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The Ides of March, a review by Antares

The Ides of March (2011) 3/5 - Maybe it's just me, but I like my political films to have a little bit of bite to them. And that is what is sadly missing from this film. It's all a little too neat and the story just doesn't suck you in the way a good political drama should. Philip Seymour Hoffman and Paul Giamatti are great as usual, but the other actors are pretty blah and seem to be just going through the motions. Maybe this is what Clooney was looking for, but it makes for a rather ho hum film.

(From Antares' Short Summations on October 9th, 2013)

The St. Francisville Experiment, a review by Danae Cassandra

The St. Francisville Experiment
Year of Release: 2000
Directed By: Ted Nicolaou
Starring: Madison Charap, Ryan Larson, Paul James Palmer, Tim Baldini
Genre: Horror

Overview:My Thoughts:
This is my first foray into the "found footage" genre, and I'm feeling kinda ambivalent about it. There were some good things here, but there were an equal level of bad ones.

The good: This may be an ultra-low-budget film, but that look works it. It really does look like something that four inexperienced college students might make in a night at a haunted house. I like that they tied into real history with Mme. LeLaurie, and that the filmmakers tried to set it up beforehand as being something they were filming as a ghost-hunting/documentary project for college. It gives it some context for being "found footage."

The average: There's a lot of shaky-cam, but that really didn't bother me. The haunted house was inconsistently creepy, and some parts were simply silly.

The bad: While the actors did a good job portraying silly young college students, for the most part their characters were annoying. Especially Ryan. She was super, super annoying and I really wanted a ghost to get her. Madison was almost as bad, especially with her "white light of protection." She was simply screaming to me as being someone who read Buckland's Big Blue Book and saw The Craft and thought she knew everything she needed to about being Wiccan. Again, totally wanted a ghost to get her, just not as much as Ryan. I didn't like any of these people, but the actors came off as playing them very naturally.

It was hard to suspend disbelief and accept this as actually being found footage. I wasn't invested in the characters, or their story, and we didn't learn enough about the ghosts, who were definitely the most interesting part.

Bechdel Test: Pass

Overall: 2/5

2015 Horror Movie Count: 7

(From Horror/Halloween Marathon 2015 on October 11th, 2015)

"Battlestar Galactica" Marathon (1978-2009), a review by DJ Doena

Synopsis: "Commander, there's a signal coming over Fleet Comm Line Alpha!" There's another surviving Battlestar, the Pegasus, under the command of Commander Cain, a living legend. Now they have two Battlestars and Cain wants to use them to attack the outer capital of the Cylon Empire. But Adama can't leave the fleet defenceless, he has to care for more than just revenge. And Baltar has now the force of three Basestars and wants to wipe out the colonial fleet once and for all.

My Opinion: Great start to a great two-parter. I always liked this Cain. At times he seems morally ambiguous but he has his heart at the right place and he takes a stand for what he believes is the right thing to do. I also liked that they made some new special effects shot for this and the following episode, especially when it comes to shooting down Cylon Raiders. And I loved Baltar's face when he saw that second Battlestar!


Synopsis: Thanks to the Pegasus Baltar's attack failed miserably but the Galactica was heavily damaged. But the fleet is running out of fuel. They have to attack the Cylon capital and their fuel depots. Cain devises a plan where the Pegasus diverts the Basestars and the Galactica attacks Gomorray and secures the fuel. One Battlestar against three Basestars. This will be a battle to be remembered.

My Opinion: Cain is a great contrast to Adama. I always felt that Adama was more a member of the Quorum of Twelve and the leader of the fleet than a military commander. Cain is a warrior to the core. The greater the battle, the greater the victory. I really loved it when he charged that two Basestars (Baltar has of course retreated). And I loved it how Baltar shooed his Raiders from the Pegasus to Gomorray and then back to his Basestar and how he (inadvertently) made them totally useless.

Synopsis: The Cylons have developed a new tactic. Instead of engaging the colonial Vipers in a dogfight and getting shot down they simply load their Raiders with explosives and ram the Galactica. And it's working. The Galactica sustains heavy damages. One landing pod is burning uncontrollably, Adama is badly hurt and needs surgery and Boxey, Athena, Boomer and others are caught between burning sections of the ship. Every attempt to extinguish the fires is failing until there's only one solution left: To blow holes in the outer hull and let the vacuum of space do the job.

My Opinion: This episode and the two previous ones were re-cut and released in european theatres as Mission Galactica: The Cylon Attack. I thought this was a good, dramatic episode that took its time to develop the characters a bit more - especially Boomer's and the doctor's character. I also liked Starbuck's and Apollo's "space walk". It may not have looked perfect but I thought it looked fairly decent and not as if they were hanging on ropes or something.

Synopsis: A patrol has gone lost when they were scouting a nearby sector. Suddenly there were bright lights and an eerie sound and they simply vanished. Starbuck, Apollo and Sheba (Cain's daughter) land on a planet in that sector and discover a crashed ship - and what seems to be a survivor. He asks to be brought to the fleet and they agree. But once in the fleet he tries to become more: The fleet's leader to Earth and he has very persuasive powers. He even promises them their arch enemy: Baltar.

My Opinion: Patrick McNee played a great Iblis. He has the charisma and when he threatens someone he is deadly serious. It became clear very quickly what Iblis was supposed to be, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Synopsis: As promised, Baltar is now a prisoner in the fleet and Count Iblis gains more power every day. But since he has come aboard the spheres of bright light are always in and around the fleet and they seem connected to Iblis. Starbuck, Apollo and his father are amongst the few who don't fall for Iblis's charming personality. And Baltar has found out where he heard Iblis's voice before: From the voice synthesizer of the Cylon Imperious Leader.

My Opinion: Funny thing is that Patrick McNee actually voices the Imperious Leader. But luckily neither is Iblis the devil in the literal sense nor are these light beings angels. They are just older than the Humans. One could compare it to the First Ones in Babylon 5. I liked the conclusion that even these higher beings have to follow the rules and that not even Iblis can break them. But I have to say that I didn't like Anne Lockhart's (Sheba) acting in the "ship of light". Her mourning didn't convince me. Granted the acting in this entire show isn't the best, but that scene stood out for me.

(From "Battlestar Galactica" Marathon (1978-2009) on March 28th, 2009)