Deutsche Version | February | April
March, 1st
Kristy Swanson … Buffy
Donald Sutherland … Merrick
Paul Reubens … Amilyn
Rutger Hauer … Lothos
Luke Perry … Pike
Michele Abrams … Jennifer
Hilary Swank … Kimberly
Paris Vaughan … Nicole
David Arquette … Benny
Stephen Root … Gary Murray
Thomas Jane … Zeph
Synopsis: Buffy is a normal highschool freshman and member of the cheerleading squad. But then she meets Merrick and he shows her what she really is: The Chosen One, a Vampire Slayer. Born with the strength and skill to fight the Vampires, to stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their numbers. But she wants to stay a normal girl and wants nothing to do with such rubbish.
My Opinion: This movie may not be what Joss Whedon had intended or will do on the TV show. But it definitivly falls into the category of “guilty pleasure” and is a lot of fun if you’re willing to accept its cheesiness. And the dialogue is unmistakably Whedon. Also, Lothos used a Samurai Katana, that’s a plus in the book. š
March, 7th
Kate Beckinsale … Selene
Scott Speedman … Michael Corvin
Michael Sheen … Lucian
Shane Brolly … Kraven
Bill Nighy … Viktor
Erwin Leder … Singe
Sophia Myles … Erika
Synopsis: For centuries Vampires and Lycans (Werewolves) have been fighting and killing one another. Selene is a Death Dealer, a Vampire specialized in the hunting and killing of Lycans. But her latest hunt brought up several mysteries. The Lycans have suddenly guns that can fire bullets containing a light-emmiting liquid – fatal for Vampires. Where did they get those? And why were they following that Human who seems important to them? And Lucien, the ruthless leader of the Lycans, is supposed to be dead for 600 years. But is he actually dead?
My Opinion: What I really like about this movie is it’s style. The look of the snobbish Vampires versus the more ragged look of the Lycans. The darkness and the rain and the soundtrack. The story and the acting is ok, but not overwhelming. But if one wants to have a nice brain-free evening with a lot of shootings and a bit of mythology in the mix, this is the movie for it.
March, 8th
Edward Norton … Bruce Banner
Liv Tyler … Betty Ross
Tim Roth … Emil Blonsky
William Hurt … Gen. Thaddeus ‘Thunderbolt’ Ross
Tim Blake Nelson … Samuel Sterns
Lou Ferrigno … Voice of The Incredible Hulk / Security Guard
Synopsis: Bruce Banner has been hiding for the last few years. Currently he works in a lemonade factory somewhere in Brazil. But then an accident happens and his pursuers find him again. In the following struggle the Hulk comes out and Banner awakes in Guatemala. He has to find a way to undo this mutation and for this he needs the research data that was recorded during the original accident. But that brings him too close to the love of his life. And two soldiers want to find him at any cost but for different reasons.
My Opinion: When I went to the theatre to watch this movie I was a bit uneasy because I didn’t like the first movie that much. But I thought that Edward Norton and Liv Tyler would make it at least a decent movie and I enjoyed it very much. The Hulk felt much more real and three-dimensional than the one in the first movie. I was glad that they didn’t use the split-screen again but went back to the classical movie approach. The story was predictable – he wanted to lift the curse but ultimately had to embrace his alter ego in order to save the world – but that’s what I expect from a (super)hero movie.
Robert Downey Jr. … Tony Stark
Terrence Howard … Rhodey
Jeff Bridges … Obadiah Stane
Gwyneth Paltrow … Pepper Potts
Leslie Bibb … Christine Everhart
Shaun Toub … Yinsen
Synopsis: Tony Stark is the CEO of Stark Industries. They manufacture and sell the most advanced weapons technology in the world. One day Stark is kidnapped and is forced to build a new weapons system for a group of terrorists. But Stark builds something else: an armored suit that he wears to break out of his prison. When he returns to the civilized world he reflects what he has seen on the other side of the world and he decides that weapons production isn’t a good idea after all. But he can help people if he would wear that new suit of his more often…
My Opinion: This was a blind buy for me. Tony Stark’s character is very two-dimensional, even after his change of heart. I would put it closer to Underworld than to The Incredible Hulk, more visuals than actual story or profundity. What bothered me, was the fact that they invented a superhero that has no actual superpowers and yet he survives the most absurds stunts as if he had superpowers. First when he crashed into the desert and again when he tested his rocket-boots and crashed without armor into a concrete wall. It may have looked funny but it didn’t help with the character’s credibility.
I find it interesting that movies about a teenager who has been bitten by a spider or about people who are born differently are more serious than a movie about a guy who’s inventing the newest weapons.
March, 18th
Arnold Schwarzenegger … The Terminator
Linda Hamilton … Sarah Connor
Edward Furlong … John Connor
Robert Patrick … T-1000
Earl Boen … Dr. Silberman
Joe Morton … Miles Dyson
Leslie Hamilton Gearren … Twin Sarah
Synopsis: A decade has passed since Kyle Reese was killed and the Terminator was destroyed. But now he’s back. Another T-800 was sent back through time. But he’s not here to terminate. He’s here to protect John from the more advanced Terminator model T-1000 – a shapeshifter. Sarah, John and the T-800 have their hands full with staying alive and preventing the apocalypse. They have to destroy Skynet before it’s even made.
My Opinion: I had totally forgotten how young John was. I remembered him at least four years older – maybe due to new series. But I still like the movie very much. Robert Patrick is a great adversary with cool morphing effects. And while some of the jokes that John made the T-800 do were a bit childish I liked their interaction. I also liked how the T-800 killed nobody and still had an amazing rounds per minute ratio.
For me, it’s the best part of the trilogy – let’s see how the fourth part will be.