Topic: Tom's Random Reviews

[Tom]

Dawson's Creek: Season Six (2002/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia (United States) Director: Writing: Length: 1054 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Subtitles: Portuguese, Spanish

Stars:


Plot:
It's a season of discontent for the Dawson's gang, with broken hearts and interrupted dreams causing major friction for all. Joey and Dawson rekindle their romance but the flame quickly dies out when he reveals he had a romance with an actress in L.A. - the same actress who's coming to Boston to star in Todd's movie. Audrey's dad helps Pacey get a job and makes her singing debut with Emma's band, but her inner demons threaten to destroy everything. And Jen faces the biggest challenge of her life - one that will have a lasting effect on them all.

Awards:
Won:

Teen Choice Awards (2001)

TV - Choice Actor (Joshua Jackson)

Nominated:

Teen Choice Awards (2003)		Choice TV - Drama/Action Adventure
Teen Choice Awards (2003)		Choice TV Actor - Drama/Action Adventure (Joshua Jackson)
Teen Choice Awards (2003)		Choice TV Actress - Drama/Action Adventure (Katie Holmes)
Teen Choice Awards (2003)		Choice TV Sidekick (Mika Boorem)
Teen Choice Awards (2002)		TV - Choice Actor, Drama (Joshua Jackson)
Teen Choice Awards (2001)		TV - Choice Actress (Katie Holmes)
Teen Choice Awards (2002)		TV - Choice Actress, Drama (Katie Holmes)
Teen Choice Awards (2001)		TV - Choice Drama
Teen Choice Awards (2002)		TV - Choice Drama/Action Adventure
Teen Choice Awards (2002)		TV - Choice Sidekick (Busy Philipps)

Extras:

• Closed Captioned
• Commentary
• Scene Access
• scrapbook

My Thoughts:

I enjoyed this final season. Although it is not really something special, and I probably will not watch it again.
Like with my previous reviews, I will give some comments to the characters' story arcs. Spoilers ahead!

Dawson: Twenty year old boy on a movie set as the director's assistant, he becomes quite the success. It is really like they always forget that the characters are not the same age as the actors playing them.

Joey: Sleeps with everyone in this season. First Dawson. Then a new love interest (with which she has no chemistry whatsoever). Then Pacey. Then the love interest again. In the finale she ends up with Pacey again. Which was always my favored pairing.

Pacey: Last season he suddenly showed interest in cooking and became quite the success as a cook. This season he becomes a stock broker. With huge success. At the age of twenty and never showing interest in finances before. Quite a wunderkind, who is supposed to be the big failure among the characters.

Jack: Doesn't have to do anything this season, except having a relationship which goes nowhere. I am not sure what he did otherwise. Did he go to school? Did he work? He came a little short this season. At least he got a good send-off in the season finale. Getting together with Doug (Pacey's brother), who actually turned out to be gay, after being teased/hinted at the whole series by Pacey.

Jen: Falls for a boy, which I found she had no chemistry with. She had her usual angst.

Audrey: Probably the most unrealistic and clichéd downward spiral. The full program. Getting depressed (didn't really look like it). Starting drinking. Hitting rock bottom. Getting in and out of rehab. And getting out of it squeaky perfect. And all that in a few months.

The series finale was a perfect conclusion to the series though. It probably helped, that Kevin Williamson came back writing it. He is the creator of the series and was executive producer during the first two season after which he left to do other things.

#	Episode	Rating
01	The Kids Are Alright
02	The Song Remains the Same
03	The Importance of Being Too Earnest
04	Instant Karma!
05	The Imposters
06	Living Dead Girl
07	Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell
08	Spiderwebs
09	Everything Put Together Falls Apart
10	Merry Mayhem
11	Days Out of Days
12	All the Right Moves
13	Rock Bottom
14	Clean and Sober
15	Castaways
16	That Was Then
17	Sex and Violence
18	Love Bites
19	Lovelines
20	Catch-22
21	Goodbye, Yellow Brick Road
22	Joey Potter and Capeside Redemption
23	All Good Things..Must Come to an End

[Tom]

The Bourne Identity (2002/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Universal Pictures (Germany) Director: Doug Liman Writing: Tony Gilroy (Screenwriter), William Blake Herron (Screenwriter), Robert Ludlum (Original Material By) Length: 114 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, German: Dolby Digital 5.1, German: DTS 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Subtitles: Commentary, English, German

Stars:
Matt Damon as Bourne
Franka Potente as Marie
Chris Cooper as Conklin
Clive Owen as The Professor
Brian Cox as Ward Abbott

Plot:
A man (Bourne) is fished out of the Mediterranean Sea riddled with bullet-holes and with no memory of who he is. He makes the surprising discovery that he knows how to speak several languages, has plenty of money and passports in a safety deposit box, and he knows how to kill anything that moves. Retracing his steps, he finds himself being hunted by the government and, with the help of a pretty German globetrotter, he goes in search of his identity.

Awards:
Won:

ASCAP Awards (2003)		Top Box Office Films (John Powell)
Taurus Award (2003)		Best Work with a Vehicle (Francis Bateille, Gilbert Bateille, Alain Bour, Patrice Bour, Guy Chasseuil, Laurent Chasseuil, Yan Dron, Cyrille du Faut, Ludovic Dudot, Romain Ianetta)
Taurus Award (2003)		Best Work with a Vehicle (Sebastien Lagniez, Bruno Letrouit, Laurent Pailler, Pascal Roblin, Patrick Ronchin, Alexandrine Roux, Sebastien Seveau, Romain Thievin , Raymond Touroul)

Nominated:

Art Directors Guild Production Design Awards (2003)		Feature Film – Contemporary Films
Saturn (2002)		Best Action / Adventure / Thriller Film

Extras:

• Bonus Trailers
• Commentary
• Deleted Scenes
• DVD-ROM Content
• Featurettes
• Music Videos
• Scene Access
• Trailers

My Thoughts:

I am currently watching the fourth season of Chuck and in an episode I recently watched, Richard Chamberlain guest-starred. This and the series itself put me in the moot to rewatch Bourne Identity, though I didn't choose to watch the TV movie with Richard Chamberlain but the movie with Matt Damon. It has been a few years since I have seen it. It's still a great movie. I remember that the first time I saw it I thought that the action scenes were too fast. But now, after every movie has gotten much faster and you don't see anything anymore, I found this first Bourne Identity surprisingly well cut in the action scenes. You can see the action even though it is fast.

Rating:

[Tom]

Paul (2011/United Kingdom) IMDb | Wikipedia Universal Pictures (Germany) Director: Greg Mottola Writing: Simon Pegg (Writer), Nick Frost (Writer) Length: 104 min. Video: Widescreen 2.35 Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French: DTS 5.1, Italian: DTS 5.1, German: DTS 5.1, Spanish: DTS 5.1, Russian: DTS 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: Chinese, Commentary, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Icelandic, Italian, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish

Stars:
Mia Stallard as Young Tara
Simon Pegg as Graeme Willy
Nick Frost as Clive Gollings
Jeremy Owen as Sword Vendor
Jeffrey Tambor as Adam Shadowchild

Plot:
Simon Pegg and Nick Frost (Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead) reunite as sci-fi geeks taking a pilgrimage to America's UFO heartland. There they meet a smart-ass alien, Paul (voiced by Seth Rogen), who takes them on an insane road trip. As they struggle to return Paul home, the little green man might just take the outcasts from misfits to intergalactic heroes.

Extras:

• Commentary
• Featurettes
• Outtakes
• Photo Gallery
• Scene Access
• Wendecover

My Thoughts:

I have to admit I am little disappointed with this movie. I expected to enjoy it much more. But I found it mostly unfunny and unoriginal.
It's worth a watch, but not as much as I would have liked it to be.
The CGI for Paul is good. And Seth Rogen is okay as his voice. I expected to always see his face when hearing Paul, but it hardly was the case.
Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are again the perfect buddy couple though.

Rating:

[samuelrichardscott]

Certainly not as funny as Shaun of the Dead or Hot Fuzz. Ony one scene made me laugh out loud and that was the 'bird re-animation' scene but plenty others did garner chuckles. Overall, I still think it was above average (3.5/5) and I liked Wiig's character despite generally finding her almost unwatchable.

[Achim]

I share the sentiment that the trailer promised more, which the film didn't live up to. But then, that was almost to be expected.

There is indeed still good chemistry between Pegg and Frost and I hope they stick together. I also liked Jason Bateman a lot. Paul's CGI was incredible.

[Tom]

Just Go With It (2011/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (United Kingdom) Director: Dennis Dugan Writing: Allan Loeb (Screenwriter), Timothy Dowling (Screenwriter), I.A.L. Diamond (Original Material By), Abe Burrows (Original Material By), Barillet and Gredy (Original Material By) Length: 117 min. Video: Widescreen 1.85 Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, German: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Spanish: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Audio Descriptive: Dolby Digital 5.1, Catalonian: Dolby Digital 5.1 Subtitles: Danish, English, Finnish, German, Hindi, Norwegian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish

Stars:
Adam Sandler as Danny
Jennifer Aniston as Katherine
Nicole Kidman as Devlin Adams
Nick Swardson as Eddie
Brooklyn Decker as Palmer

Plot:
Danny Maccabee (Adam Sandler) meets the girl of his dreams (Brooklyn Decker) but has to enlist his loyal assistant Katherine (Jennifer Aniston) to rpetend to be his soon-to-be ex-wife in order to cover up a careless lie. When more lies backfire, Katherine;s kids become involved, and everyone heads off to Hawaii for a ridiculous, out-of-control weekend that tests the limits of how far we'll go for love.

Awards:
Nominated:

MTV Movie Awards (2011)		Best Comedic Performance (Adam Sandler)
MTV Movie Awards (2011)		Best Female Performance (Jennifer Aniston)

Extras:

• Commentary
• Deleted Scenes
• Featurettes
• Outtakes
• Scene Access

My Thoughts:

A nice rom-com with Adam Sandler, luckily without cross-out humor. Nothing special and of course highly predictable. I can recommend it to fans of Adam Sandler and Jennifer Anniston. They work very well together.

Rating:

[Achim]

I can recommend it to Adam Sandler and Jennifer Anniston. They work very well together.

You only recommend it to them...? They are in it, so they should know the film...

 

[Tom]

 
fixed.

[Tom]

Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Lions Gate Home Entertainment (United Kingdom) Director: Darren Lynn Bousman Writing: Darren Smith (Original Material By), Terrance Zdunich (Original Material By), Darren Smith (Screenwriter), Terrance Zdunich (Screenwriter) Length: 98 min. Video: Widescreen 1.78 Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: English

Stars:
Alexa Vega as Shilo Wallace
Paul Sorvino as Rotti Largo
Anthony Stewart Head as Nathan/Repo Man
Sarah Brightman as Blind Mag
Paris Hilton as Amber Sweet

Plot:
In the not so distant future – an epidemic devastates the planet. Out of the tragedy, a savior emerges: GeneCo, a bio-tech company that offers organ transplants... for a price. Those who miss their payments are scheduled for repossession and hunted by villainous Repo Men (Anthony Stewart Head, TVs Buffy: The Vampire Slayer).

In a world where murder is sanctioned by law and people are addicted to surgery, a sheltered young girl (Alexa Vega, Spy Kids) searches for the cure to her own rare disease. As she is sucked into the haunting world of GeneCo, she learns the truth about her family's mysterious history and witnesses the wildly anticipated spectacular event: The Genetic Opera.

Also starring Paul Sorvino (Goodfellas, Romeo + Juliet), Paris Hilton (House of Wax) and West End star Sarah Brightman and Directed by Darren Lynn Bousman (Saw 2, 3 & 4).

Awards:
Won:

Anatomy Awards (2009)

Best Nip Slip (Paris Hilton)

Nominated:

Fangoria Chainsaw Awards (2009)

Best Actor (Anthony Head)

Extras:

• Commentary
• Deleted Scenes
• Featurettes
• Photo Gallery
• Scene Access
• Sing-a-long Tracks (with Bouncing Heart)

My Thoughts:

I was disappointed with this movie. It's rather boring and the songs are mostly bad. There were only one or two songs which I kind of enjoyed. I hate it, that most songs are spoken instead of sung. The story didn't do anything for me.

Rating:

[Achim]

I was disappointed with this movie. It's rather boring and the songs are mostly bad. There were only one or two songs which I kind of enjoyed. I hate it, that most songs are spoken instead of sung. The story didn't do anything for me.

I bought this not all that long ago but haven't watched it yet. Now I wonder how I will like it...

[Tom]

Whip It (2009/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Lions Gate Home Entertainment (United Kingdom) Director: Drew Barrymore Writing: Shauna Cross (Screenwriter), Shauna Cross (Original Material By) Length: 111 min. Video: Widescreen 2.40 Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Subtitles: English

Stars:
Ellen Page as Bliss Cavendar
Marcia Gay Harden
Juliette Lewis
Kristen Wiig
Alia Shawkat

Plot:
WHIP IT, the directorial debut of Drew Barrymore, stars Ellen Page (Juno, Inception) as Bliss, a rebellious Texas teen who throws in her small town beauty pageant crown for the rowdy world of roller derby. Marcia Gay Harden (Mystic River, Pollock) plays Bliss' dissaproving mother, while Kristen Wiig (Saturday Night Live) and Juliette Lewis (Old School) play roller-derby stars.

Also starring Eve, Jimmy Fallon, and Daniel Stern.

Extras:

• Deleted Scenes
• Interviews
• Scene Access

My Thoughts:

Ellen Page stars as a teenager who goes against her parents wishes and instead of going to a beauty peagant she enters the brutal sport of roller derby.
I had fun watching this movie. This is Drew Barrymore's directorial debut and I think she did a good job.

Rating:

[Tom]

Transformers (2007/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Paramount Home Entertainment (Germany) Director: Michael Bay Writing: Roberto Orci (Screenwriter), Alex Kurtzman (Screenwriter), John Rogers (Story By), Roberto Orci (Story By), Alex Kurtzman (Story By) Length: 138 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.40 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, German: Dolby Digital 5.1, Turkish: Dolby Digital 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Subtitles: Commentary, English, German, Turkish

Stars:
Shia LaBeouf as Sam Witwicky
Megan Fox as Mikaela Banes
Josh Duhamel as Captain Lennox
Tyrese Gibson as USAF Tech Sergeant Epps
Rachael Taylor as Maggie Madsen

Plot:
From director Michael Bay and executive producer Steven Spielberg comes a thrilling battle between the AUTOBOTS™ and the DECEPTICONS.™ When their epic struggle comes to Earth, all that stands between the evil DECEPTICONS™ and ultimate power is a clue held by Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf). Join the fight for mankind in the extraordinary adventure that "features some of the most spectacular action and effects sequences of any movie of its kind and will appeal to the kid in all of us." Claudia Puig, USA Today

Awards:
Won:

BMI Film & TV Music Awards (2008)		BMI Film Music Award (Steve Jablonsky)
MTV Movie Awards (2008)		Best Movie
MTV Movie Awards (2007)		Best Summer Movie You Haven't Seen Yet
Saturn (2007)		Best Special Effects (Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Russell Earl, John Frazier)
Scream Awards (2007)		Jump form your seat Scene of the Year ("Megatron vs. Optimus Prime"
Teen Choice Awards (2007)		Choice Movie: Breakout Male (Shia LaBeouf)
Visual Effects Society Awards (2008)		Best Single Visual Effect of the Year (Scott Farrar, Shari Hanson, Shawn Kelly, Michael Jamieson (For the desert highway sequence))
Visual Effects Society Awards (2008)		Outstanding Compositing in a Motion Picture (Pat Tubach, Beth D'Amato, Todd Vaziri, Michael Conte)
Visual Effects Society Awards (2008)		Outstanding Models or Miniatures in a Motion Picture (Dave Fogler, Ron Woodall, Alex Jaeger, Brian Gernand)
Visual Effects Society Awards (2008)		Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects Driven Motion Picture (Scott Farrar, Shari Hanson, Russell Earl, Scott Benza)

Nominated:

Academy Award (2007)		Best Sound Editing (Ethan Van der Ryn, Mike Hopkins)
Academy Award (2007)		Best Sound Mixing (Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell, Peter J. Devlin)
Academy Award (2007)		Best Visual Effects (Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Russell Earl, John Frazier)
Cinema Audio Society Awards (2008)		Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Motion Pictures (Peter J. Devlin, Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell)
Empire Magazine Awards (2008)		Best Newcomer (Shia LaBeouf)
Empire Magazine Awards (2008)		Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Golden Raspberry Awards (2007)		Worst Supporting Actor (Jon Voight)
MTV Movie Awards (2008)		Best Male Performance (Shia LeBeouf)
MTV Movie Awards (2008)		Breakthrough Performance (Megan Fox)
National Movie Awards (2007)		Best Action/Adventure Film
Satellite Awards (2007)		Best Visual Effects (Scott Farrar)
Saturn (2007)		Best Science Fiction Film
Scream Awards (2007)		Breakout Performance (Megan Fox)
Teen Choice Awards (2007)		Choice Movie - Action Adventure
Teen Choice Awards (2007)		Choice Movie Actor: Action/Adventure (Shia LeBeouf)
Teen Choice Awards (2007)		Choice Movie Actress: Action/Adventure (Megan Fox)
Teen Choice Awards (2007)		Choice Movie Breakout - Female (Megan Fox)
Teen Choice Awards (2007)		Choice Movie Chemistry (Shia LeBeouf, and Bumblebee)
Teen Choice Awards (2007)		Choice Movie Liplock (Megan Fox, Shia LeBeouf)
Teen Choice Awards (2007)		Choice Movie Rumble (Josh Duhamel, vs. Blackout)
Teen Choice Awards (2007)		Choice Movie Villain (Megatron)
Teen Choice Awards (2007)		Choice Summer Movie: Drama/Action-Adventure

Extras:

• Commentary
• Scene Access

My Thoughts:

I grew up with the Transformers toys (Generation 1). But I never really followed the animated series. I only saw it a couple of times. I preferred the He-Man and M.A.S.K. cartoons.
I think this movie is great as a mindless action flick. There are some jokes which are cringeworthy, but overall the movie is fun. Of course it has some stupid plot which pulled me out of the movie a little. E.g. the stupid hacker who after a few seconds after putting in the alien signal has it decrypted (and even has the message in English). Or that it seems that the government is just telling anyone who is willing to listen about their top-secret encounter with aliens.

Rating:

[Tom]

Smallville: Season Ten (2011/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia (United Kingdom) Director: Writing: Length: 891 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, French: Dolby Digital 5.1 Subtitles: Dutch, English, French, Norwegian, Spanish

Stars:


Awards:
Nominated:

Scream Awards (2010)

Best Superhero (Tom Welling)

Extras:

• Commentary
• Deleted Scenes
• Featurettes
• Music Videos

My Thoughts:

Finally I got to see the last season of Smallville. It offers a nice conclusion. We see the relationship between Lois and Clark blossom. And it's fun to see a little spin on the relationship, as Lois is already aware of Clark's powers and is helping along the road to finally become Superman, and building up the disguise of "Clark Kent".
As I have mentioned in the past, I am a fan of the series Lois & Clark and its take on Clark being real person and Superman the disguise. Smallville goes back to the other way though, but it's fitting here.

#	Episode	Rating
01	Lazarus
02	Shield
03	Supergirl
04	Homecoming
05	Isis
06	Harvest
07	Ambush
08	Abandoned
09	Patriot
10	Luthor
11	Icarus
12	Collateral
13	Beacon
14	Masquerade
15	Fortune
16	Scion
17	Kent
18	Booster
19	Dominion
20	Prophecy
21	Finale

[Tom]

All Star Superman (2010/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Warner Home Video (Germany) Director: Sam Liu Writing: Dwayne McDuffie (Writer), Grant Morrison (Original Material By), Frank Quitely (Story By), Joe Shuster (Original Characters By), Jerry Siegel (Original Characters By) Length: 76 min. Video: Widescreen 1.78 Audio: German: Dolby Digital 5.1, French: Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1, Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1, English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Subtitles: English, German, Portuguese

Stars:
James Denton as Superman / Clark Kent (voice)
Christina Hendricks as Lois Lane / Superwoman (voice)
Anthony LaPaglia as Lex Luthor (voice)
Edward Asner as Perry White (voice)
Obba Babatundé as Judge / Bibliobot (voice)

Plot:
Fueled by hatred and jealousy, Lex Luthor masterminds an elaborate plot to kill the Man of Steel - and it works. Poisoned by solar radiation, Superman is dying. With weeks to live, he fulfills his life's dreams - especially revealing his true identity to Lois Lane - until Luthor proclaims his ultimate plan to control the world with no alien hero to stop him. Powers fading, Superman engages in a spectacular deadly battle with Luthor that could truly trigger the end of Earth's Greatest Protector. This startling and gripping DC Universe animated original movie stars the voice talents of James Denton, Anthony LaPaglia, Christine Hendricks and Ed Asner.

Extras:

• Featurettes
• Interviews
• Scene Access

My Thoughts:

Disappointing. Poor voice-acting and a boring story I didn't like. I was expecting something better, after the great "Superman: Doomsday" animated film.

Rating:

[Tom]

Enthiran (2010/India) IMDb | Wikipedia Ayngaran International (United Kingdom) Director: Shankar Writing: Shankar (Story By), Shankar (Screenwriter) Length: 177 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35 Audio: Tamil: Dolby Digital 5.1 Subtitles: English

Stars:
Super Star Rajni
Aishwarya Rai Bachan

Plot:
A human who is not born but is created. He can dance, sing, fight, is water and fire resistant. He can do all that a human can and more. He feeds on electricity. He takes instructions literally. Where a human can lie to save himself this andro-humanoid robot Chitti cannot lie.

Where he has a razor sharp memory and can memorize an entire telephone directory by just running through the pages, he cannot understand human emotions. Dr. Vasi upgrades Chitti’s processor and simulates human emotions without realizing the repercussions. Chitti gets transformed. He can now feel, and the first feeling that he discovers is Love.

Will this love come in the way of Dr. Vasi’s purpose of creating Chitti?

Will Dr. Vasi’s own creation destroy him?

Extras:

• Scene Access

My Thoughts:

This Kollywood movie is currently the most expensive Indian movie. From the cast I only know the female lead which is the Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai.
This movie is fun. Especially the inventive action scenes, even if the CGI used is not yet the same standard as in Hollywood productions. But I have to credit them how they managed to put the same actor with multiple roles in the same scenes without it being noticable. Besides playing the scientist who built the robot, the male lead also plays the robot. And also the hundreds of the replicas of this robot.
The action gets crazy at times. But the craziest (but fun) part was how the robot seeks out a mosquito and talks it into going to apologize for biting the girl. Sounds really crazy, but it is surprisingly well done.

Rating: