Deutsche Version | March

April, 6th

Director: David S. Ward

John Goodman … Ralph Hampton Gainesworth Jones
Peter O’Toole … Sir Cedric Charles Willingham
John Hurt … Lord Percival Graves
Camille Coduri … Miranda Green
Richard Griffiths … Duncan Phipps
Leslie Phillips … Gordon Halliwell

Synopsis: After the entire Royal Family has been wiped out, England needs a new king and they find him – in America. Ralph is not what one would call born to be a representative of a nation but he has to do since there’s no one else – or is there? The parliament could decide to end the Windham line and re-establish the Stuarts as the royal line again. And Lord Graves – the next in line – does everything in his might to make this happen.

My Opinion: After watching so many Doctor Who episodes I wanted to watch the movie where I saw Jackie Tyler (Camille Coduri) for the first time again.
It’s not that good a movie but I still enjoy it very much mainly because it’s true what Cedric says in the end: Ralph is a good and decent man and he does what is right.
This movie has many funny scenes and still manages to not really mock the British monarchy.

Afterwards, I listened to this quite a few times:

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Categories: DVD / Blu-ray, DVD Marathon, Movie Watchings 2010
Tags: Doctor Who · King Ralph · LOST · Saving Private Ryan
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Deutsche Version | February | April

March, 11th

10 Things I Hate About You

Director: Gil Junger

Heath Ledger … Patrick Verona
Julia Stiles … Kat Stratford
Joseph Gordon-Levitt … Cameron James
Larisa Oleynik … Bianca Stratford
David Krumholtz … Michael
Andrew Keegan … Joey Donner
Larry Miller … Walter Stratford

Synopsis: Cameron has a strong crush on Bianca but he’s not the only contender for her attention. His opponent Joey is not only a model but also financially well equipped. To make matters worse Bianca is only allowed to go on a date if her older sister Kat has one, too. And Kat has no intentions to date in the near future and she’s also not the most uncomplicated person.
Cameron needs to find someone who isn’t afraid of the challenge and that’s were Patrick Verona comes into play.

My Opinion: It’s a nice, modern day adaption of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew and Heath (RIP) and Julia make a great couple. They have to because even though this is a movie about a triangle and a couple only the couple really works. Especially Cameron and Bianca pale in comparison, Cameron even more so than Bianca who has at least a few good scenes with her sister and the Prom scene.
But it’s still very watchable and has a cool soundtrack.

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Categories: DVD / Blu-ray, DVD Marathon, Movie Watchings 2010
Tags: 10 Things I Hate About You · 2001 · E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial · Ghostbusters · Short Circuit · The Hangover · The Taming of the Shrew · WALL·E
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Deutsche Version | January (Part 2) | March

February, 13th

Superman Returns

Director: Bryan Singer

Brandon Routh   …    Clark Kent / Superman
Kate Bosworth   …    Lois Lane
Kevin Spacey   …    Lex Luthor
James Marsden   …    Richard White
Parker Posey   …    Kitty Kowalski
Frank Langella   …    Perry White
Sam Huntington   …    Jimmy Olsen
Kal Penn    …    Stanford

Synopsis: Nobody has seen or heard from Superman in five years. In the meantime Lois Lane has become a mommy and she’s written the Pulitzer-winning article “Why the World Doesn’t Need Superman”. But now Clark is back from what is left of Krypton and he’s needed right now again: Lex Luthor has stolen Kryptionian crystals from the Fortress and wants to build a new continent – at the expense of that small island called North America.

My Opinion: It took me some time to really get used to that movie. Mainly because I was mad at Bryan Singer for abandoning the X-Men project which resulted in The Last Stand. But now with a few years distance, I like this movie.
Some elements are still very comic-like, like Lex’s behaviour at some points of the story but that is fully outweighed by the moments he’s truly evil.
I also like Brandon Routh’s portrayal of Clark/Superman. While Christopher Reeve’s Clark was a bit of a douchebag that I didn’t like very much, they chose to do it differently here. He’s just a nobody who lingers in the background and isn’t noticed by anybody but Jimmy. Lois couldn’t care less about him in any way – which makes it believable that she doesn’t see Superman in him. For me that works.
Speaking of realism (;) ): The one scene I didn’t buy was when Superman lifted that island out into space while he still had a piece of Kryptonite stuck in his side and was exposed to the other K in the island. If Lex can beat him up just because he’s around it, he should have never been able to lift that weight. So much for in-universe consistency…

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Categories: DVD / Blu-ray, DVD Marathon, Movie Watchings 2010
Tags: Men in Black · Superman
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Deutsche Version | Januar (Part 1) | February

January, 16th

The Negotiator

Director: F. Gary Gray

Samuel L. Jackson … Lt. Danny Roman
Kevin Spacey … Lt. Chris Sabian
David Morse … Cmdr. Adam Beck
Ron Rifkin … Cmdr. Grant Frost
John Spencer … Chief Al Travis
J.T. Walsh … Insp. Terence Niebaum
Siobhan Fallon … Maggie
Paul Giamatti … Rudy Timmons

Synopsis: Danny Roman is a negotiator for hostage situations for the police and he’s one of the best there is. One day he gets framed for stealing money from the police pension fund and it looks like he’s going to prison for it. He sees no other choice than taking hostages himself, to force the issue and to find out what really happened and who was involved. His negotiator is Chris Sabian from the other side of the city and he’s also very good at what he does.

My Opinion: A fascinating thriller with an excellent cast. I’m not a big fan of thrillers but this is a movie I watch regularly. It’s very powerful and still has its funny moments – like the scene where we get introduced to Chris Sabian. I also like the selection of hostages and how they contribute to the case.
Spoiler (mark to read):
An interesting thing about these kinds of movies is that – despite them ending in a happy end – they don’t actually have a real happy end, because if you think it through he still will be charged of taking hostages, destroying a federal building and other stuff. Even if he gets only a slap on the hand, it’s unlikely that he’s ever going to work as a cop again.
But I think that falls in the category of Fridge Logic.

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Categories: DVD / Blu-ray, DVD Marathon, Movie Watchings 2010
Tags: 24 · Die Hard · Hero · Independence Day · Men in Trees · Spaceballs · Speed · The Fugitive · The Girl Next Door · The Negotiator · The Proposal · Under Siege · While You Were Sleeping
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Deutsche Version | December 2009 | January (Part 2)

You might have noticed that the old year is over, so I’m starting a new diary.
But I will only review movies I haven’t reviewed before – unless my opinion has changed drastically.

January, 1st

You’ve Got Mail

Director: Nora Ephron

Tom Hanks … Joe Fox
Meg Ryan … Kathleen Kelly
Greg Kinnear … Frank Navasky
Parker Posey … Patricia Eden
Jean Stapleton … Birdie Conrad
Steve Zahn … George Pappas

Synopsis: Joe Fox is one of the owners of the “Fox Books Superstore” chain and he sells cheap books. And now he wants to open a new store in New York. Kathleen Kelly owns the children book store “Shop Around the Corner” in close proximity to the new superstore. When they are Kathleen Kelly and Joe Fox they can’t stand each other. When they are Shopgirl and NY152 they are close online friends. The question is what happens when these world collide.

My Opinion: I like this movie, it’s a sweet little romance where Meg Ryan plays the role she always plays and Tom Hanks shows his romantic side once more. I have to say I like it even better than its “predecessor” Sleepless in Seattle. That is a nice movie, too, but when I have the choice between these two, I choose this one. And even though I don’t really like The Godfather I like the running gag references to it.

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Categories: DVD / Blu-ray, DVD Marathon, Movie Watchings 2010
Tags: Batman · Blind Fury · Curly Sue · Dave · Die Hard · How I Met Your Mother · How to Lose a Guy - in 10 Days · Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman · Look Who's Talking · Masters of the Universe · Pretty Woman · Sleepless in Seattle · Smallville · Spider-Man · Superman · The Godfather · X-Men · You've Got Mail
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Deutsche Version | November | January 2010

December, 15th

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

William Shatner … Captain James T. Kirk
Leonard Nimoy … Captain Spock
DeForest Kelley … Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy
James Doohan … Captain Montgomery “Scotty” Scott
Walter Koenig … Commander Pavel Chekov
Nichelle Nichols … Cmdr. Uhura
George Takei … Captain Hikaru Sulu
Kim Cattrall … Lieutenant Valeris
Mark Lenard … Ambassador Sarek
Grace Lee Whitney … Commander Janice Rand
Brock Peters … Admiral Cartwright
Leon Russom … Starfleet Commander in Chief
Kurtwood Smith … Federation President
Christopher Plummer … General Chang
Rosanna DeSoto … Azetbur
David Warner … Chancellor Gorkon
John Schuck … Klingon ambassador
Michael Dorn … Colonel Worf

Synopsis: Three months until Captain Kirk and most of his senior staff go into retirement. Sulu has got his own ship now, the Excelsior. But then the klingon moon Praxis explodes. This polutes the atmosphere of the klingon homeworld Qo’noS (Kronos). The Klingons have no choice but to negotiate a peace treaty with the Federation. But there are forces in motion that want to prevent that this happens.

My Opinion: “There will be no peace as long as Kirk lives” (Star Trek IV). This time one had to fear that they mean it. VI is my favourite movie of the old Star Trek series. There is a great final battle but that’s not the end but is marking a new beginning.
Nicholas Meyer is directing a Star Trek movie for the second time after II and he did again an excellent job. Besides being the director he also worked on the screenplay for II, IV and VI and thus for three of the five best Star Trek movies.

January 2010

Categories: DVD / Blu-ray, DVD Marathon, Movie Watchings 2009
Tags: Star Trek
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Deutsche Version | Season 3: Disc 4

3×16 Doppelgangland

Synopsis: Anyanka/Anya wants to have her power center back that was destroyed by Giles in the alternate reality Cordelia accidentally created. She tricks Willow into doing a spell but it doesn’t work as expected. Instead they pull Vampire-Willow from there into this reality and she – after a short period of acclimatization – tries to make it as “fun” as her reality was.

My Opinion: “And I think I’m kinda gay.” Nice foreshadowing. I really like this episode, it’s fun to watch and Alyson is great in all four roles (Old Reliable Willow, Vampire-Willow, Pretend-Vampire-Willow, Pretend-Willow). I also liked Anya in all her scenes, especially when this 1120 year-old ex-demon tried to get a beer in the Bronze.
Too bad Vampire-Willow died in her reality, it would have been cool to have her back at a later time.

3×17 Enemies

Synopsis: A demon tries to sell the “Books of Ascension” to the Slayers. While the gang is discussing how they get their hands onto these books before the mayor does, Faith reports back to him and gets the books for him. They also try to turn Angel into Angelus again. First by seduction then by magic. But not everybody in the Scooby gang is fooled by Faith.

My Opinion: It was a bit too convenient that Giles knew the demon who was supposed to turn Angel but otherwise it was an interesting watch, especially since even the viewer didn’t know of Giles’s/Buffy’s/Angel’s plan to con Faith. And Pretend-Angelus was awesome once more, he has such a great malignity.

3×18 Earshot

Synopsis: When Buffy fights against two demons and kills one of them, some of his(?) blood splatters over her hand. At first it just itches but then she begins to hear voices. But she doesn’t hallucinate; she can hear the actual thoughts of the people around her. At first this is fun and could be a great advantage in combat but soon she can’t shut anything out anymore and on top of that she hears the voice of an unknown person who wants to kill all the students.

My Opinion: One of my favourite episodes, I love these kind of truth-telling episodes because at first it’s great fun but it’ll ultimately turn for the worse. I especially liked it how they characterized the thoughts of the characters (Cordelia: think = say; Xander: sex; Oz: deep thoughts yet silent) which matched them perfectly. I also really liked Buffy’s speech in the tower.
I believe this is the first time Jonathan was featured as a bit more than a “runs through picture” character. I really like that kind of continuity because it makes the show feel more wholesome in contrast to shows where the episode cast is exactly that.

3×19 Choices

Synopsis: Their time in High School is coming to an end and after that their ways will most likely part. Buffy has been accepted to Northwestern, Willow to every university with a stamp and Xander is going to backpack over the country. But first they have to literally survive graduation day and Mayor Wilkins’s ascension. They have to steal the “Box of Gavrok”. They don’t know what it contains but it seems to be important to him.

My Opinion: Mayor Wilkins is not among the best of the Big Bads but in episodes like this I really appreciate him. His talent to bluntly tell the truth (and let’s face it: he was not lying about the chances of Angel’s and Buffy’s non-existing be-together future) is what makes him a decent Big Bad.
I also loved it that they chose Willow over the box without even arguing (except for Wesley…). It’s what I expect from a “band of brothers“.
And of course the band won’t break up. As usual with these shows (Smallville, Veronica Mars, Gossip Girl) they found a way to keep the gang in town and together.

Categories: Buffy Marathon, DVD / Blu-ray, DVD Marathon
Tags: Buffy the Vampire Slayer · Gossip Girl · Smallville · Veronica Mars
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Deutsche Version | Season 1: Disc 1

1×05 The Path Not Taken

Synopsis: Xena intervenes in an old feud between two kingdoms that is fuelled by the weapons dealer profiting from it. He kidnapped the princess and blamed it on the other kingdom. Within his ranks Xena finds Marcus, an old friend of hers who still travels the road she’s left.

My Opinion: It was an OK episode, but Marcus’s sacrifice at the end was a bit unconvincing. Granted they prepared for it in that conversation between him and Xena, but he was just fighting her because he did not want to change his way of living.

1×06 The Reckoning

Synopsis: Ares, God of War, slaughters some innocent villagers and blames it on Xena. The surviving villagers want to bring her to trial and then execute her. Ares could help her – if she comes back to him. Gabrielle tries to defend her and prove her innocence but is being sabotaged in her efforts.

My Opinion: Even though the episode introduced the cool Kevin Smith (they are both cool, but this is not the fat one! ) as Ares, the episode didn’t work for me. Even though she was innocent she surrendered to this trial just because she has a dark past. And it looked like as if she might have let them kill her. That’s BS in my eyes.

1×07 The Titans

Synopsis: Gabrielle inadvertently releases three of the Titans when she recites and old chant in a huge cave hall. Amongst them is Hyperion, the Sun Titan, who is not very fond of Humans. At first they follow Gabrielle’s command since they believe that only a powerful god could have released them. But Hyperion is impatient…

My Opinion: This episode I liked. It was cool to see Crius (one of the Titans) to follow Gabrielle’s every wish and constantly calling her “the virgin goddess” and her getting annoyed by it (especially the “virgin” part ). I also thought they did the handling of the height difference pretty decently. The special effects in the show aren’t the best but here they managed it to look pretty convincingly.

1×08 Prometheus

Synopsis: Hera, wife of Zeus and mother of the gods, has put Prometheus in chains. This means that mankind will slowly lose all gifts Prometheus has given them. Starting with the ability to heal and the ability to utilize fire. Both Xena & Gabrielle and Hercules & Iolaus try to free him again.

My Opinion: This was a cool episode, seeing the four of them together (I think it’s the only time it ever happens). And while it was unlikely (due to the time frame) that Hercules told Xena about Prometheus and his chains I didn’t care. I liked how they found “a solution” to free him without the need to sacrifice one of them and I liked how Iolaus and Gabrielle came closer.

Categories: DVD / Blu-ray, DVD Marathon, Xena Marathon
Tags: Hercules: The Legendary Journeys · Xena: Warrior Princess
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Deutsche Version | October | December

November, 3rd

Rambo

Sylvester Stallone … John Rambo
Julie Benz … Sarah
Matthew Marsden … School Boy
Graham McTavish … Lewis
Jake La Botz … Reese
Tim Kang … En-Joo
Paul Schulze … Michael Burnett

Synopsis: In Burma a civil war is causing countless deaths on a daily basis. But John Rambo isn’t interested in war anymore. He lives a quiet life in Thailand and doesn’t care about the world. But one day christian missionaries want to rent his boat to get into that war zone. And when they don’t return he does what he was born to do.

My Opinion: A very bloody movie. Make sure you have a bucket under your TV to catch all the blood that is dripping out of it. But it’s also a very honest movie; it does not hide or glorify the truth of battle. After the first, this is the best Rambo movie and it brings the story full circle. I don’t think Stallone should make another one. Just like with Rocky he finished the story of the character in a satisfying way and he should leave it at that.

BTW: Check out the body count chart.

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Categories: DVD / Blu-ray, DVD Marathon, Movie Watchings 2009
Tags: 1984 · Ben Hur · Catch and Release · Gladiator · Harry Potter · Rocky Rambo · Spartacus · Star Trek · V for Vendetta
Comments: No comments

Deutsche Version | Season 3: Disc 3 | Season 3: Disc 5

Helpless

Synopsis: In a few days Buffy will turn 18 and she doesn’t really want to celebrate it due to the fear that it will be a crap-fest again. And she’s right. She has suddenly lost her Slayer powers and is a normal young woman again. The gang investigates in this – with the exception of Giles because it is he who must put her through an ancient and cruel Watcher’s Council ritual.

My Opinion: Between this and the last episode of Buffy I’ve watched, I watched a lot of other stuff, including four seasons of Bones, in which David Boreanaz plays the male lead. So I needed a bit of time to get used to the brooding Angel again. I never really liked the plot of that episode because IMHO it doesn’t make sense. The Slayer is always in constant danger of being killed and the more experienced she gets the better are her chances of survival. So why take the chances of her getting killed in this stupid test when the result would be that you end up with an inexperienced beginner Slayer again?
But I really liked the ending when Buffy wordlessly forgave Giles when Quentin fired him due to his fatherly love for Buffy.

The Zeppo

Synopsis: After being pummelled by a demon again, Buffy and Giles seriously advise Xander to stay out of future fights. But without being in the midst of it he feels useless and decides to become the “wheel man”. This doesn’t really work out either and he suddenly finds himself being the driver for a bunch of dead-yet-not-in-the-ground former high school jocks who want to have some fun.

My Opinion: That was a great Xander episode. I really liked it that there was a big Hellmouth fight – but that it wasn’t really the plot of the episode. I also liked how they pointed at the danger Angel had to face (and survived of course) without ever explaining or showing what he was up against – because that it wasn’t really the plot of the episode. This way they could create a cool Xander-based story without making the others his sidekicks (which would never work) or make them disappear for the entire episode.

Bad Girls

Synopsis: The new Watcher has arrived: Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, a young stiff Englishman on a high horse who isn’t taken seriously by neither Buffy nor Faith. Because both have better things to do: Want. Take. Have. Faith shows Buffy her philosophy of what it means to be a Slayer and together they party and slay and party and break into a weapons store and party … until Faith makes a horrible mistake.

My Opinion: When I saw him enter the library I had a hard time imagining that this man is the husband of Alyson Hannigan and father of her child. It’s just a role, but still… But back to the episode: When I first watched this episode I didn’t know what was going to happen in the end but I was quite certain that something would bring the party crashing down. It was inevitable from the moment they broke into that weapons store. But I didn’t recognize who Faith had killed (Bad with faces, remember?) until it’s explained in the next episode. Still, I liked this episode, Faith and Buffy partying and playing bad girls.

Consequences

Synopsis: Faith has accidentally killed the Deputy Mayor but she has no intentions of facing the consequences and is trying to cover everything up. When that doesn’t work she tries to blame Buffy who has already a hard time to cope with what had happened. When Wesley gets wind of this he tries to deport Faith back to England which makes matters only worse.

My Opinion: This episode I really, really liked. It was great to see Buffy struggle with her secret and how she tried to convince Faith to come clean and how she sobbed in Willow’s arms. She is a warrior, but she still remains human. I also liked how Xander honestly tried to reconnect with Faith even though he failed. But this is his quality: He does not give up on his friends and one day it will save the world.
What I honestly didn’t understand was Willow’s breakdown in the bathroom. Granted, she had always feelings for Xander, but after Lovers Walk she wanted to get back with Oz and Xander was single again. What did she expect?

Season 3: Disc 5

Categories: Buffy Marathon, DVD / Blu-ray, DVD Marathon
Tags: Bones · Buffy the Vampire Slayer
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