DVD Collectors Online

X-Men, a review by DJ Doena

January, 7th


Hugh Jackman    ...    Logan / Wolverine
Patrick Stewart   ...    Professor Charles Xavier
Ian McKellen   ...    Eric Lensherr / Magneto
Famke Janssen   ...    Jean Grey
James Marsden   ...    Scott Summers / Cyclops
Halle Berry   ...    Ororo Munroe / Storm
Anna Paquin   ...    Rogue / Marie D'Ancanto
Tyler Mane   ...    Sabretooth
Ray Park   ...    Toad
Rebecca Romijn   ...    Mystique
Bruce Davison   ...    Senator Kelly

Synopsis: Evolution is a long and slow process. But every few hundred millenia it takes a leap forward. It has created human mutants. But how are they going to live in our society? Do we have to control them? Do we have to know what they can do? There's a war upon us and Magneto wants to make sure that he's on the winning side. And for this he needs a mutant called Wolverine, or doesn't he?

My Opinion: Although it's a comic adaption it feels much more real than previous superhero movies, Christopher Reeve's Superman movies come to mind. As with Batman, Superman and all the other american superhero I've never read any of the comics and am thus not burdened with any expectations or knowledge that could hinder my enjoyment of the movie.
And so I enjoyed it a lot. The characters were great altough a bit few for my taste. It's a dilemma: One the one hand it's not really logical that each side has only three fighters (Wolverine, Storm & Cyclops vs. Sabretooth, Mystique & Toad) but if they had been more it may have been to much. But the fights were cool, everyone could participate and use their abilities.
When X-Men Origins: Wolverine comes into the theatres this year you'll find me exactly there!

(From DJ Doena's movie watchings 2009 on January 7th, 2009)

Planet of the Apes (Remake), a review by Tom

Title: Planet of the Apes
Year: 2001
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: PG-13
Length: 120 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35
Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, English: DTS 5.1, French: Dolby Digital Stereo, Commentary: Dolby Digital Stereo, Commentary: Dolby Digital Stereo
Subtitles: English

Stars:
Mark Wahlberg
Tim Roth
Helena Bonham Carter
Michael Clarke Duncan
Paul Giamatti

Plot:
Get ready for "a wild ride" (The Washington Post) as legendary director Tim Burton's unique vision of the future roars to life in this "amazing display of imagination" (San Francisco Chronicle).

In the year 2029, an American astronaut (Mark Wahlberg) crash-lands on a strange planet where talking apes rule over the human race. Now he must evade the advancing gorilla army to reach a sacred temple that my hold the shocking secrets of mankind's past - and the last hope for its salvation!

Extras:
Commentary
DVD-ROM Content
Featurettes
Multi Angle
Music Videos
Production Notes
Scene Access
THX certified
Trailers

It has been exactly five years to the day, since I have last watched this movie. I always enjoyed it since I first saw it in the cinema. Great ape make-up!
I also did like the ending, which has garnered a lot of criticism. I always thought that it had just the right amount of an "Huh?" effect, which was needed, because, let's be honest, everybody expected some kind of surprise ending like the original Planet of the Apes had.
Much of the criticism stems from the fact, that for most people it did not make any sense. But it makes perfect sense to me.
In the beginning of the movie, we have three instances, where someone passes the anamoly from the Earth side (I assume, that the space station is in our solar system), and is transported to the other planet (space-travel) and through time. The later someone passes the anamoly, the farther along the timeline this someone arrives. This is why the crew of the space station arrived thousands of years before the main protagonist on that planet (there was probably some time between Mark Wahlberg's travel through the anamoly and that of the stations). And this is why the monkey arrives relatively soon after Wahlberg (a few days maximum) because there was only about a minute between their travels through the anamoly (the monkey went first, therefore arrived later).
Now in the end, Wahlberg traveled back. Thade presumable was freed or escaped some time after that, he went to the lake were Wahlbergs pod crashlanded (which Thade knew about), and traveled with this pod through the anamoly. And as he traveled a lot later through it, he arrived long before Wahlberg on Earth.
Now of course, we still have to give a lot of creative license into account, that the changed Earth looks a lot like the Earth we know. But I think it is needed for this cliffhanger to work.

Rating:

(From Tom's Random Reviews on January 5th, 2009)

Tom's TV Pilots marathon, a review by Tom

Knight Rider: Season One (2008/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Universal Pictures (United Kingdom) Length: 769 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles:

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Plot:
An iconic TV classic is back and better than ever in the reinvented, updated and super-charged Knight Rider Season One. From executive producers Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity franchise), David Bartis (The O.C.) and Glen Larson (Battlestar Galactica) comes this action-packed series about the coolest car ever created K.I.T.T. (Knight Industries Three Thousand), that's equipped with artificial intelligence capable of hacking into any computer, the weapons system of a jet fighter, and incredible custom body technology that allows it to transform into other vehicles. Relive every Season One episode as an elite team of crime-fighters work with K.I.T.T. (voiced by acting legend Val Kilmer) to track down elusive, hight-tech villains. Presented in uninterrupted Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, you won't want to miss this fast-paced ride to the wild side!


Knight Rider
1.01 Prometheus (Pilot Episode)
Writer: Dave Andron (Writer), Glen A. Larson (Original Characters By)
Director: Steve Shill
Cast: Justin Bruening (Mike), Deanna Russo (Sarah Graiman), Sydney Tamiia Poitier (Carrie Rivai), Bruce Davison (Charles Graiman), David Hasselhoff (Michael Knight), Greg Ellis (Welther), Chris Mulkey (Sheriff Ramsey), Wayne Kasserman (Dylan Fass), Jonathan Chase (Kevin), Susan Gibney (Jennifer), Kevin Christy (Belle), Jack Yang (Cross), Kevin Dunigan (Smoke), Jelly Howie (Woman in Bed), Hope Riley (Amber), Leah Fitzpatrick (Sadie), Blake Silver (Dustin Cary), Justin Schaeffers (Stoner Kid), Phil Laak (Poker Pro), Lucas Fleischer (Priest), Matthew J. Cates (Truck Driver), Matt Leonard (Zion), Val Kilmer (K.I.T.T. (voice, uncredited))

I very much enjoyed this pilot episode of the new Knight Rider series. Sadly the rest of the series didn't live up to it. Except towards the end when they retooled the show, it became something I would have liked to see continued.

Rating:

(From Tom's TV Pilots marathon on June 4th, 2012)