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Citizen Kane, a review by goodguy

Citizen Kane (1941) Written by: Herman J. Mankiewicz, Orson Welles Directed by: Orson Welles Starring: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore DVD: R1-US Warner (2001) My rating:

Cover Blurb: Orson Welles' timeless masterwork is more than a groundbreaking film.  Presented here in a magnificent 60th anniversary digital transfer with revitalized digital audio from the highest quality surviving elements, it is also grand entertainment, sharply acted (starting many of Welles' Mercury Players on the road to thriving film careers) and superbly directed with inspired visual flair.  Depicting the controversial life of an influential publishing tycoon, this Best Original Screenplay Academy Award winner (1941) is rooted in themes of power, corruption, vanity - the American Dream lost in the mystery of a dying man's last word: "Rosebud."

That's the third time I've given this a try, but it just doesn't improve. Yes, the cinematography is masterful. And the circular storytelling is probably pretty sophisticated, at least for its time. So I probably should appreciate it more, even if the story itself isn't really that interesting. The problem is, it is all so damn economical. You can explain every shot and every scene and it makes perfect sense (well, except for some awkward attempts at being funny). But it doesn't have a soul. And frankly, aside from Welles himself, the acting is less than stellar.


(From goodguy's Watch Log on December 1st, 2009)

War of the Worlds, a review by Tom

Title: War of the Worlds
Year: 2005
Director: Steven Spielberg
Rating: FSK-12
Length: 112 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85
Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, German: Dolby Digital 5.1, German: DTS 5.1, Turkish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English, German, Turkish

Stars:
Tom Cruise
Dakota Fanning
Miranda Otto
Justin Chatwin
Tim Robbins

Extras:
Featurettes
Scene Access

I think this is a great update to H.G. Wells' story and particular to the 50s movie adaption. I always enjoyed the fact, that not some miracle weapon or some patriotic hero showdown is the cause of the defeated aliens, but their own underestimation of Earth's environment. Instead the film focuses on the survival of one man and his kids.
I only have one real problem with the movie, and that is the "Spielberg" ending. Throughout the movie we see total destruction of cities, but the one street, where the mother of the kids is staying, is almost undamaged. And then to top it, the son who didn't want to stay with the father but instead joined the army guys to battle the aliens, also appears here again. I would have found it better from a story-telling point of view, when he would have died in the fire caused by the aliens just minutes after he joined the army, as the father originally thought.

Rating:

(From Tom's Random Reviews on December 29th, 2008)

Smallville Marathon #2, a review by DJ Doena

Synopsis: Clark and Bizarro-Clark are still fighting and they break the dam in the process. This nearly drowns Lois, Chloe, Lionel and Lex but all are saved one way or another. Only Chloe is declared dead in the hospital but mysteriously rises from the dead. With Bizarro, everything is in reverse mode: Kryptonite is his power source but the yellow sun is his weakness.

My Opinion: Clark defeated him a bit too easy for my taste, especially since Bizarro was just juiced up with a huge amount of Kryptonite and also because one didn't see what the Martian Manhunter did with him. But at least there are a lot of puzzles left to be resolved, e.g. the new female arrival, Chloe's abilities, Lex's newfound enlightenment and Lionel's disappearance.

Synopsis: She's been in stasis for 18 years. Her ship lay on the bottom of the reservoir lake until it was emptied due to the battle. She is Kara, Kal-El's cousin and also a member of the house of El. And now she has to learn that her home planet is destroyed and that Kal-El is no small child anymore. And the military has her ship and if they manage to open it, it will self-destruct with the force of a nuclear bomb.

My Opinion: Now he's not alone anymore. I've only seen a few episodes of this season and I have no idea how it will turn out, but I am aware of the fact that Kara will become Supergirl in the Superman mythology.
But I hated to see how they stomped over Chloe just to push Lois. That seemed unfair.

Synopsis: Lana's back in town - and not so dead as she was presumed to be. Clark is more than happy to see her, but his life has also changed. He has to teach Kara how to "blend in" with the Humans and she does this by entering the "Miss Sweet Corn" beauty pageant.

My Opinion: This was a funny episode to watch. I loved the character "Kara" from the start. She's such a good counterpart to Clark. He needs to see that there are other ways than his own (a lesson Green Arrow also tried to teach him).
But I am still missing the "theme of the season". Since the fourth season it has always been clear from the start what the season would be about. Isobel, Zod, the Zoners. I don't believe that it will be a "Kara season" but I have yet to see anything else coming up.

(From Smallville Marathon #2 on June 22nd, 2008)