Reviews Written by __A_YAHOO_USER__
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September 10, 2006
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August 17, 2006
Lost in the Shadows
Pros: the Coreys!
Cons: the Coreys
As a teenager, this was a movie that I watched with my older brother many a time, even though we typically didn't watch horror movies in our house. But this movie, even my mom, the horror hater, watched with enjoyment (at least somewhat). Who wouldn't love a movie about a town overrun with teenaged vampires? It has creepiness and gore sure, but not over the top. It has a great soundtrack, heavy on the 80's synth and sax, plus a little bit of creepy carousel music. Cute guys (and a cute girl), too: Jason Patrick and young Keifer Sutherland are the studs, and young Corey Haim as the aww-dorable younger brother. Great cast in general, actually; the above, plus Dianne Weist, Ed Herman, and the grandfather (sorry I don't know the actor's name, but he was great whoever he was). There are some comic elements to the movie, too, often provided the aforesaid grandfather, or the Frog brothers, one of whom is played by Corey Feldman. And quotable bits galore. In fact, why aren't you watching this movie right now? ...
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March 4, 2006
Bleak House
2 of 2 Yahoo! Users found this review helpfulPros: wonderful material, great cast, great production
Cons: have no idea what special features the DVD includes
My boyfriend and I watched the full miniseries as it aired on PBS this past month, and just loved it. We both love Dickens, although neither of us had read this particular book. However, the story has all the Dickens trademarks: wonderful names (Mr. Smallweed & Mr. Guppy are 2 favorites), great characters (horribly villainous as well as nobly virtuous), self-sacrifice, dark secrets, orphans, redemption, and the added bonus of spontaneous combustion. The actors were very well cast, though the only name I recognized was Gillian Anderson, who was just great. The only odd bit about this production was a somewhat strange and abrupt pan and zoom whenever the focus of the story moved to a different setting; it seemed more suited to an action movie than to a period drama. And being a miniseries, it was rather long (about 8 hours, I think), but necessary to really do justice to all the detail Dickens' work usually includes, and well worth it in my opinion. If you enjoy period dramas at all, especially ones with beautiful English settings and great acting, definitely check this out. ...



Long Live the Browncoats
Pros: Great cast, great writing, great show
Cons: Only 14 episodes!
Firefly was one of the best and most hard-to-define shows I've ever seen. The simplest way to sum it up is to call it a sci-fi western, but that description tends to turn people off when they hear it. It is a science fiction show: it's set in the future, and the main characters are the crew of a space ship. The western aspect plays out on some of the planets they visit, in that they are on the far edge of the colonized system, away from the more civilized and Alliance-controlled inner planets, and is enhanced by the dialogue and the fiddle-heavy soundtrack (which I happen to love). The crew of Serenity (the name of the ship) make their living as smugglers and outlaws, trying to live beyond the reach of the Alliance and so-called civilization. Even if all of this seems strange to you give a chance anyway, because it's a great show beyond the setup. The cast was wonderful, and the characters they portrayed were such a great band of archetypes who played off one another so beautifully, with such great dialogue...Well, just describing it makes me want to watch the whole thing over again. There are great bonus features on the DVD set: loads of outtakes and commentary, making-of and behind-the-scenes stuff, too. If you haven't seen it yet, watch it as soon as possible, and if you don't own it yet, what are you waiting for? ...