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Futurama: Bender's Game, a review by Dragonfire

Futurama: Bender's Game

With fuel prices skyrocketing, the Planet Express crew sets off on a dangerous mission: to infiltrate the world's only dark-matter mine, source of all spaceship fuel.  But deep beneath the surface lies a far stranger place...a medieval land of dragons and sorcery and intoxicated knights who look suspiciously like Bender.  So park your hover-car and saddle up your unicorn for Futurama's grandest adventure yet... Bender's Game.

My Thoughts

I loved Futurama and am still annoyed that Fox canceled it - along with some other very good shows.  Anyway, I was very happy when I learned that some direct to DVD Futurama movies were being made and I got the first two, Futurama: Bender's Big Score and Futurama: The Beast With a Billion Backs when they came out.  This movie didn't reference anything that happened in the first two, so it is more self contained than they were.  There were no story threads left unresolved from the second one.

The plot was a bit different, but I think that is typical of Futurama in general.  It was very entertaining and I think fans will be happy with it.  The story featured a combination of things connected to Dungeons and Dragons and The Lord of the Rings that I think worked very well and was very entertaining.  It was hilarious to watch Bender get sucked into the game and end up in a robot asylum.  The characters ended up in a fantasy world that was very interesting.  I thought the movie was funny as well.  The characters still acted like they had throughout the series without anyone having a major personality change.  Leela, Fry, and Bender really ended up with the most to do overall.  The other regular characters like the Professor, Amy, Hermes and Dr. Zoidberg were also around. 

I also enjoyed the extras.  There is a short featurette featuring a few men involved in the making of the movie talking about Dungeons and Dragons and how they incorporated it into Futurama.  They pointed out some references to the game that popped up during the episodes.  There was one deleted scene shown and some outtakes from recording sessions with the voice cast that were funny.  It would have been nice if there had been more extras. 

I don't like the case for the DVD..that is a minor thing, but I just don't like it.  Like the first two Futurama movies, it is just cardboard.  It says on the case that it is carbon neutral and how the makers are being more environmentally friendly.  I don't have a problem with that, but this type of case does not keep the disc secure.  I have to be very careful with these cases because I've had the first two movies go flying out when I was just picking up the case.  It wasn't like I was waving it all around or anything.  Anyway, the movie is still great and fans of Futurama will probably enjoy it.

 

(From My November Alphabet Marathon on November 6th, 2008)

Cars 2, a review by Dragonfire

I wasn't sure about Cars 2 when I first heard it was being made, but I still wanted to see it.  I went Friday on opening day like I have for the last several Pixar movies.

I really enjoyed the movie and think it is fun and entertaining.  I do think there are a few issues, but it is still well done and a good movie overall.  The plot could be a little complicated for younger children and they may not get the spy stuff, but I think it works.  The mission the spy cars are working on ends up connected to the series of races that Lightning is competing in.  This one is more of just a fun, adventure type movie.  The story has a few moments with some emotion in them, but the story doesn't have the same strong emotional core previous Pixar movies have had and that is a bit disappointing.  I think the story works, but it could have been stronger.  The movie isn't quite as good as previous Pixar movies.  Despite that, it is still entertaining and worth seeing.  A movie from Pixar with these issues is still better than what most of the other studios are making for animated movies.

The animation is amazing and the different locations used for the movie look great.  There is a bit more action to what is going on in this one.  One or two things happen that might bother or upset younger children, but things aren't that graphic.  The most disturbing things aren't shown..instead other characters are shown reacting to those things. 

Most of the characters from the first movie are back, though most of them end up with very little to do.  It would have been nice if those characters had more to do.  Mater is more of a main character this time and he ends up with the most to do.  He ends up in some interesting situations that sometimes cause tension in his friendship with Lightning.  Since Mater is featured more this time, people that don't like him probably won't be happy.  There are some new characters that are interesting.  The two British spies, Finn and Holly, end up with the most to do of the new characters.  The voice cast does a good job with their characters.

Before the movie is a really cute, entertaining short, Hawaiian Vacation with the Toy Story characters. 

I've seen some of the negative things being said about this movie by critics.  It almost seems like some of them went in to seeing the movie already decided it would be crap and were just looking for stuff to complain about.  It is sort of like some people have decided that since this one isn't better than Toy Story 3, then it's crap.  Yes Pixar has made movies that are better, but this one is still pretty darn good. 

For me, the movie is somewhere between 4.5 and 5 stars...maybe around 4.7 or 4.8.  Since I didn't have that as a rating option at Epinions, I rounded up to 5.

I did get a review posted on Epinions if anyone wants to take a look.

Cars 2

(From Cars 2 on June 28th, 2011)

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

Synopsis: A woman tried to contact a man on the station to purchase something from him, but he gets killed before they can meet. When she tries to steal it, Odo catches her and starts an investigation. The woman is wanted by the Orion Syndicate, the most powerful criminal organization in the quadrant, and Odo tries to protect her and to help her. But he also falls in love with her.

My Opinion: Odo's love life. Not interested in I am.

Synopsis: Since his business license has been revoked, Quark is almost broke and now another deal has gone down. His knight in shining armor is his cousin Gaila (who once tried to kill Quark), but the business he's in is illegal: He's a weapons dealer and he wants Quark to join him. At first that seems like a good idea, but then he loses his Federation friends on the station and later he might lose his life.

My Opinion: Quark has always been a crook and he probably will always be one. He has purchased and sold illegal goods all his life. But it's good to see that even he has a moral line where he says "till here and no further". And I liked it how he played the leaders of this bloody struggle against each other.
Somehow I feel the urge to watch Lord of War again.

Synopsis: Once, Kira was surgically altered to look like a Cardassian. She was supposedly the daughter of a high ranking cardassian officer in the Central Command. Now this man, her "father", comes to the station. He's dying and he's alone and he wants her to know all his secrets to use it as leverage - a cardassian tradition when one is dying. But seeing him die reminds Kira of the death of her own father back in the days of the occupation.

My Opinion: Five years ago it was unimagenable that Kira would care so deeply for a Cardassian. I liked it how they switched between the current timeline and here memories of the death of her father and I liked it that she buried Ghemor beside her real father. I know exactly how she must have felt. One year ago my grandfather died and I often sat beside him in the hospital and saw the diminishing sparkle of light in his eyes.

Synopsis: Quark is depressed and Rom wants to marry Leeta, one of the bajoran Dabo-Girls in Quark's bar. But when Quark returns home to Ferenginar, to visit his mother, he learns the she and the Grand Nagus Zek are a couple. Brunt (FCA) wants to break them up and he needs Quarks help. Meanwhile Leeta and Rom break up because she doesn't want to sign a standard Ferengi marriage contract (which of course leaves her with no rights and no money during and after the marriage).

My Opinion: This was a fun episode. It's funny how Quark's family breaks with all traditions: Ishka wears clothes, does business and even acts as first financial advisor to the Grand Nagus (secretly of course) and Rom gives all his savings (ok, it wasn't that much) away because he loves Leeta. And Quark stands in the middle of it and just wants to be a normal Ferengi - but at least he's got his business license back.

(From Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Marathon on February 1st, 2009)