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An American Werewolf in London, a review by Tom

An American Werewolf in London (1981/United Kingdom) IMDb | Wikipedia (Canada) Director: John Landis Writing: John Landis (Writer) Length: 98 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85 Audio: English: DTS 5.1, English: Dolby Digital 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: French, Spanish

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Stars:
Joe Belcher as Truck Driver
David Naughton as David Kessler
Griffin Dunne as Jack Goodman
David Schofield as Dart Player
Brian Glover as Chess Player

Plot:
It's a rainy night on the Welsh moors. Two American students on a walking tour of Europe trudge on to the next town, when suddenly the air is pierced by an unearthly howl. . . . Three weeks later, one is dead, the other is in the hospital and the nightmare begins for "An American Werewolf In London". David Naughton, Griffin Dunne and Jenny Agutter star in this contemporary story of the macabre which takes you from the Welsh moors to Picadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square and the grounds of Windsor Castle. It is written and directed by John Landis, the man who brought you "National Lampoon's Animal House", "The Blues Brothers", "Trading Places", "Innocent Blood" and "Coming To America". To add to the chill, there is art direction by Academy Award winner Les Dilley of "Star Wars" and "Alien" fame and specal makeup effects by six-time Academy Award winner Rick Baker, whose work includes "Star Wars", "The Nutty Professor", Tim Burton's "Planet Of The Apes", "Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas" and "Men In Black".

Awards:
Won:

Academy Award (1981)		Best Makeup (Rick Baker)
Saturn (1981)		Best Horror Film
Saturn (1981)		Best Makeup (Rick Baker)

Nominated:

AFI (1981)		100 Years... 100 Laughs (2000)
Saturn (1981)		Best Actress (Jenny Agutter)
Saturn (1981)		Best Writing (John Landis)

Extras:

• Closed Captioned
• Commentary
• DVD-ROM Content
• Featurettes
• Interviews
• Outtakes
• Photo Gallery
• Production Notes
• Scene Access
• Storyboard Comparisons
• Trailers

I first heard about this movie in sixth grade, when my German teacher was raving about the great transformation scene in that movie, when we were reading a story about a werewolve I think. It peaked my interest to watch this movie, but I was not allowed to by my mother. I was too young for it. A few years later I got the chance to watch it.
It is a great movie. And the transformation scene still holds up very well. Better than most CGI holds up a few years later.

Rating:

(From Tom's Horror Marathon 2012 on October 6th, 2012)

Alpha and Omega, a review by dfmorgan

Alpha and Omega

Year: 2010
Director: Anthony Bell, Ben Gluck
Cast: Justin Long, Hayden Panettiere, Dennis Hopper
OverviewWatched: 6th Mar. 2011
My Thoughts: An average animation which has its moments.

My Rating: A slightly enjoyable 3



(From Dave's DVD/Blu-ray Reviews on March 6th, 2011)

"Stargate SG-1" Marathon, a review by DJ Doena

Synopsis: Lt. Colonel Mitchell has taken over the command of SG-1. The problem is: There is no SG-1 anymore. Teal'c is council member on Dakara, Sam has been reassigned to Area 51 and Daniel is about to leave to Atlantis.
But then Vala Mal Doran comes to Earth and brings an enrycpted tablet, written in Ancient. It points to a secret location on Earth that is supposed to contain treasures. Vala binds Daniel to herself with a special set of "hand cuffs" and they go off on the search for Avalon, the resting place of King Arthur.

My Opinion: In an early episode of the eight season Sam asked how people like her are ever going to have a family. If she would become pregnant could she simply take maternity leave? The absence of Sam in this and the following episodes is exactly for this reason: Amanda Tapping is on maternity leave.
But the chemistry between Daniel and Vala works very well again. The attempts of Mitchell (Ben Browder, John Crichton in Farscape) "to bring the band back together" are honourable but (so far) in vain.
O'Neill was promoted to Major General and has turned the command over to Major General Landry (Beau Bridges). This marks the end of Richard Dean Anderson as regular cast.

Synopsis: After they've successfully solved the puzzles in the cave, Daniel discovers a device of the Ancient's that stands in relation to the stones Joe Spencer and Jack have been using for years. They suspect that it is a means of communication. Since Daniel and Vala are still "bound" to each other they try it together - and land in a remote place in foreign bodies. They don't find the Ancients there but worshippers of the Ori.
In the meantime the situation in the newly found Jaffa council develops differently than Bra'tac and Teal'c had hoped.

My Opinion: I liked the fact that they've established a permanent doctor again (Lexa Doig, "Rommie" in Andromeda). They haven't had one since the death of Dr. Frasier.
But I didn't understand how the First Prime of a backwater Goa'uld could gather that many followers. A Jaffa (it hadn't to be the First Prime) of a System Lord would have been more believable.

Synopsis: Daniel and Vala have been brought to the "City of the Gods" by the Prior. There he meets the leader of the Priors and he learns that the Ori are Ancients, too. But the Ori believe that the mortals should worship them. Anyone who doesn't follow the "path of enlightenment" will be destroyed. Through the arrival of Daniel and Vala the Ori have learned of our galaxy and they have sent their first Priors.

My Opinion: As if by magic a new enemy emerges that is more powerful than Anubis or the Replicators. The fact that the Ori cannot come here themselves makes this war winnable. In terms of Dragonball, we have reached the Buu Saga.

Synopsis: Although the "hand cuffs" have been removed, Daniel and Vala still cannot part without collapsing. They try to find out why that is and how to undo it. But for this they have to "retrieve" a few items.

My Opinion: The story and the looks of this episode felt like a mixture of Farscape and Firefly. This is no critizism, since Mitchell shouldn't be a simple copy of Jack and Vala isn't an ordinary SG team member. I liked it a lot.

(From "Stargate SG-1" Marathon on April 26th, 2008)