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Tower of Terror, a review by addicted2dvd

Title: Tower of Terror
Year: 1997
Director: D. J. MacHale
Rating: NR
Length: 89 Min.
Video: Full Frame 1.33:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround
Subtitles:

Stars:
Steve Guttenberg
Kirsten Dunst
Nia Peeples
Michael McShane
Amzie Strickland
Melora Hardin

Plot:
Big-screen stars Steve Guttenberg (Three Men And A Little Lady) and Kirsten Dunst (Drop Dead Gorgeous) encounter a host of haunts in this delightfully spooky mystery! Buzzy Crocker (Guttenberg) is a hard-luck photojournalist whose unexpected encounter with an old woman leads him to investigate an unexplained, decades-old disappearance. It seems that one Halloween night, many years ago, five partygoers vanished in the elevator of the Hollywood Tower Hotel...and ever since, their ghosts have remained trapped inside the dilapidated old building! In an action-filled story that delivers creepy fun for everyone, Buzzy ultimately teams with his niece (Dunst) to solve the mystery while managing to save their lives and capture the biggest story of the year!

Extras:
Scene Access
Closed Captioned

My Thoughts:
I know at first thought what does this have to do with birthday? That is what I thought at first till my daughter reminded me how much it does have to do with birthdays. Not only is there a party mix-up that caused the whole thing... but it is also the old lady's birthday when she wants to return to the hotel many years later. This is a fun little spook-tacular from Disney that is made with the entire family in mind. Brittany and I watched this one together today. And we both enjoyed it.



(From Weekend Movie Marathon: Bizarre Birthdays on May 29th, 2010)

Dark Star, a review by Rich

Dark Star



The first film from John Carpenter is a hilarious romp in a not-so-glamourous spaceship into the outer reaches of space. A team of astronauts manning the beat-up spaceship Dark Star are on a mission across the universe to seek out and destroy unstable planets. The journey is wrought with mishaps and danger seems to come from the most unexpected places. There are misbehaving pet aliens, suicidal bombs that see no reason to live and want to blow themselves up, frozen crewmates dispensing advice from beyond the grave and a surly, unhelpful main computer that holds the men it serves in total contempt. Despite all these problems, the crew is still bored to the brink of madness. Co-written by Dan O'Bannon, who would go on to write the script for ALIEN, the film is brimming with jabs at the science fiction genre. John Carpenter cut his directing teeth on this film, which he also co-wrote. Made while Carpenter was a college student and produced for very little money, DARK STAR is considered to be the most successful student film ever made.

Not a lot to add to this infamous cult film. Visual feast it is not, oscar inspired performances forget it, cinematography amateurish.
But what it does have is an intelligent, witty and wholesome script which if you can overcome the 70's dialogue and mannerisms is very watchable.
The philosophising with the bomb was brilliant, and the beach ball alien hilarious.
Despite the movie probably being more of a favourite for sci-fi fans, student hippies or 70's nostalgia freaks, this is still agreeable to the average Joe in the street.
 


(From Riches Random Reviews on March 19th, 2009)

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

Synopsis: The Hak'tyl have to abandon their base because the Goa'uld Moloc has learned of it. O'Neill grants asylum to them until they've found a new world. Additionally, Rya'c wants to marry one of the Hak'tyl but Teal'c is opposed to this idea. But this gets him in trouble with Ishta.

My Opinion: Very good episode about tradions and role perceptions. I liked it a lot.

Synopsis: With the help of the Asgard beam technology the Stargate is stolen directly out of the Gate room. Shortly after this millions of Jaffa die of no obvious cause. While the SGC is trying to reclaim the Stargate, Teal'c (who is stranded at the Alpha Site) tries to find out what has caused the deaths.

My Opinion: The huge handicap of this episode was "Previously on 'Stargate SG-1'". They practically spelled the punch line out before they had even shown the first real scene. The secret of the death Jaffa was none to the audience and the "VX gas" was immediately classified as "harmless" in one's mind.
I was also sad when the rebel Jaffa died, I liked the guy.


From disc 3 on there are only 3 episodes on each disc. Additionally there are a few episodes not in the correct order, but I will watch them chronologically.

Synopsis: RepliCarter has come to our galaxy and is the bearer of bad news: Fifth has encoded the Replicator blocks that makes them immune to the disintegration weapon. RepliCarter wants to help Sam breaking the code, because she despises Fifth.

My Opinion:

(From "Stargate SG-1" Marathon on April 24th, 2008)