DVD Collectors Online

The Trench, a review by Rich

The Trench



THE TRENCH tells the story of a group of young British soldiers on the eve of the Battle of the Somme in the summer of 1916, the worst defeat in British military history. Against this ill-fated backdrop, the movie depicts the soldiers' experience as a mixture of boredom, fear, panic, and restlessness, confined to a trench on the front lines. At the center of the troops is 17-year-old Billy MacFarlane (Paul Nicholls), who alongside his older brother, Eddie (Tam Williams), has volunteered for service. Like their fellow squad members, they are boys dressed as men. Their survival is in the hands of war-hardened Saergeant Winter (Daniel Craig) and bookish Lieutenant Hart (Julian Rhind-Tutt). However, when word comes that the squad will join the first wave of the attack, they all face an equal fate.

Full of character cliches, cringe-worthy dialogue, totally inaccurate historical detail, embarrasingly cheap sets, this film was a mess from start to finish, and a total waste of the acting talent available. Do they believe that anyone would think the trenches before the Somme would be spotless and dry, full of clean cheery soldiers in perfect health, lolling about without any sense of imminent danger?
This is a totally unconvincing production, a major disappointment and an insult to the viewer.
 
 





(From Riches Random Reviews on May 11th, 2009)

Trouble in Paradise, a review by Antares

Trouble in Paradise (1932) 75/100 - Only my fourth film by Ernst Lubitsch, and I'm still kind of dumbfounded as to why he's so revered. It's a cute film, with a few moments that made me chuckle, but all in all, it's a screwball comedy in its embryonic form, and nothing more. I think it suffers for two reasons. Not enough Miriam Hopkins and too much Kay Francis, who is kind of a doormat. Had the role of Madame Colet been played by someone like Mary Astor, it would have improved the scenes between her character and Gaston. Herbert Marshall was fantastic in the lead role and I was happy to see both Charlie Ruggles and Edward Everett Horton working together. Whenever I see them I'm reminded of the Rocky and Bulwinkle show, a favorite from my youth.

Teal = Masterpiece
Dark Green = Classic or someday will be
Lime Green = A good, entertaining film
Orange = Average
Red = Cinemuck
Brown = The color of crap, which this film is

(From Antares' Short Summations on July 30th, 2020)

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: The Complete First Season marathon, a review by DJ Doena

Synopsis: While the others are asleep Cameron checks for possible threats and she finds a huge shipment of the alloy the Terminators are made of. It's protected by another Terminator but John wants to steal the alloy and destroy it.

My Opinion: I liked it that John took charge even if it was dangerous. But apart from that not much has actually happened.

Synopsis: Andy - the man who had built the Turk - build yet another machine. It's a chess machine and he's competing in an computer chess tournament to win a government contract with the military. But someone kills Andy - it's the missing resistance fighter.

My Opinion: For some reason I expected the whole time that Cameron would challenge one of the chess computers. I know that they have to stay undercover and she's a machine and has no emotions, but still, something in her eyes made me expecting it. I still don't know what to think about the "FBI Terminator" / "Cromartie" yet because I have no idea what kind of plot they have for him in future episodes.

Synopsis:My Opinion: This was basically the introduction episode for Derek and since they've put that much effort in explaining his background I believe he'll stay for a while. I like him, he seems like the right type to be a resistance fighter. And with every episode I like Cameron more.

Disc 2 - My Opinion: Either I have become more lenient or they didn't make as many mistakes as in the previous episodes. I also think the addition of Derek and Charley could be interesting. But that depends on how long they will stay.

(From Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: The Complete First Season marathon on January 21st, 2009)