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The Pink Panther, a review by RossRoy

Original Title: The Pink Panther Year: 2006 Country: United States Director: Shawn Levy Rating: PG Length: 93 Min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, French: Dolby Digital 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital Surround Subtitles: English, French

What they say
When a star soccer coach is murdered and his priceless Pink Panther diamond stolen, France is in an uproar. Fortunately, Inspector Jacques Clouseau (Steve Martin, 'Bowfinger', 'Cheaper by the Dozen') is on the case. He doesn't have a clue, but for Clouseau, that's just a minor detail. With his partner, Gilbert Ponton (Jean Reno, 'The Da Vinci Code', 'The Professional'), he careens from one misadventure to the next, leaving mayhem in his wake from the boulevards of Paris to the streets of New York. Will he seduce the pop diva, Xania (Beyoncé Knowles, 'Austin Powers: Goldmember')? Will he push Chief Inspector Dreyfus (Oscar® Winner Kevin Kline, 1988 Best Supporting Actor, 'A Fish Called Wanda') over the edge? Will he catch the killer and recover the diamond? With Inspector Clouseau, anything is possible.

My Thoughts
I was surprised by that. I didn't realise how slapstick it is. Not that I was expecting intelligent humour, but I didn't realise it was this much over the top. And I must say, this was not my cup of tea, so to speak. To me, one of the biggest problem here is that most, if not all, of the comedy is based around Clouseau's clumsiness. Now, I like scenes where a characters clumsiness creates comedy, but for a whole 90 minutes? It gets really irritating. And what makes it worse, if they reuse gags all over the movie. It's like had ideas to do a short, but had to stretch it to feature length by contract, and decided to rotate the few jokes they had, and redo them in different context over and over again.

So while I didn't hate it, it was a very forgettable 90 minutes. It is a disappointment.

Rating:

(From RossRoy's Random Viewings on May 31st, 2008)

Samaritan Zatoichi, a review by Antares

Samaritan Zatoichi (1968) 64/100 - This was the last film in the Zatoichi series made by Daiei studios before declaring bankruptcy and ceasing to be. And though the previous film, Zatoichi and the Fugitives infused some well needed energy into the series, this last film just couldn't maintain the impetus. The first film in this series, directed by Kenji Misumi, that I felt was running on life support. It features a hodgepodge of Zatoichi-staple story lines, infused with some silly humor that is beyond believable. A few times I found myself wondering why they even bothered to make this last film. It's not a bad film, just eighty minutes of rehashed, kind of ho-hum action. Oh well, on to Toho and a meeting with Mifune!

Teal = Masterpiece
Dark Green = Classic or someday will be
Lime Green = A good, entertaining film
Orange = Average
Red = Cinemuck
Brown = The color of crap, which this film is

(From Antares' Short Summations on September 7th, 2014)

Smallville Marathon #2, a review by DJ Doena

Synopsis: During a charity event someone steals a very expensive necklace from Martha. Lionel borrowed it to her for that event and Clark wants to prevent that his family ows him anything. Thus he goes on the hunt for this mysterious thief who was dubbed "Green Arrow Bandit" by Lois. But this Green Arrow is no ordinary thief.

My Opinion: I really liked that episode and I find it always funny when someone gets the impression that Clark and Lois might be an item. I also liked the gadgets that the Oliver possesses. He should team up with Bruce Wayne. But I also liked to see that even Clark admits that the world isn't black/white or right/wrong at all times.

Synopsis: As it turns out, Lex and Oliver have been together at the same boarding school and Oliver was bullying Lex who in turn had only one friend. Now ten years later they meet there again as alumni. But then a freak accident happens and kills one of Oliver's old friends. And then the next one dies. And then Lex nearly gets killed. It seems that someone wants to settle a score.

My Opinion: It's interesting to see how such a terrible event change a person's personality - or how it didn't. I am asking myself: How much truth was in Lex's words when he said he wanted to found a company with Duncan, when he would betray him the moment would get the chance. Back then Lex decided to switch his allegiance away from his friend towards power. From that perspective I don't understand why he ever wanted to be friends with Clark's.

Synopsis: A Phantom Zone being (a "Zoner") is on its way to Smallville, to kill Kal-El. But for this he needs to feed on radioactive energy - or the energy core Zod has used and which is now in Lex's possession. But Clark doesn't have to face this enemy alone. Raya is there to help him. But Raya can do even more. She can tell him about his father and his father's goals and about the Fortress - unless both get killed by the Zoner.

My Opinion: Once again Clark has lost a female friend who knew of his secret. It seems that it isn't meant to be. Somehow I like it that Lana questions each and every visit of Clark's. It sharpens her senses and she will need them for Lex. And it also keeps them both apart. This way Clark can focus more on the important issues.

(From Smallville Marathon #2 on June 15th, 2008)