David-Keith Movie Reviews

Do be aware that the menu for this disc is the worst design ever in the history of ever. On my player (a PS II):
a) it defaults to the commentary, not the normal sound for the film. Fix this by scrolling through to "Languages", but note you have to do this every time you put the disc in the player.
b) the menu starts at "Play movie" and an arrow. Use the arrow to move to the next menu option. You then have to wait for the music to play, stop and then start again. Once its done that you can access that option or scroll through further.

Immense pain, terrible design. BUT its Spawn and its excellent content, so love the disc, hate the menu.

This is the third season of Spawn and it just seems to be getting darker and darker. But the one thing I can be sure of from this is that it's going to have one hell of a send-off when the entire story finally climaxes.

I'd start watching this if I were you. But be prepared. The violence is quite graphic and the overall tone of the stories ranges from kiddie fiddlers to satanic demons. Needless to say, it's not a cartoon for kids. It's an animated series for adults.

The DVD is in full screen format, as originally drawn and is in Dolby 2.0 surround.

This was a good movie, although it's hard to understand the first time around. The sophisticated system of prisoner autonomy is somewhat hard to believe unless you've already seen the movie before. The setting is interesting - a dessicated prison, complete with an antique electric chair (which emerges from the shadows like the monster from "Alien" - quite yet terrifying). That said, the movie has no surprises (comparisons to "Last Castle" are incorrect). Brubaker is an utterly honest and incorruptible soul. Once we see how he uncovers grafters among the prison administration and trustees, there's little more for him to do. We know that outside businessmen will be corrupt croneys and that even well meaning corrections bureaucrats will try to rein Brubaker in for the good of the system. The movie blows what should be its focus - having Brubaker connect with the prisoners - something he does too easily, too much so considering that his first speech reminds them that they are prisoners and that they are there for a reason. There also aren't enough really supportive roles - as if Yaphet Kotto was the only reliable prisoner. Still worth a look.

Henry Brubaker, as stated in the movie, gained his past experience in corrections working in military prison systems. Brubaker hatches the ingenious plan to insert himself into the prison population at Wakefield Penitentiary as an inmate to experience first hand all the problems inside the facility. What he uncovers is nothing less than barbaric punishment methods, no structured management of inmates, lack of medical care, and the penitentiary itself in advance stages of disrepair.

Henry Brubaker, after revealing his status as the new warden and assuming his duties, goes on to discover that there are no state hired corrections officers on the staff. Inmate trustees, armed with weapons, are given the responsibility of manning watch towers, supervising work crews, and keeping the peace inside of the prison. Furthermore, prisoners are farmed out to local businessmen in the community for work with no pay which amounts to slave labor.

Upon deeper investigation into all the activities in and around the prison, Brubaker discovers other illegal activities including theft of prison food supplies and equipment, inmates being charged fees for almost non-existent medical care, and the revelation that there are prisoners buried on the prison property that were the victims of murder by fellow inmates.

Brubaker confronts the state prison board with these problems only to find out that the prison board is not only aware of these incidents, they think the system should reamin unchanged because it has always been this way and should remain so. You can sense their unhappiness with Brubaker as the new warden who wants to come in and upset their system rather than tow the line.

Henry Brubaker is portrayed as a man of honesty, integrity, and professionalism and in defying the prison board's message to leave well enough alone, he launches his own campaign to reform the prison and correct the wrongs he has inherited as the new warden. Unfortunately, with the power of the prison board and the governor of the state against him, he is eventually removed as the warden and fired.

In the final outcome, many inmates saw the necessity of the changes attempted by Brubaker and were dismayed at seeing him removed and the new warden not making proper progress to reform the prison. This prompted many inmates to file lawsuits against the state for inhumane prison conditions resulting in the governor not being re-elected the following year.

This movie is a fine drama with a very good plot, great acting, and poignant conclusion. I highly recommend this movie to everyone.

I used to teach American Government and would show this and Redford's ... Two of the best political films of all time.

This movie brings up many important and insightful issues involving prison reform/management.

"Todd McFarlane's Spawn" is entertaining (some of the chain tricks *are* used during real life oil drilling), but I prefer Arnold Schwarzenegger's "Commando" (which features Arnold at his peak and young teen Alyssa Milano as Arnold's kidnapped daughter).

This is definately a must-see DVD and don't get the edited version where it is PG-13...Get this uncut version because if you don't, you'll regret it.

"Todd McFarlane's Spawn" is entertaining (some of the chain tricks *are* used during real life oil drilling), but I prefer Arnold Schwarzenegger's "Commando" (which features Arnold at his peak and young teen Alyssa Milano as Arnold's kidnapped daughter).

This is definately a must-see DVD and don't get the edited version where it is PG-13...Get this uncut version because if you don't, you'll regret it.

She loves the teletubbies, and I think people should know that children much younger than 1 year will be interested in these shows.

She is most intrigued by the sun-baby, which of course at about 5 or 6 months infants become fascinated with other babies, she squeals and waves everytime that Baby comes into view and right now she watches the whole 30 minute show, waiting for that baby or other small children to appear.

She recognizes the teletubbies, we bought her a La La doll, which says La La, Hello, Uh oh, etc., which she absolutely loves. I was given a teletubby video by a relative, and I can get house work done whenever I put that video in.

The advertisements are being conservative when they tell the customer that these videos are for 1 year and up. These videos are very interesting and stimulating to infants under a year old as well.

As far as Teletubbies videos go, this one is our favorite.

Folks, Captain Blood is still the best pirate movie (and best doctor movie) ever.

On the plus side, The Black Swan's action sequences are good enough to carry the movie along. There is some very fast swordplay and the large, elaborate ship models are beautiful to see.

Tyrone Power was the Brad Pitt of his era; an actor who wanted to prove that there was more substance to him than just his matinee idol good looks. Unfortunatly, the studio system, which had made Power a star, allowed him little room to grow as an actor. He found himself typecast as the hero of one costume piece movie after the other. "The Black Swan", though, is one of his best. It is a Tyrone Power vehicle made more to showcase his immense good looks rather than his acting range. Power was not happy about this, since he had hoped this movie would allow him to play a more rugged and complex character than his previous "pretty-boy" roles had allowed. Power had even grown a full beard to play this part, but the studio chiefs had conniptions at the thought their star's face being covered from his hordes of female fans. Off went the beard. Once again Tyrone Power had to resign himself to playing the "pretty boy," but he makes the most it. He is a terrific swashbuckler, and seems to have alot of fun doing it and his performance is one of the best parts of the film. (Although some of his scenes with the lovely Maureen O'Hara would be taboo today. Poor Maureen. She was always being physically accosted by her male leads- see the "The Quiet Man.")

The Teletubbies are easy to like and have appeal to young children. My son enjoyed them until he was about two and a half and I find my daughter is moving on from their shows at about the same age.

They sing and dance and talk in simple terms. They play and enjoy life. In this video they concentrate on Nursery Rhymes while they sing and dance. The little skits are centered around nursery rhymes as well. This particular video is one of my favorites as well as a favorite of my children.

The segments are short which means you have a good stopping point at about 10 minute breaks. This helps control how much tv your children watch.

Enjoy.

The final hit that the gang undertakes was a good bit of action, but the one thing that I detest is when the gang fire one shot and kill someone, but when other people fire at the gang it takes about 10 bullets hitting different parts of the body and they still don't die - I hate this, I hate this a lot. It seemed the whole village of about 150 people were firing at our gang of about 7 and in the process took about 150 bullets without dieing - what was going on? After the final hit, half turn them selves in and Cole Younger is sitting there in hospital and he looked like nothing happened, when infact he took 11 bullets - what the hell is going on man. A similar thing happened in the Return of the Magnificent Seven, about half a dozen take on a whole army (it also happened in the first of the Magnificent Seven movies, but that was stylish and I liked it), it just looked absolutely ridiculous, not even a 5 year old would buy that.

The score was probably not that good either as I have forgotten it. One of the reviewers reffered to it as one of the top 5 westerns of all time - eh eh, how wrong can you be, it would not even make my top 10 best westerns.

If you want to watch a western or buy one and you do not have or seen any of Clint Eastwoods dollar movies then forget the Long Riders.

PS: When I returned the Long Riders I swapped it for Once Upon a Time in the West, which was nearly 3 times the price but much much much better.

The James and the Youngers are protrayed as outlaws who were influenced by thier civil war service in and around Missouri. They had killed and stolen in service to their cause and then kept it up after the war ended. But they are not shown in a particularly heroic light.

Instead, they are shown as clannish desperadoes who are supported by the locals. David Carradine in particular does a good job as Cole Younger. The movie does a good job showing the peer pressure put on them after the Pinkerton people get their brother killed. It also shows the Ford brothers selling out Jesse James' life to the Pinkertons.

It does leave out the part in Northfield where the citizenry supposedly went into a hardware store and began grabbing rifles off the shelves with which to repel the invaders.

This movie gets gorey and gritty in spots, has cathouse scenes, and is not a "cowboy" movie to show to young kids.

The final hit that the gang undertakes was a good bit of action, but the one thing that I detest is when the gang fire one shot and kill someone, but when other people fire at the gang it takes about 10 bullets hitting different parts of the body and they still don't die - I hate this, I hate this a lot. It seemed the whole village of about 150 people were firing at our gang of about 7 and in the process took about 150 bullets without dieing - what was going on? After the final hit, half turn them selves in and Cole Younger is sitting there in hospital and he looked like nothing happened, when infact he took 11 bullets - what the hell is going on man. A similar thing happened in the Return of the Magnificent Seven, about half a dozen take on a whole army (it also happened in the first of the Magnificent Seven movies, but that was stylish and I liked it), it just looked absolutely ridiculous, not even a 5 year old would buy that.

The score was probably not that good either as I have forgotten it. One of the reviewers reffered to it as one of the top 5 westerns of all time - eh eh, how wrong can you be, it would not even make my top 10 best westerns.

If you want to watch a western or buy one and you do not have or seen any of Clint Eastwoods dollar movies then forget the Long Riders.

PS: When I returned the Long Riders I swapped it for Once Upon a Time in the West, which was nearly 3 times the price but much much much better.

The James and the Youngers are protrayed as outlaws who were influenced by thier civil war service in and around Missouri. They had killed and stolen in service to their cause and then kept it up after the war ended. But they are not shown in a particularly heroic light.

Instead, they are shown as clannish desperadoes who are supported by the locals. David Carradine in particular does a good job as Cole Younger. The movie does a good job showing the peer pressure put on them after the Pinkerton people get their brother killed. It also shows the Ford brothers selling out Jesse James' life to the Pinkertons.

It does leave out the part in Northfield where the citizenry supposedly went into a hardware store and began grabbing rifles off the shelves with which to repel the invaders.

This movie gets gorey and gritty in spots, has cathouse scenes, and is not a "cowboy" movie to show to young kids.

Needless to say Charlie turns up "Missing" and the majority of the film follows Beth and his father, Ed (Jack Lemmon), on a search for him. During their search Ed finds himself dumbfounded by the corruption and bureaucracy he constantly comes across, not only of the Chilean government but also surprisingly of the one he trusted most, the American government.

One may find this movie slow-moving if you don't really have too much background into the coup or are old-enough to remember some of the Cold War politics of the past. You don't get to know Charlie well enough through the script to really care that he's missing. These factors may add up to a dull movie for some viewers or it could motivate you to learn more. The film rewards every viewer with great acting performances and a cool soundtrack by Vangelis.

Charles and his wife Beth, movingly portrayed by Sissy Spacek, were living in Chile, as were many foreigners at that time, to learn about the new socialist coalition government that had come together under Allende. There was much excitement and idealism in the air. Horman, after witnessing US government military and CIA officials in Valparaiso, Chile, was driven back to Santiago by an American stranger, during the first hours of the coup. He disappeared shortly after his return home. Not one member of his family, or his friends saw him alive again.

Charles Horman's father, brilliantly played by Jack Lemmon, traveled to Santiago immediately, and he and Beth began a long, terrifying and unrewarding search for the disappeared young man. Mr. Horman was very conservative politically, and disapproved of Charles' and Beth's move to Chile. He was a patriotic American who believed that the US government would certainly help him find his son. He slowly began to acknowledge the truth, with Beth leading the way, about the US Embassy's cover-ups and lies. The American foreign service personnel, and US Ambassador, obviously knew the whereabouts and fate of his son, and her husband, and that of many of their disappeared friends.

This is a political drama of the first order. The poignancy and sadness of the lives lost, and the terrible military dictatorship that replaced a democracy, in a country known for its stable, democratic government, is portrayed realistically, in a docu-drama style. The acting is superb. The screen play certainly deserved the Oscar it received.

Whatever your politics, the events portrayed in this film did occur. There is much food for thought in this powerful film.
JANA