Pat-Hingle Movie Reviews

I have owned a copy of this movie, in one form or another, since it was first available and watch it about once every six months or so. The acting is impressive for a made for TV vehicle but the staying power, I believe, rests with the power of the story's visuals and its words. I understand Ms Huston agreed to direct "Bastard out of Carolina" only if she was allowed to show the true ugliness found in the novel. She used her freedom very wisely and managed to draw the needed emotions out of her cast.

I honestly believe this tele-movie is must seeing for all of us. The story is true and it is being repeated all around us every minute of every day by our neighbors, friends, and relatives against our loved ones. Until we believe this and look very closely for the signs things will only get worse.

This movie is amazing. It's tragic as it's real, it can do nothing but enrage you, and more likely to create a conscience on any rational human being about what should never happen in the world. The performances are equally shocking for it's realism, you can't miss this one, though you need a strong stomach, and to realize that this is something that's ought to stop long ago, but it still happens, so you'll be contributing to an incredible cause by watching this video, and then doing ANYTHING to prevent this from happening. It's about Child abuse, excessive and sick love for someone who hurts your own child, which is truly sick but that seriously happens. There aren't enough words to tell how much this movie affected me, and I'm sure no one would miss it's powerful message. I seldomly write reviews, but this was a must-do. And I wish there is something I can do as well, so that means so can you. As a writer on it's beginnings as well as a screenwriter, I hope someday I can reach some of the power of this movie to keep this from happening.

One of the best though shocking movies ever filmed.

This movie is amazing. It's tragic as it's real, it can do nothing but enrage you, and more likely to create a conscience on any rational human being about what should never happen in the world. The performances are equally shocking for it's realism, you can't miss this one, though you need a strong stomach, and to realize that this is something that's ought to stop long ago, but it still happens, so you'll be contributing to an incredible cause by watching this video, and then doing ANYTHING to prevent this from happening. It's about Child abuse, excessive and sick love for someone who hurts your own child, which is truly sick but that seriously happens.

Enough words do not exist to describe the effect this movie had in me, and I'm sure no one would miss it's powerful message. I seldomly write reviews, but this was a must-do. And I wish there is something I can do as well, so that means so can you.

As a writer on it's beginnings as well as a screenwriter, I hope someday I can reach some of the power of this movie to keep this from happening.

You really can't miss this one

I watched this movie tonight. I am still in shock. My rating is not on the actors/actresses......for they were all excellent. However this movie was more of a documentary about child abuse than it was a movie for entertainment purposes. I believe there is a place and time for this movie.....but on the family entertainment shelf at a popular movie rental chain, is not the proper place. Knowing I have a almost 10 year old girl in my home, I read the cover and it gave me no indication that we would witness this little girl being beaten in the face, her body beaten with belts and ofcourse no indication of the fact it was going to show her being raped....and show it so clearly at that. I wanted to turn the movie off....yet I also wanted my ten year old to see that the man would be punnished. Unfortunately....instead.....the movie showed my daughter that if you let anyone know......two things will happen. 1. the man will not be punnished. 2. Your mommy is going to pick him over you even after she see's him raping you with blood pouring off of your face from his earlier fist contact. Majority of movie rentals are for enjoyment in the privacy of our homes. There was nothing enjoyable about this movie. If they are not for enjoyment, then they need to be clearly marked as such by the packaging and also by the movie rental company. As well in a different part of the business....perhaps in the educational part or public service area. But if they did that.....then the movie would not bring in as much profit.....so again....the movie makers and the business's renting out this movie....put the all mighty dollar ahead of the best interest of the family. I am not blind to this problem in our society, however we watch movies for entertainment reasons, and this was not entertainment.

I have owned a copy of this movie, in one form or another, since it was first available and watch it about once every six months or so. The acting is impressive for a made for TV vehicle but the staying power, I believe, rests with the power of the story's visuals and its words. I understand Ms Huston agreed to direct "Bastard out of Carolina" only if she was allowed to show the true ugliness found in the novel. She used her freedom very wisely and managed to draw the needed emotions out of her cast.

I honestly believe this tele-movie is must seeing for all of us. The story is true and it is being repeated all around us every minute of every day by our neighbors, friends, and relatives against our loved ones. Until we believe this and look very closely for the signs things will only get worse.

This movie made me sob at the end of it - something that rarely happens due to movies. My best friend was raped by her father, and this movie made me truly realize the sort of pain and torture she went through. This is a very incredible, albeit disturbing film that I think people really need to watch. Incest is a very real and terrible thing in our society and we need to stop keeping it under wraps and pretending it doesn't exist. The acting is very real, and I think the girl that plays Bone does a fantastic job. Yes the movie is shocking. Yes, you -do- see the father beat and rape his child. But why is that so terrible when there are movies out there with unnecessary full frontal nudity? With explicit sex scenes? This rape scene is very vital to the movie and plays a very powerful and pivotal point, and I think that putting it in the movie is not to make is "shocking" and make you gasp, but to make you realize the true horror of real rape and incest. If you were shocked then good - just think this was a movie. Yes it may be shocking but it is REAL. Can't say that about movies where the man and the woman meet in a bus station and then have sex that night.

This movie has some big shoes to fill. The original Muppet Movie, Muppets Take Manhattan, The Muppet Christmas Carol and the Muppet take on Treasure Island are classics in my mind. Muppets from Space ranks about fourth of the six, but these are six films at the top of the list of all time favorites. This film holds more tru to the earlier films, where our favorite fuzzy friends play themselves and the cameos fly fast and furious. Gonzo (The Whatever) decides that he is tired of being the only Muppet that is specialy challenged. A series of dreams and a sequence lifted directly from Contact help him to realize that he is actually from "Out there". Not only that, but his family is finally ready to come get him. From here the movie does what Muppet films do best- Vaudeville type gags and pop culture references that sometimes fly over children's heads, but help keep parents entertained. I originally saw this film with my wife, brother, sister in law and 6 year old niece. We adults (all raised on The Muppets on TV and at the movies) laughed longer, harder and more often than the moppet. References to contemporary science fiction films and TV series abound and are among the more clever gags peppered through the movie. Be sure to keep an eye open for a reference to Brent Spiner's appearance in ID4 once Kermit and friends get into the secret lab. It's a riot. The ending of the film is the only place it really misfires. It can be seen from a mile off and we all knew what would happen before we even entered the theater. Bu that's OK. We need the happy ending for the kids. The first 90 minutes were for us.

Not the best of the Muppet movies but not the worst either, "Muppets From Space" is an enjoyable comedy that finally answers the age-old question, "Just what the heck is Gonzo, anyway?" Some of the older Muppets, like Piggy and Fozzie, take a back seat in this one while we get more of a spotlight on Rizzo and Pepe -- but Gonzo still steals the show in this flick. My biggest complaint about the movie itself has to be the music -- no new Muppet songs! All of the songs they sing are old rock n' roll, which is all well and good, but when I see the Muppets, I want to hear new music as good as "Rainbow Connection" and Together Again."

The great DVD makes up for the small inadequacies of the film, though. Unlike SOME Muppet DVDs, this disc has both fullscreen AND the far superior widescreen versions (are you listening, Disney?), plus a bevy of extras including deleted scenes, music videos and a fantastic commentary track. Not only is director Tim Hill joined by Kermit, Gonzo and Rizzo for the commentary, but they all appear as "shadows" at the bottom of the screen, not unlike an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000. It's a great technique, and I'd love to see it done more often (especially with movies like this), although I do wish that turning this feature on didn't disable the subtitles. I usually watch subtitles when I have a commentary on to compensate for the diminished volume of the movie itself.

All in all, probably the best Muppet DVD there is. Fans should love it.

This movie has some big shoes to fill. The original Muppet Movie, Muppets Take Manhattan, The Muppet Christmas Carol and the Muppet take on Treasure Island are classics in my mind. Muppets from Space ranks about fourth of the six, but these are six films at the top of the list of all time favorites. This film holds more tru to the earlier films, where our favorite fuzzy friends play themselves and the cameos fly fast and furious. Gonzo (The Whatever) decides that he is tired of being the only Muppet that is specialy challenged. A series of dreams and a sequence lifted directly from Contact help him to realize that he is actually from ?Out there?. Not only that, but his family is finally ready to come get him. From here the movie does what Muppet films do best- Vaudeville type gags and pop culture references that sometimes fly over children?s heads, but help keep parents entertained. I originally saw this film with my wife, brother, sister in law and 6 year old niece. We adults (all raised on The Muppets on TV and at the movies) laughed longer, harder and more often than the moppet. References to contemporary science fiction films and TV series abound and are among the more clever gags peppered through the movie. Be sure to keep an eye open for a reference to Brent Spiner?s appearance in ID4 once Kermit and friends get into the secret lab. It?s a riot. The ending of the film is the only place it really misfires. It can be seen from a mile off and we all knew what would happen before we even entered the theater. Bu that?s OK. We need the happy ending for the kids. The first 90 minutes were for us.

This movie has some big shoes to fill. The original Muppet Movie, Muppets Take Manhattan, The Muppet Christmas Carol and the Muppet take on Treasure Island are classics in my mind. Muppets from Space ranks about fourth of the six, but these are six films at the top of the list of all time favorites. This film holds more tru to the earlier films, where our favorite fuzzy friends play themselves and the cameos fly fast and furious. Gonzo (The Whatever) decides that he is tired of being the only Muppet that is specialy challenged. A series of dreams and a sequence lifted directly from Contact help him to realize that he is actually from "Out there". Not only that, but his family is finally ready to come get him. From here the movie does what Muppet films do best- Vaudeville type gags and pop culture references that sometimes fly over children's heads, but help keep parents entertained. I originally saw this film with my wife, brother, sister in law and 6 year old niece. We adults (all raised on The Muppets on TV and at the movies) laughed longer, harder and more often than the moppet. References to contemporary science fiction films and TV series abound and are among the more clever gags peppered through the movie. Be sure to keep an eye open for a reference to Brent Spiner's appearance in ID4 once Kermit and friends get into the secret lab. It's a riot. The ending of the film is the only place it really misfires. It can be seen from a mile off and we all knew what would happen before we even entered the theater. Bu that's OK. We need the happy ending for the kids. The first 90 minutes were for us.

Not the best of the Muppet movies but not the worst either, "Muppets From Space" is an enjoyable comedy that finally answers the age-old question, "Just what the heck is Gonzo, anyway?" Some of the older Muppets, like Piggy and Fozzie, take a back seat in this one while we get more of a spotlight on Rizzo and Pepe -- but Gonzo still steals the show in this flick. My biggest complaint about the movie itself has to be the music -- no new Muppet songs! All of the songs they sing are old rock n' roll, which is all well and good, but when I see the Muppets, I want to hear new music as good as "Rainbow Connection" and Together Again."

The great DVD makes up for the small inadequacies of the film, though. Unlike SOME Muppet DVDs, this disc has both fullscreen AND the far superior widescreen versions (are you listening, Disney?), plus a bevy of extras including deleted scenes, music videos and a fantastic commentary track. Not only is director Tim Hill joined by Kermit, Gonzo and Rizzo for the commentary, but they all appear as "shadows" at the bottom of the screen, not unlike an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000. It's a great technique, and I'd love to see it done more often (especially with movies like this), although I do wish that turning this feature on didn't disable the subtitles. I usually watch subtitles when I have a commentary on to compensate for the diminished volume of the movie itself.

All in all, probably the best Muppet DVD there is. Fans should love it.

This movie has some big shoes to fill. The original Muppet Movie, Muppets Take Manhattan, The Muppet Christmas Carol and the Muppet take on Treasure Island are classics in my mind. Muppets from Space ranks about fourth of the six, but these are six films at the top of the list of all time favorites. This film holds more tru to the earlier films, where our favorite fuzzy friends play themselves and the cameos fly fast and furious. Gonzo (The Whatever) decides that he is tired of being the only Muppet that is specialy challenged. A series of dreams and a sequence lifted directly from Contact help him to realize that he is actually from ?Out there?. Not only that, but his family is finally ready to come get him. From here the movie does what Muppet films do best- Vaudeville type gags and pop culture references that sometimes fly over children?s heads, but help keep parents entertained. I originally saw this film with my wife, brother, sister in law and 6 year old niece. We adults (all raised on The Muppets on TV and at the movies) laughed longer, harder and more often than the moppet. References to contemporary science fiction films and TV series abound and are among the more clever gags peppered through the movie. Be sure to keep an eye open for a reference to Brent Spiner?s appearance in ID4 once Kermit and friends get into the secret lab. It?s a riot. The ending of the film is the only place it really misfires. It can be seen from a mile off and we all knew what would happen before we even entered the theater. Bu that?s OK. We need the happy ending for the kids. The first 90 minutes were for us.

Batman Returns is as great as Tim Burton's original blockbuster and 1000 times better than ANYTHING Schumacher could cough up.

Burton knows how to choose good actors for his awesome characters. Keaton is a phenomanal Batman with the right portrayal of darkness as his character is portrayed in the comic.

Danny Devito and Michelle Pfeifer are EXCELLENT. They are the only villain team-up which made sense unlike the garbage in Schumacher's festivals of stupidity. Devito does such a great Penguin, its hard to imagine your watching Devito at all. He's a totally different person in this film much like Jack Nicholson was with The Joker in Batman.

To the moron who thinks Burton would kick himself after seeing the Batman animated series, what do you think the series was based on? Had Burton not done this movie or Batman in 1989 you wouldnt have Batman The Animated Series at all. Why do you think the series is dark, the music is by Danny Elfman, and some characters are like their movie counterparts such as Penguin and Catwoman.Tim Burton's work is responsible for the animated series pal.

All in all, an EXCELLENT movie with enough humor, action, and plot that makes this stand wayyyyyy above either of Schumacher's Bat-films that concentrate on special fx and not plot and character like this film.

TRUE Batman fans will appreciate Tim Burton's work for the great characters and writing.

Certainly the darkest 'kid-material' based film ever made.
This film noir has great imagery, psychological depth and funny,
sad and outright dark black quotes plus brilliant, gothically
decayed nostalgic visuals. Also, four other characters represent the character 'Batman' in the movie. Max Shreck-the millionaire
businessman, Penguin-the orphaned outsider, Catwoman-the costumed
vigilante, and Bruce Wayne-the awkward, concealed identity of Batman, though his exact opposite, and the characters are all written to hint at it in the film, but it won't hit you over the head with it.

The characters that are alive at the end of the film speak to
reveal it's main character's current mental health state. The
films plot concerns a character abandoned, literally thrown away
in his childhood because of being born with his irregular hands
causing him to look like a Penguin. Out of what he sees as vengeful justice, he becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, gradually assuming the role of the horrible monster that he always looked like.

He is reluctantly accepted when he returns to society and is
given another chance. He decides somewhere along the way that he does not want to return to this city for some reason (or was it planned all along, while looking at the record list when he was supposedly searching for his human name, did he write down the first born sons of Gotham? Later Catwoman remarks that he already has an 'enemy list'
before staying long in Gotham).

He 'forgives' his parents but is secretly blaming the city for his woes. Penguin tries to live
there but he cannot fully, he finds his sense of belonging seemed
like an illusion (like most Tim Burton films portray), he then,
self-destructively gives up, betrays their trust and bitterly
attempts to murder the innocent before his mayoral bid can be won.
Gotham City represents a lot of evil in this picture, Batman is
a brooding, anti-hero and he's one of the only good people in the
town -in film noir there are no heroes, this is the essence of
Gotham. There's a consistent motif of having the Penguin character
see everything he can't have through bars, if you look you'll find
him eyeing his parents (as the camera) behind bars and Catwoman
after she rejects him, etc. yet he never enters a jail cell.

"Did you miss me... did you miss me?" Penguin, to his penguins

A notable amount of biblical resemblance's here, a basket
carrying a baby down a river that is like from a story about Moses,
Penguin is exactly 33 years old when he arises, like Christ is
said to have after death at that exact age. Originally he was
originally supposed to actually state "yes, Virginia, there is
an anti-Christ!" in the ballroom scene, etc. Penguin reminds
some people of an evil man from 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang', he later wants to drown infants.

"I am not a human being! I am an animal! Cold-Blooded!"

When the actress portraying Catwoman/Selina Kyle is making the cat
costume, she opens a drawer with about four different colored
scissors, on Edward Scissorhands, Burton explained having scissors
in his films "is about, trying to touch someone, and not being
able to." That was established, as one of Catwoman's many problems,
no real love life. We know why she destroys the Shreck building,
because he is guilty of crimes and she cannot prove it, she sees
this as revenge, like Penguin does. In 'Batman Returns' there are
no situations that have a black or white answer, like film noir. Burton also said
that dressing up changes every character.

As well look at how Burton depicts colorfully clothed overly happy people as stupid,
fake and annoying, without really changing much of anything about
people we know, this harsh contrast is obvious right before
the Penguin agrees to be mayor. Max Shreck (named after the
actor who played Nosferatu in 1922) is a murderous businessman
but in the ballroom scene he shows that even he loves his child,
unlike Penguin's parents, proving he does not deserve to die.

The star character hardly gets shown as often as the others do
(because studio limitations dictate Batman wouldn't be allowed
to be portrayed as messed up as the villains in the movie so
you can't show much of the character or really learn about him,
therefore, the villains represent Batman). The song
'Super Freak' is in this movie as an instrumental during the masked ball, I think that must say something
about Batman! At the end with when the car stops, a sign reads 'Super Drug'. It all is clothed a very unreal, hazy, dreamlike
quality. The image at the cemetery where the Penguin looks down
at the ground with a gravestone cross above him and the first
time we see Bruce, staring out the window reflecting the bat
signal are my favourite parts. In the sewer, close to the finish,

Batman/Bruce admits with Penguin, Shreck, and Catwoman there,
that he is Bruce Wayne, and that 'we're the same, split right
down the center'. He rips off his mask, and at that moment a
thread in Catwoman's mask breaks open to reveal her blond hair.
With an admitted (in the film) sad, though satisfying
Christmas-time end to it all, the movie was dismissed as a 'shallow'
script because of it's superhero nature (it does have some
bizarre fight scenes) and did not make as much money as was hoped.
Still, I think it's genius and it must be my favourite film,
nervous breakdowns and all. Batman debuted in 1938.

"Go to heaven!"

When I saw the first Batman by Tim Burton I thought for sure that the sequel wouldn't be as good, because it so often isn't. I was therefore very surprised to love this one much more.

Michelle Pfeiffer is one of my favourite actresses, because I always found fascinating the tough-girl-but-good-person aura she gives. I love the combination of that with the character of Cat woman, who's all that plus the vulnerability, the body, the shiny suit, the one liners, the acrobatics, the whip...It's so bloody exciting! If I was an actress I would kill for a part like that. As I am not, I admit I wish I WAS like that!

Also, it's a movie full of unforgettable lines, something that seems to have gone out the window when the golden era of actresses like Joan Crawford was over, lines like "I don't know about you miss Kitty, but I feel so much yummier", and "You can never have too much power", not to mention the dialogue about the dangers of mistletoe that takes place between Batman and Cat woman.

One of the best movies ever made and certainly my favourite as far as Tim Burton's movies go.

Batman Returns is as great as Tim Burton's original blockbuster and 1000 times better than ANYTHING Schumacher could cough up.

Burton knows how to choose good actors for his awesome characters. Keaton is a phenomanal Batman with the right portrayal of darkness as his character is portrayed in the comic.

Danny Devito and Michelle Pfeifer are EXCELLENT. They are the only villain team-up which made sense unlike the garbage in Schumacher's festivals of stupidity. Devito does such a great Penguin, its hard to imagine your watching Devito at all. He's a totally different person in this film much like Jack Nicholson was with The Joker in Batman.

To the moron who thinks Burton would kick himself after seeing the Batman animated series, what do you think the series was based on? Had Burton not done this movie or Batman in 1989 you wouldnt have Batman The Animated Series at all. Why do you think the series is dark, the music is by Danny Elfman, and some characters are like their movie counterparts such as Penguin and Catwoman.Tim Burton's work is responsible for the animated series pal.

All in all, an EXCELLENT movie with enough humor, action, and plot that makes this stand wayyyyyy above either of Schumacher's Bat-films that concentrate on special fx and not plot and character like this film.

TRUE Batman fans will appreciate Tim Burton's work for the great characters and writing.

Certainly the darkest 'kid-material' based film ever made.
This film noir has great imagery, psychological depth and funny,
sad and outright dark black quotes plus brilliant, gothically
decayed nostalgic visuals. Also, four other characters represent the character 'Batman' in the movie. Max Shreck-the millionaire
businessman, Penguin-the orphaned outsider, Catwoman-the costumed
vigilante, and Bruce Wayne-the awkward, concealed identity of Batman, though his exact opposite, and the characters are all written to hint at it in the film, but it won't hit you over the head with it.

The characters that are alive at the end of the film speak to
reveal it's main character's current mental health state. The
films plot concerns a character abandoned, literally thrown away
in his childhood because of being born with his irregular hands
causing him to look like a Penguin. Out of what he sees as vengeful justice, he becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, gradually assuming the role of the horrible monster that he always looked like.

He is reluctantly accepted when he returns to society and is
given another chance. He decides somewhere along the way that he does not want to return to this city for some reason (or was it planned all along, while looking at the record list when he was supposedly searching for his human name, did he write down the first born sons of Gotham? Later Catwoman remarks that he already has an 'enemy list'
before staying long in Gotham).

He 'forgives' his parents but is secretly blaming the city for his woes. Penguin tries to live
there but he cannot fully, he finds his sense of belonging seemed
like an illusion (like most Tim Burton films portray), he then,
self-destructively gives up, betrays their trust and bitterly
attempts to murder the innocent before his mayoral bid can be won.
Gotham City represents a lot of evil in this picture, Batman is
a brooding, anti-hero and he's one of the only good people in the
town -in film noir there are no heroes, this is the essence of
Gotham. There's a consistent motif of having the Penguin character
see everything he can't have through bars, if you look you'll find
him eyeing his parents (as the camera) behind bars and Catwoman
after she rejects him, etc. yet he never enters a jail cell.

"Did you miss me... did you miss me?" Penguin, to his penguins

A notable amount of biblical resemblance's here, a basket
carrying a baby down a river that is like from a story about Moses,
Penguin is exactly 33 years old when he arises, like Christ is
said to have after death at that exact age. Originally he was
originally supposed to actually state "yes, Virginia, there is
an anti-Christ!" in the ballroom scene, etc. Penguin reminds
some people of an evil man from 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang', he later wants to drown infants.

"I am not a human being! I am an animal! Cold-Blooded!"

When the actress portraying Catwoman/Selina Kyle is making the cat
costume, she opens a drawer with about four different colored
scissors, on Edward Scissorhands, Burton explained having scissors
in his films "is about, trying to touch someone, and not being
able to." That was established, as one of Catwoman's many problems,
no real love life. We know why she destroys the Shreck building,
because he is guilty of crimes and she cannot prove it, she sees
this as revenge, like Penguin does. In 'Batman Returns' there are
no situations that have a black or white answer, like film noir. Burton also said
that dressing up changes every character.

As well look at how Burton depicts colorfully clothed overly happy people as stupid,
fake and annoying, without really changing much of anything about
people we know, this harsh contrast is obvious right before
the Penguin agrees to be mayor. Max Shreck (named after the
actor who played Nosferatu in 1922) is a murderous businessman
but in the ballroom scene he shows that even he loves his child,
unlike Penguin's parents, proving he does not deserve to die.

The star character hardly gets shown as often as the others do
(because studio limitations dictate Batman wouldn't be allowed
to be portrayed as messed up as the villains in the movie so
you can't show much of the character or really learn about him,
therefore, the villains represent Batman). The song
'Super Freak' is in this movie as an instrumental during the masked ball, I think that must say something
about Batman! At the end with when the car stops, a sign reads 'Super Drug'. It all is clothed a very unreal, hazy, dreamlike
quality. The image at the cemetery where the Penguin looks down
at the ground with a gravestone cross above him and the first
time we see Bruce, staring out the window reflecting the bat
signal are my favourite parts. In the sewer, close to the finish,

Batman/Bruce admits with Penguin, Shreck, and Catwoman there,
that he is Bruce Wayne, and that 'we're the same, split right
down the center'. He rips off his mask, and at that moment a
thread in Catwoman's mask breaks open to reveal her blond hair.
With an admitted (in the film) sad, though satisfying
Christmas-time end to it all, the movie was dismissed as a 'shallow'
script because of it's superhero nature (it does have some
bizarre fight scenes) and did not make as much money as was hoped.
Still, I think it's genius and it must be my favourite film,
nervous breakdowns and all. Batman debuted in 1938.

"Go to heaven!"

When I saw the first Batman by Tim Burton I thought for sure that the sequel wouldn't be as good, because it so often isn't. I was therefore very surprised to love this one much more.

Michelle Pfeiffer is one of my favourite actresses, because I always found fascinating the tough-girl-but-good-person aura she gives. I love the combination of that with the character of Cat woman, who's all that plus the vulnerability, the body, the shiny suit, the one liners, the acrobatics, the whip...It's so bloody exciting! If I was an actress I would kill for a part like that. As I am not, I admit I wish I WAS like that!

Also, it's a movie full of unforgettable lines, something that seems to have gone out the window when the golden era of actresses like Joan Crawford was over, lines like "I don't know about you miss Kitty, but I feel so much yummier", and "You can never have too much power", not to mention the dialogue about the dangers of mistletoe that takes place between Batman and Cat woman.

One of the best movies ever made and certainly my favourite as far as Tim Burton's movies go.

Batman Returns is as great as Tim Burton's original blockbuster and 1000 times better than ANYTHING Schumacher could cough up.

Burton knows how to choose good actors for his awesome characters. Keaton is a phenomanal Batman with the right portrayal of darkness as his character is portrayed in the comic.

Danny Devito and Michelle Pfeifer are EXCELLENT. They are the only villain team-up which made sense unlike the garbage in Schumacher's festivals of stupidity. Devito does such a great Penguin, its hard to imagine your watching Devito at all. He's a totally different person in this film much like Jack Nicholson was with The Joker in Batman.

To the moron who thinks Burton would kick himself after seeing the Batman animated series, what do you think the series was based on? Had Burton not done this movie or Batman in 1989 you wouldnt have Batman The Animated Series at all. Why do you think the series is dark, the music is by Danny Elfman, and some characters are like their movie counterparts such as Penguin and Catwoman.Tim Burton's work is responsible for the animated series pal.

All in all, an EXCELLENT movie with enough humor, action, and plot that makes this stand wayyyyyy above either of Schumacher's Bat-films that concentrate on special fx and not plot and character like this film.

TRUE Batman fans will appreciate Tim Burton's work for the great characters and writing.

Certainly the darkest 'kid-material' based film ever made.
This film noir has great imagery, psychological depth and funny,
sad and outright dark black quotes plus brilliant, gothically
decayed nostalgic visuals. Also, four other characters represent the character 'Batman' in the movie. Max Shreck-the millionaire
businessman, Penguin-the orphaned outsider, Catwoman-the costumed
vigilante, and Bruce Wayne-the awkward, concealed identity of Batman, though his exact opposite, and the characters are all written to hint at it in the film, but it won't hit you over the head with it.

The characters that are alive at the end of the film speak to
reveal it's main character's current mental health state. The
films plot concerns a character abandoned, literally thrown away
in his childhood because of being born with his irregular hands
causing him to look like a Penguin. Out of what he sees as vengeful justice, he becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, gradually assuming the role of the horrible monster that he always looked like.

He is reluctantly accepted when he returns to society and is
given another chance. He decides somewhere along the way that he does not want to return to this city for some reason (or was it planned all along, while looking at the record list when he was supposedly searching for his human name, did he write down the first born sons of Gotham? Later Catwoman remarks that he already has an 'enemy list'
before staying long in Gotham).

He 'forgives' his parents but is secretly blaming the city for his woes. Penguin tries to live
there but he cannot fully, he finds his sense of belonging seemed
like an illusion (like most Tim Burton films portray), he then,
self-destructively gives up, betrays their trust and bitterly
attempts to murder the innocent before his mayoral bid can be won.
Gotham City represents a lot of evil in this picture, Batman is
a brooding, anti-hero and he's one of the only good people in the
town -in film noir there are no heroes, this is the essence of
Gotham. There's a consistent motif of having the Penguin character
see everything he can't have through bars, if you look you'll find
him eyeing his parents (as the camera) behind bars and Catwoman
after she rejects him, etc. yet he never enters a jail cell.

"Did you miss me... did you miss me?" Penguin, to his penguins

A notable amount of biblical resemblance's here, a basket
carrying a baby down a river that is like from a story about Moses,
Penguin is exactly 33 years old when he arises, like Christ is
said to have after death at that exact age. Originally he was
originally supposed to actually state "yes, Virginia, there is
an anti-Christ!" in the ballroom scene, etc. Penguin reminds
some people of an evil man from 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang', he later wants to drown infants.

"I am not a human being! I am an animal! Cold-Blooded!"

When the actress portraying Catwoman/Selina Kyle is making the cat
costume, she opens a drawer with about four different colored
scissors, on Edward Scissorhands, Burton explained having scissors
in his films "is about, trying to touch someone, and not being
able to." That was established, as one of Catwoman's many problems,
no real love life. We know why she destroys the Shreck building,
because he is guilty of crimes and she cannot prove it, she sees
this as revenge, like Penguin does. In 'Batman Returns' there are
no situations that have a black or white answer, like film noir. Burton also said
that dressing up changes every character.

As well look at how Burton depicts colorfully clothed overly happy people as stupid,
fake and annoying, without really changing much of anything about
people we know, this harsh contrast is obvious right before
the Penguin agrees to be mayor. Max Shreck (named after the
actor who played Nosferatu in 1922) is a murderous businessman
but in the ballroom scene he shows that even he loves his child,
unlike Penguin's parents, proving he does not deserve to die.

The star character hardly gets shown as often as the others do
(because studio limitations dictate Batman wouldn't be allowed
to be portrayed as messed up as the villains in the movie so
you can't show much of the character or really learn about him,
therefore, the villains represent Batman). The song
'Super Freak' is in this movie as an instrumental during the masked ball, I think that must say something
about Batman! At the end with when the car stops, a sign reads 'Super Drug'. It all is clothed a very unreal, hazy, dreamlike
quality. The image at the cemetery where the Penguin looks down
at the ground with a gravestone cross above him and the first
time we see Bruce, staring out the window reflecting the bat
signal are my favourite parts. In the sewer, close to the finish,

Batman/Bruce admits with Penguin, Shreck, and Catwoman there,
that he is Bruce Wayne, and that 'we're the same, split right
down the center'. He rips off his mask, and at that moment a
thread in Catwoman's mask breaks open to reveal her blond hair.
With an admitted (in the film) sad, though satisfying
Christmas-time end to it all, the movie was dismissed as a 'shallow'
script because of it's superhero nature (it does have some
bizarre fight scenes) and did not make as much money as was hoped.
Still, I think it's genius and it must be my favourite film,
nervous breakdowns and all. Batman debuted in 1938.

"Go to heaven!"

When I saw the first Batman by Tim Burton I thought for sure that the sequel wouldn't be as good, because it so often isn't. I was therefore very surprised to love this one much more.

Michelle Pfeiffer is one of my favourite actresses, because I always found fascinating the tough-girl-but-good-person aura she gives. I love the combination of that with the character of Cat woman, who's all that plus the vulnerability, the body, the shiny suit, the one liners, the acrobatics, the whip...It's so bloody exciting! If I was an actress I would kill for a part like that. As I am not, I admit I wish I WAS like that!

Also, it's a movie full of unforgettable lines, something that seems to have gone out the window when the golden era of actresses like Joan Crawford was over, lines like "I don't know about you miss Kitty, but I feel so much yummier", and "You can never have too much power", not to mention the dialogue about the dangers of mistletoe that takes place between Batman and Cat woman.

One of the best movies ever made and certainly my favourite as far as Tim Burton's movies go.

Batman Returns is as great as Tim Burton's original blockbuster and 1000 times better than ANYTHING Schumacher could cough up.

Burton knows how to choose good actors for his awesome characters. Keaton is a phenomanal Batman with the right portrayal of darkness as his character is portrayed in the comic.

Danny Devito and Michelle Pfeifer are EXCELLENT. They are the only villain team-up which made sense unlike the garbage in Schumacher's festivals of stupidity. Devito does such a great Penguin, its hard to imagine your watching Devito at all. He's a totally different person in this film much like Jack Nicholson was with The Joker in Batman.

To the moron who thinks Burton would kick himself after seeing the Batman animated series, what do you think the series was based on? Had Burton not done this movie or Batman in 1989 you wouldnt have Batman The Animated Series at all. Why do you think the series is dark, the music is by Danny Elfman, and some characters are like their movie counterparts such as Penguin and Catwoman.Tim Burton's work is responsible for the animated series pal.

All in all, an EXCELLENT movie with enough humor, action, and plot that makes this stand wayyyyyy above either of Schumacher's Bat-films that concentrate on special fx and not plot and character like this film.

TRUE Batman fans will appreciate Tim Burton's work for the great characters and writing.

Certainly the darkest 'kid-material' based film ever made.
This film noir has great imagery, psychological depth and funny,
sad and outright dark black quotes plus brilliant, gothically
decayed nostalgic visuals. Also, four other characters represent the character 'Batman' in the movie. Max Shreck-the millionaire
businessman, Penguin-the orphaned outsider, Catwoman-the costumed
vigilante, and Bruce Wayne-the awkward, concealed identity of Batman, though his exact opposite, and the characters are all written to hint at it in the film, but it won't hit you over the head with it.

The characters that are alive at the end of the film speak to
reveal it's main character's current mental health state. The
films plot concerns a character abandoned, literally thrown away
in his childhood because of being born with his irregular hands
causing him to look like a Penguin. Out of what he sees as vengeful justice, he becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, gradually assuming the role of the horrible monster that he always looked like.

He is reluctantly accepted when he returns to society and is
given another chance. He decides somewhere along the way that he does not want to return to this city for some reason (or was it planned all along, while looking at the record list when he was supposedly searching for his human name, did he write down the first born sons of Gotham? Later Catwoman remarks that he already has an 'enemy list'
before staying long in Gotham).

He 'forgives' his parents but is secretly blaming the city for his woes. Penguin tries to live
there but he cannot fully, he finds his sense of belonging seemed
like an illusion (like most Tim Burton films portray), he then,
self-destructively gives up, betrays their trust and bitterly
attempts to murder the innocent before his mayoral bid can be won.
Gotham City represents a lot of evil in this picture, Batman is
a brooding, anti-hero and he's one of the only good people in the
town -in film noir there are no heroes, this is the essence of
Gotham. There's a consistent motif of having the Penguin character
see everything he can't have through bars, if you look you'll find
him eyeing his parents (as the camera) behind bars and Catwoman
after she rejects him, etc. yet he never enters a jail cell.

"Did you miss me... did you miss me?" Penguin, to his penguins

A notable amount of biblical resemblance's here, a basket
carrying a baby down a river that is like from a story about Moses,
Penguin is exactly 33 years old when he arises, like Christ is
said to have after death at that exact age. Originally he was
originally supposed to actually state "yes, Virginia, there is
an anti-Christ!" in the ballroom scene, etc. Penguin reminds
some people of an evil man from 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang', he later wants to drown infants.

"I am not a human being! I am an animal! Cold-Blooded!"

When the actress portraying Catwoman/Selina Kyle is making the cat
costume, she opens a drawer with about four different colored
scissors, on Edward Scissorhands, Burton explained having scissors
in his films "is about, trying to touch someone, and not being
able to." That was established, as one of Catwoman's many problems,
no real love life. We know why she destroys the Shreck building,
because he is guilty of crimes and she cannot prove it, she sees
this as revenge, like Penguin does. In 'Batman Returns' there are
no situations that have a black or white answer, like film noir. Burton also said
that dressing up changes every character.

As well look at how Burton depicts colorfully clothed overly happy people as stupid,
fake and annoying, without really changing much of anything about
people we know, this harsh contrast is obvious right before
the Penguin agrees to be mayor. Max Shreck (named after the
actor who played Nosferatu in 1922) is a murderous businessman
but in the ballroom scene he shows that even he loves his child,
unlike Penguin's parents, proving he does not deserve to die.

The star character hardly gets shown as often as the others do
(because studio limitations dictate Batman wouldn't be allowed
to be portrayed as messed up as the villains in the movie so
you can't show much of the character or really learn about him,
therefore, the villains represent Batman). The song
'Super Freak' is in this movie as an instrumental during the masked ball, I think that must say something
about Batman! At the end with when the car stops, a sign reads 'Super Drug'. It all is clothed a very unreal, hazy, dreamlike
quality. The image at the cemetery where the Penguin looks down
at the ground with a gravestone cross above him and the first
time we see Bruce, staring out the window reflecting the bat
signal are my favourite parts. In the sewer, close to the finish,

Batman/Bruce admits with Penguin, Shreck, and Catwoman there,
that he is Bruce Wayne, and that 'we're the same, split right
down the center'. He rips off his mask, and at that moment a
thread in Catwoman's mask breaks open to reveal her blond hair.
With an admitted (in the film) sad, though satisfying
Christmas-time end to it all, the movie was dismissed as a 'shallow'
script because of it's superhero nature (it does have some
bizarre fight scenes) and did not make as much money as was hoped.
Still, I think it's genius and it must be my favourite film,
nervous breakdowns and all. Batman debuted in 1938.

"Go to heaven!"

When I saw the first Batman by Tim Burton I thought for sure that the sequel wouldn't be as good, because it so often isn't. I was therefore very surprised to love this one much more.

Michelle Pfeiffer is one of my favourite actresses, because I always found fascinating the tough-girl-but-good-person aura she gives. I love the combination of that with the character of Cat woman, who's all that plus the vulnerability, the body, the shiny suit, the one liners, the acrobatics, the whip...It's so bloody exciting! If I was an actress I would kill for a part like that. As I am not, I admit I wish I WAS like that!

Also, it's a movie full of unforgettable lines, something that seems to have gone out the window when the golden era of actresses like Joan Crawford was over, lines like "I don't know about you miss Kitty, but I feel so much yummier", and "You can never have too much power", not to mention the dialogue about the dangers of mistletoe that takes place between Batman and Cat woman.

One of the best movies ever made and certainly my favourite as far as Tim Burton's movies go.

Batman Returns is as great as Tim Burton's original blockbuster and 1000 times better than ANYTHING Schumacher could cough up.

Burton knows how to choose good actors for his awesome characters. Keaton is a phenomanal Batman with the right portrayal of darkness as his character is portrayed in the comic.

Danny Devito and Michelle Pfeifer are EXCELLENT. They are the only villain team-up which made sense unlike the garbage in Schumacher's festivals of stupidity. Devito does such a great Penguin, its hard to imagine your watching Devito at all. He's a totally different person in this film much like Jack Nicholson was with The Joker in Batman.

To the moron who thinks Burton would kick himself after seeing the Batman animated series, what do you think the series was based on? Had Burton not done this movie or Batman in 1989 you wouldnt have Batman The Animated Series at all. Why do you think the series is dark, the music is by Danny Elfman, and some characters are like their movie counterparts such as Penguin and Catwoman.Tim Burton's work is responsible for the animated series pal.

All in all, an EXCELLENT movie with enough humor, action, and plot that makes this stand wayyyyyy above either of Schumacher's Bat-films that concentrate on special fx and not plot and character like this film.

TRUE Batman fans will appreciate Tim Burton's work for the great characters and writing.

Certainly the darkest 'kid-material' based film ever made.
This film noir has great imagery, psychological depth and funny,
sad and outright dark black quotes plus brilliant, gothically
decayed nostalgic visuals. Also, four other characters represent the character 'Batman' in the movie. Max Shreck-the millionaire
businessman, Penguin-the orphaned outsider, Catwoman-the costumed
vigilante, and Bruce Wayne-the awkward, concealed identity of Batman, though his exact opposite, and the characters are all written to hint at it in the film, but it won't hit you over the head with it.

The characters that are alive at the end of the film speak to
reveal it's main character's current mental health state. The
films plot concerns a character abandoned, literally thrown away
in his childhood because of being born with his irregular hands
causing him to look like a Penguin. Out of what he sees as vengeful justice, he becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, gradually assuming the role of the horrible monster that he always looked like.

He is reluctantly accepted when he returns to society and is
given another chance. He decides somewhere along the way that he does not want to return to this city for some reason (or was it planned all along, while looking at the record list when he was supposedly searching for his human name, did he write down the first born sons of Gotham? Later Catwoman remarks that he already has an 'enemy list'
before staying long in Gotham).

He 'forgives' his parents but is secretly blaming the city for his woes. Penguin tries to live
there but he cannot fully, he finds his sense of belonging seemed
like an illusion (like most Tim Burton films portray), he then,
self-destructively gives up, betrays their trust and bitterly
attempts to murder the innocent before his mayoral bid can be won.
Gotham City represents a lot of evil in this picture, Batman is
a brooding, anti-hero and he's one of the only good people in the
town -in film noir there are no heroes, this is the essence of
Gotham. There's a consistent motif of having the Penguin character
see everything he can't have through bars, if you look you'll find
him eyeing his parents (as the camera) behind bars and Catwoman
after she rejects him, etc. yet he never enters a jail cell.

"Did you miss me... did you miss me?" Penguin, to his penguins

A notable amount of biblical resemblance's here, a basket
carrying a baby down a river that is like from a story about Moses,
Penguin is exactly 33 years old when he arises, like Christ is
said to have after death at that exact age. Originally he was
originally supposed to actually state "yes, Virginia, there is
an anti-Christ!" in the ballroom scene, etc. Penguin reminds
some people of an evil man from 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang', he later wants to drown infants.

"I am not a human being! I am an animal! Cold-Blooded!"

When the actress portraying Catwoman/Selina Kyle is making the cat
costume, she opens a drawer with about four different colored
scissors, on Edward Scissorhands, Burton explained having scissors
in his films "is about, trying to touch someone, and not being
able to." That was established, as one of Catwoman's many problems,
no real love life. We know why she destroys the Shreck building,
because he is guilty of crimes and she cannot prove it, she sees
this as revenge, like Penguin does. In 'Batman Returns' there are
no situations that have a black or white answer, like film noir. Burton also said
that dressing up changes every character.

As well look at how Burton depicts colorfully clothed overly happy people as stupid,
fake and annoying, without really changing much of anything about
people we know, this harsh contrast is obvious right before
the Penguin agrees to be mayor. Max Shreck (named after the
actor who played Nosferatu in 1922) is a murderous businessman
but in the ballroom scene he shows that even he loves his child,
unlike Penguin's parents, proving he does not deserve to die.

The star character hardly gets shown as often as the others do
(because studio limitations dictate Batman wouldn't be allowed
to be portrayed as messed up as the villains in the movie so
you can't show much of the character or really learn about him,
therefore, the villains represent Batman). The song
'Super Freak' is in this movie as an instrumental during the masked ball, I think that must say something
about Batman! At the end with when the car stops, a sign reads 'Super Drug'. It all is clothed a very unreal, hazy, dreamlike
quality. The image at the cemetery where the Penguin looks down
at the ground with a gravestone cross above him and the first
time we see Bruce, staring out the window reflecting the bat
signal are my favourite parts. In the sewer, close to the finish,

Batman/Bruce admits with Penguin, Shreck, and Catwoman there,
that he is Bruce Wayne, and that 'we're the same, split right
down the center'. He rips off his mask, and at that moment a
thread in Catwoman's mask breaks open to reveal her blond hair.
With an admitted (in the film) sad, though satisfying
Christmas-time end to it all, the movie was dismissed as a 'shallow'
script because of it's superhero nature (it does have some
bizarre fight scenes) and did not make as much money as was hoped.
Still, I think it's genius and it must be my favourite film,
nervous breakdowns and all. Batman debuted in 1938.

"Go to heaven!"

When I saw the first Batman by Tim Burton I thought for sure that the sequel wouldn't be as good, because it so often isn't. I was therefore very surprised to love this one much more.

Michelle Pfeiffer is one of my favourite actresses, because I always found fascinating the tough-girl-but-good-person aura she gives. I love the combination of that with the character of Cat woman, who's all that plus the vulnerability, the body, the shiny suit, the one liners, the acrobatics, the whip...It's so bloody exciting! If I was an actress I would kill for a part like that. As I am not, I admit I wish I WAS like that!

Also, it's a movie full of unforgettable lines, something that seems to have gone out the window when the golden era of actresses like Joan Crawford was over, lines like "I don't know about you miss Kitty, but I feel so much yummier", and "You can never have too much power", not to mention the dialogue about the dangers of mistletoe that takes place between Batman and Cat woman.

One of the best movies ever made and certainly my favourite as far as Tim Burton's movies go.

Being a fan of the spaghetti westerns of Sergio Leone and especially a fan of Leone's finest "Once Upon A Time In The West" starring Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson, Jason Robards, and Claudia Cardinale (rent it sometime!), I was really very amused at Sam Raimi's choices of camera shots...they were, of course, taken directly from late 60's film! But, hey, that's okay. The film felt like a tribute and therefore, made it enjoyable to me.

My only real problem with the film is Sharon Stone. Don't get me wrong, I actually have a lot of respect for her and have enjoyed performances by her at other times, but she just didn't seem to have the right tone in this movie for me. I would have much preferred for Sam Raimi to make his tribute to the spaghetti western using the other two main characters -- Cort (the unbelievably talented, charismactic, brilliant Russell Crowe) and John Herrod (the also brilliant Gene Hackman). Cort was the most interesting character in the film and Russell really does make the perfect cowboy; Gene Hackman likes to chew up the scenery and a duel between these two is the film I'd like to see!

This movie is not a waste of time; but I found myself wishing for what could have been...Do you think Cort would have beaten Herrod, even with his left hand?

The Quick and the Dead has long been derided as a Sharon Stone star vehicle that flopped. However, there is much more to this film than meets the eye. Featuring an ensemble cast that includes, Stone, Gene Hackman, Russell Crowe, Leonardo DiCaprio, Gary Sinise, Keith David, and Lance Henricksen, this film is a refreshing change from past takes on the western.

Stone plays a quiet and beautiful gunslinger, come out of the dusty plains to the town of Redemption, seeking revenge for the murder of her sheriff father years ago by the town dictator John Herrod, a dark and malevolent old gunfighter intent on maintaining his stranglehold on the frightened populace by staging a quick draw contest, the better to publically eliminate any opposition to his rule, and to squash any hope of salvation. Drawn into this dark contest are Herrod's former partner turned preacher Cort, a man whose tortured soul still seeks it's own salvation, and who Herrod seeks to pull back to Hell. Herrord's son, The Kid, enrolls in the contest as a way to seek fame and glory, and to prove himself to a aloof and uncaring father. Thrown into the mix are a number of colorful characters come to town to seek their own fortunes and the fireworks ensue. There is strong symbolism throughout this film, shades of death and rebirth, powerful archetypal figures in the charaters of Herrod, the powerful demonic ruler of the underworld, and Cort, the misguided but eventual redeemer and saviour.

This film boasts a strong and talented cast that give some wonderfully enjoyable performances. Sam Raimi does an incredible job once again of producing a stylishly directed tale of loss, redemtion, salvation, and revenge in this telling of the western as mdoern myth.

Gunfighters test their skills against each other in a contest where the winner is the one left alive. Herod ( Gene Hackman) is the most dangerous outlaw that ever lived. He used his gunfighting skills to seize control of the town Redemption, where the story takes place. He is putting on the competition to see if he still has what it takes. "The Lady" ( Sharon Stone) has come to Redemption to seek revenge on Herod for a past injustice. "The Kid" ( Leonardo DiCaprio) is fast on the trigger, and even faster with his mouth. He is also Herod's son. He wants to stop living in his father's shadow, and prove that he is a better gunfighter. Cort ( Russell Crowe) used to run with Herod, and is the most skilled gunfighter around. But now he is a preacher, and has sworn off all forms of violence. He is tracked down, and forced to compete by Herod himself. Herod has always wanted to see who was better - him or Cort.

The camera work is outstanding in this film. Every element of each gunfight is captured effectively. The film can also be extremely funny at times, because all of the actors use modern slang, despite the story taking place in the 1800's. The setting to this film is outstanding. The town of Redemption is the typical Western town, with the saloons, gunfighters, etc. It is very authentic. All of the actors are outstanding in their roles. There is constant tension and emotion that all of them bring to the movie - Hackman wanting to see if he still has what it takes, Stone with her desire for revenge, Crowe with his unwillingness to kill, and DiCaprio wanting to prove that he is better than his dad. The film overall is outstanding, because you end up rooting for all of the characters, and want none of them to lose. This makes the film extremely suspenseful.

Sam Raimi steps outside the horror genre, and into the wild west, with the highly entertaining and action packed "Quick and the Dead"! The film offers a well rounded cast, and an extertaining, fast paced, and authentic western story. If you love Westerns, or any of the actors involved, pick this one up!