Rating: 
Summary: The Perfect Storm
Review: The Perfect Storm is based on the strongest recorded storm in history and a crew's struggle to get through it. It stars George Clooney as Billy Tyne, the Captain of the Andrea Gail, with a crew of four others, Mark Wahlberg among them, as they act out this true-life film. This movie begins with Tyne and his crew making a last fishing trip out to the distant Flemish Cap to compensate for a poor and low-paying fishing season. After they get there, the fishing is pretty successful and they get by with few problems. When the ice machine breaks down, they hurry back to save their catch before the existing supply of ice vanishes and the swordfish perish. Before they head back, three powerful storm fronts combine to make one enormous, "perfect" storm. On the way back, they inevitably run into the storm and must fight no longer for the catch, but their lives. Some things which I liked about the movie were the beautifully computer-generated waves, the tough action during the storm encounter, and the way that a great story was narrated. I disliked in this movie some of the drama, for a bit of it was touching and appropriate but some got a little boring, the beginning, because the complaining and lack of excitement got old fast, and how a bit of the technicality went over my head and lost me a little at the end. Basically, the movie was great, but in my opinion, too long. If about twenty minutes were cut out, I could see myself giving it a four or a five. It is still a good movie if the story interests you.
Rating: 
Summary: I Enjoyed It
Review: I quite enjoyed this film as it was far better than i thought it would be. The film is about a group of fisherman who have come across hard times with their catching, so they decide to go back out to sea once more to make up their quota and earn some more money. From this it sounds boring, but with this being a hollywood blockbuster you know this isn't the case. While out at sea there just so happens to be the worst storm in history and the film progress with the crew trying to fight their way through the storm and back hope to safety. This film is fuuny in parts and sad in others so it has all of the criteria to be up there with all of your other favourite movies. Worth a watch!!
Rating: 
Summary: Popcorn Flick Is Anything But Perfect
Review: The Perfect Storm marks the second collaboration of Mark Wahlberg and George Clooney but don't expect another Three Kings here. Whereas Kings was a smart, liberal-minded action film that dared to have a social concious, this is a movie more of the rah-rah, skimp on the plot variety (as we've come to expect around the July 4th weekend). If I had to choose one redeeming quality to justify my two star rating (rather than one), I'd have to point out how refreshing it is to see scruffy, blue-collar workers potrayed in film. Much like Erin Brockovich it deals with lower middle class people, which we're unaccustomed to seeing in mainstream Hollywood movies and that's a nice touch. I can only assume that's what attracted this very talented cast, the only one of which to get away clean is John C. Reilly for whom it's almost impossible to give a poor performance. Clooney stars as a Gloucester sword boat captain who's hit a proveribal bump in the road. His last few times out he's come home short, so he dedicated himself to doing a turnaround which he hopes will break his string of bad luck. Antagonizing him into doing so is the boat's owner (Michael Ironside) who, because we can't exactly hold Mother Nature accountable, is cast in the role of the "bad guy." Being as he's the evil capitalist (as though the fisherman have more noble intentions), he inadvertantly pushes Clooney and his crew further and further out to sea until they can find the fish and set the market. They travel all the way out to the Flemish Cap, which if my map reading skills are up to snuff is about halfway out into the Atlantic. From there they proceed to catch enough fish to make somewhere in the neighborhood of a million dollars. But when the ice machine clunks out they're left with a choice, wait it out and let the fish spoil or ride back through the storm. As I'm sure you've already guessed they decide to tough it out, not knowing that Hurricane Grace is about to collide with two other fronts to create the greatest storm on record. We cut back and forth from them fighting the elements (and eachother), to land where they all have someone to come home to. These moments are the worst of the film and have been set up by and over-extended opening introduction to the fisherman and their loved ones, for whom we're supposed to be sobbing for at the picture's end. Especially bad is Diane Lane, who must've given a hell of a performance in The Cotton Club to still be finding work after her horrendous turn in Murder at 1600. I hate to single her out but in the company of such a fine cast she can't help but sick out. As for Wolfgang Petersen, he's done much better work with Das Boot and Outbreak, and here seems to be overly aware of the expectations set forth by the film's bloated budget so he aims to appeal to wider audiences by dumbing down on the story. I can really see where he was trying to make a better movie than the one he ended up with, but he just can't salvage a terribly contrived story that actually has the audacity to assume the events surrounding this tragedy, using a paint-by-numbers formula to fill in the blanks. Maybe the filmmakers should've been more vague or written an entirely fictional story, rather than doing these men the disservice of presuming how they met their end. I know it's based on the Sebastian Junger book which I've never read, and probably never will after seeing this, but I just can't help but feel they should've left well enough alone. But that's just my opinion and it's worth the three dollar rental fee to check it out for yourself.
Rating:
Summary: Where's James Cameron?
Review: I have to say that I was disappointed after watching this film. This film has good animation and computer effects but it lacks so much the emotions. You do not get emotionally attached to any of the characters at all. And although the waves and scenes were very convincing but it did not thrill me because I was not sympathizing with the actors. I wish James Cameron directed this film, maybe it would have been much better! The DVD extras are satisfying and the Deluxe Collector Set are nice but I wish it was for a better film!
Rating:
Summary: Great effects!!! God awful script!!!!
Review: Ok first of all let me tell you that my great grandfather was a commercial fisherman all his life. From the time I was 4 I was surrounded by the sea, the men who fished it, and the stories they told. It is something that has stayed with me all my life and is one of the most cherished things I remember from my childhood. So you can take my word for it when I say to you that commercial fishermen do not talk like the morons in this movie did. They don't wax rhapsodic about leaving harbor in the morning. They dont spout idiotic high worded phrases like "this is what I was born to do". Most of them can't wait to get home to be with their families again after a voyage (in fact my great grandmother often went with my grandfather on fishing expeditions so they wouldnt have to be apart). And, honestly, most (but obviously not all of them) have the common sense not to sail in to the path of a force 4 hurricane. The sad part about all of this is that the true story of fishermen is every bit as worthy of being told and is a lot more interesting then a lot of this movie is. I still remember the stories my grandfather told about his fishing days; like the one about his third boat blowing up due to a propane gas leak in the cook stove while he was aboard in port taking a bath (he ended up standing on the dock in his shorts with the wash rag still in his hand, lucky to be alive), or the time he blunder into a nest of poisonous water moccasin snakes while walking acros salt water marsh with an oar over his shoulder to get to his small rowboat (a harrowing experience to say the least) or his stories about the shark feeding frenzies he saw in the gulf of mexico when the sharks were so crazed that they swallowed anything that hit the water including an old rubber glove that fell overboard. I also remember the funny stories I heard too, like the time my cousin thought a bear had gotten on the boat one night only to find out it was the first mate grinding his teeth in his sleep, or the many practical jokes skippers and crew played on each other in the few moments of off time they had during their busy day. I tell you these things to give you some idea of how real fisherman talk and live in the real world. Its a lot different from what you see in this movie. My final gripe with this movie is the sterotypical class warfare crap shoved in to this movie. "Oh if only the evil rich owner had bought a new ice making machine they wouldn't have tried to make it home through the storm." "Oh if only the evil rich owner hadn't threatened to find a new captain they might never have gone back for one more trip." "Oh the evil rich owner gets most of the money and takes none of the risk!!!" God this stuff gets old!!! My grandpa owned his own boats and took his own risks and lived pretty well because of it. Thats what this country is all about people. I knew men who skippered boats for absent owners and it was nothing like the class warfare garbage they tried to make it out to be in this movie. If those "evil rich guys" didnt own the damn boats then those "poor honest hard working good men" would be flipping burgers so lets cut the guy that pays the bills a little slack, ok Hollywood? To be fair to the movie tho I have to say the special effects were spectacular!!!! They made it worth putting up will all the bad acting, cornball sap, and just god awful dialog. My best friend summarized it best for me after watching this movie. "Dude the next time you watch this thing skip all the lame acting parts and get to the cool storm scenes!!!" Thats sound advice if you ask me.
Rating: 
Summary: Tsunami origami
Review: I am sorry guys, I like to give every film the benefit of the doubt, but unfortunately, I can't with this one. I watched this... and even though "Three Kings" gave me a new respect for Mark and George, I have to say, this is a stinker. A big... bomb, that could have absolutely been better. If you crave water...See Abyss!! (The 1 star is for the water)
Rating:
Summary: Good, but overlong
Review: The Perfect Storm could've been perfect, if they didn't add so many details. Even though it's based on a true story, the whole thing is kind of boring. While watching, I was wondering why anyone (even someone who spends most of their life out at sea), would risk their life going through a huge storm (worse than an earthquake), just to get so many fish back to their hometown. The whole idea to me is just stupid. But anyway, the special effects and sound were great, so were some dramatic love scenes, so this is an OK DVD.
Rating: 
Summary: You just have to have had been there, a few times.
Review: As a US Merchant Master with over 350,000 blue water miles on everything from caostwise Pacific Swordfish boats, globe trotting tall ships with the National Science Foundation, and too small of plastic sailboats in too rough of seas. If anyone doubts the reality of getting a kick out making it out of roll over, pitch pole or 4 day storm with plus 50 foot seas and 100 knot winds, they should try it. It not only builds character but no matter how corny it is, you as a the master and crew have a responsiblity to your crew, the vessel, and its cargo. When you see the fear in the master's eyes you know you are gone. So he better have a love for what he does as well as having fun taking bird off an outrigger if it is harming his crew, ship and cargo. By the way, a lot of bars suffer after shorter trips than a grand banks run, and remember, everything is going to be alright! Capt. Steve Olsen
Rating:
Summary: SPECIAL EFFECTS SAVE THIS DISASTER EPIC
Review: The special effects in "The Perfect Storm" are the star in this film, other than that the plot is corny (even though based on a true story), the acting is fair, but the movie is very far from perfect. The movie is slow, and and runs on empty except for the storm scenes. Karen Allen from "Indiana Jones" fame is wasted as passenger on a boat that is saved from the Coast Guard, I think her only words lines in the movie were "dangerous" and "they heard us, they're coming". The movie does have a surprise ending that unlike the Hollywood movies today, however the movie is only worth the special effects, and seeing Clooney and Diane Lane (able to cry on cue). Overall Clooney, Lane and Wahlberg give fair performances for a rather weak script and premise. Like I said if you want to see good special effects with water, then rent it, otherwise skip it.
Rating:
Summary: One hell of a storm !
Review: This movie was a great action packed movie with an abundance of excellent actors.
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