The Out-of-Towners

Amazon.com

Arthur Hiller (Love Story) directed the film adaptation of Neil Simon's curious comedy about a pair of non-New Yorkers (Jack Lemmon and Sandy Dennis) having a hellish visit to the Big Apple on the eve of a job interview for Lemmon's character. Made in 1970, this hectic film almost seems ahead of its time when compared to more recent misery-piled-on-misery comedies such as Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. The couple in this film endure everything that can go wrong on a trip, including being forced to spend the night in a mugger-happy Central Park. The strange element in Simon's script, though, is that Lemmon's character is so unpleasant. A middle-class, uptight guy who can't believe that New Yorkers in the service profession don't perform their jobs slavishly, he's kind of a one-note joke that quickly wears thin. Remade with Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

If it can go wrong, it will go wrong makes for a downright irritating, not funny, film.......2007-08-11

The Peter Principle is the main reason I avoid entering the Indian Casino down the street. This movie pits a Midwestern man (Jack Lemmon) against the Peter Principle as he travels to NY City for his big chance job interview.

I am a huge Lemmon fan, but I found this movie irritating, not funny. The entire movie consists of one scene after another of, "if it can go wrong, it will go wrong." I can only imagine the grief this movie caused the New York Bureau of Tourism. Throughout the movie, Lemmon shares my irritation. In fact, that is his main demeanor throughout the film. He is irritated at all the bad breaks and he is constantly ranting, constantly rushing to try to overcome them. This got old for me about 8 minutes into the film and did not abate.

Still an unbeaten classic.......2007-01-15

Still a favorite movie, the story of a small-town couple trying to break into the big time in the big city. Jack Lemmon is George, seeking that big job that will launch his career and his family income to new heights. He is supported by his wife (Sandy Dennis) as they both struggle to adapt to a very different and less than friendly environment in New York city. The situations and hardships they must endure set them up for some classic Neil Simon comedy.

A remake with comedic giants Steve Martin, Goldie Hawn, and John Cleese is fair but still cannot improve on the original despite the stellar cast. In addition, the ending of the remake is not nearly as satisfying and "right" as the original. Jack Lemmon and Sandy Dennis are still the best out of towners.

The Out of Towners.......2007-01-09

This movie is a comedy and it is shot in the early 70's. It is a classic Jack Lemmon film. I think it is funny and it provides nostalgia. Sandy Dennis and Lemmon played off each other well. It seems they will never get through having troubles and I think we all can identify with the characters somewhat. I recommend this film to anyone who is a fan of Jack Lemmon or just happens to like comedy. There is a small part in it played by the actor Billy Dee Williams...the future Star Wars actor (among one of his many roles).

Modern comedies should emulate this movie!!.......2006-12-29

Now THIS is a funny movie! Modern comedies that seem to be spewed out on an assembly line (many of which are bad remakes, INCLUDING this movie which is nowhere NEAR as funny!) rely too much on unseemly gimmicks like nudity, foul language, special effects and horrifically distracting camera angle changes every two seconds in order to keep people watching, but The Out of Towners (rated G!) shows them all how it is done in a tasteful and howlingly funny manner! I recently told my friend about this movie as he had never seen it. I brought over my VHS copy a few days later and he laughed right along with me and now has a new movie to add to his list of favorites! This comedy is truly a hidden treasure of laughs. It's not a widely-known film, but everyone I've introduced it to has loved it!

Jack Lemmon has me laughing throughout this entire film! He was a master of comedic talents, from his facial expressions to his eccentric outbursts, and is very realistic as a harried, at-the-end-of-his-rope traveler, and is incredibly funny! I think most people can see a lot of themselves and others in George Kellerman. Sandy Dennis also does a great job as his patient, doting wife Gwen, however she too gets fed up at one point and lashes out in her own unique way.

This hilarious film has us laughing at almost all of life's mishaps, from the mildly annoying to the outrageously frustrating. Late-arriving planes, lost luggage, missed trains, getting caught in a rainstorm in downtown NY, broken heels, chipped teeth, and on and on and on. Every couple of minutes is another mishap! It never ends for these poor travelers and it's so exhaustingly funny that the ending is almost anti-climactic, although VERY fitting!

I give it 5 stars. It's engaging, well-acted, non-stop and FUNNY as hell. Oh, and did I mention it was a Neil Simon film?

Urban Nightmare Comes Alive Thanks to Neil Simon's Familiar Pen in Still-Funny Comedy.......2006-10-04

Just before tackling the treacle of "Love Story", journeyman director Arthur Hiller did a pretty decent job maneuvering this kinetic 1970 Neil Simon-penned comedy. The movie follows the misadventures of the Kellermans, an Ohio couple who journey to New York City because husband George is up for a much anticipated VP promotion in his plastics company. Wife Gwen is supportive but reticent about coming to the big city, and it turns out her hesitations are well founded. First, their flight is rerouted to Boston, and then they are crowded onto a commuter train to Grand Central Station where they are in the midst of a transit strike. The Kellermans get kidnapped in a squad car and then mugged. The Waldorf-Astoria has given away their room, and they have to spend a night in Central Park where they get mugged for a second time. George chips his front tooth on a Cracker Jack while Gwen suffers from weak ankles. The clock continues to click until George's appointment with the company president.

In typically manic form, Jack Lemmon has to play a complete jerk as George, and he luckily does not go soft with his character as he faces one indignity after another. It's just that he starts to sound more like a Neil Simon character than a real human being after a while. The shamefully underused Sandy Dennis effectively plays Gwen with cautious subservience from the outset but gradually makes her character funnier by turning her into a whining neurotic. Both actors use their familiar mannerisms maximally here, but more importantly, they are completely credible as a suburban married couple who have to lean on each other throughout. Hiller smartly uses real locations and captures an urban grittiness that makes sense within this story. Quincy Jones provides the jazzy background music here. John Hughes' partial knock-off, the equally hilarious "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" (1987), bears a more than passing resemblance to this film. Unfortunately there are no extras with the 2003 DVD.

Charles Bronson DVD Action Pack (Kinjite / Messenger of Death / Murphy's Law / 10 to Midnight)

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GRRR..BRUISIN....BRONSON'S ON DVD
An excellent sampling of Bronson's Cannon era.
Finally on DVD. Go Get them !
Return of the vigilante senior citizen...

Charles Bronson DVD Action Pack (Kinjite / Messenger of Death / Murphy's Law / 10 to Midnight)
Starring: Charles Bronson , Perry Lopez , Juan Fernández , James Pax , and Peggy Lipton
Director: J. Lee Thompson
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00007EFII
Release Date: 2003-02-04

Description

Disc 1: KINJITE Disc 2: MESSENGER OF DEATH Disc 3: MURPHY'S LAW Disc 4: 10 TO MIDNITE

Customer Reviews:

GRRR..BRUISIN....BRONSON'S ON DVD.......2005-01-30

IT'S GOOD TO SEE THAT MENACING FACE COME TO DVD, HOPEFULLY WE CAN GET BORDERLINE AND THE STONE KILLER ON DVD, THEN I WILL BE HAPPY.

An excellent sampling of Bronson's Cannon era........2004-03-28

During his winter years in the 80s, international action star Charles Bronson made movie after movie for the maligned Cannon Group Inc, the production company run by Menachem Golan and Yoram Globus. Cannon got its start making (and did quite well with) exploitation pictures and just about every one of Bronson's films for them has the flavor of grindhouse exploitation cinema in the mix. But that does not mean the movies are plain bad, or so bad they're good, far from it. While Bronson did make some clunkers (Death Wish 2 in my opinion) and a few cult classics perfect for the MST3K treatment (Death Wish 3), some of his Cannon pictures are quite good. The quite good ones were usually directed by J. Lee Thompson. This box set gathers together the Bronson/Thompson team ups, with the exception of Death Wish 4: The Crackdown. All feature widescreen anamorphic transfers, again with the exception of the not included Death Wish 4: The Crackdown. Each movie is a solid piece of entertainment where Bronson did not simply phone in an embarrassed and wooden performance. Odd trivia: the cover of the box set uses an image for Death Wish 4, did I mention it's not inlucded in this set?

10 TO MIDNIGHT (1984): Was the first thriller Thompson and Bronson worked on for Cannon (the two had previously teamed on The Evil That Men Do and, I believe, The White Buffalo) and its one of the best. Bronson plays a cop (a standard role for him when he wasn't replaying Paul Kersey in Death Wish sequel after Death Wish sequel) who matches wits with a cunning serial killer. Gene Davis plays the killer with a bemused and arrogant indifference that might appear wooden, until his mask of control slips. Andrew Stevens is Bronson's book smart partner and the lovely Lisa Eilbacher plays Bronson's estranged daughter (obviously she got her looks from her mother). Bronson grows desperate when his emotional investigation puts his daughter at risk. The characters and mind games are well set up in the script, but it degenerates into a slasher movie in the final reel. Nonetheless, it's a solidly crafted thriller.

MURPHY'S LAW (1986): Bronson is a cop (again) who is dealing with his wife's leaving him by hiding in a bottle of booze. When he is framed for her murder, he escapes (with foul mouthed girl-woman Kathleen Wilhoite shackled to his wrist) to find the real killer. Gail Morgan Hickman's script (she also wrote Death Wish 4: The Crackdown and the story for the third Dirty Harry movie, The Enforcer) won't win any awards, but the story places enough obstacles in Bronson and Wilhoite's path to keep the yarn from getting boring.

MESSENGER OF DEATH (1988): This is a real change of pace for Bronson. He plays an investigative reporter trying to get to the bottom of a mass murder that, at first, seems to be result of a venom filled blood feud between two fundalmentalist Mormon brothers. The mystery gets the emphasis over the action (though there is enough of that to keep it from getting boring) and only a rushed conclusion keeps it from being more than a tad above average.

KINJITE: FORBIDDEN SUBJECTS (1989): This was last movie from the Bronson/Thompson/Cannon team and it's the weakest. Bronson is a vice cop slowly cracking from the pressures of dealing with the sleaze soaked Job. His obsessive hunt for a particular pimp named Duke is hampered by things like due process and his teenaged daughter getting groped in a crowded bus. What he does not know is that the father of the child kidnapped by Duke is the same man who felt his daughter up on the bus! The unpleasant subject matter (molestation and child prostitution) just isn't mixed well with the standard plot. It isn't there to make commentary about the characters, it's there to either titilate or shock. The script needed a little more work ironing out those story problems to really cook.

Any fan of Bronson or Cannon or both (they're out there, I should know, I am one of them) will want this collection, as it pretty much puts the best of Bronson's Cannon years in one box. Recommended.

Finally on DVD. Go Get them !.......2003-02-28

All 4 films are directed by J. Lee Thompson. All films won't win any awards for any categories but all 4 are fun films especially for Bronson fans.

10 to Midnight from 1983 : Bronson tracks serial killer (co-stars Andrew Stevens)

Murphy's Law: Bronson is up against corrupt police force

Messenger of death: Bronson as Denver reporter up against nasty developer

Kinjite: Bronson Vs. child prostitution ring

All 4 are in wide screen anamorphic which has good picture. The sound quality is so-so (10 to midnight and Murphy's law are mono) but overall this is one box set to get for Bronson fans. Highly recommended and hopefully someone will be releasing Death Wish 2, 3, and 4.

Return of the vigilante senior citizen..........2003-01-31

At long last, Charles Bronson comes to DVD. Forget the people that tell you his best movies are 'The Magnificent Seven', 'The Great Escape', or even 'Death Wish'. For me, and countless other film-literate fans, his J Lee Thompson 80's output is the best.

This box set features:

Murphy's Law: Bronson teams up with a young female hoodlum to stop a maniac, the mafia, AND corrupt cops. Guess who wins...

10 to Midnight: Bronson manages to deliver justice to a serial killer who likes 80's soft-rock.

Messenger of Death: Bronson plays a reporter who teaches a lesson to greedy child-murdering land-developers.

Kinjite, Forbidden Subjects: Charlie displays his love for everything Japanese, in this bittersweet tale of a father's love, cultural exchange, and (surprise) vigilante justice.

Amazon.com

Weirdly marketed as a right-wing screed upon its initial release in 1973, Walking Tall is really a tragic, shockingly violent post-noir film based on various legends surrounding real-life Southern sheriff Buford Pusser. Joe Don Baker (The Natural) gives a powerful performance as Pusser, who took on determined forces of crime and corruption in his town at great personal expense. Directed with an intentionally crude force by Phil Karlson (Kansas City Confidential), one of the toughest filmmakers of the 1950s, the film's grimness does not let up, but in the end it is more likely to break hearts than turn stomachs. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

The Best of the Redneck Roughies.......2007-07-27

Back in the early to mid 70's, there was a genre in film known as Redneck Roughies. Low budget films taking place in the South consisting of car chases, fist fights, coarse language and even a boob shot here and there. Films like Max Baer's (yes, that's Jethro from the Beverly Hillbillies!)"Macon County Line", Roger Corman's "Jackson County Jail" among others fell into this genre.

But the undesputed king of these Roughies was Walking Tall. Very loosely based on the exploits of real life Alabama sheriff Buford Pusser, the story tells of a one man battle against corruption. Joe Don Baker gives a career-making (although one note) performance as the club wielding lawman ready to bash heads of anyone who gets in the way.

First he gets sliced up at a casino and lives, later he's shot in the face and lives, then he's shot all over the place by machine guns and still lives! Rasputin eat your heart out! Got to be a special kind of lawman to endure that! The film has it's share of grisly violence but no sex, just a few boob shots.

The film was a box-office sensation raking in about $17 million and made on a shoestring budget. All in all it's a good action fair but certainly no family pic. If you're into some good gritty Redneck films, this is one to see.

GOOD SEMI TRUE MOVIE.......2007-03-23

I live in the same area where this story took place & most of the people here that knew pusser tell a much different story of what really happened than these movies . Still they are very good action movies !

A True Story Turned into A Great Movie.......2007-01-30

This movie was the true story of the life of Buford Pusser who was a
nobody who run for sheriff against Al Thurman the current sheriff and
won. Joe Don Baker plays the role of Sheriff Buford Pusser, Elizabeth
Hartman plays the role of his wife Pauline Pusser and Gene Evans plays
the role of Sheriff Al Thurman. When Pussor is beaten to with in an
inch in his life that's when he decides to run for Sheriff. Pussor did
things different then Sheriff Thurman and the biggest thing was that he
didn't have a ***. When Pussor starts to clean up the town the mob gets
very upset and tries to get even with the sheriff. Does the mob go to
far in their effort to stop the sheriff from interfering in their own
personal business.

Not My Cup of Tea.......2007-01-07

This movie was a little too graphic for my taste. Joe Don Baker moves to a small town and it doesn't take long for him to get into trouble. He participates in a bar fight and some thugs slice him open. Somehow he survives the attack, but he doesn't let anything slide. He campaigns to become the new sheriff and sure enough, it happens.

Baker busts a team of folks for making some surprisingly dangerous moonshine, and does bunch of other sheriff-type stuff. But there are way more bad guys in the town than we realize, and he gets shot point blank after falling for one of their traps. Once again, it's back to the hospital where he miraculously survives, again. His pursuit of criminals becomes even more aggressive, and he shoots a crooked lady at Christmas time.

I guess you can see where this is going. People keep sending Joe Don Baker to the hospital but he just keeps coming back. The movie gets more and more violent during this progression, and I was more depressed than inspired.

If you want a lighter Joe Don Baker movie, you can always watch his infamous performance as Mitchell, the policeman with no last name.

It frightens me that this was based on a true story. While it may not be my cup of tea, the public needs to know if stuff like this is actually happening.

A All Time Classic.......2006-12-29

One of my top favorite movie's of all time. Many classic lines. Joe Don Bakers finest role. Holleywood always takes some liberties, but this film is brutal and realistic from what I've read. Even macho's will be wiping the eyes before the movie ends.

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Voice on an Angel (of course)
I'll be there
Sam Waite
This movie is a clunker
This is a Wonderful Movie - Funny and touching

I'll Be There
Starring: Joseph Alessi , Ravi Aujla , Marion Bailey , Ralph Brown , and Charlotte Church
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
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ASIN: B0000TG492
Release Date: 2004-06-01

Amazon.com

This low-key, thoroughly delightful comedy is the product of Scottish comic/actor/writer/director Craig Ferguson's goofy and sweet imagination. Ferguson plays retired rock star Paul Kerr, a 1980s sensation whose whiskey-fueled antics in a Welsh mansion land him, involuntarily, in a psychiatric hospital. In short order, an old bandmate (Ralph Brown) turns up to help Paul get sober, and a long-lost love (Jemma Redgrave) introduces the mortified musician to an adolescent daughter (Charlotte Church) he never knew he had. Lots of catching up and relationship repairs ensue, but the film is really an off-center, eccentric comedy in which quaint villagers debate the origins of guitar feedback and 75-year-old veteran actor Joss Ackland (Surviving Picasso) can be found performing Roy Orbison rockers. A pleasant surprise is golden-throated Church's acting debut; revered for years as a singing prodigy, she proves to be a natural actress and outstanding pop-song stylist. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

Voice on an Angel (of course).......2007-04-19

You can't go wrong when Charolotte Church is involved... This film was excellent and enjoyable, a must-see!

I'll be there.......2007-01-10

not bad movie, but not great. However service is first rate

Sam Waite.......2006-11-17

This movie will become a Family classic favorite and the Music is superb. Great music, script, acting, photography and directing. All without the Hollywood scat treatment. A fun and uplifting movie that all ages can enjoy.

If you wish to see Charlotte Church be an angel... and sing the music that she has become famous for... forget that. She plays a daughter with a golden voice hidden from her mother. She sings a classical piece as well as George Gershwin's Summertime aria in a manner to rival Ella Fitzgerald. That is great praise for a Welsh lady, singing a Southern American classic.

All of the the actors were awesome in their British quirkiness. The ensemble of actors brought this script to life and obviously all had great fun doing it. For most of them I do not think they were acting. They were themselves, dressed up to play and work with friends. It is they that lift this movie from the ranks of good family entertainment to superb family entertainment.

I have purchased more than one copy of this DVD movie. Many as gifts to family and friends who had never heard of it in American Theatres.

Five Stars for good entertainment.

This movie is a clunker.......2006-11-16

Wasted talent. None of the characters are believable in the roles they are portraying. Some funny stuff. Craig Ferguson can do better. Charlotte Church should stick to singing as acting is not her forte. Every thing in this movie seems forced and there is no chemistry between the characters.

This is a Wonderful Movie - Funny and touching.......2006-04-22

This is the best of the Craig Ferguson's films, Saving Grace is a close second, and The Big Tease, is a third favorite. He is a middle age rock star on the edge of losing complete control, his "saving grace" that pulls him back from the edge is to find out his has an unknown child, a teenage daughter. The whole movie is funny and touches us in lots of ways. A great movie and worth your money.

Image of an Assassination - A New Look at the Zapruder Film

Average customer rating:

Zapruder Film
just a minor correction
History as you may never see again
Zapruder was unexpectedtly caught up in history
image of an assination-A new look at rhe Zapruder film

Image of an Assassination - A New Look at the Zapruder Film
Starring: Peter Dean , Jack Franzen (II) , Julie Franzen , Irwin Schwarz , and Roy Kellerman
Director: Abraham Zapruder
Manufacturer: Mpi Home Video
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ASIN: 630507190X
Release Date: 1998-07-28

Amazon.com

This first commercially available video version of the legendary 26-second "Zapruder Film"--the 8mm record of John F. Kennedy's 1963 assassination, which was filmed by Abraham Zapruder--provoked a storm of controversy when it first appeared on video shelves. Added to the National Film Registry in 1994, this historical document remains a significant record of one of the nation's most devastating events and is still cited as a key piece of evidence in the debate over the truth of Kennedy's murder. This unprecedented release has been digitally mastered with the approval of the Zapruder family. An accompanying documentary, which explores the mastering process in detail, features a short portrait of Zapruder and a fascinating history of the film's official and unofficial showings up to the present. The tape also includes a frame-by-frame analysis of the film, a chronology of events, and additional historical video. This short film is still too gruesome and upsetting for many to watch, but Abraham Zapruder's famous home movie remains to this day one of the most controversial pieces of filmed history. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews:

Zapruder Film.......2007-08-23

It was 90 minutes of looking at the same thing regular speed, slow motion, edited regular speed, edited slow motion, good quality regular speed, good quality slow motion, etc.......

just a minor correction.......2007-01-09

Mrs. Kennedy was not trying to help the Secret Service Agent when she crawled out onto the trunk. She was trying to recover part of her husband's skull that had blown back onto the trunk. Which by the way indicates that he was shot not from the school book depository behind him but from the front right.

History as you may never see again .......2006-07-06

Eyewitnesses are given too much credibility and are notoriously inaccurate. Conspiracy buffs have fashioned an industry out of events told and retold but this footage is the best witness. It is also horrific to watch. I had heard the Parkland surgeons all talk about a head wound behind the President's right ear. They should know, they were there right? The film shows otherwise. If there is a conspiracy it is a well kept secret, show me someone who can keep a secret. If the US government is hiding evidence why is this footage available? No one can tell where a shot came from by the target's movement. The answer to where JFK's missing brain is here, the third shot pulverized it, turning it into a red mist. Had this film never existed the conspiracy people would have made millions more but the answers to their questions are in this footage. This is history which cannot be retold by bad historians or knuckleheads. See for yourself.

Zapruder was unexpectedtly caught up in history.......2006-04-27

Abraham Zapruder was a Dallas dress manufacturer who enjoyed making home movies with his Bell and Howell camera. He almost lost his opportunity to film the presidential motorcade on that fateful November day in 1963 until urged by his secretary to rush home and get his camera before it was too late. He chose a spot in Dealy Plaza which was in between The Texas School Book Depository and the infamous Grassy Knoll. Steadied by his secretary as he stood on a concrete pedestal (he was afraid of falling), Zapruder filmed the entire assassination of JFK. The 26 second film has been digitally enhanced for this DVD and offers a vivid account of the event in all of it's horrific best. It is up to the viewer to decide where the bullets came from during the shooting.

IMO, all of the shots came from the rear in the direction of the TSBD. The head shot proves this because in the very first frame (313), Kennedy's head is push forward then in the next frame the explosion of his head creates a "jet effect" which propels JFK rapidly back in his seat. No Grassy Knoll shooter IMO. It is truly amazing that Zapruder could keep his camera running and focused during the ordeal because he was screaming "They killed him!!, they killed him!!,...Being a private, quiet kind of person put him in the spotlight and haunted him for the rest of his life.

image of an assination-A new look at rhe Zapruder film.......2006-03-14

Get the edition put out by the Discovery Channel which is no longer published It contained the most important DVD disc part 7-8-9 that the goverment does not want you to see. You will probably need to settle for a copy of that disc It is quite expensive. I got a copy wich I was very happy with. It is most important and is case closed as far as I am concerned on the goverments involement in our presidents death. What else does our Goverment hide and cover-up? Most important to see. Our countrys survival depends on many more citizen becoming aware of this kind of Goverment behavior and coveup.

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Wonderful look into people's lives: if you are into that(!)
Two hours you will never get back
GENERATIONAL DRAMA PAR EXCELLENCE
AN UNFORTUNATE MISHAP FROM BEGINNING TO END
HERE IS ANOTHER WONDERFUL MOVIE THAT SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN MISSED BY MOST.

The Winter Guest
Starring: Sean Biggerstaff , Arlene Cockburn , Gary Hollywood , Phyllida Law , and Douglas Murphy
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
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ASIN: B0009VNBM4
Release Date: 2005-08-30

Description

In this astonishingly beautiful drama, recently widowed photographer Frances (Academy Award(c) winner Emma Thompson) lives with her increasingly distant son and finds her life radically changed with the arrival of her mother, Elspeth (Phyllida Law, Thompson#s real-life mother). In a remote Scottish village, this family and the people around them are forever changed on the coldest day of the year as hearts begin to melt.

Recently widowed photographer Frances (Academy Award winner Emma Thompson) lives with her increasingly distant son and finds her life radically changed with the arrival of her mother, Elspeth.

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful look into people's lives: if you are into that(!).......2007-01-10

This is NOT an action thriller. It is quiet and studied.
But it's not Disney either: it stares hard into life's
awkward joys and painful times. This is a beautiful
psychological drama
about the transitional crises at all times of life,
and I got a surprising existential epiphany from it.
(about the two basic things you need to get on in life..
..see if you can find the commonalities!)
Pre-teen angst, young teen, widowed, and end-of-life concerns,
in a pretty, stark Scottish town on a frigid day.
It's up there with Groundhog Day, The Seventh Seal,
Lost In Translation, and The Spitfire Grill in my
meaning-of-life collection. Emma got slightly not-ring-true
a few times, but they all had funny, hard, bittersweet,
and enlightened times. Lovely group meeting scenes on the beach.
Thoughtful story, great cinematography,
good philosophical stuff.

Two hours you will never get back.......2006-11-16

Great cast, excellent acting, and poor script that is full of incomplete ideas. A character piece that is for sure, The Winter Guest story line lacks motivation for what the actors are doing. There are resolves when there is no motivation for a resolve, etc. The movie wants to be good, but the script won't allow it. Save your time and if you have to see it for one of the actors, you have been warned.

GENERATIONAL DRAMA PAR EXCELLENCE.......2006-07-03

In the last few years,I had caught bits and pieces of "The WinterGueast on cable, and, finally, I'd seen enough to know it was film I wanted for my library. When an attempted taping failed,I went toAmazon for the dvd. "The Winter Guest" covers the interactions of four pairs of characters on a freezing winter day in NorthernScotland.The principal characters, a widow and her aged mother, areplayed beautifully and realistically by real-life daughter and mothers acctresses, Oscar-winner Emma Tompson and Phyllida Law.Their interactions seem such honestand believable portrayals of the uneasy and sometimes brittle relationships between adult women and their mothers.These arecharacters the viewer cannot help but care for and want to protect.

My favoriteother character set were two elderly villageladies whose lives have come to focus on the funerals they attend.These crusty oldsters obviously share a friendship of many decades, and their story is heartwrenching. Young love and pre-adolescent foibles center the stories of the other two sets of characters., The plotting, while jumping, as it mut,to tell four stories,is crisp and honest, the acting is fine, and anyone who's been in thatpartof the world will not want to getback onto the tour bus without seeing how these touchingly real little dramas are resolved.This woulld be condemned by dolts as a "Chick Flick," but this 59-year old guy related to these characters, and I loved"The Winter Guest," as did my wife.

AN UNFORTUNATE MISHAP FROM BEGINNING TO END.......2006-02-24

Oh, what wonderful music. Great score. Buy the CD. And forgo EVERYTHING else. Tis is one of those wonderful ideas which go terribly wrong. May very well have beeen a solid play, on stage, but translated, here, to film - an unmitigated DISASTER. The wonderful Phyllida Law is reduced to a cartoon of a human being. Emma Thompsen is the narciscistic central figure; a mess. Woefully unedited. The script is allowed to run rampent. Truly disappointing. Bravo to Alan Rickkman for trying. But run screaming past this one - in hopes of better.

HERE IS ANOTHER WONDERFUL MOVIE THAT SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN MISSED BY MOST........2005-11-03

THIS MOVIE IS A REAL SLEEPER.IT IS SOMEWHAT DEPRESSING. I WOULD CALL THIS A CHIC FLICK BUT I LIKED IT TOO HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.RENT OR BUY,YOU WONT BE SORRY.

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An Exciting Adventure That Kept Me At The Edge Of My Seat.
Don't Blankety-Blank With Jack Murphy!
Perhaps Bronson's best 80s flick
murphys law
charles bronson as a cop BLAH BLAH BLAH.....

Murphy's Law (1986)
Starring: Charles Bronson , Kathleen Wilhoite , Carrie Snodgress , Robert F. Lyons , and Richard Romanus
Director: J. Lee Thompson
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00007GZRJ
Release Date: 2003-02-04

Amazon.com

This thoroughly unpleasant 1986 thriller stars Charles Bronson as a cop systematically framed for one murder after another. The killings, though, turn out to be the work of a female nutcase (Carrie Snodgress) he had once sent away to prison. Everyone involved in this leans on the atrocity-and-revenge formula, particularly Bronson and director J. Lee Thompson (The Guns of Navarone), two Hollywood guys who once upon a time made plenty of classic films. Snodgress's performance is unhinged, interesting but hard to watch, as we never really got to know her onscreen after Diary of a Mad Housewife. Just think of this movie as having come from the same creepy planet as the Death Wish series. --Tom Keogh

Description

A killer on a rampage learns the hard way: "Don't mess with Jack Murphy!" Charles Bronson stars in this thrilling game of hide-and-seek between a clever psychopath and a lone lawman hellbent on reaping justice. Veteran detective Jack Murphy (Bronson) is suddenly a wanted man after he's framed for the murder of his ex-wife. Taken into custody by the very cops he works with, Murphy has no choice but to escape and hunt down the killer who set him up. But even as he pursues a false lead, Murphy is pursued by the real murderer a psychotic woman (Carrie Snodgress) out for revenge against those who institutionalized her ten years earlier including Murphy!

Customer Reviews:

An Exciting Adventure That Kept Me At The Edge Of My Seat........2007-01-06

I found this movie exciting. It had language I did not appreciate, including in a twice repeated segment dealing with the film's title, both early and very late in the movie (paraphrased):

BAD GUY: "Murphy's Law is whatever can go wrong will go wrong."

JACK MURPHY (Charles Bronson): "No, Murphy's Law is don't mess with Jack Murphy." (I use "mess"; the original word in the movie is one I would never use.)

Besides the foul language, there is nudity and gore which I did not think added anything to the story, but helped get the R rating I believe the filmmakers were aiming for.

Take all that away, and you have an excellent and suspenseful movie. You have a cop falsely accused of murder handcuffed to a young female thief who tried to rob from him earlier. The result is a relationship that makes one wonder if it is more of a september-may romance or a father-daughter relationship.

Additionally, there are plot twists that kept me guessing. I was at the edge of my seat to the end of this picture.

Take the R-rating seriously. This is not for teens. But it is a well-done adventure I really enjoyed.

Don't Blankety-Blank With Jack Murphy!.......2003-11-04

He throws his groceries at carjackers! He gargles mouthwash! He hates mayonaise! He's an alcoholic! He has a girl 104 years younger than him, hitting on him! His ex wife is a stipper! And he's framed for murder! He's Jack Murphy, a no nonsense cop framed for murder, trying to clear his name...tra-la, tra-la. The plot is as cliche as it can be, but this is Bronson, baby! Us devoted Bronson fans watch his films because he's in them and we all love the charm and presence he brings to the run of the mill 80s action formula. Actually, we could all care less what it's about as long as Bronson's kicking some butt and shooting people from time to time. This film is no exception and will please the diehard Bronson lover in us all. Plus, this movie's got one of the coolest villians that Bronson's been up against. This woman is crazy and dangerous as hell. In one scene she drowns some poor schmuck in a bathtub, then decides to throw a lamp in the tub for some added zing! I hate to sound repetitive, but ah, the 80s! Get Murphy's Law, brothers and sisters. It's a wonderful piece of bric-a-brac for your Bronson collection.

Perhaps Bronson's best 80s flick.......2003-08-01

A solid and very entertaining mid 80s Charles Bronson actioner.

Rivalled only by "The Evil That Men Do" and "10 to Midnight" for the accolade of Bronson's best movie after his 70s heyday.

I've watched this film several times and always enjoy it. Kathleen Wilhoite makes a sparkling and memorable debut and was seen recently in the first season of "24".

Bronson fans are very unlikey to be disappointed in what is - like many later Bronson pics - pretty standard good action fare elevated by the great man's personal charisma. Therefore, this film is perhaps unlikley to ensnare any new converts.

murphys law.......2003-07-17

charles bronson plays jack murphy he is trying to stop a killer jack murphy bronson is framed for murder of his wife he has no choise to escape and find the real killer the movie is full of action and thrilling game of hide and seek the movie is directed by j lee thompson and is one of bronson better older movies a must for all bronson fans

charles bronson as a cop BLAH BLAH BLAH............2002-12-28

been there done that seen it. let's move on! typical boring bronson actioner. it is very unpleasant to see bronson during the opening credits get outta bed depressed, pooped, going to the bathroom, guzzle mouthwash, and spit out in yucky fashion. there went my dinner when i saw it on tv. plus the climax w/ bronson chasing the female assassin + some goofy mobsters + a crooked cop in hollywood's famous bradbury building just drags and drags and drags... kathleen wilhoite is cute and ok but where is she now...? haven't seen her since ROAD HOUSE. want a better police thriller? go see NARC on DVD now!

Average customer rating:

Walking Tall
Starring: Joe Don Baker , Elizabeth Hartman , Gene Evans , Noah Beery Jr. , and Brenda Benet
Director: Phil Karlson
Manufacturer: Paramount Home Video
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Walking Tall, Part 2

ASIN: B000VDDDWI
Release Date: 2007-11-20

Average customer rating:

"You wouldn't know them darling. They're respectable."
Darling, you have the nicest relatives

After the Thin Man
Starring: William Powell , Myrna Loy , James Stewart , Elissa Landi , and Joseph Calleia
Director: W.S. Van Dyke
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
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ASIN: B000Q9OD76
Release Date: 2007-08-07

Description

It's New Year's Eve, Nick and Nora Charles have returned to the West Coast, and the philandering hubby of Nora's cousin has gone missing. Round up the unusual suspects. The stars (plus the four-footed one!), writers and director of The Thin Man reunite for a giddy second comedy whodunit. Myrna Loy is Nora, who by all accounts doesn't scold, doesn't nag and looks far too pretty in the morning. William Powell is Nick, retired from sleuthing but hardly retiring when it comes to a case more scrambled than the 3 A.M. eggs he whips up. And rising star James Stewart leads a tip-top supporting cast. "This is a fine way to start the New Year," Nick says as he springs Nora from lockup. Indeed, it is.

Customer Reviews:

"You wouldn't know them darling. They're respectable.".......2007-06-05

"Did I ever tell you you're the most fascinating woman this side of the Rockies?" -- Nick

"Wait'll you see my other side." -- Nora

William Powell and Myrna Loy returned as Nick and Nora Charles for the first time since "The Thin Man" and set the tone for all the entries in thie most heralded series in film history. "After the Thin Man" was a class "A" production from MGM, with W.S. Van Dyke at the helm and a good screenplay based on an original Hammett story. Nick is drinking his way to San Fransisco as he and Nora ride the rails, first class, shortly after wrapping up the celerated "Thin Man" case.

Onboard the Sunset Limited Nick and Nora pick up right where they left off, and audiences could make believe that two years hadn't passed since they'd fallen in love with the fun-loving couple with a nose for murder. The mystery in this one doesn't quite have the zip of the original, but MGM knew it was the delicious banter of Nick and Nora, placed between scotch and martinis, which audiences were thirsting for. Those fun and charming exchanges are plentiful as Nick reluctantly gets tangled up with a murder on Nora's side of the isle.

There is a fine cast but the story plays second fiddle to Nick and Nora ringing in the New Year while a jealous Asta watches over Mrs. Asta and a litter of puppies. Three murders will occur before Nick gathers all the suspects together hoping someone will slip up and give themselves away in this one. While it takes a bit too long to get there, it's so entertaining no one has had the heart to complain about it in over 70 years.

Everything was top-drawer in this series, from the art direction of Cedric Gibbons to Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed's song, "Smoke Dreams." There is some fun news at the end which teased fans with more to come from Nick and Nora and we still can't get enough of our favorite mystery couple decades later. Fun to watch, and what the movies are all about.

Darling, you have the nicest relatives.......2007-05-11

Dashiell Hammett only ever wrote one novel about Nick and Nora Charles, the wealthy hubby-and-wife detectives. But of course that didn't stop Hollywood from producing a string of Nick-and-Nora mysteries.

The first of these sequels was the solid sequel "After the Thin Man," which takes place only a few days after the original "Thin Man." While it's not as spellbindingly twisty as its predecessor, it is a genuinely good, suspenseful mystery, full of humour and

Nick (William Powell) and Nora (Myrna Loy) are just returning to New York, when they get a call from Nora's bossy Aunt K