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Resident Evil: Apocalypse, a review by Hal

Title: Resident Evil: Apocalypse
Year: 2004
Director: Alexander Witt
Rating: R
Length: 94 Min.
Video: Widescreen 2.40:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, English: PCM: 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo, Commentary: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo, Commentary: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo
Subtitles: English, Portuguese, Spanish

Stars:
Milla Jovovich
Sienna Guillory
Oded Fehr
Thomas Kretschmann
Sophie Vavasseur

Plot:
After narrowly escaping the horrors of the underground Hive facility, Alice (Milla Jovovich) is quickly thrust back into a war raging above ground between the living and the Undead. It's a heart-pounding race against time as the group faces off against hordes of blood-thirsty zombies, stealthy Lickers, mutant canines and the most sinister foe yet.

Extras:
Scene Access
Audio Commentary
Feature Trailers
Deleted Scenes
Featurettes
Blu-Wizard

Not as good as the original.  I think what bothers me about this movie is that they've concentrated so much on the action that there's zero character development.  You don't get to know any of the characters well enough to develop any kind of connection.  The "bad" guy, other than Nemesis, keeps changing and there's little indication as to what their true motivation is.  The good guys get bitten and turn into bad guys, there really doesn't seem to be any way to overcome the forces that are behind the conspiracy, and in the end, when you think you've won, you actually haven't.  Obviously, they were setting up the sequel!  This barely gets a three rating for action and Nemesis.

Rating:

(From Hal's 2010 Horror Marathon Reviews on October 9th, 2010)

The Gold Rush, a review by Danae Cassandra

The Gold Rush
Year of Release: 1925
Directed By: Charles Chaplin
Starring: Charles Chaplin, Mack Swain, Tom Murray, Georgia Hale
Genre: Comedy

Overview:The Gold Rush is an indelible work of heartwarming hilarity. This special edition features both Chaplin's definitive 1942 version, for which the director added new music and narration, and a new restoration of the original 1925 silent film.

My Thoughts:
What a wonderful, enjoyable, well-made film.  Chaplin is a master of graceful physical comedy, seemingly effortless with his mastery of comedic timing and excellent classic scenes.  One cannot help but laugh at the Thanksgiving Dinner scene, or the dance of the dinner roles, but equally one cannot help but have a great sympathy for Chaplin's Prospector after his guests do not show for the dinner he worked so hard for.  Chaplin creates a character of fun comedy, yes, but also of heart.  The supporting cast is quite good too, especially Mack Swain's fellow prospector who gets some comic moments in as well.  Highly recommended, even if you aren't a big fan of silent films.  One of the most genuinely funny films I've seen.

Bechdel Test: Fail

Overall: 4.5/5

(From Off Day Alphabet Marathon on September 4th, 2014)

Grey's Anatomy Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

Main Cast:
Ellen Pompeo as Dr. Meredith Grey
Sandra Oh as Dr. Cristina Yang
Katherine Heigl as Dr. Isobel "Izzie" Stevens
Justin Chambers as Dr. Alex Karev
T. R. Knight as Dr. George O'Malley
Chandra Wilson as Dr. Miranda Bailey
James Pickens, Jr. as Dr. Richard Webber
Isaiah Washington as Dr. Preston Burke
Patrick Dempsey as Dr. Derek Shepherd
Kate Walsh as Dr. Angela Sheperd

---

1. Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head


My Thoughts:
While this is a good episode... I was expecting more from the first episode of the season. The main case they had to work on was of the bartender at the bar across the street from the hospital. So they make a big deal out of it and how everyone there knows him and is worried for him. Unfortunately we never see much of this character in previous episodes so it is hard to care about him the way they expect us to. But I blame the fact that season 1 only had 9 episodes to work with.

My Rating:

2. Enough is Enough
Predictably, tension mounts between Meredith and Addison, which becomes odd when Meredith finds herself warming to the surgeon. While all the interns work to save an injured family, the truth is revealed as to why Addison and Dr. Derek "McDreamy" Shepherd divorced.

My Thoughts:
I enjoyed this one. A teen boy has the hard decision on whether or not to save his abusive father... and I must say I like the decision he came up with. Then there was the case where some guy got off on swallowing doll heads.

My Rating:

3. Make Me Lose Control
Cristina and Meredith wrestle with whether to tell Dr. Preston Burke that Cristina is carrying his child while Dr. Alex Karev and Dr. Isobel "Izzie" Stevens start to catch each other's attention. Meredith's mother becomes a patient, with George put in charge of her care.

My Thoughts:
A very interesting...and enjoyable episode. Secrets are revealed...and new friendships starts to bloom. They have a patient that can not control her blushing so she has an operation to fix it even though there is some pretty big possible complications and side effects.

My Rating:

4. Deny Deny Deny
Cristina, unhappy with being on the sidelines, re-exhausts herself in an effort to prove she's worthy of being a doctor. To make matters worse, Cristina's mother comes to stay with her to help her recuperate. The arrival of Dr. Ellis Gray sends Seattle Grace spinning.

My Thoughts:
This is a fun episode. While Cristina makes for a very good doctor... she is not very good at being a patient. She just could not sit back and relax and heal. And I definitely got a kick out of Meredith's mother, who is patient with  alzheimer's, keeps getting out of her room reliving her days as a surgeon.

My Rating:

5. Bring the Rain
Derek and Meredith work to convince a devoutly religious man that his daughter needs a life-saving procedure while Meredith makes a shocking discovery about her mother's past and George and Alex find themselves trapped with a patient who needs emergency surgery.

My Thoughts:
Good episode. Dr. Grey and Dr. Sheperd must find a shaman before they can treat a patient. And 2 of the interns gets trapped in an elevator with a police officer that was shot in the chest...giving them no choice but to operate right there in the elevator. Jimmy... I thought of you while watching this episode... There was a guy in this episode in chronic pain but alergic to all pain medication... so what does he do? He watches porn 24/7. Supposedly the porn releases indorphans that makes the pain more managable. Could you imagine having a medical excuse meaning you had to pretty much always have porn on no matter where you were or who was around. Your vacations to your mother's house would really be interesting, huh?

My Rating:

(From Grey's Anatomy Marathon on September 6th, 2009)