Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 5th, 2004
Master and Commander is an epic tale that is adapted from 2 novels of a 20 novel collection by writer Patrick O’Brian. This Napoleonic-era story follows the escapades of Captain “Lucky” Jack Aubrey (Russell Crowe) and his intrepid crew aboard the British war frigate HMS Surprise, as they try to hunt down and capture or destroy the French warship Acheron. The Film gets off to a fast start as Capt. Aubrey and crew are ambushed by the Acheron and decimated in short order. This initial attack is well done and well acted ... the initial surprise and horror of the crew of the Surprise is visceral, which is then overtaken by the start of a fine performance by Russell Crowe as a battle savvy Captain who quickly sizes up the situation and inspires his crew to survive the initial assault. After the narrow escape we are introduced into a few of the other major members of the crew. Paul Betthany plays the ship’s surgeon Stephen Maturin, and the Captain’s close friend and confidant. This is a very fine performance in which the friendship the two share and their differences in opinion about duty are strained. After two narrow escapes, Jack Aubrey makes it his personal mission to track down the faster, more heavily armored, and more heavily armed Archeron even if it takes him to the far side of the world (which in this case is the Galapagos Islands).
The acting in this film is great. While these are men of war and duty, and the emotional tone is one of courage and bravery, there are many scenes where the fear is palpable and scenes of betrayal that are very believable. In particular the exchanges between Betthany and Crowe when Crowe has to pull rank is very moving – he has to do what he believes even if that costs him the most important relationship that he has on his vessel. The two major battles are well done – both the ship to ship cannon-fire and the chaos of the boarding scene at the end. The cinematography is excellent with wide sweeping shots of the ship on the open ocean in varying conditions from calm sunsets to “perfect storm” settings.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 21st, 2004
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 19th, 2003
If you like a high-energy action/comedy, you have met your match with Bad Boys II. Michael Bay has once again created a wonderful cinematic experience with this film. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence have never been funnier; they have the best on-screen chemistry I have seen in a while. This sequel has more action then its predecessor, and is much more graphic… in a good way. Bad Boys was a great film that started Bay’s career, and Bad Boys II continues his legacy of high-energy action flicks.
”The...danger quotient is heightened and so are the laughs in this new installment as Miami narcotics detectives Marcus Burnett (Lawrence) and Mike Lowrey (Smith) become part of a high-tech task force assigned to stem the flood of designer ecstasy into Miami. They unwittingly uncover a deadly conspiracy involving ruthless drug lord Hector Tapia, played by Jordi Molla, who is determined to expand his empire and take control of the city's burgeoning narcotics trade, killing anyone who stands in his way.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 21st, 2003
Many people would argue that T3: Rise of the Machines should never have been made; a new director, an unknown storyline, and a new actor playing John Connor. Others could not wait to see Arnie suit up as the Terminator one last time. Sure, the Rise of the Machines plot is somewhat questionable, but you sure do get a bunch of action packed into this film.
Arnold Schwarzenegger reprises his role of the big, bad, funny (yet not knowingly) terminator… but this time he is in for his biggest challenge yet, fa...ing off against a female terminator. Kristanna Loken does a good job as the newest Terminator, and the rest of the cast do an adequate job as well. This film may not hold a candle to the first two films in this series, it is still extremely entertaining to watch.
