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12:08 East of Bucharest, a review by Danae Cassandra

Where We Are: Romania
wikipedia

What We Watched:


A fost sau n-a fost? (12:08 East of Bucharest)
Year of Release: 2006
Directed By: Corneliu Porumboiu
Starring: Mircea Andreescu, Teodor Corban, Ion Sapdaru
Genre: Comedy?, Drama

Overview:
ON THE SIXTEENTH YEAR ANNIVERSARY of the fall of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, a local anchorman of a nearby provincial town invites two of his acquaintances to share their moments of revolutionary glory on his talk show. One is an impish, insightful retiree who sometimes poses as Santa Claus, the other a henpecked, hard-drinking teacher who has just devoted his entire salary to his drinking debts. Together they will remember the day when they stormed their town hall calling "down with Ceausescu." Or did they?

My Thoughts:
Maybe this is a film that plays better in it's home country, because this was the most boring film I've seen in several years. At a mere 85 minutes, this film was tediously long and we debated shutting it off. Nothing happens in this dreary little movie except to establish that the revolution may, or may not, have happened in this little town. If this is a comedy, it's an awfully bleak one with few moments of humor. The characters are reasonably fleshed out and the actors do a good job, but the only likeable character was Mr. Piscoci, and he didn't have nearly enough dialog.

I wouldn't mind seeing Mr. Piscoci in another film, as that character was interesting and amusing and is responsible for all the 1 and a half stars I'm giving the film. Recommended for no one and I wouldn't watch it again.

Bechdel Test: Fail

Overall: 1.5/5

(From Around the World in 86 Movies on January 7th, 2014)

Tarantula!, a review by GSyren

Title	Tarantula! (5-050582-409741)
Director	Jack Arnold
Actors	John Agar, Mara Corday, Leo G. Carroll, Nestor Paiva, Ross Elliott
Produced	1955 in United States
Runtime	77 minutes
Audio	English Dolby Digital Mono, German Dolby Digital Mono
Subtitles	Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, German, Hungarian, Norwegian, Polish, Swedish
Overview	When a tarantula, which has been injected with a special nutrient formula, escapes from a scientist's laboratory, it grows into a 100-foot beast that menaces the Arizona countryside. Professor Gerald Deemer (Leo G. Carroll) has been working on a special nutrient to help ease a predicted food shortage that is expected to come with the increase in human population. His experiments have been moderately successful but there have been some failures as a result. One day while he is gone, two of his colleagues inject themselves with the nutrient with disastrous results and die a few days later. One however goes mad and injects Deemer with the formula. During a struggle, a giant tarantula injected with the formula escapes its cage and grows even larger and starts to attack cattle as well as human beings.
My thoughts	Having recently watched Bert I. Gordons [Earth vs.] The Spider, I felt it was time to re-watch the other 50's spider movie, TarantulaTarantula is a better film than The Spider. In The Spider there is no explanation for the appearance of the big spider. In Tarantula it's a genetic experiment gone wrong. In both films the spider is very hard to kill, but in Tarantula the weapon that finally kills it  is at least believable. Tarantula has better actors than The SpiderTarantula is not really that scary. As a film monster, that is. If I had actually met it in real life I would certainly have felt differently. No chance of that, fortunately. How about the victims? How scary are they? Well, in Tarantula we don't see much of its victims. They are all just bones. Not that scary to see. The scares in Tarantula comes from the effect that the growth hormone has on people. Why it affects people so differently from how it affects animals is never really explained. What The Spider does to people looks scary, though: Tarantula has one of Clint Eastwood's first film appearances in a bit part as an air force pilot. Interesting, but certainly not memorable. John Agar is... well, he is John Agar. He had a few good roles under his belt, but he never became a star. Leo G. Carroll was always dependable is supporting roles, and this is no exception. Another fine character actor, Nestor Paiva, plays the sheriff. But a fine cast can't really save a somewhat lackluster script. Still, enjoyable if you like these old B-movie type films. I do. See this blog entry for more on The Spider vs. Tarantula.
My rating

(From Reviews and ramblings by Gunnar on March 13th, 2014)

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: The Complete Second Season marathon, a review by Achim

20. To The Lighthouse
Fearing for his life, Sarah stashes John in a safe house, away from Derek and Cameron. John Henry realizes he is not alone.

My Comments:
With the previous episode having wrapped up some of the story arcs this one felt almost like a little reboot; rather weird for the third to last episode. The first half half is spent to re-establish characters in their current state and setting up everyone's position. Sarah abandons Cameron and Derek, feeling they are not safe for John, and wants to hook up john with Charlie instead. Derek and Cameron realize that they have been set loose and therefore have to bond in order to get back on track. The previously hinted at third party makes itself known to John Henry and has Weaver and Ellison nervous. But then thinks kick into gear and suspense and action ensues as the noose tightens around John and Sarah (separately) and Cameron and Derek are attacked.

this reboot just before the end is a bit odd, but I assume this last set of three episodes will work as a tight trilogy of sorts, wrapping up most remaining story lines. The gap between Sarah and John is than it ever was which makes the separation from Cameron and Derek feel all the more dangerous. Sarah again keeps too many secrets from John, trying to protect him yet driving him away from her. The ending is just like it should be for the opening of the closing trilogy, with loose ends and cliffhangers all around.



(From Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: The Complete Second Season marathon on March 5th, 2010)