Dakota

Customer Reviews:

Dakota.......2001-03-07

The movie is a great family film with a great cast. there is lots of action in this film. The music was done by Chris Christian who at one time worked with Amy Grant, and Michail W. Smith. If you are looking for a great get the family together movie then Dakota is it!

Entertaining yet Cringe-worthy.......1999-10-03

If Lou Diamond Phillips wasn't in this movie it would be entirely lacking in substance. He brings a feeling of depth to a otherwise sickly sweet story of young love, anguish and charity. With few moments of credibility this movie may raise your spirits but little else.

Stunning star turn by newcomer Robert Lemus as Eric Dakota........1998-12-13

What really shines out in this movie is the amazing acting job by the adorable (and now very handsome) actor Robert Lemus, as the young brother who has an unfortunate mishap with a water tower (Eric Dakota). Unfortunately this amazing actor has since left the show biz world to pursue an academic career at Princeton University but all his fans wait with baited breath for his return to the silver screen.

Average customer rating:

Bore me.
A creepily atmospheric Italian horror film
Good erotic witch tale
Great Italian tale of witchery
Just do not buy this

Kiss Me, Kill Me
Starring: Carroll Baker , Erika Blanc , Isabelle de Funes , Horst Frank , and Ely Galleani
Director: Umberto Lenzi
Manufacturer: Diamond Ent. Corp.
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005QJHT
Release Date: 2003-01-01

Customer Reviews:

Bore me........2003-05-19

Unlike most Italian horror movies of the seventies which were notorious for some of their almost incomprehensible plot lines, this movie has a plot you could connect with the dots. This is not necessarilly saying a bad thing, but in this film's case, a simplistic plot of a lesbian witch trying to control a young woman via a doll and a cursed camera needed some bolstering through either some inspired acting or some kickbutt special effects. Sadly the dearth of both is painfully obvious in this film. To give Corrado Farina his due, however, his witch movie anticipated Argento's brilliant Suspiria by more than five years. Some of the same elements are in this film: creepy dream sequences, almost psychedelic flashbacks (and flashforwards!) and some inspired lighting in Baba Yaga's house. Isabelle De Funes is passable as Valentina, a player who is played by someone more expert-the lesbian witch, Baba Yaga. Lose the close-ups on her doe eyes, and keep her clothes on and I have to wonder how magnetic she still wouldn't have been. The hero, Arno, is so stereotypically macho that you will pray for his death half-way through the movie. The witch, played by Caroll Baker, could have stood for more fleshing out. Surely, keeping a dominatrix doll, cursing a camera, and concealing a gateway to hell on the first floor of your home begs a little insight into some motivation! Much of this problem may be due to the editing of the version I saw, which may have rendered parts of the film nearly nonsensical; like, for instance, why Baba Yaga is even bothering to waste her time on Valentina at all-it isn't for sexual reasons. The strengths of the movie are in Corrado Farina's frenzied direction. His blend of dream sequences, flashbacks and flashforwards (not to mention a very catchy title sequence!) Is the true reason to ride this movie out until the end.

A creepily atmospheric Italian horror film.......2003-04-10

Italian horror movies invariably seem to have a special look, sound, and feeling of baroque creepiness that make them successful. I'm not so sure that Kiss Me, Kill Me (aka Baba Yaga, aka The Devil Witch aka Black Magic) is really that great of a movie, but its dark atmosphere makes it satisfyingly effective. Based to some degree on a dark comic strip, the movie's noticeably surreal quality is greatly enhanced by a haunting musical score as well as the use of grainy black and white pictures of events unfolding at certain critical times. Isabelle De Funes plays Valentina Rosselli, a photographer living in Milan. On her way home one night, she encounters a very strange lady who calls herself Baba Yaga (played by Carroll Baker). This stranger tells Valentina their meeting was predestined, and she quickly insinuates herself into the life of our protagonist. Baba Yaga, we quickly learn, is some type of witch, and she certainly looks the part in costume as well as appearance; her pasty complexion and almost-white eyebrows standing out in contrast to her red lipstick-coated mouth does make quite an impression. Valentina tries to go about her work, which involves photographing semi-nude women, but Baba Yaga gradually puts her under her spell. She has strange dreams; quite unusual things begin to happen when she takes pictures with a camera that Baba Yaga has fondled; a strange doll Baba Yaga gives her begins to seem like something more than a normal doll. The tension and suspense is carried along quite nicely throughout, but the conclusion falls a little short of making this film an unqualified success.

This is a movie best suited for adults because it does contain a fair bit of nudity, but the sex, violence, and gore is actually rather limited. Gory and erotic are not words I would use to characterize this film at all. In fact, there is essentially no blood to speak of, and the one scene of violence is not as extreme as it might first appear. Kiss Me, Kill Me generates its horror from the atmosphere it creates, and in this endeavor it is largely successful. In one very nice scene, Valentina watches an old silent movie about a golem, but the golem connection to the doll Valentina is given may be lost on some viewers lacking a foundation in old-fashioned horror. Still, though, the doll in and of itself is creepy enough to be effective. If you don't have an interest in horror at all, there is a good chance you won't enjoy Kiss Me, Kill Me. For horror aficionados, the movie stands ready to help meet your daily requirement of creepiness, but your rations of blood and gore must be obtained elsewhere.

Good erotic witch tale.......2002-10-18

A somewhat strange offering that is based on folklore and erotic Italian comic books, Kiss Me, Kill Me is a first rate film set in modern Milan.

Baba Yaga (played wonderfully by Caroll Baker) is a witch who tries to seduce and control a beautiful photographer, Isabelle De Funès (Valentina Rosselli). There is a love interest for Isabelle, Arno Treves (George Eastman), who also acts as a hero in the appropriate parts. Also involved is a doll that seems to sometimes be human, and who happens to be clad in leather and ready made for bondage and s&m sessions.

Isabelle meets Baba Yaga one evening on the street and is invited to Baba Yaga's house sometime. She takes her up on the offer and discovers in the house a hole in the floor that seems to have no bottom. Baba Yaga gives Isabelle a doll that she says will protect her. Baba has also fondled a camera belonging to Isabelle which then seems to cause bad things to happen whenever someone is photographed with it.

Throughout the movie Isabelle has dreams that are filled with eroticism and violence. A lot of these dreams are shown in very grainy film or as a set of grainy stills. Pretty effective camerawork all through the movie and the sets, acting and dialogue are better than average. The are a lot of [body parts] in the movie and also a whipping scene. Very little blood and no gore.

The dvd version released by Diamond Entertainment is bottom of the barrel, but the price is cheap enough at [money] that it makes buying the movie worth it. I read at one review website that the movie would be released in early 2003 by synapse films with a few minutes of added footage and hopefully a better transfer, but they do not mention it at the synapse website. I'm glad I own it and I would definitely recommend this as an interesting addition to any horror dvd collection

Great Italian tale of witchery.......2002-10-12

A somewhat strange offering that is based on folklore and erotic Italian comic books, Kiss Me, Kill Me is a first rate film set in modern Milan.

Throughout the movie Isabelle has dreams that are filled with eroticism and violence. A lot of these dreams are shown in very grainy film or as a set of grainy stills. Pretty effective camerawork all through the movie and the sets, acting and dialogue are better than average. The are a lot of breasts and behinds in the movie and also a whipping scene. Very little blood and no gore.

The dvd version released by Diamond Entertainment is bottom of the barrel, but the price is cheap enough at [X] that it makes buying the movie worth it. I read at one review website that the movie would be released in early 2003 by synapse films with a few minutes of added footage and hopefully a better transfer, but they do not mention it at the synapse website. I'm glad I own it and I would definitely recommend this as an interesting addition to any horror dvd collection.

Just do not buy this.......2002-09-20

This is hardly a priceless advice, since this DVD seems to be out of print. However, I suggest not buying this edition and go for the deluxe edition by Blue UndergroundBaba Yaga. Just so you know, this film is actually Corrado Farina's cult "Baba Yaga". I've seen this copy and you shouldn't trust it, as it's literally mistake-packed edition. Umberto Lenzi has NOTHING to do with this film, the aspect ratio is not respected (the film is horribly maimed by pan&scan). The Blue Underground edition features juicy extras such as the never-before-seen scenes originally cut from Italian censorship, plus about 10 minutes of stuff cut prior to first release (featuring Italian popstar Franco Battiato!) a lenghty interview with Farina himself, a vintage documentary by Farina on Guido Crepax (the author of the comic book on which the film is based) and even an easter egg with Tinto Brass. And the screen ratio is respected.

Average customer rating:

Not Likely To Remain In One's Memory.

Diamond Run
Starring: Don Mogavero , Richard Lynch , Shannon McGann , Abraham Paul Sarkis , and Michael J. Valentine
Director: David Giancola
Manufacturer: Mti Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0000507OF
Release Date: 2004-04-06

Customer Reviews:

Not Likely To Remain In One's Memory........2006-11-01

A lightweight crime themed film, with its cast and crew members often doubling, this item is made to a low standard, that it nearly attains. Weakly budgeted and conceptualized, albeit with a long drawn out narrative, it provides little that one will not have seen elsewhere, and done better, but it does contain an element that gives it a small dollop of interest: most of the piece, following initial sequences in New York City, is shot in and about Rutland, Vermont, a picturesque region only seldom utilized by film production companies. Action opens in Manhattan while a band of former Viet Nam veterans, supervised by their erstwhile military field commander, Sloan (Richard Lynch), is in the process of robbing a jewelry store, one that is, as known to the bandits, providing sanctuary for 150 million dollars of cut diamonds, contained within a briefcase. A two man team of New York Police Department detectives intercepts the heist, with a detective along with several of the robbers dying during a resultant shootout, while an unknown female takes the diamond laden briefcase and flees. Because she is not a member of Sloan's entourage, he is naturally dissatisfied with results of the holdup, and a pursuit of the villains by the surviving detective, Jack Cates, makes things even more awkward for the bandits. As Cates has had two of his on duty partners slain by members of the Sloan operation, he vengefully becomes a rogue cop following a spoor into Vermont where he links up with the mysterious female who has seized the diamonds, Megan Marlow, the two of them reluctantly conjoined as they become, in turn, prey of Sloan's minions who are chasing them, all this while the detective mulls over whether he should arrest the woman for the theft or, instead, delve into why Megan apparently matches his loathing for Sloan. Ofttimes, independent films such as this are damagingly cut in order to increase chances of their being distributed, but in this case abler and more substantive editing is wanting, the screenplay being rife with failings in logic as well as continuity, resulting in a tedious production that will case a viewer's attention to meander long before its pat conclusion. However, the movie is likely to be enjoyed by those who take pleasure in stuntwork and explosive special effects, all performed with efficiency.

Average customer rating:

Embryo
Starring: Vincent Baggetta , Joyce Brothers , Barbara Carrera , Jack Colvin , and John Elerick
Director: Ralph Nelson
Manufacturer: Diamond Ent. Corp.
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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