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Black Book, a review by Eric

Black Book


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Some time ago, when SailorRipley still liked us (trying to guilt him into posting if he reads this), he wrote an interesting article on dvd's he wanted to buy and for what reason.  Black Book which I had never heard of was one of them and since I considered SailorRipley a "connaisseur", if figured if he has an interest in it then it can't be a very bad movie to anyone.  It was however quite expensive so I waited until recently to get it and watched it last week-end.

I have to say I was not disapointed.  I had the chance in my life to be close to someone (a romanian jew) who's been a prisoner in a nazi concentration camp.  I consider it a chance because such a person can make a teenager aware of the world, the different cultures and society.  He had quite an influence on my life and because of him and the amazing things he did and lived through, I've always had a great interest in the resistance movements in different countries of Europe during the WWII.

Black Book is the story of a young Dutch woman who works as a spy for the Resistance in Netherlands.  It is not a true story but the director claims that many of the events are true.  If you like that kind of movies I highly recommend it, I enjoyed every second of it.

Rating:

(From Eric's DVD watching. on June 27th, 2008)

CASS, a review by Rich

CASS



The incredible true story of how an orphaned Jamaican baby, adopted by an elderly white couple and brought up in an all white area of London, became one of the most feared and respected men in Britain. CASS grew up in a time before political correctness and was forced to endure racist bullying on a daily basis, until one day when the years of pent up anger came out in a violent burst. CASS found through violence the respect he never had and became addicted to the buzz of fighting. His way of life finally caught up with him when an attempted assassination on his life, saw him shot three times at point blank range. His inner strength somehow managed to keep him alive but he was left with a dilemma; whether to seek vengeance as the street had taught him, or renounce his violent past. This is the extraordinary story of his life.

For someone who grew up going to football in the late 70's and early 80's, albeit to a lower division club which did not have many incidences of hooliganism, I had read the book and hoped the film would be as mature and enlightening. Unfortunately this is a poorly put together effort, strayed considerably from the autobiography, and was badly acted from most lead characters.
It is more realistic that Green Street, but does not have the same bite and feel of Quadrophenia, I cannot see it being of any interest to anyone who did not live through the era, and I could only keep thinking it was a wasted opportunity of translating a good story to film.
 



(From Riches Random Reviews on January 6th, 2009)

My PILOT Marathon, a review by Rich

BONES - SEASON ONE - PILOT



In the series premiere, Dr. Temperance Brennan (or "Bones" as she is often referred to as), a forensic anthropologist, is met with the task of uncovering the identity of a set of bones which have been deliberately hidden in a lake. However, after identifying the bones, imprisoning the murderer turns out to be a politically sticky business. Bones gets help from FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth, who convinces his boss to let Bones be his partner, since she's an expert in her field.

I viewed this with high expectations having read a lot about the author. Sadly this is definetely not one of the best pilots I've ever seen, I didn't expect to see the main lead punching half the cast and being so 'angry'. I have been informed though this does not continue into the series. The episode was predictable and less dramatic than I anticipated, albeit the ending was good.
Acting was slightly stiff and David Boreanaz's quips didn't work for me, on initial assessment I would classify him/his character as a weakness.
However, despite the overall disappointment, and bearing in mind it was only the pilot episode, I will give the series a chance and watch a few more episodes in the future.
 






(From My PILOT Marathon on May 16th, 2008)