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Spider-Man 3, a review by Tom

Spider-Man 3 (2007/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (United Kingdom) Director: Sam Raimi Writing: Stan Lee (Original Material By), Steve Ditko (Original Material By), Sam Raimi (Original Material By), Ivan Raimi (Original Material By), Sam Raimi (Screenwriter), Ivan Raimi (Screenwriter), Alvin Sargent (Screenwriter) Length: 138 min. Video: Widescreen 2.40 Audio: English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1, English: PCM 5.1, Audio Descriptive: Dolby Digital 5.1, Czech: Dolby Digital 5.1, Hungarian: Dolby Digital 5.1, Russian: Dolby Digital 5.1, Polish: Dolby Digital 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Subtitles: Arabic, Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Slovenian, Swedish, Turkish

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Stars:
Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man/Peter Parker
Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane Watson
James Franco as New Goblin/Harry Osborn
Thomas Haden Church as Sandman/Flint Marko
Topher Grace as Venom/Eddie Brock

Awards:
Won:

BMI Film & TV Music Awards (2008)		BMI Film Music Award (Christopher Young)
Scream Awards (2007)		Best Superhero (Tobey Maguire)

Nominated:

Annie Awards (2007)		Individual Achievment - Animated Effects (Ryan Laney)
BAFTA (2007)		Special Visual Effects (Scott Stokdyk, Peter Nofz, Spencer Cook, John Frazier)
MTV Movie Awards (2008)		Best Fight (Tobey Maguire, James Franco)
MTV Movie Awards (2008)		Best Villain (Topher Grace)
National Movie Awards (2007)		Best Family Film
Saturn (2007)		Best Direction (Sam Raimi)
Saturn (2007)		Best Fantasy Film
Saturn (2007)		Best Special Effects (Scott Stokdyk, Peter Nofz, Spencer Cook, John Frazier)
Saturn (2007)		Best Supporting Actor (James Franco)
Scream Awards (2007)		Jump form your seat Scene of the Year ("Spider Man vs. The New Goblin"
Scream Awards (2007)		Most Vile Villian (Thomas Haden Church, Topher Grace)
Scream Awards (2007)		The Ultimate Scream
Teen Choice Awards (2007)		Choice Movie - Action Adventure
Teen Choice Awards (2007)		Choice Movie Actor: Action/Adventure (Tobey Maguire)
Teen Choice Awards (2007)		Choice Movie Actress: Action/Adventure (Kirsten Dunst)
Teen Choice Awards (2007)		Choice Movie Liplock (Kirsten Dunst, Tobey Maguire)
Teen Choice Awards (2007)		Choice Movie Rumble (Tobey Maguire, James Franco, Topher Grace, Thomas Haden Church)
Teen Choice Awards (2007)		Choice Movie Villain (Topher Grace)
Teen Choice Awards (2007)		Choice Movie: Dance (Tobey Maguire)
Visual Effects Society Awards (2008)		Best Single Visual Effect of the Year (Scott Stokdyk, Terry Clotiaux, Spencer Cook, Doug Bloom (For the birth of Sandman))
Visual Effects Society Awards (2008)		Outstanding Models or Miniatures in a Motion Picture (Ian Hunter, Scott Beverly, Forest Fischer, Ray Moore (For the building/crane destruction miniature and effects))
Visual Effects Society Awards (2008)		Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects Driven Motion Picture (Scott Stokdyk, Terry Clotiaux, Peter Nofz, Spencer Cook)

Extras:

• Bonus Trailers
• Commentary
• Music Videos
• Outtakes
• Photo Gallery
• Scene Access

When the movie was first released, I was really disappointed with it. Now a few years later I thought I'd give it another chance. It is better than I remembered it being. But it has its major flaws. Biggest of which is the handling of Venom and Peter Parker's affection with the symbiont. I have the feeling it is the director's way of saying "screw you" to the studio executives who insisted to include Venom against the director's wishes.
In this movie also Gwen Stacy appears, played by Bryce Dallas Howard. I enjoyed Emma Stone's portayal of her in the new Spider-Man movie much more, though.

Rating:

(From Tom's Random Reviews on July 9th, 2012)

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, a review by Danae Cassandra

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters
Year of Release: 2013
Directed By: Tommy Wirkola
Starring: Jeremy Renner, Gemma Arterton, Famke Janssen, Pihla Viitala
Genre: Action, Horror

Overview:
Get ready for a twisted take on the classic tale as Hansel (JEREMY RENNER) and Gretel (GEMMA ARTERTON) have turned pro, coping with the trauma of their childhood captivity by slaying witches for hire. But when seemingly unstoppable bounty hunters meet their match in an enemy so evil, it'll take all their training, weapons and courage to survive. PAYBACK IS A WITCH!

My Thoughts:
This is a mindless action piece. We watched it for Jeremy Renner, whom we liked from Avengers. And, he's pretty cool in this. Now, this is a "turn your brain off" kind of film, there's no hidden message, no deep philosophical bent, just a lot of action and blood and gore. It's also pretty entertaining.

On top of that, it's also just about the best representation of a D&D adventure I've ever seen. It's kinda steampunk with the tech, and it's not afraid to crack some jokes, but it's your basic "adventurers come to town, get hired for job, find out job is more complicated than thought, make friends & enemies in town, eventually take out bad guys" D&D adventure.

So, recommended for fans of D&D or if you want a mindless action film with horror elements.

Bechdel Test: Fail

Overall: 2.75/5

(From Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters on July 31st, 2014)

Tom's TV Pilots marathon, a review by Tom

Mumbai Calling...: Season One (2008/United Kingdom) IMDb | Wikipedia Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (United Kingdom) Length: 155 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: English

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Plot:
Retail tycoon Philip Glass has acquired a call-center in Mumbai as part of a takeover and promptly dispatches the reluctant Kenny Gupta (Sanjeev Bhaskar - Goodness Gracious Me, The Kumars at No. 42) to take charge. He's joined by Dev Rajah (Nitin Gantra - EastEnders) as general manager and purveyor of clandestine goods and services, and Terri Johnson (Daisy Beaumont - Star Stories), sent from head office to keep an eye on operations.

This hit comedy series follows Kenny, Dev and Terri as they fight to keep the call centre going at all costs, whether this is directing a hearse through traffic in Milton Keynes or delivering a baby over the phone!

Mumbai Calling...
1.01 Teknobable
Writer: Sanjeev Bhaskar (Writer), Simon Blackwell (Writer), Allan McKeown (Original Material By)
Director: Allan McKeown
Cast: Sanjeev Bhaskar (Kenny Gupta), Nitin Ganatra (Dev Raja), Daisy Beaumont (Terri Johnson), Ratnabali Bhattacharjee (Sarika), Namit Das (Amar), Naren Chandavarkar (Amit), Raoul Amar Abbas), Preetika Chawla), Vivek Gomber), Siddarth Kumar), Anaitha Nair), Samar Sarila), Puja Sarup), Vir Das), Sugandula Garg), Kunaal Roy Kapoor), Kanchan Pagare), Shaun Williams), Telephone Voices), * Tracey Ullman ( (voice)), * Joe Duttine ( (voice)), * John Standing ( (voice)), * Jo Butler ( (voice)), * Tahira Thapar ( (voice))

An okay series but never clicked with me.
For some reason I didn't notice the last time around, that one of the main actors I know from the movie "Bride & Prejudice".

Rating:


(From Tom's TV Pilots marathon on June 10th, 2012)