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The Others, a review by addicted2dvd

Title: The Others
Movie Count: 7
TV Ep Count: 3
Other Count: 0
Time Started: 9:15am
Plot:
Screen sensation Nicole Kidman ('Moulin Rouge,' 'Eyes Wide Shut') delivers an utterly unforgettable performance in this scary and stylish suspense thriller! While awaiting her husband's return from war, Grace (Kidman) and her two young children live an unusually isolated existence behind the locked doors and drawn curtains of a secluded island mansion. Then, after three mysterious servants arrive and it becomes chillingly clear that there is far more to this house than can be seen, Grace finds herself in a terrifying fight to save her children and keep her sanity! Acclaimed by critics everywhere, the unpredictable twists and turns of this compelling hit will keep you guessing as it keeps you riveted to the edge of your seat!

My Thoughts:
After watching The Invasion yesterday I found myself in the mood for another movie with Nicole Kidman. I have always enjoyed this movie... is a really good ghost story. Even though I did figure out the end twist early the first time I watched it. This movie has some good atmosphere... and I think the cast did a great job.



(From My Month Long Horror/Halloween Marathon: 2008 on October 2nd, 2008)

Stargate: The Director's Cut, a review by Jon

Stargate: The Director's Cut
3 out of 5

In 1928, an ancient Egyptian artefact covered in strange symbols is excavated at the foot of the Great Pyramids. Decades later the American Government recruits the help of Egyptologist Dr Daniel Jackson (James Spader) to decode the secret of these symbols. He reveals the key to a "stargate", an intergalactic portal to the far side of the known universe. Jackson is joined by a crack military unit led by Colonel O'Neill (Kurt Russel) on a voyage of discovery.

A typical Devlin/Emmerich movie, all waffle and no substance, but also lacks the epic scale and sheer awesome audacity of their later Independence Day or Day After Tomorrow. Everything is bombastic and overdone. It could have been vastly improved by cutting out most of the cliched crap involving the natives and letting Kurt Russell be Kurt Russell instead of hamstringing his character with baggage. James Spader's good though, Mili Avital is gorgeous*, and the Ra God-squad are impressive. The whole thing bats along being inoffensively fun. It just wouldn't hurt to skip a couple of middle chapters.

This is the "Director's Cut". Not a whole lot of difference and the quality of the additional footage is frequently terrible. A half-arsed release of a half-arsed film. Shame because the story is a cracker and sets-up a great TV series. Haven't seen many myself but they seemed to learn from the mistakes. That said the canon becomes very confusing across several mediums, all of which Devlin seems to ignore, going so far as to announce a sequel in 2006 that would pick up at the end of this film and ignore everything else. Russell and Spader were to return in a planned trilogy.

Devlin, your film's shit. Leave it alone and let the telly boys have their fun because they know what they're doing and actually understand things called "plot" and "character".


*-Along with Natalie Portman, proving that Israel is thus far a seemingly untapped world of totty possibilities!

(From Jon's Random Reviews on January 29th, 2009)

"Due South" marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

The Deal
This is a good episode. Like Tom I liked how Ray took care of Frank Zuko. And was good to see Francesca again. The episode was a little light on the comedy though.

My Rating:

(From "Due South" marathon on July 26th, 2009)