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Vampyres, a review by Danae Cassandra

Vampyres
Year of Release: 1974
Directed By: Joseph Larraz
Starring: Marianne Morris, Anulka, Murray Brown, Brian Deacon, Sally Faulkner
Genre: Horror

Overview:
"They share the pleasures of the flesh, and unleashed the horrors of the grave!" screamed the ads. The beautiful Marianne Morris and stunning PlayboyMy Thoughts:
This is another film with a lovely, creepy atmosphere - a gothic manor with adjoining cemetery, isolated in the woods, inhabited by two beautiful women dressed in black.  There's copious amounts of nudity, punctuated by moments of shockingly bloody violence, sometimes together.  I'd say if you like Jean Rollin or Jess Franco, this is a film I'd recommend, or alternately consider looking to them if you enjoyed Vampyres.

Watched For: Scavenger Hunt 19, Hoop-tober 3.0, Horror/Halloween Challenge 2016

Bechdel Test: Pass
Mako Mori Test: Pass

Overall: 3.25/5

Horror/Halloween Challenge Films: 11/52

(From Horror/Halloween 2016 Challenge on October 7th, 2016)

Superman Returns, a review by DJ Doena

February, 13th


Director: Bryan Singer

Brandon Routh   ...    Clark Kent / Superman
Kate Bosworth   ...    Lois Lane
Kevin Spacey   ...    Lex Luthor
James Marsden   ...    Richard White
Parker Posey   ...    Kitty Kowalski
Frank Langella   ...    Perry White
Sam Huntington   ...    Jimmy Olsen
Kal Penn    ...    Stanford

Synopsis: Nobody has seen or heard from Superman in five years. In the meantime Lois Lane has become a mommy and she's written the Pulitzer-winning article "Why the World Doesn't Need Superman". But now Clark is back from what is left of Krypton and he's needed right now again: Lex Luthor has stolen Kryptionian crystals from the Fortress and wants to build a new continent - at the expense of that small island called North America.

My Opinion: It took me some time to really get used to that movie. Mainly because I was mad at Bryan Singer for abandoning the X-Men project which resulted in The Last Stand. But now with a few years distance, I like this movie.
Some elements are still very comic-like, like Lex's behaviour at some points of the story but that is fully outweighed by the moments he's truly evil.
I also like Brandon Routh's portrayal of Clark/Superman. While Christopher Reeve's Clark was a bit of a douchebag that I didn't like very much, they chose to do it differently here. He's just a nobody who lingers in the background and isn't noticed by anybody but Jimmy. Lois couldn't care less about him in any way - which makes it believable that she doesn't see Superman in him. For me that works.
Speaking of realism (): The one scene I didn't buy was when Superman lifted that island out into space while he still had a piece of Kryptonite stuck in his side and was exposed to the other K in the island. If Lex can beat him up just because he's around it, he should have never been able to lift that weight. So much for in-universe consistency...

(From DJ Doena's movie watchings 2010 on February 13th, 2010)

Bionic Woman (2007) Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

5. The Education of Jamie Sommers


My Thoughts:
This is a very good episode... is one of my favorites. Going into this knowing the actress that plays Jaime Sommers is from the UK I thought it was pretty cool that for her cover  she was a British student that transfered in. Gave me a chance to hear what I would suppose her real accent sounds like. The episode not only has a nice amount of action... but it is a lot of fun. I enjoyed every second of it.

6. The List
Tom and Jamie are partnered and sent to Paris, where they struggle to maintain a professional relationship.

My Thoughts:
Another really good episode. The episodes are definitely improving as they go a on. This episode has a good story... a nice amount of action and continues her budding relationship with the CIA agent. Of course it also touches on Jaime's home life as well.

7. Trust Issues
Jonas appoints Jamie and Antonio to stop an assassination plot, but Jamie soon doubts whether she can trust her partner.

My Thoughts:
This is a good... but not great episode. For some reason I found myself just not caring much about the mission they were on and the situation with Antonio... while it was a decent story I just didn't find that much interest in it.

8. Do Not Disturb
A much-needed spa vacation is anything but restful for Jamie when she is pulled into a deadly game of cat and mouse with another hotel guest.

My Thoughts:
This is another episode that I liked a lot. In this episode Jaime gets to really think about whether it is right or not to tell her teen sister her secret. Unfortunately this is the last ever episode of Bionic Woman.


(From Bionic Woman (2007) Marathon on September 3rd, 2008)