Michael-Duncan Movie Reviews

As a deep and true Auel fan, I was embarrassed for the movie, even, as they say, for a part played by Darryl Hannah. How do you *do* a movie like this effectively? Hollywood, I have to give you credit for trying, but I vote that it didn't hold a candle to the book. Still trying to get her latest novel! Thanks, Tom, from a tall blonde! How hysterical!

As so often happens with screen adaptations of books this one is a real loser. From start to finish the writers/producers seem to have taken the general plot outline and characters and dropped most of the actual story.
It will do all right as a way to spend an afternoon if you haven't read the book (at this writing the paperback is $2 cheaper)but too much is so unlike what Ms. Auel wrote. I know that lot's of detail had to be removed for times sake but at what cost to the story? Little Ayla's orphaning resembles the book as does her discovery by the Clan but the way the Neanderthals behave isn't like the book. I don't even remember all of the scenes but when Ayla gives birth to her son Durc, that's conpletely different, although good. Later in the story when Ayla's adoptive mother Iza (Pamela Reed unrocognizable in makeup)is too old and frail to go to the CLan Gathering Ayla is sent in her place, they made a real mess of that one.
Daryl Hannah is very well cast as the adult Ayla, she's the best reason to watch ths movie.

Okay, I've got to say that this movie is not nearly as good as the book, but that is, as we all know, a common phenomenon. The book by Jean M. Auel, on which this movie is based, is several hundred pages long and contains detailed accounts of everything from plant life to the intricacies of the interpersonal relationships of this fictitious group of Neanderthals. You cannot boil all this down to a movie that isn't even two hours long, and expect the same kind of story. However, I found this movie both moving, and surprisingly convincing, as far as the make-up is concerned. Sure, you can't take a modern person and remove their chins and flatten their foreheads, but considering that radical surgery wasn't an option, the make-up people did a very nice job.

All in all, this is not one of those movies which will be a classic for generations to come, but I will definitely credit it (and the book) with adding to my own life-long interest in prehistoric humans in general, and the Neanderthals in particular. It is important to keep in mind that this is very much a work of fiction, but considering how little is known about this period in human prehistory, a little poetic license is warranted.

As a deep and true Auel fan, I was embarrassed for the movie, even, as they say, for a part played by Darryl Hannah. How do you *do* a movie like this effectively? Hollywood, I have to give you credit for trying, but I vote that it didn't hold a candle to the book. Still trying to get her latest novel! Thanks, Tom, from a tall blonde! How hysterical!

As so often happens with screen adaptations of books this one is a real loser. From start to finish the writers/producers seem to have taken the general plot outline and characters and dropped most of the actual story.
It will do all right as a way to spend an afternoon if you haven't read the book (at this writing the paperback is $2 cheaper)but too much is so unlike what Ms. Auel wrote. I know that lot's of detail had to be removed for times sake but at what cost to the story? Little Ayla's orphaning resembles the book as does her discovery by the Clan but the way the Neanderthals behave isn't like the book. I don't even remember all of the scenes but when Ayla gives birth to her son Durc, that's conpletely different, although good. Later in the story when Ayla's adoptive mother Iza (Pamela Reed unrocognizable in makeup)is too old and frail to go to the CLan Gathering Ayla is sent in her place, they made a real mess of that one.
Daryl Hannah is very well cast as the adult Ayla, she's the best reason to watch ths movie.

Okay, I've got to say that this movie is not nearly as good as the book, but that is, as we all know, a common phenomenon. The book by Jean M. Auel, on which this movie is based, is several hundred pages long and contains detailed accounts of everything from plant life to the intricacies of the interpersonal relationships of this fictitious group of Neanderthals. You cannot boil all this down to a movie that isn't even two hours long, and expect the same kind of story. However, I found this movie both moving, and surprisingly convincing, as far as the make-up is concerned. Sure, you can't take a modern person and remove their chins and flatten their foreheads, but considering that radical surgery wasn't an option, the make-up people did a very nice job.

All in all, this is not one of those movies which will be a classic for generations to come, but I will definitely credit it (and the book) with adding to my own life-long interest in prehistoric humans in general, and the Neanderthals in particular. It is important to keep in mind that this is very much a work of fiction, but considering how little is known about this period in human prehistory, a little poetic license is warranted.

Movies like THE SCORPION KING are great fun to watch. I doubt that anyone really expected to see a movire that was plot or character driven. This film had two purposes: to be the latest reincarnation of the spear and sandal spectacular that Steve Reeves popularized back in the 60s and to showcase the muscularity and bashing prowesss of Hollywood's newest action hero, the Rock (Dwayne Johnson). Part of the fun of THE SCORPION KING is to count the number or times director Chuck Russell borrows (ahem) from previous action films. Besides the aforementioned Steve Reeves epics, Russell uses scenes straight out of the Indiana Jones trilogy and THE MUMMY, which also had The Rock in a bit part.

The plot is nonsense of course. Ditto for costuming, architecture, and historical accuracy. But no one goes to see action films of ancient empires to quibble over anachronisms. The Rock is Mathayas, a hired assassin whose job it is to kill a sorcerer. Unfortunately, for his mission, the sorcerer turns out to be a sexy, leggy sorceress (Kelly Hu), with whom Mathayas falls predictably in love. Along the way, there are sword fights every two or three minutes. The special effects are first rate, and despite the legions of soldiers killed, no one really seems to possess any traits that would cause one to mark his passing with true emotion. In movies like this, the fun of watching the emergence of a new action star unfortunately is built on the oldest of Hollywood's gimmicks: the dispatching of hordes of extras in so a bloodless manner that the viewer soon overlooks the rather quaint notion that extras are people too. If Hollywood ever learns to build up an action hero without resorting to gratuitous bloodless violence, then it will be the first time for that.

One is often dubious when a star of some other profession leverages their popularity to enter the acting field. Legion are the failures, and few (though sometimes spectacular) the successes. I did not see this one in theaters, and indeed wouldn't have seen it at all if a friend of mine had not insisted.

I was wrong to avoid it. The Rock certainly demonstrates more range of acting ability than Schwarzenegger did in HIS early career, a comparison both apt and inevitable as there's more than coincidental similarity between the Scorpion King and Conan the Barbarian. The main villain is also interesting -- strongly, in fact, reminiscent of Russell Crowe's Maximus gone bad, a smart and resourceful warrior who may not have the sheer physical strength of someone like the Rock but whose speed and skill far outmatch virtually any opponent.

I don't know how much influence the Rock had over the production, but they avoided one of the major pitfalls of movies of this sort: making the star-vehicle hero TOO good. The "Scorpion King" is tough, yes, good at what he does, yes, but his victories are often hard-fought. They also avoid too much humor without becoming grim. All in all, a well-balanced, fun action movie. Not great cinema, but a lot better than I would have thought.

Right when the movie starts, a fat guy gets nailed in the head with a sharp object. You know that this movie is only about the action and nothing else. The Rock is Mathayus, a bounty hunter who is targeted by an evil kingdom and a hot woman (Kelly Hu) whom she knows is a god. Why? I don't remember. But, just forget the plot, it's all about the WWE format. The Rock vs. Michael Clarke Duncan in a no DQ match that lasts five minutes! It was almost like a table match. It would've been great if Bubba Ray Dudley walked by and screamed, 'get the tables!!' Body slams and all, "The Great One" raises his eyebrow for the people. You know he saves the day and becomes a king, duh. He's "The Scorpion King." After watching this movie, the heavyweight championship isn't important anymore. The Rock should pursue an action movie career and give somebody a spine buster or rock bottom sometime. Watch "The Scorpion King" for entertainment only. If you're looking for a story and some kind of meaning, watch "Conan the Barbarian." Although, they're pretty similar.

Upon viewing the first chapter, it's obvious that "Batman and Robin" (1949) will not emerge as one of the all-time great serials. With producer Sam Katzman at the helm, it's bargain-basement all the way -- right down to the cheap costumes and an incredibly poor excuse for a Batmobile. Despite low-budget shortcomings, there's plenty of hokey fun as Batman and Robin face one contrived cliffhanger after another. The mysterious Wizard makes for an interesting villain, since he never was featured in the comic books. Robert Lowery does a good job as Batman, but John Duncan makes the Boy Wonder look like a juvenile delinquent. It's also nice to see character actor Lyle Talbot as Commissioner Gordon, even though he has a tendency to activate the Bat Signal in broad daylight. Flaws and all, "Batman and Robin" is an undeniable guilty pleasure.

It was good to get the 1949 Batman & Robin serial in a fairly high-quality VHS reproduction. But here's something known to only a few fans: There are about 10 minutes missing from the first chapter.

You can watch this several times without ever realizing that something is missing. Then you get to see the thing in it's entirety elsewhere, and at least two stars get lost immediately for the way we got cheated.

Hope to see this in DVD someday, with the missing parts restored.

Despite what some BATMAN Serial bashers have said here, this is the better of the two Columbia Movie serials based on BATMAN. Robert Lowery (BATMAN) became quite a movie star in many other films and John Duncan (Robin) worked in many classic films of the day as well... This is the most entertaining BATMAN serial with the WIZARD and holds your interest from chapter to chapter with GREAT cliffhanger endings! Of course this is LOW BUDGET as were all the serials of the time! If you want fun, just watch these tapes.

This might be the most terrible movie ever made. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

I thought it was a very very good suspenseful movie that was a bit biazarre at times but still a good watch. I am very proud of Cynda's performance and, I am amazed at her rapid growth as an actress. Good Flick...........

It is truly amazing how someone can be 'Caught Up' in someone else's stupidity and Woodine should have realized that after getting out of prison. But instead, he continues to be caught up in lust, love and money. This was a GREAT movie all the way through. Rent it, buy it, just see it!!!!

This might be the most terrible movie ever made. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

I thought it was a very very good suspenseful movie that was a bit biazarre at times but still a good watch. I am very proud of Cynda's performance and, I am amazed at her rapid growth as an actress. Good Flick...........

It is truly amazing how someone can be 'Caught Up' in someone else's stupidity and Woodine should have realized that after getting out of prison. But instead, he continues to be caught up in lust, love and money. This was a GREAT movie all the way through. Rent it, buy it, just see it!!!!

Well it is not a big secret that during production of this movie, Burton and Fox disagreed on almost every aspect of the production. Budget, shooting time, script rewrites, casting, set design, almost everything. It was the most diificult project Tim has ever done and the way this movie almost meanders along in it's slow way, makes it look like even the editor couldn't put the film together because the footage was shot so out of sequence. The make-up, Forget it. It looked like they were wearing rubber maskes. The end leaves the door open for a sequal, but not likely as the director and studio have parted company with bad feelings.

First let start off by saying that this is not a remake of the 1968 classic but a totally different telling of the story. I respect Tim Burton for not trying to do your basic remake, which consists of updated special effects but the same story. The story in this movie is entirely different than the original. Other than the fact that Apes are involved there are very few similarities. The story is well thought out and keeps you engaged throughout the movie. Tim Burton also knew that Mark Wahlberg is no Charlton Heston, so he kept his dialogue to a minimal. Actually Tim Roth and Michael Duncan Clark have more dialogue in the movie than Wahlberg does. Rick Baker does an outstanding job with the makeup, which allows the actors facial expressions to come through which is key for this type of movie. I will not ruin the ending but will tell you that it is unique and as unexpected as the first one was in 1968. Now onto the DVD, the Anamorphic transfer is flawless and the DTS 5.1 soundtrack is superb. The video shows no signs of edge enhancement, artifacting, or color bleeds. The blacks are deep and rich and all the colors are vibrant. The DTS 5.1 audio track is just awesome; it utilizes the rears and subwoofer frequently. All dialogue is focused on the center channel and is well balanced. The DVD has more special features than any other DVD to date. There are at least 6 documentaries, a "first person" point of view feature, and all the other normal fanfare that comes with a special edition DVD. This by far and wide is Fox's best DVD to date as it pertains to special features.

Why 5 stars? Well I looked at what everyone else was writing, and as far as their complaints go, they seemed to be frustrated with some dialogue issues and logistics in the characters. I saw most of the original Planet of the Ape films, and while they were fascinating, they didn't quite stack up to this.

The dialogue, were it was corny "Get you stinking hand off me" was one of a few inside jokes within the movie that was a referrence to a Charlton Heston line in Planet of the Apes. As I recall this was the first line the Apes spoke in the film (as Attar demonstrated). Heston spoke those same words (from a different point of view) to the apes when he was captured, much to their surprise. There a quite a few inside jokes in the movie. So you need to be familiar with th first film to appreciate this one.

It also makes intriguing referrences to cultural issues of the past, in particular, slavery, using humans and apes. Course there is more to the story. Planet of the Apes was always breaching ground for Civil Rights. This was a more emphatic example.

The costumes and special affects were stellar. Definitely two Oscars will nodded for makeup and costumes. Tim Burton did a good job in directing and respects go to the screenwriter for his visions. THis was a labor 12 years in the making with numerous names attached (Arnold S. and Oliver Stone at one time).

The DVD is loaded with everything you could want. I got some kind of limited edition CD-Rom. Not sure if everyone else got it, but it offers cast interviews as well. I and my parents enjoyed it, so good for the 20- somethings and 50- somethings..

Well it is not a big secret that during production of this movie, Burton and Fox disagreed on almost every aspect of the production. Budget, shooting time, script rewrites, casting, set design, almost everything. It was the most diificult project Tim has ever done and the way this movie almost meanders along in it's slow way, makes it look like even the editor couldn't put the film together because the footage was shot so out of sequence. The make-up, Forget it. It looked like they were wearing rubber maskes. The end leaves the door open for a sequal, but not likely as the director and studio have parted company with bad feelings.

First let start off by saying that this is not a remake of the 1968 classic but a totally different telling of the story. I respect Tim Burton for not trying to do your basic remake, which consists of updated special effects but the same story. The story in this movie is entirely different than the original. Other than the fact that Apes are involved there are very few similarities. The story is well thought out and keeps you engaged throughout the movie. Tim Burton also knew that Mark Wahlberg is no Charlton Heston, so he kept his dialogue to a minimal. Actually Tim Roth and Michael Duncan Clark have more dialogue in the movie than Wahlberg does. Rick Baker does an outstanding job with the makeup, which allows the actors facial expressions to come through which is key for this type of movie. I will not ruin the ending but will tell you that it is unique and as unexpected as the first one was in 1968. Now onto the DVD, the Anamorphic transfer is flawless and the DTS 5.1 soundtrack is superb. The video shows no signs of edge enhancement, artifacting, or color bleeds. The blacks are deep and rich and all the colors are vibrant. The DTS 5.1 audio track is just awesome; it utilizes the rears and subwoofer frequently. All dialogue is focused on the center channel and is well balanced. The DVD has more special features than any other DVD to date. There are at least 6 documentaries, a "first person" point of view feature, and all the other normal fanfare that comes with a special edition DVD. This by far and wide is Fox's best DVD to date as it pertains to special features.

Why 5 stars? Well I looked at what everyone else was writing, and as far as their complaints go, they seemed to be frustrated with some dialogue issues and logistics in the characters. I saw most of the original Planet of the Ape films, and while they were fascinating, they didn't quite stack up to this.

The dialogue, were it was corny "Get you stinking hand off me" was one of a few inside jokes within the movie that was a referrence to a Charlton Heston line in Planet of the Apes. As I recall this was the first line the Apes spoke in the film (as Attar demonstrated). Heston spoke those same words (from a different point of view) to the apes when he was captured, much to their surprise. There a quite a few inside jokes in the movie. So you need to be familiar with th first film to appreciate this one.

It also makes intriguing referrences to cultural issues of the past, in particular, slavery, using humans and apes. Course there is more to the story. Planet of the Apes was always breaching ground for Civil Rights. This was a more emphatic example.

The costumes and special affects were stellar. Definitely two Oscars will nodded for makeup and costumes. Tim Burton did a good job in directing and respects go to the screenwriter for his visions. THis was a labor 12 years in the making with numerous names attached (Arnold S. and Oliver Stone at one time).

The DVD is loaded with everything you could want. I got some kind of limited edition CD-Rom. Not sure if everyone else got it, but it offers cast interviews as well. I and my parents enjoyed it, so good for the 20- somethings and 50- somethings..

Well it is not a big secret that during production of this movie, Burton and Fox disagreed on almost every aspect of the production. Budget, shooting time, script rewrites, casting, set design, almost everything. It was the most diificult project Tim has ever done and the way this movie almost meanders along in it's slow way, makes it look like even the editor couldn't put the film together because the footage was shot so out of sequence. The make-up, Forget it. It looked like they were wearing rubber maskes. The end leaves the door open for a sequal, but not likely as the director and studio have parted company with bad feelings.

First let start off by saying that this is not a remake of the 1968 classic but a totally different telling of the story. I respect Tim Burton for not trying to do your basic remake, which consists of updated special effects but the same story. The story in this movie is entirely different than the original. Other than the fact that Apes are involved there are very few similarities. The story is well thought out and keeps you engaged throughout the movie. Tim Burton also knew that Mark Wahlberg is no Charlton Heston, so he kept his dialogue to a minimal. Actually Tim Roth and Michael Duncan Clark have more dialogue in the movie than Wahlberg does. Rick Baker does an outstanding job with the makeup, which allows the actors facial expressions to come through which is key for this type of movie. I will not ruin the ending but will tell you that it is unique and as unexpected as the first one was in 1968. Now onto the DVD, the Anamorphic transfer is flawless and the DTS 5.1 soundtrack is superb. The video shows no signs of edge enhancement, artifacting, or color bleeds. The blacks are deep and rich and all the colors are vibrant. The DTS 5.1 audio track is just awesome; it utilizes the rears and subwoofer frequently. All dialogue is focused on the center channel and is well balanced. The DVD has more special features than any other DVD to date. There are at least 6 documentaries, a "first person" point of view feature, and all the other normal fanfare that comes with a special edition DVD. This by far and wide is Fox's best DVD to date as it pertains to special features.

Why 5 stars? Well I looked at what everyone else was writing, and as far as their complaints go, they seemed to be frustrated with some dialogue issues and logistics in the characters. I saw most of the original Planet of the Ape films, and while they were fascinating, they didn't quite stack up to this.

The dialogue, were it was corny "Get you stinking hand off me" was one of a few inside jokes within the movie that was a referrence to a Charlton Heston line in Planet of the Apes. As I recall this was the first line the Apes spoke in the film (as Attar demonstrated). Heston spoke those same words (from a different point of view) to the apes when he was captured, much to their surprise. There a quite a few inside jokes in the movie. So you need to be familiar with th first film to appreciate this one.

It also makes intriguing referrences to cultural issues of the past, in particular, slavery, using humans and apes. Course there is more to the story. Planet of the Apes was always breaching ground for Civil Rights. This was a more emphatic example.

The costumes and special affects were stellar. Definitely two Oscars will nodded for makeup and costumes. Tim Burton did a good job in directing and respects go to the screenwriter for his visions. THis was a labor 12 years in the making with numerous names attached (Arnold S. and Oliver Stone at one time).

The DVD is loaded with everything you could want. I got some kind of limited edition CD-Rom. Not sure if everyone else got it, but it offers cast interviews as well. I and my parents enjoyed it, so good for the 20- somethings and 50- somethings..