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Star Trek Into Darkness, a review by Tom

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia (Germany) Director: J. J. Abrams Writing: Roberto Orci (Writer), Alex Kurtzman (Writer), Damon Lindelof (Writer), Gene Roddenberry (Original Material By) Length: 132 min. Video: Widescreen 2.35 Audio: English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1, German: Dolby TrueHD 7.1, Audio Descriptive: Dolby Digital 5.1 Subtitles: English, German

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Stars:Plot:
After the crew of the Enterprise find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction.

Extras:

• Scene Access
• Featurettes

I enjoy this movie quite a bit. It does not get a higher rating because of all the plot holes and contrivances. But I liked the interaction between the cast.
Regarding the controversial ending:


(From Tom's Random Reviews on December 7th, 2013)

Tangled, a review by Dragonfire

Tangled

I have been wanting to see Tangled for a long time.  I really liked it and think it is one of the better animated movies I've seen in a while.  I've thought that Disney should do a Rapunzel movie for years. 

This is another one in 3D.  The 3D show time ended up being the most convenient for me to go to.  The 3D is subtle in many scenes, but it is very well done.  There is an amazing scene that utilizes the 3D later in the movie involving floating objects.  I'm glad I saw it in 3D.  I think it will still be enjoyable in 2D.  The animation overall is very well done.  It is computer animation, but it is done in a way to look more like hand drawn animation, especially with how the characters look.  The animation is beautiful and Rapunzel's hair looks very impressive. 

The movie is a bit predictable, though there are a few surprises that I didn't expect.  It has been a while since I last read the original story, so I couldn't remember the specifics.  I do think the movie is pretty funny at times, especially when Maximus - a unique horse - is around.  The trailers played up the more lighthearted moments of the movie, but there is much more depth to the story.  The songs are good, though not as strong as some from earlier Disney animated movies.  I liked the characters and the voices all work for them.

I loved Tangled and will definitely be adding the movie to my collection once it is out.

I did get a review posted on Epinions after seeing it in the theater.

Tangled

(From Tangled on January 2nd, 2011)

Tom's Buffy and Angel Marathon, a review by Tom

5.01 Buffy Vs. Dracula
Writer: Marti Noxon (Writer)
Director: David Solomon
Cast: Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy Summers), Nicholas Brendon (Xander Harris), Alyson Hannigan (Willow Rosenberg), Marc Blucas (Riley Finn), Emma Caulfield (Anya Jenkins), James Marsters (Spike), Anthony Stewart Head (Giles), Rudolf Martin (Dracula), Michelle Trachtenberg (Dawn Summers), Amber Benson (Tara), Kristine Sutherland (Joyce Summers), E. J. Gage (Mover #1), Scott Berman (Mover #2), Marita Schaub (Vampire Girl #1), Leslee Jean Matta (Vampire Girl #2), Jennifer Slimko (Vampire Girl #3)

I never really liked this episode. I don't like the way Dracula is portrayed. He is similar in character to Byron from Babylon 5, who I also don't like. Also I think Dracula as a real figure doesn't fit into Buffyverse. He doesn't even look like other vampires in the series.

Rating:



5.02 Real Me
Writer: David Fury (Writer)
Director: David Grossman
Cast: Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy Summers), Nicholas Brendon (Xander Harris), Alyson Hannigan (Willow Rosenberg), Marc Blucas (Riley Finn), Emma Caulfield (Anya Jenkins), Michelle Trachtenberg (Dawn Summers), James Marsters (Spike), Anthony Stewart Head (Giles), Mercedes McNab (Harmony Kendall), Bob Morrisey (Homeless Man), Amber Benson (Tara), Kristine Sutherland (Joyce Summers), Brian Turk (Mort), Chaney Kley Minnis (Brad), Faith S. Abrahams (Peaches), Tom Lenk (Cyrus)

This is a great introduction for Dawn. I never had a problem with her as an addition to the series. I like the way they introduced her. And also Harmony is a riot.

Rating:



5.03 The Replacement
Writer: Jane Espenson (Writer)
Director: James A. Contner
Cast: Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy Summers), Nicholas Brendon (Xander Harris), Alyson Hannigan (Willow Rosenberg), Marc Blucas (Riley Finn), Emma Caulfield (Anya Jenkins), Michelle Trachtenberg (Dawn Summers), James Marsters (Spike), Anthony Stewart Head (Giles), Michael Bailey Smith (Toth), Kristine Sutherland (Joyce Summers), Kelly Donovan (Xander Double), Cathy Cohen (Building Manager), David Reivers (Foreman), Fritz Greve (Construction Worker)

I enjoyed this episode. Even though the premise is nothing new, it is fun to watch two different Xanders. And we aren't even bothered with bad split-screen effect, because Nicholas Brendon's twin brother doubled for the second Xander.

Rating:



5.04 Out Of My Mind
Writer: Rebecca Rand Kirshner (Writer)
Director: David Grossman
Cast: Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy Summers), Nicholas Brendon (Xander Harris), Alyson Hannigan (Willow Rosenberg), Marc Blucas (Riley Finn), Emma Caulfield (Anya Jenkins), Michelle Trachtenberg (Dawn Summers), James Marsters (Spike), Anthony Stewart Head (Giles), Mercedes McNab (Harmony Kendall), Bailey Chase (Graham Miller), Charlie Weber (Ben), Time Winters (Dr. Overheiser), Amber Benson (Tara), Kristine Sutherland (Joyce Summers), Dierdre Holder (Hospital Doctor)

Nothing special. At least this episode is preparing the departure of Riley from this series. He is a character I never really liked.

Rating:

(From Tom's Buffy and Angel Marathon on May 22nd, 2010)