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The Big Chill, a review by Antares

The Big Chill





Year: 1983
Film Studio: Columbia Pictures, Carson Productions Group
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Length: 105 Min.

Director
Lawrence Kasdan

Writing
Lawrence Kasdan...Writer
Barbara Benedek...Writer

Producer
Marcia Nasatir
Lawrence Kasdan
Michael Shamberg

Cinematographer
John Bailey (1942)


Stars
Tom Berenger (1949) as Sam
Glenn Close (1947) as Sarah
Jeff Goldblum (1952) as Michael
William Hurt as Nick
Kevin Kline (1947) as Harold
Mary Kay Place (1947) as Meg
Meg Tilly as Chloe
JoBeth Williams (1948) as Karen

Review had given birth to what historians in the future will dub the . Just two years into the , American society shifted course as the children of the , their spoiled and selfish upbringing would foster a deep desire not to just keep up, but to always outdo the next guy. But we humans have a conscience, and it sometimes beats the drums of reason in our brain. When all was said and done, all of these material acquisitions proved to be hollow trophies which could not sustain a truly well rounded and fulfilling life.

       The first film to explore this growing apathy amongst a generation dubbed , was an independent film by an up and coming director named John Sayles. The Return of the Secaucus 7The Big Chill fuckfest. At no time are there any great revelations made, just a cheap and tawdry way of bringing this mess to a close. As I watched the end credits start to appear, I felt as if I had been invited to one of the most majestic and grand buffet dinners and all they served was cheese doodles. If you really want to see a good treatment on this subject, check out the Sayles film.


Ratings 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 The Big Chill (1983) on January 30th, 2010)

Spider-Man 2, a review by addicted2dvd

Title: Spider-Man 2: Widescreen Special Edition
Year: 2004
Director: Sam Raimi
Rating: PG-13
Length: 127 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.40:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, English: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround, French: Dolby Digital: 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround, Commentary: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround, Commentary: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish, Trivia

Stars:
Tobey Maguire
Kirsten Dunst
James Franco
Alfred Molina
Rosemary Harris
J. K. Simmons

Plot:
Two years have passed since the mild-mannered Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) walked away from his longtime love Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst) and decided to take the road to responsibility as Spider-Man. Peter must face new challenges as he struggles to cope with "the gift and the curse" of his powers while balancing his dual identities as the elusive superhero Spider-Man and life as a college student. The relationships Peter holds most dear are now in danger of unraveling as he clashes with the powerful, multi-tentacled villain Doctor Octopus aka "Doc Ock" (Alfred Molina).

Peter's life-long yearning for M.J. becomes even stronger as he fights the impulse to abandon his secret life and declare his love. In the meantime, M.J. has moved on with her life. She has embarked on an acting career and has a new man in her life. Peter's relationship with his best friend Harry Osborn (James Franco) has been overshadowed by Harry's growing vendetta against Spider-Man, whom he holds responsible for his father's death.

Peter's life becomes even more complicated when he is pitted against the powerful new nemesis, "Doc Ock." Peter must now learn to accept his fate and harness all his superhero talents in order to stop this diabolical madman in his octagonal tracks.

Extras:
Scene Access
Audio Commentary
Feature Trailers
Bonus Trailers
Featurettes
Gallery
Multi-angle
Music Videos
Outtakes/Bloopers
Closed Captioned
Trivia Track

My Thoughts:
Even though I still enjoyed this movie very much... I never cared for it as much as the first one.... almost... but not as much. I don't like the whole storyline of Peter Parker loosing his ability for a while. I don't like that so many people got to see Spider-Man without his mask on... which is something that I hate about all the Spider-Man movies. The only person that I can accept seeing him without his mask is Mary Jane. To me that felt right. But Doc Ock, Harry and the train full of people shouldn't have happened. Well maybe Harry as it was really needed for the storyline. But that is it. Even though they never said it in the movie... you also get the feeling that Aunt May also knows about Peter being Spider-Man. I did however really enjoy seeing him go up against Doc Ock. I thought they did a good job with him. I also like that we see Professor Connor. It is a shame they didn't let The Lizard be one of the supervillians in any of the Spider-Man movies... I always liked him.



(From Marvel Movie Marathon on June 25th, 2010)

Tom's Random Star Trek Reviews, a review by Tom

VOY 7.11. Lineage
Writer: James Kahn (Writer)
Director: Peter Lauritson
Cast: Kate Mulgrew (Captain Kathryn Janeway), Robert Beltran (Chakotay), Roxann Dawson (B'Elanna Torres), Robert Duncan McNeill (Tom Paris), Ethan Phillips (Neelix), Robert Picardo (The Doctor), Tim Russ (Tuvok), Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine), Garrett Wang (Harry Kim), Manu Intiraymi (Icheb), Juan Garcia (John Torres), Jessica Gaona (Young B'Elanna), Javier Grajeda (Carl), Paul Robert Langdon (Dean), Nicole Sarah Fellows (Elizabeth), Gilbert R. Leal (Michael), Majel Barrett (Computer Voice (voice))

The first full-blown P/T episode without any "Voyager is in danger" side-story detracting from the character-driven plot.
B'Elanna and Tom learn that they are expecting a baby. The beginning of the episode is about the reactions from the crew and of course the reaction from Tom and B'Elanna. The story then focuses on B'Elanna's fear about the child's mixed heritage. Through flashbacks we see a camping trip with her father from her childhood, and how her father left soon after because living with two Klingons was too hard on him. B'Elanna fears that the same will happen with Tom and so she wants to have the Klingon genetic trademarks removed from here baby, even going so far to reprogram the doctor to go along with it. Tom can convince her that he is nothing like her father just in time.
It is really nice to see that they can write an entire episode about this relationship, and address a fear of B'Elanna's which was mentioned throughout the series, without moving it to a B-story of a standard Voyager episode.

Rating:

(From Tom's Random Star Trek Reviews on October 3rd, 2009)