Season 3

From Hell

Synopsis: Jen has a builder in her home and Roy is quite sure (99% … 60/40) that he’s seen him on “Builders from Hell”. Now Jen can’t let him out of her eyesight. Meanwhile Moss is bullied by some guys in the park and Douglas shoots himself in the leg with his father’s service revolver.

My Opinion: A great start to the new season. Love to see Jen getting more and more paranoid and Roy re-evaluating his surety. And I loved Moss’ role-playing and trying to find a snappy comeback. I never cared much for Douglas though. I liked his father better.

Are We Not Men?

Synopsis: Moss has found a website that allows him to use the right sentences about last night’s football game. Roy tries it, too and gets them both to hang out with a bunch of real men. But these new friends are not what they appear to be. Meanwhile Jen is dating a guy that looks like a stage magician.

My Opinion: I am a German and I never cared much for football either. This week a player returned from FC Barcelona to the VfB Stuttgart and a friend of mine couldn’t be happier about it – I couldn’t care less, the only thing I found interesting was that the player’s name is “Hleb” which is a transcription of the russian хлеб* and means “bread”. Back to topic. I enjoyed to watch Roy panicking in the car after the robbery and also in their hideout. And I found it hilarious that Moss took the money just to count it.

* Remember when Christopher Plummer said “to be or not to be” in klingon? The “Х” letter sounds pretty much like the “H” in taH pagh taHbe’.

Tramps Like Us

Synopsis: Jen is applying for a new job in a different company but fails to explain what “IT” stands for. Meanwhile Roy crashes a minute of silence for a dead colleague and lands himself on the streets not even having a shirt anymore. And Moss is in his “happy place” while Douglas gets tasered every time he gets aroused.

My Opinion: What I liked about this episode was Roy’s “walkabout” in the streets and Jen’s attempts at not having to say what “IT” actually stands for . But I didn’t really like the entire harassment storyline and Moss’ part in it.

The Speech

Synopsis: Jen was awarded with the “Employee of the Month”. But now she has to give a speech to the shareholders. And the speech is about her area of expertise – meaning IT. Roy and Moss are so generous and lend her “the internet”, a black box (wireless of course, everything is wireless nowadays) that what demagnetized by Stephen Hawking himself.

My Opinion: One of my favourite episodes of the show. I simply love the entire scene when they let Jen borrow “the internet” (Youtube). And I love it when their prank totally backfires on the shareholder assembly.

Friendface

Synopsis: Jen has joined Friendface, a social networking site where you find all the people you never wanted to see again. Roy and Moss join also and soon Roy has to face a woman he dumped because she looks like Batman’s Joker. And Jen is invited to a class reunion where she can’t show up without her husband – Moss.

My Opinion: An obvious pun on Facebook which I really liked, especially the part about persons you’d rather not see again. Especially the “Joker” and Roy’s attempts at “winning over” Jen made me laugh so hard.

Calendar Geeks

Synopsis: In order to organize a charity fundraiser the girls of the seventh floor want to make a nude calendar and Roy gets to photograph them. But Jen sabotages it and convinces the girls that it would be a far better idea to photograph their grannies – until she becomes responsible for the success of that calendar.

My Opinion: The Geek Calendar shooting was so funny, how Roy had to convince Moss and the others to get into certain poses was so hilarious.

The Season – My Opinion: Too bad that UK seasons are always this short, I am quite certain that the writers would have no problem to come up with more ideas. But it is as it is.

Season 1

Disc 1

Pilot

Synopsis: It’s the year 1999 and Judgement Day hasn’t happened – yet. Sarah and John are constantly switching aliases and living placaes. But one day two cyborgs have still found them: One comes in the form of a young girl called Cameron and she was sent to protect John. And the other is a classical terminator. They try to escape him but in the end there’s no place they can hide, just another time.

My Opinion: To fully enjoy the show one has to put it in a parallel universe to the movies. It’s similar to the Highlander movie (There can be only one!) and the series. While I liked the general general idea of the show I had a problem with some story elements. For example: Cameron took the other cyborg out with a power surge. In my unprofessional opinion two minutes should have been enough to somehow destroy him or at least to damage him severely – he can’t resist after all. And some of the stuff in the vault seemed unlikely, too. Even if I knew how to build a microchip in 1965 there wouldn’t be the the technology (wafers etc.) to actually do it. But they had to find a way to push the series forward to today and it was fairly ok.
So I like the story but one mustn’t think to much about the logic.

Gnothi Seauton

Synopsis: They jumped eight years into the future, into 2007. And now all three of them need new identities to blend in. Cameron leads Sarah to a group of resistance fighters who were send back by John to destroy Skynet before it goes operational. But when that fails they have to visit an old friend. Meanwhile John explores the technological differences between 1999 and 2007.

My Opinion: The writers are obviously not very burdened with the complex issues that go with time-travel. It seems that whenever they need it they will send people back and forth through time as if nothing could disrupt the timeline. But if that were so then we would be back on the concept of a time-loop as the movie Terminator had present it (It has always happened that way and always will be, there’s nothing we can do about it). But Terminator 2 had thrown that overboard and declared that the timeline can be changed and (as Doc Brown explained it in Back to the Future 2) that will result in another timeline. I also had a problem with that “Zombie Terminator” who can obviously walk without its head attached – I thought the “eyes” were its optical sensors?
Another thing I noticed: I don’t know how far ahead the pilot was shot and what they thought would happen after it, but I didn’t have the feeling to see a Mrs. Dyson or a detective who was eight years older than in the pilot. They should have used a better mask to make them look younger in the pilot (Look at Bruce Boxleitner in Babylon 5: In the Beginning!)
Too bad Enrique had to die, I would have liked it to see Tony Amendola (Master Bra’tac in Stargate SG-1) more often.

The Turk

Synopsis: Sarah is looking for former employees of Cyberdyne Systems to check whether they are continuing the Skynet project or doing something else dangerous. Connor and Cameron pose as siblings in their new school and try to blend in.

My Opinion: Is it my imagination or did the metall skeleton of that terminator look a bit too shiny? He had been blasted to peaces and has lain in the garbage. Which brings up another question: How did he get there in the first place? He wasn’t within the time bubble and thus hasn’t travelled with the others. What happend to that bank building in the last eight years and why has no one ever found the skeleton or the head – which lay quite open on the side of the street?
And when Sarah burned down Andy’s house the fires looked digital – and fake. Don’t they have the money anymore to burn down a real, wooden facade?

Disc 1 – My Opinion: The show is enjoyable, the characters are fine. But as you can see the show opens a can of questions for me and they bother me because that makes me thinking that either the writers didn’t see this problems or they thought the viewers wouldn’t notice or that the viewers wouldn’t care. None of which is really an acceptable answer in my opinion. But I will continue to watch and see how it unfolds.

Disc 2

Heavy Metal

Synopsis: While the others are asleep Cameron checks for possible threats and she finds a huge shipment of the alloy the Terminators are made of. It’s protected by another Terminator but John wants to steal the alloy and destroy it.

My Opinion: I liked it that John took charge even if it was dangerous. But apart from that not much has actually happened.

Queen’s Gambit

Synopsis: Andy – the man who had built the Turk – build yet another machine. It’s a chess machine and he’s competing in an computer chess tournament to win a government contract with the military. But someone kills Andy – it’s the missing resistance fighter.

My Opinion: For some reason I expected the whole time that Cameron would challenge one of the chess computers. I know that they have to stay undercover and she’s a machine and has no emotions, but still, something in her eyes made me expecting it. I still don’t know what to think about the “FBI Terminator” / “Cromartie” yet because I have no idea what kind of plot they have for him in future episodes.

Dungeons and Dragons

Synopsis: Derek Reese, the resitsance fighter and brother of Kyle Reese, will die if his wounds aren’t treated. John contacts Sarah’s former fiancé from eight years ago because he is a paramedic. And while he tries to save Derek and learns the truth, Derek has dreams about his past (or future, depending on the point of view).

My Opinion: This was basically the introduction episode for Derek and since they’ve put that much effort in explaining his background I believe he’ll stay for a while. I like him, he seems like the right type to be a resistance fighter. And with every episode I like Cameron more.

Disc 2 – My Opinion: Either I have become more lenient or they didn’t make as many mistakes as in the previous episodes. I also think the addition of Derek and Charley could be interesting. But that depends on how long they will stay.

Disc 3

The Demon Hand

Synopsis: After he found the hand of the Terminator Special Agent Ellison begins to dig real deep into Sarah Connor’s file. He watches her video tapes from the mental institution and he tries to get in contact with Dr. Silberman, her psychiatrist during her stay there. Meanwhile Cameron tries to retrieve the Turk.

My Opinion: I liked this episode for two reasons. The first one is the nice wrap-up of the second movie. And even though it’s on “another timeline” I thought that this Dr. Silberman was very close to the one we saw in Terminator 3 shortly before he encountered the Arnie-Terminator for the third time.
But my favourite scene of this episode was when Cameron left the apartment after she got the information. This scene screamed at me “Never forget that she’s a machine, not a feeling, living being, no matter how she looks like.”. She protected them as long as she needed them and then they were of no more concern to her. To save them would have been an act of humanity and that’s not on her program.

Vick’s Chip

Synopsis: Derek finds the CPU of the previously destroyed Terminator and accuses Cameron of lying and she admits to it. After the argument is over, John tries to load the data from the memory chips to see what the Terminator was doing before he was destroyed. And there they find a connection to a project which can control the entire traffic infrastructure of Los Angeles.

My Opinion: This is one thing that has always bugged me on Science-Fiction series: That somehow all computer hardware and software is compatible and that they can communicate with one another. OK, Skynet and the Terminators are an invention of the human race but where did John even get a compatible interface port to plug the CPU in?
But that aside I liked the fact that both Cameron and Derek became a bit more grey (ok, we already knew he killed that Turk guy, but still).

What He Beheld

Synopsis: Sarah tries to purchase the Turk but the seller tries to blackmail her with her past and he’s watching John to make sure Sarah pays. But his plan doesn’t turn out as expected. Meanwhile Ellison discovers that Kester is a fake FBI agent and he tries to take him down.

My Opinion: Taking into account that it wasn’t planned as cliffhanger it was a decent one. It leaves quite a number of questions open that demand an answer and thus the viewer will most likely tune in “next year”. I especially wonder why Ellison is still alive. Is he important to Skynet or is it just because he was unarmed and no threat to Cromartie? But then again Terminators are not the Borg, why should he let someone live who can identify him? As I said, enough reason to continue watching.

Disc 3 – My Opinion: I like the show better with every episode I’m watching and the less time travel is involved the less mistakes with the timeline happen.

The Season – My Opinion: It’s not the best show in the world, but very enjoyable, especially due to the two female leads. I’ll continue watching it even though it’s likely to get cancelled after the second season.

It wasn’t planned as such, but in the last few weeks I have watched quite a number of Science-Fiction movies and a good part of them were “Doomsday” movies, so I might as well write a few words about them. Most of these movies are very, very US-patriotic but when you can accept that and when you can ignore the scientific “inaccuracies” you can have a lot of fun with them.

Independence Day

Will Smith   …    Captain Steven Hiller
Bill Pullman   …    President Thomas J. Whitmore
Jeff Goldblum   …    David Levinson
Mary McDonnell   …    First Lady Marilyn Whitmore
Judd Hirsch   …    Julius Levinson
Robert Loggia   …    General William Grey
Randy Quaid   …    Russell Casse
Margaret Colin   …    Constance Spano
Vivica A. Fox   …    Jasmine Dubrow
Adam Baldwin   …    Major Mitchell
Brent Spiner   …    Dr. Brackish Okun

Synopsis: July, 2nd. Some aliens come in a huge ship. They place their UFOs all over the world and blow everything apart. July, 3rd. We try to strike back and fail miserably. July, 4th. We give them a cold and blow them apart.

My Opinion: Great movie. Love it. It’s so cheesy that falls out of the bottom of the scale and comes back from the top of it. The characters are so overdrawn that you can’t take them seriously and that saves the movie. Imagine you would have to look at this movie with a serious eye. The president that fights in the final battle, the drunken pilot that saves the day, the scientist that writes a computer virus for an alien computer and Will Smith in the middle of it.

Armageddon

Bruce Willis   …    Harry S. Stamper
Billy Bob Thornton   …    Dan Truman, NASA Administrator
Ben Affleck   …    A.J. Frost
Liv Tyler   …    Grace Stamper
Will Patton   …    Charles ‘Chick’ Chapple
Steve Buscemi   …    Rockhound
William Fichtner   …    Colonel William Sharp, Shuttle Freedom Pilot
Owen Wilson   …    Oscar Choi, Geologist
Michael Clarke Duncan   …    Jayotis ‘Bear’ Kurleenbear
Peter Stormare   …    Lev Andropov, Russian Cosmonaut
Ken Hudson Campbell   …    Max Lennert
Jessica Steen   …    Jennifer Watts, Shuttle Freedom Co-Pilot
Keith David   …    Lt. General Kimsey
Jason Isaacs   …    Dr. Ronald Quincy, Research

Synopsis: A meteor the size of Texas in on its way to Earth and it’s hitting us in 18 days. It will be a ‘Global Killer’, the end of mankind. And there’s only one way to save us: Send a oil drilling team up there and blow it up from the inside with a nuke. But oil drillers are a tough crowd and not trained astronauts. Will this ever going to work?

My Opinion: This is another movie I enjoy a lot. It has a great soundtrack and a great look, I especially like the non-destructive effects, like the take-off of the shuttles and the look of the meteor. I also like the characters, they are so comic-like: Rockhound, Bear, Lev. This is also a movie one can’t take seriously or one can’t appreciate it. And although he was portrayed in a very chlichéd way, I liked it that Russia was allowed to help saving the world – whereas ID4 was basically an all-american gig.

Deep Impact

Robert Duvall    …    Capt. Spurgeon ‘Fish’ Tanner
Téa Leoni   …    Jenny Lerner
Elijah Wood   …    Leo Beiderman
Morgan Freeman   …    President Tom Beck
Maximilian Schell   …    Jason Lerner
James Cromwell   …    Alan Rittenhouse
Laura Innes   …    Beth Stanley
Leelee Sobieski   …    Sarah Hotchner

Synopsis: A meteor the size of ? in on its way to Earth and it’s hitting us in 18 days months. A spacecraft built by the Americans and Russians departs to intercept it, dig a hole and blow it up with a nuke. But it fails and now two huge pieces are still on their way to Earth and they will devastate most of Earth’s surface and kill billions of people.

My Opinion: Ironically this movie has – when using ten words or less – the same story as Armageddon and it came out in the very same year (1998) and yet it’s totally different. They have more time to intercept the meteor, they are sending real astronauts, it’s more serious about the whole topic and it shows more of the life on Earth during that time. But I have to confess, I like Armageddon more. I think this is a good movie, but due to its seriousness one has to be in the mood watch it.

Demolition Man

Sylvester Stallone    …    John Spartan
Wesley Snipes   …    Simon Phoenix
Sandra Bullock   …    Lt. Lenina Huxley
Nigel Hawthorne   …    Dr. Raymond Cocteau
Benjamin Bratt   …    Alfredo Garcia
Bob Gunton   …    Chief George Earle
Glenn Shadix   …    Associate Bob
Denis Leary   …    Edgar Friendly

Synopsis: Los Angeles, 1996. Detective Spartan arrests the maniac Simon Phoenix but several hostages are killed in the process. Both Phoenix and Spartan are convicted and brought to the new cryo prison. San Angeles, 2032. Simon Phoenix manages to escape during a probation hearing and causes havoc in a now peaceful world. Only an old-school cop like Spartan can stop an old-school criminal like Phoenix. But Spartan has a hard time to fit into a world where swearing is forbidden and Pizza Hut has won the franchise wars.

My Opinion: Yet another movie that takes itself too seriously. The action scenes between Sly and Wesley were quite enjoyable and the scenes between Sly and Sandra were really funny. I loved all those 80s references like Lethal Weapon, Love Boat and of course the side blow to Arnie and the “Schwarzenegger Library”. The question this movie asks is whether we really would like to live in a over-nurturing, perfect and boring world like this or whether would belong to Friendly’s rebels.

Daylight

Sylvester Stallone    …    Kit Latura
Amy Brenneman   …    Madelyne Thompson
Viggo Mortensen   …    Roy Nord
Dan Hedaya   …    Frank Kraft
Jay O. Sanders   …    Steven Crighton
Karen Young   …    Sarah Crighton
Claire Bloom   …    Eleanor Trilling
Vanessa Bell Calloway   …    Grace Calloway
Renoly Santiago   …    Mikey
Colin Fox   …    Roger Trilling
Danielle Harris   …    Ashley Crighton
Trina McGee   …    LaTonya
Marcello Thedford   …    Kadeem
Sage Stallone   …    Vincent

Synopsis: Chemical waste is brought illiegally through the New York-New Jersey tunnel. Thieves who have just robbed a jewelry store try to escape and ram these trucks. This causes an explosion and both sides of the tunnel collapse. Kit Latura, limo driver and fired chief of Emergency Medical Services goes in and tries to rescue possible survivors. But there are a lot of obstacles: The fires are still burning, the tunnel is getting flooded and the walls are caving in.

My Opinion: Technically this is not a Science-Fiction movie, but I was in the mood for another Sly movie and a lot of stuff gets blown up here. It’s a standard action no-brainer with all kind of action scenes, but also a lot of personal drama, like the decision when you actively have to leave someone behind and you’ll know he is going to die alone but there’s nothing you can do.
As you can see I watch a whole lot of movies that have plotholes the size of the moon and yet there are some story elements that bug me – even in such movies. In this one it was the mayor’s(?) decision to re-open both ends of the tunnel now. Why? Because the tunnel is an traffic artery and she needs to send cars through it again. — In reality such a tunnel would be closed for months for inspections and repairs even if it wouldn’t collapse the minute they open the ends.

Galaxy Quest

Tim Allen    …    Jason Nesmith
Sigourney Weaver   …    Gwen DeMarco
Alan Rickman   …    Alexander Dane
Tony Shalhoub   …    Fred Kwan
Sam Rockwell   …    Guy Fleegman
Daryl Mitchell   …    Tommy Webber
Enrico Colantoni   …    Mathesar
Robin Sachs   …    Sarris

Synopsis: Jason Nesmith is a former TV star who played the role of “Commander Taggart” in a show called “Galaxy Quest”. Now he attends conventions, gives autographs and opens electronic stores. His co-stars aren’t doing much better. But then some real aliens come to Jason in the believe that all the stories about the “N.S.E.A. Protector” and its crew are also real. And they need him and his crew to save their race.

My Opinion: I’ve been a Star Trek for a long time but I’ve never been that fanatic that I can’t enjoy a good parody or homage like this one or the german “USS Highlander” movies. I especially liked the well chosen cast with Tim Allen as Shatner copy (when the stone alien ripped his shirt off, he even walked like Shatner in TOS ), Rickman who is this Shakespeare actor and basically hates his GQ role by now, the tough Alien woman Weaver who is now doomed to repeat the computer and Rockwell as prototypical Redshirt. And of course the geeky fans who dissect every episode for canonical errors.

I, Robot

Will Smith    …    Del Spooner
Bridget Moynahan   …    Susan Calvin
Alan Tudyk   …    Sonny
James Cromwell   …    Dr. Alfred Lanning
Bruce Greenwood   …    Lawrence Robertson
Adrian Ricard   …    Granny
Chi McBride   …    Lt. John Bergin
Shia LaBeouf    …    Farber

Synopsis: U.S. Robotics is producing and selling robots that work under the Three Laws of Robotics. The current series NS-4 is soon to be replaced by the NS-5 series which have an constant uplink to the central computer and can receive updates this way. But for personal reasons Detective Spooner doesn’t trust robots and when one day on of the major scientiets of the robot project is killed, Spooner suspects that it was a robot who did it. But he is the only one who thinks so – until it is too late.

My Opinion: I’ve never read any of Asimov’s stories, which is a shame actually. But I knew the basic story and thought that they made a good movie out of it. Sometimes the action was a bit over the top, especially in the Spooner-vs-masses-of-robots scenes but on the other hand, if they would have used less it wouldn’t have felt right either, as they hadn’t enough money or computer power to render more. And they managed to let me feel empathy for the non-human character whose face was rendered based on Alan Tudyk (A Knight’s Tale, Firefly), who also spoke Sonny.

The Island

Ewan McGregor    …    Lincoln Six Echo / Tom Lincoln
Scarlett Johansson   …    Jordan Two Delta / Sarah Jordan
Djimon Hounsou   …    Albert Laurent
Sean Bean   …    Dr. Merrick
Steve Buscemi   …    James McCord
Michael Clarke Duncan   …    Starkweather Two Delta
Ethan Phillips   …    Jones Three Echo
Brian Stepanek   …    Gandu Three Echo

Synopsis: Lincoln 6 Echo and Jordan 2 Delta are two of few survivors of an environmental disaster. Now they live in an isolated facility with a few thousand other survivors and their only hope is that they win in the lottery and can leave for The Island, the last place on Earth where people can live directly under the sky. But Lincoln starts to ask questions because he has weird dreams he can’t explain and when he finds out the terrible truth, everything changes.

My Opinion: Some people compared this movie to Logan’s Run but I can see only a few minor parallels, IMHO not enough to really compare these movies. The movie basically flows by from one chase scene to the next. There’s not that much plot in it, but it’s enjoyable to watch.

The Day After Tomorrow

Dennis Quaid   …    Jack Hall
Jake Gyllenhaal   …    Sam Hall
Emmy Rossum   …    Laura Chapman
Dash Mihok   …    Jason Evans
Jay O. Sanders   …    Frank Harris
Sela Ward   …    Dr. Lucy Hall
Austin Nichols   …    J.D.
Arjay Smith   …    Brian Parks
Tamlyn Tomita   …    Janet Tokada
Sasha Roiz   …    Parker
Ian Holm   …    Terry Rapson

Synopsis: When a huge ice shell the size of Rhode Island breaks off the arcic shelf, Dr. Hall warns the scientific community that a climatic shift is coming. And it actually is but it comes even faster than Dr. Hall had expected it. But nobody believes Hall until it’s too late for many people. The north-atlantic current is breaking down and the temperatures in the northern hemisphere are quickly dropping below zero and people start to die by the thousands. And Hall’s son is stuck in New York, fighting for survival.

My Opinion: Luckily they haven’t translated the title or it would simply be called “Übermorgen” in german. What I liked about this movie is that the catastrophe actually happened. That they didn’t invent some astronomical blow-dryer to reheat the Earth. That they actually put the irony in it that the survivors of the so-called first-world countries had to seek refuge in the less developed countries. The one thing I didn’t like was that the Vice President survived, he caused so many death due to his ignorance and yet he gets the promotion.

War of the Worlds

Tom Cruise    …    Ray Ferrier
Dakota Fanning   …    Rachel Ferrier
Miranda Otto   …    Mary Ann
Justin Chatwin   …    Robbie
Tim Robbins   …    Harlan Ogilvy
David Alan Basche   …    Tim

Synopsis: There are some weird storms and some lightning hits the ground. Shortly after machines come out of the ground, machines that have been there since before the first houses were built there. And these machines, these tripods, destroy everything in their path and kill any human being. Ray, who has both his childs over for the weekend, does anything that’s necessary to protect his family and the first thing on that list is: running like hell.

My Opinion: The story War of the Worlds is well known – especially how it ends. And I liked it that they didn’t make a hero movie out of it. I think it was a great idea that Ray was neither hero nor anti-hero but just a regular guy who doesn’t know what to do just like the rest of mankind. Dakota’s character was a bit too annoying for my taste.
This was the first time I watched the DVD after I had seen the movie in the theatre and I enjoyed it again. But what someone else said is also true: If the Ferriers would have had a dog, the dog would have made it to Boston, too. 

So that’s it. I did watch WotW yesterday evening and as you can see in my signature strip I totally changed genre this morning.

Season 1

Disc 1

Pilot

Synopsis: The two theoretical physicists Leonard and Sheldon get a new Neighbour: Penny, a waitress in The Cheesecake Factory. And suddenly two galaxies begin to crash into each other.

My Opinion: I liked the series from the beginning, all these cultural references gave me a happy. But I also liked the small details like Howards’ belt buckle (this time a Nintendo gamepad –> look out for it, it changes from episode to episode!) and the “table of elements” shower curtain.

The Big Bran Hypothesis

Synopsis: After he’s seen the chaos that is Penny’s appartment, Sheldon cleans it (and Leonard helps him) during the night while Penny’s sleeping. Naturally she freaks out when she realizes what they’ve done.

My Opinion: I think every episode of the first season is funny as hell, so no point repeating it over and over again. The  best scenes of this episode were the discussion about Lois Lane’s fall and the re-design of the IKEA media center.

The Fuzzy Boots Corollary

Synopsis: After having no luck with Leslie, Leonard tries to ask Penny out to a date. But she totally misinterprets the invitation, thus not considering it a date.

My Opinion: I recognized Sarah Gilbert (Leslie; Darlene in Roseanne) at once but I needed a friend to really open my eyes. I didn’t think I knew Johnny Galecki (Leonard) from anywhere until my friend pointed out that he played Darlene’s friend David on Roseanne.

The Luminous Fish Effect

Synopsis: Sheldon gets canned after he’s insulted his new boss in his very own – and typical – way. But he uses his time off to invent new things the world was waiting for, e.g. a luminous fish as a night light.

My Opinion: First Sarah and now Laurie Metcalf (Jackie in Roseanne). It’s like family reunion. I am wondering where the authors get all these ideas, e.g. to make a physicists weaving his own poncho. It’s hilarious. I also find it terribly funny when Sheldons asks things or answers to questions with no regard to the appropriateness.

The Hamburger Postulate

Synopsis: After they been practicing with their classical instruments, Leonard sleeps with Leslie and is now torn between his fantasy about Penny and the prospect of having a real relatuonship with Leslie.

My Opinion: And again it’s Sheldon and his not having a clue about social conventions that makes me laugh the most (“Message received!”). But the entire banana scene was also really great.

The Middle Earth Paradigm

Synopsis: Penny invites the four – Leonard, Sheldon, Howard and Raj – over to a Halloween party and Leonard hopes that he can present himself in another light during that party.

My Opinion: Nerds. All the costumes were great and also the commentaries about them (Flashs walk in row; hobbit vs. elf; Robin Hood vs. Peter Pan) and I also really liked the closing scene.

Disc 2

The Dumpling Paradox

Synopsis: The group’s order is seriously disrupted when Howard makes out with a acquaintance of Penny’s and Penny becomes the fourth player of the “Halo” night.

My Opinion: I loved it when Penny kicked Sheldon’s ass, especially with the plasma grenade. But I have to point out that we’ve seen Sheldon sleep with his head towards the door a few episodes earlier.

The Grasshopper Experiment

Synopsis: Penny works one shift as a barkeeper now and she practices with the four guys when the unfathomable happens: Raj talks to her! And why? Because his parents try to pair him off with some indian girl.

My Opinion: All the alcohol-induced scenes were great, especially the one at the end. And it was also great to see how Sheldon swept her off her feet without knowing what he was doing.

The Cooper-Hofstadter Polarization

Synopsis: Leonard and Sheldon get an invitation to present their findings about a project to a wider scientific community but Sheldon is above such things and forbids Leonard to present it alone. But Leonard has no intentions of not going.

My Opinion: What did Penny have against Leonard’s clothes? I thought they looked decent. And while the remote controlling of the lamp and the stereo via Internet connection was really geeky I really liked it. It’s that kind of thing that proves that every man has a child in him – and why should we be as serious as women?

The Loobenfeld Decay

Synopsis: Leonard makes up a lie to prevent him from going to a play in which Penny’s starring. But Sheldon has the fear that she might see through it and constructs an entire lie web that sucks more and more people into it until it’s un-unravelable.

My Opinion: I nearly fell off the couch when “Leo” suddenly sat in the kitchen and Sheldon and he discussed the “origin of his drug addiction”. And the idea that he had to stay way longer to prevent the truth from coming out, it was great.

The Pancake Batter Anomaly

Synopsis: Alert: ‘Condition Red’! Sound ‘General Quarters’! Action Stations! Sheldon is sick! And while Leonard, Howard and Raj know exactly what that means and abandon ship, Penny has no idea and is on collision course with the iceberg.

My Opinion: I have to admit that Sheldon’s constant whining became a bit annoying over the course of the episode. But I liked all the scenes where the three tried to avoid Sheldon at any cost.

The Jerusalem Duality

Synopsis: A 15-year-old north-korean boy starts to work at the university and he is smarter than Sheldon! With all hopes lost to ever win the Nobel Prize Sheldon finally gets interested in what the others do but for reasons unknown to him, he always has to “go away”.

My Opinion: I liked the obnoxious Sheldon much better than the whiny one. But somehow I felt this was similar to The Luminous Fish Effect with Sheldon looking for new tasks. But the idea of moving Jerusalem to Mexico and the subsequent discussions about the Wailing Wall and the Promised Land were brilliant.

Disc 3

The Bat Jar Conjecture

Synopsis: The four are going to attend a science quiz – but not on the same team. Sheldon is leader of the “Army Ants” (AA), while Leonard, Raj, Howard and Leslie form the “Perpetual Motion Squad” (PMS). Let the best geek(s) win!

My Opinion: This was a great episode and I laughed a lot and the best parts were the janitor’s 15 seconds of fame and Penny’s very own quiz.

The Nerdvana Annihilation

Synopsis: Leonard wins an auction for a miniature time machine from the original The Time Machine. Unfortunately it’s not that miniature, the scale is more like 1:1. But that proves his geekiness to Penny (again) and he’s seeing it, too.

My Opinion: Another great episode. I liked all the time travel scenes, both real and imagined and I really liked how Leonard helped Penny to get down in the elevator shaft – even though it was only a dream.

The Pork Chop Indeterminacy

Synopsis: Sheldon’s non-identical twin sister is in town and she’s hot! And Rajesh becomes a test subject for a new drug to get rid of his shyness.

My Opinion: It was great to see how the three of them tried to hit on her. It was especially funny to watch Raj’s attempts and him dealing with the side effects of the drug.

The Peanut Reaction

Synopsis: Leonard has never had a birthday party because his parents didn’t think of it as a good concept. But now Penny’s going to change that. Leonard is getting a surprise party, no matter the cost.

My Opinion: What was a funny element here – no service personnel in the store and one customer has to advice another – is a sad reality in Germany. And I admired to what lengths Howard was willing to go to prevent the surprise from being spoiled.

The Tangerine Factor

Synopsis: Penny has dumped yet another boyfriend and Leonard has the guts to ask her out. But when she has agreed, both aren’t sure anymore whether this was actually a good idea. And there’s only one way to find out: Schrödinger’s cat.

My Opinion: This was a good conclusion to the season although it is quite obvious to me that something is going to happen at the date. After all, it’s the cliffhanger and it’s a sitcom. Ross and Rachel needed 10 years to finally make it.
I really liked the different reactions to the Shröderinger’s cat analogy. It pretty much summed it up what this year was about.

After I was done I was in the mood for a battle. Thus I started a mini-marathon under the theme
The Way of the Warrior: Strength & Honour.

The Charge of the Light Brigade
by Alfred Lord Tennyson

Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
“Forward the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns!” he said.
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

“Forward, the Light Brigade!”
Was there a man dismay’d?
Not tho’ the soldier knew
Some one had blunder’d.
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die.
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volley’d and thunder’d;
Storm’d at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of hell
Rode the six hundred.

Flash’d all their sabres bare,
Flash’d as they turn’d in air
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army, while
All the world wonder’d.
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right thro’ the line they broke;
Cossack and Russian
Reel’d from the sabre-stroke
Shatter’d and sunder’d.
Then they rode back, but not,
Not the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volley’d and thunder’d;
Storm’d at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro’ the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.

When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wonder’d.
Honor the charge they made!
Honor the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!

Gladiator

Russell Crowe … Maximus
Joaquin Phoenix … Commudus
Connie Nielsen … Lucilla
Oliver Reed … Proximo
Richard Harris … Marcus Aurelius
Derek Jacobi … Gracchus
Djimon Hounsou … Juba

Synopsis: General Maximus who has just conquered Germania is supposed to take the leadership of the Roman Empire after the emperor has died. But the emperor’s son kills his father, assumes the throne for himself and tries to kill Maximus. He can escape but becomes a slave and is being sold as “fresh meat” for the arena. There he makes a name of himself as “the Spaniard” until the day he faces the new emperor again.

My Opinion: Great movie. Loved it from the first time I ever saw it. Had to buy the extended version at once. Has a lot of quotable scenes in it that I can recite both in english and in german. While I am oppsosed to dubbing in general they did a great job with this, the german voice of Maximus is well chosen. I loved the battles in the arena, especially the “battle of Carthage”.

A Knight’s Tale

Heath Ledger … Sir William Thatcher / Sir Ulrich von Lichtenstein from Gelderland
Rufus Sewell … Count Adhemar of Anjou
Shannyn Sossamon … Lady Jocelyn
Paul Bettany … Geoffrey Chaucer
Laura Fraser … Kate the Farrier
Mark Addy … Roland
Alan Tudyk … Wat Falhurst

Synopsis: Will, Roland and Wat have a problem: their master, a former over-the-hill champion has just died during a tournament of jousting and they haven’t eaten for three days. Will decides to finish the joust in his master’s stead and succeeds. But what now? Now Will impersonates a knight and competes in the tournaments throughout France until he meets his greatest challenge at the World Championships in London.

My Opinion: I’ve decided to switch between more serious movies and more funnier ones. A Knight’s Tale is also a very good movie and watching it made me sad that Heath Ledger has already gone. The music is great and the story is funny and yet bears a certain seriousness,; it asks a very important question: “What makes a man ‘noble’”, a question that will come up again in Braveheart. I also liked how they used the music in the certain scenes (e.g. the dance scene).

Braveheart

Mel Gibson … William Wallace
James Cosmo … Campbell
Brian Cox … Argyle Wallace
Patrick McGoohan … Longshanks, King Edward I
Peter Hanly … Edward, Prince of Wales
Sophie Marceau … Princess Isabelle
Angus Macfadyen … Robert the Bruce
Catherine McCormack … Murron MacClannough
Brendan Gleeson … Hamish Campbell
David O’Hara … Stephen, Irish Fighter

Synopsis: William Wallace’s father and brother haven fallen in battle while he was young. His uncle has taken him to France and Rome but now he has returned home: Scotland. Scotland is ruled by the english king Longshanks but when an english magistrate kills Wallace’s wife he starts a rebellion and that rebellion escalates into a war for the freedom of Scotland.

My Opinion: The very first DVD I ever bought and one of the first movies I’ve watched in english. The movie isn’t historical correct but hey – it’s a movie and history is written by those who hanged their heroes. What I also liked about this movie was the fact that the people bled when they received blows by swords, axes and other sharp objects while in the sword-fighting movies of the fifties and sixties no wounds were to be seen. The good guy usually stabbed the bad guy in the belly and then the bad guy fell from a wall or a cliff. But not in Braveheart. Here throats are slit, extremeties hacked off and skulls are cracked open. But in the end, they’ve won their freedom.

The Three Musketeers

Charlie Sheen … Aramis
Kiefer Sutherland … Athos
Chris O’Donnell … d’Artagnan
Oliver Platt … Porthos
Tim Curry … Cardinal Richelieu
Rebecca De Mornay … Lady Sabine DeWinter

Synopsis: The Musketeers are disbanded and the protection of the french king is done by the Cardinal’s personal guard. But he plans to assassinate the young king and take his place. But there are three Musketeers that won’t give up: Athos, Porthos and Aramis – and a young man who wanted to join the Musketeers: d’Artagnan. Together they fight to protect the king: One for all and all for one.

My Opinion: I’ve been loving sword movies for a long time. Scaramouche, The Three Musketeers, The Man in the Iron Mask, The Count of Monte Christo. I watched them all long before they were remade in the nineties. This one I also enjoyed very much, but mainly due to the three original Musketeers and the brilliant Tim Curry. And I love the song sung by Bryan Adams, Sting and Rod Stewart. I can listen to it every day. The Three Musketeers was one of my favourite childhood books.

The Last Samurai

Ken Watanabe … Katsumoto
Tom Cruise … Nathan Algren
Tony Goldwyn … Colonel Bagley
Masato Harada … Omura
Timothy Spall … Simon Graham
Shichinosuke Nakamura … Emperor Meiji
Shin Koyamada … Nobutada
Hiroyuki Sanada … Ujio
Shun Sugata … Nakao
Koyuki … Taka

Synopsis: Captain Algren is a war veteran and a drunk. But then the japanese offer him 3 years of Captain’s pay for 6 month of work. His job is to train the new japanese army in the use of firearms. Although it isn’t ready this new army has to fight against the acient protectors of Japan: the Samurai. Many die in that battle and Algren gets captured by the leader of the Samurai: Katsumoto. During the winter he stays with them and learns about them. When he returns the next spring he has become a Samurai.

My Opinion: Another great movie about honour. I admire strong yet honourable warriors, that’s why I love the Klingons in Star Trek (from The Next Generation onwards) and the Jaffa like Teal’c in Stargate SG-1. The movie was a bit unrealistic in regards to wounds (especially Algren’s) but the battles were great. I adore the Samurai Katana. When I learned that Ken Watanabe would play the general in Letters from Iwo Jima I was excited.

Dragonheart

Dennis Quaid … Bowen
David Thewlis … King Einon
Pete Postlethwaite … Gilbert of Glockenspur
Dina Meyer … Kara
Jason Isaacs … Lord Felton
Brian Thompson … Brok

Synopsis: When the young prince Einon is dying, his mother persuades a dragon to give him half his heart. Although Einon has been taught about the old ways both by his mother and his sword teacher Bowen he becomes as ruthless as his father was. Bowen blames the dragon and becomes a dragon slayer. But then he meets Draco, the last of his kind. Then they take the fight to Einon because Draco has also a score to settle with him.

My Opinion: Sean Connery has done a marvellous job in voicing Draco (although the german voice of Mario Adorf isn’t that bad either) and Dennis Quaid is a great knight of the old ways. I enjoyed it very much and often forgot that Draco is “just an animation”. Funny thing is, this was the first time I ever saw David Thewlis and when he was cast as Remus Lupin in Harry Potter I was sceptical (because he was a bad guy here) but it worked very well (the fact that I don’t like the third Harry Potter movie that much aside).

Star Trek: The Motion Picture

William Shatner … Admiral James T. Kirk
Leonard Nimoy … Mr. Spock
DeForest Kelley … Dr. Leonard ‘Bones’ McCoy
James Doohan … Cmdr. Montgomery ‘Scotty’ Scott
George Takei … Lt. Cmdr. Hikaru Sulu
Majel Barrett … Dr. Christine Chapel
Walter Koenig … Lt. Pavel Chekov
Nichelle Nichols … Lt. Cmdr. Uhura
Persis Khambatta … Lt. Ilia
Stephen Collins … Cmdr. Willard Decker
Grace Lee Whitney … CPO Janice Rand

A huge cloud travels through Klingon and Federation space. Who or what that cloud is, is unclear, but nothing seems to be able to stop it. What is certain, is its course: It’s directly heading for Earth. Admiral Kirk takes once again the command over the Enterprise, which has just been refit for 18 monts. Because another thing is certain: The Enterprise is the only ship that can reach the cloud before it comes to Earth.

My opinion:
“The only ship available” is a running gag which goes through all shows and movies. But when the Enterprise is in the orbit of Earth it becomes a bit implausible. That aside I think the refitting of the Enterprise worked very well, it’s a very elegant ship. And one thing is a given: this movie dwells in its pictures, in great panoramic views of the Enterprise, the universe and V’Ger. I also liked that not everything was sunshine and sparkles. I liked it when McCoy told Kirk off for being arrogant and that Kirk wasn’t infallable. BTW: Have you ever registered the fact that the two movies where the final solution was not a gun fight were both TOS movies?

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

William Shatner … Admiral James T. Kirk
Leonard Nimoy … Captain Spock
DeForest Kelley … Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy
James Doohan … Cmdr. Montgomery “Scotty” Scott
Walter Koenig … Pavel Chekov
George Takei … Hikaru Sulu
Nichelle Nichols … Cmdr. Uhura
Bibi Besch … Dr. Carol Marcus
Merritt Butrick … Dr. David Marcus
Paul Winfield … Capt. Clark Terrell
Kirstie Alley … Lt. Saavik
Ricardo Montalban … Khan Noonien Singh

The Enterprise has become a training ship under the command of Spock. And Kirk can’t handle the fact that he getting old. But suddenly Kirk gets an emergency call from an old girlfriend because someone’s out there who wants to even the score.

My opinion:
Khan is the best advisary a Starfleet captain could wish for. Only General Chang can level with him and both happen to have an interest in english literature. As to Spock: As much as I hate it when they kill good characters I have the utmost respect for someone who can apply the third principle of sentient life*.
In my opinion there is a logic hole in the movie (although only a Trekkie would think of it) when it comes to Genesis: I can’t imagine that the Federation would really be willing to let the Genesis experiment go so far. The arguments McCoy used must have come up earlier and they had to see how dangerous such a thing could be.

*The third principle of sentient life is the capacity for self-sacrifice, the conscious ability to override evolution and self-preservation for a cause, a friend, a loved one.

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

William Shatner … Admiral James T. Kirk
Leonard Nimoy … Capt. Spock
DeForest Kelley … Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy
James Doohan … Montgomery “Scotty” Scott
George Takei … Hikaru Sulu
Walter Koenig … Pavel Chekov
Nichelle Nichols … Cmdr. Uhura
Merritt Butrick … Dr. David Marcus
Robin Curtis … Lt. Saavik
Christopher Lloyd … Cmdr. Kruge

Sarek – Spock’s father – is visiting Kirk because he hopes that Kirk bears Spock’s Kattra, his living soul. But it is McCoy who has the “honour”. And now Kirk and McCoy have to return to Genesis to get Spock’s body and return it to Vulcan.

My opinion:
In this movie hardly anything worked. It starts with the ground premise. If such a ritual would exist it sure would be a lot more complex and time consuming than that what we saw in II. It’s also unclear why the Genesis effect would cause the transformation of Spock’s body into a child just to let it grow old again. “Conveniently” until that age that it was before. I also didn’t like the Klingons. It may have worked back then, but since that we’ve learned so much about their culture that I have the feeling this Klingons were portrayed as primitive savages. And the fist fight in the end: It may have been ok back in the series but it wasn’t very convincing in this motion picture.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

William Shatner … Admiral / Captain James T. Kirk
Leonard Nimoy … Captain Spock
DeForest Kelley … Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy
James Doohan … Commander Montgomery “Scotty” Scott
George Takei … Commander Hikaru Sulu
Walter Koenig … Commander Pavel Chekov
Nichelle Nichols … Cmdr. Uhura
Jane Wyatt … Amanda
Catherine Hicks … Dr. Gillian Taylor
Mark Lenard … Ambassador Sarek
Robin Curtis … Lieutenant Saavik
Robert Ellenstein … Federation Council President
John Schuck … Klingon Ambassador
Brock Peters … Admiral Cartwright

After having stolen the Enterprise and having it blown up above Genesis, the crew has to return in the captured klingon Bird of Prey which Dr. McCoy ironically named HMS Bounty. On Earth they have to face charges of mutiny and theft of the Enterprise. But there is anothere traveler on its way to Earth with a message for its inhabitants.

My opinion:
The funniest movie of the series and I enjoyed it very much. This movie is packed with gags that play with the situation that a group of humans and aliens from the 23rd century has to blend in with the population of San Francisco in the year 1986.
What is regrettable is the fact that we haven’t learn anything since then. We still hunt whales for “scientifical purposes”.

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

William Shatner … Captain James T. Kirk
Leonard Nimoy … Captain Spock
DeForest Kelley … Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy
James Doohan … Capt. Montgomery “Scotty” Scott
Walter Koenig … Cmdr. Pavel Chekov
Nichelle Nichols … Cmdr. Uhura
George Takei … Cmdr. Hikaru Sulu
David Warner … St. John Talbot
Laurence Luckinbill … Sybok
Charles Cooper … Gen. Korrd
Cynthia Gouw … Caithlin Dar
Todd Bryant … Capt. Klaa

The new Enterprise is a single constructional defect. Nothing really works. But then something happens on the “Planet of Galactic Peace”, Nimbus III. The ambassadors of the Federation, the Romulans and the Klingons get kidnapped and the Enterprise must come to the rescue.

My opinion:
Most Trekkies say it’s the worst of all. I can’t agree with that. It is indeed far-fetched that Spock suddenly has a half-brother who is on a big emo trip. But other than that? A man who is on the search for God and gets on the wrong track – that’s not uncommon. And the movie had a lot of good sentimental moments as well as funny ones to compensate the former ones.
But they have a problem with deck counting. Since when does the number increase when you get higher? And 78 decks? But that was also a problem in Star Trek 8 and 10 (or it will be).

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

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 entire 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 four best Star Trek movies.

Star Trek: Generations

Patrick Stewart … Captain Jean-Luc Picard
Jonathan Frakes … Commander William T. Riker
Brent Spiner … Lt. Commander Data
LeVar Burton … Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge
Michael Dorn … Lt. / Lt. Commander Worf
Gates McFadden … Commander / Dr. Beverly Crusher
Marina Sirtis … Commander Deanna Troi
Malcolm McDowell … Dr. Tolian Soran
James Doohan … Capt. Montgomery “Scotty” Scott
Walter Koenig … Commander Pavel Chekov
William Shatner … Captain James T. Kirk, retired
Alan Ruck … Capt. John Harriman
Jacqueline Kim … Ensign Demora Sulu

2293. Retired Captain Kirk is invited to the ship’s christening of the Enterprise-B. But then the ships gets an emergency call from two refugee vessels and the Enterprise comes to aid. But on that mission Kirk dies. 2371. The Enterprise-D under the command of Captain Jean-Luc Picard gets an emergency from the Armagosa observatory. They find only a few survivors but they can’t conclude their investigation because the Armagosa sun collapses. And the Enterprise has to prevent that such thing happens again.

My opinion:
I don’t know. Personally I don’t think it is a good idea to bring these two crews together (i.e. it was only Kirk) with the help of a time distortion element. It felt constructed. And Captain Harriman’s incompetence was just a vessel for letting Kirk being the hero for one last time. I also didn’t like what was going on aboard the new Enterprise. Picard’s reaction to the death of his nephew – it wasn’t just like him, somehow it didn’t felt right. Additionally I hate Data’s emotion chip. The scenes with him were ridiculous and in the movies to come we becomes more and more a figure of fun.
The movie went up from the moment when Picard and Kirk met in the Nexus. But it also set another standard for a TNG movie. Picard fights every enemy with his own bare hands in the great finale and he kills them all – directly or indirectly.

Star Trek: First Contact

Patrick Stewart … Captain Jean-Luc Picard
Jonathan Frakes … Commander William Riker
Brent Spiner … Lt. Commander Data
LeVar Burton … Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge
Michael Dorn … Lt. Commander Worf
Gates McFadden … Commander / Dr. Beverly Crusher
Marina Sirtis … Commander Deanna Troi
Alfre Woodard … Lily Sloane
James Cromwell … Dr. Zefram Cochrane
Alice Krige … Borg Queen
Michael Horton … Lieutenant Daniels
Neal McDonough … Lieutenant Hawk
Marnie McPhail … Lieutenant Eiger
Robert Picardo … Emergency Medical Hologram
Dwight Schultz … Lieutenant Reginald Endicott Barclay III

The Borg are attacking the Federation and Earth again and the fleet can’t stop them. But then Picard finds a way to destroy the Borg Cube. At this moment a Borg Sphere can escape and it opens a tunnel into the past, to destroy the Federation before it was even founded. The Enterprise has no choice but to follow and try to prevent it.

My opinion:
While I Picard’s mourning in 7 didn’t felt believeable, I had no problem believing his hatred. I also thought it to be a good idea that he got out of it with the help of classic literature which is a known hobby of Picard’s. I don’t know if it’s a coincidence but movies that are based directly on the events of the series (II and 8) use Moby Dick as a basic plotline.
It was also nice to see how image and reality clashes when it comes to Cochrane.

Star Trek: Insurrection

Patrick Stewart … Captain Jean-Luc Picard
Jonathan Frakes … Commander William T. Riker
Brent Spiner … Lt. Commander Data
LeVar Burton … Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge
Michael Dorn … Lt. Cmdr. Worf
Gates McFadden … Dr. Beverly Crusher
Marina Sirtis … Commander Deanna Troi
F. Murray Abraham … Ad’har Ru’afo
Donna Murphy … Anij
Anthony Zerbe … Vice-Adm. Dougherty
Gregg Henry … Gallatin
Daniel Hugh Kelly … Sojef
Michael Welch … Artim

During a mission where Data isn’t assigned of the Enterprise, he gets damaged and his systems fall back to basic functions. In doing so he discloses a secret Federation base. This base is an observation station to monitor a small group of people who live in a remote and wild part of the galaxy. To prevent Data’s destruction the crew of the Enterprise tries to get Data under control again.

My opinion:
I actually like that movie. Spock always said that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one. Kirk couldn’t agree with that and neither can Picard. I like the question this movie asks. Admittedly the humor was sometimes … umm, well … (e.g. Data as lifeboat or the joystick) but other than that I liked it.
Only the ending could have been different but an ending where Rua’fo survives didn’t make it through the test screenings.

Star Trek: Nemesis

Patrick Stewart … Captain Jean-Luc Picard
Jonathan Frakes … Commander / Captain William T. Riker
Brent Spiner … Lt. Commander Data / B-4
LeVar Burton … Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge
Michael Dorn … Lt. Commander Worf
Marina Sirtis … Counselor Deanna Troi-Riker
Gates McFadden … Dr. Beverly Crusher
Tom Hardy … Praetor Shinzon
Ron Perlman … The Reman Viceroy
Shannon Cochran … Senator Tal’aura
Dina Meyer … Commander Donatra

The Enterprise is on its way to Betazed, to the wedding of Commander Riker and Counselor Troi. Suddenly they receive a rare positronic signature, a signature that is only emitted by androids like Data. On a lonely planet near the Neutral Zone they find B-4 a prototype of Data’s architecture. After that they get invited to Romulus by the new leader of the Romulan Empire. But this new Praetor is a surprise.

My opinion:
This entire movie is bullshit. If you count back, Picard wasn’t even Captain of the Enterprise when this clone was produced. And even if, according to the movie it would have taken at least 20 years before Shinzon could have become ready for use. In this time anything could have happend to Picard. But even if: The Romulans are one of the if not even the most paranoid races in this galaxy. And they get duped by a bunch of Remans (a race we hear of for the first time), they are able to build the greatest battle cruiser of all times and they manage to wipe out the entire romulan senate (that BTW had the size of the editorial staff of a student magazine)? And then this Shinzon accidentally finds another prototype of Dr. Soong’s.
I won’t even start with the ramming maneuvre or Admiral(!) Janeway.

Today it get’s a bit bloody.

Reservoir Dogs

Harvey Keitel … Mr. White / Larry Dimmick
Tim Roth … Mr. Orange / Freddy Newandyke
Michael Madsen … Mr. Blonde / Vic Vega
Chris Penn … Nice Guy Eddie Cabot
Steve Buscemi … Mr. Pink
Lawrence Tierney … Joe Cabot
Randy Brooks … Holdaway
Kirk Baltz … Marvin Nash
Edward Bunker … Mr. Blue
Quentin Tarantino … Mr. Brown

2 men return from a robbery that went bad, one of them badly wounded. In the course of time others also come back and they try to figure out what went wrong and why – that means, as long as they aren’t busy with threats of killing one another.

My opinion:
Tarantino movies are never shown in the order of the events that have taken place, this one’s no different. This one starts at the beginning of the second quarter, jumps to the third quarter and then fills the gaps of the first, second and fourth quarter. Of course one has to like Tarantino’s way of spilling blood or else one wouldn’t like this movie.

Pulp Fiction

John Travolta … Vincent Vega
Samuel L. Jackson … Jules Winnfield
Tim Roth … Pumpkin (Ringo)
Amanda Plummer … Honey Bunny (Yolanda)
Eric Stoltz … Lance
Bruce Willis … Butch Coolidge
Ving Rhames … Marsellus Wallace
Phil LaMarr … Marvin
Maria de Medeiros … Fabienne
Rosanna Arquette … Jody
Peter Greene … Zed
Uma Thurman … Mia Wallace
Duane Whitaker … Maynard

Vincent Vega has just come back from Amsterdam and he get’s two new jobs from his underground boss Marsellus Wallace: first he is to retrieve a certain suitcase of Marsellus’ and second to give Marsellus’ wife a nice evening. The boxer Butch gets only one assignment by Marsellus: to go down in the fifth round of tonight evening’s fight.

My opinion:
I would say that this is “the Tarantino movie”. Despite its unorthodox structure of storytelling it is clear in the end what happened and in what order. But because of this “unordered” structure the first-time-watcher can’t tell, when the movie is going to end and that makes it interesting.

Jackie Brown

Pam Grier … Jackie Brown
Samuel L. Jackson … Ordell Robbie
Robert Forster … Max Cherry
Bridget Fonda … Melanie Ralston
Michael Keaton … Ray Nicolette
Robert De Niro … Louis Gara
Michael Bowen … Mark Dargus
Chris Tucker … Beaumont Livingston
Lisa Gay Hamilton … Sheronda
Tommy ‘Tiny’ Lister … Winston

Jackie Brown is stewardess who flies for a small airline between Mexico and L.A.. Additionally she transports money for the weapons dealer Ordell Robbie. But one day she gets picked up by the ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) and they want Ordell.

My opinion:
While the order of events is pretty much straight up one nonetheless needs one or two convolutions of the brain to understand what plan is hidden in what plan which in turn is hidden in another plan.

Additionally there is practically no bloodbath, which is exceptional for a Tarantino movie.

Kill Bill: Vol. 1

Uma Thurman … The Bride
Lucy Liu … O-Ren Ishii
Vivica A. Fox … Vernita Green
Daryl Hannah … Elle Driver
David Carradine … Bill
Michael Madsen … Budd
Julie Dreyfus … Sofie Fatale
Chiaki Kuriyama … Gogo Yubari
Sonny Chiba … Hattori Hanzo
Chia Hui Liu … Johnny Mo

A member of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, Black Mamba, gets killed by her suqad during her wedding. Her husband, the guests and her unborn child also gets killed. Only that “the Bride” didn’t die but lays in a coma for four years until she wakes up. And then she takes revenge.

My opinion:
Great movie. I am a fan of samurai swords and movies in which someone figths with them. And the massacre of the Crazy 88 is perfectly choreographed.

The benefit of the Japan cut is that is fully colorized and it is slightly longer, e.g. one learns how and why Sofie lost her second arm. The drawback is that no subtitles are shown when they speak japanese. Watashi wa nihongo ga hanasemasen.

Kill Bill: Vol. 2

Uma Thurman … Beatrix Kiddo – The Bride, ‘Black Mamba’
David Carradine … Bill – ‘Snake Charmer’
Chia Hui Liu … Pai Mei
Michael Madsen … Budd – ‘Sidewinder’
Daryl Hannah … Elle Driver
Michael Parks … Esteban Vihaio

3 finished, 3 to go. The next in line is Budd, the little brother of Bill’s. After that Elle Driver and finally Bill himself. But suddenly there is a new element in the game.

My opinion:
I like this one as much as the first one but he is defintively different than the other. But I’ll admit than I have never watched them with a monthlong gap, i’ve always watched the second one as a double-feature with the first one.

The only thing I had wished for would have been a real end-fight between Beatrix and Bill.

Twins

Arnold Schwarzenegger … Julius Benedict
Danny DeVito … Vincent Benedict
Kelly Preston … Marnie Mason
hloe Webb … Linda Mason
Bonnie Bartlett … Mary Ann Benedict
David Caruso … Al Greco

Julius is a product of genetic engineering. He has six fathers and one mother. He is highly intelligent and extremely strong. He lives on a caribbean island until he finds out that he has a twin brother. Only that his brother is nothing like him.

My opinion:
For his first comedy he did well. But DeVito was a good partner and I am sure he he gave him a lot of tips.

Kindergarten Cop

Arnold Schwarzenegger … Detective John Kimble
Penelope Ann Miller … Joyce Palmieri / Rachel Crisp
Pamela Reed … Detective Phoebe O’Hara
Linda Hunt … Miss Schlowski
Richard Tyson … Cullen Crisp, Sr.
Carroll Baker … Eleanor Crisp
Joseph Cousins … Dominic Palmieri / Cullen Crisp, Jr.
Christian Cousins … Dominic Palmieri / Cullen Crisp, Jr.

Detective John Kimble Has been trying to arrest the drug gangster Crisp for quite some time now. Now he gets the chance, he has just to find his ex-wife, who went into hiding with their son. But for this he has to work undercover in a kindergarten.

My opinion:
My favourite comedy of Arnie’s alongside with True Lies. Everytime I watch this I find it amusing how he tries to get control over this little horde. That aside I think it’s a good idea to use twins as a single character. This way the kids don’t overwork themselves and the audience can’t tell the difference.

Last Action Hero

Arnold Schwarzenegger … Jack Slater / Himself
F. Murray Abraham … John Practice
Austin O’Brien … Danny Madigan
Art Carney … Frank
Charles Dance … Benedict
Frank McRae … Lieutenant Dekker
Tom Noonan … Ripper / Himself
Robert Prosky … Nick
Anthony Quinn … Tony Vivaldi
Mercedes Ruehl … Irene Madigan
Ian McKellen … Death

Danny is a movies fan and his greatest hero is the Cop Jack Slayter, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger. When Danny gets the chance to watch Slater IV in a small theatre before the premiere evening, he takes this chance. But suddenly is is in the movie instead of just watching it.

My opinion:
I don’t know if it was on purpose or not, but some parts of that movie, e.g. the mix-up between the virtual character and the real actor and the oversized figure did remind me of The Hard Way. Nonetheless I liked it, especially the references to “flesh wounds” and “neverending magazines” for guns.

True Lies

Arnold Schwarzenegger … Harry Tasker
Jamie Lee Curtis … Helen Tasker
Tom Arnold … Albert Gibson
Bill Paxton … Simon
Charlton Heston … Spencer Trilby
Tia Carrere … Juno Skinner
Art Malik … Salim Abu Aziz
Eliza Dushku … Dana Tasker

Harry Tasker pretends to be a computer system salesman who travels a lot and attends fairs. At home he as a loving wife and a pubertal daughter. But Harry doesn’t go on business travels of the usual kind. Harry is an secret agent who works for Omega Sector and one day his family is dragged into his second life.

My opinion:
The movie works very well because it doesn’t take itself seriously. The action spiced up with the humour is excellent. And seven years before 9/11 the Arabs-are-bad-terrorists-plot has not been used ad nauseam.

Junior

Arnold Schwarzenegger … Dr. Alex Hesse
Danny DeVito … Dr. Larry Arbogast
Emma Thompson … Dr. Diana Reddin
Frank Langella … Noah Banes
Pamela Reed … Angela

Dr. Hesse and Dr. Arbogast have developed a medicine that helps on difficult pregnancies. Pregnancies of women who had previous miscarriages. They tried in on monkeys but the FDA denies them the possibility to test it on woman. To escape this dilemma they induce a Expectane-based pregnancy in Dr. Hesse.

My opinion:
Aside from the fact that it wouldn’t work in a man with or without Expectane (in lack of an uterus and an umbilical cord) it was amusing to see the giant Schwarzenegger being pregnant with Skeletor right on his tail.

Jingle All the Way

Arnold Schwarzenegger … Howard Langston
Sinbad … Myron Larabee
Phil Hartman … Ted Maltin
Rita Wilson … Liz Langston
Robert Conrad … Officer Hummell
Martin Mull … D.J.
Jake Lloyd … Jamie Langston
James Belushi … Mall Santa

The only thing Howard Langston has to think about is getting his son a “Turbo Man” doll, the most wanted present this year. But he blows it and he tries to get one on Christmas Eve – a Mission Impossible.

My opinion:
This one I didn’t like that much, mainly because of the absurd action sequence at the end and the little “Annie”.

View Askew is the production company of Kevin Smith and the “View Askewniverse” is the movie universe that comprises of all the Jay and Silent Bob movies.

Clerks

Brian O’Halloran … Dante Hicks
Jeff Anderson … Randal Graves
Marilyn Ghigliotti … Veronica Loughran
Lisa Spoonhauer … Caitlin Bree
Jason Mewes … Jay
Kevin Smith … Silent Bob

Clerks tells the story of Dante and Randal who work in two close-by stores, a small convienent store and a video store. They don’t work much but instead they talk about sex, movies and former girlfriends.

Clerks was the first movie of Kevin Smith and was shot in black’n'white.

My opinion:
This movie is just too funny. How do you get such ideas? If you like Smith’s humour in general you will love this flick.

Mallrats

Shannen Doherty … Rene Mosier
Jeremy London … T.S. Quint
Jason Lee … Brodie Bruce
Claire Forlani … Brandi Svenning
Ben Affleck … Shannon Hamilton
Joey Lauren Adams … Gwen Turner
Renée Humphrey … Tricia Jones
Jason Mewes … Jay
Stan Lee … Himself
Brian O’Halloran … Gill Hicks, Suitor #3
Kevin Smith … Silent Bob

Brodie and TS have been left by their girlfriends. But both are usually just hanging out in the local mall, love comics and are playing video games. But aside from that both have the desire to regain their girlfriends even if that means, to attend a cheesy game show.

Meine Meinung:
Brodie has a real superhero sexorgan complex. Is Lois Lane able to carry Superman’s child or can only Wonder Woman do that? I had a great time with this.

Chasing Amy

Ben Affleck … Holden McNeil
Jason Lee … Banky Edwards
Joey Lauren Adams … Alyssa Jones
Brian O’Halloran … Jim Hicks – Executive #1
Matt Damon … Shawn Oran – Executive #2
Jason Mewes … Jay
Kevin Smith … Silent Bob

Holden and Banky are comic artists and the inventors of “Bluntman & Chronic” and they are the best friends. At a comic con they meet Alyssa. In the course of time Holden falls in love with her. The “only” problem: Alyssa is a lesbian.

Meine Meinung:
Joey Lauren Adams has a weird voice but she is plays a very interesting character. This movie is defenitively not the standard boy-meet-girl romance and that is a very good thing.

Dogma

Ben Affleck … Bartleby
Matt Damon … Loki
Linda Fiorentino … Bethany Sloane
Jason Mewes … Jay
Chris Rock … Rufus
Alan Rickman … Metatron
Jason Lee … Azrael
Salma Hayek … Serendipity
Kevin Smith … Silent Bob
Alanis Morissette … God
Brian O’Halloran … Grant Hicks
Jeff Anderson … Gun Salesman

Bartleby and Loki are two fallen angels who God had thrown out of paradise. Now they’ve found a loophole in the catholic belief system that would allow them to return. But that would mean the destruction of existence itself. Only the last descenand of Christ can prevent that, because God is currently incapacitated.

Meine Meinung:
This was the first movie I’ve ever seen with Jay and Silent Bob. The story is great and it has a lot of good actors in it.

Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back

Jason Mewes … Jay
Kevin Smith … Silent Bob
Ben Affleck … Holden McNeil / Himself
Jeff Anderson … Randal Graves
Brian O’Halloran … Dante Hicks
Shannon Elizabeth … Justice
Eliza Dushku … Sissy
Ali Larter … Chrissy
Jennifer Schwalbach Smith … Missy
Will Ferrell … Federal Wildlife Marshal Willenholly
Jason Lee … Brodie Bruce / Banky Edwards
Carrie Fisher … Nun
Seann William Scott … Brent
Chris Rock … Chaka Luther King
Wes Craven … Himself
Shannen Doherty … Herself
Mark Hamill … Cocknocker
Renée Humphrey … Tricia Jones
Joey Lauren Adams … Alyssa Jones
Jason Biggs … Himself
Matt Damon … Himself
James Van Der Beek … Himself

Banky has sold the rights for a “Bluntman & Chronic” movie to Miramax. But both characters are based on Jay & Silent Bob and these two want to prevent that movie at any cost. Thus a wild road trip from New Jersey to Hollywood begins.

Meine Meinung:
Practically everyone has made an appearance in this movie who has played in one of the previous movies. If need be in two roles at once. Even Suzanne, the Uran-Utan has his second appearance after that in Mallrats. Liked it.

Clerks II

Brian O’Halloran … Dante Hicks
Jeff Anderson … Randal Graves
Jason Mewes … Jay
Kevin Smith … Silent Bob
Jennifer Schwalbach Smith … Emma Bunting
Ben Affleck … Gawking Guy
Rosario Dawson … Rebbecca Scott
Jason Lee … Lance Dowds

10 years have gone since Clerks, the Quick Stop has burnt down, but other than that nothing has changed. OK, Dante’s going to marry and moving to Florida, but other than that nothing has changed.

Meine Meinung:
Not as good as the first part, but it’s still a good continuation.