DVD Collectors Online

Killers, a review by Dragonfire

I decided to go see Killers yesterday.  Of the movies starting on the 4th, that is the one I was most interested to see.  I know that some are trashing the movie, but I enjoyed it.  Yes it has issues, but I still thought it worked as an entertaining movie overall.  It is a bit silly, but it is also fun overall.

The plot isn't the most original being sort of like True Lies and Mr. and Mrs. Smith, though there are a few different elements.  It would have been better if the story had been more original..or at least if some things had just been handled a bit better.

Spencer is a CIA killer in France for a job.  Jen has recently been dumped and he goes on the vacation she originally planned with her ex with her parents.  Spencer and Jen met in an elevator in the hotel and decide to have dinner that night.  They keep seeing each other while in France and they get married once back in the States.  Spencer decides that he is leaving his job even before he knows the relationship is going to last.  Three years later, things seem perfect for the couple.  then Spencer is contacted by his former boss who wants Spencer to do another job.  The next day, people start trying to kill Spencer and Jen finds out the truth about his former job when she wanders into one of the attempts. 

There is a decent amount of action to the movie, mostly provided by shootings as well as a few car chases.  Spencer does get into a few fights as well.  The violence isn't that extreme or graphic.  Some of what happens is funny, but the movie wasn't as funny as the previews made it out to be.  Jen freaks out more than once with what is going on, and that does add some of the humor. 

The characters are somewhat interesting.  Spencer is very good at his job with the CIA but he leaves that all behind after meeting Jen.  It is sort of hinted at that he had already been having some issues with the work, though that isn't explored.  Spencer does make some mistakes, but he is a decent, likeable character overall.  I did like Ashton Kutcher in the part.  It is a bit more ...subdued than some of his other parts have been.

Jen is kind of a mess of a character.  She acts completely different at first after meeting Spencer.  As things happen, sometimes she manages to deal with things already and other times she flips out.  At one point, she decides that something is going on - after it is just randomly mentioned by Spencer in passing - and she slips into the stereotype behavior for that event before even knowing if it is true or not.  She wants to run home to Daddy and let him deal with the situation instead of giving Spencer much chance to handle things.  She demands answers, which she does deserve.  But she does it while they are clearly in danger and Spencer is still trying to get them to safety.  She is a bit irrational at times and just annoying.  The more I think about her, the more annoying I think she is.  It is almost impossible to like her.  I think most of that is because of how the character is written, but some of it might be because of Katherine Heigel playing the part.  I'm not that fond of her.  Jen's parents turn up every so often and they are mostly flat characters.  Her dad talks about doing things and certain way and being prepared..and he criticizes the fact that Spencer does things differently.  Her mother is always drinking something, so she's at least somewhat drunk in every scene. 

Overall, I do think the movie is entertaining, though it definitely could have been better.  It isn't bad as a fluff type of movie.  I would have gone with 3.5 stars on Epinions, but since I couldn't, I went ahead and rounded up to 4.  So I'll use that rating here too.



I did post a longer review on Epinions if anyone wants to take a look.

Killers

(From Killers on June 6th, 2010)

Kung Fu Dunk, a review by dfmorgan

Kung Fu Dunk

Year: 2008
Director: Kevin Chu
Cast: Jay Chou, Eric Tsang, Charlene Choi
OverviewWatched: 17th Jul 2010
My Thoughts: An enjoyable martial arts/sports romp, although not heavy on the martial arts. No real surprises to catch you unawares.

My Rating: A basic enjoyable 3

Dave

(From Dave's DVD/Blu-ray Reviews on July 17th, 2010)

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

Synopsis: Odo is ordered to bring Quark before a Federation grand jury and he does this with joy. But their travel doesn't go as expected, they crash on a planet that is barely capable of supporting life and they have to find a way to send a distress signal. Meanwhile Jake moves into his own quarters and Nog, who's in his sophomore year at Starfleet Academy, moves in with him during his practical training aboard the station.

My Opinion: This was a great Odo/Quark episode. They were bickering like an old couple and they basically are. I liked it how they voiced their anger and "hatred" and yet neither one gave up on the other. Episode like this one convinced me that it was a good idea to make Odo solid (at least for a while).
But I also liked the Jake/Nog part. Nog has definitely changed due to his training and they have grown apart, but they are still very good friends.

Synopsis: Sisko scans a picture of an ancient - an lost - city on Bajor into the holographic computer when he's hit by an electrical discharge. When he awakes he starts to have visions that help him to find that city. But that visions also tell him that he mustn't allow Bajor to join the Federation or it will be Bajor's undoing.

My Opinion: This was a typical "Sisko as religious figure" episode and I told you I feel uneasy about them. Even Q, surely a god-like figure, was never treated with that much reverence in the Star Trek universe.

Synopsis: Kira's past is catching up with her. Someone is killing the members of the Shakaar resistance cell one by one and he seems to have special plans for Kira. While Odo tries to find whoever is behind this, Kira tries to keep her friends alive albeit with little success.

My Opinion: The world is grey, not black and white. This episode proved that point very well. And I really liked that Kira didn't start to apologize for what she did because I never believed she did regret it. He was the enemy and she fought against the enemy with all her might. There's no such thing as a clean war and she is no hypocrite claiming there was.

Synopsis: Quark sells Odo an infant shapeshifter who has been badly injured by radiation poisoning. Dr. Bashir can treat him and now Odo tries to teach the glass of jelly how to become a real shapeshifter and how to communicate with its environment. But it's only when Dr. Mora Pol helps him that they have some success.

My Opinion: This episode is great for two reasons. The first one is that a lot of scenes of this episode were about Rene Auberjonois talking to goo in variably-shaped glass bowls. And I loved watching him at that. I also liked how he argued with Mora and that they finally ended their quarrel about how Mora treated Odo when Odo was the goo in the bowl.
The second reason is that Odo can finally shapeshift again. It was a great gift from the dying infant and I loved the scene where he transformed into that hawk and flew around the promenade.

(From Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Marathon on January 30th, 2009)