Kim Gentes

Put down that remote! This movie ROCKS!

If you didn't like this movie, you should check your pulse. Take a slight grain of salt with this, and you will be on a thrill ride that is a weird blend of tender inner pain (and recovery) and car-crashing blow-up scenes. Directed by David Fincher, The Game is easily one of the top "off-the-beaten-path" movies of all time. In a movie that has action, suspense, romantic thread (albiet weird), emotional appeal, and even a surprise ending, one would think the director went way over the top with this movie. One would be wrong! This and the Martix are my top "see-and-see-again" movies! Oh ya, did I mention the surprise ending?! Finally a surprise that actually works!

Michael Douglas plays a self-absorbed power mover in New York City with all you could ask for, except an actual life. As the story unfolds, his birthday centers his attention on the painfully unreconciled suicide of his father, at least in Douglas' character's mind. A birthday present from his brother (Sean Penn) puts him in the throws of a "game" in which his whole world is thrown upside down. His hope is that he can just survive the "game" and find out what is behind it. The movies true story line is not in how clever Douglas character is, or how he survives one mindnumbing assault after another-- this story is about personal resolution of internal pain. If you are in the mood for thrill-ride suspense, emotional healing, with a touch of romance thrown in (via the chilling but beautiful Deborah Kara Unger) well then this is your movie. Strange but true. Trust me on this one, you will love it!

One of my all time favorite, just plain fun movies

No one likes some good old fasion escapism more than today's American family. Problem is, most films you see will teach your kids things you don't want them to really know. Have an afternoon or evening of time set aside to hang with the family and just can't find a decent film for everyone to enjoy.

Well, my friend, you have hit the jack pot here. The Princess Bride is a silly, two-tiered, all-fun flick that will have the kids laughing and mom and dad rolling on the floor. No one need worry about plot, though, there is a nice little fantasy about a young man winning the princess. This film is certainly not a plot-monger, but who cares! The jokes are layered nicely, in that modern-day Disney-esque way, where the kids love the surface level jokes and juxtapositions, and the parents are bursting out laughing at all the idiotic (yet higher level) meanings of the movie dialog.

From the historic chess dialog, to the raising of a dead person with a piece of chocolate, to fighting giant rats amidst fire bursting ground to dueling the dread pirate roberts, to the quest to revenge against the man with 6-fingers-- this hilarious fairy tale is unforgettable.

Not only should you get this DVD, but you will want to watch it regularily until all members of the family are speaking fluent "Princess Bride" dialog as your family code.

Rob Reiners best film ever.

Possibly the Best Film Ever Made.

Remembering back to when I first saw this film, my wife and I ventured into the theatre and sat down to a little movie in English subtitles, with a very small crowd in the theatre. We didn't actually know it wasn't in english. I can truly say, that didn't matter at all. In about 10 minutes you are completely used to the subtitles, but I found I rarely needed to watch the text. Why? Because the acting in this movie says more with motion and nuance than you need to know for the scene. Roberto Benigni is absolutely perfect in this movie. And as far as the language barrier, you will be much happier to watch this with English subtitles than a translated overdubbed version. The fluidity of the language and warmth of the words in the native tongue give the film amazing authenticity and genuine character. In what will likely become his ultimate life's work, Benigni owns this film on the screen not only as the lead actor, but the director and writer as well.

The setting is holocost-stricken Europe. It follows the rise of Facism in a local community, and you see how it slowly rises to infect and destroy the real people, including Benigni's character (Guido) and his humble family. But the story of Life is Beautiful is anything but a simple trajedy. In fact, what I loved about this movie is that it injects you into somewhat of a comedic fairytale life, in which the clownish character of Guido laughs and gestures his way into the heart of a young girl, Dora (Benigni's real life wife, Nicoletta Braschi). The movie is Chaplin-esque in so many ways, which is why watching it subtitled is a true joy, because you can enjoy the movie from the pure movement and motion of this great actor, all on its own. But the story, like the lives of people in Germany's WWII Europe, takes a stark and horrible turn into the evils of Hitler's holocaust.

And while the film turns notably dark at that point, the compelling character of Guido takes an amazing turn into protection-mode for his small son, trying to shield him from the horrors of the prison camp they are sent to by using humor to keep his son floating in the joyful world of a child. It might seem disfunctional, or even offensive to think of applying humor to such a sobering subject as the Holocaust, but this movie does and amazing job of using humor as a component of hope, instead of a crass jesture to get you to chuckle. It's hard to convey the complexity and simplicity of this marvelous plot without giving it alway to you right here. Simply take my advice and watch this film. You will not be disappointed.

A few years after seeing the film, I threw a party for my wife's 40th birthday, and we rented a local theatre in the local Harkins multiplex, where her friends and family came from around the country to surprise her in the theatre (my wife thought we were going to a regular movie for her birthday, and ended up sitting with 85 people she knew, it was great!). The film I chose for the night- Life Is Beautiful. When the movie started, a number of relatives and friends groaned, as if to say "oh no, we are watching a foriegn subtitled film". They all stayed and where applauding in the conclusion. By the end of the film, most of the crowd was in shuddering amazement, some in tears. It was quite moving.

This is one film that has significant content and that you, your spouse and kids can all see, and all really learn from. Possibly the best movie ever made.

Robbins & Freeman are spectacular; writing perfect.

If you are seeing this review and have never seen this movie, it is likely you have missed one of the top movies in the last 20 years. Directed by Frank Darabont, The Shawshank Redemption is near perfect in its story telling, with a clear plot told in digestable portions. You never feel like the story loses pace or that the screenwriters are hurrying up in the end to fix something they have to resolve in the plot.

Robbins plays Andy Dufresne (a banker wrongly convicted of slaying his wife and her lover) with such perfection, you become convinced of not only the role of this protagonist, but the nature of his character. It is his unquestionable performance that ultimately leads us to be surprised by the changes in the character in the last third of the film. The changes are smart, clear and reasonable, but like real life, they are surprising. This is Robbin's best acting ever.

Morgan Freeman plays an inmate in the Shawshank prison that eventually befriends Andy and is the only one to gain insight into the real motivations of his friend.

Everything about this movie has a crisp and heartfelt message, but none of it is trite or condescending. Also welcoming about this film is the ability it has to convey subplots. Even the story of a released inmate and his struggles and trials to make it on the outside is an piercing potrayal of this world of incarceration and its members.

For those who want a plot to dizzy and spin them, they may find Shawshank Redemption is slow moving, but anyone with patience enough to enjoy this movie brew will be rewarded with perfect acting, screenwriting and directing.

This movie would not be suitable for small children, due to some abuse and violence in the prison setting that would be too harsh to have to explain to small children. But children old enough to watch it will gain great lessons from this cast on themes of honesty, friendship and perserverance. In my mind it is suitable for young people ages 11 and over to watch with the supervision of their parents. It will be a very good film to watch as a family, if you have children this age or above. A great discussion starting point about many important issues.
One of the all-time best films ever.

Visionary & Brilliant; Lucas' sci-fi hero perfect

Creating a masterpiece is something few people ever truly do. Rarely does one's work become known as the pinnacle achievement of a genre, and almost never does that happen in the creators lifetime. But this is the enduring legacy of Star Wars and its creator, George Lucas.

"Star Wars: A New Hope" is our "first step into a larger world". In it we see into the realm of Jedi Knights, the mythical worlds of Tatooine and the vast Empire of evil led by Darth Vader and his powerful master, Emperor Palpatine.

The story of Star Wars was first introduced to the world through this movie, which is somewhat strange since this begins the story precisely in the middle of the narrative. But if Lucas was going to create a platform for telling more of the story, the only way to do that is to present the best foot forward. Star Wars: A New Hope is certainly that. It provides the clearest character contrast, most crucial plot conflicts, and introduced (in its time) the most significant visual effects advancements to enter film since the addition of color movies.

While the greater Star Wars saga actually revolves around the Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker character, who presides across all 6 major commercial movie releases (played by 3 different actors of different ages), Episode 4 is centered around the "son of Skywalker", Luke Skywalker. Introduced as a teenage farm boy on the planet of Tatooine in a galactic expanse in a far away universe, Luke plays the perfect hero for the millions of young people who saw this movie in 1977. Impatient, skilful, adventuresome and somewhat rebellious, he was an archetype for the generation the film spoke to in 1977, and frankly for most post-WWII generations of North Americans.

Lucas knows how to look into a generation and speak directly to it (having mastered that by his 60's time set piece, "American Graffiti"). He takes the elements of cowboy, Romeo & Juliet, evil empire vs. democratic rebel forces, and sci-fi and rolls them together in perfect synchronicity. And while he spins these archetypes into oblivion later on, through plot twists (his infatuation with the princess Lea turns out to be so wrong), this movie stands on its own as a brilliant model for so many that followed.

Not only did Lucas make this film into a building block for a legacy of his own, but hundreds of sci-fi films since then have been trying to catch up by writing actually thoughtful plots, using real characters (not just super heroes), and employing ever amazing levels of the computer enhanced visuals pioneered by this one film. So powerful and successful was the visual and audio works that created the imagery and sound in this movie that several companies were spun off as the result of the technology developed to make this film (this includes Industrial Light and Magic, Skywalker Sound, Lucasfilm, and later Lucasarts, Lucas Digital and more).

The young farm boy, Luke Skywalker, has his world torn apart when his surrogate uncle and aunt (and their entire farm) are vaporized by a regimen of Imperial Storm Troopers. The troopers are looking for secret plans, which were hidden in a droid that was sent, lost, stolen and eventually sold to Luke's uncle. The droid makes its way, however, to the destination of its requester (Princess Leia Organa). An old hermit, who is really a Jedi Knight in seclusion, Ben Kenobi is the intended recipient of the message contained in the droid. Kenobi and Luke meet up and thus begins Luke's tutelage under the old Jedi Master. With his home destroyed, Luke goes with Kenobi on a quest to deliver important plans to a rebel force. The plans are meant to help decipher (and hopefully attack and destroy) the components and weaknesses of a new Imperial super weapon known as the "Death Star".

As the plot moves on, the characters added are excellent in supporting this fascinating story. Most notable, Harrison Ford plays the rogue smuggler Han Solo. This witty and earthy character makes the Star Wars saga wonderfully enjoyable. Without Ford's intensely engaging dialog style and sarcastic wit, the Star Wars we know today would not exist. Every character falls in line after that. And each one plays well in this galactic soup of alien races and far away planets.

I will let you watch the film for the plot depth and conclusions, but it is a great ride. The only lacking thing here is that in later films the Luke character never develops as a human being, let alone as a Jedi. While this doesn't hinder Episode 4: A New Hope, it does harm the continuity of the Star Wars story, which requires that we eventually end up with a well-trained, mature Luke Skywalker to pass on the Jedi legacy and create an entire academy to develop Jedi for the following generations. Neither here, nor in Episodes 5 or 6 is Mark Hamil (Luke Skywalker) able to develop maturity into the Skywalker character, even though he clearly develops skill. I don't think this was a plot error, as you do see him in increased responsibility and situations, but its clear that his childish responses and acting don't create the nuance for all of us thinking Luke Skywalker could lead anyone else, let alone train a generation of Jedi.

Barring that one problem, Mark Hamil is, however, perfect for the impatient, suppressed teenager needed for this introductory story of Luke. He and Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia) play their parts effectively and with wit themselves.

Lucas direction is epic, and through it, he gave sci-fi notable honor as "real film".

If you have never seen this classic, it is one you absolutely must see. I would encourage you to see the films in the order they were released, as well, rather than the chronology they espouse. This is because I think the story moves more consistently when viewed this way, and you also see Lucas development of thought in a linear way.

Overall, the best sci-fi picture you will ever see.

Amazon DVD Link : http://amzn.to/YlWSiL

Review by Kim Gentes