List Price: $26.99 Our Price: $20.24YOU SAVE $6.75!
Buy it
DVD The Mexican
Part road movie, part romantic comedy, part thriller, and a whole lotta fun, The Mexican could get by on star power alone, but it offers Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, and a clever plot full of delightful surprises. It's a thoroughly enjoyable shaggy-dog story in which the downtrodden Jerry Welbach (Pitt) copes with a dual dilemma: his girlfriend Samantha (Roberts) has just dumped him to pursue solo ambitions in Las Vegas, and a manipulative mobster has ordered Jerry to Mexico to retrieve a coveted antique pistol (the "Mexican" of the title) that carries a legacy of legend, death, and danger. Jerry soon has his hands full with bandits, bloodshed, and a grizzly hound dog that vanishes and reappears with amusing regularity. En route to Vegas, Samantha's taken hostage by a burly assassin (James Gandolfini) who's attached to the gun-fetching scheme and is, in more ways than one, not who he seems to be.
Like a good magic act, J.H. Wyman's original screenplay distracts you from its gaps of logic, using unexpected revelations to fuel its strategic vitality. It also provides a wealth of character development, and director Gore Verbinski (Mouse Hunt) gives his stellar cast equal time to shine. It hardly matters that Pitt and Roberts spend most of the film apart; their time together is worth waiting for, and the machinations that separate them play out like a cross between vintage Peckinpah and Romancing the Stone. And why is the accursed pistola so valuable? That's just another surprise, setting the stage for the arrival of yet another big-name star, whose motivations are pure in a film full of double-crosses and darkly shaded humor. With a giddy plot like this, star power is just icing on the cake. --Jeff Shannon
Fantastic - completly different from what I had thought it would be
I completely enjoyed this movie. It was so different from how I had thought it would be, but in such an amazing way. I thought it would be some sort of hollow, all about the action and/or SEXY relationship between the two lovely stars, but it was the total opposite of that. From reading some of the other reviews, I got the idea that the reason some people didn't like this movie was because it couldn't be easily classified under romantic comedy, or action.
The thing that makes this movie so great is that it has so many elements. It's exciting and romantic. But it's not trying too hard that either get annoying. It's not just some mindless action/romantic comedy. It had plot, it had twists and turns, and it had depth. Most importantly, it had a great big dose of character development!
Parts of this movie are funny, and parts of it are a little wacky, but in the end, this movie is about people trying to get by with all the crap life has thrown at them. And the journey it wonderful.
Not a romantic comedy
If you buy or rent "The Mexican" with an expectation to see Brad and Julia together in a romantic comedy, you will be disappointed. Not only is this not a romantic comedy, but Brad and Julia are apart from one another through most of the movie.
"The Mexican" is more or less a crime comedy, like "The Whole Nine Yards" or "The Usual Suspects," among a few others in this genre. Are there flaws? You bet, but I did not let these ruin the movie for me.
"The Mexican" is hilarious. There are at least four or five scenes that are absolutley classic. Of course others may not find these scenes funny; this is rather subjective and requires a certain sense of humor. Anyway, I won't go into any details as I don't want to provide any spoilers. Besides, there are plenty of in-depth reviews here on Amazon.
In my opinion, this movie will become a cult classic in the years to come.
El-Ca-mino!!
Interesting, But Not Great
Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts in their first film together! It will be the Romance of the Century. Well, no. The makers of "The Mexican" have created a film in which the two leads spend the majority of the film apart. Folly? Well, no.
Jerry (Pitt) is a low-level errand boy for some local gangsters. He promises his self-help crazed girlfriend, Sam (Roberts), that he will settle down and find a respectable job, leaving that life behind. Jerry's boss has other ideas. Jerry must make one last run to pay him back for all of the jobs Jerry has screwed up. Jerry must go to Mexico to retrieve a legendary pistol called `The Mexican'. Sam is fed-up and leaves for Vegas without Jerry. Jerry heads for Mexico and runs into many complications. One of these complications is that Sam is kidnapped by Leroy (James Gandolfini), a hit man hired by Jerry's boss to babysit Sam and ensure that Jerry is successful.
"The Mexican" is essentially two road movies. The story of Jerry's trip to Mexico and Sam's trip to Vegas are told concurrently for much of the film. Each story is interesting and, at times, funny. But what these stories do is keep the two stars apart for all but about 30 minutes of the film. The two stories are well-told, but it seems odd that the two actors are apart.
The Mexican is a legendary pistol. The legend behind the firearm is told more than once, each time the legend changes. As we watch these stories unfold, sepia-toned images play out as old newsreels or home movies. This is a nice touch. As the movie tells a story that is slightly over the top, these fable segments help to ground the rest of the film.
Roberts is funny. She plays a fairly high maintenance woman. During the course of the film, she manages to make the audience care about the character. This is a real accomplishment given our initial impression of her character. Pitt is also good. A low-life but likable enough character.
James Gandolfini is superb. Leroy's job is to grab Sam and hold her as insurance. As she spouts her self-help-isms, Leroy's inner-self is drawn to her. As they become friends, his professional life begins to conflict with his personal life. As they become friends, they share personal things which surprise us and make us laugh. Leroy's character makes a major revelation and Gandolfini makes this completely believable.
"The Mexican" is not the film most people are expecting. Is that a good thing? Well, yes.
Ocean's Eleven improves on 1960's Rat Pack original with supernova casting, a slickly updated plot, and Steven Soderbergh's graceful touch behind the camera. Soderbergh reportedly relished the opportunity "to make a movie that has no desire except to give pleasure from beginning to end," and he succeeds on those terms, blessed by the casting of George Clooney as Danny Ocean, the title role originated by Frank Sinatra. Fresh out of jail, Ocean masterminds a plot to steal $163 million from the seemingly impervious vault of Las Vegas's Bellagio casino, not just for the money but to win his ex-wife (Julia Roberts) back from the casino's ruthless owner (Andy Garcia). Soderbergh doesn't scrimp on the caper's comically intricate strategy, but he finds greater joy in assembling a stellar... More Info about this DVD DVD Release Date: Released the 07 May 2002 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $14.96 Your Price: $8.88YOU SAVE $6.08!
Buy it
A thinking person's thriller, Spy Game employs dense plotting without sacrificing the kinetic momentum that is director Tony Scott's trademark. The film has the byzantine scope of a novel, focusing on veteran CIA operative Nathan Muir (Robert Redford), whose protégé Tom Bishop (Brad Pitt) is scheduled for execution in a Chinese prison. It's Muir's last day before retiring (cliché alert!), and Bishop is being deliberately sacrificed by oily CIA officials to ensure healthy trade with China. Muir has 24 hours to rescue Bishop and his perfunctory love interest (Catherine McCormack), and Spy Game connects the mentor's end-run strategy to flashbacks of his student's exploits in Berlin, Beirut, and beyond. Ambitious but emotionally bland--and not as exciting as... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Robert Redford - Brad Pitt Director(s): Tony Scott DVD Release Date: Released the 09 April 2002 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $12.98 Your Price: $7.97YOU SAVE $5.01!
Buy it
The acting was horrible. I could not follow the plot, the story line was pathetic and oh dear lord those two never ever should attempt at hillbilly accents because they suck at it. More Info about this DVD Director(s): Robert Markowitz DVD Release Date: Released the 01 August 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $7.99 Your Price: $7.99YOU SAVE $0!
Buy it
A box-office hit when released in 1994, this sprawling, frequently overwrought familial melodrama may get sillier as its plot progresses, but it's the kind of lusty, character-based epic that Hollywood should attempt more often. It's also an unabashedly flattering star vehicle for Brad Pitt as Tristan--the rebellious middle son of a fiercely independent Montana rancher and military veteran (Anthony Hopkins)--who is routinely at odds with his more responsible older brother, Alfred (Aidan Quinn), and younger brother, Samuel (Henry Thomas). From the battlefields of World War I to his adventures as an oceangoing sailor, Tristan's life is full of personal torment, especially when he returns to Montana and finds himself competing with Alfred over Samuel's beautiful widow (Julia Ormond), whose... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Brad Pitt - Anthony Hopkins - Aidan Quinn - Julia Ormond Director(s): Edward Zwick DVD Release Date: Released the 17 October 2000 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $14.94 Your Price: $8.97YOU SAVE $5.97!
Buy it
Any movie starring Brad Pitt and Harrison Ford has got to be worth seeing, right? That's as close to a guarantee as this well-meaning thriller ever gets, however, and the talents of Pitt and Ford are absolutely vital in making any sense out of this dramatically muddled scenario. Ostensibly the movie's about an IRA terrorist (Pitt) who escapes from British troops in Belfast and travels to New York City, where he stays in the home of a seasoned cop (Ford) who has no idea of the terrorist's true identity. (Why a veteran cop would host a complete stranger in his home is one of those shaky details you're better off not thinking about.) But while Pitt's passionate character waits to make an arms deal for his IRA compatriots back in Ireland, The Devil's Own conveniently avoids any... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Harrison Ford - Brad Pitt Director(s): Alan J. Pakula DVD Release Date: Released the 22 May 2001 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $14.94 Your Price: $13.45YOU SAVE $1.49!
Buy it
