Reviews

This episode reminded me of every reason I quickly gave up watching Lower Decks.

Sure, I have seen Trek do moments of comedy (all the way back to TOS), but the humor here left me flat. I am not going to say what I thought the most ridiculous shtick was because that would be a major spoiler.

This episode also reminds me of the franchise's overuse of time travel. That really should have started and ended with the TOS episode "City on the Edge of Forever."

Lower Decks fan will think it's great. And if you like Lower Decks, you will enjoy it. Overall, the story wasn't bad. It just failed to make me laugh.

I just saw the pilot, and I don't understand why so many people are dissing this series. From 10 seconds into episode 1 through the end of the episode, the show kept my attention. Maybe it gets worse later, but I am liking it so far.

...And I liked "Sky Captain" quite a bit, thank you. Sure, I thought Polly was a bit much, but she was a throwback to Lois Lane. And Franky was great!

My only disappointment was in the persona of Sky Captain himself. He just didn't seem to hold up as well as the ladies did.

The film looked great (in spite of it being slightly out of focus at my theater), and I'm looking forward to owning the DVD.

The style was a throwback to the '30's. Nary a swear word came out of anybody's mouth. Nobody lost her top (not even the hero). The film was a refreshing and fun experience.

It's not as cool as "Monster Garage," but I like it. They do some outrageous stuff to houses. The part I like best is that all the props must be functional. I'm surprised at the number of houses that have substandard wiring -- Several episodes show electricians literally rewiring houses that are firetraps waiting to spring. Unnerving!

Like "Monster Garage" and other build shows, the success or failure of each week's project is strongly linked to the group's ability to put aside their egos and work as a team. On that front, Jesse James ("Monster Garage") is much more successful than Steve Watson. But, give the man a chance. The show is still new.

I want to see them do a space station house sometime with plasma screens and a functioning control system...

This movie is horribly dated by modern technology and society, but I still get a kick out of it every time I watch.

The best parts of the film are the television parodies. TV evangelists, politicians and even country music gets a swipe in this film. Although some moments are quite serious, the film is mostly played for laughs.

Totally enjoyable!

The previously posted comment for this film would have successfully steered me away from it... If I weren't such a huge fan of "Criminal Intent" (Vincent D'Onofrio) and "Monk" (Tony Shalhoub) that I had to see it anyway.

I wondered throughout the movie, "Is this guy (Gary Sinise) a robot or NOT???" The sets and direction (not to mention the performances of Gary Sinise and Vincent D'Onofrio, which were intense) sucked me in. D'Onofrio makes a fabulous driven investigator. Shalhoub's role was small, but I was too busy grooving on the plot to care. My one regret in the performances is that Madeline Stowe didn't have much to do, except alternate between the roles of a stereotypical uber-doctor and a limpid, grieving wife. The one scene that hints at her acting talent occurs when she confronts her husband at the abandoned park.

Granted, the film does start out like it's going to be typical sci-fi schlock, but once it was past the first 15 minutes, I almost forgot it's science fiction.

The bottom line: This movie WORKED for me! 9 / 10 stars

I decided to tape this movie on a lark. At first, I thought they were going for maximum silliness, but the story sucked me in anyway, and I enjoyed it all the way to the end.

Mary Kay's women are passionate about their product. For a lot a good reasons, too -- The lady herself was extremely inspirational. The rival company behaved more like modern entities: its executives rode their stock up, and then the employees hurt the most when the company crashed. Meanwhile, Mary Kay took her company private, kept treating her employees like human beings, and grew ever larger.

The movie's best line (from Mary Kay): "Son, you do know it was never about the makeup."

Shirley MacLaine outdid herself playing Mary Kay. Overall, the film was funny and serious at the same time, and a total treat. It's worth 8 out of 10 stars.

I just saw the two hour premier of "Breaking News," and I must I'm impressed. The series essentially covers the life and times of a struggling news network and its attempts to get the journalistic "scoop" on fast-breaking news stories.

So far, the series shows a good balance between portraying the working lives of the journalists and the personal lives of the human beings behind the scenes. If they keep up the pace, the series will be among the brightest summer shows of the 2002 season.

Be forewarned: If you're looking for mindless entertainment, go someplace else. This show treats its audience with intelligence. Very well done.

*** 1/2 out of *****

This 1989 made for TV movie is worth checking out. Brigitte Nielsen gives an OK performance as the sleuth, but what kept my attention was the writer's attention to detail... In terms of the mystery. Science fiction fans will find a lot of aspects about this film (the political situation, the murder attempt in the library, etc.), a bit hard to swallow. But, hey, give these guys a break. The movie was made before the Berlin Wall fell, and as for the science, well, they don't attempt to explain anything away with technobabble, nor do they forget that the moon has no atmosphere. The love story between the investigators didn't gell, but again, they don't dwell on it. The resolution is a great twist on the concept of "hide in plain sight."

"The Kennel Murder Case" starts off at a run and doesn't stop until the very end. Everybody had reason to kill the victim, and several people tried. William Powell is terrific as Philo Vance, gentleman detective. Mary Astor is refreshing as the put-upon niece who only wants to marry her Scottish gentleman and enjoy her inheritance. This movie comes paired with "Nancy Drew, Reporter" on DVD, which is also fun. If you have to rent the disc (or check it out from your local library), do it. It's pure entertainment!

This movie is a great example early stress testing methods, even though the lead character (Mr. Honey, played by James Stewart) is a stereotypical scatterbrained genius. My favorite scenes were of the models and the vibration test chamber at the beginning of the film. The story is pretty compelling to watch, as Honey comes face to face with the horrible reality of his theory. Stewart puts a very human touch on what could have been a two-dimensional B-movie stereotype. He is just eccentric (in modern lingo, nerdy) enough to make you laugh, but when he stands up for something, watch out!

Naturally, engineering stories don't draw large audiences, so the only way I could finally see this movie was to spend $19.95 to buy it online. The money was well spent. My rating is 8 / 10.

Congratulations to the Arts & Entertainment cable network for bringing Nero Wolfe to television! The series faithfully reproduces the sensibilities and characterizations of Rex Stout's novels. The folks behind this story ("Champagne for One") and all of the episodes aired to date have studied their source material well.

Performances in "Champagne for One" are excellent. I especially enjoyed the interplay between Archie Goodwin and the matron... She made me believe she hated him to the core of her being.

If you like Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe novel series, you owe it to yourself to watch this show!