Topic: Tom's Random Reviews

[Tom]

Glee: Season Two (2011/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (United Kingdom) Director: Writing: Length: 940 min. Video: Widescreen 1.78 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Subtitles: English

Stars:


Plot:
Bring home the complete second season of TV's most exhilarating series! Despite their loss at Regionals, the kids in New Directions are more motivated than ever. And whether it's Will doing a sexy tango with a substitute teacher, Sue joing the Glee Club or everyone catching Bieber fever, the excitement at William McKinley High School is keeping everyone on their toes. With more incredible musical numbers, hugely popular guest stars like John Stamos, Carol Burnett and Kristen Chenoweth, and lots of behind-the-scenes special features, Glee Season 2 hits all the right notes.

Awards:
Won:

Golden Globe (2010)		Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television (Chris Colfer)
Golden Globe (2010)		Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television (Jane Lynch)
Golden Globe (2010)		Best Television Series - Comedy Or Musical
Primetime Emmy Awards (2010)		Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series ("Dream On": Neil Patrick Harris)
Primetime Emmy Awards (2011)		Outstanding Guest Performance in a Comedy Series - Actress ("The Substitute": Gwyneth Paltrow)
Primetime Emmy Awards (2010)		Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series ("The Power of Madonna": Jane Lynch)

Nominated:

Golden Globe (2010)		Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Comedy Or Musical (Matthew Morrison)
Golden Globe (2010)		Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series - Comedy Or Musical (Lea Michele)
Golden Globe (2011)		Best Television Series - Comedy Or Musical
Primetime Emmy Awards (2010)		Outstanding Comedy Series
Primetime Emmy Awards (2011)		Outstanding Comedy Series
Primetime Emmy Awards (2010)		Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series ("Wheels": Mike O'Malley)
Primetime Emmy Awards (2010)		Outstanding Guest Actress In A Comedy Series ("The Rhodes Not Taken": Kristin Chenoweth)
Primetime Emmy Awards (2011)		Outstanding Guest Performance in a Comedy Series - Actress ("Never Been Kissed": Dot Jones)
Primetime Emmy Awards (2011)		Outstanding Guest Performance in a Comedy Series - Actress ("Rumours": Kristin Chenoweth)
Primetime Emmy Awards (2010)		Outstanding Lead Actor In A Comedy Series ("Mash Up": Matthew Morrison)
Primetime Emmy Awards (2010)		Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series ("Sectionals": Lea Michele)
Primetime Emmy Awards (2010)		Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series ("Laryngitis": Chris Colfer)
Primetime Emmy Awards (2011)		Outstanding Supporting Performance in a Comedy Series - Actor ("Grilled Cheesus": Chris Colfer)
Primetime Emmy Awards (2011)		Outstanding Supporting Performance in a Comedy Series - Actress ("Funeral": Jane Lynch)
Primetime Emmy Awards (2010)		Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series ("Pilot - Director's Cut": Ryan Murphy, Brad Fulchuk, Ian Brennan)

Extras:

• Commentary
• Featurettes
• Interviews
• Music Videos
• Scene Access

My Thoughts:

Originally I had planned to do a Glee marathon, when the third season is released on Blu-ray in September. But I had the urge to watch an episode now. So I thought I'd make a slow marathon with an episode or so per week until September. But as soon as I started to watch it, I couldn't help myself and watched again the first two seasons. I have to admit, that I enjoyed it even more the second time around. Especially the early episodes of the first season, which I enjoyed a lot more than when I first saw them.

Glee is a show which has its flaws, but I still can't help but having fun watching it. Big part of that is the music numbers. When done well, they are integrated really great into the storyline. Sadly that is not always the case, but it is so for the most time in these first two seasons.

Also in this second season my favorite background characters from the first season have bigger roles now. Santana and Brittany. In the first season they were only supporting characters but in my opinion they were scene stealers even early on the series. They parts got bigger towards the end of the first season and are now part of the main cast.

The first season had Neil Patrick Harris as its biggest guest star, I guess. This time around this honor goes to Gwyneth Paltrow. She showed up in a few episodes and had some great song numbers.

As you can see in my ratings, I enjoyed the Rocky Horror Show tribute episode. But still I am a little pissed about them changing some of the lyrics because they were too raunchy for them. Especially jarring is it in "Touch-a Touch-a Touch me".

#	Episode	Rating
01	Audition
02	Britney/Brittany
03	Grilled Cheesus
04	Duets
05	The Rocky Horror Glee Show
06	Never Been Kissed
07	The Substitute
08	Furt
09	Special Education
10	A Very Glee Christmas
11	The Sue Sylvester Shuffle
12	Silly Love Songs
13	Comeback
14	Blame It on the Alcohol
15	Sexy
16	Original Song
17	A Night of Neglect
18	Born This Way
19	Rumours
20	Prom Queen
21	Funeral
22	New York

[Tom]

Eureka: Season One (2006/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Universal Pictures (Germany) Director: Writing: Length: 533 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78 Audio: German: Dolby Digital 5.1, English: Dolby Digital 5.1 Subtitles: English, German

Stars:


Plot:
Eureka takes place in a high tech fictional community of the same name, located in the U.S. state of Oregon (Washington in the pilot) and inhabited entirely by brilliant scientists working on new scientific advances. The town is operated by a corporation called Global Dynamics (GD), that is overseen by the United States Department of Defense. The town's existence and location are closely guarded secrets.

U.S. Marshal Jack Carter stumbles upon Eureka while transporting a fugitive prisoner (his own rebellious teenage daughter Zoe) back to her mother's home in Los Angeles. When a faulty experiment cripples the sheriff of Eureka, Carter finds himself quickly chosen to fill the vacancy. Despite not being a genius like most members of the town, Jack Carter demonstrates a remarkable ability to connect to others, keen and practical insights, and a dedication to preserving the safety of Eureka.

Awards:
Nominated:

Primetime Emmy Awards (2007)		Outstanding Visual Effects for a Series ("Pilot"
Saturn (2006)		Best Syndicated/Cable Television Series
Saturn (2007)		Best Television Series on DVD (Season 1)

Extras:

• Commentary
• Deleted Scenes
• Featurettes
• Outtakes

My Thoughts:

Also I enjoyed watching this first season, it was not something I am dying to continue to watch. Or will I be missing out on something?

#	Episode	Rating
01	Pilot
02	Many Happy Returns
03	Before I Forget
04	Alienated
05	Invincible
06	Dr. Nobel
07	Blink
08	Right as Raynes
09	Primal
10	Purple Haze
11	H.O.U.S.E. Rules
12	Once in a Lifetime

[Tom]

[tom]4260017064846.5f.jpg[/tom]

Paheli (2005/India) IMDb | Wikipedia ALIVE, Rapid Eye Movies (Germany) Director: Amol Palekar Writing: Vijaydan Detha (Original Material By), Sandhya Gokhale (Screenwriter) Length: 134 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35 Audio: German: Dolby Digital 5.1, Hindi: Dolby Digital 5.1 Subtitles: German

[tom]4260017064846.5b.jpg[/tom]

Stars:
Shah Rukh Khan as Kisan
Rani Mukherji as Lachchi
Anupam Kher
Juhi Chawla

Awards:
Nominated:

Filmfare Awards (2006)		Best Lyricist Award ("Dheere Jaina": Gulzar)
Filmfare Awards (2006)		Best Male Playback Award ("Dheere Jalna": Sonu Nigam)

Extras:

• Featurettes
• Music Videos
• Scene Access
• Trailers

My Thoughts:

This movie is a double-dip for me. When you read my old review for this, you will see that I talked a lot more about how horrible the transfer is, than I did about the movie. Now Rapid Eyes Movie released it, who is reliable to bring decent transfers of Bollywood movie. This is no exception. I am glad I double-dipped.

I still enjoyed the movie as much as I did the first time around. Maybe even more so. Rani and Shah Rukh were great as always.
My favorite song from this movie is Minnat Kare, which I bought a long time ago on iTunes and still enjoy listening to it.



Rating:

[Tom]

Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1995/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Artisan Home Entertainment, Hallmark Home Entertainment (United States) Director: Tibor Takacs Writing: Archie Comics (Original Characters By), Barney Cohen (Screenwriter), Kathryn Wallack (Screenwriter), Nicholas Factor (Screenwriter), Barney Cohen (Original Material By), Kathryn Wallack (Original Material By) Length: 90 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles:

Stars:
Melissa Joan Hart as Sabrina Sawyer
Sherry Miller as Aunt Hilda
Charlene Fernetz as Aunt Zelda
Michelle Beaudoin as Marnie Littlefield
Ryan Reynolds as Seth

Plot:
It's her 16th birthday, and Sabrina (MELISSA JOAN HART) is feeling a little strange. She just transferred to a new school, moved in with her two otherworldly aunts, and nothing is quite what it seems. Things can only get more complicated when Sabrina learns that she's a real witch. Now, she's got to make friends, memorize spells, and find a way to get a date for the school dance. It'll take a little hocus-pocus and a whole lot of adventure before Sabrina learns to control her powers and find true love.

Extras:

• Closed Captioned
• Scene Access

My Thoughts:

After watching the first episode of the series for my TV pilot marathon I thought I take the chance and rewatch the TV movie which came before it.
It's a nice movie. Strange to see it with real sets and outdoor location shooting instead of a sitcom set.
The aunts are played by different actors. Only two actors are here the same as in the series. Of course one is Melissa Joan Hart as Sabrina. The other one is the actress playing Sabrina's friend in the first season. She plays the same character here albeit with a different name.
Harvey is two separate characters in this movie. One is a geeky character called Harvey who is in love with Sabrina. The other one is a jock played by a young Ryan Reynolds. In the series they merged these two characters into one.
Another familiar face is Laura Harris (Daisy in Dead Like Me), who plays one of the friends of the Libby-type character. Though her role is really small.

Rating:

[Tom]

Superman/Batman: Apocalypse (2010/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Warner Home Video (Germany) Director: Lauren Montgomery Writing: Bob Kane (Original Characters By), Jerry Siegel (Original Characters By), Joe Shuster (Original Characters By), William Moulton Marston (Original Characters By), Jack Kirby (Original Characters By), Jeph Loeb (Original Material By), Michael Turner (Original Material By), Tab Murphy (Writer) Length: 78 min. Video: Widescreen 1.78 Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, German: Dolby Digital 5.1, French: Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Subtitles: English, German, Spanish

Stars:
Andre Braugher as Darkseid (voice)
Kevin Conroy as Batman (voice)
Tim Daly as Superman (voice)
Susan Eisenberg as Wonder Woman (voice)
Summer Glau as Kara (voice)

Plot:
Batman discovers a mysterious teen-aged girl with super-human powers and a connection to Superman. When the girl comes to the attention of Darkseid, the evil overlord of Apokolips, events take a decidedly dangerous turn.

Extras:

• Bonus Trailers
• Featurettes
• Kurzfilm: Green Arrow
• Photo Gallery
• Scene Access

My Thoughts:

I really enjoyed this one. Even though its title is Superman/Batman, this is more of a Supergirl movie. It is essentially an origin story for her. And who would be better than Summer Glau to voice her.

The Blu-ray also contains a short Green Arrow movie. This is the first time that I saw Green Arrow in something outside of "Smallville". I also enjoyed this movie. It also has a short appearance of Black Canary.

Furthermore it contains four episodes of the 90s Superman animated TV series. "Little Girl Lost (Part 1+2) introducing Supergirl. And "Apokolips...Now! (Part 1+2).

Rating:

[Tom]

I had to correct myself. Sadly not the series finale of Superman: The Animated Series is included, but a different two-parter with Darkseid.

[addicted2dvd]

I so could watch that film again! Loved every minute of it when I watched my copy. 

[Tom]

Spider-Man (2002/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (United Kingdom) Director: Sam Raimi Writing: Stan Lee (Original Material By), Steve Ditko (Original Material By), David Koepp (Screenwriter) Length: 121 min. Video: Widescreen 1.85 Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Audio Descriptive: Dolby Digital 5.1, English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, Catalonian: Dolby Digital 5.1, French: Dolby Digital 5.1, German: Dolby Digital 5.1, Italian: Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Subtitles: Arabic, Commentary, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Norwegian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish

Stars:
Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man / Peter Parker
Willem Dafoe as Green Goblin / Norman Osborn
Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane Watson
James Franco as Harry Osborn
Cliff Robertson as Ben Parker

Awards:
Won:

Anatomy Awards (2003)		Best Pokiosity (Kirsten Dunst)
BMI Film & TV Music Awards (2003)		BMI Film Music Award (Danny Elfman)
Empire Magazine Awards (2003)		Best Actress (Kirsten Dunst)
MTV Movie Awards (2003)		Best Female Performance (Kirsten Dunst)
MTV Movie Awards (2003)		Best Kiss (Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst)
Saturn (2002)		Best Music (Danny Elfman)
Teen Choice Awards (2002)		Film - Choice Actor, Drama/Action Adventure (Tobey Maguire)
Teen Choice Awards (2002)		Film - Choice Lip Lock (Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst)
Teen Choice Awards (2002)		Film - Choice Movie, Drama/Action Adventure

Nominated:

Academy Award (2002)		Best Sound (Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell, Ed Novick)
Academy Award (2002)		Best Visual Effects (John Dykstra, Scott Stokdyk, Anthony LaMolinara, John Frazier)
BAFTA (2002)		Achievement In Special Visual Effects (John Dykstra, Scott Stokdyk, Anthony Lamolinara, John Frazier)
Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards (2003)		Best Song ("Hero": Chad Kroeger)
Casting Society of America Awards (2002)		Best Casting for Feature Film – Comedy (Francine Maisler, Lynn Kressel)
Cinema Audio Society Awards (2003)		Outstanding Sound Mixing for Motion Pictures (Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell, Ed Novick)
Empire Magazine Awards (2003)		Best Director (Sam Raimi)
Empire Magazine Awards (2003)		Best Film
Grammy Awards (2003)		Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media (Danny Elfman)
Grammy Awards (2003)		Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media ("Hero": Chad Kroeger)
Hugo Award (2003)		Dramatic Presentation, Long Form
MTV Movie Awards (2003)		Best Male Performance (Tobey Maguire)
MTV Movie Awards (2003)		Best Movie
MTV Movie Awards (2003)		Best Villain (Willem Dafoe)
Online Film Critics Society Awards (2003)		Best Visual Effects (Danny Cangemi, John Frazier, John Dykstra)
Satellite Awards (2003)		Best Film Editing (Eric Zumbrunnen)
Satellite Awards (2003)		Best Visual Effects (John Dykstra)
Saturn (2002)		Best Actor (Tobey Maguire)
Saturn (2002)		Best Actress (Kirsten Dunst)
Saturn (2002)		Best Director (Sam Raimi)
Saturn (2002)		Best Fantasy Film
Taurus Award (2003)		Best Fight (Chris Daniels, Zach Hudson, Kim Kahana Jr., Johnny Nguyen, Mark Wagner)
Teen Choice Awards (2002)		Film - Choice Actress, Drama/Action Adventure (Kirsten Dunst)
Teen Choice Awards (2002)		Film - Choice Chemistry (Kirsten Dunst, Tobey Maguire)
World Soundtrack Awards (2002)		Best Original Soundtrack of the Year – Orchestral (Danny Elfman)
Young Artist Awards (2003)		Best Family Feature Film – Fantasy

Extras:

• BD-Live
• Bonus Trailers
• Commentary
• Featurettes
• Music Videos
• Outtakes
• Scene Access
• Trailers

My Thoughts:

After recently watching the new "The Amazing Spider-Man", I feared that the old one wouldn't hold up for me anymore. But I still enjoyed it just as much as I did in the past. Finally I also have a better picture quality. The DVD wasn't that great in this regard.

Rating:

[Tom]

Spider-Man 2 (2004/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (United Kingdom) Director: Sam Raimi Writing: Stan Lee (Original Characters By), Steve Ditko (Original Characters By), Alfred Gough (Story By), Miles Millar (Story By), Michael Chabon (Story By), Alvin Sargent (Screenwriter) Length: 136 min. Video: Widescreen 2.40 Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Audio Descriptive: Dolby Digital 5.1, English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, French: Dolby Digital 5.1, Italian: Dolby Digital 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Subtitles: Arabic, Commentary, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, Hindi, Italian, Norwegian, Swedish

Stars:
Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man / Peter Parker
Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane Watson
James Franco as Harry Osborn
Alfred Molina as Doc Ock / Dr. Otto Octavius
Rosemary Harris as May Parker

Awards:
Won:

Academy Award (2004)		Best Visual Effects (John Dykstra, Scott Stokdyk, Anthony LaMolinara, John Frazier)
American Film Institute Awards (2004)		Movie of the Year
BMI Film & TV Music Awards (2005)		BMI Film Music Award (Danny Elfman)
Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards (2005)		Best Popular Movie
Empire Magazine Awards (2005)		Best Director (Sam Raimi)
Saturn (2004)		Best Actor (Tobey Maguire)
Saturn (2004)		Best Director (Sam Raimi)
Saturn (2004)		Best Fantasy Film
Saturn (2004)		Best Special Effects (John Dykstra, Scott Stokdyk, Anthony LaMolinara, John Frazier)
Saturn (2004)		Best Writing (Alvin Sargent)
Taurus Award (2005)		Best Overall Stunt by a Man (Chris Daniels, Michael Hugghins)
Teen Choice Awards (2004)		Choice Movie of the Summer
Visual Effects Society Awards (2005)		Outstanding Compositing in a Motion Picture (Colin Drobnis, Greg Derochie, Blaine Kennison, Ken Lam (For the train sequence))
Visual Effects Society Awards (2005)		Outstanding Created Environment in a Live Act on Motion Picture (Dan Abrams, David Emery, Andrew Nawrot, John Hart (For the NYC street, night))
Visual Effects Society Awards (2005)		Outstanding Performance by an Actor or Actress in a Visual Effects Film (Alfred Molina)

Nominated:

Academy Award (2004)		Best Sound Editing (Paul Ottosson)
Academy Award (2004)		Best Sound Mixing (Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell, Jeffrey J. Haboush, Joseph Geisinger)
AFI (2003)		100 Years... 100 Cheers (2006)
BAFTA (2004)		Achievement In Special Visual Effects (John Dykstra, Scott Stokdyk, Anthony La Molinara, John Frazier)
BAFTA (2004)		Sound (Paul Ottosson)
Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards (2005)		Best Family Film (Live Action)
Cinema Audio Society Awards (2005)		Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Motion Pictures (Joseph Geisinger, Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell, Jeffrey J. Haboush)
Empire Magazine Awards (2005)		Best Actor (Tobey Maguire)
Empire Magazine Awards (2005)		Best Actress (Kirsten Dunst)
Empire Magazine Awards (2005)		Best Film
Hugo Award (2005)		Dramatic Presentation, Long Form
MTV Movie Awards (2005)		Best Action Sequence
MTV Movie Awards (2005)		Best Movie
MTV Movie Awards (2005)		Best Video Game Based on a Movie
MTV Movie Awards (2005)		Best Villain (Alfred Molina)
Satellite Awards (2005)		Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Drama (Alfred Molina)
Satellite Awards (2005)		Best Cinematography (Bill Pope, Anette Haellmigk)
Satellite Awards (2005)		Best Film Editing (Bob Murawski)
Satellite Awards (2005)		Best Original Score (Danny Elfman)
Satellite Awards (2005)		Best Sound (Editing & Mixing) (Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell, Jeffrey J. Haboush, Joseph Geisinger, Paul Ottosson, Susan Dudeck)
Satellite Awards (2005)		Best Visual Effects (John Dykstra, Scott Stokdyk, Anthony LaMolinara, John Frazier)
Saturn (2004)		Best Music (Danny Elfman)
Saturn (2004)		Best Supporting Actor (Alfred Molina)
Taurus Award (2005)		Best Specialty Stunt (Tim Storms, Garrett Warren, Susie Park, Patricia M. Peters, Norb Phillips, Lisa Hoyle, Kevin L. Jackson, Clay Donahue Fontenot)
Taurus Award (2005)		Best Work with a Vehicle (Tad Griffith, Richard Burden, Scott Rogers, Darrin Prescott, Mark Norby)
Teen Choice Awards (2005)		Choice Movie Bad Guy (Alfred Molina)
Visual Effects Society Awards (2005)		Best Single Visual Effect of the Year (John Dykstra, Lydia Bottegoni, Dan Abrams, John Monos (For the clock tower))
Visual Effects Society Awards (2005)		Outstanding Special Effects in Service to Visual Effects in a Motion Picture (John Frazier, James D. Schwalm, James Nagle, David Amborn)
Visual Effects Society Awards (2005)		Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects Driven Motion Picture (John Dykstra, Lydia Bottegoni, Anthony LaMolinara, Scott Stokdyk)

Extras:

• Bonus Trailers
• Commentary
• Featurettes
• Outtakes
• Scene Access
• Theatrical and Extended Versions

My Thoughts:

Usually I enjoyed Spider-Man 2 even more than the first one. But not this time around. It may be because now I watched the extended cut for the first time. The pacing seemed to be off a lot. Especially where the new or extended scenes where inserted. There is nothing new which adds to the story. It is just the opposite: The movie comes to a complete stop often in these new scenes. For example the old elevator scene was much funnier (albeit shorter) than the new scene. The only new scene which I found interesting to watch is where J.J. Jameson is wearing the Spidey outfit.

Rating:

[Tom]

Spider-Man 3 (2007/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (United Kingdom) Director: Sam Raimi Writing: Stan Lee (Original Material By), Steve Ditko (Original Material By), Sam Raimi (Original Material By), Ivan Raimi (Original Material By), Sam Raimi (Screenwriter), Ivan Raimi (Screenwriter), Alvin Sargent (Screenwriter) Length: 138 min. Video: Widescreen 2.40 Audio: English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1, English: PCM 5.1, Audio Descriptive: Dolby Digital 5.1, Czech: Dolby Digital 5.1, Hungarian: Dolby Digital 5.1, Russian: Dolby Digital 5.1, Polish: Dolby Digital 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Subtitles: Arabic, Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Slovenian, Swedish, Turkish

Stars:
Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man/Peter Parker
Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane Watson
James Franco as New Goblin/Harry Osborn
Thomas Haden Church as Sandman/Flint Marko
Topher Grace as Venom/Eddie Brock

Awards:
Won:

BMI Film & TV Music Awards (2008)		BMI Film Music Award (Christopher Young)
Scream Awards (2007)		Best Superhero (Tobey Maguire)

Nominated:

Annie Awards (2007)		Individual Achievment - Animated Effects (Ryan Laney)
BAFTA (2007)		Special Visual Effects (Scott Stokdyk, Peter Nofz, Spencer Cook, John Frazier)
MTV Movie Awards (2008)		Best Fight (Tobey Maguire, James Franco)
MTV Movie Awards (2008)		Best Villain (Topher Grace)
National Movie Awards (2007)		Best Family Film
Saturn (2007)		Best Direction (Sam Raimi)
Saturn (2007)		Best Fantasy Film
Saturn (2007)		Best Special Effects (Scott Stokdyk, Peter Nofz, Spencer Cook, John Frazier)
Saturn (2007)		Best Supporting Actor (James Franco)
Scream Awards (2007)		Jump form your seat Scene of the Year ("Spider Man vs. The New Goblin"
Scream Awards (2007)		Most Vile Villian (Thomas Haden Church, Topher Grace)
Scream Awards (2007)		The Ultimate Scream
Teen Choice Awards (2007)		Choice Movie - Action Adventure
Teen Choice Awards (2007)		Choice Movie Actor: Action/Adventure (Tobey Maguire)
Teen Choice Awards (2007)		Choice Movie Actress: Action/Adventure (Kirsten Dunst)
Teen Choice Awards (2007)		Choice Movie Liplock (Kirsten Dunst, Tobey Maguire)
Teen Choice Awards (2007)		Choice Movie Rumble (Tobey Maguire, James Franco, Topher Grace, Thomas Haden Church)
Teen Choice Awards (2007)		Choice Movie Villain (Topher Grace)
Teen Choice Awards (2007)		Choice Movie: Dance (Tobey Maguire)
Visual Effects Society Awards (2008)		Best Single Visual Effect of the Year (Scott Stokdyk, Terry Clotiaux, Spencer Cook, Doug Bloom (For the birth of Sandman))
Visual Effects Society Awards (2008)		Outstanding Models or Miniatures in a Motion Picture (Ian Hunter, Scott Beverly, Forest Fischer, Ray Moore (For the building/crane destruction miniature and effects))
Visual Effects Society Awards (2008)		Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects Driven Motion Picture (Scott Stokdyk, Terry Clotiaux, Peter Nofz, Spencer Cook)

Extras:

• Bonus Trailers
• Commentary
• Music Videos
• Outtakes
• Photo Gallery
• Scene Access

My Thoughts:

When the movie was first released, I was really disappointed with it. Now a few years later I thought I'd give it another chance. It is better than I remembered it being. But it has its major flaws. Biggest of which is the handling of Venom and Peter Parker's affection with the symbiont. I have the feeling it is the director's way of saying "screw you" to the studio executives who insisted to include Venom against the director's wishes.
In this movie also Gwen Stacy appears, played by Bryce Dallas Howard. I enjoyed Emma Stone's portayal of her in the new Spider-Man movie much more, though.

Rating:

[Tom]

Berlin, Berlin: Complete Series (2002/Germany) IMDb | Wikipedia Universum Film (Germany) Director: Writing: Length: 2150 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78 Audio: German: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles:

Extras:

• 5 Postkarten mit Bildern der Hauptdarsteller
• Bonus Trailers
• Commentary
• Deleted Scenes
• Featurettes
• Interviews
• Photo Gallery
• Storyboard Comparisons
• Trailers

My Thoughts:

This series really surprised me. I enjoyed it from beginning to end. For some reason I had never watched it before, even though I heard good things about it and it is also often compared to "Mein Leben und ich" (another series I enjoyed). I have to admit that I even enjoyed it more than that one. Though I really liked the first three seasons of it but then grew tired of it.
"Berlin, Berlin" only has four seasons, but unusual for a German comedy series it doesn't only have 13 episodes per season, but it has 20. The first season even 26.
Through the bonus features I found out, that this series even won an international Emmy award for best comedy series (the first German series to do so). I didn't even know that the Emmies had an international award. And in my opinion it deserved it.

Rating:

[Tom]

Liebe Mauer (2009/Germany) IMDb | Wikipedia Warner Home Video (Germany) Director: Peter Timm Writing: Peter Timm (Screenwriter) Length: 107 min. Video: Widescreen 1.85 Audio: German: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Subtitles: German

Stars:
Felicitas Woll as Franzi
Maxim Mehmet as Sascha
Anna Fischer as Uschi
Thomas Thieme as Stasi-Major Kutzner
Karl Kranzkowski as Vater Kurt

Plot:
Berlin, 1989. Sascha is a young East German border guard and Franzi is a lively young West German woman who's just moved into a flat next to Sascha's watchtower at the Berlin Wall. It takes only a slight mishap and a selfless act of chivalry and the two fall in love. But soon the Stasi believes they are witnessing the start of a revolt. This is the time of mass protests and East Germans taking refuge in the West German embassy in Prague after all. Franzi and Sascha have to find their ways to stand up for their love and strive for the impossible; to bring down the wall.

Extras:

• Featurettes
• Outtakes
• Photo Gallery
• Scene Access
• Trailers

My Thoughts:

After watching the complete series of "Berlin, Berlin", I had the urge to revisit this movie which stars Felicitas Woll, the star of that series. The last time I saw this movie I didn't know this actress, so I was curious now to see her here again.
I enjoyed this movie. It is a nice west-east romance. It is some culture clash between the both sides.

Rating:

[Tom]

Keep in mind, that I only started to keep track of the episode watch dates at the end of 2006 when I started with my CCViewer.
The few episode watched dates before that are because I had entered a few dates based on the watched dates of my Profiler profiles. I only did this for a couple of episodes.

I wrote now a script which transferred all my pre-CCViewer TV "watched" dates down to episode level. For this I took the watched dates of TV boxsets and transferred them to the associated episodes. This of course lead to days where it looks like I watched whole seasons (on the other hand one watched date per season set suggests the same), but for year-by-year (or even month-by-month) statistics this is close enough.

Here is my revised chart based on current data:

[Tom]

Twilight (2008/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Concorde Home Entertainment (Germany) Director: Catherine Hardwicke Writing: Melissa Rosenberg (Screenwriter), Stephenie Meyer (Original Material By) Length: 122 min. Video: Widescreen 2.35 Audio: German: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: German

Stars:
Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan
Sarah Clarke as Renée
Matt Bushell as Phill
Billy Burke as Charlie Swan
Gil Birmingham as Billy Black

Plot:
Bella erwartet nicht viel, als sie zu ihrem Vater nach Forks, einer Kleinstadt im Staat Washington, zieht. Doch dann begegnet sie Edward, der irgendwie anders ist. Er hütet ein Geheimnis: Edward ist ein Vampir, der unter Menschen lebt.
Nach der Weltbestseller-Reihe von Stephenie Meyers um die gefährliche Liebe zwischen der Sterblichen Bella und dem Vampir Edward. Denn trotz seiner Zuneigung dürstet es Edward nach Bellas Blut. Bella vertraut ihm vorbehaltlos. Doch was, wenn fremde Vampire nach Forks kommen?

Awards:
Won:

ASCAP Awards (2009)		Top Box Office Films (Carter Burwell)
MTV Movie Awards (2009)		Best Female Performance (Kristen Stewart)
MTV Movie Awards (2009)		Best Fight (Robert Pattinson vs. Cam Gigandet)
MTV Movie Awards (2009)		Best Kiss (Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson)
MTV Movie Awards (2009)		Best Movie
MTV Movie Awards (2009)		Breakthrough Male Performance (Robert Pattinson)
Scream Awards (2009)		Best Fantasy Actor (Robert Pattinson)
Scream Awards (2009)		Best Fantasy Actress (Kristen Stewart)
Scream Awards (2009)		Best Fantasy Movie
Scream Awards (2009)		Breakout Performance-Male (Taylor Lautner)
Teen Choice Awards (2009)		Choice Movie - Drama
Teen Choice Awards (2009)		Choice Movie - Romance
Teen Choice Awards (2009)		Choice Movie Actor - Drama (Robert Pattinson)
Teen Choice Awards (2009)		Choice Movie Actress - Drama (Kristen Stewart)
Teen Choice Awards (2009)		Choice Movie Fresh Face - Female (Ashley Greene)
Teen Choice Awards (2009)		Choice Movie Fresh Face - Male (Taylor Lautner)
Teen Choice Awards (2009)		Choice Movie Liplock (Kirsten Stewart, Robert Pattinson)
Teen Choice Awards (2009)		Choice Movie Rumble (Edward vs. James)
Teen Choice Awards (2009)		Choice Movie Villain (Cam Gigandet)
Teen Choice Awards (2009)		Choice Music Album - Soundtrack
Teen Choice Awards (2009)		Choice Summer Male Hottie (Robert Pattinson)
World Soundtrack Awards (2009)		Public Choice Award (Carter Burwell)
Young Artist Awards (2009)		Best Performance in a Feature Film – Supporting Young Actress (Christian Serratos)

Nominated:

Fangoria Chainsaw Awards (2009)		Worst Film
MTV Movie Awards (2009)		Best Song From A Movie (Paramore)
MTV Movie Awards (2009)		Breakthrough Male Performance (Taylor Lautner)
Saturn (2008)		Best Fantasy Film
Scream Awards (2009)		Best Ensemble
Scream Awards (2009)		Best Supporting Actress (Ashley Greene)
Scream Awards (2009)		Best Villian (Cam Gigandet)
Scream Awards (2009)		Breakout Performance-Male (Robert Pattinson)
Scream Awards (2009)		The Ultimate Scream
Teen Choice Awards (2009)		Choice Movie Fresh Face - Female (Nikki Reed)
World Soundtrack Awards (2009)		Film Composer of the Year (Carter Burwell)

Extras:

• Scene Access
• Commentary
• Trailers
• Bonus Trailers

My Thoughts:

I have never seen any of these movies before. But I was always curious about it because of all the backlash it gets.

I liked the beginning of the movie, when Bella first arrives in the town and meeting the other characters. But the movie falls apart when the romance with Edward begins. The dialog there is horrible and the flow of the romance seems more like a badly written fanfiction.
I heard so much complaining of how the vampires are portrayed here (especially the glitter), that it didn't bother me as much as I thought it would.

Overall the movie is not as bad as I thought it would be.

This review was the final push for me to finally check out this movie.

Rating:

[DSig]

I enjoy the Twilight Series  .. both book and film.

It is, in the the best sense, simply like 'good' Pulp Fiction (genre) .. the best of which for me was Doc Savage which i grew up on.

This is simple, light .. It is a 'cleanse the pallet' type of viewing/reading.

I do give the author, Stephenie Meyer some credit for taking the Vampire and Werewolf genre in a slightly different direction than generally used.  As these characters go back to prehistoric times.  They have changed a lot over time and this is just another flavor of the characters.

Enjoyable watch .. and the characters do grow and story gets more cohesive further into the series.  Still not High Fiction .. but enjoyable.

Dsig