Holland-Taylor Movie Reviews

I've never seen a Dudikoff movie I didn't like. Well, maybe "Radioactive Dreams," but that doesn't count since he wasn't the star. Anyway, "Freedom Strike" actually has a pretty good story to it, and the acting is rather impressive for a DTV. Then again, Dudikoff's movies have always been well-made and feature film-quality compaired to just about every other DTV ever made. The scenes between him and the lovely Felicity Waterman are quiet and touching. After seeing those scenes, you could picture him doing a nice romantic comedy. I'd like to see him in something like "You've Got Mail." Check this one out. Now!

i enjoy most of the well-written movies that Michael Dudikoff has been in. the story and acting in this particular movie was good, but could have showed more of the 'human' side of Michael's character.

I've never seen a Dudikoff movie I didn't like. Well, maybe "Radioactive Dreams," but that doesn't count since he wasn't the star. Anyway, "Freedom Strike" actually has a pretty good story to it, and the acting is rather impressive for a DTV. Then again, Dudikoff's movies have always been well-made and feature film-quality compaired to just about every other DTV ever made. The scenes between him and the lovely Felicity Waterman are quiet and touching. After seeing those scenes, you could picture him doing a nice romantic comedy. I'd like to see him in something like "You've Got Mail." Check this one out. Now!

i enjoy most of the well-written movies that Michael Dudikoff has been in. the story and acting in this particular movie was good, but could have showed more of the 'human' side of Michael's character.

I've never seen a Dudikoff movie I didn't like. Well, maybe "Radioactive Dreams," but that doesn't count since he wasn't the star. Anyway, "Freedom Strike" actually has a pretty good story to it, and the acting is rather impressive for a DTV. Then again, Dudikoff's movies have always been well-made and feature film-quality compaired to just about every other DTV ever made. The scenes between him and the lovely Felicity Waterman are quiet and touching. After seeing those scenes, you could picture him doing a nice romantic comedy. I'd like to see him in something like "You've Got Mail." Check this one out. Now!

i enjoy most of the well-written movies that Michael Dudikoff has been in. the story and acting in this particular movie was good, but could have showed more of the 'human' side of Michael's character.

i didn't see this video that's why i want to order it but you don't send to the France. I want to see this video only to see Peter Scolari and Tom Hanks dressed in WOMEN. I want this video and i just ask you if there are somebody to send me "BOSOM BUDDIES vol 1". I can pay in traveler check, I can pay the sending. Please if there are somebody who can help me i accept all proposition. Thanks you very much Sihem Annane e-mail : pretender_26@yahoo.com

"The Waterboy" stars Adam Sandler as Bobby Boucher, the twenty-something waterboy for the local college football team in his home state of Louisiana. Bobby is constantly harrassed by the team's players and its coach, Red Beaulieu (Jerry Reed). One day Bobby is tormented by one of the players and is fired by Coach Beaulieu for disrupting his team.

Bobby then finds employment as the waterboy for another college football team in the area. This team is coached by the mild mannered Coach Kline (Henry Winkler) who challenges Bobby to stand up for himself when the players on his team start to poke fun at him. Bobby snaps when the team's quarterback says something that brings up all the bad feelings he's ever had and Bobby proceeds to deck him with a vicious tackle. Thus starts Bobby Boucher's college football career.

To say that "The Waterboy" is an idiot comedy is like saying the Grand Canyon is a hole in the ground. This is idiot comedy taken to the extreme. About half of the movie works, like when Bobby drop kicks an opposing player for having said something about his momma. The other half, like the mumbling of Farmer Fran (Blake Clark), is just stupid.

Sandler's accent in this movie is not cajun or even southern, it's a cross between a five year old and someone with a severe stutter. It gets a little annoying after a while but certainly fits the role better than Sandler's own voice.

I almost gave this movie two stars for making me watch Kathy Bates in a horribly casted role as Bobby's scheming mother. She doesn't want him playing "no foosball" or messing with girls (they's the devil). Bobby of course does both by joining the college football team and hooking up with Vicki Vallencourt, played by Fairuza Balk.

I wouldn't recommend "The Waterboy" as the Adam Sandler movie to see if you are only going to see one of them. The one I recommend is "Happy Gilmore". Sadly though, this is Sandler's second best movie to date. That he manages to pull down $20 million per film is a testament to just how far our culture has fallen. Jerry Lewis's films used to be a nice diversion from the great blockbuster films like "Gone with the Wind" and "The Maltese Falcon". Now, in the person of Adam Sandler, Jerry Lewis is the blockbuster. Perhaps we have more in common with the French than we know.

While funny at times, this movie is only OK at best. Some of the characters are absolutley ridiculous such as Bobby's girlfriend Vicki Valencourt, a car stealing bandit who loves Bobby for what he is and Farmer Fran, the redneck assistant football coach. This movie depicts bumbling, intelligence challenged Bobby Boucher (Adam Sandler) and his life as waterboy for Louisiana University. But his life is dramatically changed when he is fired by the mean spirited coach for getting in the way. Bobby's understatedly overprotected mom is thrilled and thinks this is the best thing since sliced bread, but Bobby is devestated. He sets out to find a new waterboying job, and is accepted at small bayou school S.C.L.S.U. One day Bobby is made fun of and literally snaps, he runs at the assailant and decks him, this earns him a spot on the team, but he can't tell his mom because she will not allow him to play. As one can easily see, this movie has absolutley no plot or story line and is definitley not Adam Sandler at his best, that is Billy Madison or Happy Gilmore.

... This has to be one of my favorites from Sandler because it's a really funny movie plus there's a lot of football action and Sandler is hilarious in this movie.

Sandler is Bobby Boucher, a 31 year old still living with his mama waterboy. Boucher gets fired from the big league university he was waterboy for and is then forced to find a new waterboy position and he finds his way to SCLSU (South Central Louisiana State University) and the SCLSU Mud Dawgs football. As soon as he gets there, it's the same situation... the players are picking on him. His coach (Henry Winkler) then tells Bobby to fight back or they'll do it forever. So with his coach's advice, Bobby fights back and shows his teammates who's boss. Winkler being impressed with Bobby's tackling ability when he's mad uses that and makes him their new starting Linebacker.

Trutyhfully, Sandler stretched for this one because his character was unlike any of his orher characters. Sandler was funny in almost a DUmb and Dumber sense along with the on field comedy during the football games was also hilarious. I'd suggest this to anyone because it's a great movie for laughs and some good ole' football.

If you're looking for other roles where Sandler is more than just a regualr guy (like in Big Daddy), check out LITTLE NICKY because that one is also very funny and Sandler makes an acting stretch for that role as well. In any case, drink your Water and check out the Waterboy!

While I could pick at one or two points about "Romancing the Stone", there's no reason to; it was a positively delightful and enjoyable film in every respect. A real gem (no pun intended, of course).
But "Jewel" had absolutely none of the charm of its predecessor. "Romancing..." ended exactly where it should have ended -- what a misguided thought it was to pick up the story after the "happily ever after" ending of the first film. Some stories just end where they're supposed to end; with Scarlett O'Hara losing Rhett; with Rick Blaine nobly giving up Ilsa for a greater good; with Atticus sitting up in Jem's bedroom while Jem sleeps. Sequels for any of these would be a travesty (sadly, it's happened anyway for a couple of them). While "Romancing..." is not on a par with these books and movies, it nevertheless ended in a very appropriate way, and it's a shame it wasn't left there.

THE JEWEL OF THE NILE is a sequel to ROMANCING THE STONE. The director and the screenwriters are new but Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito are back in their old familiar roles. The cast also includes Spiros Focas and Avner Eisenberg.

This time the adventure takes place in North Africa where Turner is invited to accompany a wealthy Arab to his own country. She soon finds herself caught in another big mess in a very strange land. Naturally Douglas has to rescue her as he did before in ROMANCING THE STONE.

Danny DeVito's best scene comes near the beginning of the film when he suddenly emerges from a barrel on a dock with a rapid-fire description of his experiences in a Columbian jail. On balance JEWEL OF THE NILE is an entertaining movie but it does not quite recapture the magic of ROMANCING THE STONE.

Just about everyone who orders this title has seen it before. So this is in regards to Video quality. If you must own the movie fine then by all means purchase it but be warned the DVD movie quality is atrocious. I must have about 100 movies now and of course you do expect some dropouts and scratches on older titles but this one really takes the cake in my opinion. This copy is littered with dropouts " small white specs" , scratches and well just a plain dirty rendition of a superb movie. I have no clue why a DVD production house would allow something this bad to go into mass production unless they just believe that Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner fans will buy anything with them in it. I was beginning to believe that when you purchased a DVD you were getting the absolute best that these companies could offer. NOT SO, It appears that the bottom line is still about making a profit. Sadly enough its the consumer that ends up flipping the bill. The intros and menus are top notch superb DVD quality. And it starts out ok but gets prgressively worse. Honestly guys this movie could have been mastered from a better copy instead... well for us Douglas Turner fans a complete and sad letdown.

The third and final installment to the Spy Kids series of movies makes a grand attempt to go out with a bang, but instead just mercifully goes away...

THE STORY:

Juni Cortez comes out of "retirement" to save sister Carmen from an evil Virtual Reality game that threatens to corrupt the lives of America's youth (yuk yuk yuk) forever. Juni must enter the VR game and battle through 5 levels of CyberWarfare facing other gamers and assorted CyberMonsters to save Carmen.

THE COOL THINGS:

Obviously the big sell of this movie are the 3-D special effects. You'll get your old school 3-D glasses (red lens in one eye, blue in the other) at the box office and the movie conveniently tells you when to put them on. The virtual reality/3-D world of the video is just awesome to see and the "high-tech" battles of the movie are a nice contrast to the mutated creature/monsters of the previous movies. Overall, the movie gets an 'A' for FX. Another big plus going for this movie is the prominent role of Grandpa Cortez (the legendary Ricardo Montalban) who aides Juni in rescuing Carmen. That's about it for the cool stuff though...

THE CRITIQUE:

Something just feels off and missing from this movie. Much of the charm of the first two movies is lost. There are no "cutesy" bad guys in this film, just follow "CyberWarriors" and virtual robot baddies. The pacing of the movie also just feels very off. The journey of Juni and his friends to Level 5 of the game, while at parts exciting, just feels very un-epic and un-exciting. The ending of the movie is also very anti-climatic. The movie is just extremely short. I found myself quite underwhelmed when Juni and the crew finally "saved" Carmen and reached Level 5 to "beat the bad guy." Have you ever found yourself doing and seeing something you were looking forward to and when it was over thought to yourself "That's It????"

One cool thing at the end was bringing back much of the characters from the previous films (a nod to the franchise reaching it's finish) but again, it just feels so anti-climatic. The addition of Sylvester Stallone as the crazed Toymaker was a nice touch for the adults (with nods to Rocky in the bloopers) but seriously, how many of the little kids in the audience even know who Stallone is or having memorable recollections of Rocky or Rambo?

BEST SCENES:

1.Juni vs. Demetria is the "Battlebot Competition"

2.The Race scene

3.Lava Surfing

THE VERDICT:

I'm a big fan of the Spy Kids series and quite honestly, "Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over" simply underwhelms. Sure, the action and FX are well done, but the story and pacing of the movie just doesn't deliver the same amount of "oomph" that the first two films do. If you're looking for cool VR action this movie does that well in spades, but for an entertaining and enthralling story you can probably do better elsewhere.

Fare thee well Carmen and Juni Cortez, it was fun but sadly enough the Game really is over.

Recommendation: Stick with the first two movies.

Whatever your cup of tea, you have to give this Spy Kids movie some credit for at least trying 3-D. I admit, though, the old-school style of 3-D was hard on the eyes, and the show, at times, was practically unviewable. But what OF the show? The first Spy Kids was a marvelous treat. The second, total crap. The 3rd installment brings new life into the series, but it's obvious Spy Kids has seen its last. A lot of charm was lost. However--- the highlight of the movie is when Juni goes into a video game to save his sister. I thought that whole adventure was well done, and is quite entertaining when you think about what's going on. But like some games I've played, the ending to Spy Kids 3-D probably wasn't worth the entire effort. Nice try.

This is the best 3-D movie I've seen!When I went into the theatre I knew it would be 3-D,and it was 3-D!I would also reccomend the DVD version.I also give this two thumbs up.

From,
Zack Paslay,age 9

The third and final installment to the Spy Kids series of movies makes a grand attempt to go out with a bang, but instead just mercifully goes away...

THE STORY:

Juni Cortez comes out of "retirement" to save sister Carmen from an evil Virtual Reality game that threatens to corrupt the lives of America's youth (yuk yuk yuk) forever. Juni must enter the VR game and battle through 5 levels of CyberWarfare facing other gamers and assorted CyberMonsters to save Carmen.

THE COOL THINGS:

Obviously the big sell of this movie are the 3-D special effects. You'll get your old school 3-D glasses (red lens in one eye, blue in the other) at the box office and the movie conveniently tells you when to put them on. The virtual reality/3-D world of the video is just awesome to see and the "high-tech" battles of the movie are a nice contrast to the mutated creature/monsters of the previous movies. Overall, the movie gets an 'A' for FX. Another big plus going for this movie is the prominent role of Grandpa Cortez (the legendary Ricardo Montalban) who aides Juni in rescuing Carmen. That's about it for the cool stuff though...

THE CRITIQUE:

Something just feels off and missing from this movie. Much of the charm of the first two movies is lost. There are no "cutesy" bad guys in this film, just follow "CyberWarriors" and virtual robot baddies. The pacing of the movie also just feels very off. The journey of Juni and his friends to Level 5 of the game, while at parts exciting, just feels very un-epic and un-exciting. The ending of the movie is also very anti-climatic. The movie is just extremely short. I found myself quite underwhelmed when Juni and the crew finally "saved" Carmen and reached Level 5 to "beat the bad guy." Have you ever found yourself doing and seeing something you were looking forward to and when it was over thought to yourself "That's It????"

One cool thing at the end was bringing back much of the characters from the previous films (a nod to the franchise reaching it's finish) but again, it just feels so anti-climatic. The addition of Sylvester Stallone as the crazed Toymaker was a nice touch for the adults (with nods to Rocky in the bloopers) but seriously, how many of the little kids in the audience even know who Stallone is or having memorable recollections of Rocky or Rambo?

BEST SCENES:

1.Juni vs. Demetria is the "Battlebot Competition"

2.The Race scene

3.Lava Surfing

THE VERDICT:

I'm a big fan of the Spy Kids series and quite honestly, "Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over" simply underwhelms. Sure, the action and FX are well done, but the story and pacing of the movie just doesn't deliver the same amount of "oomph" that the first two films do. If you're looking for cool VR action this movie does that well in spades, but for an entertaining and enthralling story you can probably do better elsewhere.

Fare thee well Carmen and Juni Cortez, it was fun but sadly enough the Game really is over.

Recommendation: Stick with the first two movies.

Whatever your cup of tea, you have to give this Spy Kids movie some credit for at least trying 3-D. I admit, though, the old-school style of 3-D was hard on the eyes, and the show, at times, was practically unviewable. But what OF the show? The first Spy Kids was a marvelous treat. The second, total crap. The 3rd installment brings new life into the series, but it's obvious Spy Kids has seen its last. A lot of charm was lost. However--- the highlight of the movie is when Juni goes into a video game to save his sister. I thought that whole adventure was well done, and is quite entertaining when you think about what's going on. But like some games I've played, the ending to Spy Kids 3-D probably wasn't worth the entire effort. Nice try.

This is the best 3-D movie I've seen!When I went into the theatre I knew it would be 3-D,and it was 3-D!I would also reccomend the DVD version.I also give this two thumbs up.

From,
Zack Paslay,age 9

If a film has enough heart, character development, and storyline, it can overcome whatever it may lack in production values, budget, and talent. This is not the case with "The Fluffer". This film has none of these. Here are a group of people Mother Theresa wouldn't care about on her best day. The story itself is nonexistant. Here it is.... everyone in the "adult" film industry is screwed up. The end! Roll credits! If Scott Gurney wasn't beautiful, and his face and torso was not on the DVD cover this bad film would go away and no one would even notice.

I made a point of NOT reading any reviews on Amazon or any print reviews .... I wanted to be able to form my own opinions of the film AFTER seeing it for myself. Having had some time to process and think about it, it was not a bad film.

The characters are quite believable and I felt sympathy for some of them but not for others, particularly for Johnny Rebel Porn Star, played by Scott Gurney. Gurney's performance is quite good. Nevertheless, it's very difficult to feel anything good for either his character or his actions in the story.

The Fluffer is a rather dark love story, but I enjoyed it for its honesty and reality. It's not romanticized in any way--quite refreshing for a gay film. It seems that many GLBT films struggle to make you like them but forcing emotions or plotlines. Not the case here.

For that reason I gave it 4 stars overall. The acting rates 4 stars easily. The screenwriting a 3 and the dialogue a 2. However, the film's unflinching look at life and consequences makes it a strong and thought-provoking look at the lives of some gay (and straight) people's lives.

Recommended.

Wash Westmoreland and Richard Glatzer's "The Fluffer" is an earnest, honest and humane attempt at exposing the Gay Porno scene through the eyes of a young gay man Sean (Michael Cunio), new to Hollywood who falls in love with a gay porno star after he rents a movie he thinks is "Citizen Kane" that turns out to be a gay porno starring Johnny Rebel (Scott Gurney).
(When the obviously oblivious Sean brings what he thinks is CK to the check out counter, the clerk winks and says: "Doing the Classics tonight, huh?) Sean proceeds to apply and get a job at Janus Films, maker of all of Johnny Rebel's films,as a cameraman and thus sets the film and his infatuation in full motion.
Westmoreland/Glatzer have the sense to steal from some of the best movies: isn't Sean really a palliative for the Phillip Seymour Hoffman character in "Boogie Nights," who is as over-the-top and overwrought in love with Dirk Diggler as Sean is laid back and introspective about his feelings for Johnny Rebel? And it's much harder for Sean to stay cool about Johnny in that, not only is he a cameraman he's also Johnny's designated "Fluffer."
There are some heavy-handed, though earnest attempts to delve into the psyches of Sean as well as Johnny but most of this falls flat as it merely upsets the equilibrium of the film: is this a psychological study or a light comedy? It is possible to be both, but the transitions need to be handled with more aplomb than they are here to be be meaningful and effective.
The final scenes of the film are a hoot though, with blatant references to Tennessee Williams' "Sweet Bird of Youth" with Sean standing in for Paul Newman and Johnny for Geraldine Page as Sean consoles Johnny in a cheap motel in Mexico. That scene also cannily references Michelangelo's Pieta!
They probably bite off more than they can chew in "The Fluffer," but Westmoreland/Glacker show a real sense of style, grace and directorial know-how; especially difficult with the obvious constaints of a small budget. Look for these two to do great things in the future.

If a film has enough heart, character development, and storyline, it can overcome whatever it may lack in production values, budget, and talent. This is not the case with "The Fluffer". This film has none of these. Here are a group of people Mother Theresa wouldn't care about on her best day. The story itself is nonexistant. Here it is.... everyone in the "adult" film industry is screwed up. The end! Roll credits! If Scott Gurney wasn't beautiful, and his face and torso was not on the DVD cover this bad film would go away and no one would even notice.

I made a point of NOT reading any reviews on Amazon or any print reviews .... I wanted to be able to form my own opinions of the film AFTER seeing it for myself. Having had some time to process and think about it, it was not a bad film.

The characters are quite believable and I felt sympathy for some of them but not for others, particularly for Johnny Rebel Porn Star, played by Scott Gurney. Gurney's performance is quite good. Nevertheless, it's very difficult to feel anything good for either his character or his actions in the story.

The Fluffer is a rather dark love story, but I enjoyed it for its honesty and reality. It's not romanticized in any way--quite refreshing for a gay film. It seems that many GLBT films struggle to make you like them but forcing emotions or plotlines. Not the case here.

For that reason I gave it 4 stars overall. The acting rates 4 stars easily. The screenwriting a 3 and the dialogue a 2. However, the film's unflinching look at life and consequences makes it a strong and thought-provoking look at the lives of some gay (and straight) people's lives.

Recommended.

Wash Westmoreland and Richard Glatzer's "The Fluffer" is an earnest, honest and humane attempt at exposing the Gay Porno scene through the eyes of a young gay man Sean (Michael Cunio), new to Hollywood who falls in love with a gay porno star after he rents a movie he thinks is "Citizen Kane" that turns out to be a gay porno starring Johnny Rebel (Scott Gurney).
(When the obviously oblivious Sean brings what he thinks is CK to the check out counter, the clerk winks and says: "Doing the Classics tonight, huh?) Sean proceeds to apply and get a job at Janus Films, maker of all of Johnny Rebel's films,as a cameraman and thus sets the film and his infatuation in full motion.
Westmoreland/Glatzer have the sense to steal from some of the best movies: isn't Sean really a palliative for the Phillip Seymour Hoffman character in "Boogie Nights," who is as over-the-top and overwrought in love with Dirk Diggler as Sean is laid back and introspective about his feelings for Johnny Rebel? And it's much harder for Sean to stay cool about Johnny in that, not only is he a cameraman he's also Johnny's designated "Fluffer."
There are some heavy-handed, though earnest attempts to delve into the psyches of Sean as well as Johnny but most of this falls flat as it merely upsets the equilibrium of the film: is this a psychological study or a light comedy? It is possible to be both, but the transitions need to be handled with more aplomb than they are here to be be meaningful and effective.
The final scenes of the film are a hoot though, with blatant references to Tennessee Williams' "Sweet Bird of Youth" with Sean standing in for Paul Newman and Johnny for Geraldine Page as Sean consoles Johnny in a cheap motel in Mexico. That scene also cannily references Michelangelo's Pieta!
They probably bite off more than they can chew in "The Fluffer," but Westmoreland/Glacker show a real sense of style, grace and directorial know-how; especially difficult with the obvious constaints of a small budget. Look for these two to do great things in the future.