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Serenity, a review by Tom

Title: Serenity
Year: 2005
Director: Joss Whedon
Rating: 15
Length: 119 Min.
Video: Widescreen 2.35
Audio: English: DTS HD Master Audio, Spanish: DTS 5.1, French: DTS 5.1, Japanese: DTS 5.1, French: DTS 5.1, German: DTS 5.1, Italian: DTS 5.1, Spanish: DTS 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital Surround, Commentary: Dolby Digital Surround, Commentary: Other, Commentary: Other
Subtitles: Chinese, Commentary, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish

Stars:
Nathan Fillion
Gina Torres
Alan Tudyk
Morena Baccarin
Adam Baldwin

Plot:Awards:

Empire Magazine Awards	2006	Nominated	Best Newcomer	Nathan Fillion
Empire Magazine Awards	2006	Nominated	Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Hugo Award	2006	Won	Dramatic Presentation, Long Form
Saturn	2005	Nominated	Best Science Fiction Film
Saturn	2005	Won	Best Supporting Actress	Summer Glau
Scream Awards	2006	Nominated	Best Sci-Fi Movie

Extras:
BD-Live
Commentary
Deleted Scenes
Featurettes
Outtakes
PiP
Scene Access

In preparation for watching this movie I have watched the complete Firefly series for the first time these last few days. Of course being a big Buffy fan and also a Sci-Fi fan, I had given this series a chance when it first aired. But I had stopped watching after the first three or four episodes because it just didn't click for me. I am not a fan of western and I didn't like the western setting this series chose to do.
Now having giving this series a second chance, I must admit that I enjoyed it. Although still not keen on the western setting, it did work well in this series. As a matter of fact, it hardly feels like a science fiction series, it is just set on a spaceship. Great exchange in the last episode:
Wash: "It sounds like science fiction"
Zoe: "Honey, you are living on a spaceship"
Wash: "And your point being?"
So I can definately recommend this series to Western fans.

I love how the series has a real life feel to it instead of some futuristic feeling to it. I especially liked the Serenity set. It just really feels like a "lived-in" ship. And the characters were fun also (and you definately see that the actors had fun doing this series). I also like the fact that the series had the guts to do a soundless space, even with action scenes in space.
As I said, this series had a great ensemble cast, which were used very well. Sadly they didn't get around to really start the River storyline. Which brings us to the Serenity movie.

As I hoped, the movie finally brings the River storyline to the foreground. What started slowly building up in the series, is just now fully there.
The movie starts of great, though then it felt to me more like the standard sci-fi fare. Almost gone is the western ambiente, this movie feels more like the standard science fiction movie. This is how I originally hoped the Firefly series to be, but now I just feel like it missed capturing the series.
Also I don't feel like this movie is a good place to start. There is no introduction to the characters. It just continues on where the series left off. Good for the fans of the series, bad for the casual movie audience.
Besides River the other characters just don't seem to recapture the series. It was not obviously out-of-character, but they feel more one-dimensional here. In my opinion the captain was the most out-of-character. He was more the captain like Joss Whedon originally imagined him (if I go by what they said in the making of of the Firefly set), and not really the same as Nathan Fillion made him out to be in the series.
I also didn't like the fact .

Though it sounds like I didn't enjoy this movie all that much, this isn't correct. I liked it, but I would have liked it more if they followed more the spirit of the series. More drama than action. I give this four stars, but barely.

One thing I forgot to mention: I love the theme song of the series. It just captures the mood of the series perfectly.

Rating:

(From Serenity on February 17th, 2010)

Starship Troopers 3: Marauder, a review by Tom

Title: Starship Troopers 3: Marauder
Year: 2008
Director: Ed Neumeier
Rating: 15
Length: 105 Min.
Video: Widescreen 1.85
Audio: English: Dolby Digital TrueHD, Czech: Dolby Digital 5.1, Hungarian: Dolby Digital 5.1, Polish: Dolby Digital 5.1, Russian: Dolby Digital 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital Stereo, Commentary: Dolby Digital Stereo
Subtitles: Arabic, Bulgarian, Commentary, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, Greek, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Slovakian, Slovenian, Swedish, Turkish

Stars:
Casper Van Dien
Jolene Blalock
Stephen Hogan
Boris Kodjoe
Amanda Donohoe

Plot:
STARSHIP TROOPERS 3: MARAUDER[/i] explodes with a mind-blowing man-on-bug combat. Col. Johnny Rico (Casper Van Diem) is back to lead his team on a secret mission to rescue a small crew of troopers starnded on the remote planet of OM-1. Battling bugs both new and old, the new "Marauder" advanced weapons technology maybe their only hope against a treasonous element operating within the Federation itself. As Captain Lola Black (Jolene Blalock) and the rest of the starship crew fight to survive in the harsh conditions, it begins to dawn on them that something on OM-1 is very, very wrong. This time the bugs have a secret weapon that could destroy humanity. Join the Mobile Infantry in this intergalactic action-packed adventure.

Extras:
BD-Live
Commentary
Featurettes
Music Videos
PiP
Scene Access
Trailers

I enjoyed this one much more than the second part. Like the first part it is again much more self-satirical about the fascist aspects of the federation. Although I think it is just trying to hard to top the first one in this regard and undermines the first one a bit.
Although the religious aspect is just ridiculous. I am not sure if it is supposed to be funny or not. The religious characters constantly complain about stuff being blasphemy. What is blaphemic about cursing using "f*cking"? If I would be religious, I probably would have found some imaginery blasphemic. Like a gun symbolizing a cross or the "The Creation of Adam" (by Michelangelo) recreation.
I am taking the religious stuff like it is supposed to be a parody (it probably is), and think of it as being purposefully idiotic.

Rating:

(From Tom's Random Reviews on December 12th, 2009)

Tom's Random Star Trek Reviews, a review by Tom

Star Trek
1.27 The Alternative Factor
Writer: Don L. Ingalls (Writer), Gene Roddenberry (Original Characters By)
Director: Gerd Oswald
Cast: William Shatner (Kirk), Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock), Robert Brown (Lazarus), DeForest Kelley (Dr. McCoy), Janet MacLachlan (Charlene Masters), Nichelle Nichols (Uhura), Richard Derr (Barstow), Arch Whiting (Assistant Engineer), Christian Patrick (Transporter Chief), Eddie Paskey (Lesley)

I never really liked this episode. I find it boring. Some guy is in conflict with his anti-matter universe self.

Rating:

(From Tom's Random Star Trek Reviews on October 27th, 2011)