Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (Not sure what to think) 『I absolutely love the premise of this movie. A little girl's drawings come to life in her dreams. What happens when she forgets to include something in her drawing? What happens when she adds something? What if she makes someone look too angry in a drawing? Will they be angry in her dreams? What if she needs to erase something to reverse a mistake? Will the drawing let her? Will there be consequences? What a wonderfully original and very clever premise for a movie.
However...
I have to say my husband and I were disappointed. I had read so many reviews of this movie over the years and grew very intrigued to see this film. It resides on many "best ever" lists from top reviewers and it is highly acclaimed by critics and fans. So perhaps I expected too much? I thought it would be scarier and given so many great reviews, I expected it to be more entertaining. But it dragged in some places, wasn't that scary, and some of the acting was incredibly bad. But overall, it was such a clever idea for a movie, I couldn't help but continue to watch it. You simply can't turn away.
It's a very strange movie... one of those movies most people will either love or hate and that makes it very hard to recommend it to others. Overall, I think the movie itself was overrated, but the clever plot concept wasn't. And that's what saved the movie for me in the end. If someone would only remake this... because the storyline had more potential and today's actors and special effects could make it amazing.
It is hard to find this movie in a rental store, so I was forced to buy it to see it. If you have the opportunity to rent it instead, I recommend you do so before adding it to your collection. For most people, I think it's one of those movies you just HAVE to see, but only once.』
(Do not read MS Roberts' review.) 『If you have not watched this movie yet, do not read the review written by M.S. Roberts below. It is full of spoilers and gives no warning. These kind of reviews are careless and, in this case, can ruin certain elements of a movie. Paperhouse is an excellent little fantasy/horror film that most certainly is not for children. Think of it as one of Grimm's fairy tales treated the adult way.』
(It's the best, but not all will love it.) 『Before Paperhouse I didn't bother to even rate the films that would came out Australia, and New Zealand. Paperhouse is a horror movie, but it isn't gory or bloody, and most people who into horror films, would rather watch a bad horror movie with blood and monsters, than watch a good movie with no blood or evil creatures. For that reason horror fans don't always like Paperhouse the first time they see it. Also the film is directed in a certain way, and leave questions. For example, the lead character of Anna, who is played Charlotte Burke, passes out in school, and she keeps passing out throughout the entire movie: she simply falls right over, and it is never explained why. Some people are turned off by the things that were left unexplained in this movie: while others liked PAPERHOUSE the first time they saw it. I have watched Paperhouse several times, over and over again trying to figure out just what I liked about it: but those who hated never watch it again, it's just that kind of movie. It's not like BLADE 2, where you watch it because there is nothing else on: You'll either like it, or you hate it, and there is no middle. If you hate it, you'll never watch it again: but if you liked it, you'll watch it over and over until you love it. It's that kind of movie, and that's "PAPERHOUSE," that's what it is. Most of us only want to know if a movie is cool good, no matter what it's about: we'll approve a badly received movie if it wasn't as bad as were told. And PAPERHOUSE? The acting in paperhouse is played ordinary, and their actions portray the lives of real people, like the kind of people you and I meet every day: that isn't done very often in the movies. Not everyone will love the film for that: all people are different. Some of us would rather see stylized blood and guts, than a good horror movie, and that's just how it is. A horror fan will either hate PAPERHOUSE for being orignal, or they will love PAPERHOUSE for being original. If you hate it for it's originality, you'll never bother with it again: if you liked it, you'll watch it over and over again, untill ya loved it. ~ I'M CHAGAS.』
(Odd but strangely watchable) 『I agree that this is not the best film in the world but it is still not as bad as some people are making out.
It is quite atmospheric in its own way and the little girl played by the unknown Charlotte Burke portrays the lonely Anna with surprising depth. You can tell she is lonely and unhappy, her father is away and she is not well so she spends a lot of time in bed, whiling away the hours by drawing.
Anna soon finds herself dreaming about the house she has drawn, and in the house is a boy who she becomes friends with. In her bid to help her dream friend she adds things to her drawing but in doing so endangers not only him but herself.
Their only hope is to get away from the house but the house is surrounded by sinister stones that are moving toward the house and its captive occupants and in desperation Anna draws a helicopter to come and rescue them and it is here we are realise that Anna's dreams have their basis in reality and only her father can save her just as only she can save her friend in the paper house...』
(Paper (that belongs in the bin) House) 『From the director, Bernard Rose, I was expecting another great film after seeing the magnificent achievement of Candyman. By god was I wrong. This film is, without a doubt, the biggest dissapointment I had ever come across and possibly one of the worst films I had ever seen. With a rediculous plot and, oh my god, the acting was absolutely dreadful I almost turned it off half way through. But I couldnt judge something I havent seen fully. I have noticed some may think that this is one of those films that is not for the fans of violence and gore which is absolutely right. But neither is this for fans of the psychological themes with no violence. I agree completely that horror needs no violence whatsoever to be a success. Take the Blair Witch for instance. But not even violence could save this garbage. If your looking for the successful psychological horror out there, check out Session 9. 』
Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (Neither Great Nor Boring) 『This movie me reminds me of a Val Lewton picture. Big on story little on special effects. It there were any at all. The movie itself starts at the end and does flashbacks to the first movie to get to the present. As for the ape-woman, you see more of the woman then you do the ape. I thought it could used some more effects and the movie itself could be a little bit longer.』
(universal meets "tarzan" the apewoman.) 『reminding me of those 30s "tarzan" films, this universal offering is quite well done within its limits but don't expect too much. picking up where "captive wild woman" left off, the film is centred around flashbacks for the most part. i don't understand how and why evelyn ankers received top billing as she is not involved in the plot of the film. her screentime in "jungle woman" is a brief appearance in the ongoing inquest scene, and thus she is rather wasted. it is j. carroll naish who should be at the top of the cast as he is easily the central character. he gives the best performance as the scientist who takes a professional interest in the ape/woman "paula." one good scene is where "paula" stalks her potential prey by swimming underwater by the boat containing her next victim. quite creepy. if only she changed into the ape once or twice, it would give the film a lift. the ending is effective as well.』
(the ape woman lives!) 『I love these ape woman movies! More than once I've hit play and settled back and enjoyed Captive Wild Woman, Jungle Woman, and Jungle Captive. Paula Dupree is my kind of monster!』
(The Beast Within.) 『Acquanetta carries on as the lady with a simian alter ego. Although Cheelah the gorilla was shot dead at the end of"Captive Wild Woman,"the beast within still lives. A doctor (J. Carrol Naish), driven by scientific curiosity, salvages the body and revives the primate. After the recovered Cheelah disappears from the lab, the mysterious Paula Dupree appears at the country sanitarium where the good doctor carries on his tampering in God's domain. Her human hormones lead her to obsess over a young man engaged to another woman. Death and terror rule the night as Paula suffers"ape-woman"interludes sparked by her jealous rage. Brevity is a virtue realized in the tight 61 minute running time of this movie. The plot doesn't have time to go awry. Acquanetta's understated acting consists mostly of long silent stares that emphasize her deep dark eyes. Terror lurks in the trees, passes by windows, and drapes sinister shadows across one's path. Farm animals perish brutally by night. When the beast is ascendant, birds and other woodland creatures go berserk, to the consternation of those persons alone in the woods. Much is suggested, but little is displayed. The fright make-up only appears briefly in a flashback segment and again in the final scene. Perhaps this subtle terror method was done to emulate Val Lewton, as Mr. Maltin suggests. Regardless, it probably saved production costs. This is an entertaining albeit second-string entry from Universal's fright factory. It doesn't pretend to be more. Collector's of classic horror films need this movie for their personal collection. Others should adjust their expectations accordingly. ;-)』
(A dull, listless horror film.) 『Second of the Paula, the ape woman trilogy, this film plods along. Naish plays a well-intentioned scientist who comes across as a ninny (poorly written script) Acquanetta can't act. A dull film.』
Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (Welcome to the Brain Dead) 『this movie was so horrible in every department that it made me think the movie makers grabbed a camera, zipped down to some beach during spring break, hired some of the skanky kids and made this movie. There was no acting involved--just amateur college kids who vamped and hammed it up.
I was amazed to see cult actor, John Saxon, in this hideous mess. He played a cop and was so out of place with his professionalism that he made the rest of the amateur cast look like retards.
There's plenty of girls flashing their chests, especially during the wet-shirt orgy. They are so skanky looking you wonder if they later went into X-rated porno--especially the blonde who obviously reveled in being totally naked in front of thousands of her hard-drinking co-horts. Curiously, the movie makers showed no male nudity--not even a naked rump is to be found and guys usually go wild at these events, too, so many of us admirers of male bods were denied even this fleeting excitement.
I never saw what became of the so-called villian. After seeing the upteenth girl flashing her assets with glee, I hit the eject button.』
(lenzi's later day funfest) 『This movie is alot of fun. Unfortunately it's in 4:3 fullscreen and it was shot in widescreen , I bought the pal region 2 version called 'nightmare beach" which is in widescreen (it's the same movie.)This is a giallo/slasher flick that has roots back to the truly classic giallos like (by every critics standard) 'what have they done to your daughters?" (1974) and the great giallo "strip nude for your killer" (1976) those movies featured a helmeted motorcycle killer as well. And they are way above this one in every aspect. That being said this is a fun movie that transports you back to spring break in the late 1980's. The music is great hard rocking fun and the clothes styles were definately interesting. Much more fun than the sad baggy looking and bland styles of today. Umberto Lenzi did make some great movies and this is far better than his 1990's 'black demons" but it is not as good as 'eyeball" or the great giallo "seven blood stained orchids" in which lenzi did everything right. This came out a year before lenzi's 'ghosthouse' which is alot of fun too. If you don't expect greatness then you can sit back and just have a fun ride from the 1980's as the killer finds ways to off the spring breakers. It's nothing new and at the time was among the many average horror movies out there but it's still well shot and the acting is not that bad as others claimed. This can't compare in bad acting to the many horror movies that have come out that were shot by someguy and his friends with no money. Even many of those are at least entertaining though. This is above them and not as good as the older giallos from the seventies.』
(Banal) 『Perhaps it was only a matter of time before someone mixed together the spring break movie with a slasher flick. Or, should I say, a slasher flick with a spring break movie? That such a fusion took place in the late 1980s should come as no surprise since that decade saw the flowering and subsequent wilting of both of these cinematic genres. What is surprising, to me at least, is that none other than longtime Italian sleaze director Umberto Lenzi presided over this questionable hybrid. Lenzi, who made tons of memorable films from as far back as the 1950s, is probably best known for giving birth to the notorious cannibal craze with "Man From Deep River" and continuing the tradition with the nauseating "Eaten Alive." He also made the great giallo "Seven-Blood Stained Orchids," the over the top thriller "Violent Protection," and a bunch of micro-budget war flicks that have unfortunately not found their way to DVD yet. How did Lenzi go from gialli and cannibal flicks to "Welcome to Spring Break"? Because Italian film directors followed the money. If slashers made money, they made slashers. If movies about spring break made money, they made spring break movies. Easy, eh?
"Welcome to Spring Break" introduces us to several divergent individuals. First we've got college football player Skip (Nicolas De Toth) and his buddy Ronnie (Rawley Valverde) arriving in Florida to let off a little steam. Skippy botched a play during a big bowl game and constantly hears about it from people he runs into, so he's hoping some fun and sun will alleviate his woes. Second, local authorities including Sheriff Strycher (John Saxon), Coroner Willet (Michael Parks), and the Reverend Bates (Lance Le Gault) are dealing with the aftermath of the execution of Diablo (Tony Bolano), the leader of a local motorcycle gang called the Demons who went to the chair for murder. His body disappears from the local cemetery at roughly the same time a leather-clad dude on a motorcycle starts offing some of the local ladies. Third, the sister of one of Diablo's victims, Gail (Sarah Buxton), works as a mouthy bartender at one of the local watering holes soon frequented by Skip and Ronnie. Everyone starts to come together after Ronnie perishes in a dark alleyway after a confrontation with the Demons. Skip teams up with Gail to figure out who slew his friend, and both quickly end up asking the sort of pesky questions that make Strycher and his friends nervous.
It seems that the authorities have some explaining to do about the Bolano case. The Demons think that the cops framed their leader for murder in order to break up the gang, and they may well have a point. We soon learn that the killings before the execution and the ones going on now seem connected. But how could a dead killer rise from the grave to wreak bloody revenge on the community that sent him to the chair? Or is something more down to earth afoot? It soon becomes obvious that almost any of these characters could be the murderer. Why not Gail? The death of her sister provides more than enough motivation to try and frame the rest of the Demons for further atrocities. Strycher, too, seems a little strange. He goes out of his way to force Skip to leave town once he learns the young man is uncomfortably close to some deep secret. Further evidence points to Strycher when Skip and Gail find some rather embarrassing objects in his trailer home. The movie bandies about possible suspects with aplomb, only bringing us the truth in the final frames. Anyone familiar with Italian cinema knows what red herrings, multiple suspects, and a killer clad in black means: Lenzi's "Welcome to Spring Break" is a giallo film.
While I enjoy gialli, and still express surprise when I stumble over one I've never heard of before, "Welcome to Spring Break" is a rather inept film. The acting is atrocious, absolutely cringe inducing stuff that has the capacity to melt your eardrums if you don't take a break every twenty or thirty minutes. And it isn't just the no-names shouldering the blame: Michael Parks, a veteran actor of some repute, goes way overboard as the coroner tormented by a tragic secret. Moreover, the kills leave a lot to be desired. The motorcycle psycho usually dispatches his victims by means of a miniature electric chair strapped on his bike. Ridiculous? You bet, and cheesy as all get out, too. But the film's biggest flaw is its inability to successfully integrate spring break elements with the slasher theme. Lenzi throws in a bunch of stock footage of kids partying, plenty of girls strutting around in bikinis, and even has a running gag concerning one young female college student earning money for her tuition the hard way, but all of these elements don't really fit in with the rest of the film. One soon suspects they serve a more sinister purpose: padding the movie out to an acceptable runtime. The DVD contains no extras.
The Italian film industry began to decline by the early 1980s, and had one foot in the grave by the time "Welcome to Spring Break" came out in 1988. Lenzi's film shares similarities with other Italian hackfests that came out around the same time, namely casting preppy type jocks in starring roles while still allowing the cult actors of yesteryear the opportunity to earn a paycheck. I kept thinking about Joe D'Amato's "Killing Birds" while watching Lenzi's picture. Preppy actors who can't act? Check. Cult actor slumming for a paycheck? Check (Saxon here, Robert Vaughn in "Killing Birds"). Oh well, if you're a Lenzi fan you'll take the good with the bad, and this one definitely falls in the latter category. 』
(Demented like a FOX!!!!!!!!) 『Welcome to Spring Break is the best movie put out in nothing short of forever. I don't understand how others can degrade such a cinematic achievement. Think of when Ronnie Rivera dumps condoms on Skip Banacheck while telling some inapplicable parable about Easter (hiding some eggs perhaps). Think of drama like this, and realize the error of your ways. Think of the horror that springs into all hearts when the chilling heavy metal of the killer sounds. I most politely suggest that anyone who dislikes this movie think of the extended wet t-shirt contest. How can anyone resist the beauty of Welcome to Spring Break? Skip the others and get to the movie right chea, as it is better than the disturbingly passionate twist put on marriage by Hemingway in The Garden of Eden. It's a good book, but come on, reading!』
(Endless hours of amusement for the brain dead !) 『What is John Saxon doing in this ridiculous exercise in film making for morons ???
Granted Saxon was never a star, but this stinker is even worse than a lot of his other bad choices ! Anyone giving this turkey five stars must be suffering from dementia...Hey Folks, If you only miss one movie this year, make it this one !!
I'm still trying to get the stench out of my VCR......』
price：$9.95
Legend Films
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (Vincent Price is Right) 『My siblings and I grew up watching Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes on VHS tapes and on cable/satellite TV. We were disillusioned and upset when the Sci-Fi/Syfy Channel canceled it in 1999. Thank goodness for these Rifftrax DVD's. It feels like we're reunited with old friends. One can watch House on Haunted Hill(1959) with or without the audio commentary. Other than that, there are no other extra features. MST3K's Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy, and Bill Corbett poke fun of the decent, albeit gimmicky horror film House on Haunted Hill(1959) starring Vincent Price. Price plays an eccentric rich guy who offers people a million dollars to spend the night in a haunted house. This film was remade in 1999, I think.
Screaming woman: EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! Kevin Murphy: Someone found John Goodman on the toilet!
(A woman shoots Vincent Price with a gun) Bill Corbett: That was for Thriller! Do you know how many people in this country were traumatized by it?
(Commenting on actress Carol Ohmart) Mike Nelson: She's nude and she looks like Hayden Panettiere!
I hope Legend Films keeps pumping out low priced Rifftrax DVD's. Mystery Science Theater 3000 lives on...more or less.』
(Two movies in one...) 『House In Haunted Hill is the first of many movies by that name. The plot is simple, we all know it. People are invited to stay in a haunted house and will get paid 10,000 dollars if they last the night. Vincent Price is in it and I happen to like him, so that's good. Now, if you want you can watch the movie as is OR switch to the commentary with Mike Nelson, Bill Corbett and Kevin Murphy, who I think also does the little song they play over the DVD menu. They really do a good job, with all kinds of cultural references. One of the characters, for example, is named Nora. So of course they tossed in a Thin Man reference. There is also a Scooby Doo reference that made me choke on my food. Warning: don't eat food while watching this DVD. The characters are kind of stupid when you think about it - would it not be better to just all stay in the same room for the next six hours or so? Why this need to split up and make it easier to kill people? Don't they watch horror movies? I didn't notice anything that would make this unsuitable for kids, no adult language or adult jokes. It is kind of a cross between the Film Crew and MST3K. They play themselves and seem to keep it clean. Mostly clean. Somewhat clean.』
(One Favorite Classic, One Bunch of Favorite Nitwits) 『As a fan of old black and white "B" horror movies, I've always loved "House on Haunted Hill." It's pretty lame by today's blood&gore standards, but I saw it as a kid and found it scarey. I have quite a few DVD's of this movie, bought for a mere $1 during Halloween. That said, I'm also a fan of the good-ole MST3K nitwits, and this was my first Rifftrax rental. Don't expect the MST3K stuff like skits, shadows of the guys watching the movie, or even an introduction! The movie starts and the guys immediately riff in the background. You simply just HEAR, but never see them! When the movie ends, they sign off. I thought the riffing was good, especially for the two lame-brained leads who (of course) always place themselves in danger. "Lance" is always just one step away from the next concussion. They barely touch Vincent Price, but he's such a good actor and one of my favorites, so that's okay with me. I'm happy to hear the guys, even if I can't see them. That's probably why the Rifftrax DVD's are more affordable.』
(A workable, if spartan, package) 『This is a nice high-quality DVD of House on Haunted Hill. It was touch spartan; there's no subtitles of either the movie or the riffing, there's no MST3K-style video introduction (which would have been nice; would it have been hard to put a five minute pre-movie warmup, using whatever set came to hand), there's no shadows on the screen (which I've seen done with just subtitles, on the Ghostbusters DVD, IIRC), and there's not even a coming/available advertisement. There's just the movie, and two soundtracks, one with and one without riffing.
As for the meat of the material, House on Haunted Hill is a fairly classic old movie and moderately riffable. I'd place the riffs here about average for an MST3K and there was enough classic horror movie shtics and movie-specific jokes to make it worth my while.
But it is a good classic horror movie, and well worth your time watching it unMST3Ked before ruining all the surprises in the comedic mode. If you've got the DVD and haven't seen the movie, take the time to watch the original first.』 『Studio: Legend Films Inc. Release Date: 06/16/2009』
price：$1.99
Paramount
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (Escape from LA) 『As a SCI-FI Fan one cannot help from enjoying a classic movie from the 1980's. If you like the first movie Escape from New York you will like this movie.』
(Just a "bare-bones" release, but still awesome) 『"Escape from L.A." is very similar to "Escape from New York" (the plot is basically the same), but it is still an awesome film that deserves to be watched (at least) once.
Unfortunately, (at the time that this review is posted) there is no Special Edition release of "Escape from L.A." ("Escape from New York" did get a Special Edition release), so all we get in this release is just the movie.』
(Dissapointed) 『Do not waste your time on this movie, it blows. This sequel is not even close to being an "Escape From New York" which I did like. Can I get a refund Amazon?』
(ESCAPE FROM L.A.) 『GOOD ACTION FUN !
Remake/Sequel of the 1981 super hit ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK...Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) is back in this futuristic movie where Los Angeles is the home for the criminals (separared from the U.S. where the "good guys" live) and the President's Daughter is missing there with a "Black Box" that Snake is forced to recover.
Recommended for Carpenter Fans.』
(A Cheesy Sequel To Escape From N.Y.) 『ESCAPE FROM L.A. is a so-so movie, but was kind of a cheesy sequel to John Carpenter's ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK, even though ESCAPE FROM LA was more upgraded with more technology than ESCAPE FROM N.Y. was, plus ESCAPE FROM L.A. was less convincing than ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK was too.
In addition, something that didn't make a lot of sense to me in this movie was when one of the thugs is protesting at the L.A. Coliseum, he says "You may have been able to escape New York, but you wont be able to escape from LA", because I think New York City would actually be harder to escape from than Los Angeles would, since New York City is bigger, more congested, more overcrowded, and less concerned about crime than L.A. is along with the fact that LA is like heaven compared to New York City.
Therefore, having to accomplish a mission in L.A. would seem more like a downgrade of having to accomplish a mission in New York City, since things are usually quite a bit more challenging in New York City than they are in LA, despite the fact that it was kind of interesting seeing Snake Plisskin(Kurt Russell) go from being on the East Coast to the West Coast, plus it was kind of neat seeing them showing all those nice and interesting suburbs in the L.A. Area like Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Downtown L.A., Chinatown, etc., but ESCAPE FROM LA still wasn't as impressive or as significant as ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK was.
What I don't understand is why did John Carpenter or Paramount took 15 years to make a sequel to ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK.』 『KURT RUSSELL RETURNS AS OUTLAW HERO SNAKE PLISSKEN IN THIS THRILL-A-MINUTE SEQUEL TO THE HIT FUTURISTIC ADVENTURE ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK.』 『Kurt Russell reprises his role as Snake Plissken, of the near-future thrillerEscape from New York, in this reworking of that film's basic premise. Instead of New York being a maximum-security prison, this time it's L.A., which through the agency of earthquakes has become an island of the damned. This penal colony is where the film's future rulers, something very like the Moral Majority, send those deemed guilty of "moral crimes." But something has gone wrong in this new moral order, because the President's daughter has absconded to L.A. with a detonation device, and Snake is commandeered to retrieve it. The film's dark dystopia, with its satrical elements taking aim at our dwindling freedoms, and the eclipsing of democracy by narrow interests, are more the subject this time. As a result the action suffers, and the plot devices are sometimes weak and predictable. But just below the surface there is a coiled Snake ready to strike. Steve Buscemi's performance as a weasely hawker of L.A. tour maps is a standout, and the presence of Peter Fonda and Pam Grier adds to the fun. In fact, just the sight of Fonda surfing down the flooded corridor of Sunset Boulevard is reason enough to check this movie out.--Jim Gay』
price：$10.99
Image Entertainment
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (Blu-ray: Charming 80's comedy film on Blu-ray. Picture quality is a little off but overall, an improvement over the DVD release) 『In 1986, the film "Short Circuit" was released in theaters and made over $40 million domestically. The film about a US military robot gone awol after an electrical surge and eventually developing a conscience attracted moviegoers.
The film is directed by John Badham ("WarGames", "Blue Thunder", "Point of No Return") and a screenplay written by S.S. Wilson ("Wild Wild West", "Ghost Dad", "Tremors") and Brent Maddock ("Wild Wild West", "Heart and Souls", "Ghost Dad").
The film kicks off with a military testing as NOVA Robotics is showcasing five robots developed for the Department of Defense. The military looks to use these robots against Moscow (note: This film was released during the Cold War between the US and U.S.S.R.) and we see the robots taking out tanks and vehicles with their laser beams.
Due to weather, everyone is brought inside of the laboratory to celebrate the robots and a Senator requests for the PR director of NOVA Robotics Howard Marner (played by Austin Pendleton, "Glass Houses", "Dirty Work", "Christmas with the Cranks") to meet the designer Graham Crosby, Ph.D. (played by Steve Guttenberg, "Police Academy" films, "Veronica Mars", "Three Men and a Baby" films) and his partner BenJabituya (played by Fisher Stevens, "Lost", "Awake", "Undiscovered").
While the NOVA staff, military and politicians are admiring the robots, the five military robots are being prepared for the Department of Defense but while the robot No. 5 is still hooked up to a generator, a lightning bolt hits the generator which produces a surge affecting the robot.
Next thing you know, No. 5's programming has been affected and he undergoes a malfunction and as he strays around inside various rooms, he is ushered into a garbage truck and taken out of the facility and is on the loose.
Because the robots are literally military weapons, NOVA Robots officer Skroeder (played by G.W. Bailey, "Mannequin", "Police Academy" films) and other soldiers go after the robot. Skroeder has a hatred towards the robots and feels it must be destroyed but Marner and Crosby feel that the robot should be brought back in one piece.
Meanwhile, No. 5 manages to sneak into a food truck driven by Stephanie Speck (played by Ally Sheedy, "St. Elmo's Fire", "The Breakfast Club", "WarGames"). Stephanie is an animal lover and when she discovers No. 5, she automatically assumes that he is an alien from outerspace. She eventually communicates with No. 5 and tries to help him understand the world around him. Providing him books and access to television.
She eventually finds out through a mishap that No. 5 belongs to Nova Robotics and contacts them to pick up their robot but while she is with him, No. 5 accidentally jumps on a grasshopper and asks for Stephanie to reassemble it and she tells him that the insect is dead. When No. 5 figures out that disassemble means "dead", he panics and he takes Stephanie in a joyride to escape from Nova Robotics.
Meanwhile, Crosby and Jabituya managed to find Stephanie and No. 5 and Stephanie tries to explain to Crosby that the robot has a conscience but Crosby who developed the robot doesn't believe its possible since robots run via software. Skroeder and Nova Robotics manage to reclaim No. 5.
While in captivity, No. 5 (who's body is shut down) which is still awake (the head portion) manages to find a way to activate the whole body and commandeer the van and kicking out the passengers. No. 5 returns to Stephanie's home but now Stephanie must find a way to protect him. But can she trust Crosby into helping protect No. 5 from Nova Robotics?
VIDEO&AUDIO:
Surprisingly "Short Circuit" is presented in 1080i High-Definition Widescreen (2:40:1) instead of 1080p. The film has scenes that are quite vibrant and look great for a film that is 23 years old but then some parts seem a bit off at times. The good news is that there is grain present in the film but there is also dust present as well (although not that bad). The bad news is that certain indoor scenes look a bit darker. Even certain outdoor scenes seem to be dark (as if there was an overcast of clouds that came and disappeared). But overall, picture quality is a bit inconsistent at times.
As for the audio quality, the film is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (and also Dolby Digital 5.1). The film is primarily front and center channel driven. Dialogue is clear and for the most part, El DeBarge's "Who's Johnny" theme song seems to be the only scene where hear a lot of bass. But there is surround channel usage during the actions sequences and the thunderstorm but I was hoping for a more immersive lossless soundtrack but overall, the soundtrack was satisfactory.
Subtitles are in English SDH and Spanish.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
"Short Circuit" special features are in 480i Standard Definition and in Dolby Digital 2.0. Included are:
* Audio Commentary by Director John Badham and writers S.S. Wilson and Brent Maddock - The three discuss the making of the film and the storyline. Badham is very detailed in his commentary about certain scenes and bringing the script to life. * The Creation of Number 5 - (6:46) An old school featurette featuring director John Badham and the effects crew and the making of Number 5. * Cast and Crew Interviews - Featuring interviews from 1986 with Ally Sheedy (2:18), Steve Guttenberg (2:24), John Badham (2:06), Syd Mead - Talking about the production end and going to Japan to look at robots and how to make No. 5 a genuine character for the film (17:36) and Eric Allard - Discussing the special effects for the film (35:02). * Behind-the-Scenes Footage - (3:48) Behind-the-scenes clips of the making of the film and Director John Badham and crew recording certain scenes from the film. * Isolated Music and Effects Track - Watch the film with only the music and special effects. * Biographies - Text based biographies that you can view via your remote. * Production Notes - Production Notes from the original 1986 press kit. You can view and turn pages of the production notes via your remote. * Robot and Production Design Still Gallery - View the robot and production design gallery via your remote. * Original Theatrical Trailer - (1:50) The original theatrical trailer in its old school glory.
JUDGMENT CALL
I grew up watching "Short Circuit" and watched it in the theaters and watched it countless times on cable but part of the reason why I wanted to watch this film was that it was directed by John Badham, which I loved his movies "WarGames" and "Blue Thunder" and the fact that he is reunited with Ally Sheedy who was also on "WarGames" and one of my favorite actresses from the 80's.
And the fact that she and Steve Guttenberg (another favorite from the 80's) were together, let's say I was feeling nostalgic and I wanted to see "Short Circuit" again. The first thing my toddler asks me if this is a new "Wall-E" film and to tell you the truth, I never thought for once that the two look similar (but looking on Google, it seems that many have).
Overall, the film is campy but "Short Circuit" has that 80's charm. Yeah, it's campy but it's "fun campy". A robot developing a conscience and next thing you know he's dancing to El DeBarge's "Who's Johnny" and John Travolta on "Saturday Night Fever" and repeating things he sees on television. But it has its share of action as well with soldiers and an ex-boyfriend wanting to take on No. 5.
Sure, for today's audience it may not attract them but having grown up with this film, I enjoyed the film when it came out and watched it again and still enjoyed it today.
Granted, I wish I could tell parents that you can show this film to your young "Wall-E" loving toddlers but the film has its share of profanity. I actually made the mistake in thinking this was a children's film and had my son watching the film along with me. (note: Although it says PG, there is no description of why it's PG. I figured it was for the more action-based sequences).
As for the Blu-ray, it's one of the cheaper Blu-rays available to find online (usually under $10) and it's a release that is not in 1080p but 1080i. There are a good number of special features but nothing new added and for the most part, picture quality is not spectacular and the lossless soundtrack is average at best.
Overall, "Short Circuit" is fun, campy 80's film. Granted, with today's audience, "Wall-E" seems to have won the hearts of many viewers and No. 5 has been forgotten. But with a remake of "Short Circuit" being developed, for those who want to go down that nostalgic road like I did (and the fact that you can find it for under $10 which is not bad), then you may want to give this Blu-ray a try.』
(DVD Replaces VHS) 『Short Circuit is in many ways superior to Short Circuit II. Short Circuit II is still an excellent story. What we have here is the perennial (new movie every year with the same theme) affirmation of the sanctity of life movie. These two movies feature the coming of age for the robot Johnny-Five. The first movie deals with his awakening and struggle for a place in the human-society where he finds himself. He must battle the forces deployed by his creator-corporation to return him to the spare parts bin. It's a nail-biter. In the second feature he plays out a parody of Pinochio's Troubled Years as he labors in an abandoned warehouse to help "Ben" by day even as the bad-guys are trying to corrupt him to steal a fortune in diamonds by night. A robot never really sleeps. There are numerous corruptions for the young would-be citizen Johnny-Five to struggle with. As we cut to the chase again there is a flight-to-the-death struggle as Johnny-Five hangs by a thread (a crane-cable) losing power to the strains of "Where have all the good men gone ? ... I need a Hero !" ... Can help arrive in time ? Will family, friends and health-care professionals step up to save the day ? How ? Check it out and see !』
(Short Corcuit) 『Great movie for young kids. Seller sent clean, well wrapped DVD. Would recommend the seller to friends.』
(does the job...) 『I liked this when I was a kid... but I saw it so many damn times! I'm sick of it now... but go ahead and try it!』
(Fabulous movie) 『My kids&I loved it one summer when they were small and my grands absolutely giggled with glee when they saw it...great for boring rainy weather days of summer. Great any time! TIMELESS』 『Something wonderful has happened--Number Five is alive! Steve Guttenberg and Ally Sheedy co-star in this high tech comedy adventure about Number Five, a robot who escapes into the real world after he short circuits in an electrical storm and decides that he's human. Because he's carrying destructive weapons, the Defense Department and his designer (Guttenberg) are desperate to find him. But Number Five is being protected by a young woman (Sheedy) who is teaching him a gentler way of life.』 『John Badham's family-oriented adventure comedy, though obviously hatched in the wake ofE.T.andStar Wars, manages to create its own identity through a sweet tone and an affectionate sense of fun. Military robot Number 5, a well-armed killing machine, is zapped by lightning during a test and emerges with a consciousness, curiosity, a wacky sense of humor, and a new peace-loving philosophy. Ally Sheedy (who debuted in Badham's hitWarGames) is the animal lover whose home is sanctuary for a zoo-full of strays and who adopts the adolescent robot. Steve Guttenberg is the goofy but reclusive robotics designer who goes off in search of his creation to save him from the gun-happy army. The mix of gentle slapstick and innocent romance makes for a harmless family comedy. It veers toward the terminally cute, what with 5's hyperactive antics and E.T.-ish voice, and the mangled grammar of Guttenberg's East Indian sidekick (Fisher Stevens) threatens to become offensive, but Badham's breezy direction keeps the film on track. Sheedy and Guttenberg deliver spirited and engaging performances, but most importantly the robot emerges as a real person. Give credit to designer Syd Mead, an army of puppeteers and robotics operators, and the cartoony voice of Tim Blaney: Number 5 is alive.--Sean Axmaker』
price：$9.95
Strange Publications
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (Well worth the money!) 『Fantastic variety here. Little Problems by Patricia Russo was my favorite. Absolutely loved it. Cate Gardner's Nobody Smiling and The Homeless Situation by Felicity Dowker were highlights as well. Gardner's work is very surreal; I enjoyed both her entries. As an aspiring writer myself, White Paper by Rachel Green made me cringe (in a good way). Overall, a great collection. Highly recommended, especially for anyone who thinks they don't have time to read!』
Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (Dark Reunion - Vampire Diaries - Book 4) 『Okay - now we are on book four. You should know all the character's by now so I will get to the heart of it. At the end of the 3rd book - Elena sacrificed her life to save Stefan and Damon. Both boys were devastated to say the least. This book starts off with Elena's friend Bonnie being the main story teller. They have some more supernatural trouble in Fells, Virgina and they contact Elena through a Ouija board to get some help. Elena tells them to contact Stefan for help. Meanwhile Damon and Stefan went to Florence to try to start their "Elena free life". They come running back to Virgina because Stefan and Damon where told that Elena asked them to help. And that starts off the book.
I did like this book but I didn't like it as well as the first three. I think it was because I thought Elena would come back to life but that's not necessarily the case. It was still worth reading. I just missed Elena. 』
(with some very tender moments, love shines through) 『You simply MUST read this book series. Start from the beginning with Elena's diary entry and work up to the grand scale of events in "The Dark Reunion."
There is no doubt in my mind that L.J. Smith is a phenomenal storyteller. The way she weaves in words creates such a vivid image in my mind. The emotion she evokes is powerful and it should not be passed up. You should not pass up the the feelings that this book easily makes you feel with such care by the author.
Anger towards the injustice. The need to keep trying :) Fierce loyalty to what is right. To your friends. To your families. Love. Oh, how she writes of the divine beauty that is what Stephen and Elena share.
If anything, chapter 12 is simply beautiful. Of course it is tinged with bitterness, but it is epic in that the love that both Stephan and Elena hold for one another is just...so strong. Almost unheard of. I was left dumbfounded. Speechless. Chapter 12 will never leave my mind. ever. Please, you have to know what I'm talking about :) You have to read this series(!)
"The Dark Reunion" was quite the read. All coming together to fight what is basically personified as the evil, the unjust. The characters knew that had to keep trying. And they did =D I loved it.
You will never regret it once you've read this book. This treasure. This encompassing truth. 』
(---) 『I was annoyed that for the first time, Smith was recapping the previous books, but it didn't just take place in the beginning. No, throughout the book she kept summarizing past events which was really distracting from the actual present. Why would anyone read the fourth book before reading the first three? It just seems silly to include the constant recaps.
Otherwise, this one was better than all the others. It was actually a bit exciting and I did want to know what was going to happen next unlike with the other three. The details were satisfactory enough so that I could effectively picture what was happening. I can tell that Smith improved her writing by a lot since the first book.
However, the ending wasn't what I had hoped for. As soon as I read those words, I really didn't care about the last few pages. It was too unreal, and much too happy-go-lucky. That was the largest disappointment with this fourth book.』
(Was It Me, Or Was Klaus Already Dead?) 『I guess that may be my greatest annoyance with this book, the fact that in the third of the series Katherine says that she has killed Klaus and suddenly he's alive again? And not just that, but he was meant to be powerful, unbeatable, one of the originals, and then he just was beaten so easily? Just like that by a load of unresting spirits? Bit of a let down if you ask me!
But enough of the negative, I could go on to say how silly the ending was, yes it was happy but it wasn't real, but instead I'll focus on the good parts of the book, and there were quite a few. Damon especially seemed to be revealed and you learnt more about him than in any of the others. I loved the ending where Klaus is about to kill Stefan and Damon stops him. It turns out that deep down he does love his little brother after all.
It was an OK book, not really part of the trilogy, a sort of seperate story where if you liked the original ending you ignore but if you want more you read. Me, I'll carry on reading this book in years to come, as well as all LJ's others, beacuse they're just so good!』
(Final flop?) 『One thing about this book that bothered me was the description on the back. To me, it just seemed totally wrong. Maybe they just wanted it to sound all dramatic? I'm not really sure.
Well, the book revolves mainly around Bonnie. The three main characters that fans came to love throughout the first three books have shrunken roles, except for perhaps Stefan who is present frequently.
Dark power is at hand as Bonnie starts having dreams about Elena. After a frenzied warning from her lost friend, Bonnie summons Stefan for help. When she merely mentions Elena, he is compelled to go to her, joined by his brother Damon.
I was actually pretty disappointed with this book. After reading the third installment to the series (and reading the back cover), I got excited and expected some magical, amazing conclusion. Instead, I found that I was clomping through it without much enthusiasm. First of all, the transition to focusing on Bonnie rather than the three vampire heroes was a bit disconcerting for me, and though the vampires played main roles, they were not focused on quite as much.
The entire plot of the book didn't captivate me, either. I had the sense that it had been thrown together for the sake of a happier ending. And while I'm on the subject, I really wished that the endings of the third and fourth books had been tied to a happier, less corny conclusion.
What disappointed me the most was the disconnection from Elena. Though her appearances were brief, she still managed to get her picture on the book cover. I missed her journal entries, which would have been impossible to conjure based on the storyline, but since she had been set as one of the main characters from the beginning of the series, it seemed critical to know more of her thoughts and what she was going through.
If you're not too sensitive about those sort of things, don't worry about this book - you'll probably love it, especially since the ending is considerably happier than the last.』 『Elena rises from the dead and awakens the vampire brothers, Stefan and Damon, to help her save her beloved town from an inexplicable evil.』
Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (The Awakening - Vampire Diaries - Book 1) 『The Vampire Diaries is about a love triangle. It starts off with a girl, Elena, who is a snob in every possible way. Elena comes back from summer vacation and starts her senior year. This is where she first saw Stefan (good boy vampire). He is gorgeous in every way and Elena decides she wants him, but he does not want her for some reason Elena doesn't understand...Elena makes it her and her friends mission to make him hers!!! Once Stefan gives in, here comes his brother Damon (bad boy vampire) who decides he wants Elena for himself.
I really enjoyed reading this. I thought it was a - Twilight/The Forbidden Game - book. But then I remembered - The vampire diaries were written before Twilight! Again, I really enjoyed it and it made me feel young again.
』
(From Judith at J. Kaye's Book Blog) 『Elena Gilbert arrives back to her hometown, Fell's Church, after a summer long vacation. This self-proclaimed "Queen Bee" of high school doesn't start out as the most likable of characters. She does, however, come across as very believable.
A strange boy moves to the small community about the same time someone or something is savagely attacking residents. Elena soon becomes sandwiched between two brothers who want her. The feud between these brothers comes with a dark sinister history.
The Awakening is the first in The Vampire Diaries YA Series. Be sure to have book two, THE STRUGGLE, handy. L.J. Smith leaves off with a cliffhanger ending that will have you wanting to read more. 』
(I expected more from L.J. Smith) 『"Vampire Diaries" are the earlier books written by L.J. Smith and, unfortunately, it shows. I enjoyed her later trilogies "Dark Visions" and "The Forbidden Games" very much and therefore had very high hopes for "Vampire Diaries."
To my disappointment, the writing is just not as good as I came to expect from L.J. Smith. The characters are not fully developed and more often than not unlikeable. The romance also is not written very well. It is very hard to believe in passion between Elena and Stefan. The narration itself is just too choppy; multiple POVs are sometimes confusing and distracting.
However, I have to give credit L.J. Smith for creating characters and mythology that were later shamelessly "borrowed" by Stephenie Meyer. The similarities between "Vampire Diaries" and "Twilight" are undeniable. Human-vampire romance set in high school, blood lust, angst, "vegetarian" vampire - all was first written by L.J. Smith.
I will continue on reading this series and hope the books are going to get better.』
(Don't read this book if you are over 13 years old!) 『I ordered this book after reading all the Twilight and Sookie Stackhouse books and was very disappointed. I only read about fifteen pages and gave up because the book was so childish! I know that the Twilight books are young adult books also, but the story was so good I finished the entire series in a week. This book is nothing in comparison. It is only about 200 pages and has huge type. It reminded me of the books I read in sixth grade! The Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire Series are short books also, but at least they deal with adult topics and the type is of normal size. I really wanted a new vampire series to read after I finished Twilight and Sookie Stackhouse since I enjoyed the books so much and wasn't ready to leave the world of vampires yet, but the Vampire Diaries just doesn't cut it. The characters aren't developed and the writing is very immature. I think I'll try the Anne Rice vampire books instead!』
(---) 『Be warned, this is an extremely typical and cliche read. Beautiful girl falls for unbelievably sexy guy. Surprise surprise, he's a vampire!
The plot is maybe half decent but I'm not dying or even looking forward to the next one. It's not written smoothly at all. The author has a habit of breaking and moving onto the next scene or character when the scene was NOT truly over. It seems as though L.J. Smith gets bored with her own writing and moves on to the next part as quickly as possible. I really can't blame her, what with everything being vague and dull except the "exciting" parts, which are very few but take up pages whereas other building scenes may only get a few paragraphs.
The story and characters themselves are really too boring to bother mentioning.
I'd only recommend this for those looking for a quick series; even though I haven't read the others yet it's pretty obvious that it's going nowhere way too fast. The "Blue Bloods" series and "Twilight" series had much more finesse and development. Granted, both of those series have present time in their favor, but even the one-shot "The Silver Kiss", which was published only a year later than this novel, beat it by a long shot.』 『A Love Triangle of Unspeakable Horror...
Elena Searching for the ultimate thrill, she vowed to have Stefan.
Stefan Haunted by his tragic past, he struggled to resist her passion.
Damon Driven by revenge, he hunted the brother who betrayed him.
The terrifying story of two vampire brothers and the beautiful girl torn between them.』
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>,Charlotte Burke,Jane Bertish,Samantha Cahill,Glenne Headly,Sarah Newbold
