Collection ID 124
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, Ronald Lacey, John Rhys-Davies
Genre: Action
Studio: Paramount Pictures   Release date: 1981   Rated: PG   
Language (Country): English, Spanish, French (USA)
Summary: Archeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones is hired by the US government to find the Ark of the Covenant, before the Nazis...
My Rating:
My Review: The first movie in the franchise. Raiders of the Lost Ark firmly established Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones. The casting was perfect and Ford's portrayal of Indiana Jones is the secret ingredient that made this franchise so successful. Directed by Steven Spielberg and written (in part) by George Lucas. Starring Harrison Ford (as Dr. Indiana Jones), Karen Allen (as Romantic interest Marion Ravenwood), Paul Freeman (as Dr. René Belloq), John Rhys-Davies (as faithful Sallah), Denholm Elliot (as Dr. Marcus Brody), and many others. The story: In 1936, Dr. Jones is a tweed-suited professor of archaeology at a conservative university when he's approached by representatives of the U.S. government. They'd like to enlist Indie's help to track down a missing colleague and prevent the 'Ark of the Covenant' from falling into the hands of the Nazis! Jones packs up some gear and immediately sets off into the jungles of South America - The quest is on! The movie is creative, filled with thrills, passion and excellent special effects. An adventure unlike any other. The pacing is break-neck and the thrills non-stop. Ford's light touch of humor keeps it from getting too serious or bogging down with too much drama. Excellent storytelling merged with technically perfect film making. No wonder it won four Oscars in 1982 (Best Art/Set direction, Best visual effects, Best film editing, Best sound). The effects were old school; no cgi or ridiculous cut-away editing. The thrills felt real, the adventure like adrenaline coursing through your veins. Outstanding entertainment - I give it a 5 out of 5.

Collection ID 908
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, Ronald Lacey, John Rhys-Davies
Genre: Action
Studio: Paramount Pictures   Release date: 1981   Rated: PG   
Language (Country): English, Spanish, French (USA)
Summary: Archeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones is hired by the US government to find the Ark of the Covenant, before the Nazis...
My Rating:
My Review: The first movie in the franchise. Raiders of the Lost Ark firmly established Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones. The casting was perfect and Ford's portrayal of Indiana Jones is the secret ingredient that made this franchise so successful. Directed by Steven Spielberg and written (in part) by George Lucas. Starring Harrison Ford (as Dr. Indiana Jones), Karen Allen (as Romantic interest Marion Ravenwood), Paul Freeman (as Dr. René Belloq), John Rhys-Davies (as faithful Sallah), Denholm Elliot (as Dr. Marcus Brody), and many others. The story: In 1936, Dr. Jones is a tweed-suited professor of archaeology at a conservative university when he's approached by representatives of the U.S. government. They'd like to enlist Indie's help to track down a missing colleague and prevent the 'Ark of the Covenant' from falling into the hands of the Nazis! Jones packs up some gear and immediately sets off into the jungles of South America - The quest is on! The movie is creative, filled with thrills, passion and excellent special effects. An adventure unlike any other. The pacing is break-neck and the thrills non-stop. Ford's light touch of humor keeps it from getting too serious or bogging down with too much drama. Excellent storytelling merged with technically perfect film making. No wonder it won four Oscars in 1982 (Best Art/Set direction, Best visual effects, Best film editing, Best sound). The effects were old school; no cgi or ridiculous cut-away editing. The thrills felt real, the adventure like adrenaline coursing through your veins. Outstanding entertainment - I give it a 5 out of 5.

Collection ID 101
Director: Barry Levinson
Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise, Valeria Golino, Gerald R. Molen, Jack Murdock
Genre: Drama
Studio: United Artists   Release date: 1988   Rated: R   
Language (Country): English, French, Spanish (USA)
Summary: Selfish yuppie Charlie Babbitt's father left a fortune to his savant brother Raymond and a pittance to Charlie; they travel cross-country.
My Rating:
My Review:

Collection ID 565
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Starring: Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Terao, Jinpachi Nezu, Daisuke Ryu, Mieko Harada
Genre: Drama
Studio: Wellspring Media, In   Release date: 1985   Rated: R   
Language (Country): Japanese (Japan)
Summary: This is a magnificent movie. It is visually beautiful - the colors and the way the shots are framed are stunning. The visuals are controlled in ways that add to the poetic power of the story. I do not speak Japanese, but the sound of the language combined with the musical score also adds to the intensity of this movie. The subtitles are good, but I am sure that those who understand Japanese get even more from this story.This is not a film of Shakespeare's "King Lear". Rather, it is an adaptation and is based on the underlying themes of the play. It is not important for me to list the differences between the play and the movie, it is just important that a first time viewer not expect the Shakespearian story. If you know the play you will recognize aspects of the movie and enjoy the ways in which Kurosawa adapted the story to his own and Japanese sensibilities. It may nod to Shakespeare, but Kurosawa makes this his story. The costumes, music, and acting are superlative. For me, the trademark Kurosawa battle scenes are more wonderful here than usual. This is a masterpiece by a filmmaking virtuoso who is also a sensitive enough artist to make a spectacular movie that is also poetic, humorous and heart breaking, tender and brutal as well images that are beautiful and others that are hideous.This isn't light viewing or mind candy, but it has so much to offer that it is worth watching and learning from over and over again.
My Rating:
My Review: An epic cinematic vision from Akira Kurosawa. This is a Japanese adaptation of Shakespere's King Lear. It's not King Lear, it's a rendering of King Lear. King Lear premise, wrapped in Japanese history, social context, characters, and principles. A long movie (160 minutes), but well worth the reward. The stylized fight scenes are excellent. The locations and costumes superb. When an elderly lord steps aside to let his son's rule in his stead, they plot against him and each other. The outcome is tragic in the Shakesperean sense. Well worth the watching.

Collection ID 1266
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Starring: Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Terao, Jinpachi Nezu, Daisuke Ryu, Mieko Harada
Genre: Drama
Studio: Wellspring Media, In   Release date: 1985   Rated: R   
Language (Country): Japanese (Japan)
Summary: This is a magnificent movie. It is visually beautiful - the colors and the way the shots are framed are stunning. The visuals are controlled in ways that add to the poetic power of the story. I do not speak Japanese, but the sound of the language combined with the musical score also adds to the intensity of this movie. The subtitles are good, but I am sure that those who understand Japanese get even more from this story.This is not a film of Shakespeare's "King Lear". Rather, it is an adaptation and is based on the underlying themes of the play. It is not important for me to list the differences between the play and the movie, it is just important that a first time viewer not expect the Shakespearian story. If you know the play you will recognize aspects of the movie and enjoy the ways in which Kurosawa adapted the story to his own and Japanese sensibilities. It may nod to Shakespeare, but Kurosawa makes this his story. The costumes, music, and acting are superlative. For me, the trademark Kurosawa battle scenes are more wonderful here than usual. This is a masterpiece by a filmmaking virtuoso who is also a sensitive enough artist to make a spectacular movie that is also poetic, humorous and heart breaking, tender and brutal as well images that are beautiful and others that are hideous.This isn't light viewing or mind candy, but it has so much to offer that it is worth watching and learning from over and over again.
My Rating:
My Review: An epic cinematic vision from Akira Kurosawa. This is a Japanese adaptation of Shakespere's King Lear. It's not King Lear, it's a rendering of King Lear. King Lear premise, wrapped in Japanese history, social context, characters, and principles. A long movie (160 minutes), but well worth the reward. The stylized fight scenes are excellent. The locations and costumes superb. When an elderly lord steps aside to let his son's rule in his stead, they plot against him and each other. The outcome is tragic in the Shakesperean sense. Well worth the watching.

Collection ID 595
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Starring: Toshirô Mifune, Machiko Kyô
Genre: Drama
Studio: Criterion Collection   Release date: 1951   Rated: Unrated   
Language (Country): Japanese (Japan)
Summary: When Akira Kurasawa released this film in 1950, it was not expected to do well. When it won various awards around the world, including the Academy award for best foreign film, the reaction was one of some surprise. Now, over 50 years later, Rashomon stands as a benchmark in cinema, a film that has been copied and ripped off countless times, but never duplicated. The camera work, storytelling, script, and setting are flawless, giving us the proper mood right from the start.The start is a torrential rainstorm, where several men sit around discussing a trial they have either witnessed, or taken part in. The trial concerns the murder of a samurai and the rape of his wife, apparantly at the hands of a famous bandit (played by Toshiro Mifune, a Kurasawa favorite). The story of what actually happened is told through the point of view of the bandit, the woman, the dead man (through a spriritual medium) and a woodcutter who was there and now is standing with these men at the beginning of the film.The interesting thing is that we as the audience are left to assume what really happened, as the film gives no definitive solution. The subject is really the nature of man, and how point of view will change the perception of a scenario to favor or in some cases, cast a negative light on events that transpire.This was the first film to shoot directly at the sun. In fact, the beginning shot of the woodcutter traveling into the woods to cut lumber is breathtaking, the camera weaves in and out, up and down, through branches and leaves, showing just how far out of the way these things will be happening. The excellent DVD has a feature on the camera work, which you will find interesting and will help you when you go back to the film for a second viewing.Also included with the disc is a booklet with the two short stories Kurasawa used as the premise for the film (most notably "In the Grove")along with an excerpt from Kurasawa's book about the shooting of the film and the apprehension of the Japanese film companies about the fact that the story seemed to have no good ending. Kurasawa explained that the story was not about the solution of the murder as it was about the nature of man.Film fans need to see this movie. So many movies made in the last few years (Snake Eyes, The Usual Suspects) owe themselves to Rashomon, movies which show us points of view that are not necessarily the truth. The fact is that four people can see a situation but report it four completely different ways. What's the truth? The truth is--that's just human nature.
My Rating:
My Review: (Japanese film) subtitled in english. Another movie directed by Akira Kurasawa. Produced in 1950, this black and white movie contained some groundbreaking camera work. The opening scenes where the axeman walks through the woods is just fantastic. The use of weather as an element of the film is great. The setting is beautiful, and the story is terrific. A murder mystery where everyone sees things differently.

Collection ID 1295
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Starring: Toshirô Mifune, Machiko Kyô
Genre: Drama
Studio: Criterion Collection   Release date: 1951   Rated: Unrated   
Language (Country): Japanese (Japan)
Summary: When Akira Kurasawa released this film in 1950, it was not expected to do well. When it won various awards around the world, including the Academy award for best foreign film, the reaction was one of some surprise. Now, over 50 years later, Rashomon stands as a benchmark in cinema, a film that has been copied and ripped off countless times, but never duplicated. The camera work, storytelling, script, and setting are flawless, giving us the proper mood right from the start.The start is a torrential rainstorm, where several men sit around discussing a trial they have either witnessed, or taken part in. The trial concerns the murder of a samurai and the rape of his wife, apparantly at the hands of a famous bandit (played by Toshiro Mifune, a Kurasawa favorite). The story of what actually happened is told through the point of view of the bandit, the woman, the dead man (through a spriritual medium) and a woodcutter who was there and now is standing with these men at the beginning of the film.The interesting thing is that we as the audience are left to assume what really happened, as the film gives no definitive solution. The subject is really the nature of man, and how point of view will change the perception of a scenario to favor or in some cases, cast a negative light on events that transpire.This was the first film to shoot directly at the sun. In fact, the beginning shot of the woodcutter traveling into the woods to cut lumber is breathtaking, the camera weaves in and out, up and down, through branches and leaves, showing just how far out of the way these things will be happening. The excellent DVD has a feature on the camera work, which you will find interesting and will help you when you go back to the film for a second viewing.Also included with the disc is a booklet with the two short stories Kurasawa used as the premise for the film (most notably "In the Grove")along with an excerpt from Kurasawa's book about the shooting of the film and the apprehension of the Japanese film companies about the fact that the story seemed to have no good ending. Kurasawa explained that the story was not about the solution of the murder as it was about the nature of man.Film fans need to see this movie. So many movies made in the last few years (Snake Eyes, The Usual Suspects) owe themselves to Rashomon, movies which show us points of view that are not necessarily the truth. The fact is that four people can see a situation but report it four completely different ways. What's the truth? The truth is--that's just human nature.
My Rating:
My Review: (Japanese film) subtitled in english. Another movie directed by Akira Kurasawa. Produced in 1950, this black and white movie contained some groundbreaking camera work. The opening scenes where the axeman walks through the woods is just fantastic. The use of weather as an element of the film is great. The setting is beautiful, and the story is terrific. A murder mystery where everyone sees things differently.

Collection ID 649
Director: Antonia Bird
Starring: Guy Pearce, Robert Carlyle, David Arquette, Jeremy Davies, Jeffrey Jones
Genre: Drama
Studio: 20th Century Fox   Release date: 1999   Rated: R   
Language (Country): English (Czech Republic)
Summary: When was the last time you saw a new movie set during the 1840s? The era is the first oddball thing about "Ravenous", though by no means the last. This provocatively weird movie is essentially a vampire film crossed with the Donner party, that unfortunate band of hungry pioneers who got stuck in the wilderness with only themselves to eat. The setting here is Fort Spencer, a dismal collection of shacks huddled in the snows of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Mid-winter, a nearly dead Scotsman (Robert Carlyle, from "The Full Monty") staggers into camp with a story of desperate cannibalism. The skeleton crew (so to speak) manning the fort sets out to investigate, when... ah, but the twists and turns of this dark yarn should remain shocking. Be assured, however, that the cannibalism has just begun; this movie has cannibalism like "Titanic" had an iceberg. Director Antonia Bird ("Mad Love", "Priest") blends some humor into this scenario, especially in the final reels, but otherwise this is a fairly serious gore picture; a confused Twentieth Century Fox tried to market it as a black comedy, and the movie flopped anyway. It deserves a better fate--at the very least, it's not quite like anything else out there. The music, a brilliant collaboration between Michael Nyman ("The Piano") and Blur's Damon Albarn, is an offbeat blend of period twang and modern drone. Carlyle and Guy Pearce (of "L.A. Confidential") are fascinating in the lead roles--their sunken faces would look at home in Civil War photographs--and the eccentric supporting cast, including Jeremy Davies and David Arquette, adds flavor to the dish. "--Robert Horton"
My Rating:
My Review: A cannibalism movie?! Astonishing. This movie shocked me. It's actually a tale about a native American spirit — the Wendigo. A reluctant war hero (in the Spanish American war) is "Rewarded" with a remote posting to a wilderness area. Soon after he reports for duty, a man stumbles into the fort with tales of cannibalism. That's when the fun starts. A great movie, with some unexpected turns.

Collection ID 1345
Director: Antonia Bird
Starring: Guy Pearce, Robert Carlyle, David Arquette, Jeremy Davies, Jeffrey Jones
Genre: Drama
Studio: 20th Century Fox   Release date: 1999   Rated: R   
Language (Country): English (Czech Republic)
Summary: When was the last time you saw a new movie set during the 1840s? The era is the first oddball thing about "Ravenous", though by no means the last. This provocatively weird movie is essentially a vampire film crossed with the Donner party, that unfortunate band of hungry pioneers who got stuck in the wilderness with only themselves to eat. The setting here is Fort Spencer, a dismal collection of shacks huddled in the snows of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Mid-winter, a nearly dead Scotsman (Robert Carlyle, from "The Full Monty") staggers into camp with a story of desperate cannibalism. The skeleton crew (so to speak) manning the fort sets out to investigate, when... ah, but the twists and turns of this dark yarn should remain shocking. Be assured, however, that the cannibalism has just begun; this movie has cannibalism like "Titanic" had an iceberg. Director Antonia Bird ("Mad Love", "Priest") blends some humor into this scenario, especially in the final reels, but otherwise this is a fairly serious gore picture; a confused Twentieth Century Fox tried to market it as a black comedy, and the movie flopped anyway. It deserves a better fate--at the very least, it's not quite like anything else out there. The music, a brilliant collaboration between Michael Nyman ("The Piano") and Blur's Damon Albarn, is an offbeat blend of period twang and modern drone. Carlyle and Guy Pearce (of "L.A. Confidential") are fascinating in the lead roles--their sunken faces would look at home in Civil War photographs--and the eccentric supporting cast, including Jeremy Davies and David Arquette, adds flavor to the dish. "--Robert Horton"
My Rating:
My Review: A cannibalism movie?! Astonishing. This movie shocked me. It's actually a tale about a native American spirit — the Wendigo. A reluctant war hero (in the Spanish American war) is "Rewarded" with a remote posting to a wilderness area. Soon after he reports for duty, a man stumbles into the fort with tales of cannibalism. That's when the fun starts. A great movie, with some unexpected turns.

Collection ID 93
Director: Stuart Gordon
Starring: Jeffrey Combs, Bruce Abbott, Barbara Crampton, David Gale, Robert Sampson
Genre: Comedy
Studio: Empire Pictures   Release date: 1985   Rated: Unrated   
Language (Country): English (USA)
Summary: A dedicated student at a medical college and his girlfriend become involved in bizarre experiments centering around the re-animation of dead tissue when an odd new student arrives on campus.
My Rating:
My Review: Based upon an H.P. Lovecraft story, here is an excellent horror story - Re-Animation of the dead! One Herbert West (played by Jeffrey Combs) returns to the states after his studies in Switzerland come to a tragic end. He enlists Dan Cain (played by Bruce Abbott), a medical student in his insane scheme to resurrect the dead. The acting and direction (by Stuart Gordon - also directed From Beyond, The Pit and The Pendulum, Dagon) really bring this movie to 'life'. The visuals, dialogue, special effects and make-up were outstanding. The music (by Richard Band) was truly creepy, and the pacing excellent. The humor in this movie is far outweighed by the sheer terror and horror of the last 20 minutes. I give this over the top horror movie a 4 out of 5.