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Grand Canyon

Grand Canyon

List Price: $9.98
Your Price: $9.98
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Los Angeles in early 90's
Review: Regardless of what the NY Times(like this is a trustworthy source) says about Grand Canyon, this film is worthy of praise. The movie does not lie and is not unrealistic. For anyone who has ever lived in Los Angeles, traffic jams, drive bys, and movie premiers are a daily occurance. This movie captures the mood of Los Angeles in the early 90's, a city reeling from riots and a weak collective conscience. Anyone who has spent extensive time in Los Angeles will relate. Whether you are white, black, latino, or asian, this movie will resonate with you.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Pretty depressing
Review: After I had seen this movie in the cinema, I got home, and my roommate was doing some paperwork. I sat down in his lazy chair.
After several minutes, he asked me: "So what you been doing?"
I answered: "I've been to see Grand Canyon."
He said: "Ah. That is why you're so quiet."

Indeed.
This movie tries to be about the horrors of life, and to be somehow uplifting at the same time. But due to the fact that it *shows* nothing uplifting whatsoever, it completely fails, for me anyway. It was just depressing.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Effectively Existential
Review: This movie is more than entertainment. It is a serious movie with subplots that will keep you thinking long after you watch it. Don't get this just to spend a Friday night, but rather watch it when you have time to digest some of the deeper questions it is asking. A must for theological students

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A Grand Choice...
Review: A great movie. Contains alot about what life is like living in L.A. and alot to do with divine intervention. How sometimes metting 1 person can change ones life. Danny Glover and Kevin Kline are superb. A great storyline. Only wish this movie would have come out sooner. It was a long time before it went to DVD. If you have never seen this flick, a must-see for anyone who wants to learn a little about themselves.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Hands Down the Worst Film Ever Made
Review: I just read a hilarious piece on Grand Canyon in an anthology of the greatest New York Times film reviews. The portentiously pretentious saga was absolutely disemboweled, frame by frame. The Times was right: This IS the worst film ever made.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Slice of Life....
Review: This review refers to the 20th Century Fox DVD edition of "Grand Canyon"(1991).....

Writer/Director Lawrence Kasdan(The Big Chill/The Accidental Tourist) together with Meg Kasdan once again weave for us a tapestry of life. How everyday events, the big and the small, the good and the bad, make us the people we are, and the effects on those around us is the focus of this endearing tale.

In "Grand Canyon", a lawyer(Kevin Kline) is on his way home from a Lakers game in Los Angeles, and instead of fighting the traffic decides to take a short cut. Bad luck, as his car breaks down, in a very dangerous part of town, and is in fear for his life as he is surrounded by a group of gang members. But Fate steps in to lend a hand in the form of the tow-truck driver(Danny Glover), and as he steps out of his truck in his cowboy boots and jeans, we may be reminded of Alan Ladd coming to save the day in "Shane".

These two men form a lasting friendship, that you just know will last a lifetime. Their deep appreciation of life spreads to those around them. Events occur that interweave the lives of their families and friends, and it seems that they were meant to be.

Lawrence Kasdan as always is wonderful at giving us a slice of life on film. It's a beautiful screenplay that looks at both the bright side and the dark side of life, and leaves you wondering whether things happen by chance or is there some other force that steps in, just at the right time. The brillant score(James Newton Howard) adds just the right flavor to the story, as it seems that sometimes, when things are at their worst, we hear a choir of angels(seemingly appropiate in Los Angeles) nearby to help out.An absolutely marevelous cast includes Mary McDonnell, Mary-Louise Parker, Alfre Woodard and Steve Martin.

20th Century Fox has once again made a beautiful transfer to DVD. The picture is crytal clear in all the scenes. It is presented in widescreen(Anamorphic), and the colors are gorgeous. Don't shy away because the sound is in 4.0 instead of 5.1.(It may also be viewed in Stereo surround, go to the language feature to set this up) The sound is terrific. Dialouge, background effects, and music all distinguished perfectly. There's a short featurette, with a few comments by some of the cast and crew, and it may be viewed in French(Stereo) and has subtitiles in English, and Spanish.

This little gem may have sneaked past Oscar but the Berlin Film Festival awarded it a "Golden Bear". It's an entertaining and a rewarding view.

Enjoy....Laurie

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Laughably Awful
Review: Just read a story in which director Lawrence Kasdan admitted he wrote this screenplay for this film out of his experiences in a Fritz Lieber encounter group. It looks it! Filled with all sorts of "heavy" suburban white revelations about society and "uppity", threatening young black men from the "ghetto". This movie is the embodiment of superficial early 90s Southern California thinking. I agree with the NY Times -- The Worst!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: How Do You Spell Pretension? "G-R-A-N-D-C-A-N-Y-O-N."
Review: I'm endlessly mused by al the would-be film reviewers from high school newspapers who have written in to laud this cackling turkey. Was there ever a more ill-conceived, self-pitying and yet self-important Hollywood feature? If so, I haven't seen it. The movie is unwatchable, except maybe 4 minutes at a time. You have to sip it, then spit it out -- like a truly rank wine. The New York Times was dead-on to call this the Worst Movie Ever Made. Truly execrable on every level.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Miracles happen every day .
Review: " Grand Canyon " came out at about same time, as" Parenthood "
and " Short Cuts ". All 3 movies deserves solid 5 stars . All 3 has wide variety of exellent actors . All 3 gives us story of very different people living in one city , but somehow connected to each other .
From my point of view , this film is about luck ... is it luck or may be , just may be , it is small miracles , happen every day ?
It is a story of Mac ( Kevin Kline ), emigration lower in LA , and people around him . People , who effect his life , and same people who's life he changes . Doesn't matter , if he wants to do so , or he doesn't .
Movie starts with the Laker's game . We se Steve Martin(Davis)on the floor court . Of cause we think , that he is a main character in the movie ( but in reality - he is only supporting actor ). We already know - this guy is Somebody ( floor court , Laker's game ?! ). But then , we se Kevin Kline with him and slowly acsent moves to his character , Mac . On the way home , he makes the wrong turn to avoid aftergame traffic . Bad decision . His car died in the wrong neighborhood . Mac in troubles , but towtruck driver shows up and , probably , saves his life . This is how we meet Simon ( Danny Glover ).
1. The story of Mac...
We like this guy . He is honest , likeble person . He is not just floating in the river . He is trying to change something ... for better . Only in the middle of the movie we found out WHY !? He tells this story to Simon ... He was standing on the curb ... and made a first step ... the stranger's hand grab him and pulled back , a split second before the bus pass by ... All he was able to say : Thank you ... and the stranger ? " My pleasure "... "She was wearing Pitsburg Pirates cap !? My favorite team since I was a kid - Mac said - was it LUCK ???Or something else ? He is trying to help Simon , the guy who saved him ones . He loves his wife and son . He is doing so many things right , but later we realise - it is not about him . It is about people around him .And no matter what you do , somebody will get hurt .
2. Story of his family ...
His wife is missing her son ( he left to the summer camp ). He grow up so fast ?! She has so much emptyness now .
His son ? We like him right away .
3. Story of Mac's friend , Davis...
Big time movie producer . Violent movies . This is his world . " I made more money this year , than my father in all his life"- he says . This is his Value ?! We think , he is going to change , after getting shot in the bright day lite in the middle of LA ?! This is what he said ... but nothing changes . He leaves us with his thouts , that his " art " reflect what is going on ??? And a HUGE studio door opens , he walks in and the door closes ... slowly . He looked so small ...
3. The story of Simon ...
I think , he is in reality the main character in this film . His wife left him ( but he is peacefull about it ). His deff daughter is in DC , and he speaks with her on one of those TDD machines . If Mac is just likable guy , Simon is smart from his life experience . We want to hear , what he has to say . I just cann't forget his words : My father died last year ... he was 81...very long time for a black man ... in this town . And story of his sister's family showes it well anouph . Remember , what spanish kids said , after they mooved ? Where he came from ? Beirut , or something ?
PS:It is so easy to say : I have a message to deliver , and I am going to do it ! But in reality , the question is : Do you really have anything to say ? Anything to say , what important to us ? Are we going to hear it?

This movie defenetly has a message ! I am so sorry , that some of us didn't get it . This is only a movie ! And people in it are only the actors . Look around . You'll se the real people ... and may be YOU can do a little miracle for them ?

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Seems to be a "love it or hate it" movie, but not for me.
Review: This is one of a very few movies about which I am completely equivocal. Some parts of it I absolutely revel in, and other parts could not possibly be more cliche and trite. For me, a positive viewing of this movie depends entirely on my mood. It is pretentious but has worth if you are feeling like doing any kind of self-exploration. If you are in a cynical mood, you will find plenty to mock here.

Not a great review for not a great movie.


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