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United 93, a review by KinkyCyborg

Title:United 93
Year: 2006
Director: Paul Greengrass
Rating: R
Length: 111 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital: 5.1, French: Dolby Digital: 5.1, Audio Descriptive: Dolby Digital: 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Stars:
United 93 - CrewJ. J. Johnson [JJ Johnson]
Gary Commock
Polly Adams
Opal Alladin

Plot:
It's an event that shook the world. Honest, unflinching and profoundly moving, United 93 tells the unforgettable story of the heroic passengers and crew members who prevented the terrorists from carrying out their plans for the fourth hijacked plane on September 11, 2001. As on-ground military and civilian teams scrambled to make sense of the unfolding events, forty people who sat down as strangers found the courage to stand up as one.

Extras:
Scene Access
Audio Commentary
Feature Trailers
Featurettes
Production Notes


Managed to get in another movie before I head off to bed and it was gripping.

The events of 9/11 will never be forgotten and everyone remembers where and what they were doing when they first heard of the planes hitting the World Trade Center. Myself, I was at work when my supervisor told me a plane had hit the Empire State Building... early details were mostly inaccurate and given the amount of chaos that was depicted in this film between the various air traffic controllers, the FAA, NORAD, news agencies and the military I'm not surprised. Nobody was prepared for this... who could conceive it possible? All I know is that day I felt a profound sense of shock, despair and fear, and at the same time a tremendous amount of gratitude that I was living in Canada. I still remember the headline on the Toronto Sun Extra that evening... it read 'BASTARDS!' I couldn't have agreed more.

What actually took place on United 93 before it went down has been left to pure speculation by not only director Paul Greengrass but also to the entire world. Conspiracy theorists have proclaimed that it was shot down by the air force, but given the amount of accounts of phone calls from loved ones who were on the plane in the moments before it crashed in Pennsylvania, I'd like to believe that the passengers and crew did decide to fight back and not let the terrorists complete their mission.

The final 30 seconds of the movie during the clash for control in the cockpit and the plane's death spiral to the ground... right up to it's impact were among the best and worst moments in my years of watching movies. I was holding my breath, heart racing, gripping the arms of my chair and gritting my teeth. When it ended and the screen faded to black a huge wave of emotion swept over me, not unlike the day I came home from work on September 11th, 2001, hugged my wife and 6 year old son... and wept.

I'm not a religious person... but God bless all those poor souls who lost their lives that day.

KC

Rating:

(From KinkyCyborg's Random Reviews 2010 on August 15th, 2010)

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, a review by Jon

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End   3/5

Blimey. This film is very long and very messy. I only have a vague idea of what was going on! However it's great fun and I loved every minute. The performances, the effects, the scale; it's an incredible achievement.

The story has certainly become more serious after the near-perfect first film and some of the interviews imply that was the intention. But it's at odds with the frequent silliness. There are a couple of scenes that are certainly a bit too daft and if anyone can list a step-by-step "Who Crossed Who" list, it would be much appreciated.

Through all it's problems, it's held together by a first class cast. Johnny Depp of course is a marvel, an absolute joy every time he's on the screen. Plus the outtakes show he stayed in character throughout, so I bet that shoot was great fun. He's backed up by Geoffrey Rush as Barbossa and their banter is hilarious as they argue over who is captain of the Black Pearl. Bill Nighy as Davy Jones is a hoot too, curling his way around every line. Kiera Knightley and Orlando Bloom don't have so much to play with, but I think they are still good. And Chow Yun Fat cuts a great image. Finally a mention for Keith Richards' much publicised cameo. He was great, though brief. Depp really did base a huge amount of Sparrow's character on him, so he had no need to act; his swagger and slurring fitted perfectly!

Gore Verbinski seemed to be going for broke on this one. The detail and scale continually threaten to drown the whole lot, but he holds it together and it's never short of spectacular. It never forgets to be funny, which is very important when the film as a whole doesn't make a lick of sense.

The ending is great. It importantly ties off the plot, but leaves several characters right back where they started. It's definitely open for a sequel of sorts, or it could be seen as a typical pirate sunset and be left at that.

I welcome a new one though. I really do. Recent part threes have all been a bloated mess and thought this is no different, it still manages to be fun. And Jack Sparrow has inspired a new signature quote! 

(From Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End on January 20th, 2008)

Tom's TV Pilots marathon, a review by Tom

Filmation's Ghostbusters: Volume One (1986/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia (United States) Length: 688 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles:

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Plot:
With the cry of "Let's go, Ghostbusters!," Jake Kong Jr., and Eddie Spenser Jr. are following in their fathers' footsteps and have teamed-up with the original gorilla sidekick, Tracy, to become the new Ghostbusters! From their base of operations in Ghost Command, the Ghostbusters are always ready to battle Prime Evil and his never-ending army of bewitching monsters who are out to haunt the Earth! With its spookily cool animation and imaginatively colorful cast of characters - voiced by some of the best voice talent from that decade, including Alan Openheimer, Maurice LaMarche, Brad Garrett, and more - Ghostbusters has haunted its way into the halls of history! Now on DVD for the first time ever, you won't need to call anyone... you can "Go Ghostbusters!"


GhostBusters
1.01 I'll Be a Son of a Ghostbuster

I used to love this series as a kid. But it is something which is clearly only enjoyable to kids and does not hold quite up as well as He-Man and She-Ra does. Also this is the first time that I have seen it in English and the voice-acting is really annoying. I never knew the GhostBusters are supposed to be teenagers. They had much more adult voices in the German dub, as far as I remember.

Rating:

(From Tom's TV Pilots marathon on June 26th, 2011)