Shall We Dance? (1997) Review

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(More customer reviews)I see over one hundred well-written summaries on these pages, with an average five-star rating. While adding my rave review to the list, I ask the question: Why tamper with perfection? The US-made re-make is about to hit the screens with A-list cast Richard Gere, Jennifer Lopez, and Susan Sarandon. I know for a fact that a large majority of the U.S. population will never watch a subtitled film, so I can understand the reason for re-making it. However, I think everyone who has written here will agree that there's no way this Gere/Lopez/Sarandon re-make will capture the spirit of the original, certainly not the two driving forces that propel it.
First, there's the drudgery of the Japanese salaryman...like millions of others Tokyo-based wage slaves, Koji Yakusho's unhappy accountant takes his hours-long train ride home each evening, beaten down a bit more by his lot in life. He spies a dance studio, a dancer...and slowly - night after night - develops a small dream. The night he finally decides to get off the train is a magnificent scene...there's a complete struggle going on inside his body to hop off and stay off that train. I wonder how the re-make will possibly capture even a smidgen of that angst.
Second, there are the strong mores of Japanese society and the overrriding ethos of "the upright nail gets hammered down." In the U.S., to a large extent, the spirit of the individual endures - if you want to dance, you dance. In Japan, not only is Koji Yakusho's character battling himself, he's battling his country's perception of his decision to dance, which basically can be summarized as: "Guys don't." Again, I challenge the re-make to capture this tension.
I will point out that I'm not dead set against any re-make: I'm a big fan of the Argentinian film "Nueve Reinas," and thought that 2929 Entertainment's recently released "Criminal" really compared quite well to the original. Still, I urge those of you with any interest in seeing the upcoming release of "Shall We Dance" to do yourself a favor and invest 118 minutes in the original, a great look at Japanese society.

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SHALL WE DANCE - DVD Movie

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Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (Snap Case) (1995) Review

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(More customer reviews)Most movie sequels I've seen were bad remakes of the original. But UNDER SIEGE 2: DARK TERRITORY delivers some excitment, holding your attention.
Steven Seagal reprises his rule as the Navy cook/martial arts champion serving knuckle sandwiches to hijackers who take over a train. Seagal's in top John Wayne form, speaking slowly and softly and not saying too much. And as in the first film, he's at times funny, with one wisecrack you won't forget. ...
Eric Bogosian adds flavor as a slimey villain, another reason UNDER SIEGE 2 rises above the average sequel. Bogosian matches the high-energy performance he gave several years ago in the movie TALK RADIO.
Is it a Hollywood law to cast women as only sex objects or victims? Katherine Heigl fills the role of the latter in UNDER SIEGE 2. Despite her good looks, she plays Steven Seagal's niece - not his love interest. I suppose that's something you would not predict. But sure enough, the villains capture Ms. Heigl and it's up to Uncle Steve to save her pretty little head.
See UNDER SIEGE 2: DARK TERRITORY. It's a cut above both action flicks and sequels.

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AN ELECTRONIC WIZ AND HIS MILITIA HAVE SEIZED A SLEEK PASSENGER TRAIN AND TURNED IT INTO A ROLLING COMMAND CENTER FOR ANAWESOME WEAPONS SATELLITE. BUT THE HIJACKERS DIDN'T COUNT ONONE THING, ONE OF THE PASSENGERS IS EX-NAVY SEAL CASEY RYBACK.

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Five Mile Creek - The Complete First Season (1983) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is where Nicole Kidman got an early start!
I grew up watching the videotapes of File Mile Creek. This is a unique alternative to the wild West of America. It is set in the Australian Outback during the height of the gold rush. The series is loosely based on the Louis L'Amour book, The Cherokee Trail. This is a great family mini-series and the characters are so interesting.
Kate and Maggie run Five Mile Creek, the waystation for the coach line. They are aided by Paddy, the Irish doom-and-gloom blacksmith; Ben, the horse wrangler from the States; Hannah, Maggie's preteen daughter; and Sam, an orphan taken in by Kate. Con and Jack are partners in the coachline, the Australian Express. Their fussy banker, Charles Withers, keeps the purse strings tight. (Later, we are introduced to Nicole Kidman as the sheep herder, Annie. But this is in one of the last seasons.)
The episodes included in Season One are:
Making Tracks- We are introduced to the people who will make up the crew of the Australian Express coachline and the Five Mile Creek waystation. Maggie and her daughter, Hannah, arrive in Australia in search of her wayward husband. Con Madigan arrives with the coach to meet his Australian partner, Jack Taylor. And Kate Wallace is abandoned and left to run the waystation all by herself.

Horses for Courses- Learning to live in a wilderness & getting the coachline off and running.
Love Before a Fall- Life is complicated by stolen gold and a mysterious drifter, for whom Kate falls in love with.
A Few Surprises- Jack contracts a deadly fever that can only be cured by a native potion.
The Scrub Bulls- Jack & Con look to expand the business but have to deal with a stubborn squatter. Maggie's school is off and running as she learns a terrible secret about her husband.
Bang the Big Drum- A naive peddler comes through the area and the ladies go shopping.
Gold Fever- Gold fever sweeps through the Five Mile Creek area bringing prospectors and the worst lawbreakers, "bushrangers."
Annie- A pregnant woman goes into labor at Five Mile Creek, complicating Maggie's life as she deals with her husband's sudden re-appearance.

Home and Away- Maggie has to decide whether to stay in Australia or return home.

The Awakening- Jack's first shipment of gold is stolen and Kate takes care of a very sick Aborigine family.

The Prize- Jack and Con step into the boxing ring to secure a contract for the Australian Express.

Tricks of the Trade- Bushrangers threaten a shipment of currency. Sam's foster parents arrive to take him. Kate is told she must be married in order to adopt him and a proposal comes from the unlikeliest of sources.

Thanksgiving- The American holiday looms as Maggie gets word of a tragedy and a feud erupts between the partners.


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Journey back to the booming Australian gold rush of the 1860s, a wild Outback frontier, and the spirited pioneers who aim to tame it. Now for the first time on DVD, enjoy every episode of the trailblazing first season of FIVE MILE CREEK, which chronicles a story of outlaw bushrangers, ruthless government troops, and the challenges of making an emerging stagecoach line a rip-roaring success. Filmed entirely on location -- your whole family can experience the adventure, courage, and heart of these enterprising young settlers as they meet one incredible challenge after another.~~

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Private Lessons (25th Anniversary Edition) (1981) Review

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(More customer reviews)Private Lessons is one of the top grossing independent films of all time pre-Miramax. Private Lessons was released in 1981, starring Sylvia Kristal, Eric Brown, and Howard Hessman(W. K. R. P. in Cincinnati). Private Lessons was the first in a genre of soft core, teenage, wet dream, pictures.
Originally, based on the novel, Philly by Dan Greenberg. Originally, the story was supposed to be a horror story with a blackmail plot, but when Silvia Kristal was cast the producers decided to turn the story into a sex comedy.
Alan Myerson, Dan Greenberg, and Howard Hessman handle the commentary on the DVD. Generally, they reminisce about what a pain this movie was to make, but generally they say it was a good experience.
I liked this movie, but just to let you know, it has been altered from the version, which is on VHS tape. It has also been revealed that Silvia Kristal had a body double, her name is Judy Helden.
However, Ms. Helden only appears in two scenes in the movie, and they are not the famous scenes which those of us in the 35 to 40 age group, who love the movie all know. Miss Helden's scenes appear towards the end of the movie, where we see aroused nipples on a breast, in one shot of the backside that does not match up with Sylvia Kristal's.
If you are a fan of Sylvia Kristal's, you will like this movie. If you are 35 to 40, and you can remember when this movie was released. You will probably like this movie. I will close this review with a question. Do you want to feel like you are 15 again?

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The Ten Commandments (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)In terms of adjusted box office, Cecile B. DeMille's 1956 film "The Ten Commandments" is the fifth biggest grossing movie of all time, ahead of "Titanic," but behind "Gone With the Wind," "Star Wars," "The Sound of Music," and "E.T." There was a sense in which that film, with the parting of the Red Sea sequence, was the first big special effects film. Of course, the story of how Moses led the Hebrews out of Egypt had more going for it and that story is certainly worthy of further examination. Yes, "Prince of Egypt" was a musical, but it also focused more on the relationship between Moses and Ramses, who were friends growing up, rather than the rivalry we saw between Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner. Now we have this 2006 mini-series. The good news is that it does try to tell us a different part of the story in its second half, but the bad news is for every step forward there are steps backwards, and on balance this version does not come out ahead.
The mini-series aired in two parts, with the end of Part 1 being the parting of the Red Sea (not a real cliffhanger). The first part moves through the story of Moses from the night he floated down the Nile in basket to that moment in front of the Red Sea at a fast clip. Moses (Dougray Scott) grows up, kills an overseer, goes off into the desert, saves Jethro's sheep and marries his daughter, sees the burning bush and is back in Egypt telling Ramses (Paul Rhys) to let the Hebrews go. The plagues of Egypt come quickly as well, and there is a clear suggestion of how the frogs, locust, etc., were related to the Nile turning to blood. This Moses is not raised alongside Ramses, but Menerith (Naveen Andrews), the natural son of the princess, and they are the brothers who are torn and who face each other at the edge of the Red Sea. Moses has enlisted his brother Aaron (Linus Roache) to speak for him, and this version deals more with the reluctance and doubts of Moses, more so as the leader than as the deliverer of the Hebrews out of bondage.
This is little in the first half of "The Ten Commandments" to justify having made the mini-series. The only things that stood out where the idea that God wants Moses to work out some things in his own mind and the scene where Moses is forced to work as a slave, which this time is after he returns to Egypt. What is important in the first part is the idea that even before their deliverance, the Hebrews challenge the leadership of Moses. However, after the conclusion of the parting of the Red Sea the rest of the second half is devoted to the period in which the Hebrews wandered in the desert before reaching the Promised Land. This is where this version of "The Ten Commandments" starts to tell a different story, for a lot happens in the hour between the Red Sea and the Golden Calf. There is manna in the wilderness and turning the slaves into an army. Above all this there is the need for Moses the Deliver to become Moses the Law Giver. However, the impetus for this transition comes from a melodramatic irony that smacks of soap opera more than scripture.
Time and time again I question what Ron Hutchinson, who won an Emmy in 1989 for writing "Murderers Among Us: The Simon Wiesenthal Story," is doing in this story. At one point Moses is training the army and Joshua (Karim Salah) refuses because he sees being a solider as an admission of not having faith in God. Moses then tells what must be the oldest story of how God helps people; certainly it is an older version of the one Karl Malden tells to Jed Bartlett on "The West Wing." The relevance of the story to the point being made is lost because we cannot believe Moses is telling this story. However, this is a Moses who is not a cool and commanding presence. His doubts and lack of resolve are arguably the biggest reasons why the people doubt God; they have problems believing in his messenger.
I have always been bothered by the Hebrews challenging the idea that their God WAS God during the Exodus. What happened at the Red Sea should prove the point once and for all. The manna in the desert and Moses smiting a rock to bring forth water might be "minor" miracles, but they are nothing to scoff at and reminders of everything God did to get them out of bondage. Being freaked because Moses has gone up on the mountain and you think he is not coming back is one thing, but making the Golden Calf is a really bad idea. Hutchinson sticks to the book of Exodus and covers the slaughter by the sons of Levi that was the bloody aftermath of the great sin the people sinned.
This becomes the final act before the denouement where Moses sees the Promised Land but is not allowed to cross over. Hutchinson does play with Biblical chronology, because the battles they fought are covered in Numbers. However, my final complaint is not about chronology but rather that the story essentially ends with the slaying of the three thousand men, and not as Exodus does with the construction of the tabernacle and the ark, symbolizing the renewal of the covenant, which I find to be the more important part of the story. I would have preferred seeing this version of "The Ten Commandments" be restricted to what happened after they crossed the Red Seas; after all, the Hebrews forget the evidence of the power of God. The other half of the min-series could have covered the history of Numbers and Deuteronomy, the part of the Exodus that remains to be told in such a format.

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The Ten Commandments unfolds with all of the spectacle, violent human drama, and grand inspiration that have earned it its distinction as the greatest story ever told. When an oracle prophesizes that a child will become Prince of Egypt, a time of danger approaches the kingdom. The Egyptian Pharaoh orders the massacre of all newborn males. But one child, Moses--the son of a Hebrew slave--escapes certain death when he is set adrift on the Nile. As years pass, he is raised in a royal Egyptian household and, with no memory of his family, rises to the stature of prince. Upon discovery of his true heritage, and inspired by a fiery message from God, Mosesembarks upon a noble and desperate fight to reclaim his destiny as the leader and liberator of the Hebrew people. With a stellar cast that includes Mia Maestro and Golden Globe winner Omar Sharif, The Ten Commandments is unsurpassed in its vision--both intimate and grand. DVD Features include: The Making of "The Ten Commandments", Closed Captioning.

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The Penguins of Madagascar: Happy King Julien Day (2010) Review

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(More customer reviews)This DVD includes 8 Julien-Filled missions: The zoo celebrates 'King Julien Day'; Jungle Law means Julien is Jungle King; Julien steals a helmet that makes anything you think happen; Julien meets an angry kangaroo; A sick Julien leaves Maurice in charge; Julien tries to befriend the Penguins; Julien loses his crown; and Julien gets jealous of plush Mort dolls.
Which means the disk will contain
* Happy King Julien Day!
* Jungle Law
* The Helmet
* Assault & Batteries
* Kingdom Come
* ?????
* Crown Fools
* Operation: Plush & Cover

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Thriller - A Cruel Picture (1974) Review

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(More customer reviews)Mere words cannot express my excitement for this release! "Thriller: En Grym Film" aka "Thriller: A Cruel Picture", "They Call Her One Eye", "Hookers Revenge", etc, is one of the most sought after cult classics ever. Fans have had to tolerate blurred and wash out VHS bootlegs lacking subtitles for years, but that is all about to come to an end with this beautiful presentation of the film uncut on DVD thanks to Synapse, the company who brought us the awesome "Vampyros Lesbos" DVD among others.
First about the film for those who haven't seen it: Gorgeous Swedish cult siren Christina Lindberg plays Frigga who cannot speak after a childhood trauma. One day she misses her bus and accepts a ride and later a dinner date, from a rather shady character who kidnaps her. After getting her hooked on heroine, he forces her to work as a prostitute, and gouges her eye out when she refuses her first client. Frigga saves her money and pays for lessons in martial arts, race car driving and shooting, before taking her revenge on those cruel customers who used and abused her and her pimp.
As the title suggests this is one viciously bleak film. From the barren wind swept Swedish landscape and eerie electric score to the hard core sex scenes and eye gouge scene which was created using a real cadaver, "Thriller" is a truly potent cult shocker. A lot of the credit for the films impact must go to Lindberg for her brilliant performance. She draws the viewer in right from the beginning, making us feel her silent suffering and savor her revenge. Her color co-ordinated eye patches were later ripped off for Darryl Hannah's character in "Kill Bill", but this is the real deal. Lindberg is a truly striking and unforgettable cult figure, carrying a shotgun and dressed all in black she is enigmatic and certainly makes shameless plagiarizer Tartino's work look pale by comparison.
As mentioned above, this is the first DVD release ever. From early reports, Synapse's DVD transfer is stunning. Not to mention that they have gone all out to give fans some great extras:
New 16:9 Anamorphic Transfer (1.78:1)
Uncut, Uncensored Version with ALL the Sex and Gore!
Original Swedish Language or English Dub Options
Optional English Subtitles
Extensive Still Galleries of Rare Behind-the-Scenes Photos, Including Many Candid Nude Photos of Christina Lindberg on the Set!
Original TV Spot and Theatrical Trailers
Outtakes
Alternate Harbor Fight Sequence Reconstructed from Rare Vault Materials
THRILLER: A CRUEL LAB MISTAKE - Rare Photos Detailing an Unused Fight Sequence Ruined by the Film Lab During Production
THRILLER: "The Story in Pictures"
Actor/Director Filmographies
Chapter Selections
In conclusion, while this film certainly isn't for everybody, it is in my opinion the single most important cult DVD release this year! Unfortunately this DVD edition is limited to 25,000 units, so I would suggest preordering now!
P.S. 4-disc "Dawn of the Dead" is another must own!
UPDATE
I got a copy of the DVD today and though I'd add a few first hand comments to the review I'd already written now that I have personally seen the DVD. Hope it's helpful......
As soon as I opened the case I was imediately impressed with the gorgeous color insert containing linear notes and some nice photo's of sweetheart Chirstina Lindberg. The menu's on the disc were cool and exploring them I found all the great special features promised. The photo galleries were especially good, I really liked the cute shots of Christina relaxing on set in between takes.
The picture quality is great, while being overall a little soft (a few seconds seem to have being taken from a deteriated print) the colors are rich and vibrant. After only seeing the film on sloppy bootleg VHS copies, indeed viewing Synapse's DVD is as though viewing the film for the first time, stunning!
Once again, I cannot recommend this one enough.
Thank You Synapse!


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This is the film that Quentin Tarantino (Director, KILL BILL VOL. 1 & 2, PULP FICTION, RESERVOIR DOGS) called "the roughest revenge movie ever made!"… THRILLER – A CRUEL PICTURE is finally making its U.S. DVD debut in this Uncensored Limited Edition. With only 25,000 units in the total DVD production run, this cult gem will soon be gone forever! Order now so you don't miss out on THE exploitation DVD release of the year! Growing up mute after a childhood sexual assault, a young girl (played by beautiful cult starlet Christina Lindberg) spends years working on a remote farm. After missing the bus one day, she is picked up by a suave young man who takes her out to dinner, drugs her and forces her into a life of drug addiction and prostitution. Torn away from home, she rebels against her captor only to have one of her eyes gouged out as punishment (in a scene rumored to have been filmed with an actual corpse). After learning of the death of her parents and fed up with the cards life has dealt, she trains herself in the fine arts of fighting, killing and revenge. Transformed into a one-woman killing machine (and armed with a sawed-off shotgun), she uses her new skills to enact bloody revenge on those who have done her wrong. Synapse Films has painstakingly restored THRILLER – A CRUEL PICTURE from original vault materials to bring you the totally uncensored version of the ultimate revenge-exploitation movie! Originally released in the U.S. in a heavily truncated form as THEY CALL HER ONE EYE, THRILLER is presented here with all the graphic sex, violence and action intact. Over 20 minutes of additional footage has been restored!

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