Topic: KinkyCyborg's Random Reviews 2010

[Tom]

Added it to my want list.  If I can replace my existing copy with a complete version I'd sooner just wait to watch it in all it's glory. 

Don't replace it! These two versions are two different entities altogether. I think for the first time it would be better to watch the movie version, not the TV cut. Both versions are an intended version. At the time of filming both a movie and a TV mini series were planned. These two have different pacing and different focus.

[Achim]

Don't replace it! These two versions are two different entities altogether. I think for the first time it would be better to watch the movie version, not the TV cut. Both versions are an intended version. At the time of filming both a movie and a TV mini series were planned. These two have different pacing and different focus.

This is what I remember as well (I saw both during their original release). So, the Director's Cut is really the odd one out here.

[KinkyCyborg]

Title:Fandango
Year: 1985
Director: Kevin Reynolds
Rating: PG
Length: 91 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, French: Dolby Digital: Mono
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Stars:
Kevin Costner
Judd Nelson (1959)
Sam Robards
Chuck Bush
Brian Cesak

Plot:
College is over, real life can start. Well, not yet. The Groovers, five college roommates in Texas, class of '71, find breaking up is hard to do. So Gardner, the group's official "Groover and Shaker", decides that he and his buddies should chuck their worries about an imminent wedding, the Vietnam draft and crashing the working world to take off in Phil's Caddy for a final footloose tear across the Lone Star State.

Join their far-flung post-graduation fandango. A top cast, including rising stars Kevin Costner as party guy Gardner and Judd Nelson as straight-arrow Phil, and the clever script and direction of first-timer Kevin Reynolds ('Robin Hood Prince of Thieves') make it a rip-roaring ride in the tradition of 'American Graffiti' and 'Breaking Away'.

Extras:
Scene Access
Feature Trailers
Closed Captioned

My Thoughts:

Animal House meets Road Trip meets Day Zero.

This movie is pretty good with more than a few laugh out loud moments. Chaining the car to the train and the parachute full of dirty laundry were priceless. Kevin Costner had very few good comedic turns but this was one of them.

Judd Nelson had a stretch of some really great movies, including this one, the brat packs flicks, From The Hip, Relentless and New Jack City. Now if he's in anything at all it's some cheesy straight-to-video movie.    I fully expect to see him on either The Surreal Life or Dancing With The Stars any day now which will officially mark the end.   

KC

Rating:

[KinkyCyborg]

Title:In Cold Blood
Year: 1996
Director: Jonathan Kaplan
Rating: PG
Length: 179 Min.
Video: Full Frame 1.33:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1
Subtitles:

Stars:
Anthony Edwards
Eric Roberts
Sam Neill
Kevin Tighe
Gillian Barber

Plot:
Taken from actual events,this hauntingly detailed and psychologically riveting film is based on a book by Truman Capote.
In 1959 two ex-cons slaughter the Clutter family,They flee to mexico as one of the largest manhunts in history ensues.

Extras:
Scene Access

My Thoughts:

Based on a book by Truman Capote, this telling was a made for TV mini-series. Almost 3 hours in length, it lacked mystery as you are made aware up front of what crime will be committed and even who commits the murders, and yet there is still an incredible amount of suspense that builds up to the time the murders are committed.

I found it interesting that Anthony Edwards was cast as a heavy in this one and while he was ok in the role I felt he didn't quite pull it off. Eric Roberts on the other hand was masterful in his portrayal as the haunted, unwilling partner in crime who, as it turns out, was the real man of substance. Sam Neill was solid as the lawman tracking them down and look for a very young Ryan Reynolds in this one.

While this was obviously watered down for a cable TV audience, it more than made up for it with excellent story telling and real heart felt angst for the gentle Methodist family that was killed. I'd recommend it and am now interested in reading Capote's book

KC


Rating:

[Antares]

Have you seen the original In Cold Blood?

[KinkyCyborg]

No, not yet but it was already on my wish list... even before your mentioned it this time!       I've had it recommended to me several times over now as it is by almost all accounts the far superior version. 

[KinkyCyborg]

Title:The Murders in the Rue Morgue
Year: 1986
Director: Jeannot Szwarc
Rating: PG-13
Length: 92 Min.
Video: Full Frame 1.33:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround
Subtitles:

Stars:
George C. Scott
Rebecca De Mornay
Ian McShane
Neil Dickson
Val Kilmer

Plot:
Poe's classic chiller of inhuman crime, shrill suspense, and dazzling detective work in Paris at the turn of the 19th Century.

PARIS 1899. The quiet of the still, misty night is pierced by a series of screams coming from a four-story house on the corner of the Rue Morgue. Inside, two women are found dead, and the Prefect of Police is baffled. There is no apparent motive for the crimes and only two obvious clues: judging from the state of the victims, the murders were committed by someone of immense power, and the killer is seemingly capable of disappearing into thin air, for the only possible means of escape is through a fourth-story window.

Claire (Rebecca De Mornay) hopes that the case will pique her father's interest, for Auguste Dupin (George C. Scott), once France's finest detective, has lost his sense of purpose since his enforced retirement from the police force. But though the mysterious killings would have intrigued him in the old days, Dupin is at first indifferent to the case. He is galvanized into action, however, when Claire's fiancé, Dolph, is arrested for the murders on the grounds that he was the last person to see the two women alive. All of Dupin's old instincts resurface as he determines to solve the mystery of the murders in the Rue Morgue.

Extras:
Scene Access

My Thoughts:

I have little good to say about this one. A great cast with George C. Scott, Rebecca DeMornay, Ian MacShane and Val Kilmer.... all completely wasted on a total bore of a movie.

Made in the vein of an Agatha Christie or Sherlock Holmes mystery, it fails miserably with it's shoe string budget and total lack of excitement. The only thing that kept me going was wondering who the murderer was and when it was finally revealed it was so ridiculous I was shaking my head in disgust.

Don't waste your time with this one.

KC

Rating:

[KinkyCyborg]

Title:The Shaggy Dog
Year: 1959
Director: Charles Barton
Rating: G
Length: 101 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.75:1, Full Frame 1.33:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: Mono, French: Dolby Digital: Mono, Commentary: Dolby Digital: Mono
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Stars:
Fred MacMurray
Jean Hagen
Tommy Kirk
Annette Funicello
Tim Considine

Plot:
The first live action movie ever produced by Walt Disney is on DVD for the first time ever! Fred MacMurray heads an all-star cast that includes Jean Hagen, Tim Considine, Kevin Corcoran, and Annette Funicello in her big screen debut.

After years of on-the-job clashes with cranky canines, mail carrier Wilson Daniels (MacMurray) sees man's best friend as his worst enemy. This makes for one hairy situation when a magical ring accidentally transforms his teenage son, Wilby (Kirk), into a lumbering sheepdog! Can Wilby break the spell and foil a team of international spies, or will both he 'and' his dad wind up in the doghouse? Packed with sidesplitting antics, slapstick chases, and hilarious sight gags, this madcap adventure will tickle the funny bone of every two- (and four-) footed member of your family!

Extras:
Scene Access
Audio Commentary
Featurettes

My Thoughts:

The original telling of this Disney movie. I've not seen the remake with Tim Allen but I'm willing to bet this version is better. Typical family fare for the era with some very amusing moments. The younger brother who desperately wanted a dog was a scene stealer. This was Annette Funicello's film debut... looking sweet and innocent, completely unaware of the busty beach beauty she would later become.

What made watching this special for me was my 4 year old daughter, who usually has ZERO attention span walked in shortly after I started watching this, plopped herself down on my lap and watched the entire movie with me. It was the first time we watched a movie together in it's entirety after many other failed attempts.... and I loved every minute of it. For that alone, I'll never forget this movie.

KC

Rating:

[Kathy]

I would love to see a picture of your daughter!

[KinkyCyborg]

I don't have anything too recent on my pc at the moment.  My wife took some pictures this past weekend which will be on the sd card of her camera but she's at work right now. Just as soon as I can I'll post some pics Kathy.   

[KinkyCyborg]

Title:Hud
Year: 1963
Director: Martin Ritt
Rating: NR
Length: 112 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, English: Dolby Digital: Mono, French: Dolby Digital: Mono
Subtitles: English

Stars:
Paul Newman
Melvyn Douglas
Patricia Neal
Brandon De Wilde
Whit Bissell

Plot:
Seven Oscar® nominations were the result as celebrated director Martin Ritt ('The Front', 'Sounder', 'Norma Rae') guided Paul Newman to an Academy Award®-nominated performance as Hud Bannon, the rebellious son of a respectable rancher who's continually at odds with his aging father. Patricia Neal ('The Fountainhead', 'Breakfast at Tiffany's') and Melvyn Douglas ('Ninotchka', 'Being There') co-star, in their Oscar®- winning roles.

Extras:
Scene Access
Closed Captioned

My Thoughts:

One of Paul Newman's finest performances. He plays a real miserable cur in this one. He has the whole world and nothing at all both at the same time. The tension between him and his father, excellently played by Melvyn Douglas, sets the tone throughout leading to a sorrowful conclusion.

The slaughter scene of all the diseased cattle was fascinating and a real exclamation point to the tragedy of circumstance.

Patricia Neal is a real saucy firecracker! She gave a great performance and now I want to see more of her films.

The only thing that bothered me about Hud was how abruptly it ends.... but I guess that was the point. The viewer and even Hud himself knows he will never change, even as he watches everything important to him disappear... nothing further to explain.


KC



Rating:

[KinkyCyborg]

Title:Dumb And Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd
Year: 2003
Director: Troy Miller
Rating: PG
Length: 86 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, English: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo, French: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo
Subtitles: English, French

Stars:
Eric Christian Olsen
Derek Richardson
Rachel Nichols
Cheri Oteri
Luis Guzmán

Plot:
Before the first movie, there was high school. They missed the bus.

Dumb at first sight.

Go back to school with everybody's favorite dimwits in this hilarious prequel to the hit comedy that rocketed Jim Carrey to superstardom.

It’s a historic meeting of the mindless when Harry and Lloyd (Derek Richardson and Eric Christian Olsen) bump heads for the first time in high school. But when the school's principal (Eugene Levy) and head lunch-lady (Cheri Oteri) hatch a scheme to cheat the school out of $100,000, it's up to the moronic duo to come to the rescue.

Will Harry and Lloyd save the day - or destroy it? Can Harry win the heart of the beautiful teen reporter? Will Lloyd make out with Harry's mom? To find out all the stupid answers, you'll have to watch the movie.

Extras:
Scene Access
Audio Commentary
Feature Trailers
Deleted Scenes
Featurettes
DVD-ROM Content
Outtakes

My Thoughts:

I was not a big fan of the original with Jim Carrey & Jeff Daniels so I had little hope that this prequel with no name lead actors was going to endear me to the franchise. To my surprise I found this much more funny than the original with some laugh out loud moments. Today's 'stupid-funny' comedies don't compare to the ones of yesteryear, i.e. Airplane, Naked Gun series, even the first couple of Scary Movie installments. This one I felt held it's own and it even brought out some names I had not seen in a while in Mimi Rogers and Bob Saget.

While this will never make any kind of Top 10 list I think it's worth a watch.

KC


Rating:

[KinkyCyborg]

Title:Good Will Hunting
Year: 1997
Director: Gus Van Sant
Rating: R
Length: 126 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, French: Dolby Digital: 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo
Subtitles: English, French

Stars:
Robin Williams (1951)
Matt Damon
Ben Affleck
Stellan Skarsgård
Minnie Driver

Plot:
From highly acclaimed director, Gus Van Sant this triumphant story was nominated for 9 Academy Awards winning Oscars for Robin Williams and hot new comers Matt Damon (Rounders) and Ben Affleck (Armageddon) and featuring Academy Award nominee Minnie Driver. Will Hunting (Damon) is a head strong working-class genius. After one too many run ins with the law, Will's last chance is a psychology professor (Williams). Experience this powerful and unforgettable movie.

Extras:
Scene Access
Audio Commentary
Feature Trailers
Deleted Scenes
Featurettes
Production Notes
Music Videos

My Thoughts:

This is my 3rd or 4th time watching this and it's still a great movie. Matt Damon was good as the troubled young math prodigy who hides behind his mundane jobs and simple friends. No one can get through to him until he encounters a likable psychology professor played by Robin Williams in an Oscar winning performance.  His was a powerful performance and even more admirable as it must have been quite the effort on his part to act in such a subdued manner.

This was a really compelling story... I can still not fathom how a couple of schmucks like Matt Damon & Ben Affleck could have wrote this Oscar winning screenplay. This will trump anything they will ever accomplish as actors and just goes to show that the sun shines on a dog's ass every now and then. 

KC

Rating:

[Najemikon]

I can still not fathom how a couple of schmucks like Matt Damon & Ben Affleck could have wrote this Oscar winning screenplay. This will trump anything they will ever accomplish as actors and just goes to show that the sun shines on a dog's ass every now and then. 

I think that's unfair! Damon is a very good actor, in a movie star sort of way, and while Affleck is only passable in comparison, he shows a great deal of talent as a director. See my review of Gone Baby Gone.

In any case, they have never showed any signs of taking it half as seriously as people seem to take them.

[KinkyCyborg]

I can still not fathom how a couple of schmucks like Matt Damon & Ben Affleck could have wrote this Oscar winning screenplay. This will trump anything they will ever accomplish as actors and just goes to show that the sun shines on a dog's ass every now and then. 

I think that's unfair! Damon is a very good actor, in a movie star sort of way, and while Affleck is only passable in comparison, he shows a great deal of talent as a director. See my review of Gone Baby Gone.

In any case, they have never showed any signs of taking it half as seriously as people seem to take them.

Gone Baby Gone is still in my massive 'to watch' pile so perhaps my opinion will change. I will concede there has been a certain level of maturing for these two guys in recent years but then all I have to do is throw in a Kevin Smith movie or something like Stuck On You and I begin to find it difficult to give them much credit.

As far as them taking things seriously themselves? Oh I believe that. I'm sure there were no two people more surprised when their names were announced as winners of the Screenplay Oscar than they were.

KC