Starship Troopers [Blu-ray]

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Starship Troopers [Blu-ray] Review

I'm amazed that so many people can blindly miss the subtleties of this movie. While it works as a brainless, enjoyable gung-ho piece of sci-fi cum war hokum it's also quite a clever piece of satire, taking a pot-shot squarely aimed at the kind of control that governments, regardless of ideology, exert over their populace. While the spoofed propaganda TV commercials most obviously display the parody in this movie, one can also see it littered throughout the movie. The director has chosen to ape Nazism as it's an extreme view of what can happen when a government has a strong grip on its people, because of his childhood experience being under Nazism and because by cloaking the heroes of the movie in Nazism he shows a self-mocking sense of ironic humor.Like...Johnny Rico being a blonde, blue-eyed Aryan. While Van Dien's abilities as an actor are frequently ridiculed at there's no doubt that he is perfect for this movie's take on the character. He *looks* like an actor straight from WWII German and Soviet propaganda films and indeed that is exactly what he's supposed to appear like.Ok let's clear up some other points:-BAD ACTING:-It's not bad acting. Bad acting implies that the actor does not bring fully to life the character he/she is playing or overplays the part ect ect. The characters in ST are supposed to be parodies, tongue-in-check cardboard cutouts. Given that all the actors in ST play their roles pretty well. That they are all very pretty (especially Dina Meyer) is the intention. Like any good propaganda it shows people whom we'd like to be or be with trying to become citizens and succeeding, whilst following the 'state line'. The love triangle is thrown in there for entertainment value and it works in a cheesy way.DIALOGUE:-I fail to see how intelligent people can so miss the point of the dialogue. It's cheesy because it's parody, because it apes political propaganda and laughs at it. The dialogue is perfectly suited to the mood of the film as a whole. There are very few wasted lines in this movie and I won't waste *my* time trying to point them out to you if you didn't 'get' them.STUPID PLOT:-Guess what? Yep here comes the parody bit again. People point out that the military tactics in this movie are laughable and they are perfectly correct. But... Don't you think the military tactics are just too stupid to be there as a result of incompetence or sloppiness on the part of Verhoeven - I mean it doesn't take a budding Guderian, Napoleon or a Sun Tze to know that just using machine guns when you have orbital nukes, cluster bombs, mines, armor ect is just plain stupid. But the whole point of the film is self-parody at governments, who see the people as their tool, to be manipulated and scarified for the 'greater good' of the nation, or in this case the species.LACK OF RESPECT FOR ROBERT HEINLEIN'S BOOK:-I feel many distracters of the film simply do so because they expected a faithful recreation of the book. While that's disappointing for you try and see the film for its merits. It really only borrows from Heinlien's book in superficial terms; to set the scene, the basic plot and basic outlines of the characters. Surely you can see that it never was an attempt to seriously follow the book. Instead Verhoeven chose to follow his own path and make his own movie. Try and see it for that...Anyway to sum up; the movie is loud, entertaining, gory, packed full of good looking leads and sci-fi fx, but also very subtle and clever. People who dismiss this movie out of hand as mindless nonsense completely miss the point. Godzilla is mindless nonsense. Independence Day is mindless nonsense.Starship Troopers instead is a very well-made, clever movie, which has a tongue-in-cheek gibe at the way governments can and will manipulate their populace for the 'good of the state'. I wonder whether any American hollywood director would have had the balls to make it this way. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews� Was this review helpful to you?�Yes No Report abuse | PermalinkComment Comments (19)

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To Live (1994)

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Product Description

To Live (1994) / REGION FREE DVD / Audio: Chinese, Thai / Subtitles: English, Thai / Actors: You Ge, Li Gong, Ben Niu, Xiao Cong, Deng Fei / Directors: Yimou Zhang / 132 minutes

To Live (1994) Review

I won't go into the details of this movie, one because it really should be enjoyed without any preface, and two because it has been described elsewhere. I rented the movie purely to see Gong Li, who is one of the most beautiful actresses out there. I was absolutely blown away by this film. The story, the acting, the flow; everything about it was masterful. I am a big fan of Zhang Yimou, but this film far outshines any other work he's done before or after. Gong's acting is superb, matched entirely by You Ge. The scene with the "tea" revenge caught me so offhand, in both the touching portral of Chinese family life mixed with the wonderful quirky humor, that I laughed out loud and nearly choked on some ice tea I was drinking at the time. 10 minutes later I was crying my eyes out. This movie left me shaking at the end, and I kept reliving scenes over and over days after I returned the rental. "To Live" is one of the best all-time films ever made, period.

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The Criminal

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The Criminal Review

This film has seemingly been forgotten, it's not usually mentioned in the pantheon of 'great' british gangster films or even the best work of it's director.often called a 'realistic' film it's more an expressionist handling (minus the shadowy lighting of hollywood film noirs) of typical material, this makes it a bit of a shock on first viewing and might explain why it isn't as highly regarded as it ought to be. It's setting is a cold, snowy winter in london, there is no night time neon city lighting, the action outside prison takes place almost entirely during the day or indoors when darkness falls. It is also a quiet film (except of course when the violence and the screaming erupt), that added to the setting and the stark photography create a very a alien world in which the central character just doesn't belong.Johnny Bannion (Stanley Baker) reminds me of Pacino's Tony Montana in 'Scarface' (however unlike pacino in that film Baker's stature isn't symbolic of his impotent rage given his heavy build and large frame), he's an irish hoodlum who has risen fairly high but doesn't have what it takes to get to the very top. In Tony's case he isn't ruthless enough and is guarenteed to fall as quickly as he rose due to his own weaknesses. Likewise Bannion is guarenteed to fall, he's a hard nut capable of taking anyone on but he just doesn't belong with the morons and treacherous schemers in his line of work. His appartment is decorated with modern art, it's implied he has a gift for maths and he doesn't really seem at home at a party his fellow mobsters throw for him. He's impatient with everyone, when he erupts in anger it is tinged with petulant sorrow (Baker's thuggish profile and stoic hardness belies a feral, anxious, wounded yet restrained performance), so much so that it arouses contempt in his gangster friends who comment behind his back. When he rebukes Sam Wannamaker's character repeatedly he seems a frustrated child, frustrated at both the life he leads and having to associate and rely on characters such as this. He is totally unaware that wannamaker's sly smile and constant glances betray a man itching to usurp him. And like in Scarface, where Montana can never be his boss Sosa, Bannion just isn't as ruthless as his underlings or his superiors, they're big time, he's small time. His being able to beat two men senseless in his prison cell is nothing compared to the cold hearted deviousness and ambition of his lieutenant who does not have his strength or capacity for physical violence. Both Tony and Johnny possess a dubious sense of honour that those around them do not, in both films there is no honour among thieves and they fail to grasp and adhere to that. Neither of them can accept the system around them. In Tony's case he's endlessly railing against capitalism, in Bannion's he is unable to hide his dismay and anger at the actions of the selfish, corrupt, manipulative and sadistic head warder, something i can't imagine would ever bother the other crime bosses in the film. But then the warder would never dream of moving against them because he can tell the difference between those with real power and those without, even if they are at similar levels in the hierarchyIn 'The Criminal' all this is subtlely conveyed despite and because of what would seem outlandish and anachronistic direction for a crime drama made in the second half of the 1960s.
Losey's way of impressing this man's alienation on us are brilliant, the film has a dreamy quality due to the snowy landscapes and the way he incorporates almost expressionist techniques and performances in his film without it destroying it's hard nosed feel. The insane scottish inmate played by Tom Bell has a tortured monologue where the the prison around him goes black and in close up he explains why he is different to those around him. The camera pulls back and light returns to reveal that Bannion, to whom he is supposedly talking is not listening.When Bannion falls he falls hard, the cell block he commands turn against him having been fooled into thinking he is an informer (although this is also a part of bannion's scheme to escape and unfortunately his 'friends' scheme to kill him). The grass/snitch/tout he has beaten by a crony in the opening of the film even gets to turn the tables on him. The prison sections at the beginning and end seem to me a forerunner of Alan Clarke's 'Scum'. Patrick Magee (in a non horror role for once) is very much a hysterical yet melifuous 60s predecessor of the warders in that film.A word must go to the music, that adds to the chilly wintry feeling, so quiet a film that when the light jazzy score by John Dankworth plays seemingly inappropriately it adds to the overall effect. The prison ballad sung by Cleo Laine over the title credits is haunting, never has a song seemed so apt at the start of a film. It is a promise of a unique experience, a promise that the film then makes good, i can't quite think of another like it. Losey's greatest achievement on screen, so different to the hollow, stylistically flat and totally stereotypical English rubbish he is perhaps best known for (although his curio for Hammer studios 'These are the Damned' is excellent too, if uneven). It goes beyond the smart little film noirs he made in Hollywood like 'the Prowler'.'Get Carter' and 'The Long Good Friday' seem to be the benchmark of British organised crime movies these days, a major difference between them and 'the Criminal' is that it is a great film. It's different, but it rewards in bleakness, nuance and brutality.Question is: This DVD has been available a long time, how come i'm the first to review it?? Help other customers find the most helpful reviews� Was this review helpful to you?�Yes No Report abuse | PermalinkComment�Comment (1)

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28 Days Later [UMD pour PSP]

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28 Days Later [UMD pour PSP] Review

First off, my four stars are for the movie itself - an excellent re-imaging of the "Zombie" genre.

Now, onto the video resolution issue that many reviewers are complaining about. I was also shocked when I rented this Blu-ray and saw the awful video resolution. Basically, it's no better than a standard DVD except for the closing scene.

The reason: The film was filmed mostly in standard DV resolution, using a Canon XL1s camcorder (the closing scene being the exception - it was filmed in 35mm). DV is very low resolution in comparison to HD or 35mm film, so the problem (if you consider this a problem) is with the source material, NOT the transfer to Blu-ray. It was the director's decision to film in standard DV, so this is the best resolution that you will ever see of this film.

So, if you don't have this movie and the Blu-ray and the DVD version are the same price, I'd probably stick with the Blu-ray version just for future compatibility. But, if you already have the DVD version, I would recommend just sticking with that copy for now because the Blu-ray version isn't going to offer any enhancements, other than the closing scene.

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Movie - The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner [Japan DVD] KKDS-714

You looking to find the "Movie - The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner [Japan DVD] KKDS-714" Good news! You can purchase Movie - The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner [Japan DVD] KKDS-714 with secure price and compare to view update price on this product. And deals on this product is available only for limited time.

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Movie - The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner [Japan DVD] KKDS-714 Review

I saw this British film when it first came out in 1962 and never forgot it. I even remember an argument I had with my aunt about its controversial theme - that of an alienated angry young man who defiantly refuses to conform to the system. Shot in black and white, the video stars Tom Courtenay as a working class Nottingham youth who is sent to a reformatory because of a robbery. Michael Redgrave is cast as the warden, referred to as the "governor" as this is a British film. It is a modern reformatory, and plans are being made to for it to compete in sports with a private school. The long distance run is considered the biggest prize and Courtenay is granted special privileges as he stands out as someone who could actually win. He's allowed to take long runs outside of the reformatory gates each day, and the cinematography here is outstanding. During these runs, Courtenay experiences flashbacks of his life and we see a picture of its grimness. We see his anger at the system and admire him for belief in his ideals. And yet we also want him to win the race and move into a more privileged life. Finally the day of the run arrives. And young Courtenay makes his decision. It is startling and yet something we can understand. No wonder it's haunted me all these years.Now, watching the video all these years later, I found it a little slow for my taste, especially since I already knew the ending. And, also, as with many British films on video, I sometimes wish there were subtitles. But this is a film that makes me think. I think about choices I've made in my own life. I think about how they turned out. And I think about the message of the film - still fresh after all this time. Recommended. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse | PermalinkComment�Comments (10)

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Le transporteur 1

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Le transporteur 1 Review

Transporter DVD

Transporter is a high action movies involving an ex-Special forces soldier who earns his living transporting "packages" for various clients, mostly shady. In this movie, the transporter ( Jason Stratham )violates his own rules ( he's real big on rules ) and looks inside the package, doesn't like what he sees and doesn't complete the delivery. Bad idea, now the client is after him, along with the police. The movie is set in the French countryside so if you don't enjoy the thrill-a-minute action, just enjoy the view.

Highly recommended for fans of Jason Stratham , James Bond movies, and high action movies, especially car chases.

Gunner March, 2008

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