skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Buy Cheap Fierce People 
Buy Low Price From Here Now Readmore Technical Details
See more technical details
"Starts very strong, but degenerates into shlock" 2009-08-26
By Robert J. Crawford (Balmette Talloires, France)
This film fails to live up to its potential. In the beginning, you see a vivid portrait of a life unravelling in addiction and emotional neglect. The son, Finn, was planing to work with his father (whose only contact with him is through the films he made) in the Amazon rain forest, with the "fierce people" of the title. Unfortunately, while scoring coke for his mom, he is busted and cannot go. This is a shock to his mother, who decides to turn her life around and become a better mother.
They wind up, improbably, in the massive estate of Osborne, many of whose children and grandchildren have the run of his 10-mile square New Jersey estate. Beyond the mother's sobering up and quitting coke, played wonderfully by Lane, there are some very interesting subplots: Finn develops a wonderfully believable relationship with Osborne, who mentors him in some vital life lessons. Sutherland was never better, as a quirky and warm man who cares and yet is also very tough. Ruler of the roost, he hopes to create a better world somehow, in his private kingdom. Finn also studies his father's films, which provide a wonderful sub-narrative to his observations of the huge family culture he is observing. Finally, he mingles with the locals and to a degree is accepted by them, though remains fully aware that he can never be one of them.
Unfortunately, the film unravels with Finn's relationships with Osborne's grandchildren. He finds a beautiful, sensitive girl of course, and their path is ridiculously predictable, if occasionally poignant. While Kristen Stewart succeeds in evoking some of the psychological trouble that underlies her character, the character is essentially a cute stick figure. Finn also becomes friends with the outgoing though mysterious grandson, whose evolution is also a bit far fetched and laughably melodramatic. Then the plot thickens in a ruinous direction, which I do not want to spoil for others, and ends sentimentally if tragically. If the film had ended 2/3 of the way through, it would easily have gotten 5 stars.
Recommended with these caveats. The acting in my viewing is far better than average, but the script in the end is weak.
"Aimless yet exquisite" 2009-06-13
By Roland
It is easy not to like "Fierce People". For starters, it doesn't know what it wants to be. The first 3/5 are some sort of a "Coming of Age story meets Robert Altman" kind of deal, and then it gets dark, really dark, and turns into a very dark Coming of Age story. The movie is unsure which one it really wishes to be, and none of those themes are fully realized.
And yet the five stars, yes. There are two reasons for this.
The first one is that "Fierce People" doesn't deserve a three-star rating. It deserves at least four.
The second are the leading cast. Diane Lane and Donald Sutherland are superb, even if they don't really have much to play. Anton Yelchin is the true star of the movie and - just like anything else he's been in - he does a wonderful job. His character Finn is smart and naive, lively and contemplative, and also sort of dense. That is, until he is forced to grow up fast and deal with a trauma that could haunt him for life if he lets it. Yelchin has some really tough dramatic moments to pull through, and he is brilliant in them.
There is a certain subtlety in the movie. You can't really say it tries to *tell* you anything, but it is not empty either. This is where the "Robert Altman" part kicks in, and even if "Fierce People" is not on this level, it still manages to speak without saying things outright. It has its flaws, and this lack of clarity is a deffinite one in the end, but it's far from stupid. Like I said at the beginning, the movie is unsure of what it is trying to be, but what it ends up being, is good enough, and the acting is amazing.
If that is enough for you, go ahead.
Oh, and the cover is ridiculous. It makes "Fierce People" look like a romantic comedy. It's not. It's anything but romantic comedy.
"Not what I expected" 2009-05-18
By Kelly McGee
My enthusiasm for anthropology had me expecting a more in-depth application of the discipline; instead we get more of a coming of age story. Not bad though.
"fierce people, not so fierce movie" 2009-03-24
By astrorev (Sacramento, CA USA)
This is an uneven film. The first half is pleasant enough, but the plot develops so slowly as to go virtually nowhere. Then the movie takes a sudden dark turn, and though it held my attention from here out, it seemed too different, almost like watching a separate movie. The film has some fine moments of insights and sentiments, and it also contains moments that feel contrived and forced. High caliber actors did their usual fine job, but most of the characters are presented superficially. The attempt to draw parallels to an indigenous South American tribe with the assembled characters is marginal at best. This is a mixed movie for me; two and a half stars right down the middle, but not a twinkle more; they could have and should have done a better job.
"Provocative but lacking credibility" 2008-12-27
By Sigrid Macdonald (Ottawa)
I quite liked this movie about a young boy and his drug addict mother who are befriended by one of the seven wealthiest men in the nation (Donald Sutherland). Finn (Anton Yelchin, a wonderful actor who I've loved in everything that I've ever seen him in, starting with Huff and moving on to House of D) and his mother, played by Diane Lane, leave the jungle of New York to go to the seeming tranquility of a massive palatial estate in New Jersey for the summer.
Initially, Finn is disappointed because he had wanted to spend the summer with his elusive father, an anthropologist studying tribal behavior in South America, whom Finn has never met. But he soon warms to the scenery when he meets young Maya, the granddaughter of the multi billionaire patriarch.
Basically, the movie draws a parallel between the tribe that Finn's father has studied and the actions of the rich and callous. In polite society, it's hard for Finn to know who his friends really are, and one person is as vicious and savage as one could possibly imagine.
It's some of those particularly brutal scenes that I found implausible based on the simple story of poor boy meets rich girl. However, the acting by Sutherland and Yelchin is great and I liked the movie altogether, although it was a bit disjointed, hard to follow at times and the ending was predictable.
Images Product
Buy Fierce People Now
Buy Cheap Fierce People
Buy Low Price From Here Now Readmore Technical Details
See more technical details
"Starts very strong, but degenerates into shlock" 2009-08-26
By Robert J. Crawford (Balmette Talloires, France)
This film fails to live up to its potential. In the beginning, you see a vivid portrait of a life unravelling in addiction and emotional neglect. The son, Finn, was planing to work with his father (whose only contact with him is through the films he made) in the Amazon rain forest, with the "fierce people" of the title. Unfortunately, while scoring coke for his mom, he is busted and cannot go. This is a shock to his mother, who decides to turn her life around and become a better mother.
They wind up, improbably, in the massive estate of Osborne, many of whose children and grandchildren have the run of his 10-mile square New Jersey estate. Beyond the mother's sobering up and quitting coke, played wonderfully by Lane, there are some very interesting subplots: Finn develops a wonderfully believable relationship with Osborne, who mentors him in some vital life lessons. Sutherland was never better, as a quirky and warm man who cares and yet is also very tough. Ruler of the roost, he hopes to create a better world somehow, in his private kingdom. Finn also studies his father's films, which provide a wonderful sub-narrative to his observations of the huge family culture he is observing. Finally, he mingles with the locals and to a degree is accepted by them, though remains fully aware that he can never be one of them.
Unfortunately, the film unravels with Finn's relationships with Osborne's grandchildren. He finds a beautiful, sensitive girl of course, and their path is ridiculously predictable, if occasionally poignant. While Kristen Stewart succeeds in evoking some of the psychological trouble that underlies her character, the character is essentially a cute stick figure. Finn also becomes friends with the outgoing though mysterious grandson, whose evolution is also a bit far fetched and laughably melodramatic. Then the plot thickens in a ruinous direction, which I do not want to spoil for others, and ends sentimentally if tragically. If the film had ended 2/3 of the way through, it would easily have gotten 5 stars.
Recommended with these caveats. The acting in my viewing is far better than average, but the script in the end is weak.
"Aimless yet exquisite" 2009-06-13
By Roland
It is easy not to like "Fierce People". For starters, it doesn't know what it wants to be. The first 3/5 are some sort of a "Coming of Age story meets Robert Altman" kind of deal, and then it gets dark, really dark, and turns into a very dark Coming of Age story. The movie is unsure which one it really wishes to be, and none of those themes are fully realized.
And yet the five stars, yes. There are two reasons for this.
The first one is that "Fierce People" doesn't deserve a three-star rating. It deserves at least four.
The second are the leading cast. Diane Lane and Donald Sutherland are superb, even if they don't really have much to play. Anton Yelchin is the true star of the movie and - just like anything else he's been in - he does a wonderful job. His character Finn is smart and naive, lively and contemplative, and also sort of dense. That is, until he is forced to grow up fast and deal with a trauma that could haunt him for life if he lets it. Yelchin has some really tough dramatic moments to pull through, and he is brilliant in them.
There is a certain subtlety in the movie. You can't really say it tries to *tell* you anything, but it is not empty either. This is where the "Robert Altman" part kicks in, and even if "Fierce People" is not on this level, it still manages to speak without saying things outright. It has its flaws, and this lack of clarity is a deffinite one in the end, but it's far from stupid. Like I said at the beginning, the movie is unsure of what it is trying to be, but what it ends up being, is good enough, and the acting is amazing.
If that is enough for you, go ahead.
Oh, and the cover is ridiculous. It makes "Fierce People" look like a romantic comedy. It's not. It's anything but romantic comedy.
"Not what I expected" 2009-05-18
By Kelly McGee
My enthusiasm for anthropology had me expecting a more in-depth application of the discipline; instead we get more of a coming of age story. Not bad though.
"fierce people, not so fierce movie" 2009-03-24
By astrorev (Sacramento, CA USA)
This is an uneven film. The first half is pleasant enough, but the plot develops so slowly as to go virtually nowhere. Then the movie takes a sudden dark turn, and though it held my attention from here out, it seemed too different, almost like watching a separate movie. The film has some fine moments of insights and sentiments, and it also contains moments that feel contrived and forced. High caliber actors did their usual fine job, but most of the characters are presented superficially. The attempt to draw parallels to an indigenous South American tribe with the assembled characters is marginal at best. This is a mixed movie for me; two and a half stars right down the middle, but not a twinkle more; they could have and should have done a better job.
"Provocative but lacking credibility" 2008-12-27
By Sigrid Macdonald (Ottawa)
I quite liked this movie about a young boy and his drug addict mother who are befriended by one of the seven wealthiest men in the nation (Donald Sutherland). Finn (Anton Yelchin, a wonderful actor who I've loved in everything that I've ever seen him in, starting with Huff and moving on to House of D) and his mother, played by Diane Lane, leave the jungle of New York to go to the seeming tranquility of a massive palatial estate in New Jersey for the summer.
Initially, Finn is disappointed because he had wanted to spend the summer with his elusive father, an anthropologist studying tribal behavior in South America, whom Finn has never met. But he soon warms to the scenery when he meets young Maya, the granddaughter of the multi billionaire patriarch.
Basically, the movie draws a parallel between the tribe that Finn's father has studied and the actions of the rich and callous. In polite society, it's hard for Finn to know who his friends really are, and one person is as vicious and savage as one could possibly imagine.
It's some of those particularly brutal scenes that I found implausible based on the simple story of poor boy meets rich girl. However, the acting by Sutherland and Yelchin is great and I liked the movie altogether, although it was a bit disjointed, hard to follow at times and the ending was predictable.
Images Product
Buy Fierce People Now
Buy Cheap M.A.N.T.I.S. 
Buy Low Price From Here Now Readmore Technical Details
See more technical details
"Tall,Dark and Handsome Superhero!" 2008-12-09
By TUCKER BABY (Chicago, IL United States)
I love Carl Lumbly and will purchase any movie,series or whatever he appears in. There are only a few superheroes I'm into,and M.A.N.T.I.S is one of them. I'm looking forward to seeing all the episodes on dvd.
M.McGee in Chi-Town
"Never dreamed possible!" 2008-10-01
By William Bell III
I was in the 5th grade when this show came out. Young black kid from not so great parts of the city. And when we started watching it became an instant hit, for my entire family. Remembering what it was like to have a black superhero role model who wasn't a sidekick... it does alot for you as a kid. My cousins & I haven't spoken in years, but this might be just the thing to help!
"At Last!!" 2008-06-12
By E. Hornaday (Lawrenceville, NJ United States)
M.A.N.T.I.S. was a Classic TV Sc-Fi series on Fox from 1994 that featured a truly unique and unexpected super hero. I loved the show, but have a hard time arguing with folks who complain it was really cheesy. In my defense, it was huge FUN and that allowed me to ignore its obvious flaws and thoroughly enjoy the series.
Originally airing on Fox, it premiered on Aug. 26, 1994. It was cancelled the following year, but its final unaired episodes were shown for the first time in 1997 on the Sc-Fi Network, which was airing repeats of the entire series.
Quiet, brilliant Dr. Miles Hawkins, portrayed by Carl Lumbly (best known from roles in Alias and Cagney & Lacey), became an unexpected crime fighter. Hawkins was a scientist/inventor with a thirst for justice who could not walk after a robber's bullet left him paralyzed and also cost him his family.
Hawkins invented a shell in which he could overcome his disability and free him from his wheelchair. In effect, the suit, a metal exoskeleton, provides superhuman abilities that ultimate serves to bring out Hawkins' alter ego.
What Hawkins' invented was a "harness" from cutting-edge technology equipped with headgear allowing transmitters in his brain to bypass his damaged spine. Translation: he can walk again and more - he unexpectedly finds that in the suit he has increased strength, speed and agility.
With help from his invention, the Mechanically Augmented Neuro Transmitter System (M.A.N.T.I.S.) and a few supportive colleagues, he decides to fight the criminals that the police could not find. At first a reluctant hero, Hawkins is drawn into the world of fighting crime because the violence that turned his life upside-down is doing the same to the world around him. While in the harness and headset, he assumes the identity of the Mantis believing it is the only way that he is able to fight back.
"This is the scientific journal of Dr. Miles Hawkins, to be published in the event of my death. I know when the truth is known, people will wonder why I felt it necessary to create the `M.A.N.T.I.S.' The reality - I never did. The M.A.N.T.I.S. asked his own creation and I could not refuse him."
Like any vigilante, the police want him brought to justice because he's taking the law into his own hands and making them look bad; the news media wants to expose his true identity; and criminals want him eliminated because he's bad for business. The series takes place in a huge, dark and brooding megalopolis on the West Coast in the present. Its locational ambiguity is meant to suggest that this unusual hero could be in YOUR neighborhood tonight.
M.A.N.T.I.S. was produced by the creators of The Evil Dead and Army of Darkness. Also starring Bobby Hosea (Independence Day) and Gina Torres (Angel, Firefly, Serenity), this action-packed series broke new ground with TV's first African-American superhero. The show became an instant cult favorite, and DVD boxed from Image Entertainment is the first release of this show in any format. It's impending DVD release has been more than eagerly anticipated by its legion of fans.
The boxed set includes the feature-length pilot telefilm from January 1994 and then the 20 aired episodes, and the two unaired episodes which finally made their broadcast debut in 1997 in reruns on the Sci Fi Channel.
Sam Raimi exec produced this show almost a decade before helming the first movie in the Spider-Man film trilogy. Among the guest stars here - both single-appearance and recurring - were Don S. Davis, David Kaye, Jerry Wasserman, Gary Graham, Teryl Rothery, Lorena Gale, John D'Aquino, and Vincent Schiavelli.
Additional cast members includes: Roger Rees, as Hawkins' friend and colleague John Stonebrake who knows his secret and assists the M.A.N.T.I.S.; Galyn Gorg, as Lt. Leora Maxwell; Christopher Gartin, as Taylor Savage; and Andrew Robinson (best known for his recurring role in Star Trek: Deep Space 9), as Solomon Box.
The following is the list of all episodes along with when they first aired, since the shows sometimes did not air regularly: Pilot (Part 1), 01/24/1994, Pilot (Part 2), 01/24/1994; First Steps, 08/26/1994; Tango Blue, 09/2/1994; Days of Rage, 09/9/1994; Cease Fire, 09/16/1994; Soldier of Misfortune, 09/23/1994; Gloves Off 09/30/1994; The Black Dragon 10/7/1994; To Prey in Darkness 10/14/1994; Fire in the Heart, 10/21/1994; Thou Shalt Not Kill (1), 11/4/1994; Revelation (2), 11/11/1994; Through the Dark Circle, 11/18/1994; The Eyes Beyond, 12/9/1994; Faces in the Mask, 12/16/1994; The Sea Wasp, 1/6/1995; Progenitor, 1/20/1995; Switches, 1/27/1995; The Delusionist, 2/10/1995; and Fast Forward, 2/17/1995, and Spider in the Tower, 3/3/1995. The last two episodes of the series, which never aired during the show's run, aired instead for the first time in 1997 on the SciFi Network: Ancestral Evil; and Ghost of the Ice.
"M.A.N.T.I.S. preying for a comeback!" 2008-06-10
By L. Brown (California)
I loved this show from its inception. I am not sure if this love origniated from my longing to see a black superhero or for the sheer fact that his character was a gentle kind and loving man who defied his disability and happened to be black. I admit that the insect theme was initially hard to swallow even as a child, but then I rememember SPIDERman, BATman, the thunderCATS, Gargoyles, mightyMOUSE and that thrilling and grotesque movie called "The FLY" and decided that I loved them so there was room for him too!! I wish this selection were available in box-set. I would buy it, so that I could share the adventure that was cut short in the middle of the season with my children. They need to become aqainted with the fact that black men are heros too, in real life and on the big screen!!
Images Product
Buy M.A.N.T.I.S. Now
Posts
