DVD Collectors Online

Where the Heart Is, a review by Tom

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Title: Where the Heart Is
Links: IMDb | Wikipedia

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Year:	2000 / United States
Director:	Matt Williams
Writing:	Lowell Ganz (Screenwriter), Babaloo Mandel (Screenwriter), Billie Letts (Original Material By)
Rating:	PG
Length:	115 Min.
Video:	Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85
Audio:	English: Dolby Digital 5.1, French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles:	English, French

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Stars:
Dylan Bruno as Willy Jack Pickens
Ray Prewitt as Tim
Laura House as Nicki
Karey Green as Rhonda
Natalie Portman as Novalee Nation

Plot:
Ashley Judd and Natalie Portman star in this offbeat, delicious slice of life about a down-on-her-luck southern teen who, after gaining 15 minutes of fame for giving birth to "The Wal-Mart Baby", begins to put her life together with the help of the kind, quirky strangers who become her surrogate family.

Based on the #1 best-selling novel by Billie Letts, this "brilliantly funny, deeply moving, beautifully acted" (KNX/CBS Radio) film co-stars Stockard Channing and Joan Cusack in an inspiring celebration of love and friendship.

Awards:

Teen Choice Awards	2000	Nominated	Film - Choice Actress	Natalie Portman
Young Artist Awards	2001	Nominated		Natalie Portman
YoungStar Awards	2000	Won	Best Young Actress/Performance in a Motion Picture Comedy	Natalie Portman

Extras:
Music Videos
Scene Access
Trailers

Even though I wouldn't classify it as a must-see, I enjoyed this movie. Natalie Portman did a great job as the likable small-town girl. The two hours ran by fast. Also Ashley Judd did a good job, but it was a little unrealisitic for her character to have five children and still have this great figure.
I wonder from where the cover is. It looks like it is for another movie. Ashley Judd, for example, was blonde in this movie.

Rating:

(From Tom's Random Reviews on August 21st, 2010)

The Kill Point, a review by KinkyCyborg

Title:The Kill Point
Year: 2007
Director: Episode 1 - Another TourSteve Shill, Episode 2 - Who's Afraid of Mr. WolfSteve Shill, Episode 3 - No MeringueSteve Shill, Episode 4 - Pro PatriaSteve Shill, Episode 5 - Visiting HoursSteve Shill, Episode 6 - Great Ape EscapeSteve Shill, Episode 7 - Rabbit At UnrestSteve Shill, Episode 8 - The Devil's ZooSteve Shill
Rating: NR
Length: 342 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1
Subtitles:

Stars:
Episode 1 - Another Tour
Donnie Wahlberg
Michael Hyatt
John Leguizamo
Peter Appel

Plot:
From SPIKE TV comes the acclaimed original series, "The Kill Point." Emmy® Award-winning actor John Lequizamo is "Mr. Wolf," an Iraq war veteran who leads his ex-platoon on a daring bank heist. But when the robbery goes tragically wrong, the onetime soldier has no choice but to take hostages. Going head-to-head with Mr. Wolf is "Horst Cali" (Donnie Wahlberg), a no-nonsense hostage negotiator who refuses to back down. What follows is a thrilling match of wits and guts between two men who both have something to prove--and everything to lose.

Extras:
Scene Access
Interviews
Closed Captioned


8 part, 6 hour made for TV mini-series produced for Spike TV about a botched bank robbery and the ensuing hostage situation.

I started this with some trepidation as I wondered how a simple bank heist could sustain 6 hours and while they could have shaved an hour off all in all I thought it was very good.

John Leguizamo was excellent, one of his best performances ever frankly. Donnie Wahlberg was top notch and in his element as well. Tobin Bell, playing a ruthless business man trying to get his hostage daughter out was solid too in the few episodes he appeared. It was refreshing to see him shed his Jigsaw moniker to take on a more meaningful role.

The biggest flaw I found was the inclusion of a rooftop sniper who babbled prophetic nonsense throughout the series which made no sense as in the end his character had no significant impact on the plot or it's conclusion.

Interesting twist near the end, and a good ending too even if it was a bit predictable.

Some 90 minute movies take me several days to finish watching based on time available and my level of interest. I knocked off this six hour mini-series in one day. That should tell you something about it.   

KC

Rating:

(From KinkyCyborg's Random Reviews 2010 on September 25th, 2010)

"Stargate SG-1" Marathon, a review by DJ Doena

Synopsis: RepliCarter is broght before the remaining System Lords who mistook her for the real one. She kills them all, including Yu. After that she begins to take over the entire Goa'uld fleet. Ba'al is forced to battle against the Replicators which gives the rebel Jaffa the opportunity to take the most holy planet to every Jaffa: Dakara. But on Dakara is also a powerful weapon and everyone wants to have it: The Humans, the Replicators - and Anubis.

My Opinion: Now they want to bring it to an end. RepliCarter casually killed the System Lords T-1000 style before the intro and now overruns the remaining forces. But of course there is a super-duper-weapon that can stop her and it happens to be in the place where Teal'c is heading. That 's a bit constructed but it's the grand finale and thus I don't resent it.

Synopsis: On Dakara the future of the galaxy will be decided. The rebel Jaffa are holding the temple and Sam tries to activate the weapon. Then Ba'al's fleet arrived. Although he works for Anubis he isn't loyal to him (he is a Goa'uld after all) because his own survival depends on the failure of Anubis's plan. But then the Replicator fleet also arrives and the war reaches its climax.

My Opinion: They dug deep into the special effects bag of tricks this time. The huge space battle above Dakara was really cool. Although they used archive footage when they opened all Stargates in the galaxy it was still awesome because the imagination has done the rest. The moment where Daniel managed to bring all the Replicators to a hold was great.

Synopsis: RepliCarter has stabbed Daniel but has been killed by the weapon on Dakara. Daniel is dead but once again he gets the opportunity to ascend. Oma Desala is offering him this again but Daniel learns through the "newspaper" that Anubis wants to destroy avery life in the galaxy and is going to attack Dakara. But Oma must not interfere and there is nothing Daniel can do. None of the ascended - except for Oma and Jim - is even willing to notice his presence.

My Opinion: When I watched the episode for the first time I didn't realize who "Jim" really is. They killed two birds with one stone with this episode. In the normal world there was simply no way to stop Anubis, this was fairly obvious from the beginning of the season. But they managed to finish his and Oma's story without making it unrealistic.
But the story about Carter and Jack slowly becomes a neverending story. In JAG it also took an eternity but at least they finished it in the series finale.


Synopsis: Although there is a great risk involved, SG-1 (including) Jack undertakes a time travel 5000 years into the past. They want to steal a Zero Point Module from Ra. Since the Goa'uld have never found out what it is they are hoping that the theft won't change the timeline.
Dr. Daniel Jackson is teacher for English as a second language. Dr. Samantha Carter proof-reads scientific articles. But one day they are contacted by the Air Force. During an excavation a mysterious video tape had been found.

My Opinion: Alternate-Daniel and -Sam are very well portrayed, both come across as nerdy scientists who never achieved anything important. Sam's speach (in front of no one) about her reproductive organs was a nice reference to the pilot. Jack hasn't changed at all and that also fits.
First you don't know the people but once you know them you meet them everywhere. Matthew Bennett (Aaron Doral in Battlestar Galactica) was recently seen in his second appearance on SG-1 (Icon) but as a different character. Now Alessandro Juliani (Lt. Gaeta in BSG) has his second appearance, also as another character.

Synopsis: The Puddle Jumper that has been lost in the desert for 5000 years has been found. With the help of the retired but reactivated Colonel O'Neill it can be used again. O'Neill, Kawalsky and Sam and Daniel (who are allowed to come along) travel not into the past but to Chulak, where they encounter Teal'c - and Apophis.

My Opinion: When Alternate-Carter mentions that the time machine has to be destroyed I was reminded of Back to the Future. But Doc Brown also wanted to correct the timeline before doing so.  The funny thing is that the original Daniel has now helped to drive Ra away from Earth as well as to kill Ra on Abydos. On both occassions he helped to create an uprising.
Technically speaking the four people that are sitting on Jack's pond aren't the same people we've known for the last eight years. Apart from the fishes that are now in Jack's pond we don't know which events we've witnessed have happened in this timeline. For example, the fishing trip at the end of Threads doesn't seem to have taken place. But that's technically speaking.
It was nonetheless a very good  season finale.

The Season - My Opinion: I had the suspicion that Jack's promotion to General hat the purpose to give Richard Dean Anderson more time off without having to invent excuses. But there is a suprising number of episodes that take place on the base and Jack is in the center of it. But they also continued the trend to concentrate on one character during an episode. But that worked very well for the season.
The final episode of the sixth season was called "Full Circle" and this season accomplished that. The System Lords are defeated, the Replicators are (currently) no thread anymore, Anubis is gone and the Jaffa are free.
In my opinion the last five episodes were the perfect ending for the series. The story has come to an end but there is still room for imagination (e.g. what will now happen with the Jaffa nation).
And that's the reason I have a stomach ache regarding the next two seasons. While I have watched the first eight seasons more than once, I'e only watched a few episodes of the ninth and none of the tenth season. But I am aware of what will happen, I am just not sure that it will work. It's kind of sad that a cash cow series is milked to death just to get the last gold coin out of it.

But we will see.

(From "Stargate SG-1" Marathon on April 26th, 2008)