Dimme

Battlestar Galactica this ain't -- even though it tries so very hard.

I'm a SciFi fan. In stating this, it hardly is worth mentioning that I'm also fairly used to disappointments. The reason Defying Gravity is such a huge disappointment however, it that it *could* have been so much better. There is, in spite of the out-of-nowhere mission to all he planets of the solar system, something at the core of the universe of Defying Gravity that is interesting and worth exploring. After five episodes that interest is all but gone. There is just so much rampant lack professionalism and juvenile idiocy one is willing to accept from characters that are supposed to be "the best of the best". It boils down to bad writing. Incredibly bad writing. The most incredible ting in this particular SciFi-show is not the far fetched depiction of anti-gravity technology, but the sheer level of immaturity and stupidity of the lead characters. Truly a Ship of Fools. From here on, it sails without me watching.

I was totally blown away by Battlestar Galactica. When the show premiered in 2003, I didn't see it. I thought I would hate it. Boy was I Wrong. The 2003 mini-series is absolutely brilliant. What followed a year later was totally mind blowing: a full season where every single episode was stunningly beautifully executed with a strong story line and an intriguing and mysterious story arch. I was hooked.

Sadly Battlestar stumbled in season two, and lost its way in season 3. Efforts to bring it back to what worked early on only half way succeeded, and with ample opportunity to end the series as a self contained story, the final chapter seemed hurried and slapped on, undermining and belittling the strong origins of the show. Battlestar was consistently more brilliant than not all the way to the end, but it became apparent that the show wasn't planned to go anywhere from the start, and that the need to spring surprises on the viewer was more adhered to that to tell an overall story. It de-evolved into episodic TV, and I thin we as an audience have tired of such an out dated concept. The Cylon plan proved to be anything but a plan.

Now comes the pilot of Caprica, a show that has been in the rumor mill for years, and been greatly anticipated by the fans of Battlestar. But the downer final act of Battlestar renders the storyline of Caprica moot from the start -- what happened some 50 odd years before Battlestar began doesn't really matter anymore, does it? And Caprica struggles form the start. These characters seem bored and uninteresting to us. They seem to be more maneuvered into action by their surrounding than by their own motivations or personalities. Nowhere to be seen is the urgency that pulled us in from the start in Battlestar. It's hard to get overly curious about the secret teenage virtual underground, and it's hard to understand where these teenagers conjure up the notion of a monotheistic God. It's even harder to understand Adama's rationale for letting himself be played by Greystone and the sudden realization of the error of his ways comes after a confrontation with a VR-representation of his recently deceased daughter that neither is convincing nor is in any way credible in relation to how Caprica technology is depicted.

The show definitely have the look and feel of Battlestar on a budget, with noticeably less impressive special effects and production values. And it doesn't help that Greystones villa looks suspiciously like Baltars, only filmed at slightly different angles.

This movie would have been twice as good if it was only half as long. But it would still suck big time.

A movie for and of people who fear 40 more than death, a long, hard and mind-numbingly boring view into the self-absorbed narcissistic mind one imagines is the result of generations of Hollywood inbreeding.

Multi-phobic of all ages might find pieces of mild entertainment in this mess. I did not.

Attempts at stylized photography to give the movie a cool look is undermined by the daytime-soap acting and absence of anything relevant to say.

This could have been an amusing four-page short story. It was a terrible, terrible movie.

Maybe one of the single best episodes of any TV series! All in all season one of BSG is brilliant, every single of the 13 episodes are a testament to the skilled people behind the series. But even in this lineup of episodes, "33" and "Kobol's Last gleaming" 1 and 2 stands out as a cut above the rest. From opening shot to the final sequence, this episode sucks you in like nothing i've seen before.

Everything from score to photography converges into a whole that is larger than the sum of it's parts. One of those rare moments when entertainment truly becomes art. Stunning!

The opening sequence, with it's slow and deliberate pacing makes us aware that we are at a turning point. That something bad is on the horizon. A dark and foreboding feeling sets the mood for an episode that one year and change after it aired still remains the high point of the series!

Alien is a modern Sci-Fi / Horror classic. It is as close to a perfect movie you are likely to see within the genre.

Some of the sequels are descent enough in their own right, but benefit from their pedigree.

But this one is devoid of any merit. We are treated to some snap shot edited flash shots designed to bring back memories of greater movies. But this movie is a stinker -- and it knows it.

I'm a big fan of Sci-Fi. And in order to enjoy good Sci-Fi you have to be able to suspend disbelief. In order to do so, the movie must establish its own logic to operate on. But This movie has no logic.

Lines of dialogs are delivered seemingly coming from nowhere. We are told by an Italian scientist that because the Aztec calendar was based on a decimal system, we can (successfully) assume that the pyramid will reconfigure every 10 minutes. The logic behind this statement is never elaborated. Nor could it, since it defies logic. Any logic.

Later in the movie the heroine exclaims that the serpent creatures must never be allowed to reach the surface. If they do, she maintains, everything will be destroyed. How this knowledge or conviction has come to her is never explained. We can only assume that she, like most of the audience, knows this to be true from having watched the previous movies in the franchise.

AVP is slick and fast -- but is empty and goes nowhere. It is evident that Paul Anderson is more inspired from the AVP games than anything else. This movie would have been more enjoyable with a game console in my hands. At least then I could slap the heroine every time she delivers a silly line.

Where to start? I actually started taking notes on the logical inaccuracies and unfounded claims being made in this documentary, but the list just became too long.

A lot of frustrated and bitter individuals get a chance to vent their anger towards Moore, Clinton and everybody else they want to blame for everything that's wrong in the world -- or at least in the US. The weakness of the movie is that they are allowed to do so without having to substantiate any claims, or indeed having any touch with reality.

Example: "Moore says in his film that so and so is true. Well, it isn't." Thanks a lot for clearing that up. Wouldn't it be nice to tell us what IS true instead? And actually explaining WHY? Replacing one unsubstantiated claim with another doesn't make compelling argumentation.

Another weakness of the movie is that they attempt to destroy Moore's explanation for what is going on, without presenting us with an alternative explanation. If Moore is so horribly wrong, than what is right? If oil had nothing to do with the unprovoked and illegal war on Iraq, then what WAS the reason? 9/11? Fictitious WMD's? In a rather puzzling sequence we are being told that the US somehow is in possession of documentation that proves Saddam Hussein had bought off the ENTIRE UN Security Council, so that no action would be taken against Iraq. If such documents exist, they would be very handy for the US to use in order to get the UN's cooperation in Iraq right now. Why they haven't been used I assume can only mean one thing. That the claim is indeed a big fat lie.

Anyway -- even if the UN hadn't been bought off by Saddam as the movie strangely claims, what was the issue at hand that the Security Council was to vote on? It was the question of WMD's and weather or not Iraq posed an imminent threat to the good countries of USA and Great Britain. Now, luckily history has proved that the "corrupt" nations lintel was in fact not as faulty as "good old" US's, and that had the US not decided to commit a war crime and invade Iraq without UN security council support, the war would have been prevented.

Now, in my world, preventing a war from being started based on faulty information is a GOOD thing.

But in the world where this movie was made, suggesting such a thing is worse that treason. Go figure

...and did I mention the movie was also boring?

When I first read about the remake, I thought it was ill-conceived. I was convinced it was gonna blow chow. I did my best to purge the knowledge of a remade Galactica out of my memory banks.

Roughly a year later, a friend of mine had downloaded it off the net and recommended it to me. He told me it wasn't half bad. We where bored so we put it on.

I was completely blown away. First of all -- what a truly original idea to bring good actors back to sci-fi. Not since Patrick Stewart graced TNG as capt. Picard has there been anybody vaguely talented on-screen in this cursed genre. Scott Bacula puts me to sleep 10 minutes into any Enterprise episode, but the painfully bad writing has to share blame for that.

Mary McDonnell and Edward James Olmos gives Galactica such a lift, it's a joy to watch. Most of the supporting cast is also a pleasant surprise. All in all, this show has a very good cast.

The writing was also a pleasant surprise. I have paid good money to go see movies that would be 10 times better if the writing was half as good as this one. In a world where action and sci-fi movies are going for the video-game instant gratification big bang, it was nice to watch a genre movie which actually looks and feels like a real movie. Scene by scene, as the plot unfolds, you come to realize Galatica is made by people who still enjoy telling a good story. A rarity in it self these days, when studios are trying to give us "Tomb Raider" and "Charlies Angels" instead of motion pictures.

The execution was brilliant. Set design and direction. Special effects and musical score. It all came together beautifully. I don't know if it's blind luck or by design, but the makers of this show managed to pull it off. Galactica is the best thing I have watched in a long time, regardless of genre. Easily one of the best of the year. The best Sci-fi film I've seen in many years. George Lucas should take note of this one! He could learn a thing or two about space opera.

One last thing. I don't support or condone piracy. I have some 800 DVD's in my collection. And after watching Galatica as a download, I went online and bought it on DVD. 2 copies. I shipped one copy to my cousins, who will love it as much as I loved the original. And their parents will love it for the same reason I loved this "remake" 25 years later. Galactica has grown with me, and delivers. Maybe that's why I hate Star Wars I & II so much? That they really haven't changed since the movies I saw and loved as a kid, and I somehow expected them to be more grown up? ...and the superb 5.1 soundtrack made me go "woo hoo" all over again on the 2nd viewing!

Director McG sure know how to shoot a slick scene. He just doesn't understand why. This movie (and I'm using the term loosely) is entertainment for and by people with attention deficit syndrome.

Directed as a never ending pop video it's the movie substitute for lying on the couch watching MTV.

The pop music drones in the background every second of the movie as gorgeous babes kick ass i slow motion. It's Bay Watch with a budget.

Plot, development, build-up and dialog are elements usually found in most movies. They are as alien to this flick as it is devoid of entertainment value. Incoherent, badly edited action sequences tied together with awkward one-liners as substitute for dialog constitutes what can be called the "structure" of this movie. That is, to the extent this movie has any structure. It is a celebration of the end of cinema.

Not stylish but vulgar. Not entertaining but embarrassing. Not fun but sad.

Star studded as any action flick I've ever seen, it was fascinating for me to watch the extent and speed that this move wastes and disposes talent. Anybody who appears on screen in this stinker should be ashamed of themselves. Kudos to the producers for coating pure sh**e with enough sugar so that mindless teenagers will suck it down without noticing it's real taste.

I weep for this movie.

Young Italian yuppie Francesco unexpectedly inherits a building in Turkey from an aunt he never met. Leaving wife and drab existence in Rome for what he believes is a short trip to Turkey to oversee the selling of the house, he unexpectedly falls in love with the culture and the people. And the Hamam, the Turkish Bath. Newfound passion keeps Francesco in Turkey while strong forces want him to go back home.