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From: owner-movies-digest@lists.xmission.com (movies-digest) To: movies-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: movies-digest V2 #190 Reply-To: movies-digest Sender: owner-movies-digest@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-movies-digest@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk movies-digest Thursday, May 20 1999 Volume 02 : Number 190 [MV] Black Mask review Re: [MV] ESSAY: Reasonable [MV] SW on TV [MV] REVIEW: TREKKIES Re: [MV] REVIEW: TREKKIES [MV] REVIEW: THREE SEASONS Re: [MV] ESSAY: Reasonable [MV] Another reason to miss the first day of SW:TPM [MV] WHO are we kidding?? Re: [MV] ESSAY: Reasonable RE: [MV] Another reason to miss the first day of SW:TPM [MV] The MUMMY! [MV] The clock is ticking [MV] Fwd: FlickPicks Special Bulletin [MV] Star Wars on DVD [MV] Star Wars Re: [MV] Star Wars on DVD RE: [MV] Star Wars on DVD Re: [MV] Star Wars Re: [MV] Star Wars on DVD Re: [MV] Star Wars on DVD -Reply RE: [MV] Star Wars on DVD Re: [MV] Star Wars on DVD -Reply [MV] REVIEW: STAR WARS: EPISODE I - THE PHANTOM MENACE Re: [MV] Star Wars on DVD [MV] REVIEW: THE LOVE LETTER Re: [MV] Star Wars on DVD Re: [MV] Star Wars on DVD ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 15 May 1999 12:46:10 -0700 From: "Jason Cormier" <movieman@netcom.ca> Subject: [MV] Black Mask review ughhh. Sorry to have to make you read this one - I reccomend deleting this message and we'll all pretend that this conversation (or this movie) never existed. It was pretty bad - very cliche, lots of stereotypes, everyday action plot, boring characters - and it was dubbed!! On the plus side it did have about 3 cool martial arts scenes - if you're into that kind of thing. Obviously this one is a fail. I apologize again for interrupting whatever it was you were doing!:-) [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies" (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 May 1999 13:04:05 EDT From: SkipyLlama@aol.com Subject: Re: [MV] ESSAY: Reasonable In a message dated 5/14/99 2:38:45 PM Central Daylight Time, wds9974@hotmail.com writes: > :-) point well taken. > > Note that my first impulse was to say "The Who" but they have had at least 3 > or 4 farewell performances so it's a no-win situation. Okay, I could pass up the Rolling stones comment, but the Who!? As far as I'm concerned, Daltry and Pete could give a performance from their hospital beds, and I"d go see it........ [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies" (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 May 1999 13:42:05 -0700 From: "Roman G" <romang@mailcity.com> Subject: [MV] SW on TV - -- Star Wars was shown on TV yesterday. I had not seen it atleast 5yrs. This time I found it slow, boring, uneven, lacking in cohesion and FX. Most of the scenes take place inside the Death Star. So many laser shots and the good guys dont get hurt, how silly. Why did Ben Kenobi disappear in the middle of the saber fight with Darth Vader? Why do ships make sound in space? Why do laser shots produce explosions? How was princess Leia kidnapped? BTW, I did enjoy the Pinky and the Brain parody of it! Get your FREE Email at http://mailcity.lycos.com Get your PERSONALIZED START PAGE at http://my.lycos.com [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies" (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 May 1999 15:22:29 -0600 (MDT) From: Scott Renshaw <renshaw@inconnect.com> Subject: [MV] REVIEW: TREKKIES TREKKIES (Paramount Classics) Featuring: Denise Crosby, Barbara Adams, Gabriel Koerner, Dennis Bourguignon. Producer: W. K. Border. Director: Roger Nygard. MPAA Rating: PG (adult themes) Running Time: 87 minutes. Reviewed by Scott Renshaw. I'll be honest with you: the last thing I was expecting from the Paramount-distributed TREKKIES was a warts-n-all documentary about "Star Trek" fandom. Paramount, after all, was the corporate homeworld of the United Federation of Planets; how critical a look could the studio _really_ take at those who so proudly wore the milk moustaches from its most lucrative cash cow? Roger Nygard's TREKKIES, however, is about as far from an officially endorsed whitewash as one could imagine. In fact, though its character studies are at times undeniably amusing, it's almost too focused on turning its subjects into the oddballs everyone already suspects Trekkies of being. Narrated by actress Denise Crosby (who portrayed Tasha Yar on the syndicated "Star Trek: The Next Generation"), TREKKIES is essentially a loosely assembled collection of cast member anecdotes and portraits of the hardest of hard-core fans. Among the individuals profiled is Barbara Adams, a Little Rock, Arkansas bookbinder and "Commander" of a local fan organization who gained national attention when she served as a Whitewater trial juror in her full Starfleed uniform. Another tour guide is 14-year-old Gabriel Koerner from Bakersfield, California, who leads viewers through a typical "Star Trek" convention -- one of 28 he has attended -- complete with merchandise tables, auctions and guest appearances by cast members past and present. The bad news for many "Trek" fans expecting a sympathetic portrait is that those two characters are among the more mainstream folks in the film. TREKKIES doesn't hesitate to show us characters like the cross-dresser who performs "Trek"-inspired folk songs, or a woman whose obsession with Brent Spiner (the artificial life form Data on "The Next Generation") borders on stalking, or an engineer who travels the streets of Minneapolis in an enclosed wheelchair-like device modeled after a "Trek" prop. When the subject matter swerves into the pornographic fan fiction which has been created using "Trek" characters, it no longer feels like Nygard is just creating a comprehensive catalog of the manifestations of Trekkie-ism. There's an element of side show exploitation to these aspects of TREKKIES, a sense that Nygard is less interested in understanding the phenomenon of Trekkies than in turning their eccentricities into punch lines. That's truly a shame, because the "why's" of Trekkies could have been at least as fascinating as the "who's". In an utterly unique way, the universe created by Gene Roddenberry affected viewers as no other television program has in the history of the medium. There are moments of insight into the way "Star Trek" changed the lives of those involved in it forever, as in actor James Doohan's ("Scotty") emotional story about how he helped save the life of a suicidal woman. TREKKIES also touches on the impact of the show's positive portrayal of multi-ethnic integration, and on the optimism of its messages of inclusion and acceptance. Such ideas should have made it easier to see Trekkies as social outsiders who have embraced a mythology in which they are tolerated, and even celebrated. It's ironic -- and somewhat disappointing -- to watch the film turn them into social outsiders once again. There's no denying that TREKKIES is occasionally quite funny, whether in the answers of cast members to the strangest fan experiences they have had, or in the ways various Trekkies have integrated their love of "Trek" into their lives (like dentist Dennis Bourguignon's "Starbase Dental" office). It was only after I left the theater that I realized I had been laughing at these people more than I was laughing with them. Yes, there are comments about how intelligent most "Star Trek" fans are; it's too bad they feel like token gestures. Many Trekkies themselves seem to have embraced the film, but I'm not sure they should appreciate the way they are turned into exactly what the broader population generally thinks of them. There's not enough balance between the unusual things these people do and the love that inspires them to do those things. It was brave of Paramount to endorse a film like TREKKIES. It also seems like a bit of a betrayal. On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 Trek meets: 5. - -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Visit Scott Renshaw's Screening Room http://www.inconnect.com/~renshaw/ *** Subscribe to receive new reviews directly by email! See the Screening Room for details, or reply to this message with subject "Subscribe". - -------------------------------------------------------------------------- [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies" (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 May 1999 17:32:55 -0400 From: Mel Eperthener <bcassidy@usaor.net> Subject: Re: [MV] REVIEW: TREKKIES Man, could a review be any more timely:-) James, I wonder if your fellow Halloween-partier is in this film. Perhaps he wasn't oddball enough for this film. Be afraid, be very afraid. Regards, - --Mel At 03.22 PM 15/05/99 -0600, Scott Renshaw wrote: >TREKKIES >(Paramount Classics) >Featuring: Denise Crosby, Barbara Adams, Gabriel Koerner, Dennis >Bourguignon. >Producer: W. K. Border. >Director: Roger Nygard. >MPAA Rating: PG (adult themes) >Running Time: 87 minutes. >Reviewed by Scott Renshaw. > > I'll be honest with you: the last thing I was expecting from the >Paramount-distributed TREKKIES was a warts-n-all documentary about "Star >Trek" fandom. Paramount, after all, was the corporate homeworld of the >United Federation of Planets; how critical a look could the studio >_really_ take at those who so proudly wore the milk moustaches from its >most lucrative cash cow? Roger Nygard's TREKKIES, however, is about as >far from an officially endorsed whitewash as one could imagine. In fact, >though its character studies are at times undeniably amusing, it's almost >too focused on turning its subjects into the oddballs everyone already >suspects Trekkies of being. > The bad news for many "Trek" fans expecting a sympathetic portrait is >that those two characters are among the more mainstream folks in the film. - --Mel Eperthener president, Gowanna Multi-media Pty email: bcassidy@usaor.net gowanna@australiamail.com http://www.webz.com/gowanna 419 Butler Street PO Box 95184 Pittsburgh, PA 15223-0184 (412) 781-6140 (412) 781-6380 1-888-45-GOWANNA -- TOLL FREE (1-888-454-6926) ____________________________________________ "Mulder, if you had to do without a cell phone for two minutes, you'd lapse into catatonic schizophrenia" - --Dana Scully ______________________________________________ [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies" (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 May 1999 09:34:34 -0600 (MDT) From: Scott Renshaw <renshaw@inconnect.com> Subject: [MV] REVIEW: THREE SEASONS THREE SEASONS (BA M`UA) (October) Starring: Don Duong, Nguyen Ngoc Hiep, Tran Manh Cuong, Harvey Keitel, Zoe Bui, Nguyen Huu Duoc. Screenplay: Tony Bui. Producers: Jason Kliot, Joana Vicente and Tony Bui. Director: Toni Bui. MPAA Rating: PG (adult themes) Running Time: 113 minutes. Reviewed by Scott Renshaw. Perspective is a curious matter. Take the question of the Vietnam War, for example. The conventional wisdom runs that the United States lost the conflict when troops were withdrawn before the fall of Saigon. For those of you laboring under the misapprehension that that was the end of the story, Tony Bui's THREE SEASONS shows us a modern-day Saigon in the full bloom of capitalism; in the ideological long run, you might say the war was won after all. Sometimes, a thing is entirely how you look at it rather than the thing itself. Even in the mind, style can triumph over substance. There is an abundance of style on display in THREE SEASONS, enough to cloak its lapses in substance. The narrative consists of four largely independent stories of life in modern Saigon. In one, a young woman named Kien An (Nguyen Ngoc Hiep) goes to work at a lotus farm, and becomes intrigued with the reasons behind the reclusiveness of her employer (Tran Manh Cuong). Another finds cyclo-cab driver Hai (Don Duong) becoming infatuated with local prostitute Lan (Zoe Bui), and intent on serving as her knight in shining armor. The third involves a street urchin and trinket seller named Woody (Nguyen Huu Duoc) on a quest for the suitcase full of goods he lost in a bar. Meanwhile, American Vietnam War veteran James Hager (Harvey Keitel) searches for the daughter he left behind. Visually, THREE SEASONS is a remarkably assured piece of film-making, using the contrasts of ancient, war-time and modern Vietnam to perfection. In the picturesque countryside, delicate wooden bridges share the landscape with neon advertising signs; in the city, the war's terrible legacy has been turned into an opportunity for a theme bar (characters in the film frequent the "Apocalypse Now Cafe"). Cinematographer Lisa Rinzler captures flower-showered streets and lotus gardens with a warm glow, helping make THREE SEASONS an often enchanting tone poem on the conflicts inherent in introducing the contemporary into the conventional. As a narrative, it's considerably more inconsistent, as one might expect from the multiple independent story-lines. By far the most effective is the tale of cyclo driver Hai, given the strongest emotional and thematic pull by Don Duong's exceptional performance. At its core his is a tried-and-true hooker with a heart of gold story, yet something in Duong's manner makes the cliche more resonant, his attempts to "save" Lan more ennobling than predictable. Each of the other tales has its moments, but they come more sporadically. Keitel's American perspective feels particularly intrusive, almost like a sop to American audiences; what's more, it adds a title-confounding fourth story to the three seasons. Though THREE SEASONS rarely inspires seat-shifting, it's never as engaging as it is when the focus is on Hai. Still, the stories do ultimately come together as tales of healing, of reconciling Vietnam's troubled past with its challenging present and future. As the first American production shot in Vietnam since the war, it's also an often-compelling cultural document. There's little doubt that THREE SEASONS feels somehow more "significant" because it is so gracefully and beautifully composed, but that's hardly a cause for consternation. If it pushes plenty of the right aesthetic buttons, that only proves that glamour can change one's perspective, as it clearly has in a post-war Saigon where Coke adds life. On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 Saigon falls: 7. - -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Visit Scott Renshaw's Screening Room http://www.inconnect.com/~renshaw/ *** Subscribe to receive new reviews directly by email! See the Screening Room for details, or reply to this message with subject "Subscribe". - -------------------------------------------------------------------------- [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies" (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 May 1999 08:42:25 CDT From: "Wade S." <wds9974@hotmail.com> Subject: Re: [MV] ESSAY: Reasonable No disregards to The Who, but what I was saying is that the Who broke up a number of times to get back together. We were saying that the tickets to SW is not the same as a final performance by someone important since you can see SW over and over for months. My joke was that a final performance by The Who may not be final really. Wade > >In a message dated 5/14/99 2:38:45 PM Central Daylight Time, >wds9974@hotmail.com writes: > > > :-) point well taken. > > > > Note that my first impulse was to say "The Who" but they have had at >least >3 > > or 4 farewell performances so it's a no-win situation. > >Okay, I could pass up the Rolling stones comment, but the Who!? As far as >I'm concerned, Daltry and Pete could give a performance from their hospital >beds, and I"d go see it........ > >[ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] >[ movies" (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] _______________________________________________________________ Get Free Email and Do More On The Web. Visit http://www.msn.com [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies" (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 May 99 07:12:15 -0700 From: "David F. Nolan" <DFN@alum.mit.edu> Subject: [MV] Another reason to miss the first day of SW:TPM Once all those people who have waited in line for days to see "The Phantom Menace" actually get inside the theater, can you imagine what it's gonna SMELL like? [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies" (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 May 1999 12:43:03 -0400 From: Mel Eperthener <bcassidy@usaor.net> Subject: [MV] WHO are we kidding?? At 08.42 AM 17/05/99 CDT, Wade S. wrote: >No disregards to The Who, but what I was saying is that the Who broke up a >number of times to get back together. We were saying that the tickets to SW >is not the same as a final performance by someone important since you can >see SW over and over for months. My joke was that a final performance by The >Who may not be final really. Don't worry, I think we all (including the Who fan that you were replying to, sorry that I can't remember your name) got the joke, Wade. And if anything, I think that the fan was just showing that it is all a matter of degree. Which brings us back to the film. After watching nearly two hours of hype (read: free press) about it yesterday, inculding Roger Ebert's missive about the entire phenomenon, I have come to a few realisations. One is that this series/industry is so big that it in some ways is imploding on itself. Why else would Lucas be working so hard to tone down the hype, and tell us that this is not that big of a deal?? What it comes down to is that you could film half an hour of Yoda taking a dump (Episode 1 - The Phantom Crap), and people would be lining up for it because, well, IT'S STAR WARS, MAN!!!! Meanwhile, Lucas could produce a work of art that easily surpasses both Citizen Kane AND Casablanca, and some people would pan it because, well, it's Star Wars, man. My fellow Australians on this list will recognise this as the "tall poppy" syndrome, that of having to bring the mighty down to your level. I think that we need to realise that this has moved beyond some images on moving celluiod (oh, like I should be expected to spell on a Monday). For some people (ie, those needing a life), it is a quasi-religion (yes, that is from Ebert's show), and for others it is the ultimate hype-machine. I think this is a movie that, like the rest of the series, will not be receiving glowing opening reviews (tho no one is willing to admit to panning the original when it was released in 1977), but there is a core of fans that will not be dissuaded (again, it's Monday, spellcheck is broken) from believing this is the Second Coming. The rest of us will pay our ten-spot (if we're lucky to get away with that price), and reserve judgement until later. On a similar, albeit from a different genre, note, there were some interesting articles in the local newspaper yesterday (some were national syndicates, so you may have seen them). One that really pissed me off is the local film critic found some way to blame Star Wars for the tragedy at Columnbine. Come on, this is definately getting out of hand!! Also, there was an article about The Shawshank Redemption, a movie that did terribly in the theatres, but has found a second life on video and telly. If you want to see a really powerful movie, this would be definately one that I would recommend. That, and The Usual Suspects. If you missed either one of these, what are you waiting for?? Whilst everyone else is fighting over Phantom Tickets, get yeself to a video store, and rent these fine pieces of film. Regards, - --Mel - --Mel Eperthener president, Gowanna Multi-media Pty email: bcassidy@usaor.net gowanna@australiamail.com http://www.webz.com/gowanna 419 Butler Street PO Box 95184 Pittsburgh, PA 15223-0184 (412) 781-6140 (412) 781-6380 1-888-45-GOWANNA -- TOLL FREE (1-888-454-6926) ____________________________________________ "Mulder, if you had to do without a cell phone for two minutes, you'd lapse into catatonic schizophrenia" - --Dana Scully ______________________________________________ [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies" (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 May 1999 16:46:33 EDT From: SkipyLlama@aol.com Subject: Re: [MV] ESSAY: Reasonable In a message dated 5/17/99 8:45:06 AM Central Daylight Time, wds9974@hotmail.com writes: > No disregards to The Who, but what I was saying is that the Who broke up a > number of times to get back together. We were saying that the tickets to SW > is not the same as a final performance by someone important since you can > see SW over and over for months. My joke was that a final performance by The > > Who may not be final really. I know, I was responding in a mostly joking manner (even though I probably WOULD go see them in concer on their deathbeds ;-)...... [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies" (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 May 1999 16:24:45 -0500 From: "Irish Boy" <rdoyle29@msn.com> Subject: RE: [MV] Another reason to miss the first day of SW:TPM Except of course that the line up ended a week before the movie starts. R∩(c)hΣ(r)d J. ╨÷ lδ rdoyle29@msn.com ICQ: 27479510 "There are three roads to ruin; women, gambling and technicians. The most pleasant is with women, the quickest is with gambling, but the surest is with technicians." - Georges Pompidou - -----Original Message----- From: owner-movies@lists.xmission.com [mailto:owner-movies@lists.xmission.com] On Behalf Of David F. Nolan Sent: Monday, May 17, 1999 9:12 AM To: movies@lists.xmission.com Subject: [MV] Another reason to miss the first day of SW:TPM Once all those people who have waited in line for days to see "The Phantom Menace" actually get inside the theater, can you imagine what it's gonna SMELL like? [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies" (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies" (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 May 1999 10:12:53 -0700 From: "Ken D. Andrews" <kendrew@earthlink.net> Subject: [MV] The MUMMY! Well. . . I have to tell you guys. . .I am a movie goer is rarely ever unhappy. As long as I'm entertained, and it doesn't take much for mind to stay entertained. . .and you guessed it. . . BUT Was this movie supposed to be THE MUMMY or George of the Jungle goes to Egypt? Now please forgive me if you have already heard this same opinion...I didn't read most of the post regarding this movie because I wanted to see it first. The lines sounded like they were taken right out of a comic book, and since I love comic books(I told you it didn't take much to keep mind entertained), a very poor comic book at that. Since the mummy was deathly afraid of cats, each one of the guys who opened the "box" that contained the "book of death" could have just carried two cats around with them. . .end of movie. Or better yet have 'Pharoah's bodyguards" just kill one or all of the men who opened the box, burn their bodies, and he can't be restored. . .end of movie. The plot leaked like a collander. And yet. . .80 million bucks in two weeks. It's a box office smash. . . I need to start writing screen plays but alas the trick is getting someone who can actually say yes to a screenplay to read it. ken [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies" (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 May 1999 12:21:09 -0600 From: jkrudy <jkrudy@micron.com> Subject: [MV] The clock is ticking Okay, Y2K may not be the Apocalypse and The Phantom Menace might not be the Second Coming, but just in case it's not all some big coincidence I've place my kitchen timer next to my Millennium count down clock, and the kitchen timer says there's 19 HRS 41 MIN and 32 SEC until the Second Coming of the Star Wars Saga!!!! At least there's that much time until I see it. I wonder what we're all going to be talking about tomorrow? I watched Rookie of the Year with my kids last night maybe we'll talk about that tomorrow. James K. Rudy [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies" (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 May 99 14:18:50 -0700 From: "David F. Nolan" <DFN@alum.mit.edu> Subject: [MV] Fwd: FlickPicks Special Bulletin "PHANTOM MENACE" IS UPON US -- PLEASE COMMENT! The movie the whole world has been waiting for (or so George Lucas would have us believe) will make its public debut in hours. Is it all it's been cracked up to be... or just an overblown special effects extravaganza, calculatedly designed to maximize tie-in revenue? If you're one of the fortunate few who's already seen it in a preview showing -- or one of the hardy souls who catch it on opening day -- please visit the FlickPicks RATE A FLICK page and weigh in with your rating and comments. Thousands of moviegoers are counting on you for guidance! And if you're one of those thousands, check our PEOPLE'S CHOICE page before you head out to see PHANTOM MENACE ... or any other movie. It's the quickest, easiest way to learn what other moviegoers are saying about current offerings. FlickPicks - http://www.flickpicks.com [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies" (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 May 1999 13:47:48 CEST From: "Da Sneaker" <rrdtbsop@hotmail.com> Subject: [MV] Star Wars on DVD Does anybody know when or if George Lucas is planning to bring out the trilogy on DVD? Ralph ------------------------------ McMurphy: Is that crazy enough for ya'? Want me to take a shit on the floor? Jack Nicholson: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) ------------------------------ ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies" (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 May 1999 09:25:51 -0700 From: "Bruce Bridges" <Bruce@ffww.com> Subject: [MV] Star Wars FYI, if anyone cares, my office overlooks the Westwood theatre playing = Starwars and with my trusty binoculars I can see 5 Princes Lieas (sp?). = They seem to be giving each other a wide berth. bb [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies" (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 May 1999 19:37:09 +0100 From: Tim Stubbs <toffeerapper@f-u-n.u-net.com> Subject: Re: [MV] Star Wars on DVD At 01:47 PM 5/19/99 CEST, you wrote: >Does anybody know when or if George Lucas is planning to bring out the >trilogy on DVD? > >Ralph He says definitely "No." :-( Toffee > > ------------------------------ >McMurphy: Is that crazy enough for ya'? > Want me to take a shit on the floor? > >Jack Nicholson: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) > > ------------------------------ > > >______________________________________________________ >Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com > >[ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] >[ movies" (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] > > [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies" (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 May 1999 13:41:22 -0500 From: "Joshua Crow" <joshc@galaxy-inc.com> Subject: RE: [MV] Star Wars on DVD Do you know why? |:| -----Original Message----- |:| From: owner-movies@lists.xmission.com |:| [mailto:owner-movies@lists.xmission.com]On Behalf Of Tim Stubbs |:| Sent: Wednesday, May 19, 1999 1:37 PM |:| To: movies@lists.xmission.com |:| Subject: Re: [MV] Star Wars on DVD |:| |:| |:| At 01:47 PM 5/19/99 CEST, you wrote: |:| >Does anybody know when or if George Lucas is planning |:| to bring out the |:| >trilogy on DVD? |:| > |:| >Ralph |:| |:| |:| He says definitely "No." |:| |:| :-( |:| |:| Toffee |:| |:| |:| |:| > |:| > ------------------------------ |:| >McMurphy: Is that crazy enough for ya'? |:| > Want me to take a shit on the floor? |:| > |:| >Jack Nicholson: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) |:| > |:| > ------------------------------ |:| > |:| > |:| >______________________________________________________ |:| >Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com |:| > |:| >[ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message |:| "unsubscribe ] |:| >[ movies" (without the quotes) to |:| majordomo@xmission.com ] |:| > |:| > |:| |:| [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message |:| "unsubscribe ] |:| [ movies" (without the quotes) to |:| majordomo@xmission.com ] |:| [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies" (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 May 1999 12:38:18 -0400 From: Mel Eperthener <bcassidy@usaor.net> Subject: Re: [MV] Star Wars At 09.25 AM 19/05/99 -0700, Bruce Bridges wrote: >FYI, if anyone cares, my office overlooks the Westwood theatre playing Starwars and with my trusty binoculars I can see 5 Princes Lieas (sp?). They seem to be giving each other a wide berth. What, you mean that they're still wandering around??? The theatre we went to last night wasn't even sold out (that's why we went there, it almost never sells out. Plus they have just about the best sound system in the area. Too bad they'll probably close soon due to a lack of business). We did see one guy that came as Jabba the Hutt. Oh, wait, he wasn't in costume. (Don't worry, my wife already hit me for that comment:-) As for what I thought about the movie, well, it was very much like I expected. I thought it was very good for what it was. Yes, it dragged, and seemed longer than the 130 minutes it was (then again, as I have said, there are slow parts in the original trilogy). I thought it served the mythology of the characters well, establishing what we already know from the other movies, and adding some new twists (which I will not mention this time). There were a lot of inside jokes, references to things that we know will happen in 30 movie years (and happened nearly two decades ago for the audience), but that the characters don't. Some great foreshadowing. Definately for the fans. Non-fans might find it tedious and condesending. But, I should rephrase that, as it sounds like that's a bad thing:-) Regards, - --Mel - --Mel Eperthener president, Gowanna Multi-media Pty email: bcassidy@usaor.net gowanna@australiamail.com http://www.webz.com/gowanna 419 Butler Street PO Box 95184 Pittsburgh, PA 15223-0184 (412) 781-6140 (412) 781-6380 1-888-45-GOWANNA -- TOLL FREE (1-888-454-6926) ____________________________________________ "Mulder, if you had to do without a cell phone for two minutes, you'd lapse into catatonic schizophrenia" - --Dana Scully ______________________________________________ [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies" (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 May 1999 14:59:34 -0400 From: Mike Allen <dahrin@inna.net> Subject: Re: [MV] Star Wars on DVD I heard that lucas was going to wait untill he finishes episodes 1-3 and then release all 6 on dvd as a set... which if that is true then thats a long wait just to see the original trilogy on dvd.. but hey.. i guess its better than never. - -Mike Allen Joshua Crow wrote: > Do you know why? > > |:| -----Original Message----- > |:| From: owner-movies@lists.xmission.com > |:| [mailto:owner-movies@lists.xmission.com]On Behalf Of Tim Stubbs > |:| Sent: Wednesday, May 19, 1999 1:37 PM > |:| To: movies@lists.xmission.com > |:| Subject: Re: [MV] Star Wars on DVD > |:| > |:| > |:| At 01:47 PM 5/19/99 CEST, you wrote: > |:| >Does anybody know when or if George Lucas is planning > |:| to bring out the > |:| >trilogy on DVD? > |:| > > |:| >Ralph > |:| > |:| > |:| He says definitely "No." > |:| > |:| :-( > |:| > |:| Toffee > |:| > |:| > |:| > |:| > > |:| > ------------------------------ > |:| >McMurphy: Is that crazy enough for ya'? > |:| > Want me to take a shit on the floor? > |:| > > |:| >Jack Nicholson: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) > |:| > > |:| > ------------------------------ > |:| > > |:| > > |:| >______________________________________________________ > |:| >Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com > |:| > > |:| >[ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message > |:| "unsubscribe ] > |:| >[ movies" (without the quotes) to > |:| majordomo@xmission.com ] > |:| > > |:| > > |:| > |:| [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message > |:| "unsubscribe ] > |:| [ movies" (without the quotes) to > |:| majordomo@xmission.com ] > |:| > > [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] > [ movies" (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies" (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 May 1999 12:06:45 -0700 From: "Bruce Bridges" <Bruce@ffww.com> Subject: Re: [MV] Star Wars on DVD -Reply Call me stubborn but I just can not believe he will wait until episode = three has made its theater run to release the movies on dvd. As much as = he professes to champion the best in technology it would make no sense to = force the majority of people to have to continue to watch it on vhs. bb [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies" (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 May 1999 21:17:09 +0100 From: Tim Stubbs <toffeerapper@f-u-n.u-net.com> Subject: RE: [MV] Star Wars on DVD At 01:41 PM 5/19/99 -0500, you wrote: > >Do you know why? The last LD & VHS re-mastered releases were the last time the original 3 will appear. He has made his mind up and God knows he doesn't need the money. :-( Toffee > >|:| -----Original Message----- >|:| From: owner-movies@lists.xmission.com >|:| [mailto:owner-movies@lists.xmission.com]On Behalf Of Tim Stubbs >|:| Sent: Wednesday, May 19, 1999 1:37 PM >|:| To: movies@lists.xmission.com >|:| Subject: Re: [MV] Star Wars on DVD >|:| >|:| >|:| At 01:47 PM 5/19/99 CEST, you wrote: >|:| >Does anybody know when or if George Lucas is planning >|:| to bring out the >|:| >trilogy on DVD? >|:| > >|:| >Ralph >|:| >|:| >|:| He says definitely "No." >|:| >|:| :-( >|:| >|:| Toffee >|:| [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies" (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 May 1999 21:19:21 +0100 From: Tim Stubbs <toffeerapper@f-u-n.u-net.com> Subject: Re: [MV] Star Wars on DVD -Reply At 12:06 PM 5/19/99 -0700, you wrote: >Call me stubborn but I just can not believe he will wait until episode three has made its theater run to release the movies on dvd. As much as he professes to champion the best in technology it would make no sense to force the majority of people to have to continue to watch it on vhs. > >bb There you go. They should have bought that beautiful LD box set. ;-) Toffee [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies" (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 May 1999 15:57:52 -0600 (MDT) From: Scott Renshaw <renshaw@inconnect.com> Subject: [MV] REVIEW: STAR WARS: EPISODE I - THE PHANTOM MENACE STAR WARS: EPISODE I - THE PHANTOM MENACE (20th Century Fox) Starring: Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Jake Lloyd, Natalie Portman, Ian McDiarmid, Ray Park, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Frank Oz, Ahmet Best. Screenplay: George Lucas. Producer: Rick McCallum. Director: George Lucas. MPAA Rating: PG (violence) Running Time: 131 minutes. Reviewed by Scott Renshaw. Contrary to conventional wisdom, The Force is not a mystical, all-encompassing power; it's what George Lucas must be feeling in the middle of his chest as he revives the STAR WARS saga after a 16-year hiatus. In one sense, of course, EPISODE I - THE PHANTOM MENACE is the ultimate can't-lose proposition. It's also the ultimate can't-win proposition, a monolith nearly impossible to separate from the ridiculous expectations. Curiously, critics face a similar predicament. A rave could be interpreted as succumbing to the hype, while a jeer could be viewed as anti-hype backlash. How do you talk about a film that virtually demands the creation of a new set of rules -- for the film-maker, for the media, for the audience? I can only explain my reaction to THE PHANTOM MENACE this way: when John Williams' now-iconic fanfare burst forth over the sound system, I was 9 years old again, shivering with anticipation at being transported by Lucas' singular mythology. And transported I was...into a hard drive. There's no other way to explain the chilly experience of THE PHANTOM MENACE, which opens with Jedi Knights Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) on a diplomatic mission to resolve a dispute between the Trade Federation and the planet Naboo. When it becomes clear that the Federation's trade blockade is part of a more sinister plan, the Jedis flee Naboo with the planet's Queen Amidala (Natalie Portman) and amphibian Gungan Jar-Jar Binks (Ahmet Best). A repair stop on the planet Tatooine introduces us to young Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd), a slave boy whom Qui-Gon believes is the Chosen One destined to bring balance to the Force. There are plenty of other plot fragments floating around in THE PHANTOM MENACE -- most of them involving political machinations -- but the ho-hum plotting may actually be the least of its flaws. Quite simply, this is a film devoid of personality, filled with characters who never inspire affection or close identification. STAR WARS, for all its dazzle, had three fundamentally solid characters at its core: conflicted hero-on-a-quest Luke; tough, no-nonsense Leia; and lovable rogue Han. THE PHANTOM MENACE counters with the stoic Qui-Gon, the slightly-less-stoic Obi-Wan, and the stoic-in-a-slightly-different-way Amidala. Meanwhile, young Jake Lloyd brings little gravity to the character which will become the crux of this universe, and Jar-Jar's brand of comic relief is intensely grating. It's almost funny to hear Qui-Gon described as rebellious, since he seems about as capable of a rash act as he is of cracking a smile. There may be heroes in THE PHANTOM MENACE, but there's really no one to like. And, for that matter, there's really no one to hate. Darth Sidious, the Sith who will be Emperor, is the primary villain of the piece, yet he only appears in the form of a jittery transmission, hardly the stuff of genuine menace. Darth Maul, meanwhile -- he of the marketing-friendly Day-Glo visage -- is effective considering his limited screen time, yet he's really a glorified henchman for all his double-bladed lightsaber tricks. THE PHANTOM MENACE is missing that unifying, ultimately hissable bad guy that makes for great archetypal conflict. What we do have is a triumph of art direction and technology which creates alien worlds like no film ever has before. The streets of a Tatooine town bustle with creatures both familiar and unfamiliar; the megalopolis of Coruscant, capital of the Republic, features eye-popping architecture and the kind of traffic flow of which civil engineering legends are made. Though the pacing of the opening hour is on the pokey side -- which places it in good company with the first STAR WARS -- Lucas eventually produces a few dynamic set pieces like the desert pod race. When THE PHANTOM MENACE goes for pure visual satisfaction, it usually delivers. Ultimately, though, there's a more basic satisfaction the film lacks. Its structure and imagery are reminiscent both of STAR WARS and RETURN OF THE JEDI -- particularly the latter in its three-ring climax -- but it doesn't even achieve JEDI's level of old-fashioned fantasy fulfillment. When Gungans and battle droids clash on the fields of Naboo, every last figure a digital concoction, you begin to sense the absence of a primally appealing human story in this blockbuster. It may be true that it will feel more complete a few years hence when its backstory has turned into relationships between Obi-Wan and Anakin, between Anakin and Amidala. For now, all that remains is spectacle without resonance, without magic, without even all that much fun if you happen to be over the age of 10. In this era of computer wizardry, Lucas has sapped his story of the thing that made it a phenomenon in the first place. The result is an adventure that feels...well, Forced. On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 manic episodes: 5. - -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Visit Scott Renshaw's Screening Room http://www.inconnect.com/~renshaw/ *** Subscribe to receive new reviews directly by email! See the Screening Room for details, or reply to this message with subject "Subscribe". - -------------------------------------------------------------------------- [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies" (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 May 1999 20:41:40 EDT From: MrMovie008@aol.com Subject: Re: [MV] Star Wars on DVD Not until the first three are complete, then he will release them all on DVD [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies" (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 May 1999 19:09:19 -0600 (MDT) From: Scott Renshaw <renshaw@inconnect.com> Subject: [MV] REVIEW: THE LOVE LETTER THE LOVE LETTER (DreamWorks) Starring: Kate Capshaw, Tom Everett Scott, Tom Selleck, Ellen DeGeneres, Julianne Nicholson, Blythe Danner, Geraldine McEwan. Screenplay: Maria Maggenti, based on the novel by Cathleen Schine. Producers: Sarah Pilsbury, Midge Sanford and Kate Capshaw. Director: Peter Ho-sun Chan. MPAA Rating: PG-13 (profanity, adult themes, sexual situations) Running Time: 89 minutes. Reviewed by Scott Renshaw. To your list of absolute cinematic oxymorons -- you know, like "Pauly Shore comedy" or "Keanu Reeves performance" -- please add the following: "bittersweet farce." That's the disastrous combination served up by THE LOVE LETTER, a film that fairly screams for a more frivolous treatment. The basic set-up is pure farce, with bookstore proprietor and recent divorcee Helen MacFarquahar (Kate Capshaw) of picturesque Loblolly by the Sea, Massachusetts discovering a beautifully poetic love letter between the cushions of a couch in her shop. Both the the writer and the addressee are anonymous, leading Helen to wonder if it might be for her. Her suspicions become stronger when her young summer employee Johnny (Tom Everett Scott) begins flirting with her, little realizing that Johnny has spotted the letter and believes, in turn, that it is from Helen to him. Thus begins a tale which initially appears headed towards a wild sequence of misunderstandings, as Helen's co-worker Janet (Ellen DeGeneres) also spies the letter and suspects it to be to her from hunky fireman George (Tom Selleck). That might have been a clever, breezy entertainment, something considerably less labored than the mess delivered by screenwriter Maria Maggenti (from Cathleen Schine's novel) and director Peter Ho-sun Chan. Their tale is intended, I suppose, to be a touching tale of a middle-aged woman trying to re-discover romance, a sensitively portrayed May-December relationship mixed with the star-crossed interactions of Helen and high school classmate George (who, it turns out, has carried a torch from afar for lo these twenty years). We should understand the way the letter affects Helen, the way it closes one door in her life and opens her up to the opportunities she has missed and the opportunities still to come. If Maggenti and Chan had offered some characters remotely resembling three-dimensional people, it might even have worked. THE LOVE LETTER makes no effort whatsoever to explain Johnny's interest in Helen, spends about thirty seconds establishing Janet as little more than comic relief before creating a blink-and-you'll-miss-it sub-plot regarding her jealousy of Helen, and wraps up with an out-of-left-field relationship between two characters about whom we know virtually nothing. Key relationships (like that between Helen and her absentee mother, played by Blythe Danner) materialize out of thin air, and supporting characters (like Helen's grandmother, played by TITANIC's Gloria Stuart) serve no purpose. Even Capshaw's Helen, the film's center, is an enigma. For a film that apparently wants you to care who ends up with whom, THE LOVE LETTER gives you none of the tools to do so. It's a whodunnit with no clues. Somehow, in the middle of this clumsy confection, one genuinely interesting character appears. As Jennifer, another employee of Helen's who dotes on unrequitedly on Johnny, Julianne Nicholson is wonderfully sweet and achingly self-conscious. Masking her insecurities behind her college course sociological analysis, she makes for a great character in a story of how romantic happiness can be thwarted both from without and within. The troublie is, she's the only character in the film who belongs in such a story. Everyone else plays the kind of functional, cardboard role you'd expect to find in...well, a farce about a love letter of unknown authorship changing hands indiscriminately. There's not a solid laugh to be found in this pretty to look at but ill-conceived romantic comedy, except at the idea that someone thought a bittersweet farce could work. On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 dead letters: 3. - -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Visit Scott Renshaw's Screening Room http://www.inconnect.com/~renshaw/ *** Subscribe to receive new reviews directly by email! See the Screening Room for details, or reply to this message with subject "Subscribe". - -------------------------------------------------------------------------- [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies" (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 May 1999 23:51:25 -0700 From: "Jason Cormier" <movieman@netcom.ca> Subject: Re: [MV] Star Wars on DVD It was recently reported that he will not release any Star Wars movies on DVD until all 6 are ready....bad news - hang on to those laser disks! - -----Original Message----- From: Da Sneaker <rrdtbsop@hotmail.com> To: movies@lists.xmission.com <movies@lists.xmission.com> Date: Wednesday, May 19, 1999 4:49 AM Subject: [MV] Star Wars on DVD >Does anybody know when or if George Lucas is planning to bring out the >trilogy on DVD? > >Ralph > > ------------------------------ >McMurphy: Is that crazy enough for ya'? > Want me to take a shit on the floor? > >Jack Nicholson: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) > > ------------------------------ > > >______________________________________________________ >Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com > >[ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] >[ movies" (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] > [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies" (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 May 1999 07:53:08 +0100 From: Tim Stubbs <toffeerapper@f-u-n.u-net.com> Subject: Re: [MV] Star Wars on DVD At 08:41 PM 5/19/99 EDT, you wrote: >Not until the first three are complete, then he will release them all on DVD This sounds realistic. Anyone else figure the series is really Darth Vader's story, not Obi's, Luke's, or anyone else? Toffee [ To leave the movies mailing list, send the message "unsubscribe ] [ movies" (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ] ------------------------------ End of movies-digest V2 #190 **************************** [ To quit the movies-digest mailing list (big mistake), send the message ] [ "unsubscribe movies-digest" (without the quotes) to majordomo@xmission.com ]