TAG | Die Hard
31
Purchase Diary 2012 – March
Chasing Amy (1997)
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01 Mar – €2.17 ($11.14) @ Amazon.com (partially paid via gift certificate)
Unfortunately this Blu-ray from the US is from Canada and Region-A-locked. I will have to get the British version after all.
Clerks (1994)
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01 Mar – €2.07 ($10.49) @ Amazon.com
A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas (2011)
01 Mar – €2.74 ($14.99) @ Amazon.com
Horrible Bosses (2011)
01 Mar – €2.14 ($10.99) @ Amazon.com
Chasing Amy (1997)
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06 Mar – €8.28 (£6.83) @ Amazon.co.uk
Categories: DVD / Blu-ray, Purchase Diary 2012
Tags: An Evening With Kevin Smith · Bones · Chasing Amy · Chuck · Clear and Present Danger · Clerks · Cobra · Demolition Man · Die Hard · Doctor Who · Eagle Eye · Fantomas · Glee · Going the Distance · Harold & Kumar · HOP · Horrible Bosses · House M.D. · Leverage · No Strings Attached · Patriot Games · Pirates of the Caribbean · Pulp Fiction · Red Scorpion · The Guild · The Hangover · The Hunt for Red October · The Italian Job
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9
TV Season 2009/2010 Diary, CW 18
Deutsche Version | CW 13-17 | CW 13-19
Chuck 3×15 Chuck versus the Role Models
Again, I’ve enjoyed this episode very much. Loved the tiger even without Mike Tyson.
I also liked the hint to an oncoming arc in the end. I strongly suspect that the Chuck gang and the Awesome family will soon cross paths again.
And I loved this little spoof of Hart to Hart (not to mention the blink towards LOST at the end) (warning: contains spoilers if you’re not up2date):
And here’s the original:
LOST 6×14 The Candidate
Just like with Supernatural they seem to be cleaning up the game board for the Grand Finale.
What disturbed me most about the Kwon’s death was not that it happened after they reunited after being apart for three years (bad things happen…) but that neither Jin nor Sun thought about their daughter at that moment, a child that will now be raised without parents. I understand that a little more from Jin’s perspective since he never saw his child and it was three years since Sun had been pregnant but Sun should have said something!
The Big Bang Theory 3×20 The Spaghetti Catalyst
I loved it how Leonard and Penny behaved like divorced parents (IMHO with switched gender roles – she takes him to Disneyworld and he has to deal with his nightmares afterwards) and how Sheldon – who loves them both – has a hard time deciding of whom to hang with.
How I Met Your Mother 5×21 Twin Beds
This story was not well constructed. I get that Barney and Ted might have regrets but how it played out was not well executed IMHO – especially since Don is basically an unknown to me. How often have we seen this guy? Three, four times? And now I should care about him?
I also didn’t like the twin bed story, it felt contrived.
Community 1×23 Modern Warfare
I can’t even count how many references this episode alone had – and still was able to tell a fully fledged story: First there were the named references to Friends and Cheers then it seemed like a post-apocalyptic movie, then Abed quoted The Terminator and fought like in The Matrix (including bullet-time at a later point), then there was this doomsday movie scene where people are warming their hands over a burning barrel in the midst of destruction (Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow), the mention of the Neutral Zone (Star Trek), The Prize (Highlander), the gun taped on the back (Die Hard) and I’m pretty sure Señor Chang’s golden guns were from some movie, too.
I’m also sure I did not mention every reference here nor do I think that I caught all of them. Two words: Absolutely hilarious.
Categories: TV Season 2009/10 Diary
Tags: Bones · Cheers · Chuck · Community · Die Hard · Doctor Who · Friends · Hart to Hart · Highlander · How I Met Your Mother · Independence Day · LOST · Smallville · Star Trek · Supernatural · Terminator · The Big Bang Theory · The Day After Tomorrow · The Matrix
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Deutsche Version | Januar (Part 1) | February
January, 16th
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.
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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30
Movie Watchings 2010 – January
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
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.
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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23
TV Season 2009/2010 Diary, CW 02-04
Deutsche Version | CW 01-02 | CW 04
Human Target 1×01 Pilot
The pilot episode certainly looked interesting. The action was well balanced above realistic and below unrealistic. It looks like as if it’s going to be Die Hard or Lethal Weapon in a series format and I certainly will watch more episodes of it.
“You wore a vest? Where’s my vest?” – “I’m your vest.”
24 8×01 – 8×04 4:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Dammit. I should have known better. I decided to watch the season en bloc when it is over. But I just had to peak a little and was already drawn back in…
I love Jack’s new “Are we done here? Can I go home now?” attitude. Of course they aren’t done and Jack can’t go home.
When I read that that Freddie Prince jr. (Wing Commander, Scooby Doo) – He married my Buffy, dammit!!! – would take the part of the leading CTU Field Officer I was a bit worried. But he has gotten older and looks like he can pull it off.
Of course there are again the typical 24 plot points like the incompetent CTU boss, the CTU member who has private problems and I am already wondering who the mole is – but that’s OK, it’s 24 after all.
What I also like is that – aside from the 24 alumni who have returned this season – these episodes feel like a huge School Reunion party: The aforementioned Freddie Prince jr., Katee Sackhoff (Starbuck in Battlestar Galactica) – looks gorgeous btw -, Paul Wesley (Stefan in The Vampire Diaries), Cliff Simon (Ba’al in Stargate SG-1), David Anders (Takezo Kensei / Adam Monroe in Heroes, Julian Sark in Alias), Jürgen Prochnow (Dune, Das Boot) and according to the CTU files Callum Keith Rennie (Ray in Due South, Leoben in Battlestar Galactica) will also appear anytime soon. 
Life Unexpected 1×01 Pilot
I was made aware of this series at least twice. The second time was a few days ago when blogs reviewed the pilot episode. But I’ve seen bits and pieces of this episode before – most likely in a trailer a few months back. And even though I had forgotten the show in the meantime I now remember that I decided back then that I’d give it a try.
I really liked the pilot. The characters are believable and down-to-earth. Even though the show runs on The CW this isn’t Beverly Hills 90210 or Gossip Girl, this is different. As with every show it now depends on what kind of storylines they are going to tell and how this triangle+attachments is going to work out.
Spartacus: Blood and Sand 1×01 / 1×02 The Red Serpent / Sacramentum Gladiatorum
Lots of nudity (male and female). Even more blood. Better you put a bucket below your telly in case it spills out of the screen. The optic leans more towards 300 than Gladiator, especially when there’s blood flowing. The problem is the story. These first two episodes show how Spartacus became a Gladiator but it didn’t give the viewer an idea what the entire show is going to be about. And that’s why I am not yet convinced. To quote Buffy’s Spike: “I love a good slaughter as much as the next bloke” but I also need a real story in between.
Time will tell … at least you now get the chance you never got with Xena: To see Lucy Lawless in the nude. 
Chuck 3×04 Chuck vs Operation Awesome
The only thing I’ve ever seen Brandon Routh in was Superman Returns but here he didn’t remind me of his character there. I like him as addition to the team because he could stir things up a little.
I don’t know if it’s just my imagination because they announced it but the show actually feels a bit less funny and a bit more serious. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still an Action Comedy and there’s plenty of fun in it. But the general tone during the spy action seems to have darkened a little since last year. I’m not complaining – I like it.
Categories: TV Season 2009/10 Diary
Tags: 24 · Alias · Battlestar Galactica · Beverly Hills 90210 · Bones · Buffy the Vampire Slayer · Burn Notice · Cagney & Lacey · Castle · Chuck · Cougar Town · Das Boot · Die Hard · Due South · Dune · Gossip Girl · Heroes · House M.D. · How I Met Your Mother · Human Target · Lethal Weapon · Leverage · Life Unexpected · Scooby Doo · Spartacus: Blood and Sand · Stargate SG-1 · Superman · Supernatural · The Big Bang Theory · The Good Wife · The Vampire Diaries · Two and a Half Men · White Collar · Wing Commander · Xena: Warrior Princess
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18
Human Target
Christopher Chance (maybe his real name, maybe not) is a bodyguard for special cases. He does not work when there’s only a vague possibility of a threat. When he’s called upon the threat is real and imminent. He does not openly pose as bodyguard but disguises himself in the proximity of the target and only reveals himself when it is absolutely necessary. This way he doesn’t get noticed but he notices his surroundings very carefully.
The pilot episode certainly looked interesting. The action was well balanced above realistic and below unrealistic. It looks like as if it’s going to be Die Hard or Lethal Weapon in a series format and I certainly will watch more episodes of it.
Warning, this trailer spoilers a lot of the Pilot episode:
Categories: Short Review
Tags: Die Hard · Human Target · Lethal Weapon
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