Reviews Wanted: 10 Thing I Hate About You and 200 Cigarettes
10-10-99, 12:33 PM
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Let me just say that it took a lot of effort to keep watching 200 Cigarettes. What an awful movie.
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10-10-99, 05:29 PM
#3
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I've have heard terrible things about "200 Cigarettes" and, frankly, it looks pretty awful. Still, it does have Elvis Costello in it. As a huge fan of his music, I'm still tempted to rent it. Hell! I even saw "Spice World" just to catch Elvis's cameo....but let us never speak of that again.
jim
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jim
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10-10-99, 06:36 PM
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I have yet to see either of these films, but will be receiving copies of both this week (probably Tuesday) and will give you my thoughts on them then.
There has to be someone out there who can comment on "200 Cigarettes" (the DVD itself, I mean).
--Heather
There has to be someone out there who can comment on "200 Cigarettes" (the DVD itself, I mean).
--Heather
10-11-99, 07:18 PM
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Okay, I watched "10 Things I Hate About You" this afternoon, so here are my thoughts on it after one viewing (I usually watch a disc twice before writing a review).
The Movie: One of the more enjoyable teen comedies I've seen in the past two years or so. A moderately literate (which still places it above most other teen takes on classic literature) modernized version of "The Taming of the Shrew," it boasts a largely competent cast. Larry Miller is especially amusing as the father of high school senior Kat and her sophomore sister, Bianca. For those of you who don't know the premise, Bianca cannot date until antisocial Kat dates, so Bianca's suitors get the token school bad boy to court studious Kat. Pretty predictable plot.
Image Quality: The film is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1. The transfer is excellent. During some outdoor shots, particularly those early in the film, the colors are a tad softer than they are otherwise. There was also some shimmering when a thatched roof was briefly shown, but all in all the transfer is sharply detailed and I thought looked very nice.
Audio Quality: There is a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, but I haven't listened to it yet. When I watched it early I listened to the 2 channel soundtrack. It was very clean, the dialogue was all understandable and the music sounded pleasing--not too soft or too loud.
Extra Features: Buena Vista considers a French language track, 5.1 audio and widescreen presentation extra features. Aside from that, there is closed captioning and a full-frame theatrical trailer.
My Thoughts: If you are in the mood for a breezy teen romantic comedy, I'd recommend this over any of its recent counterparts. However, if you haven't seen many similar films and thus don't know what to expect (some lame dialogue, a horny school counselor and foul-mouthed teacher, etc.) you should definitely rent before buying. If you enjoyed it at the theaters (or are just determined to see it) and are thinking of pre-ordering it, do it now (it is released tomorrow) and use a coupon, otherwise you may feel ripped off by the lack of extras.
--Heather
The Movie: One of the more enjoyable teen comedies I've seen in the past two years or so. A moderately literate (which still places it above most other teen takes on classic literature) modernized version of "The Taming of the Shrew," it boasts a largely competent cast. Larry Miller is especially amusing as the father of high school senior Kat and her sophomore sister, Bianca. For those of you who don't know the premise, Bianca cannot date until antisocial Kat dates, so Bianca's suitors get the token school bad boy to court studious Kat. Pretty predictable plot.
Image Quality: The film is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1. The transfer is excellent. During some outdoor shots, particularly those early in the film, the colors are a tad softer than they are otherwise. There was also some shimmering when a thatched roof was briefly shown, but all in all the transfer is sharply detailed and I thought looked very nice.
Audio Quality: There is a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, but I haven't listened to it yet. When I watched it early I listened to the 2 channel soundtrack. It was very clean, the dialogue was all understandable and the music sounded pleasing--not too soft or too loud.
Extra Features: Buena Vista considers a French language track, 5.1 audio and widescreen presentation extra features. Aside from that, there is closed captioning and a full-frame theatrical trailer.
My Thoughts: If you are in the mood for a breezy teen romantic comedy, I'd recommend this over any of its recent counterparts. However, if you haven't seen many similar films and thus don't know what to expect (some lame dialogue, a horny school counselor and foul-mouthed teacher, etc.) you should definitely rent before buying. If you enjoyed it at the theaters (or are just determined to see it) and are thinking of pre-ordering it, do it now (it is released tomorrow) and use a coupon, otherwise you may feel ripped off by the lack of extras.
--Heather
10-11-99, 08:55 PM
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THanks for the review DVDer. It convinced me it would probably be a movie I would like so I got it.
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10-15-99, 08:43 AM
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The only scenes I really enjoyed in "200 Cigarettes" were with Martha Plimpton as the woman obsessed with her New Years Eve party--she was hilarious. Courtney Love was good also.
10-15-99, 10:43 AM
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I watched "10 Things I Hate About You" last night. The picture is certainly clear and colors are enjoyable, but I found the shimmering to be irritating. Very nice audio with great sounding rock tunes.
"200 Cigarettes" is awful. Plain and simple. Nice image quality, but awful movie.
If you would like to read my reviews, visit my site:A Guide To Current DVD
"200 Cigarettes" is awful. Plain and simple. Nice image quality, but awful movie.
If you would like to read my reviews, visit my site:A Guide To Current DVD
10-22-99, 05:51 PM
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I finally watched "200 Cigarettes," and wasn't that impressed.
The Movie: It's New Years Eve in 1981, and on their way to the same party, various characters (teens and 20-somethings) experience discourse in their romantic lives. I watched this a few nights ago and have already forgotten most of it. Here is my brief criticism: Bad script, aimless direction, bad cinematography, and way too little character development. The large ensemble cast, including Courtney Love, Paul Rudd, Christina Ricci, Ben Affleck, Casey Affleck, Kate Hudson, Jay Mohr, Janeane Garafolo and Martha Plimpton stand around without much to do. The only characters I was interested by were those portrayed by Love and Rudd. She kept my attention; his character's mannerisms became obnoxious after a while.
Image Quality: Good image quality. The colors are all solid and the picture is well-defined, but this isn't a movie that is fun to look at. The cinematography, as noted above, isn't very good. At least the disc looks nice.
Audio Quality: "200 Cigarettes" doesn't have the type of 80s soundtrack as "The Wedding Singer." Too many songs are thrown into the mix. I listed to this 2-channel and was neither impressed nor disappointed. Everything was audible.
Extra Featires: None to speak of. Not even a trailer.
My Thoughs: A few funny moments, most of which arrive at the film's ending and involve Elvis Costello, who is seen for like a nanosecond and then shown in polaroids. I can't recommend buying this featureless DVD, and the movie itself is so forgettable I can only recommend a rental if you're still interested in seeing it.
--Heather
The Movie: It's New Years Eve in 1981, and on their way to the same party, various characters (teens and 20-somethings) experience discourse in their romantic lives. I watched this a few nights ago and have already forgotten most of it. Here is my brief criticism: Bad script, aimless direction, bad cinematography, and way too little character development. The large ensemble cast, including Courtney Love, Paul Rudd, Christina Ricci, Ben Affleck, Casey Affleck, Kate Hudson, Jay Mohr, Janeane Garafolo and Martha Plimpton stand around without much to do. The only characters I was interested by were those portrayed by Love and Rudd. She kept my attention; his character's mannerisms became obnoxious after a while.
Image Quality: Good image quality. The colors are all solid and the picture is well-defined, but this isn't a movie that is fun to look at. The cinematography, as noted above, isn't very good. At least the disc looks nice.
Audio Quality: "200 Cigarettes" doesn't have the type of 80s soundtrack as "The Wedding Singer." Too many songs are thrown into the mix. I listed to this 2-channel and was neither impressed nor disappointed. Everything was audible.
Extra Featires: None to speak of. Not even a trailer.
My Thoughs: A few funny moments, most of which arrive at the film's ending and involve Elvis Costello, who is seen for like a nanosecond and then shown in polaroids. I can't recommend buying this featureless DVD, and the movie itself is so forgettable I can only recommend a rental if you're still interested in seeing it.
--Heather
10-22-99, 06:01 PM
#11
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200 Cigarettes was kind of like a soap opera for M-TV. There were over a dozen main characters all sharing screen time, so character development wasn't part of the plan. You just got snippets of each character during a brief 6 hour New Years Eve evening. Very, very little of any character's past history was made known.
I'd agree with LiquidSky, in that Martha Plimpton's character was funny and one of my favorites. Courtney Love may have done the best job of the entire cast. No wait, Elvis Costello...
Rent before buying!
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I'd agree with LiquidSky, in that Martha Plimpton's character was funny and one of my favorites. Courtney Love may have done the best job of the entire cast. No wait, Elvis Costello...
Rent before buying!
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Stephen Ansley ---- Arlington, VA
>My home page< - >My DVD list<
Marine Corps Marathon -- Oct 24
NY Mets - Thanks for a great year
10-23-99, 11:56 AM
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I watched 10 Things for a second time already last night. Very entertaining teen film. The DVD certainly lacked any extras but at least they had some hilarious outtakes during the end credits. 
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10-27-99, 07:07 PM
#13
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I rented '10 Things' for my wife the day it came out on VHS. She wasn't even interested in me renting it, but she watched it, and watched it, and watched it, and watched it.
4 times! So I thought I'd buy it on VHS for her. I searched the on-line sites and found it for $100 on VHS but only $20 on DVD.
This movie gave me the leverage I needed to justify buying a DVD player.
I order the DVD player and the movie on October 14, and now I have (or have ordered) 19 DVDs.
I really loved the film, too, (and I regulary don't like chick flicks), but it got me my player!
It was my first experience watching a DVD, and all I could say was the quality was great, the sound was wonderful, the colors were sharp and vibrant... and I love the scene selection and special features.
I don't know if I'll buy a VHS movie again.
(Well, maybe except for EPISODE 1 TPM. Darn that Lucas!)
[This message has been edited by Goldberg74 (edited 10-27-1999).]
4 times! So I thought I'd buy it on VHS for her. I searched the on-line sites and found it for $100 on VHS but only $20 on DVD.
This movie gave me the leverage I needed to justify buying a DVD player.
I order the DVD player and the movie on October 14, and now I have (or have ordered) 19 DVDs.
I really loved the film, too, (and I regulary don't like chick flicks), but it got me my player!
It was my first experience watching a DVD, and all I could say was the quality was great, the sound was wonderful, the colors were sharp and vibrant... and I love the scene selection and special features.
I don't know if I'll buy a VHS movie again.
(Well, maybe except for EPISODE 1 TPM. Darn that Lucas!)
[This message has been edited by Goldberg74 (edited 10-27-1999).]
