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CASS, a review by Rich

CASS



The incredible true story of how an orphaned Jamaican baby, adopted by an elderly white couple and brought up in an all white area of London, became one of the most feared and respected men in Britain. CASS grew up in a time before political correctness and was forced to endure racist bullying on a daily basis, until one day when the years of pent up anger came out in a violent burst. CASS found through violence the respect he never had and became addicted to the buzz of fighting. His way of life finally caught up with him when an attempted assassination on his life, saw him shot three times at point blank range. His inner strength somehow managed to keep him alive but he was left with a dilemma; whether to seek vengeance as the street had taught him, or renounce his violent past. This is the extraordinary story of his life.

For someone who grew up going to football in the late 70's and early 80's, albeit to a lower division club which did not have many incidences of hooliganism, I had read the book and hoped the film would be as mature and enlightening. Unfortunately this is a poorly put together effort, strayed considerably from the autobiography, and was badly acted from most lead characters.
It is more realistic that Green Street, but does not have the same bite and feel of Quadrophenia, I cannot see it being of any interest to anyone who did not live through the era, and I could only keep thinking it was a wasted opportunity of translating a good story to film.
 



(From Riches Random Reviews on January 6th, 2009)

Awakenings, a review by Silence_of_Lambs

Summary:
A new doctor (Robin Williams) finds himself with a ward full of comatose patients. He is disturbed by them and the fact that they have been comatose for decades with no hope of any cure. When he finds a possible chemical cure he gets permission to try it on one of them (Robert de Niro). The cure works...

My Thoughts:
Now here we have one of the best movies of the last century.

Based on a true story this movie really has it all. The plot is gripping, sad, amusing, romantic, all in one go. The only thing that's missing is a car chase (just kidding).
Directing, acting, cinematography, editing and soundtrack they all grip seamlessly into each other and by this create an unforgettable film. What makes this truly outstanding is one of the best performances of an actor ever: Robert de Niro as Leonard Lowe. I still can't believe that the Oscar went to Jeremy Irons that year.
It's a minimalistic movie that develops its characters very carefully, no scene, no sentence and no cut is redundant. Nevertheless is a rather slow-paced movie because it gives the characters the time and room needed to be recognized as individuals with each their own story.
When you watch it: Keep the Kleenex-box near by!
I can't really believe that it took me so long to finally get it on DVD.

My Rating: (out of possible 5)

(From Michael's random reviews on January 19th, 2011)

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

Synopsis: The combined fleet attacks the Dominion. It's a brutal battle with many losses but the Dominion has made a fatal mistake. In retaliation for Damar's sabotages the Jem'Hadar destroyed an entire cardassian city and now the cardassian ships on the front switch sides. The Dominion has no choice but to retreat to Cardassia Prime but they are followed and they have nowhere else to go. On the ground the rebels around Damar, Kira and Garak decide to storm the Dominion Headquarters and after a bloody struggle they manage to capture the female Founder. But the ships in orbit will fight until the bitter end. Or they would if Odo wouldn't have made an offer the Founder couldn't resist. He offers the cure for an unconditional surrender. The war is over.
But not on all fronts. Winn and Dukat have managed to awake the Pah-Wraiths in the fire caves and they will bring destruction to the galaxy if Sisko doesn't stop them. And he will.

And that's the end of the story: Martok is the klingon chancellor. Rom is the Great Nagus. Damar has fallen in battle. Garak has killed the last Weyoun and has finally ended his exile. The Founder will stand trial for her crimes. Odo will return home and join and heal the Great Link. Worf will become the Federation ambassador on Qo'noS. O'Brien and his family return home to Earth where he will teach at Starfleet Academy. Julian and Ezri are finally a couple. Winn was killed by Dukat who in turn was sent to the Pah-Wraiths by Sisko. Sisko's journey is now over, he has joined the Prophets. And Morn? Morn sits at Quark's bar.

My Opinion: It is a good conclusion to the series although not perfect. There are some thing that bothered me. For example: Even though Weyoun sent out most of the guards, it should be impossible for half a dozen people to storm the headquarters of the Dominion in the Alpha Quadrant. And I wished that Damar would have survived. Cardassia has suffered so much (the Dominion killed 800 million Cardassians in retaliation for their betrayal on the front line) and they need a strong leader now who's willing to rebuild their society and bring change to it. I also didn't like that so many people left the station at the same time: O'Brien, Worf, Odo and Sisko. It really felt like an end and not like "life goes on...". What I really disliked was that Worf wasn't allowed to remember any moment with Jadzia when he recollected his memories about the past four years.
But enough complaining. It was still a good conclusion with many emotional moments (especially the flashbacks).

The Season - My Opinion: This season was not as good as the seasons before but it wasn't as bad as I remembered. One gets used to Ezri over time and the final arc was very thrilling. I just wish they had cut back on that entire Prophets storyline both on Sisko's and on Dukat's side. There should have been a better solution.

But it was fun to watch the entire show again. The characters and the story are great even though the special effects may not be up2date anymore. But the TV world has changed since the mid-90s. Story arc series aren't the exception anymore, they are the rule. Let's see what else is out there...


The End.

(From Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Marathon on March 7th, 2009)