Brian Downey

Average customer rating:

a good film
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (Spoilers)
Paramount Confirms NO EXTRAS!!!!!!!! = No Sale
Unnecessary Cover Art
Excellent movie

Zodiac (Widescreen Edition)
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal , Robert Downey Jr. , Mark Ruffalo , Brian Cox , and Chloe Sevigny
Manufacturer: Paramount Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Suspense | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Mystery | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Shooter (Widescreen Edition)
Breach (Widescreen Edition)
The Departed (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Ghost Rider (Two-Disc Extended Cut) [Region 99]
The Good Shepherd (Widescreen Edition)

ASIN: B000QUCNP4
Release Date: 2007-07-24

Amazon.com

Closer in spirit to a police procedural than a gory serial-killer flick, David Fincher's Zodiac provides a sleek, armrest-gripping re-invention of the crime film. It surveys the investigation of the Zodiac killings that terrorized the San Francisco Bay area in the late -60-early -70s; Zodiac not only killed people, but cultivated a Jack the Ripper aura by sending icky letters to the newspapers and daring readers to solve coded messages. But the film's focus isn't on the killer. We follow the reporters and detectives whose lives are taken over by the case, notably an addictive crime writer (a sartorially splendid Robert Downey Jr.), an awkward editorial cartoonist (Jake Gyllenhaal), and a hard-working cop (Mark Ruffalo). Fincher and his brilliant cinematographer Harris Savides are deft at capturing the period feel of the city, without laying on the seventies kitsch, and James Vanderbilt's script doles out its big moments to major and minor characters alike. Fincher's confidence is infectious; the movie glides through its myriad details with such dexterity that even the blind alleys and red herrings seem essential. The well-chosen cast includes unexpected people popping up all over: Anthony Edwards as a lunch-bucket homicide cop; Charles Fleischer as a mysterious suspect; Elias Koteas and Donal Logue as small-town policemen whose districts are hit by Zodiac; Chloe Sevigny as Gyllenhaal's sweet-natured wife; Brian Cox as the media-friendly lawyer Melvin Belli, so famous he once appeared on Star Trek; and the mighty John Carroll Lynch, as a supremely creepy suspect. The film is based on non-fiction books by Robert Graysmith (he's portrayed by Gyllenhaal), although Fincher and co. did extensive research on their own. The result is a propulsive whodunit without (thus far) an ending, but the uncertainty makes the film even more intriguing. --Robert Horton

Beyond Zodiac <table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="4" cellpadding="4"> <tr align="center" valign="top" class="tiny"> <td width="33%"> <img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000FJGR7G.01.TZZZZZZZ.jpg" border="0">
The Zodiac (2005) </td> <td width="33%"> <img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000NOIVTK.01.TZZZZZZZ.jpg" border="0">
Curse of the Zodiac (2007) </td> <td width="33%"> <img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0425212181.01.TZZZZZZZ.jpg" border="0">
The Novel</td> </tr> </table> Stills from Zodiac (click for larger image) <table border="0" cellpadding="4" width="100%" cellspacing="4">

</tr> </table>

Customer Reviews:

a good film.......2007-06-11

Zodiac is Fincher's most mature work to date. Whilst I enjoyed Se7en and Fight Club, they were a little showy--daring, but striving to be different. Zodiac is a more classical type of work; it's simply told, and Fincher let's the case draw the reader in rather than relying on effects. He draws two excellent performances from Robert Downey Jr and Jake Gyllenhaal. I can see why some critics think Downey is the best actor of his generation; his performance here is so real it's unnerving. Presumably drawing on his own addictions, Downey makes his character raw, and watching the performance is a moving experience. Gyllenhaal takes on the kind of role that Michael J. Fox did in Casualties of War--a kind of observer role (at least for a lot of the film). It's easy to overlook this kind of performance--it's super subtle and finely tuned. Fincher has never made a film this good, and I look forward to seeing what he does next.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (Spoilers).......2007-06-10

Most unsuspecting movie-goers would have been falsely led into believing that this would be a slash-fest. Even more so, coming from the director of "Se7en". What most of them probably forgot that he was also responsible for 1999's most cerebral film: Fight Club.

As the tagline goes: There's more than one way to lose your life to a killer. It perhaps sums up the whole thesis or gist of the film. Even though this film is about the elusive Zodiac killings that plagued San Fransisco in the late 60s, well into the 70s; it is actually a by-the-book standard procedural investigative drama. It is not so much of a murder mystery that every Agatha Christie's fans will be anticipating. Even though the real identity of Zodiac remains the "Macguffin" of the whole movie.

This film is broken down into 3 main acts. The first act consist of flamboyant journalist, Paul Avery, played with equal flamboyance by ex-alcoholic Robert Downey Jr., whose initial disinterest and outward passiveness hides a dark and unhealthy obsession over the killings and the killer himself. Interestingly, the film managed to hide his obsession, well into the third act.

The second act plays out like a fly-on-the-wall docudrama CSI-style drama series. The focus here is on Mark Ruffalo's homicide detective whose persistence and perseverance is well commended but again, leads to a cul-de-sac.

The final act unravels itself with an understated role played by Jake Gyllenhaal, who plays the author of the book of which of the film was based on. Gyllenhaal imbues a subdued performance in the first act, only to shine out with an equal, if not surpassing Paul Avery's obsession, morbid obsession over the killer's identity. Even though not explicitly shown, his whole social and family life falls apart as his obsession deepens.

Throughout all these acts, the catalyst that glues all three characters is the Zodiac killer or suspect himself. The killings portrayed which are punctuated throughout all three acts, were no doubt stylish and even shocking. But the real deal comes from John Carroll Lynch, who plays the only prime suspect in the whole affair. Quite a remarkable intense, albeit brief performance.

David Fincher weaves a fine tale of obsession that probably put Brian DePalma's "Black Dahlia" in disgrace. All three protagonists' lives are intertwined with each other, all hurtling towards disappointment, delusions and ultimately, in Graysmith's case, a catharsis that is so anti-climatic that will leave the audience questioning themselves, whether all that effort was really worth it.

Paramount Confirms NO EXTRAS!!!!!!!! = No Sale .......2007-06-09

Paramount has confirmed there are NO extras to be released on this DVD release. No word if we will ever see a Special Edition since the box office results were poor. But I WILL NOT buy a bare bones David Fincher DVD. No EXTRAS = NO SALE the Films would have 5 Stars This release 0 Stars

Unnecessary Cover Art.......2007-06-05

Loved the movie, will buy the DVD, even though this single-disc release of a three-hour feature means there will be a later "Collector's Edition" release on the horizon. But what's with the terrible cover art? The original poster of just the bridge, the fog and the film's title was a thing of beauty. Granted, the marketing types feel it's absolutely necessary to have the actors' faces plastered on the DVD covers. But that image of Jake Gyllenhaal looks more like an artist's rendering of a fugitive suspect than an actual photograph of the actor (not to mention the fact that he looks more than a little cross-eyed and Neanderthal-ish).

Excellent movie.......2007-06-03

This is an excellent movie. Just fascinating. Even the music soundtrack is good - Donovan's Hurdy Gurdy Man is really kinda spooky. But this movie is more like Helter Skelter - not scary per se, as it focuses on the investigation - it's not a horror movie.

I highly recommend this movie.

Revenge of the Nerds: The Atomic Wedgie Collection

Average customer rating:

Remake
NNNNNeeeeeerrrrrrrdssssss!!!!! Where is the 3-D?
Nerds
FINALLY AT LAST Fox Video has done it!
Nerds!!!!

Revenge of the Nerds: The Atomic Wedgie Collection
Starring: Robert Carradine , Ted McGinley , Curtis Armstrong , Julia Montgomery , and Gregg Binkley
Director: Roland Mesa , Joe Roth , and Steve Zacharias
Manufacturer: Fox Home Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

School Days | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

Comedy | Cult Movies | Genres | DVD | Video

Comedy | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( R ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Special Editions | Fully Loaded DVDs | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Harry and the Hendersons (Special Edition)
South Park - The Complete Ninth Season
Rocky Balboa [Region 99]
Ghost Rider (Two-Disc Extended Cut) [Region 99]
Casino Royale (2-Disc Widescreen Edition) [Region 99]

ASIN: B000M341R8
Release Date: 2007-03-06

Description

Disc 1: Revenge of the Nerds Special Edition Disc 2: Revenge of the Nerds 2: Nerds In Paradise Disc 3: Revenge of the Nerds 3: Next Generation Disc 4: Revenge of the Nerds 4: Nerds In Love

Customer Reviews:

Remake .......2007-05-10

For those that love Revenge of the Nerds know that there is cuurently a remake in production as we speak.

NNNNNeeeeeerrrrrrrdssssss!!!!! Where is the 3-D?.......2007-04-17

Yes Part 4: Nerds in love was release for TV in 3-D.So, Where is it?The rest are great.But the 3-D make a great addition to Nerds in love

Nerds.......2007-03-15

I LOVE REVENGE OF THE NERDS

This 4 movie set covers the two theaterical film and the two TV films. Lewis (Lizzie McGuire's Robert Carradine)and his nerd buddies fight again NERD Prejudices

This is one of those films set if you reveal more than you should, and you spoil the fun. Lets just say this, NERDS RULE!

Bennet Pomerantz AUDIOWORLD

FINALLY AT LAST Fox Video has done it!.......2007-03-02

Well I am glad that Fox Video FINALLY made this Nerd quadrilogy set. Frankly I was hoping that they would've just gone and put Nerds III and Nerds IV back to back like they did I & 2. But they didn't. This means that I will have to part with my Nerds I & Nerds II DVD and buy this one. I think all four of them are awesome however I think they could've kept the same cast members in ALL four because Robert Caradine seems to be the only one who comes back in ALL four. I will say this, Latimore and Booger make come backs. Anyway, my comments go to Fox Video "WAY TO GO" I am glad you put this out.

Nerds!!!!.......2007-01-13

This is one of those movies series that when I think about they remind me of all the saturdays in middle school where I would stay up till 4am watching all the old movies my parents and much-older siblings had laying around in our movie collection.

'Revenge of the Nerds' is the perfect middle-school/high-school movie in every since of the phrase. It is cheap/slackstick/sexual humor, but unlike a lot of newer movies along the same lines ('American Pie,' 'Eurotrip,' 'The 40-Year-Old Virgin') it never feel gratuitous, eventhough the language is much more questionable. The plot itself follows two best-friend nerds durring their fall semester of their freshman year. When they are kicked out of the dorms, they along with fellow 'outcasts' band together and start their own fraturnity and cause problems for their fellow Fraturnity full of Jocks.

The Second movies features almost all of the entire original cast (Anthony Edwards only appears in the first 3-minutes of the film), as they take a trip down the Miami for a natual 'Fraturnity Leadership Meeting' and of course chaos insues.

The third film takes place a good 10/15 years after the events of the second movie, and thus has a completly different tone than the previous two. This movie was original made-for-TV so already from the beginning the humor is more slapstick (and much less sexual), and its dare-I-say almost 'family freiendly'. In the movie Louis' nephue moves off to college to find the college overrun with Nerds, but the Dean trying to get rid of them all.

The Fourth (and final film) I have only viewed once, but it is another 'made-for-tv' movie that follows the surviving nerds (now in their late 30s/early 40s) getting married and starting their families.

Dear America - Letters Home from Vietnam

Average customer rating:

very enjoyable/sad..brings out lots of emotions..
dear america letters home from vietnam
excellent documentary
They Walked Like Men
just like it was

Dear America - Letters Home from Vietnam
Starring: Tom Berenger , Ellen Burstyn , J. Kenneth Campbell , Richard Chaves , and Josh Cruze
Director: Bill Couturié
Manufacturer: Hbo Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

Numbers & Letters | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( D ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam
In the Year of the Pig
The Atomic Cafe
Last Letters Home - Voices of American Troops from the Battlefields of Iraq
National Geographic - Vietnam's Unseen War - Pictures from the Other Side

ASIN: B000ARXF7S
Release Date: 2005-11-01

Amazon.com

All the confusion, pain, despair, and even hope of the men and women who served in Vietnam is captured in Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam. Read by dozens of actors such as Harvey Keitel, Matt Dillon, and Kathleen Turner, these letters show a more human story of the war than we see in most media outlets and reveal real people in real situations trying to explain or understand. The footage, some newsreel, some shot by the servicemen and servicewomen, reveals a tension between the soldiers' actual experiences and the presentation their loved ones received from television. The soundtrack weaves the songs of the 1960s with the readings to create a compelling aural snapshot of the time, which complements the video exceptionally well. While it's not a "feel-good" movie, the viewer does get a sense of the indestructibility of human dreams. --Rob Lightner

Description

This classic HBO documentary features reenactments of actual letters written by soldiers during the Vietnam war. In each case, a famous celebrity voice (Martin Sheen, Michael J. Fox, Robin Williams, and others) reads the letters to us.

Customer Reviews:

very enjoyable/sad..brings out lots of emotions.........2007-05-14

I really enjoyed this DVD..It's not a movie per say...but a compilation of different stories..that all center around a common theme. The footage was nice because it was real...no cheesy reinactments..and the music was awesome and used at the right times. Worth buying if you like anything related to Vietnam or this era/time in history.

dear america letters home from vietnam.......2007-04-12

great documentary on life and attitudes during the vietnam war.

excellent documentary.......2007-04-01

This documentary is for all military historians and buffs alike,very good footage shot from the war, and very good narration. Great music from the era too.

They Walked Like Men.......2007-01-23

Our great battle in Vietnam was Long Tan, 1968 when a couple hundred Australians and Kiwi artillery, killed 1000 NVA or VC in a rubber plantation. The battle of Long Tan took place during a tropical downpour deliberately used by the enemy to hamper ANZAC defenses.
(Just thought I owed our "Diggers" their due before I begin!)

Dear America does a good job in giving you the "feel" of the war to the average soldier by seperating the "Americans:" the 19 year old boys who've largely never been outside the USA in their lives from "America" with its "falling dominos" foreign policy, that in Sen. Wayne Morse's words, would "lead to the deaths of untold American boys - and for nothing."

The letters home, trace well the shifting mood of these boys; the white poor and minorities, the kids who could not afford to use enrolement in college to avoid the draft. We see them going from their youthful "mugging" on 8mm home movies in the early days to the later TV pictures of exahusted soldiers on patrol in (&2 Dylan's) "Hard Rain," or telling of their confusion, "they say we're fighting for something, but I don't know - I'll be so glad to go home."
Yet, as another soldier wrote, "even though most men thought the war was being fought incorrectly and we would not win....they went out and risked their lives as if they were defending the continental USA."

Aside from the perspective of the individual soldier and the music takes (me at least) back to the 60s era, "Dear America" has the pace and structure of a Hollywood production. In fact "Dear America" is so engrosing that at times you had to remind yourself that this was indeed real! For example the "Grunt's Primer" montage to the Stone's "Gimme Shelter" is in the same league as the Helicopter attack in "Apocalypse Now." And, watch the title sequence for John Fogerty's "Fortunate Son," the "Grunts'" ironic anthem of the war. Personally, I think the words of that song are so telling that they should have gone up on screen as Creedence Clearwater played.

Fortunate Son and the rest of the music the boys listened to and their letters home combine to make Dear America as powerful a statement about war as the 1930 version of "All Quiet on the Western Front."

"Dear America," like "All Quiet," is a well constructed narrative, that brings presence and even urgency to a war now fading into history.

just like it was.......2007-01-16

I purchased this dvd for my husband who served in vietnam 498th dustoff 67. He said if anyone wanted to know what it was like over there this is the documentary to watch.It was so realistic the only thing that was missing was the stink and the heat.It captures the look of the american soldier that hollywood hasnt been able to reproduce

Average customer rating:

a good film
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (Spoilers)
Paramount Confirms NO EXTRAS!!!!!!!! = No Sale
Unnecessary Cover Art
Excellent movie

Zodiac (Full Screen Edition)
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal , Robert Downey Jr. , Mark Ruffalo , Brian Cox , and Chloe Sevigny
Manufacturer: Paramount Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Shooter (Widescreen Edition)
Breach (Widescreen Edition)
The Departed (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Ghost Rider (Two-Disc Extended Cut) [Region 99]
The Good Shepherd (Widescreen Edition)

ASIN: B000QUCNOU
Release Date: 2007-07-24

Amazon.com

</tr> </table>

Customer Reviews:

a good film.......2007-06-11

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (Spoilers).......2007-06-10

Paramount Confirms NO EXTRAS!!!!!!!! = No Sale .......2007-06-09

Unnecessary Cover Art.......2007-06-05

Excellent movie.......2007-06-03

Average customer rating:

O.K!
Film for addicts...not everyone else
Pretty Boys Make Nice Graves.
The years have not been kind ...
This could have been a good movie about excess

Less Than Zero
Starring: Andrew McCarthy , Jami Gertz , Robert Downey Jr. , James Spader , and Tony Bill
Director: Marek Kanievska
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Tuff Turf
The Rules of Attraction
St. Elmo's Fire [Region 99]
Pretty in Pink (Special Collector's Edition)
Less Than Zero

ASIN: B00005V9IH
Release Date: 2002-03-05

Product Description

In a spellbinding dramatic performance, Robert Downey, Jr. portrays Julian, a Beverly Hills brat who has it all: looks, charm, smarts, a rich father and a drug habit. His friend and girlfriend (Andrew McCarthy and Jami Gertz) are trying to help, but Julian's world is crumbling so fast, he might take them out with him. The result is a powerful and compelling story of three kids who started out with everything and are about to wind up with Less Than Zero.

System Requirements:

Running Time 98 Min

Format: DVD MOVIE

Amazon.com

Dreary, pointless late-'80s novel by literary poseur Bret Easton Ellis focused on listless, shiftless, drug-sniffing, sex-swapping, dead-end California teens with too much money and time on their hands. Which just about sums up this movie, though it's not nearly as interesting as that. This is mostly due to the ridiculously cleaned-up script and lifeless direction, which whitewashes the baser depravity and replaces it with perversion-lite and fashion shows. It doesn't help that director Marek Kanievska is saddled with Brat Pack lesser (make that least) lights Andrew McCarthy and Jami Gertz. The only things that lift this film above the muck are the performances by James Spader as a particularly heinous drug dealer and Robert Downey Jr. as a rich-kid addict with no self-control. --Marshall Fine

Customer Reviews:

O.K!.......2007-04-13

I think what mostly has a lot of people frustrated about this movie (myself included) is that it's exactly opposite from the book. With that being said, I think they also wanted to somewhat bring some resolution to the movie that wasn't in the book. I guess I'm torn in this review for the simple fact that even though I know this movie is not like the book, I still didn't altogether hate it (I didn't love it either). Don't get me wrong, they seriously twisted the details as far as the way the book actually goes, but in the book nothing is solved. The same way you start at page 1 is the same way you'll end up at page 200. This movie is sad and depressing, and that's exactly what the book is, but the movie would've been better if they wouldn't have deliberately changed so much. In the book, Clay wasn't the hero, he was an addict too. Secondly, this movie focuses only on Julien's addiction, but Julien isn't even in the book until the end. Thirdly, the real slap in the face to the fans is that Julien..DOESN'T DIE! Don't get me wrong, I guess with the movie they wanted to bring forth a resolution while emphasizing not to do drugs because this is ultimately what your life could be. It just didn't manage to impress any fans of the novel though. I must admit the one good thing this movie did have going for it was James Spader. James Spader was definitely in his comfort zone though seeing as how he played the bully/bad guy in all of the movies he did in the 80's. It doesn't matter he still rocked it though. Ultimately, I see the statement they were making with the movie, but I guess I could've appreciated it more if they stuck to the story. I guess the best advice I can give is to judge this movie on it's own terms. If you avoid the book you'll like the movie. If you've already read the book, then you should avoid the movie because it will only make you angry.

Film for addicts...not everyone else.......2006-10-14

What the majority of the reviewers of this film seem to be missing is that to a heroin/opiate/pain pill addict, this film is a visual representation of the bondage and inescapable fact of addiction they endure every single day of their lives. Indeed, it was made for anyone who has suffered through the misery of opiate addiction. Only those who know what that pain is could possibly connect with Julian and the prison he finds himself in. I understand why those who haven't endured that pain may scoff and dismiss this film. However, the part in the movie when Julian's supply has run out and he is in acute withdrawal is perhaps the most heart-wrenching, painful scene I have ever viewed, and at the very least I would hope non-addicts would find some compassion toward addicts. While addicts are responsible for their plight, once physical addiction sets in, the individual is no longer capable of making rational decisions, and it is to that person that this film speak to. I've seen so many people I care about endure this very same painful experience. So fine...the acting wasn't perfect; the screenplay veered from the book, the director wasn't perfect, but in that one moment, the audience gets to see what an addict goes through when withdrawal sets in, and until you've suffered through something like that, you couldn't possibly understand the significance of this film.

Pretty Boys Make Nice Graves........2006-06-06

I think the title of my review sums it up: we all knew Julian would end up dead at the end of this film, despite the well-meaning yet flimsey attempts Clay and Blair made to pull him from the wreck of his life.

And is it just me, or did Andrew McCarthy's Clay look like Opie Taylor when he went to face off with James Spader's Rip while
Rip was in the pool? I'm surprised I didn't start laughing out loud, a la "MST3K", such lame protagonism. It's like, "Okay, but you and what army? I've got your buddy and your erstwhile girlfriend in my pocket, and you're just Ivy League Ken! Ha! Ha!". Spader was always good at playing a jerk.

While this movie is the best 80's cheese has to offer, I can't help but be a softie when it comes to these three muttonheads. I do feel badly seeing Julian go down the slipperly slope of addiction, and rather than want to smack some sense into him, I'd would much rather save that for his a**hole dad. What idiot in his right mind gives his kid that much money to start a recording studio straight out of high school if the kid has no music business experience to begin with? I'm thinking if you have the frogskins to p*ss away on this venture, you have enough money to give your kid the highest quality drug rehab there is to offer. My parents would have done this for me. No, just tough-love "daddy's little family disgrace" to the point where he is sleeping on park benches in expensive clothing and selling himself through a ruthless ex-high school classmate to pay off his 50,000K coke debt. Let him not only steal from his friends, but become a potential AIDS statistic. If this had been my fate, my dad would have cut both his arms off!

Not having the benefit of a funeral scene with the old b@stard sobbing his head off in regret boils my blood! Parenting Beverly Hills Style. And Blair's dad was no prize pig, either!
It broke my heart even further, despite the hollow park bench scene, where Clay discusses with Blair how Julian coped with his mother's death when he was barely out of diapers. Man, this kid had it rough long before he discovered coke.

Overall, this movie did have its silly moments (and I'm green with envy over the lavish Christmas parties those Beverly Hills kids had at their nightclubs), but if you have ever experienced a drug addiction of your own or know someone who has, this flick has a strong tearjerker potential. I'm surprised no high school teacher has the guts to use this and Uma Thurman's overdose scene from "Pulp Fiction" as an example of what drugs can do to your life.

The years have not been kind ..........2006-05-29

I actually saw this movie when it first came out, and was so blown away by Robert Downey Jr's performance (he was just starting out on his illustrious, if self-destructive career) that I didn't notice much else about the movie, certainly not Jami Gertz or Andrew McCarthy who are as close to being ciphers as it's possible to have on the big screen. (The adults in the film are as cipheresque as the kids, so there is no real dramatic interest there -- we have only the kids, and their interactions with drugs, the party scene, and each other.)

Seeing it again 25 years later, well ...Downey's performance still holds up, but the rest of the movie is less than zero (sorry). The director is so absorbed with staging endless party scenes (unintentionally hilarious in their excesses) that he forgets to give the main characters anything interesting to do, and they never develop into anyone we care about. The final scene, with McCarthy and Gertz sitting forlornly in a cemetery, has no emotional payoff whatever-- McCarthy says come with me to the East Coast, Gertz responds yes, I'll go with you, and the viewer says, "Thank God, that means the movie's over."

Finally, James Spader doesn't play a real character either, but as other reviewers have noted, he is interestingly slimy as the chief bad guy. Glad to see he's still getting work, in a fairly interesting role on "Boston Legal".

This could have been a good movie about excess .......2006-05-13

in the hills of beverly. Spoiled rich bratty kids snorting their lives up their plastic surgeonized noses. How sweet. James Spader was good as the sleazy drug pusher, what happened to him, he had real potiential to be a fine actor. Robert Downey,Jr. is terrific in any part he takes. Jamie Gertz reminds me of Tori Spelling, she has to be related to some big shot, how else does she get hired? She can't act and she's not even pretty or even busty. Like Pam Anderson, would anybody remember her without her big oversized boobies? I doubt it. Enjoy!

Average customer rating:

The Shaggy Dog
The Shaggy Dod DVD (Tim Allen)
Love This Movie!
Wonderful Fun Film Made Me Laugh a Lot
(2. 5 STARS) Tim Allen Becomes 'The Shaggy Dog': Some Good Laughs with Unnecessary Sub-Plots

The Shaggy Dog
Starring: Tim Allen , Kristin Davis , Zena Grey , Spencer Breslin , and Danny Glover
Director: Brian Robbins
Manufacturer: Walt Disney Home Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

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All Disney Titles | Disney Home Entertainment | Stores | DVD | Video

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( S ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

RV (Widescreen Edition) [Region 99]
Over the Hedge (Widescreen Edition)
Eight Below (Widescreen Edition)
Cars (Widescreen Edition)
The Wild

ASIN: B000FKP3XY
Release Date: 2006-08-01

Amazon.com

Tim Allen barks, growls, and slobbers his way through the latest remake of the classic Disney suburban fable The Shaggy Dog. A mystical long-lived dog is kidnapped from Tibet by a nefarious corporation; when it escapes, it bites aspiring District Attorney Dave Douglas (Allen, The Santa Clause, Toy Story), who finds himself regressing into a dog in the courtroom. There's more to the plot--something to do with creating a youth serum from the dog's blood--but let's face it, that's not what anyone's going to see the movie for, and the "bad dad remembers how to love his family" theme is equally perfunctory. This is all about Allen running around like a dog and a cute sheepdog running around trying to do human things, and the movie does a competent job of playing with that scenario. Allen throws himself into doggieness with amusing abandon. Also featuring Kristin Davis (Sex and the City), Spencer Breslin (The Cat in the Hat), Jane Curtin (3rd Rock from the Sun), Danny Glover (Lethal Weapon), and Robert Downey Jr. (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Wonder Boys), who seems to be enjoying himself as a nefarious scientist at the nefarious corporation. --Bret Fetzer

Description

Comedian Tim Allen unleashes all the outrageous fun in this doggone hilarious update of Disney's comedy classic! The adventures begin when workaholic Dave Douglas (Allen) is accidentally transformed into a lovable dog. Now as Dave digs to uncover the mystery, this overworked dad wants nothing more than to stop fetching ... and get back to fathering. But before he does, he's about to discover that being man's best friend gives him a curious insight into what it takes to be a great dad! The tail-wagging fun continues with bonus features to howl about including bone-tickling bloopers, deleted scenes, and a special bark-along bone-us feature dogs will love!

Customer Reviews:

The Shaggy Dog.......2007-02-07

I selected 5 stars because it is the best for the movie. I watched the movie. It was a good movie. I loved it.

The Shaggy Dod DVD (Tim Allen).......2007-01-12

Well Packed and no damage for postage to Australia

Love This Movie!.......2007-01-09

Tim Allen is one of my favorite comedians. Love this movie. It's one of those movies that you want to watch over and over again, and you'll laugh as hard as the first time.

Wonderful Fun Film Made Me Laugh a Lot.......2007-01-05

I have been watching this film on STARZ over the last two days and just thought it was wonderful! I have not laughed so much in a very long time so I am ordering the DVD from Amazon soon. Too many times I watch movies that are billed as comedies but never even get me to smile let alone laugh. The movie is a very modern take on important issues like genetic engineering and cruetly to animals during scientific research projects. It emphasized family values very nicely. Growing up in the 50s and 60s I enjoyed the good guys winning without resorting to violence. Tim Allen does a really great job impersonating a dog. Overall this is a feel good movie.

(2. 5 STARS) Tim Allen Becomes 'The Shaggy Dog': Some Good Laughs with Unnecessary Sub-Plots .......2007-01-03

Tim Allen is Dave Douglas, a deputy DA who is turned into "a shaggy dog". You will be seeing Tim Allen growling in the court and running after a stray cat on four, knocking over an old lady (seriously) and he finally becomes a sheep dog (with the amusing voiceover of Tim Allen himself). Don't forget that Dave is also a slightly workaholic but good father, whose marriage life is falling apart; whose son is leading an unfulfilled life, and whose daughter an animal right activist.

`The Shaggy Dog' looks like two movies rolled into one. Or maybe it is more than two movies (for five writers are attached to the script). One movie is about Tim Allen doing silly things, and the other about dysfunctional family. The first plot about the father turned into a sheepdog is already silly, but the silly story works with Tim Allen here, if not perfectly. The set-pieces are pretty clichéd ones, but decently done. Still it makes me rather sad to hear the in-joke about `Toy Story' and its character here.

To his credit Tim Allen does his best, making us laugh with his amusing comic performances of the man-to-mutt transformation, which deserves more screen time than the other half, all-too-familiar sub-plot about his ailing marriage. Usually when we review this kind of family-oriented pictures, we often write `Kids will love it' or something like that. But I am not sure as far as 'The Shaggy Dog' goes because I think the film's second plot may feel like a real drag for most pre-teen kids.

Incredible thing is, the first plot is given a far-fetched background, and that is about an evil scientist (Robert Downey Jr.) who studies the serum extracted from a 300-year-old dog living among the Tibetan Buddhists. There is a story about wrongly accused guy (who is forgotten by the end of the film), Phillip Baker Hall's CEO in wheelchair and mutant animals. All these things clutter in the disjointed story, only confusing my head.

Perhaps, as more than one reviewer on the net point out, Robert Downey Jr. who is really good with his perfect goofiness as the clueless villain, should have played the protagonist instead of Tim Allen. Or perhaps producer-actor Tim Allen should have another choice to make a film. Or maybe, just maybe, Disney should have made another move.

I can hear the voice of "no more remakes, please." I can understand, but I don't know how many of us have really seen the original. Probably what is really annoying is not that Hollywood keeps making remakes, but that we somehow sense they are not treating the source material in the right way, as seen in this film.

Average customer rating:

Daring dark comedy
Kiss Color Bang Dialog

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang [Blu-ray]
Starring: Julie Aronson , Corbin Bernsen , Jr. Robert Downey , Nancy Fish , and Val Kilmer
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: Blu-ray

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

Action & Adventure | Blu-ray | Formats | DVD | Video

General | Blu-ray | Formats | DVD | Video

Comedy | Blu-ray | Formats | DVD | Video

Drama | Blu-ray | Formats | DVD | Video
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ASIN: B000H1RFKA
Release Date: 2006-08-01

Description

In Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, a breezy take on writer-director Shane Black's trademark buddy action/comedy oeuvre, a petty thief (Robert Downey Jr.) is brought to Los Angeles for an unlikely audition and finds himself in the middle of a murder investigation, along with his high school dream girl (Michelle Monaghan) an