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westcrow2002
Reviews
Dollhouse (2009)
OMG! Why?
Was it really necessary to make television worse by creating Dollhouse? Can Eliza Dushku play any other character than Faith? Which begs the question__why didn't she just do Faith instead of Echo on Dollhouse? I wouldn't be surprised at all if FOX pulls the series after the 2nd episode. Dollhouse will most definitely tank. There is no doubt about that in my mind. The story line is flat, pointless and boring. I almost fell asleep watching the pilot. The other actors on the show don't seem to know how to act. Plus, did anyone notice that the lab used to reprogram people like Echo looks a whole lot like Wolfram and Hart from Angel? Speaking of another similarity I noticed that Amy Ackers formerly Fred/Illyria of Angel guest starred on the show. Joss, really. You could make this crap up but you couldn't create a movie to resolve the cliffhanger on Angel?
Friday the 13th (2009)
Eh ... the Friday the 13th remake was OK.
To be fair, Friday the 13th was somewhat entertaining. The film recreated and reinvented classic scenes from the original Friday the 13th movies such as the beheading of Jason's mother, Jason hiding his mother's head in his home, the red farmhouse, Jason finding and putting on the hockey mask and there's a little something at the end of the movie that is reminiscent of the end of the first movie. I won't tell you what that is though. Jason (played by Derek Mears) was more frightening than the previous incarnations. The deaths in the movie were the most gruesome I've seen in the franchise thus far. There is one scene that sticks to mind that I loved. One of the teen campers runs into one of those bear traps which look like metal jaws. He steps in it and it literally rips the flesh from his bones. Jared Padalecki did a great job as Clay Miller. In my opinion he stole the movie with his performance. I could have done without the stupid teen campers though. There were two sets of them and I disliked them both. They actually dragged most of the movie down. It wasn't until Clay (Jared) found his sister (Amanda Righetti) and they started running/fighting for their lives against Jason. I will say that if I were to choose between My Bloody Valentine 3D with Jensen Ackles and Friday the 13th, I'd have to go with My Bloody Valentine 3D. Sorry but that's just the way I feel. If you disagree please feel free to comment.
My Bloody Valentine (2009)
My Bloody Valentine 3D was Awesome!
I walked a couple of miles to the Bow Tie Cinema in Parkchester to see this movie. At 12 degree temperatures I nearly froze my butt off on opening day. But it was worth it :-) The movie keeps you at the edge of your seat. There's plenty of gore and horror right off the bat. The murder scenes are amazingly gruesome. Probably the best I've seen in horror flicks in a long time. My favorite is the one where the killer severs a girl's head by driving a shovel into her mouth.
Jensen Ackle's performance was superb and I'm not just saying this because I'm a huge fan of his. In the end you don't know who the killer is. It could be Kerr Smith who plays the sheriff or it could be Jensen Ackle's character Tom. It's up to a girl with a gun to choose who is who. I was not expecting the killer to be Jensen Ackles. It turns out the man has a split personality. He escapes in the end leaving us to wonder and hope that we get to see a sequel to this movie.
I rate it a ten out of ten for superb acting for everyone, the raunchy sex scene and most of all the suspense and horror make up effects.
Today I went to see it in 3D and all I can say is Wow! The quality of the 3D is the best I've ever seen. I don't think I've been this excited since I went on the Back to the Future ride at Universal. I can only hope that the DVD comes out in 3D as well. It actually felt like I was close to the actors. Let me tell you when the axe pick comes at you or the blood splatters you can't help but jump and be startled. It is extremely fun as well as horrifying. The story line is great. The actors, all of them are great, specially Jensen Ackles.
Christmas Cottage (2008)
Christmas Cottage was Superb!
I loved the story line. It was a wonderful family movie. There were some very touching scenes between Jared Padalecki and Peter O'Toole. I was very impressed with the film and with Jared's acting ability. I have to admit that the ending almost made me cry. Jared's character Tom Kincade is a college student and struggling artist who returns home for Christmas and helps his Mom avoid foreclosure on her home. He does this by painting a mural of the town in exchange for 500 dollars. The character's journey and inspiration to become a better artist is simply heart warming. I would definitely recommend this movie as a feel good family movie.
America's Next Top Model (2003)
Top Model has lost it!
Tyra Banks needs to teach these girls that it's not all about being beautiful on the outside. The inside counts for something too. A lot of the past winners have looked semi decent but are horribly cruel and starting trouble for the other girls. I see Tyra less involved with the girls in every season. About the only thing worth watching Top Model for is Mr. Jay Manuel. Recently, Tyra had a contestant who was a pre-op transsexual. I felt that she should have done more to encourage her. It was obvious that she had insecurities about her original anatomy showing through her feminine look. Tyra should have given her tips or perhaps she could have sent resident Trannie Ms. Jay to help the girl out. Instead, the contestant was met with harsh criticism and not enough positive criticism. It's a shame because I truly enjoyed the first 3 seasons. There's a reason why Project Runway has all 4 seasons out on DVD and Top Model only has 1 season on DVD. It's called taste. Top Model seriously needs a lot of revamping an some more humanity.
Desperate Housewives (2004)
Down hill.
Desperate Housewives began with a bang in season 1 but with a revolving door of cast changes starting in season 2 and the 5 year time jump, Marc Cherry might as well drive a nail through the series coffin. For the past 2 seasons, the series has had a number of recycled stories. The latest falls on Susan Mayer who is once again unlucky in love and having issues with her love life. Tom, Lynnette's husband is once again finding ways to liven up his miserable existence to his miserable hag of a wife. The show needs to end this season or next at the most. Further delays would severely cripple what remains of this one time hit.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993)
DS9 mimics real life
The original series is renowned for dealing with controversial subjects such as using a Russian an Asian and an African American on the ship of a starship. This was something that back in the 60's was considered jaw dropping almost as much as when Uhura kissed Kirk in one episode. See, back then Communist Russia and the U.S. weren't too cozy. The Japanese were basically put in these horrible camps (similar to Wantanamo)and well there was still segregation going on in those days between whites and colored. But the original Star Trek taught us something. It taught us that one day, we would all put our differences aside and work together towards a common goal and guess what? We did. Decades later, Star Trek Deep Space Nine came along and it for shadowed a terrible war that would decimate the federation. It allowed us to see just how far a race (the Bajorans) were willing to go to protect themselves from the invading forces of Cardassia. (Some would call the Bajorans terrorist but they considered themselves freedom fighters). When The Dominion war later introduced in season 4 parallels the war between the U.S. and IRAQ and it shows how in both real life and in fantasy, the people, innocent people, are the ones who suffer the consequences of shoddy leadership on both sides.
I think in some ways, DS9 kind of helped the American public prepare themselves for the events that were escalating in real life politics. And it allows you to appreciate both sides of the fence, and at the end of the series, you're left wondering who's the villain and who's the hero.
Star Trek: Voyager (1995)
Voyager wasn't that bad but it had flaws
Voyager is by far one of my favorite Star Trek series. Kate Mulgrew's performance as Janeway was great. I wish they'd done more with Robert Beltran's character Chakotay. He was utterly pointless in the series as was Garrett Wang's Harry Kim. The writers could have done so much more with those two characters. When the BORG were introduced to Voyager I was expecting a long story arc that might delve deeper into the origins of the BORG. Unfortunately, the writers played it safe and decided to give viewers 2 hr long stand alone movies. But that's been Star Trek's problem all along. All the episodes are practically stand alone. And whenever someone dies in one episode, no one seems to give a crap the next episode. The series finale I felt was great but the end part was unemotional. I think the fans deserved a lot better than seeing Voyager in the Alpha Quadrant for 2 minutes.
Supernatural (2005)
Reasons why Supernatural is awesome!
For the past 3 and a half seasons, Supernatural has kept me at the edge of my seat. Each episode is like a puzzle to a greater Supernatural Mystery. One of the things I love the most about the show is the camaraderie between actors Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki who's real life friendship translates into a superbly believable brotherly love on screen. The series mixes Supernatural horror (and I do mean horror) with a sense of humor now and then. The funniest of course comes from Ackles' smart ass Dean Winchester. The down to Earth drama is brought on by Padalecki's Sam Winchester. These two actors put me in tears when their dad died and later when Sam was killed (momentarily in season 2) and later in season 3 when Dean was killed. Recently Dean confessed to his brother that he hacked into people's souls while in hell working for the dark side. The acting was so incredible and the emotion so heartfelt that it melted any fan of this show's heart. If you haven't watched it, go buy the DVD sets. I've probably gone through season 1 and 2 twice.