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Family movie reviews for "Home" sorted by average review score:

The 10th Kingdom
Released in DVD by Hallmark Home Entertainment (26 February, 2002)
MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Directors: Herbert Wise and David Carson
This epic 10-hour miniseries from the Emmy-winning writer of Gulliver's Travels was a ratings bust on television, but on video and DVD, where it can be enjoyed at one's leisure, it has a better chance to cast its magical spell. Kimberly Williams has never been more enchanting than as Virginia, a waitress who still lives with her janitor father (John Larroquette) and yearns for something exciting to happen to her. Her wish comes true when she and her father are transported from New York City into a dimension that, with apologies to Rod Serling, can only be called the Fairy Tale Zone; nine kingdoms populated by characters from fairy tales of yore. They team up with a dog who's really a prince--Wendell, grandson of Snow White--changed into canine form by the evil Queen (Dianne Wiest), who plots to usurp Wendell's throne. Father, daughter, and his royal dogness are relentlessly pursued through the nine kingdoms by the Troll King (Ed O'Neill) and his three bumbling and horrible children, and the conflicted Wolf (Scott Cohen), who is allied with the Queen but, with the aid of some Oprah-esque self-help books, tames his inner beast and falls in love with Virginia. The 10th Kingdom is a special effects extravaganza. There is indeed, as one character marvels, magic to behold here. But despite the Hallmark brand name and the presence of a grown-up Snow White (Camryn Manheim) and Cinderella (Ann-Margret), bewitched animals, magic mirrors, and trolls, this is not kid's stuff. It can get scary, surprisingly violent, and quite intense; you know, just like real fairy tales. --Donald Liebenson
Average review score:

Complex Epic Fantasy
Until the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy this movie was the most complex fantasy ever attempted. In some ways the story does ramble, but the intricate elements are woven together so coherently that they smoothly fit into the quest undertaken by the principal characters.

Virginia and Tony Lewis (Kimberly Williams and John Larroquette) live in a New York apartment. One day a dog enters Virginia's life. However, the dog is not just any ordinary dog, but Prince Wendell (Daniel Lapaine) changed into a dog by an evil Queen (Dianne Wiest). Soon trolls enter the story along with magic, and the story begins.

Virginia and Tony travel through a magic mirror into the land of the nine kingdoms (with New York being the 10th kingdom. It takes Virginia and Tony little time to realize that the world they have entered has very different rules from their own. Their goal is to find a mirror that will allow them to travel back to their own world, and the quest for the mirror forms the heart of the story.

Along the way both Virginia and Tony, but most especially Virginia, are on a voyage of discovery about themselves. Through a series of vignettes they learn the history of the nine kingdoms, and learn there are mysteries related to that history. One of the most startling revelations is that Virginia and Tony are somehow involved in the nine kingdoms, but it's not until we get well into the movie that we understand the nature of their involvement.

The plot is generally coherent and I had little trouble keeping track of the parallel stories. I admit that there were a few things that confused me when I watched the story in its original television debut, but my confusion was cleared up by watching the DVD version without the commercials and all in one 7+ hour sitting.

The acting talent in this movie is phenomenal. Rutger Hauer plays the Queen's woodsman, with his own poignant story. Warwick Davis is Acorn, a criminal with a tongue-in-cheek character. Ed O'Neil is perfect as Relish the Troll King. Scott Cohen as Wolf took a little getting used to, but once I realized how he fit into the story I enjoyed his antics and characterization. Camryn Manheim makes an interesting Snow White. Ann-Margret brings class to Queen Cinderella. This list is but a fraction of the cast possible by the epic nature of this movie.

The story is an adult fairy tale. There is violence in the movie as well as a number of intense scenes that are likely inappropriate for children below the age of 7 or 8. However, for everyone else this movie is fun and complicated. If you enjoy fantasy, and you can be open-minded about how fantasy is approached, this movie could be perfect for you.

10th Kingdom On DVD: Even Better Than The VHS
This review comes to you from the author of the classic list-mania list: The Most Funkydoodle Books For Teen Girls. 10th Kingdom is about Virginia, a girl who is transported back in time to a fairy-tale world, along with her dad and a prince who has been turned into a dog. They have to restore peace to the kingdom by defeating the queen but face a pathway of obstacles and meet many interestin characters, including a half-wolf half-man who is in love with Virginia! There are many exciting plot twists and I believe 10th Kingdom is enjoyable for everyone. On the DVD are special features that introduce you to the characters and kingdoms, as well as a making of 10th Kingdom tour. I love 10th Kingdom, and I hope you will too. Ciao!

fantasy at its best
The plot of the movie is interesting, the charcaters are well developed, the acting is dynamic, and the scenerary is superb. All of these aspects combine to make the 10th kingdom a truly magical movie and one that is worth the money.


Family Guy, Vol. 1 (Seasons 1 & 2)
Released in DVD by Fox Home Entertainme (15 April, 2003)
MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Starring: Seth Macfarlane
To the ranks of shows too brilliant and outrageous for prime time (The Ben Stiller Show, Andy Richter Controls the Universe), add Seth McFarland's Family Guy. This animated series, which debuted after the 1999 Super Bowl, simply sparked too much controversy and offended too many sensibilities to survive (Entertainment Weekly dubbed it "the Awful Show They Just Keep Putting on the Air"). That the Fox network also played hackysack with its schedule, ensuring viewers would not be able to find it, sealed its fate (it was cancelled in 2002). This boxed set containing all 28 episodes from the first two seasons is payback for the show's devoted cult following, who may be moved to echo the words of infant Stewie Griffin, the megalomaniacal 1-year-old bent on matricide and world domination: "Victory is mine!"

The dysfunctional Griffins of Quahog, Rhode Island, invite comparisons to The Simpsons. The testicular-chinned father, Peter Griffin, is a clueless oaf in the Homer mold. "Peter, what did you promise me last night?" asks his long-suffering wife Lois in one episode. "That I wouldn't drink at the stag party," he replies. "And what did you do?" she asks. "Drank at the stag part--oh ho ho, I almost walked into that one," he cackles. Other family members include teenage daughter Meg, a desperate high school social pariah; 13-year-old son Chris, a chip off his father's blockhead; and Brian, the family's sarcastic talking dog. But this series' true inspiration is football-pated Stewie (voiced by McFarlane, who earned an Emmy), who was born to be a Bond villain once he escaped his mother's "ovarian bastille." Family Guy recklessly ventured where The Simpsons feared to tread. In one episode, Meg's one and only friend turns out to be the member of a suicidal cult. In another, Death (voiced by Norm McDonald) becomes an unwanted houseguest. Each episode plays fast and furious with surreal flashes (in one episode, Peter turns his house into a puppet) and pop-culture references and TV, movie, and commercial parodies that invite repeated viewings. Freed from its own family-hour bastille and the whims of dim network executives, Family Guy can be appreciated at last on its own profane, sacrilegious, and irreverent terms. Welcome to the DVD family, Griffins. --Donald Liebenson

Average review score:

"Hey Tom! He's Not a Van, He's Just a Fat Kid!"
Buy this DVD boxed set if you want to laugh...for hours on end. One of the funniest and easiest to get into tv shows ever. Join in with dim-witted father Peter, or the seemingly sane Lois, the really stupid and fat Chris. Annoying Meg always trying to fit in with the popular crowd. There's Stewie, the one year old bent on world domination as well as committing matricide. And Brian, the booze drinking intelligent dog, who talks. This is not to mention many of the colourful charachters all araound Quahog, like Quagmire, Joe, or even the Mayor Adam West.Sit back for one of the funniest shows ever made...Good stuff!

Great show, wish it was still around...
I have to agree with one earlier review that said it getting canned might have been the best thing going for it. I like many heard of the show after fox dumped it for "pushing the edge." I still don't wish it was cancelled, but just something to think about.
The show has to be one of the greatest animated shows ever created. I personally didn't find Peter that hilarious, but sometimes his one-liners were hilarious. Lois was alright. Meg and Chris were pretty much just "side characters," but had there moments. Bryan was hilarious, and Stewie was the savior of the show, imo. An evil 1-year old child who wants to take over the world and kill his mom, who couldn't love that? With it's pushing the envelope on religion and politics, it was doomed in USA from the start, however, as we are probably the bitchiest country when it comes to actually talking about religions, odd even though we are supposed to be able to say technically whatever we want.
Simpsons comparison. Without the Simpsons, I doubt this show would exist right now, I'll give everyone that. And there are many connections to be made. But besides, didn't anyone catch that Southpark episode on the Simpsons? They called it right on, the Simpsons HAVE done everything, there is literally nothing more for them to do. It's like reading a brand new book, there is nothing more to truly write about, sure new stories and adventures, but there are no new themes or shocking ideas in them. But anyways, wasn't it the Simpsons latest Halloween episode that kind of stole that whole death thing from Family Guy? Well, probably not, but still, very similar. Anyways, in the past two years, in every Simpsons episode I laugh a maximum two times an episode, and I watch it every week because I'm hoping it will regain some of the "grace" it once had a few years back, but that doesn't look to be the case. While with the worst Family Guy episodes, I find myself still laughing every 30 seconds or so.
Obviously, if you liked Family Guy, get this Dvd, it's awesome!

Awesome Show, Guaranteed to make you laugh for hours at end
Ok let's face it. The Simpsons is running out of ideas. I have been watching them since the first day they came out, and to be honest with you, they don't make me laugh as hard as they used to. I can guess every coming joke and the themes are too cliche.

I believe Family Guy has the potential to surpass The Simpsons, both in popularity and funny-ness. I mean, if people stop being so touchy about racial jokes and all that stuff that got some episodes banned, and give it a real chance for several seasons, they will see the true value of this show.

First of all, just the fact that it has so many references to pop culture is a good enough reason to play it over and over. You don't get all the jokes the first time you watch it, either because you miss the joke while laughing at the previous one, or that you don't know the commercial, movie, event, etc. that the joke is referring to and you don't get it.

Second of all, the jokes are beyond hilarious. I can't find the right word for it. I get belly cramps after every show from laughing so hard. Even though the USA is so touchy about racial, religious, and ethnic jokes, it's impossible to laugh at these! For instance, here's a dialogue (the way I remember it).

Reporter: Now we turn to Ali for the blackie weather forecast. What can you tell us, Ali?

Ali: It's gonna rain!

Reporter: Thank you Ali.

Or that one episode where Peter converts to Jewism so that his son is more successful in school (the episode got banned).

This can go on forever.

THE BOTTOM LINE IS, IF YOU WANT TO GET BELLY CRAMPS FROM LAUGHING, THIS IS YOUR BEST BET. AND YOU CAN PLAY IT OVER AND OVER AGAIN AND IT'S STILL FUNNY!


Baby Mozart
Released in DVD by Buena Vista Home Vid (26 March, 2002)
MPAA Rating:
It's called "the Mozart Effect," the notion that exposing youngsters to the melodies of the maestro can improve verbal ability, spatial intelligence, creativity, and memory. It's a pretty big leap of faith to understand that effect unless you personally see a toddler react to the stimulation. The Baby Einstein folks have a series of tapes (Baby Einstein, Baby Bach) that add visual stimulation to the bouncy recordings (using vibraphone, Rhodes electric piano, and even a glockenspiel). The melodies are heard against colorful imagery of spinning tops, wave machines, soft baby toys, mobiles, and the like. Several parenting groups and magazines have heralded the tapes for children 1 to 36 months, but the Orwellian aspect of introducing babes in arms to the TV screen may cause many to just pick up the CD. --Doug Thomas
Average review score:

A total let down
I bought the DVD after reading reviews about it. My 22 month old hates the DVD and did not watch even 10 minutes of it. The hand held puppets put him off and scared him, especially when they stuck out their tongues and wiggled about. My toddler calls the handheld toys piggy' and if I ask him if he wants to watch the Piggy DVD, its a emphatic NO.

They should have used better animations. I bought Baby Van Gogh and Mozart and we have not watched either of them fully. A total waste of money. Check out the DVD's before you buy, its not for everyone.

We LOVE the whole series
We are TOTALLY 'on board' with this entire "Baby Einstein" collection.. My son LOVES these DVD's... he gets so excited when he sees the introduction and stays interested the whole way through.. The actual video is simple.. puppets, spinning things, simple toys and interesting patterns-- that's what makes the video so interesting to babies.. We started with Enstein and Bach of this series when he was just 3 months old... Mozart is the latest addition, and just like with the other DVD's in the collection, he is engaged and focused for the whole show. He's now 5 months old and the Baby series is a part of our daily routine.. We now have 5 of the DVD's and can't wait to get more... It has everything babies love-- simplicity and repetition... music and movement... GREAT product...

Buy this video
This is a life savior. If you want 30 minutes to take a shower, get this video. Keeps 3 month very entertained over and over.
Love this video!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Buffy the Vampire Slayer - The Complete First Season
Released in DVD by Twentieth Century Fox Home Video (15 January, 2002)
MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Starring: Sarah Michelle Gellar
Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar) looks like your typical perky high-schooler, and like most, she has her secret fears and anxieties. However, while most teens are worrying about their next date, their next zit, or their next term paper, Buffy's angsting over the next vampire she has to slay. See, Buffy, a young woman with superhuman strength, is the "chosen one," and she must help rid the world of evil, namely by staking demons. The exceptional first season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer introduces us to the treacherous world of Sunnydale High School (where Buffy moved after torching her previous high school's gym). The characters there include "watcher" Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) and the original "Scooby Gang" members--friendly geek Xander (Nicholas Brendon), computer whiz Willow (Alyson Hannigan), and snobbish popular girl Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter)--who aid Buffy in her quest. Those used to the darker tone that Buffy took in its later seasons will be surprised by the lighter feeling these first 12 episodes have--it's kind of like Buffy 90210 as the cast grapples with regular teen problems in addition to saving the world from demonic darkness. Fans of the show will enjoy the crisp writing, the phenomenal chemistry of the cast (already well-established within the first few episodes), and the introduction to characters that would stay for many seasons, including moody vampire Angel (David Boreanaz). Through it all, Gellar carries the series with amazing confidence, whether conveying the despair of high school or dispatching various demons--she's one of TV's most distinctive and strongest heroines. --Mark Englehart
Average review score:

A strong beginning.
While the episodes range from fun camp to just plain cheese, the first season of BTVS was a great setup for the greatness that would come.

Storylines range from evil robots to hyena people to serious storylines like the growing relationship between Buffy and Angel that would set up the fantastic second season.

While corny at times, every episode is pure fun to watch and the Scooby Gang are as loveable as ever.

The greatness was yet to come, but this was a strong opening act to the stories that were to come on Buffy.

Buy it and enjoy.

buffy 90210
This is the first season of my favorite television show of all time. This tirst season was a mid-season replacemnt and it stuck.

The first season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer was fun and light and airy, it wasn't that dark, it wasn't that dramatic (the only really dramatic episode would be the season finalie "Prophacy Girl"). It was fun and you had a girl who could kick butt and look pretty while doing it.

From the first time Buffy Anne Summers steped on screan the world was a whole lot safer.

The DVD is amazing.
"You'll want to watch this DVD over and over again!"

I was a Buffy fan when the first few seasons aired, but I always watched them out of order and I didn't have the full effect of the episodes (like the inside jokes and such).

Then last summer I was given a DVD player, and I decided to buy the Buffy the Vampire Slayer - The Complete First Season on DVD to watch with it. After the first episode I was hooked. Believe me once you're done watching it, you'll be back online to buy season 2 on DVD. That is what happened with me. I bought seasons 1-4 on DVD and pre-ordered seasons 5 & 6. There are really good extras included. Especially watch everything that Joss Whedon (the creator or Buffy the Vampire Slayer and co-creator of Angel) has to say about the show. He is a genius.


Finding Nemo
Released in DVD by Walt Disney Home Video (04 November, 2003)
MPAA Rating: G (General Audience)
Directors: Lee Unkrich and Andrew Stanton
Starring: Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres, and Alexander Gould
A delightful undersea world unfolds in Pixar's animated adventure Finding Nemo. When his son Nemo is captured by a scuba-diver, a nervous-nellie clownfish named Marlin (voiced by Albert Brooks) sets off into the vast--and astonishingly detailed--ocean to find him. Along the way he hooks up with a scatterbrained blue tang fish named Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), who's both helpful and a hindrance, sometimes at the same time. Faced with sharks, deep-sea anglers, fields of poisonous jellyfish, sea turtles, pelicans, and much more, Marlin rises above his neuroses in this wonderfully funny and nonstop thrill ride--rarely does more than 10 minutes pass without a sequence destined to become a theme park attraction. Pixar continues its run of impeccable artistic and economic success (their movies include Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, and Monsters, Inc). Also featuring the voices of Willem Dafoe, Geoffrey Rush, and Allison Janney. --Bret Fetzer
Average review score:

not just another kid flick
When i was first going to see finding nemo, i was like, well this will just be another kid movie, it wont be that great, i doubt i'll ever watch it again. but i saw it, and i liked it, i laughed a few times, and it was just a good storyline. The plot is not very big in the movie, marlin, a clown fish, nemo's dad, loses his son, when he goes to touch a boat, just to prove he can do what he wants to. Marlin gets freaked out, and eventually runs into a fish with short term memory, dorry, and they go an adveture to find his son. The main comedy usually comes from dory because of her short term memory. Back to the plot, even though it is a ver small, and weak plot there are many sub-plots along the way. They meet sharks who nearly kill them, a fish that also nearly kills them, seagulls, little fish who make fun of marlin through charades, and who could forget the turtles. The turtles are like hippies, who say, totally and dude, which also makes more comedy for the movie. But what is happening to nemo this whole time? Well once he gets picked up by the scuba guy, we find him in a fish-tank in a dentist's office, with a lot of fish he doesnt know, but soon becomes friends with. Nemo meets all of the fish, and becomes friends with them, but most of them are older, but nemo still makes good friends. Nemo finds out that in 3 days or so a freaky looking girl, who the fish call a "fish killer", is going to come to get nemo, so nemo has to take action. The fish tell them this fantastic plan, that ends up not even working. So by the end, because of confusion, marlin and dory think nemo is dead, but he isn't, and nemo finally escapes, and returns to his father. But right then fishermen pull a net down to the water, and catch try to catch all of the fish, but from what nemo's friends teach him, he gets them all to swim down, and they are all free. By the very end, dory begins to live with marlin and nemo, and marlin is now much more looser, and isnt scared of what might happen. The sharks keep their "fish are friends not food" meetings, and dory continues to go. Also by the end marlin, being a clown fish who never was funny, turns out to be a funny fish, who actually can tell jokes. so in the end, you, your siblings, or daughter or son, love the movie, and so do you. This is not just abother kid flick, i reccomend this for everyone. So in the end, you get a funny, heart warming, story that you and younger kids love.

Pixar's best, hands down
This movie is brilliant - a wonder ride for children of all ages, from 4 to 84! The voices of the colorful characters are very well cast (Ellen Degeneres as Dory, and Willem Defoe as Scar are so convincing you almost want to believe that they *are* talking fish), and the adventures are breathtaking, exhilerating, and frightening all at the same time. Plus, the movie has so many hysterical moments -- pelicans crashing into windows, the famous "bird bubbles" scene (which is definitely in one of the trailers), and of course the evil seagulls croaking "mine". No one could resisted being amused, amazed, and satisfied with this movie. You'll want to ride the East Australian Current again and again!

Der süsseste Disney Film aller Zeiten!
Heute erst in Deutschland im Kino gestartet, aber auf jeden Fall jetzt schon der beste Film des Jahres.
Anschauen und Kaufen lohnt sich!
:-)
Many Greetiings from Germany!


A Bug's Life - Collector's Edition
Released in DVD by Walt Disney Home Video (27 May, 2003)
MPAA Rating: G (General Audience)
Directors: Andrew Stanton and John Lasseter
Starring: Dave Foley and Kevin Spacey
There was such a magic on the screen in 1995 when the people at Pixar came up with the first fully computer-animated film, Toy Story. Their second feature film, A Bug's Life, may miss the bull's-eye but Pixar's target is so lofty, it's hard to find the film anything less than irresistible.

Brighter and more colorful than the other animated insect movie of 1998 (Antz), A Bug's Life is the sweetly told story of Flik (voiced by David Foley), an ant searching for better ways to be a bug. His colony unfortunately revolves around feeding and fearing the local grasshoppers (lead by Hopper, voiced with gleeful menace by Kevin Spacey). When Flik accidentally destroys the seasonal food supply for the grasshoppers he decides to look for help ("We need bigger bugs!"). The ants, led by Princess Atta (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), are eager to dispose of the troublesome Flik. Yet he finds help--a hearty bunch of bug warriors--and brings them back to the colony. Unfortunately they are just traveling performers afraid of conflict.

As with Toy Story, the ensemble of creatures and voices is remarkable and often inspired. Highlights include wiseacre comedian Denis Leary as an un-ladylike ladybug, Joe Ranft as the German-accented caterpillar, David Hyde Pierce as a stick bug, and Michael McShane as a pair of unintelligible pillbugs. The scene-stealer is Atta's squeaky-voiced sister, baby Dot (Hayden Panettiere), who has a big sweet spot for Flik.

More gentle and kid-friendly than Antz, A Bug Life's still has some good suspense and a wonderful demise of the villain. However, the film--a giant worldwide hit--will be remembered for its most creative touch: "outtakes" over the end credits à la many live-action comedy films. These dozen or so scenes (both "editions" of outtakes are contained here) are brilliant and deserve a special place in film history right along with 1998's other most talked-about sequence: the opening Normandy invasion in Saving Private Ryan.

The video also contains Pixar's delightful Oscar-winning short, Geri's Game. Box art varies. --Doug Thomas

Average review score:

Antz
The story features an industry worker ant whose inventive talents place his colony in peril from a band of marauding grasshoppers. Determined to conpensate for the trouble he has caused, the little fellow undertakes a dangerous journey to "the city", where he hopes to find some resourceful "warrior bugs" for a final recoking with the grasshoppers. This film is witty, luxuriously animated and lots of fun.

Not Pixar's best, but still fun
"A Bug's Life" is actually my least favorite movie from Pixar. However, Pixar's worst is (at least so far) better than the best many other studios can produce, and "Bug's Life" is still a fun movie to watch.

The story of "A Bug's Life" is mainly about an ant named Flik, who is trying to save his ant colony from the bullying rule of a group of grasshoppers. He enlists the aid of a few circus bugs to help the ants fight the grasshoppers, but eventually, it is Flik's ideas which provide the main inspiration for the colony, and the strongest possibility for their liberation.

There's lots of funny jokes and lots of drama in "A Bug's Life." It's a clever film, but in the end, not a very moving one. When I compare it to the "Toy Story" movies or "Finding Nemo" or (especially) "Monsters Inc," I find that all of those films made me laugh and cry, and most importantly, they made me feel for these digital characters they create. The characters in "A Bug's Life" seem not quite so well developed -- they seem clever, but shallow.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed this movie. It's a fun film for my kids and I to watch together, and technically, the animation is pretty amazing. For me, it simply lacked some of the emotional depth of the other movies Pixar made, and so is a slight disappointment when compared to those other movies.

Make sure to watch through the end credits... the bloopers are priceless!

I'm writing this review for "oppressed ants everywhere"!
Go where no bug has gone before! Join Flik, Princess Atta, Princess Dot, Heimlich the caterpillar (the food lover), Slim the
walking-stick, Francis the ladybug and Rosie the spider. (doing
a web of safety in less than 50-- bleh!) Now that "in less than 50--bleh!" is in a outtake starring P.T Flea where he says "Spinning a web of safety in less than 50--bleh!". The other parts of the gang are the "Blueberry" troops, Dr. Flora, Thorny,
Cornelius, Queen, Dim the beetle, Mr. Soil, Tuck & Roll
(the pill bug cannonballs!) and their arch villian Hopper.
Now, in this movie, Flik (Dave Foley) is searching for "oppressed
bugs everywhere" but he can't. So he tries to get help from Princess Dot, P.T Flea's circus lineup ( voiced by Bonnie Hunt,
Brad Garrett, Michael McShane, Madeline Kahn and Denis Leary. ) and the Queen (Phyllis Diller). So that means the sun grows the food, the ants pick the food, the ants keep the food, the ants
eat the food and the people watch the movie.


The Godfather DVD Collection
Released in DVD by Paramount Home Video (19 August, 2003)
MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Starring: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, and Al Pacino
Throughout his long, wandering, often distinguished career Francis Ford Coppola has made many films that are good and fine, many more that are flawed but undeniably interesting, and a handful of duds that are worth viewing if only because his personality is so flagrantly absent. Yet he is and always shall be known as the man who directed the Godfather films, a series that has dominated and defined their creator in a way perhaps no other director can understand. Coppola has never been able to leave them alone, whether returning after 15 years to make a trilogy of the diptych, or re-editing the first two films into chronological order for a separate video release as The Godfather Saga. The films are our very own Shakespearean cycle: they tell a tale of a vicious mobster and his extended personal and professional families (once the stuff of righteous moral comeuppance), and they dared to present themselves with an epic sweep and an unapologetically tragic tone. Murder, it turned out, was a serious business. The first film remains a towering achievement, brilliantly cast and conceived. The entry of Michael Corleone into the family business, the transition of power from his father, the ruthless dispatch of his enemies--all this is told with an assurance that is breathtaking to behold. And it turned out to be merely prologue; two years later The Godfather, Part II balanced Michael's ever-greater acquisition of power and influence during the fall of Cuba with the story of his father's own youthful rise from immigrant slums. The stakes were higher, the story's construction more elaborate, and the isolated despair at the end wholly earned. (Has there ever been a cinematic performance greater than Al Pacino's Michael, so smart and ambitious, marching through the years into what he knows is his own doom with eyes open and hungry?) The Godfather, Part III was mostly written off as an attempted cash-in, but it is a wholly worthy conclusion, less slow than autumnally patient and almost merciless in the way it brings Michael's past sins crashing down around him even as he tries to redeem himself. --Bruce Reid
Average review score:

dog eat dog world
Oh, if only I had a family like this. I'll make him an offer he can't refuse. Put a dead horse in bed with me anyday.

Indipensible masterpiece
I wouldn't know how to even begin writing a review of two films that have become cultural icons Godfather Parts I and II are certainly in that category. There is so much here in addition to unforgettable performances by Brando, Pacino, De Niro,Duvall, Cann and so many others. The plot is intricate. The use of flashback sequences has never been utilized to such effect. The sets and the time period are perfectly depicted. The screenplay is so memorable that it is often quoted and used as a reference in other films and everyday speech. This DVD collection is beautifully packaged and the transfer to DVD is flawless. The extras included are well done and interesting. Overall I'd have to say this is a great investment and one of my prized possesions. Any serious film lover deserves to have this in their collection.

Coppola's magnam opus
The Godfather never looked so good. This is a very impressive set with director's cuts of all the versions and plenty of extra material to keep you going once you've watched the three masterful films in their entirety. This is Coppola's magnam opus, beautifully restored on DVD. There have been many mafia movies and TV shows but this is unquestionably still the best. All the themes are here, as the Corleone family extends its control beyond the Bronx and into the country at large. Al Pacino gives a classic performance as the good seed gone bad, as he digs himself ever deeper into the dark underworld. The metamorphosis is staggering. What makes these films so amazing are the first rate performances and the intimacy of the storytelling, which has never been matched.


Seven - New Line Platinum Series
Released in DVD by Warner Home Video (19 December, 2000)
MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Director: David Fincher
Starring: Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, and Kevin Spacey
The most viscerally frightening and disturbing homicidal maniac picture since The Silence of the Lambs, Seven is based on an idea that's both gruesome and ingenious. A serial killer forces each of his victims to die by acting out one of the seven deadly sins. The murder scene is then artfully arranged into a grotesque tableau, a graphic illustration of each mortal vice. From the jittery opening credits to the horrifying (and seemingly inescapable) concluding twist, director David Fincher immerses us in a murky urban twilight where everything seems to be rotting, rusting, or molding; the air is cold and heavy with dread. Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt are the detectives who skillfully track down the killer--all the while unaware that he has been closing in on them, as well. Gwyneth Paltrow and Kevin Spacey are also featured, but it is director Fincher and the ominous, overwhelmingly oppressive atmosphere of doom that he creates that are the real stars of the film. It's a terrific date movie--for vampires. --Jim Emerson
Average review score:

Undeniably visually accompished, but morally gruesome
You can't deny that the way David Fincher depicts the city in his groundbreaking 1995 film SE7EN is both ingenious and seminal: never before had anyone shone a city that looked quite this rainy, quite this claustrophobic, or quite this dark. The credit sequence, in particular, is a little masterpiece of horror, with the murderer's precise handwriting superimposed over photographs of his murders while loud rock music plays.

In terms of storyline, however, the movie is little more than horrorshow straight out of the Grand Guignol. The claims that the depiction of violence in the film are "realistic" are nothing short of absurd: unfrotunately for moviemakers serial killers usually keep to the same means of dispatching their victims, but this film (as with others of its period) suggest instead they strain their imaginations to come up with neato ways of offing their victims. Each murder in succession is presented as outdoing the last in gruesome creativity, as if you're supposed to say after each one, "Oooh, that's a cool way to torture someone to death!" as if you were a particularly bloodyminded teenage boy. There's something really creepy about being maneuvered into this position as a viewer that makes you glad that serial killer films like this one went largely out of fashion after the Nineties.

Spacy nails this! Brad Pitt shows us what he's made of
This is just a damn fine film. It's smart, it's sleek, it's gritty and real and intelligent. Simply amazing performances. So much going on in this film. The human psyche. The predictibility of people. the human condition. It's an awesome flick.

yeah it's that good
when you see a realistic movie you know it's good. i liked this movie to every extent. it's a likeable movie.


We Were Soldiers
Released in DVD by Paramount Home Video (19 August, 2003)
MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Director: Randall Wallace
Starring: Mel Gibson
Based on the book by Lt. Col. Harold Moore (ret.) and journalist Joseph Galloway, We Were Soldiers offers a dignified reminder that the Vietnam War yielded its own crop of American heroes. Departing from Hollywood's typically cynical treatment of the war, writer-director Randall Wallace focuses on the first engagement of American soldiers with the North Vietnamese enemy in November 1965. Moore (played with colorful nuance by Mel Gibson) and nearly 400 inexperienced troopers from the U.S. Air Cavalry were surrounded by 2,000 North Vietnamese Army soldiers, and the film re-creates this brutal firefight with graphic authenticity, while telling the parallel story of grieving army wives back home. While UPI reporter Galloway (Barry Pepper) risks his life to chronicle the battle, Wallace offers a balanced (though somewhat fictionalized) perspective while eliciting laudable performances from an excellent cast. Like the best World War II dramas of the 1940s, We Were Soldiers pays tribute to brave men while avoiding the pitfalls of propaganda. --Jeff Shannon
Average review score:

Good contemporary Vietnam film
"We Were Soldiers" is the true story of the 7th Airborne Cavalry as they landed in Vietnam lowlands at only regiment size...and found themselves under attack by four North Vietnamese divisions! It was the first moment the American military went at the North Vietnamese, mono y mono. It is told as a good, exciting narrative.

The battle scenes are fairly well done and you get a glimpse of front line hell, especially for the "lost platoon" that was stranded early in the battle. Also, contrary to what some of the other reviewers have said, you get a better side of the North Vietnamese than you do in some films. The book "We Were Soldiers, Once and Young" was written by the American colonel himself and he portrayed or spoke of the enemy in a well meaning tone, and while its hard to have compassion for the North Vietnamese (they are shooting at American soldiers, after all) you get a tiny glimpse at their lives and thoughts, centering around one particular soldier who writes love letters back home (Mel Gibson's character would later personally deliver his diary and letter to his wife after the war).

The only thing I didn't like about this movie was the scene with the military wives getting their letters back. Now...it wasn't the fact that they had the scenes at all, in fact I was perfectly fine with it - it showed what wives go through and what the time period then was like - however I guess the real problem I had was the pacing. It seemed to slow things down.

But it didn't really affect my thought for the movie too much. I still liked the battle scenes and the characters - in fact, Mel Gibson's character was almost a near mirror of my father. The scene where he explains war to his daughter was almost word for word how my father explained war to me when I was young. They also get military life down fairly well, and I think its good that at least ONE movie out there shows what life is like with a father in the military, and does it in a realistic manner. On a final, unrelated note, I believed "Sgt. McKenzie" was a fitting theme for this movie for its lyrics and meaning.

Overall, a good film about one of the most influential albeit underrated battles in American history.

Great, Great, Great....
I thought this movie was absolutley amazing. And this is coming from someone that does not like war movies. And believe it or not, I come from a military family. I love my troops to death but I have trouble watching war movies because they all seem to show all the gore, but none of the emotional depth behind those deaths. My father fought in Vietnam and didn't like to talk about it. However, this film made him talk to me about it. He felt the emotional and physical pain of the soldiers when they felt completely hopeless. Going into battle knowing you were completely surrounded but still wanting to fght for your country... that's what my father felt and that's what I felt. People can complain and complain until the day that they die that this war was useless, but the young boys that went to war knew that they were fighting for their country... for their right to live. Regardless of what they felt at the time, living in the USA meant more to them. So they fought for their lives, even though their backs were against the wall. Maybe I liked this movie more, because my dad went through the same situation... but regardless...

I thought this movie showed the courage and bravery that our soldiers had. Mel Gibson was incredible, as always. Chris Klein was someone that I thought that I could never take serious, but this movie proved otherwise. He showed me human interest, which I honestly thought I couldn't feel with him in it.

If you want to see a movie with honesty and raw courage, I recommend "We were Soldiers". And if you hate this movie simply because you hate the fact that the Vietnam War existed.... then you didn't really watch this movie. I do not think that war is always the answer, but... sometimes if you love the USA, then you've got to be willing to fight for it.

The Greatest War Movie Ever
We Were Soldiers was the greatest war movie I have ever seen. It beats Platoon, Gettysburg, Full Metal Jacket, and Hamburger Hill. I think this was the best performance Mel Gibson has made since the Lethal Weapon Series. This movie has action and it also has a few funny parts in it too. This movie has got me so hooked that I am even reading the book. A must see movie!!!


Lilo & Stitch
Released in DVD by Walt Disney Home Video (03 December, 2002)
MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Directors: Chris Sanders (III) and Dean DeBlois
Starring: Chris Sanders (III) and Daveigh Chase
Warm, funny, and imaginative, Lilo & Stitch is the best animated feature the Walt Disney Studios have produced in years. On the planet Turo, mad scientist Jumba Jookiba (voice by David Ogden Stiers) has created a miniature monster programmed for destruction. When the monster escapes to Earth, it's adopted as a pet and named "Stitch" by Lilo (Daveigh Chase), a lonely little Hawaiian girl. Lilo and her older sister Nani (Tia Carrere) have been struggling to stay together since their parents died. Stitch and Lilo share some hilarious adventures, evading welfare officer Cobra Bubbles (Ving Rhames) and galactic police agents. They learn the timely lesson that a family can be something you're born into--or something you assemble. A warmth and sincerity that recall The Iron Giant and the films of Hiyao Miyazaki make Lilo a delightful fantasy adults and children can truly enjoy together. --Charles Solomon
Average review score:

Lilo & Stitch
If you're under the age of 12 and know nothing about the greedy corporate capitalism of Disney, Lilo and Stitch might just be the perfect movie for you. It lacks authenticity, it's a base for spawning tons of sequels and games, and it of course has that certain tender moment at the end that is bursting at the seams with morales. It will make your child want to have all the additional merchandise and games.

Half of the title of the movie, Stitch, is actually Experiment 626, a runaway alien that escaped from the very generic-like Galactic Federation armarda of ships around a generic-like nebula and found a safe haven on the planet Earth. The Galactic Federation takes chase, Stitch finds a friend on Earth, and without too much hard thought, you can figure out how it ends without even touching the DVD. All this action takes place on Hawaii, or what Hawaii represents to Disney, hula skirts, flame throwing, and choice waves to surf. I can't understand why it tries to delve itself into mature topics such as social services, and still has lame kiddie jokes and morales upon morales.

But, for the everyday watcher, he or she will probably love this movie, hate the future incarnations, and find the dialogue very funny. Since Disney doesn't succeed very often with the creation of new movies, you have to give them credit for creating something watchable. You also can give them credit for creating something with a good amount of thought, it doesn't take itself totally seriously, and it recreates characters very well. The DVD is lame, doesn't have very much information within, and has a lot of games. It dodges the topics of how the art was created to resemble Hawaii, instead talking about Hawaii itself.

If you hate Disney, you will still enjoy this film for what it is, and at least find it 7 times better than Brother Bear.

An oddity really. Unlikely heroine But it works
The message of this film seems to be that some kids just don't act like others. They just don't fit in at all. Poor Lilo can't behave like the other girls. She has different concerns than they do. Stitch is an alien trained to be destructive, but he learns from Lilo's example. He changes. Stitch is Lilo's friend and she loves him.

Nice music--Elvis. Cute flick

Great movie - but watch the 3 and under
Great movie. My daughter, who was almost 2 when she fell in love with it, loves it as to my husband and I. The only downfall I caught was that my daughter now licks mine and my husbands arms (Lilo licked her sisters arm when she caught her to ask her why she acted the way she did) when we're trying to talk to her. She also learned to throw herself face down on the floor and mumble unaudiable words when she did something wrong (also a scene when Lilo's sister tried to talk to her about the way she did when the Social Worker visited). She started throwing all her toys in the center of her room and growl stomping through them, throwing them up in the air and screaming (Stitch built the town in Lilo's room and then "destroyed" it). I just found it to be influencial - and not in a good way.
We took the movie away for about 3 months and slowly reintroduced it to her, explaining (while watching the movie)that Lilo was being a baby and that she was whininng because what she did was bad. Also telling our daughter that Stitch was behaving badly.
**Now she can point out when Stitch does something in the movie that my husband and I do not approve of.


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