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Noise, a review by KinkyCyborg

Noise



Title:Noise
Year: 2008
Director: Henry Bean
Rating: NR
Length: 88 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1
Audio:
Subtitles:

Stars:
Tim Robbins
William Hurt
Bridget Moynahan
William Baldwin

Plot:
Academy Award winner Tim Robbins stars as David Owen, a Manhattan husband and father so unhinged by the noise outside his window that he declares a one-man war on car alarms. But when David goes over the edge and becomes a citywide noise-vigilante known as 'The Rectifier', he incurs the wrath of New York's sleazy blowhard Mayor (a hilarious performance by Oscar winner William Hurt) who vows to stop him. How much damage will one guy inflict for a little peace and quiet?

Extras:
Audio Commentary
Interviews


When looking at the cover art and after reading the movie synopsis I was expecting to see something along the lines of Falling Down where the central character snaps and goes on a rampage. While Robbins' as the Noise Vigilante of New York does in fact lose control several times it had more of a comic feel to it. Then the movie tapers off into a political and legal battle which was rather unexpected. I mean it was still pretty good but I think it could have been elevated to much loftier heights.

Robbins is convincing as the man who takes the noise problem into his own hands by brute force. I could certainly relate to this man as I am easily irritated by too much noise myself and have ofter imagined doing many of the things his character does in fact do.

During his quest to implement strict noise ordinance for the city an idiot, asshole Mayor played marvelously by William Hurt stands in his way by using a legal maneuver to have the 'Noise Bill' thrown off the ballot. How Robbins gets around it was both hilarious and ingenious, even if it is only fiction.

His actions of course alienate him from his wife, played by sexy Bridget Moynahan. I realize I'm always needlessly mentioning the gorgeous women in the movies I watch but I can't help myself, horny toad that I am. After watching this, sweet Bridget has cracked my top 5 of hot actresses! 

A very good watch for a straight to video flick. My only pet peeve was some cheesy first person narration near the beginning that was completely unnecessary but overall I'd recommend this film for a watch.

KC

Rating:


(From KinkyCyborg's Random Reviews 2011 on August 17th, 2011)

Quicksand, a review by Rich

Title: Quicksand

Runtime:95
Certificate:NR
Year:2001
Genres:Action, Suspense/Thriller

Plot:Martin (Michael Keaton) travels to Monaco to check on some "suspicious" activities of a film production.  With millions of dollars at stake, certain shady investors decide to set him up to get rid of him permanently.  Martin is framed for the murder of the Monaco Police Chief and finds himself a fugitive from justice.  Now he must find out who is behind this scheme and race to find Jake (Michael Caine) - the only person who can help prove his innocence - before they find and kill him.

My Review:
With the feel of a made for TV movie, this disappointing flick wastes some acting talent with a dumb and tensionless script. Half-hearted performances from the likes of Keaton and Caine, who would probably like to scrub this from the CV's. It is the tired old Russian mafia kidnaps kid and frames innocent script, and there is nothing to rave about regarding an exciting twist at the end, there wasn't one.
The budget must have been spent on the stars, as there was nothing left for the film, which was mostly shot in cheap studio locations and without any major action scenes. The only positives were the scenes shot in the European cities, and the acting of Kathleen Wilhoite which was head and shoulders above the others.
Literally sunk like Quicksand.


(From DCO third annual November Alphabet Marathon - discussion/review/banter thread on November 20th, 2009)

Smallville Marathon #2, a review by DJ Doena

Synopsis: Lex has been in the Belle Reve Sanitarium for over a month now but he hasn't swallowed the drugs they've given him. He still remembers Clark's secret but promises him that he won't tell anyone. Lionel decides that it's time for more drastic measures.
But Clark has other "friends" in Belle Reve, too. It's the guy that had his powers for a short time, the guy that could split himself in two and the freak killer. Together they try to break out and for this they need Clark.

My Opinion: "Freak Reunion" with Clark as the guest of honour. I find it sadly ironic that in the end it was Clark that killed Lex's memories (albeit not knowing it). I also liked to see that Lionel realized that he had to pay a price when he erased Lex's memories.

Synopsis: A jewelry store is about to be robbed but Clark interfers. But an accident happens and he loses his sight. It is often said that the loss of one sense sharpens the others: Suddenly Clark becomes the perfect eavesdropper. And he will need that ability because Pete is in mortal danger.

My Opinion: This season he got his ability rather late, but better late than never. The "Ray Charles glasses" didn't really fit him but the later glasses made an interesting change to his face - but I wouldn't fall for that disguise.

Synopsis: It have been hard weeks for Chloe. She got fired from the "Daily Planet". Her father had been fired from LuthorCorp. The "Torch"'s computers were taken away. She had an argument with Clark and now he tries to kill her with is truck but can't even remember it. Can it get any worse? It can.

My Opinion: And once again the Kent's truck is demolished. I loved the fight between Lana and Chloe, it was excellently choreographed. But the writers still haven't learned to use computers and computer terms correctly. It began with the removal of the hard drive while the computer was running and didn't end with the allegation that an IP address is somehow bound to the hard drive of a computer.

Synopsis: A new student has come to Smallville High. He has the "gift" of seeing the death of the person that touches him. This helps Clark to prevent a suicide but that changes the future of three other persons.

My Opinion: I found this episode interesting for several reasons. It implied that Clark may never die. To be perfectly honest I dislike that idea. Just like mind-reading I consider immortality more as a curse than a blessing. At first it sounds like a cool idea. But when you really think about it, it would only be cool if everyone else would be immortal, too. Or would you like to see you friends die all the time while you live on?
At the end of the episode Clark fears that his interferences could make things worse than they are. He's right, they could. What would the world look like if he didn't save Lex? It may be even worse than now. Luckily for us, Clark is like the scorpion from the tale of the frog and the scorpion (in a good way, of course): "I could not help myself. It is my nature.".

(From Smallville Marathon #2 on May 31st, 2008)