Winona-Ryder Movie Reviews

No, this is not a posted sign in the film. The tobacco companies tried to include it, but Director Jim Jarmusch had too much integrity to allow it.

... The tobacco companies saw the script and fronted mass bucks, or actually in this case, for a small Indie episodic venture by a director without a commercial hit to his credit, they fronted small bucks and sent an accountant.

Anyway, this is a collection of five short stories filmed at night in five cities, Los Angeles, New York, Paris, Rome, and Helsinki. In the first, Winona Ryder is an L.A. cabby looking like a ninth-grade grunge girl with her own sweet dreams who picks up Hollywood casting director Gena Rowlands at LAX and takes her to Beverly Hills. It's a cute idea, their bonding, but Ryder is without subtlety and clichéd to the hilt in dark glasses, bubble gum, baseball cap on backwards, and the endless puffing, talking sarcastically out of the side of her mouth: "All right, MOM." I actually expected some Joan Jett and the Blackhearts in the background. Rowland is very good however and overcomes a cloying script.

In New York, veteran German character actor Armin Mueller-Stahl, looking for all the world like a dead ringer for Albert Einstein, is the cabby, Helmut, and Giancarlo Esposito is Yoyo, his fare. Problem is Helmut drives with one foot on the gas pedal and the other on the brake so that the cab starts and stops every two seconds. So they switch positions. Meanwhile Rosie Perez arrives for a cameo.

In Paris, Isaach De Bankolé is the cabby and blind Béatrice Dalle, in white zombie contact lenses, is his fare. This is perhaps the best piece. Bankolé, who is a black dude from the Ivory Coast, asks her kindly, "Don't blind people usually wear dark glasses?" She has the great rejoinder, "Do they? I've never seen a blind person."

Roberto Benigni is the cabby in Rome. He picks up a priest and to the priest's great discomfort confesses in vivid detail his rather revolting sexual experiences.

Finally in Helsinki we have Matti Pellonpää as the "taksi" driver. The stark lighting on the snow and the empty streets captures well the cold northern night. Incidentally, the European stories are done in the local language with subtitles.

This is obviously an art film and requires a relatively sophisticated audience. The editing isn't sharp (some of that's deliberate) and the dialogue is uneven, but some of the camera work is excellent. See it for the acting, which is mostly very good.

I watched this film late at night, when every sane person is supposed to be asleep, out of their cars and in their beds. Life still goes on, however, for the taxi-drivers who move people from one quiet location to another in the wee hours of the night. The locations are quiet, but the people are not, and the dialogue in this movie is humorous, meaningful, and real. A temporary bond is formed between passenger and driver (sometimes the roles are even reversed, as in the New York vignette featuring Helmut Grokenberger and YoYo, played by Armin Mueller-Stahl and Giancarlo Esposito, respectively). Armin Mueller-Stahl, born in 1930, may be relatively unknown to American audiences (as opposed to, say, Rosie Perez), but he did play Vertikoff in the George Clooney flick "The Peacemaker" (1997). Who is the stranger at the wheel who is responsible for bringing one home? What kind of person drives late at night, waiting for the dispatcher's call to a new address? A passenger has to pay him or her at the end of the ride, but there is still a feeling of gratitude, and even affection, towards this gruff conveyor of souls. "You're a good man, Mika," the half-drunk, initially hostile, Finnish workers tell their driver (played by Matti Pellonpää) at the end of their journey. Or a battle of wits takes place, as evidenced by the Paris vignette. Ivorian actor Isaach De Bankolé (who also appears in Jim Jarmusch's "Coffee and Cigarettes") is great here as a luckless "taxiste" whose prying questions are turned against him by his blind passenger (played by Béatrice Dalle). Roberto Benigni is of course hilarious, and does here what he does best: rapid, hilarious dialogue with a lot of gesticulation and wide grins. He and the actor who plays the priest (not a bishop), Paolo Bonacelli, have been co-stars before: on the Benigni vehicle "Johnny Stecchino."
I am really looking forward to the time when "Night on Earth" is made available on DVD.

A director like Jarmusch who has such a consistant and strong visual and thematic style will necessarily tend to draw either strongly positive or strongly negative responses. You either think he's the greatest or you think it's a bunch of junk. For my money he's one of the best. Always visually very fine, serious in his look at the modern world, and so often funny at the same time. In fact maybe it's just the combination of aesthetic and philosophical high seriousness with humor that makes much of his work so satisfying, and of course links him with his main, to my mind, counterparts the Coen brothers. Of course in saying this I immediately place myself as more a fan of Down By LAw, Mystery Train, and Night on EArth, than his other less comic films. Anyway, if I had to choose I'd take Night on Earth as the one I most enjoy. Like his other films it really repays viewing many times. When are they going to release the thing on DVD??

How to Make an American Quilt is a nice comfortable movie, and unlike so many other films belonging to the 'coming of age' genre, it doesn't leave the viewer feeling emotionally drained. It is also unusual in that it attempts to breach the generation divide in its appeal; however its success in this respect is debatable.

Finn is 26 and, hoping for some peace and quiet in which to complete her Master's thesis, she heads for her great-aunt's house in small-town Grasse, California. She also needs time to mull over a marriage proposal from her boyfriend. This is an entrance cue for a smoulderingly handsome strawberry farmer (in an unnecessary plot complication) to hinder Finn's contemplations.

Great-aunt Glady-Joe lives with her sister, Hy, and their constant bickering is portrayed with sensitivity and humour by Anne Bancroft and Ellen Burstyn. The two sisters belong to a quilting group, who are in the process of creating Finn's wedding quilt - thematically titled 'where love resides'. This evokes something different for each of the women, all of whom - in artificially contrived tete-a-tetes - explain to Finn the story behind their contributions to the quilt. The viewer is transported to a time when these elderly women were young, and through them we (along with Finn) learn that times may change, but affairs of the heart will always be unpredictable.

These dalliances in the past are refreshingly piquant; unfortunately this is countered by the film's occasional heavy-handedness. The symbolic crow that leads the women to their true love has all the subtlety of a flashing neon sign. Ultimately however, even if it does perhaps tie up the loose ends too thoroughly, the film will leave the viewer pleasantly satisfied.

I saw the movie on TV and it is just really refreshing from most of the movies nowadays. It's one of the movies that posts a bunch of questions up in the air and tells the answers at the end. I think it's about this girl college student play by Ryder who isn't sure about what she's going to do about her love. And she is writing this paper on her aunts, parents, basically the people in the quilt group. And I guess she finds the answer after she heard all the experiences from her quilting friends. It's something about commiting to love, gradual learning of life. I like the theme. I read the book too and it's pretty good too but the good thing of the movie is that it organzied the novel into a story, and what a girl learned from it. THe book is all scattered and seperated into short stories of each of the ladies in the quilt club, but it lets the readers analysis and think about it all on your own. They are both good.

Starting with the title, which is terrific, I also liked the great cast of actors who were chosen for the film. The story begins when Finn (Winona Ryder) comes to spend the summer with her grandmother (Ellen Burstyn) and her aunt (Anne Bancroft) at a grand old house in California. Finn is a graduate student who wants to spend the summer working on her thesis. She also needs a break from her boyfriend who wants to marry her. She's very indecisive about everything in her life, and I honestly found her part to be a little boring. The best parts of the story are about the friends that her grandmother and aunt share and their involvement in a quilting circle. The quilting ladies are all quite different and through flashbacks we're given a glimpse of them as young women and the love or lack of love in their lives. Jean Simmons plays one of the women, and I was delighted to see her acting again. I loved the scenes where the quilters, are working around a table in the lovely old house. The set designs were beautiful and perfect for the story.

At a certain point in the film, we come to find out that the theme of the quilt is "where love resides." Every quilter is making a block from her own experience in life. Finn also learns that the quilt is her wedding gift.

HOW TO MAKE AN AMERICAN QUILT is an enjoyable movie. I think that the individual stories could have been a little more informative, but all things considered it's a wonderful movie and worth seeing.

Quirky teen is sure she is the daughter of Roxy Carmichael... and that she's been adopted. Throughout the movie she finds her way and finds the truth. It's a bit odd and not for everyone. But if you like coming of age, and Winona, you will like this flick

This is such a Winona Ryder movie. (I mean that in the best way possible; she really shines in this movie.) She plays teenaged, quirky, confused, unpopular Dinky Bosetti living in small town Ohio. She was adopted as a baby by a couple who she cannot relate to (especially the "mother", played by Frances Fisher) and who cannot relate to her, and she displays her frustration and confusion by wearing black and padlocking her bedroom door. The only allies Dinky feels she has are a group of homeless dogs she cares for at an old abandoned boat. Roxy Carmichael, the town's living legend, is a woman whose sexual prowess is so strong that it's not limited to either gender. Jeff Daniels does well playing Denton Webb, who was a lover of Roxy's in their younger days. Dinky interrogates Denton relentlessly about Roxy and begins to convince herself that Roxy and Denton are her biological parents. She eagerly anticipates Roxy's scheduled return (as does Denton, who is by now married with children) so that she can go away with her and finally have a mother who understands her. Dinky becomes so obsessed with Roxy's return that she becomes blind to the love that's all around her, from a school counselor, from a popular classmate, and from her adoptive father. I don't want to give away the whole movie. It's a worthwhile rental. PS You never get to find out who Roxy Carmichael is, which was mildly frustrating, but don't let that stop you.

Dinky Basetti(Winona Ryder) is having a hard time fitting into her surroundings in this movie. But the one thing that keeps her going is the homecoming of the infamous Roxy Charmichal, who Dinky secrectly hopes and thinks she is the daughter of. This is a movie about having to deal with all of the problems of growing up and just being a teenager(we all know how hard that is) and hoping that there is some light at the end of the tunnel. Enjoy!

This movie could have been really great. But, it just ended up being mediocre at best.
It's very stereotypical and predictable in it's portrayal of a bunch of twentysomethings living in an apartment together in the grunge era of the 90's.
Winona Ryder plays Lelaina Pierce, a freshly graduated college valedictorian who finds it impossible to find a job - or to choose between the two guys in her life (Ethan Hawke, Ben Stiller).
It's really just a grunged out version of boy (ethan hawke) loves girl (winona ryder) but is too afraid to tell her, so girl goes off with another boy (ben stiller) and boy confesses his love to her, afraid that he will lose her forever - and now she must choose.

It's not a horrible film. But it's nothing great either. If nothing else, it's a good keepsake of the grunge movement of the early nineties.

The first time I saw this movie was on HBO. But then I had gotten it on video and now DVD. It's timeless and still fits into today's culture. Since the 90's of course wasn't that too long ago. Winona Ryder who plays college graduate Lelaina Pierce who likes to make documentaries. She is making a documentary of her friends who are played by: Ethan Hawke (Troy), the funny Janeane Garofalo (Vickie), Steve Zahn (Sammy), and Ben Stiller (Michael). Each of them goes through their own troubles Troy's father is suffering from Cancer and is dying, Vickie worries that she might have AIDS, Sammy is struggling to tell his parents that he's gay...and Lelania is stuck in the middle of a love triangle between Michael and Troy. It's realistic thrown in with great comedy and a great cast and storyline. Not to mention it has a great soundtrack. (You may also try to see if you can spot another upcoming star Renee Zellweger in the movie :).

The DVD in itself is a great buy. It is in a widescreen format. And has theatrical trailers, and also production notes of the movie. If your a fan of the movie this is the DVD for you.

I Loved this movie! It had everything: comedy, realism, and the ability to make you laugh and cry. The acting is superb. Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke, Janeane Garofalo, Steve Zahn and Ben Stiller are excellent.
Lelaina Pierce (Ryder) is the valedoctorian of her college and should have her entire life mapped out for her, but all she has is a job at a morning talk show called 'Good Morning Grant' where she makes barely enough money to cover her rent. (For all those Frasier fans out there Grant is well acted by John Mahoney who plays Frasier's father on the show.) Her best friend Vickie (Garofalo) has just been promoted to manager at the Gap, and her other friend Sammy (Zahn) is coming to terms with his sexuality. Troy (Hawke) is her other troubled best friend who is the lead singer of a band and is in love with Lelaina. Lelaina videotapes all her friends making a documentary about their lives and their troubles, and she meets a guy named Michael (Stiller) who she begins dating, and who wants to turn her documentary into a television show for the network he works for called In Your Face TV.
The movie has a plot that appears so simple, yet it applies to everyone everywhere. It tries to answer the question: what to do when you just get out of college and where should life go?
Lelaina is also trapped in a love triangle and has to decide who she wants to be with more: Hawke, her closest friend or Stiller (who makes an excellent directorial debut), someone who loves Lelaina but also wants to profit from her documentary.
There are cameos from actors such as Renee Zellweiger, David Spade, and Swoozie Kurtz (who plays Lelaina's mother in one scene).
This film is one of my favorite movies of all time and is one that should be more well-known. It also has a fiere soundtrack, featuring artists like the Knack (Sharona), and Lisa Loeb, so I highly suggest you buy that as well.
"There's no point to all of this. It's just a random lottery of meaningless tragedy and a series of near escapes. So I take pleasure in the details. You know... a quarter-pounder with chesse, those are good, the sky before it starts to rain, the moment where your laughter becomes a cackle... and I, I sit back and smoke my Camel Straights and I ride my own melt..."-Troy from Reality Bites...
SO BUY THE MOVIE!

This was a bold film. It spoke to the seemingly insatiable appetite of the American public for pop icons as well as the tendency for artists to be demanding prima-donnas. We are all under the microscope in this one.

Al Pacino is excellent as a director, frustrated in his attempts to convert his vision to the screen. The opening scenes with Wynona Ryder as a demanding starlet can't be too far from the truth. Pacino creates a beautiful, computer generated actress who captivates the public, leading to mass-hysteria.

Rachel Roberts as Simone is incredible and believable. I found myself wondering if in fact she was real at all. The premise is so credible and the acting so perfect that the viewer easily buys into the technology.

The plot is fairly predictable at times which detracts from my overall rating. But the story is one that stayed with me after the movie was over. How far away are we from this level of technology? We are already using computer-generated people in film. Imagine the possiblilties.

This movie certainly did not receive the recognition is deserved and I predict that it will find a niche with the rental crowd. Well worth a viewing.

S1M0NE is directed by New Zealander Andrew Niccol (GATTACA, writer of TRUMAN SHOW) and stars Al Pacino. Pacino plays film director Victor Taransky who has a falling out with an egotistical and talentless actress Nicola Anders (Winona Ryder), which results in Taransky being dumped by his production company. To add insult to injury Victor's ex-wife works there and must break the news to him.
But luckily for Victor, a guardian angel appears in the guise of Hank Aleno, a computer geek who lost his right eye to a tumor (The result of too much time sitting close to a computer). Aleno enlists Victor to help breathe life into his project. Unfortunately Hank dies but leaves Victor a gift in his will: S1M0NE (an acronym for Simulation One, played by the very real newcomer Rachel Roberts): History's first artificial, manufactured movie star with all the prerequisites a director dreams of: Talent, beauty and no ego. Described as having "The voice of a young Jane Fonda, the body of Sophia Loren, the grace of Grace Kelly and the face of Audrey Hepburn combined with an angel". When S1M0NE's debut film SUNRISE, SUNSET is released it becomes an instant hit and rises Taransky's career from the doldrums overnight. The only problem is that nobody knows this brilliant new screen sensation is a fake. So Victor must work twice as hard hiding the truth from Hollywood, the paparazzi and the public. As Pacino says in the movie: "It's easier to make 100,000 believe than just 1".
Soon S1M0NE is catapulted almost overnight to the status of the World's #1 Movie Star, endorsing her own cologne, recording CDs and even having a yacht christened after her- but journos soon start latching on to the charade. To make matters worse Taransky's ex-wife thinks he's having an affair and the world thinks he's controlling S1M0NE against her will. Taransky decides the only way to escape is to destroy S1M0NE's reputation: but these efforts only serve to add to her celebrity. How will Victor get away with this?
S1M0NE is far superior to THE TRUMAN SHOW, and although it takes a while to get going, once it does S1M0NE is a very good movie. Film buffs will especially enjoy it, with its clever concept and all round good performances. Director Niccol also scores a few brownie points for not making this drown in whimsy like TRUMAN did.
DVD extras include an "All Access Pass" to trailers, deleted/alternate scenes and two featurettes, "Cyber Stardom" and "Simulating Simone".

Not only is the star in the movie, Simone, amazing, but the movie itself is! It's a very fun movie to watch and I never get tired of watching it. It's also quite funny as well.

Victor Taransky is an unsuccessful movie producer. That is until he meets a "crazy" man that dies only about a week after. With his death, Victor inherits Simone, a fake computer image or figure of a person that seems so real he uses her in his movies. She is beautiful and absolutely flawless. People are astounded by her and he immediately becomes famous. At first, the fame, like always, is wonderful, but later he realizes how everyone is simply in love with Simone and she is beginning to take over his life. At first, he tries to ruin her as a star, but when everyone is still in love with Simone after everything he's done, he decides to finally get rid of her and come up with an excuse for her absence. But with that, he is accused of murder along with several other things such as keeping her prisoner in the studio. Find out what happens by watching Simone! It will keep you entertained over and over again no matter how many times you watch it!

This was a bold film. It spoke to the seemingly insatiable appetite of the American public for pop icons as well as the tendency for artists to be demanding prima-donnas. We are all under the microscope in this one.

Al Pacino is excellent as a director, frustrated in his attempts to convert his vision to the screen. The opening scenes with Wynona Ryder as a demanding starlet can't be too far from the truth. Pacino creates a beautiful, computer generated actress who captivates the public, leading to mass-hysteria.

Rachel Roberts as Simone is incredible and believable. I found myself wondering if in fact she was real at all. The premise is so credible and the acting so perfect that the viewer easily buys into the technology.

The plot is fairly predictable at times which detracts from my overall rating. But the story is one that stayed with me after the movie was over. How far away are we from this level of technology? We are already using computer-generated people in film. Imagine the possiblilties.

This movie certainly did not receive the recognition is deserved and I predict that it will find a niche with the rental crowd. Well worth a viewing.

S1M0NE is directed by New Zealander Andrew Niccol (GATTACA, writer of TRUMAN SHOW) and stars Al Pacino. Pacino plays film director Victor Taransky who has a falling out with an egotistical and talentless actress Nicola Anders (Winona Ryder), which results in Taransky being dumped by his production company. To add insult to injury Victor's ex-wife works there and must break the news to him.
But luckily for Victor, a guardian angel appears in the guise of Hank Aleno, a computer geek who lost his right eye to a tumor (The result of too much time sitting close to a computer). Aleno enlists Victor to help breathe life into his project. Unfortunately Hank dies but leaves Victor a gift in his will: S1M0NE (an acronym for Simulation One, played by the very real newcomer Rachel Roberts): History's first artificial, manufactured movie star with all the prerequisites a director dreams of: Talent, beauty and no ego. Described as having "The voice of a young Jane Fonda, the body of Sophia Loren, the grace of Grace Kelly and the face of Audrey Hepburn combined with an angel". When S1M0NE's debut film SUNRISE, SUNSET is released it becomes an instant hit and rises Taransky's career from the doldrums overnight. The only problem is that nobody knows this brilliant new screen sensation is a fake. So Victor must work twice as hard hiding the truth from Hollywood, the paparazzi and the public. As Pacino says in the movie: "It's easier to make 100,000 believe than just 1".
Soon S1M0NE is catapulted almost overnight to the status of the World's #1 Movie Star, endorsing her own cologne, recording CDs and even having a yacht christened after her- but journos soon start latching on to the charade. To make matters worse Taransky's ex-wife thinks he's having an affair and the world thinks he's controlling S1M0NE against her will. Taransky decides the only way to escape is to destroy S1M0NE's reputation: but these efforts only serve to add to her celebrity. How will Victor get away with this?
S1M0NE is far superior to THE TRUMAN SHOW, and although it takes a while to get going, once it does S1M0NE is a very good movie. Film buffs will especially enjoy it, with its clever concept and all round good performances. Director Niccol also scores a few brownie points for not making this drown in whimsy like TRUMAN did.
DVD extras include an "All Access Pass" to trailers, deleted/alternate scenes and two featurettes, "Cyber Stardom" and "Simulating Simone".

Not only is the star in the movie, Simone, amazing, but the movie itself is! It's a very fun movie to watch and I never get tired of watching it. It's also quite funny as well.

Victor Taransky is an unsuccessful movie producer. That is until he meets a "crazy" man that dies only about a week after. With his death, Victor inherits Simone, a fake computer image or figure of a person that seems so real he uses her in his movies. She is beautiful and absolutely flawless. People are astounded by her and he immediately becomes famous. At first, the fame, like always, is wonderful, but later he realizes how everyone is simply in love with Simone and she is beginning to take over his life. At first, he tries to ruin her as a star, but when everyone is still in love with Simone after everything he's done, he decides to finally get rid of her and come up with an excuse for her absence. But with that, he is accused of murder along with several other things such as keeping her prisoner in the studio. Find out what happens by watching Simone! It will keep you entertained over and over again no matter how many times you watch it!

This was a bold film. It spoke to the seemingly insatiable appetite of the American public for pop icons as well as the tendency for artists to be demanding prima-donnas. We are all under the microscope in this one.

Al Pacino is excellent as a director, frustrated in his attempts to convert his vision to the screen. The opening scenes with Wynona Ryder as a demanding starlet can't be too far from the truth. Pacino creates a beautiful, computer generated actress who captivates the public, leading to mass-hysteria.

Rachel Roberts as Simone is incredible and believable. I found myself wondering if in fact she was real at all. The premise is so credible and the acting so perfect that the viewer easily buys into the technology.

The plot is fairly predictable at times which detracts from my overall rating. But the story is one that stayed with me after the movie was over. How far away are we from this level of technology? We are already using computer-generated people in film. Imagine the possiblilties.

This movie certainly did not receive the recognition is deserved and I predict that it will find a niche with the rental crowd. Well worth a viewing.

S1M0NE is directed by New Zealander Andrew Niccol (GATTACA, writer of TRUMAN SHOW) and stars Al Pacino. Pacino plays film director Victor Taransky who has a falling out with an egotistical and talentless actress Nicola Anders (Winona Ryder), which results in Taransky being dumped by his production company. To add insult to injury Victor's ex-wife works there and must break the news to him.
But luckily for Victor, a guardian angel appears in the guise of Hank Aleno, a computer geek who lost his right eye to a tumor (The result of too much time sitting close to a computer). Aleno enlists Victor to help breathe life into his project. Unfortunately Hank dies but leaves Victor a gift in his will: S1M0NE (an acronym for Simulation One, played by the very real newcomer Rachel Roberts): History's first artificial, manufactured movie star with all the prerequisites a director dreams of: Talent, beauty and no ego. Described as having "The voice of a young Jane Fonda, the body of Sophia Loren, the grace of Grace Kelly and the face of Audrey Hepburn combined with an angel". When S1M0NE's debut film SUNRISE, SUNSET is released it becomes an instant hit and rises Taransky's career from the doldrums overnight. The only problem is that nobody knows this brilliant new screen sensation is a fake. So Victor must work twice as hard hiding the truth from Hollywood, the paparazzi and the public. As Pacino says in the movie: "It's easier to make 100,000 believe than just 1".
Soon S1M0NE is catapulted almost overnight to the status of the World's #1 Movie Star, endorsing her own cologne, recording CDs and even having a yacht christened after her- but journos soon start latching on to the charade. To make matters worse Taransky's ex-wife thinks he's having an affair and the world thinks he's controlling S1M0NE against her will. Taransky decides the only way to escape is to destroy S1M0NE's reputation: but these efforts only serve to add to her celebrity. How will Victor get away with this?
S1M0NE is far superior to THE TRUMAN SHOW, and although it takes a while to get going, once it does S1M0NE is a very good movie. Film buffs will especially enjoy it, with its clever concept and all round good performances. Director Niccol also scores a few brownie points for not making this drown in whimsy like TRUMAN did.
DVD extras include an "All Access Pass" to trailers, deleted/alternate scenes and two featurettes, "Cyber Stardom" and "Simulating Simone".

Not only is the star in the movie, Simone, amazing, but the movie itself is! It's a very fun movie to watch and I never get tired of watching it. It's also quite funny as well.

Victor Taransky is an unsuccessful movie producer. That is until he meets a "crazy" man that dies only about a week after. With his death, Victor inherits Simone, a fake computer image or figure of a person that seems so real he uses her in his movies. She is beautiful and absolutely flawless. People are astounded by her and he immediately becomes famous. At first, the fame, like always, is wonderful, but later he realizes how everyone is simply in love with Simone and she is beginning to take over his life. At first, he tries to ruin her as a star, but when everyone is still in love with Simone after everything he's done, he decides to finally get rid of her and come up with an excuse for her absence. But with that, he is accused of murder along with several other things such as keeping her prisoner in the studio. Find out what happens by watching Simone! It will keep you entertained over and over again no matter how many times you watch it!

Better than Little Nicky, far from Happy Gilmore, and on about the same level as The Waterboy, Mr. Deeds is decent, but not all that great. Adam Sandler plays Longfellow Deeds, a good man with a somewhat short temper, but ultimately mild mannered. When it is determined that he is the son of a recently deceased billionaire, he inherits the entire estate. The premise sounds good, and apparently it did before as it is based on the movie, "Mr. Deeds Goes To Town." That however doesn't help this movie. What does push it forward is some good acting, inventive characters, and a decent plot. Sandler has the ability to get more cameos into a movie than I thought physically possible. Al Sharpton, John MacEnroe (forgive the spelling), Rob Schneider, Kathy Bates, and others all wind up in this film and do an excellent job in supporting Sandler. Detracting seriously from the film though is Winnona Ryder. Why on Earth she is still an actress boggles my mind. She plays her part horribly and just sounds so atrocious. Her, and the dips in comedic action pull this film down 2 stars. Overall though it could be worse, given everything it's not that bad. It's an enjoyable film that can be viewed a few times without the effect wearing off.

I'm not going to compare this movie (tho loosely based) to the 1936 classic with Gary Cooper, "Mr. Deeds Goes To Town". Sure, the basic storyline is the same, but that's it. Cooper & Sander are totally different actors in totally different times. Cooper was a classic actor with a flair for some comedy, where Sandler is a comedian with a flair for some acting. "Deeds" did fairly well at the box office in 2002. Sandler proved there was life after his previous bomb, "Little Nicky". A great cast with Winona Ryder, Steve Buscemi, and John Turturro - stealing the show with his "sneaky" one liners and his incurable foot fetish. You'll recognize some supporting cast members from some of Sandler's previous flicks ("Wedding Singer, "Big Daddy", etc). Tho on the short side of today's movie standards (approx 90 minutes), this film is enjoyable on all levels. Sandler is more of the naive bumbling comedian here (remniscent of his role in "Wedding Singer"), rather than relying on gross humor geered toward the older adolescent male movie watchers. Included on this DVD are the standard feature length commentaries, outtakes & deleted scenes, and miscellanious featurettes. For those Sandler fans, I put this one behind the classics "The Wedding Singer" and "Happy Gilmore"... but well above "The Waterboy", "Big Daddy" and "Little Nicky".

I loved this movie! It is the perfect balance between comedy, romance and personal character. Adam Sandler plays a simple man who is caring, compassionate, honest & generous. Adam's character "Deeds" make other people feel comfortable around him, and he won't let others disrespect him or anyone else. He gives away 40 billion dollars, because it comes between him and finding love. Then live rewards him with both love and money. It is a true feel good, happily ever after movie. A must see!

Better than Little Nicky, far from Happy Gilmore, and on about the same level as The Waterboy, Mr. Deeds is decent, but not all that great. Adam Sandler plays Longfellow Deeds, a good man with a somewhat short temper, but ultimately mild mannered. When it is determined that he is the son of a recently deceased billionaire, he inherits the entire estate. The premise sounds good, and apparently it did before as it is based on the movie, "Mr. Deeds Goes To Town." That however doesn't help this movie. What does push it forward is some good acting, inventive characters, and a decent plot. Sandler has the ability to get more cameos into a movie than I thought physically possible. Al Sharpton, John MacEnroe (forgive the spelling), Rob Schneider, Kathy Bates, and others all wind up in this film and do an excellent job in supporting Sandler. Detracting seriously from the film though is Winnona Ryder. Why on Earth she is still an actress boggles my mind. She plays her part horribly and just sounds so atrocious. Her, and the dips in comedic action pull this film down 2 stars. Overall though it could be worse, given everything it's not that bad. It's an enjoyable film that can be viewed a few times without the effect wearing off.

I'm not going to compare this movie (tho loosely based) to the 1936 classic with Gary Cooper, "Mr. Deeds Goes To Town". Sure, the basic storyline is the same, but that's it. Cooper & Sander are totally different actors in totally different times. Cooper was a classic actor with a flair for some comedy, where Sandler is a comedian with a flair for some acting. "Deeds" did fairly well at the box office in 2002. Sandler proved there was life after his previous bomb, "Little Nicky". A great cast with Winona Ryder, Steve Buscemi, and John Turturro - stealing the show with his "sneaky" one liners and his incurable foot fetish. You'll recognize some supporting cast members from some of Sandler's previous flicks ("Wedding Singer, "Big Daddy", etc). Tho on the short side of today's movie standards (approx 90 minutes), this film is enjoyable on all levels. Sandler is more of the naive bumbling comedian here (remniscent of his role in "Wedding Singer"), rather than relying on gross humor geered toward the older adolescent male movie watchers. Included on this DVD are the standard feature length commentaries, outtakes & deleted scenes, and miscellanious featurettes. For those Sandler fans, I put this one behind the classics "The Wedding Singer" and "Happy Gilmore"... but well above "The Waterboy", "Big Daddy" and "Little Nicky".

I loved this movie! It is the perfect balance between comedy, romance and personal character. Adam Sandler plays a simple man who is caring, compassionate, honest & generous. Adam's character "Deeds" make other people feel comfortable around him, and he won't let others disrespect him or anyone else. He gives away 40 billion dollars, because it comes between him and finding love. Then live rewards him with both love and money. It is a true feel good, happily ever after movie. A must see!

Have you ever been in a situation where you want to do several things but you become so uncertain as to what to do you wind up doing nothing?

That is the problem with Boys. Is it going to be a crime drama? A teenage sex comedy? A coming of age film? A youth in revolt film?

Whoever made the film could not decide what it was supposed to be about, end result it does a little of everything, and a lot of nothing!

It is a classic jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none situation.

Give me Dead Poets Society any day of the week!

Winona Ryder plays Patty Vare, a troubled young woman with a dangerous secret. Lukas Haas plays John Baker, a prep school student straining against the restrictive and highly rarified lifestyle forced upon him by his ambitious father. Patty recieves a visit from the police and immediately afterward goes for a ride, but in her distracted state of mind winds up falling off her horse. When Baker finds her unconscious in a field, he decides to take her back to his dorm room (Patty comes around just long enough to tell him "no doctors" then conveniently swoons again). While Baker's attempts to keep Patty safe from his marauding dormmates escalate, Patty periodically flashes back on the event that led to her hiding out in a dorm in the first place.

All of the actors in this film do a good job with what they have to work with. The cinematography is lovely. The plot, unfortunately, is thin, improbable and increasingly incoherent. This is not a film to watch for the sheer joy of witnessing marvelous storytelling. This is a film to watch when you're feeling nostalgic for the Gen X heyday of the mid-90's. Winona Ryder, with all of the opposites she is able to encompass (waifish and voluptuous, little-girl-lost and Charlie-girl-who-knows-what-she-wants, Prep School Queen and Goth Princess) is the ultimate Gen X heroine, and Haas, who is sensitive but edgy here, makes a good Gen X hero. The soundtrack is pure mid-90's alternative pop-rock -- soaring guitars and wistful lyrics, all performed by bands you've probably never heard of but whose members you probably have. The clothing and hairstyles worn by the actors scream "'90's!" as loudly as any John Hughes film heralds the '80's -- for instance, Patty starts the film wearing minimalist styles in somber colors but eventually puts on some of Baker's casual clothes and winds up looking grunge.

All things considered, the film's story is too confusing to be truly enjoyable, but the mood is palpable and might be enough to hold your attention on a rainy Sunday afternoon. Terrible story -- excellent time capsule.

This movie has been panned by countless critics and dissed by even more amateurs all of whom have underappreciated its beautiful subtlety. I'll readily admit that the plot, which often seems to be nonexistant, is annoyingly vague, based on a short story that provides the basis for pretty much only the first ten minutes of the film. But it is an interesting starting point.

Much like she did in her previous (and more widely appreciated) film "My New Gun", director Stacy Cochran sets up the idea: What would happen if an outsider (the elusive, lovely, and slightly dangerous Patty, played by Winona Ryder) were to literally fall into the anxiety-ridden, closed world of a boys prep school. This recurring theme of the influence of an outsider plays out just as it did in "My New Gun," with the main character experiencing a liberating revelation through contact with a mysterious intruder. Imaginative schoolboy John, played by Lucas Haas, is inspired by Patty to leave his life of frustration at the school and defy his oppressive father. After some of the plot details work themselves out, this film ends suddenly. Both "Boys" and "My New Gun," though superficially such different stories, end on the same note of jubilant, romantic defiance.

"Boys" is not for everyone. This is a slow, meandering study of an improbable situation. Its plotlessness makes the actors performances all the more impressive. Ryder and Haas handle the difficult material with maturity and subtlety. A word of praise for excellent cinematography as well- the light and colors of autum permeate every scene with an unforgettable moodiness.