The Color of Money (1986) Review

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(More customer reviews)This movie appears to be about pool on the surface. But it's less about pool than it is about what motivates us as people.
Fast Eddie Felson of the classic, "The Hustler," returns to reverse roles in this 80s classic. Instead of being the young champ, he wants to train the young champ in Tom Cruise. But eventually, he realizes the hard way he doesn't have the stomach to play stake horse and in his heart he really wants the thrill of competition.
A lot of people will compare this movie to "The Hustler," since it is the sequel. There is no comparison. This movie really can't even be compared in pool terms. The pool shots that they hit in this movie are, for the most part, average to above-average. This is not the mind blowing pool play from "The Hustler" to be sure.
But this movie does have plenty going for it. For non-pool players, this movie has more character development. This movie also features some of the greatest cinematography of any film. And Newman, Cruise, and the supporting cast all put in stellar performances.
In short, this is a great movie that's worth watching just for enjoyment or on a deeper level for those who appreciate fine cinema. It's not half the movie that "The Hustler" is, but it has enough merits to stand on its own.

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Gentleman Jim (1942) Review

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(More customer reviews)Gentleman Jim features what I think may be the most relaxed performance I have seen Errol Flynn give in a movie. He's seems very comfortable and at home in this somewhat fictious account of the life of boxer James Corbett. Flynn is cocky and charming as usual in this story of how Corbett rose from being a bank teller to world champion. A beautiful and sassy Alexis Smith is along as the love interest, while Alan Hale is his very Irish father, William Frawley his manager, Jack Carson his best buddy, and Ward Bond his biggest rival. Everyone is very good and appears to be having a great time. The boxing sequences are well staged by director Raoul Walsh, and generous doses of humour are found throughout. It teeters on corny at times, but it is all played with such energy and obvious enjoyment, the corny moments can be overlooked. As usual for most Warner Bros biopics, I'm sure it takes many liberties with the truth, but it doesn't matter. The film is very entertaining in its presentation of his life and how boxing evolved.

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Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988) Review

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(More customer reviews)This 1988 movie, directed by Francis Ford Coppola and produced by George Lucas, has good acting from Jeff Bridges, Martin Landau, Frederic Forrest, and Joan Allen in the larger roles. Smaller supporting roles were also handled well by Christian Slater, Jay O. Sanders, Nina Siemaszko and Mako.
As reflected by the DVD cover, the movie is filmed in a splashy 1940's advertising style, and uses warm gold and sepia tones and some impressive camera work to tell the tale of the development of the "Tucker 48" automobile, also known as the "Torpedo" after its sleek lines (for the times), of which only about 50 were made. For its time, it had many innovative features, including a rear-mounted engine, seat belts and padded dash, push button controls, and a third central headlight that would turn when steering. The large, 4,800 pound behemoth got about 20 MPH.
In a somewhat dichotomous framework, the movie shows the result of American "Yankee ingenuity" coupled with the eventual demise of the Tucker due to pressure by the Big Three automaking competitors. Taken to court for fraud with the accusation that he would not deliver on the promise of producing a car, Tucker in fact is found not guilty, and had actually produced about 50 cars, though his business was effective ruined.
Tucker had other successes however. Just before World War II, he developed an armored car that was so fast at 80-plus MPH, the Army did not want it because they thought such vehicles should only go about 35 MPH. However, the rotating gun-turret used on top of the vehicle, the "Tucker turret", was used on American bombers, such as the B-17 and B-24, thoughout the war.
Although his business partner Abe Karatz (Landau) is quite upset that the car business folded, Tucker tells him..."It's the idea that counts, Abe, and the dream." Tucker died in 1956 from lung cancer at age 53.
The reasonably-priced DVD has the wide-screen movie, an excellent original 15-minute long 1948 promotional film made by the Tucker company (with or without commentary by FFC), a mediocre short "making of" collection of cast/crew interview clips mostly from 1988, a decent commentary by FFC, and the usual setup features.

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Genre: DramaRating: PGRelease Date: 3-FEB-2009Media Type: DVD

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Wild West Tech - Six-Shooter Tech (History Channel) Review

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(More customer reviews)This episode is all about the six shooter and how it effected the west. It talks about it history, the many types of six shooters, who used them and how they were used. They also dicuss the technology behind them so you learn how they actually work. There are also some tales of with re-enactments which deal with the six shooter playing a significant role. Everyone knows that the six shooter and wild west went hand and hand but with this episode you learn how it was made possible and what role it really played in the wild west.
If you're interested in the wild west, or technology from the past then you should see this and all the other wild west tech episodes.

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