DVD Collectors Online

Echelon Conspiracy, a review by KinkyCyborg

Echelon Conspiracy



Title:Echelon Conspiracy
Year: 2009
Director: Greg Marcks
Rating: PG-13
Length: 105 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Stars:
Shane West
Edward Burns
Ving Rhames
Jonathan Pryce
Sergey Gubanov

Plot:
When Max Peterson (Shane West) receives a series of mysterious cell phone messages that promise him untold wealth, he soon finds himself the victim of a deadly international plot. Chased by a lethal team of government operatives, Max races across the planet in a desperate attempt to unravel a conspiracy that threatens the stability of the entire world. Edward Burns, Ving Rhames and Martin Sheen co-star in this techno-charged edge-of-your-seat action thriller!

Extras:
Scene Access
Bonus Trailers



Good cast and above average action but when watching the trailer for this movie you can't help think it's a poor man's Eagle Eye which ironically was one of the preview trailers on the dvd. Same premise of an unknown entity making mysterious calls to an apparently random victim and pulling their strings.

Again it was entertaining enough but I thought the way the computer geek played a Jedi mind trick on the super computer that became self aware was a little too convenient and cheesy. Almost like it was playing homage to the ending of Wargames. Also the Russian bit at the end made for a muddled conclusion that just raised some unanswered questions.

Good popcorn action but completely bereft of originality.

KC


Rating:

(From KinkyCyborg's Random Reviews 2011 on September 5th, 2011)

The Russians Are Coming The Russians Are Coming, a review by Danae Cassandra

The Russians Are Coming The Russians Are Coming
Year of Release: 1966
Directed By: Norman Jewison
Starring: Carl Reiner, Eva Marie Saint, Alan Arkin, Brian Keith
Genre: Comedy

Overview:
When a sightseeing Soviet commander runs his submarine aground off the New England coast, the crew's attempts to find a boat to dislodge them almost start World War III!.  Alan Arkin leads an all-star cast - including Carl Reiner, Eva Marie Saint, Brian Keith and Jonathan Winters - in this "riotous, uproarious [and] side-splitting" (Cue) comedy!

Russian Lt. Rozanov (Arkin) and his crew hit the beaches of Massachusetts unaware of the panic they're about to start.  Despite the Russian's harmless intentions, the folks in town think a full-scale Soviet invasion has been launched!  What's worse, their police chief (Keith) has left his hysterical assistant (Winters) in charge...and the one man who knows the truth (Reiner) is only stirring up more chaos!

My Thoughts:
This is a pretty good piece of Cold War satire, both humourous and serious simulaneously.  It's a funny film - but it's also got its point to make.  I was struck by how news in the film travels like the telepone game you played as a kid.  One person says one thing, another mishears or misconstrues, and suddenly you have a complete panic on your hands.  If the film seems like a farce - exaggerated and improbable - it doesn't seem so to me.  Sadly, the reactions of the locals seems all to likely in real life.  Absurd?  Absolutely.  But not unrealistic.

The performances are good, especially Alan Arkin as Rozanov.  It's also well filmed - you wouldn't know that the Cape Cod style town was constructed in Mendocino, or that the submarine wasn't real unless you were looking for that specifically (the US military refused to loan or allow them to use the one the Russians would have).  It's a bit long, and might not play so well to modern audiences, even though the message is still valid.  I liked it quite a bit though.

Bechdel Test: Pass

Overall: 3.75/5

(From Within My (Mom's) Lifetime Marathon on November 19th, 2015)

Tom's Random Reviews, a review by Tom

Being Erica: Season Two (2009/Canada) IMDb | Wikipedia Just Bridge (Netherlands) Director: Writing: Length: 540 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1 Subtitles: Dutch

---

Another great season I enjoyed very much. I have gone on and ordered the third season now.
Some interesting direction the premise took this season. This series is definately worth to be checked out. No wonder they planning to do a UK and a US remake. I hope they manage to bring something new to the table instead being a simple rip-off.

#	Episode	Rating
01	Being Dr. Tom
02	Battle Royale
03	Mama Mia
04	Cultural Revolution
05	Yes We Can
06	Shhh... Don't Tell
07	The Unkindest Cut
08	Under My Thumb
09	A River Runs Through It... It Being Egypt
10	Papa Can You Hear Me?
11	What Goes Up Must Come Down
12	The Importance of Being Erica

(From Tom's Random Reviews on September 4th, 2011)