DVD Collectors Online

Independence Day, a review by Tom

Title: Independence Day
Year: 1996
Director: Roland Emmerich
Rating: FSK-12
Length: 147 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35
Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, German: Dolby Digital 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital 3, Commentary: Dolby Digital 3
Subtitles: Commentary, English, German

Stars:
Will Smith
Bill Pullman
Jeff Goldblum
Mary McDonnell
Judd Hirsch

Plot:
July, 2nd. Some aliens come in a huge ship. They place their UFOs all over the world and blow everything apart. July, 3rd. We try to strike back and fail miserably. July, 4th. We give them a cold and blow them apart.

Awards:

Academy Award	1996	Nominated	Best Sound	Chris Carpenter, Bill W. Benton, Bob Beemer, Jeff Wexler
Academy Award	1996	Won	Best Visual Effects	Volker Engel, Douglas Hans Smith, Clay Pinney, Joe Viskocil
AFI	1996	Nominated	100 Years... 100 Thrills (2001)
Amanda-prisen	1997	Won	Beste utenlandske spillefilm	Roland Emmerich
BAFTA	1996	Nominated	Achievement In Special Visual Effects	Tricia Ashford, Volker Engel, Clay Pinney, Douglas Hans Smith, Joe Viskocil
BAFTA	1996	Nominated	Sound	Bob Beemer, Bill W. Benton, Chris Carpenter, Sandy Gendler, Val Kuklowsky, Jeff Wexler
BMI Film & TV Music Awards	1997	Won	BMI Film Music Award	David A. Arnold
Cinema Audio Society Awards	1997	Nominated	Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for a Feature Film	Chris Carpenter, Bob Beemer, Bill W. Benton, Jeff Wexler
Golden Raspberry Awards	1996	Nominated	Worst Written Film Grossing Over $100 Million	Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich
Grammy Awards	1997	Won	Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television	David A. Arnold (For "Independence Day")
Hugo Award	1997	Nominated	Dramatic Presentation
MTV Movie Awards	1997	Nominated	Best Action Sequence
MTV Movie Awards	1997	Nominated	Best Breakthrough Performance	Vivica A. Fox
MTV Movie Awards	1997	Won	Best Kiss	Will Smith and Vivica A. Fox
MTV Movie Awards	1997	Nominated	Best Male Performance	Will Smith
MTV Movie Awards	1997	Nominated	Best Movie
Satellite Awards	1997	Won	Best Film Editing	David Brenner
Satellite Awards	1997	Won	Best Visual Effects	Volker Engel, Douglas Hans Smith
Saturn	1996	Nominated	Best Actor	Jeff Goldblum
Saturn	1996	Nominated	Best Actor	Will Smith
Saturn	1996	Nominated	Best Costumes	Joseph Porro
Saturn	1996	Won	Best Director	Roland Emmerich
Saturn	1996	Nominated	Best Music	David A. Arnold
Saturn	1996	Won	Best Science Fiction Film
Saturn	1996	Won	Best Special Effects	Volker Engel, Clay Pinney, Douglas Hans Smith, Joe Viskocil
Saturn	1996	Nominated	Best Supporting Actor	Brent Spiner
Saturn	1996	Nominated	Best Supporting Actress	Vivica Fox
Saturn	1996	Nominated	Best Writing	Dean Devlin, Roland Emmerich
Saturn	1996	Nominated	Best Younger Actor	James Duval
Young Artist Awards	1997	Nominated		Ross Bagley

Extras:
Commentary
Deleted Scenes
Featurettes
Kinofassung (139 min)
Photo Gallery
Scene Access
Trailers



(From Tom's Random Reviews on May 8th, 2010)

Død snø, a review by Achim

(2009/Norway) E1 Entertainment (United Kingdom) Director: Tommy Wirkola Writing: Tommy Wirkola (Writer), Stig Frode Henriksen (Writer) Length: 88 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1 Audio: Norwegian: Dolby Digital: 5.1 Subtitles: English

---

Stars:Plot:
With a car packed full of ski equipment and enough beer to fuel their escape from everyday life eight medical students head out on their Easter vacation.

Isolated in the snowy hills the group begins to realize they came to the wrong resort, as deep in the hills lay an unthinkable evil.

Extras:

• Scene Access
• Feature Trailers
• Featurettes

I had a lot of fun with this one. My friend and I were enjoying that this Norwegian film did not use the same patterns an American film would have used, which in whole made it feel fresh. my friend did however complain about the unrealistic use of the human anatomy, especially that of intestines (he is a surgeon...). There are a few laughs in this, as well as a sufficient amount of gore. So, while obviously not a masterpiece of a film, it is great fun for that Saturday night with some friends over.

Rating:

(From The Movies from Within My Lifetime on August 7th, 2011)

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: The Complete Second Season marathon, a review by goodguy

2x08 Mr. Ferguson Is Ill Today
Synopsis: John and Riley's getaway to Mexico has unforeseen consequences that bring the entire group south of the border and Sarah face-to-face with Ellison.
My Rating:

Matthias has pointed out before it's his favorite and I can at least confirm from my side that it's the best episode yet.

I was only referring to the title, not the episode itself, although, as evident from my rating, I do consider it another excellent episode. As for the title: I didn't catch on to it right from the start. I found it oddly fitting to describe Cromartie's demise and I remember having that sentence stuck in my head for a while like a piece of music. But it wasn't until I rewatched S1 that I noticed it is the very first line of Cromartie in the pilot, when he appeared as a substitute teacher (and was played by another actor). Which fits nicely with the way the characters in this episode try to replace something they have lost.

Well, if he wasn't doing things like running away without telling anyone, there wouldn't be any exciting plots

More importantly, he would just be dead. Both Sarah and Cameron don't want John to be with Riley. Both think he is in his room, sleeping in. Both are the ones that allowed Cromartie to pick up the trail. But as Cromartie arrives at the house, John is gone. With Riley.

I always enjoy the "bits and pieces" approach to tell a story, presenting us with segments, each following another person, that slightly overlap. This way important information can occasionally be left out only to be revealed later on. Kudos to the writer team to pulling it off very effectively

I admit that on first viewing I dismissed it as too gimmicky, but it really isn't. Only in the case of Ellison's sudden appearance it is played for surprise, and even then not exclusively. More important seems to be the overlap and repetition of certain key bits and how it enhances the almost lyrical feeling the dialogue often has. And, of course, the different story segments emphasize how fractured team Connor has become.

As it all comes together in Cromartie's story, Ellison does lead him to the Connors, but on his own terms, because "all things are possible to him who believes." The shootout in a Mexican church uses bold Christ imagery, and a rather short version of another traditional song (La Llorona - The Weeping Woman) again takes out the sound of the action scene until Cameron finally brings Cromartie down. Cameron looks equally sad and curious while doing it - she certainly seems to think more about the terminators she kills than about the humans, echoing similar shots of her in 2x05 and 2x06.

Only now, two or three episodes after the incident I realize that Ellison's role in all this must be bigger than we can imagine so far. Triggered by his question to Sarah about his role...

One of the bits that gets repeated during the segments are Ellison's words to Sarah when he opens the trunk: "Sarah Connor? James Ellison. I *need* you to come with me." But when they talk during Cromartie's burial, Sarah refuses to give him the guidance he so desperately seeks. As he walks away, he will undoubtedly return to Weaver. And with the ominous music cue accompanying it and the way the takedown of Cromartie was shown, one can be pretty sure what will happen. However, Cromartie's chip definitely is destroyed.



(From Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: The Complete Second Season marathon on February 8th, 2010)