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Member's Reviews

Roman Holiday, a review by Danae Cassandra




Roman Holiday
Year of Release:
Directed By: William Wyler
Starring: Gregory Peck, Audrey Hepburn, Eddie Albert
Genre: Romance, Comedy

Overview:
There is an old saying: "See Naples and die...see Rome and liveMy Thoughts:
This is a charming, entertaining film.  It is Audrey Hepburn's breakthrough role, and it won her a best actress Oscar.  She is luminous and perfect, and it's hard to imagine anyone else there.  Peck plays his cynical reporter well, but you can easily imagine Cary Grant in that role.  This is Hepburn's film all the way. 

While it's a lovely film, warm, kinda dreamy, it would have been even better filmed in color, and that's the biggest criticism I have.  The black and white cinematography doesn't really pop like Technicolor would have.  Still, as a romance it's a sweet, innocent little feel-good film.  It would not be made the same way today, either with the innocence of the romance or with our protagonists choosing responsibility and duty over their own desire.  Times have changed.  Worth seeing for Hepburn's performance, the iconic scenes of her and Peck spinning around Rome on a scooter, and as a lovely daydream; but don't bother if you can't take a bittersweet ending.

Bechdel Test: Fail

Overall: 3.5/5

(From Within My (Mom's) Lifetime Marathon on July 12th, 2015)

Member's Reviews

I Spit on Your Grave, a review by Rich




Title: I Spit on Your Grave

Movie Count:37  
TV Ep. Count:18  

Runtime:101
Certificate:NR
Year:1978
Genres:Horror

Plot:This highly anticipated DVD release tells the tale of Jennifer Hills, a magazine writer from New York City who retires to a secluded cabin in the woods to write her first novel.  There she is brutally assaulted, raped and left for dead by four "country boys."  BUT JENNIFER IS ALIVE.  Emotionally destroyed, she no longer writes her novel; instead she finds herself choreographing a horrific revenge scheme to inflict punishment on her four assailants in methods such as the screen has never seen before!
Originally titled "DAY OF THE WOMAN," "I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE" has gained a reputation over the years as an extremely graphic and violent film, as well as the most controversial film to hit the world!  Now you decide for yourself: Is it really "Just another exploitation film to be dismissed" as some film critics assert, or is it, as other critics proclaim, "Truly a masterpiece of cinema."

>My Review:
Ugly film, intentionally, dealing with an unpleasant subject matter full-on and no-holds barred.
Considering the story is about a young woman who is brutally raped and sodomised by a pack of 'men', I am pleased to say I was not entertained, nor did I enjoy the movie. However it is a film you have to respect, it portrays the story somewhat from a womans perspective, the horror and humiliation of such an event, and the no-doubt thirst of a victim to exact revenge and kill the rapists in the most barbaric fashion.
It does let itself down by some glorifying and exploitation, but overall the direction and production, bearing in mind this was the 70's, is handled with a sledgehammer, and that heavy-handedness suits the film perfectly.
It is a film that any movie-buff should probably put themselves through, but it cannot ever be classed a pleasant experience due to it's controversial storyline and it's graphic portrayal, and a film I will never return to.
My Rating
Out of a Possible 5
I cannot 'rate' a movie like this.


(From Rich's October Horror Fest on October 29th, 2009)

Member's TV Reviews

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Marathon, a review by DJ Doena


Disc 2

Cardassians
Synopsis: When a bajoran man and his adopted - cardassian - son come to the station, Garak becomes interested in the two of them. The boy was raised to hate all Cardassians and to hate all that is cardassian. But he is also not really a war orphan, he's the son an important cardassian politician and enemy of Gul Dukat's, the former prefect on Terok Nor/Deep Space Nine.

My Opinion: The end was a bit unsatisfying. While the main scheme was revealed and Dukat was exposed the writers didn't really manage to explain why Sisko chose to return the son to his biological father. Sure, he mentions it in his log entry but as I said - a bit unsatisfying. But I really liked the way Bashir and Garak have been working together and Garak's "explanation" of why he knows the things he knows.

Melora
Synopsis: DS9 gets a new crew member, Ensign Melora Pazlar. She comes from a low-gravity world and needs to use a wheelchair unless she's alone and can lower the artificial gravity. She calls it "the Melora problem" that everybody but she creates and she reacts very hostile to any attempt to help her.

My Opinion: This was an interesting mix of two different problems. The first would be the interaction with disabled persons, especially when they don't want any help. I really liked Paul Hogan's character's solution to that problem in Almost an Angel. But I found the second problem more interesting: Am I willing to make a change that will prevent me from ever going home again? It's a hard choice and I couldn't say now what I would have done.

Rules of Acquisition
Synopsis: The Grand Nagus Zek assigns a task to Quark: He is to purchase 10,000 vats of tulaberry wine from the GQ-based Dosi. The negotiations are already hard but suddenly Zek wants not only 10,000 vats but 100,000. Luckily for Quark, one of his new waiters has an ear for business. But Pel isn't what he appears to be.

My Opinion: I like Ferengi episodes (have I said that already?) and I think it's funny that things like unknowingly working with a Ferengi female always happen to the more conservative Quark who only tries do earn an (dis-)honest living. This was also the first time that there was a new force in the GQ mentioned: The Dominion.

Necessary Evil
Synopsis: After Quark has been attacked and nearly killed, Odo has to re-open a five-year old murder case. Back then he was an arbitrator for minor differences between the bajoran workers aboard Terok Nor. But Gul Dukat gave him the task of solving this murder and he encounters a certain Ferengi barkeep and a young bajoran woman by the name of Kira Nerys during that investigation.

My Opinion: This was a very noir episode with a lot of flashbacks to the time of the occupation. It was also the first time that we learn that Quark's brother Rom might not be as dumb as he seems to be. I really liked it, especially when Quark learned that his brother had access to his money vault.  ;D

(From Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Marathon on September 29th, 2008)