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Murder by Decree , a review by Dragonfire

Murder by Decree When Scotland Yard is unable to stop the gruesome rampage of Jack the Ripper, a citizens' committee asks Sherlock Holmes (Christopher Plummer) and his trusted associate Dr. Watson (James Mason to investigate. But even if Holmes' remarkable powers of deduction can unmask the manical fiend, can he and Watson face the most shocking secret of all? Find out in this masterful suspense thriller directed by Bob Clark (A Christmas Story) that both fans and critics have called the most exciting and original Sherlock Holmes movie ever made. My Thoughts I decided to pick this one up recently after reading a bit about it.  I hadn't seen it before.  I'm glad I decided to get the movie. The plot is very interesting and I like the idea of Sherlock trying to track down Jack the Ripper.  I don't know a lot about the Ripper murders, but I know enough to know that that aspect of the plot seems accurate.  At least the order of the victims and the condition of the bodies.  I do think there is a good amount of mystery to what is going on and a few scenes are very suspenseful.  As far as I know, the plot for this one has been created just for the movie and isn't pulled from any of the stories or books. The ...resolution for the Ripper murders is very much like one that has been used in another movie I've seen featuring Jack the Ripper.  From what I've read since watching the movie, the theory in the movie was taken from a book about the Ripper.  I think the theory was kind of popular for a while, so that part of the plot may not be much of a surprise to viewers.  I still thought the movie was very entertaining even though I wasn't surprised by the resolution Sherlock came up with.  The actual attacks aren't shown that much, and there really isn't a lot of violence, especially considering the subject.  More of the final murder is shown late in the movie, though it is through a grimey window, so things are obscured.  The things done to the victims is talked about and those descriptions might bother some people.  The versions of Sherlock and Watson in this movie are a bit different from how they have been portrayed in some of the other Sherlock movies.  I really like these versions of the character.  Sherlock is clearly intelligent and good at solving crimes without seeming smug or condescending.  He treats Watson as more of an equal and there seems to be more of a true friendship between them.  Watson isn't a bumbling fool and he even handles part of the investigation alone.  Sherlock also shows much more emotion - especially compassion for others.  It makes him seem more human than he has in some of the other Sherlock movies I've seen.  Christopher Plummer is wonderful in the part. This is a really good, entertaining movie.  Fans of Sherlock should definitely give it a chance. I did get a review posted at Epinions. Murder by Decree

(From Dragonfire88's Alphabet Marathon on July 14th, 2010)

Kelly's Heroes, a review by GSyren

Title	Kelly's Heroes (Disc ID: AAEE-7E5B-5E04-74F0)
Director	Brian G. Hutton
Actors	Clint Eastwood, Telly Savalas, Don Rickles, Carroll O'Connor, Donald Sutherland
Produced	1970 in United States
Runtime	144 minutes
Audio	English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French Dolby Digital Mono, German Dolby Digital Mono, Italian Dolby Digital Mono, Spanish Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo
Subtitles	Danish, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish
Overview	Movie action man Clint Eastwood leads a misfit band of GIs who decide to get something extra out of World War II. In Kelly's Heroes, Eastwood's title character masterminds a scheme to slip behind enemy lines and steal a fortune in Nazi-confiscated gold. Donald Sutherland and Don Rickles co-star in addition to a trio on the verge of big-time TV success: Carroll O'Connor, Telly Savalas and Gavin MacLeod.
My thoughts	Look, it's a war movie. No, it's a heist movie. No, it's... Kelly's Heroes! I can't decide if it's a war movie disguised as a heist movie or a heist movie disguised as a war movie, or what the heck it is. And perhaps it's that confusion that stops me from enjoying it as much as a lot of others do. I know that many people think this is among the best films ever made. I just cannot see it. It came in a box with Where Eagles Dare, which is also directed by Hutton and with Eastwood in one of the leading roles. And the comparison does not come out in favor of Kelly's Heroes. One reason may be that screenwriter Troy Kennedy-Martin is no Alistair MacLean. Kennedy-Martin has written a lot for screen and TV, but nothing outstanding – with the possible exception of The Italian Job. MacLean, on the other hand, is responsible for a slew of great stories, like The Guns of Navarone, The Satan Bug, Ice Station Zebra, When Eight Bell Tolls, Fear is the Key and many others. And it's too long. Well, you may object that Eagles is even longer. Yep, but the difference is that it doesn't feel too long. Eagles plays it straight, but Heroes adds comedy to the mix, and that doesn't work for me. Carroll O'Connor is just too much. And I don't know what to say about Donald Sutherland's character. Don Rickles, on the other hand, is more restrained than usual. There is a lot of killing, but it's not really violent. It's mostly people falling over when shot. Not too gory. I don't like gory. I may have made that clear before. The nastiest bit is probably the guy that steps on a land mine. But even that is pretty restrained. I didn't really like Kelly's Heroes when I saw it in the cinema back in the early 70's. I was hoping that I would like it better now, going in with lower expectations. No such luck, I'm afraid. But I do like the main theme, "Burning Bridges". I guess that counts for something...
My rating

(From Reviews and ramblings by Gunnar on March 8th, 2014)

Pete's Pilots, a review by addicted2dvd

Land of the Lost
Marshall, Will and Holly on a routine expedition met the greatest earthquake ever known. High on the rapids it struck their raft and plunged them down a thousand feet below to the Land of the Lost.

Take a journey back in time with the Marshall family through this incredible world of breathtaking wonder, pulse-pounding danger and mind-boggling special effects. Only in the Land of the Lost will you battle dinosaurs one day and encounter beings from other dimensions the next.

The Pylons, the Pakuni, evil energy storms...they are all part of the awesome adventures created by legendary Sid and Marty Krofft. Relive all your favorite Saturday morning thrills as you rediscover all 43 action-packed original episodes in the Land of the Lost Complete Series.

Cha-Ka
The Marshalls make a new friend, Cha-Ka the Paku, and a new enemy... a hungry T-Rex.

My Thoughts:
I used to watch this series every Saturday morning when I was a kid. It was one of my favorites at the time. So this show brought back some memories for me. When I first got this set I watched a few episodes with Brittany... and she liked it too so I know that this show can still appeal to kids. But I am sure it offers nothing for adults. Not unless of course you watched the show as a kid and want to watch it for nostalgic reasons. And for that reason I still find this series to be a fun distraction from real life.

This is one of those shows where the starting theme serves tells you the story on how they got there. In the first episode they are already in The Land of the Lost and they meet their new friend Cha-ka. Not to mention figure out how to fend off a T-Rex. I am probably enjoying this more then I should... but hey... this is my childhood we are talking about here. It is a reminder of simpler and better times.

My Rating:

(From Pete's Pilots on February 24th, 2010)