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Louise-16
Reviews
Max Steel: Deep Cover (2001)
The next phase
With NTek forbidden from engaging in espionnage, Team Steel must figure out what to do.
Daredevil (2003)
Wonderful Valentine's Day action movie
I love this movie. I started out really liking it and my love for it grows every time I see it. While I realize comic book movies may not be for everyone, this is not a "mere" comic book movie. For one thing, it has an intriguing premise: a blind man who is also a superhero. It's also a love story, which made it a perfect release for Valentine's Day weekend (which was also President's Day weekend this year). Ben Affleck turns in a fine performance as lawyer Matt Murdock and superhero Daredevil. He makes it look natural, only getting melodramatic when it's called for. Jennifer Garner is wonderful as Elektra, Matt's love interest with a penchant for using sais. Colin Farrell is also perfectly over-the-top (he even admits in the DVD extras he played the character over the top) as Bullseye, the homicidal maniac who never misses. And Michael Clarke Duncan is also perfect as the Kingpin, the crime boss in charge of underworld activity in New York City.
As a comic book fan, I've always been an on-and-off reader of Daredevil - I'm more of a Spider-Man girl, myself - but this movie renewed my interest in the character and I'm now buying the book again. Comic book fans may quibble about Elektra's and Bullseye's costumes and Kingpin's color, but I encourage them to see past these minor differences and enjoy the spirit of the movie. For non-comic readers, I think if you like action flicks that are darker and have some romance thrown in, you will like this movie. It's a strong PG - I would suggest you preview it before you show it to the kids. But for adults this is almost a can't-miss movie. Unless of course, you hate lawyers, superheroes, mob movies AND romance, in which case don't waste your time. :)
Smallville (2001)
A pop-culture homage to itself and other pop culture
Like others, I was dubious about this show when I first heard it was coming out. "Oh, yet another version of the Superman story. Yawn." But I wanted to give it a try, and I'm glad I did. It does have its faults - Lex losing his hair at that young an age was a bit contrived; we could have continued to have the red-haired Lex, a la post-Crisis Superman. That's one of the few real faults I can find - that, and the show is either "Superman meets Spider-Man" (guilt at causing the death of innocents, however inadvertently) or "Superman meets Buffy" (strange phenomena in town, while teens deal with being teenagers). The casting is interesting and somewhat inspired - Annette O'Toole as Martha, and an actor who looks like a young Christopher Reeve in the right angle, both pay homage to the movies. John Schneider I would not have thought of as Jonathan Kent, but he really does a good job - they all do. The friendship between Clark and Lex is nice; I hope it grows before it turns. Yes, there is a mischievous turn to Lex, but it's possible to make too much of it at this stage. When Lex is handling Lana's necklace, the scene is very grim and Lex is obviously plotting. At this stage Lex can't know anything about Kryptonite or Superman or why the necklace seemed to make Clark weaker - did he actually put that together? If he's like most of us, he's probably thinking it was all in his (Lex's) head, if he noticed anything at all. But the audience is left in the predictable state of thinking Lex is plotting something devious with the necklace, which I guess he is, but only to put his friend in a good position with Lana. He has fairly innocent intentions, but we the audience put a darker intent to them because we know who Lex is going to turn into. But that's not the person he is NOW. I'm afraid there's a little too much of that in this series. The Lex we see right now doesn't necessarily agree with his father on things, and he just wants to be a friend to Clark. Already in the ads for the show, there's more made of who Lex will become than who he is right now, which is the Lex I'm more interested in because he's the Lex we've never seen.
All that said, this seems to be a very well done show, one which I will be watching for the foreseeable future.
Romeo and Juliet (1987)
The trials and tribulations of putting on "Romeo & Juliet"
While this movie isn't the play, it's still enjoyable. It's about a theater troupe that's doing the play, against the setbacks of a theater owner (Joey Silvera) who wants to, ironically enough, sell out to "porno movie people", and a lead actor (Jerry Butler) who's a little too full of himself. Robert Bullock and Nina Hartley turn in fine performances as the beleaguered director and his bisexual wife. And Tom Byron is great as the janitor who...but that would be telling. :) I didn't initially warm up to the lady playing Shelley, the gal playing Juliet - maybe it's the part; she comes off as a little whiny, but then Shelley hates her leading man, which would tend to throw off the chemistry in the play.
This is a porn movie with humor, good acting, and great sex. There's a fantasy scene that's a little off period, but they aren't the first to put Shakespeare in a different time period. Basically, you can't beat this movie.
Night Trips (1989)
Beautiful movie
This is a very nice movie stylistically, one that is somewhat different from other porn movies. The settings are unusual - one is a staircase. The various sex scenes that are dreamt by Tori Welles are shot in different color filters. During the sex scenes, you don't hear the actors - you only hear music. The drawback is that you actually have to be watching the TV (or know the story very well!) to know what's going on, but it's worth it to me. My husband and I have used this movie as a sensuous mood inducer on many occasions, and it gave us at least one idea for experimentation. Very artsy, but if you're into that sort of thing as we are, the experience will be rewarding.
(Better than the sequel too, we thought.)
The Piglet Files (1990)
One of my favorite shows!
It's about an electronics whiz (Peter Chapman) who gets a job with MI5, the British intelligence agency. They don't want to give him a code name, but when he is disappointed by that, they give him the name Piglet and he regrets it. His wife, Sarah, must be kept in the dark about what he really does for a living. There's a great scene in a season 2 episode where you discover that all the wives (there's only one female agent, regrettably) have been given different cover stories.
Great comedy, well acted, well written, and one of the best TV music themes I've ever heard! I'm so glad this show has come out on DVD; it's about time.