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The Stunt Man, a review by Achim

The Stunt Man (1980/United States) Severin Films (United States) Director: Richard Rush Writing: Lawrence B. Marcus (Screenwriter), Richard Rush (Writer), Paul Brodeur (Original Material By) Length: 131 min. Video: Widescreen 1.85:1 Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio: 5.1, English: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo, Commentary: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo Subtitles:

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Stars:
Peter O'Toole as Eli Cross
Steve Railsback as Cameron
Barbara Hershey as Nina Franklin
Allan Goorwitz as Sam
Alex Rocco as Jake

Plot:Extras:

• Audio Commentary
• Feature Trailers
• Deleted Scenes
• Featurettes
• Interviews

Not knowing why the young veteran is on the run (one of the funniest things in the movie when we find out later on) gives him a mysterious edge, as we don't know how dangerous he just might be. The director has his own agenda why he protects the young veteran from the police. The lead actress of the movie being filmed creates a triangle among those three, that will slowly but steadily get out of control. There is comedy, action and romance and the director balances all elements competently throughout; I only found one scene misjudged (when the young veteran tells the lady he loves why the police is after him). The ending lacks a bit of closure for some of the plot lines, but the open endedness is rather typical for the time the film was made in.

Good acting, Peter O'Toole gives a particularly great performance (hence the Oscar nomination) although Steve Railsback seems to struggle occasionally, an interesting story and occasionally inventive camera work make this a pleasant watch.

Rating:

(From The Movies from Within My Lifetime on July 16th, 2011)

Forgetting Sarah Marshall, a review by Jon

Forgetting Sarah Marshall ***
3 out of 5

Peter (Jason Segel) is dumped by his girlfriend of five years, TV star Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell) and goes to Hawaii to forget. Unfortunately Sarah is at the same resort with her new boyfriend, a British pop-star (Russell Brand)

Forgetting Sarah Marshall is the closest yet that the Apatow run of comedies (40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up) have come to the Kevin Smith brand of heartwarming romantic comedy via outrageous gags, and while it's more the quality of Mallrats than Chasing Amy, it's a very well written and faithful script by star Jason Segel. Part of me wishes it was funnier, but maybe that would compromise the characters.

They are all very believable. Each person has their good and bad sides; nobody is perfect and everybody is in for criticism. That's important because they feel real whereas normally in a rom-com, lead characters go on "journeys" while the supporting cast don't change at all and it's vomit inducing. Here they are all well rounded. Segel in particular is nakedly honest (literally so in a couple of unfortunate scenes!) and his Dracula The Musical moments (apparently a genuine project Segel wrote years ago) work as both poignant and possibly the funniest thing in the film. Kristen Bell perhaps has the hardest job, because she's the villain of the piece, so putting across her point of view is an uphill struggle. Far better is her new boyfriend. Russell Brand plays himself really, but is far more than a mere cameo and he is excellent at portraying several layers. If anything, he is the most grounded. I know Brand in real life is Marmite to many people, but even if you detest him, don't let him put you off because not liking his character can reap rewards. Mila Kunis is adorable (oh, the irony of her voicing Meg in Family Guy!), while Jack McBrayer almost steals the show with his attempts to consummate his recent marriage. "God put our mouths on our head's for a reason!"

The middle section is very messy and seems to waste time, but it comes good in the end by continuing to surprise, even when resorting to predictable convention. Even then, I thought they'd written themselves into a corner, but it resolves gracefully. Overall I think Segel has a better ear for dialogue than the other Apatow films have showed, as they occasionally lapse into moments of being too clever for their own good. Still, they are much funnier.

Note: like any Apatow DVD, this is stuffed with extras, but personally I'd avoid them. I ruined Knocked Up for myself by watching the hours of deleted scenes, gag reels, abandoned ad-libbing, etc. The Line-O-Rama feature is a case in point; take one scene and show the 20 or so alternative lines in quick succession. Argh!

(From Jon's Random Reviews on August 30th, 2009)

The One Where It All Began: The Pilot Marathon, a review by DJ Doena

Sledge Hammer!



What's the show about?
Sledge Hammer is a trigger-happy cop who solves his cases by shooting at everything and talks to his Magnum which he calls "Susie".

"Under the Gun"
After the mayor's daughter is kidnapped Hammer's suspension is lifted. On his way to work he shoots a Bazooka into a building that has a sharpshooter on his roof. After this happy incidident his day clouds a bit because he gets a partner assigned: a woman, Dori Doreau.

My Opinion
That is one crazy cop, but trust him, he knows what he's doing!

(From The One Where It All Began: The Pilot Marathon on January 5th, 2008)