I sometimes cycle through this guide for a laugh. Maltin is a horrible film critic and a total historian - basically meaning that any film predating 1960 MUST be given 4/4 (unless it's really mediocre which, according to him, is rare). However he didn't hesitate to give BATMAN AND ROBIN 2.5/4 and TAXI DRIVER 2/4.

He also gave THE BLADE MASTER, one of the worst films ever created, 0.5/4, yet he's given some truly decent films "turkeys."

I'd rather read a video guide by Ebert because unlike Maltin, Ebert doesn't judge different films of different genres of various years against each other. He's pretty fair. Maltin is not.

First things first: FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS, the film, is quite good. If you can stomach its content, it IS a rather fun drug odyssey with a fair amount of underlying social commentary. Some of it becomes muddled and the reviews were horrible (Ebert gave it 1/4) but I enjoy this more than Terry Gilliam's BRAZIL, to be honest (which, ironically, Ebert also gave a negative review).

THE DVD

An overall wonderful experience. First, the packaging: superb. Criterion is always good at packaging their DVDs and this is one of my favorites. On the inside is an essay by a film critic and two discs. The first has the film, newly remastered under the supervision of Gilliam, along with three commentary tracks: by Gilliam, Depp and Del Toro, and Hunter S. Thompson. Wisely, they had someone interview him most of the time since he's obviously a bit of an oddball and would be prone to sitting there and saying nothing.

The second disc has some extraordinary specials, including an old BBC documentary about Thompson (whose semi-truthful novel this is based upon), TV spots, the theatrical trailer (with optional commentary by Gilliam - which I've never seen before), poster and photo galleries, Hunter Goes to Hollywood (an amusing short documentary about Thompson visiting the set of the film), a selection of somewhat bizarre letters between Depp and Thompson that date back to the pre-and-post-production of the film (Depp reads all of them to the camera for us).

Overall, one of the best DVDs I own. The film isn't a classic, per se, but it IS enjoyable. I'm sure part of my appreciation for it comes from this superb DVD, which is one of the finest I own in terms of special features.

Criterion can sometimes disappoint with single-disc DVDs priced in the $40 range but this one is fairly reasonably priced (compared to some of the others) and packed with special features to whet any die-hard fan's appetite.

A must-buy for fans, and a must-see for others - I wouldn't necessarily recommend it as a blind buy for a number of reasons. It's very selective taste. You love it, or you hate it; it might be good to rent it first. But definitely rent this version, not Universal's.

I held off on buying BLAZING SADDLES because I figured a special edition would come out some day. Well, now - 30 years after its initial release - it has. Unfortunately it's not too great.

- Commentary by Mel Brooks. This isn't a commentary, it's actually a 55-minute interview that is available on the previous DVD (which mentioned it was "exclusive" despite being available on laserdisc far before then!).

- Madeline Kahn Portrait - excerpt from a "Lifetime" special. Sweet but nothing particularly substantial. Like the ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA Sergio Leone documentary, it takes the bits relating to the film and puts them together - it doesn't give us the entire documentary as a whole (which I believe was about the film - all I know is on the back of the DVD it says the documentary is an excerpt which obviously means it isn't the whole thing).

- Back in the Saddle - good documentary and probably the best thing on here. Still, not as good as some other retrospectives made.

- Theatrical Trailer - one of the worst I've ever seen and I have seen many. I love trailers and I usually watch them first on DVDs. This one was awful. Just wait 'till you see it.

Overall this is a good DVD for the die-hard fans. The new transfer is excellent and unlike VACATION anniversary edition this comes with 5.1 Dolby Surround (yay!).

But overall it's really nothing extraordinary - like the WB-style "Special" DVDs before it the DVD doesn't contain enough substantial material to merit a full-star rating. The animated menus are a plus though - at least SOME thought went into this.

Personally I would have given it a full-star rating if they had had another, better retro documentary and a commentary by the full cast and Mel Brooks. Brooks, by himself, is frankly a bore to listen to. Every actor is "superb" - his commentary on SPACEBALLS was repetitive. "Oh, this actor's name was...he was superb. Superb. Did I mention he was superb? Here, I'm gonna shut up now so you can watch this scene, it's funny." Yes, he actually said that during a Dark Helmet sequence.

Anyway, I'm getting side-tracked. Bottomline is this DVD is good for the price and die-hard fans will enjoy it but as a "blind buy" I don't necessarily recommend it.

(BTW Young Frankenstein and The Producers are a bit better than this film although all three are...well..."superb"!)

I thought the original HALO was one of the greatest first-person shooter videogames ever conceived. First of all, brilliant gameplay. Realistic physics to a certain degree. Very explorable and in-depth levels. Awesome abilities that most videogames never let users get close to. My perfect idea of the perfect video game is full exploration (such as in Grand Theft Auto III/Vice City), which HALO pretty much had. Also, superb graphics. Overall just great gameplay - it's hard to describe everything.

HALO 2 is going to be even better if that's possible. Advanced physics, better graphics, a larger selection of weapons and vehicles, smarter AI (villains), more abilities (such as sprinting and apparently, judging from the cover, double handguns).

Along with MAX PAYNE 2 and HALF-LIFE 2 this is one of my must-buys of 2004. I understand that GRAND THEFT AUTO V is coming out soon, too, although I'm not as excited - I don't like the plot summary and think it's going to be specifically suited towards gangsta rappa types. I don't know why Rockstar is ruining their game by doing this, but I'll probably by it anyway.

I know this review is rather pathetic. Truth be told that's because I haven't played the game yet and I'm basically just trying to let fellow gamers such as myself know: This game is going to blow you away.

(...)

Good book on-par with some of Ludlum's earlier efforts. An entertaining read, a bit slow in some areas but overall a good farewell from Ludlum (R.I.P.).

...the rather thin material. This is an unusual Grisham novel, not his best by any means, not much happens, just some old high school friends thinking back on their "glory days" and Coach Eddie Rake, who taught them all how to play - and win. Unfortunately it seems Grisham didn't consider this manuscript very important and skimmed through it quickly like a reader - the dialogue is often pretty fake but overall if you're out on a beach it'll keep you entertained. I read it in a few hours and I'm glad I did.

I wish the film had been this good. Clancy hasn't written a book this great for a long, long time. I wish he'd study his work here and duplicate it (not literally!) in his next novel, because evidently the money has gotten to his head and he's lost it. He once told a classroom of students at his old high school that his inspiration to write is the car he drives. He's turned into a hack!

After this I found Tom Clancy's novels unnecessarily long and sometimes rather boring when he goes into long passages of Military descriptions and technical info. There's fifteen pages in Executive Decision devoted solely to explaining how Jack Ryan is drinking his coffee. That's a bit much, and explains why his novel was over 1200 pages long.

However before he went overboard Clancy struck gold with this one. Addictive, sometimes a bit boring but with a killer ending (literally!). Better than the movie. I own all of Clancy's books - this is still my favorite.

The single review on Amazon for this screenplay is about three words long and doesn't discuss the merits of the literature AT ALL. I'm starting to think Amazon should place word limit restrictions so reviewers can't submit comments such as, "cul movie!"

If you've read my review of Tarantino's PULP FICTION script you'll see that I called it very addictive, and the same is true here, in fact it's more enjoyable to read. I printed it out off of my script website (wiredonmovies.com) and read it rather quickly. The movie itself disappointed me, and seemed like a fanboy's "wet dream" as some have described it. All in all the elements don't quite add up and the film (directed by Tony Scott) has an edge but lacks the humor of Tarantino's edge.

The screenplay is a blast, and differs from the film sometimes, especially the end. I imagine Quentin's version of the film (he originally planned on directing it but turned it down for RESERVOIR DOGS and used the money he made off this script to fund that project) would have been superior to Scott's own outcome.

PULP FICTION, the film, is one of my favorites, and I own both the DVD and the screenplay by Quentin Tarantino. Now, as with most things, since Quentin has become ultra-popular, it's suddenly become "cool" to dislike him and his movies (particularly FICTION). Quoting Dave Thomas (SCTV), "Let's get down to the nitty gritty here": Whether or not you like the film, Quentin DOES have a knack for superb dialogue, and here is proof.

Recommended on all levels - one of my hobbies is scriptwriting and this is a definite inspiration as it was written by a man-child who never took a single screenwriting course. He just did it, and that's always been my own strategy when it comes to these things.