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Drop Dead Fred, a review by Tom

Title: Drop Dead Fred
Year: 1991
Director: Ate de Jong
Rating: 12
Length: 95 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85
Audio: English: Dolby Digital Stereo, French: Dolby Digital Stereo, German: Dolby Digital Stereo, Russian: Dolby Digital Stereo
Subtitles: Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Norwegian, Polish, Swedish

Stars:
Phoebe Cates
Rik Mayall
Marsha Mason
Tim Matheson
Carrie Fisher

Plot:
Rik Mayall (The Young Ones, The New Statesman) gives a typically manic "Bottom"-style performance in this rip-roaringly funny comedy. This hilarious film also starts Phoebe Cates (Princess Caraboo, Gremlins 2), Bridget Fonda (A Simple Plan) and Carrie Fisher (Star Wars). When Elizabeth (Cates) returns to her mother's home when her marriage breaks up, she recreates her imaginary childhood friends, Fred (Maypall), to escape from the trauma of losing her husband and her job. In between the chaos and mayhem that Fred creates, Elizabeth desperately attempts to win back her husband and return to normality, with comical results.

Awards:
Extras:
Scene Access

Phoebe Cates is awfully cute as always. Too bad that she stopped doing movies so early. Even though this movie looks like a children's movie, I wouldn't recommend to youngsters. The DVD rating is 12 and that sounds about right. It has some nice performances by Rik Mayall as Drop Dead Fred, but overall this movie could have been more. For Phoebe fans this is a nice little movie to watch.

Rating:

(From Tom's Random Reviews on September 9th, 2009)

Akahige (Red Beard), a review by Antares

Akahige





Year: 1965
Film Studio: Toho
Genre: Drama
Length: 185 Min.

Director
Akira Kurosawa (1910)

WritingProducerCinematographerMusicStarsReview won the prestigious Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. What followed would be a successful string of classic cinematic works that have never been rivaled by any director or actor since. Shichinin no samurai, , Yojimbo, and High and LowHigh and Low, work began on what would be their last collaboration, Akahige (Red Beard) was a box office failure and dissolved the company, leading to an un-successful suicide attempt by the director. Mifune, on the other hand, starred in a string of very successful films over the next decade, all of which were profitable, but were inferior in quality to anything he had made with Kurosawa. In essence, Mifune had exchanged artistic integrity for the benefit of a steady paycheck, and his career would never be lauded over again.

       AkahigeRatings 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 Akahige (Red Beard) (1965) on December 20th, 2009)

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

Synopsis: Kira is informed that someone has found wreckage parts of a ships she has been looking for. It disappeared six years ago during the occupation. On that ship was a former member of her resistance cell. But when she departs for her search she has an unexpected companion: Dukat.

My Opinion: Once again it has been shown that Dukat isn't a one-dimensional character but he's also never been portrayed as a "good guy". I liked the introduction of Dukat's "half-breed" daughter Tora Ziyal because she brought out another aspect of Dukat's character, a side we will see again. I also liked the general idea to put Kira and Dukat on a joined mission without any other character interfering.

Synopsis: Dr. Lenara Kahn comes to the station and she wants to create an artificial wormhole. The problem is: Lenara Kahn was once Nilani Kahn and Nilani was married to Torias Dax two lifetimes ago. In the Trill society it's strictly forbidden to romantically "re-associate" with a former lover.

My Opinion: Interestingly many people saw this episode as a statement about homosexuality which it was not. I found it very interesting because one had to try to imagine what it would be like to live several hundred years always merge with a new host and thus creating a different personality yet not forgetting the feelings for past loves. It's even harder to imagine than with the Tok'ra (Stargate SG-1) because there the consciousnesses of host and symbiont were still a bit separated.

Synopsis: Quark wants to bring Nog to Earth personally and he takes his new shuttle "Quark's Treasure". But he is smuggling Kemocite at the same time and due to sabotage the ship has an accident and travels through time. And when Quark, Rom and Nog wake up they find themselves in a military facility near a town called Roswell in the year 1947.

My Opinion: This was a funny episode. It was great to see how Quark imagined to make business with these kinds of humans who are nothing like the Federation humans of his time. But even he was appalled about some aspects of human society (smoking, atom bomb tests, ...). I enjoyed this episode very much.

Synopsis: Business with the Karemma isn't going so well because it can only be conducted through the Ferengi (The Karemma wouldn't dare to oppose the Dominion). When Sisko tries to negotiate with them they are attacked by Jem'Hadar fighters and have to hide in a gas giant. From there things get worse.

My Opinion: It was an OK episode. It was interesting to see how Worf had the interact with the engineering crew because that was new territory to him. We mustn't forget that he has been a command crew officer only for a few months. But I was surprised when O'Brien mentioned that most the engineering crew hasn't been to Starfleet academy. It seems logical but until now I always thought that everyone who wore the uniform had been to the academy. I think that falls into the same category as we've never seen enlisted personnel in TNG - even O'Brien wore the insignia of a Lieutenant.

(From Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Marathon on November 8th, 2008)