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The Island of Dr. Moreau, a review by GSyren

Title	The Island of Dr. Moreau (5-037899-056325)
Director	Don Taylor
Actors	Burt Lancaster, Michael York, Nigel Davenport, Barbara Carrera, Richard Basehart
Produced	1977 in United States
Runtime	99 minutes
Audio	English PCM 2-Channel Stereo
Subtitles	None
Overview	Crewman Andrew Braddock (York) survives the wreck of the sailing ship The Lady Vain. After several days at sea in a lifeboat, he reaches the shores of an island governed by the mysterious scientist "Dr. Moreau" (Lancaster). Though welcomed as an honored guest by Moreau, Braddock finds his contact with the natives increasingly disturbing, for they are not like any men he has ever seen before. Eventually, it becomes apparent that these men are, in fact, the hybrid products of Moreau s experiments upon various species of wild animals. Braddock becomes so shocked and curious that Moreau explains to him that he has invented a serum with a genetic human gene that can transform many wild animals into human beings giving them human characteristics. Braddock finds himself threatened by both the 'manimals' and the sinister Moreau, who he suspects has plans to experiment on him.
My thoughts	Although this version of The Island of Dr. Moreau is technically very good, I really prefer the 1932 version (Island of Lost Souls). The makeups in this version look too much like Planet of the Apes
My rating

(From Reviews and ramblings by Gunnar on December 4th, 2014)

Gone With the Wind, a review by Tom

Title: Gone With the Wind
Year: 1939
Director: Victor Fleming
Rating: FSK-12
Length: 233 Min.
Video: Full Frame 1.33:1
Audio: German: Dolby Digital 5.1, English: Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1, Italian: Dolby Digital 5.1, French: Dolby Digital 5.1, Portuguese: Dolby Digital 1, English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1
Subtitles: Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish

Stars:
Vivien Leigh
Clark Gable

Plot:
This classic film narrates the love between Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler during the American civil war. It's the history of a selfish woman who doesn't want to admit her feelings about the man she loves, and finally loses him.

Awards:

Academy Award	1939	Nominated	Best Actor	Clark Gable
Academy Award	1939	Won	Best Actress	Vivien Leigh
Academy Award	1939	Won	Best Art Direction	Lyle R. Wheeler
Academy Award	1939	Won	Best Cinematography, Color	Ernest Haller, Ray Rennahan
Academy Award	1939	Won	Best Director	Victor Fleming
Academy Award	1939	Won	Best Film Editing	Hal C. Kern, James E. Newcom
Academy Award	1939	Nominated	Best Music, Original Score	Max Steiner
Academy Award	1939	Won	Best Picture	Selznick International Pictures
Academy Award	1939	Nominated	Best Sound Recording	Thomas T. Moulton (Sound Director, Samuel Goldwyn Studio Sound Department)
Academy Award	1939	Nominated	Best Special Effects	John R. Cosgrove, Fred Albin, Arthur Johns
Academy Award	1939	Won	Best Supporting Actress	Hattie McDaniel
Academy Award	1939	Nominated	Best Supporting Actress	Olivia de Havilland
Academy Award	1939	Won	Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay	Sidney Howard
Academy Award	1939	Won	Special Award	William Cameron Menzies (outstanding achievement in the use of color)
AFI	1939	Won	100 Years... 100 Cheers (2006)
AFI	1939	Won	100 Years... 100 Movies (1998)
AFI	1939	Won	100 Years... 100 Movies (2007)
AFI	1939	Won	100 Years... 100 Passions (2002)
AFI	1939	Won	100 Years... 100 Quotes (2005)	"Quote": After all, tomorrow is another day.
AFI	1939	Won	100 Years... 100 Quotes (2005)	"Quote": As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again.
AFI	1939	Won	100 Years... 100 Quotes (2005)	"Quote": Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.
AFI	1939	Won	100 Years... 25 Scores (2005)	"Composer": Max Steiner

Extras:
Commentary
Featurettes
Scene Access
Trailers

I never had the urge to check this movie out. But when the Blu-ray was on sale, I thought I should give it a try. It was never the length of the movie which put me off (after all an average Bollywood movie has a three-hours running time).
I think I will get some flack for this, but this movie bored me. I had to take a break half-way through and watched two other three-hour movies before I continued. I just couldn't connect with the characters and the plot just didn't reel me in. Scarlett is supposed to be an unlikable character (at least I think she is meant to be), but it isn't fun watching one of those for four hours.

Rating:

(From Tom's Unwatched Movies Marathon on June 4th, 2010)

Smallville Marathon #2, a review by DJ Doena

Synopsis: Clark hides out in Metropolis under the alias "Kal" and has become a criminal in order to finance his lifestyle. The Kents have to sell the farm, they and Lana are still looking for him. There's one person who knows where he is but she's promised him not to reveal it. Meanwhile Lex "lives" on a tropical island with some other guy and tries to get off it.

My Opinion: Great continuation of the story. Though I haven't understood why Jonathan and Pete didn't try to knock him out with Kryptonite. Ok, they did that last time but that proved to be successful. I understand that using the same plot twice is uncreative, yet if it were for real I doubt that they wouldn't have tried it again.
I also liked Michael's performance on the island, he did a better job than Tom Hanks (What a boring movie!).

Synopsis: Both Clark and Lex return to Smallville and both have to deal with what happened lateley. That means that Lex has to straighten out what really happened on that plane and if his wife had anything to do with it. And Clark has to deal with a Metropolis crime boss who threatens his parents and he has to apologize to a whole lot of people.

My Opinion: It was a good conlusion to this four-parter. Unfortunately it ends with Clark's break-up with Lana against her expressed wish and he is retreating into his shell again.
I liked to see Rutger Hauer in the role of the crime boss, if it were for me, it could have lasted longer than these two episodes but unfortunately he had to share the fate of bad guys who know Clark's secret.

Synopsis: A "meteor freak" attacks Lana in the school pool and a secret vigilante shoots him to death. He has killed before and his next target is Lex whom he believes to be a meteor freak, too. Clark can save Lex once again but that makes him also a target. Unfortunately the shooter has found Clark's Achilles' heel and he uses Kryptonite bullets.

My Opinion: I liked the theme of the episode: Are all meteor-infected people murderous freaks? If I were in Clark's position I wouldn't have told her (Lana) my secret either. Her point of view at the begin of the episode was quite firm and although she said that she wouldn't mind if Clark were bullet-proof (i.e. a meteor freak), I wouldn't be sure that she really wouldn't mind. This topic will surface again, especially in one of the key episodes of the fourth season: Pariah.
I also liked the Eastwood-y way he protected himself from the bullets and put Lana's mind at rest (at least for a while).

Synopsis: Clark has the weirdest day: He somehow can fly, he skinny-dips with Lana, Lex finds out his secret and a young girl is chased by a mysteriously hooded figure in the woods and disappears into the ground. But then he awakes, after he's been asleep for 36 hours. He learns that new neighbours have moved into Lana's old house and that there's a young girl in a coma.

My Opinion: I wonder what insurance company insures the Kent's truck and what garage does the repairing. It had been in several very heavy crashes and was even blown up. Maybe they just like the brand and the colour.
I liked the episode because it had a different angle than usual.

(From Smallville Marathon #2 on May 26th, 2008)