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The Thin Man, a review by goodguy

The Thin Man (1934) Written by: Albert Hackett & Frances Goorich, based on a novel by Dashiell Hammett Directed by: W.S. Van Dyke Starring: William Powell, Mirna Loy DVD: R1-US Warner (2002)

Cover Blurb: Nick and Nora Charles cordially invite you to bring your own alibi to 'The Thin Man', the jaunty whodunit that made William Powell and Myrna Loy the champagne elite of sleuthing. Bantering in the boudoir, enjoying walks with beloved dog Asta or matching each other highball for highball and clue for clue, they combined screwball romance with mystery. The resulting triumph nabbed four Academy Award nominations (including Best Picture) and spawned five sequels. Credit W.S. "Woody" Van Dyke for recognizing that Powell and Loy were ideal together and for getting the studios okay by promising to shoot this splendid adaptation of Dashiell Hammett's novel in three weeks. He took 12 days. They didn't call him "One-Take Woody" for nothing.

The movie is charmingly funny whenever the two main characters interact, but quite boring when they are not. The supporting cast plays a bunch of stock characters, typical for gangster movies and murder mysteries of that time. The murder mystery itself doesn't make much sense, which would be forgivable if the movie wouldn't spend too much time on it. So I fully agree with Nick, who at one point complains that the case puts him way behind in his drinking. Ah, and the drinking. The two leads drink heavily and continously throughout the movie, and mostly the hard stuff. But it is neither the hard-boiled, "noirish" anti-hero drinking, nor some kind of social commentary, it is just a quirky mannerism of *both* Nick and Nora. One has to admire the completely carefree attitude the movie has towards it.

The DVD was re-released in 2005 as part of Warner's Complete Thin Man Collection, containing all six "Thin Man" movies (1934 - 1947).


(From May 2008 Man/Men Marathon - Discussion Thread on May 19th, 2008)

Gone With the Wind, a review by Tom

Title: Gone With the Wind
Year: 1939
Director: Victor Fleming
Rating: FSK-12
Length: 233 Min.
Video: Full Frame 1.33:1
Audio: German: Dolby Digital 5.1, English: Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1, Italian: Dolby Digital 5.1, French: Dolby Digital 5.1, Portuguese: Dolby Digital 1, English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1
Subtitles: Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish

Stars:
Vivien Leigh
Clark Gable

Plot:
This classic film narrates the love between Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler during the American civil war. It's the history of a selfish woman who doesn't want to admit her feelings about the man she loves, and finally loses him.

Awards:

Academy Award	1939	Nominated	Best Actor	Clark Gable
Academy Award	1939	Won	Best Actress	Vivien Leigh
Academy Award	1939	Won	Best Art Direction	Lyle R. Wheeler
Academy Award	1939	Won	Best Cinematography, Color	Ernest Haller, Ray Rennahan
Academy Award	1939	Won	Best Director	Victor Fleming
Academy Award	1939	Won	Best Film Editing	Hal C. Kern, James E. Newcom
Academy Award	1939	Nominated	Best Music, Original Score	Max Steiner
Academy Award	1939	Won	Best Picture	Selznick International Pictures
Academy Award	1939	Nominated	Best Sound Recording	Thomas T. Moulton (Sound Director, Samuel Goldwyn Studio Sound Department)
Academy Award	1939	Nominated	Best Special Effects	John R. Cosgrove, Fred Albin, Arthur Johns
Academy Award	1939	Won	Best Supporting Actress	Hattie McDaniel
Academy Award	1939	Nominated	Best Supporting Actress	Olivia de Havilland
Academy Award	1939	Won	Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay	Sidney Howard
Academy Award	1939	Won	Special Award	William Cameron Menzies (outstanding achievement in the use of color)
AFI	1939	Won	100 Years... 100 Cheers (2006)
AFI	1939	Won	100 Years... 100 Movies (1998)
AFI	1939	Won	100 Years... 100 Movies (2007)
AFI	1939	Won	100 Years... 100 Passions (2002)
AFI	1939	Won	100 Years... 100 Quotes (2005)	"Quote": After all, tomorrow is another day.
AFI	1939	Won	100 Years... 100 Quotes (2005)	"Quote": As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again.
AFI	1939	Won	100 Years... 100 Quotes (2005)	"Quote": Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.
AFI	1939	Won	100 Years... 25 Scores (2005)	"Composer": Max Steiner

Extras:
Commentary
Featurettes
Scene Access
Trailers

I never had the urge to check this movie out. But when the Blu-ray was on sale, I thought I should give it a try. It was never the length of the movie which put me off (after all an average Bollywood movie has a three-hours running time).
I think I will get some flack for this, but this movie bored me. I had to take a break half-way through and watched two other three-hour movies before I continued. I just couldn't connect with the characters and the plot just didn't reel me in. Scarlett is supposed to be an unlikable character (at least I think she is meant to be), but it isn't fun watching one of those for four hours.

Rating:

(From Tom's Unwatched Movies Marathon on June 4th, 2010)

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

Synopsis: After having been exposed to radiation poisoning, O'Brien is being thrust forward five hours in time and then back again. This happens at a regular intervals and O'Brien sees his own death as well as the destruction of DS9 in that future. And he plans to prevent both from happening.

My Opinion: Despite once again having some flaws in the time travel logic, I liked this episode, especially the parts where there were two O'Briens and one helped or protected the other. And they've finally installed the Darts board in Quark's bar. I like all of O'Brien's and Bashir's recreation time activities.

Synopsis: After Bashir has been attacked by an alien, he awakes at the infirmary. But except for him, Quark and Garak and that alien the station seems to be abandoned. He wanders through the place, trying to figure out, what has happened and why he is hearing distant voices.

My Opinion: This one was an OK episode but since it didn't happen much in it, there's also not much to say about it.

Synopsis: O'Brien threatens Sisko with a phaser and beams them both off the station. It's "Smiley", the O'Brien from the mirror universe and he needs Sisko to help him. Sisko's wife on the other side - Jennifer (who died at Wolf 359 on this side of the mirror) - is building a sensor array that would crush the Terran resistance.

My Opinion: This one I liked again. Out-of-character-episode. What can I say. The only thing that bugged me a bit was that Sisko slept with Mirror-Dax just to maintain his cover. It's basically the same as Faith being in Buffy's body and sleeping with Riley or Bizarro pretending to be Clark and sleeping with Lana. It's just not right.

Synopsis: Garak's shop gets blown up and Garak is hurt. Odo starts to investigate and soon discovers that the Romulans might have something to do with it. When Garak learns that five of his former associates were killed on the same day, he tries to contact Enabran Tain - the former head of the Obsidian Order - because he fears for Tain's life.

My Opinion: This was a great Garak episode. His interpretation of the "cry wolf" fable ("Never tell the same lie twice."), it being him who had blown up the shop, him rejoining with Tain - it fitted the character and helped shape it even more. I also thought that this plan was indeed something the Obsidian Order and the Tal Shiar (romulan intelligence) would come up with.

(From Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Marathon on November 1st, 2008)