Finally!!!
I could not seem to catch this film on cable for YEARS. We finally found it a bit edited and cut, but I finally got to see it.
I am a fan of the Die Hard series. I considered at one point going to just rent them all on DVD to see them back to back, but figured it would show up.
Great action, pretty faithful use of NYC. I hate those films where you can make it from Washington Square Park to Grand Central Station on rollerblades in 5 minutes (yes, I am talking to you Hackers).
Again, it does the thing I appreciate most in the Die Hard films… the “hero” actually looks like crap by the time the film is done. He can’t outrun bullets or not bruise when he gets punched in the face.
Nice heist, “fun” wild goose chase tasks.
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John McClane and a store owner must play a bomber’s deadly game as they race around New York while trying to stop him.
Not sure why it took us so long to see this film. I believe we have had the opportunity, just never took it. And we like the writer, actors, and director of the film.
This film was able to make both Detroit and LA look far worse than they actually look. Added unneeded grittiness that made you feel like it really could not get any worse for these people where they were.
This is one of those films where you pretty much recognize everyone. Great performances, lots of action, a high body count, and a happy ending (well, for those that didn’t die). And another film where Brad Pitt is playing someone you wouldn’t really expect. Paying his dues here. Small part by a very very young Kevin Corrgian was unexpected too.
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Clarence marries hooker Alabama, steals cocaine from her pimp, and tries to sell it in Hollywood, while the owners of the coke try to reclaim it.
This is a heavy film starring Samuel L. Jackson as a homeless/cave dwelling man with schizophrenia and paranoia. Though he is in contact with his daughter, he continually has visions of his wife and believes that Mr. Stuyvesant (who built a great deal of New York City) is controlling him.
He is befriended by a wealthy couple and a prominent artist’s sister as he tries to solve the murder of the young man left in the tree outside his cave.
His mental problems keep anyone from believing him, but in the end, as with way too many Hollywood films and books, everything ends well. And that was truly the only disappointing part of this film. I am tired of seeing films with people suffering from major psychological issues conquering all with no assistance from the mental health community of medication. It rarely happens. This film almost made it seem like he somewhat benefitted from his illness, despite the fact that it destroyed a promising career and his family.
Would people be more or less likely to see a film that portrayed mental illness or physical issues as they really are? Would you have watched this great performance if the whole thing had been a delusion and he didn’t solve any crime and ended up hospitalized or dead like happens to so many of the homeless who are mentally ill in NYC?
I know entertainment is meant to take us away from our problems, but shouldn’t the problems be less glossy?
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A cave-dwelling man sets out to track down the killer of a homeless boy and bring him to justice.
Syndey or as we watched it, “Hard Eight” was one of Paul Thomas Anderson’s first film and was released one year prior to Boogie Nights.
This film, like most Anderson films, develops some great characters and follows them through their days. This followed a man named Sydney played by Philip Baker Hall. He is also in Boogie Nights as is a great deal of the cast of Sydney.
The movie follows Sydney and his mentorship of John (John C. Reilley). The relationship that develops but also how Sydney is always there for John. It isn’t until the end when you find out one of the main reasons for that. And it is a pretty nice twist.
There are times where I wish things were explored more and some things moved too quickly, not getting the time they deserved – like the friendship between John and Jimmy. No idea how it started, possibly as unexpectedly as the one between John and Sydney, but did they both have the same reason for starting? We will never really know if John was sought out or lucked into by both characters.
Good film, interesting characters. I would give it 2 hours of an evening anytime. But then it had Samuel L. Jackson in it, and that means it must be watched here.
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John has lost all his money. He sits outside a diner in the desert when Sydney happens along, buys him coffee, then takes him to Reno and shows him how to get a free room without losing much money. Under Sydney’s fatherly tutelage, John becomes a successful small-time professional gambler, and all is well, until he falls for Clementine, a cocktail waitress and sometimes hooker.
I am not a fan of boxing, but I am a fan of Samuel L. Jackson so I will watch pretty much anything he is in. I haven’t sat through The Man yet, that one may try my patience. An actor acts, and that he does, a lot.
So on to this film. It was a touching film riddled with heavy messages about trust, truth and family. Despite that, I didn’t mind it. The characters were well written and made you want to know more about them. Why did his dad leave? Why is he assuming someone else’s name? Why are they separated? Will the lies catch up to him? I actually wanted to know. So often I just don’t care.
Good story, good film, amazing make up on Samuel L. Jackson. That makeup artist deserved an award for making him look so bad.
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Up-and-coming sports reporter rescues a homeless man (“Champ”) only to discover that he is, in fact, a boxing legend believed to have passed away. What begins as an opportunity to resurrect Champ’s story and escape the shadow of his father’s success becomes a personal journey as the ambitious reporter reexamines his own life and his relationship with his family.
Spooky film about a haunted hotel room in Manhattan. It wasn’t so much haunted as evil. It messed with the people that stayed in the room causing most of them to kill themselves or die of ‘natural causes’.
The visual effects were ok, but it was mostly when the room presented very personal items that it became the creepiest. Not a bad film. I held my breath a couple of times. And they did trick you a couple times with thinking it was all just a dream.
Did John Cusack look a bit bloated in this film?
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A man who specializes in debunking paranormal occurrences checks into the fabled room 1408 in the Dolphin Hotel. Soon after settling in, he confronts genuine terror.
If I could have one power in the entire world it would be teleportation. I love to see new places, go to new restaurants and bars, meet new people. I hate the act of traveling. Traveling often makes me sick or at least highly moody. Just being crammed in a small space with all of those people coughing and well, just being. I would rather drive 12 hours than take a plane for 6. So teleportation would change my life.
So a film about teleportation should have been so cool and in some aspects it was. The ability to have lunch in Egypt and happy hour in London. So cool. Unfortunately this film had to mix in about 150 things to interupt the portion of the film I could revel in. I didn’t care about the love story. Seriously, if I had to choose between some high school crush and teleportation, that person would most likely be dust (Sorry, John).
The Palladin and Jumper fight throughout the centuries would have been pretty interesting if they had introduced most of that plot sometime before the half way point of the film. The other jumper doesn’t show up until almost 2/3rds into the film and is suppose to save the day? And then the Mom thing. If he could Jump at 5, why was he so surprised he did it at 15?
And then there is of course the sappy ending that screams sequel when you couldn’t give me enough to care about in the first one.
So anyway, teleportation way cool. This film not so much so. And that isn’t even taken into account how wooden the leading man was. Hey Hayden, Tobey and Andrew called, they want to offer you some acting lessons.
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I was looking for something light and this certainly fit the bill. Silliness abounds. Pretty much classic National Lampoon. And not too long so you don’t feel any brain cells dying.
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An LA detective is murdered because she has microfilm with the recipe to make cocaine cookies. A “Lethal Weapon” style cop team tries to find and stop the fiends before they can dope the nation by distributing their wares via the “Wilderness Girls” cookie drive.
