Ocean's Eleven (Widescreen Edition)

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Ocean's Eleven improves on 1960's Rat Pack original with supernova casting, a slickly updated plot, and Steven Soderbergh's graceful touch behind the camera. Soderbergh reportedly relished the opportunity "to make a movie that has no desire except to give pleasure from beginning to end," and he succeeds on those terms, blessed by the casting of George Clooney as Danny Ocean, the title role originated by Frank Sinatra. Fresh out of jail, Ocean masterminds a plot to steal $163 million from the seemingly impervious vault of Las Vegas's Bellagio casino, not just for the money but to win his ex-wife (Julia Roberts) back from the casino's ruthless owner (Andy Garcia). Soderbergh doesn't scrimp on the caper's comically intricate strategy, but he finds greater joy in assembling a stellar team (including Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, and Carl Reiner) and indulging their strengths as actors. The result is a film that's as smooth as a silk suit and just as stylish. --Jeff Shannon

Product Description

Danny Ocean likes his chances. All he asks is that his handpicked squad of 10 grifters and cons play the game like they have nothing to lose. If all goes right, the payoff will be a fat $150 million. Divided by 11. You do the math.

System Requirements:
Starring: George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Andy Garcia, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, Bernie Mac, and Elliott Gould.
Directed By: Steven Soderbergh.
Running Time: 116 Min., Color.
This film is presented in "Standard" format.
Copyright 2002 Warner Home Video.

Format: DVD MOVIE

Customer Reviews:

The best out of the trilogy.......2007-08-31

*Spoilers*

Other than being a parade of Hollywood's hunkiest. Ocean Eleven has a good, solid story. Danny Ocean fresh out of the joint can't take being on the straight and narrow, plus he wants his wife back. Lucky for him and his gang-she just so happens to be dating a powerfully rich casino owner. Instead of taking his anger and frustration out of her, he figures the way to win her back is to rob her boyfriend and prove to her that the casino owner would choose his money over her. Is this even a question? We're not talking about $20. Daniel was trying to steal 163 million dollars. Not to betray my sex, but no woman is worth that amount of money. And it's an unfair question because Daniel would most likely choose the money too. Because by his own question, he could have given it back and simply taken Tess. But that minor fact seems to escape Tess and she goes running back to her hubby. Other than, this is a slick sort of hustle from a team that should be in the circus. Overall: Highly recommended.

Once upon a time..................2007-08-14

Once Upon A Thyme, children, there was a movie called "Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring." It was a movie based on a 50 year-old book of the same name, which had 2 sequels. Those 2 books were also made into movies, and those 3 movies were very very very good, and all was right with the world.

THEN ... The Powers That Bee decided that because those 3 movies were so very good (and so very profitable) then ALL successful movies must now come in threes: and lo and behold we had 3 XMens, 3 Spidermans, 3 Austin Powers, 3 Pirates, and of course 3 Oceans. Never mind the fact that the "Rings" movies came in a trilogy because the original novels came that way. None of these sequels had any reason for being, other than the first movie made a lot of money. And in every single case, the third movie was the worst of the bunch, the inspiration and steam that made the first movie a success long, long gone.

This is an olde, olde story children. Witness 4 Jaws, 3 Rambos, 6 Rockys, 742 Bonds, 3 (and counting) Indiana Jones, ad infinitum. We can even go back 70 years to 6 Thin Mans, the last 3 of which weren't so great. But no matter. Don't expect H'wood to learn from the dearth of joy in their sequels, because we keep lapping them up.

Nevertheless, there is always the FIRST of all of these movies to return to, and that is what we must do when all is said and spent. Go back to the original (well, the remake of the original, anyway) and remember a time not so long ago when charisma had a name, and its name was "Ocean's Eleven." This is the only movie they needed to make.

A Throwback Worth Keeping.......2007-08-08

OCEAN'S ELEVEN is one movie among many that is symptomatic of a Hollywood problem: that is, a lack of new ideas. This is a remake, somewhat lost perhaps, among all the other remakes, sequels, and so on, that have marred the creative braintrust of Tinseltown. But OCEAN'S ELEVEN is fun, fun, fun--and Hollywood is short on that, too, these days.

There's another thing that makes this movie both good and rare: an ensemble cast. Really, friends and neighbors, how often do you get this caliber of a cast in a modern movie: Julia Roberts, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, Carl Reiner, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Andy Garcia, and yes, Bernie Mac? Good gravey, I haven't seen the likes since THE LONGEST DAY. And they all play their parts unselfishly (except, perhaps, for Clooney--but he's the star).

Oh, yeah. It's all about a heist, a team of eleven strangely likeable criminals who seek to knock off Vegas's three biggest casinos. Watching them work is a blast!

(This review has been posted by Marcus Damanda, author of the vampire book, "Teeth: A Horror Fantasy.")

no.......2007-07-20

I tried to watch this movie but after the first seconds of hearing Clooney's voice I got sleepy. My eyes blurred at the screen and everything got dark siewpfieys...oops sorry I am having a flashback to the moment and forgot how to type. I didn't see this movie and don't know if I ever will. So don't bother with my opinion. It is just one out of many.

Ocean's Eleven.......2007-07-20

Almost as funny as the original (starring the" Rat Pack") Enjoyed Don Cheadle (so out of character) and of course
seeing Elliot Gould and Carl Reiner again was a hoot.

Average customer rating:

The best out of the trilogy
Once upon a time...........
A Throwback Worth Keeping
no
Ocean's Eleven

Ocean's Eleven (Full Screen Edition)
Starring: Casey Affleck , Cecelia Ann Birt , Scott Caan , George Clooney , and Carol Florence
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B000062XH9
Release Date: 2002-05-07

Amazon.com essential video

Description

DVD Features:
Audio Commentary:Feature-length audio commentary with stars Matt Damon, Brad Pitt and Andy Garcia Feature-length audio commentary with director Steven Soderbergh and screenwriter Ted Griffin
DVD ROM Features:DVD-ROM enabled -- "In or Out" Game and web links
Documentaries:Behind-the-scenes documentary HBO First Look: "The Making Of Ocean's Eleven" Behind-the-scenes documentary: "The Look Of the Con", an inside look at the fashion in Ocean's Eleven
Interactive Menus
Scene Access
Theatrical Trailer

Customer Reviews:

The best out of the trilogy.......2007-08-31

Once upon a time..................2007-08-14

A Throwback Worth Keeping.......2007-08-08

no.......2007-07-20

Ocean's Eleven.......2007-07-20

Almost as funny as the original (starring the" Rat Pack") Enjoyed Don Cheadle (so out of character) and of course
seeing Elliot Gould and Carl Reiner again was a hoot.

Average customer rating:

The Winner of Best Original/Worst Remake Ever goes to ....
Amazing
Ocean's 11 dvd
Magnificent
Great to have for your collection

Ocean's 11
Starring: Frank Sinatra , Dean Martin , Sammy Davis Jr. , Peter Lawford , and Angie Dickinson
Director: Lewis Milestone
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
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ASIN: B00005NTNR
Release Date: 2002-01-08

Amazon.com

Leave it to the Chairman of the Board to rope in a great director for the first Rat Pack movie. Lewis Milestone (All Quiet on the Western Front) indeed directed this 1960 caper movie starring Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop; but the results now seem like more of a historical artifact than a good time. The tone of the film is curiously serious--one somehow expected that the Rat Pack would have made a more buoyant first picture. But it is something to see these guys together, if largely for nostalgia reasons. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

The Winner of Best Original/Worst Remake Ever goes to ...........2007-08-04

The envelope please. Yes, it's Ocean's Eleven. It was a unanimous vote wow!

Why?
Stars -
Original:

Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Peter Lawford, georgous Angie Dickenson and a very young and hot Shirley Maclain(age has not been kind to you has it).

Remake:

Matt Damon (ok not too bad), George Clooney (Oh God, I'm soo bored making this movie), and Julia Roberts ( Why won't this woman take acting lessons, please for God's sake. I'm ready to start a fund?) and a bunch of other lesser knowns.

Believability -
Original:
The plot of the original seems very simple. Just cross the wires and the cages automatically open. Ok, maybe a little simplistic, but way more believable than the remake. How they get the money out of the casino's is also very clever.

Remake:
The chinese acrobat who happens to be a crook cmon. The fake cops at the end, who rush in and take away the money, cmon? The fact that the Mirage and Bellagio are connected by a common tunnel, cmon anybody ever heard of Ceasar's Palace being between these two properties? There are so many holes in the plot of the remake that you can drive a garbage truck through it.

Likeability - You actually like the characters in the original. Their stories are way more believable and reasons for pulling off the heist are way more noble. In the remake, they try to create some dramatic tension between the Julia Roberts character and Clooney, and the Steve Wynn (Casion Owner) character, but the acting and writing is so bad it works in revese. You actually end up rooting for the Casino and Steve Wynn!

Pacing -
Original:
Several reviewers have criticized this movie as moving way too slow. To me it makes the picture more believable. Think about it. It's 15 years after the end of WWII. There is no internet. You have to find the 11 guys spread out across the US, and convince them to join you. It is going to take time. You'd be lucky to find all of them in 1960. The details of the heist are not important, plot and character development is.

Remake:
There just happens to be 11 career criminals who happen to have instant contact with each other. (What are they listed in the phone book, cmon?) They are way too slick. In the remake you could predict everything that was going happen right down to the fake cops at the end.

Depths of Characters -
Original:
You believe the characters. Sammy, "There isn't much use for a one eyed shortstop in Mobile Alabama so you have to follow the trash any way you can" on why he became a garbageman.

Vince , "I don't want to have my wife ever face those bums" as his beautiful stripper wife is on stage as his motivation for joining the gang.

The Electrician, who went to prison for trying to buy his wife a fur coat and ends up losing his kid in the process. He finds out he's going to the "Big Casino" and wants to provide for his kid.

Peter Lawford as the spoiled rich kid, "Money is a hard habit to break." , on why he's joining the gang.

Remake:
Virtually no believable character development, plus the unitentionally hysterical love triangle between Wynn, Roberts and Clooney already mentioned.

Women:
Original: Angie Dickenson and Shirley MaClaine -
Angie is absolutely beautiful as Danny Ocean's wife. You can see why President Kennedy was "interested" in her. Her acting is wonderful too. On the DVD edition she provides wonderful commentary along with Frank Sinatra JR. Shirley Maclaine also appears in an uncredited cameo. In 1960 she was stunning. Unfortunately age has not been kind to her, maybe that's why she's into all that crazy stuff.

Remake: Julia Roberts - Why do people continue to hire this woman? She's not even that good looking, let alone her lack of acting ability. In the remake Danny Ocean actually loses the battle and wins this doozy. Again unitentional hillarity as the Casino Owner gains by losing the girl.

Ending - Don't worry I won't spoil it for you.
Original: A great ending, with probobly one of the most famous ending shots of all time in a movie.

Remake: - Why in all modern movies do the bad guys have to get away with the crime? The movie is just too slick. You knew the cops at the end were fake, you just knew they'd get away with the caper, but at the end you just wish they wouldn't have.

Extra's -
Original:
Watch the garbage truck as it travels down the strip. There are no casino's on the west side of the strip! (save the Dunes, which wasn't included in the movie) You also see what a small town Vegas was back then.

Several people have criticized the movie for some of the racial jokes. Ok, but remember it was Frank who was on the forefront of integrating Vegas. He was the one who went to the casino owners and told them, you have to come into the 20th century.

Summation -
Original:

A wonderful time piece. A movie with beautiful music, suprisingly good writing, and just fun to watch.

Remake:
If you want to waste 2 hours of your life go ahead. Oh God, they've just released Ocean's 13. How much more torture must we endure??

Amazing.......2007-03-25

I enjoyed this movie tremendously. I like the ocean 11 with george clooney, brad pitt and matt damon. but the orignial is...well...just the original. you can't compare the new one to this. I love it when dean martin is playing a kick in the head and all the girl swoon him. also the clever plot of putting the money into the trash can, and i never would have guessed the ending. it came as a huge surprise!

Ocean's 11 dvd.......2007-02-07

I recieved the used dvd in perfect condition, and shipping was very promp. I would buy from this merchant again

Magnificent.......2007-01-20

This movie is tons of fun, a glimpse into the good-old-days of Vegas. I like the ending better than the remake!

Great to have for your collection.......2007-01-15

Great movie with the Rat Pack. Now have all of the Oceans.

Average customer rating:

A blast from the past
A Delightful Adventure
As Fresh Today As It Was In 1964
A fascinating guide to the jewel of the Dardanelles...
Fun and quality

Topkapi
Starring: Melina Mercouri , Peter Ustinov , Maximilian Schell , Robert Morley , and Jess Hahn
Director: Jules Dassin
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
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ASIN: B00005PJ6Y
Release Date: 2001-12-11

Amazon.com

Director Jules Dassin (Night and the City, The Naked City) fashioned this breezy and intricate 1964 thriller with a sly comic bent, and it enjoyed international popularity and became an influence for other high-toned European caper films. Peter Ustinov (Spartacus, Death on the Nile) won an Academy Award for his performance as a hapless driver, clueless to the plans of his cohorts, two jewel thieves who plan to steal a priceless dagger from the Topkapi museum in Istanbul, Turkey. Maximilian Schell (Deep Impact, Judgment at Nuremburg) and Melina Mercouri (The Victors, The Gypsy and the Gentleman) play the jet-setting thieves, who choose a motley band of amateurs instead of pros in order to throw off the authorities. But when Ustinov is apprehended by the cops, he agrees to act as a spy in order to thwart the robbery. Eventually, Ustinov must choose between saving his own hide and remaining loyal to the seductive Mercouri as the machinations of the robbery become ever more complex. Sleek and entertaining, Topkapi is filled with intrigue and thrills at every turn. --Robert Lane

Description

A 'skillful blend of romance and comedy (The Hollywood Reporter), Topkapi shimmers with hilarity, action and great performances! Fun-filled and suspenseful, it's an incredibly ingenious affair [and] a considerable pleasure to watch (Newsweek)! Trouble brews beneath the exotically curved towers of Istanbul when the equally exoticand equally curvedElizabeth Lipp (Melina Mercouri) recruits her former lover (Maximilian Schell) in a scheme to heist the pride of the city's Topkapi museum: a jewel-encrusted dagger. But the job soon turns into a high-tension, high-wire performanceliterallywhen the bumbling fall guy (Peter Ustinov) and other amateurs they ve hired as help find they'll have to lift their prize while dangling from the museum's vaulted ceiling!

Customer Reviews:

A blast from the past.......2007-08-02

With a first rate cast, a stunning setting (the city of Istanbul), and an engaging plot and story line, this movie is definitely one of the oldie-goldies of the period. Ustinov won an Academy award for best supporting actor, if I remember right, for his role, but the whole cast is outstanding. The city of Istanbul in some ways is the star of the show, as one gets to see many of the city's famous sites during the course of the movie. And having visited the Topkapi palace myself recently, I can say that part of the movie was accurate. :-) Overall, a great flick and one still worth viewing today, and its caper plot set the standard for and influenced many subsequent "heist" movies.

A Delightful Adventure.......2007-06-12

Ustinov is over the top, but won an academy award as best supporting actor for this little romp. The idea is based on the cliche of robbing a secure museum. Robert Morely steals the show, by the way. He's as good as Ustinov, and just as funny.

As Fresh Today As It Was In 1964.......2007-02-19

which is due, in large part, to the quality of this particular DVD (wide-screen version). The colors are vibrant, the sound good.

An early "caper" film, Topkapi set the standard for the genre, with an interesting plot, a beautiful location (many consider the city of Istanbul to be the star of the film), and a great cast (Peter Ustinov later won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the film).

Although I purchased it after a (much-enjoyed) trip to Istanbul as a way to relive that visit, I found myself enjoying every aspect of the film. This is one you turn on and want to keep watching all the way through to the end.

Sadly, Melina Mercouri (1920 - 1994) and Peter Ustinov (1921 - 2004) are no longer with us. This is a great chance to enjoy them as they were in their primes.

Highly recommended.

A fascinating guide to the jewel of the Dardanelles..........2007-01-15

Melina Mercouri introduces herself as a thief who doesn't hide the way she feels about the most wonderful emeralds... She wants to rob a dagger encrusted with fascinating gemstones...

One of her potential partners is her former lover Maximilian Schell, a very distinguished crook who fights at his best when he fights in a corner... Schell wants to pick his crew from amateurs with no police records, and strike the most protected fortress...

Peter Ustinov won his first Best Supporting Oscar for his amusing performance as the clever middle-aged 'nobody' who could have gone far but he always plays for small stakes...

Ustinov is the victim of circumstances, caught at the Turkish border with a riffle and six grenades... For that, his mission is to spy on the spies, and report to the Turkish security everything he overhears-no matter how trivial it may seem to him... The police gives him a chance to prove that he is not a terrorist... He accepts to work with them...

With a funny toy man who proposes to get into the palace museum without touching the floor; a mute acrobat who talks with his whole body; a mad muscle man who hates a drunken cook; a showman with no problems at the customs border; plus Islamic mosques; ancient streets; colorful bazaars; oiled wrestlers; talented belly dancers; and fable roofs; "Topkapi" overlooks both the Sea of Marmara and the Bosphorus, offering bright moments with a final suspense sequence in the 'Rififi' manner...

Fun and quality.......2007-01-04

This is a very delightful film. First, the enormous sex appeal of Melina Mercouri, her lovely and endearing smile, and those eyes... Then, of course, her partner, Maximilian Schell, in a role that resembles so much his own life (as bon vivant, not as a thief, or course) and last, but not least, the wonderful Peter Ustinov. Each comedy he plays he gives us the gift of his extraordinary talent as comediant. He is elegant,with thousand faces, ductil, he is a chamaeleon who can play any role he wants. All his misfortunes are ours in this film, achieved through his mastery in acting. I do recommend this film as a must.
Eugenia Lizalde

Average customer rating:

Very Entertaining Heist Movie
Great movie!
Fun stuff!
A classic, but...
Good Cast-Good Movie, BRING ON THE SEQUEL!

The Italian Job [HD DVD]
Starring: Mark Wahlberg , Charlize Theron , Donald Sutherland , Jason Statham , and Seth Green
Director: F. Gary Gray
Manufacturer: Paramount
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ASIN: B000GX57YK
Release Date: 2006-08-08

Amazon.com

Though it bears little resemblance to the original 1969 thriller starring Michael Caine, the 2003 remake of The Italian Job stands on its own as a caper comedy that's well above average. The title's a misnomer--this time it's actually a Los Angeles job--but the action's just as exciting as it propels a breezy tale of honor and dishonor among competing thieves. Inheriting Caine's role as ace heist-planner Charlie Croker, Mark Wahlberg plays straight-man to a well-cast team of accomplices, including Mos Def, Jason Statham, and scene-stealer Seth Green in a variation of the role originally played by Noel Coward. As the daughter of Croker's ill-fated mentor (Donald Sutherland), Charlize Theron is recruited to double-cross a double-crosser (Edward Norton in oily villain mode), and once again, speedily versatile Mini Coopers play a pivotal role in director F. Gary Gray's exhilarating car-chase climax. It's perhaps the greatest product placement in movie history, and just as fun the second time around. --Jeff Shannon

Description

The plan was flawless. The execution was perfect. Charlie Croker pulled off the crime of a lifetime. The one thing that, he didn't plan on was being double-crossed. Now he wants more than the job's payoff...he wants payback. Mark Wahlberg is electrifying as Croker in this "fast and furious action-adventure."* Along with a drop-dead gorgeous safecracker (Charlize Theron), Croker and his team take off to re-steal the loot and end up in a pulse-pounding, pedal-to-the-metal chase that careens up, down, above and below the streets of Los Angeles. With an ensemble all-star cast that also includes Edward Norton, Seth Green, Jason Statham, Mos Def, Franky G and Donald Sutherland, The Italian Job is "Hot!"

Customer Reviews:

Very Entertaining Heist Movie.......2007-09-17

I wonder how many MINI Cooper automobiles were sold thanks to this movie? It couldn't help but add to the sales of this little car, which is featured in this film, along with an attractive cast.

The film doesn't overdo the violence, has a pretty intelligent script (with a few short exceptions). features interesting characters and is nicely firmed. The cat-and-mouse game between Edward Norton and Charlize Theron's characters is suspenseful and fun to watch.

Once again, however, we are manipulated into rooting for criminals portrayed as "the good guys." How many times has this happened since the days of "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" in the 1960s? Yet, it still gets five stars because it is an extremely entertaining movie and it also doesn't overboard on the profanity or sex....and, yes, those little cars are cool. Everyone I've talked to who has seen this film, enjoyed it.

Great movie!.......2007-08-01

The Italian Job is an awesome movie! It's action-packed & is very clever. I had a copy of the movie, but the disc got scratched, so I bought another copy to replace it. It's one of the few movies you won't get tired of watching, even though you already know what's going to happen.

Fun stuff!.......2007-07-15

Incredible special effects that were done without benefit of CGI. Just really good escapist fare. I highly recommend it!

A classic, but..........2007-06-23

I love this movie, I had it on DVD and I got it on HD DVD recently. My only gripe is the quality of the video transfer. There is a lot of graining and artifact noise, especially on dark scenes. The blacks on the DVD version look better than the HD DVD version's blacks...

Good Cast-Good Movie, BRING ON THE SEQUEL!.......2007-06-15

The Italian Job brings to the screen the story of a group of thieves bent on revenge on one of their own who betrayed them by murdering their leader and running off with the gold.
Mark Wahlberg, Donald Sunderland, Edward Norton, Charlize Theron, Seth Green, and the rest of this AMAZING cast, have outdone themselves with their performances, which are commendable to say the least. All the actors, without exceptions, give it their 100% and it really shows! Very well written and very well presented, the movie is without a doubt guaranteed to provide more than just a few thrills, not to mention a few laughs.
The setting, the plot, the dialogues, the humor, and the music are all wonderful!
In short, The Italian Job is a movie definitely worth watching and one to seriously consider adding to your movie collection!

Average customer rating:

Poor Non-amorphic presentation.
If A Crime Happens in the Forest...
Into the woods . . .
Excellent albeit extremely unusual Argentinian thriller...

The Aura
Starring: Ricardo Darín , Dolores Fonzi , Pablo Cedrón , Nahuel Pérez Biscayart , and Jorge D'Elía
Director: Fabián Bielinsky
Manufacturer: Ifc
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ASIN: B000K2V7F0
Release Date: 2007-04-10

Amazon.com

The Aura will go down in history as a great film with a tragic loss attached to it. This totally original and deeply involving thriller was the second and final feature film by Fabián Bielinsky, a gifted Argentinian writer-director whose debut feature, Nine Queens, earned global acclaim and introduced Bielinsky as a talent to watch. Sadly, Bielinsky died of a sudden heart attack in June 2006, at age 47, and we'll never know what other great films he might have made. The Aura stands as testament to Bielinsky's masterful skill, on full display in this riveting study of a sad and lonely taxidermist named Espinosa (played by Ricardo Darín, who was also in Nine Queens) who compensates for his disappointing life by imagining elaborate crimes that he's planned to perfection. When a hunting accident results in the death of a criminal mastermind who'd been planning a casino heist, the taxidermist (who possesses a photographic memory and suffers from occasional blackouts caused by epileptic seizures) assumes the dead man's role, improvising his way through the crime-plot with untrustworthy partners and the constant threat of danger.

The film's title refers to the semi-conscious fugue state that precedes the taxidermist's epileptic seizures, inducing a sense of disorientation and dread that Bielinsky uses to deepen the film's psychological impact. Darín's dour, worried expression is a fascinating focal point for his character's unpredictable journey into the heart of darkness, and The Aura's primary setting, in the thick forest of Patagonia, is a perfect complement to the film's ominous atmosphere and deliberately paced intrigue. As far-fetched as it may seem at times, the plot's heightened reality remains utterly convincing, and Bielinsky demonstrates an uncanny knack for escalating suspense in quietly intense situations. From start to finish, The Aura is clearly the work of a filmmaker with seemingly limitless potential, and we can only wonder about the excellent films Bielinsky would have made had he lived. Unfortunately, two slight DVD extras on The Aura give us no insight into Bielinsky's too-short career: the "making of" featurette is very brief and consists primarily of an interview with Ricardo Darín, and the behind-the-scenes musical montage is an equally short and perfunctory assembly of production video set to the moody, electronic tones of Lucio Godoy's subtly effective score. --Jeff Shannon

Description

(Drama/Thriller) A shy taxidermist who secretly dreams of executing the perfect robbery stumbles upon an opportunity. Caught up in a world of complexities and frightening violence, his lack of experience puts him in real danger. Plus, he is an epileptic. Before each seizure he is visited by the "aura'' -- a paradoxical moment of confusion and enlightenment where the past and future seem to blend. Argentina's official submission, Best Foreign Language Film for the 2006 Academy Awards.

Customer Reviews:

Poor Non-amorphic presentation........2007-09-10

I won't repeat what others have written about the movie or what you can read on imdb. I just wanted to warn people that the US dvd of this is terible. The movie is a widescreen movie presented in full frame format such that more than half your tv screen will be taken up by windowboxing. The image is so small that you can't read the credits & if you're hard of seeing you might want binoculars to read the subtitles, half of which cover the image and half in the windowboxing (with so much windowboxing, the least they could have done was to put all the subtitles in the black border.) This is inexcusable for a 2007 release & a good reason why you should own a multi-region player...to buy an import version that is anamorphic.

If A Crime Happens in the Forest..........2007-09-08

For an epileptic, robbing banks, casinos, and armored cars poses some unique challenges.
Esteban is a mild mannered taxidermist, prone to grand mal seizures. Right before a seizure he experiences auras, which he eloquently describes as a moment in time when he knows something [a seizure] is going to happen, and has absolutely no control over it.

Esteban spends his days fantasizing about committing the perfect heist, while quietly selecting glass eyes for his customer's recent trophy kills. He has the perfect job for daydreaming about an elegant crime where everything goes as planned, and no one gets hurt. Clearly it's been a while since Esteban rented `Reservoir Dogs'.

Set in the woods outside Buenos Aires, `The Aura' is a well-timed, crime thriller. It has all the elements of an urban genre: a down-on-his-luck protagonist, a mysterious woman, and some really, really, bad guys.

Although he is not a hunter, Esteban begrudgingly agrees to take a hunting trip with his buddy. An overbooked hotel manager recommends a nearby rustic hunting lodge run by a husband and wife. Deep in the woods, and angered by his friend's chiding, he decides to shoot a deer. This single action brings reality to Esteban's dream, as he fits himself into the planning and execution of an armored car robbery.

Much like a seizure, once his plan is set in motion, it roars out of control, with violent and unique consequences. Starring Ricardo Darin as Esteban. Darin also played the arrogant con man in `Nine Queens', which was later remade in the US as `The Criminal' starring John C. Riley.
`The Aura' is in Spanish with English subtitles.

Into the woods . . ........2007-08-28

Don't be put off by the violence of the image on the DVD cover for this film by Argentine director Fabián Bielinsky. It represents one brief moment in an off-beat heist movie that is full of twists and turns that defy expectations. Focused as it is on the mental and emotional state of the lead character, played by Ricardo Darín, it takes a while to even come together around a heist. Withdrawn and hyper vigilant, he's a detail obsessed taxidermist who goes hunting with an acquaintance in the woods and while in pursuit of a deer shoots a man instead. And thus begins an escapade full of deceit, danger, and increasingly high stakes, all complicated by the main character's epileptic condition that produces seizures at inopportune moments.

Darín is just fine as the taxidermist hero, rarely giving us more than a single intense expression registering puzzlement, concentration, confusion, fear, or fascination with whatever he is observing. A robbery, which he watches from across the street, has the creepy verisimilitude of amateur news media footage, random gunshots fired by unseen shooters and figures running for cover. Meanwhile, scenes set in deep woods alternate with barren and desolate expanses crossed by hard-top roads leading to distant towns. As with Bielinsky's previous feature "Nine Queens," this film mixes genres that lead to interesting ambiguities and unexpected results. Recommended for fans of crime films with some psychological depth.

Excellent albeit extremely unusual Argentinian thriller..........2007-04-13

"El aura" is an excellent albeit extremely unusual thriller directed by Fabián Bielinsky. Bielinsky is a recently deceased Argentinian director who was also responsible for other great movies, for example the critically acclaimed "Nueve reinas" ("Nine queens"). "El aura" is very different from "Nueve reinas", but both movies share some common traits, like their originality and the ability to easily enthrall the spectator.

The main character of "El aura" is Esteban Espinosa (Ricardo Darín), an epileptict taxidermist whose favorite pastime is to plan crimes he never carries out. The title of this film makes reference to the specific moments when Esteban knows he is going to suffer an epileptic seizure, something that in his case is triggered by stressful situations. However, and due to the fact that Esteban leads a rather boring life, that doesn't happen a lot.

One day, though, something changes. Esteban's wife leaves him, and, without knowing what to do or what to think, he decides to go hunting to the Patagonian forest.with an acquaintance. That is a strange decision, but things get even weirder when he ends up killing an unlikely prey. The result is a very strange situation that presents him with the unique opportunity of making use of his ability to plan, if he is daring enough to seize the chance.

On the whole, I think that "El aura" is the kind of movie you are likely to enjoy, specially if you are fond of thrillers that don't lack originality. Highly recommended!

Belen Alcat

From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money

Average customer rating:

"El Coyote? What's that mean in American?"
Not much of a follow up to the first, but it's ok
I wanted to like it.
Not a good film, but it never tries to be
Vampire Bank Robbers

From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money
Starring: Stacie Bourgeois , Lara Bye , Bruce Campbell , Maria Checa , and Liane Coyler
Manufacturer: Dimension
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: 6305428468
Release Date: 1999-09-28

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B-movie mavens turned A-list genre fiends Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino teamed up in 1996 to take vampire gothic south of the border into spaghetti Western territory for the gory cult film From Dusk Till Dawn. The high-concept mix of southwestern criminals versus supernatural nasties proved too irresistible for either of the video-hound creators to allow it to remain dead (or undead, as the case may be), so they plotted and produced a pair of direct-to-video sequels. Tarantino takes a story credit on the first, a heist film coscripted and directed by Scott Speigel. A Mexican bank robbery helmed by drawling criminal Robert Patrick (Terminator 2) turns into a literal bloodbath when his crew are turned into hungry bloodsuckers. Speigel, a buddy of Sam Raimi, tops both Tarantino and Rodriguez for sheer cinematic acrobatics, putting his camera in the most absurd places (even from inside the mouth of a vampire chomping down on a victim) and driving the film with adrenaline-charged overkill, but despite some clever scenes and a hilarious Psycho spoof, it turns into another aggressively trashy latex-mask and rubber-bat gorefest as cops and robbers team up against the fanged gang. Bo Hopkins costars as the police detective dogging Patrick's trail. Bruce Campbell and Tiffani-Amber Thiessen make cameos in the jokey opening sequence and Speigel and fellow director Kevin Smith briefly appear as vampire bait. Bartender Danny Trejo is the only returning cast member. --Sean Axmaker

Description

Get ready for nonstop action when a bank-robbing gang of misfits heads to Mexico with the blueprints for the perfect million-dollar heist! But when one of the key crooks wanders into the wrong bar ... and crosses the wrong vampire ... the thieving cohorts one by one develop a thirst for blood to match their hunger for money! Ultimately, the last fully human burglar (Robert Patrick -- THE FACULTY, STRIPTEASE, TERMINATOR 2) is forced to join with his arch rival, a Texas sheriff (Bo Hopkins -- PHANTOMS, THE NEWTON BOYS, U-TURN), in an action-packed, kill-or-be-killed battle to stop these evil creatures and save their own lives!

Customer Reviews:

"El Coyote? What's that mean in American?".......2006-03-10

Even though Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez, the pair behind the original film released in 1996 (Tarantino wrote the screenplay, while Rodriguez directed), are displayed prominently on the cover for the film From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money (1999), the pair had relatively little to do with any of the technical aspects of this feature, both taking executive producing credits (I'd guess they were mostly involved in the financing for the film, but I could be wrong). The film, co-written and directed by Scott Spiegel, who's most notable credit to date is being a co-writer on Sam Raimi's film Evil Dead II (1987), features Robert `T-1000' Patrick (Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Double Dragon) and Bo Hopkins (The Getaway, White Lightning). Also appearing is Duane Whitaker (The Devil's Rejects), Muse Watson (Dead Birds), Brett Harrelson (Strangeland), brother of Woody Harrelson, Raymond Cruz (Clear and Present Danger, The Rock), James Parks (Crocodile 2: Death Swamp), and Danny Trejo (Con Air, The Replacement Killers), the only actor to appearing in all three of the From Dusk Till Dawn features. Appearing in bit parts are Bruce Campbell (Evil Dead II, Maniac Cop) and Tiffani-Amber Thiessen ("Just Shoot Me!"), who's since dropped the `Amber' bit from her name, perhaps in an effort to separate herself from the goodie goodie character stereotype she received while starring on the popular series "Saved by the Bell" (I think the breast enlargement went further in this aspect than did the name change).

After an unrelated, five minute sequence featuring both Campbell and Thiessen (the pair do not appear again in the film), the story begins proper as we meet Buck (Patrick), an ex-con who's offered participation on a score (robbing a Mexican bank) by a friend named Luther (Whitaker), who's only recently escaped police custody, fleeing towards old Mexico way, with Sheriff Otis Lawson (Hopkins) in hot pursuit. Buck gathers a crew together including C.W. (Watson), who's specialty is safe cracking, Jesus (Cruz), the driver (and extra muscle), and Ray Bob (Harrelson), who's only purpose is apparently that of the group's goober. The foursome hit the road, ending up in a sleazy motel (where they're supposed to hook up with Luther), debating the positive and negative qualities of an adult feature playing on the television (watching four guys in a seedy motel room watching porn is as creepy as it sounds). Luther, on his way to the motel, has a little car trouble, and ends up at the (cue tie-in bit to the original movie) strip bar featured in the first film, the end result being Luther is no longer Luther, if you get my drift. Even though Luther now possesses the nocturnal tendencies, the bank job is still on, and various members of the crew are eventually turned, unbeknownst (initially) to Buck. Things begin to get a little hairy as once the boys are in the middle of the heist, as Sheriff Lawson shows up (apparently jurisdiction isn't as big an issue as I thought it was) with an army of Mexican police, thereby ensuring a ridiculously high body count. Eventually Buck finds himself in the position of teaming up with Sheriff Lawson in order to survive the night.

As others have mentioned, this film has very little to do with the original, other than sharing a title. What it lacks in substance (in terms of an actual story and interesting characters), it tries to make up for in mindless, gratuitous violence and lots of childish tough guy talk (at least it's something). The last third of the film is loaded up with lots of blazing guns, vampire action, and a quite a bit of bloody mayhem. Spiegel, taking a page out of the Raimi Book of Directing Tricks continually inserts numerous point of view shots, the most memorable being inside a vampire's mouth as the creature bites down on a victim. This was kinda cool the first couple of times, but by the eighth or ninth time it got old. And what was with all the shots of steer skulls in the desert, always featuring some sort of desert denizen emerging from the hollow eye socket? I think it was meant to be a cool transitional effect between sequences, but it got annoying after awhile. Spiegel does keep things moving along, so for that I was appreciative. I didn't really care for some of the overly obvious computer generated effects, especially those when the vampires met their demise. The characters are akin to cardboard, and held little interest form me, but I will say Robert Patrick came off better than most. What's up with Raymond Cruz? Does he play the same, damn character in very film he appears in? You know the one...the tightly wound, tough as nails, slightly psychotic, gun toting, token Hispanic character...in his defense, he did get to shag a really hot Latin woman in this film, played by Maria Checa, who, according to the IMDb, was a Playboy Playmate in the mid 1990s (a few more linger shots of her in the buff wouldn't have hurt this movie at all). The addition of Bo Hopkins to the cast did bring things up a little, as he's always been an actor I've enjoyed seeing, despite his role being one I've seen him in numerous times in the past. I did learn a couple of things from this movie...one being kicking a vampire in the gonasticles has absolutely no effect what so ever, and the second being that Mexican SWAT teams don't seem all that organized or capable (the vampire gang picked them apart fairly easy). I think the key to this film is to keep your expectations low, and don't give too much thought to that which came before. If you can manage these two things, you'll probably enjoy yourself with this forgettable feature. There are worse ways to kill an hour and twenty minutes...

The non-anamorphic, widescreen (1.85:1) picture on this DVD looks good, and the Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo comes through clean. English subtitles are available, but there are absolutely no special features included, other than a handful of film recommendations from Dimension Films, the company that released this title (no trailers, just recommendations). This feature was followed up by a sequel titled From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman's Daughter (2000).

Cookieman108

Not much of a follow up to the first, but it's ok.......2005-08-15

This has probably been said a million times already. This sequel just about has nothing to do with the last film other then there is vampires. The first on edefinitly has a much better plot and development, script, concept etc.... but this sequel is OK but I bet people are probably saying what I did, "It's an OK movie, but it wasnt really worthy of being called DTD2, it should have been something else"

Overall, the movies OK IMO, it stars the guy from Terminator 2 who played the T-1000... him and his buddies go to Mexicon to rob a bank and one of them gets bitten and turned into a vampire, and then that one turns the next guy into one untill whats-his-face is the only one not a vampire and he decides to help against killing them with the cops.

Not scary, nothing comapred to the 1st, not enough gore and killing, but overall it's OK... but please keep in mind, it really is being critisized as being a followup to the 1st without having much to do with it at all.

I wanted to like it........2005-08-09

Robert Patrick couldn't save this. Bruce Campbell with his 5 minute cameo that had nothing to do with the rest of the movie couldn't save it. So, what could have saved this movie from mediocredom. Well, better atmosphere, characterisation, and music would've been a start. On top of that the bland locations could've been changed and actually made interesting, but that didn't happen. So, what we are left with is a movie that doesn't have any likeable characters, acting that isn't that great, boring locations, special effects that don't have enough screen time, standard video fare soundtrack, no scares. This is a horror movie right? There is nothing that is either gross, scarey, or creepy about the movie at all. It's not overlly violent. The R rating seems to come from a scene of the protagonists watching a porno in their motel room discussing other porns that they've seen. Does this scene help the movie? Well, an R rating won't help it, so I guess not. Don't see this movie, it's not good.

Not a good film, but it never tries to be.......2005-03-07

I'm not entirely sure why I rented this movie, but I suspect it's because Bruce Campbell was involved. The thought of Bruce Campbell and Quentin Tarantino connected to a horror movie is enough to make me plunk down ten bucks to see anything they create in the theater. Fortunately, this movie went directly to video, so I didn't waste my ten bucks.

Bruce isn't really in the film. He's in a film within a film and he dies early. Grrr. If you're a fan of Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, she dies along with him.

And what do they die from? Why, bats of course. Vampire bats, to be precise. Bats figure as villains in this movie, which is unfortunate as they're not particularly scary and look like bad Halloween decorations most of the time. Must all bats flop around like two fish connected by a wire hanger? Don't any of them glide?

Anyway, the plot, such as it is, involves four guys planning to rob a bank in Mexico: C.W. the safecracker (Muse Watson), Ray Bob the dimwitted comedic relief (Brett Harrelson), Jesus the muscle (Raymod Cruz), and Buck the Main Character (Robert Patrick). Luther the mastermind (Duane Whitaker) is supposed to meet up with them at some random seedy hotel, but on the way he hits a bat.

No not the baseball bat, but a big vampire bat. He runs over it with his jeep then shoots it with his gun. Of course, that's a vampire he shot, who eventually bites Luther. Luther decides to go on with the bank heist and keeps his appointment, slowly turning the other members into vampires.

"Why would vampires want to rob a bank?" asked Buck of Sheriff Lawson (Bo Hopkins), who was hunting him before they banded together to kill vampires.

"I suppose vampires need money too," says Lawson.

Vampires in this series are super vulnerable to sunlight. They can turn into bats at will. They are invulnerable to most weapons but die if anything pokes through their heart (steel rods, antlers, you name it). But most hysterical of all, they are terrified of ANYTHING IN THE SHAPE OF A CROSS.

I have to restate the ludicrousness of this vulnerability, because at one point one of the vampires is upset by a CROSSBAR. That is, a naturally occurring series of right angles. At various moments throughout the movie, characters suddenly remember to make the sign of the cross with whatever their holding. Apparently, it never strikes anyone that they should just put up their fingers in a cross. Or their arms. Or two shoes.

Eventually, the Mexican police show up and then the carnage begins. In between, we have a homage to Reservoir Dogs, Psycho, and Evil Dead. In fact, the director (Scott Spiegel) takes the Sam-o-cam to new heights. We get the blood-puddle cam, the inside-a-vampire's-mouth cam, and the ultra rare up-the-phone-cord cam. When a character cracks a safe, the camera moves around in circles from the dial on the safe's point of view. When a character walks by a moving fan, we see the fan's point of view. Inspired moviemaking at its finest.

In the middle of all this is the obligatory solar eclipse, which extends the carnage for another twenty minutes.

From Dusk Till Dawn: Texas Blood Money is not a good film, but it never tries to be. Completely unpretentious, it seeks to add to the direct-to-video horror bin. In that regard it succeeds admirably.

Vampire Bank Robbers.......2004-03-30

This is a sequel to From Dusk Till Dawn but it could just as easily be set before the first film. This one involves a bank robbery South of the border. The team is put together and they all head for a motel near the target. But one member is a little late and runs afoul of a vampire.

As a vampire, he joins the rest of the team and starts converting them to vampires. For some reason they continue with the bank robbery. This is not really explained and is not like the vampire mobsters in Innocent Blood.

In the end we have a final showdown when hordes of police arrive including one policeman who has a vendetta against the one thief not to get converted. Some of this action is rather interesting. At one point in the film there is a convenient solar eclipse. This one is odd as it totally blocks out the sun and the corona and then it lasts way too long. It would have been better to leave this one out.

Amazon.com

A mutant hybrid of a heist movie and The Breakfast Club, The Perfect Score follows a clutch of kids who steal the answers to an upcoming SAT test: An aspiring architect (Chris Evans) who isn't quite achieving his dreams (or his parents' expectations); his middling pal (Bryan Greenburg) whose girlfriend is already in college; an overachiever (Erika Christensen, Traffic) who freezes under pressure; a basketball star (NBA player Darius Miles) whose grades don't match his game; a stoner (Leonardo Nam) who falls into the scheme by accident; and a rich punk girl (Scarlett Johansson) who wants to strike back at her neglectful father. The heist itself is nonsensical, but the interplay of personalities manages to keep the movie afloat. Still, only Nam and Johansson (who, after Ghost World, Lost in Translation, and Girl with a Pearl Earring, is becoming a true movie star) stand out of the bland pack. --Bret Fetzer

Customer Reviews:

Better than expected. Entertaining script, fun........2007-03-29

MTV films is very hit and miss as far as producing consistantly decent movies, but this is one of there better ones. 6 high school kids find themselve developing a plan to steal the answers for the SAT. Each person in the group is unique, from the smart kids to the "stoner" , but all believe they need the test answers to get what they want...except maybe the stoner who joined by accident, but turned out to be the needed "ghost". Yes, it's far fetched that they could steal the SAT scores...thier are multiple tests and keys, and unlike the movie protrays, they do give students many different test at each site, so the idea that getting one key for a site will give them all the correct answer is incorrect...but why tear the movie appart. Its funny, and the kids really do find out whats important in life. Wasn't what I expected, decent film, worth checking out.

A perfect story, an incomplete execution.......2007-03-16

I remember when this film came out. I remember that because it was during the same time period where I had lots of school work to take care of. I was studying for my mid year exams and not that long ealier, I had taken the PSAT's. A movie this kind of plot, a bunch kids stealing test scores, definetly got my attention. At the time, there was also another comedy in theaters-Eurotrip. From the commercials, I thought the Perfect was going to laugh out loud funny and Eurotrip was just going to be some dumb retarded comedy. However I did miss both films when they were in theaters but I did catch'em when they were later on tv. Here is what's ironic-I found Eurotrip to be hilarious (and one of my favorite films today) and The Perfect score to be a complete waste of time. Obviousely this movie was really dissapointing.
Kyle is a role model student with good grades and hopes of being an architect. However, he finds himself having difficulty on SAT. His friend Matty is an underachiever who would like to do well on the SAT so he can go to the same college as his girlfriend. They both conclude that the SAT is kinda pointless (b/c it doesn't test you on how smart you are) and unfair (b/c its standing in their way) They enlist the help of Francessca whose father owns the building of where the SATs scores are located. Kyle also slips the plan to his crush Anna, a very intelligent student whose has some the best academic achievements in school but finds trouble with the SAT. Anna brings in Desmond, a start basketball player who needs a 900 or better to get into college. The last person to join the team is Roy a slacker and stoner. With their combined brain power, the can devise a perfect plan in order to achieve the perfect and thus create a happy and bright future.
A movie with a plot like this sounds funny. However, it ultimatley failed to deliver laughs. The only scene I laughed at was when Kyle's brother said what his score (it was something really LOW like 125). The movie does try to be funny but in the end, it really just tries to force the audience to laugh. I am gonna go watch Eurotrip now.

Fun Movie.......2006-11-05

It's a fun movie if you like teen flicks. It takes a shallow look at teen problems and the SAT but moves along and is well acted.

It's Just About the Stars........2006-09-14

The plot of THE PERFECT SCORE is easy enough: six very different high school students bond together to steal the answers to the SAT test the night before it is administered. The movie takes a little while to build up and tries to be a teen version of THE BREAKFAST CLUB meets MISSION IMPOSSIBLE. Unfortunately, the people who originally came to see this film (and the ones whom MTV marketed it to) weren't really coming to watch a movie; they were coming to see the people who were starring in the movie. The girls wanted to see Chris Evans, Bryan Greenberg, and basketball player Darius Miles while the guys came to see Erika Christensen and Scarlett Johansson. Therefore, though the movie has an interesting set-up, it never really delivers and ends up being just another teen movie that most people will forget fifteen minutes after watching it. I enjoyed watching the movie, but outside of the people who star in it, there's nothing outstanding about it.

Good Showcase for Chris.......2006-08-02

The film is all about the SATs and I'm surprised that ETS allowed them to make it. Certainly it makes ETS look like a company with a bunch of nitwits running it, and in addition shows that they have lousy security and any bunch of six random idiot teens could break in and get all of the answers to any particular SAT exam. Was product placement so important to ETS that they let the filmmakers run down their whole organization in this way? This is not even to mention the gfeneralized, pervasive indictment of the whole SAT system that the Scarlett Johansson character, Francesca, spouts throughout the whole movie and which is, indeed, the movie's most interesting selling point. It's like the FAHRENHEIT 911 of standardized testing.

Otherwise it falls into a slavish imitation of THE BREAKFAST CLUB, with a bit of HARRY AND KUMAR GO TO WHITE CASTLE thrown in, redeemed by the presence of the divine Chris Evans, who makes every movie he's in an overwhelming visual and sensory experience, as though Aldous Huxley had released some pleasure-inducing "soma" gas into the ventilation system of the theater you're watching him in. Is he a real person, or actually a god come to earth to provide nirvana to the millions? Here he plays "Kyle," sort of a switch up for Chris in a way, as the thoughtful would-be architect who can't get good enough SAT scores to get himself into Cornell. ("Cornell University," the guidance counselor adds, just in case we were thinking it was Cornell Community College Kyle was aiming for.)

Chris has played characters called Jake, Adam, Ben, Bryan AND Ryan, Seth, Bryce and Johnny Storm, but Kyle is one of his best parts yet. A row of perfection, like clay ducks in a shooting gallery, each identical, all of them ideal.

Average customer rating:

Better than expected. Entertaining script, fun.
A perfect story, an incomplete execution
Fun Movie
It's Just About the Stars.
Good Showcase for Chris

The Perfect Score (Full Screen Edition)
Starring: Erika Christensen , Chris Evans , Bryan Greenberg (II) , Scarlett Johansson , and Darius Miles
Director: Brian Robbins
Manufacturer: Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0001ZX006
Release Date: 2004-06-29

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Customer Reviews:

Better than expected. Entertaining script, fun........2007-03-29

A perfect story, an incomplete execution.......2007-03-16