DVD Collectors Online

The Dark Knight, a review by Rich

Title: The Dark Knight

Runtime:152
Certificate:12
Year:2008
Genres:Action, Adventure, Fantasy

Plot:The follow-up to Batman Begins, The Dark Knight reunites director Christopher Nolan and star Christian Bale, who reprises the role of Batman/Bruce Wayne in his continuing war on crime. With the help of Lt. Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman sets out to destroy organized crime in Gotham for good. The triumvirate proves effective. But soon the three find themselves prey to a rising criminal mastermind known as The Joker, who thrusts Gotham into anarchy and forces Batman closer to crossing the fine line between hero and vigilante.

My Review:
Did the movie improve or worsen from my original review of the film HERE

(From Riches Random Reviews on November 23rd, 2009)

Batman & Robin, a review by Tom

Batman & Robin (1997/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Warner Home Video (United Kingdom) Director: Joel Schumacher Writing: Bob Kane (Original Characters By), Akiva Goldsman (Writer) Length: 125 min. Video: Widescreen 1.78 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1, French: Dolby Digital 5.1, German: Dolby Digital 5.1, Italian: Dolby Digital 5.1, Catalonian: Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, Portuguese: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Subtitles: Catalonian, Chinese, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish

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Stars:
Jeep Swenson as Bane
Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze/Dr. Victor Fries
George Clooney as Batman/Bruce Wayne
Chris O'Donnell as Robin/Dick Grayson
Uma Thurman as Poison Ivy/Dr. Pamela Isley

Plot:
Chills And Thrills:Will Gotham City Be Put On Ice? George Clooney Is Batman As The Dark Night Battles His Greatest Threat Yet:Cold-Hearted Mr.Freeze (Arnold Schwarzenegger) And Venomous Poison Ivy (Uma Thurman). Batman Has More Than Gotham City To Protect:The Youthful Eagerness Of Crimefighting Comrades Robin (Chris O'Donnell) And Batgirl (Alicia Silverstone) Puts Them Frequently In Harms Way. New Very Special Effects Include A Wild Sky-Surfing Sequence And Freeze's Outrageous Ice-Blasting Arsenal. It's State-Of-The-Art Excitement From Our Batamily To Yours!.

Awards:
Won:

ASCAP Awards (1998)		Top Box Office Films (Elliot Goldenthal)
Blockbuster Entertainment Awards (1998)		Favorite Actress - Sci-Fi (Uma Thurman)
Blockbuster Entertainment Awards (1998)		Favorite Supporting Actor - Sci-Fi (Chris O'Donnell)
Golden Raspberry Awards (1997)		Worst Supporting Actress (Alicia Silverstone)

Nominated:

Blockbuster Entertainment Awards (1998)		Favorite Supporting Actor - Sci-Fi (Arnold Schwarzenegger)
Blockbuster Entertainment Awards (1998)		Favorite Supporting Actress - Sci-Fi (Alicia Silverstone)
Golden Raspberry Awards (1997)		Worst Director (Joel Schumacher)
Golden Raspberry Awards (1997)		Worst Picture
Golden Raspberry Awards (1997)		Worst Reckless Disregard for Human Life and Public Property
Golden Raspberry Awards (1997)		Worst Remake or Sequel
Golden Raspberry Awards (1997)		Worst Screen Couple (George Clooney & Chris O'Donnell)
Golden Raspberry Awards (1997)		Worst Screenplay (Akiva Goldsman)
Golden Raspberry Awards (1997)		Worst Song ("The End is The Beginning is The End": Billy Corgan)
Golden Raspberry Awards (1997)		Worst Supporting Actor (Arnold Schwarzenegger)
Golden Raspberry Awards (1997)		Worst Supporting Actor (Chris O'Donnell)
Golden Raspberry Awards (1997)		Worst Supporting Actress (Uma Thurman)
Saturn (1997)		Best Costumes (Ingrid Ferrin, Robert Turturice)
Saturn (1997)		Best Fantasy Film
Saturn (1997)		Best Makeup (Ve Neill, Jeff Dawn)

Extras:

• Commentary
• Deleted Scenes
• Featurettes
• Music Videos
• Photo Gallery
• Scene Access
• Trailers

I treaded watching it, but I had to finish off my new Batman boxset. If you do not consider this movie part of the previous Batman movies, but as a movie version of the old Batman series from the 60s, you may find some enjoyment in it.
The acting is bad, especially by Uma Thurman. George Clooney is an okay Batman, but all the brooding is gone from Bruce Wayne. This is not a Dark Knight.
The use of Batgirl feels forced in. Nothing against Alicia Silverstone, but she didn't fit here.
There are also some little things which bother me. Like why is the new Batmobile with an open driver's seat, when Batman would have been killed in all the previous movies, if it were for the protected drivers seat? Further proof that it takes the old TV series as a guideline.


Rating:

(From Tom's Random Reviews on December 5th, 2011)

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

Synopsis: The Siskos have gone back to Earth where Ben works in his father's restaurant. He's still hoping to get an inspiration on how to re-open the wormhole. And then he finally gets a vision about a human female that's somehow linked to his father. In the meantime Kira (who has been promotoed to Colonel) has to deal with the Romulans who want to open a hospital on one of Bajor's uninhabited moons. And Worfs seeks a way to ensure that his wife passes the gates of Sto'Vo'Kor (the klingon heaven).

My Opinion: So Sisko's mother wasn't Sisko's mother? This is a bit of a last-minute revelation, isn't it? Apart from that this was basically just a prelude to the next episode.

Synopsis: Just as he was about to embark to Tyree where he hopes to find an answer to his vision, Sisko finds himself in front of Dax - Ezri Dax. Ezri never intended to get joined but the Dax symbiont was dying and she was its only hope. So she joins Ben, Jake and Joseph Sisko on their journey to Tyree. And Miles, Julian and Quark have joined a dangerous mission to honour their memory of Jadzia Dax. Worf and Martok plan to take the Rotarran deep into enemy territory where they intend to destroy a ship yard.

My Opinion: So Dax is back. Why? Why did they feel the need to introduce a new character (and that's basically what she is) in the last season? She's a babbling irritant and it will barely get better. And Sisko was conceived by a woman that was inhabited by a Prophet at that time? And he re-opened the wormhole. Hallelujah! Praise the Emissary!
But I liked how Kira took a stand with her wing of impulse fighters agains a group of romulan Warbirds after they deceived her. And I liked the destruction of the ship yard - that should ensure Jadzia's entrance into Sto'Vo'Kor.

But it was nice to see that they took the chance to show Casey Biggs (Damar) without a mask:



Synopsis: Ezri, who is a counsellor in training, has a hard time. She has to deal with all the memories of her previous hosts (especially Jadzia's). But she also has to deal with all her - or Jadzia's - friends aboard DS9 and of course with Worf. But she gets distracted when Garak's claustrophobia panic attacks worsen and he nearly jumps out of an airlock "to get some fresh air".

My Opinion: I liked Garak's inner conflict about "betraying" his own people at the same time as I disliked the entire Ezri plot. And Garaks plot was basically written as a story device for her. If this would have been an exception I could live with it but we will see quite a number of Ezri episodes this season. They wanted to give her a proper profile and background but it feels forced. Ezri here. Ezri there.

Synopsis: The USS T'Kumbra (an all-Vulcan ship) comes to DS9 and its captain and Sisko have a history. He challenges Sisko on Sisko's very own playing field - baseball. Sisko accepts of course and builds his very own baseball team and two weeks later the holo crowd is looking forward to a game of "Logicians" versus "Niners".

My Opinion: I never cared for baseball but just as Major League this was fun to watch. The huge baseball cap to fit on a Ferengi head or Odo as the umpire or O'Brien's scotch-flavoured bubble gum: great. But I would have expected more of Worf. He's a skilled klingon warrior and he can't even hit the ball once?

(From Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Marathon on February 28th, 2009)