DVD Collectors Online

The Marine 2, a review by Rich

Title: The Marine 2

Runtime:95
Certificate:R
Year:2009
Genres:War, Action

Plot:WWE Superstar Ted DiBiase joins "the few and the proud" in this explosive tale of white-knuckle action, stunning effects and true heroism fit for the Marines. This fully loaded DVD brings the action home with six featurettes, Muay Thai fight outtakes and much more!
On a well-deserved vacation to an exotic resort, Marine sergeant Joe Linwood (DiBiase) and his wife Robin are attending a VIP party when disaster strikes. Ruthless terrorists crash the event and claim a number of hostages -- including Robin! Alone in a foreign country with no backup, Linwood must rely on his Marine training to single-handedly strike back at the terrorists, save the hostages and prevent international war!
My Review:
Very much like the first film, this flick promises more than it delivers and ends up being a ridiculous Hollywood action film.
With the wooden Ted DiBiase in the lead role, one should be warned what drivelling depths this film will sink to. However it drops below awful in a storyline apparently written by a 7 year old boy, a cast that besides eye candy Lara Cox is laughable, and a ridiculous sense of self-worth that is totally undeserving.
A movie to prove that high-budget action does not equal entertainment.


(From Riches Random Reviews on January 17th, 2010)

The Trench, a review by Rich

The Trench



THE TRENCH tells the story of a group of young British soldiers on the eve of the Battle of the Somme in the summer of 1916, the worst defeat in British military history. Against this ill-fated backdrop, the movie depicts the soldiers' experience as a mixture of boredom, fear, panic, and restlessness, confined to a trench on the front lines. At the center of the troops is 17-year-old Billy MacFarlane (Paul Nicholls), who alongside his older brother, Eddie (Tam Williams), has volunteered for service. Like their fellow squad members, they are boys dressed as men. Their survival is in the hands of war-hardened Saergeant Winter (Daniel Craig) and bookish Lieutenant Hart (Julian Rhind-Tutt). However, when word comes that the squad will join the first wave of the attack, they all face an equal fate.

Full of character cliches, cringe-worthy dialogue, totally inaccurate historical detail, embarrasingly cheap sets, this film was a mess from start to finish, and a total waste of the acting talent available. Do they believe that anyone would think the trenches before the Somme would be spotless and dry, full of clean cheery soldiers in perfect health, lolling about without any sense of imminent danger?
This is a totally unconvincing production, a major disappointment and an insult to the viewer.
 
 





(From Riches Random Reviews on May 11th, 2009)

My PILOT Marathon, a review by Rich

Sugar Rush

Pilot
Meet 15-year-old Kim, who has an earth-shattering, hormone-surging crush on her new best friend, Sugar. Sugar is a bad girl. She's wild, sexy and exciting, and meeting her has turned Kim's world upside down. Kim and family have just moved to sunny Brighton



SUGAR RUSH is an end of the pier roller-coaster ride; it is an unpredictable journey into the mind of a screwed up, loved up, lustful adolescent. For Kim, everything sucks, everything is a cliché. What hope is there when you have mini freak for a brother, an obsessively house-proud Dad and a Mum who seems to have forgotten them all and is behaving as if she's the one who's 15 years old. Cue Sugar, who will change Kim's life beyond recognition.
Kim has a hormone surging, life changing crush on Sugar, otherwise known as Maria Sweet - the kind of girl who rules the world until she's 17, then ends up pushing a pram around the block. But to Kim she's the all encompassing, passionate experience that until now she has only dreamed of.

Disjointed and fairly uninspiring pilot, a bit like a lesbian Adrian Mole episode.
It is tastefully written, and you can't help but sympathise for the character Kim. I imagine it will develop into a 'will they/wont they' storyline, based on early signs in this opener. Kims mother certainly was a will they, as she found a new job for the families handyman over the kitchen table!
There is no great exposé of flesh or sex, it is more a love story, confused sexuality, unrequitted passion and innocent discovery of 2 adolescent girls.
Not sure whether this is one to recommend (unless you doing a lesbian marathon) will probably get back to the series in the future to learn how it develops.
 

(From My PILOT Marathon on September 24th, 2009)