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Megamind, a review by dfmorgan

Megamind

Year: 2010
Director: Tom McGrath
Cast: Will Ferrell, Brad Pitt, Tina Fey
Overview: Packed with high-flying action and non-stop laughs, MEGAMIND puts a hilarious new twist on the superhero movie. Super villain Megamind's (Will Ferrell) dreams have come true when he conquers the city's protector, Metro Man (Brad Pitt), gaining control of Metro City. But when a new villain (Jonah Hill) is created and chaos runs rampant, the world's biggest "mind" and his comic sidekick Minion (David Cross) might actually save the day. With an all-star cast, including Tina Fey, and amazing animation, Megamind is "brilliant... the perfect film for anyone of any age" - **** The Sun

Watched: 11th Jun 2011
My Thoughts: Fairly standard animated romp with superheroes and supervillains.

My Rating: A mildly enjoyable 3



(From Dave's DVD/Blu-ray Reviews on June 18th, 2011)

The Land Unknown, a review by GSyren

The Land Unknown (4-041036-370213)

United States 1957 | Released 2014-08-15 on Bluray from Anolis Entertainment, Hollywood Classics, Universal Studios International

78 minutes | Aspect ratio 2.35:1 | Audio: German DTS-HD Master Audio Mono, English DTS-HD Master Audio Mono

Directed by Virgil Vogel and starring Jock Mahoney, Shawn Smith, William Reynolds, Henry Brandon, Douglas R. Kennedy

My thoughts about The Land Unknown:

I love fifties sci-fi and horror movies. Even when they are bad they are entertaining. The Land Unknown isn't really bad. It has it's weaknesses and its strength. You know it's far from perfect when the lizards are scarier looking than the dinosaurs. The T-Rex is just embarrassing. I can overlook that, but only just. Some of the special effects look quite good, though. The story is essentially fine. It's kind of The Land that Time Forgot, but at the other pole. Is it sexist? Yeah, by today's standard, but you can't measure a 50+ year old movie with today's yardstick. The German blu-ray release looks fantastic. I enjoyed this very much, but of course Jurassic World it is not.

I rate this title

(From Reviews and ramblings by Gunnar on June 13th, 2015)

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" Marathon, a review by DJ Doena

Synopsis: Buffy's 17th birthday is coming up and the gang has planned a surprise party. But Drusilla and Spike have also something planned: They want to reassemble the Judge, a demon who could bring forth Armageddon and destroy the Human race. And Angel and Buffy are getting closer and closer but the Gypsies who once cursed him will not allow that he is happy and they have an "agent" right in the gang's midst.

My Opinion: Maybe it's due to his frustration of sitting in a wheel chair, but reassembling the Judge contradicts Spike's statement in the season finale that he likes the world as it is ("Millions of 'Happy Meals' on legs."). But I liked this (and the following) episode very much and I really liked Vincent Schiavelli's appearance as Gypsy elder even though it was short. This episode also starts the tradition that Buffy's birthdays will always be terrible.

Synopsis: When Buffy and Angel have slept together, Angel experienced a "moment of true happiness" and subsequently lost his soul again because the curse was lifted. He's now Angelus again and teams up with Dru, Spike and the Judge. Buffy is crushed and has to deal with it, but she also has to stop the Judge of whom is said that he can't be destroyed by any weapon forged by men.

My Opinion: Angelus is back! I love David as Angelus. He's cruel, he's an asshole and he's still obsessed with Buffy. And he plays it very well. I'd say he plays the soulless Big Bad better than the tormented ensouled Vampire. I also love the idea to recruit the Big Bad from the good guys. It was also a great idea to kill a demon with some modern day weaponry instead of trying to slice and dice him with swords and the like. And I thought it was a great idea that Xander retained some of the memories from when he was a "real" soldier in Halloween.

Synopsis: When Cordy and Xander make out in Lover's Lane they are attacked by a Werewolf but they can escape. Since a Werewolf is a normal human being at day and only a Werewolf three nights a month there's only a short time for Buffy and other hunters to get him before he attacks more people and then goes dormant for a month. And Willow is frustrated that Oz won't make a move on her.

My Opinion: So, Oz is a Werewolf. Our trio seems to fancy more extravagant partners. I really like it how people - who are way different - are accepted by the gang as long as they don't do evil. This kind of acceptance and (later) alliance will help them to survive and defeat the true evil. The Werewolf costume didn't look really convincing but I assume it's hard to create a realistic one. It doesn't even always work when you use CGI. For example, Remus Lupin in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was also not a convincing CGI-Werewolf. But I really liked the Werewolf-CGIs of Underworld.
The growling contest between Angelus and Oz was also great.

Synopsis: After their relationship has become public knowledge, Cordy dumps Xander Valentine's Day, even though she (secretly) still has feelings for him. Xander is crushed, laughed at and furious. After he's witnessed Amy using a spell on one of their teachers he blackmails her to cast a love spell on Cordelia for that she may feel as tormented as he does. But the spell seriously backfires.

My Opinion: This episode managed to keep the balance between comedy and drama. The scenes between Xander and (all) the girls were hilarious but Giles managed to point out the seriousness of that whole affair. This also starts the tradition that using magic for one's selfish purposes will ultimately backfire and that magic is always to be handled with care.

(From "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" Marathon on April 25th, 2009)