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The Innocents , a review by Jon

The Innocents ***** Year: 1961 Director: Jack Clayton Rating: 12 Length: 96 Min. Video: Widescreen 2.35:1 Audio: English: PCM: 2-Channel Stereo, Commentary: PCM: 2-Channel Stereo Subtitles: English

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Deborah Kerr plays Miss Giddens, guardian of two angelic orphans. When ghostly disturbances make themselves felt she determines to protect her charges. Jack Clayton's superb adaptation of Henry James' The Turn of the Screw keeps us guessing until the end.

Fans of The Haunting will really like this one. And I mean the 1960s version, not the really crap remake! And The Others bears some comparison too, but this is far superior and doesn't rely on a twist. The story has a deeply creepy dark side and can be very disturbing, with echoes of The Shining.

Three comparisons in one paragraph! And normally I don't like the whole "if you like this, then you might like that, because it's like those" sort of review, but I'm trying to put The Innocents in context because no-one seems to have heard of it, which is criminal.

It's much more subversive than a typical horror. It even comes across as a very British period class drama complete with enthusiastic melodramatic dialogue, especially from Deborah Kerr. It would seem at home on cosy Sunday evening TV and you'd assume it was dated even in 1961, following as it did such revolutionary horror films as Psycho, Peeping Tom or Mario Bava's Black Sunday. But the flowery language and stilted politeness are a means to an end and create an almost satirical and cruel story that makes for an astonishingly powerful film. If anything, it is a finer piece of writing and more challenging than its more famous predecessors in horror cinema, but all go to prove that the early 1960s were one of the most fertile and important periods in the genre.

The story is based on The Turn of The Screw by Henry James, adapted by William Archibold and Truman Capote, who gave the story its twisted heart, subverting what you might have otherwise dismissed. And far from being the predictable old fashioned actress I may have insinuated she was earlier, Deborah Kerr, as the Governess Miss Giddens, is vital to selling this audacious plot. It is a captivating performance that traps the audience beautifully. Wherever your sympathies lie at the end will be because of her and in any case, don't expect an easy night's sleep after watching it!

The children, Flora and Miles, are played by Pamela Franklin and Martin Stephens. Essential to the story, the chemistry between them is wonderful, and so too their relationship to Miss Giddens and the housekeeper, memorably played by Meg Jenkins. Child actors are so often the weak spot, but these two will keep you guessing, especially Stephens. If The Omen had been filmed 15 years earlier, this kid would have been a shoe-in playing the little bastard!

For all the metaphors and subtext, The Innocents is first and foremost a visual ghost story. While it doesn't rely on jumps and gimmicks, Jack Clayton's clever direction, drawing together the brilliant performances and sumptuous sets, is complemented by Freddie Francis's gorgeous photography which will have you on the edge of your seat, peering into shadows. And while in the context of the story, the two ghosts may or may not exist, they will still make your blood run cold. A stunning moment on a rain-lashed lake is especially haunting, all the more for being in daylight. Clayton wrings every bit of potential from the frame without ever forcing the viewer's attention.

The result is possibly the finest ghost story ever filmed; a unique, memorable and important contribution from British cinema at its most confident. Big words, eh? Please give it a try.

Make sure you do on Blu-Ray too. The print is pristine and proves the real strength in high definition is not necessarily in CGI, but classic photography, where the depth of a well composed film comes to life. And in a sort of high class "Buy One Get One Free" offer, the BFI release also includes The Bespoke Overcoat (1955), a short film and another ghost story of a different tone to The Innocents. It is an absolute gem and, shush, but you might prefer it; it's that good.

(From "Fancy the pictures, me Duck?": The British Film Marathon on March 15th, 2011)

Birth , a review by addicted2dvd

Birth (2004/United States) New Line Home Entertainment Director: Jonathan Glazer Writing: Length: 100 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, English: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround Subtitles: English, Spanish

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Stars:
Nicole Kidman as Anna
Cameron Bright as Young Sean
Danny Huston as Joseph
Lauren Bacall as Eleanor
Alison Elliott as Laura
Arliss Howard as Bob

Plot:Extras:

• Scene Access
• Feature Trailers
• Bonus Trailers
• DVD-ROM Content
• Closed Captioned

While not a terrible movie. This one I really didn't care for nearly as much as I hoped to. I found the storyline to be a little too slow for my taste. And the story itself didn't feel that believable. I just don't think the main character would believe the kid what seemed to be so easily. And I must say... I did not like how short Nicole Kidman wore her hair in this movie. It looked terrible in my opinion. Over-all I would say it is just an average movie.




(From Nicole Kidman Birthday Mini-Thon on June 20th, 2011)

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

Synopsis: A Tok'ra base has been overrun by Anubis's troops and a group of SG teams helps to evacuate. They bring the Tok'ra to the Alpha Site, a planet unknown to the Goa'uld. The Jaffa rebels also live there since they've been betrayed by Imhotep. But both groups don't get along very well and it escalates when a Jaffa and a Tok'ra is killed under dubious circumstances.

My Opinion: In my opinion they portrayed the conflict well, because the basic statement is correct: While both are fighting for the same cause, they have been enemies for ages and that isn't solved over night. The "crisis management" of Jack, Bra'tac and Jacob/Selmak was also believable.

Synopsis: SG-1 comes to a planet that technologically isn't as far developed as Earth but they can offer something else: Tretonin. A medicine than can cure all kinds of illnesses and prevents from getting ill. The catch is that it suspends the natural immune system, that it has to be taken regularily and how it is produced.

My Opinion: What I liked here was the moral conflict. Nobody except SG-1 seems to have any problem with using a Goa'uld queen as long as it was just any queen. When it turns out to be Egeria, the mother of all Tok'ra, it becomes reprehensible. I liked it.

Synopsis: A reporter has learned of a secret project, code name "Prometheus". But it isn't what she'd thought it was, but the X-303, the first human-built mothership with hyperlight drive. But then Colonol Simmons and Adrian Conrad hijack it and only Sam and Jonas are on board to stop them.

My Opinion: I liked the cock-and-bull story Sam told the reporter of how they gained access to the alien technology and her intentional avoiding of the word "Roswell". While I liked the episode, the threat to blow up the ship and Nevada had a flaw: The Goa'uld's instinct of self preservation is extremely high and I would rule Simmons out as a martyr. I would have called the bluff.

Synopsis: SG-1 is asked by Thor to fly with the X-303 (Jack wasn't allowed to name her "Enterprise") to the home galaxy of the Asgards and fight the Replicators once again. The Asgard had an ingenious plan but it failed miserably. Now SG-1 has to face a completely new generation of Replicators.

My Opinion: When I wrote the above summary a moment ago, I actually wrote "new generation of Cylons" - and truth be told, that wasn't that far a mental leap. The new Replicators look like humans but they aren't. One of the five Replicators is played by Tahmoh Penikett (Karl "Helo" Agathon in Battlestar Galactica) who has a child with a Cylon in BSG.
There are other similarities as well. While the first four are normal Replicators, Fifth (Patrick Currie) has become much more human, an attribute he shares with certain Cylon models.
I liked this episode, too.

(From "Stargate SG-1" Marathon on April 12th, 2008)