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Occupation, a review by Jon

Occupation

Three British soldiers who served together in Iraq, return to Basra for different reasons; one for love, one for money and the other believes he can help the stricken country. Over the next few years they are tested beyond breaking point.

Occupation is a BBC TV drama that has been shown in one hour episodes over the last three nights. It's a stark, human drama that happens to be set in Iraq. Unapologetically brutal, it is also strangely unassuming. Events unfold without embellishment. Shit happens? No, not really, it is far more measured and clever than just a simple tale of combat, and the characters have great depth. The plot doesn't hang about on any particular moment and sometimes jars as it jumps forward several months at a time, covering the bulk of the occupation over years, but this reinforces the sense of madness; nothing changes, nothing moves on, not really.

Often in reviews of Taxi Driver, it is described as a "circle of hell" in the tradition of Dante, and that is a perfect description of this story as the characters are tied to each other and the enigmatic, terrifying situation that is yet strangely comforting. The threads are straightforward, but twist together to cause consequence upon ironies, upon torments. As a drama it is superb and worth watching just to see how good TV can be, because it's hard to predict anything when the situation is always one step ahead ready to undo any sort of good intention. In a way, it's a kind of Karma, except nothing good happens.

Take the opening scene, where Mike (James Nesbitt) rescues a girl injured in a grenade attack. He becomes a hero, the image of him charging across the street with her in his arms is splashed across the papers. But he's immediately caught up in political manoeuvring: "you're the hero, but I could get fired", an aide tells him when warning him to keep his mouth shut about opinions on Iraq. Later he begins an affair with an Iraqi doctor (Lubna Azabal). It has it's sweet moments, but bloody hell, they come at a hefty price.

If you come into this looking for some kind of enlightened view of the occupation, or some answers, you won't get any. By the end, many characters seem to have this bewildered expression, where all the arguments have been ran dry, but they are still there and the country is still tearing itself apart. Each of the main three characters have a huge part to play in each episode, but it's possibly Stephen Graham's very last line that sums up the whole thing. All three gave spellbinding performances, but somehow his seems to have the most resonance in that one comment.

It's easily the best story I've yet seen about Iraq and one of the best war dramas, full stop. There is action and convincing battle sequences, but no show-boating, no manly brothers in arms, no wisecracking sergeant majors calling troops "numbnuts". It's real and essential. A tough watch, but I really hope you seek it out.

Trailer



(From Occupation on June 19th, 2009)

Galaxy Quest, a review by Tom

Title: Galaxy Quest
Year: 1999
Director: Dean Parisot
Rating: PG
Length: 102 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35
Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, Other: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Subtitles: English

Stars:
Tim Allen
Sigourney Weaver
Alan Rickman
Tony Shalhoub
Sam Rockwell

Plot:Galaxy Quest television transmissions for "historical documents" and beamed up the crew of has-been actors to save the universe. With no script, no director and no clue, the actors must turn in the perfomances of their lives in this hilarious adventure Jeffrey Lyons (NBC-TV) calls "The funniest, wittiest comedy of the year."

Awards:

Blockbuster Entertainment Awards	2000	Nominated	Favorite Actor - Comedy	Tim Allen
Blockbuster Entertainment Awards	2000	Nominated	Favorite Actress - Comedy	Sigourney Weaver
Casting Society of America Awards	2000	Nominated		Debra Zane
Hugo Award	2000	Won	Dramatic Presentation
Saturn	1999	Won	Best Actor	Tim Allen
Saturn	1999	Nominated	Best Actress	Sigourney Weaver
Saturn	1999	Nominated	Best Costumes	Albert Wolsky
Saturn	1999	Nominated	Best Director	Dean Parisot
Saturn	1999	Nominated	Best Makeup	Stan Winston, Hallie D'Amore, Ve Neill
Saturn	1999	Nominated	Best Music	David Newman
Saturn	1999	Nominated	Best Performance by a Younger Actor	Justin Long
Saturn	1999	Nominated	Best Science Fiction Film
Saturn	1999	Nominated	Best Special Effects	Stan Winston, Bill George, Kim Bromley, Robert Stadd
Saturn	1999	Nominated	Best Supporting Actor	Alan Rickman
Teen Choice Awards	2000	Nominated	Film - Choice Comedy

Extras:
Closed Captioned
Deleted Scenes
Featurettes
Production Notes
Scene Access
Thermian Language Audio Track
Trailers

This is a great sci-fi comedy parodying Star Trek and its fandom in a loving way. I loved this movie since I first saw it in the cinema. It was one of the first Region 1 DVDs I have bought since the German DVD was delayed at the time and I couldn't wait to see it again.
Tim Allen is a great Shatner parody. Enrico Colantoni (Veronica Mars' Keith Mars) will always be Mathesar for me. Tony Shalhoub, besides his role as "Monk", I always remember as Tech Sgt. Kwan.
I recognized another familiar face this time around: Dwight Schrute from "The Office" is one of the Thermians in the beginning of the movie.

Rating:

(From Tom's Alphabet Marathon Reviews on July 4th, 2010)

Pete's Pilots, a review by addicted2dvd

Due South
Due South is a lightning-paced action comedy in which a quintessential, polite, by-the-book Canadian Mountie from the frozen North is teamed up with a wise-cracking Armani-clad Chicago cop with a flexible sense of morality. Brought together in the Windy CIty by a mysterious murder which has personal ramifications for both men, these unlikely budies must find a common ground amidst overwhelming differences. Canadian actor Paul Gross (Wilby Wonderful, TV's Slings and Arrows) stars as Constable Benton Fraser, with David Marciano (TV's The Shield) as his reluctant partner, Detective Ray Vecchio.

Due South (Pilot Movie)
Robert Fraser is killed in a 'hunting accident' in the Northwest Territories, his son Benton investigates, which ends up leading him to Chicago, where he pairs up with a smart-aleck cop named Ray to find his father's killer.

My Thoughts:
Bring over the review from the other thread
OK... I must say... so far I like what I see. I really like the characters. This story did a really good job introducing everyone.... giving enough time to all the characters to give you a good feeling who they are. It did a good job showing someone that was truly out of place and the differences in the way he works compared to what they are used to. While watching this episode my mind kept flashing to the Dukes of Hazzard spin-off series called Enos... which was also about an out of place officer of the law (in that case a country cop) in the big city. I must say I am looking forward to watching more of this show. Though I must admit that I don't know how well the ghost of his father will fit into this series... such a supernatural twist to the show seems so out of place going by what I seen so far.

In Addition:
Unfortunately this show has lost a little something for me. I was loving every second of it throughout the first season. The second season really left me wondering what happened. I am to the point where there is still some good episodes here and there... but it just not the same as it was. I do plan on finishing it though.

(From Pete's Pilots on December 29th, 2009)