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Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, a review by Dragonfire

Movies based on video games have a bad reputation in general.  Some of it may be warranted...Super Mario Brothers was a huge mess, but others have been decent movies I think.  So I was interested in Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time when I saw the trailers.

As a child, Dastan does something that impresses the King, who decides to adopt the orphan even though he already has two sons, Tus and Garsiv.  15 years later, the brothers are leading the army against enemies of Persia.  Nizam, the brother of the King is also with the brothers and he seems to be a sort of advisor to Tus.  Nizam has information that Alamut, a holy city, has been making weapons for Persia's enemies.  Tus decides to attack the city.  Dastan doesn't agree with the decision, but he does his part, managing to gain access to the city with less casualties.  The King arrives after the battle, only to be murdered with Dastan blamed.  Dastan goes on the run with Tamina, the princess of the city.  Dastan then discovers that the dagger he got during the battle has the ability to turn back time.  He wants to use the dagger to prove his innocence while Tamina is determined to protect the dagger and make sure it doesn't fall into the wrong hands.

I have never played any of the Prince of Persia video games, so I have no idea how much of the plot is pulled from the game and how much is created just for the movie.  I do think the plot is interesting and works for an action movie.  There is a little bit of mystery tied to who is really behind the death of the king, but it doesn't take much to figure everything out.  Some of what happens is more predictable, which will probably disappoint some viewers.  I think the movie is still fun and entertaining overall even with the predictability.  There is a good amount of action in the movie provided from the various fights that Dastan gets into.  He also does a lot of running and jumping with some acrobatic moves as well.  The violence isn't that graphic or extreme.  A bit of humor turns up every so often, mostly from Sheik Amar, a sort of criminal guy who runs fixed ostrich races.

The characters are fine, though none of them are developed that much.  There are hints of romance between Dastan and Tamina even though not much related to that is shown.  Both of them shown a bit of skin in a few scenes, though there is no nudity.  Dastan looks really good without his shirt.  The cast all does well with their parts.  Dastan is different from the other parts I've seen Jake Gyllenhaal play. 

The plot could have been a bit stronger and the character development could have been better, but the movie works as a fun adventure type action movie.  It works as a mindless action movie.



I did get a review posted on Epinions.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

(From Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time on June 11th, 2010)

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, a review by Rich

awestruck in Taiwan...



Two master warriors (Chow Yun Fat and Michelle Yeoh) are faced with their greatest challenge when the treasured Green Destiny sword is stolen. A young aristocrat (Zhang Ziyi) prepares for an arranged marriage, but soon reveals her superior fighting talents and her deeply romantic past. As each warrior battles for justice, they come face to face with their worst enemy - and the inescapable, enduring power of love.

This is beginning to feel like a Chow Yun Fat marathon (or is than Fat Chow Yun or Yun Fat Chow  )
Watching this again but for the first time on a highly detailed 42" screen made it feel like a new viewing experience, what a masterpiece it is in film-making and handling of this genre. Stunning imagery and effects, brilliant acting from all parties, attention to detail is superb, an all round great and highly recommended film. 8/10


(From Around the World in 80 DVD's on March 6th, 2008)

Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman: The Complete Fourth Season, a review by addicted2dvd

Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman: The Complete Fourth Season (1996/United States) LOIS LANE and CLARK KENT saved the best for last. In their final season, they finally get married. There are a few roadblocks along the highway to marital bliss: a worlds-at-war battle with Lord Nor; an adventure-packed encounter with the Wedding Destroyer, who believes folks are better dead than wed; and even wedding-night interruptus compliments of time-traveling H.G. Wells. But before or after the shoes and rice, all 22 fourth-season episodes zing with Lois & Clark's action/comedy blend. A multitude of baddies - ghosts, aliens, deranged scientists and bizarre criminal geniuses - power up the excitement. A multitude of guest stars - Drew Carey, Harry Anderson, Delta Burke and more - power up the laughs. Time to fly...and say goodbye! Episodes: 1. Lord of the Flys 2. Battleground Earth 3. Swear to God, This Time We're Not Kidding 4. Soul Mates 5. Brutal Youth 6. The People vs. Lois Lane 7. Dead Lois Walking 8. Bob and Carol and Lois and Clark 9. Ghosts 10. Stop the Presses 11. Twas the Night Before Mxymas 12. Lethal Weapon 13. Sex, Lies and Videotape 14. Meet John Doe 15. Lois and Clarks 16. AKA Superman 17. Faster Than a Speeding Vixen 18. Shadow of a Doubt 19. Voice from the Past 20. I've Got You Under My Skin 21. Toy Story 22. The Family Hour

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Stars:
Dean Cain as Clark Kent/Superman
Teri Hatcher as Lois Lane
Lane Smith as Perry White
Justin Whalin as Jimmy Olsen
Eddie Jones as Jonathan Kent
K Callan as Martha Kent

Extras:

• Featurettes
• Closed Captioned

Well... I did it! I watched all four seasons! Which is odd since when I started I didn't think I was going to watch much more then the pilot episode. This season I enjoyed just as much as the first two seasons. Season three was the only season to go down in my eyes. Mainly because of how hard they worked to keep Lois and Clark apart the entire season. This final season once again has a nice selection of guest stars... this time including Justine Bateman, David Doyle, Delta Burke, Jasmine Guy, Antonio Sabato, Jr., Drew Carey, Kathy Kinney, Howie Mandel, Tom Wilson, Nancy Dussault, Fred Willard, Tim Thomerson, Grant Shaud and Harry Anderson.

I am disappointed on how this season ended. It is fine for a season finale.... but disappointing as a series finale. As it set itself up for a fifth season. Of course they thought there would be a fifth season anyway. But still disappointing to see it end this way and not get any more episodes.




(From Addicted2dvd's Random TV Series Watched on August 8th, 2011)