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Reviews
The Plan (2009)
OK, I suppose
Warning: If you haven't seen the whole BSG series, then BSG - The Plan won't make any sense at all. It'll just look like a bunch of deleted scenes cobbled together. If you have seen the BSG series, then it will fill in some blanks along the BSG storyline, only from a Cylon perspective. Some of the special effects weren't that convincing, particularly the initial nuclear attack. I always thought nuclear blasts leveled everything around them but left whatever was precisely below them at ground zero mostly intact. (just like Hiroshima) Oh, yeah ... the DVD easter egg is in the Bonus menu, go to "Cylons of The Plan" and right arrow.
The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior (2008)
Not as good as the original
..and a cast of nobodies. But I suppose nobodies are cheap to employ and don't need massive trailers full of Bordeaux and vintage cheeses. They also don't crack the diva-sads if their limo is only a town car. As for the movie? Overall, a bit light weight with some dodgy special effects. The ink covered invisible Scorpion near the end didn't look particularly convincing and looked like it was done with crayon. And some of the dialog... "Not my cup of tea"!!! Did they even have tea back then? Or even cups for that matter? Some script writer seems to gotten the millenniums wrong. Watch it if you're curious, otherwise stick to the original.
Alien Lockdown (2004)
One sequel too many
Alien Lockdown is undoubtedly the weakest of the six Alien movies. It derives most of it's plot lines from the second movie, Aliens. Only it's way off on the thrill-and-scare factor. The effects are pretty cheap too with lots of CGI mini-aliens running around, while momma-alien plods around without any of the intensity or viciousness of previous aliens. As for the humans, well it's lots of big boofheaded soldiers running around with guns that don't seem to be able to kill anything. Suffice to say if you've seen the second film, there's not much point watching this one. And to all the wannabe directors out there , there's not much point making any further Alien sequels.
The Crow: Salvation (2000)
The least worst of the Crow sequels
After the pathetic "The Crow - City of Angels" and the absolutely appalling, why-did-they-bother "The Crow - Wicked Prayer" , you would be forgiven for thinking that all Crow sequels were a load of rubbish. And nothing more than an attempt to cash in on the brilliance of the original. At least, that's what I was thinking until I saw "The Crow - Salvation". IT'S NOT THAT BAD!!! While Eric Mabius will never match Brandon Lee's effort, he makes a pretty good fist of it, even if the makeup doesn't make him look dead enough. The film goes back to the original in it's darkness and execution. But uses a different story line to avoid sameness. The corrupt cop villains are convincing enough for the audience to hate and they die gruesome and deserved deaths. Just like villains should. This was one aspect that failed in the other sequels. Perhaps "The Crow - Salvation" is the only Crow sequel that should have been made? It's almost worthy!!!!
The Police: Every Breath You Take - The Videos (1987)
A DVD version was released in 2003
The Good: The DVD version has three soundtracks. A Dolby Stereo track which is of similar sound quality to the various CDs that have been released over the years. The second track is in Dolby 5.1, and it's a pretty good surround remix. And then there's the third track in DTS 5.1 format, which is the best of the lot. It packs a punch from all five speakers and will have the neighbors banging on the door telling you to turn it down! It's that good.
The Bad: While the soundtrack shines, the video quality ain't so good. Some of the earlier footage is a bit grainy, it's in the 4:3 aspect ratio, and most DVD players will probably try and stretch it into 16:9 making the Police look fat. If your TV has "panoramic" mode, then use it. It's unfortunate that all of the original video clips were shot in 4:3, but I suppose no one knew any better back then?
The Ugly: Some of those dance moves are shockers....but I suppose no one knew any better back then, either??
The Crow: Wicked Prayer (2005)
Forth time unlucky
If you liked the original...well...you probably won't like this one. It's all very predictable and not very convincing. The cast fails to save the film. Edward Furlong looks like he's going to Halloween in a bad costume. Macy Gray should stick to singing. And Dennis Hopper seems to be making his own lines up as he goes. Emanuelle Chriqui is the only one that seems to be taking the story line seriously. But the end result is a tedious mess. The villains just aren't villainous enough.
goofs 1: Old refrigerators don't burn that well and make lousy coffins
goofs 2: Goths don't live in the desert, not only is it uncool but maintaining that deathly white skin is impossible when you keep getting sun burnt.