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Spy Kids 2 - Island of Lost Dreams, a review by Rich

Spy Kids 2 - Island of Lost dreams



The coolest SPYkids anywhere are back for a huge new adventure! This time, Carmen and Juni are on a mission to recover a device that threatens the entire world! They enlist the skills of Mom and Dad (Carla Gugino and Antonio Banderas) - and even their SPY grandparents (Holland Taylor and Ricardo Montalban) - in a thrilling show of family teamwork! With even more cool gadgets, imaginative creatures and awesome special effects...it's nonstop high-tech adventure for everyone!

Rarely does a sequel meet expectations after a good first film, but the 2nd instalment of spy kids actually surpasses the original. With the most bizarre gadgets, imaginative scenarios - from a fantastic amusement park at the beginning, sword fight with skeletons, and to the mini zoos and morphed animals nearer the finale. The special effects are better portrayed on film than the 1st, and again it is spot the star as cameos regularly pop up in minor roles during the movie. The acting bearing in mind 3/4 of the time is being done by children is not too trashy.
Visually pleasing and entertaining.
 

**Carla Gugino mini-marathon


(From Riches Random Reviews on August 7th, 2009)

Leap Year, a review by Tom

Leap Year (2010/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Optimum Releasing (United Kingdom) Director: Anand Tucker Writing: Deborah Kaplan (Writer), Harry Elfont (Writer) Length: 100 min. Video: Widescreen 2.35 Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Subtitles: English

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Stars:
Amy Adams as Anna
Matthew Goode as Declan
Adam Scott as Jeremy
John Lithgow as Jack Brady
Noel O'Donovan as Seamus

Plot:
Amy Adams (Enchanted, Doubt, Julie & Julia) and Matthew Goode (Watchmen, Match Point) star in LEAP YEAR, a romantic comedy that follows one woman's determined quest to get married to the perfect guy... despite what fate has in store for her.

When their four-year anniversary passes without a marriage proposal, Anna decides to take matters into her own hands. Hearing of an Irish tradition that allows women to propose to men on February 29th, Anna decides to follow her boyfriend Jeremy (Adam Scott, Step Brothers, Mother-In-Law) to Dublin and get down on one knee herself.

But airplanes, weaather and fate leave Anna stranded on the other side of Ireland, and she must enlist the help of handsome and surly Declan to get her across the country. As Anna and Declan bicker across the Emerald Isle, they discover that the road to lova can take you to very unexpected places.

Directed by Anand Tucker (Shopgirl, Hilary and Jackie), Leap Year is from a screenplay by Deborah Kaplan & Harry Elfont (Made of Honor, Surviving Christmas).

Extras:

• Deleted Scenes
• Featurettes
• Scene Access
• Trailers

Very average. This movie didn't even manage to keep my attention throughout. Too bad that John Lithgow was only in one scene. I think he could have saved this movie.

Rating:

(From Tom's Random Reviews on January 29th, 2011)

My PILOT Marathon, a review by Rich

Torchwood - Series 1

Everything Changes
WPC Gwen Cooper is at the scene of a brutal murder, when the "special ops", known only as Torchwood, arrive. After witnessing the group bring the dead man back to life, Gwen goes in pursuit of this mysterious organisation, only to see weirder things than she could ever imagine existed. Soon after, she begins to regret giving in to her curiosity, when she meets Captain Jack Harkness.



This exciting and leftfield DOCTOR WHO spin-off finds philanderer of the future, Jack Harness arriving in contemporary Cardiff and being inducted into Torchwood – a covert extra terrestrial and paranormal investigation agency

For the first half an hour or so I enjoyed this fresh series, the mix of sci-fi, special powers, aliens etc blended well with some light hearted banter and a few interesting characters. But towards the end when the lovely Indira Darma (Rome) was killed off in ridiculous fashion, and the constant horrendous Welsh accents started grating, I was glad it finished.
The budget is noticably small, production feels a bit cheap and nasty, the main character is too comical to be taken seriously, and the insertion of swear words made me feel this programme may lose it's identity in terms of intended audience.
A promising idea spoilt.
 

(From My PILOT Marathon on September 18th, 2009)