DVD Collectors Online

Village of the Damned, a review by KinkyCyborg

Title:Village of the Damned
Year: 1995
Director: John Carpenter (1948)
Rating: R
Length: 98 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, French: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround
Subtitles: English, Spanish

Stars:Plot:
From the master of suspense, John Carpenter, comes a chilling new version of the sci-fi classic. Something is terribly wrong in the tiny village of Midwich. After an unseen force invades a quiet coastal town, ten women mysteriously find themselves pregnant. Local physician Dr. Alan Chaffee and government scientist Dr. Susan Verner join forces when the women simultaneously give birth...and the reign of terror begins. In what the New York Times calls "one scarifying trip," the people of Midwich must try and find a way to stop the children in the "Village of the Damned".

Extras:
Scene Access
Feature Trailers
Production Notes
DVD-ROM Content


I've never seen the original but I would have to imagine it is better than this. 

Christopher Reeve, in his last role before the accident that paralyzed him, gives a standup performance... (pardon the pun) but his was the only decent effort put into this movie. Mark Hamill overacts so much I was actually embarrassed for him and Kirstie Alley, 15 years younger and half the size, begins her evolution from Bad Actress to Fat Actress.

The premise of the movie was good and the kids were spooky enough but overall it was a bit of a yawner. Looking forward to watching the original.

KC


Rating:

(From KinkyCyborg's Random Reviews 2010 on June 4th, 2010)

Get Smart, a review by Rich

7/11

Get Smart



Steve Carell is in control as Maxwell Smart, the novice agent often out of his depth but never out of options in this action comedy pitting him against the nuclear scheme of the evil spy group KAOS. Anne Hathaway partners with Max as ever capable Agent 99. And Director Peter Segal ('The Longest Yard') guides his stars (including Dwayne Johnson and Alan Arkin) through the dangerous realm of molar radios, multifunction pocketknives, exploding dental floss and more. "'Get Smart' works as an action film and its funny" (Richard Roeper, 'At The Movies With Ebert & Roeper').

I was a fan of the original series, if memory serves correctly it was shown many years ago on BBC2 soon after school finished, and it was great that so many of the immortal Maxwell quotes sneaked into the film. There is more than a touch of Austin Powers in the film, and Steve Carell is fitting in the bumbling geeky nerd role that he masterpieced on 40 year old virgin.
A comedy with too few laughs, and an action spoof with too few dramatic effects, however reasonable viewing if you park your brain for a couple of hours.
 



(From November Alphabet Marathon - Discussion/Review Thread on November 9th, 2008)

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

Synopsis:My Opinion: A very good pilot which takes upon the events of the movie and continues to tell the story. It simply ignores the contradictions to the movie instead of giving some cheesy excuses. Only Teal'c's switching of sides was a bit too fast, he doesn't know Jack at all. But I can't come up with a better plot on how to manage this.

Synopsis: Kawalsky has more and longer headaches and phases of black outs after which he can't remember anything. Back on Chulak he was taken over by a Goa'uld larva and now they fight for the mastery of the body. Meanwhile Teal'c is being interrogated by a men from Langley who wants to learn more about the Goa'uld.

My Opinion: I liked the fact that they didn't accept Teal'c blindly in their team, even though Jack thought that he deserved it. It still went fast in the end but at least they mentioned their doubts and pointed out the problems. Now SG-1 is complete: Jack O'Neill, Daniel Jackson, Sam(antha) Carter & Teal'c.

Synopsis: SG-1 arrives on a planet where the population leads a life like in the times of Genghis Khan. It is forbidden for women to appear unconcealed in public, neither is it allowed for them to speak unless spoken to. Carter soon collides with these laws.

My Opinion: "SG-1 arrives on a planet" - I wonder how often I will write this sentence in this marathon. I didn't like this episode much, mainly because they tried to communicate the morale with the grace of a sledgehammer. I nonetheless like the fact that they at least argued about the fact whether it is right to interfere with local customs and affairs.

(From "Stargate SG-1" Marathon on February 29th, 2008)