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Thunderball, a review by Rich

Thunderball



The thrills never stop as Agent 007 (Sean Connery) goes above the call of duty - and to the bottom of the ocean - to track down a villainous criminal who's holding millions hostage and threatening to plunge the world into a nuclear holocaust!

Overboard on the gadgets with this outing, and the plot suffers accordingly, but this is still a fun movie which i enjoyed. It is not a personal Bond favourite for me, the villain was not as convincing, the bad girls not as bad, although Claudine Auger is eye candy of the highest order. Connery seemed to become a parody of the Bond character, the lines too predictable and delivered with an apparent monotone disinterest, and the underwater scenes never-ending.
However despite the cheesy one-liners, sexual innuendos, exotic backdrops etc, I find as with the other early 007 films more realism in the storyline and characterisation than in later attempts. The music as always is top notch, and although the action is somewhat dated, in context to production year it is easily appreciatable.
 

(From James Bond Marathon on February 17th, 2009)

Monsoon Wedding, a review by Tom

Title: Monsoon Wedding
Year: 2001
Director: Mira Nair
Rating: 15
Length: 109 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85
Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English

Stars:
Naseeruddin Shah
Lillete Dubey
Shefali Shetty
Vijay Raaz
Tilotama Shome

Plot:
An exuberant family drama set in Mira Nair's beloved Punjabi culture, where ancient tradition and dot-com modernity combine in unique and perfect harmony.

As the romantic monsoon rains loom, the extended Verma family reunites from around the globe for a last-minute arranged marriage in New Delhi.

Monsoon Wedding traces five intersecting stories, each navigating different aspects of love as they cross boundaries of class, continent and morality. The film celebrates a contemporary India never seen before.

Awards:

BAFTA	2001	Nominated	Film Not In The English Language	Caroline Baron, Mira Nair
British Independent Film Awards	2002	Won	Best Foreign Independent Film - Foreign Language
Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards	2003	Nominated	Best Foreign-Language Film
European Film Awards	2001	Nominated	Screen International European Film Award (non-European)
Golden Globe	2001	Nominated	Foreign Film
Satellite Awards	2003	Nominated

Extras:
Commentary
Featurettes
Scene Access
Trailers

As soon the movie started, I was reminded of "Rachel Getting Married". It has a similar style and theme. The cinematographer is even the same in both movies. Looking at a few reviews on the internet, "Rachel Getting Married" is even often compared to this movie.
Personally I enjoyed this one more. I liked the characters more.

Rating:

(From Tom's Random Reviews on June 25th, 2010)

Tom's TV Pilots marathon, a review by Tom

Bionic Woman: The Complete Series (2007/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Universal Pictures, Universal Playback (United Kingdom) Length: 324 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles:

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Plot:
Join one of TV's most stunning breakout heroines as the action-packed series Bionic Woman leaps onto DVD! From executive producer David Eick (Battlestar Galactica) comes this gripping re-imagining of the universally beloved character.

Jamie Sommers is a hard-working woman struggling to take care of her younger sister. But after a serious, life-threatening accident, Jamie is saved by a top-secret procedure that makes her much more than just an ordinary woman... it makes her superhumanly bionic. Starring hot newcomer Michelle Ryan, as well as Miguel Ferrer (Crossing Jordan), Molly Price (Third Watch), Will Yun Lee (Witchblade), Lucy Kate Hale (How I Met Your Mother), and guest stars Isaiah Washington (Grey's Anatomy) and Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica), it's a non-stop thrill ride unlike anything you've seen before!

Bionic Woman
1.01 Pilot
Writer: Laeta Kalogridis (Writer)
Director: Michael Dinner
Cast: Michelle Ryan (Jaime Sommers), Miguel Ferrer (Jonas Bledsoe), Chris Bowers (Will Anthros), Molly Price (Ruth Truewell), Will Yun Lee (Jae Kim), Lucy Hale (Becca Sommers), Thomas Kretschmann (The Man), Mark A. Sheppard (Dr. Anthony Anthros), Aaron Douglas (Prison Guard), Katee Sackhoff (Sarah Corvus), Conrad Coates (Doctor #1), Alicia Thorgrimsson (Doctor #2), Jenn Forgie (Nurse), Heather Doerksen (Mother), Roan Curtis (Little Girl), Leela Savasta (Shawna), Crystal Lowe (Jessica), Dominic Zamprogna (Med-flight Tech #1), Jacqueline Samuda (Med-flight Tech #2), John Mann (Drug Dealer), Craig Lobzun (Sleazy Bar Patron)

I saw the pre-air pilot when it first appeared on the net and I was not overly impressed with it. So I never bothered watching the series. But after Pete's recent reviews I thought it may be worth checking out (and it was cheap). The pilot is better than I remember it being (I don't know if it is different than the pre-air pilot). A good start to what looks like it could be worth following.

Rating:


(From Tom's TV Pilots marathon on June 23rd, 2011)