Customer Reviews:
A disappointing short sighted miss mash - in summation a missed opportunity..........2008-03-11
Having read the books and thoroughly enjoyed every single delightful chapter offered by the genius that is Pullman I was eagerly anticipating the film version of the first book...
The cast seemed spot on, plucking a girl from obscurity with a name destined for stardom, thrown together with rising talent and confirmed names (Nicole Kidman is perfect casting for the enchanting villain)... Also, the powerhouse of New Line Cinema was behind the production. Excellent... The studio that took a gamble with a crazy kiwi to produce the best film trilogy ever was now behind something new and exciting with the potential to equal the LOTR... Hollywood is now filled with directors who have a knack for fantasy and could bring this unique vision to life and deliver something memorising and also politically charged with the anti religious undertones prevalent throughout Pullmans works...
So with trepid anticipation I wait for it to start, did it deliver? NO!!!!
Who did new line give the responsibility of delivering this film too? The guy with the vision of a bloke screwing an apple pie... as funny as American pie was, he is not the man to deliver a fantasy epic, which he incidentally wrote the screenplay for too!!!
The shortcomings were many...Poor character development, little meaningful interaction with another cast members, wasted opportunities to deliver powerful messages delivered by Pullman.
This film is poor, basically the writer/director has taken the major plotlines, watered them down to a basic level and tossed them together with a childlike enthusiasm that lacks substance and impact.
One for the kids, not fans of the books....
the golden compass.......2008-03-09
great film and book that could have kept to the real title of northern lights and its by the great Philip Pullman not Bill as stated
Make your own mind up........2008-03-08
If you've read the book you'll be confused. Yes, the film brings the places - Bolvanger, the North, Oxford and Jordan College - to life brilliantly, and the polar bears and daemons are fantastic. BUT you'll be disappointed by the screenplay adaptation. Everything is out of order, events happen to different characters and the ending is not the same, it finishes before the book does.
I've given it 5 stars because, if you forget the book, it's an excellent film. It's entertaining, action packed and enjoyable for the whole family, although my youngest hid his eyes during the polar bear fight which is quite graphic.The special effects are incredible and Lyra's world is believable and real - dust, witches, polar bears,daemons, gyptians and a very different London.
Dakota Blue Richards is great as Lyra, the central character, and Nicole Kidman is perfect as the many faceted character of Mrs Coulter.
Seeing the film made me want to read the books again and I look forward to seeing the Subtle Knife on the big screen.
Brilliant, a must-see.......2008-03-03
The plot is fairly basic with a few plot twists, which re-engage the audience. The film is brilliantly shot and the after effects are immense - they cannot be faulted.
The film appeals to young kids, teenagers, adults and the elder generation so it's a film for all.
I highly recommend it to film buffs even if it's just to see the after effects.
A truly enjoyable and entertaining film.
As good as the book..........2008-03-03
...if you rip out half of the pages, jumble the rest up and get a five year-old to fill in the gaps.
Chris Weitz (who threw out a script by renowned and award-winning screen-writer Tom Stoppard and chose, instead, to write his own) has taken a great novel, full of wonderful characters, unique ideas and epic scope and turned it into a vapid throw-away piece of soulless gloss, removing all depth and character development in favour of a couple of set-pieces (two impressive; the rest very much not), then seemingly GAVE UP before the final chapter.
The cast are fantastic. Perhaps not everyone's ideal choices, but they all equip themselves admirably. It's just a shame they have so little to work with. Great characters like Farder Coram are reduced to background roles, while others are removed completely.
A sorry attempt at an adaptation that we can only hope is swept under the carpet so that the trilogy can start over in the hands of a competent film-maker.
Amazon.co.uk Review
What better way to commemorate Star Wars' 30th anniversary than with this double-length Very Special Episode, a full-scale, awesomely animated spoof that recasts George Lucas's saga with Family Guy's galaxy of characters: Chris (Seth Green) is Luke; Lois (Alex Borstein) is Princess Leia; Peter (Seth McFarlane) is Han Solo, but not, as expected, Jabba the Hut; Brian (Seth, again) is Chewbacca; Quagmire (and again, Seth) is C3PO; Cleveland is R2D2; Herbert, the creepy senior paedophile, is Obi-Wan (both voiced by Mike Henry); and, of course, Stewie (Seth, one more time) is Darth Vader ("My diapers have gone over to the dark side"). Poor Meg is reduced to a cameo as the hideous reptilian creature that haunts the garbage compactor.
Blue Harvest is reverently faithful to A New Hope, while engaging in typical Family Guy pop-culture references (everything from old commercials to Doctor Who, Airplane, Dirty Dancing, and Deal or No Deal) and bizarre digressions (the iconic opening crawl detours into an appreciation of a "way naked" Angelina Jolie in Gia). Along for the wild ride are Judd Nelson, who contributes a voice cameo as John Bender for a Breakfast Club gag, Rush Limbaugh railing against futuristic affirmative action on Tatooine talk radio, and Beverly D'Angelo and Chevy Chase as the vacationing Griswolds observing the rebellion from their orbiting station wagon. A Star Wars spoof in 2007 isn't exactly uncharted territory. As Chris Griffin notes in this episode's final moments, Robot Chicken brilliantly did it months earlier (and let us not forget Mel Brooks's Spaceballs from 1987; or, on second thought...). But the Force is strong with Family Guy, and who could resist the opportunity to hear the Muzak playing in a Death Star elevator? --Donald Liebenson, Amazon.com
Customer Reviews:
I would give 5 but............2008-02-28
Yes, i have to admit this was absolutley funny.
"My diper has gone over to the dark side" ha ha ha ha
anyways, my beef is not with the content but it is with the way it was bought out. I thought that the episode could be put into one of the series instead of it being seperate. Today, a mate from school said that it was on the new series 7 box set as the first episode. If it is true i would buy series 7
So So Disappointed.......2008-02-22
I am a HUGE family guy fan and have bot ever season and the stewie griffin movie, but boy oh boy were my hopes shattered when i was given blue harvest as a birthday present. I was really looking forward to it and then why i put it in my DVD player it just went from bad to worse. First of all, in the extras is an episode from the season 5 box set, you probably already have it so it seems a bit odd and a bit of a slap in the face to have it on there. So I thought, forgive and forget the movie will be better. I was just settling into it (stewie makes a great darth vader and is by far the funniest thing in this) when it finished. That's right, it's one episode approx. half an hour long. I felt completely conned. The hype made me believe this was going to be at least an hour and a half long, like the stewie movie, but no. Just one episode long. If you're a die hard fan, sure get it, but even this die hard fans heart sank at this rip off. If you're not, stick to the season box sets.
A flawed labour of love.......2008-02-22
The main problem with the otherwise excellent "Blue Harvest" is that the type of person who will be interested in it enough to buy it has been so indoctrinated with every type of star wars-parady-humour that it isn't easy for the writers to think of something that hasn't been done before. There are some moments of genius- Peter taking the couch from the trash room, Chris listening to Tatooine radio as he flies to Moss Isley, or the time he introduces John WIlliams and the London Orchestra for the rousing two sunsets scene. The problem is that to the non-starwars fans the jokes will often be lost to them (case in point being the discussions Chris listens to on the radio) and to the initiated the jokes at times feel a little bit reached for.
There is also the rather odd choice (in otherwise excellent lateral casting) of creepy old man as Obi-Wan- which never really sits right for me. Moreover, the long cell-rendered space scenes (whilst perfect) look hugely expensive and take you right out of a "family guy" frame of mind- as does the (again otherwise perfect) musical score. I challenge anyone not to feel the urge at times to turn Blue Harvest off and switch to the original.
This is still family guy, and fantastic for it, but unless you love Star wars and want a loving faithful parody (from writers who obviously also love their subject matter) look first to the 6 ground breaking series available.
" A long time ago in a Galaxy far, farce away".......2008-02-20
Basically this is Family Guy does Star wars as Peter Griffin makes up for the loss of television picture by reciting the story of star wars an epic tale of good, evil "and the foresight to retain international merchandising rights".
The Family Guy characters become the famous Star Wars ones; Peter is Han Solo, Brian Chewbacca, Lois is Princess Leia, Chris is Luke Skywalker, Quagmire and Cleveland are C3PO & R2D2, Stewie is Darth Vader and most surprisingly perverted old Herbert is a disconcerting Obi Wan Kenobi.
The Star wars injokes together witha Family Guy take on the saga is very funny e.g. the Cantina Band pretend they have had a request to "play the same song again", Peter's Han Solo introduces himself as the only actor whose career wasn't destroyed by Star Wars & on meeting Herbert's Obi Wan Stewie asks "What part of at least 50 yards away didn't you understand?". There are many more of these but it would spoil things to reveal too much.
We get some surprising guest appearances mostly by the celebs doing their own voices wtach out for Mick Hucknall, Leslie Neilson and the Tom Baker Dr Who title sequence!
The only downside is the length at only 45 mnutes. I think they could have done an hour.
Of the extras,; there is a whole episode from season 4 "North by North Quahog", (presumably for those who only bought it for the Star wars connection) an enjoyable Making Of, a Star wars clip show, one of their excellent commentaries (always worth a listen)and an interview with George Lucas shot after a screening of Blue Harvest at the Skywalker Ranch.
George reveals that he is quite a fan of Family Guy and portrays himself as very relaxed over Star Wars parodies. He has a funny contest with Seth McFarlane (Family Guy creator)to name what SW films the bits of music Seth hums are from.
There is a trailer for the next propsed SW take off but it is a cheat and has no footage. The only sour note among the extras.
A highly recommended purchase if you like Family Guy, only those who are easily offended or the sort of people who list Jedi as their religion on census forms would be upset by it, and frankly who cares?
not for me hey .......2008-02-19
I am a family guy fan,i am not a fan of star wars in any real way,however a family guy homage to star wars,while not appealing in every way still seemed capable of being a class act,it wasnt.
This is a double episode but suffers from running out of steam after twenty odd minutes or so,a shameful underuse of stewie and peter also grates and too much of herbert who is best used in short segments all weighs this down.
Granted,some of the jokes and references may not make sense to me but i know enough about star wars to get by but this finds few laughs with me and thats a real shame,the price of this is cause for debate as well but let it be known in no way is this out of this world.
Amazon.co.uk Review
What better way to commemorate Star Wars' 30th anniversary than with this double-length Very Special Episode, a full-scale, awesomely animated spoof that recasts George Lucas's saga with Family Guy's galaxy of characters: Chris (Seth Green) is Luke; Lois (Alex Borstein) is Princess Leia; Peter (Seth McFarlane) is Han Solo, but not, as expected, Jabba the Hut; Brian (Seth, again) is Chewbacca; Quagmire (and again, Seth) is C3PO; Cleveland is R2D2; Herbert, the creepy senior paedophile, is Obi-Wan (both voiced by Mike Henry); and, of course, Stewie (Seth, one more time) is Darth Vader ("My diapers have gone over to the dark side"). Poor Meg is reduced to a cameo as the hideous reptilian creature that haunts the garbage compactor.
Blue Harvest is reverently faithful to A New Hope, while engaging in typical Family Guy pop-culture references (everything from old commercials to Doctor Who, Airplane, Dirty Dancing, and Deal or No Deal) and bizarre digressions (the iconic opening crawl detours into an appreciation of a "way naked" Angelina Jolie in Gia). Along for the wild ride are Judd Nelson, who contributes a voice cameo as John Bender for a Breakfast Club gag, Rush Limbaugh railing against futuristic affirmative action on Tatooine talk radio, and Beverly D'Angelo and Chevy Chase as the vacationing Griswolds observing the rebellion from their orbiting station wagon. A Star Wars spoof in 2007 isn't exactly uncharted territory. As Chris Griffin notes in this episode's final moments, Robot Chicken brilliantly did it months earlier (and let us not forget Mel Brooks's Spaceballs from 1987; or, on second thought...). But the Force is strong with Family Guy, and who could resist the opportunity to hear the Muzak playing in a Death Star elevator? --Donald Liebenson, Amazon.com
Customer Reviews:
My diapers have gone over to the darkside........2008-02-23
I saw this family guy special before i bought so i knew what i was purchasing when i ordered it and episode wise i was not disapointed, the jokes were new and had me laughing, it was fun to see the the characters of Star Wars get the family guy treatment and be warped so darth vader and C3PO were twop of the best! Although it was a little on the short side (around 45-50 minutes long) i was pleased with it.
The extras that you get in the collectors edition are not bad the booklet had some good artwork and the collector cards were nice but the holographic image that they make was a little lack luster, surely one of the space battle scene would have been better? The T-shirt looked okay but i can't help but think that in a month or so the same exact t-shirt will be in HMV stores, making your one alot less "collectable".
I recently got the Blade Runner collectors 5 disc dvd set for my mother and compared to that the family guy pack look pretty low grade, but this isn't a blade runner review!
The dvd extras are okay, you get an extra episode of family guy but it's from the forth season so i was left a little annoyed, why not give the fans an exclusive season 6 episode it also has a 3D version of the fight scene whichyou can use the glasses for but it's nothing great, another thing the glasses are cheap cardboard ones, why couldn't they give us plastic ones? but i guess they were trying to keep production costs down.
The family guy version of episode five entitled "Something something something Darkside" (an in joke) is already in production and they will almost certainly make an episode six parody but i can't help but think they will then make a more "definitive collectors edition" with all three episodes in it with more bits and bobs to entice us and make this collectors edition pale in comparison.
In summary if you really want this collectors edition buy it from Amazon as i have seen it in excess of £25 in highstreet stores but otherwise buy the normal version or wait a year or so and get the "super duper all three family guy star wars episodes in one! collectors definitive premium exclusive ultra box set" that will inevitably be released.
I gave it four stars because i'm a hardcore FG fan!
Brilliant but be warned!.......2008-01-27
If you Love Family Guy you'll be happy to pay the extra, but be warned the UK version does not contain the iPod version that's been discussed everywhere online (announced by the guy from FOX at the Apple Expo, he forgot that the US is NOT the whole world and to mention that this would only be available in the states). If you want to watch this on your iPhone/iPod you'll have to buy it all over again (and they say piracy is immoral!).
Amazing Special Episode, Dissappointing Special Edition.......2008-01-27
Had been looking forward to this release for a long time and when I discovered there was a special edition I knew it had to be bought. The special edition was bought without looking at what was inside, got home and was quite sad to discover a t-shirt inside that takes up the majority of the case for no need. The t-shirt could have been wrapped outside the box. If the t-shirt was to be taken out and worn there will be a big gap in the case. The case was also extremely difficult to take out and resulted in case being ripped. Just thought I'd let people know this problem.
Oh dear!!.......2008-01-27
The film itself is good, I love family guy.
The extras are ok, especially if you like that sort of thing.
Art book is nice as well
Here are the problems. Once out of the packets, the 3D glasses and cards will never sit in the box again.
3D glasses didn't seem to work for me, did no see 3D.
The box says 2 pairs, but only came with one.
And once the t-shirt is taken out, there is just a large empty space.
Another thing is that it does not come with the extra disc with the pc verson of the film like the US version. and the extra episode is jus from season 4. What's the point?
Hysterically funny from start to finish!.......2008-01-25
I guess you have to be a fan of Family Guy, but I defy anyone not to find at least 75% of this funny.
Forgetting about special features and the like, which in my opinion aren't particularly important anyway, this is 45 or so minutes of cracking one-liners, and some brilliant film and TV references. The Dr. Who reference really made me chuckle!
The cel-shaded 3D animation adds a cinematic feel to the usual flat 2D Family Guy episode, and all-in-all this episode is a pretty faithful reproduction of the film, taking in all the best bits and screwing some comedy out of them.
This DVD is well worth the cash, in my view!
Customer Reviews:
Sounds and looks great!.......2008-03-03
My dvd arrived in Australia today from the UK. I am watching it as I type this review. The audio sounds fine at this end, so I can't quite understand why others have expressed concern about the sound quality.
Didn't Dusty have a fine voice and such a bubbly personality? On this dvd there's not much talking from Dusty and no special guests, just Dusty singing LIVE at her prime.
I wish the whole world could experience just what a great singer Dusty was.
Soft spot, fond memories, but............2008-02-12
I have always had a soft spot for Dusty. As a child I thought she was stunningly beautiful and loved her music so much I was bought "I only want to be with you". So I am something of a Dusty fan. This DVD takes me back into the sixties, of being allowed to stay up and watch Dusty on the TV. From the perspective of today it is obvious she was a far more talented perfomer than I ever recall. But Dusty did fade away during her career and that makes this DVD somewhat sad as you can see this vibrant perfomer losing her way. Dusty's best years were the sixties. After that you like me, might find it gets a little tedious, and rather sad.
Stunning performances from a legend!.......2008-02-11
I was listening to the news and saw that a certain artist had won 5 Grammy's; then followed a live performance from the said artist. The evening before this i was watching this DVD from Dusty, and i melted with her powerful voice and mesmerising stage presence, singing songs that are as relevant and strong today as then.
All i can say is that to see a truly amazing performer who can actually cut it live; choose this DVD, because Dusty delivers every time!
Simply Brilliant!.......2008-01-03
In the 1960s, in an effort to ride on the coattails of the burgeoning new-fangled pop music wave, television companies snapped up the more presentable performers and gave them their own TV shows.
It became apparent that Dusty was head and shoulders the best singer, but perhaps not the best host, so her show played to her strength and comprised little more than a succession of songs sung against a cheap backdrop, with a guest spot or two to break it up. This BBC DVD release of several surviving archive tapes of these programmes shows the format and is sensational.
These are programmes from an era when material was recorded `Live' and then broadcast (and then generally wiped!) so what the viewer is seeing is effectively a live concert of 6 or so songs. No miming, no edits. What strikes you when watching these shows is not how primitive they look, but what a stunningly good singer, Dusty was. She takes on every style and musical genre with consummate ease without the need for dance troupes or tele-visual effects. The songs include showtunes, standard ballads, gospel, folk, blues, and most important of all, R&B. Nothing seems to be beyond her canon and it is captivating. How many singers do you know today who could sing live on television and cross all these boundaries in 30 minutes?
Most interesting of all is the undercurrent of subversion. Here was a white, seemingly middleclass woman appearing on the bastion of middle England; the BBC, but singing a great wodge of black American music and one wonders how this went down with the establishment of the day?
These early tapes show her at her best, just singing and entertaining us as she did so. The slow descent into relative obscurity and eventual death through cancer seems so far away at this point it makes you want to cry.
Simply...Dusty!!.......2007-11-10
Dusty recorded 4 TV series, her first two entitled "Dusty" for the BBC in 1966 and 1967, "It Must Be Dusty" for ATV in 1968 and finally "Decidedly Dusty" for the BBC again in 1969.
Presented here are the shows that have been recovered from her BBC series', as the copies held by the BBC were wiped in the 70's. What survives (that has been located so far) are three shows from her '66 series and the entire run of shows from her '67 series. Her 1968 series for ATV was also wiped, and it appears nothing from her 1969 BBC series has survived either.
But what does survive is a testament to the monumental talent that was Dusty Springfield. Her position as one of the all-time greats, and to her fans as THE all-time great - is superbly vouched for by this footage.
Without any gimmicks or on-stage pantomime antics (that Dusty's female contemporaries were wont to engage in on their own TV shows), Dusty has to do nothing more than stand in the spotlight and let her voice do the rest. This is television and performing at it's purest and most effective; today's TV producers and singers shold take note!
Dusty's ablity to vocally take command of any material she sang allowed her to move across music-genres with apparent ease, verve and distinction. Just watch her passionate performance of Jacque Brel's "If You Go Away" (in her first show of the 1967 series)and without barely the blink of a false-eyelash she launches into "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love" singing with soul and passion un-matched by any other British female singer.
Her affinity with folk-music is apparent in her definitive and moving versions of "The Water is Wide" & "My Lagan Love", her love of soul in "Nowhere To Run", "If I Lose This Dream" and "Get Ready" and her utter command of the emotional ballad in "All I See Is You", "To Love and Be Loved" and "Time After Time".
I could continue with the superlatives, but put simply - this is the finest DVD presentation of Dusty's TV work so far and every Dusty fan and music-lover should own this...you'll never look back!!
Recommended (understatement of the year)!!!!
Customer Reviews:
More Great Blues.......2007-06-22
More AFBF material - this time from British concerts
Anyone interested in Blues will have to buy this one. I wasn't aware that the 1964 show was recorded in the UK although I suspected it might have been when a Sonny Boy clip surfaced on YouTube. The cheering that greets Howlin Wolf is extremely heartwarming - he then proceeds to lay down Smokestack Lightnin - unavailable anywhere else on film as far as I know - and Don't Laugh at Me. Lightnin Hopkins is in there too while Sugar Pie Desanto does a couple of spirited performances
Also from 1964 (but not part of the AFBF series) are two songs apiece from Muddy Waters and Sister Rosetta Tharpe in the Blues and Gospel Caravan from a now-closed railway station in Manchester. Muddy's performances are some of his best - many of his filmed performances are a little disappointing - along with the Reelin in the Years DVD of Muddy at Newport. Strangely for RITY they don't reveal what most of us already know - bass and drums are Ransom Knowling and Willie Smith - it must have been the tour where Otis Spann recorded one of his best albums
There are also parts of the 1963 and 1966 festivals, which leads me on to my personal favourite - has to be Big Joe Turner in probably his best recorded performance doing "Oh Well Oh Well". I recorded this in audio when it was originally broadcast but it's strangely omitted from the 1966 bootleg which is in general circulation. So I couldn't believe my luck when it turned up here. He's in fantastic form and is clearly having a great time
Another 5 stars for RITY
Customer Reviews:
Very well done........2007-06-12
Katie Melua is a fantastic young singer.This documentary details the adventure of the deepest underwater concert ever performed.The Film shows how Katie and her band had to train for the concert 300 meters below the sea and some of the concert itself.Great Documentary and a must for all Katie Melua Fans.
Great Documentary,.......2007-05-31
I've only watched this DVD sporadically, but it seems to consist of the main documentary, of which 33-50% is spent showing how the performance was set up, and the journey to the depths of the Ocean floor. The rest is Katie's performance. The scale of the operation is really emphasised.
She sounds amazing as always, yet the environment creates a strange echo which resides throughout the whole performance, nothing the sound technicians could do about that I guess.
It is a bit short and whilst there are a few extras, Promo videos to watch, it's not a DVD you will probably repeatedly watch, nor does it give the length of the "On the Road" DVD.
Yet for fans, this is unlikely to matter.
Customer Reviews:
Obsession.......2007-10-30
As the DVD back cover says, 'This movie has passion, family food and fire.' And they were correct. Alicia Witt stars as Reena who at the age of eleven watches with fascination as her parents business burns to the ground. When the fire is put out she meets Scott Bakula's character, Officer John Minger, that is an arson investigator. So it is no surprise as we flash forward and we see that she has become an arson investigator herself.
There is the requisite romance required for these made for T.V. movies. But in this movie our heroine seems to have attracted the attention of a psychotic arsonist who seems determined to set on fire everything she loves. Will she be able to find this pyromaniac before her new love goes up in flames? The movie also touches on the importance of a arson investigators job.
average tv-movie.......2007-09-26
This is the second Nora Roberts adaptation that I've seen, after "Angels Fall", and the first one where I've read the book. The book Blue Smoke was pretty good but not without flaws, and the movie shares some of its flaws. The biggest one is how long it takes for Reena to figure out who her nemesis is (although this was less obvious in the movie than in the book). One bad thing that the movie adds is that the climax feels more silly than suspenseful (especially because the bad guy actor speaks in a really silly voice, supposedly because he had cancer - anyway it was way too over-the-top).
I did like this movie better than "Angels Fall", which somehow felt cheaper. Alicia Witt did a pretty good job playing Reena, but the best performance was by the still very beautiful Talia Shire playing her mother. But overall, it's an average tv-movie, no better or worse than most of its kind, but definitely not good enough for a theatrical release. Recommended for Roberts fans and fans of romantic suspense made-for-tv-movies. Others needn't bother.
Good enough to engage your attention, and keep it..........2007-08-10
"Blue smoke" is a fast paced film, based on a novel of the same name written by Nora Roberts. This movie has ingredients of mystery and romance, and is likely to please those that are just looking for entertainment.
The main character is Reena (Alicia Witt), a young woman that doesn't like fire but decides to turn into an arson investigator in order to fight her fear. Things aren't easy for her, though, as she loses people she cares about to fire. Traumatized, Reena begins to suspect that a pyromaniac is stalking her, waiting to kill the people she loves. But is Reena right, or is her imagination too active?
All in all, I think that "Blue smoke" is a movie you shouldn't miss if you are a fan of Robert's books, and one you will probably like if you are not. From my point of view, this is not an outstanding film, but I believe it is good enough to engage your attention, and keep it. That is the reason why I give "Blue smoke" 3.5 stars.
Belen Alcat
Customer Reviews:
"I'm tired of embarassing myself, let's get out of here".......2007-10-11
I know what you are going to say: "The same concept has been done over and over". And you are right, there are a lot of movies out there based on a group of teenagers facing difficult challenges and finding solace and a way to move forward in life in a sport or an art. The plot of the movie, except for a couple of unexpected turns, is pretty predictable too. But I still think that this is a film worth watching, because the story is presented with the needed level of emotion, and the acting is really good compared to other sport movies out there.
The film is based on the true story of Jim Ellis and his swim team, which he built from scratch after landing in the Philadelphia Department of Recreation as a cleanup worker. Previously, Ellis had been a victim of racial discrimination and had problems with the law as a result. Now, he has to face some of the same problems when he starts coaching a group of kids that are in danger of losing their way in life. With his love and commitment, Ellis finds a way to make these teenagers understand that working as a team and giving it their all is enough to reap the well-deserved benefits.
Terence Howard and Bernie Mac are both excellent in their respective roles, and the cast of kids does not disappoint. The technical aspects relating to the swimming are a little off, but that was expected. You can definitely tell that most of the actors on Ellis' team are not real swimmers, while the kids on the opposing teams are. This of course is possible because the acting needed from the opponents is fairly limited.
I was a competitive swimmer for several years, so I can understand how my interest for the sport may influence my evaluation of this movie, but I still think that most people will have a good time watching it. The only group to which I would not recommend this film is to those that are not interested in swimming and that are looking for a "new story", since they will not find that here.
Teaching Pride through Swimming.......2007-07-01
Jim Ellis (Terrence Howard) loves to swim. During the 60's, he joined his schools swim team, which created problems. Jim is African American, and the white competitors in North Carolina weren't happy to be competing against him.
10 years later, Jim has landed in Philadelphia. Despite his credential to teach math, the only job he can get is cleaning out the recreation center in the poor part of town. It's scheduled to be torn down soon. The only person inside the building is maintenance man Elston (Bernie Mac). The closest anyone else comes to it is playing basketball outside.
That changes one day when the basketball hoops are taken down in the march toward tearing down the center. As five of the guys stand there fuming about the loss of the hoops, Jim invites them in to use the pool.
Slowly, Jim gains their trust and begins to teach them the fundamentals of swimming. They gain enough skill to ask to go to a meet, hoping to meet women. But do five men and one woman really have the skills to compete against all male teams who have been training for years?
Okay, let's get the obvious out of the way first. This is an underdog sports movie featuring kids from a bad neighborhood. Picturing every cliche that normally brings to mind? Yep, they're here.
But, is this movie worth seeing? Absolutely.
As is always needed for a film like this to succeed, you need to become attached to the characters. Jim is a sympathetic character from the start, and the youth he's working with grow on you quickly as well. The result is a movie that truly does inspire.
To top is off, the acting is great. Terrence Howard is absolutely believable as Jim. His drive to reach the kids comes through in every scene. I'm not usually a Bernie Mac fan, but he did a great job as well with a part that is mostly series with a few comic bits thrown in. And the kids were all great.
I do have a couple complaints. The minor one is the needless slowing down of the climax. The two swimmers in the final race are slowed way down to build suspense. And I do mean way down. It was beyond laughable.
My bigger complaint was the language. Considering the PG rating, I was surprised by the handful of "s" words that littered the film. Not as surprising were the few racial epithets used. Unfortunately, they fit the time period and setting of the film.
This film isn't highly original, but it is inspiring. And if that's what you want to watch, you could do much worse then this great film.
Customer Reviews:
BLUES LEGEND LIVE IN AUSTIN TEXAS>>>yes please........2008-02-28
I've been a huge John Mayall fan for many years.The godfather of British blues,the man who's band has included over the years some of the greatest musicians to come into rock and blues including Eric Clapton,Walter Trout,Peter Green,Mick Taylor,John McVie,Aynsley Dunbar,Keef Hartley oh boy this list could go on.All during their time with him began the development into the household names they are today.Anyway to this excellent set,John on top form live recording for the legendary TV show and one of a series of fabulous DVDs well worth checking out.Here John has the excellent Coco Montoya on guitar as well as long time drummer Joe Yuele in a cracking set and any live material by any of his band line ups is worth catching,especially the 70th birthday bash at Liverpool a couple of years ear;ier which includes appearances by Eric Clapton and Mick Taylor once again.This set was recorded in the early 90's but don't let it put you off this is top class stuff from one of the greatest bluesmen of all time,having seen John several times over the years this really is as good as it gets to watch and has a really great live feel beautifully filmed and top notch sound...say no more just highly recommended.
DVD Review:
- The Golden Ring - Wiener Philharmoniker/Georg Solti [1965]
- The Mask [1994] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- Three Tenors: Carreras, Domingo, Pavarotti In Concert [1990]
- Tristan Und Isolde - Wagner [2002]
- Valery Gergiev Conducts The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra [2000]
- Verdi - Requiem / Price, Pavarotti, Cossotto, Ghiaurov, von Karajan, Teatro alla Scala [1967]
- Verdi: Un Ballo in Maschera -- Metropolitan Opera/Levine [1990]
- Vivaldi: the Four Seasons [DVD AUDIO]
- Voices Of Our Time - Barbara Bonney [2001]
- Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen -- Complete (NTSC) DVD
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