Movies

Great deal from Amazon.com right now. Pick from 50 titles (some obviously better than others) in their 2 for $15 deal.

CLICK HERE for 2 DVDs for Only $15

Roman Polanski's brooding film noir exposes the darkest side of the land of sunshine, the Los Angeles of the 1930s, where power is the only currency--and the only real thing worth buying. Jack Nicholson is J.J. Gittes, a private eye in the Chandler mold, who during a routine straying-spouse investigation finds himself drawn deeper and deeper into a jigsaw puzzle of clues and corruption. The glamorous Evelyn Mulwray (a dazzling Faye Dunaway) and her titanic father, Noah Cross (John Huston), are at the black-hole center of this tale of treachery, incest, and political bribery. The crackling, hard-bitten script by Robert Towne won a well-deserved Oscar, and the muted color cinematography makes the goings-on seem both bleak and impossibly vibrant. Polanski himself has a brief, memorable cameo as the thug who tangles with Nicholson's nose. One of the greatest, most completely satisfying crime films of all time.

Look at the cast (Nicholson, Huston, Dunaway). Look at the director (Polanski). I will be so bold as to call Chinatown a classic. It fits the bill.

This is another movie that I had wanted to see for a long time that I never got around to renting. Thanks again to online DVD rental services, I was able to see a movie I have otherwise not gotten around to seeing.

I am having a hard time articulating what I liked so much about this one, but believe me when I say that I really liked it.

I love the mysteries throughout which you are constantly trying to sleuth along side the main character(s). My favorites, however, are the ones that take you in circles. I want plot twists. I want to be led in directions that end up being dead ends. I want to be left surprised at the ending, admitting that I never saw it coming.

Though I was not surprised at the ending of Chinatown, there certainly were plenty of twists in the plot. A longer movie, at more than 2 hours, that never dragged; Chinatown did not disappoint.

The movie was also extremely aesthetically pleasing. No, I am not referring to Faye Dunaway...entirely. The style chosen for the film was using muted colors and accenting a few greens, blues, yellows and pinks. The stark contrast between the dull scenes and strategically placed vivid colors was great.

A great movie at a great price. I will certainly be adding Chinatown to my collection.

Buy Chinatown $11.24

| Forum |

Aqua Teen Hunger Force - Volume One Disc One

From the Main Menu select Special Features. On this menu highlight the Episode Commentary and press to the right. See the pendant on Carl's chain light up. Press Enter/Select to see what I believe is an alternate opening to Episode Two: Escape From Leprechaupolis.

A car accident serves as the bouncing-off point for three separate stories.

This one was added to my viewing queue following a long and artsy review by Moyer. As he and I generally like the same movies, how could I go wrong? I guess I set myself up for a fall with that one. Bring on the irony. I never thought I would utter the following phrase, "This movie was just too dark for me."

3 LONG stories all linked around a car crash scene that opens the movie. Each story not only involves, but is centered around characters' relationships with dogs. I am not a dog person, but I do consider myself an animal lover (go figure). All three "shorts" (I use that term loosely) shows dogs getting either hurt or killed. It was not enough for me to be offended or grossed out or upset, but it did hurt my opinion of the movie.

My thoughts are not all negative towards Amores Perros. I did like how the main characters/dog owners in each story are just like the dogs with which they keep company. Parallels can easily be drawn between the characters and the dogs. In this way to suggest that we are not so unlike dogs and that we are not necessarily as civilized as we like to think was very well done.

I think the percentage of people who would like it is so small that the odds are not in your favor. If you do happen to see it and do like it, I will stand corrected. That said, good and bad both shown above, it is my recommendation that you should pass.

Buy Amores Perros $11.24

| Forum |