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Shaun of the Dead, a review by Jon

Shaun of the Dead
5 out of 5



Shaun (Simon Pegg) is struggling to make his relationship with Liz (Kate Ashfield) work, because he spends too much time at the pub and with his friend Ed (Nick Frost). A zombie outbreak is the last thing he needs...

Shaun of the Dead is a far better film than you might expect. It's a proper zombie film, albeit a funny one, with irony and gore by the bucket load. Made by people who love the old zombie flicks, it's wonderful fun with a lot of heart. Simon Pegg and especially Nick Frost are hilarious throughout and pull off the more dramatic stuff too (a very British thing to successfully mix drama and slap-stick).

It's one of the best purely British films for years. Aside from a fantastic cast, the characters feel very true, so you might not ask for a romantic comedy when you sit down for some gore, but you get one anyway! It helps that they don't have to change because the best zombie films are never character driven; you introduce zombies to any mix and it simply accentuates the relationships and neurotics that were already there and lets them play out naturally and confidently in a state of heightened tension. Shaun and his companions don't affect the situation at all, they just try to survive it. You can take the actors out of the sitcom, but you can't take the sitcom out of the actors! Good job as well.

Spaced wasn't just any sitcom though. They peppered every episode with affectionate digs at classic movies, throwing plenty of perfectly judged gags around in some complicated sequences, yet never drowning the story. Shaun is more of the same on a basic level, but the screenplay is more assured and ambitious with lots of old-fashioned links between scenes (a throwaway line early in the movie gives you clue to a characters fate). And the ending is wonderful. Again typical sitcom (not even rom-coms are this natural), but with a nice twist in the zombie plot.

Neither the rom-com, or the zombie factor are compromised. Both naturally compliment each other, so you get the absolute best of both worlds and something unique and brilliant is the result. Written by and starring talented film-geeks with a detailed understanding of what a zombie story is, it's definitely a film for this generation and will last for years. Hot Fuzz was a very funny follow up to Shaun, but not as clever or honest (that time the characters couldn't be so laid back). Edgar Wright gives excellent value for money, regardless of what he does.

(From Jon's Marathon of Horror! 2009 on October 10th, 2009)

The Santa Clause, a review by KinkyCyborg

Moving on....   

The Santa Clause



Title:The Santa Clause
Year: 1994
Director: John Pasquin
Rating: PG
Length: 97 Min.
Video: Full Frame 1.33:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, French: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo, Spanish: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo
Subtitles: Spanish

Stars:
Tim Allen
Judge Reinhold
Wendy Crewson
Eric Lloyd
David Krumholtz

Plot:
Superstar comedian and Golden Globe winner Tim Allen shines bright in Disney's magical, larger-than-life hit comedy that People Magazine dubbed "the most playfully amusing, inventive cinematic...fable in several decades!" Now in this all-new special edition DVD release, your entire family can enjoy never-before-seen bonus footage, interactive games and more, making this original holiday classic a joyful new experience!

Extras:
Scene Access
Audio Commentary
Feature Trailers
Featurettes
Interactive Games
DVD-ROM Content
Closed Captioned


Solid holiday fare with many funny and endearing moments. They should have stopped after this one as the sequels were overkill.

I don't know why but Disney made Tim Allen their darling poster boy for this and many other Disney ventures. I guess they were trying to cash in on the success of his Home Improvement series but almost all of his roles don't seem to stray too far from his Tim The Toolman persona.

I haven't watched it yet but I curious to see him in Redbelt where he is supposed to be some sort of sleazy fight promoter. I don't dislike him but I need to see something more from him beyond these carbon copy family movies before I can begin to take him seriously as a worthy actor.

KC

Rating:

(From KinkyCyborg's Random Reviews 2010 on November 14th, 2010)

Tom's TV Pilots marathon, a review by Tom

Enterprise: Season One (2001/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Paramount Home Entertainment (Germany) Length: 1107 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, German: Dolby Digital 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Subtitles: Commentary, Danish, English, German, Norwegian, Swedish

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Enterprise
1.01+02 Broken Bow
Cast: Scott Bakula (Jonathan Archer), John Billingsley (Phlox), Jolene Blalock (T'Pol), Dominic Keating (Malcolm Reed), Anthony Montgomery (Travis Mayweather), Linda Park (Hoshi Sato), Connor Trinneer (Charles "Trip" Tucker III), John Fleck (Silik), Melinda Clarke (Sarin), Tommy 'Tiny' Lister, Jr. (Klaang), Vaughn Armstrong (Admiral Forrest), Jim Beaver (Admiral Daniel Leonard), Mark Moses (Henry Archer), Gary Graham (Ambassador Soval), Thomas Kopache (Tos), Jim Fitzpatrick (Commander Williams), James Horan (Humanoid Figure), Joseph Ruskin (Suliban Doctor), Marty Davis (Young Archer), Van Epperson (Alien Man), Ron King (Farmer), Peter Henry Schroeder (Klingon Chancellor), Matt Williamson (Klingon Council Member), Byron Thames (Crewman), Ricky Luna (Carlos), Jason Grant Smith (Crewman Fletcher), Chelsea Bond (Alien Mother), Ethan Dampf (Alien Child), Diane Klimaszewski (Dancer), Elaine Klimaszewski (Dancer), James Cromwell (Zefram Cochrane (uncredited))

It took a long time, that Enterprise found its footing. Shortly before it was cancelled it became worth watching. All modern Star Trek shows only starting becoming as great as what they are remembered for beginning with their third or fourth season. For Enterprise though this was too late.
The pilot is rather weak and not really engaging.

Rating:

(From Tom's TV Pilots marathon on July 24th, 2012)