Inzaghi, Simone Movie Reviews

This film is sadly one of the few opportunities most Americans will have to see the great Italian comedian named Toto. Toto is to Italy what Bob Hope is to America. He starred in over 100 films, most of which are still played regularly on Italian television today. I discovered him myself only three years ago when I moved to Naples. His old B&W films always have me smiling and laughing at his comic genius. I've wanted to share these films with family in the states, but to my surprise "Big Deal on Madonna Street" seems the only subtitled one available! I've seen this particular film on late night TV and it is quite good as other reviews have already stated. It's a wonderful addition to any film buff's collection. Yet, perhaps someday Toto's other films will make it across the Atlantic. Then you can laugh too as Toto sells the famous Trevi fountain in Rome to an unsuspecting American tourist!

NOTE: In this film Toto plays Dante the retired burglar.

I Soliti Ignoti- I absolutely love this movie. It is one great italian comedy with a brilliant cast at its best in portraying the simplistic and realistic roles of petty criminals. Because of the nature of the characters and their ridiculous behaviour in the proceedings of their scheme to rob a pawnshop, the viewers won't be able to refrain from laughter and enjoy this gang's hopeless adventure. For anyone who loves this movie as much as I do, I recommend to see its sequel made a year later by Nanni Loy: "Audace Colpo dei Soliti Ignoti", with only the absence of Mastroianni but the addition of Nino Manfredi- Sure it's not as great as the first, but having liked these characters so much it is natural that one would want to see them back in action with yet another "scientifically" schemed project along with all their mishaps as usual...and of course, a little more of the unfolding romance of the couple portrayed by Claudia Cardinale and Renato Salvatori. Unfortunately this movie will be hard to find, and it is without subtitles. (Do not confuse this with a third sequel made 20 yrs later which, by the way, I do not recommend at all.) For anyone who hasn't seen Big Deal On Madonna St, please do see it.

This Italian parody of Jules Dassin's *Rififi* turns out to be, after all is said and done, a better movie. Interestingly, it finally seems more original than Dassin's crime movie, despite its obvious mocking of Italian Neo-Realist pretensions AND the hard-bitten *Rififi* (itself a derivation of 1940's American film noirs). *Big Deal on Madonna Street* basically justifies director Mario Monicelli's career . . . at least in my eyes, for I've never much cared for most of his movies. His films have a very narrow interest, meaning, you really have to be Italian to "get" them. In *Big Deal*, Monicelli goes for something more universal with this spoof of the massively infuential French noir, and attains sundry brilliancies. Firstly, the characters are unforgettably individualized, with tics and situations that often turn the gangster archetype on its head. Marcello Mastroianni, for instance, is babysitting his infant while his WIFE serves a short term in jail for smuggling! And somehow the director manages to mock the post-War Italian cinema's unblinking view (a view which was monotonously repeated, starting with Rosselini's *Open City*) of the desperate plight of the country's working-class while AT THE SAME TIME carrying on most poignantly that tradition. For a comedy, there's a heck of a lot of dirty jails, dirty streets, and dirty people. The notion of a grand robbery -- a one-time "big score" -- is natural on these streets. The overall tone is light, but the grim realities are not hidden. This is not a "hilarious" comedy . . . at least until we get to the Big Caper, which is a smorgasbord of comic ineptness. I won't ruin it by describing it; see it for yourself. By the way, this movie was itself re-made (more or less) twice: Louis Malle tried to Americanize it in his *Crackers* (don't bother), and Woody Allen lightly essayed it just recently with his *Small-time Crooks*. Having praised *Big Deal on Madonna Street*, I will add the caveat that a prior knowledge of *Rififi* and Italian Neo-Realist cinema will enhance your enjoyment of the film. [I'm sorry to report that Criterion's DVD is, simply put, substandard. No features but a trailer, and the subtitles are poorly done, flashing on and off the screen like subliminal messages. As this is a later release (#113, I think), there are no excuses for the shoddiness. It's fair to expect excellence from Criterion, particularly because their products are so expensive. Oh well.]

Both these movies are very fun and entertaining if you like these kind of B to C grade 70's fare. These are like exploitation light...for they are in no way soft core or very violent or profanity ridden. The short subject "Swamp Virgin" is actually better than either film. The whole package goes to together very very well!!

Buy this! It is one of the best something weird titles out there. All three movies on this dvd are great and go together perfectly. The trailers are hilarious. Worth the money.

Swamp Girl is an excellent movie, which I would give 4 stars on its own. Swamp Country is not as good and would get 3 stars on its own. Both movies are low budget films made to be shown at southern U.S. drive-ins, but deserve a wider audience. Getting the two movies together on one dvd with all the extras earns them the elevation to 5 stars.

Swamp Girl is a really fun movie with great characters and even greater locations. Although the print is a bit scratchy at times, the shots of the swamp are magnificent, and you actually feel like you're there in a hostile but beautiful environment, a sense that you don't get with the occassional helicopter shots of the outskirts of swamps you sometimes see in big budget pictures. No, these movies take place in wild, untamed regions. I don't want to spoil the fun of learning how the Swamp Girl wound up being raised in the swamp, or give away any of the fun twists, but you will get to see her go up against nature, progress, rednecks, and an escaped female prisoner and her boyfriend while making use of the swamp environment.

Swamp Country is about a man wrongfully accused of a murder escaping into the swamp until he can clear up his name (there's also a brief subplot about a musician being kidnapped, and a love quadrangle). This film also has some great shots of the swamp and great characters, and is filled with some excellent, catchy tunes (very Johnny Cash). Unforturnately it is longer than it should be and drags in places, otherwise I'd give it a higher rating, but it is still worthwhile viewing for fans of old B movies (it was made around 1971, but has the feeling of a low budget crime short from the 1940s).

Swamp Virgin is an old short from the 1940s using the story of a love triangle as an excuse to show extremely interesting footage of one method used to catch alligators (have a young boy tied to a rope swim out into the swamp in order to attract them (he must be a good swimmer), pull him back to shore before he can be harmed, then shoot the alligator). Swamp Virgin is filled with excellent underwater photography and may have had a good budget for its time. Plus there is a swamp buggy race (very interesting contraptions, and each looks completely different) and trailers to such swamp-related classics as "Attack of the Giant Leeches" and "The Alligator People" from the days when they knew how to make fun trailers.

Don't expect any true masterpieces, but you do get over 3 1/2 hours of films filled with quicksand, snakes, alligators, bears, wild cats, mobsters, rednecks, music, southern accents and all sorts of other fun stuff.

Director Gonick has some imagination....the story is about a gay dj wondering a nightmarish town with some of the weirdest characters I have seen since some old John Water's movies.....this is by far not a Water's film but It strikes the imagination and has some very funny camp comedy. Oh, back to the story...the dj decides to sleep with 2000 men before a great flood swallows the town ....ok enough, just watch the movie and see if you can make sense of the all weird and craziness that is Hey, Happy! Looking forward to the Dvd to freak out my friends.!!!!

Hey Happy ! is that rare type of film that crosses all boundries but in a metaphysical way. It is the journey of a very hot DJ named Sabu (played by Jeremie Yuen) that is on a mission to bed 2000 men. He encounters every type of person in our culture along the way but still completes his mission when he meets Happy. I don't want to spoil the ending but for anyone curious about the outer fringes of the Gay culture this is a must see film ! I was lucky enough to catch it on Bravo and hopefully someday [...] I want this in my permanent DVD collection....

The sound is excellent, the menu is good, the performance is delightful. I turned up the "sharpness" on my Sony 7000 player to compensate for softness. Fortunately, the lighting is great which helps. I think that the softness is the result of a less than premium conversion from the European video system. Nevertheless this kind of thing must be enormously expensive to produce. We should be thankfull to IMAGE for it. I love the disk. I look forward to some "DDD" (all digital) opera dvds of 1998 performances.

This 3 hour opera purports to be 100% Pergolesi. I wouldn't want to have to swear to that, but certainly the music is quite nice and is baroque with a few classical touches. R. Muti conducts a portion of the La Scala orchestra along with arch lutes, theorbos, and harpsichord. The playing is very good, though the string sound is more what I expect of a more modern period. I won't list all the singers, none of whom I recognize except for the Marcaniello (Alessandro Corbelli). There are 6 almost equally important soprano roles and each is sung extremely well. Several of the sopranos are so good that you can only wish the opera were longer so that you could here more. The male roles are well sung and the Marcaniello is excellent for the comic old codger role. While the plot is inconsequential, the comedy is very well done.

This would be a 5 star review if only the box contained both DVD's.I hope it was only my copy that was incomplete, but be warned anyway.

This Paddington Bear collection offers stories from the new two-dimensional cartoon series made in Britain not long ago and brought to America with the voices dubbed into American accents. Parents who remember the old classic stop-motion Paddington Bear series with a puppet bear, that Disney licensed from England a long while back, may wish to pick up those tapes too: the first video volume of the old series is called "Please Look After This Bear" and features the wonderfully understated narration of the late Sir Michael Horden. The puppet bear in the original series was developed by Ivor Wood, who went on to develop Postman Pat, a huge hit in Britain, and "caviar to the generals" to some North American families with small children.

Other great kids shows are: Mouse and Mole, Fireman Sam, Old Bear Stories, Brum and the Baby Carriage, Old Bear Stories, William's Wish Wellingtons, Noddy, Kipper, The Secret of Roan Inish, Big Friendly Giant, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, the Jeremy Brett-acted Sherlock Holmes mysteries, Princess and the Goblin.

Paddington Brown is a very endearing bear for the young and old. He has a straightforward and simple approach to life and he only sees the good in every situation. He gets into messes but always manages to turn things around. This is a wholesome, nonviolent animation for kids.

A Mentally Challenge Man (Damon Wayans) with a Knack of Making Something New with Virious Gadgets of Junk, who is Trying to Change the City of Chicago, who wants to Put-Down the Violence from Street Gangs and Another Crimes. He decide to Built Himself a Crime Fighting Costumes with Weapons of his Own, with the Help of his Older, Wiser Reporter Brother (David Alan Grier) and the Younger Brother becomes a Superhero!

Directed by Mike Binder (Indian Summer) made a goofy light comedy thanks to Damon Wayans-(TV's My Wife and Kids) Dumb Enjoyable Performabce as the Title Role. Robin Givens (Boomerang) plays the Reporter, who has affections of Wayans. The Film was a Box Office Flop in Theaters but Is more Enjoy on Video than it Did in Theaters. It's a Not-Bad Superhero Spoof Suffers from Too Much Language for Kids and Not enough Laughs for Adults. The Film may be Forgotten but It's Still Enjoyable One. Grade:B.

This movie is funny including Damon Wayans, and David Alan Grier. They should have been known as a best team, including that David Alan Grier should be named Just_A_Normal_SidekickMan. I give it a ...(5 out of 5).

ONE OF THE BEST COMEDIES I'VE EVER SEEN! (Accept for Little Nickey.) If you like Major Pain, Blue Streak, or Dude Were's My Car, you'll love this!

This is a very silly movie that hasn't aged well since its release in 1975. It has aspirations of being a clever social satire, but it's really just low-brow entertainment, often not too far removed from the "Skinimax" flicks of the late-80's. That may be a good thing if you're into cult flicks and B-movies, but for most viewers this is too cheesy to even be mildly amusing.

In "Death Race 2000", David Carradine stars as national hero and veteran racer Frankenstein, while Sylvester Stallone plays Machine Gun Joe Viterbo, his biggest competitor. They compete against three other drivers in a transcontinental road race where extra points can be earned by running over pedestrians. One by one, the five cars fall victim to a group of rebels who are intent on putting a stop to the gruesome sport.

The violence, of which there is very little, is played for comedic effect. However I think the intended reaction was more along the lines of "oh man, that was BRUTAL, haha!" rather than "oh man, that looked so cheap, haha!" Low budget film-lovers rejoice! This is your movie.

Interested parties should be prepared for Carradine's "dominatrix" outfit, complete with mask and cape. I think it was supposed to make him look sinister, but instead he comes off looking rail-thin and ridiculous. Stallone, in a supporting role as a stereotypical Italian tough guy, steals the movie.

The beautiful supporting actresses also overshadow the star, Carradine. Anyone familiar with producer Roger Corman knows that, in his world, fast cars and gratuitous violence go hand in hand with bare-breasts and the occasional catfight. "Death Race 2000" is no exception.

If you've seen this before and decided it's your type of film, then this is definitely version to get. Stay clear of the 1998 release by Digital Multimedia, a very poor transfer with blurry, grainy images and an ever-present hiss. This 1999 release by New Horizons looks infinitely better and the sound has been digitally re-mastered. It also has a few extras, like the theatrical trailer, bios and an interview with producer Roger Corman.

"Death Race 2000" is an incredibly entertaining movie on various levels. You can sit back and just enjoy the over-the-top acting, amazing cars, and bloody violance, or you can actually get into the story a little deeper, of how America is run by Mr. President and how various people (including, as we eventually find out, Frankenstein) try to take him down for the good of the country.

The film is filmed beautifully, especially when the cars are on the road. There's a lot of action as the cars run over people for points and battle each other to win the race.

The biggest regret I have about this DVD is that it is not in widescreen. This is a shame because, well, if it isn't in widescreen, you are being cheated. And this great film deserves to be in widescreen. (Let the VHS fans have the fullscreen.) Some deleted scenes would have been nice as well, as I have seen photos of action not in the final print, and even in the trailer on the DVD there is a line not in the film ("This is a death race," as said by Frankenstein). Despite no widescreen, still a must-buy.

This look at the year 2000 from the 70's, point of imagination, is just as funny as it is disturbing. This movie is for the hit and run junkie, only you get paid for vehicular murder. The drivers race cross country in an all out frenzy to collect as many points as possible running people over. From the young to the old, rich to the poor, no one is safe on the streets of the future. So the next time you cross the street you better think twice about it, because Frankenstein ( David Carradine) Or Sly Stallone's car just might mow you down. The quality of this flic is a little distorted, and cheaply made, but is worth it's weight in gold, and should keep you amused the whole way through.
So grab the gear shifter and hang on For Dear Life, this is one crazy ride. Beep Beep The KritiK

This is a very silly movie that hasn't aged well since its release in 1975. It has aspirations of being a clever social satire, but it's really just low-brow entertainment, often not too far removed from the "Skinimax" flicks of the late-80's. That may be a good thing if you're into cult flicks and B-movies, but for most viewers this is too cheesy to even be mildly amusing.

In "Death Race 2000", David Carradine stars as national hero and veteran racer Frankenstein, while Sylvester Stallone plays Machine Gun Joe Viterbo, his biggest competitor. They compete against three other drivers in a transcontinental road race where extra points can be earned by running over pedestrians. One by one, the five cars fall victim to a group of rebels who are intent on putting a stop to the gruesome sport.

The violence, of which there is very little, is played for comedic effect. However I think the intended reaction was more along the lines of "oh man, that was BRUTAL, haha!" rather than "oh man, that looked so cheap, haha!" Low budget film-lovers rejoice! This is your movie.

Interested parties should be prepared for Carradine's "dominatrix" outfit, complete with mask and cape. I think it was supposed to make him look sinister, but instead he comes off looking rail-thin and ridiculous. Stallone, in a supporting role as a stereotypical Italian tough guy, steals the movie.

The beautiful supporting actresses also overshadow the star, Carradine. Anyone familiar with producer Roger Corman knows that, in his world, fast cars and gratuitous violence go hand in hand with bare-breasts and the occasional catfight. "Death Race 2000" is no exception.

If you've seen this before and decided it's your type of film, then this is definitely version to get. Stay clear of the 1998 release by Digital Multimedia, a very poor transfer with blurry, grainy images and an ever-present hiss. This 1999 release by New Horizons looks infinitely better and the sound has been digitally re-mastered. It also has a few extras, like the theatrical trailer, bios and an interview with producer Roger Corman.

"Death Race 2000" is an incredibly entertaining movie on various levels. You can sit back and just enjoy the over-the-top acting, amazing cars, and bloody violance, or you can actually get into the story a little deeper, of how America is run by Mr. President and how various people (including, as we eventually find out, Frankenstein) try to take him down for the good of the country.

The film is filmed beautifully, especially when the cars are on the road. There's a lot of action as the cars run over people for points and battle each other to win the race.

The biggest regret I have about this DVD is that it is not in widescreen. This is a shame because, well, if it isn't in widescreen, you are being cheated. And this great film deserves to be in widescreen. (Let the VHS fans have the fullscreen.) Some deleted scenes would have been nice as well, as I have seen photos of action not in the final print, and even in the trailer on the DVD there is a line not in the film ("This is a death race," as said by Frankenstein). Despite no widescreen, still a must-buy.

This look at the year 2000 from the 70's, point of imagination, is just as funny as it is disturbing. This movie is for the hit and run junkie, only you get paid for vehicular murder. The drivers race cross country in an all out frenzy to collect as many points as possible running people over. From the young to the old, rich to the poor, no one is safe on the streets of the future. So the next time you cross the street you better think twice about it, because Frankenstein ( David Carradine) Or Sly Stallone's car just might mow you down. The quality of this flic is a little distorted, and cheaply made, but is worth it's weight in gold, and should keep you amused the whole way through.
So grab the gear shifter and hang on For Dear Life, this is one crazy ride. Beep Beep The KritiK

This is a very silly movie that hasn't aged well since its release in 1975. It has aspirations of being a clever social satire, but it's really just low-brow entertainment, often not too far removed from the "Skinimax" flicks of the late-80's. That may be a good thing if you're into cult flicks and B-movies, but for most viewers this is too cheesy to even be mildly amusing.

In "Death Race 2000", David Carradine stars as national hero and veteran racer Frankenstein, while Sylvester Stallone plays Machine Gun Joe Viterbo, his biggest competitor. They compete against three other drivers in a transcontinental road race where extra points can be earned by running over pedestrians. One by one, the five cars fall victim to a group of rebels who are intent on putting a stop to the gruesome sport.

The violence, of which there is very little, is played for comedic effect. However I think the intended reaction was more along the lines of "oh man, that was BRUTAL, haha!" rather than "oh man, that looked so cheap, haha!" Low budget film-lovers rejoice! This is your movie.

Interested parties should be prepared for Carradine's "dominatrix" outfit, complete with mask and cape. I think it was supposed to make him look sinister, but instead he comes off looking rail-thin and ridiculous. Stallone, in a supporting role as a stereotypical Italian tough guy, steals the movie.

The beautiful supporting actresses also overshadow the star, Carradine. Anyone familiar with producer Roger Corman knows that, in his world, fast cars and gratuitous violence go hand in hand with bare-breasts and the occasional catfight. "Death Race 2000" is no exception.

If you've seen this before and decided it's your type of film, then this is definitely version to get. Stay clear of the 1998 release by Digital Multimedia, a very poor transfer with blurry, grainy images and an ever-present hiss. This 1999 release by New Horizons looks infinitely better and the sound has been digitally re-mastered. It also has a few extras, like the theatrical trailer, bios and an interview with producer Roger Corman.

"Death Race 2000" is an incredibly entertaining movie on various levels. You can sit back and just enjoy the over-the-top acting, amazing cars, and bloody violance, or you can actually get into the story a little deeper, of how America is run by Mr. President and how various people (including, as we eventually find out, Frankenstein) try to take him down for the good of the country.

The film is filmed beautifully, especially when the cars are on the road. There's a lot of action as the cars run over people for points and battle each other to win the race.

The biggest regret I have about this DVD is that it is not in widescreen. This is a shame because, well, if it isn't in widescreen, you are being cheated. And this great film deserves to be in widescreen. (Let the VHS fans have the fullscreen.) Some deleted scenes would have been nice as well, as I have seen photos of action not in the final print, and even in the trailer on the DVD there is a line not in the film ("This is a death race," as said by Frankenstein). Despite no widescreen, still a must-buy.

This look at the year 2000 from the 70's, point of imagination, is just as funny as it is disturbing. This movie is for the hit and run junkie, only you get paid for vehicular murder. The drivers race cross country in an all out frenzy to collect as many points as possible running people over. From the young to the old, rich to the poor, no one is safe on the streets of the future. So the next time you cross the street you better think twice about it, because Frankenstein ( David Carradine) Or Sly Stallone's car just might mow you down. The quality of this flic is a little distorted, and cheaply made, but is worth it's weight in gold, and should keep you amused the whole way through.
So grab the gear shifter and hang on For Dear Life, this is one crazy ride. Beep Beep The KritiK

I absolutely love Action God Stephen Sommers' wild little beast of a movie "Deep Rising" with all my heart, because 1) it entertains me monstrously and never fails to get me out of a black depressed funk and 2) it reminds me of all those gorily juicy, full-blooded, red meat horror films they used to make back in the eighties---except this bloody little romp was cranked out in 1998!

That said, get your sea legs, load the double-barrel shotgun, and let's venture into the hold of this derelict. Is "Deep Rising" worth a look? Well let me ask you a few questions:

Do you like the idea of lots of bloodshed, wanton carnage, and wholesale slaughter?

Do you like the prospect of watching the gorgeous (and water-logged) Famke Janssen clamber around a derelict ocean-liner for nearly two hours?

Do you like movies about voracious, wicked sea-beasties that eat first and ask questions later?

Do you like seeing movies in which Evil Cowardly Villains get their just desserts in exactly the fashion they deserve, screaming and mewling in pain and horror?

Have you ever wondered what it's like to buzz around a luxury ocean liner on a ski-doo?

If you answered "yes" to even one of the questions above, then "Deep Rising" is for you. Sommers is the Leonardo da Vinci of the Action Film, and he keeps the pace taut, the dialogue crisp, the blood flowing like cheap Merlot, and the bodycount rising into the double digits! Best of all, you get the sadly underrated Treat Williams as the gruff and mercenary boat-captain-with-a-heart-of-gold (he'd be wearing a fedora and wielding a whip if Sommers thought he could get away with it)
unwittingly transporting a gaggle of terrorists to a cruise-liner for pillage and plunder.

Plot? You want plot? Fine. The terrorists are after loot hidden away on a luxury cruise liner on its maiden voyage, a liner owned by a greedy shipping tycoon played by Anthony Heald. Fun stuff!

A downside to this Pleasure Ship of Death? The CGI graphics, which nearly undo the movie's creepy, ghoulish, uber-gory vibe: the creature itself looks atrocious and has far too much freedom of movement to be truly scary. Sommers should have recognized that with a film of this type, less is more, and stuck with prosthetics.

But I'm quibbling. "Deep Rising" is a perfect little horror flick and just what the doctor ordered if you're in the mood for hungry undersea beasties, gore galore, amoral and greedy villains, and a healthy selection of panicked victims-to-be, to say nothing of the best axe-killing scene this side of "The Shining." Make sure you get a cabin with a picture window and sea-view---Tickets, please.

Jeff Shannon can't say it any better about writer/director Stephen Sommers than he does in his review, but you've got to admit that the director of The Mummy and The Mummy Returns sure does know how to entertain. Deep Rising doesn't aspire to be anything special, and it certainly isn't, but thanks to the solid (if underachieving) cast and gruesome special effects, Deep Rising manages to be better than most of the slew of derivative Aliens knock offs that it is associated to. Treat Williams plays the typical hero role as he and his group of mercenaries arrive on an ocean liner to find most of the crew slaughtered by a huge leviathan like creature with a taste for blood and guts. The special effects are nicely done for the most part, but the film's biggest flaw is that it is entirely too predictable. The rest of the cast includes the gorgeous Famke Janssen (X-Men), Kevin J. O'Conner (The Mummy), Anthony Heald (Silence of the Lambs), Cliff Curtis (Training Day), Djimon Hounsou (Amistad), and the late Trevor Goddard (Pirates of the Caribbean). All in all, if your looking for a half decent way to kill an hour or two, this isn't such a bad choice.

I found "Deep Rising" to be a fun sea monster movie that is sort of a cross between "Beyond The Poseidon Adventure" (the sequel to "The Poseidon Adventure") and "Aliens" only a little more goofy than either of those two films.

The three stars, Treat Williams as the captain of a fast moving boat hired by mercenaries on a secret mission, Famke Janssen as the beautiful pickpocket on-board a cruise ship, Kevin J. O'Connor as the panicky friend of Treat Williams and mechanic of Williams' boat, are all great, but the rest of the cast whom mostly make-up the team of stereotypically macho and obnoxious mercenaries are unlikable.

As for the story and action, I thought it was great until the last five or ten minutes which seems to be the point when the inevitable physics-defying action scenarios begin occurring, but the scenes before that are logical.

Also, I found the sea-monster to be excellent. It reminded me a lot of H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu monster that shows-up as drawings on the covers of his books and I'm sure that's what must have inspired its creation.