DVD Collectors Online

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, a review by DJ Doena

Harrison Ford    ...    Indiana Jones
Cate Blanchett   ...    Irina Spalko
Karen Allen   ...    Marion Ravenwood
Shia LaBeouf   ...    Mutt Williams
Ray Winstone   ...    'Mac' George Michale
John Hurt   ...    Professor Oxley

Synopsis: 20 years have past, the Nazis are gone and Marcus Brody and Henry Jones, Sr. have died. But now there are Russians and they want to discover the secrets that are behind some mysteriously formed yet perfectly carved crystal skulls. And Indy is right in the middle of it. This time the treasure hunt leads to South America, in the Amazon River region and back to the time of the spanish conquistadores. And Indy is not alone. He's accompanied by his friend Professor Oxley, his former companion Marion - and someone he didn't expect.

My Opinion: I don't have anything against the chosen subject - this time aliens. I mean, c'mon, we've seen the Ark of the Covenant and even the Holy Grail and they've done miraculous things. So why not aliens. It was a very good movie; still I didn't enjoy it as much as its predecessors. It lacked a bit of the charm of the previous movies and there were too many over the top elements in it. For example Indy's survival of a nuclear explosion in a refrigerator that was blasted through the desert, or their triple fall down a waterfall.
My favourite of the series still remains Last Crusade.

(From DJ Doena's movie watchings 2009 on June 18th, 2009)

Cool Hand Luke, a review by GSyren

Title	Cool Hand Luke
Year	1967
Director	Stuart Rosenberg
Stars	Paul Newman, George Kennedy, J. D. Cannon, Lou Antonio, Robert Drivas
Overview
My thoughts	This is an excellent film. It has a great script. It has lots of excellent actors, many of whom has gone on to become famous later. So why did this film leave me indifferent? I really don't know. Maybe it was the downbeat ending. But I have seen many film noir with downbeat endings and liked them, so that doesn't make any sense. Maybe it was because I couldn't relate to the main character? Maybe it was just that I was in the wrong mode? I just don't know. Maybe the famous quote "What we have here is failure to communicate" applies to me? This should really be a 4 star film, but for me it was just a weak 3 stars. But don't let that put you off. By all accounts, this is an excellent film.
Rating

(From Reviews and ramblings by Gunnar on April 2nd, 2013)

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Marathon, a review by DJ Doena

Synopsis: During the repair of a food replicator, Chief O'Brien accidentally activates a hidden device that was planted there during the construction of the station 18 years ago. This device injects a virus into each replicated food. After the incubation time people start to babble incoherently, then they get fever and die. Even worse: At some point the virus has mutated and has become airborne. Now the entire station is in danger.

My Opinion: It was an average episode, but we've seen Odo and Quark working together for the first time and that was fun.

Synopsis: The first visitor from the Gamma Quadrant comes through the wormhole but he is not on a diplomatic mission. He is the prey in a hunt and the hunters are closing in. But he is no criminal nor did he do anything wrong - not even by the standards of his home world. He was bred to be the prey. The longer he stays alive and eludes his captors the more honour he brings to himself and to the hunter that kills him at last.

My Opinion: Genetically implemented "To the death!" mentality will become a common theme in DS9 and I think the characters handled this situation very well. They've bend the Prime Directive ("no interference in the business of other cultures unless asked to") without breaking it. I don't think Picard could have handled it better.

Synopsis: When the Runabout-class shuttle Ganges returns from the Gamma Quadrant they bring someone with them: Vash. Vash is a archaeologist who is more in the game for the money than the science. A few years back she accepted an offer by the godlike being Q to show her all the interesting places in the universe. Now she's back and Q with her. And Q always equals trouble.

My Opinion: Unfortunately this was the only appearance of John de Lancie in his role as Q on DS9. Stories with Q have mostly been interesting and this was one of them, especially (again) to point out the differences between Picard and Sisko. I really liked it when Sisko punched Q square in the face and he wasn't expecting that.

Synopsis: Three men try to kidnap Jadzia Dax from the station and bring her to a court. Jadzia Dax is a Trill, a symbiotic joined species with a humanoid host and a slug-like symbiont. When the host dies the symbiont will be transplanted into a new one. The former being - and mentor of Cmdr. Sisko - Curzon Dax has died a few years ago but now Jadzia is charged for a murder where Curzon is the prime suspect. But can Jadzia Dax being held responsible for something Curzon Dax supposedly did?

My Opinion: I liked that episode. It reminded me of the TNG episode where it was discussed whether or not Data - as an artificial life-form - has the right to make his own decisions. They had some compelling arguments for both sides and since the minds of host and symbiont have been truly merged it isn't as easy as it would be with Stargate SG-1's Goa'uld/Tok'ra. I also find it fascinating what we will learn about Curzon throughout the show without ever meeting him (except for that short flashback in the pilot).

(From Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Marathon on September 20th, 2008)