Munich (Widescreen Edition)

Amazon.com

At its core, Munich is a straightforward thriller. Based on the book Vengeance: The True Story of an Israeli Counter-Terrorist Team by George Jonas, it's built on a relatively stock movie premise, the revenge plot: innocent people are killed, the bad guys got away with it, and someone has to make them pay. But director Steven Spielberg uses that as a starting point to delve into complex ethical questions about the cyclic nature of revenge and the moral price of violence. The movie starts with a rush. The opening portrays the kidnapping and murder of Israeli athletes by PLO terrorists at the 1972 Olympics with scenes as heart-stopping and terrifying as the best of any horror movie. After the tragic incident is over and several of the terrorists have gone free, the Israeli government of Golda Meir recruits Avner (Eric Bana) to lead a team of paid-off-the-book agents to hunt down those responsible throughout Europe, and eliminate them one-by-one (in reality, there were several teams). It's physically and emotionally messy work, and conflicts between Avner and his team's handler, Ephraim (Geoffrey Rush), over information Avner doesn't want to provide only make things harder. Soon the work starts to take its toll on Avner, and the deeper moral questions of right and wrong come into play, especially as it becomes clear that Avner is being hunted in return, and that his family's safety may be in jeopardy.

By all rights, Munich should be an unqualified success--it has gripping subject matter relevant to current events; it was co-written by one of America's greatest living playwrights (Tony Kushner, Angels in America) and an accomplished screenwriter (Eric Roth); it stars an appealing and likeable actor in Eric Bana; and it was helmed by Steven Spielberg, of all people. While it certainly is a great movie, it falls just short of the immense heights such talent should propel it to. This is due more to some questionable plot devices than anything else (such as the contrived use of a family of French informants to locate the terrorists). But while certain aspects ring hollow, the movie as a whole is a profound accomplishment, despite being only "inspired by true events," and not factually based on them. From the ferocious beginning to the unforgettable closing shot, Munich works on a visceral level while making a poignant plea for peace, and issuing an unmistakable warning about the destructive cycle of terror and revenge. As one of the characters intones, "There is no peace at the end of this." --Daniel Vancini

Customer Reviews:

Steven Spielberg tackles a tough subject brilliantly........2007-09-05

For those of you who don't know, Munich is the story of the covert group assigned to hunt down and kill the terrorists that murdered the 11 Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics in 1972. This is a brilliant movie. In my opinion, the best of 2005.

Steven Spielberg tackles this tough subject ever so perfectly. It's quite a wonderful movie to watch as well. It's so refreshing to see cinema being used as a way to teach more than just one to entertain.

I recommend this movie to everyone. It's a definite must see, one that will give you a new perspective on life.

The DVD itself features an introduction by Steven Spielberg.

Must See.

This happened.......2007-08-26

The Olympics should have stopped after this terrorist attack but they went on. This is an account of the action Israel took to avenge the deaths of the athletes that were killed.

Corey Cotta, Author of All of Yesterdays Tomorrows.

We have 11 Palestinian names, each one of them had a hand in planning Munich. We want them all dead........2007-08-18

The opening sequence of "Munich" relies heavily on ABC news footage about the murders of Israeli Olympic athletes in 1972. They are the most frightening and harrowing things about this movie, if only because we know that this particular nightmare really did happen. What came after, as documented in the book "Vengeance: The True Story of an Israeli Counter-Terrorist Team," was that the Israeli government decided to covertly kill the men they had identified as having a hand in the Black September assassinations.

From there, "Munich" plods and meanders, striking a poor balance between the dreadful acts of Black September with the emotional/psychological state of Avner (Eric Bana, excellent here) and his cohorts. The dramatizations of the revenge killing do overstate what really happened - according to the book - and a very important endpoint is omitted. Avner is unceremoniously dumped by his employers once he backs away from this assignment; no money, no identity and no proof about what he did. It makes the final blathering about "The Cycle of Violence" ring a little false as Steven Spielberg pulls away from Avner and Ephrain (Geoffrey Rush, also well done in a creepy way) to expose the World Trade Center. "Every civilization finds it necessary to negotiate compromises with its own values," intones Golda Mier as she issues the order to send assassins after the murders. Yet the questions begin to creep in over and over as the Black September organizers fall and are replaced...and Avner discovers that he and maybe his family have become the hunted...where does it end? Avner begins to pull away, bemoaning "Every man we've killed has been replaced by worse!"

Other than the politics of the movie and the personal conflicts - there is a lot of talk about what it means to be a Jew and losing/keeping your soul - "Munich" is supposed to come off as a suspenseful spy flick. The passages between events are too long, the transitions too uncertain, however to maintain that suspense. The drawn out ending adds nothing to the movie, either. Reportedly edited on the fly with shots finalized within two days of shooting in some cases, one wonders what a little more time spent on a judicious edit might have accomplished. Tony Kushner's script is a stilted mess of pretensions and really could have been trimmed back.

It leaves "Munich" as a movie with such potential to tell a story and offer a moral lesson trapped in a moribund film. Speilberg's breif explaining his motivations for "Munich" and wanting not to make a statement about Israel's morality but about the "unintended consequences" of violence at the begining of the DVD actually say more about the movie than the movie does! The horrors of Munich 1972 should not be forgotten, but this isn't the movie that captures why.

Quality shines through.......2007-08-18

How many more classic films can Spielberg make? I expected this to be good, but a running time of 2hrs 37mins was a black mark in my book before I'd seen a frame. However it is another classic, not as great a film as Schindlers List, but in many ways as moral a tale, but on a smaller scale.

How accurate the film is I have no idea, however the opening credits say "inspired by true events" and the killing of 11 Israeli athletes in the Olympic Village in 1972 did happen and I don't think there is any doubt that revenge in one form or another was sort. In some ways the filmmaking style harks back to the 1970's as well. There is a gritty realism reminisent of the French Connection films here and you won't find a modern "high octane" thriller here (usually film advertised with that phrase are awful).

Eric Bana plays Avner, one of five chosen to find and kill the people who planned the attack. As the film progresses we see the doubts creep into Avner's mind about what he's doing. In fact in essence the message of this movie is "killing people f**ks you up". The only reason it won't is if you are either already a religious extremist or a complete psychotic. The performances are all good and the rest of the cast is very strong. As well as Bana there is Daniel Craig and Geoffery Rush.

This is an intelligent film that asks some serious questions about an eye for an eye etc, but don't let that put you off. It is still a cracking good thriller and Spielberg once again shows why he is the most successful director in the history of cinema, as well as being one the most talented as well (success and talent do not always go together!).

Epic.......2007-08-15

This is the greatest movie I have ever seen(good will hunting close 2nd). I knew about the events that transpired in munich 1972, my mother would occassionally bring it up as I was growing up. Nothing in this world has made and brought me closer to Israel and being proud to be a jew than this movie. The love for there country and to take a mission like this, basically to give up their lives or the only lives they knew for the protection and future of there country. Others may not grasp the concept that Israel is the only Jewish Country in the World, There are numerous Christian and Islamic countries. Theconflict alone of this movie made it great, it was much more complex in the character development and plot, and the rest of the story made it incredible. Should have clearly been the academy award winner for best picture over Crash at the 2006 academy awards. I don't really like to write movie reviews, but every so often a movie comes around like this that it's too great not to be mentioned. This review will be listed under my mothers name, I am her son, Michaol Lucka writing this review

Average customer rating:

Aimed high and delivered a great suspense
Being John Malkovich
A Star Combination
Good movie with excellent acting
What if you had a second chance?

In the Line of Fire (Special Edition)
Starring: Clint Eastwood , John Malkovich , Rene Russo , Dylan McDermott , and Gary Cole
Director: Wolfgang Petersen
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
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ASIN: B000055Y0Y
Release Date: 2001-02-27

Amazon.com essential video

This smart, tautly directed thriller from Wolfgang Petersen is about the cat-and-mouse games between a Secret Service agent named Horrigan (Clint Eastwood) and the brilliant, psychopathic assassin (John Malkovich) who's itching to get the President in his cross hairs. The back-story--Horrigan is haunted by his inability to prevent John Kennedy's assassination (Eastwood is computer-generated into archival footage)--is more than a little hokey, but the plotting itself is smartly, even ingeniously, constructed. Petersen manages a viselike grip on the tension and Eastwood even gets to deliver an ever-more-timely lecture on the diminished nature of the office of President. Eastwood's as gruff and as infuriating to the by-the-book Powers That Be as ever, and Malkovich oozes delightful menace. Renee Russo capably costars as a colleague with whom Horrigan gets friendly. --David Kronke

Customer Reviews:

Aimed high and delivered a great suspense.......2007-08-08

This was one of the best thrillers to come along in a long time. John Malcovich (a.k.a. Booth) is a wonderful villan in any setting, whether in a period costume drama or a modern day political drama. A movie like this can deliver a great story with minimal violence and excessive swearing like a lot of their contemporaries (ex. the first three Die Hard movies), and deliver smart, witty dialogue along the way.

Clint Eastwood, still Dirty Harry after all these years, plays an aging Secret Service agent who is a little tired but an old pro at his job. He is contacted by a man who claims he is about to shoot the president, and challenges him to not just find him but know him. We soon discover that he is anything but a nutcase trying to get attention, he is a serious nutcase with a plan. The assasin Booth tells him that he knows all about Eastwood's past, that he failed to protect JFK on that infamous day in Dallas, and he plans on repeating it. In a rush to find him before it's too late, Eastwood and his partner attempt to find some kind of paper chase and shadow the president carefully, until he and Booth will inevitably cross paths and the final conflict will take place.

The only critical words I have for this movie are for the addition of Eastwood's parter, his situation was a little too obvious. As a rookie, he was a family man who established his weaknesses early on in the story, and you just knew he wasn't going to survive. And all those old photos of a young Eastwood in Dallas and Malcovich's past were a little too hoaky to be real. Still, it was great suspense.

Being John Malkovich.......2007-07-17

In the Line of Fire should probably be on my Amazon Listmania List of "16 Flicks Guaranteed To Leave A Permanent Impression" (click on my name above and check out my profile if you'd like to see the List). Who can forget the Oscar and Globe nominated performance of John Malkovich as the diabolical assassin with the deadpan delivery and that home-made gun?

And Clint Eastwood, as always, is as fresh as ever...even though this is one of his corner-turning films of the 90s where he started taking on the persona of an "aging" character as opposed to the "middle-aged" tough guy roles of his 80s run.

Rene Russo (who seems to have disappeared from the screen as of this writing) was looking very 2007 Fergie/Drew Barrymore. And there are a ton of other popular character actors that populate the cast of In the Line of Fire that helped make this one of the best movies of 1993.

Wolfgang Peterson -- who has other winners in his stable like Das Boot Das Boot - The Director's Cut , Outbreak Outbreak and The Perfect Storm The Perfect Storm -- directs In the Line of Fire and keeps the action coming and the witty dialogue flowing. There are a few on-foot chase scenes that were very thrilling, but lacked in the that-could-really-happen department.

If you've never seen In the Line of Fire and you like a good Thriller, this will give you 2 hours of thorough entertainment. If the last time you saw it was back towards its 1993 release, you'll enjoy another look as it holds up very nicely almost 15 years later.

A Star Combination.......2007-05-24

Eastwood plays Horrigan a veteran secret service agent, who is trying to stop an ex-cia hitman from killing the President.
John Malkovich plays the assassin and steals the film from Eastwood (and believe me Eastwood is very good).

There are a number of brilliant scenes where Eastwood and Malkovich talk over the phone, playing games of cat and mouse with each other. Credit for these must go to the screenplay by Jeff Maguire, but Wolfgang Peterson's direction is very good as well.
This film will grab you from the first scene to the last and certainly holds up well for repeated viewings. Very entertaining indeed!

Good movie with excellent acting.......2007-01-13

Clint Eastwood and John Malkovich are at their very bests in this spell-binding and original thriller. Eastwood, in a role not far removed from his "Dirty Harry", plays a veteran U.S. Secret Service Agent who is constantly haunted by his failure to prevent the assassination of Present Kennedy 30 years ago. However, Eastwood gets a shot at redemption when a mysterious stranger sets his sights on assassinating the current president. John Malkovich is terrific as the killer: a master of deception who thrives on mind-games and doing more psychological than physical harm to our hero. Plenty of twists and surprises, superb acting and a great script makes In The Line of Fire a fine chapter in the legendary career of Clint Eastwood.

What if you had a second chance?.......2006-12-01

Without hesitation, this film has been one the best achieved ones of the decade; not only because the formidable directorial accuracy (the best film of Petersen after his masterpiece Das Boot) ; there also other highlights such the towering performance of Eastwood as the agent who failed to protect JFK thirty years ago and the breathtaking acting of John Malkovich as the killer, the script is sharp and incisive and explores the undermined conscious filled of a strong sense of missed responsibility at the moment to avoid the inevitable murder in 1963. So in this brilliant thriller we assist once to a cat and mouse game in which one of them will have to fail in order to redeem himself or fail again.

Tense, absorbing and well made thriller.

Average customer rating:

Great movie but Robert Redford is looking his age
Excellent movie in companionship and excellence under pressure
Redford is cool
Smart Viewing in style
Nothing special with Spy Game

Spy Game (Widescreen Edition)
Starring: Amidou , Todd Boyce , Larry Bryggman , Michael Paul Chan , and Marianne Jean-Baptiste
Director: Tony Scott
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B00005JKBC
Release Date: 2002-04-09

Product Description

Superstar Brad Pitt teams with Academy Award®-winner Robert Redford in this pulse-pounding action thrill ride. When a top-secret, unauthorized mission goes bad, CIA agent Tom Bishop (Pitt) is captured -- and sentenced to die. With just 24 hours to get him out alive, Bishop's boss Nathan Muir (Redford) must battle enemies aboard and the system inside the CIA to save adrenaline-fueled thriller that ABC Radio says "Sizzles with suspense!"

System Requirements:
Starring: Brad Pitt, Robert Redford, Larry Bryggman, Stephen Dillane, and Catherine McCormack.
Directed By: Tony Scott.
Running Time: 127 Min., Color.
This film is presented in "Widescreen" format.
Copyright 2002 Universal.

Format: DVD MOVIE

Amazon.com

A thinking person's thriller, Spy Game employs dense plotting without sacrificing the kinetic momentum that is director Tony Scott's trademark. The film has the byzantine scope of a novel, focusing on veteran CIA operative Nathan Muir (Robert Redford), whose protégé Tom Bishop (Brad Pitt) is scheduled for execution in a Chinese prison. It's Muir's last day before retiring (cliché alert!), and Bishop is being deliberately sacrificed by oily CIA officials to ensure healthy trade with China. Muir has 24 hours to rescue Bishop and his perfunctory love interest (Catherine McCormack), and Spy Game connects the mentor's end-run strategy to flashbacks of his student's exploits in Berlin, Beirut, and beyond. Ambitious but emotionally bland--and not as exciting as Scott's Enemy of the State--Spy Game offers pass-the-torch humor between leather-faced Redford and pretty boy Pitt, and although their dialogue is occasionally limp, the movie compensates with efficient style and substance. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

Great movie but Robert Redford is looking his age.......2007-09-11

Great performances in this film. Robert Redford gives his usual excellent performance. Brad Pitt is also excellent in this spy thriller. The transfer to dvd is very good unlike some I have. I thought is was well done with a good plot.

Buy it!

Excellent movie in companionship and excellence under pressure.......2007-08-31

My Profile: 43 yo (and getting better), no qualifications whatsoever as a movie critic

I never get tired of watching this movie, the tutor apprenticce relantionship is superb and I think the documentation on the inner works of the CIA and their everyday lives of their field operatives is very well researched and credible.

The movie has many plots in which to recreate on, the acting of both Pitt and redford is superb and one can appreciate the strong bonding that they make.. a bond that holds no mater if Pitts character goes roge and is left to his own death by the CIA, but the fundamental role is undeniably in the hands of Redford, who under inmense pressure is able t use the CIA owns inner strings to conduct the game he wants to be played, it is mixture of skill, inside knowledge and at the same time an act of redemtion, for Redford's character is in his last days on the CIA prior to retirement, we see a man that now is tired of playing the office game and seeing how the world he once help construct (thorugh dubious schemes) is now meaningless and devoid.

You could also see a healthy critisism of the CIA unescrupulus tactics in scenarios we are now prone to forget such as the cold war and the lebanon of the civil war of the late 70s... yet to me this is not a movie designed to expose a political angle, I guess today this sort of movie would be censored for it may carry a message that may weaken institutional moral against terrorism, or some croc along those lines.

This is rare glimpse at aworld of spies not taylored to the glamour that hollywood highlits of a marvel james Bond type of hero, we see real people, facing friendship, love, political backstabbing, alienation, etc.

Redford is cool.......2007-08-24

Great movie, story was interesting. Brings the cold war to the screen in an unusual way. Awesome ending, Redford is cool.

Corey Cotta, Author of All of Yesterdays Tomorrows.

Smart Viewing in style.......2007-08-06

The movie has been 'BOURNE' out (pun intended) in previous critque's but, HD gives some great visual-gasm's to the system.

If your designs are to have a story that takes intellect and marries to it great acting and visuals to match....Here's your winner!

Nothing special with Spy Game.......2007-07-30

Unfortunately Redford, although an incredible actor can also hit a wall now and again. I found this film to have a large concentration on conversations that were supposed to be meaningful in regards to the mentoring ability of Redford's character. Instead it ends up being just talk, and at times almost seems to appear as if it has no real purpose. They would have been better off finding some real former spies and making a film based off of those experiences instead of the dull, boring effect that this thing emits. Really just could not find anything good in it, and although it has a great cast, the roles they fill are just that...filled, but not enough to make this film have any rewatchable value.

Average customer rating:

This was a really great movie, especially if you like Cronenberg
freaky movie
Brilliant and challenging
wait a minute is this a game? or is this reality?
Excellent, Excellent, Excellent

eXistenZ
Starring: Jennifer Jason Leigh , Jude Law , Ian Holm , Willem Dafoe , and Don McKellar
Director: David Cronenberg
Manufacturer: Dimension
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ASIN: B00000K31V
Release Date: 1999-10-19

Amazon.com

Director David Cronenberg's eXistenZ is a stew of corporate espionage, virtual reality gaming, and thriller elements, marinated in Cronenberg's favorite Crock-Pot juices of technology, physiology, and sexual metaphor. Jennifer Jason Leigh is game designer Allegra Geller, responsible for the new state-of-the-art eXistenZ game system; along with PR newbie Ted Pikul (Jude Law), they take the beta version of the game for a test drive and are immersed in a dangerous alternate reality. The game isn't quite like PlayStation, though; it's a latexy pod made from the guts of mutant amphibians and plugs via an umbilical cord directly into the user's spinal column (through a BioPort). It powers up through the player's own nervous system and taps into the subconscious; with several players it networks their brains together. Geller and Pikul's adventures in the game reality uncover more espionage and an antigaming, proreality insurrection. The game world makes it increasingly difficult to discern between reality and the game, either through the game's perspective or the human's. More accessible than Crash, eXistenZ is a complicated sci-fi opus, often confusing, and with an ending that leaves itself wide open for a sequel. Fans of Cronenberg's work will recognize his recurring themes and will eat this up. Others will find its shallow characterizations and near-incomprehensible plot twists a little tedious. --Jerry Renshaw

Description

Exciting stars Jennifer Jason Leigh (DOLORES CLAIBORNE), Jude Law (GATTACA), and Willem Dafoe (SPEED 2, AFFLICTION) challenge the boundaries of reality in this futuristic, critically acclaimed adventure thriller! During the first closed-door demonstration of an amazing new virtual reality game called eXistenZ, the system's brilliant designer, Allegra Geller (Leigh), is violently attacked by a crazed assassin intent on killing her and destroying her creation! Forced to flee into hiding, Allegra enlists a young assistant (Law) to help her in testing the damaged system ... by convincing him to join her inside eXistenZ! The action then explodes as their world's real-life dangers begin to merge with the fantasy of the game! If you're ready to play, it's now your turn to plug into this powerfully entertaining hit!

Customer Reviews:

This was a really great movie, especially if you like Cronenberg.......2007-06-05

eXistenZ is a great mind-bender, based loosely on video games vs. reality. The acting is campy but for a purpose. Most of the people who hated this movie don't quite get this. I won't say this is a classic, only because Chronenberg's fingerprints are way too visible, and I really like him.

This isn't a mainstream movie so if you don't like left-field movies you probably won't like this one, but just to be clear you don't have to be a fuzzy faced philosopher to enjoy this one.

freaky movie.......2007-04-13

I rented this a while back and wanted a copy for my library. If you like plot twists and heavy sci-fi you will like this movie. It is kind of grusome in several scenes and probably not for little kids.

Brilliant and challenging.......2007-02-11

Cronenberg probably conjures the best depiction of "virtual reality" and its potential psychological effect on people in this often incredible film. This is a tough and frequently unpleasant movie (what Cronenberg film isn't), relentless even (much like a video game!), but as social/technological criticism it has legs galore. I find myself studying the art direction, acting, and script to see how he tweaks and disorients so subtly all through the entire film. It is meticulously crafted. The "bad acting" noted by the other reviewers is a depiction of social disorientation, detachment, sociopathology, and near-autism in a nightmarish future society where people can no longer distinguish between illusion and reality (and, as you learn from the film, neither can the audience). The final moment of the film boldly makes that point.

My personal feeling is that this is Cronenberg's greatest achievement. However, it is high art and those that go into it with conventional film expectations will be (clearly ARE) disappointed. One for future film historians to write about, unable to comprehend how it sat on the fringes of acceptance for years. The negative reviews of this film deeply disturb me.

wait a minute is this a game? or is this reality?.......2007-01-31

Your perception may be altered by this science fiction harbinger of things to come by David Cronenberg.. Continuing in the same vein of films like 'Videodrome' and 'Scanners' Cronenberg examines the effects of scientific progress and the fate of mankind.. It is so often the goal of game technicians, movie makers, and perhaps even the distributors of mind altering substances to create an alternate universe.. the nightmare of such endeavors is that it will lead to absolute confusion.. seperation from self.. it is something appealing yet terrifying.. to lose touch with reality.. this is what makes eXistenZ such an engaging thriller - one of the most thought provoking movies you will ever see.

Excellent, Excellent, Excellent.......2006-12-28

This movie was very spell binding to me and to everyone that watched it with me. I just loved this movie and it was this movie that turned me on to David Cronenberg films. I love the way he directs his films in a way that you don't know what is going to come next. They all have you on your edge of your seat right up until the end. Unique plot, great acting and wonderful story with this one. I hightly recommend it to everyone that loves supense and thrill rides in a film.

Average customer rating:

Delightful Escapist Fun: An Everyman as Super-Agent
Murray Makes "Too Little" Just Right
Classic
horrible reviews for a hilarious film
Bill Murray at his comic best!

The Man Who Knew Too Little
Starring: Bill Murray , Peter Gallagher , Joanne Whalley , Alfred Molina , and Richard Wilson (II)
Director: Jon Amiel
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
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ASIN: 0790734796
Release Date: 1998-03-25

Amazon.com

Only die-hard Bill Murray fans will likely consider this movie for their home-video library, but it's not without its rewards. You can see why someone as comically astute as Murray would agree to play a dimwitted American who can't tell the difference between improvised theater and a real-life espionage plot. There's certainly plenty of potential for belly laughs, and Murray milks the opportunities like the old pro that he is. Here he plays an American tourist in London who thinks he's been recruited into a street-theater act called "Theater of Life"; actually, he's stepped into a complicated spy scheme that plays like a cross between Hitchcock and the Marx Brothers. Joanne Whalley costars as the femme fatale who may or may not be a double agent, and along the way there's enough comical confusion to foil any number of idiotic villains. The movie stretches its one-joke premise to desperate extremes (Murray thinks he's in a play, so he's oblivious to genuine danger), and 95 minutes is more than enough time to exhaust the comedic possibilities. But, as always, Murray finds a way to mine gold from a few clever bits, and he cuts loose with some inspired lunacy during a climactic scene involving a hidden bomb and a troupe of dancing Cossacks. It's not Murray's finest hour, but give him credit for making the best out of a challenging situation. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

Delightful Escapist Fun: An Everyman as Super-Agent.......2007-05-24

I just had to add my two cents' worth to the comments of other viewers who disagreed with the lukewarm (at best) professional review, above.

Bill Murray is brilliant and Joanne Whalley is surprisingly funny in this wonderful, escapist farce about the "guy least likely to..." who somehow, surprisingly, foils all the bad guys, saves the world, and wins the girl -- and has nothing but fun doing it! Who among us hasn't longed to stumble into our own hidden potential for excellence and beat the odds, at one time or another?

This movie may ultimately have all the critical social commentary and stimulating intellectual content of a warm bubble bath, but it's just as relaxing to slip into when life's beating you down and you need something frothy and comforting to take the edge off.

I'm not a die-hard Bill Murray fan, by any means, but I've had this movie in my VHS library for years, in case I need some remedial wish-fulfillment fun at the end of a gruelling week.

Murray Makes "Too Little" Just Right.......2007-03-19

We're not talking classic here. But if you're trapped in the house on a Saturday afternoon after an ice storm(which me and my wife were) this is just what the doctor ordered. There's nothing special about the material where an American space cadet in London thinks he's taking part in an interactive theatrical production when in fact he's embroiled in international espionage. It's star Bill Murray who elevates the material. Murray gets all the juice out of his character, a wannabe actor who works at a Des Moines blockbuster, and runs with it. I found his Wally Ritchie a more engaging presence than the one he was nominated for an Oscar for in "Lost in Translation". Joanne Whalley as a high-priced call girl and Alfred Molina as a Russian assassin also offer terrific support. Not "Caddyshack" or "Groundhog Day" but a terrific entry to the Murray catalogue.

Classic.......2007-02-06

I have been looking for this dvd for quite a while because it is Bill when he is best and the review didnt disappoint any bit.

horrible reviews for a hilarious film.......2007-01-25

Wallace Richie (Bill Murray) works at Blockbuster in Des Moines, and to celebrate his birthday he visits his bigshot brother and banker in London. But brother James must host important German clients to seal a deal, so he enrolls Wallace in a reality television show called "The Theater of Life" where contestants play scripted roles. Wallace mistakenly answers a phone call from a real hit man, remains oblivious throughout the film of the mistaken identity, and the rest of the film is about reality mistaken as fiction and vice versa. This film got horrible reviews, but I thought it was hilarious.

Bill Murray at his comic best!.......2007-01-14

This is one of my all-time favorite movies, and yet I often forget about it. Bill Murray is absolutely hilarious as Wallace Ritchie, and he is surrounded by a fun cast of clueless villians, beautiful women, and incompetent government officials. I love the chase scene, where he knocks down all of the traffic cones - "I've always wanted to do that!" Definitely a classic.

Patriot Games (Special Collector's Edition)

Average customer rating:

Great Adaptation of Clancy Bestseller
Tepid Formalism that could've been great
Patriot Games (Special Edition)
Just asking....
The Power of Observation & Juxtaposition...obviously requisite character traits of a CIA analyst

Patriot Games (Special Collector's Edition)
Starring: Harrison Ford , Anne Archer , Patrick Bergin , Sean Bean , and Thora Birch
Director: Phillip Noyce
Manufacturer: Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B00008K76W
Release Date: 2003-05-06

Amazon.com essential video

Let's see--he's been Han Solo in three films and Indiana Jones in three more. So why shouldn't Harrison Ford take on a new continuing character in Tom Clancy's CIA analyst Jack Ryan? In this film, directed by Phillip Noyce, Ford picked up the baton when Alec Baldwin, who played Ryan in The Hunt for Red October, opted for a Broadway role instead. In this film, Ryan and his family are on vacation when Ryan saves a member of the British royal family from attack by Irish terrorists. The next thing he knows, the Ryan clan has been targeted by the same terrorists, who invade his Maryland home. The film can't shed all of Clancy's lumbering prose, or his techno-dweeb fascination with spy satellites and the like. But no one is better than Ford at righteous heroism--and Sean Bean makes a suitably snakey villain. --Marshall Fine

Description

Harrison Ford stars as Jack Ryan in PATRIOT GAMES, an explosive thriller based on Tom Clancy's international best-seller. His days as an intelligence agent behind him, former CIA analyst Jack Ryan has traveled to London to vacation with his wife (Archer) and child (Birch). Meeting his family outside of Buckingham Palace, Ryan is caught in the middle of a terrorist attack on Lord Holmes (Fox), a member of the Royal Family. Ryan helps to thwart Holmes' assailants and becomes a local hero. But Ryan's courageous act marks him as a target in the sights of the terrorist (Bean) whose brother he killed. Now Ryan must return to action for the most vital assignment of his life -- to save his family.

Customer Reviews:

Great Adaptation of Clancy Bestseller.......2007-04-13

Patriot Games was the second in a series of adaptations of Tom Clancy's bestselling novels featuring heroic CIA analyst Jack Ryan. However, Alec Baldwin, who played Ryan in "The Hunt For Red October," ended up not appearing in this film. But no worries. Ryan is played by stalwart leading man Harrison Ford, who plays Ryan to a tee, as a brave, cerebral man of action.

Ryan is on vacation in England when he interferes with an IRA assassination attempt on a member of the British royal family. He kills one of the terrorists, and his brother, played by Sean Bean, vows revenge. Now, Ryan and his family are threatened by a rogue group of Provos, having to rely on their own wits, and the protection of fellow intelligence officer Samuel L. Jackson, to survive.

This is a crackling good thriller with a great script and taut direction by Phillip Noyce. Ford would go on to play Ryan again in "Clear and Present Danger." This is an excellent adaptation of a popular novel, which doesn't happen very often.

Tepid Formalism that could've been great.......2007-01-01

"Patriot Games" is a film that could strive to do something important with the thriller genre, but instead ends up being an obvious, humdrum, and stale thriller film that deflates most of its sentiment. The film, based on the Tom Clancy novel of the same name, features that good `ole Jack Ryan character, in a fight for his family and his own survival against renegade members of the IRA, led by the underused Sean Bean; and what could have been a timely, think piece statement on this conflict, ends up being a rather tepid suspense film, that keeps most of its oomph! for the end, in an instrumental, but mostly satisfying action-oriented conclusion.

Harrison Ford only half tries in the film-- playing the central character that kills the Bean's brother in his botched assination attempt of a member of the British royalty--giving his tough-as-nails, but compassionate character a sort of narrowness that is oddly buoyed by his sense of restraint, and never letting his performance go over the top, but rather keeping his cool-and-calm collective all the way through the film: basically he is a man's man, a guy who can kick arse like Rambo, be James Bondish smooth, yet Sherlock Homes smart. The character is a collection of these traits, and Ford, who usually seems to play this typecast role of "Hero" with a pretty boy attitude, can get away with a performing like he just awoke from a nap, and that's why Ford is oddly appealing as an actor.

The rest of the cast is good, with big-name actors like Samuel L. Jackson, and James Earl Jones, yet aren't given much to work with, especially in the case of Bean, who seems like he has to mumble his lines, stare off into space with an angry look, or just grimace. Special notice, however, goes to the sweety Thora Birch, who would later show up in such films as American Beauty; Birch gives her child character a charm and sincerity with her playful smile and cutesy look, and even if her character has far and few lines, its novel having her in this film in the "before they were stars" sort of way.

Patriot Games is polished like a big budget blockbuster: the photography is sharp, as well, and the camera captures some great picturesque moments of the scenery, especially in the nighttime scenes. There's also some moments of directorial style here, as the camera seems to maturely know when to show or tell in the violent scenes; such as in one when the camera recoils back outside the house after one henchmen gets shoot through a door, while the other two IRA members fight it out with another; in this scene all the viewer sees and hears is a few gunshots going off inside the house. Though it is admittedly an usual scene in action films, it is effective in its minimalism.

Yet despite its pricey look, and some decent enough performances, Patriot Games is seriously lacking in most other departments. The story is rather meek, for one, is rather haphazardly put together, and lacks sentiment. Typical action clichés pop up: the not-working mobile phone, during which the hero tries to save the day; the black-and-white, good and bad characters, and unprofessional side characters who are always meant to die or just be dumb, while the hero wades through the pool of lies and deceit to find the "bad" character posing as a protagonist; these, and other awkward steps make Patriot Games a typical, and jivey film.

Though Patriot Games could have been excellent, had it been given an injection of life. There is some suspense but not much, and you know how it will turn out for the characters; there's just not much here to warrant a good time, aside from some cheap thrills. That's too bad too, because the film could of went into better characterizations with its themes of the conflict in Ireland. Bean's character and the rest of the main-supporting antagonists could have been given a voice, feeling, and depth, as it is often the villains that are more interesting than the hero, since their diabolical motivations are more resonant in the audience's mind.

Patriot Games is an under whelming venture into action-thrillers. Despite some decent enough scenes in the final act, and another good nail-biting freeway chase, there is nothing to warrant something more than a relaxing watch, as it is certainly not an absorbing one. If you like your plots simplistic, and full of clichés, I recommend this film. Yet, if not, and if you can let your mind relax, it will still be nothing more than average.

** ½ (Out of 5)

Patriot Games (Special Edition).......2006-08-30

A really great movie with a superior cast. If you like Tom Clancy inspired movies,this is a must have!

Just asking...........2006-08-07

I know it's only a Hollywood movie. And the book it's based upon is fiction and hardly Tolstoy at that.

But I can't help wondering if it's plausible that even a militaristic Republican would so eagerly accept a title from the British Royal family. After all, these would be direct descendants of people who probably ran Ryan's own ancestors out of their homeland!

Also, the incredibly irritating pub scene portrays Irish-Americans (yet again) as dim-witted, belligerent drunks who simply adore imbecilic sing-alongs about "Irish laddies."

Understood that the villains are supposed to be psychos and very hissable they are, too. But couldn't the writers have avoided perpetuating so many narrow and simplistic cliches?

The Power of Observation & Juxtaposition...obviously requisite character traits of a CIA analyst.......2006-07-24

I have never read any of Tom Clancy's works, but I have seen all the movies made from them. Patriot Games is one of them.

The storyline is quite simple: Jack Ryan (Harrison Ford), former CIA analyst, is on vacation/lecture tour in England with his family. While on the way to meet them near Buckingham Palace, he & his family are caught in a cross-fire during an assassination attempt on a member of the Royal Family, Lord Holmes (Edward Fox), by a rogue faction of the IRA led by Sean Miller (Sean Bean). In the ensuing shoot-out, Jack killed one the terrorists, who happens to be Sean's younger brother. Jack gets drawn back into the CIA after the terrorists set out a vengeful attack against his family back in USA.

In my view, the action sequences in this movie are not very exciting, when compared with any of the recent Bond &/or Bourne movies, although the entire movie is quite entertaining. I particularly enjoyed the sequence showing a real-time satellite-tracking session at CIA HQ, during which Jack & his counter-terrorism team are watching a crack SAS team conducting a black ops raid at the terrorists' hideout somewhere in Libya. The accompanying music score is realistically haunting!

What excites me most about this movie is watching Jack exercising his astute power of observation & his uncanny ability to juxtapose images in a relentless attempt to track down the whereabout of the rogue faction of the IRA,...with the high-tech resources of CIA's counter-terrorism group, of course.

Using vital information secured from Paddy O'Neil (Richard Harris), an IRA supporter in the USA, Jack narrows down the search through his observation/juxtaposition of CIA's satellite images (which includes an overhead snapshot of an apparently capped woman with a pony tail) with his own recalled images:

- a back-view glimpse of the pony-tailed driver in the terrorists' getaway vehicle during the foiled assassination attempt in England;
- a side-view glance of the pony-tailed driver in the terrorists' getaway vehicle during an unsuccessful assassination attempt on his life outside the US Naval Academy;

All these associations have been triggered while taking a break & walking pass a pony-tailed woman employee on the way to answer the call of nature at CIA Headquarters.

What a brilliant piece of detective work - observation plus juxtaposition - on the part of Jack!

The Power of Observation & Juxtaposition are obviously requisite character traits of a CIA analyst.

In summing up this review, I have enjoyed very much watching Patriot Games, experientially as well as educationally. This is another wonderful addition to my resource repertoire.

Average customer rating:

I know the secret ... but ... What does this have to do with the story?
The Crying Game
INTRIGUING, SHOCKING, GREAT
It's Just a Piece of Meat
Who Can Sneer at Love?

The Crying Game (Collector's Edition)
Starring: Forest Whitaker , Miranda Richardson , Stephen Rea , Adrian Dunbar , and Breffni McKenna
Director: Neil Jordan , and Susan Ricketts
Manufacturer: Lions Gate
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0006FO9BK
Release Date: 2005-01-25

Product Description

The Crying Game is the unpredictable, unconventional, multi-Oscar nominated masterpiece that has become the sleeper hit of the year. Starring Stephen Rea and Miranda Richardson as Irish terrorists, Forest Whitaker and their hostage, and Jaye Davidson as Whitaker's exotic girlfriend, the film is a haunting, humorous and shocking romantic thriller. Never has a motion picture undermined viewer expectations so thoroughly and enjoyably.

System Requirements:

Running Time 112 Min

Format: DVD MOVIE

Amazon.com essential video

The Crying Game offers a rare and precious movie experience. The film is an unclassifiable original that surprises, intrigues, confounds, and delights you with its freshness, humor, and honesty from beginning to end. It starts as a psychological thriller, as IRA foot soldier Fergus (the incomparable Stephen Rea) kidnaps a British soldier (Forest Whitaker) and waits for the news that will determine whether he executes his victim or sets him free. As the night wears on, a peculiar bond begins to form between the two men. Later, the movie shifts tone and morphs into something of a romantic comedy as Fergus unexpectedly becomes involved with the soldier's girlfriend Dil (Jaye Davidson) and discovers more about himself, and human nature in general, than he ever dreamed possible. Like Spielberg's E.T., The Crying Game was supposed to be director Neil Jordan's "little, personal movie," the one he just had to make, even though no studio was willing to give him money because the story was so unusual. Instead, it became a surprise popular sensation, thanks in part to Miramax's cleverly provocative campaign playing up the hush-hush nature of the movie's big secret. The performances (including Miranda Richardson as one of Fergus's IRA colleagues) are subtly shaded, and the writing and direction are tantalizingly rich and suggestive; you're always trying to figure out the characters' true motives and feelings--even when they themselves are fully aware of their own motives and feelings. The Crying Game is a wise, witty, wondrous treasure of a movie. Director Jordan's credits include Mona Lisa, Interview with the Vampire, Michael Collins, and The Butcher Boy. --Jim Emerson

Customer Reviews:

I know the secret ... but ... What does this have to do with the story?.......2007-08-24

This movie was hyped up quite a bit. What is "the secret"? Once I found out the secret, looking back I wondered what the secret had to do with the flow of the story.

Stephen Rea, who is one of the best of the best actors to portray a world weary soul, is an IRA soldier whose group has kidnapped an Englishman (Forest Whitaker). While holding him captive, Forest tells him about his girlfriend, Dil, in London. Fascinated by his story, Stephen Rea decides to travel to London to meet this woman. They end up falling for each other. However, much to his chagrin, Dil shows that she has a little something extra in the basement. Stephen didn't know, and Dil just assumed that he did already. Oops ...

The story kind of dissolved from there. Stephen finds out, but the point of the tale went away from the IRA plot and that he didn't really care if Dil was a man or a woman. He did care about him, if not in a strange way. I wondered exactly what that had to do with the IRA. It was a twist, to be sure, but it didn't have much relievance.

I give this 3 stars for the original story, Stephen Rea, and the fact that Boy George sang the theme song. Now THAT was original.

The Crying Game.......2007-07-17

Irish director Jordan made a big splash with this "Game," a kinky psychological thriller with a twist ending noone could stop talking about. Beyond the surface titillation, Jordan portrays the struggle between emotional and physical desire and more rational issues of loyalty, both political and personal. Rea mesmerizes as the IRA grunt haunted by his previous life, and Davidson is a marvel as the aloof, unapologetically sensual Dil.

INTRIGUING, SHOCKING, GREAT.......2007-06-26

This is one of my movie favorites. I remember when I first saw this movie with my husband we had a lively argument about the character, Dil. Then wham!

This movie first introduced me to Forrest Whitaker. I hoped when I saw him in this movie that great things would happen to him because his acting was so convincing. It's good to see my hopes were realized. All the actors in this movie are incredible.

The movie plot starts out in one direction then with a thin thread connecting leads you off into an entirely different direction and back to the beginning plot, seamlessly.

The Crying Game is a very clever movie that revolves around Jimmy and Dil, and the IRA. And, well, something else.

If you have never seen this movie, I recommend you see it. It is highly enjoyable.

It's Just a Piece of Meat.......2007-05-15

"The Crying Game"

It's Just a Piece of Meat

Amos Lassen and Cinema Pride

It is hard to believe that it has been 15 years since "The Crying Game" came out. By now everyone knows the story and the "surprise" but it is still amazing to note that the movie is considered as controversial today as it was when it came out in 2002. That appears to be the sign of good cinema. The director, Neil Jordan opened many doors with this film of the unlikely friendship between Fergus, an Irish revolutionary and Jody, a kidnapped soldier from Britain. When things so terribly wrong, Fergus manages to escape and heads for London and Jody's lover, a hairdresser named Dil. Fergus changes his name to Jimmy and starts seeing Dl who has no idea that he is aligned with the revolutionary group. But there are some things about Dil that he doesn't know either.
Stephen Rea as Fergus is amazing. Told from his point of view, he keeps the audience in suspense and involved. This is a special movie. It is hard and perverse and comes close to an "X" rating. There is a lot of sexual content which is stunning in its originality. In many cases the dialog is peppered with four letter words and the violence is both graphic and aggressive. It is quite a ride so if you plan to see it, be prepared. It is the kind of film that you see and talk about for days afterwards. An unknown actor, Forest Whitaker, appeared in the movie and went on to win the best actor Oscar this year. And the movie itself garnered many nominations itself.
Philosophically, the movie is an illustration of unconditional love, something we do not have a lot of in today's world. It helps us to understand humanity and the trails and tribulations of society are dealt with in the film. It s a work of fiction with a definite agenda and is beautiful to watch. Well written and beautifully acted, it draws you in with its profound performances and a very literate script. In fact, everything about this film nears perfection.

Who Can Sneer at Love?.......2007-04-25

Neil Jordan's "The Crying Game" was the talk of the town when it opened in 1992, largely due to its surprise ending, of course. But it won an Oscar for best original screenplay, and another 17 awards, and had 16 more award nominations. It was a good movie. Well, by now, the surprise ending isn't such a big surprise, the title song's still famous, and it's still a good movie. It was written and directed by the Irish Neil Jordan; Nik Powell gets an executive producer credit. It was well-cast, with the Oscar-winning Jim Broadbent, Adrian Dunbar, Stephen Rea, and Miranda Richardson in lead roles. The American Forest Whitaker, despite his wavering London accent, turned in one of his best pre-Oscar performances. And it introduced Jay Davidson in a stunning debut.

The movie opens unforgettably, during the height of the Irish troubles, at a carnival somewhere near Belfast, Ireland. Jude (Miranda Richardson) who plays a great bitch, seems intent on seducing Jody (Whitaker), a British soldier. But we quickly learn that she's actually intent on having him taken hostage by her insurgent Irish Republican Army co-conspirators, and he is. During Jody's captivity, he forms a relationship with one of his IRA keepers, Fergus (Rea), who's not the brightest in his unit; they tell each other the story of the frog and the scorpion, that will become famous folklore. Jody believes he won't survive his captivity, and asks Fergus to look up his London girlfriend, Dil (Davidson.) Fergus will be assigned to kill Jody; we'll never know if he could, as the author Jordan finds another, shocking way to set his story in motion. So Fergus flees to London, where he can live the anonymous life of an Irish laborer. and does, indeed, look up Dil.

This powerful opening sets the movie on its memorable, dreamlike course. It's an IRA drama, a star-crossed lovers' romance, and a hostage drama. The acting's first rate, particularly that of Stephen Rea, who holds the film together (he lost the Oscar to Al Pacino that year.) Rea give us a Fergus who's a not too bright schnook, just trying to get through life while causing as little damage as possible. Furthermore, he's another of Jordan's unfortunate heroes who can't help falling in love with the wrong female. We know Dil will never be the woman Fergus thought she was. But hey, who can sneer at love in a loveless world?

Average customer rating:

Chuck fits the profile....
Never wanted to see it
Truth stranger than fiction???
A Very Funny, Star-Packed, and Deeply Disturbed Romp
"The winner is the one who doesn't blow his brains out."

Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
Starring: Drew Barrymore , Isabelle Blais , Melissa Carter (IV) , Chelsea Ceci , and Michael Cera
Manufacturer: Miramax Films
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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