Cheese-18

It is true that this movie delivers. However - I liked part one and two better. But mind you, 'Return of the King' is still better than any not-Lord-of-the-Rings-movie I've ever seen.

First there is the problem of the sadness. When you're watching this movie, there's this little voice in your head going 'this is the last one. Next Christmas there won't be a part four you can look forward to. This will be it. That's it.' But I'm sure if I watch RotK a few dozen times more, this little voice in my head will fade away. And then there's always the rumors about 'The Hobbit'.

But secondly, and that's more important: most of the characters come to a standstill. There's not much evolving there. Only Aragorn has to grow to become a leader of men, and good ol' trustworthy Sam will rise to become the real hero of the War of the Ring. But most of the other characters in RotK just have to buy time for Frodo and Sam, so they will have a chance to complete their mission. But then again: so it was written, and so it was done.

Furthermore I thought I was always aware of some missing scenes here and there. So I can't wait to lay my fingers on the Special Edition-DVD. Only then will I be able to appreciate the full glory of RotK. After my experience with 'The Fellowship of the Ring' and 'The Two Towers' I know that the Special Editions are far superior to the cinematic versions (which seems almost impossible anyway, doesn't it).

But don't listen to my babbling - go see the movie! It is good fun to watch and will blow you away. I'm an arachnophobe, naturally Shelob scared me out of my socks! There are some wonderful Gollum-scenes (thanks, Andy), the ending in Mount Doom is breathtaking, the battles are boombastic, the art department and especially the conceptual artists have outdone themselves, and everything is created and executed with so much love and care for detail.

Peter Jackson has rightfully earned his seat in the eternal Olymp of the greatest film directors of all time. Thanks, Peter!

Let me put it this way: a movie that kills off Steven Seagal in the first 20 minutes can't be THAT bad. For this Executive Decision will always have a special place in my heart.

And then of course there is Kurt Russell to lift the whole thing up. All in all Executive Decision is fun to watch - if you switch off your brain for two hours...

Chris Columbus said he wanted to make a 2,5 hour movie that feels like 30 Minutes. Well, in my case he surely succeeded! I saw the movie as a member of the press and couldn't get enough of it. I would have gladly sat in the cinema for another two or three hours with a biiiig smile on my face.

Like part one, "chamber of secrets" stays true to the book. I don't know about you - but I HATE it when movie makers change the storylines, add or remove characters and do it for the "sake of the art". I think they do it because they are too lazy to create their own storys, so they rip off other peoples ideas and crush them to make it more comfortable... If a book is loved by millions of readers there must be a good reason for that. Chris Columbus has captured the essence of the book on screen. So, after "philosophers stone" he delivered again!

When reading the book I always envisioned Michael Crawford playing Gilderoy Lockhart. His broad smile and clumsiness à la Frank Spencer would have been perfect for the role. But instead we get to see Kenneth Branagh, so of course you won't see ME complain. The great find of the movie is Jason Isaacs as Lucius Malfoy. In his short scenes onscreen he makes your blood freeze. And again: all the casting is brilliant. Every character just feels right - even if you imagined something different when you read the book. There also has been talk about the young actors getting older. Well, let me remind you that this also happens in the books. In every book Harry Potter and his friends are one year older. So there's no excuse to take the roles away from Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint. I couldn't imagine someone else playing their parts.

Go see "the chamber of secrets". It's pure fun and excitement! And it will wet your appetite for more to come. Richard Harris couldn't have asked for a better movie and legacy to be remembered by.

A big fat PFOOOEY for the executives that cancelled Diagnosis Murder! As you can see the show had followers all over the world. I sure do miss it. All that is left now is to watch the reruns. But as we say in Switzerland: As soon as the money-cow can't be milked anymore it is slaughtered. Which means Dick Van Dyke and his staff have served their purpose and are now dismissed. They didn't even get a fair chance to bring their ratings back on track. Just lose some points and you're OUT - no matter who or what you are. THAT's how it works nowadays, baby.

As already stated in other reviews DM had a remarkable wit and humour. It gave the classic whodunnit-tales always a nice and warm family-touch. Especially through the relationship of the main characters Dr. Mark Sloan and his son Steve (Dick and Barry Van Dyke). But it wasn't just a personality show à la "the Van Dykes meet Sherlock Holmes". Every single member of the cast was involved and had his or her big moment.

Oh, by the way: of COURSE you didn't see the doctors doing much work in the hospital, and of COURSE if you saw them in the hospital it had to do with a case they were working on. Otherwise the show would have been called "Emergency Room"... And another thing: I have been watching the series since it was first aired in Europe years ago - and I'm 32. So what's this nonsense about DM being an "old people show"? And if so, would that automatically make it bad??? Really, there are some weird people out there.

I truly hope that there will be a DVD-set sometime soon. This series really deserves a good treatment. And Dick Van Dyke is nothing less than an incredibly gifted Genius!

Would you believe that this delightful little comedy is mainly a Swiss/Canadian production? Finally there is Reto Salimbeni, a Swiss director who does not make your usual Helvetic die hard drama that takes place high up in the mountains. Far from it!

Urban Safari is a witty black comedy about a business-career family in a big city. They cannot afford the holiday they think everyone else is expecting them to have - so they go on a fake vacation in their own apartment. With quite some distractions, difficulties, twists and turns I might add. The snooping neighbours being just one of their minor problems.

Sure this film isn't the big blockbuster and being a comedy it never had a chance to win any prices. But still: why is no one putting this movie on DVD??? I'm waiting for it for years!

Hey folks - THIS is pure heaven!

Today I got the Cosmos DVD box set and went completely bananas! I love it for two reasons.

First: Even for todays standards it is a well made documentation that will make you think about yourself and the world you live in. The Cold War may be over, but people are still as stupid as ever. Cosmos is not just a simple documentation about stars and planets with numbers, technobabble and nice pictures - it's a manifest for peace and understanding that EVERYBODY should see.

Second: I remember when I used to watch the series when I was ten years old. I didn't miss a single episode. Cosmos may not have CHANGED my life - but it certainly gave it a new direction. It taught me to keep an open mind and to care more about my surroundings. When I saw Cosmos today, I felt again like the little boy I was two decades ago. I'm in awe of the whole world and the wonders of the Universe that surrounds every one of us.

If you have kids: show it to them! If you want to know more about life on earth or on other planets: see it! If you think, ordinary documentations about outer space are too complicated to understand: see it! If you don't really care about the Universe, the stars and the planets, but you wonder what all the fuss is about: see it!

In any case: SEE IT!!!

Switzerland doesn't seem to have much stardom to offer. In THIS case however it looks like every important role was played by a big Swiss stage- or TV-star.

Beat Schlatter plays the wannabe stand up comedian Roni Beck who has more willpower than talent. Or could it be that he's just always the right guy in the wrong place? All he needs is a fair chance - and that is hard to come by. Without job and money he hides in his mothers room in the old people's home. He soon is discovered by the home's manager Serge (played by Patrick Frey). Instead of kicking Roni out Serge abuses him as cheap workforce, but at the same time is taking care of Roni's stage career. Roni on the other hand struggles with his new job as an informal male nurse and makes new friends in the old people's home. But - as in real life - comedy and tragedy go hand in hand.

Beat Schlatter - who not only plays the lead character but also wrote the script to KOMIKER (translation: 'comedian') - is one of the finest script authors in Switzerland. He also has extensive experience in comedy, as he performed (together with Patrick Frey) live on stage for many years. This is their second film after the much successful movie KATZENDIEBE (see imdb.com).

The main characters in KOMIKER are played by all-time favourite Swiss actors like Stephanie Glaser (Roni's mother), Walo Lüönd, Mathias Gnädinger or Pinkas Braun.

So, if you like your comedy to be a little bit more twisted, maybe even darker and reality-based... KOMIKER is the movie for you to see.

The other user comments said it all: this movie is close to perfection - and I'm not just talking about the incredible computer animation...

The characters are hilarious, the references to Star Trek, Star Wars and other sci-fi-flicks are accurate down to the music and sound effects, and the adventures of Woody and Buzz will make you laugh AND cry!

GO SEE IT!!!

Swiss movies always have a BAD reputation - and usually they deserve so! EXKLUSIV however was made by a bunch of young movie lovers who put their sweat, spare time and money in a project they believed in. The result is a fast going low budget media-thriller which is surprisingly entertaining. It's the story of two tabloid reporters that get too involved in a mystery murder series. The usual Swiss movies storyline "father-hits-child-on-a-mountain-top-and-gets-it-after-for-good" is completely missing here. And it's about time! For years Swiss films where produced for a small audience with special interests. EXKLUSIV on the other hand may very well have some potential on the international independent market. It was produced without any financial help from the government, which is absolutely new for Switzerland. So, here we have a movie which is made for a younger American-oriented audience, but is still undeniably Swiss.

Let's hope that other young filmmakers will follow Florian Froschmayers brave example and finally produce some movies which keep you awake for two hours. EXKLUSIV is the proof: It can be done - even in Switzerland!