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Summary: A make you think movie
Review: This movie made me question my own values and morals. What would one do if they were in this situation. It was running through my head for the rest of the week. I have never felt for charecters like I did while watching. The acting made you feel as if this was truly happening to you. A real tear jerker, that left me with a memory.
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Summary: Hash & Malaysia: Not Good Bedfellows
Review: This movie is one of my favorites of all-time. The characters are appealing, the media situation is very true-to-life, and you never know what will happen next. This movie has a great script with such classic lines as "This is the part I hate: the talking part"(Sheriff to Malaysian girl 'the next morning') I usually have one or two complaints about any movie (nothing's perfect) but it took me ten months to think of any for this one and they are the most asinine flaws ever: the names of some characters like MJ Major and Beth Eastern were a little weird and the powdered wigs the members of the Malysian court wear (but I'm sure they actually wear them in real life so I have to forgive them) This movie was one of the only movies of 1998 that REALLY moved me. But don't take my word for it. You all MUST see it! If you don't find yourself moved by any of the characters (namely Lewis wonderfully played by Joaquin Phoenix and Sheriff by Vince Vaughn) there must be a problem with you. *On a side note,it's nice to see a Vince Vaughn character take credit for his mistakes. If you watch him in The Lost World:Jurassic Park, you'll notice that,eventhough he's the big hero, many of the problems that arise are because of his actions.*
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Summary: i love this movie
Review: return to paradise was a great movie. i loved it very much. it makes you want to watch more. this is a movie that should have gotten more recognition. vince vaughn is a great (and very cute) actor. i don't care for anne heche that much.
Rating: 
Summary: Very mixed feelings
Review: Luckily, I didn't read the review by one viewer titled, "Return to Film School", before I saw it, or I would have never watched the movie. I happened to like the movie. However, at the same time I agree with everything that the reviewer wrote. I also understand the tricks and formulas for movies. But, I guess I have a soft spot somewhere in my heart to suspend my disbelief for 2 hours (well, at least the last half hour) I thought the little cat and mouse thing between Vaughn and Heche in the first hour and a half was unbelievable. It's the last half hour that sucked me in. Lastly, let me just say, the movie was totally unpredictable. Oh, and if I had go to a third-world prison for 3 to 6 years to save a friends life, I would.
Rating:
Summary: Heart-breaking and Underrated
Review: I rented this movie expecting something predictable, but wanting to enjoy Vince Vaughn's good looks before his hairline recedes any further. I was pleasantly (though pleasant isn't the best word to describe the film) surprised. Three friends go on a trip to Manilla or Malaysia (forget which), the two who know each other better leave and another stays behind. 2 years later they find out their friend has been arrested for drug possession (the drugs which, unfortunately, would not have been found if Sheriff, Vaughn's character, hadn't carelessly put in a certain place)and is sentenced to death unless they can work out a deal where his friends can return and serve either 3 years each (or 6 years if one of them won't do it)in a hellhole prison. It's certainly one of those 'what would you do' type movies, and I just thanked God that I wasn't in the same situation. I have a family, so I'd lean towards being selfish and saying no, but then feeling like a jerk my whole life. I would think I knew what was coming in the plot, and then something I didn't expect would happen. The ultimate fate of Lewis, Phoenix's character, is the last thing I thought would occur--totally blew me out of the water. I won't give it away, but trust me, you won't beleive your eyes. Phoenix was robbed of a Best Supporting Actor nomination. Besides his last gut-wrenching scene in the film, there's one where SHerriff watches a video that Lewis and his lawyer have managed to prepare that Lewis made while in his cell. He is basically begging for his life, while trying not to make them feel guilty if they don't do it and also trying to hold it together--he looks so wretched and when he breaks down and sobs, I got choked up. Definitely worth a rental, if nothing else to put your life in perspective and realize things could be a LOT worse, and to remind you to NEVER do drugs in a foreign country, no matter how tempting it is. In fact, I don't think I'll be travelling there at all, thanks.
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Summary: strikingly good looks & superb acting!
Review: vince vaughn has won the heart of america as well as my own. not only has his good looks got the best of me, but his acting is superb!! he will always be on my screen as i keep watching his movies over and over. terrific performance in this film, as well as all of his others....god knows, i've seen them all!!
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Summary: The best movie I have ever seen
Review: Return to Paradise was absolutely breathtaking. There isn't a movie that makes me feel as many emotions like this one. I didn't laugh at or think how unbelievable what just happened was at all, I was focused the entire time. This film is absolutely amazing... the ultimate rainy day movie.
Rating: 
Summary: This film makes you think
Review: This is a tense drama that really made me think about my own morals. Heche isn't as bad as I thought she'd be, Phoenix is suitably pitiful, and Vaughn is also good. There are a few twists and turns, and some scenes are riveting.
Rating: 
Summary: WHAT?! This movie was horrible!
Review: The last 20 minutes of this movie was great! I'll admit that. However, after sitting through the first hour of... Heche goes to Vaughn... Vaughn goes to Heche... Heche gets mad at Vaughn... Heche forgives Vaughn... Vaughn gets mad at Heche... Vaughn forgives Heche... I was thoroughly worn out. And disgusted. What a waste!
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Summary: Return to Film School
Review: Comments to be checked and sent for approval Possible spelling mistakes: Greenpeace Heche filmmakers moviemaking Please use the browser 'BACK' button to return to the previous page in order to make corrections.Your comments will be displayed as follows: Please remember to hit the button below to actually send the comments! Christopher Smith (iilannoy@aol.com) Date: 16 May 1999 Summary: Return to Film School Watching "Return To Paradise" was like watching a pitch meeting gone terribly wrong. I could almost hear the writers unveiling the story before a disinterested studio exec... Writers: "Three guys are on vacation in Malaysia. Two of them go home, the third - some sort of Greenpeace kid sticking around to save the endangered whatever - gets stuck with everyone's hash. One thing leads to another, Greenpeace Guy goes to jail and he's going to be executed for trafficking if the other two don't come back and take responsibility for possession." Studio Exec (Yawn; Beat): "Does it have to be Malaysia?" From there, things get ridiculous. Greenpeace Guy's lawyer (Anne Heche) comes to New York and falls in love with her client's most unlikeable, loathsome, arrogant friend (Vince Vaughn). BUT WAIT.... He's not really anyone's friend. He's just some self-serving creep. But that's okay because she's not really anyone's lawyer, she's Greenpeace Guy's SISTER (collective gasp). And she's just using Self-Serving Guy to save her brother, Greenpeace Guy. BUT WAIT... She's not really using anyone. They're really in love. And Self-Serving Guy isn't going back to Malaysia (Did it have to be Malaysia?) to save Greenpeace Guy. He's going back to show Greenpeace Guy's sister how self-serving he really isn't. BUT WAIT... There's another guy. Equal parts success and conscience. Everything Self-Serving Guy isn't. By the end, he becomes everything Self-Serving Guy was, but isn't anymore. We're not really sure how this happens, it just does. But it's not really important, because when it's all said and done, he's only there to make Vince Vaughn's character look good after the movie exhausted all of whatever energy it may have had making him look bad. Still with me? I didn't think so. "Return to Paradise" lacks depth, feeling, direction, conviction, characters, story, cinematography, performances and a decent score. If you want to watch unlikeable characters wandering aimlessly through the greatest crisis of their miserable little lives and then stop on a dime and contradict everything we've come to know about them for the sake of a plot twist, you should enjoy this movie. If you'd rather see believable characters that you can actually care about in a similar predicament without a lame love story and a couple of bogus sex scenes, go rent "Midnight Express", directed by Alan Parker, written by Oliver Stone. Unlike "Return to Paradise", "Midnight Express" is based on a true story and made by expert filmmakers. They understood their story, their characters, and the reasons for making that film. "Return to Paradise" serves as the 90's counterpart to its infinitely better predecessor, like "Independence Day" to "The Day The Earth Stood Still", "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", and every other film it ripped off and misunderstood. It's just another sad example of the truly God-awful state of moviemaking in this day and age. (Zero Stars)
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