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The Great Gatsby (2013), a review by Silence_of_Lambs

Summary:
An adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's Long Island-set novel, where Midwesterner Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) is lured into the lavish world of his neighbor, Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio). Soon enough, however, Carraway will see through the cracks of Gatsby's nouveau riche existence, where obsession, madness, and tragedy await.

My Thoughts:
First of all I haven't read the novel by Fitzgerald, so this review will not be about the adaptation of the original material, just about the film itself (with a little comparison to its predecessor from 1974).

Sometimes Directors (and casting bureaus) are lucky because they can hire the best possible cast for their project. This was correct for the 1974 version (Redford / Farrow) and is so even more for Baz Luhrmann's attempt.
DiCaprio is not playing Gatsby, he is Gatsby. Maguire has it easy, since he even looks (a bit) like F. Scott Fitzgerald, and is definitely on his way to becoming a great actor that has more to offer than his boylike, astounded face. I was a bit skeptical about how Carey Mulligan would do as Daisy, but what a performance she delivers. Joel Edgerton, who for me up to now was more something like the ante-type of a second-row supporting actor with muscles,  as Tom Buchanan, he too is giving us an outstanding performance.

Luhrmann doesn't limit himself to simply re-doing the 1974 version, he is adding and re-interpreting to each and every role and thereby is making the persons and their backgrounds more realistic.
Just like the 1974 version this is a slow-paced movie, and this is good because the story and the characters deserve and need this.

I think it is time to read the novel too.


My Rating: (out of possible 5)

(From Michael's random reviews on November 4th, 2013)

Cesta do pravěku, a review by GSyren

Title	Cesta do pravěku  (aka Journey to the Beginning of Time) (8-594159-070042)
Director	Karel Zeman
Actors
Produced	1955 in Czechoslovakia
Runtime	81 minutes
Audio	Czech Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo
Subtitles	English, Czech
Overview	This immensely popular educational film from 1955 tells the story of four boys who set out on a wooden boat back up the river of time into the prehistory of the planet Earth. This pioneering work includes a wealth of scientific facts, introduced as part of an exciting boys' adventure. Whole generations of children first learned about the prehistoric past of our planet from this film, with its long-extinct plants and animals, which come alive here thanks to the creativity and the artistry of Zeman's trick photography. This film is widely regarded as one of the best children's adventure films in world cinema.
My thoughts	Karel Zeman was a very inventive Czech filmmaker. He made films in very different styles. The Fabulous World of Jules Verne is perhaps his best known film, at least outside of the Czech Republic. Perhaps this looks familiar: Cesta do pravěku is not made in this style, though. It uses normal live action enhanced with various trick photography to depict prehistoric animals. The film elements used for this DVD are not quite in pristine condition, but still quite good, and probably better than most viewers have seen before. The story is somewhat reminiscent of The Land That Time Forgot, at least the beginning. However, this is a lot more pedagogic. For the most part the animals look better than those in Land, but the Tyrannosaurus Rex looks pretty pathetic. But then they looked pathetic in pretty much every fifties movie. This is far from the worst example. The film probably was quite exciting for young people in the fifties and sixties, but today it's more of a curiosity. It's an important part of film history, and I liked it fine. This film, and 4 other films by Karel Zeman is available on DVD from The Karel Zeman Museum in Prague.
My rating	4 out of 5

(From Reviews and ramblings by Gunnar on December 11th, 2013)

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)