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The Black Dahlia, a review by Rich

Title: The Black Dahlia

Runtime:116
Certificate:15
Year:2006
Genres:Drama, Suspense/Thriller

Plot:The Black Dahlia weaves a fictionalized tale of obsession, love, corruption, greed and depravity around the true story of the brutal murder of a fledgling Hollywood starlet that shocked and fascinated the nation in 1947 and remains unsolved today.  Two ex-pugilist cops, Lee Blanchard (Aaron Eckhart) and Bucky Bleichert (Josh Hartnett) are called to investigate the homicide of ambitious silver-screen B-lister Betty Ann Short (Mia Kirshner) A.K.A. "The Black Dahlia" - an attack so grisly that images of the killing were kept from the public.
While Blanchard's growing preoccupation with the sensational murder threatens his relationship with Kay (Scarlett Johansson), his partner Bleichert finds himself attracted to the enigmatic Madeleine Linscott (two time Oscar winner Hilary Swank), the daughter of on of the city's most prominent families - who just happens to have an unsavory connection to the murder victim.
True crime meets urban legend when De Palma brings Ellroy's The Black Dahlia to the big screen.

My Review:
Hollow and dull attempted portrayal of a true crime from history, told in the form of some noir gumshoe movie, and failing on all counts.
Despite a reasonable cast, a normaly successful director, a big budget, and a storyline from an apparently excellent book, they concentrate more on the relationships of the 2 main detective leads, and little on the investigation of the murder. The ending made no sense with characters that were not directly linked to the rest of the film, there is zero suspense or anticipation, the actors give mediocre performances (particularly Swank), and the lack of pace leads you willing the end to come soon.
The only element to admire in this whole sorry production are some spectacular cameraworked scenes reminiscent of Hitchcock.
A stylish disaster!


(From December Marathons - DISCUSSION AND REVIEW THREAD on December 16th, 2009)

16 Wishes, a review by addicted2dvd

16 Wishes (2010/United States) IMDb |Wikipedia |Trailer | Image Entertainment (United States) Director: Peter DeLuise Writing: Annie DeYoung (Writer) Length: 90 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, English: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo Subtitles:

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Stars:
Debby Ryan as Abby
Jean-Luc Bilodeau as Jay
Anna Mae Routledge as Celeste
Karissa Tynes as Krista
Kendall Cross as Sue Jensen

Plot:Extras:

• Scene Access
• Bonus Trailers
• Music Videos
• Interviews

While an entertaining film...I have seen better. Matter of fact I like the other Debbie Ryan film in this set better then this one (Radio Rebel). The story line keeps my attention but I found I didn't care about many of the characters and found it to be very predictable. I would say it is worth the time put in to watch it... but don't expect too much.



(From August Movie Marathon: Disney Channel Original Movies on August 3rd, 2016)

Angel Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

7. Bachelor Party
Original Air Date: 11/16/1999


Guest Stars:
Kristin Dattilo
Carlos Jacott
Ted Kairys
Chris Tallman

My Thoughts:
A good episode... we find out a bit about Doyle's past in this one. Cordelia is really starting to like Doyle by now. But at this point she still don't know he is part demon. At the very end of this episode Doyle has a vision about Buffy... so this must be the prelude to the first time Angel goes back to Buffy for an episode.

My Rating:

(From Angel Marathon on February 24th, 2010)