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| Dvdivas
was founded by John Gabbard in 2000. It's purpose has been and
remains to be to provide you, the entertainment community with
the latest dvds and movie reviews. It will continue to be your
link to the most popular dvd movies. |
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“The Terminal”
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Reviewed
by: |
Wayne A. Klein |
| Genre: |
Drama |
| Video: |
2.35:1 Anamorphic
widescreen and full screen edition 1.33:1 |
| Audio: |
Dolby Digital
5.1 |
| Languages |
English |
| Subtitles |
English |
| Length |
128 minutes
|
| Rating |
PG-13 |
| Release Date |
11/23/04
|
| Studio |
Universal/Dreamworks
|
| Commentary:
|
None |
| Documentaries:
|
None |
| Featurettes:
|
“Booking the Flight”,
“Waiting for The Flight”, “Boarding: The People of The Terminal”,
“The Take Off: Making The Terminal”, “In Flight Service: The
Music of The Terminal”, “Landing: Airport Stories” |
| Filmography/Biography:
|
None |
|
Interviews: |
None |
| Trailers/TV
Spots: |
None |
| Alternate/Deleted
Scenes: |
None |
| Music
Video: |
None |
| Other:
|
None |
| Cast
and Crew: |
Tom Hanks,
Catherine Zeta- Jones, Stanley Tucci, Chi McBride, Diego Luna,
Barry Shabaka Henley, Kumar Palla, Zoe Saldana |
| Written
By: |
Sacha Gervasi
|
| Produced
By: |
Walter F.
Parkes, Laurie MacDonald and Steven Spielberg |
| Directed
By: |
Stephen Spielberg
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| Music:
|
John Williams
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| The
Review: |
“The Terminal” seems like it’s stuck
between flights. Just when it appears that it’s going somewhere,
someone changes the arrival time and gate. Steven Spielberg’s
latest film isn’t a failure just something of a disappointment
given some of his superior films over the past decade. While
it isn’t a complete disaster, it is far from Spielberg’s best
film. Tom Hanks is at his most engaging and charming as a
man who arrives at JFK Airport only to discover he’s become
a man without a country when politics overtakes humanity.
---
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| Image
and Sound: |
Not surprisingly
this among the better looking DVDs out there. With sharp, crisp
images, blacks that would do the night sky proud and vivid colors,
“The Terminal” has all the right looks but not quite enough
substance. One of Spielberg’s weaknesses as a film director
has been his tendency to indulge in easy sentimentality. “The
Terminal” shares this flaw to a lesser degree than other Spielberg
films and the winning performances by Tucci, Hanks and Zeta-Jones
overcomes this obstacle somewhat. Unfortunately, “The Terminal”
is more cream filling than charbroiled steak. The crisp, well
rounded 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround mix is slightly inferior
to the DTS mix. The latter sounds warmer with as much detail
with better presence and depth. --- |
| The
Extras: |
“The Terminal”
doesn’t quite make take off speed with its bevy of features.
There are a number of fascinating featurettes on the making
of the film but the featurettes once again favor style over
substance. We find out more about the making of the film and
less about the drama itself. Sure Spielberg pontificates about
the important themes but no one really bothers to examine
what all of this really means. I didn’t expect enlightenment
but I did expect something more than featurettes about the
nuts and bolts of the film. ---
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| Commentary:
|
Forever shy
of the mic, Spielberg tends to favor silence. Perhaps its his
fear that we’ll find out that there’s less “THERE there” or,
perhaps, it’s just his inability to truly articulate the greater
themes that inform his films. Either way, we’re once again stuck
without a departure time when it comes to the commentary track.
--- |
| Final
Words: |
“The Terminal”
isn’t one of Spielberg’s best films nor is it one of his worst.
Like many of the films he made after “Schindler’s List” it treads
water. It’s a pity as the material certainly had potential and
with such a knock out cast, one would hope that the material
would match their strong performances. Such is not the case
here as the actors perform without the net of a strong story
lacking nuance to support them. |
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