DVD Collectors Online

Trucker, a review by goodguy

Trucker (2008) Written & Directed by: James Mottern Starring: Michelle Monaghan, Jimmy Bennett, Nathan Fillion DVD: R1-US Monterey Media (Jan 5, 2010) My rating:

Cover Blurb: Diane Ford (Michelle Monaghan, Mission: Impossible III, Gone Baby Gone), a vivacious and successful independent truck driver, leads a carefree life of long-haul trucking, one night stands and all-night drinking with Runner (Nathan Fillion, Serenity, Waitress, "Castle") until the evening her estranged 11-year-old son, Peter (Jimmy Bennett, young James Kirk in Star Trek) is unexpectedly dropped at her door.
Peter hasn't seen his mother since he was a baby and wants to live with Diane as little as she wants him, but they are stuck with each other - at least for now, while his father Len (Benjamin Bratt, "The Cleaner") is in the hospital.
Burdened with this new responsibility and seeing the life of freedom she's fought for now jeopardized, Diane steps reluctantly into her past and looks sidelong at an uncharted future that is not as simple or straightforward as she had once believed possible.almost good, but - I don't know how to put this - you can see her acting too much. Not in an over-the-top way, mind you. It is more her belabored trying to give a naturalistic performance, but without being able to fully embody the role. From the very beginning (the sad look in the mirror after a one night stand), you still see the conscious choice an actress is making for a certain expression or gesture. The remaining cast, including Jimmy Bennett as the kid, is actually more at home in their roles than she is.

After I was so enamored with Monaghan in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, I frequently said that she was wasted in lesser supporting roles (MI3, Eagle Eye), but maybe I was wrong. Clearly the lighter stuff seems to suit her better than the dramatic lead she has to play here.

Due to high expectations, I may have been overly critical in my comments. All in all, this certainly isn't a bad movie; I just couldn't find it to be a very remarkable one either.



(From goodguy's Watch Log on January 6th, 2010)

Wolfhound, a review by dfmorgan

Wolfhound

Year: 2006
Director: Nikolai Lebedev
Cast: Aleksandr Bukharov, Oksana Akinshina
Overview: A ferocious epic of swords, medieval kingdoms, and vengeance, Wolfhound brings to life the saga of the last surviving member of a slaughtered tribe - enslaved, left for dead, destined to become the world's most feared warrior. Consumed by a lifelong quest to avenge his family's murder, he is drawn into an all-out war to destroy a vicious monster and save a nation. Based on a bestselling novel, Wolfhound is an extraordinary adventure, filled with thunderous battles, incredible special effects, and fantastic, never-before-seen creatures.

Watched: 6th Mar 2010
My Thoughts: A medieval hack and slash, I was going to say sword and sorcery but there was very little sorcery but plenty of swords hacking and slashing. The front cover reference to Conan The Barbarian is correct but I'm not too sure about the reference to Lord Of The Rings. Also, in my view, the last sentence in the overview is over the top. Overall, though, it was enjoyable but predictable.

My Rating: Enjoyable 3

Dave

(From Dave's DVD/Blu-ray Reviews on March 6th, 2010)

Pete's Pilots, a review by addicted2dvd

Dinotopia: the Series


Marooned
A family is marooned in Dinotopia as the lost paradise becomes threatened by unimagined dangers.

My Thoughts:
I blind bought this series back in April of 2005 when I saw it cheap and remembered that I did enjoy the miniseries. But for some reason I never bothered to watch a single episode till now. The pilot episode clocked in at 43 minutes. And I found myself getting a bit drowsy during the episode. As I found it a bit slow and... I don't want to say boring... but it did take an effort to get through it. I think it may have been better if it was only a half hour show. Hopefully the rest of the series will be a bit more entertaining then this episode.

My Rating:

(From Pete's Pilots on December 28th, 2009)