DVD Collectors Online

The Omen, a review by Jon

The Omen
4 out of 5



(From October Marathon: Horror! on October 26th, 2008)

The Black Dahlia, a review by Rich

Title: The Black Dahlia

Runtime:116
Certificate:15
Year:2006
Genres:Drama, Suspense/Thriller

Plot:The Black Dahlia weaves a fictionalized tale of obsession, love, corruption, greed and depravity around the true story of the brutal murder of a fledgling Hollywood starlet that shocked and fascinated the nation in 1947 and remains unsolved today.  Two ex-pugilist cops, Lee Blanchard (Aaron Eckhart) and Bucky Bleichert (Josh Hartnett) are called to investigate the homicide of ambitious silver-screen B-lister Betty Ann Short (Mia Kirshner) A.K.A. "The Black Dahlia" - an attack so grisly that images of the killing were kept from the public.
While Blanchard's growing preoccupation with the sensational murder threatens his relationship with Kay (Scarlett Johansson), his partner Bleichert finds himself attracted to the enigmatic Madeleine Linscott (two time Oscar winner Hilary Swank), the daughter of on of the city's most prominent families - who just happens to have an unsavory connection to the murder victim.
True crime meets urban legend when De Palma brings Ellroy's The Black Dahlia to the big screen.

My Review:
Hollow and dull attempted portrayal of a true crime from history, told in the form of some noir gumshoe movie, and failing on all counts.
Despite a reasonable cast, a normaly successful director, a big budget, and a storyline from an apparently excellent book, they concentrate more on the relationships of the 2 main detective leads, and little on the investigation of the murder. The ending made no sense with characters that were not directly linked to the rest of the film, there is zero suspense or anticipation, the actors give mediocre performances (particularly Swank), and the lack of pace leads you willing the end to come soon.
The only element to admire in this whole sorry production are some spectacular cameraworked scenes reminiscent of Hitchcock.
A stylish disaster!


(From December Marathons - DISCUSSION AND REVIEW THREAD on December 16th, 2009)

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Marathon, a review by DJ Doena

Synopsis: Someone kills seemingly random Starfleet officers aboard DS9 and he or she uses an old-fashioned gun instead of an energy weapon. The killer seems to be shooting at point-blank range yet there are none of the expected powder burns on the body. Ezri uses an Trill ritual to call forth the memories of Joran Dax, the murderer. She hopes that his insight can help her catch the current killer.

My Opinion: Actually, this was an interesting episode. I liked it how Joran pushed her to solve the case but I also liked how she resisted him in the end. To use a Vulcan as killer was a surprising choice, but because of that it was a good one. It seemed logical () from a script POV not to use one of the usual suspects.

Synopsis: When O'Brien and Odo return from a mission their runabout is followed by some sort of space being. It enters the ship and turns out to be a shapeshifter. But it's not a Founder. He's one of the hundred like Odo that were sent into space to explore and experience. Odo tries to convince him to live on the station, but Laas is older than Odo and he's developed a certain dislike for "monoforms".

My Opinion: While I found the special effects and the idea that a shapeshifter could turn into fire or fog interesting, the rest of the episode was rather boring.

Synopsis: Vic's program contains a hidden Jack-in-the-box component which allows the gangster Frankie Eyes to overtake the hotel and turn it into a casino. Vic is thrown out. But the crew of DS9 can't simply reset and restart the program because that would mean that Vic would lose all his memories about them. They need to find an ingame solution and soon after the senior staff of DS9 is planning a robbery of a 1960s Las Vegas casino.

My Opinion: The last fun and also the last holodeck episode of the show. I enjoyed it very much. It's a bit like Ocean's Eleven (the original one, the one without all the computer stuff). And I liked the general idea that they were unwilling to reset the program and lose Vic as they know him. Basically Vic is to them what fictional characters are to us and I love my fictional characters the way they are.

Synopsis: Shortly before Bashir departs for a conference on Romulus he's contacted by Sloan from Section 31. Sloan gives him an additional job: To evaluate the health condition of certain members of the romulan Continuing Committee. Sisko and Admiral Ross order him to play along to find out what Section 31 is up to. But when it becomes clear that someone is about to kill the chairman of the romulan intelligence service Tal Shiar, Bashir reveals this information to the romulan liason officer, Senator Cretak.

My Opinion: "Inter arma enim silent leges." - "In times of war, the law falls silent." The theme of this episode was similar to the one in In the Pale Moonlight. What is allowed in times of war to win that war? Garak did the dirty work in the former episode and now Section 31 has done it. But this time it happened with the approval of a Starfleet admiral and not just a station captain. When does the price become to high to pay? What good are principles if you lose and become enslaved? But what good are principles if you only life by them when it's an easy choice?

(From Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Marathon on March 1st, 2009)