Hudson Movie Reviews

These are the most common complaints I have heard most people make against this film, but I am going to leave those things adside and judge the film simply as a comedy, but first a brief synopsis.

Wayne Hoover is a well to do car salesman in Midland city and he is having a very bad day. He is starting to see things that are really not there and hear voices that are really not there. He is going insane and he knows it.

Kilgore Trout is a sci fi writer who writes outrageous stories that appear in pornograpyh magazines. On the whim of one of his only fans he is invited to Midland city for an arts festival and decides to go. When Wayne and Kilgore meet all hell breaks loose.

The sad truth though is that all hell does not break loose as it should in a comedy like this. The performances are very subdued. For instance Wayne Hoover has a scene with an employee who is secretly a cross dresser about his clothing! What a hoot huh! Unfortunatley no, it is not a hoot it is barely even a chirp. I expected Wayne to jump up on the desk screaming and ranting as would befit a man going insane, but instead he calmly explains to his employee that he should wear more colorful clothes.

I rented this movie expecting a skillfully crafted black comedy, what I got was a gray farce. If you are renting this movie and you read the book you will be dissappointed. If you are renting this movie and you have not read the book you will be equally dissappointed, it is just all around bad.

As a comedy it comes up short. There are hardly any funny scenes. I do not recall laughing once.

You either get it, or you don't.

The other acting wasn't that great, unfortunately. If the other actors hadn't acted like it was so much of a drama, and treated it more like a comedy, it could've turned out a little better. I would recommend this for lovers of comedy.

Recommended for ages 6 and up. Rated PG for mild language (hardly noticeable) and some action sequences.

This movie may be a bit scary for younger children, because of some of the gun fighting, but this is lightened up by the near-sightedness (or is it pure stupidity?) of Magoo. Younger children will enjoy the silly slapstick comedy.

The movie begins in Italy, where Kuki, played by Kim Bassinger, is a member of the partying set. On one night of revelry, she is nearly killed in a horrific car wreck. While recovering, she realizes how vacant her life is. She feels that the only worthwhile thing she has is her young son, Emanuele [Liam Aiken]. She falls in love with Paulo [Vincent Perez], a restless but charming man, and they soon discover that they have a mutual love for Africa. When he decides he wants to take up ranching in Kenya, it doesn't take much to persuade her to go with him, much to the dismay of her powerful socialite mother, Franca [Eva Marie Saint]. When they arrive, they find their work cut out for them. There is barely a road to their land, and the ranch house is a wreck. Kuki learns that chasing lions out of the front yard and elephants out of her vegetable garden is nothing unusual. Paulo enjoys going hunting with his buddies, but in Africa, these trips often last up to ten days. With no telephone, Kuki is often left to manage the place on her own, and this is her most difficult adjustment. It takes her a long while to understand that, in Africa, time has a different rhythm.

Kim Bassinger is totally believable as Kuki. You can see this woman running a vast ranch in real life. There is one scene in particular, a crisis involving her son, where her acting is as good as it gets. The photography is magnificent, although with Kenya and South Africa as backdrops, I imagine it's hard to take a bad shot.

Now for the bad news: The script is below par. The movie is filled with dramatic events, but most of them are disconnected. For example, at one point there is a fierce storm which nearly destroys the house. We see the destruction, but in the next scene we are into another subject, making the storm sequence pointless. The result of the script problems is that, while we witness several events that should be emotionally powerful, we wind up being rather detached from them. The native Africans are always in the background. This makes no sense, because for Kuki and her husband to control 100,000 acres, they would have to had have great interaction with the people. In fact, how did they ever run it at all, since, as the movie would have it, Paulo was always away on a hunting trip? These are just a few of the myriad script problems.

For Bassinger's performance alone, this movie is worth seeing, but don't expect to be swept away by the story. For more accurate information on the real Kuki Gallman, who has turned her land into one of the great wildlife refuge and research centers in Africa, go to her Website...

There is very little depth to this movie, it skims over a lot of potentially interesting plots/sub-plots but doesn't go anywhere! Which is too bad because I think Kuki must be a deep and interesting person.

As many others have said "for heavens sake .. don't buy it"

Like i said, if u r a feminist....u prolly like it regardless of how bad it was done.

Thankfully, it has been a little while since I saw it and it is starting to fade from my memory.

The plot, which was hard to determine, was plain silly. Since when does a tile bathroom go up in flames from a Bic lighter? ...

This is a powerful and introspective film about what it means to declare oneself a victim, or even to declare oneself a victim no more. The Smokers raises serious questions about our actions and responsibilities, and leaves the viewer struggling to find the answers.

"The Screaming Skull" is about a newlywed couple who come to live in an old vacant house that is owned by the husband after his previous wife mysteriously died. At night a skull haunts the wife all throughout the house. Convinced it's her husband's dead wife trying to scare her, she is viewed as crazy - she had already spent some time in a mental hospital after witnessing the drowning of her parents.

Although the budget is low and the film seems to drag at times, it's good for the fact that it really tried to build suspense and give the audience an interesting story to follow. There are a few twists in the movie that you may figure out early on, but that's the fun of the movie. You also have to laugh at the fact that at the beginning of the movie, the producers announce that they will provide free burial services to those who die of fright while watching "The Screaming Skull".

I would definitely recommend this film to people who love old horror B-movies. This is one the few that will leave you thoroughly entertained!

As far as stock shots are concerned, BUFFALO BILL seems to be the absolute winner, at least in the western genre. Stock shots of the battle scene (War Bonnet Creek) were used by Fox in numerous productions. PONY SOLDIER with Tyrone Power (begining of the movie). SIEGE AT FEATHER RIVER (end of the movie, which was produced by Panoramic which provided FOX with B pictures). THE TIME TUNNEL TV series (Episode : Little Big Horn) also used the battle to pass as Custer's famous last stand.
Another depiction of that battle, from THEY DIED WITH THEIR BOOTS ON starring Errol Flynn, was used in BUGLES IN THE AFTERNOON starring Ray Milland. Though THEY DIED was black and white, and BUGLES Technicolor, the stock shot did fit because it was being watch through binoculars by Ray Milland and modified from black and white to sepia.

If anyone knows of other stock shots in westerns, I'd be glad to read about that.

Does anyone know of any other films that utilized parts of older films as part of their format to save on production costs? I'd like to hear from anyone on this. I know this happens, especially in World War II films with documentary battle footage, but haven't noticed the use of regular production footage in newer movies, unless they referred to the earlier film as a link in a series.

Anyway, I thought Meg Ryan was terrific in this film. In her other films she always tried to be cute and funny. When I was younger I liked that, but then I found her boring. But she's good in this one as the middle child who has the (mis)luck of caring for her dying father. Keaton, on the other hand, is totally unconvincing as either a magazine mogul or first daughter, and she had no screen presence at all; plus her outfit and makeup, which are meant to make her character look younger than the actress herself, are a disaster. Kudlow does what she does best: playing a dumb, clueless blonde.

As for the story, it has certain charms, but ultimately falls apart because it's confusing and melodramatic. (Be sure to watch a deleted scene on the DVD.) As some reviewers pointed out all too often the movie seems directionless, and the on-screen chemistry of the three sisters is rather lacking. Funny Evie keeps asking about the name of a "bland" actress from the 50s; the movie just gets more and more bland. But Ryan is good enough that she keeps the film moving and makes me like her again.

Many people view this movie as a comedy. It is definitely not a comedy. It is a drama. If you watch closely and really pay attention to what is going on, then you'll see the difference. Eve (Ryan) is trying to balance her son and husband and caring for her father. Something that Maddy (Kudrow), a soap star and Georgia (Keaton), the head of a magazine entitled 'Georgia' will not do. They are too wrapped up in their own lives to come and help care for their dying father. Yes, the ending is a little predictable, but it is also very touching. If you're looking for a movie that has everyone getting along all the time, don't rent this. But if you want to watch a movie that shows what true family can be, rent this. Granted, many families are not like this, but hey, you never know!

The film was done on a small budget and it shows.
Ironically, some of the cinematography is luscious! They truly captured some magic in the Ocean in South Africa. With that and some interesting shark stock footage, makes the experience just short of bearable. The actors are either amateur or they phone in the performance.

This film is driven by fistfights and verbal negotiation with an occasional shark fin in the background. The DVD has a full screen transfer to fit a regular television screen. Don't bother watching this on a widescreen. Better yet, don't bother watching this. Followed up by a slightly more exciting sequel...