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Under Siege 2: Dark Territory, a review by DJ Doena

January, 17th


Director: Geoff Murphy

Steven Seagal    ...    Casey Ryback
Eric Bogosian   ...    Travis Dane
Everett McGill   ...    Marcus Penn
Katherine Heigl   ...    Sarah Ryback
Morris Chestnut   ...    Bobby Zachs
Andy Romano   ...    Admiral Bates
Royce D. Applegate   ...    Ryback's Cook
Nick Mancuso   ...    Tom Breaker
Kurtwood Smith   ...    General Stanley Cooper

Synopsis: Casey and his niece Sarah are travelling by train across the United States. But aboard this train are also a crazy lunatic and a group of mercenaries who take over a highly secret and highly dangerous satellite that can destroy the entire west coast by causing earthquakes below the San Andreas Fault. Casey is the only one who can stop them before they kill millions.

My Opinion: Steven Seagal is no Bruce Willis but I still enjoy his action movies a lot. He kills ruthlessly and has cool knife-fighting skills. The general plot is pretty much a slightly adjusted template copy of Under Siege but I don't really care. It's just fun to watch.
This time was also the first time that the name Katherine Heigl rang a bell.

(From DJ Doena's movie watchings 2010 on January 26th, 2010)

Gladiator, a review by DJ Doena

Russell Crowe    ...    Maximus
Joaquin Phoenix   ...    Commodus
Connie Nielsen   ...    Lucilla
Oliver Reed   ...    Proximo
Richard Harris   ...    Marcus Aurelius
Derek Jacobi   ...    Gracchus
Djimon Hounsou   ...    Juba
Tomas Arana   ...    Quintus
Ralf Moeller   ...    Hagen

Synopsis: The general who became a slave. The slave who became a gladiator. The gladiator who challenged the emperor. Basically the tagline of the movie but it pretty much sums it up. General Maximus was supposed to give Rome back to the people but the son of the emperor had other plans, mainly: becoming emperor himself. Their fate won't be decided on the battlefield but under the eyes of the cheering crowd in the arena that is the Colosseum.

My Opinion: This movie is the reason I never bought Spartacus or Ben Hur on DVD. I've seen them quite a few times when I was young but I fear they can't hold up with this one anymore. In the beginning I didn't even want to watch it because I thought the age of sword & sandal movies was over but I was wrong. It's an awesome movie, I love the story and I love the action. "Is Rome worth one good man's life? We believed it once. Make us believe it again."

(From DJ Doena's movie watchings 2009 on November 15th, 2009)

Charmed Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

"Ms. Hellfire"
Original Airdate: January 13, 2000
Prue assumes the identity of a mysterious assassin, while Piper and Phoebe race against time to protect the next intended victim.

My Thoughts:
This was a very good episode I enjoyed it a lot. Pru really got into playing bad... and made it fun to watch. But I will say... that wannabe witch they saved really got on my nerves to watch... I am glad she wasn't in more of the episode then what she actually was.

"Heartbreak City"
Original Airdate: January 20, 2000
A Demon of Hate steals Cupid's powerful love ring and sets out to destroy all of his recent love matches, including the relationships of the Charmed Ones.

My Thoughts:
This was a good episode... but not one of my favorites. It is just a basic good episode. And when you have a series that lasts well over 100 episodes the basic good episodes just don't seem as special.

"Reckless Abandon"
Original Airdate: January 27, 2000
Phoebe brings home an abandoned baby boy so the Charmed Ones can protect him from a vengeful ghost who has been killing off the men in his family.

My Thoughts:
Another basic filler episode... but was fun to watch. I got a kick out of seeing the sisters interact with a baby for the first time.

"Awakened"
Original Airdate: February 3, 2000
Prue and Phoebe ignore the code preventing witches from using spells for personal gain when Piper comes down with a mysterious. life-threatening illness.

My thoughts:
This is one I liked a lot. of course it does center around Piper... so that might have something to do with it. I also liked how they put the disease into a ninja doll and how they made others get infected with the disease. So was a fun episode for me.

(From Charmed Marathon on March 1st, 2008)