The Station Agent

Amazon.com

A strong ensemble and director Tom McCarthy's sweetly low-key observations make Sundance fave The Station Agent a treat. The film revolves around a reserved, somber dwarf (Peter Dinklage, immortalized by his brilliant ticked-off tirade in Living in Oblivion), a train enthusiast who inherits a small depot in rural New Jersey. He makes friends, somewhat reluctantly, with a group of eccentric locals: the guy at the coffee stand (buoyant Bobby Cannavale), an artist (Patricia Clarkson, impeccable as usual), a librarian (Michelle Williams). A few of the plot strands feel forced, but whenever the actors are simply playing off each other with McCarthy's nicely understated dialogue--which is most of the time--it ambles along winningly. You'll also learn more than you ever thought you'd want to know about trains. The key is Dinklage's smoldering performance, one of those reminders that a single scowl is worth pages of conversation. --Robert Horton

Description

Winner of 2003 Sundance Film Festival awards (Best Drama, Audience Award; Best Screenplay, Tom McCarthy; Best Performance, Patricia Clarkson), THE STATION AGENT stars Emmy Award winner Patricia Clarkson (TV's SIX FEET UNDER, FAR FROM HEAVEN), Peter Dinklage (ELF), and Bobby Cannavale (TV's 24, THIRD WATCH) in a comedy about friendship that will have you smiling long after the final credits. Fin McBride (Dinklage), a loner with a passion for trains, inherits an abandoned train station in the middle of nowhere -- a place that suits him just fine because all he wants is to be alone. But that is not to be. Soon after moving in, he discovers his isolated depot is more like Grand Central Station. There's Olivia (Clarkson), a distracted and troubled artist, and Joe (Cannavale), a friendly Cuban with an insatiable hunger for conversation. With absolutely nothing in common, they find their isolated lives coming together in a friendship none of them could foresee.

Customer Reviews:

WOW What a wonderful must see and own film.......2007-08-28

Have you ever watched a movie and forgotten you were even watching a movie, because you seemed to be sitting on the sidelines observing? This is that kind of movie and its wonderful because the acting is so seamless that you literally forget you are watching men and women playing a part. Instead you are watching real characters come to life.

And I think because the director allowed stillness and quiet reflection to speak, that the movie says so much. It literally makes the adage a picture says a thousand words a reality. Peter Dinklage becomes the quiet reclusive man in the old no longer used train station, who then opens up. And the director. writer made his character so real by all the interesting facts about trains and the railroad, which any train buff will love. Even the question about blimps, made me want to look up facts about blimps.

The scenery is spectacular and used well. Bobby Cannavale plays the owner of a mobile coffee stand and is someone you might actually know if your live in a small town. Patricia Clarkson plays an artist who has lost a son and now her marriage and is in a deep deep depression. The Librarian and other characters are a good addition to the film.

The vulnerability of Finbar McBride played by Peter Dinklage, like when the boyfriend of a young woman whom Finbar has befriended starts hitting on her and Finbar steps in and wants him to stop, yet being a dwarf he cant do much and needs to actually protect himself.

Also appreciated this movie because it was thoughtful, mature and didnt resort to nudity, violence and other cheap movie tricks to keep the viewers attention. Love serious movies that stimulate my brain and then my eyes.

Reminds each of us that we have areas where we to are vulnerable and scared. The mix of characters actually reminded me of an Mary Englebriet quote that says 'Friends are the Family we choose for ourselves'.

Unique characters, nothing telegraphed.......2007-08-04

This movie can't be described in a catch phrase. That's a good thing. I didn't know anyting about the movie before I saw it and I didn't know where it would lead. The characters were real and their troubles strengths slowly unfold. The best summary I can give is that this is a 'slice of life' film. It shows how 3 lonely people learn to connect, but the process is the real pleasure.

The Station Agent.......2007-07-30

Effortlessly charming and suffused with deadpan wit, this wonderful story directed by actor-turned-director McCarthy tackles loneliness, pain, and tragedy--the stuff of life, in other words--with quiet confidence and quirky passion. Clarkson and Carnavale are delightful as Fin's new friends, yet the movie is unimaginable without Dinklage's touching turn as a defensive man whose passion for trains helps stanch the pain of having lost his truest friend. Funny and deceptively simple, "Agent" is the kind of smart, refreshingly understated indie I wish we'd see more of from the Sundance crowd.

a true gem of a film.......2007-07-19

This is a gem, the kind you recommend to friends and then later on they thank you for it. A lovely independent film that does not have to rely on car crashes, rape, torture or unnecessary swearing. Patricia Clarkson is both funny and heartbreaking as a lonely woman; Bobby Cannavale is hilarious as the vendor; and Peter Dinklage is simply wonderful as the reclusive man who ends up with company he never expected during a quest to be alone. Watch for Michelle Williams as well.

No Plot, No Point, No...Nothing!!.......2007-07-09

A really boring 90 minutes or so. Many people I believe, watch movies to escape their own boring lives--not to see someone else's boring lives. This is why movies set in locations of Eastern Europe are exciting--most people have never been there! New Jersey--NOT! There seems to be no plot or point. This movie starts nowhere and goes nowhere fast.

Even the hot dog seller seems so bored out of his mind that he's desperate to talk to ANYone! Sure the librarian is cute but she needs an abortion before she's ready for a relationship. And then the redneck will probably kill the dwarf for getting involved with her!

Average customer rating:

James Bond at it's wimpiest.
For Your Nostalgia Only...
A High Budget Parody?
What was I thinking?
Roger Moore's Best Outing and a Top-notch Bond Adventure

Moonraker
Starring: Roger Moore , Georges Beller , Irka Bochenko , Emily Bolton , and Jean-Pierre Castaldi
Director: Lewis Gilbert
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000NIBURG
Release Date: 2007-05-22

Amazon.com

This was the first James Bond adventure produced after the success of Star Wars, so it jumped on the sci-fi bandwagon by combining the suave appeal of Agent 007 (once again played by Roger Moore) with enough high-tech hardware and special effects to make Luke Skywalker want to join Her Majesty's Secret Service. After the razzle-dazzle of The Spy Who Loved Me, this attempt to latch onto a trend proved to be a case of overkill, even though it brought back the steel-toothed villain Jaws (Richard Kiel) and scored a major hit at the box office. This time Bond is up against a criminal industrialist named Drax (Michel Lonsdale) who wants to control the world from his orbiting space station. In keeping with his well-groomed style, Bond thwarts this maniacal Neo-Hitler's scheme with the help of a beautiful, sleek-figured scientist (played by Lois Chiles with all the vitality of a department-store mannequin). There's a grand-scale climax involving space shuttles and ray guns, but despite the film's popular success, this is one Bond adventure that never quite gets off the launching pad. It's as if the caretakers of the James Bond franchise had forgotten that it's Bond--and not a barrage of gizmos and gadgets (including a land-worthy Venetian gondola)--that fuels the series' success. Despite Moore's passive performance (which Pauline Kael described as "like an office manager who is turning into dead wood but hanging on to collect his pension"), Moonraker had no problem attracting an appreciative audience, and there are even a few renegade Bond-philes who consider it one of their favorites. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

James Bond at it's wimpiest........2007-09-12

James Bond at it's wimpiest. In my opinion, not the best James Bond. Roger Moore looks like a tired 007. There is barely any emotion shown in the movie by Moore and it lacks dynamic performances. The film is also a bit disjointed and the plot is not well tied together. Gotta love Jaws though...he is a great henchman! But, there is even a laser gun...Star Wars anyone?

For Your Nostalgia Only..........2007-06-18

Moonraker was the very first Bond film I saw. I saw it in the theater when I was 8 years old and thought it was one of the coolest movies ever.

Today, watching through adult eyes, I see that it's campy, silly, and downright unrealistic.

HOWEVER, this film introduced me to a life-long love of the James Bond franchise. I've seen every Bond film at the theater since Moonraker and had the joy of watching the older ones on video (then later on DVD).

I have started my James Bond DVD collection with Casino Royale (the 2006 version) and I'm working my way backwards. I am now down to Moonraker which prompted me to write this review.

Yes, there are MUCH better Bond films out there, but I still bought this one because it reminded me of when the world of Bond was something fresh and new (to me, at least) and reminds me of what it was like to be a kid again.

This film can be fun, if you're willing to overlook the campiness.

The music (by the legendary John Barry) is absolutely beautiful and the title theme sung by Shirley Bassey (her third and final theme) is one of the franchise's best.

A High Budget Parody?.......2007-06-18

I rank Moonraker 19th out of the 21 Bond movies. I'm not going waste a lot of time here. Dumb plot. Blank faced Bondbabe. Smarmy Moore. Dumbed down Jaws. This one is played for laughs as the script is basically one dreadful pun after another and practically every scene has a sight gag. The acting is pretty much mailed in by all parties. The scenery in Rio, the Amazon and Venice is beautiful and some of the stunts are pretty eye popping. Hence the two stars. Even a bad Bond has its moments. The space scenes simply have to be seen to be believed for the shody special effects and ugly mustard jump suits.

What was I thinking?.......2007-06-14

I remember seeing this when it was in the theaters (yes, I'm old), and I really liked it then. Watching it now..... ick

Roger Moore's Best Outing and a Top-notch Bond Adventure.......2007-04-30

Since I first saw this Bond waaaay back in '79 I have loved it. I've probably seen it dozens of times since then and I still enjoy it immensely.

The story is tight and exciting, the subplots and twists many, the characters, even the "Bond girls," intriguing and well fleshed out (no pun intended), the villian perhaps one of the most obviously intelligent and understatedly menacing of any other, the humor subtle and witty, and the over-all story together with its climactic conclusion are well written and quite satisfying.

All too often critics of this Bond film attempt to slough it off as derivative of Star Wars. It's not. There's nothing "Star Wars" about it except for the fact that the latter part of the film does happen to take place in Earth orbit. Of course, if this is all it takes to be parasitic of George Lucas' space adventure then so also would be any other film involving space locales. Unlike the focus of Star Wars, here there are no space aliens and no fantastical science-fiction flights of fancy, just great adventure taking place primarily here on the Earth, though finally venturing above the Earth just as other Bond adventures have ventured below its surface (e.g., Thunderball, The Spy Who Loved Me, For Your Eyes Only). It's a greatly believable (even for Bond) international adventure visiting numerous exotic locales worldwide while furthering an intriguing and suspenseful storyline chock full of exciting twists and turns you will want to watch over and over again.

Among the more memorable scenes, and far better than the most memorable of almost all other Bonds, were the opening sequence as Bond is thrown out of an airplane without a parachute and expertly "flies" - without special effects - to intercept the bad guy and wrestle from him his parachute (arguably the single most exciting opening of any of the Bond films, bar none), the initial meeting and opening exchange with Drax (such a refreshing departure from the charicatured, over-the-top, "mad scientist"-type villians antagonizing Bond in almost all other 007 outings; this time a true villian, finally), the drama of the centrifuge incident that almost killed Bond, the refreshing intelligence of Dr. Goodhead (despite the cheesy name), the hunting-"accident" killing of Drax's would-be assassin followed by the utter ruthlessness of Drax in "sic"-ing the dogs on his defenseless female employee (a very well-directed sequence that was horrifyingly beautiful to watch), the nerve gas factory scene and the "Andromeda Strain" atmosphere created when its full destructive power is accidently released, then Drax' cool appearance the following morning at the same location now magically transformed to truly magnificent King Louis XVIII splendor, his regal calm mirroring flawlessly the opulent palacial surroundings, the Rio de Janeiro sequences from the Drax warehouse, where Jaws reappears, to their re-match during the cable-car high-wire confrontation, then finally on to the exciting speedboat chase sequence, the space port, and then on to the space station, itself.

Once aboard the space station, Bond subtlely makes Jaws aware of the fact that he, too, will be killed by Drax and enters into an unspoken alliance with Bond to defeat Drax, who is finally and very satisfyingly dispatched at last through an airlock to Bond's pithy rejoiner "Take a giant leap for mankind." Shortly therafter we are treated to an uncharacteristically touching moment as Jaws reveals his tender side as he toasts his newfound love while the space station is blowing up around them, entreating her with the only words he was ever granted in any of the Bond films: "Here's to us."

And finally, I found very satisfyingly suspenseful the final sequence as Bond and Dr. Goodhead race in a space shuttle to hunt down the nerve-gas satellites, destroying them as they re-enter Earth's atmosphere while trying to keep from burning up themselves. From beginning to end I found the plot very well thought out and developed, highly engaging and exciting, and concluded in highly dramatic and wonderfully satisfying fashion.

Those who discount this superior Bond film simply for having dared to exit Earth's atmosphere at some point in the storyline reveal not any flaw inherent to the movie or its setting, but instead their own inability to appreciate a great Bond film simply for having dared to premiere so soon after Lucas' insipidly simplistic sci-fi movie.

Okay... let the rants begin! ;)

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Good vs Evil
Heinlein lands another one!
Project Moonbase
Who Cut the Cheese?
Project Moonbase Redux

Project Moonbase
Starring: Donna Martell , Hayden Rorke , Ross Ford , Larry Johns , and Herb Jacobs
Director: Richard Talmadge
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: 6305869359
Release Date: 2000-06-06

Description

Robert Heinlein's vision of space travel and the future of man are depicted in his second cinematic space travel adventure, his first being "Destination Moon" three years earlier. Colonel Breiteis, a female rocket pilot, and Major Moore, her co-pilot, are selected to orbit the Moon to survey a landing area for a future expedition, but a ruthless Russian spy-scientist aboard the ship causes it to land on the lunar surface, stranded and out of fuel. Will they live or die in these dire circumstances? Writer Heinlein gives us thrilling ideas of an orbital space station where people walk on the walls and ceilings, a rocketship that looks much like the real one that landed on the Moon in 1969, the American Space Force, commie spies and a woman President of the United States.

Full Frame - B&W - English - Mono

Customer Reviews:

Good vs Evil.......2007-07-09

A nice simple old fashioned film made for enjoyment and to say the good guys win. I enjoy it for simple entertainment. There are no monsters coming to slice and dice everyone, there are no super CGI effects. And for those who care about such things - A man and a woman are equals. Both are traveling in space and end on the moon.

Heinlein lands another one!.......2007-04-17

I never read a book from Heinlein I didn't like. Of course his earliest ones are my favorite. Everybody is over educated, in fine shape, and ready for the next opportunity to spring into action. He and Roddenberry were both optimistic--hope I spelled his name correctly--but in Heinlein's books it showed you how to do it.

Heinlein's earlier books allowed women to have any job they were qualified for. They had to have the education as well as be in good shape. I think the good shape was a package deal--mind and body go together and enhance each other. After all, a person keeping themself in good condition meant self restraint as well as determination to succeed. Secretly, of course, the men always ruled the world. Nevertheless the cuties had a slice of the pie and the responsibitly it cost.

PROS:

1. Heinlein wrote it and must have been around when they shot it.

2. Col. Briteis (pronounced Brighteyes) is a cutie and yes they are bright eyes--she is also a proper-girl in the military. No 'hanky panky' with her.

3. This film proves what I've always said, short-shorts look better on the ladies and strange on men.

4. I've read a complaint about everybody wearing that skull cap. You should read Heinlein's Have Spacesuit will Travel, it explains these things in detail. But here is the short version--you can't have long hair in a space suit, if just one hair falls across the faceplate seal or helmet seal you loose air pressure and die. You'll notice all our original astronauts not only wore the same cap but cut their hair off. In the movie Starship Troopers, you remember the girl starship pilot? Well, in the book she shaved her head (for a different reason). This is the way science goes--you pay the price or someone else goes.

5. Heinlein, as I remember when I read his 38 or 39 novels was always proper in his earlier novels so of course when they crash/land on the moon and, could not be rescued for weeks or long months, they must get married.

six. Yes, there is an enemy agent onboard--he's out of shape and a bit 'slow'.

7. Nice sharp image, neat idea.
8. If you read the earlier reviews you see complaints about 'spanking'. I'm 54 years old now but was young once. Back then, several times, I remember waggeling my index finger in females face--right in front of their nose--and told them if they didn't stop I'd spank them like a little girl. Such where the way things used to be--now you go to jail for it. Back then usually they'd throw their cute little noises up in the air and snort. Other times they'd twirl around and 'throw over their shoulder' "No you won't." Then that nose would go up in the air and snort in a girly way that pretty much spelled out "You wouldn't dare!" Then there were the other type girls that would take a slap at you. Basicly there were no complaints from either side...I guess it must have been dieing out about that time because it didn't last very long.

9. In the movie the spacestation shoots smaller rockets to them and 'Brighteyes and her new man' land them by radio remote control. That was like Heinlein. It's quicker to just rocket them supplies until a new ship can be built rather than risk more lives with an untried, slapped together, spaceship rescue mission. And besides, they decided to build their first moonbase there.

CONS:

1. Should have been a hour longer.

So there it is, another classic. One written by Mr. Heinlein in his typical style. I recommend this movie and all his books. This is a one bowl of popcorn and one half hot dog move. Why half a dog? Most of it is spelled out to you. Bye!

Project Moonbase.......2007-02-17

Curious thing about this film. It made an effort to be accurate. At least as accurate as the gut-level understanding of space flight could be in the early 1950's. There was an effort made to show the loss of a "ground reference" in (what we now call micro-gravity), and by golly there is no sound in the vacuum of space. There was no rocket roar from the ships in transit to space station, and the moon. Wireless telephones are in evidence, but they will make the viewer laugh...out loud! Aside from the "technical" efforts at accuracy, the socio-political content was woefully juvenile. This is post-McCarthy era science fiction. There are evil commies, and there is no domestic security available to intercept their plot in a timely fashion. There is a woman space commander, but the then extant culture was unable to cope with such a concept (Robert Heinlein was apparently struggling just to allow a professional woman in this script.) She does look great in the cuffed hot-pants that are the speculated unisex ship-board attire. The guys look dumb in the same outfit.

Watch this film. It is a history lesson.

Really!

Who Cut the Cheese?.......2006-05-06

This has to be one of the cheesiest science fiction films I've ever seen. It's certainly no PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE but it would be stretching a point to even call it a B movie. That is surprising seeing as how Robert A. Heinlein is credited as one of the creators. He had little time for cheesiness.

The story is a simple one of conceived in the cold war. The US is sending a reconnaissance ship around the moon to gather information prior to a landing attempt. The Soviets are desperate to stop the effort and infiltrate an agent onto the crew as a saboteur. He is not caught out soon enough and, in the chaos of the fight, the ship goes off course. The only choice for survival is to go ahead and land.

There is more going on in the story than just the race to the moon and the cold war. The mission was originally assigned to an up and coming major (male). For political reasons, he is reassigned as co-pilot and command is given to a woman, a Col. Briteis (pronounced "Bright Eyes"). She is not a bad woman but it is apparent that she has been promoted to colonel for PR reasons and because she looks good in a skirt. Her indecisiveness and tendency to turn towards her co-pilot for advice and help is somewhat demeaning of what women are able to accomplish.

Possibly the silliest thing about the film is the costumes. The uniform for the US Space Force seems to be shorts, a t-shirt and the dumbest looking skullcap ever to grace the screen. The sets are fairly low budget as well.

All of that seems bad but I did find the show entertaining to a degree. It captured the spirit of the 50s and was fun in small doses. The "science" is rudimentary but generally correct. That must be Heinlein's doing. I suspect a female commander and a female US president were also. This show, while not as technically excellent as DESTINATION MOON, did have more of a story to it.

Project Moonbase Redux.......2005-09-22

I saw this movie when it was released. For some reason, it always stuck in my mind. I viewed it after buying it from Amazon and realized it was (now) rather hokey. Nevertheless, there were avant garde elements incorporated in Robert Heinlein's script that help the film maintain an interest level.

Average customer rating:

James Bond at it's wimpiest.
For Your Nostalgia Only...
A High Budget Parody?
What was I thinking?
Roger Moore's Best Outing and a Top-notch Bond Adventure

Moonraker
Starring: Irka Bochenko , Emily Bolton , Jean-Pierre Castaldi , Lois Chiles , and Corinne Clery
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00004RG64
Release Date: 2000-05-16

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

James Bond at it's wimpiest........2007-09-12

For Your Nostalgia Only..........2007-06-18

A High Budget Parody?.......2007-06-18

What was I thinking?.......2007-06-14

I remember seeing this when it was in the theaters (yes, I'm old), and I really liked it then. Watching it now..... ick

Roger Moore's Best Outing and a Top-notch Bond Adventure.......2007-04-30

The Station Agent [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - Spain ]

Average customer rating:

The Station Agent [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - Spain ]
Director: Thomas McCarthy
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Product Description

Spain released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada. LANGUAGES: Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (Dolby Digital 2.0), Spanish (Subtitles), WIDESCREEN, SYNOPSIS: Thomas McCarthy's Sundance-winning The Station Agent is a quiet, disarmingly simple movie about a man overcoming grief. Peter Dinklage gives one of the best performances of the year as Finbar McBride, a dwarf who inherits an abandoned train station after the death of his best, and possibly only, friend. McCarthy's storytelling is both leisurely and economical. His camera quietly observes Fin's taciturn ways and hints at why he has closed himself off emotionally from the world. Into his personal realm comes Olivia (Patricia Clarkson) a woman also dealing with grief of her own, and Joe (Bobby Cannavale) a man so charmingly good-natured and emotionally open that he manages to break through all of Fin's defenses. McCarthy's empathy for these characters shines through with the help of the three leads. Each of them delivers an emotionally penetrating performance without a hint of bravura. But it is the remarkable Dinklage who dominates the film. At one point, in a marijuana-fueled bit of personal revelation, Fin confesses that he is a really boring guy. His laugh after that admission signals his own trepidation at revealing so much of himself as well as his relief at being able to reveal himself to these new friends. The moment is simple and profound -- an apt description of the movie's poetic final scene as well as the film as a whole. The Station Agent is a perfect example of everything good about American independent film.
SPECIAL FEATURES: Trailer(s), Scene Access, Interactive Menu, Filmographies, Documentary,

Average customer rating:

WOW What a wonderful must see and own film
Unique characters, nothing telegraphed
The Station Agent
a true gem of a film
No Plot, No Point, No...Nothing!!

The Station Agent [Region 2]
Starring: Peter Dinklage , Paul Benjamin , Jase Blankfort , Paula Garcés , and Josh Pais
Director: Thomas McCarthy
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

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ASIN: B0002JK73E

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

WOW What a wonderful must see and own film.......2007-08-28

Unique characters, nothing telegraphed.......2007-08-04

The Station Agent.......2007-07-30

a true gem of a film.......2007-07-19

No Plot, No Point, No...Nothing!!.......2007-07-09

DVD:

DVD

DVD