Great fun to do. Loved our kids' comments. Ready for our starring roles now, Mr. Demille! Seriously, we look a lot more poised in the final cut than we did during the shooting. This is not a spoiler: the opening scene with the "hand" chair was shot in the cleaner space and better lighting of our neighbor's yard across the street. We probably shot 15 minutes of different poses to get that 15-20 sec montage of the family. We also got along fairly well during the filming, despite the pressures to "hit the marks" and "Don't look at the camera, kids!" It helped that they were making possible a trip we wouldn't have made without the show. Hopefully we make RV trips look as simple as they are.
Reviews
9 Reviews
Three Lives
(2004)
Light and Cheesy
21 August 2006
For a "timed" competition project, this film shows real promise: an "open" feel to the scenes, despite deliberately tight camera angles, a thoughtful if not novel premise, and a decent conclusion. What's missing is any nuance to the delivery of every actor with more than two lines. Their entire air seems to be "look at me, how well I act"; instead of that effortless inhabitance of the character evidenced by actors with a lot of experience...or a lot more talent. Find a day job, guys. Also (without giving anything away) I ask you to watch the actors in the third major scene missing their marks, and the cheesy (hammy?) conclusion. These are MAJOR flaws in a very short film, evidencing either a lack of production values or production talent.
Black Dawn
(2005 Video)
Not Bad for a "B" (direct to Video)
3 January 2006
Despite some awful editing, missteps in plot, obvious fluff scenes, this is actually not a "bad" movie. What makes it uncomfortable to watch is the now aging and overweight Seagal unable to do *any* of his own stunts! The terrorists are hopeless zealots but not unbelievably so. The CIA stuff is trite but not untenably unrealistic. The cast does what they can to keep the plot moving along...and it's usually enough. Seagal's dialog (in breathy monotone) is what too often slows down the action. Timothy Carhart is perfectly cast as the female agent's supervisor: he's the *real* question-mark re good guy vs bad guy. But then most of the actors turn in credible performances. Unlike some "B" movies I didn't feel the need to turn this one off halfway thru.
Boiling Point
(I) (1993)
BO-ring
17 September 2005
When I rented a Snipes film I expected lots of martial-arts type action. This didn't have any action except jaw flapping. Whoever thought just having a dynamic actor in a movie was all it needed was wrong; but it DID gross $10 million...so I guess we're the losers. I should have known: between this & "Ticker" having Dennis Hopper in a movie is the "kiss of dearth" as far as entertainment value. The lamest part is where Hopper's character promises his (waitress?) girlfriend to take her dancing when it's all over. This was so awfully maudlin that I remember it better than anything else about the movie. What else is there to say? Why do I have to write TEN lines to say why I didn't like the movie???
Due East
(2002 TV Movie)
Quirky; certainly not "anything goes" (mild spoiler)
13 August 2005
Warning: Spoilers
I found this movie to be watchable, although Robert Forster as the pregnant teen's dad and Cybill Shepherd as the dad's hot-widow girlfriend (along with his semi-illiterate gas station mechanic) seem to be going for laughs or at least grins at times. The story wanders between the teen, her dad's romance, and divorcing neighbors so much that, after a snack break, I wondered if I was watching the same movie. Kate Capshaw as the neighbor must have demanded more scenes...
Clara Bryant gives a moving, assertive performance as a strong-willed motherless teen. A trivial bit with the small-minded school principal expelling her and then having to reverse himself is wasted as a set-up for a later school-graduation scene where she goes into labor. It was possibly the only dead-serious confrontation in the whole movie.
The ending was not unpredictable, maybe a bit too convenient. But even so, it did not detract from the story itself, which was interesting and not always comfortable.
Clara Bryant gives a moving, assertive performance as a strong-willed motherless teen. A trivial bit with the small-minded school principal expelling her and then having to reverse himself is wasted as a set-up for a later school-graduation scene where she goes into labor. It was possibly the only dead-serious confrontation in the whole movie.
The ending was not unpredictable, maybe a bit too convenient. But even so, it did not detract from the story itself, which was interesting and not always comfortable.
Alien Apocalypse
(2005 TV Movie)
So chintzy it's amusing
27 March 2005
Astronauts return from far-space probe to find alien bugs have taken over Earth for ...its wood?! Goofy yet ruthlessly homicidal alien bugs are CGI or stop-motion, seldom interacting with live actors. Plot holes abound, plus unexplained motivations, yet not many loose ends. My favorite part is the hillbilly traitors helping run slave-camp sawmills - they are even more clueless than the alien bugs! Meanders toward a predictable conclusion. This low-quality made-for-SciFi Channel flick's only redeeming value is the relentlessly self-effacing humor of Bruce Campbell, still typecast from "Army of Darkness", and if anything playing his role as a doctor too straight here.
The Shawshank Redemption
(1994)
Tim Robbins is a wonder
8 April 2004
Sucked into this movie by his earnest persona, I watched despite the (apparent) certainty that he would live out his whole life in prison for a crime he says he did not commit : a depressing thought but a totally upbeat movie as his character Andy moves from surviving to molding the lives of others in a positive way. Told from the viewpoint of fellow prisoner recounting his experiences with Robbins' character (Morgan Freeman - another delight to watch) This movie, like its protagonist, is a champ! Watch this movie! I've seen it four times and still channel-stop on it.(PS Be sure to hiss at Bob Gunton as the truly evil and hypocritical warden! A real contrast to Andy's good nature and philanthropy.)
Invitation to Hell
(1984 TV Movie)
When everyone is strongarming you to have fun...
1 October 2001
Ignore negative comments on this film: from the very start when an unsuspecting motorist runs over Lucci and she nukes him, you know who the bad guys are! An interesting investigation of the evil that lurks amid materialist splendor: don't you WANT the biggest, best, most expensive of everything??? You can HAVE it...for a price!! (Note:SCI-FI special-effects highlight the ending...)
The Last Dance
(2000 TV Movie)
Ex-high school teacher teaches her ex-student value of life.
31 October 2000
Todd is a harried hospital nurse struggling to balance his hectic work and family lives, when he has a chance contact with an elderly patient: his high school Latin teacher.
Despite the untimely departure of her husband in her twenties, she developed a love for life and appreciation of friendship that she finds she must teach him. Drawing his wife and children into her life, she helps him achieve a better understanding of the essence of his existence, as she must resolve the final details of her own. A poignant, compelling tale, sad yet upbeat.
Despite the untimely departure of her husband in her twenties, she developed a love for life and appreciation of friendship that she finds she must teach him. Drawing his wife and children into her life, she helps him achieve a better understanding of the essence of his existence, as she must resolve the final details of her own. A poignant, compelling tale, sad yet upbeat.
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