starbase_74

I had a big grin on my face as I heard the John Williams' title music for this Superman movie :) I was hoping they wouldn't forget it; and even the titles are the same - Nice intro! Brandon Routh was very good, in both roles. And his imitations of Chris Reeve's mannerisms from the first two films were spot on. Of course, the visual effects were terrific; the flying looks just great. But why did they use a CG model near the end for a close-up flyby instead of real Brandon?...

Kate Bosworth on the other hand was badly miscast. She is too too young to play Lois. Lois should be in her mid-30s, not looking like the 23 the actress is. Subtract the five years Supes was away looking for the remains of Krypton and what do you have? An 18-year-old Lois.

I don't know why the writers decided on Lex Luthor again (a Smallville tie-in?), but that villain's day was up long ago; another threat would have been better than another wacko scheme by Luthor (his weak introduction at the beginning wasn't good either). Luthor's threat is actually not that interesting, and considering the facts of what he proposes is just dumb, especially when you get to see what "land" he conjures up.

What I enjoyed most in the movie were the quieter moments. One early scene on the Kent farm was amusing, though the flashback seemed arbitrary. Scenes of Superman soaring into the sky through the clouds were exhilarating, and of him gliding through the skies above Metropolis, alone. Some of the scenes between him and the (too young) Lois were nice (even if they had been recycled from the first two movies; good for the fans I guess - and they were).

The movie touched on Christ symbolism a few times a little too closely for my liking, and I could've done without the "will he or won't he" at the end of the film - the outcome is so obvious I felt a bit patronized, and those unnecessary scenes just added to the overlong running time.

The dedication to Christopher and his wife Dana in the credits was very touching.

It's a difficult one. I really wanted to like this movie so much. Parts of it were excellent; Brandon Routh did a great job in a tough role to fill. Bosworth just annoyed me with her miscasting. Lex just seemed like an anachronism. But those visuals and the superhero stuff in the movie had me very entertained (even if the climactic ending with Lex was boring and cheesy).

I hope they make a second movie. A better script and story next time around (isn't it always the same lately?) to match the quality FX.

I don't know why this movie even exists. Maybe the book is better, but this movie has no entertainment value whatsoever. The plot doesn't make any sense, the characters have zero depth (what was Charlie Sheen's character for?), Sara Foster has no acting ability, the music is annoying, and to top it all off the whole movie has been sanitized for a lower rating - not that anyone would recommend this rubbish to anyone else as a family film. The only highlights are brief shots of Hawaiian scenery.

I'm glad I never paid at the cinema to see this, but I feel just as ripped off paying two bucks at Blockbuster to rent the DVD. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone, and I feel sorry for the actors dragged into appearing in this movie.

I went into Team America expecting to see something along the lines of South Park humor, and I wasn't disappointed.

If you can't stand South Park's humor, you won't enjoy this at all. The use of marionettes was an unusual choice, but thanks to the great puppetry and designs, they work very well.

The story is just really there to serve the increasingly twisted humor of Trey and Matt's vision. And it works perfectly. There are at least three scenes which made the audience (and me) in the theater laugh out very loud - that is something that very few comedies in recent times have been able to accomplish.

I was surprised how much I enjoyed Team America; but then I really enjoy South Park. A very entertaining (adult) cinematic excursion for the South Park creators, and an impressive display of puppetry skills (for which the sex scenes will be remembered! :)

I just sat through French Connection II as a midday movie (uncut), and my God, it was absolutely terrible.

There is practically no story going on; just endless scenes of Gene walking around the streets of France (at least he got a free holiday out of it) and occasional interactions with some obnoxious French citizens.

Then in the middle of the movie, we get an extended (and I mean, really long and boring) sequence with "Popeye" getting forced into a junk addiction, and following that, another really loooong sequence of his recovery (it never seems to end).

Just when I was about to change channels and end my suffering, some action happens towards the end, and then there is probably the crappiest ending I've seen in a film in a long time.

An awful movie, and a horrible "movie" experience. Dreadful. 0/10.

PREDATOR is one of the best movies to come out of the 1980s. I remember seeing it for the first time on VHS in 1988 (too young to see it at the cinema), and I still get the same buzz from the movie all these years later.

This is probably Schwarzenegger's other best acting role - the other being Total Recall in 1990 - and there is also a great ensemble cast of macho characters. The location is spot on, the special and visual effects are excellent, especially Stan Winston's outstanding Predator design. The script is tight and has lots of quotable dialogue.

The R4 Special Edition is due out in Australia in October 2004, and it's about time (the previous 2002 DVD contained censorship cuts).

PREDATOR is an absolute action classic, with some cool sci-fi elements. Like many good things, it gets better with age - there aren't any films in recent times that come close to the enjoyment levels of PREDATOR.

Aliens is a superb film. Years after its release, there hasn't been a movie to match the fantastic display of film-craft in Aliens. There have been plenty of imitators, and its influences are still going strong in movies today.

Like a lot of fans, I much prefer the original theatrical cut of Aliens - despite all the words from director James Cameron on the extended version, the original is tighter and, well, perfect (and finally available in a recent DVD release; the Special Edition VHS disappointed me for years). It's obvious why the additional scenes were cut; they don't add anything and slow the pace of the film.

Awesome visual effects, great script, cool characters, loads of aliens (the original Alien's one alien and overall film pales in comparison to this; and Aliens is a scarier ride than the first), excellent direction from James Cameron - my favorite film from him, and definitely one of my all-time favorite movies!

I love Total Recall. From watching it at the cinema back in 1990 to today, I enjoy every minute of this great Paul Verhoeven movie.

I think what is really good about this movie is that by the end, you're left wondering if the events around Quaid are real or part of the fantasy package from Rekall, as hints are dropped in early in the film to suggest the latter. Whatever, the ambiguity is one key element to Total Recall's success and enjoyment.

Schwarzenegger has never been better than here, and the supporting actors are all great. Verhoeven's gore-factor is high, but as in RoboCop, it's done in such an over-the-top way it becomes comic-book violence.

Total Recall is highly recommended to sci-fi genre fans, and fans of Paul Verhoeven's work.

I was sad to see the last episode of TNG closing in 1994, as the series had grown so much since the first shaky seasons. The characters, too, had been nicely developed and familiar.

Like any series, it had its strong and weak episodes, but the genuinely great ones really shone - Where No One Has Gone Before, Tapestry, Yesterday's Enterprise, The Best of Both Worlds, part 1, etc.

Always the most enjoyable and entertaining Star Trek for me, The Next Generation is a modern TV sci-fi classic.

Ninja Scroll is easily one of my favorite anime movies. Great animation (the minimal movement in Japanimation far superior to the over-produced Disney cloned animation style), great story and characters, a decent running time - it all works for me.

Recently here in Australia, the movie has thankfully been re-released in the 10th Anniversary Uncut version. After a controversial screening on commercial TV some years ago, the video version was upgraded from MA to an R-Rating, and had some sex scenes cut. The new DVD has been restored, uncut.

A classic, highly entertaining and impressive anime - strongly recommended to Japanime newbies :)