Topic: Tom's Random Reviews

[Najemikon]

Oh, I'm certainly not offended! I was more concerned I'd misled you. It's just that our TV choice for genre stuff in the UK is limited and only seems to be picking up this last couple of years with the resurgence of Doctor Who and now Primeval. So I loved LoM so much and saw it as a world-beater in quality compared to many US shows that are taken for granted that I like to bore people with it and try and strong arm them into watching it! 

As it is, with your comment about not warming to the characters, I would only recommend series 2 if you found it very cheap, because it's more of the same. It's the Sam and Hunt dynamic that people wanted, so it continued as before. Ironically, that would lead you up to Ashes to Ashes, which you may have preferred because its a woman dumped in the 80s with Gene. No prizes for guessing his reaction to working with a woman! Many people didn't enjoy it because she was aware of the Sam Tyler case and spent most of her time trying to fight the situation by confronting everyone, which just made her look stupid. But they've pulled it back now and brought in some clever twists. For instance, she isn't alone...

[Tom]

Title: The Twilight Zone: Season One
Year: 1959
Director:
Rating: 15
Length: 1163 Min.
Video: Full Frame 1.33:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital Stereo, Commentary: Dolby Digital Stereo
Subtitles:

Plot:
The Twilight Zone's timeless episodes featured stories of the bizarre and unexplained, blended with humour and often with an unexpected twist to the tale. Created by the legendary Rod Serling, its eclectic mix of fantasy and sci-fi has helped to define it as one of televisions most original and celebrated series.

Extras:
Commentary
Episode Guide Booklet
Featurettes
Scene Access

My Thoughts:

This was my first chance to watch this classic TV series. You can see, that a lot of these episodes were influences on later sci-fi stories. I had fun watching this series and I will probably continue buying the other seasons.

Episodes:

#	Episode	Rating
01	Where Is Everybody?
02	One For the Angels
03	Mr. Denton on Doomsday
04	The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine
05	Walking Distance
06	Escape Clause
07	The Lonely
08	Time Enough at Last
09	Perchance to Dream
10	Judgement Night
11	And When the Sky Was Opened
12	What You Need
13	The Four of Us Are Dying
14	Third From the Sun
15	I Shot an Arrow Into the Air
16	The Hitch-Hiker
17	The Fever
18	The Last Flight
19	The Purple Testament
20	Elegy
21	Mirror Image
22	The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street
23	A World of Difference
24	Long Live Walter Jameson
25	People Are Alike All Over
26	Execution
27	The Big Tall Wish
28	A Nice Place to Visit
29	Nightmare As a Child
30	A Stop at Willoughby
31	The Chaser
32	A Passage For Trumpet
33	Mr. Bevis
34	The After Hours
35	The Mighty Casey
36	A World of His Own

[Tom]

Title: The Time Tunnel: Volume One
Year: 1966
Director:
Rating: NR
Length: 710 Min.
Video: Full Frame 1.33:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital Mono, Spanish: Dolby Digital Mono, French: Dolby Digital Mono
Subtitles: English, Spanish

Stars:


Plot:
"The control of time is potentially the most valuable treasure that man will ever find." Or so believed the scientists of Project Tic Toc. Located beneath the Arizona desert, the ten-year project's focus is the feasibility of time travel. But when the government reconsiders the project, the scientists have only 24 hours to prove their untested "Time Tunnel" will actually work. Determined to save the project, Dr. Tony Newman and Dr. Doug Philips go through the tunnel—and quickly find themselves catapulted from one historical event to another, barely escaping with their lives as their colleagues back in Arizona race to figure out a way to bring them back home.

Extras:
Closed Captioned
Featurettes
Photo Gallery
Scene Access
Trailers
Unaired Extended Version of the Pilot Episode

My Thoughts:

Overall I enjoyed this first volume of the series. Even if it is rather ridiculous that no matter in which time they land, everybody speaks perfect English.
The control room of the Time Tunnel project has aged rather well for a 40 year old sci-fi television show.
I liked the inclusion of the original cut of the pilot episode. At the end of this one you see, that they travelled to the next time period with the clothes they were wearing at the end of the episode (with the state the clothes were in). Sadly they have chosen, that for the series the clothes revert back to the clothes they were wearing on their first time jump shortly before the time jump sets in.

Episodes:

#	Episode	Rating
01	Rendezvous with Yesterday
02	One Way to the Moon
03	End of the World
04	The Day the Sky Fell In
05	The Last Patrol
06	Crack of Doom
07	Revenge of the Gods
08	Massacre
09	Devil's Island
10	Reign of Terror
11	Secret Weapon
12	The Death Trap
13	The Alamo
14	Night of the Long Knives
15	Invasion

[Tom]

Title: Baby Mama
Year: 2008
Director: Michael McCullers
Rating: 12
Length: 90 Min.
Video: Widescreen 1.85
Audio: English: Dolby Digital TrueHD, French: DTS 5.1, Spanish: DTS 5.1
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Stars:
Amy Poehler
Tina Fey
Greg Kinnear
Dax Shepard
Romany Malco
Steve Martin

Plot:
Sharp comic talents collide in this hilarious comedy of opposites. Kate Holbrook (Tina Fey - 30 Rock) an uptight single executive, has put her career first all her life. At 37, she finally decides to have a baby, but discovers she has only a small chance of becoming pregnant. Desperate, Kate decides to use a surrogate mom, but her uptight world is turned upside down when free-spirited Angie (Amy Poehler - Blades of Glory) moves in to her apartment and the pair engage in a comic battle of wills. Also starring Greg Kinnear (Little Miss Sunshine) and Sigourney Weaver (The Village)

Extras:
Commentary
Scene Access

My Thoughts:

This movie was predictable but fun. Tina Fey was great as usual. I had to laugh out loud a few times during the movie, which does not happen a lot.

Rating:

[Tom]

Title: Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Year: 2008
Director: Nicholas Stoller
Rating: 15
Length: 118 Min.
Video: Widescreen 1.85
Audio: English: DTS HD Master Audio, French: DTS 5.1, Spanish: DTS 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital Surround
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Stars:
Jason Segel
Kristen Bell
Mila Kunis
Russell Brand
Bill Hader

Plot:
Struggling musician Peter Bretter (Jason Segel, Knocked Up, How I Met Your Mother) has spent five long and wonderful years idolising his celebrity girlfriend, television star Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell, Veronica Mars, Heroes). His perfect world comes crashing down when Sarah suddenly dumps him for 'that guy' (Russell Brand) from that band'. But his plan to leave his troubles behind backfires when he arrives to find his worst nightmare has only just begun!

Extras:
BD-Live
Commentary
Deleted Scenes
Featurettes
Karaoke
Music Videos
Scene Access
Theatrical and Extended Versions
Trailers

My Thoughts:

Now I remember what other reason I had wishlisting this Blu-ray besides starring (and written by) Jason Segel, who I knew from "Freaks and Geeks". It was lovely Mila Kunis.
It was also great to see other familiar faces like Jack McBrayer from "30 Rock" and Paul Rudd.
After the disappointing "Superbad" now a Judd Apatow produced movie again which I really enjoyed.
What really surprised me (this being an American movie), are the numerous male frontal nudity scenes. Looks like Americans finally are loosening up a little

Rating:

[Tom]

Title: Futurama: Bender's Game
Year: 2008
Director: Dwayne Carey-Hill
Rating: 12
Length: 88 Min.
Video: Widescreen 1.78
Audio: English: DTS HD Master Audio, Commentary: Dolby Digital Stereo
Subtitles: English

Stars:
Billy West
Katey Sagal
John DiMaggio
Tress MacNeille
Maurice LaMarche

Plot:
With fuel prices skyrocketing, the Planet Express crew sets off on a dangerous mission: to infiltrate the world's only dark-matter mine, source of all spaceship fuel. But deep beneath the surface lies a far stranger place...a medieval land of dragons and sorcery and intoxicated knights who look suspiciously like Bender. So park your hover-car and saddle up your unicorn for FUTURAMA grandest adventure yet: BENDER'S GAME!

Extras:
Commentary
Deleted Scenes
Featurettes
Outtakes
Scene Access
Storyboard Comparisons
Trailers
Video Commentary Picture-in-Picture

My Thoughts:

A rather disappointing Futurama movie. I enjoyed the first half hour or so, but when it began with the overlong Dungeon and Dragon parody, my was loosing my interest.
The image quality on the Blu-ray is great though! This is Futurama the best that it ever looked.

Rating:

[Tom]

Title: Wonder Woman
Year: 2009
Director: Lauren Montgomery
Rating: PG-13
Length: 74 Min.
Video: Widescreen 1.85
Audio: English: Dolby Digital TrueHD, English: Dolby Digital 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital Stereo
Subtitles: English, French

Stars:
Keri Russell
Nathan Fillion
Alfred Molina
Rosario Dawson
Marg Helgenberger

Plot:
On the mystical island of Themyscira, a proud, strong warrior race of Amazon women lives in a utopian civilization shielded from the corrupt world of man. But a betrayal within the Amazon sisterhood leads to the escape of Ares, the God of War, and Amazon Princess Diana must capture him before he unleashes global chaos and destruction. With the aid of cocky fighter pilot Steve Trevor, Diana tracks Ares to the United States for a battle unlike any humankind has ever faced in this epic tale of the princess who becomes the World's Greatest Super Heroine.

Extras:
Bonus Episodes
Commentary
Featurettes

My Thoughts:

A fun movie. The only real contact I have with Wonder Woman is the 70s series with Lynda Carter. I have been waiting for a modern movie version for awhile. The live-action version seems to stuck in development hell. A animated movie is the next best thing.
We have here the origin story of Wonder Woman. The beginning is quite similar to the pilot of the old series. The main difference here is, that they didn't wipe Steve Trevor's memory when returning him to the outside world. So he is very much aware of who Wonder Woman is and where she comes from. And this movie is much more violent than the TV series ever was.
The character of Artemis reminded me very much of Teela from the rebooted "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe".
My complaint about this movie is the short runtime of 73 minutes. They did tell the story they wanted to. But Wonder Woman's alter ego Diana Prince only appears in the last minute. I would have liked her to have a longer part. The dual life as everyday people of superheroes is what I like best about the genre. Not the big fights with powerful enemies.
So all in all this movie serves well as a introduction, but it would have been nice to have more of Diana Prince in it.

The Blu-ray also contains two selected Justice League and two Justice League Unlimited episodes which have Wonder Woman in the center of the story.

Rating:

[Tom]

Title: Bewitched
Year: 2005
Director: Nora Ephron
Rating: PG-13
Length: 102 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85
Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, French: Dolby Digital 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital Surround
Subtitles: English, French, Trivia

Stars:
Nicole Kidman
Will Ferrell
Shirley MacLaine
Michael Caine
Jason Schwartzman

Plot:
Oscar®-winner Nicole Kidman (Best Actress in a leading role, The Hours, 2002) and wickedly funny Will Ferrell star as actors playing Darrin and Samantha on a remake of the television show "Bewitched" in this cleverly crafty comedy from director Nora Ephron (Sleepless in Seattle, You've Got Mail).

Egomaniacal star Jack Wyatt (Ferrell) casts unknown Isabel (Kidman) as his co-star in order to monopolize the limelight and regain his top spot on Hollywood's A-list. When Isabel, a real witch, discovers Jack's self-centered scheme, she conjures a sidesplitting spell the mere mortal will never forget!

Extras:
Closed Captioned
Commentary
Deleted Scenes
Featurettes
Scene Access
Trailers

My Thoughts:

After watching "Practical Magic" today, I had the urge to watch another movie with Nicole Kidman as a witch in it. Despite that this movie is generally panned, I quite enjoy it. I thought it was a good idea to make it about a witch who is cast in a TV show remake of "Bewitched", instead of a straight remake. Many fans of the original show didn't like this, but I never really was a fan of the show. I preferred "I Dream of Jeannie" (when is the remake coming for this one? It has been awhile that I heard rumors about it).
The weak point in this movie is the missing chemistry between the two main characters. It is not really believable, that Isabel would fall for Will Ferrell's Jack.


Rating:

[addicted2dvd]

Title: Wonder Woman

I really want to get this one as well... It is on the wish list I gave to Brittany for Father's Day. Got a question for you on this one though. In Justice League: A New Frontier and the Justice League Unlimited episodes on that disc Wonder Woman could fly (like Superman)... which I hated. Is she able to fly in this movie?

[Tom]

In Justice League: A New Frontier and the Justice League Unlimited episodes on that disc Wonder Woman could fly (like Superman)... which I hated. Is she able to fly in this movie?

Thankfully she cannot fly in this movie. This also bothered me in the episodes of Justice League, which were on this disc.
I think if you want to see an updated version of Lynda Carter's Wonder Woman, then you won't go wrong watching this movie.

[Najemikon]

She can fly in the comics, can't she?

[Tom]

She can fly in the comics, can't she?

I don't know the comics, but according to Wikipedia, the post-Crisis Wonder Woman can fly. Also the pre-Crisis Wonder Woman could fly beginning with 1966. But I prefer the original version, where she couldn't fly. Looking at the episodes of Justice League, it is like watching just another Supergirl variation.

[addicted2dvd]

In Justice League: A New Frontier and the Justice League Unlimited episodes on that disc Wonder Woman could fly (like Superman)... which I hated. Is she able to fly in this movie?

Thankfully she cannot fly in this movie. This also bothered me in the episodes of Justice League, which were on this disc.
I think if you want to see an updated version of Lynda Carter's Wonder Woman, then you won't go wrong watching this movie.

Thank You! 

[addicted2dvd]

She can fly in the comics, can't she?

I don't know the comics, but according to Wikipedia, the post-Crisis Wonder Woman can fly. Also the pre-Crisis Wonder Woman could fly beginning with 1966. But I prefer the original version, where she couldn't fly. Looking at the episodes of Justice League, it is like watching just another Supergirl variation.

I feel the same way. I also did not read the Wonder Woman comics. I only ever seen the Lynda Carter Wonder Woman and some cartoons... where she had the invisible jet.

[Tom]

I feel the same way. I also did not read the Wonder Woman comics. I only ever seen the Lynda Carter Wonder Woman and some cartoons... where she had the invisible jet.

The invisible jet always bothered me in the Lynda Carter Wonder Woman, because it looked so fake. Although in this movie, she also had the invisible jet, but as it didn't look cheap there, it didn't bother me.