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Conference bookie::movies

Title:Movie Reviews and Discussion
Notice:Please do DIR/TITLE before starting a new topic on a movie!
Moderator:VAXCPU::michaudo.dec.com::tamara::eppes
Created:Thu Jan 28 1993
Last Modified:Thu Jun 05 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:1249
Total number of notes:16012

917.0. "Joe Versus the Volcano" by NEWVAX::BUCHMAN (UNIX refugee in a VMS world) Wed Aug 23 1995 13:38

    I'd better Do The "Write" Thing and open a note for this movie;
    continued from 3.17.
    
> 	Now hold on!  Art is in the eye of the beholder!  This film is one
> of my all time favorites (along with Better Off Dead)!
> Barb
    
    Everyone has his/her taste, and this one was not entirely to mine.
    There were a bunch of interesting points about this movie, enough that
    it does not qualify as a total forgetter. A couple more things I found
    intriguing were:
    
    - the cinematography of the opening shot, VERY reminiscient of 1984 or
    Brazil. They don't follow up much on this theme, though.
    
    - the brief description of the islanders being a mixture of Roman and
    ancient Druid settlers, mixed with Pacific islanders. Granted the
    improbability of such a mix, it would have been fun to explore just how
    those cultural backgrounds had evolved and interacted. They didn't
    follow this up much either.
    
    Totally lame: the ending. It was just slapped on there, as if the
    scriptwriter had run out of ideas and stopped writing at that point.
    
    So there were a couple good ideas, but no cohesiveness or flow to the
    movie. Splash and Big are far, far better.
    			As always, IMHO,
    				Jim
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917.1What's this Tom Hanks movie? (moved from note 3)PACKED::ALLENChristopher Allen, DECladebug, ZKO 381-0864Fri Aug 18 1995 16:2916
We saw a movie on TV over last weekend, but came in in the middle and didn't get
a chance to get the title.  Anyone know this one?

Starring Tom Hanks: he's a hypochondriac, diagnosed by a doctor (Robert Stack)
as having a "brain cloud", a terminal disease.  A rich tycoon (Lloyd Bridges)
next convinces him to go jump into a live volcano on a South Pacific island, all
expenses paid.  This is to placate the volcano god of that island for the
natives' sake, and so that the tycoon will then have access to a rare mineral
only found on that island.  Hanks meets the tycoon's daughters on the way and
marries one of them just before jumping into the volcano.

It's a silly movie, but we would still like to know its title.  Thanks for any
help!

-Chris

917.2no - it is "Joe Versus the Volcano" - from the WWW (moved from note 3)AIAG::WEISSMANFri Aug 18 1995 17:5671
Joe Versus the Volcano (1990)

USA 1990

      
5.5/10 (265 votes)

Produced by: Warner Brothers 
Sound Mix: Dolby Stereo. 
Genre(s): Comedy fantasy surreal satire romance 
Certificate(s): USA:PG 

Color. 

Running time: USA:97

Directed by 
   Patrick Shanley 
Cast in alphabetical order. 
   Lloyd Bridges ......Samuel Harvey Graynamore;
   David Burton (II) ......Mike
   Ossie Davis ......Marshall
   Brian Esteban ......Emi (Waponi lookout);
   Tom Franco ......Spanish singer;
   Antoni Gatti ......Italian tailor;
   Courtney Gibbs ......saleswoman at Hammacher Schlemmer
   Guillermo Guzman ......Spanish singer;
   Tom Hanks ......Joe Banks
   Jayne Haynes ......Nurse
   Dan Hedaya ......Mr. Frank Watori;
   Jim Hudson ......Fred (Guard)
   Nathan Lane ......Ben, the Waponi Advance Man
   Lisa Le Blanc ......hairdressor (Cassi Sommeretti)
   Barry McGovern ......Luggage Salesman
   Amanda Plummer ......Dagmar
   Joe Pochran ......Tony
   Wally Ruiz ......Spanish singer;
   Karl Rumburg ......Ralph;
   Jim Ryan ......Bellman
   Meg Ryan ......DeDe/Angelica/Patricia
   Tony Salome ......Clerk (at tje Rectal Probe Company);
   Lala Sloatman ......Waitress
   Robert Stack ......Dr. Ellison
   Jennifer Stewart ......Statue of Liberty
   Paul Michael Thorpe ......the (Waponi) God Woo
   Abe Vigoda ......Waponis Chief
   William Wand ......Salesman (Hammacher Schlemmer);
   Darrell Zwerling ......Underwear Salesman
Cinematography by 
   Stephen Goldblatt 
Music by 
   Georges Delerue 
   Peter Gordon 
Written by 
   Patrick Shanley 
Production designed by 
   Robert W. Welch 
Costume design by 
   Colleen Atwood 
   Bob Chase 
   Sue Moore (II) 
Edited by 
   Richard Halsey 
   Kenneth Wannberg 
Produced by 
   Frank Marshall 
Also 
   Ian Bruce (unit production manager)
   Alan Edmisten (second assistant director)
   William M. Elvin (first assistant director)

917.3much ado about little (moved from note 3)NEWVAX::BUCHMANUNIX refugee in a VMS worldMon Aug 21 1995 13:577
    An awful lot of notes for a movie which I'll bet Tom Hanks wishes he
    could forget! On the whole muddled and misdirected, but it did have its
    bright spots. Meg Ryan played three very different characters, and
    played them as well as the script would let her. The luggage salesman
    was absolutely wonderful--a command performace! And, being a sailor, I
    liked the boat...
    			Jim
917.4I love this film! (moved from note 3)DRAGNS::ALTMANBARBWed Aug 23 1995 09:055
re .16:

	Now hold on!  Art is in the eye of the beholder!  This film is one
of my all time favorites (along with Better Off Dead)!
Barb
917.5Notes movedKOLFAX::WIEGLEBHorses are fine, so are booksWed Aug 23 1995 22:224
    The "Joe..." notes have been moved from 3.* to here, hence some
    confusion re: references to reply numbers.
    
    - Dave, yer co-mod
917.6SUFRNG::WSA038::SATTERFIELDClose enough for jazz.Thu Sep 21 1995 20:5226

This is one of my favorite films. Now I know that statement is easy to discount,
after all everyone has a opinion just like a certain body part and we've all
heard more than once someone naming a film that's utter crap as one of thier
favorites. But I do have some background in film studies as well as a home
theatre with over a thousand laserdiscs and thousands of tapes as well as a
film library of hundreds of books. With all that said I could still have lousy
taste. To put it in perspective some of my other favorites are _Wuthering
Heights_ ('39), _The Best Years of Our Lives_, _Seven Samurai_, _The Abyss_,
_The Searchers_, _Out of the Past_, etc.

Now the reason I felt compelled to give the above background after saying how
much I like JVTV is that most people have a very low opinion of it. I felt
the same way the base noter does the first time I saw it, that it has some
great parts but they don't hang together well and it has a terrible ending.
Well, after my second viewing I began to see the light and have seen more and
more with my many subsequent viewings. There's a lot going on in this film
that doesn't really jump out at you unless you see it more than once. It's
rich in metaphor and has a deep emotional underpinning that is very touching.
If you want more detail I'd suggest reading the FAQ in the internet notesfile
(yes it has it's own notesfile, very rare for a film), I don't remember the
address, I'll enter it later. This is becoming something of a cult film.


Randy
917.7Not embarassed to say - a GREAT flickWONDER::REILLYSean / Alpha Servers DTN:223-4375Tue Sep 22 1992 19:3129
    
    This is one of my favorite films.  I think there is a lot more there
    than people are giving it credit for.  
    
    I also think that a lot of the flack this movie has gotten is due to bad 
    marketing - this *never* should have been marketed as a comedy the way it 
    was.  You'd think you were getting "Ace Ventura."
    
    It was a subtle movie, with a lot of underlying, if simple, themes
    about enjoying what time we have on earth.
    
    One strength of the movie, though, is the quirky characters, all very
    well acted.  Joe's boss ("I'm not arguing about that!"), Lloyd Bridges'
    character, the trunk salesman, etc.
    
    Another treat was the film's treatment of atmosphere.  If Joe's office
    with the brain-searing flourescent light didn't depress you, nothing
    would.  Watching the symbolism around the lightning bolt was important.
    
    I first saw this on red-eye back to MA for CA.  I NEVER would have gone
    or rented it based on the reviews.  That's why you gotta watch out for
    reviews - maybe you'll find the one movie that you and nobody else in
    the world liked.  
    
    - Sean
    
    I should add that the classic cover of "16 tons" by Iggy Pop was a
    clutch opening.
    
917.8SUFRNG::WSA038::SATTERFIELDClose enough for jazz.Mon Sep 25 1995 15:027


fwiw -- The internet address is alt.movies.joe-vs-volcano.


Randy
917.9I liked it.CLARID::LEBIDOISWed Sep 27 1995 08:3716
    They just showed this movie on local French TV here.
    
    I was so suprised to see Tom Hanks in this "type" of movie. Mesmorized,
    I watched the whole thing. At the end, I was sad that it was over and
    had a hard time making up my mind whether I liked it or hated it.
    
    I liked it!
    
    I then got so enthused about it that I though I would check the
    movie notesfile to see if anyone else had thoughts on this flick.
    Surprisingly, I found this recent one! What a coincidence!
    
    Great movie!
    
    Gen
    
917.10NETRIX::michaudMeg RyanWed Sep 27 1995 10:575
	This is the only film I ever recall seeing with one of my
	grandmothers at a movie theatre.  She actually nodded off
	during this film!

	I too also liked this film overall, but it was *slow* moving ....