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Machete, a review by dfmorgan

Machete

Year: 2010
Director: Robert Rodriguez
Cast: Danny Trejo, Steven Seagal, Jessica Alba
Overview: A bad-ass, star-studded action fest from Robert Rodriguez (Once Upon a Time in Mexico), MACHETE is the most outrageously explosive entertainment you're likely to see. Danny Trejo stars as a hard-as-nails Mexican Federale seeking revenge against a vicious drug lord (Steven Seagal), a ruthless vigilante (Don Johnson) and a power-mad politician (Robert De Niro). He is helped in his violent quest by a beautiful immigration agent (Jessica Alba), a tough revolutionary (Michelle Rodriguez) and by his brother, a priest (Cheech Marin), whilst also finding solace with a drug addict (Lindsay Lohan) along the way. Viva Machete!

Watched: 26th Mar. 2011
My Thoughts: A wonderful, outrageously over-the-top film. It starts like Rodriguez/Tarantino's Grindhouse with a scratchy print for the scene setting a couple of years back but moves into a clean print after the opening credits and into current times. Lots of hack and slash with plenty of guns, of all shapes and sizes, too. I found this to be immensely fun but it is not for everyone with plenty of blood and guts being spilled.

My Rating: A wonderfully OTT 4


(From Dave's DVD/Blu-ray Reviews on March 27th, 2011)

Ran, a review by Antares

Ran





Year: 1985
Film Studio: Herald Ace, Nippon Herald Films, Greenwich Film Production
Genre: Drama, Action
Length: 163 Min.

Director
Akira Kurosawa (1910)

Writing
Akira Kurosawa (1910)...Screenwriter
Hideo Oguni (1904)...Screenwriter
Masato Ide (1922)...Screenwriter

Producer
Katsumi Furukawa
Masato Hara
Serge Silberman (1917)

CinematographerMusicStarsReview
       Most directors in the twilight of their film careers tend to fall back on the tried and trued formulas that had been successful to them in their youth. John Ford, Howard Hawks and Alfred Hitchcock, names synonymous with the pinnacle of cinematic achievement, had virtually nothing left in the tank in terms of creativity in their later years. Such was not the case in the career of acclaimed Japanese director Akira Kurosawa. His career would rise as a Phoenix from the ashes of exiled obscurity in the late sixties and seventies at the hands of Toho studio executives who did not share in his artistic vision. This hiatus kept buried in his heart, the fire to create in the medium which he had been shutout for so long during those fifteen years.

       At the beginning of the eighties, with a little help from Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas, he returned to the silver screen with the ambitious jidai-geki Kagemusha. And although it was an international and critical success, Kurosawa still could not get funding for any future films from Toho executives. Finally in 1984, with the backing of a French production company, he secured the funds needed to complete his last great masterpiece, RanKing LearRanRatings Criterion
5 Stars - The pinnacle of film perfection and excellence.

(From Ran (Chaos) (1985) on February 18th, 2010)

Pete's Pilots, a review by addicted2dvd

Bones
David Boreanaz (Angel, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) stars as F.B.I. Agent Seeley Booth, who teams up with forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan (Emily Deschanel) to solve some of the most baffling and bizarre crimes ever. Booth depends on clues from the living, witnesses and suspects, while Brennan gathers evidence from the dead, relying on her uncanny ability to read clues left behind in the bones of the victims. Their different investigative styles cause the two to frequently clash, creating an undeniable chemistry and just the right touch of dark humor. Inspired by real-life forensic anthropologist Kathy Reichs and state-of-the-art criminal invenstigation procedures, Bones is compelling, cutting-edge television.

Pilot:
Forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan teams up with FBI agent Seeley Booth to investigate the murder of a Senate intern, the political implications of which may prove to be staggering.

My Thoughts:
This is an awesome series with a great cast. It was a bit weird seeing Brennan's old boss from the first season again. While I enjoyed it I do prefer her new boss now. This is another show where I was left wanting to watch more episodes. Definitely a series I highly recommend.

My Rating:

(From Pete's Pilots on November 9th, 2009)