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The Abandoned, a review by addicted2dvd

The Abandoned
An American woman searching for her birth parents learns she has inherited a house in the middle of a forest in a remote area of Russia. It is the house where she was born. Abandoned and uninhabited for 40 years, it stands in total disrepair and neglect. What she finds is more than an old house. She meets a mysterious man claiming to be her twin brother and together they find the house holds dangerous secrets to a past they don't even remember. They are forced to relive a series of horrifying events and shocking murders that occurred just after they were born, and in the place where they were supposed to die.

My Thoughts:
This is one of the movies that was featured in the After Dark Horrorfest... and if I am not mistaken... the only of the 8 movies that had a larger theatrical release as well. This is a good movie... but a complicated one. It is one you really need to pay close attention to when you watch it. I feel that I still need to watch this one a second time to get some of the finer points of the movie. Unfortunately there is not that much when it comes to extras... just a featurette and some bonus trailers.

(From Weekend Movie Marathon: 2/8-2/10 on February 10th, 2008)

Die Hard, a review by Dragonfire

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Die Hard High above the city of L.A. a team of terrorists has seized a building, taken hostages, and declared war. But one man has managed to escape detection...an off-duty cop. He's alone...tired...and the only chance anyone has. Bruce Willis stars as New York City Detective John McClane, newly arrived in Los Angeles to spend the Christmas holiday with his estranged wife (Bonnie Bedelia). But as McClane waits for his wife's office party to break up, terrorists take control of the building. While the terrorist leader, Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) and his savage henchman (Alexander Godunov) round up hostages, McClane slips away unnoticed. Armed with only a service revolver and his cunning, McClane launches his own one-man war. A crackling thriller from beginning to end, DIE HARD explodes with heart-stopping suspense.

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I love this movie and think it is one of the best action movies.  John McClane is a wonderful character who seems more realistic than characters in other action movies even when he does unbelievable things.  He has some issues, but he deals with the situation he ends up in because no else is there to do.  He could have tried to find somewhere in the building to hide and hope the cops would come.  Instead he decides to tackle the problem himself, with only his handgun while wearing no shoes.  He gets hurt, but he keeps going because someone has to deal with the terrorists.  The action is done well, though it isn't the most believable at times.  There is no way that someone could survive what John does, but that doesn't bother me. 

Hans Grubber is the best villain from the Die Hard movies.  He's one of the best movie villains ever.  He tends to stay calm, showing only mild irritation at first because John is delaying some of his plans.  Hans gets more and more annoyed with John as the movie progress.  Hans acts a bit more refined and he's as intelligent as he is deadly.  Alan Rickman is absolutely wonderful in the part.  He's so good at playing bad guys, but I think Hans is the best.  This, along with his performances as Snape in the Potter movies, are my favorite performances by him. 

This is a well done action movie that has held up well and definitely deserves to be watched. 



I did get a review  posted on Epinions a few years ago.

Die Hard


(From Marie's Random Movie Viewing on August 13th, 2011)

Wonder Woman, a review by addicted2dvd

Wonder Woman (2011/United States) Wonder Woman is an action drama about the dc comics icon, a vigilante crime fighter in L.A. who is also a successful corporate executive and a modern woman trying to balance all of the elements of her extraordinary life.

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Stars:
Adrianne Palicki as Diana Prince / Wonder Woman
Cary Elwes as Henry Johns
Elizabeth Hurley as Veronica Cale
Edward Herrmann as Senator Warren
Tracie Thoms as Etta Candy
Justin Bruening as Steve Trevor
Nancy Grace as Herself

Extras:

• Scene Access

I am so thrilled I got the chance to see this. After looking forward to a new series and then the studios canceling the series before it even started was a real disappointment for me. After watching it I remain disappointed. I could have seen myself really getting into this series. Though it definitely needed some tweaking. First of all I found that they made Wonder Woman too dark. She did what she had to do to get what she believed to be justice. This included not only putting people in the hospital... but as far as murder. Though she only killed those that was trying to kill her... it still don't seem right for the character. Then there is the way she uses her magic lasso... she used it on several occasions in this pilot... and every time she snagged the person around the neck with it. It is definitely gone a step too far in that matter.

Next we have her identity. While she still only has 2 identities literally... it feel like three. We have Wonder Woman... who is also known to the public world as Diana Themyscira who runs a big business that supports her going out to fight crime. Then finally there is Diana Prince... which is no more then a persona she uses to let her get away from things. Going to a small home elsewhere to be by herself (other then her cat Sylvester)... and that is all Diana Prince is in this series.

Now I want to talk a little about the costume. We have debated what version of the costume we liked better... and that debate was all for nothing. Why? Because all the versions exist in this series! Yes she has more then one costume... which she wears depending nothing more then on her mood. So it is not like in the classic Lynda Carter Wonder Woman where there was one for everyday use, One for motorcycle riding and one for swimming. She just grabs whatever costume she is in the mood to wear. And yes... this includes the classic look with the short shorts!

Jet... Yes!... Invisible... No! We do see Wonder Woman flying around in her little jet. But this jet is not invisible. I don't know... possibly their plan was to give the jet a cloaking ability so that it could appear invisible in future episodes... but this is something we will never know. Also the jet is really very small. Almost pod-like only big enough for her alone to fly in.

What did I think of Adrianne Palicki in the title role? I liked her much better then I did in the promo photos we saw of her. While I would have still liked to seen someone else... someone like Eliza Dushku in the role... I could have enjoyed watching her Adrianne Palicki in the role with no problem at all. I really liked who they chose to play Steve Trevor. The got Justin Bruening to play him. He is the guy that played Michael Knight in the reboot of the Knight Rider series.

The story itself was interesting... definitely kept my attention. Wonder Woman is going after Veronica Cale, a Lex Luthor like character, who is putting out a dangerous steroids type drug to some ghetto sports kids which is killing the kids. She is trying to create a formula to make super-soldiers. I found to be entertaining but definitely in the need of some polishing. Over-all a good attempt at a new series... but watching this I can see why they refused the pilot. I just wish they would have polished it up... change a few things... then maybe they would have something they could have aired.



(From Addicted2dvd's Random TV Series Watched on July 28th, 2011)