Tony-Todd Movie Reviews

Sabotage came as a bit of a surprise to me. Instead of kicking evrybody inside Mark Dacascos actually plays a reasonably good role, without his usual overacting. The supporting cast does a serious job instead of just fooling around as often happens and the plot may not be very original, but the details have been worked out quite well. This is not a movie everybody will enjoy, but if you like action movies, I think you will find it quite a pleasure to watch.

One of Mark Dacascos's greatest films. If you are a die hard action fan, interested in military based pictures, or a martial artist, this flick is great for you. It is not the best martial arts performance by Dacascos, but it is definitely an awesome film. High impact, dynamic action, and a killer plot. Check it out... I am a Dacascos collector my self, and this is the best price I have seen yet.

In what turned out to be our luckiest video-store whim since stumbling across The Castle (1997/Australia), my buddie and I discovered Chillicothe. Something about the bare Midwestern landscape and the four frumpy guys on the box cover in faux-Charlie's Angel pose (who hasn't taken that picture at one time or another?) demanded a closer look.
The movie's subject is nothing new - the confusing wander-land of post-college life. High Fidelity, for one, did it with a much higher budget and a bit less heart. Yet with all High Fidelity's cynical musings on romance and rhapsodizing on the phenomenon of the mix tape, its big-city glossiness masked the sometimes social and financial desperation of 20-something life. Chillicothe is real, absurd life - the way me and my friends actually live it, driving dumpy cars, shopping crumbling strip malls, bemoaning our non-existent love lives. The guys in Chillicothe would be our next-door neighbors - if we lived in Tulsa, shopped at the Food Mart, and worked at our telemarketing jobs to afford rent on a white-walled duplex.
But far from being depressing, Chillicothe is grittily hopeful about love and aimlessness in your twenties. Sometimes the situations are so pathetically familiar, you don't know whether to laugh or crawl under your couch to hide until you're 30. The most humorous moments come from the pop-culture references on everything from Chewbacca to Jim Henson. Wade's theory on how to sell CDs for cash (sell only the ones you're sure to buy back) spawns some great lines like: "You can't sell the "Joshua Tree"! That's like selling the family Bible!"
The movie has been pegged "a chick flick for guys," mainly because these characters actually want to have relationships with women, not just sleep with them. Their inability to do either becomes the film's driving plot. When the main character's sister bugs him about his love life, Wade gets defensive and blurts out, "Why don't I date? That's like asking a blind person, 'Why don't you like blue?' I have no...frame of reference!" One particularly poignant scene takes place just before one of the guys in the group gets married. The camera lingers on each friend's face just long enough to register their conflicting emotions of wistfulness, anticipation, anger and sadness. I have never seen on film a more realistic portrayal of the jealousy and ambivalence that accompany wedding attendants.
Though Chillicothe was released at the Sundance Film Festival in 1999, it's taken a few years to bubble up through the cultural mire and be picked up by a distributor. It's an art-house film, but without being "artsy". The look of the film is deceptively low-budget, but these guys made the most of what they did have. The DVD clips of their hometown gang reveals just how much Chillicothe was a labor of love. The director's commentary points out the way in which the very conscious choice of colors and camera movements serve the story on a subconscious level. The movie itself contains a hilarious send-up of the pretentious indie-film devotee, the record store clerk who sums up what's wrong with American cinema today in three words: "Happy. Dancing. Candy."
Residents of places outside of Hollywood's favored locales will recognize themselves, their streets, their shopping centers and churches in Chillicothe. Baby-boomers will probably not empathize with these characters quite as much as I and my friends have, but if you want a film that is truthful about young adult life, skip High Fidelity (John Cusak notwithstanding) and watch Chillicothe instead.

Traci Lords (you remeber her!) and The Candyman's Tony Todd lead an all-star cast in this edge-of-your seat thriller. After her husband dies mysteriously in hotel room, Kelly (Lords) and her son Matt return to the scene of the death in an effort to find closure to their pain. What they find however, is a conspiracy of greed and deceit that only brings more questions...and danger. While in the room cradling the very pillow that drowned out his father's death cries, six year old Matt begins to see the murder as it actually happened. Soon the killer discovers there was another witness to his crime - the child - and vows to silence him forever. With the killer closing in on them, Kelly must race against time to discover who she can trust...before it's too late.

Traci Lords (you remeber her!) and The Candyman's Tony Todd lead an all-star cast in this edge-of-your seat thriller. After her husband dies mysteriously in hotel room, Kelly (Lords) and her son Matt return to the scene of the death in an effort to find closure to their pain. What they find however, is a conspiracy of greed and deceit that only brings more questions...and danger. While in the room cradling the very pillow that drowned out his father's death cries, six year old Matt begins to see the murder as it actually happened. Soon the killer discovers there was another witness to his crime - the child - and vows to silence him forever. With the killer closing in on them, Kelly must race against time to discover who she can trust...before it's too late.

This is the second of two Redford films released in 2001; it's better than "The Last Castle", maybe because Redford chose his second of the two character types that he likes to play...in this one he plays the "the charming con man" (The Sting, Butch & the..., etc., etc.)

The film will hold your interest - fading back and forth from past to present, with some terrific cinematography. Brad Pitt holds his own as a man true to his principles, and a creature of puppeteer Redford's making. Neither character ages believably in the film, however....Brad and Robert can't pull off their younger characters in Vietnam based on their appearance. Tony Scott is a fine director, and many of the DVD features are enhanced by his contributions.

Wow - the DVD itself .... Read on to other reviews. There is a closed captioning problem, and the navigation and design is very poor. I think Universal did the DVD...hope they are reading all these comments and planning a new version, if they want this film to be purchased, not rented.

Advice...rent, don't purchase. Prepare to be annoyed by the operation of the DVD and caught up in the storyline!

Nathan Muir (Robert Redford) has an exciting last day of retirement as his protege Tom Bishop (Brad Pitt) is arrested and put in prison in China. Back at Langley, the top members of the CIA are trying to figure out what went wrong with Bishop's mission. The movie is exciting and keeps you on the edge of your seat. It tracks the history of American covert operations through the last couple decades; moving from Vietnam, to Berlin, to Beirut, to China. You're caught up in the adventure as Muir trains Bishop to be the perfect case officer. I give this movie four stars because it's exciting and it realistically portrays the world of a spy. There are no laser watches, evil doctors, sports cars with rockets, or explosive pens. In short it's not a James Bond spy film, but its great none the less.

If you do like movies with complicated plot, many flashback and a lot of dialog, Go For It ! My opinion : BORING ! Is there a mistake or what ?! The action starts in 91, Redford talks about his first meeting with Pitt through a flashback, in Vietnam in 75. They look exactly the same in 75 and 91.Not believable at all.They should have used younger actors or at the least, choose someone else than Brad Pitt, too young for the role.

If you enjoy the television series, 24, you
won't be able to help noticing the many
similarities they share, mostly in terms
of the 24 hour-type countdown. No, the
pace and plot (both of which are great) are
not as white-knuckle as 24's is, but that
won't stop fans of the series from hunkering down
and really enjoying this flick. Not to be missed.

If you do like movies with complicated plot, many flashback and a lot of dialog, Go For It ! My opinion : BORING ! Is there a mistake or what ?! The action starts in 91, Redford talks about his first meeting with Pitt through a flashback, in Vietnam in 75. They look exactly the same in 75 and 91.Not believable at all.They should have used younger actors or at the least, choose someone else than Brad Pitt, too young for the role.

Redford still has it and Pitt has it too, baby! Uh huh. That's right, my two boys both together in a movie. I've died and gone to heaven! This is a terrific tale full of surprises and intrigue. Well worth the time. A classic to be sure. Both men deliver solid performances and the film is sleek, smart, and easy to watch. Enjoy!

Andrew Divoff is the whole show here as the "Wishmaster". He seems to be having the time of his life here as Djinn, an evil genie from "A 1001 Arabian Tales". He is bound to Tammy Lauren, and manages to get powerful by manipulating people into making wishes, which he uses to kill them, kind of 'be careful what you wish for' style. The ingrediants are all here to make a great horror movie; good villian, good story, high concept kills, but it falls short. There is little suspense, and eventually you can figure out the end. If I had a wish, I would wish for Wes Craven to have directed it instead of producing it.

As I nestled in for Halloween night with a couple of horror flicks, I really didn't expect anything more than the usual cookie cutter blood and slash fare that is to be expected in a watered down genre. What I found in Wes Craven's Wishmaster, was a smart and original film. It revolves around a population of "Djinn" (pronounced like gin) who are supernatural jeannies dwelling in the void between the worlds. The Djinn bide their time till they are able to find some poor smuck willing to make 3 wishes, at which time the door to our world will be opened up and allow the Djinn to rule. I found this to be an original idea for once. I can't remember seeing any other film quite like it. The effects and make up are done nicely and the acting was not too bad either. I didn't think the movie was particularly scary, but in today's time, not many new horror movies are. What it is, though, is an entertaining supernatural thriller. Can't bring myself to give it 5 stars just for the simple fact that I think the filmmakers confuse gore with scary. The gore/death scenes in this film are very reminiscent of the Hellraiser series, with some extraordinarily vivid images of torturous death. However, sometimes its the things we don't see that truly scare us most. All in all, I would recommend this film to most, just be sure you have a strong stomach.

I love this film. Its great the way the Djinn goes about twisting wishes. An intersting idea and surprising that no one thought of it earlier. Andrew Divoff is superb as the Wishmaster. Tammy Lauren gives an acceptable performace as the heroine (although it is an exaggeration to describe her performace as 'fabulous' as some reviewers below have done). Andrew Divoff steals the show. Period. The special effects are surprisingly quite good for a low budget movie. My only criticism is the is that the film is not very long, an extra 10/15 minutes would have made much more enjoyable. Considering that the film was not exactly a blockbuster at the box office, the extras on the DVD are also very good (containing an interesting audio commentary). This is not a 'horror' movie as such, so don't expect any frights or sleepless nights. I would call it more a fantasy. Good fun. Enjoy.

Andrew Divoff is the whole show here as the "Wishmaster". He seems to be having the time of his life here as Djinn, an evil genie from "A 1001 Arabian Tales". He is bound to Tammy Lauren, and manages to get powerful by manipulating people into making wishes, which he uses to kill them, kind of 'be careful what you wish for' style. The ingrediants are all here to make a great horror movie; good villian, good story, high concept kills, but it falls short. There is little suspense, and eventually you can figure out the end. If I had a wish, I would wish for Wes Craven to have directed it instead of producing it.

As I nestled in for Halloween night with a couple of horror flicks, I really didn't expect anything more than the usual cookie cutter blood and slash fare that is to be expected in a watered down genre. What I found in Wes Craven's Wishmaster, was a smart and original film. It revolves around a population of "Djinn" (pronounced like gin) who are supernatural jeannies dwelling in the void between the worlds. The Djinn bide their time till they are able to find some poor smuck willing to make 3 wishes, at which time the door to our world will be opened up and allow the Djinn to rule. I found this to be an original idea for once. I can't remember seeing any other film quite like it. The effects and make up are done nicely and the acting was not too bad either. I didn't think the movie was particularly scary, but in today's time, not many new horror movies are. What it is, though, is an entertaining supernatural thriller. Can't bring myself to give it 5 stars just for the simple fact that I think the filmmakers confuse gore with scary. The gore/death scenes in this film are very reminiscent of the Hellraiser series, with some extraordinarily vivid images of torturous death. However, sometimes its the things we don't see that truly scare us most. All in all, I would recommend this film to most, just be sure you have a strong stomach.

I love this film. Its great the way the Djinn goes about twisting wishes. An intersting idea and surprising that no one thought of it earlier. Andrew Divoff is superb as the Wishmaster. Tammy Lauren gives an acceptable performace as the heroine (although it is an exaggeration to describe her performace as 'fabulous' as some reviewers below have done). Andrew Divoff steals the show. Period. The special effects are surprisingly quite good for a low budget movie. My only criticism is the is that the film is not very long, an extra 10/15 minutes would have made much more enjoyable. Considering that the film was not exactly a blockbuster at the box office, the extras on the DVD are also very good (containing an interesting audio commentary). This is not a 'horror' movie as such, so don't expect any frights or sleepless nights. I would call it more a fantasy. Good fun. Enjoy.

this one has Tony Todd reprising his role as the Candyman. good horror and the story drags here and there but its fast going and enjoyable nontheless. Todd knows how to stick it to the people, especially in the beginning where the guy is sliced in the bathroom. other scenes like when the cop chants the guys name in the mirror and suddenly he is hooked and he is thrown out of the window, then the brother of the woman gets shot down I thought was a highlight in the movie. it tells also of how Candyman came to be, he was a slave and they caught him with some guys daughter, they tortured him and cut off him hand(thats where his hook comes in at) then they rub honey all over him and the bees just start crawling on him. its pure fun if you can stand the slow pace and some wooden dialouge but in the end it pays off.

They don't make horror movies like they used to. (Shining, Omen, Exorcist.) If you happen to be browsing by the Horror movie section, skip the Friday the 13th, and the Holloweens, rent this one instead. And if you are building a Horror movie DVD library, include this one. I saw the first one and honestly I liked them both equally. The blonde this time is Canadian Kelly Rowan being pursued by Candyman Tony Todd. There's plenty of blood, and screaming and the New Orleans setting is also a nice touch. I dropped the fifth star because I'm an old hag at horror movies and still waiting for a really scary one.

Warren Ellis defines horror as "Seeing something there that isn't supposed to be there."

While Candyman was a GREAT slasher film, probably one of the best. I feel that Candyman 2 simply IS NOT a slasher film and not really even a sequel for that matter.

It's a story about pride and prejudice, a man who was cast out in life and essentially erased from his family tree. I found the history of the Candyman and his relationship to Kelly Rowan (and oh my is she a hottie!) very touching and really unlike anything since Halloween.

This movie should not be compared to Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street, the Friday the 13th, Candyman or any other Carpenter style horror films. This movie belongs with the stories of Frankenstien, Dracula, and the tales of H.P Lovecraft.

The real star of this is Kelly Rowan, (did I mention she's a hottie.) Who reacts convincingly to the strange things she's discovered yet still sees the folly of welcoming the Candyman into her life.

this one has Tony Todd reprising his role as the Candyman. good horror and the story drags here and there but its fast going and enjoyable nontheless. Todd knows how to stick it to the people, especially in the beginning where the guy is sliced in the bathroom. other scenes like when the cop chants the guys name in the mirror and suddenly he is hooked and he is thrown out of the window, then the brother of the woman gets shot down I thought was a highlight in the movie. it tells also of how Candyman came to be, he was a slave and they caught him with some guys daughter, they tortured him and cut off him hand(thats where his hook comes in at) then they rub honey all over him and the bees just start crawling on him. its pure fun if you can stand the slow pace and some wooden dialouge but in the end it pays off.

They don't make horror movies like they used to. (Shining, Omen, Exorcist.) If you happen to be browsing by the Horror movie section, skip the Friday the 13th, and the Holloweens, rent this one instead. And if you are building a Horror movie DVD library, include this one. I saw the first one and honestly I liked them both equally. The blonde this time is Canadian Kelly Rowan being pursued by Candyman Tony Todd. There's plenty of blood, and screaming and the New Orleans setting is also a nice touch. I dropped the fifth star because I'm an old hag at horror movies and still waiting for a really scary one.

Warren Ellis defines horror as "Seeing something there that isn't supposed to be there."

While Candyman was a GREAT slasher film, probably one of the best. I feel that Candyman 2 simply IS NOT a slasher film and not really even a sequel for that matter.

It's a story about pride and prejudice, a man who was cast out in life and essentially erased from his family tree. I found the history of the Candyman and his relationship to Kelly Rowan (and oh my is she a hottie!) very touching and really unlike anything since Halloween.

This movie should not be compared to Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street, the Friday the 13th, Candyman or any other Carpenter style horror films. This movie belongs with the stories of Frankenstien, Dracula, and the tales of H.P Lovecraft.

The real star of this is Kelly Rowan, (did I mention she's a hottie.) Who reacts convincingly to the strange things she's discovered yet still sees the folly of welcoming the Candyman into her life.