

This movie is simply one of the greatest movies ever produced. John Cusask is at his best especially the hitchiking scene. I love this special edition because it was great to watch the movie with pop-up(optional)! Must have in your collection if you are a true 80s movie fan!

This movie is a must see for anyone that grew up in the 80's. Classic lines that you will never forget, to great comedy, this is a great movie to be watched over and over!

This is a really good movie about a road trip gone bad, finding out who you are, what you're made of and what's imporant to you, and what you'll give up for it. What begins as a quest for a meaningless sexual encounter ends with personal growth beyond what anyone would have expected. In between is an amsuing set of events that endear the characters to the viewer. Definitely worth a look!

This movie is simply one of the greatest movies ever produced. John Cusask is at his best especially the hitchiking scene. I love this special edition because it was great to watch the movie with pop-up(optional)! Must have in your collection if you are a true 80s movie fan!

This movie is a must see for anyone that grew up in the 80's. Classic lines that you will never forget, to great comedy, this is a great movie to be watched over and over!

Ahhhh, what a great movie. I cry at the end every time. I remember when I was young and prayed for the safe return of the astronauts of Apollo 13. However, I am SEVERELY dissappointed with the widescreen DVD. Those who created it did not use the original film, but chopped top and bottom from the fullscreen VHS version. There are many instances when this is evident, but the most glaring is the scene in the back yard of the Lovell house after the walk on the moon when Jim says, "I want to go back there". When the scene opens, he is cut off at mid-thigh and you never see below his knees. On the fullscreen VHS you can see his shoes. When I buy the widescreen, I want the WHOLE movie, not less than the fullscreen VHS tape. Bad, bad, bad, bad, bad. Buy the VHS.

To infinity, and beyond! No wait, wrong movie...

Apollo 13 was pretty popular when it came out, as I understand it, but I wasn't in to a lot of movies when I was young, so it wasn't until recently that we got to view this newly-born classic on the small screen. And considering that computer and graphics effects haven't really taken off until quite recently, this film is still a spectacular cinematic accomplishment. Directed by Ron Howard (whom we all can't help but think of as little Opie Taylor), it's excellent historical...well, I can't really say fiction because it's reenactments of the real events. All the actual persons about whom this movie tells have stated that the facts are nearly 100% accurate.

PLOT: Three astronauts: Jim Lovell (Tom Hanks), Jack Swigert (Kevin Bacon), and Fred Haise (Bill Paxton) are taking part in a second visit to the moon, but must struggle for survival when they experience a dangerous accident.

GOOD: Of course, it's on the good side that Apollo 13 was real, and took place not that long ago. Jim Lovell among others gives this film excellent ratings, because of the accuracy of the story. It is a griping story of survival and the American spirit of endurance and courage, and one that has particular significance given the even more recent events surrounding the crew of space shuttle Columbia, and its tragic story. The drama, suspense, and thrill of watching this story unfold on the screen is a really awesome experience. The fact that it really happened adds a lot to the story. The music is simply spectacular, and the goodies included with the DVD are pretty good, compared to some of the earlier movies that were released on DVD. And take note: On the main menu for the DVD? If you simply keep it on the main menu, the film's ENTIRE FILM SCORE will play through. And this music is really something to listen to, just by itself.

BAD: There is a bucket-load of swear words included in the film. Though if one rated swear words, we don't have any R-rated words, just the D-word (a lot) and the H-word (a lot). I don't think too many children are going to be frightened by this film, but you would know the best. There are some scary elements, but it's the real world we're talking here, so we aren't going to see monsters or scary apparitions like that. And of course, these days a movie doesn't fly without some sort of sexual content, but thankfully, Apollo 13 keeps it to a minimum. In an opening scene, Tom Hanks' Jim Lovell has a gathering at his house to watch the moon landing, and one scoundrel of an astronaut is shown describing to his girlfriend the excitement of guiding a probe into its destination, and how satisfying it is. (Using a beer bottle and glass to show her; He's referring to the shuttle maneuver, but the innuendo is quite present) The same guy is later seen coming out of the shower to answer the phone, leaving the girl he was playing around with back in the shower. Another scene shows Mrs. Lovell in the shower and accidentally dropping her wedding ring down the drain. One might say that this scene contains brief partial nudity, but it's debatable.

THOUGHTS: All the bad elements aside, this movie is a great watch. Family members of all ages will most likely enjoy not only the action, but will get a history lesson out of it as well. As previously stated, the music is wonderful, the acting is great, and the visual effects are fantastic. Apart from the few bad elements (which I only highlight because you have the right to know), I really do enjoy this movie, and I think you will as well.

8 out of 10 stars.

Apollo 13, the story of NASA's near-loss of one of its manned spacecraft in 1970, is on my top-five list of all-time favorite movies. This, for me, is one of those movies that I've see a million times, know all the words to and get everyone whose watching it with me annoyed because I HAVE TO say the lines along with the actors. The acting in the movie is fantastic...everyone from Tom Hanks to Ed Harris on down the list superbly act this true event from our nation's history. Even the background music is great...seamlessly fitting into the mood of the movie. Annie Lennox does the vocalizations, and her voice is, as always, immensely powerful.

As someone who craves the day when this nation returns to the resolve it had in the 1960's and early 70's when we were shooting for the moon, the story of Apollo 13 should inspire those who yearn for humanity's renewed interest in exploring the immensity of what lays beyond our small planet, not just with robotic devices, but with people as well. Apollo 13's failure to land on the moon, and near-loss, should prove to humanity that from failure, we can still triumph. That is something that I think we have forgotten today...especially after the loss of the Shuttle Columbia, we have nearly forgotten the incredible risk of exploring space is more than worth the benefits we will reap with our explorations...even when some do not return home.

There is plenty of praise worthy of this film, "Apollo 13," directed by Ron Howard. Not only is it surprisingly attune to the facts of the ill-fated moon mission, it still makes you care about the astronaunts who flew: Jim Lovell (Tom Hanks), Jack Swaggert (Kevin Bacon) and Fred Haise (Bill Paxton). The film also features Gary Sinese has Ken Maddingly, the astronaut kept out of the mission. Their woes began when an oxygen tank exploded and they had to rely their lunar lander in order to get home. But they were aided by NASAs' impassioned crew back on the ground led by team leader Gene Kranz (Ed Harris). Plenty of risky improvising insues to get them home, such as using socks and suits to help make an air filter and turning off their navigating computer in order to save power.

Even throughout all this tenchnical and historical clutter, director Ron Howard still keeps the filming flowing fluidly with white-knuckled scenes aboard the spacecraft. And the production design is incredible. Most likely modeled after the actual Saturn 5 rocket, the exquisitely detailed sets serve to give the film an added sese of realism, and isn't the truth more interesting than almost any fiction? It should be said however that the film is also augmented by a sharp script that keeps the movie exciting as well. However, more importantly Howard instills a tangible human element that lifts the film even higher.

Apollo 13, Ron Howard's 1995 recreation of the star-crossed April 1970 manned mission to the moon, is a riveting and stirring film about courage and ingenuity in the face of great peril.

Starring Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, Gary Sinise, Kathleen Quinlan, Xander Berkeley and Ed Harris, Apollo 13 begins with a flashback sequence set in January of 1967, when the three crew members of Apollo 1 died in a tragic launch pad accident. As Walter Cronkite does a voiceover, there is a quick segue to Houston July 1969, where veteran astronaut Jim Lovell (Hanks) is throwing a moon-landing party to watch Neil Armstrong be the first man on the moon. (According to the director's commentary, this scene was written and shot to introduce the major characters of the drama and to give the viewer some idea of what life was like in the astronaut community during NASA's Apollo heyday.)

After a tender moment with his wife Marilyn (Quinlan) and a scene at Cape Kennedy in which Lovell explains to a skeptical politician the necessity of continuing the manned moon landings at least up to Apollo 14 (a mission he is slated to command), fate intervenes. Al Shepard, the commander of Apollo 13, is grounded when an ear infection flares up, and Lovell and his crew, lunar module pilot Fred Haise (Paxton) and command module pilot Ken Mattingly (Sinise) are moved "up the slot" to take over.

For Marilyn, the news is a mixed blessing. On the one hand, she's aware that this will be her husband's final mission in space, so she's proud and supportive. On the other hand, she has a bad feeling about this flight, and her anxiety comes to the fore in this exchange:

MARILYN: Thirteen. Why does it have to be Thirteen?
LOVELL: Because it comes after Twelve, hon.

Lovell might have been nonchalant about the mission's "unlucky" number, but Apollo 13 was dogged by bad luck even before it lifted off the pad at 1313 hours on April 10, 1970. A few days before liftoff, command module pilot Mattingly was grounded when another astronaut came down with the measles (he'd never been exposed, so ground controllers were afraid he'd get sick in space). Lovell was forced to choose between flying with a replacement, Jack Swigert (Bacon) or holding out for Mattingly and being "bumped" off the flight altogether.

There were other little omens of ill luck involving Lovell's Corvette and Marilyn's wedding ring; critics later lambasted Howard for coming up with such "hokey" scenes, but according to Jim and Marilyn Lovell in their separate audio track, these events actually did occur.

Despite some minor errors in the details and a few things done intentionally for dramatic license, the depiction of an Apollo moon shot is about as accurate as a movie made for entertainment can be. Hanks and Quinlan even stayed with the Lovell's to capture their characters' qualities and motivations. Bacon and Paxton are wonderful as Lovell's two crewmates, and Ed Harris portrays Flight Director Gene Krantz as a logical and determined engineer/administrator. Watching him go from grim realization that the mission has been jeopardized by an explosion ("We just lost the moon.") to firm decisiveness ("We've never lost an American in spaceflight and we sure aren't going to lose one on my watch. Failure is not an option.), one sees that the moon landings depended as much on the ground controllers and engineers in Houston as they did on the astronauts in the spacecraft.

With a stirring score by James Horner and top notch special effects, Apollo 13 is one of director Howard's finest offerings. It is fast paced, incredibly well-written and acted, and it is a fine tribute to the men and women who worked for a decade to get us to the moon and back.

This film, in my opinion, is a staggering achievement--the saga of Apollo 13, the first time an American spacecraft was in real danger of destruction. The most impressive thing about this film is the fact that almost the entire storyline is absolutely authentic. The skill and bravery (and honest fears) of the crew, the ingenuity of the NASA ground support team, the events as portrayed in the movie--all of this is what actually happened. For once Hollywood manages to almost completely avoid tampering with the facts--this is said to be the influence of Tom Hanks, who is a space enthusiast; Hanks believed (correctly!) that the actual story contained more than sufficient drama. The movie moves at a quick pace, never drags, and the end packs an emotional wallop that I personally found to be unforgettable. I saw this film when it first came out, and just revisited it on DVD. The impact is the same--this is a powerfully told story about a great event and a great success of courage and technological prowess.

I like Tom Hanks as an actor, and this is the best performance by him that I can recall seeing. He simply becomes his character, Astronaut Lovell--he plays the part to utter perfection. The supporting cast is equally good and all turn in superb performances. This is a great and classic film that will leave few viewers untouched. The DVD audio and video are crisp and clean, and this DVD belongs in every library collection.

This movie is a movie that should teach people how to make movies. I can't figure out how to briefly sum it up but here it goes. I sat down to watch this movie and as I do any other but I couldn't move from my seat, all my senses were heightened. I forgot about everything around me I was engulfed in this movie!

The book is a straightforward telling of the story of the 3 girls walk, almost 2000 KM in about 9 weeks, eluding the police and obtaining food. Interestingly it starts with the first European's landing on the shores and the ancestors of the girls reactions. The reviews at amazon give a sufficient outline of the movie and i don't feel the need to repeat the details here.

What i would like to discuss is the clash of cultures that underlies and animates the movie. The key scene in the policeman holding up the paper and removing the children from their mother's loving arms, to be placed in a heartless, cruel, impersonal, prison. Western culture several hundred years ago became structured, institutionalized, bureaucratic, impersonal. The aboriginal culture, for at least 60thousand years has remained close to the foundations of humanity: hunter-gatherers, minimal technology, minimal possessions. The words of the superintendent: "Just because they use Neolithic tools doesn't mean that they have Neolithic brains." is the key element in this 'clash of cultures'. The conquest of Australia, like the destruction of native cultures in the Pacific and the Americas was done via germs and guns, (to partly quote an excellent book on the topic). It was the difference in the tools, in the things of these two different cultures that doomed the Aboriginals to the destruction of their long held way of life, not the ideas, not the humanity(or lack of it) of either group. And this is, to me, one of the paradoxes of the movie. The motivations of the institutionalizers was clearly not evil as much as wrongly directed. Yet the obvious evil that emerged from it must be explained not only as a result of massive impersonal institutions creating their own inertia, but in the deflection of human personalities, of human feelings in those institutions towards the goals of those institutions. Simply put, our tools shape their own results, despite our personal feelings or conscious intentions. That is even before the observation that people assume the fascade of their organizations, even before we realize that people are shaped and controlled by their institutions and their tools.

So it is a story that starkly illustrates the collision of cultures in the type of tools each has purchased with the souls of the people inside. For despite the intentions and outspoken feelings of the white people involved they continued the brutal suppression and destruction of the Aboriginal culture and people through the heart-wrenching tearing away of their next generation. The movie and the book are on a very personal level, just one old lady relating what happened to her so many years ago, to us her audience. Yet even in this personal level the tools intervene, for the way home, the bread crumbs, the yellow brick road was the rabbit proof fence.

European culture introduced the rabbits to Australia, to the extraordinary destruction of the native habitat and unique animals that exist there. All to create more rabbits at the destruction of the kangaroos, analogous to the western peoples invasion which substituted white human bodies for black. The rabbit proof fence was a typical western ideological tool to try to fix what never should have happened. More technology chasing the problems of more stupid decisions, round and round until the destructiveness of the whole package is obvious to even the meanest minded colonist. The fence never worked, the rabbits got through, technology failed, again. But the fence became a very specific thing in the minds of the Aboriginals, it was the way to come out of the wilderness where they lived their ancestrial ways and became the hangers-on of the white tool based culture. For the fence was the boundary between white and Aboriginal, between the hunter gatherer and the stationary monthly ration outback ranch way of life. And to the girls it was the way home.

The movie, like the destruction of native cultures, is full of paradoxes like these. The powerlessness of young girls arraided against the full brute force of the police and their legal papers, the fact that they are 'half-caste' who grew up hated by the full aboriginal kids, then torn from that by their father's culture who only wanted to turn them into domestic slaves. We cheer for the girls, we distaint the Aboriginal tracker who deserts his own people for the service of the conquerers, we cry with the mothers as they strike their heads with rocks to mourn their children's kidnapping. But we might miss the big picture if we look at them as the only victims of the system, for the huge imposing edifice of Western police, military, courts, governments is just the iceberg-like tip of a culture that imposed tools between people, which dehumanizes and manipulates its inhabitants into believing that theirs is the best of all possible ways of living. This is the big picture, the Aboriginal way of life, the culture as a testimony that humanity has not always lived this way, that it is not necessarily the only way to express our common humanity, that there were alternatives in the recent past. Before the machine destroyed them all.

The story, set in 1931, is of three young Aboriginal girls in Australia who are "half castes," --the offspring of an aboriginal mother and white father. They are abducted from their mother(s) and sent 1500 km to be raised in a government-run facility in a thoroughly misguided attempt to remove them from the possibility of having offspring with full-blooded aborigines.

When they arrive at the facility, they are immersed in all things Anglo, and are even told to "stop talking that jabber" when speaking in their native tongue. The purpose of the facility is to turn out young girls who can work as maids and perform other menial jobs.

It is a horrifying -- and TRUE story.

The amazing part of the tale comes shortly after they arrive at the facility. They escape into the outback, and over the course of a couple of months, walk back to their village of Jingaloo and their families, using the 'rabbit-proof fence' as a guide.

The filmmakers used three aboriginal girls who had never performed before, and who were familiar with many of the ways of the aboriginal people in order to provide an air of authenticity.

It was superb, and the accompanying music was haunting and beautiful.

What happens when a widower with ten kids and a widow with eight kids cross paths in a San Francisco Naval commissary? The new American family circa 1968. Helen North (Lucille Ball), a Naval nurse, meets Frank Beardsley (Henry Fonda), a Naval officer, and the sparks fly instantly. Despite their reservations about their interest in each other due to their children, they give love a second chance and marry. Frank uses his Naval intellect while Helen uses her love of family to care for this very large brood. There are many one liners about the generation gap that will make you laugh. Lucille Ball has a fabulously funny scene were she is drunk due to the boys spiking her drink. Henry Fonda has nutty Van Johnson as his side kick. Watch for their huge grocery bill of $126. Can't begin to imagine what their grocery bill would look like today.

YOURS,MINE AND OURS is a wacky comedy about the struggles of a second marriage for both a widow and widower who together have a combined total of eighteen children. The new family struggles mightily to become a unified whole which is finally achieved with the arrival of a new baby to whom everbody is related. This film serves as a fine example of how two great actors can lift a basically good movie to unexpected heights with outstanding performances. Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda are certainly well cast. Among the many fine child actors Tim Matheson manages to stand out.

The film's credibility is enhanced by the fact that it is based on a true story. The real life heroine, Helen Beardsley, died three years ago in California at age 70 of Parkinson's disease.

One can set up a debate between a Jesuit priest supporting the sanctity of life and the secularist dedicated to worldwide birth control, but perhaps the message of the beauty and mystery and wonder of family would be better delivered by this comedy than by a recitation of the catechism. Henry Fonda's character is right: nothing new has been written since "Fanny Hill".

A reviewer wrote that she was disappointed at the children's disrespect toward the adults. But I thought the children's less than perfect behavior was essential to the film and the film's message. Yeah, having children, be it three or eighteen, is a burden. There's no guarantee they'll be grateful for the sacrifices you make for them or that they'll allow you to have any sort of life of your own. The children in the film are not angels. Few are. Indeed, I would argue they're rather normal, with the scales leaning heavily toward good. They're bratty, tender, difficult, warm, self-centered and giving. That's the beauty of life and humanity and it's more or less what Fonda tried to explain to Lucy's oldest daughter when she questioned him about sex. "You tell him that this is what it's all about."

Notice how the film places a certain amount of focus on Tim Matheson's character. Early on, he spikes Lucy's drink and then giggles as she humiliates herself. (Shades of the "Otter" character he would play ten years later.) But eventually he decides that she's not so bad - at about the time, not coincidentally, that he's becoming a man - then he accepts her and, being a natural leader like his father, persuades his siblings to elect her "our mother, for life".

That scene, indeed the whole film, would not have worked had the children been so unrealistically and quickly accepting of the stepmother. As it's played and as it's written, it comes off without the sense of being false or manipulative. Not an easy thing to do in film.

Without meaning any disrespect, I feel a certain amount of pity for the reviewer that grew up in Germany and wrote that they considered families of four or more "trash". (For the sake of Germany, I hope that's not true.) To each his own, I suppose. But if you can't appreciate this film and it's celebration of life and humanity, I'm not sure what you can enjoy. I will say that people that come from large families almost always laugh more than people that do not.

Still, I would not label "Yours, Mine and Hours" family values propaganda. Had that been the intention, there would not have been the classic drunk scene nor the part where a somewhat randy Fonda tells the parking valet, "Keep the motor running." I don't believe they were trying to do anything but tell a warm, funny story. They succeeded tremendously.

I read some of the previous reviews of this film right here on Amazon. I read the reviews and I was excited about seeing the film. I had not seen the film before I read the reviews. I was very excited to see the film, I was.
My first comment is this matey, I think it was wise to show the demon at the beginning of the film, as so many of you have objected to. It was wise because otherwise I may not have made it to the end of the film when they showed the demon again. Yes, it looked fake, but it was effective.
The film starts out waaaaay too sloooow. So at least by showing the demon you know you may get more action.
My second comment goes a little something like this, I laughed my little clover leaves off during the seance. When the "medium" starts speaking in tongues and moaning like he is going downhill on a bike on a bumpy road. I don't mean to offend the fans of this movie, but that scene was too much camp, too funny, when the little child's voice started, I almost choked.

I got a bigger laugh though when the central character, Dana Andrews goes to Stonehenge, and my friend said "Oh he's at Stone hedge."
I had such a good time watching this film.
Let me see, I do have a good point of the film. During the doctor convention, it was kind of spooky, you know? There is a bunch of students sitting watching a doctor and his patient. The patient is comatose because he had once seen the demon. The doctor shoots the patient up with "amphetamines" (um hum we know what he pimping in that needle). The patient jumps up and runs into the audience, then runs and jumps out of a window to his death. Well it takes him 2 times to get out of the window, the first time he just runs into it and falls down.
Oh I did laugh again during the big finale, when the demon shows up again, picks up the "satanic cult leader" and starts smacking him around. Whew.
Do I recommend this movie? I don't know. I do know I had a good time watching it though.

I enjoyed this movie not because it was such a good horror film but because it was representative of the era, the time it was made. Predictable and not horrifying. It is a good addition to my film library. I'm glad these oldies are making it to DVD.

Without a doubt this is one of the best movies of all time.
I was on the edge through the whole movie. Great camera work,
great scenery with that dreary English landscape. Rent it, but it, you'll be glad you did.

I saw this in high school. I am a big Reese Witherspoon fan and she's a wonderful, versatile actress. Mark Wahlberg is a talented actor as well but the older Fear gets the more forgotten it becomes.

Fear is one of those movies that I loved back then but don't care for now. I was young so I didn't know how bland and cliched' the plot was. This was a typical fatal attraction film with no new sparks. The only difference was it was for a younger audience.

Reese plays Nicole a sheltered teen with a father and stepmother. She has a trashy friend played by Alyssa Milano
( who was not needed at all). Nicole hooks up with David ( Wahlberg ) not knowing that he's a lunatic who's lied about his past. He's developed a kind persona to woo her but it's all an act. Nicole's father is the only one who can see through his act. So we go through the same lame plot of teen girl fighting her father to be with the boy she loves. The film went from decent to silly in less than an hour. David starts knocking people off and Fear turns into some cheap thrills movie. He rapes Alyssa's character ( off screen ) for whatever reason then spends the rest of the movie stalking Witherspoon. I had a young mind then so I thought this film was good in 1996. Well it could have been a lot better. I am not saying don't watch this film because it's good to watch. Just don't expect more than the average teen thriller. The only difference in this and films like Joy Ride and The In Crowd is that the people in Fear can act.

Wahlberg goes all the way in this one and thats what makes this movie so intense and creepy, hes so creepy. He's Reese Witherspoons new boyfriend David and he seems a little off put, well maybe thats because hes a total psycho. William Petersen is Witherspoons dad, Amy Breneman is Witherspoons step-mom and Alyssa Milano is Witherspoons friend. some intense moments include where Wahlberg follows the kid and snaps his neck, that looked so real and where him and his friends invade Witherspoons house at the end and kill her dog. some parts may be sdisturbing for parents. the climactic battle at the end with Petersen and Wahlberg is intense also as Petersen throws Wahlberg out the window and he hits the rocks below

This movie is great,if you have not seen it yet, make sure you do.

The most remarkable aspect of this movie is the great performance of all main actors: Jane Horrocks, Brenda Blethyn and Michael Caine, each one of them as impressive as possible and it is hard to say whose act is the best; is it the surprising wonderfully voiced Jane Horrocks, who makes this movie such a satisfying entertainment, Michael Caine who plays all nuances of the greedy agent (one who knows how to psychologically manipulate mother and daughter) or the great Brenda Blethyn whose every twist of face and body is an act of its own. Mari talks all the time, but in the few instances when she has no words - Brenda Blethyn's face says it all. I am not sure that Mari deserves all that she gets in this movie, but she is punished for all her doings in the unforgettable words she hears from both agent and daughter.
Throughout the movie I was expecting some sort of reconciliation between mother and daughter or some recognition from mother towards daughter, some kind words... appreciation...but none of this is here and there is no attempt to cover the real-life truth. This is even sharpened when one understands that yes, the mother is jealous of her daughter and no, the daughter is not just "naturally shy". All falls to place at the movie's climax moment and all is understood.
Although Mari's character is unpleasant, she is so wonderfully portrayed by Brenda Blethyn that I was unable to feel any contempt for her character because above all she is a human being to whom you feel a mixture of both anger and pity.
The second aspect of Little Voice is the music - Jane Horrocks honors the great singers (Shirley Bassey, Marilyn Monroe and Judy Garland) with her performance that tries to bring them as they were and not to glorify herself. This is quite a contradictory statement as the film was built around Jane Horrocks unique talent - but this is only "behind the scenes" knowledge and not what you feel when you see her on screen. Not a "big" movie and does not intend to be one. The splendid perfomrance makes it worth your time.

Astounding performances lift this movie and make it soar! Michael Caine portrays perhaps the most vile character of his career with a range of nuance and expression that would challenge even the most adept actors. It might well be his best work ever! But his sleazy Ray Say would be just another manipulative has-been were it not for the work of Jane Horrocks' Little Voice. Ms. Horrocks doesn't just recreate the voices of Judy Garland, Marlilyn Monroe and numerous other singers, she practically channels them in one of the most unique performances I've ever seen.

Little Voice or LV for short is a severely withdrawn young woman whose response to an earlier trauma has rendered her mute but for an ability to sing in the voice of past stars. Her mother, Brenda Blethyn, is accepting of this until linking up with Caine's struggling agent, Ray. The two seek to exploit LV, albeit for differing reasons; Mom wants her to succeed at something, while Ray sees nothing but profit in a client with more potential than his current stable of strippers and hack comics.

Ewan McGregor appears as an equally shy telephone repair man, with Jim Broadbent as a club owner that is every bit as low brow as his clientele. Beyond the marvelous characterizations, the film's setting in a northern England city makes for a setting of pathos and futility that has you rooting for LV to escape not only her emotional prison but the physical one of her family and environment. Horrocks will have your heart within the first five minutes and she never lets go.

Aussies who have seen Malcolm, the story of the socially inept inventor, will find strong similarities with the LV character in this film, and the background music is also similar and used in a similar way. It brought back happy memories of cars dividing in two, and boys who talk non-stop to their girlfriends about boring technical stuff.

But the highlight of the film is the terrific vocal impersonations of great singers by Jane Horrocks.

I thought the plot was well thought out and ended in a most satisfying way. A great DVD to watch several times, I think.

If, like me, you are one of those people who think that characters can be shown to be rough without them having to be given copious amounts of gutter language to use, then be warned there is a lot of this stuff in the film, but other than that, it is terrific.

Highly recommended.

I loved the book, The Power of One. It was one of the best books I have read in years. Powerful, gripping...fantastic in every way. I couldn't wait to see the movie after enjoying the book so much. What I found was a movie that (for the most part) had nothing to do with the book. Characters' names were changed, the plot modified...oh what a disappointment. My wife, having not read the book, enjoyed the movie. I couldn't sit through it. It was so modified from what I liked about the book that I left the room and went to another room to read.

Even today, the world is still seeing racism and hate. No matter how hard we try, the world will never see peace. This movie right here is a prime example of just how corrupt the world was back then. 'Power of One' focusses on a young boy named Peekay (shortened to P.K.) who grew up with a mother, no father (he died before Peekay was born) and a black guardian. Around about the age of 8, P.K. is sent to a boarding school, specially made for Afrikaaners (white people who hate blacks and English). Here P.K's life begins to get twisted into a whole mess.

It takes us then to when P.K. grows up into the age around about 12-14 years of age where his mother dies and his guardian. Here he practices boxing and soon becomes a living legend as he grows up. It is at age 18 that he meets his true love who is a German girl and is forbidden to see any English boys. But as these two push the limits even further, it turns into death. Peekay loses his true loved one and decides to move to England to go to Oxford University.

He meets up with his childhood friend who cause trouble when the blacks have like a secret party. He also meets his number #1 rival, who went to the same boarding school as he did, and starts to kill every black person because the army is after Peekay.

The Power of One is truly a powerful and great movie and it was great to see that the director of 'Rocky' directed this movie. The acting is well done and it explains the story very well. Many people started to hate this movie because it was so much different from the book but I guarantee, even if I do read the book I would still like the movie. I don't really care about how they changed the book, I like this movie because I don't like racism and this was a touching movie. Even some scenes in this movie made tears falling from my eyes but just shows how much power this movie has.

The world will never see peace and that's something we all have to agree on because there are some people living in this world today who don't see eye to eye with other races but we can make a change to the world. Peekay changed the world by teaching the blacks how to read. We can change the world by respecting each other, though some won't. It's not a major change but it's a good start. I'm totally against racism and one day I hope to make a little change to the world.

I first saw this movie a long time ago and I loved it. It's a wonderful story. If you buy this DVD you won't be dissapointed, especially if you like to own movies that leave a good message in your heart. Enjoy.