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Daylight, a review by GSyren

Daylight (025192-026720)

United States 1996 | Released 1998-05-26 on DVD from Universal Home Video

114 minutes | Aspect ratio Anamorphic 1.85:1 | Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital Dolby Surround, Spanish Dolby Digital Dolby Surround, Commentary Dolby Digital Mono

Directed by Rob Cohen and starring Sylvester Stallone, Amy Brenneman, Viggo Mortensen, Dan Hedaya, Jay O. Sanders

Rob Cohen directs and Sylvester Stallone stars in this urban underwater disaster drama with big-bang special effects by Industrial Light & Magic. An accidental explosion rips through a jammed commuter tunnel beneath the Hudson River between Manhattan and New Jersey, sealing off both ends and trapping a diverse band of survivors inside.  A disgraced former emergency medical services chief manages to reach them and then struggles through fire, noxious gases, explosions, collapsing walls, massive flooding and rats to lead them to daylight Daylight co-stars Amy Brenneman, Viggo Mortensen, Dan Hedaya, Jay O. Sanders, Karen Young, Claire Bloom and Vanessa Bell Calloway.  Director Cohen works again with Executive Producer Raffaella De Laurentis, with whom he made Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story and Dragonheart.

My thoughts about Daylight:

Daylight was one of the early movies in the second wave of disaster movies, the first wave having been inflicted on us in the seventies. This second wave was made possible by the advent of computer graphics (CGI). As you may have gathered from my previous reviews, I'm not a fan of CGI overuse. I have two rules of thumb when it comes to CGI. First, only use special effects in general, and CGI in particular, where it is necessary for telling the story. Second, use CGI only where practical effects are not possible. Fortunately DaylightDaylight reminds me a lot of The Poseidon adventure.  It's a group of people trapped under water after a major accident, trying to get to the surface. The main difference is that the lead character, played by Sylvester Stallone, is not involved in the initial disaster, but goes in volontarily, knowing that he cannot go back out the same way, and knowing that there may not actually be a way out. So, is this a good movie? Well, the story does have some flaws, but that's true of most disaster movies. The movie has gathered some very varied reactions. Some people hate it, some love it. Having seen it at least twice before, I still had a good time rewatching it.

I rate this title

(From Reviews and ramblings by Gunnar on December 20th, 2014)

Anna and the King, a review by Rich

Enlightenment through Malaysia...





A joy to watch, superb acting by Foster and Yun-Fat, great 'based on fact' storyline and splendid momentum contributed to make this an 8/10. The initial culture clash, political background, and developing respect and love between Anna and King Mongkut are brilliantly directed and a film that would happily be enjoyed by all ages.

(From Around the World in 80 DVD's on February 26th, 2008)

Tom's TV Pilots marathon, a review by Tom

Ghost Whisperer: Season One (2005/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia CBS DVD (United States) Length: 963 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Subtitles:

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Plot:
Melinda Gordon (Jennifer Love Hewitt) is a young newlywed with the unique gift to communicate with spirits of people who have died - a talent that was inherited from her grandmother.

The dead seek out Melinda's ability to help them relay significant messages and information to the living. Despite her fear, compassion compels her to help these earthbound spirits cross over by completing their unfinished business with the living. Relive these amazing journeys in all 22 first-season episodes.


Ghost Whisperer
1.01 Pilot
Writer: John Gray (Writer)
Director: John Gray
Cast: Jennifer Love Hewitt (Melinda Gordon), Aisha Tyler (Andrea Moreno), David Conrad (Jim Clancy), Wentworth Miller (Sgt. Paul Adams), Jon Polito (Joe Grimaldi), Rodney Scott (Dan Clancy), June Squibb (Melinda's Grandmother), Grace Fulton (Young Malinda), Eddie Jones (Older Man), Deborah Strang (Thin Women), Balthazar Getty (Michael), Allison McDonell (Vera Adams), Diane Dorsey (Coffee Drinker), William Marquez (Older Man), John Eric Bentley (Army Chaplain)

It's a good pilot episode. Not necessarily something which gets you hooked, but it does a good job introducing the characters and the premise.
I enjoyed the first season of this series. But I got really bored with the second season and never bothered picking up the rest of the series.

Rating:

(From Tom's TV Pilots marathon on June 26th, 2011)