From the director of Mission: Impossible comes the thrilling, eye-popping science-fiction adventure Mission to Mars - starring Gary Sinise (Snake Eyes) and Tim Robbins (Austin Powers: The Spy Who Loved Me). The year is 2020, and the first manned mission to Mars, commanded by Luke Graham (Don Cheadle, Out Of Sight), lands safely on the red planet. But the Martian landscape harbors a bizarre and shocking secret that leads to a mysterious disaster so catastrophic, it decimates the crew. Haunted by a cryptic last message from Graham, NASA launches the Mars Recovery Mission to investigate and bring back survivors - if there are any. Confronted with nearly insurmountable dangers, but propelled by deep friendship, the team finally lands on Mars and makes a discovery so amazing, it takes your breath away. Mission to Mars is an action-packed rocket ride that will enthrall you with its stunning special effects and keep you on the edge of your seat.
2001 inferior copy, but with enough special effects and originality to make it viewable. A touch too much sentimentality in a sci-fi for my taste, but the pulsating score and thought provoking ending turned it from a potential onion to a respectable film. Acting was hit and miss, Robbins miscast but Sinise perfect. Its a marmite film, you'll likely to love it or hate it. I sit on the fence as I found it ok.
Ash and his girlfriend are staying at a lonely cabin when demonic forces attack and take her away. He’s forced to kill her and faces the onslaught alone until four strangers arrive.
Sort of a sequel, but more of a remake with more money and more gore! Most important of all though, it’s a smoother film. Repeats a lot from the original and loses the wonderful rawness, but still scary, more ambitious and very funny in the best possible ways.
I’ve always thought of it as just a remake, but it does just about work as a true sequel now I’ve watched them almost back-to-back. The first bit, with Ash and his girlfriend driving to the cabin, the discovery of the recordings and her subsequent abduction and rising from the grave, is all Evil Dead: The Remix. But as soon as Ash is outdoors and getting attacked, we’re overlapping and he comes over all Ripley-ish as a reborn action hero trying to take the fight back. With the introduction of the absent professors daughter it’s finally a sequel and a bloody good one too. There is more to the plot this time than just a series of gags as the group now contains one who knows how to fend off the darkness.
The script is more playful and inventive. I loved them kicking Ash down the cellar, who then hears them play the tapes where the professor explains he had to bury his wife in the cellar. Cue wifey! “Who’s in my fruit cellar?”
This is all after the marvellous sequence where Ash’s hand gets infected, all an excuse for a classic Three Stooges style gags, ending in the notorious scene of him chainsawing his own hand off! Which he then traps under a bucket, weighed down by a book called “A Farewell to Arms”. Brilliant! All the effects are more polished, but still have that great feeling that it’s a bunch of guys getting their hands dirty. No CGI required, thank you.
The pace doesn’t let up for a moment and the jokes and scares never lose their originality, right up to the darkness throwing Ash into part 3. Actually the plot Raimi wanted to do this time, but expanded budget or not, it still wasn’t enough. However, there’s a reason for everything and while I love Army of Darkness, I’m so glad he was forced to keep it in that cabin. One of the best horrors ever and it gave Bruce Campbell chance to camp Ash up into one of the genre’s icons.
My Pilot/Finale Episode Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd
My Pilot/Finale Episode Marathon
For about the next week I decided to do a Pilot & Finale episode marathon on some of the TV Series that I have every episode of. This will not be in any particular order... just whatever shows the mood hits me for.
Adventures of Superman
Pilot:: Superman on Earth Recounts Superman's flight from doomed Krypton, being raised by the Kents, his arrival in Metropolis, and getting hired as reporter Clark Kent at the Daily Planet when scooping Lois on Superman's debut.
My Thoughts: The first episode of this series decided to start at the very beginning... the destruction of Krypton and Arrival of Superman on Earth. Was definitely a good episode. There was however 1 very big noticeable difference from any other Superman show or movie I ever saw before... for some reason the Kents name is Eban and Sarah Kent instead of the normal Johnathan and Martha. Which is something I found strange but didn't take away from the enjoyment of the show any.
Fanale:: All That Glitters What if? After a whack to the head, Jimmy dreams he and Lois has the same powers as the Man of Steel.
My Thoughts: This was basically no more then a fun episode. I definitely enjoyed seeing Jimmy and Lois with Superman's powers. It kinda gave me a chuckle. The finale of this series was no different then any other episode... leading me to believe that when it aired they most likely didn't realize the 6th season would be the series last. though who knows for sure... what with the age of this series... they could have done things differently back then.
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