Collection ID 1347
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Starring: Toshirô Mifune, Masayuki Mori, Kyôko Kagawa, Tatsuya Mihashi, Takashi Shimura
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Studio: Toho Company   Release date: 1960   Rated: Approved   
Language (Country): Japanese (Japan)
Summary: It is a high-profile wedding: the daughter of Mr Iwabuchi, a wealthy businessman, is marrying Mr Nishi, a car salesman. However, Mr Iwabuchi and other senior members of his company are suspected of corporate malfeasance and the wedding becomes a bit of a farce, with the press swarming all over it. To add to the discord, the company officials are rather publicly reminded of an ignominious event which occurred a few years ago - a senior employee committed suicide by jumping from the 7th floor of their offices. Now other senior officials are committing suicide and it looks like it is related to that death of a few years ago.

"The Bad Sleep Well" tells the story of corruption at the highest levels of Japanese business and its tragic consequences. Though flawed by a tedious introductory sequence and by an ending that seems out of sync with the story, it is a fascinating movie and the middle part is especially exciting.

Japanese legend Toshiro Mifune plays Koichi Nishi, the seemingly stoic bridegroom who is trying to get ahead by marrying the boss's daughter, Kieko (Kyoko Kagawa), who was crippled as a girl. The bride's brother, in a shocking display, exposes the groom's motives during his wedding toast and threatens his new brother-in-law with death if he disappoints his sister. But Nishi is not who we think. He was born the illegitimate son of the man who Kieko's father, Iwabuchi (Maysayuki Mori), manipulated into suicide. Now Nishi wants revenge for his father's death. As Nishi slowly destroys Iwabuchi's life, he makes the fatal error of falling in love with his wife, who already loves him. Their unconsummated marriage stands between these two like a palpable pillar of stone. But just when we think the stone has been tossed aside by love, Iwabuchi finds out who his son-in-law really is.
Shot in black and white, this film falls just short of being brilliant. Mifune is amazing in his portrayal of this complex man who lets his father's past destroy his own future, and Maysayuki Mori's performance as the evil Iwabuchi is understated but nonetheless chilling. "--Luanne Brown"
My Rating:
My Review: Directed by Akira Kurosawa (My favorite director). This is a film noir style story of corporate corruption and a culture which protects the guilty. Bribery, kidnapping, black mail, forgery, suicides, murder, cover-ups, and other nefarious deeds are committed without blinking an eye. This scathing condemnation of a culture which knowingly excuses such behavior, was made well ahead of it's time. The writing, directing, photography, and acting were all outstanding. The story is one of revenge inside a closed business culture. Immune to justice, an insider sets out on a quest to destroy the business that led to his father's suicide. What he doesn't realize is the scope of his endeavor. He's actually up against an entire cultural system that shields the guilty, destroys the innocent and rewards the culpable. The investigative opening exposition was brilliant. The ending, while abbreviated, is truly outstanding.

Collection ID 503.1 - 503.3
Director: David Frankel, Tom Hanks
Starring: Damian Lewis, Donnie Wahlberg, Ron Livingston, Matthew Settle, Rick Warden
Genre: War
Studio: DreamWorks SKG   Release date: 2001   Rated: TV-MA   
Language (Country): Lithuanian, English, German, French, Dutch (UK)
Summary: The story of Easy Company of the US Army Airbourne Paratrooper division and their mission in WWII France during Operation Overlord.
My Rating:
My Review: Band Of Brothers - 2001 (War, action, drama, history) The true story of WWII based upon a best selling novel by Stephen Ambrose. Based upon the profiles of the men of Easy Company, an airborne infantry regiment that was dropped into occupied France on D-Day. These soldiers fought the Battle of the Bulge and captured Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest mountain redoubt. The story carries on through VJ day, capturing all the most important details. The stories are torn from personal journals, interviews, and written correspondence of the men who lived these battles. Drenched with bravery, heroism, pain and misery, here is a monumental tale in ten episodes (including a documentary about the men depicted by the actors) over six discs. Originally aired as a mini-series, I’ve purchased the entire collection and I’ve seen it multiple times. As a television series it is unparalleled. It ushered in a new era of television production levels. HBO set a new standard for television dramas, and this will stand as the benchmark of excellence for many years to come. This series was made when many of these men were still alive, and the writers, producers and actors were able to draw upon their personal experiences in telling these tales. Unfortunately, now (in 2014) many of these Veterans are now passed away. Thankfully, we have a series as truthful and genuine as the Band Of Brothers to recount the honesty and tragedy of these brave men. One of the very best WWII stories ever told on film. The writing was outstanding and the acting lacked guile or pretense. Honest portrayals by an uncompromising group of actors (too many to mention), directed in a superb manner by multiple Directors. Despite the disparate cast and multiple directors, the production (by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg) stayed consistent and the writing was a constant in the narrative, making a whole out of several different stories. The style of the movie reminds one of Saving Private Ryan, and this is the epic of an entire war as told in that style. Filmed on location in various different European settings, the authenticity is depicted in the sets, dressing, costumes, and effects. Despite the outstanding technical efforts evident throughout the film, it is the human element of the actors and the characters they portray that really marks this movie as a hallmark in character based dramas. A historical masterpiece. I give it a 5 out of 5.

Collection ID 1207
Director: David Frankel, Tom Hanks
Starring: Damian Lewis, Donnie Wahlberg, Ron Livingston, Matthew Settle, Rick Warden
Genre: War
Studio: DreamWorks SKG   Release date: 2001   Rated: TV-MA   
Language (Country): Lithuanian, English, German, French, Dutch (UK)
Summary: The story of Easy Company of the US Army Airbourne Paratrooper division and their mission in WWII France during Operation Overlord.
My Rating:
My Review: Band Of Brothers - 2001 (War, action, drama, history) The true story of WWII based upon a best selling novel by Stephen Ambrose. Based upon the profiles of the men of Easy Company, an airborne infantry regiment that was dropped into occupied France on D-Day. These soldiers fought the Battle of the Bulge and captured Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest mountain redoubt. The story carries on through VJ day, capturing all the most important details. The stories are torn from personal journals, interviews, and written correspondence of the men who lived these battles. Drenched with bravery, heroism, pain and misery, here is a monumental tale in ten episodes (including a documentary about the men depicted by the actors) over six discs. Originally aired as a mini-series, I’ve purchased the entire collection and I’ve seen it multiple times. As a television series it is unparalleled. It ushered in a new era of television production levels. HBO set a new standard for television dramas, and this will stand as the benchmark of excellence for many years to come. This series was made when many of these men were still alive, and the writers, producers and actors were able to draw upon their personal experiences in telling these tales. Unfortunately, now (in 2014) many of these Veterans are now passed away. Thankfully, we have a series as truthful and genuine as the Band Of Brothers to recount the honesty and tragedy of these brave men. One of the very best WWII stories ever told on film. The writing was outstanding and the acting lacked guile or pretense. Honest portrayals by an uncompromising group of actors (too many to mention), directed in a superb manner by multiple Directors. Despite the disparate cast and multiple directors, the production (by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg) stayed consistent and the writing was a constant in the narrative, making a whole out of several different stories. The style of the movie reminds one of Saving Private Ryan, and this is the epic of an entire war as told in that style. Filmed on location in various different European settings, the authenticity is depicted in the sets, dressing, costumes, and effects. Despite the outstanding technical efforts evident throughout the film, it is the human element of the actors and the characters they portray that really marks this movie as a hallmark in character based dramas. A historical masterpiece. I give it a 5 out of 5.

Collection ID 1671
Director: Joachim Rønning, Espen Sandberg
Starring: Penélope Cruz, Salma Hayek, Steve Zahn, Dwight Yoakam, Denis Arndt
Genre: Action, Comedy, Crime, Western
Studio: EuropaCorp   Release date: 2006   Rated: PG-13   
Language (Country): English, Spanish (France, Mexico, USA)
Summary: In 1848, a New York bank wants to put a railroad across Mexico, so it buys up small banks around Santa Rita, Durango, and evicts farmers on the proposed rail line who owe money. The bank's henchman is the murderous Jackson. He runs afoul of two women, María, the tough but uneducated daughter of a farmer, and Sara, the European-educated daughter of the owner of one of these banks. To feed the now landless people and to seek revenge, María and Sara become bank robbers, veritable Robin Hoods. But Jackson and his hired guns are after them. What are the women's options?
My Rating:
My Review: Borrowed from someone at work. This DVD has been floating around, from person to person at work. The original owner is holding out hope that someone will keep it. A female buddy movie dressed in western pretense. Two latin lovelies from opposite sides of the tracks team up to defeat a despicable American banker. Staring Penélope Cruz, Salma Hayek, Steve Zahn and Dwight Yoakam. This movie was an utter waste of time. An excuse to put Cruz and Hayek on screen together. Titillating torture for hot blooded young men who thought there might be some nudity (Steve Zahn's ass!?), or lesbian action. This supposed western setting was an excuse to dress Cruz and Hayek in chaps and period negligees. The plot was simply an excuse to direct these two as air headed Latino do-gooders. The pair shamelessly submit to this ridiculous set out of, what? Contractual obligation? For their fans? More likely it was for money! What a retched excuse of a movie. There really wasn't any point in casting a bad guy, as the entire movie is focused on Hayek and Cruz in competing kissing contests, revealing outfits, and compromising situations. Not worth the dried snot on my back-pocket handkerchief. Just in case you're wondering, neither Cruz or Hayek show anything beyond tight bustier shots. I passed this prurient drivel on to some twenty something military member. 1 out of 5.

Collection ID 1672
Director: Joachim Rønning, Espen Sandberg
Starring: Penélope Cruz, Salma Hayek, Steve Zahn, Dwight Yoakam, Denis Arndt
Genre: Action, Comedy, Crime, Western
Studio: EuropaCorp   Release date: 2006   Rated: PG-13   
Language (Country): English, Spanish (France, Mexico, USA)
Summary: In 1848, a New York bank wants to put a railroad across Mexico, so it buys up small banks around Santa Rita, Durango, and evicts farmers on the proposed rail line who owe money. The bank's henchman is the murderous Jackson. He runs afoul of two women, María, the tough but uneducated daughter of a farmer, and Sara, the European-educated daughter of the owner of one of these banks. To feed the now landless people and to seek revenge, María and Sara become bank robbers, veritable Robin Hoods. But Jackson and his hired guns are after them. What are the women's options?
My Rating:
My Review: Borrowed from someone at work. This DVD has been floating around, from person to person at work. The original owner is holding out hope that someone will keep it. A female buddy movie dressed in western pretense. Two latin lovelies from opposite sides of the tracks team up to defeat a despicable American banker. Staring Penélope Cruz, Salma Hayek, Steve Zahn and Dwight Yoakam. This movie was an utter waste of time. An excuse to put Cruz and Hayek on screen together. Titillating torture for hot blooded young men who thought there might be some nudity (Steve Zahn's ass!?), or lesbian action. This supposed western setting was an excuse to dress Cruz and Hayek in chaps and period negligees. The plot was simply an excuse to direct these two as air headed Latino do-gooders. The pair shamelessly submit to this ridiculous set out of, what? Contractual obligation? For their fans? More likely it was for money! What a retched excuse of a movie. There really wasn't any point in casting a bad guy, as the entire movie is focused on Hayek and Cruz in competing kissing contests, revealing outfits, and compromising situations. Not worth the dried snot on my back-pocket handkerchief. Just in case you're wondering, neither Cruz or Hayek show anything beyond tight bustier shots. I passed this prurient drivel on to some twenty something military member. 1 out of 5.

Collection ID 278
Director: David Hogan
Starring: Pamela Anderson, Temuera Morrison, Victoria Rowell, Jack Noseworthy, Xander Berkeley
Genre: Action
Studio: Polygram Filmed Entertainment   Release date: 1996   Rated: R   
Language (Country): English, French (USA)
Summary: In the early 21st century, the USA is in the wake of the Second Civil War. The whole country is in a constant state of emergency. What was formerly called the American Congress now rules the country with fascistic methods. There is only one free city left, Steel Harbor, a coastal California industrial town which is headquarters for the resistance. This is the home town of Barb Wire, owner of the Hammerhead nightclub. As times aren't good, Barb has a second job. She's a bounty hunter and you probably wouldn't want her after you. Barb's credo is to never take sides for anybody and that's the only way to survive these days in the crime-ridden streets of Steel Harbor. One evening, her former lover Axel Hood appears at the club asking for a favor to help him and his lover Cora D flee the country to Canada, Barb suddenly finds herself to be key player on high political stage. Now she has to take sides.
My Rating:
My Review:

Collection ID 988
Director: David Hogan
Starring: Pamela Anderson, Temuera Morrison, Victoria Rowell, Jack Noseworthy, Xander Berkeley
Genre: Action
Studio: Polygram Filmed Entertainment   Release date: 1996   Rated: R   
Language (Country): English, French (USA)
Summary: In the early 21st century, the USA is in the wake of the Second Civil War. The whole country is in a constant state of emergency. What was formerly called the American Congress now rules the country with fascistic methods. There is only one free city left, Steel Harbor, a coastal California industrial town which is headquarters for the resistance. This is the home town of Barb Wire, owner of the Hammerhead nightclub. As times aren't good, Barb has a second job. She's a bounty hunter and you probably wouldn't want her after you. Barb's credo is to never take sides for anybody and that's the only way to survive these days in the crime-ridden streets of Steel Harbor. One evening, her former lover Axel Hood appears at the club asking for a favor to help him and his lover Cora D flee the country to Canada, Barb suddenly finds herself to be key player on high political stage. Now she has to take sides.
My Rating:
My Review:

Collection ID 1585
Director: Roger Vadim
Starring: Jane Fonda, John Phillip Law, Anita Pallenberg, Milo O'Shea, Marcel Marceau
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Studio: Marianne Productions   Release date: 1968   Rated: PG   
Language (Country): English (France, Italy)
Summary: The year is 40,000. After peaceful floating in zero-gravity, astronaut Barbarella lands on the frozen planet Lythion and sets out to find renowned scientist Durand Durand in the City of Night, Sogo, where a new sin is invented every hour. There, she encounters such objects as the Excessive Machine, a genuine sex organ on which an expert artist of the keyboard, in this case, Durand Durand himself, can drive a victim to death by pleasure, a lesbian queen who can make her fantasies take form in her Chamber of Dreams, and a group of ladies smoking a giant hookah which dispenses Essence of Man through a poor victim struggling in its glass globe. You can not help but be impressed by the special effects crew and the various ways that were found to tear off what minimal clothes our heroine seemed to possess.
My Rating:
My Review: Starring an incredibly hot Jane Fonda in the lead role. This bizarre sci-fi flick is anything but ordinary. In the year 40,000, Jane Fonda plays an oversexed secret agent, sent to the planet Lythion to rescue the scientist Durand Durand from the evil city of Sogo. The opening credits feature Jane Fonda in a zero-g strip-tease as she removes her space-suit in a fur lined spaceship. The opening sets the scene for a phantasmagoric fantasy where killer dolls, blind angels, and hollow leather-men constitute a small portion of this shagadelic movie. Fonda is half naked in many scenes, and she engages in various forms of sex throughout the movie. Old fashioned sex with a hairy forest warden, futuristic hand to hand sex (with the help of some 'exultation transference pills'), and deadly musical sex, with a machine designed to 'pleasure her to death'. Fonda changes her skimpy costumes several times, strikes suggestive posses and searches for Durand Durand in this incredibly cheesy 60's sci-fi sexscapade. The music is terrible, the acting bad, the writing atrocious, and the camera work was constantly out of focus. The redeeming features. A very sexy Fonda, a psychotic menagerie of characters, and a visually stunning movie. If you like B-grade sci-fi cult flicks, this one rates up there with the best. So bad you've gotta love it. I give it a 3 out of 5.

Collection ID 609
Director: Peter Markle
Starring: Gene Hackman, Danny Glover, Jerry Reed, David Marshall Grant, Clayton Rohner
Genre: Action & Adventure
Studio: MGM/UA Video   Release date: 1988   Rated: R   
Language (Country): English (USA)
Summary: High octane action and the perseverance of some of the leads elevate "Bat-21" to that higher level of Vietnam movie. Basically the story of how a high-level intelligence officer eludes capture after being shot down behind enemy lines in Vietnam, "Bat-21" is relentless and never exploitative. Hackman is Iceal Hambleton, a USAF colonel who fights the war in Vietnam from the offices and golf courses of Saigon. Tasked to identify communist missile sites, he boldly (and unwisely) tags along on an EB-66, an unarmed electronic warfare bird loaded with intelligence equipment. The sole survivor after being shot down, Hambleton finds himself pursued by the enemy who apparently appreciate his value as a prisoner. While the enemy (was it the NVA or the Cong? I could never tell) is unable to find Hambleton, they prove more than capable of making life hell for the rescue choppers sent to rescue him - including the crew of a "Jolly Green" cut to pieces over an enemy-held village. While on the ground, Hambleton stays in contact with Bart Clark (Danny Glover), a USAF captain who flies spotter missions for more heavily armed bombers. (Clark flies FAC - from his slow-moving Cessna, he finds targets for the strike fighters, marking them with white-phosphorous rockets). Knowing that the enemy is monitoring them, Hambleton and Clark work out a code that posits the map of Vietnam as a big golf course. As rescue attempts become more dangerous, Clark finds himself drawn ever deeper into the rescue, climaxing in his going rogue when his superiors throw in the towel."Bat-21" isn't really a classic. There's plenty of thrilling action, and the script even manages to find room for irony (as when Clark pauses during a radio conversation with Hambleton while he zaps a few communist troops). Still, nothing really convincingly explains how Hackman manages to elude capture...by anybody (the script makes clear that he is definitely no Rambo). The film also breezes over the biggest irony - that Hackman's code is based on his smarts on the golf course rather than the battlefield. If the film excels over cheap action flicks, it's in the determination and exhaustion of its leads and persistent refusal to avoid Hollywood glory. Also, unless anybody knows of another film, this is the only one I've seen that captures the critical role played by Forward Air Controllers in both prosecuting the air war in Vietnam, and rescuing those airmen nearly lost.
My Rating:
My Review: A movie I saw a long time ago, and then I saw parts of it again when I attended the Air Force NCO academy back in 2002. A pretty good vietnam war movie. An evade and survive/behind enemy lines movie. I've seen this plot before, and there really wasn't anything new or surprising . Starring Danny Glover and Gene Hackman, this movie, directed by Peter Markle, features excellent pacing, good music, excellent sets and locations as well as some excellent acting by both Hackman and Glover. Based on a true story, this is an early example of the survive and evade genre. The fact that it's based on a true story is a bonus feature. Thankfully, we're not led to believe that Hackman is an in the field military officer. Instead, he plays a semi-retired golf playing behind the lines pencil pusher who ends up in a situation where he's way over his head.

Collection ID 1309
Director: Peter Markle
Starring: Gene Hackman, Danny Glover, Jerry Reed, David Marshall Grant, Clayton Rohner
Genre: Action & Adventure
Studio: MGM/UA Video   Release date: 1988   Rated: R   
Language (Country): English (USA)
Summary: High octane action and the perseverance of some of the leads elevate "Bat-21" to that higher level of Vietnam movie. Basically the story of how a high-level intelligence officer eludes capture after being shot down behind enemy lines in Vietnam, "Bat-21" is relentless and never exploitative. Hackman is Iceal Hambleton, a USAF colonel who fights the war in Vietnam from the offices and golf courses of Saigon. Tasked to identify communist missile sites, he boldly (and unwisely) tags along on an EB-66, an unarmed electronic warfare bird loaded with intelligence equipment. The sole survivor after being shot down, Hambleton finds himself pursued by the enemy who apparently appreciate his value as a prisoner. While the enemy (was it the NVA or the Cong? I could never tell) is unable to find Hambleton, they prove more than capable of making life hell for the rescue choppers sent to rescue him - including the crew of a "Jolly Green" cut to pieces over an enemy-held village. While on the ground, Hambleton stays in contact with Bart Clark (Danny Glover), a USAF captain who flies spotter missions for more heavily armed bombers. (Clark flies FAC - from his slow-moving Cessna, he finds targets for the strike fighters, marking them with white-phosphorous rockets). Knowing that the enemy is monitoring them, Hambleton and Clark work out a code that posits the map of Vietnam as a big golf course. As rescue attempts become more dangerous, Clark finds himself drawn ever deeper into the rescue, climaxing in his going rogue when his superiors throw in the towel."Bat-21" isn't really a classic. There's plenty of thrilling action, and the script even manages to find room for irony (as when Clark pauses during a radio conversation with Hambleton while he zaps a few communist troops). Still, nothing really convincingly explains how Hackman manages to elude capture...by anybody (the script makes clear that he is definitely no Rambo). The film also breezes over the biggest irony - that Hackman's code is based on his smarts on the golf course rather than the battlefield. If the film excels over cheap action flicks, it's in the determination and exhaustion of its leads and persistent refusal to avoid Hollywood glory. Also, unless anybody knows of another film, this is the only one I've seen that captures the critical role played by Forward Air Controllers in both prosecuting the air war in Vietnam, and rescuing those airmen nearly lost.
My Rating:
My Review: A movie I saw a long time ago, and then I saw parts of it again when I attended the Air Force NCO academy back in 2002. A pretty good vietnam war movie. An evade and survive/behind enemy lines movie. I've seen this plot before, and there really wasn't anything new or surprising . Starring Danny Glover and Gene Hackman, this movie, directed by Peter Markle, features excellent pacing, good music, excellent sets and locations as well as some excellent acting by both Hackman and Glover. Based on a true story, this is an early example of the survive and evade genre. The fact that it's based on a true story is a bonus feature. Thankfully, we're not led to believe that Hackman is an in the field military officer. Instead, he plays a semi-retired golf playing behind the lines pencil pusher who ends up in a situation where he's way over his head.