Michael-Bay Movie Reviews

This film, by independent filmmaker Lizzie Borden, caused quite the stir in it's day. When first released, on a very limited basis, it was hailed for it's true-life, non-glarmorus dipiction of prostitutes.

The film has aged fairly well. The fashion, however, has not .

The story follows Molly, a working girl, on a day in the life sort of journey.

The filmmaking is sparce, but effective. This is no "Pretty Woman", nor is it intended to be. We're presented with a Big City Brothel and it's employees. There's nothing fancy or particularily beautiful about them - though some of the "girls" are attractive.

The main point, I believe, is that this is a JOB. It's a harsh reality look at what some women do for money. It's not slicked over and it's now over-drawn, the film presents prostitution clearly and, more importantly, without judgement.

The script is on the money and a good script is always a good place to start.

There are no exotic locales - we're mainly invited into the brothel - an upper class condo/apartment. It's a bleak sort of existance.

I'd recommend this film to the Independent Movie lover. It's one of the first and finest examples of what a limited budget, a good script and a good director can do.

Recommended.

Best Regards, turtlex

It's hilarious, embarassing, grim, deeply disturbing, cynical, touching, clinical and creepily locker-room-intimate, all at the same time.

There will be those people who can't make it past the low budget vibe that (admittedly) permeates the whole movie, but anyone who criticizes its occasionally stilted acting (and it's an easy target) misses the point: it's PROSTITUTION. Which is to say that paid sex is possibly the root source of all bad acting. Even having said that, the performances are deceptively understated in their squirmy, quasi-nude ease.

The characters of Lucy and Dawn especially, are horrifically too-true. I walked around mimicking Lucy's idiotic "What's new and different?" for weeks. Dawn's gum-snapping hostility, and her impromptu James Brown imitation ("Good God, Mollie- you're a whoooore!") are as grating as they are winning. Singling these two actresses out is unfair though; their characters are especially dynamic, given that they're essentially opposing ends of the same spectrum of self absorption.

Even the least likely supporting roles are realized with unexpected complexity. Witness Lucy, the house's madam, reprimanding Mary, a mousy new 'girl' for her unappealing wardrobe choice on her first night on the job. When Lucy reminds her condescendingly that she is to dress as though she "just came from lunch with her mother, and is on hew way to meet her boyfriend for drinks", Mary replies in a small voice, with a discomfiting mixture of stubborness and shame, "This is what I wore."

Possibly the most remarkable aspect of this movie is the realization that prostitution, at least at this elevated level (the 'girls' work in a clean, modern apartment, and schedule 'appointments' through phone ads listed mostly in upscale skin magazines) is just another daily grind, a job, plain and simple. Ellen McElduff's Lucy is every thoughtless, self-absorbed boss you've ever wanted to throttle; the difference is that she's seen you naked, and can talk about your sex life with no legal repercussions.

That's glib, of course; each of the 'girls' is seen to struggle with the work, and what it means in a larger sense, politically and personally. Finally though, just as it seems uncompromisingly grim, the film sneaks in a remarkable twist. It's essential to watch to the very end of the closing credits though, or you might miss a moment that offers a lovely moment of reassurance, and tender domesticity.

as for the content, the movies aren't the greatest things they've made, but its a good watch if youre looking for something to relax to at night.

note, if youre trying to decide which dvd to buy, and can't decide. DEFINITELY pick up the dvd that has "busy bodies" on it. i recently bought that one as well, and i must say thats my favorite film with those two. the dvd also has 4 other episodes on it.

"Utopia" was originally released in 1952 as "Atoll K" and later as "Robinson Crusoeland," and finds an aging Laurel & Hardy have inherited a yacht and an island. The boys set off to see along with a refugee as their cook and a stowaway. The yacht sinks in a storm, but a newly created atoll (hence the original title) emerges from the sea to give them a place to live. They are then joined on their new little paradise by Suzy Delair, who is running away from a jealous fiancee. Together they all create their own private little utopia, where everything is just perfect until uranium is discovered and all of the nations of the world begin to battle over ownership of the atoll. Just as the boys are about to be lynched, the atoll sinks back beneath the seas. Whatever its title, this final film from Laurel & Hardy certainly provides mixed feelings. The political satire angle is ambitious, but scarcely appropriate for comedians who rely so much on visual humor (compare with the Marx Brother's classic "Duck Soup"), although the sequence where Hardy distributes key political posts to every but Laurel (he gets to be "The People") is good. But most of the sight gags are not typical Laurel & Hardy routines and several people have claimed the best gags were cut from the film. There is also the shock of the appearance of Stan Laurel, who had been ill before the production and looks like he is at death's door. "Utopia" is a sad farewell to the screen's greatest comic team.

"Armageddon" is everyone's favorite disaster flick gone wild with a romantic subplot tacked on to please everyone. It seems that after a violent meteor shower destroys major sections of New York that high-level NASA officials have discovered that the worst is yet to come. We've got a giant asteroid (described as a "global killer") on its way here and it's up to the world's greatest deep-core driller (played by who else but Bruce Willis) to stop it. NASA seems to have pinpointed down to the last second how much exact time we have before it hits us but only Willis the hillbilly driller knows how to truly stop it.

After an hour of training mission montages, Willis and his group of slack-jawed sidekicks are off to do battle with the asteroid. Along the way, they lose about half of the crew and pick up a very annoying Russian astronaut. They end up landing a few miles outside of their planned destination and trouble ensues. The boys back home don't seem to have too much confidence in our heroes and want to remote detonate and call it a day. Bruce isn't having it though as he takes control of the mission and declares to anyone listening that he "promised his girl he was coming home". It seems that the satellite hook-up only works when Bruce has a cheesy overwritten line to perform.

If you're a fan of movies that boast action and special effects over any type of sensical plot then this is your movie. This particular DVD features "The Director's Cut" of the movie with alternate scenes. There are some scenes that have been omitted to make way for the new stuff but hey, you can't win them all. Lawrence Tierney shows up as Bruce's dad in this new version and gives him a cheesy speech about the joys of parenthood for him to use in the "alternate version" of his goodbye speech to Liv Tyler. The movie also comes with a hilarious "gag reel" and equally-entertaining audio commentaries. Well, the actor one is good but there is one with a bunch of real-life NASA folks that just goes on and on.

If you enjoyed "Armageddon" as much as I did then you'll probably want to own this double-disc collector's edition. If not, it's only a matter of time before the good people at Criterion decide to give "Con-Air" it's just due.