The Recruit

Amazon.com

"Nothing is as it seems" in The Recruit, a guessing-game thriller that employs plot twists and conflicting loyalties as its primary raison d'être. Surrounded by potential deception, a newly recruited CIA officer (Colin Farrell) must determine if his manipulative instructor (Al Pacino) is being honest when he identifies Farrell's fellow recruit and love interest (Bridget Moynihan) as an enemy "mole" assigned to steal a dangerous computer virus from CIA headquarters. While claiming to offer an insider's look at CIA training methods, this engrossing yet ultimately predictable plot is pure Hollywood fantasy; any resemblance to reality is purely coincidental, leaving the perpetually unshaven and scruffily coiffed Farrell to fend for himself in Pacino's cynical arena while tracing his familial roots in the spy game. Wearing its cleverness on its sleeve, The Recruit is an adequately elaborate puzzle of perceptions. "Everything is a test," as Farrell soon realizes, and attentive viewers will enjoy piecing it all together. --Jeff Shannon

Description

Academy Award(R)-Winner Al Pacino (Best Actor, SCENT OF A WOMAN, 1991) and Colin Farrell (MINORITY REPORT) take you deeper into the CIA than you've ever been before in this action-packed psychological thriller. James Clayton (Farrell), one of the smartest graduates in the country, is just the person Walter Burke (Pacino) wants in the Agency. James quickly rises through the ranks and falls for Layla (Bridget Moynahan, THE SUM OF ALL FEARS), one of his fellow recruits. But just when James starts to question his role and his cat-and-mouse relationship with his mentor, Burke taps him to root out a mole. As the suspense builds in a maze of gripping twists and turns, there are only two things James can count on -- he can't trust anyone and nothing is as it seems. It's the ultimate CIA thriller with so many surprise plot twists, you'll want to watch it again and again.

Customer Reviews:

Under-rated movie.......2007-09-07

This movie was hard to find, it isn't very popular, and not very many people have seen it or even heard of it. I dont think it made much money either, but I think it was a polished, well made thriller with plot twists that kept me second guessing till the very end.

Great Pacino.......2007-08-24

Pacino plays a dark character which is why I liked this movie. The ending was great. Story was drawn out however.

Corey Cotta, Author of All of Yesterdays Tomorrows.

Great movie!.......2007-08-05

This movie was great! It was full of action, suspense, and had one of those stories that made you want to watch the movie all over again.

I love it.

Not great, Pacino deserves more, Farrell less.......2007-08-04

Pacino took a step down in acting in this film. It really is not that realistic and I found several of the scenes to be bogged down in dramatic blah that in real life would not have happened. Sure, I realize it is just a movie but I have to challenge the director in asking what exactly he was trying to accomplish here. It has some fun action scenes but I suppose the plot is what suffers the most here, and when the plot falls, it all falls down.

Al Pacino is a star, but why they had a bozo of an actor like Farrell in there alongside him is beyond me. Farrell can never add any emotion to anything he is in and I felt actually hurt this films chances of being better. Bridget Moynahan is also in it and I like her and wish she was in more films like this. If you want drama films that center on good storytelling, skip this movie.

I liked but, it is predictable.......2007-06-23

Well acted, well filmed, full of twists and turns. "Nothing is as it seems" as Walter Burke (Pacino) says. If, at least once, they would have made something exactly as it seemed ... the moviegoer may have been surprised. What made it predictable was you always knew to expect the unexpected.

Average customer rating:

...military 'stereotypes'? Not even that.
A fascinating film littered with young actors with talent coming out of their ears!
This is a "must see" military movie.
War and waste have a lot in common
TIGERLAND

Tigerland
Starring: Colin Farrell , Tom Guiry , Cole Hauser , Russell Richardson , and Jr. Clifton Collins
Director: Joel Schumacher
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B00003CXOY
Release Date: 2001-04-17

Product Description

Just released from the base stockade, recruit Roland Bozz (Farrell) joins a platoon of young soldiers preparing to ship out to Vietnam. Bozz's independence and outright defiance draws fire from his own men as well as commanding officers. But when the platoon is sent to Tigerland, a hellish training ground that is the last stop before Vietnam, Bozz's leadership and loyalty brings his men together - triggering extraordinary consequences.

System Requirements:

Starring Colin Farrell, Clifton Collins, Jr., Matthew Davis, Thomas Guiry, Cole Hauser, Russell Richardson, Shea Whigham

Directed by Joel Schumacher

Running time: 101 minutes

Amazon.com

Shot in the rough, 16-millimeter style of a low-budget documentary, Tigerland marked director Joel Schumacher's welcomed return to simplicity after a slew of bloated blockbusters like Batman & Robin. In revitalizing Schumacher's directorial talent, Tigerland--partially inspired by the Danish Dogme 95 movement of no-frills filmmaking--suggested that one solution to Hollywood's moribund "product" was to abandon excess, focus on essentials, and assemble a fine cast of unknown actors to make it all worthwhile. To that end, Tigerland also marked the deserving arrival of Irish actor Colin Farrell as Hollywood's hottest new discovery.

Its story never leaves U.S. soil, so Tigerland differs from such in-country Vietnam films as Platoon and Full Metal Jacket. Instead, it's about the anxieties and moral dilemmas that arise from the anticipation of death and killing. These roiling emotions are focused on the character of Private Bozz (Farrell), whose insubordination betrays a singular knack for leadership during infantry training at Fort Polk, Louisiana, in 1971. Part R.P. McMurphy and part Cool Hand Luke, Bozz is a defiant maverick, barely tolerated by his superiors, challenged or revered by his fellow grunts, and ultimately honed into a soldier of remarkable promise. An intense final week in the live-ammo training ground nicknamed "Tigerland" galvanizes the platoon and Bozz's place in it, and although the film (partially based on cowriter Ross Klavan's own experience) lacks the emotional impact of Platoon, it deals quite potently with the internal conflicts that must be waged before external warfare can be endured. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

...military 'stereotypes'? Not even that........2007-06-02

After seeing the movie, I was shocked to discover that it was based on a book written by someone who had - apparently - been through Tigerland himself and served a tour in Vietnam during the period depicted in the film.

It would seem that 'based on' leaves a lot of room for 'artistic liberty'. Perhaps the film makers should have set aside more of what was clearly a small budget for the services of military consultant ...maybe then they wouldn't have referred to a field phone as a 'radio', have been more accurate with the uniforms, and not relied so heavily on dialogue and mannerisms that could only have been based on what a civilian who had never spent a day in uniform 'thought' soldiers acted like.

This movie needed the services of Dale Dye ...badly!

A fascinating film littered with young actors with talent coming out of their ears!.......2007-01-29

For anyone who feels that Colin Farrell is just a pretty face I say watch this movie. `Tigerland' marks Colin's big break, and this film, this role, should have landed him plenty of meatier roles. As Private Roland Bozz, a defiant soldier training for Vietnam, Farrell exhibits every sign of a true talent, a true actor and a destined star. His performance is controlled, relatable and entirely believable. While watching him move, react and interact with his surroundings and his fellow soldiers you feel connected to him in ways only a masterful actor can make you. This, my friends, is acting at its finest.

`Tigerland' is gritty and raw, thanks in large part to Joel Schumacher's excellent direction, and it's that raw realism that makes for an even more impressive and entertaining ride. As these men conflict with one another, their emotions whether rage or compassion spilling out like blood from an open wound, the viewer is moved to contemplate their plights and their true character.

When Jim Paxton enlists he does so not fully understanding what he's getting himself into. He longs to write about the war first hand and so to him this is more like a experience. Roland on the other hand has no interest in being there. He was drafted and thus hates the very idea of fighting and possibly dying in Vietnam. The problem though, or not problem but more like irony of it all, is that Bozz is actually quite the gifted soldier. He's strong, determined and loyal and he has leadership skills that don't go unnoticed by his superiors as well as his fellow peers. Using these skills to help his friends get discharged instead of honing them to become the soldier they want him to become Bozz is soon faced with a choice, a decision that could very well change his life forever.

With exceptional performances by Farrell and Matthew Davis, not to mention Clifton Collins Jr. and Shea Whigham, `Tigerland' serves as more than a brilliant war film, it serves as a catapult for the young talent of today, young actors who are worth so much more than the fluff roles they seem to be getting nowadays. Here's to hoping that more films like this come along for these young actors so they don't go down as the bunch that could have been great. It's nice to see Colin finally getting some meaty roles, and Clifton was great in `Capote', but there's so much more talent in these men...it's now Hollywood's job to capitalize on it.

This is a "must see" military movie........2006-07-20

This movie focuses on the people that join the army and go through the infantry school(the worst job in the military). It really spotlights how human personalities clash in the worst possible way under serious stress. Not campy like full metal jacket, but from more of a contemporary viewpoint.

War and waste have a lot in common.......2006-04-12

Twenty-five years after the Vietnam war, another film about it, and yet it is not about Vietnam at all. It concentrates on the training marines got in the early 1970s when everything was already lost and the US tried to find a way out without knowing how. One more film about marine-training, will you say, and wrong you will be again because there is a rub somewhere. One of the new marines is just the very type that rebels against any authority, any hierarchy. His presence changes everything. It is very hard for him and for the other men up to the moment when he is entrusted with the commanding position in his unit. An officer felt that he had the power to be in command, though he was rebellious because he was afraid of it. And this captain was right. He creates a rather relaxed atmosphere and he is able to feel the value of his men, those who will be able to go through the war, to be a real help to the others, and those who would be a danger to everyone. He manages the weak ones and the dangerous ones so that they get out before going to Vietnam. And he finally goes with his men and disappears with them, so says the film. This film is about military training. It takes more than authority to train men for battle. It takes guts and humanity, even if at times it also takes some decision-making and some violence. But altogether it is a shame to sacrifice such men in a war when they could have been brilliant assets for the country and its development instead of a war that has no chance whatsoever to be won. We should meditate this simple truth over and over again. Human values are so much more human when they take part in a constructive human project, and war is never, absolutely never, a constructive project.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, Universit? Paris Dauphine, Universit? Paris I Panth?on Sorbonne

TIGERLAND.......2006-02-23

If you want to watch a war movie that shows death, blood and gore this is not the movie you. Instead this movie accuratly portrays the life of US Army soldiers in training before they head off to Vietnam and an uncertain fait. All the actors are excellent and really capture the human drama as these soldiers deal with the probability of dying in the jungles of Vietnam. A plus is the accuracy of the time period such as the uniforms, vehicles and even the military lingo used back that era. If you are a stickler like me for accuracy then you will like this movie. I recommend it to those who are more interested in the human aspect of war and not just the blood and guts.

The Corruptor (New Line Platinum Series)

Average customer rating:

Yellow Fever, ha ha ha.
good movie
Gripping Cop Flick
an amazing premise action movie
If all bad cops could be this good!

The Corruptor (New Line Platinum Series)
Starring: Yun-Fat Chow , Mark Wahlberg , Ric Young , Paul Ben-Victor , and Jon Kit Lee
Director: James Foley
Manufacturer: New Line Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00000JGNP
Release Date: 1999-09-14

Amazon.com

Nick Chen (Chow Yun-Fat) is not your average New York cop. Working in Chinatown has its multifarious cultural nuances and its fair share of ubiquitous enticement, both of which are reflected in detective Chen's weary face. He had to get into bed with the highest echleons of the Chinese Mafia as a way of augmenting his own career, while maintaining a semblance of control over the dime-a-dozen hoods who proliferate on this turf. To make matters worse, he now has to break in rookie detective Danny Wallace (Mark Wahlberg), who has asked to be assigned to the Chinatown division. Apparently Wallace is infatuated with all things Chinese, or is suffering from "Yellow Fever," as his fellow colleagues would have us believe. Chen, not one to suffer fools gladly, takes young Wallace under his protective wing, oft-warning the shady powers of the neighborhood not to sink Danny into their sordid pool of corruption. But before he knows it, both he and Wallace are caught in a deadly ring of double-crosses, shady-dealings, murders, and car chases. And all of this under the suspicious eye of Internal Affairs.

Part Serpico and part Hard Boiled, this film seems at first to be a major departure from director James Foley's previous work. However, Foley has frequently revealed a keen eye and understanding for emotionally complex relationships, especially between teacher and pupil (Glengarry Glen Ross) or father and son (At Close Range). This movie is no different. In fact, Foley's meticulous attention to the relationship between the wise, morally burdened Chen, and the naïve, innocent Wallace morphs this otherwise tedious plot into a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Hats off to Chow Yun-Fat and Mark Wahlberg, whose sympathetic chemistry creates an authentic and deeply personal connection, a factor that proves crucial to the film's poignant, disturbing finale. --Jeremy Storey

Customer Reviews:

Yellow Fever, ha ha ha........2007-01-21

I initially got this movie because I remember watching it some years ago when I lived in Germany and there was a time when my father and I decided to make up the time to swing by faster by renting movies almost every day or every week at least and watching them through; movies I'd never even really heard or seen. Usually they were kung fu movies and such, but every now and then we'd pick up a movie that would seem to pass the entertainment radars for us (when you're an American in Germany, it's REALLY hard to find American movies or their debuts to hit overseas as it takes at least 6 months, if you're lucky, to almost 2 years just for an American movie to come out... can you imagine? While you read on the news that somewhere in California the Matrix has started, you'd have to wait an extra few months just to watch, or something like that-- I just use the Matrix as an example.)

The Corruptor was one of those movies and sadly, we'd ended up watching the movie on DVD because it just never showed up in the bigscreens there. So anyway, I remember watching this movie and thought about how insanely deep this movie was. All the stuff about Chinese gangs, crime, the asian-flare of a metropolis society and how everyone seems not to care-- plus it has Mark Wahlberg who's one of my most favorite hollywood actors. More importantly, it also houses CHOW YUN FAT!!! Not only does it have a favorite actor of mine but has an amazing chinese kung fu actor! Performances from both these actors really stock you in for the vicious ride and twists this movie has for a plot and the action that befits it isn't over the top since the setting is basically China Town.

In a way I wanna say this is like Law & Order meets Shaft, but that's a disheartening comparison except to say that it has the crime story scene with the heart-pounding action of the latter but intensified ten fold. The cinematography is astounding, the characters, protagonist and antagonists, all are a great bunch to watch intermingle with and against one another and it's a really good movie worth the watch; the least to say, own.

Really, if you dig cop movies, this is your hit.

If you dig drama, this movie's your bag.

If you dig action, this movie's your well-given shot.

Seriously top notch stuff and glad I came across it years ago. The fond memory of it being the thing that pulled me back to watch and own it now.

good movie.......2006-09-11

I am stuck between a 3 and a 4 but since the movie was so good, I have to give it a 4. The only reason I give it a 3.5 is because I need my bad guys to be really bad. Then they opened up Chow Yun Fat's character so much I almost forgot about it. Mark Walbergh is good as always. There is a lot of acting going on. When I say acting I am talking about these guys using all the tools. From facial expressions to saying the line just right, the director did a very good job. Movie comes in at about 2 hours but keeps you really into it for almost the entire film. This is by far Chow's best American performance. Make sure you check out The Killer if you are a big Chow fan.

DVD is widescreened with 2 good special features. One has interviews and the behind the scenes is more like a documentary. There is also a commentary with the director james Foley.

Gripping Cop Flick.......2005-11-19

"The Corruptor" is a tough complex crime thriller set among the vicious power grabs by competing tribes in New York's Chinatown. Out to bring them down is decorated detective Nick Chen(Chow Yun-Fat), head of the Chinatown Gang Unit, and the partner that was foisted on him, the apparently green officer Danny Wallace(Mark Wahlberg). Chen is an effective cop but some of his methods are a little unorthodox and occasionally skirt the law. This does not always go over well with the more idealistic Wallace. Yun-Fat is excellent as the tarnished hero and Wahlberg is solid in a role that is not as stereotypical as it first appears. Ric Young is effectively creepy and villainous as the duplicitous gang leader Henry Lee. The film has many plot strands to it and may appear at some junctures to be overplotted. Never fear because these elements come together in the end for a satisfying experience.

an amazing premise action movie.......2005-02-26

Chow Yun Fat and Mark Wahlburg are amazing in this
all I can say is
action action
moving story
see this
see this seriously
it's just as entertaining and interesting as the Replacement Killers
see that one too
I will watch this more times then I can count on my dvd player. rest assured

If all bad cops could be this good!.......2004-05-01

I loved the confrantation that Danny Wallace had with his dad about the contemplation of what to do about turning in his partner Nick Chen .. I won't spoil the quote you have to take it in context of the scenario of the movie. What an impact it made in my life that what I do in my life will be what I live with. I don't know if I over looked the goings on with Nick Chen because after all he was Yun-Fat Chow or that his over looking Uncle Benny's activities was some how a kindness to help May a lost drug addict and prostitute unable to escape her fate he tries to be more then a cop in her heart. The entire movie was tastefully done, story line excellant, directed in a way to make you laugh, cry, sit at the edge of you chair during those action scenes. Not to mention the sound track subpurbly done. I have had always found Yun-Fat Chow a believable actor in all rolls he portray; this movie he stole my heart (more then in Anna and the King).. the ending must be seen to appreciate how to me he was a good cop, with admiration to the writer in whatever message he wanted to leave you at the end. If you thought Mark Wahlberg was exceptional in this roll you should see him in The Perfect Storm and never thought he would play such a sicko in Fear but had me convinced. Lady's don't judge all men by what goes on in this movie but be wise to it's message of common sense. It always amazes me when an actor can play his/her complete opposite. I look forward to watching more of both of these great actors movies. Don't wait to buy THE CORRUPTOR should it go out of print you will regret it! Well I think so. Thanks for listening - Bye. Would welcome your comments too.

Average customer rating:

Cops and Werewolves
Great Idea Done So Bad Makes You Want To HOWL In Pain! After Watching!
Very good movie!
Not bad at all
Good Idea, poor execution....

Full Eclipse
Starring: Mario Van Peebles , Patsy Kensit , Bruce Payne , Anthony John Denison , and Jason Beghe
Director: Anthony Hickox
Manufacturer: Hbo Home Video
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ASIN: B00005LO4I
Release Date: 2001-08-21

Description

Max Dire is invited to join an elite police force. Empowered by a secret serum, they attain the power of werewolves and fight crime with a vengeance.

Customer Reviews:

Cops and Werewolves.......2007-01-26

ok he is a cop, he is also the man running a elite crime fighting unit that manages to wipe out all crime in an area then moves on.... however after investigation (mario van peebles) discovers this has happened over and over city to city so he begins to Investigate a past on his elite unit boss and finds out some very disturbing facts. it would seem the serum they take to Enhance them in battle is something not natural. so he delves deeper to bring about the Shocking conclusion to this Exciting movie. lost one star for just a touch of cheese on some of the acting.

Great Idea Done So Bad Makes You Want To HOWL In Pain! After Watching!.......2006-01-20

I brought the DVD based on the core story line. I love all werewolf movies hence it is extremely hard to make a werewolf movie I do not absolutely LOVE! Full Eclipse manages to be a werewolf movie I absolutely hate with a passion. I can handle lame sets, card-"bored" actors \ acting, bad special effects, cheesey looking werewolves, innane campy over the top dialogue almost anything. Sometimes bad werewolf movies like Wolfen among others end up being incredibly funny which make me like them immensely despite their downfalls. Full Eclipse is dull bad as anything I have ever seen and is not one bit funny at any point along the way.

Full Exclipse lame from start to blessed finish takes itself way way way too seriously to ever for a moment be the least bit funny. Full Eclipse is trying desparately to be an action adventure flick but it never succeeds despite its many pathetic icreasingly lame attempts. I never ended up liking any of the characters despite getting to know them. Why these people did what they did was never fleshed out in ways that made me care about their mission. Full Eclipse came across as a job for B actors and everyone dutifully showed up said their lines worked on the set, put a way lame BUT completed film in the can and promptly went home to gag in isolated shame at the things they did for money that day.

What I can not abide however is a movie that holds itself out to be a werewolf movie that tries unsuccessfully to be more than just a slash and burn horror fest. In a low budget werewolf movie you don't need lots of intense background build up on the characters you just want to see liberial doses of blood, gore and entrails spead all over the place. This movie spends way too much time slowly plodding along calling itself developing the characters. I gave the DVD one star because it did such a bad job of developing the characters depsite almost the entire film wasted in the effort.

The real criminal in the making of Full Eclipse was the editor so much background stuff that should have ended up on the cutting room floor made the final cut into the film. The pacing of the film was so slow it put me to sleep twice before I finally managed to see all of it. Watching this werewolf flick was profound torture and I love most werewolf flicks. The full blooded dude to werewolf conversion in this movie was on the best I have seen but even that could not save this movie.

Full Eclipse suffers from being BORING BEYOND ALL WORDS which is the one cardinal sin I will not forgive in a werewolf movie. Given the chosen path this Werewolf movie had staked out, even I could have made a far more exciting satisfying movie than what was slapped together in Full Eclipse. Full Eclipse is not bad HA HA is is bad... Snore Fest - ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ wake me up when it is over. If I had a choice between watching this movie again and getting a root canal I'd be off to the dentist Office with a Big Toothy Wolflike grin with hugs for my dentist for his kindness.

Full Eclipse is painfully slow so bad that when my office has its annual DVD and Book Give away for charity I intend to offer Full Eclipse up for sacrafice. Full Eclipse is so bad I honestly do not want it in my collection and I rather pride myself on having most werewolf movies. Full Eclipse was so bad however it is one Werewolf movie I will brag about not having in my huge collection. If I could give Full Eclipse a less than one star rating I would. I have rarely been more disappointed by a werewolf movie. Dog Soldiers among others is much better choice than this mess.

Very good movie!.......2005-08-26

It's very cool in my honest opinion and very good action and special effects! And the very hot Mario Van Peebles makes it AWESOME!!

Not bad at all.......2004-01-02

After reading the other reviews, had to write this. I enjoyed the movie, thought the acting was allright, and the story line was pretty good. Also liked Bruce Payne in it. Not a great movie, but worthwhile werewolf movie to watch

Good Idea, poor execution...........2003-03-26

What can I say? I love werewolf movies. But this one bites. (No pun intended). Max Dire (more wolf pun names), is a down-on-his-luck police detective. With a series of tragic events threatening to overwhelm him, Max gets involved with a therapy group whose leader is a werewolf (the Howling anyone?)

At first intrigued by the group, Max soon learns that these officers mean business - they're injecting werewolf blood to fight crime.

Description

This poignant and powerful documentary takes a shocking, first-hand look at the culture of hate that permeates the West Bank and Gaza, and which continues to escalate the perennial violence pitting Palestinians against Israelis. Starting out in the city of Nablus (where as many as 80 percent of suicide bombing plots are planned), James Miller and Saira Shah ended up in the Gaza town of Rafah, one of the most dangerous cities in this volatile region. There they spent several weeks focusing on the activities of three Palestinian children - two 12-year-old boys and a 16-year-old girl - who have grown up surrounded by messages of hate against Israel (whose military presence in their town is a constant), and taught that the greatest glory is to die a martyr. The film ends on a day like many other days in Rafah, with death - except that on this day, the fallen victim happens to be the man making this film.

Customer Reviews:

Religous Nihilism and Just General Despair in Gaza.......2007-09-07

I wish folks could watch a movie like this sensibly without letting their own nutty fanaticisms distort their ability to see things for what they are. Are the IDF depicted as ruthless occupiers? Oh yes. Does this paint Palestinians in a negative like? You bet. Does it cast Palestinian parents as being complete nutjobs? Unquestionably. The question we should be asking is not whether the director was able to exhaust all sides of the debate. Instead we should ask whether the sides that were covered were done so with intellectual honesty. I believe they were. I know both Arabs and Israelis like to think the oppossing side is the devil manifested on earth but really both sides are complete psychos if you ask me and not without some degree of jusification mind you.

It's as if some of us fail to see that this type of behavior is all taking place in what is at the very least a constant state of mini-warfare, one that has exploded into full scale regional conflict on an average of every ten years for the last half century. And while the what Palestinians teach their children might seem ghoulish and barbaric to us waging a war that involves children is far from an uncommon event in World History. It happened quite a few times even as late as World War Two even in the secular industrialized nations.

It's also probably easier for us to think of suicide bombings as just being random frustrated attempts at revenge and though there is a great deal of truth to that realistically there is at least some strategic value in engaging in these bombings namely it has brought immigration to the West Bank and Gaza down to a trickel. Again, wholesale attacks against civilians were not the exception but the norm throughout world history and throughout American History right up until the end of World War Two (which by the way was the last war we won).

What makes these bombings so bizzare however is that they don't seem to be undertaken with any of the strategic considerations in mind. Perhaps even more perplexing is that revenge doesn't even seem to be the primary reason for "strapping on the vest" as it were either. During the interviews with the Palestinians there's some vague talk about statehood in all this but for the most part it seems like Islam has yet again exacerbated an already hopeless situation. These bombings seem less like tactical maneuvars and more like rituals; it's their outward expression of the Abrahamaic "leap of faith" they're about to take as they will themselves to self-destruction and mutilation with the hopes that the sheer incomprehensibility (near unearthliness) of the act will propell them into God's kingdom.

No doubt the warfare and four decades of military occupation have contributed to this sense of despair but rarely if ever has even a military occupation been able to produce, what I'm guessing at least, is a collective sense of nihilism amongst so many people. Suicide and murder are one thing, but as was before stated these facts appear to be secondary qualities, maybe even finalities of sorts to these suicide bombers. I can't think of anytime in history when such a thing has happened. When people were so willing not just to simply fight for God (not that this is a trivial act either) but to literally committ suicide for him. I mean, I hope we all recognize the extreme difference between claiming to "fight for God," (shoot even picking up a weapon and fighting) and actually strapping a bomb to your chest and killing yourself instantly. I'd say probably quite a few Palestinians were predisposed to this form of nihilism and it was really just a matter of Hamas & Co. coming in and taking advantage of the situation to fit their political goals.

To be sure the Israelis, at least the military, doesn't come off smelling like roses either. I mean, they did shoot and kill the director of the film after all. Really, I don't know how any who saw that footage of the crew getting shot at could say that it was a mistake. Clearly they were trying to kill him/them, why exactly is anyones guess but the IDF certainly hasn't been very friendly with the press over the years and no doubt this is just another incident of them murking someone they thought might portray them in a negative light. Nice job.

Either way the inclusion of that footage at the end leaves no doubt in my mind that the producers were at least attempting to be objective with this film. Undoubtedly they were trying to depict both Israelis and Palestinians for the ultra-fanatical religous crackpots that many of them seem to be. Unfortunately this film really does leave you with the impression that there is absolutely no way to solve this whole mess. Things couldn't look more worse in this film. The decent of Gaza into anarchy earlier this Summer simply confirms this.

Disturbing.......2007-06-01

Hmm...

* All the scenes in schools involve teaching kids to hate Jews. (Funny, I've been through years of Jewish education and spent lots of time in Israeli schools, and I've never seen the reverse towards Muslims.)

* Kids get shot at because they spend their afternoon recreation time throwing hand-grenades and rocks at tanks while they're at work. Well, duh? And their deaths accomplish *what*, exactly, for Palestinian statehood?

To me, this movie accentuated the pernicious evil of the paramilitary "resistance" organizations in treating kids as weapons -- and the concomitant unlikelihood of a shared peace settlement. The more of their children die pointlessly like those in the film (such as in blowing up Jewish "pigs" and "dogs", to use their own words from the film), the harder it's going to be to accept a legitimate compromise settlement -- they'd have to accept that all of their kids really did get themselves killed for nothing.

Not recommended.......2007-04-15

This movie gives watchers with little background on the issue the IMPRESSION of being bias-free. However, it's filled with subtle biases that favor Israel and its close to 40 year occupation of Palestine.

Moreover, the woman (Sarah) who was speaking to the child was ridiculous. In one scene, a boy was telling her of his toy gun. She sat there smiling at him, instead of explaining how this is a product of occupation and violence directed at the Palestinian people.

Also, if watchers understood Arabic, they would see that in more than one scene, the translation is completely misleading. For example, the boys (Ahmad and his friend) are speaking of prayer and how FELLOW PALESTINIANS (not Israelis, as the translation puts it) are praying incorrectly. By phrasing the words in English as if they are pointed at the Israelis, this movie is furthering false notions of Palestinians society.

NOT RECOMMENDED!!!

fair.......2007-04-10

There were some scenes in here I was glad I saw. Nothing was quite so powerful was watching boys throwing stones at tanks and seeing tanks fire back. Stones versus tanks. To those that say the movie is biased because it doesn't cover the Israeli point of view, I will reiterate what has been said over and over--he was killed before he got a chance. The crew seemed rightly appalled at the way Palestinian miltants used children--this is no blind propaganda for the Palestinian cause. But you know, if ever anyone had a good reason to be biased, it would certainly be one who was killed by the mighty while weilding only a white flag

The making of martyrs . . ........2006-10-09

This film about life among young Palestinians packs the usual punch of HBO documentaries. Celebrated British filmmakers Miller and Shah get as close to the skirmishes directed against Israeli troops as possible, capturing footage that refuses to turn away from the human cost of this particular kind of urban warfare. It is high-risk filmmaking, and we know from the start that Miller is killed by Israeli gunfire before the shooting of the film is completed.

Viewers not familiar with the Palestinian resistance will be shocked by the impact that fear and hatred of the Israelis has made upon the youngest generation - the boys flinging rocks at Israeli tanks, who have come under the influence of masked, gun-wielding insurgents. We meet two young boys, close friends, who manufacture explosives, and an older girl who has lost several members of her family and weeps at yet another funeral. The romance of martyrdom overwhelms their youthful world as a welcomed though not fully understood prospect.

There is little resolution to the powerlessness the viewer can feel watching this film, and those sympathetic with the Israeli side of the equation will find it represented by distant, menacing armed figures in military uniforms or moving through the streets in tanks - objects to be feared, scorned, and hated. And as the film represents this ongoing struggle, there seems to be no end in sight. Worth seeing as a look behind the daily news from that part of the troubled world.

Average customer rating:

awful junk
SPARE ME THIS CRAPPY GARBEAGE!
Children of the Corn in tha Hood
Decent movie though the ending is rotten
Good if you like cheese

Children of the Corn 3 - Urban Harvest
Starring: Daniel Cerny , Ron Melendez , Jim Metzler , Nancy Grahn , and Michael Ensign
Director: James D.R. Hickox
Manufacturer: Dimension
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005NTMZ
Release Date: 2001-10-09

Description

An edge-of-your-seat thriller packed with suspense and terror -- you can't miss CHILDREN OF THE CORN III: URBAN HARVEST -- third in the wildly popular CHILDREN OF THE CORN series! Soon after a childless couple adopts a pair of orphaned brothers, it becomes alarmingly clear the boys are much more than they seem! With the immense power to hypnotize schoolmates into mindless followers and destroy any adult opposition, the younger boy continues the frightening campaign of terror that began in CHILDREN OF THE CORN! But there is one person -- his brave older brother -- who can possibly stop the relentless destruction, setting up an awesome final showdown between the powers of good and evil!

Customer Reviews:

awful junk.......2006-10-22

I can't believe anyone would think about putting the third Children of the Corn movie on the same level as the original and part 2. Come on, the original was the best, and the second one was really good as well. Part 3 contains cheap, ugly-looking production that doesn't have any scare factor whatsoever. The corn field is inside the city, for crying out loud. How scary can that be?

At least the fourth movie was a bit of an improvement. I would strongly recommend looking into the first two Children of the Corn movies before spending money on this low budget film. That's just my opinion though, and usually I'm wrong.

SPARE ME THIS CRAPPY GARBEAGE!.......2006-03-20

I repeat, the original had no room for a sequel. What a waste of film and talent. This stuff is worthless. Enough said.

Children of the Corn in tha Hood.......2005-12-30

'Children of the Corn 3' is pretty damn entertaining. Not as good as two, but still superior to the original and well worth watching. It's certainly never effective as a straight horror movie, but it's got plenty of camp appeal and some amusing gore. This one is sorta vaguely related to the original central story, as it's about little creepy Eli and larger, normal Joshua who are adopted brothers. At the films beginning Eli murders his adopted father so they have to move in with a foster family... IN THE CITY!!!!! Eli is some sorta evil corn warlock and he starts killin' people for no particular reason and works on a scheme to feed tainted super-corn to all the world with the unwitting help of their foster father, who is some sort of corn magnate. What's worse, Eli starts preaching at the toughest Catholic school in the hood and starts converting everyone, to create a whole new pack of corn children! That all sounds pretty silly, I'm sure, and it is, but they try to take is seriously, which is nice. Intentionally camp movie do work sometimes, but they can rarely compare to something which was meant to be taken seriously. Though actually, I don't wanna be to hard on it, as it's actually more competent than a lotta films of this caliber. I get the feeling that the director could manage a pretty decent horror movie if he had a decent script and a moderate budget. But this is what we got, and there ain't much they can do with this plot, and the dude who plays Eli just ain't menacing, like Malachi was in the first one. Still, it's pretty awesome, with a nice scarecrow attack, a corncifiction, a big scary corn monster that eats a doll, some computer generated fireballs, a crazy agitated priest, a chick totally melting, a corn-thieving hobo who gets his comeuppance, icky bugs, a scary corn-bible and a glimpse into the mysterious world of international corn trade. If all that hasn't convinced you that you need to see 'Children of the Corn 3', that I don't think it's gonna happen. Also, Charlize Theron has a small role as one of the new Children of the Corn towards the end. Not that I can imagine why you'd care, though it does show how life really can change- in ten years she went all the way from 'Children of the Corn 3' to... ... .... ...'Aeon Flux'. You've come a long way, baby.

Grade: C

Decent movie though the ending is rotten.......2005-01-20

Despite the rotten ending this direct-to-video movie has good special effects and a few effective scenes. Two brothers move to Chicago and one of them is the children them of the corn and move with a foster family and the weird thing is the dad dislikes the older brother while the mom hates the younger brother. The other brother brings seeds that grow a cornfield in a vacant lot and rise the evil spirits and soon weird things start happening. Screaming Mad George's special effects are good especially the teen getting turned into a cornstock and blood shooting everywhere though the only fake effect was when a girl was getting picked up by the cornfiled monster they used doll and you could see the small doll that looked so unrealistic. the only part that was bad was the ending which was rotten.

Good if you like cheese.......2004-12-25

No other author in recent memory has had as much consistent success selling books as Stephen King. For roughly three decades the Maine writer churned out book after book, each one selling more and more copies. He's a world unto himself, the lucky fellow! He's so successful that he could throw out his pens, put away his typewriters, bury his word processor six feet under, never write another word in his life, and STILL have enough money to wallpaper the Great Wall of China five times over. In many respects, it's Stephen King's world and the rest of us are just living in it. But, and this is a gigantic but, an enormous number of metaphysically bad films based on his novels threaten to put a serious dent in his legacy. We all know the good ones, the ones that not only scared audiences stiff but also helped propel King's career to even greater heights. "Carrie" is probably the best example, followed by "The Shawshank Redemption" and "The Dead Zone." These are wonderful, magical films that one can watch again and again without wearying of them. Then there are the rest: the truly wretched refuse that reminds one of dental plaque or the junk that washes up on the shores of a filthy river. Welcome to the Children of the Corn franchise.

"Children of the Corn 3: Urban Harvest" moves far beyond the parameters established in the first film. Instead of Isaac issuing the doom and gloom prophecies of "He Who Walks Behind the Rows," we now have Eli (Daniel Cerny) stepping up to the plate. He and his older "brother" Joshua (Ron Melendez) turn up in Chicago after Joshua's father, who had the temerity to question Eli's increasingly bizarre behavior, perished in a hideous manner back on the Nebraska farm. Adopted by William Porter (Jim Metzler)--a big shot at an agricultural firm specializing in the creation of resistant grains--and his wife Amanda (Nancy Lee Grahn), Eli and Joshua seem like fish out of water in the Windy City. Right from the start it's obvious that Eli is a little strange; it is also obvious that he has some sort of weird hold over Joshua. How odd is the pint-sized preacher? His new mother opens his suitcase only to find it packed full of ears of corn covered in huge bugs. Screeching like a banshee, Alice is astonished to discover that the insects were just a hallucination of some sort. Hmmm. Anyway, Eli soon realizes that a huge, abandoned warehouse right next door to the house provides fertile ground for a few rows of special corn. This crop grows to full height in a matter of hours, is impervious to disease and other forms of damage, and tastes great.

William Porter soon learns about the crop and dreams about how much money he can make selling these plants around the world, an idea encouraged by Eli. In the meantime, the two kids enroll in a Catholic school run by the kindly Father Frank Nolan (Michael Ensign). Eli continues to try and control Joshua, but his influence seems on the wane. With the help of Malcolm (Jon Clair) and his cute sister Maria (Nari Morrow), Joshua begins to emerge from his shell. He takes up basketball despite Eli's objections, and even strikes up a physical relationship with Maria. The young preacher turns his attention to the other kids in school, lecturing them about the importance of children in scripture and thus usurping Father Frank's authority. He even stands up one day during services to relate his interpretations of the holy word. Predictably, the kids soon fall under Eli's power. Joshua, with the help of Malcolm, heads back to Nebraska to unearth an important book buried there by Eli that just might help defeat the evil intentions of "He Who Walks Behind the Rows" and his earthly minion. We finally see the incarnation of this demon when Eli holds a ceremony in the warehouse. The film ends on one of those "the evil goes on even though we thought it was over" themes.

Actually, "Children of the Corn 3" isn't half bad. Director James D.R. Hickox is well known as a purveyor of schlocky yet entertaining low budget horror, so maybe that has something to do with it. I got a real kick out of the Eli character, who I thought looked like a miniature version of a certain "Grease 2" star (The movie should carry the title "Honey, I Shrunk Adrian Zmed"). He's not as eerie as Isaac in the first one, but he does carry a certain unease about him. The guy who played Father Frank was a real hoot, too. His hysterics make Rod Steiger's priest in "The Amityville Horror" look tame by comparison. But what really takes the cake in "Corn 3" are the imaginative kill scenes and cheesy special effects. A head bursting into flames, a combination garden tool/pipe atrocity, and people torn apart by "He Who Walks Behind the Rows" insures a good time for all. The model the filmmakers used to depict the corn demon, however, looks woefully inadequate. At one point the beastie snacks on a kid, but it's so obvious that the crew stuck a doll in the creature's mouth that I howled with laughter for hours afterwards. By the way, Charlize Theron appears in a bit part as one of Eli's followers during the final showdown.

Trailers for parts four, five, and six of "Children of the Corn," "Dracula 2000," "Halloween: H20," and "Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers" are the only extras on the disc. I would recommend "Children of the Corn 3" over most of the other entries in the series. Sure, it is cheap and cheesy, but it's also a lot of fun. There are worse ways to spend a couple of hours of your time.

Average customer rating:

Bad, really bad. Not like the Navy - thankfully

Weekend Pass
Starring: Patrick Houser , Chip McAllister , D.W. Brown , Peter Ellenstein , and Pamela G. Kay
Director: Lawrence Bassoff
Manufacturer: Bci / Eclipse
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000H5U69S
Release Date: 2006-09-26

Customer Reviews:

Bad, really bad. Not like the Navy - thankfully.......2007-05-20

I saw this movie just before I left for Navy boot camp (San Diego) in 1984. It was incredibly boring. Thank you to God that the Navy was nothing like this at all. There is no humor to this movie. In fact, if memory serves, people were getting up and leaving the theater when I saw it.
The four sailors are on liberty out to celebrate before leaving for their four individual schools. Each of them are trying to meet a girl. In the process, each story is forgettable.
Once I graduated boot camp in San Diego, I was glad to find that it was nothing like this movie.

Average customer rating:

ACHTUNG! CHEESE ALERT!

SS Girls (Widescreen Edition)
Starring: Lucic "Benny" Bogoljub , Gabriele Carrara , Marina Daunia , Vassilli Karis , and Macha Magal
Manufacturer: Exploitation Digital
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0008FPISQ
Release Date: 2005-05-31

Customer Reviews:

ACHTUNG! CHEESE ALERT!.......2005-06-15

I had a good time with SS GIRLS. It's not bogged down with grim, sordid torture scenes, instead offering a heaping platter of cheesy chuckles served up by a harem of naked Euro-sluts. Some of the badly dubbed dialog is absolutely hysterical. Of particular note is the astonishingly overwrought "performance" - if you can call it that - of Gabriele Carrara as the demented SS officer Schellenberg. Other than running about 10 minutes too long (director Bruno Mattei, who also co-scripted, tacks on a pointless soliloquy by a minor character near the end), SS GIRLS hits all the right Eurotrash notes. There's oodles of female nudity (with some lesbianism and S&M in the mix), a number of scenes in very bad taste (that thankfully don't get TOO revolting), and loads of unintentional humor. Mattei even tosses in a bit of action in the form of a Russian tank attack.

Average customer rating:

German Action Film with Decent Actions and Stunts (But Don't Expect Great Storytelling)

Death Train
Starring: Annette Culp , Amerjit Deu , Simon Dutton , Stephan Bieker , and Steve Nicolson
Director: Diethard Küster
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000IOM0TM
Release Date: 2006-12-26

Description

In this nonstop action adventure thriller, a brutal secret order known as "Pugnus Dei" is on a lethal mission for justice. Determined to recruit a traumatized soldier, the group will stop at nothing to achieve its goals. With a stellar cast that includes The Mummy's Arnold Vosloo, Death Train is packed with flying fists, martial arts battles and dark secrets that will have you at the edge of your seat!

Customer Reviews:

German Action Film with Decent Actions and Stunts (But Don't Expect Great Storytelling).......2007-09-06

"Im Auftrag des Vatikans" (aka "Death Train") is a German action film of which story looks like a clumsy combination of elements from Steven Segal's "Under Siege 2: Dark Territory" and "The Cassandra Crossing." The patchy script is nothing but an excuse for the film to show the stunts on the train, but these stunts are decent, sometimes surprisingly good.

A group of terrorist led by Arnold "Imhotep" Vosloo, after stealing canisters containing deadly virus from the laboratory, sneak into a pilgrim train going to Lourdes, disguised as monks and nun. However, what they didn't expect is Lasko (Mathis Landwehr), solider-turned-monk, is also on the same train. In fact Lasko, trying to recover from his horrible memories in the battlefield, once decided to live quietly in a monastery, but the Church has another plan prepared for him and its name is "Pugnus Dei" .... Well, this may sound silly, and is in fact very silly. And the film's lighter tone shows the filmmakers do not take the film too seriously. "God's Fist" may be a secret order, but never brutal.

But the film's actions are more than I expected. Some cheesy special effects aside, the stunts including explosions and crashes are very good (and would have been better with more effective editing). He may not be as good and charismatic as Tony Jaa or Jet Li, but Mathis Landwehr as the world's unlikeliest hero shows considerable martial arts skills during the fight scenes. What he needs is a better choreographer and film editor because good as he is, some scenes of the action sequences (on the train's roof, for example) do not look convincing enough.

If you're a fan of Arnold Vosloo, you may be disappointed. He is there obviously to attract more worldwide audiences, but his roles as the terrorist leader is not memorable (and his decisions are dubious, often stupid) and acting is not his best.

Characters are mostly typical ones, acting is passable at best, and the plot is one of the most ridiculous I ever heard (one of the terrorist dies in the most bizarre and stupidest way), but I find myself enjoying this film for its mindless and entertaining actions.

Average customer rating:

Deadly Recruits
Starring: Terrance Stamp; Carmen Du Sautoy; Micheal Culver; Robin Sachs
Director: Roger Tucker
Manufacturer: Miracle Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Product Description

A motorcycle accident leads government agents to investigate disappearances from among the brightest students at Oxford University. Deadly Recruits is a gripping tale of deception and double-cross.

DVD:

DVD

DVD