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American Ninja, a review by Jon

American Ninja
3 out of 5

Joe is a mysterious loner, forced to join the army or face a prison sentence for a recent violent past. Before then, he has no idea having suffered amnesia. But what he does know, and what everyone else is about to find out, is that he has skills to match the fabled Ninja assassins of Japan.

American Ninja is a perfect example of the cheesy action movies that defined the 80s. Lets get one thing straight; this movie is not good. It's poorly written, badly acted and has some woeful directing. The rating of a generous 3 out of 5 is on pure entertainment. Some of the martial arts is fairly well done, Steve James (as Curtis "Powerhouse" Jackson) is head and shoulders above everyone else and the script is good enough to recognise it, Dudikoff has something that could pass for screen charisma (or maybe it's trapped wind, it's hard to tell) and when all that fails, it's so bad, it's funny!

The story is basic, but does the job. Joe and Curtis uncover a plot to smuggle guns and the smuggler, posing as a respected business man with spies in the army and police, has a Ninja master as a bodyguard, leading a Ninja army for security. It's absurd, of course, but it bats along with several scraps (although it often falls into the trap of all cheap kung fu movies where bad guys wait patiently to be dispatched with the lightest of contact!) and a hefty dose of silliness provided by comedy sidekick Charlie, gung-ho Captain Hickock, but most of all Steve James. He gets some great lines and delivers them with relish and by the end he's a one man killing machine. Great fun! Duddikoff does enough to carry the film, but you'll watch it for James.

But the best thing about this movie? Ninja's are fucking cool. Nuff said.

(From Jon's Random Reviews on August 8th, 2009)

The Adjustment Bureau (2011), a review by Tom

The Adjustment Bureau (2011/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Universal Pictures (Germany) Director: George Nolfi Writing: George Nolfi (Screenwriter), Philip K. Dick (Original Material By) Length: 106 min. Video: Widescreen 1.85 Audio: Japanese: DTS 5.1, English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French: DTS 5.1, Italian: DTS 5.1, German: DTS 5.1, Spanish: DTS 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Subtitles: Chinese, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Icelandic, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish

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Stars:
Matt Damon as David Norris
Emily Blunt
Terence Stamp
Jon Stewart

Plot:
The affair between a politician and a ballerina is affected by mysterious forces keeping the lovers apart.

Extras:

• Commentary
• Deleted Scenes
• Digital Copy
• Featurettes
• Scene Access
• Wendecover

Not necessarily a time-travel movie, but the Adjustment Bureau sees the future.
I enjoyed this movie, but I wouldn't call it a must-see. Matt Damon gives a solid performance, but nothing outstanding.

Rating:

(From Tom's Time-Travel Movie Reviews on September 25th, 2011)

My PILOT Marathon, a review by Rich

American Dad! - Season One

1. American Dad (Pilot)
Stan Smith uses his CIA skills to help 13-year-old son Steve win class president and the heart of the hottest girl in class, Lisa Silver. But when being class president makes Steve mad with power, Stan must jump in to save the day. Meanwhile, Roger, the alien Stan saved from Area 51, helps 18-year-old Hayley with her school paper. In return, she hooks him up with boatloads of junk food to curb his sweet tooth. Unfortunately, some Chocodiles send him over the edge and a sugar crash prohibits him from finishing one of her papers, forcing Hayley to pick up the pieces. And Klaus, the goldfish with the brain of a German guy, pines after mother Francine. Unfortunately for Klaus, the closest he'll ever get to a date with her is the spin cycle with her sports bra.



From the delightfully twisted creative minds behind Family Guy comes American Dad, the animated tour de force featuring CIA operative Stan Smith, his outrageous family and Roger, the alcoholic extraterrestrial who lives with them! Follow the adventures of the Smiths from the California desert, where Stan's wife, Francine, relives her teenage years at the Burning Man festival, to Saudi Arabia, where the entire family is sentenced to death by the Vice and Virtue Police! Whether it's rigging elections, erasing memories, casing sleazy strip clubs, or staging "bum fights", it's all in a day's work for Stan, and it's all here in the side-splittingly hilarious first season of American Dad!

Clearly designed for a younger teenage audience, knowing how much my lad loves this programme.
Most of the 'jokes' passed me by, and I found it a bit childish and stupid.
Its a big fat raspberry in my book, and I expect I will be busy when he watches the 3 series we have again.
 


(From My PILOT Marathon on September 10th, 2009)