Clive-Owen Movie Reviews

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VHS movie reviews for "Clive-Owen" sorted by average review score:
Class of '61
Released in VHS Tape by Universal Studios (20 June, 1995)
MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Director: Gregory Hoblit
Average review score:

EMOTIONALLY EXILIRATING! A WINNER!
"Class of '61" tells the story of the graduating West Point class of 1861 as the Civil War breaks out. It has fine performances and an exciting and almost 100% accurate recreation of the battle of First Manassas. A fine film! I hope it comes out on DVD soon! Grade: A+

Excellent and Well worth a look!
Emotional and realistic portralial of the American Civil War and how it effected both north, south and those caught in the middle. Unlike some war movies which ignore the human cost this movie shows in detail the cost to the main characters. Class of 61' is one of the best movies that I have seen. The movie starts at West Point and shows us the last class before the war starts. The friendships between those of southern back ground and the northerns and how their friendships are torn apart by the war.

Second Sight 2
Released in VHS Tape by Wgbh (05 August, 2003)
MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Starring: Clive Owen
Average review score:

masterwork
the second collection of the second sight series. I told you that theres episodes where a building explodes and he cant sleep . this collection has it and its great. for Owen fans

Greenfingers
Released in VHS Tape by Columbia Tristar Hom (04 June, 2002)
MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Director: Joel Hershman
Starring: Clive Owen and Helen Mirren
Average review score:

nice looking film
its a good film but some parts make it downfall and then it picks up the pace with beautiful acting. Clive Owen(Gosford Park, Croupier and Tv's Second Sight) has never been more awesomer in the title role as the man who is sent to a nice and non-violent prison place who ends up liking gardening and who is helped by friends. charming and nice. a keeper

....A Rose by any other name would smell as Sweet....
The tradition of sweet, dopey, "cute" gangsters and prison inmates probably started with Damon Runyon way back in the 1920's and culminated with the musical "Guys and Dolls" in the 40's. The inhabitants of the prison in Joel Hershman's "Greenfingers" are more like Runyon's chracters than they are like those of the "Lock, Stock and Smoking Barrels" variety to be sure. "Greenfingers" is a slight, sweet trifle of a movie lucky enough to have Clive Owen (PBS' "Second Sight") and Helen Mirren (also PBS' "Prime Suspect")as it's chief chracters. Both of these actors are, as usual, excellent and convincing in their roles. The plot revolves around a minimum security prison where a few of it's inmates discover and nurture a love of gardening which ultimately leads them to enter a big time Horticultural event in England. The idea of gardening as a way of life and a national passion is foreign to us here in the USA but in England it is very real and very BIG. "Greenfingers" is full of good cheer and everyone involved seems to be having a great time. Who can object to that?

Clive Owen, another UKer to watch
And yet another big up and coming UK acting talent: Clive Owen. He shows quite a range too judging from the blend of comedy and drama he brings to this role and then outright drama in "Croupier." Owen is a murderer who is serving out what looks like a lifetime prison sentence. However, he is selected as a trial prisoner at a rehab facility that's purpose is to give him employable skills. There he finds the passion of his life: gardening. He also finds an older prisoner as his first and only friend in life, soon to be followed by other prisoners he lets into his gardening circle plus the warden himself. Gardening in the UK is considered quite an art form in and of itself, unlike the way it is considered in the USA, and that is the way this film deals with it. Helen Mirren plays the grand dame of UK gardening wonderfully, sort of a Barbara Cartland, Martha Stewart and Julia Child, all rolled as one into the UK gardening world. Owen becomes romantically attached to her daughter. This is a very charming movie that works on many levels. Hubby really liked this film so I'm not going to warn the men that it might be considered a chick flick.

Doomsday Gun
Released in VHS Tape by Hbo Studios (26 March, 1996)
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Director: Robert Young (III)
Average review score:

Here's to the engineers
As an engineer's son, I have never seen a better portrayal of an engineer's enthusiasm for new problems and new challenges. In one unforgettable scene, Frank Langella brought to the screen for the first time in my opinion what can only be called, "the-joy-of-development."

Too often films that deal with invention focus on that moment when the problem comes together and is solved. What they fail to recognize is the first step, when the men and women are looking at the challenge ahead, has even more emotional potential.

Thankfully the writers and actors in this film did not forget this human truth.

The cast is excellent. The script is uneven, but the only reason this is obvious is because instead of staying mildly good throughout, like most made for cable films, this movie is mildly good with occasional scenes of brilliance; such as almost any moment what Langella or Spacey grace the screen.

If you are an engineer or just have one as a friend or member of the family, see this film. It's a wonder.

An Excellent Portrayl of Events Little of Us Know of...
"Doomsday Gun" shouldve been a theatrical release because of its topics. Frank Langella plays the part of scientist/arms specialist Dr. Gerald Bull, who spent most of his career building massive guns of ultimate destruction. After spending a year in prison for breaking international embargo laws by shipping his weapons to Africa, he makes building the largest and most powerful gun in the world his passion...and obsession. Befriended American CIA Agent Jim Price (Kevin Spacey), desperately tries to convince Bull while in prison that he must stop his weapon production for his own safety. Bull thinks however that everyone, even Price is out to shut down his dream. He makes a deal with Iraq at the height of the Gulf War, to build the ultimate super-gun that can be theirs for money. Money never appears to be the issue though, for Dr. Bull is willing to risk everything to see his gun and his name go down in history...regardless of the prices he might have to pay. The movie is brilliantly done with a cast of true and convincing characters, who expose the details of one of the biggest government cover-ups in many years. Many movies based upon true events we could surely have done without, but this film is one that I believe had to be done...leaving the question in everyone's mind: "Would we have known all about this by just relating stories of news reports?"...

Artillery, Saddam Hussein and the Mossad = Gulf War
This is the true story of Dr. Gerald Bull played by Frank Langella in a simply excellent performance. Kevin Spacey is fantastic as a CIA agent with heart. Tony Goldwyn, son of Samuel Goldwyn (i.e. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - MGM) is perfect as the "true company man" for THE Company (CIA). Alan Arkin, a long-time favorite of mine, plays an Israeli general turned into a Mossad agent. And the characters playing the Iraqis are really, really good. Get the movie. It's pretty factual and quite amazing indeed.

Here's a few additional facts about the story to intrigue you:

Dr. Gerald Bull was the founder of Space Research Corporation ... a Canadian ballistics expert, Bull modified artillery weapons, worked on the USA's HAARP gun program and upgraded SCUD missiles for various customers. He did work for every country, except Russia, which he hated (but the SCUD's he modified were Russian-made). He also did work, through the CIA, for the USA and some of its allies.

Dr. Bull had to run things through the customs services of many countries of course to move his weapons. He ran afoul of U.S. Customs and got a year in a federal penitentiary for which he did not forgive the CIA, instead expecting immunity.

Bull was contracted by Saddam Hussein, who at that time was a pro-U.S. interest (against Iran and supported by then-Vice-President Bush) to build a "Supergun" that would fire a 2,000 lb shell over 100 miles (and further). Saddam's hope was to be able to shell Israel with bio/chem weapons from an artillery gun (which is not uncommon) but from great range. Israel had destroyed Iraq's nuclear weapons reactor (designed to produce weapons-grade plutonium) for which Saddam vowed revenge. The Mossad gave a lot of warnings to Bull about helping Iraq arm, which Bull repeatedly ignored.

the CIA and British MI6 turned a blind eye to Bull's operations in Iraq, for which Bull, expecting protection, gave them info on the German bunkers and C&C centers Saddam had constructed underground. Ah, but in the spy business there are no sweethearts, and the Mossad assassinated Bull in Brussels before he could finish the "Supergun" (the Babylon Gun) ... a smaller version, the "Baby Babylon" gun had been completed and tested at that time ...

This was all financed through a "bank" in America where funds were diverted from American taxpayers to Saddam, ostensibly for agricultural enterprises ... Saddam reportedly paid Bull $20-25 million for his work ... the mysoginistic viewpoint at the time was that any enemy of Iran (i.e. Iraq) is a friend of the USA ... didn't quite work out that way ...

After Bull was dead, MI6 feigned surprise at the discovery of "Supergun" barrel pieces being constructed in a foundry in England and they were impounded before they could all be shipped out (on Iraqi IL-76 transports I believe). Some pieces did make it out to Iraq.

Thus the silly and complicted politics of the Middle East ... where the USA once propped up the Shah of Iran and sold him 79 F-14A Tomcats, he was deposed and Iran became a U.S. enemy ... and still is to this day ... Saddam, a former protected entity, invaded Kuwait less than 6 months after Bull was assassinated ... and the rest was seen on CNN 24 hours per day.

Doomsday Gun
Released in VHS Tape by Hbo Studios (04 June, 1996)
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Director: Robert Young (III)
Average review score:

Here's to the engineers
As an engineer's son, I have never seen a better portrayal of an engineer's enthusiasm for new problems and new challenges. In one unforgettable scene, Frank Langella brought to the screen for the first time in my opinion what can only be called, "the-joy-of-development."

Too often films that deal with invention focus on that moment when the problem comes together and is solved. What they fail to recognize is the first step, when the men and women are looking at the challenge ahead, has even more emotional potential.

Thankfully the writers and actors in this film did not forget this human truth.

The cast is excellent. The script is uneven, but the only reason this is obvious is because instead of staying mildly good throughout, like most made for cable films, this movie is mildly good with occasional scenes of brilliance; such as almost any moment what Langella or Spacey grace the screen.

If you are an engineer or just have one as a friend or member of the family, see this film. It's a wonder.

An Excellent Portrayl of Events Little of Us Know of...
"Doomsday Gun" shouldve been a theatrical release because of its topics. Frank Langella plays the part of scientist/arms specialist Dr. Gerald Bull, who spent most of his career building massive guns of ultimate destruction. After spending a year in prison for breaking international embargo laws by shipping his weapons to Africa, he makes building the largest and most powerful gun in the world his passion...and obsession. Befriended American CIA Agent Jim Price (Kevin Spacey), desperately tries to convince Bull while in prison that he must stop his weapon production for his own safety. Bull thinks however that everyone, even Price is out to shut down his dream. He makes a deal with Iraq at the height of the Gulf War, to build the ultimate super-gun that can be theirs for money. Money never appears to be the issue though, for Dr. Bull is willing to risk everything to see his gun and his name go down in history...regardless of the prices he might have to pay. The movie is brilliantly done with a cast of true and convincing characters, who expose the details of one of the biggest government cover-ups in many years. Many movies based upon true events we could surely have done without, but this film is one that I believe had to be done...leaving the question in everyone's mind: "Would we have known all about this by just relating stories of news reports?"...

Artillery, Saddam Hussein and the Mossad = Gulf War
This is the true story of Dr. Gerald Bull played by Frank Langella in a simply excellent performance. Kevin Spacey is fantastic as a CIA agent with heart. Tony Goldwyn, son of Samuel Goldwyn (i.e. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - MGM) is perfect as the "true company man" for THE Company (CIA). Alan Arkin, a long-time favorite of mine, plays an Israeli general turned into a Mossad agent. And the characters playing the Iraqis are really, really good. Get the movie. It's pretty factual and quite amazing indeed.

Here's a few additional facts about the story to intrigue you:

Dr. Gerald Bull was the founder of Space Research Corporation ... a Canadian ballistics expert, Bull modified artillery weapons, worked on the USA's HAARP gun program and upgraded SCUD missiles for various customers. He did work for every country, except Russia, which he hated (but the SCUD's he modified were Russian-made). He also did work, through the CIA, for the USA and some of its allies.

Dr. Bull had to run things through the customs services of many countries of course to move his weapons. He ran afoul of U.S. Customs and got a year in a federal penitentiary for which he did not forgive the CIA, instead expecting immunity.

Bull was contracted by Saddam Hussein, who at that time was a pro-U.S. interest (against Iran and supported by then-Vice-President Bush) to build a "Supergun" that would fire a 2,000 lb shell over 100 miles (and further). Saddam's hope was to be able to shell Israel with bio/chem weapons from an artillery gun (which is not uncommon) but from great range. Israel had destroyed Iraq's nuclear weapons reactor (designed to produce weapons-grade plutonium) for which Saddam vowed revenge. The Mossad gave a lot of warnings to Bull about helping Iraq arm, which Bull repeatedly ignored.

the CIA and British MI6 turned a blind eye to Bull's operations in Iraq, for which Bull, expecting protection, gave them info on the German bunkers and C&C centers Saddam had constructed underground. Ah, but in the spy business there are no sweethearts, and the Mossad assassinated Bull in Brussels before he could finish the "Supergun" (the Babylon Gun) ... a smaller version, the "Baby Babylon" gun had been completed and tested at that time ...

This was all financed through a "bank" in America where funds were diverted from American taxpayers to Saddam, ostensibly for agricultural enterprises ... Saddam reportedly paid Bull $20-25 million for his work ... the mysoginistic viewpoint at the time was that any enemy of Iran (i.e. Iraq) is a friend of the USA ... didn't quite work out that way ...

After Bull was dead, MI6 feigned surprise at the discovery of "Supergun" barrel pieces being constructed in a foundry in England and they were impounded before they could all be shipped out (on Iraqi IL-76 transports I believe). Some pieces did make it out to Iraq.

Thus the silly and complicted politics of the Middle East ... where the USA once propped up the Shah of Iran and sold him 79 F-14A Tomcats, he was deposed and Iran became a U.S. enemy ... and still is to this day ... Saddam, a former protected entity, invaded Kuwait less than 6 months after Bull was assassinated ... and the rest was seen on CNN 24 hours per day.

Pandaemonium
Released in VHS Tape by Usa (12 February, 2002)
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Director: Julien Temple
Starring: Linus Roache and John Hannah
Set in England during the early 19th century, Pandaemonium evokes late-1960s America in its depiction of the relationship between Samuel Taylor Coleridge (Linus Roach) and William Wordsworth (John Hannah). Instead of going to Vietnam, Wordsworth goes off to fight against the French while Coleridge stays at home and promotes utopianism. After the war, the poets live and work together with Coleridge's wife, Sara (Samantha Morton), and Wordsworth's sister, Dorothy (Emily Woof). At first this communal arrangement works to the advantage of Coleridge--who does some of his best writing while Wordsworth stagnates--until Coleridge becomes addicted to opium. Wordsworth, meanwhile, doesn't find his voice until he abandons his friend. In 20th-century vernacular, Wordsworth is the yuppie, Coleridge the hippie. Director Julien Temple (Absolute Beginners) even evokes 1960s cinema with this occasionally overwrought--but often visually stunning--essay on the mysteries of creativity. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
Average review score:

A Study in the Ways of the Imagination
Pandaemonium is one of the better films I've seen in a long time. Some of its themes are much like the ideas (ala Hassan i Sabbah & assassins & hunger for paradise) that have attracted me lately. It is about the poets Wordsworth & Samuel Taylor Coleridge (who wrote "Kubla Khan"). The exploration of the creative force, mingled with the desire to see deep into reality is amazing (Coleridge tried to do it with opium, and both succeeded and kind of destroyed himself in the process). The movie is based on real history but I think it took some liberties to make it a more powerful story. Coleridge also wrote "The Ancient Mariner," and that poem is incredible, I've even more taken by it to see it so lushly explored in a visual sense in how the idea and language came to Coleridge. There's some really funny parts too, like a time when they eat datura and almost fall up off the world (or their perceptions convince them they are about to, and then they start playing with it, realizing the joke, but still pretending that they can fall up.) There's a scholarly literary study on Coleridge published in 1927 called "The Road to Xanadu - A Study in the Ways of the Imagination" by John Livingstone Lowes, a brilliant book, and I wonder if the filmmakers got many of their ideas and details from that extraordinary book.

A Study in the Ways of the Imagination
Pandaemonium is one of the better films I've seen in a long time. Some of its themes are much like the ideas (ala Hassan i Sabbah & assassins & hunger for paradise) that have attracted me lately. It is about the poets Wordsworth & Samuel Taylor Coleridge (who wrote "Kubla Khan"). The exploration of the creative force, mingled with the seeking to see deep into reality is amazing (Coleridge tried to do it with opium, and both succeeded and kind of destroyed himself in the process). The movie is based on real history but I think it took some liberties to make it a more powerful story. Coleridge also wrote "The Ancient Mariner," and that poem is incredible, I've even more taken by it to see it so lushly explored in a visual sense in how the idea and language came to Coleridge. There's some really funny parts too, like a time when they eat datura and almost fall up off the world (or their perceptions convince them they are about to, and then they start playing with it, realizing the joke, but still pretending that they can fall up.) There's a scholarly literary study on Coleridge published in 1927 called "The Road to Xanadu - A Study in the Ways of the Imagination" by John Livingstone Lowes, a brilliant book, and I wonder if the filmmakers got many of their ideas and details from that book.

The Milk of Paradise
This is a quietly stunning film about the wonders & dangers of exploring the limits of creativity, bringing the power of poetry to vivid life & depicting timeless themes in a period setting. Is it historically accurate? Well, of course not -- but director Temple isn't making a dry, factual biopic, but offering poetry & parable. The choices embodied by Coleridge & Wordsworth (or the somewhat fictionalized representations of these poets) are choices each of us must face every day. How much of our individual creative fire are we willing to compromise for security? Conversely, how far beyond the boundaries of safety are we willing to go while pursuing our individual visions? I don't see how any viewer can come away from this beautiful film without a renewed appreciation for the magic of language; certainly it will send you to the nearest volume of poetry at hand!

Dazzling images, rich colors, transporting words & fine acting all contribute to an intense & moving film experience. Highly recommended!

Second Sight
Released in VHS Tape by Anchor Bay Entertainment (23 November, 1999)
MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Director: Charles Beeson
Taut, styish, and smart, Second Sight is the rare detective thriller with a brutal poetry in its premise. Detective Chief Inspector Ross Tanner (Clive Owen) is a maverick cop and workaholic who solves crimes by putting his faith in facts he can see for himself. What more cruel irony could beset him than a slow and irreversible loss of vision? While a rare disorder attacks his cornea, causing intermittent blindness and hallucinations, Tanner conceals his problem in the pursuit of a murderer who brutally beat a 19-year-old man to death. The suspects are largely people the victim knew well, including his mother (Phoebe Nicholls) and stepfather (Stuart Wilson), the nanny (Louise Atkins) of his young sister, a gardener (Eddie Marsan) who supplied him drugs, and an uncle (Stuart Wilson again, playing twins) who has allegedly been out of the country for years but in fact has been keeping a low profile in London. Tanner faces an added strain, initially, when he is partnered with a female detective, Catherine Tully (Claire Skinner), whose reliance on intuition is the antithesis of his own methods. Nevertheless, the two make a bargain after Skinner deduces Tanner's medical troubles: she'll be his eyes if he promises to give her equal credit for apprehending the killer. Utterly engrossing, Second Sight is part of that tradition of somber crime thriller done so well on British television, from Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy to Prime Suspect. Stars Claire Skinner (Sleepy Hollow) and Clive Owen carry the load exceptionally well. Owen (Closer, Bent), who looks like a slightly more rugged version of Kevin Costner and is instantly likable onscreen, conveys Tanner's necessary conversion to a more intuitive approach to police work with great care. Owen has looked like a candidate for international stardom for a while, and Second Sight certainly reinforces that perception. --Tom Keogh
Average review score:

Classy production: but......
Clive Owen is superb as British Chief Detective Inspector Ross Tanner. Ensemble cast (some of whom worked with him in existential thriller CROUPIER)is equally excellent in BBC production which rings with psychological intensity and character development. This American MASTERPIECE THEATRE presentation of SECOND SIGHT has added class of Diana Rigg introducing "the game to be a'foot". But there ARE problems...

Paula Milne's screen play, while providing fascinating vehicle for potential super star Owen (who's been offered role of 007 when Pierce Brosnan hangs-up License to Kill; and starring role in a renewed BATMAN project from Frank Miller's canon),traps itself in foreshadowing it fails to successfuly resolve. Final confrontation between Owen and his prime suspect in murder case ensconsed in suicide,incest,drug abuse and hints of homosexual perversion, ANNOUNCES(like Greek chorus keeping score)the solution. "Anti-climactic" is polite for tacked-on denouement with Ross' not-as-clever as we/he/BBC thought,antagonist. The virtual ANTAGONIST in Second Sight is Tanner opposing himself. It almost works. Owen is riveting in near-despair battle with encroaching blindness; and heart warming with his battle to be father and hero to his son(whom he may lose to divorced-wife's beau,"Frank"). But "deus ex post-modernist machina" quality of the ending...including avoided, crucial confrontation with Ross' Detective Commissioner superior that should've raised hell...diminishes what could've been classic Police Procedural in nobody-does-it-better British tradition. SECOND SIGHT is definitely worth viewing; even a SECOND one. Even actors good as Clive Owen cannot(demonstrated in recent adult fairy-tale,BEYOND BORDERS, where pretentious PC morality agenda nearly does-in good adventure/romance)dam-up plot holes Ms.Milne's ambitious failure in craft have punched in her own story. This is classy,handsome production: but some editor should've reviewed the script
with timely SECOND SIGHT.

Dark mystery
This is an outstanding detective story, combining very contemporary elements with the taut, unrelenting pacing that traditionally characterizes the best British mysteries. Clive Owens' performance is superb, and shows unmistakably his potential for far meatier roles: Gosford Park finally gave him a major vehicle, but he could do even more. Claire Skinner is beautifully matched with him, and their dramatic interplay allows them to develop as real personalities, not just puppets to move the plot along. It would be good to see them together again.

masterpiece it is
its about a detective Ross Tanner(Clive Owen, who is superb in this role) who solves some cases then starts to lose his vision along the way. great direction and imagery. all the episodes are great, like the Insomnia ones where Owen cant sleep and he sees this figure in his room, brilliant. also theres one about a sleepwalking girl and the end episodes where Owen tries to solve a case about a building being bombed, that part where the building explodes and Owen is right next door in the coffee shop is riveting. then at the end Owen quits because he is going blind. a powerful and masterful drama show. not to be missed for fans of Owen. truely some of his best work here

Second Sight (Box Set)
Released in VHS Tape by Wgbh Boston Video (23 November, 1999)
MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Director: Charles Beeson
Taut, styish, and smart, Second Sight is the rare detective thriller with a brutal poetry in its premise. Detective Chief Inspector Ross Tanner (Clive Owen) is a maverick cop and workaholic who solves crimes by putting his faith in facts he can see for himself. What more cruel irony could beset him than a slow and irreversible loss of vision? While a rare disorder attacks his cornea, causing intermittent blindness and hallucinations, Tanner conceals his problem in the pursuit of a murderer who brutally beat a 19-year-old man to death. The suspects are largely people the victim knew well, including his mother (Phoebe Nicholls) and stepfather (Stuart Wilson), the nanny (Louise Atkins) of his young sister, a gardener (Eddie Marsan) who supplied him drugs, and an uncle (Stuart Wilson again, playing twins) who has allegedly been out of the country for years but in fact has been keeping a low profile in London. Tanner faces an added strain, initially, when he is partnered with a female detective, Catherine Tully (Claire Skinner), whose reliance on intuition is the antithesis of his own methods. Nevertheless, the two make a bargain after Skinner deduces Tanner's medical troubles: she'll be his eyes if he promises to give her equal credit for apprehending the killer. Utterly engrossing, Second Sight is part of that tradition of somber crime thriller done so well on British television, from Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy to Prime Suspect. Stars Claire Skinner (Sleepy Hollow) and Clive Owen carry the load exceptionally well. Owen (Closer, Bent), who looks like a slightly more rugged version of Kevin Costner and is instantly likable onscreen, conveys Tanner's necessary conversion to a more intuitive approach to police work with great care. Owen has looked like a candidate for international stardom for a while, and Second Sight certainly reinforces that perception. --Tom Keogh
Average review score:

Classy production: but......
Clive Owen is superb as British Chief Detective Inspector Ross Tanner. Ensemble cast (some of whom worked with him in existential thriller CROUPIER)is equally excellent in BBC production which rings with psychological intensity and character development. This American MASTERPIECE THEATRE presentation of SECOND SIGHT has added class of Diana Rigg introducing "the game to be a'foot". But there ARE problems...

Paula Milne's screen play, while providing fascinating vehicle for potential super star Owen (who's been offered role of 007 when Pierce Brosnan hangs-up License to Kill; and starring role in a renewed BATMAN project from Frank Miller's canon),traps itself in foreshadowing it fails to successfuly resolve. Final confrontation between Owen and his prime suspect in murder case ensconsed in suicide,incest,drug abuse and hints of homosexual perversion, ANNOUNCES(like Greek chorus keeping score)the solution. "Anti-climactic" is polite for tacked-on denouement with Ross' not-as-clever as we/he/BBC thought,antagonist. The virtual ANTAGONIST in Second Sight is Tanner opposing himself. It almost works. Owen is riveting in near-despair battle with encroaching blindness; and heart warming with his battle to be father and hero to his son(whom he may lose to divorced-wife's beau,"Frank"). But "deus ex post-modernist machina" quality of the ending...including avoided, crucial confrontation with Ross' Detective Commissioner superior that should've raised hell...diminishes what could've been classic Police Procedural in nobody-does-it-better British tradition. SECOND SIGHT is definitely worth viewing; even a SECOND one. Even actors good as Clive Owen cannot(demonstrated in recent adult fairy-tale,BEYOND BORDERS, where pretentious PC morality agenda nearly does-in good adventure/romance)dam-up plot holes Ms.Milne's ambitious failure in craft have punched in her own story. This is classy,handsome production: but some editor should've reviewed the script
with timely SECOND SIGHT.

Dark mystery
This is an outstanding detective story, combining very contemporary elements with the taut, unrelenting pacing that traditionally characterizes the best British mysteries. Clive Owens' performance is superb, and shows unmistakably his potential for far meatier roles: Gosford Park finally gave him a major vehicle, but he could do even more. Claire Skinner is beautifully matched with him, and their dramatic interplay allows them to develop as real personalities, not just puppets to move the plot along. It would be good to see them together again.

masterpiece it is
its about a detective Ross Tanner(Clive Owen, who is superb in this role) who solves some cases then starts to lose his vision along the way. great direction and imagery. all the episodes are great, like the Insomnia ones where Owen cant sleep and he sees this figure in his room, brilliant. also theres one about a sleepwalking girl and the end episodes where Owen tries to solve a case about a building being bombed, that part where the building explodes and Owen is right next door in the coffee shop is riveting. then at the end Owen quits because he is going blind. a powerful and masterful drama show. not to be missed for fans of Owen. truely some of his best work here

Bent
Released in VHS Tape by M G M, Inc (18 May, 1999)
MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Director: Sean Mathias
Starring: Clive Owen and Lothaire Bluteau
Bent debuted onstage in 1979 with Ian McKellen starring in the London production and Richard Gere in its later Broadway version. The film version is adapted by the playwright, Martin Sherman, and closely follows his play's story of two gay concentration camp victims who are sent to Dachau and who fall in love, using their relationship as an emotional crutch in their efforts to rebuff the horror of the Holocaust. Max (Clive Owen), would rather wear a yellow star and proclaim himself a Jew than be lanced with the pink triangle that designates homosexuality. Horst, (Lothaire Bluteau) chastises him for his homophobia. Later the tables turn on Max, who finds--through Horst--the strength both to keep alive indefinitely and to ultimately embrace his sexual identity.

Initially set in a war-ravaged Berlin, Bent is directed by Sean Mathias, who first directed Jude Law in Indiscretions, and he has crafted a film that reminds one of Ian McKellen's Richard III with its spare, stylized, and stark world bombed into rubble and chic theatrical disarray. There are many poignant as well as harrowing scenes, and the result is a somber work that stands as a reminder that intolerance cannot overtake individualism and love. While Bent received an NC-17 rating for depicting Berlin's decadent, anything-goes-for-a-price nightlife, MGM opted not to edit out the tone-setting prelude and pushed to preserve the film's integrity despite a rating that is itself a kind of death for any film that bears it. --Paula Nechak

Average review score:

The Movie's The Thing...
When I first started reading film criticism, while still in my teens, I remember being, at first, surprised that and then understanding of why many critics were wary of films adapted from stage plays. At first blush, film seems to be a logical extension of the stage, but then when you take into account the unique aspects of both genres, you realize that they are, in many ways, worlds apart. Despite the cinema's (ever increasing) ability to create astonishing special effects, it is the more naturalistic of the two genres. A scene that takes place in the great outdoors can be shot in the great outdoors. With the camera focusing in for close-ups, actors don't have to rely on grand gestures or declamatory oration to convey their meaning.

The standard term among movie makers and their critics for the changes that have to be made to successfully adapt a stage play to the cinema is "opening it up." You have to get it off the stage and into the world. Sometimes it works, and sometimes they fall flat. But the cinematic beast is hungry for narrative and stage plays (along with novels, short stories, lesser known foreign films, and nowadays old comic strips and TV shows) continue to provide it fodder.

Everything I knew about the play BENT did not make it seem promising for film adaptation. I was wrong. Although I've never seen the stage version, one can almost envision it from watching the film. One can also pretty much guess what changes have been made, where things have been embellished and what cinematic tricks have been thrown in to spice things us. So that makes it pretty transparent, right? And therefore not such a great film.

Well, yes and no. The film doesn't achieve actual greatness, I suppose. But even though it's a bit stagey, perhaps, in some ways, it compensates brilliantly for it in other ways. First off, the cinematography is brilliant and no doubt brings a quite different perspective to the drama. The acting is also top notch. I had never seen Clive Owen in anything before--although judging from the reviews posted here, he has quite a fan base. Deservedly so, I'd say based on his performance he turns in here. His character, Max, makes the transition from callow sensualist to self-sacrificing hero believably--and in relatively few scenes. Equally good is French-Canadian actor, Lothaire Bluteau, as Horst, Max's soul-mate and (platonic?) lover. The scene in which they "make love" without touching is quietly powerful--and emblematic of the differences between the cinema and the stage discussed above. Here the actors work with close-ups and with their voices, they cannot gesture because they're being watched. Whatever the stage actors did in the equivalent scene had to be different--even if it was just as effective. They were denied the close-ups that these two actors take great advantage of.

The true test of a film's power is whether or not you'll be thinking about it the next day, or the next week. BENT passes that test. It stays with you.

"Don't love me...they don't want us to."
What an amazing film! Every bit as good as "Schindler's List" (if not better!) Stark and haunting in it's portrayal of gay persecution at the hands of the Nazis. Clive Owen is wonderful as the all-too-human Max who must deny himself and even kill his lovers in order to survive. Lothaire Bluteau is absolutely heroic as Horst. Inspiring and heartwrenching, it is a shame it is not a more widely known and regarded film. The real shame, however, lies in the continued silence and little lies that many gay men and women must live with even today in order to survive. One hopes that a film such as this would open both our minds and hearts so that one would not have to sacrifice truth for freedom (or mere survival) or freedom for truth as Max had to do and many STILL feel they must. "Queers aren't supposed to love" but they do. And that love is not supposed to speak it's name but it must so that the atrocities depicted in "Bent" will not happen again. We must remember. We must NEVER forget. We must speak the truth. For Silence is Death.

Evocative of a stage play, important material
The movie has been set to feel a bit more like a stage play than a film, but it works nonetheless. It covers the story of two gay men who meet in a Nazi death camp and a very inspiring if ultimately tragic love story. Gays and lesbians are the often-forgotten victims of the Holocaust, and this movie and the play it is based on are important, also, because of its contribution to Holocaust studies in general. Mick Jager's unusual appearance as a drag queen is also interesting. As a source of education, there is some sexual content that makes the film inappropriate for use in high school classrooms without a bit of editing, but I think unedited material is very well suited to a college classroom--and is essential viewing for anyone interested in the Holocaust. An important piece of GLBT heritage.

Return to Never Land
Released in VHS Tape by Walt Disney Home Video (20 August, 2002)
MPAA Rating: G (General Audience)
Directors: Robin Budd (II) and Donovan Cook
Starring: Harriet Owen and Blayne Weaver
Unlike Disney's other sequels to their classic films, this follow-up to the 1953 version of Peter Pan debuted in theaters. World War II has turned Wendy's preteen daughter, Jane, into a realist, a girl who insists there's no need for stories and fun while London is crumbling. Hook kidnaps Jane (thinking she's Wendy) and returns to "the second star to the right" to foil Pan. Alas, the film doesn't build on this new story line (the London scenes have the most emotional impact), and what follows is a thin reworking of the original. On the plus side, a clever octopus takes over from that old crocodile, and Jane turns out to be a solid--and modern--role model. Those from ages 4 to 9 who have been brought up on the original should enjoy these adventures, even if the story, like Peter himself, "hasn't grown up." The 72-minute film is shown with the delightful 1948 short "Pluto's Fledgling." --Doug Thomas
Average review score:

Pretty Good, But Could've Been Better.
I absolutly LOVED the first Peter Pan story and was curious to see this as well. I never really though about how a sequel to J.M Barrie's classic Peter Pan, but this movie was decent nonetheless. Peter's voice is different, (young) Wendy's voice is different (I thought so!), Cap'n Hook's voice is different (a little bit), and yes, Mr. Smee and the Lost boys sound different, too!

Overall: Decent, 3 and a half stars. Hey wait a minute! Where's Tiger Lily? I thought she was cute!

My advice: If you really want a decent sequel created by Disney, buy The Rescuers Down Under Gold Collection DVD (it may very well ALWAYS be Disney's greatest sequel! It's also my favourite of the Disney animated features!!)

A Disney sequel that deserves it's theatrical release!
Return to Neverland provides a fresh new perspective on a Disney classic. Decidedly better than other Disney sequels, this theater-released follow-up brings us a more refreshingly modern heroine. Jane (Wendy's daughter) has lost her childhood dreams due to war, but her spunk was evident in a scene prior to that--with her ambition to become one of the "Lost Boys," rather than follow in the footsteps of her mother. She is definitely a heroine, not a damsel in distress. Unfortunately, the more modern soundtrack is completely forgettable (they should have tried harder with this) and the story line rehashes some of the scenes from the original (but remember that Neverland is not supposed to change). In spite of these minor problems, the movie manages to remind us that even in times of trouble, we should never to let ourselves (or our children) forget the magic of childhood. This couldn't be truer in this post-September 11th world.

Should you take your kids to see it? I took my two-year-old and four-year-old sons. The 72 minute run time was perfect--we were able to leave by the time my two-year-old was starting to get antsy. Were there any dark and scary scenes? There were a few scenes with Captain Hook (meaner and more menacing than before) and the octopus (which starts out menacing, but ends up as just a silly side character) that made my two-year-old nervous. Still he wasn't scared by the movie, and he tends to be very sensitive these days. (I was prepared to leave if I needed to, but all I had to do was hold him at one point.) They both had seen the original movie and loved that. After Return to Neverland, they played Peter Pan and Captain Hook for days!

Bottom line? A pleasant (though brief) outing for the entire family.

Peter Pan is back
Peter Pan is back in another sequel from Disney, the question is why does Disney do this? Disney should start to work on more orginal movies instead of sequels all the time. But do we need any more sequels from Disney? In less, somebody can convice Disney to stop making sequels for a while, I guess we are stuck with them. As the movie opens, Wendy (Kath Soucie) now grown up is married, has 2 kids, and when her husband goes off to serve in a war, Wendy stays home with daughter Jane (Harriet Owen) and son Danny (Andrew McDonough) but London is also keeping the children safe, and so both Jane and Danny will have to take a train for safety. Danny believes Wendy's stories about Peter Pan, but his older sister Jane does not. The night before Danny and Jane has to leave home, Captain Hook (Corey Burton) shows up, and mistakes Jane for Wendy, and kidnaps her. In Neverland, she is rescured by Peter Pan (Blayne Weaver). But all she wants to do, is to go home.

Related Subjects: Christina-Ricci
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