Apocalypse Now: Redux (2001) is a remastered and greatly extended version of the #36 film of all time with an 8.4/10 rating. The new footage includes a lengthy topless scene with two Playmates in their stranded helicopter and the "plantation sequence, where a naked Aurore Clément pulls netting around her bed with Charlie Sheen in it. The former bunnies who show breasts are Cynthia Wood and Colleen Camp. I planned on fast forwarding to the new exposure and calling it an early night, but I ended up watching the entire 300 minutes, and may do it again soon. Words like epic, magnificent, powerful and spectacular come to mind. You can smell the rotting vegetation of the jungle and feel the hot humid air. You experience the boredom of traveling up river, and the sudden terror of an enemy attack. Coppola had some many spectacular shots in the film, I had to make 8 separate logos just to partially do it justice.

I suppose you could look at this as a directors cut, still over two hours shorter than a 5 1/2 hour working print that has circulated on underground on video, but exactly what Coppola envisioned, and his vision was excelent. The DVD is bare bones, but it is a magnificent anamorphic remastered transfer, and looks fantastic. A.

• Elizabeth Hurley in Aria. (1, 2, 3)

• Mariah Carey in the immortal cinema masterpiece, "Glitter". This movie is rated 2.3 at IMDb, making it the biggest bomb in those ratings since Battlefield Earth. The funniest review that I saw said that when future historians try to determine when Americans started to laugh again after the tragedy in September, they will probably point to the Glitter premiere. Other reviewers used such terms as "complete tripe", "cheesy", "atrocious", and "inept". And those were some of the better reviews! Some of the more negative people felt that the very existence of this film justified the Taliban's ban on movies. Others pointed out the only worthwhile part of it was Mariah's songs, and the filmmakers even dubbed those badly! No wonder the girl had a breakdown. She must have seen an advance copy.

Honte's site is updated

Note from ICMS

"I think you need to amend the ID's in "Don't Go in the House". The actress labeled as Ruth Dardick is in fact, according to the IMDb, Johanna Brushay. At 23 minutes into the movie the girl about to be toasted at 29 minutes clearly identifies herself as "Kathy, Kathy Jordan". Ruth Dardick plays the part of Mrs. Kohler, the evil guy's wicked mother who dies early in the film but is seen in flashbacks. For some reason I have this DVD and I just checked it again to be sure. Also there are vidcaps by Aesthete in the encyclopedia and he also labeled the girl as Johanna Brushay. I made two quick snaps of both actresses who both have only one credit in the IMDb. Personally I am rather pleased that Ruth Dardick kept her clothes on.?

• Dardick
• Brushay

Scoop's comment: I don't know about you guys, but I think that Dardick is hot! Bring her here to one of our fine Texas amusement parks, and I'll give 'er a ride on the ol' log flume of love. As ICMS points out, this movie seems to be the only life either of those women ever had. You have to be impressed that ICMS owns a copy of this movie!

WORDS

A headline in our local rag of a newspaper yesterday said:  "Widespread looting follows Taliban defeat". So I read the article, and you know what it said? It cited a case of one Northern Alliance soldier who was seen taking the weapons and money off a dead Taliban soldier - and it cited the "reports" that that was not an isolated example.

So if you had to write the headline for that, do you think you would have written "widespread looting"? The problem with rabid exaggeration is that it removes the emotional and literal value of words. If that is widespread looting, what do you call it when widespread looting really does occur.

When I was a kid, I used to dispute my dad when he said that journalism, by definition, is attempting to find the facts that fit your view of the world. As Mark Twain might have noted, my dad has gotten a lot smarter since then.

Hey, you guys, leave that money on the dead Taliban guys, will ya? I think Satan stopped accepting American Express.

Today's rare, twisted, older stuff is from 1978's "Bloodsucking Freaks". I have no idea who she is, but in these pics, her real nice set is getting one hell of a shock treatment from 2 demented creeps. This could be the sickest movie of all time, these scenes are pretty mild compared to some of the stuff in this movie.

Looks like Halle Berry's crotch has signed on with her breasts' press agent.

>From IMDB News:

Halle Bares Absolutely All

Hollywood star Halle Berry has shot a full-frontal nude scene for a steamy sex scene in her latest flick. The gorgeous actress strips off as she makes love to Billy Bob Thornton in their new movie Monster's Ball. And according to Hollywood gossip columnists, Halle was paid an extra $1 million for the daring scene. The sexy actress also bared her breasts in the film Swordfish with John Travolta - but denied at the time she received a bonus of $500,000 for doing so. In the movie, Halle plays the widow of a Death Row prisoner, played by Sean 'P Diddy' Combs, who has an affair with one of the prison guards who killed him, played by Thornton. At the American premiere of the film last week, the buxom beauty admitted she wasn't comfortable watching the sex scene while sitting next to her husband, singer Eric Benet. She explained, "When he was watching, I was thinking, 'What's going on in his mind?'" But Halle must be able to imagine his emotions to some extent - Benet recently filmed a love scene with Mariah Carey in her failed movie debut Glitter.

Here's a story from Fox News that I'm frankly not qualified to comment on...

Pierce Brosnan - is "The Sexiest Man Alive" according to People magazine.

The James Bond star is the 15th person to receive the title, which the magazine has bestowed previously on Brad Pitt, George Clooney and the original Bond, Sean Connery.

"I understand why women find him sexy, because he is an appealing man," said Brosnan's wife, Keely Shaye Smith. "He really likes and appreciates women."

The 48-year-old actor admits he's had his teeth fixed, but added, "I have not had any plastic surgery in any shape or form. No implants. And my hair is not dyed."

Also included on the list of sexiest men are cellist Yo-Yo Ma, The Oprah Winfrey Show's' self-help guru Dr. Phil McGraw, actor-comedian Ben Stiller and Mexican president Vicente Fox.

Finally, from Ananova.com, further evidence that actors are becoming obsolete. If a computer is ever able to perfectly recreate Halle Berry naked, that is when it will all be over for human beings...

Digital Bruce Lee to star in new movie

From Variety:
By Bob Tourtellotte

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Twenty-eight years after he died, Bruce Lee is still alive and kicking -- at least, in the movies.

South Korea (news - web sites)'s ShinCine Films, headed by filmmaker Chul Shin, said Thursday it will make a $50 million movie that recreates the martial arts star on film using digital, computer-generated images (CGI) and new voice technology.

Lee, who died in 1973, will be a kick-boxing hero in the same style his fans loved in Hong Kong martial arts movies of the 1970s like ``Way of the Dragon.''

In a telephone interview, Shin said the movie's script was still being written, so he did not want to be specific about the story.

``There are many ideas. I cannot, now, choose from all of them,'' Shin said. ``He is always used as the hero, and he has strong charisma. I want to re-create that image, again.''

Shin said he expects ``Dragon Warrior'' to be ready for theaters around the world in about three years.

He added that Lee was a hero of his in his school years, and by making the movie, Lee can again be the same sort of character for a younger generation.

Lee continues to be admired by audiences in Asia, America and Europe. New technology, Shin said, finally allows him to bring Lee's image back to the screen in full force.

Shin described the technology ``totally new'', but it would re-create Lee's image and cause him to interact with live-action actors and actresses. An actor would tape Lee's dialogue, and computer software would change the actor's voice to make it sound like Lee.

ShinCine acquired the rights to Lee's name and likeness from Concord Moon, a company administered by Lee's widow, Linda Lee Cadwell, and Lee's daughter, Shannon Lee.

In a statement for Lee's family, Shannon Lee said they sold the rights because they ``believe in ShinCine's and Mr. Shin's enthusiasm and commitment to making a first rate film.''

Shin founded ShinCine in 1988 and has made some 15 films including current Korean hit ``Wild Beauty'' and 1999's ``Lies.''

Lee was born in San Francisco, but moved to Hong Kong as a kid and was in a number of movies in the late 1940s and 1950s.

In 1966, he landed his first U.S. co-starring role on TV's ''The Green Hornet'' as trusted servant, Kato. But his early impact in Hollywood came as a teacher of martial arts to celebrities like James Coburn.

Returning to Hong Kong in the early 1970s, Lee began making martial arts films and was a huge hit based both on his skills as a kick-boxer and his sense of humor. Movies like 1971's ''Fists of Fury'' and 1973's ``Enter the Dragon,'' which was released after his death, lifted him to cult hero status.

Lee died in July, 1973, in Hong Kong of a brain hemorrhage caused by an allergic reaction to pain killers.

His son, Brandon Lee, followed him into acting and was on the verge of becoming a star in his own right when he, too, suffered an untimely death at age 27, due to an accidental gunshot on a movie set.

What? "Fatal Attraction," one of the best romantic movies ever made? I guess compared to Michael Douglas' real first marriage, his relationship with Glenn Close wasn't that bad.

Film Group Gets Mushy With List

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The American Film Institute has celebrated best films of all time, screen legends, top comedies and most thrilling pictures. Next up: the 100 best love stories.

The institute is sending ballots to directors, actors, studio executives, critics and others in Hollywood to vote on the top 100 U.S. romance flicks. The films must feature a ``romantic bond between two or more characters, whose actions and-or intentions provide the heart of the film's narrative,'' according to a news release Wednesday from AFI, whose annual lists have become hot topics for movie buffs.

The list of 100 best romances will be unveiled in a CBS special in June. Among the 400 nominees that voters can choose from are: Casablanca Gone With the Wind My Fair Lady From Here to Eternity Lady and the Tramp The Great Gatsby Moonstruck and, fittingly, Love Story

Also included are dark love tales such as: Leaving Las Vegas Last Tango in Paris Fatal Attraction Harold and Maude and The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Voters can write in up to five choices not included on the nomination list. Previous lists included the 100 best American films, led by `"Citizen Kane"; the greatest 25 male and female movie legends, topped by Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn; 100 funniest movies, with "Some Like It Hot" at No. 1; and 100 best heart-pounders, led by "Psycho."

"We are now more than ever reminded that the movies tell stories that move us and bring us together," said Jean Picker Firstenberg, the institute's director, adding that the group picked the theme before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

"And though the lovers on screen may end up apart when the lights come up, we the movie lovers remain bound by their emotional journey."