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Twister - Limited Edition Collector's Set

Twister - Limited Edition Collector's Set

List Price: $79.98
Your Price: $71.98
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: How now, a flying cow?!
Review: "Twister" succeeds on its face because it doesn't pretend to be anything other than what it is, a great special effects movie. The plot is uninspired, the acting is pretty good but not exceptional, but the special effects make the film. The tornado sequences will literally and figuratively blow you away. Some of the scenes defy credibility (our heroes manage to outrun a monster tornado on foot, yeah, right) but this isn't a movie that begs to be taken seriously; grab the popcorn, sit back and enjoy the ride. And just as the real star of "Cat Ballou" was Lee Marvin's drunken horse, so the character who steals "Twister" is a cow caught up in the turbulent winds turning mad somersaults in midair, looking thoroughly bemused. It's priceless scenes like this one that define the movie and make it so much fun to watch.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Fun, but silly at times.
Review: Like Armageddon, Godzilla, and Independence Day this is one of those summertime films with an embarrassingly bad screenplay but great special effects. Some of the things that are just plain stupid about this file are: The actors are shown within a few feet of a tornado yet there hair is barely moving around and their truck sits motionless. The wind is able to blow a house across the road or lift up a semi-truck yet they seem unaffected. The whole premise of the film is that, currently, people only get a 10-minute warning before a tornado is going to strike an area - but the main characters seem to know where the tornadoes are going to be hours ahead of time. Then there is the evil meteorologist (in his fleet of black vans) that " is only it for the money." (I didn't know that there were bad meteorologists and good ones.) Lighted neon signs fly through the air (where are they getting power from??) I could go on and on and on, but you get the idea.

What saves this movie and makes it fun to watch are the special visual effects and sound effects. This is a great movie to watch when you want to turn your brain off after a hard day's work and just have some fun. The chemistry between Hunt and Paxton is pretty good and both actors seem to be trying their best despite the poor quality of the script. I have to give the screenwriters credit for making the Gertz character (the other woman) a likeable person that just gets caught in the middle. The predictable thing to do would have been to make her a.... I won't use the "B" word or Amazon won't print this review.

The quality of the DVD - sound and picture - is very good.

I have probably watched this movie a dozen times and enjoy it each time. Sure it's mindless, but it's fun. Turn on the TV. Turn down the lights. Turn up the volume and enjoy it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A movie with revolutionary special effects
Review: I still remember seeing "Twister" in the theatres a few years ago and how amazed I was at the great special effects. A lot of the critics scorn this movie because they say there's not much of a plot to it. Sure, it does have a choppy plot and it cycles between chasing tornadoes and the love affair between Bill and Jo Harding (Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt), but you shouldn't pay much attention to that.

The best thing about "Twister" is definitely the special effects. You'll be amazed when you see how realistic the tornadoes look and some of the effects, such as a live cow flying through the air. Since I was a kid, I've always been fascinated by weather, especially tornadoes. Therefore, "Twister" became one of my favorite movies. This movie revolutionized special effects, and in my opinion, it's not that bad of a movie. I recommend anybody who likes movies with great special effects to get "Twister," it'll blow you away.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A successful romantic plot in a great guy movie.
Review: This movie is not about storm chasers, but is a romance that involves two individuals, a tornado from one of the individuals childhood, and true love conquering human weakness. Don't get me wrong, the movie is terribly cool with special effects, great music, and some major babes...Helen Hunt and Jamie Gertz. Just see it, period.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Home Theater + Twister = Torados in your living room!
Review: "It's a very pretty truck."

Let's just forget for a moment that the acting in the film is slightly better than mediocre. And let's also forget that little speech at the beginning about tornados and warning systems...

Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton turn out nearly believable performances in this film about tornado hunters in Oklahoma.
The plot: Girl finds tornado. Girl loses tornado. Girl finds boy. Girl loses boy. Girl gets tornado and boy.

At its core, this film is another eye/ear candy flick just like The Matrix. The visual effects are outstanding. Widescreen allows you to see more of the film... and more of the supporting cast! The sound on this DVD makes you think that you are there! If you have a home theater system with surround sound, this DVD MUST be part of your collection.

The extra "goodies" on the DVD, while nice, are not the big perks; the sound and picture are.

My ratings from 1 to 5 stars:
The picture: 5 stars
The sound: 5 stars

The acting: 3 stars
The plot: 4 stars

Buy this DVD for the effects and you will not be disappointed.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A Thrill Ride
Review: [Add a star if you get off on non-stop action; subtract one if you MUST have a plot.]

One of the things that gets me about movie reviews is that every thing has to be so subjective. In the case of this little movie, the subjective complaint is PLOT, PLOT, PLOT. A couple of things. First, when a latter-day movie has the name of Twister, what do you expect? A Long Day's Journey Into Night? Schindler's List? I think not. This movie is for escapism and it should be judged in that context.

Secondly, the movie does have a plot. Hell, there's even sub-plot.

Bill Paxton is Bill Harding, a TV weatherman chasing his soon-to-be ex-wife Jo (Helen Hunt). You see, Bill wants to get married to psychiatrist Melissa (Jami Gertz) but he can't until he get Jo to sign the divorce papers. Jo, however, is occupied. See, she is chasing something herself. Tornadoes. She hates them. She's obsessed by them. So, she hunts them down so she can place small sensors into them. The sensors will give her and other scientists better information about them. While she's chasing the tornadoes, she's running away from Bill. She's playing hard to get, or rather, hard to get rid of. Jo is ambivalent about divorcing Bill. She's so ambivalent that she's built his invention, named Dorothy, to launch the sensors into a funnel, if she catches one. Maybe, in the meantime, she'll catch her man. Again.

So, off they go. Jo's chasing tornadoes with her rag-tag bunch of storm chasers. Bill is chasing her trying to get her to sign the divorce papers, while trying to convince the aforementioned rag-tag bunch that he's not back in the storm-chasing game. All the while, Melissa is trying to figure out all the things swirling all about her.

Meanwhile, while Jo's group is rag-tag, the group headed up by Dr. Jonas Miller (Cary Elwes) is not. It's slick and para-military. Dr. Miller seems to have ripped off Bill's designs and constructed a sensor launcher of his own to rival Dorothy. So, it's a race to see which storm-chasing team gets their device launched first.

I went into the movie house wanting a thrill ride and I got exactly what I wanted. It was an enjoyable experience. I can actually see Twister: The Ride on the Universal Studios tour in the forseeable future. That's because the movie is just that, a non-stop thrill ride from start to finish with just enough of a plot to let you catch your breath and move the story along.

See for yourself.

[Originally written 2 June 1996]

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Incredible Special Effects, Mediocre Plot
Review: The special effects in this movie are incredible. You really feel like you are right their chasing the twisters. You even hear the sounds of the twister. This movie also showed me the power and devastation of tornadoes and how terrifying they are, for those caught in their path. The characters in this movie were likable, but I did not find the plot very interesting. However, I did enjoy this movie for the special effects.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: My opinion on which is best-the plot or the special effects.
Review: Reading some of the reviews about this movie, I've noted that a lot of people believe that the only good part of the movie was the special effects, and many believed that the plot was lacking. I believe that the special effects were great, but they were only an extra goody, and not the best part of the package.

In the beginning of Twister, you are taken back several years to the late sixties in the eastern part of the United States. A father rushes through his country home, and his wife follows his lead with their daughter, Joe, with them. They hide in a backyard storm cellar, but as the storm begins to pick up, they discover that the family dog is not inside. The father quickly ushers the dog inside, and shortly after he recloses the door, the twister comes. The father gets sucked into the tornado, holding the door, while the mother and daughter are still safe inside the cellar.

After this, the movie goes to the present, and a new plot begins. Joe's husband catches up with the storm chasers-also, his former work companions-to have his wife sign the divorce papers so he could get married to his new fiance, who he brings along. But when trying to get Joe to sign the papers, a tornado is found nearby, and the storm chasers follow it to send up their newest project-Dorothy. Dorothy is a machine that both Joe and her husband designed, and when it comes in contact with a twister, it will send up many sensors, enabling the storm chasers to get readings on the tornado. Their theory is if they can get readings on tornados, and learn about them, they will be able to create better tornado warnings, allowing people to get to safety more quickly before a tornado hits.

Personally, I really liked this movie. When I rented it awhile back, I would just watch it over and over. The plot is rather likeable, and the characters are interesting and unique. I recommend this movie to the people reading this, not only for the special effects, but for the whole package.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Awesome Entertainment
Review: Being a "storm watcher," I really liked this movie. However, you do not need to be one to enjoy it. There is something for everyone. The new Digital makeover on DVD is even better. This is a must have for all DVD owners.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: The Most Overrated Blockbuster To Date!
Review: The premise is interesting: to catch a "live tornado" and gather valuable data about these destructive forces of nature. There are many special effects, but at times they are utterly unrealistic (i.e. cows flying by like ice cubes bopping up in a glass of soda). The little love story between Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton would have worked much better in a different context. When I viewed this film it was already a major hit, so I was extremely disappointed to see that it wasn't all that at all.


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