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The Dream Team, a review by Dr. Hasslein

The Dream Team



Director: Howard Zieff
Year: 1989
Running Time: 113 Minutes
Rated: PG 13
Genre: Comedy

PlotMy ThoughtsDVD Details
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widscreen
Audio: Dolby Digital
Region: 1 NTSC (North America)

Special Features

• Original Theatrical Trailer

(From The Dream Team on December 14th, 2010)

Sweet Smell of Success, a review by Hal

Sweet Smell of Success: MGM Vintage Classics (1957/United States) (United States) Director: Alexander Mackendrick Writing: Clifford Odets (Screenwriter), Ernest Lehman (Screenwriter), Ernest Lehman (Original Material By) Length: 96 min. Video: Widescreen 1.66:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital: Mono, French: Dolby Digital: Mono Subtitles: French, Spanish

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Stars:
Burt Lancaster as J.J. Hunsecker
Tony Curtis as Sidney Falco
Susan Harrison as Susan Hunsecker
Martin Milner as Steve Dallas (as Marty Milner)
Sam Levene as Frank D' Angelo

Plot:Extras:

• Scene Access
• Feature Trailers
• Closed Captioned

I felt like I needed to take a shower after watching this film.  The only likable character in the whole movie is Steve Dallas (Milner), the jazz player. J.J. Hunsecker (Lancaster) is a gossip columnist who uses his profession as a weapon to build his own power base while destroying some lives and promoting others.  Sidney Falco (Curtis) is a press agent aspiring to be the next J.J. and stooping to any level if it advances that goal, including being lapdog to J.J.  The cops are dirty, other columnists will print lies for a night with a prostitute. Susan Hunsecker is a whimpering baby living with and off her older brother.  There is clearly an abnormal relationship between the two of them, at least as far as J.J. goes.

Done in the classic film noir tradition, this movie is among the best in that genre.  The cinematography reflects the darkness of the theme of the film, while the jazz music provides a great contrast.  The cast did a superb job, with a really well written and believable script.  Susan Harrison was the only weak link, which probably explains why she has only been in one other film, that I know of.

If you want to see the seamy side of the newspaper columnist business, this is a must see.

Rating: 4.5

(From The Movies From Within My Lifetime on April 13th, 2011)

My PILOT Marathon, a review by Rich

Torchwood - Series 1

Everything Changes
WPC Gwen Cooper is at the scene of a brutal murder, when the "special ops", known only as Torchwood, arrive. After witnessing the group bring the dead man back to life, Gwen goes in pursuit of this mysterious organisation, only to see weirder things than she could ever imagine existed. Soon after, she begins to regret giving in to her curiosity, when she meets Captain Jack Harkness.



This exciting and leftfield DOCTOR WHO spin-off finds philanderer of the future, Jack Harness arriving in contemporary Cardiff and being inducted into Torchwood – a covert extra terrestrial and paranormal investigation agency

For the first half an hour or so I enjoyed this fresh series, the mix of sci-fi, special powers, aliens etc blended well with some light hearted banter and a few interesting characters. But towards the end when the lovely Indira Darma (Rome) was killed off in ridiculous fashion, and the constant horrendous Welsh accents started grating, I was glad it finished.
The budget is noticably small, production feels a bit cheap and nasty, the main character is too comical to be taken seriously, and the insertion of swear words made me feel this programme may lose it's identity in terms of intended audience.
A promising idea spoilt.
 

(From My PILOT Marathon on September 18th, 2009)