DVD Collectors Online

Monsters vs. Aliens, a review by Dragonfire

I still love animated movies and I'll usually see most of them at least once.  I do tend to like the Pixar and Disney movies more than some others, but I do think that Dreamworks has been getting better.

A meteorite lands on Earth, specifically on Susan Murphy, just before her wedding.  During the ceremony. Susan starts to grow until she is 50 feet tall.  The government, lead by General W.R. Monger arrives and takes Susan away.  She ends up in a special top secret facility where monsters captured by the government are being held and her name is changed to Ginormica.  When the alien Gallaxhar starts an invasion on Earth, Monger convinces the government to send in the monsters to deal with the threat. 

This movie is in 3D in some theaters.  The theater here doesn't do that, so I saw the normal 2D version.  I think it would be entertaining to see the 3D version though.

The plot is definitely a nod to the old monster movies.  The monsters are interesting and they all have some unique abilities that they use, or try to use, in dealing with the Gallaxhar threat.  The plot isn't that complicated, but it is very entertaining.  There are things in it aimed at kids and other things aimed at adults without anything being too suggestive.  The movie isn't as silly as some other animated movies and I think adults can enjoy it just as much as children.  There are a few scenes that might scare or upset young children, but overall, it is a very family friendly movie.  The humor works well and only a few of the jokes are gross.

The animation is very well done.  I think this is the first time that Dreamworks has come close to the quality of Pixar with the animation, though what they have just managed to do - mainly with the animation of hair - is something that Pixar has been doing for years.

Overall, this is a really entertaining animated movie that deserves to be seen. 

 

I did get a review posted on Epinions if anyone wants to take a look.

Monsters vs. Aliens

(From Monsters vs. Aliens on April 30th, 2009)

The Island, a review by DJ Doena

Ewan McGregor    ...    Lincoln Six Echo / Tom Lincoln
Scarlett Johansson   ...    Jordan Two Delta / Sarah Jordan
Djimon Hounsou   ...    Albert Laurent
Sean Bean   ...    Dr. Merrick
Steve Buscemi   ...    James McCord
Michael Clarke Duncan   ...    Starkweather Two Delta
Ethan Phillips   ...    Jones Three Echo
Brian Stepanek   ...    Gandu Three Echo

Synopsis: Lincoln 6 Echo and Jordan 2 Delta are two of few survivors of an environmental disaster. Now they live in an isolated facility with a few thousand other survivors and their only hope is that they win in the lottery and can leave for The Island, the last place on Earth where people can live directly under the sky. But Lincoln starts to ask questions because he has weird dreams he can't explain and when he finds out the terrible truth, everything changes.

My Opinion: Some people compared this movie to Logan's Run but I can see only a few minor parallels, IMHO not enough to really compare these movies. The movie basically flows by from one chase scene to the next. There's not that much plot in it, but it's enjoyable to watch.

(From The "What I watch when I don't watch TV shows" thread on December 14th, 2008)

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Marathon, a review by DJ Doena

Synopsis: Kira is being abducted from Bajor and brought to Cardassia. When she awakes there she looks like a Cardassian. She is told that the real Kira died during the occupation and that she is an operative of the Obsidian Order who has replaced the real Kira. But why would the Cardassians go to such great lengths to convince her of that ridiculous story?

My Opinion: This was a very good story. I liked it how she became friends with "her father" despite him being a Cardassian. Kira has certainly grown since her early days on the station. And it's again fascinating to watch "the simple tailor" Garak and how simply orders two cardassian warships to stand down and "forget" their encounter with the Defiant.

Synopsis: Quark buys some salvaged wreck parts. But then he finds a stasis chamber which contains an infant of an unknown species. Dr. Bashir finds soon out that there's something wrong with that (extremely fast growing) child. He seems to be genetically engineered yet there is an obvious flaw that makes him dependent of a non-replicatable drug.

My Opinion: The concealing of the true identity of the alien was well done, I liked that. Too bad that the Jem'Hadar has been portrayed very one-dimensional in this episode. But since I know that we'll see more deeper characterizations in the future I will argue that he was to young and has seen too few of the world to oppose his genetical programming.

Synopsis: When O'Brien and Jake Sisko try to purge a program from the ore processing centre computers they accidentally activate a security program. It was designed to prevent bajoran workers from taking over DS9. And every time they can break through another barrier more parts of the station get locked down until the program initiates the self-destruct.

My Opinion: This episode I enjoyed. Every time "Gul Dukat" announced another containment level I was like "Oh no, what now?" And it became even more interesting when the real Dukat entrapped himself on the station, too. The drawback of such episodes is that main characters rarely die on most shows. Thus you aren't really worried about them. It's no coincidence that Star Trek coined the term "redshirt".

Synopsis: Despite the threat that the Dominion represents the Defiant is on a survey mission in the GQ. There they discover a planet that shifts into our dimension every sixty years. But the time it remains here grows shorter with every cycle. Jadzia falls in love with one of the citizens there and thinks about staying.

My Opinion: I really like Jadzia. But this is the second episode in this season centered on her and the second I didn't find that interesting. The side-plot of Quark trying to get a holographic image of Kira was much more interesting. And especially what Kira and Odo were doing about Quark's attempts.

(From Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Marathon on October 18th, 2008)