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12 Angry Men

starring: Jack Lemmon, George C. Scott, Hume Cronyn, Ossie Davis, Courtney B. Vance
directed by: William Friedkin

November 07, 2000
Watching this 1997 version of 12 ANGRY MEN recently, I was struck by the fact that four of the 12 actors in key roles here have since passed away. That has absolutely nothing to do with the film's quality, of course (or nothing directly to do with it), but it is striking that key members of this impressive cast--and of course, I'm referring to Jack Lemmon, George C. Scott, Hume Cronyn and Ossie Davis-- have gone on to that jury box in the sky.

As I say, the fact that these great actors have all died within the past decade is not a direct reflection on the film itself. But it does raise at least one issue that a previous reviewer has noted: namely, the question of the cast's relative age in comparison to the cast of the 1957 classic ... Read More:

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The House of the Spirits

starring: Jeremy Irons, Meryl Streep, Glenn Close, Winona Ryder, Antonio Banderas
directed by: Bille August

May 22, 2001
At least that's what it meant to me. Replace "South America" in all reviews by the word "Chile", because that is where the story belongs in its cut and dry facts. A wealthy family, a Shakespearean love between a peasant's son and a land owner's daughter; betrayal, rage, passion, violence and murder, ghosts (spirits), rebelion and freedom: all these are just some of the ingredients portraid in the movie with a great line up, awsome landscape and fairly good soundtrack. If you ever visit Chile, please see this movie and you'll understand part of the Chilean character and history: under our modern facade, there's still Biancas, Pedros and Truebas.
The movie personally helped me see my own story and find new connections between myself, my family ... Read More:

Average Rating:

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12 Angry Men

starring: Jack Lemmon, George C. Scott, Hume Cronyn, Ossie Davis, Courtney B. Vance
directed by: William Friedkin

April 14, 1998
Watching this 1997 version of 12 ANGRY MEN recently, I was struck by the fact that four of the 12 actors in key roles here have since passed away. That has absolutely nothing to do with the film's quality, of course (or nothing directly to do with it), but it is striking that key members of this impressive cast--and of course, I'm referring to Jack Lemmon, George C. Scott, Hume Cronyn and Ossie Davis-- have gone on to that jury box in the sky.

As I say, the fact that these great actors have all died within the past decade is not a direct reflection on the film itself. But it does raise at least one issue that a previous reviewer has noted: namely, the question of the cast's relative age in comparison to the cast of the 1957 classic movie ... Read More:

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Night on Earth (Widescreen Collector's Edition)

starring: Winona Ryder, Gena Rowlands, Lisanne Falk, Alan Randolph Scott, Anthony Portillo
directed by: Jim Jarmusch

March 04, 1997
Night on Earth - Criterion CollectionThis film is fantastic ...I had an old vhs copy and was glad to see it released in dvd format..it contains flawless..breath taking camera work..a perfect script and soundtrack and brilliant acting by a stellar cast..During the Helsinki segment I actually could feel the bone-chilling night coldness that was hanging over the city...Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Wells, Billy Wilder and Federico Fellini all great Masters of cinema had nothing over Jarmusch in fact I think he could have shown them all a trick or two had he had the chance to take them under his tutelage...If you enjoy true independent film this is the guy who wrote the book..He is also a man who will not sell-out to Hollywood and I am sure he has had many offers!

Average Rating:

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Night on Earth

starring: Winona Ryder, Gena Rowlands, Lisanne Falk, Alan Randolph Scott, Anthony Portillo
directed by: Jim Jarmusch

June 24, 1994
Night on Earth - Criterion CollectionThis film is fantastic ...I had an old vhs copy and was glad to see it released in dvd format..it contains flawless..breath taking camera work..a perfect script and soundtrack and brilliant acting by a stellar cast..During the Helsinki segment I actually could feel the bone-chilling night coldness that was hanging over the city...Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Wells, Billy Wilder and Federico Fellini all great Masters of cinema had nothing over Jarmusch in fact I think he could have shown them all a trick or two had he had the chance to take them under his tutelage...If you enjoy true independent film this is the guy who wrote the book..He is also a man who will not sell-out to Hollywood and I am sure he has had many offers!

Average Rating:

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House of the Spirits

starring: Jeremy Irons, Meryl Streep, Glenn Close, Winona Ryder, Antonio Banderas
directed by: Bille August

September 12, 1995
At least that's what it meant to me. Replace "South America" in all reviews by the word "Chile", because that is where the story belongs in its cut and dry facts. A wealthy family, a Shakespearean love between a peasant's son and a land owner's daughter; betrayal, rage, passion, violence and murder, ghosts (spirits), rebelion and freedom: all these are just some of the ingredients portraid in the movie with a great line up, awsome landscape and fairly good soundtrack. If you ever visit Chile, please see this movie and you'll understand part of the Chilean character and history: under our modern facade, there's still Biancas, Pedros and Truebas.
The movie personally helped me see my own story and find new connections between myself, my family and the culture ... Read More:

Average Rating:

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Colonel Redl

starring: Klaus Maria Brandauer, Hans Christian Blech, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Gudrun Landgrebe, Jan Niklas
directed by: István Szabó

June 26, 2001
I haven't viewed this movie since I first saw it, years ago. I obviously must have regarded it highly to pay such a price for the DVD. It is an excellent study of cowardice. Brandauer was such a great actor. I wonder what happened to him.

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The Game

starring: Michael Douglas, Deborah Kara Unger, Sean Penn, James Rebhorn, Peter Donat
directed by: David Fincher

August 11, 1998
Great movie! Most of the reviews indicate that most people see this as a movie about a man who plays life changing wild game given as a gift from a brother who also benefited from playing the game. It's really about a rich guy who never understood why his father committed suicide at the age of 48. On his own 48th birthday he finds himself rich, but alone, miserable, depressed, and wondering how much he might be like his father, heading in the same direction (maybe toward suicide). His brother, knowing his rigid, responsible, analytical, no fun nature and that he's miserable in spite of his wealth, tries to help him by giving him an unusual but life changing gift, "The Game".

The story is great fun to follow, but the climactic ending is about how the man finally ... Read More:

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Kafka

starring: Jeremy Irons, Theresa Russell, Joel Grey, Ian Holm, Jeroen Krabbé
directed by: Steven Soderbergh

April 03, 2001
"KAFKA" is one of those movies that was both negelected by the audience and the critics, and very unjustifiably so. What's exactly wrong with this picture? Is it because a lot of Very Heavy-Thinking Bookreaders claim that the real Franz Kafka is untouchable, and so: not-filmable, and there for, when this is done anyway, it must be condemned even before one single frame is actually seen?

But this is not about Mr. Real Kafka, it's about Mr. Fictitious Kafka, even one without Franz as a first name. This Mr. Fictitious Kafka writes about men transforming into giant insects, yes, and who works as a clerk in a insurance agency, yes, and who, at nightfall, sees a giant castle hoovering above the town in the distance, yes - but for all this, director Steven Soderbergh and ... Read More:

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Power of One

starring: Stephen Dorff, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Morgan Freeman, Nomadlozi Kubheka, Agatha Hurle
directed by: John G. Avildsen

October 15, 1997
I had read the book "The Power of One" again and thought the original opinion about it was right on. It is a great book. I learned there was a movie called "the power of one" and sought it out. What a dissappointment. The only thing that resembled the book was the title. I could not even finish the movie it was so bad and distorted.