The Christmas Box / Timepiece (1995) Review

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(More customer reviews)As incredibly sappy as it sounds, "The Christmas Box" and its prequel "Timepiece" are heartwarming. Now both are included on DVD, letting us into the bittersweet story of the Parker and the Evans families, from the 1940s to the 1990s.
In "The Christmas Box," the Evans family is interviewed by elderly, wealthy widow Mrs. Parkin (Maureen O'Hara) for a live-in status, since their apartment is too small for them now. To their surprise, they are brought in on a trial basis, and mom Keri (Annette O'Toole) and daughter Jenna (Kelsey Mulrooney) rapidly grow closer to the old woman. But Richard (Richard Thomas) is often busy -- so busy that he's almost never there for his family. But Mrs. Parkin's mysterious past, a cache of old letters, and a strange question lead him back to the first gift of Christmas.
"Timepiece" shifts back in time to the end of World War II. David Parkin (Kevin Kilner) is the owner of a successful, extremely busy company. He takes on a new secretary, Mary Anne Chandler (Naomi Watts), and begins to fall in love with her. But she has a secret: She's pregnant and unmarried. Undaunted, David marries her and they raise her daughter as their own. But when David's friend Lawrence (James Earl Jones) becomes the target of a gang's racism, something tragic will happen to the new family.
The films are rather different in tone, although both will probably leave you with a warm fuzzy feeling, especially during the Christmas season. "Christmas Box" is a Christmas movie with a touch of mystery (who are the letters to? And what happened in Mary Anne's past?), whereas "Timepiece" is a straightforward family/friends story with a touch of tragedy and Christmas. They both have some major differences from the original novels, but the spirit of them is still in there.
The acting is more or less spotless in both movies. Richard Thomas and Annette O'Toole are fantastic as the couple who bickers a bit, but love each other dearly; O'Hara is astounding as Mary Parkin in her old age. James Earl Jones (of "Star Wars" fame) and Naomi Watts (of "Ring" fame) are also wonderful in "Timepiece." The child actors are somewhat flat at times (especially the kid who plays Andrea) but they don't detract from the stories at all.
Tis the season to be mildly sentimental, which is why people watch "It's a Wonderful Life." For a couple of beautiful, lovable films with good acting and a bit of heartbreak and a dollop of romance, this is a must-have. Genuinely charming.

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The Outsider (2002) Review

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(More customer reviews)Timothy Daly (of Wings fame) and Naomi Watts star in what appears at first glance to be a remake of Angel and the Badman (John Wayne and Gail Russell.) I have to say I love both movies for the same reasons. Faith and love can get you through any hardship you might face.
Johnny Gault is a world weary gunslinger who believes in his gun and nothing else. Rebecca Yodder belongs to a religious sect (The Plain People) who have strict rules for women and shun anything that may lead them to shame - including any kind of music.
Rebecca's husband is murdered and her son and brother harassed by the local sheriff and his men for her land. Johnny arrives out of nowhere and drops near death at her feet. She tends to him and he stays to help with the sheep and the farm.
The difference between Angel and the Badman and The Outsider, is that you actually see Rebecca's family and the community shun her as she begins to question her love for Johnny and the freedom it brings. At the same time, Johnny must deal with his past and with the present issue of the sheriff and his men threatening his newly adopted family.
What I really loved about this movie is the rhythm the director gave it with the hours and chores of the day, the beautiful score, and the stunning cinematography. Randa Haines (Children of a Lesser God, Hill Street Blues, The Ron Clark Story) assembled a cast that provides the emotional tension and drama that makes this movie worth watching. The chemistry between Daly and Watts is on target, and Daly will definitely make your heart beat a little faster. Keith Carradine plays a suitor and David Carradine plays the town doctor. John Noble (Lord of the Rings) plays the sheriff.
If you enjoy collecting westerns, especially romantic ones - this one is a keeper.
A bit of trivia: The haunting music you hear in the background of the movie is mostly Norwegian folk songs. Two of the songs sung - Bla Tonar Fra Lom and Jenta I Sauflokken can be found on the Nordisk Sang CD featuring various artists. There were no known Norwegian settlements in the US that were Amish, Mennonites or Quakers. Norwegian settlers were most likely Lutheran. The beautiful music still fits the movie and the mood. The movie, as most of you know is based on the historical romance The Outsider by author Penelope Williamson.

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King Kong - Extended Cut (Three-Disc Deluxe Edition) (2005) Review

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(More customer reviews)The biggest problem most people had with King Kong was its length, so there's no surprise that reaction by the general public to the release of an extended edition of another 3 hour-plus Peter Jackson film was almost the equivalent of a collective groan.
The surprise is that everything added to the Extended Edition of King Kong should have never been cut. More dinosaurs and more creatures and more action on Skull Island only improves the film, and one wonders if these scenes were cut mostly for time and pacing, why wasn't a little bit of the 51 minutes of pre-Skull Island snipped or perhaps a few overly drawn scenes of Kong and Anna gazing into each other's eyes?
The more noticable scenes are that of a rampaging Ceratops and a fun scene of an underwater monster attacking Adrien Brody and Co. while they are rafting down a river. A bit more character development with some seedy behavior by Carl Denham (Jack Black) and heroic deeds by Jack Driscoll and the shipmates add a bit of flavor to the male characters literally overshadowed by Kong in the film. The spider pit sequence is also a bit lengthened with some more lines by Jack Black. Overall, a worthy 13 minutes of added material, but the film still feels too long in the last act.
The special features to this extended edition are the special features that were missing from the first release of the Kong movie, including a commentary from Peter Jackson and extensive behind the scenes features, describing the making of Kong from concept artwork to the screen a la the performance of Andy Serkis.
I enjoyed the extended cut, but I don't know that this lengthy movie is better served with added material. It's not like the LOTR films where the additions enhance your viewing and understanding of Tolkien's world. But hey, I am not going to complain about more dinosaurs and the raft sequence I was disappointed was missing from the original cut.

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The Ring (Full Screen Edition) (2002) Review

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(More customer reviews)"The Ring" is an American adaptation of the 1998 Japanese horror film called "Ringu." The plot is hideously simple: a videotape floating around kills anyone who watches it at the end of seven days. We know this because after the poor viewer gets to the end of the film, the phone "rings" and a voice whispers "seven days." A week later, someone finds the body of the viewer dead as a doornail with horribly swollen facial features. During the final week of life, people who watched the tape suffer from unpleasant hallucinations and nosebleeds. If this sounds like an urban legend to you, you're right on the money. But when this urban legend appears in the form of a movie like "The Ring," it blows hooks hanging off doors or ghostly hitchhikers right out of the water. This movie is full of creepy shocks, claustrophobic atmosphere, and hidden symbols and clues. It even has Naomi Watts, the blond babe from Lynch's schizophrenic "Mulholland Drive" as the main character.
The beginning of the film pulls no punches. Katie and her friend Rebecca are discussing the effects of electromagnetic waves on the human brain when an offhand comment about a videotape that kills comes to the fore. Katie looks fearful as she confesses to her friend that, indeed, she saw the tape in a cabin with some friends. After some playful hijinks, we discover that Katie really did see the tape as we catch a quick glimpse of her final moments of life. This tragedy brings into the story her enigmatic cousin Aidan and his mother, a reporter for a Seattle newspaper named Rachel. At the request of Katie's mother, Rachel begins to investigate the videotape, a task that assumes dire proportions after Rachel watches the tape and realizes she might die in a week's time. What follows is a race against impending doom, a doom that assumes additional dimensions when Rachel's acquaintance Noah and her son Aidan watch the video.
Research into the tape unearths one strange turn after another. A woman who appears in the tape turns out to be one Anna Morgan, a horse breeder who went insane after adopting a little girl named Samara. Moreover, the images Rachel saw on the tape continue to turn up during her investigations. As the mystery slowly unravels, many questions arise. Who is Samara and what is her connection with this dreadful videotape? Is this frightening little girl a ghost who chooses to haunt through the processes of media instead of rattling chains in a house? How can misery transfer itself to an inanimate object? And my personal query, did anyone else find Aidan as eerie as Samara?
One thing is certain: repeated viewings of this film are most helpful. One time through won't do the trick with this movie. You must be patient and pay attention because the answers are do not come easy. I think too many people expected an undemanding slasher film instead of this suspenseful, downbeat exercise in cerebral terror. I for one welcome these fresh attempts to deepen the horror genre. Gory exploitation films and teenage stalker movies certainly have a place (consider how Jason, Freddy, and Michael Myers are now a permanent part of our pop culture), but for those of us who want something deeper and darker to strike us insensate, "The Ring" delivers the goods. The scene where Noah experiences what really happens when one's seven day waiting period expires will stay with me for a long time, and it was all done without a knife, axe, machete, power tool, or whatever else horror film murderers are using to dispatch their victims with these days. I haven't been this unsettled by a little girl since the twins in Kubrick's "The Shining." "The Ring" hits a home run on several levels.
The DVD version, with wonderful sound and a great picture enhanced the horrific aspects of the film. Included on the version I watched was a trailer for the original "Ringu" and deleted scenes that provide additional information about the mysteries of the film, including a chilling alternate ending. Regrettably, there were no commentaries or behind the scenes clips for the movie, although one imagines that a "Special Edition" will soon appear containing such things (for extra dollars, of course). If the Japanese public's response to "Ringu" is any indication, expect a sequel to "The Ring" in our country within a year or two. Sequels often do serious damage to the original picture, but if more films take us deeper into the mysterious realm that is Samara, I welcome them with open arms.

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An inquisitive reporter views a mysterious videotape that is linked to several deaths she sets in motion a chain of events that puts her life in danger. Now she is in a race against time to solve the mystery before its too late.Studio: Paramount Home VideoRelease Date: 05/01/2007Starring: Naomi Watts Brian CoxRun time: 115 minutesRating: Pg13Director: Gore Verbinski

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