DVD Collectors Online

Moonraker, a review by GSyren

Title	Moonraker (Disc ID: 08EC-E8BA-5579-0F94)
Director	Lewis Gilbert
Actors	Roger Moore, Lois Chiles, Michael Lonsdale, Richard Kiel, Corinne Clery
Produced	1979 in United Kingdom
Runtime	126 minutes
Audio	English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, German DTS 5.1, French DTS 5.1, Czech Dolby Digital 5.1, Commentary Dolby Digital Dolby Surround, Commentary Dolby Digital Dolby Surround
Subtitles	Commentary, Czech, Danish, English, Finnish, French, German, Norwegian, Swedish
Overview	James Bond blasts into orbit in this pulse-pounding adventure that takes him from Venice to Rio de Janeiro and to outer space! Roger Moore stars for the fourth time as Agent 007 and joins forces with NASA scientist Holly Goodhead (Lois Chiles) to prevent a power-mad industrialist (Michael Lonsdale) from destroying all human life on earth.
My thoughts	Bond marathon #11 Moonraker is probably my least favorite Bond movie (with the possible exception of Quantum of Solace which bored me to sleep so I never finished it). I read the Bond books in the mid sixties, and formed my own view of what Bond should be. This one is about as far from that as can be. The precredit sequence gives a good picture of what the rest of the movie is going to be like. It starts out really good and then turns silly. Then comes the credits and the title song. It's so bland that not even Shirley Bassey's wonderful voice can save it. I didn't like Jaws in the previous picture, and I like him even less in this one. Some say that kids liked Jaws, and that's why they turned him into a silly nice guy. So is this a movie for kids? Two lab technicians killed slowly by nerve gas. Corinne Cléry's character being killed by dogs. No, this is not a movie for kids. And once again we're being served up re-used plot ideas. A transforming vehicle (done in The Man with the Golden Gun and The Spy who Loved Me), a boat chase where a boat is run over and cut into two (again The Man with the Golden Gun). Fighting atop cable cars? Well, at least they stole that idea from a good (non-Bond) film. And James Bond in space? If Ian Fleming was alive he'd turn in his grave! (Yes, I know!) In short – this isn't James Bond. I wouldn't have been half as annoyed if it had been Matt Helm, or even Derek Flint. But doing this to James Bond is heresy. Still, as with all the Bond films, this one has excellent production values. And if one can forget the “nonbondness” (which is hard for me, as you can tell), it is often quite entertaining.
My rating

(From Reviews and ramblings by Gunnar on August 30th, 2014)

Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, a review by Tom

Title: Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit
Year: 1990
Director:
Rating: 15
Length: 163 Min.
Video: Full Frame 1.33:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital 1
Subtitles: English

Stars:


Plot:
A POIGNANT, COMIC AND TOTALLY ORIGINAL COMING-OF-AGE STORY ADAPTED FOR THE BBC BY JEANNETTE WINTERSON FROM HER WHITBREAD PRIZE-WINNING NOVEL.

Jess is the adopted daughter of a deeply religious woman. Growing up isolated and insulated in the north of England in the 1970's, Jess is told she's part of a larger plan. Her mother keeps her away from "Breeding Grounds" like schools, preferring to train her to spread God's word "to all the heathens in the hot countries." Jess eventually attends school, but continually feels like an outcast due to her religious beliefs. Her small town life changes when she meets Melanie, a beautiful sixteen-year old, and she experiences love at first sight. As the two draw closer, Jess's mother sees the devil at work and determines to exorcise the demons from her daughter.

Faced with the ire of Pastor Finch and his congregation, Jess realizes that she must soon decide between following her own heart or the path set out for her by others.

Awards:
Extras:
Interviews
Scene Access

Overall an okay mini-series. I liked the second episode the best of the three. I didn't enjoy it as much as the later BBC mini series I have reviewed in this thread ("Fingersmith" and "Tipping the Velvet").
The old ladies reminded me very much of Monty Python when they are doing their old ladies drag. Especially in the beginning of the first episode

Rating:

(From Lesbian Movie Marathon on May 14th, 2010)

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Marathon, a review by DJ Doena

Synopsis: First Minister Shakaar is coming to the station to negotiate Bajor's joining of the Federation. But a cardassian terror group wants to assassinate him and Odo and Worf are trying to protect him. But Odo has also to deal with the fact that Kira is falling in love with Shakaar while he's also in love with her.

My Opinion: It's the same old story. He loves her but doesn't tell her and she runs off with another guy. But I liked how Quark could see right through Odo's mask and how he helped him and how Odo thanked him. They both like each other more than they dare to admit (in a total ungayish way ).

Synopsis: After he has brought Ziyal home, Dukat has been demoted to freighter captain and he is to bring Major Kira to a conference in cardassian space. But the conference is attacked by a klingon Bird of Prey and the freighter isn't a match for it. Even when Dukat attacks the BoP doesn't return fire but simply leaves. There isn't a worse thing you could have done to Dukat's pride and he plans to retaliate.

My Opinion: Although I found it a bit unrealistic that the freighter's disrupters couldn't penetrate the BoP's hull even when the shields were down this was a very good episode. I liked it how Kira taught Dukat how to think outside the box and use things in an unconventional way to defeat a superior enemy.

Synopsis: Worf's (younger) brother Kurn comes to the station and asks Worf to kill him so that he may have an honourable death. Due to previous events, Worf has become an outcast and he was stripped of lands and titles. Kurn, who had a seat on the klingon High Council, is also dishonoured. But Dax interferes and Kurn survives and has to adjust to a life outside the klingon society.

My Opinion: And once again human and klingon cultures have clashed. And once again Worf had to decide whether he wants to be a klingon warrior or a Starfleet officer. But it was a bit sad that Kurn had to "die" and that Worf has now lost his brother forever. He's alone again.

Synopsis: Due to the bajoran cleansing ritual, the turnover of the bar is minimal. Quark decides to cut wages by 1/3 but now he's gone to far. Even his brother revolts against him and they found a union. But unions and strikes are strictly forbidden by Ferengi law. Soon after the beginning of the strike Brunt arrives on the station and he makes it clear that the strike has to end or they will make an example of Quark and Rom.

My Opinion: Finally Rom has emancipated himself from his brother. This episode was a nice reminder of why the first unions were founded and what often happened to "union mans".  But one thing a Ferengi said is still true in our society: We don't want to overcome exploitation, we just want to become the exploiters.

(From Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Marathon on November 9th, 2008)