rar2

"The Oscar goes to . . . Russell Crowe." Honestly the only man that could have beaten Hanks, or at least could have contended with him (no pun intended) did. "Gladiator" was amazing, as was Crowe, but come on. How much dialogue did Hanks have? And yet three hours felt no more than a breezy and tight hour and a half movie. Simply amazing.

Hanks was just plain fat to start this movie and admits it was done purposely. He and Helen Hunt make an abnormal couple initially, a bit awkward, but solid acting by both makes it very, very real rather quickly. Frears reluctance amidst Noland's patience in union, ironically because it is usually the other way around, gives substance to their relationship. Both are passionate individuals who want each other more that they need each other. I believe they love each other.

Chuck's best friend in the movie is very sincere and earnest. Hanks' realizes how time obsessed he is with his job, then realizes he has let his best friend down. He has an inability to really offer emotional support. That gets tested and amazingly and intimately delved into later in the film.

During Christmas Noland's job calls him and one of the most amazing wreckage scenes (in terms of believably and realism, not morbidness) ensues leaving Chuck to float aimlessly, like his structured life, to a deserted island. A simple idea already used; however, Hanks is outstanding here.

His first instincts are pretty natural for he is not trying to survive, but merely hold over. We see him slowly give up hope of being rescued and turn over to staying alive. Noland finds some FedEx pieces and they literally, figuratively, and emotionally keep him alive, but for how long? Isolation is a killer and that is where Hanks co-star comes in. Hanks goes from outstanding to who will beat me for an Oscar (which was Crowe of course)? Time passes and Chuck's exterior is concurrent with time elapsed, including the makeup. Chuck's sun lesions to his bleached hair gives Hanks tremendous grit and believable desperation. Noland's mind remains very sharp and trivia on this site allow for some of the implausibilities, but certainly not impossibilities, from taking this movie down a notch. Also it is obvious Chuck is knowledgeable, learns continuously through observation, and travels enough that observation seems to occur quite a bit.

The best part is when Chuck is forced to give us backfill. It is an organization tool that doesn't detach or break up the movie. My credit is to Robert Zemeckis and Tom Hanks for keeping this movie sharp until the end. The whole crew was meticulous and brilliant as seen in the "making of special" at the end of the movie.

The beauty of the island, of spiritually, of fate through choice is all explored here. And personally only Tom Hanks could have done it: which is the definition of Oscar.

I have read a number of reviews on this movie and they are accurate and good for the most part. My credit is to Gary Goddard for all he endured and still getting a credible and succinct movie made.

The fight scenes are real and actual so they seem methodical but they're great. The hair, clothing, make-up, special effects, and down the list we go, is so caked in '80s gunk it would be hard to fight for this as a classic. It is the only He-Man movie out there, and although a sequel beckons, eighteen years have passed without a stir.

If a sequel were to made Langella would have to be Skeletor. I mean the best acting from both he and Lundgren comes when He-Man is being led by the Centaurian. Langella saying "I give you a choice: return to Eternia with me as my slave and save their despicable lives, or perish with them here on this tasteless, and primitive, planet." It's cold and dark and it's authentic. It's chilling and you get chills. Langella overacts sometimes but mostly is great. He took Skeletor from a whiny, irritating, and downright pathetic worm of a guy to a believable, earthy, credible, and despicable evil-doer. We get a taste of the importance of He-man and all that he does, here in this scene, too.

Goddard did something brilliant here, he made the movie personable. He puts these people on Earth, interacting with Earthlings, and putting a grasp on how out there these "aliens" are. But it is also probably why this movie is so widely disregarded, because it doesn't have great and illustrative fight scenes. Instead they are sensible and plotted. To see this movie remade could be a real treat.

Gwildar is, essentially, Orco. He was easy, sensible, irritating, but not nearly as annoying, and unfairly Billy Barty was nominated for a Razzie. The story interlocks with this missing "key" as created by Gwildar. This cosmos idea of God-like power through the manifestation of a fourth dimension is highly advanced. This is why the movie is good. Portals are doors and He-Man is definitely a science fiction adventurer. This puts an Earthy spin on an idea wiling out.

Teela works and Man-in-Arms (Duncan) is good as a faithful sidekick to He-Man. That's what he is. He can hold his own but mostly is fighting for duty of right, and he follows He-Man for he is the epitome of it. Teela's gritty and pitched voice, with her desperate actions, are very formidable. Duncan is best when inspiring Kevin. Kevin is a sensitive guy with a talent. What these Eternians do is showcase pessimism on Earth for their planet is dying at their own hands. They are their own good and evil and it is hard to differentiate, so why care? By the end of the movie Courtney Cox and Robert Duncan McNeill (Julie and Kevin) see that. So does Lubic. The Eternians have no planet and yet they continue to hold hope and forge ahead: He-Man.

Tolkan is not so much a distraction as he is pretentious. McNeill yelling to Tolkan "Lubic this is for real" as he dodges a Centaurian blast doesn't hold much weight, or reality. It is about unity, division, and strength. Both literal and figurative.

Meg Foster is great as Evil-Lyn because she improves the movie rather than take time from Skeletor. Goddard lets most of the acting chops fall to the incomparable Frank Langella. He-Man is the ambassador of good. He is to talk slow, be level-headed, and search for justice. Lundgren does all of these things. He mission isn't to be malicious and blood seeking. When he runs into Julie (and a great fight sequence ensues) it is Duncan and Teela doing some leg work. He-Man is a protector. He'll abate killing Skeletor to keep any and all safe. In all honesty how many lines can you give someone? Someone suggested Brad Pitt as He-Man for a remake. I don't mind Pitt, but he would ham up the screen like some feel Skeletor did. Skeletor's was good, He-Man's would not be. Lundgren, in all honesty, is great. He has a mullet but looks the part, and contrary to popular belief, acts it. He wields the Sword of Grayskull gracefully, yet with force and some clumsiness. It's heavy, but he's well-skilled and versed in the sword. These oppositions are found in the Soceress. She would normally seem bad to us; however, she is the greatest power of good. Christina Pickles gives great lines of philosophy allowing for good banter and humor with Skeletor. And her love for He-Man is very evident and clear with solid acting.

The cartoon is hardly to be found here, aside from the characters and Eternia. Battle cat, and all other characters good and bad, could cloud a remake. But it would be great to see history revealed for He-Man like the new Batman series has done. People forget we like to see depth in our characters. And the character Charlie is filler, not unimportant, but certainly not integral. He's written well. All in all watch this movie because it's really, quite engrossing.

I was going to give this a five like a number of other reviewers and critics seemingly did. It would have never dipped below because of the superb casting. De Niro and Fanning are phenomenal. They make each other better, rather that conflict with one another. Even Elisabeth Shue is very, very good in her small part. Amy Irving, the mom, is decent, although clearly distant, while Dylan Baker and the guy who sells De Niro's character's David the house, Steven, are both weird, creepy, and coupled with the neighbors, are like suspects in a Scooby Doo cartoon.

Unfortunately, I knew the ending already because I had read the spoiler thinking I'd never see this movie. Knowing the ending still did not fix the unnerving and unbelievably chilling moments and feel of this movie. Fanning with her dark hair style like a thirteen year old, mixing with her bugged out seven year-old-like blue eyes is just freaky.

At first I just thought the game was overplayed, but then I realized the therapeutic symptoms of it. David's career as a psychologist isn't really explored (in deleted scenes it is) and he doesn't seem to be working after moving his daughter. The move comes after the "suicide" of his wife. The cycle starts in the beginning with an apparently struggling relationship between David and his wife. You'll see what seems to be coming, but you'll also be surprised by its real meaning.

The bathtub scenes in the new house are outstanding. How De Niro sleeps there after is beyond me. You walk in to your daughter's room and she's wide awake and bugged eyed, and talking about whom you've perceived as an imaginary friend. It gets worse obviously, but not as you might imagine. By the end of the movie it seems tedious and it becomes clear how it will end.

The theatrical version of the movie contains the best ending by far. It's suggestive, yet clear, optimistic, yet alarmingly dark. It's fitting and creepy. Dakota Fanning's tiredness begins to make sense and it is made clearer in the deleted scenes; moreover, the backfill on this story is great. With the exception of Elizabeth Young. I didn't know the relationship between her and David had gone that far, not to mention some things didn't seem entirely congruent.

De Niro may have been one of the only actors to pull this role off. He's real, passionate, and a good dad. I believe in earnest that he is trying to help his traumatized daughter. His patience is off-the-wall amazing (the psychologist in him), yet he maintains discipline when raising his daughter. Best of all he doesn't give up hope.

I'd love more than anything to break down the "surprise ending" because it is when I feel De Niro is at his subtle best, and Fanning her absolutely most desperate, and it works. Famke Janssen works as Fanning's doctor. She doesn't steal any scene and is such a relaxing presence on screen. She very well-casted as a comforting doctor.

You have to look past this movie as a psychological thriller, although there are unresolved issues. It is a movie about putting behind themselves (both David and Emily) a very traumatic past. That is accomplished and it was more of the point of the movie. De Niro at first looks old, but then seems to settle into his role, yet he clashes sometimes with Shue's character. But I love Shue as Elizabeth Young. This character needed to be strong, confident, yet not arrogant, while still being charismatic, and Shue brilliantly displays that. She and David work very well together. Emily on the other hand is clearly going down the path of a death obsessed woman and won't move on. All of these reasons are why the ending and the movie is quite good, and I've given it a more befitting rating.

As for the whimper of the end: it's not. As aforementioned it gets tedious and redundant, but it is resolution and it is the full circle coming out of the character. Dakota Fanning is at her best here. She has rediscovered human emotion and reality. There is a lot of foreshadowing because it's a mystery movie, but most of all be prepared to be freaked out; and that is why you'll want the movie to be over.