DVD Collectors Online

Silent Hill, a review by RossRoy

Original Title: Silent Hill Year: 2006 Country: Canada Director: Christophe Gans Rating: 18 Length: 125 Min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, English: Dolby Digital Stereo, French: Dolby Digital 5.1 Subtitles: English

What they say
Unable to accept the diagnosis that her daughter should be permanently institutionalized for psychiatric care, Rose (Radha Mitchell: 'Man on Fire') flees with her child to the deserted town of Silent Hill in search for answers. It's soon clear this place is unlike anywhere she's ever been. It's smothered in fog, inhabited by strange beings and periodically overcome by a living 'Darkness' that literally transforms everything it touches. Rose begins to learn the history of the eerie town and realizes that her daughter is just a pawn in a larger, terrifying game.

My Thoughts
That was weird, but then, the game is weird too, so, nothing surprising. I haven't played any Silent Hill games much, not exactly the type of game I like. But, I did buy Silent Hill 2 on Xbox and played almost all the way through (according to a friend). And I must say, the movie is very faithful to what I remember from Silent Hill 2. The atmosphere, the monsters, the oddness of the city itself, it's all there. The director did a good job capturing the mood of the game.

As for the movie itself being good, I'd say yes. I enjoyed it. There are a few things that feel forced, but isn't it the case with most, if not all horror movies? The monster designs are good, and I like the fact that they went the people-in-suits road, with some CGI enhancement, instead of going all CGI. It gives a little something extra that has yet to be captured with CGI creatures.

All in all, a well executed haunted city story, albeit a bit on the weird side. As far as video games to movie adaptation, I believe it's one of the good ones.

Rating:

(From RossRoy's Random Viewings on May 31st, 2008)

Bull Durham, a review by Antares

Bull Durham





Year: 1988
Film Studio: Orion Pictures, Mount Company
Genre: Sports, Comedy, Romance
Length: 108 Min.

Director
Ron Shelton (1945)

Writing
Ron Shelton (1945)...Written By

Producer
Mark Burg
Charles Hirschhorn
David V. Lester
Thom Mount (1948)

Cinematographer
Bobby Byrne

Music
Michael Convertino (1953)...Composer

Stars
Kevin Costner (1955) as Crash Davis
Susan Sarandon (1946) as Annie Savoy
Tim Robbins (1958) as Ebby Calvin 'Nuke' LaLoosh
Trey Wilson (1948) as Joe Riggins
Robert Wuhl (1951) as Larry Hockett
William O'Leary (1957) as Jimmy
David Neidorf as Bobby
Danny Gans (1956) as Deke

Review
       The late eighties saw the release of some of the best sports movies ever made. In a span of five years Hoosiers, The Natural, Eight Men Out, Field of Dreams, Major League and Bull Durham Davis (Kevin Costner), Ebby Calvin LaLoosh (Tim Robbins), a newly signed bonus baby pitcher for the Durham Bulls, was blessed by the gods with a thunderbolt for a right arm. Unfortunately, he hits the strike zone as frequently as a real thunderbolt strikes the same place on earth twice. Davis is a journeyman catcher who has bounced around the minor leagues his whole career and is traded to the Bulls as . His sole purpose with the Bulls is to give LaLoosh the guidance and instruction needed to help graduate up to is truly her soul mate and that she really is in love with him. She too will have to be guided by , before she can also graduate to the big league of a lasting meaningful relationship.

       A first rate comedy and a quasi love story help to make Bull Durham an enjoyable romp that can be appreciated by both sexes, especially when viewed back-to-back with its sister film Field of Dreams, also starring Costner. To some this is the only way to truly kick off the baseball season each year.


Review Criterion
- The pinnacle of film perfection and excellence.
- Not quite an immortal film, yet a masterpiece in its own right.
- Historically important film, considered a classic.
- Borderline viewable.
- A gangrenous and festering pustule in the chronicles of celluloid.


(From Bull Durham (1988) on August 4th, 2010)

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

Synopsis: After a world war that was implicitly caused by SG1's arrival on the planet, Daniel is stuck there. A religious leader has overcome his goverment and has the Stargate under his control. With the help of the soldiers of the old administration and some SG teams he tries to regain control over the situation.

My Opinion: This episode failed to give the feeling that you are in a post world war situation. This is mostly due to the fact that we didn't see much of the planet and what we saw was undamaged.

Synopsis: Teal'c is testing a new machine that embeddes the consciousness into a virtual reality. But the program adapts itself and makes winning harder for Teal'c - until he wins no more. Unfortunately Teal'c can only leave after a having completed the scenario. Teal'c is trapped and he could very well die in real life.

My Opinion: Great episode. The First Person Shooter feeling was much better than in the movie Doom. I really liked the scenes when they showed the surveillance monitors in which Teal'c was seen as game character. The way Teal'c ran through the corridors also looked as if he was a player avatar and not a real person. But they should have given Daniel the god mode cheat.

Synopsis: Teal'c has moved into his first appartment outside the base. But he has problems to adapt to the lives of "normal" people. However, his neighbours like him, especially the good looking woman next door. But she has also problems of her own.

My Opinion: I also would like to have "T" as a neighbour. If I hadn't read Erica Durance's (Lois Lane in Smallville) name in the intro, I am not sure I would have recognized her. I had the feeling she was much more natural here, in Smallville she seems to be much more factitious and - alarmingly - old. I liked the episode, yet I found it unrealistic that Daniel has gone alone.

Synopsis: The industrialist Alec Colson discloses that alien exists in a press conference. He even presents a living Asgard. He got this information because his company has helped to build the F-302 and has analysed a part of the Asgard DNA. But there are forces outside the SGC who also have no interest that the truth comes out.

My Opinion: I liked this episode, too. Especially Carter's and Thor's attempts to cover it up with the help of the hologram technology. But the end felt a bit constructed with him having to leave Earth to avoid assassination.

(From "Stargate SG-1" Marathon on April 22nd, 2008)