Joe-Viterelli Movie Reviews

"State of Grace" is very loosely based on an actual gang of Irish-American criminals called the Westies who terrorized Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen neighborhood from the 70's to the mid-80's.

In "State of Grace" Terry Noonan (Sean Penn) returns to his old neighborhood after an absence of twelve years. There he is reunited with his best friend, Jackie Flannery (Gary Oldman), an alcoholic and extremely violent member of an organized criminal gang led by Jackie's older brother, Frankie (Ed Harris.) Noonan is also reunited with his first love, Kathleen Flannery (Robin Wright), who is the younger sister of Jackie and Frankie. Although the Flannery brothers are puzzled by Noonan's 12 year disappearance, they are satisfied that he is now currently on the run from the law due to a botched drug sale which they believe resulted in two murders, and allow him to join in their criminal enterprise. Of course, infiltrating Frankie's gang is the purpose of Noonan's return to NYC because he is actually a Boston cop who has volunteered to help bring down this criminal organization. However, Noonan finds himself conflicted by old loyalties to his neighborhood's code against informants, his rekindled love for Kathleen, and his friendship with Jackie.

Noonan's conflict between his loyalty to his past and his present duty is just one of several conflicts presented in the movie. Frankie Flannery is shown as a ruthless criminal without one shred of loyalty to anyone. Frankie lives in a squeeky clean suburb in New Jersey while making a living extorting the working people of the grungy Hell's Kitchen. Frankie also is anxious to make an alliance with an Italian crime family in order to really make a move into the upper echelons of organized crime. Frankie will allow NOTHING to interfere with this alliance. Jackie, on the other hand, is all about loyalty to his family and the neighborhood. Jackie sees himself as a sort of Robin Hood protecting the old neighborhood from the incursions of yuppies and other various outsiders. Jackie's loyalty to old friends and his older brother's ruthlessness eventually come into conflict. Also drawn into the maelstrom is Kathleen who ran away from the old neighborhood to escape its squalor and her brothers' criminal lives. However, she finds herself drawn back into it by her old love for Noonan, and she is not sure if that is what she wants. Of course, Noonan finds himself in the center of all these conflicts and eventually it all leads to disaster.

"State of Grace" screams IRISH. From the moment Noonan walks into a bar to the strains of The Pogues' "White City" to the final shootout, which is filmed to the song "O Wearing of the Green" and juxtaposed with shots of the NYC St. Patrick's Day parade, the film is one Irish cliche after the other. Also look out for "homages" to the classic Irish-American gangster film- Jimmy Cagney's "The Public Enemy." The scene in which Jackie walks behind the bar and starts breaking stuff is just one of several scenes taken from Cagney's classic Irish gangster film.

I first seen this movie soon after it was released (VHS) and was very impressed considering most people hadn't heard of it. It was refreashing to see a director who finally wanted to make a movie about the Irish Mob, who afterall were the longest established organised crime group in NY. I strongly disagree with a reviewer from Medford, NY who described Oldman's character as somewhat over the top. In my opinion, this is Oldman's finest performance to date! Having read many books on the Westside Irish Mob (as they refered to themselves) including The Westies by T.J English, Oldman brought the real life character Mickey Featherstone to life on our screens in Oscar style fashion! Believe me , these characters are not your average Italian style gangster; slick-back hair, well dressed killers. Most of these men had no such delusions of grandeuer when it came to how they looked. Many were hard drinking heroin addicts who if hadn't been shot, would have killed themselves anyway! These story lines have a much harder edge than your average Italian/Jewish gangster film because of a notorious drug and drinking culture that the other two etnic crime groups considered to be sloppy and unprofessional. Other films such as Southie have tackled these issues also, portraying a family from the projects coming to terms with alcoholism, drug abuse and gun culture. Don't get me wrong, I love Goodfellas and The Godfather but you have to admit, you won't beat the Irish when it comes to telling a story with typically unique ingredients. Jonau, indeed, could have been far more brutal in his portrayal of these men. Storys of a victem's head being taken on a pub crawl of the westside are now legendary. Ed Harris and Sean Penn turn in fantastic performances also, but Gary Oldman steals the show. I couldn't believe it when I found out shortly after watching the movie that Oldman is infact English. His portrayal of what is generally accepted to be Mickey Featherstone, is awsome! Those of you used to your typical Italian gangster movie be prepared for a crash landing into the world of psycotic, alcoholic, drug addicted killers! No dyed hair and flashy suits here! Just cold blooded, knee jerk reaction murder!

It's unfortunate that this movie received so little marketing and went largely unnoticed. First off, amazing cast. Sean Penn, Ed Harris, Gary Oldman, Robin Wright, and John Turturro star in this movie.

Sean Penn gives one his best performances as Terry Noonan, who goes undercover into New York's Irish mob. He was selected because his childhood friend, Jackie (Oldman), is one of the top Lieutenants, and Jack's older brother Frankie (Harris) is the boss. Noonan quickly becomes encompassed in a life he had forgotten, and falls back in love with Frankie & Jackie's younger sister Kathleen (Wright), who is trying to get away from the life her brothers have chosen. Turturro plays the cop/mentor for Terry who has to try and convince he's doing the right thing.

When Frankie has another childhood friend (John C Reilly) killed, Terry has to figure a way to take Frankie down, but is conflicted due to his love for Jackie and Kathleen. I won't spoil the rest, but that's a synopsis of what the movie is about. It's about love, hate, betrayal, and revenge.

Penn gives a remarkable performance as the conflicted cop (similar to Donnie Brasco), and Oldman plays a bad guy that everyone loves. Harris plays the role of a cold, ruthless mob boss with perfection. Wright & Turturro give above average performances as co-stars, and the remaining actors are well cast.

To sum it all up, one of the best Organized Crime movies of all time and starring 4 men who have been nominated for Academy Awards. Above average plot, great cinematography, brilliant acting, and a very original ending, make this movie a must for all mob movie fans, and recommendation to all others.

There are spoilers in this review, but you should already know the historical details anyway.

"Ruby" isn't a good movie, but it *almost* was, and long stretches of the movie show us glimpses of the great movie it could have been. These portions of the movie are good enough to be worth owning the DVD for (especially if you enjoyed Oliver Stone's "JFK" for the look and feel of it rather than factual analysis).

The story takes what little is known about Ruby's shady life - that he was a burlesque club owner who had connections to organized crime and the CIA - and riffs on this entertainingly. However, the idea that Ruby's motive for shooting Oswald was "to expose the whole thing" makes absolutely no sense whatsoever, especially knowing that he made no great revelations about the conspiracy after he thrust himself into the public eye. How do you expose a conspiracy by silencing a key conspirator?

For some reason, the director chose to portray the mobster Santos Trafficante under the transparent guise of a character named Alicante. The fictional character of Candy Cane is rather pointless, especially since she seems to be a total fabrication and not based on any of Ruby's actual strippers. The infamous Jada is nowhere to be seen in the film, which is one of the biggest disappointments for me.

The look and feel of the film is great, though. It's an enjoyable immersion in gangsters, burlesque, spies, and politics, in late-50s-early-60s surroundings. Their period portrayal of Cuba is extremely well done, but rather than recreate Las Vegas, they simply pillaged stock footage from Elvis Presley's "Viva Las Vegas". This perfectly illustrates the film's uneven level of quality.

In "Ruby", veteran actor Danny Aiello does a superb job of portraying the man who will forever be remembered for silencing the accused assassin of President Kennedy.
Aiello almost makes a better Jack Ruby than Jack Ruby himself.
Aiello gives a memorable performance and gives valuable insight as to why Jack Ruby shot Lee Harvey Oswald. Hint: It wasnt why the Warren Commission said he did. There were much more conspiratorial and sinister reasons.
This movie will certainly add to the intrigue of the JFK Assassination conspiracy.
It paints Ruby as somewhat of a patsy himself, like Lee Oswald was.
Sherilyn Fenn does a great job as "Candy Cane" one of Ruby's strippers.
You really feel for Ruby and Cane at the end of this movie.
This movie also has a very stunning scene of the JFK Assassination, and it was filmed in Dealey Plaza, where Kennedy was killed.
If you are interested in the JFK assassination, the Mafia's vendetta against Castro, or the corruption of the Dallas Police at the time of the JFK murder, you will find this movie very interesting.
I hope you enjoy it.

this is a good movie for anybody interested in the JFK assassination or for just anybody who wants to watch a good movie.
this movie has very little to do with the actual facts, for instance, the girl, Candy Cane dosen't exist, but they put her in anyway.

the actual assassination is pretty good.
only 2 shooters though, but not a bad re-enactment.
Robert Groden also got involved in this movie, Groden is the author of several books and helped recreate the Dealey Plaza scene for JFK.

the saddest part of the movie is the assassination of JFK.
you see the motorcade come down Elm Street in front of the book depository and in the background you hear Amazing Grace.
kinda sad.

i like the theme song when he's going to kill Oswald, but the actual Oswald assassination scence is pretty corny. in the movie, Oswald sees Ruby coming at him and he prepares for the shot, in reality, that never happened, but this isn't a documentry, it's a movie.

so enjoy it.

I watched this movie with my friend and it was so funny! Laugh-out-loud funny gags and spoofs. In this movie they spoofed alot of different movies: The Godfather movies, Scarface, Twister, The English Patient, Forrest Gump(run, florist, run!), they spoof even more, including Riverdance. The best part is the Child's Play/Lost World Jurassic Park spoof. A little boy named Chucky(he's dressed like the Chucky doll) is running through the forest. He falls over a log, and the compy dinosaurs(the small ones), jump over the log and attack him(his clothes fly over the log). The plot is well, confusing. But if you see it, you should get it(unlike me!). But, be warned, this isn't for kids! This has alot of stuff that's offensive, plus stuff they wouldn't get(like people sniffing drugs). Overall, it's a funny laugh-out-loud movie that spoofs the mafia. Throw in some top-notch actors, and you got one movie that's worth watching on a Friday night!

This is the best spoof on any Mafia movie ever made. The slap-knee inside jokes on the Godfather Trilogy and Scarface. From the very beginning when Cortino (Mohr) walks out of his casino, and looks over at his car as it says : "Please use the other car" and he just shrugs it off and then goes over to that car, it spoofs not only Mafia movies, but your Forrest Gump, The English Patient, and Twister.

The Casino spoofs are so funny when Cortino is walking through the casino and it starts talking about the games. When the movie spoofs Godfather Part II in the flashback scenes - it's truly funny, as Don Cortino as a young boy, the scene as he races to the boat, which is nickname El Pacino, so he swims all the way to New York and he is easily out of breath.

To the part as Applegate's character is the President in the end, when she storms into his office, as he singing the apporiate checks i.e. bullet store, as Diane asks him if he killed all those people as he calmly replied "No" which is good enough for Mrs. President cause she replies "Oh well, I'm going to get some ice cream. See you tonight?"

And Mama Cortino who takes care of her grandson's woman problems by blowing up the hotel in which she is staying at. And the Riverdance spoof cannot be missed.

One of my favorite movies of all time! This is a must for any comedy loving movie fan. If you like the Naked Gun Series, then you'll love this. Every detail of the movie is packed with humor, so much so that you have to watch it more than once to see it all. Get it, and you'll love it!

Basically, "Analyze This" is a one-line gag flick ('hey, did you hear the one about the mafia kingpin who went to a shrink?'), but funny and very GOOD performances from Robert DeNiro and Billy Crystal really make this film hang together.

In particular, DeNiro is a hoot as Paul Vitti, a mafia don who's struggling with some internal angst. He's entirely believable as both the tough-talking, boastful, powerful don AND as the person who's struggling with some emotional problems. The internal struggle between these two sides of his character are beautifully played out by DeNiro. In Vitti's first session with Dr. Sobel (Crystal), we see DeNiro go seamlessly from needy patient to laughing wiseguy to frightening don...all in the space of about two minutes. Brilliant stuff.

Crystal is, as always, funny as Dr. Sobel, a shrink who at first takes Vitti as a "patient he can't refuse", then actually risks his life to treat him. The high point of Crystal's performance is a very funny scene in which he dons a shiny silver suit and does a dead-on imitation of a wiseguy (complete with lines like "you know...that THING" that are straight out of 'Goodfellas').

If "Analyze This" has a major flaw, it's a staged confrontation at the end of the movie between Vitti and his rival mobsters, which ends in Vitti declaring publicly that he's leaving the mob. In real life, he'd make it about as far as the door.

And the relationship between Crystal and his fiancee (Lisa Kudrow) is more than a little strained and unrealistic; what girl would put up with having her wedding day interrupted not just once, but twice, by gangsters (once by a murder)?

Flaws aside, "Analyze This" is a very funny movie, but any fan of mob flicks (me! me!) will be especially delighted.

This popular gangster comedy is good, but I'll admit, it could've been better. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed the movie and couldn't find too many flaws, but I thought the movie should've been more involving for its excellent premise. I mean, put the one and only Robert DeNiro, Billy Crystal and Groundhog Day director Harold Ramis together and you should have brilliance. Analyze This at times just doesn't analyze itself too brilliantly. Still, I really liked the movie. The characters are fresh, intriguing and really original - especially DeNiro's - and are a delight to watch. Lisa Kudrow's character was an interesting one but I felt she was underused for her talent. Billy Crystal is an utter delight to watch. He has a cool, calm character and gives one of the best performances in the film. The movie is very original and the script is very well written. I appreciated Harold Ramis's effort, but a few more camera tricks or - I repeat - scenes with Lisa Kudrow could've improved the movie. Out of all this, however, I just couldn't go past the character of Jelly. I respected him the most out of all the characters in the movie and whenever he was on-screen; the movie was a delight. His character is one of the most involving ones in the movie and I just thought he was a really good man to take up screen space. Joe Viterelli plays him excellently. Well, through all this review I've mostly flawed Analyze This, but I really think it is worth your viewing time and it still worthy of a strong 4 or 3.5 stars out of 5. I highly recommend this movie if you want a film that blends comedy, drama and mostly importantly mayhem together in a really cool fasion.

DVD STUFF: 4/5. A good DVD. Very cool outtakes which will have you in chuckles, some great commentaries and nice production notes. I highly recommend The Sopranos Second Season and get this film' deal. Cool shtuff!

Crystal and DeNiro shine when they work together, DeNiro has problems because hes a mob boss and Crystal is called in to try to handle the matter, but DeNiro wont stop bugging him. its hilarious with memberable parts. one highlight is when DeNiro calls up Palmenteri on the phone and then they argue and DeNiro says like " you make one more move on me you motha***cker and ill ***king cut off your **cking *alls, ill shove um up your **cking ass, i'll **cking bury you" it goes something like that and its , just great and my other highlighted moment is when Crystal goes to the mob bosses meeting and they ask him who he is and hes like " who I be, who be I" or something like that and then he goes into saying something about the movie where the alien pops out of the guys stomach and eats everyone on board, may they rest in peace. its worth it and Lisa Kudrow is great also as Crystal's wife

Basically, "Analyze This" is a one-line gag flick ('hey, did you hear the one about the mafia kingpin who went to a shrink?'), but funny and very GOOD performances from Robert DeNiro and Billy Crystal really make this film hang together.

In particular, DeNiro is a hoot as Paul Vitti, a mafia don who's struggling with some internal angst. He's entirely believable as both the tough-talking, boastful, powerful don AND as the person who's struggling with some emotional problems. The internal struggle between these two sides of his character are beautifully played out by DeNiro. In Vitti's first session with Dr. Sobel (Crystal), we see DeNiro go seamlessly from needy patient to laughing wiseguy to frightening don...all in the space of about two minutes. Brilliant stuff.

Crystal is, as always, funny as Dr. Sobel, a shrink who at first takes Vitti as a "patient he can't refuse", then actually risks his life to treat him. The high point of Crystal's performance is a very funny scene in which he dons a shiny silver suit and does a dead-on imitation of a wiseguy (complete with lines like "you know...that THING" that are straight out of 'Goodfellas').

If "Analyze This" has a major flaw, it's a staged confrontation at the end of the movie between Vitti and his rival mobsters, which ends in Vitti declaring publicly that he's leaving the mob. In real life, he'd make it about as far as the door.

And the relationship between Crystal and his fiancee (Lisa Kudrow) is more than a little strained and unrealistic; what girl would put up with having her wedding day interrupted not just once, but twice, by gangsters (once by a murder)?

Flaws aside, "Analyze This" is a very funny movie, but any fan of mob flicks (me! me!) will be especially delighted.

This popular gangster comedy is good, but I'll admit, it could've been better. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed the movie and couldn't find too many flaws, but I thought the movie should've been more involving for its excellent premise. I mean, put the one and only Robert DeNiro, Billy Crystal and Groundhog Day director Harold Ramis together and you should have brilliance. Analyze This at times just doesn't analyze itself too brilliantly. Still, I really liked the movie. The characters are fresh, intriguing and really original - especially DeNiro's - and are a delight to watch. Lisa Kudrow's character was an interesting one but I felt she was underused for her talent. Billy Crystal is an utter delight to watch. He has a cool, calm character and gives one of the best performances in the film. The movie is very original and the script is very well written. I appreciated Harold Ramis's effort, but a few more camera tricks or - I repeat - scenes with Lisa Kudrow could've improved the movie. Out of all this, however, I just couldn't go past the character of Jelly. I respected him the most out of all the characters in the movie and whenever he was on-screen; the movie was a delight. His character is one of the most involving ones in the movie and I just thought he was a really good man to take up screen space. Joe Viterelli plays him excellently. Well, through all this review I've mostly flawed Analyze This, but I really think it is worth your viewing time and it still worthy of a strong 4 or 3.5 stars out of 5. I highly recommend this movie if you want a film that blends comedy, drama and mostly importantly mayhem together in a really cool fasion.

DVD STUFF: 4/5. A good DVD. Very cool outtakes which will have you in chuckles, some great commentaries and nice production notes. I highly recommend The Sopranos Second Season and get this film' deal. Cool shtuff!

Crystal and DeNiro shine when they work together, DeNiro has problems because hes a mob boss and Crystal is called in to try to handle the matter, but DeNiro wont stop bugging him. its hilarious with memberable parts. one highlight is when DeNiro calls up Palmenteri on the phone and then they argue and DeNiro says like " you make one more move on me you motha***cker and ill ***king cut off your **cking *alls, ill shove um up your **cking ass, i'll **cking bury you" it goes something like that and its , just great and my other highlighted moment is when Crystal goes to the mob bosses meeting and they ask him who he is and hes like " who I be, who be I" or something like that and then he goes into saying something about the movie where the alien pops out of the guys stomach and eats everyone on board, may they rest in peace. its worth it and Lisa Kudrow is great also as Crystal's wife

Basically, "Analyze This" is a one-line gag flick ('hey, did you hear the one about the mafia kingpin who went to a shrink?'), but funny and very GOOD performances from Robert DeNiro and Billy Crystal really make this film hang together.

In particular, DeNiro is a hoot as Paul Vitti, a mafia don who's struggling with some internal angst. He's entirely believable as both the tough-talking, boastful, powerful don AND as the person who's struggling with some emotional problems. The internal struggle between these two sides of his character are beautifully played out by DeNiro. In Vitti's first session with Dr. Sobel (Crystal), we see DeNiro go seamlessly from needy patient to laughing wiseguy to frightening don...all in the space of about two minutes. Brilliant stuff.

Crystal is, as always, funny as Dr. Sobel, a shrink who at first takes Vitti as a "patient he can't refuse", then actually risks his life to treat him. The high point of Crystal's performance is a very funny scene in which he dons a shiny silver suit and does a dead-on imitation of a wiseguy (complete with lines like "you know...that THING" that are straight out of 'Goodfellas').

If "Analyze This" has a major flaw, it's a staged confrontation at the end of the movie between Vitti and his rival mobsters, which ends in Vitti declaring publicly that he's leaving the mob. In real life, he'd make it about as far as the door.

And the relationship between Crystal and his fiancee (Lisa Kudrow) is more than a little strained and unrealistic; what girl would put up with having her wedding day interrupted not just once, but twice, by gangsters (once by a murder)?

Flaws aside, "Analyze This" is a very funny movie, but any fan of mob flicks (me! me!) will be especially delighted.

This popular gangster comedy is good, but I'll admit, it could've been better. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed the movie and couldn't find too many flaws, but I thought the movie should've been more involving for its excellent premise. I mean, put the one and only Robert DeNiro, Billy Crystal and Groundhog Day director Harold Ramis together and you should have brilliance. Analyze This at times just doesn't analyze itself too brilliantly. Still, I really liked the movie. The characters are fresh, intriguing and really original - especially DeNiro's - and are a delight to watch. Lisa Kudrow's character was an interesting one but I felt she was underused for her talent. Billy Crystal is an utter delight to watch. He has a cool, calm character and gives one of the best performances in the film. The movie is very original and the script is very well written. I appreciated Harold Ramis's effort, but a few more camera tricks or - I repeat - scenes with Lisa Kudrow could've improved the movie. Out of all this, however, I just couldn't go past the character of Jelly. I respected him the most out of all the characters in the movie and whenever he was on-screen; the movie was a delight. His character is one of the most involving ones in the movie and I just thought he was a really good man to take up screen space. Joe Viterelli plays him excellently. Well, through all this review I've mostly flawed Analyze This, but I really think it is worth your viewing time and it still worthy of a strong 4 or 3.5 stars out of 5. I highly recommend this movie if you want a film that blends comedy, drama and mostly importantly mayhem together in a really cool fasion.

DVD STUFF: 4/5. A good DVD. Very cool outtakes which will have you in chuckles, some great commentaries and nice production notes. I highly recommend The Sopranos Second Season and get this film' deal. Cool shtuff!

Crystal and DeNiro shine when they work together, DeNiro has problems because hes a mob boss and Crystal is called in to try to handle the matter, but DeNiro wont stop bugging him. its hilarious with memberable parts. one highlight is when DeNiro calls up Palmenteri on the phone and then they argue and DeNiro says like " you make one more move on me you motha***cker and ill ***king cut off your **cking *alls, ill shove um up your **cking ass, i'll **cking bury you" it goes something like that and its , just great and my other highlighted moment is when Crystal goes to the mob bosses meeting and they ask him who he is and hes like " who I be, who be I" or something like that and then he goes into saying something about the movie where the alien pops out of the guys stomach and eats everyone on board, may they rest in peace. its worth it and Lisa Kudrow is great also as Crystal's wife

I don't know what these other people were watching. Maybe they are all lobbyists for organizations within California that are trying to pimp Arnold. Whatever the deal, the fact remains that this is hardly a watchable flick. The explosions are crummy, the plot is nothing short of a hurried scrawl written on three pieces of toilet paper and the acting is typical of every other Schwarzenegger movie during this time frame. Don't watch it, don't even recommend it. In fact if you own it, do us all a favor and burn it.

I can't imagine why this film got so many bad reviews in the media. Maybe it was because it came on the heels of "Last Action Hero" and the critics were still annoyed. Whatever the reason, pay no attention to those people; if you love Ahhhhnold (and I sure do) you will be sure to like "Eraser."

The plot is relatively simple, in fact, you will be likely to pick up on the "secret" early on in the film. But the action is non-stop, there are no gratuitous car-chases (which cause me to knock off more stars than a black hole) and there aren't even any stupid helicopter tricks ( It's been DONE. and done and done...)

There are a lot of explosions, especially of vehicles blowing sky-high but hey, we have to give the special effects guys something to do, and the secret weapon's effect is also pretty cool. Vanessa Williams underplays her role as FBI whistleblower, and James Caan is just superb as the heavy. The surprise fun came from the Wise Guys, who pay some debts in the plot. They were amusing and added a bit of fun to the action. The only dull spot was the Russian baddie, who was unconvinicingly Russian (despite the gratuitous "dasvidanya"--maybe thrown in by the director who realized this guy was about as Russian as Russian dressing. )

I found the suspense pleasantly gripping, and if it wasn't the smartest film on the block, it sure was plenty of entertainment.

This was definitely an action packed film. Our hero Arnold plays the role of the good guy. Arnold is the "eraser" who is employed by the Federal Witness Protection Program. He helps people dissapear after they testify for the government in criminal cases. Thanks to Arnold they can start new lives. The villain is played by James Caan who is a cop gone bad. Throughout the film the forces of Caan are trying to kill Arnold and a female witness that he is protecting. Arnold survives every attempt.The movie is action packed with some dazzling escapes by Arnold and his witness. They come close to being killed several times. The ending is especially good. This is without question a very good movie. Watch it and enjoy.

I don't know what these other people were watching. Maybe they are all lobbyists for organizations within California that are trying to pimp Arnold. Whatever the deal, the fact remains that this is hardly a watchable flick. The explosions are crummy, the plot is nothing short of a hurried scrawl written on three pieces of toilet paper and the acting is typical of every other Schwarzenegger movie during this time frame. Don't watch it, don't even recommend it. In fact if you own it, do us all a favor and burn it.

I can't imagine why this film got so many bad reviews in the media. Maybe it was because it came on the heels of "Last Action Hero" and the critics were still annoyed. Whatever the reason, pay no attention to those people; if you love Ahhhhnold (and I sure do) you will be sure to like "Eraser."

The plot is relatively simple, in fact, you will be likely to pick up on the "secret" early on in the film. But the action is non-stop, there are no gratuitous car-chases (which cause me to knock off more stars than a black hole) and there aren't even any stupid helicopter tricks ( It's been DONE. and done and done...)

There are a lot of explosions, especially of vehicles blowing sky-high but hey, we have to give the special effects guys something to do, and the secret weapon's effect is also pretty cool. Vanessa Williams underplays her role as FBI whistleblower, and James Caan is just superb as the heavy. The surprise fun came from the Wise Guys, who pay some debts in the plot. They were amusing and added a bit of fun to the action. The only dull spot was the Russian baddie, who was unconvinicingly Russian (despite the gratuitous "dasvidanya"--maybe thrown in by the director who realized this guy was about as Russian as Russian dressing. )

I found the suspense pleasantly gripping, and if it wasn't the smartest film on the block, it sure was plenty of entertainment.

This was definitely an action packed film. Our hero Arnold plays the role of the good guy. Arnold is the "eraser" who is employed by the Federal Witness Protection Program. He helps people dissapear after they testify for the government in criminal cases. Thanks to Arnold they can start new lives. The villain is played by James Caan who is a cop gone bad. Throughout the film the forces of Caan are trying to kill Arnold and a female witness that he is protecting. Arnold survives every attempt.The movie is action packed with some dazzling escapes by Arnold and his witness. They come close to being killed several times. The ending is especially good. This is without question a very good movie. Watch it and enjoy.

I don't know what these other people were watching. Maybe they are all lobbyists for organizations within California that are trying to pimp Arnold. Whatever the deal, the fact remains that this is hardly a watchable flick. The explosions are crummy, the plot is nothing short of a hurried scrawl written on three pieces of toilet paper and the acting is typical of every other Schwarzenegger movie during this time frame. Don't watch it, don't even recommend it. In fact if you own it, do us all a favor and burn it.

I can't imagine why this film got so many bad reviews in the media. Maybe it was because it came on the heels of "Last Action Hero" and the critics were still annoyed. Whatever the reason, pay no attention to those people; if you love Ahhhhnold (and I sure do) you will be sure to like "Eraser."

The plot is relatively simple, in fact, you will be likely to pick up on the "secret" early on in the film. But the action is non-stop, there are no gratuitous car-chases (which cause me to knock off more stars than a black hole) and there aren't even any stupid helicopter tricks ( It's been DONE. and done and done...)

There are a lot of explosions, especially of vehicles blowing sky-high but hey, we have to give the special effects guys something to do, and the secret weapon's effect is also pretty cool. Vanessa Williams underplays her role as FBI whistleblower, and James Caan is just superb as the heavy. The surprise fun came from the Wise Guys, who pay some debts in the plot. They were amusing and added a bit of fun to the action. The only dull spot was the Russian baddie, who was unconvinicingly Russian (despite the gratuitous "dasvidanya"--maybe thrown in by the director who realized this guy was about as Russian as Russian dressing. )

I found the suspense pleasantly gripping, and if it wasn't the smartest film on the block, it sure was plenty of entertainment.

This was definitely an action packed film. Our hero Arnold plays the role of the good guy. Arnold is the "eraser" who is employed by the Federal Witness Protection Program. He helps people dissapear after they testify for the government in criminal cases. Thanks to Arnold they can start new lives. The villain is played by James Caan who is a cop gone bad. Throughout the film the forces of Caan are trying to kill Arnold and a female witness that he is protecting. Arnold survives every attempt.The movie is action packed with some dazzling escapes by Arnold and his witness. They come close to being killed several times. The ending is especially good. This is without question a very good movie. Watch it and enjoy.

Hal (Jack Black), follows his dad's advice on trying to find a stunning-looking woman. Little does he know that he will soon run into somebody that will hypnotize him after hearing of how Hal has an obsession of only wanting physically attractive women. Once he's hypnotized, Hal will only see the inner beauty of people, which means it might be possible that he sees a gorgeous woman when everybody else sees that woman as being overweight, ugly, old, etc.

"Shallow Hal" was like I was expecting it to be from the previews, but then again it wasn't. I'll start off by saying that all the main characters (Jack Black, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Jason Alexander) do a good job of acting. Ok, from the previews, I could tell that "Shallow Hal" was going to be hilarious, and luckily my first notion was correct, it is a hilarious film. Unlike the previews you've probably seen by now on television, there are a few funny parts that were not shown in the previews, they're waiting for you to see them yourself when you watch the movie.

On another note, believe it or not, "Shallow Hal" actually has a deep meaning to it. Like your parents or whoever have told you all your life, it is what's on the inside that counts the most, not the outside, and "Shallow Hal" is a prime illustration of that point. But don't get me wrong, this movie is not a tear-jerker or overly dramatic film, it's mostly based on laughs.

If you feel like taking some time out and watching a hilarious and good movie at the theatres, go see "Shallow Hal."

Jack Black makes this film a success. A short, pudgy, Pillsbury doughboy with an arsenal of maniacal facial expressions, Black is absolutely perfect as "Shallow Hal" Larson, an average guy looking for love in all the wrong places (namely, gorgeous women out of his league). And when Hal is "tricked" by motivational icon Tony Robbins to only see the "inner beauty" of people, the stage is set for a hilarious romp, courtesy of the Farrelly brothers.

And indeed, Hal's new perspective does bring romance, a heart-pounding love with blonde knockout Rosemary Shanahan (a stunning Gwyneth Paltrow). Problem is, Hal sees a supermodel--everyone else sees the "real" Rosemary, a profoundly obese woman. Oblivious to the incredulity of those around him--including Rosemary--Hal falls even more in love, treating his lady like a goddess. Only when the "spell" is broken does Hal realize it's time to do some soul searching, to challenge his built-in bias for physical beauty. His subsequent epiphany is funny; it's also quite poignant.

Jason Alexander as Hal's equally shallow best friend Mauricio is hysterical; and be sure to keep watching through the closing credits for an extra treat from Rene Kirby, a physically disabled actor who puts a whole new dimension into snow skiing. No, SHALLOW HAL will not be revered as a cinematic masterpiece generations from now. . .or will it? You never know: the "Jack Black" look may come in vogue.
--D. Mikels

Be prepared . . . this IS a controversial film! Why? The film confronts touchy, personal topics such as being overweight and not being beautiful. It also confronts the topics of being supermodel thin and being incredibly beautiful. Most people don't fall into the Gwyneth Paltrow-looking category, so some may feel uncomfortable, especially if insecure about their own appearance. In short, I firmly believe that Shallow Hal is not aimed at poking fun at the unattractive or the obese. Instead, it bravely attempts to showcase certain issues, while giving it a comedic twist to ease any uncomfortable sentiments by viewers.

Hal is superficial (and note, he himself isn't considered to be attractive by the script), and he centers his actions and even his life around dating beautiful women. When he is hypnotized, Hal starts to only see the inner beauty of women. Thus, when 350 lbs Rosemary, a geniune, caring, and giving woman, crosses Hal's path, he now sees a beautiful Gwyneth Paltrow. A love interest pursues . . . Overall, the film conveys some wonderful themes and moral messages about inner beauty, the true beauty.

Some may be disappointed that this film doesn't include the gross humor of There's Something About Mary, but this film is different. Believe it or not, it's a serious flick with serious issues. Go see it today and make your own opinion. :-)