Aging Movie Reviews

An artful little film. The plot isn't original -- estranged father and son reconciling in the nick of time -- and has been done before and since (Jack Lemmon, "Tribute", "Dad"; Paul Newman, "Harry and Son"; Jackie Gleason, "Nothing in Common"). But director Henry Winkler keeps "Memories of Me" happy-poignant rather than tragic, and earns big kudoes for keeping the runaway talents of Billy Crystal and Alan King on-track as much as he does. Where the film shines are the incidentals that make life good.

Crystal plays the straight man, for the most part (only a few runaway moments), Dr. Abbie Polin, a New York heart surgeon who suffers a coronary while working on some nice lady's heart ("Kansas?"). JoBeth Williams, playing his shikse ladyfriend, Lisa ("Dr. Christian"), goads Abbie into reconciling with the father he'd led her to believe was dead. So Abbie is off to California, where Pop, King as Abe Polin, is "the King of the Extras".

Williams' performance is easily overlooked, but she also has one of the best lines in summing up Abbie's aloofness, "You are great in bed, but then you don't know how to hold my hand." And King hasn't often carried a film to this degree ("Just Tell Me What You Want" being another), but he and Crystal are magic together.

Some highlights: Abbie's trumpeting. Abbie keeping up with the pink-clad jogger. The history of the courtroom wawlah. The singing impression/telegram. Abe calling for a hora on Olvera Street, with mariachis ("Have a tequila!"). Abbie standing in as Abe's agent, and Abe's casting interview. Abe rehearsing his death scene ("You will notice that the picture is slightly askew.").

The DVD transfer is anamorphic but otherwise nothing special. What artifacts and graininess remain aren't distracting. Includes the original full-screen theatrical trailer along with pitches for other MGM releases. A blooper reel, if such could be unearthed for a future repackaging, is for now, alas, sorely missing.

Even so, as Abbie says, "This is an interesting collage."

Billy Crystal and Alan King turn in memorable performances as an estranged son and father confronting past hurts, who finally learn to appreciate one another and thus, get on with living -- just in time. As you would expect from such comedic giants, the timing, humor and chemistry are excellent. A poignant film that balances a heavy subject with humor and thoughtful perspective.

Looking for a Dramatic movie that has some laughs in it?? No...they don't do dumb things like bumping eachother over the head with bricks...it's the funny things they say. If you are into good commedy, you'll love this movie. Lines such as "My gosh i'm shrinking....when i die you can burry me in a shoe box" is just an example of the laughs and tears this movie has in store for YOU!

it just wasn't a good compliation

Clocking in around 90 minutes and moderately priced, this well made DVD is well worth having. It presents a balanced portrait of a very complex man. Sam Kinison started out as a preacher. He was very adept at public speaking. He knew how to control a crowd, how to make them listen intently and how to whip them into a frenzy. This served him well in his second career. Sam preached that God was in each and every one of us and we should not rely so much on organized religion. Needless to say, he didn't generate a lot of donations. Then he committed the one unforgivable sin that put an end to his preaching days. He got divorced.

Tired of hypocrisy and fueled by anger, he embarked on a career in stand-up comedy with a vengeance. He was not an overnight success but struggled for several years. His big break came in the form of an appearance on an HBO Rodney Dangerfield special showcasing comedians. His trademark beret and long overcoat, his now familiar ranting and raving about marriage and women, went over very well and really got him noticed. His Tonight Show appearance cemented his showbiz rise. His stand-up topics were controversial and his delivery outrageous. But, for every person he offended, he made many more people laugh. With fame and fortune came the excesses of booze, drugs and partying with women. He was well aware of the dangers involved. He was starting to get clean and sober, and even got remarried. Tragically, while going from Las Vegas to Laughlin for a gig, his car was hit head on by a drunk driver and he was killed. Sam Kinison is gone but his unique talents will never be forgotten.

I watched "Why Did We Laugh" with great interest. Director Larry Carroll has found something deeper and much more interesting about Sam Kinison lurking just behind the noise and laughter. I didn't think it was possible but Kinison actually seems to have been a very human, very compelling character. Bravo.

Ok, Kim Jee-Woon is no doubt talented and the film has a style and whimsy that seems to transcend cultural boundaries. Yet none of the film's plot strands coalesece into a coherent ending... well, because there is no ending! I find it interesting that not a SINGLE review mentions this, perhaps because the glossy exterior keeps us from pinpointing some of the glaring structural problems. Still, before everything leads to the inevitable and cliched final battle, FOUL KING is a rarity-- a comedy that is actually funny.

My school had a Korean film festival and this was one of the movies chosen to play. I really enjoyed it, as did the entire audience as evidenced by all the laughing. You can't help but like the main character and feel sorry for him. He gets himself into some interesting situations and at times this movie is very funny. I think in a way, the foreign culture contributes to the humor. Some things are just a tad off kilter from the perspective of the average American, which perhaps contributes to the playful atmosphere in ways the creators did not intend or expect.

The movie overall is a bit slow, and lacks structure (and for this, I subtract one star). However, some of the moments in the movie are simply hilarious. I watched it in Korean without any subtitle, and am not sure how the humor would be found by non-Korean-speaking audience, but speaking for myself, I was gagging for breath at some scenes. I don't want to ruin the movie by giving you spoilers, but strongly recommend that everyone sees the movie at least once.
The actor who plays the main character for this movie (Song Kang-ho) is a very fine actor; see "joint security area" to witness him at the peak of his powers.

"The King is Alive," is problematic in a very good way. It's a Dogme film, which means it was made under a set of rules that holds the film maker to natural light, ambient sound, actual locations, and possibly a few more restrictions. Working within that format the director, Kristian Levring, has made something quite remarkable. His location is the Namibian desert, and he has captured the splendor of the light, color, and landscape quite well. The intrusion of a soundtrack is blissfully missing, and the only music in the film leaks from a set of headphones for a disc player, lasts about 5 seconds, and works with great effect. Mr. Levring also made good casting choices, and the cast does a good job except for a few moments that are miserably improvised. The big problems are with the script. There's one plot hole that you could drive the broken down bus through, and a conclusion that's not conclusive - it's as if the production just ran out of film, or tape. Otherwise, it's entirely believable that a group of people disintegrating in a survival situation would choose to take their minds off their impossible situation by enacting a drama, especially because their situation is one of waiting rather than action; and it's conceivable that "King Lear" would be the drama, but it seems to me that if that's the set up then the play within the play should have some relevance to the play itself, and though Lear contains madness and betrayal, the connections are tenuous at best. Anytime you let Shakespeare into the picture you raise the audience's expectations for a work that will illuminate the master's vision, or vice versa. Unfortunately, neither occurs. The study of survivors in extrema is not enhanced by the use of "King Lear," and "King Lear" is not enhanced by the situation - or the film. Too bad, because it was an interesting concept. Given that, the film is worth seeing. It's certainly better than most of what Hollywood has to offer, and is a great example of how less can be more.

"A group of people stranded in the desert decide to stage King Lear" does not begin to summarize this powerful and challenging film, which shows how extremity reveals both flaws and strengths of our characters. One of the stranded characters, who has unresolved issues with his own daughter, attempts to convince the other characters to stage "Lear," or as much of it as he can remember and write down. This attempt proceeds haltingly against crisis incidents between the various characters and against fragmented revelations of character that have the allusive quality of Japanese haiku. Finally, the cast does not so much stage "Lear" as become "Lear."

The story's resolution resonates deeply with the "Lear" theme while avoiding allegory or simplistic, one-to-one correspondences. There are disturbing, even shocking moments, and characters do not go unscathed, but there are also small moments of redemption. At the conclusion, I was left with that sense of surprise and inevitability that marks the most excellent drama. The Dogme 95 emphasis on actor improvisation worked well for me in this depiction of a situation which, in real life, would require improvisation for survival. And even with the Dogme 95 technical restrictions (available light, natural sound), this film captures the beauty and immensity of the African desert and light. One is left with a heightened awareness that our own human dramas are played out against forces, both external and internal, that are only partially under our control.

Be prepared to concentrate, perhaps even view the movie more than once, to understand fully what's happening. This is **NOT** a "Hollywood rip-roarer" or love story. It **IS** one of the most thoughtful and thought-provoking films I have seen in a long time.

I first saw "The King Is Alive" at the Halfway2Hollywood Film Festival in Kansas City earlier this year, and this weekend I had the opportunity to see it again during its regular theater run. It is well worth watching at least twice, and I plan to buy the DVD when it's released simply so I can study the editing more closely.

It's an art house movie, definitely Eurpoean in flavor. If you're after big action adventure, go see a Hollywood knockoff because you won't like this film. But if you appreciate good character studies with unpredictable twists, you'll like it. This is a film that will do lousy at the box office, but people will still be watching 20 years from now.

"The King is Alive," is problematic in a very good way. It's a Dogme film, which means it was made under a set of rules that holds the film maker to natural light, ambient sound, actual locations, and possibly a few more restrictions. Working within that format the director, Kristian Levring, has made something quite remarkable. His location is the Namibian desert, and he has captured the splendor of the light, color, and landscape quite well. The intrusion of a soundtrack is blissfully missing, and the only music in the film leaks from a set of headphones for a disc player, lasts about 5 seconds, and works with great effect. Mr. Levring also made good casting choices, and the cast does a good job except for a few moments that are miserably improvised. The big problems are with the script. There's one plot hole that you could drive the broken down bus through, and a conclusion that's not conclusive - it's as if the production just ran out of film, or tape. Otherwise, it's entirely believable that a group of people disintegrating in a survival situation would choose to take their minds off their impossible situation by enacting a drama, especially because their situation is one of waiting rather than action; and it's conceivable that "King Lear" would be the drama, but it seems to me that if that's the set up then the play within the play should have some relevance to the play itself, and though Lear contains madness and betrayal, the connections are tenuous at best. Anytime you let Shakespeare into the picture you raise the audience's expectations for a work that will illuminate the master's vision, or vice versa. Unfortunately, neither occurs. The study of survivors in extrema is not enhanced by the use of "King Lear," and "King Lear" is not enhanced by the situation - or the film. Too bad, because it was an interesting concept. Given that, the film is worth seeing. It's certainly better than most of what Hollywood has to offer, and is a great example of how less can be more.

"A group of people stranded in the desert decide to stage King Lear" does not begin to summarize this powerful and challenging film, which shows how extremity reveals both flaws and strengths of our characters. One of the stranded characters, who has unresolved issues with his own daughter, attempts to convince the other characters to stage "Lear," or as much of it as he can remember and write down. This attempt proceeds haltingly against crisis incidents between the various characters and against fragmented revelations of character that have the allusive quality of Japanese haiku. Finally, the cast does not so much stage "Lear" as become "Lear."

The story's resolution resonates deeply with the "Lear" theme while avoiding allegory or simplistic, one-to-one correspondences. There are disturbing, even shocking moments, and characters do not go unscathed, but there are also small moments of redemption. At the conclusion, I was left with that sense of surprise and inevitability that marks the most excellent drama. The Dogme 95 emphasis on actor improvisation worked well for me in this depiction of a situation which, in real life, would require improvisation for survival. And even with the Dogme 95 technical restrictions (available light, natural sound), this film captures the beauty and immensity of the African desert and light. One is left with a heightened awareness that our own human dramas are played out against forces, both external and internal, that are only partially under our control.

Be prepared to concentrate, perhaps even view the movie more than once, to understand fully what's happening. This is **NOT** a "Hollywood rip-roarer" or love story. It **IS** one of the most thoughtful and thought-provoking films I have seen in a long time.

I first saw "The King Is Alive" at the Halfway2Hollywood Film Festival in Kansas City earlier this year, and this weekend I had the opportunity to see it again during its regular theater run. It is well worth watching at least twice, and I plan to buy the DVD when it's released simply so I can study the editing more closely.

It's an art house movie, definitely Eurpoean in flavor. If you're after big action adventure, go see a Hollywood knockoff because you won't like this film. But if you appreciate good character studies with unpredictable twists, you'll like it. This is a film that will do lousy at the box office, but people will still be watching 20 years from now.

Barney is always great and a big hit with my daughter. However, I would not recommend this particular DVD, if you buy DVD's due to the many wonderful features, such as playing just the songs, skipping adverts and going directly to certain chapters. This DVD has none of these features, so you may as well buy the VHS version. It has some wonderful songs, and is fairly entertaining, however, I would not buy it again, and now make sure that the DVD's I purchase allow us to play just the songs, or select certain chapters. Usually my 17 month old gets bored with the dialogue and wants only to see the songs. If they revamped the DVD, it would probably get 5 stars.

To start with - being an adult, I really hate Barney! He's extremely annoying. However, when a DVD can't be taken out of the player because it's always in demand, you have to give it a good rating. The songs are catchy, and the kids seem to be enjoying themselves. My son loves the wheels, and boots, and the bus especially.
The big problem with it is that you can't skip past the advertisements at the beginning of the DVD, and after you see them once you certainly don't want to see them all the time. You also can't easily skip forward to pick a special song, or back to replay songs, because the DVD doesn't support this feature. Using the fast forward and rewind gets to be a chore when the DVD is so popular.
Recommended that you put it on, and then get out of earshot as quickly as possible.

My son got this for his 2nd birthday, and asks to watch it all the time! He loves wheels and things that go round, so this is perfect! In no time at all, he has learned the songs and sings along. He really likes the story line, and enjoys all the different things that Mr. Wheelie has that use wheels. This is one that never leaves the DVD player. Only wish is that it had a menu so that you could skip the promos - we Fast Forward through them.

I am a fan of movies that are "stupid/funny" and even some that are just stupid. This one is neither. At least stupid has some sort of substance. Not this. It's like a black hole that sucks time out of our already presciously short lives. I also give extra points to low budget flicks because they have more to prove. Not this. It's still hopeless. To try and describe the plot would be impossible for reasons that will become evident if you watch it. bad. really bad.

Not a laugh-out-loud riot that the video box or trailer would suggest, but definitely a solid film and a good effort from a first time director. Especially good performances from the two leads, Jayce Bartok and Rob King. So often, low budget independent films don't have any money and the filmmakers inappropriately cast their buddies. It's obvious that in this case they took the time to find the right actors, either that or in this case the buddies could actually act. Definitely worth checking out if you want to see how to correctly make a film on a shoestring.

This movie made me laugh til the credits rolled. I thought Paul Kermizian's vision of twentysomething's in New Jersey was clever and unique. Wendy Hoops brought some class to the screen and Jayce Bartok did his best work since Suburbia.
Heath Centazzo as the health shake guru was the funniest of all and he is definetley going to be a star that we will be hearing from in the near future. All in all, a must own in your DVD collection.

This is a wonderful look at the "real" West for a change; warts and all. BUT, and it is a big BUT, it needs to be seen as originally filmed not cut for television. Neverthless I'll keep this copy and then buy it again when it is released in Widescreen. Why do those who support the rights of directors and complain when someone "messes" with "their" product think nothing of chopping a film to fit a televion screen.

This moive had everything that made it easy to remember. Glen Ford was always a standup kind of guy and could be hard as nails, or gentle. Jack Lemmon was like a new born calf looking for how to walk on his unsteady legs. The other actors were very good and there was no over acting, they fit their roles perfectly, as a person that enjoys good stunts this one was not lacking in that department. I would watch this moive often,as it is good entertainment.

Very amusing western with Jack Lemmon learning the cowboy-way by pro Glenn Ford. Colorful and entertaining and one of the classics. Waiting only for "The Sheepman".

This film is a wonderful, intriguing character study that completely falls apart in its reprehensible last five minutes. The majority of the film explores the variety of longings people possess, and how they manage expressing-- or repressing-- these longings. Two couples are contrasted in lifestyle, but the film gradually and creatively shows how the two pairs are less different than might seem apparent at first glance. The ways the couples interact makes for interesting viewing, and for this reason would warrant a four-star rating.

Tragically, the filmmaker seems to want her cake and eat it too. The story is not content to chart divided and varied longings-- it disguises itself as a progressive look at erotic behavior (if it can be considered progressive to show non-conformist sexual relationships after at least 40 years of such depictions on film). But ultimately it becomes clear that what the director really wants is to titillate with scenes that might be considered illicit to the bourgeois audience members and then reassure the conservatives that such illicit behavior will not go without punishment. Haven't we gotten past such stilted conventions and pandering to narrow-mindedness? This proves to be a fatal misjudgment in an otherwise interesting movie.

A very raw movie on the powerful role in people's lives of emotional dependencies on others, on how those dependencies develop and on how these higher in a relationship hierarchy exploit the dependencies for manipulation. The drama of the dependencies is underscored with sex and murder. The movie brings to mind Shakespearean plays such as Hamlet or better Titus Andronicus (no, not in the Julie Taymor edition). I actually ran across this movie in France.

To me, a romantically inclined gay man, this was a fascinating but ultimately unfulfilling tale of a "normal" French couple, Nicole and Jean-Marie Kunstler, who have grown unsatisfied with their settled, routine lives. The couple runs a dry cleaning business in an unexciting small French town. Their lives change when they go to a bar with some business associates and encounter Loïc and Marylin, a cross dressing brother/sister act. From the first, the couple is fascinated with the pair but particularly with Loïc, the sexually ambiguous brother, (played to perfection by Stanislas Merhar).

The couple is so enchanted with the pair that they take a weekend to the city where the performers are appearing next. When the sister decides to end the act and run away with her lover, the brother insinuates himself into our dry-cleaning couple's lives. The young man claims to be, and is by all indications, straight and soon takes the wife as a lover. The husband is also aroused by the boy but denies his attraction. Soon the boy is living in the couple's home and working in the Dry Cleaning shop and is showing a talent for that type of work. He even befriends the couple's child and helps him with homework and takes him skating.

Whether his good work arises from Loïc's desire to repay Jean-Marie or from some innate talent for dry cleaning is unclear. I think that Loïc feels guilty about cuckolding this man who has shown him nothing but kindness, genuinely likes the guy, and is aware of the man's attraction to him. He wants to make amends in any way that he can. Ultimately Loïc offers himself to Jean-Marie physically but is rebuffed.

Whether it's the husband's "homosexual panic" or his actually seeing his wife with Loïc during one of their trysts, Jean-Marie decides that Loïc must go. This leads to the final and I think dissappointing concluding scenes.

There were two good matches in this edition of KotC, but there were several that showed little or no skill at all.

Commentary by Mark Kerr, Don Wilson, Ken Shamrock and Gary Goodrich was minimal, and most of it didn't do much to gain any insight to the matches.

One fighter who was announced as having "3 black belts in different martial arts" seemed to be totally unexperienced, and in his mini interview said that he studied "ju jitsu, boxing, and some tae kwon do, but I don't really use it." In the ring he didn't seem to use anything and simply got tired out on his way to losing.

The production values were terrible but on the DVD edition the menus were decent. Poor lighting on the fighters and comentators and bad camera work. It doesn't even work on the level of being "raw" since the most of the fighters only seemed to slap each other around.

Granted these were a lot of possible up and coming fighters, but if you are going to buy a tape/DVD, stick with UFC or Pride.

First off....commentary...a bit annoying....lots of talking over each other but What the hell...it's the bouts you buy this stuff for right???

Well good news...the bouts are extremely good....lots of young inexperienced guys who are trying to make a name for themselves. Consequently some of the early lightweight fights involve alot of grappling with lots of reversals etc....they kinda look like kittens rolling around on the floor.

I was suprised how much I enjoyed this and it was also good to see Travis Fulton and Rico Rodriguez involved...it was also nice to see John Matua stay on his feet longer than he did against Tank Abbot in UFC that time.

Overall it's a small production with top class competitors that I think is worth the money.

righto

Nice job to the KOC guys. Excellent production. Good DVD menu and some nice fights. Excellent transitions and camera work. Very impressed. Better quality than the Caged Kombat 5 pack but I am glad just to see any MMA videos on DVD so I bought them both.