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Reviews Written By: A3ROE64EVHDTTV

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	Mission To Mars
	""We're millions of miles from Earth in a giant white face...what's impossible?""	2008-09-27
The Good Thingsbr /The DVD is of good video/sound quality.br /Includes a number of good special features; featurettes, commentary, production art gallery, DVD-ROM stuff, and the trailer.br /Quite a few excellent special effects.br /Good cameramanship.br /I thought that the story was great. It presented an intriguing mystery (the Cydonian sphinx, which has been actually sighted on Mars' surface) and a clever solution to it.br /Characters are not bad.br /Music was not bad.br /br /The Bad Thingsbr /It is slowly-paced and has no real conflict. It looks like most people find it too boring.br /Not for kids. Even though it is rated PG, it does include one scene at the beginning that has some brief gnarly violence.br /br /The Questionable Thingsbr /Some people may find the film's final answer unbelievable, or perhaps even blasphemous (I thought it was interesting, though). Could also be considered predictable.br /I swear, sometimes, it feels like this movie rips off "2001: A Space Odyssey" so much. Style and production design are very similar.br /I didn't mind the writing or the acting, but lots of other people seem to find them disagreeable.br /br /Despite the slow-pacing, I've always enjoyed this space opera for its neat special effects and its intriguing story. Granted that "2001" is better in many ways, I think this film is more accessable and easier to follow. I think it's great, and would reccomend it to anybody who is interested in space-opera type sci-fi.
	The Forbidden Kingdom (2-Disc Special Edition) [Blu-ray]
	"Monkeying Around with Kung Fu"	2008-09-24
The Good Things Good video/sound quality (great on Blu-Ray). Avalaible in either a single-disc version with no features, or 2-disc or Blu-Ray versions with numerous featurettes and a digital copy of the film. The movie itself has quite a bit of great fight scenes and slick special effects. Its very well-filmed. Lots of strong imagery and colors. Good cameramanship. Production design is great. Costumes and sets are very detailed and vivid. Storyline is okay. Okay music. Violence is not so bad, and there is nothing graphic. Would be acceptable for older children (rated PG-13). The Bad Things Characters are nothing to scream about. The Monkey King and the guy Jackie Chan played were probably the most memorable characters. The main character is just a boy who wants to go home, and shows no development (other than is fighting skills). Bad guys were cool, but also shallow. The Questionable Things The movie overall is short and simple. Its great for quick and easy entertainment, but don't expect anything as deep, complex, or moving as other wuxia films (like "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon" or "Hero"). This is what you get when you mix "The Neverending Story"'s plot structure with an Asian fantasy epic. It's pretty darn fun, with lots of great fighting, special effects, and smooth photography. But it lacks depth in its characters and story. It makes for some awesome mindless entertainment, but if you're a fan of the genre and looking for something thought-provoking or deep, this would not be it.
	Dark City (New Line Platinum Series)
	""We use your dead as vessels!""	2008-09-17
The Good Thingsbr /The Blu-Ray has excellent video quality; easily one of the best transfers ever. The movie is much more colorful than I remember. Very clear, crisp picture. No grain. Even though most of the movie is dark, it looks phenomenally great. The sound quality is great too.br /Includes both the theatrical cut and director's cut of the movie. Also has a bunch of special features, some of which came from the older DVD release (essays and notes), and others that are brand new (documentaries, new commentaries, and some other stuff). All of this is on disc one; disc two is a digital copy.br /The movie itself has some good action and special effects. Moreover, it has a very slick and interesting tech-noir style and production design (overall, it's like a retro version of "Blade Runner").br /The story is interesting. It didn't make total sense when I first saw it years ago, but repeated viewings make things clearer.br /Characters are not bad. Has a good cast.br /Pretty good writing; some memorable lines.br /br /The Bad Thingsbr /As said above, storyline may be hard to get on first viewing.br /Kind of slow at parts (but if you like the style, it'll be interesting all the way through).br /br /The movie was a pleseant surprise when I saw its former DVD release years ago; it was stylish and had some great action and special effects (especially during the movie's finale). Repeated viewings have been even more interesting. The Blu-Ray is most worthwhile, for both its video quality and its array of special features. Definitely reccomended to sci-fi fans.
	Dark City [Blu-ray]
	""We use your dead as vessels!""	2008-09-17
The Good Thingsbr /The Blu-Ray has excellent video quality; easily one of the best transfers ever. The movie is much more colorful than I remember. Very clear, crisp picture. No grain. Even though most of the movie is dark, it looks phenomenally great. The sound quality is great too.br /Includes both the theatrical cut and director's cut of the movie. Also has a bunch of special features, some of which came from the older DVD release (essays and notes), and others that are brand new (documentaries, new commentaries, and some other stuff). All of this is on disc one; disc two is a digital copy.br /The movie itself has some good action and special effects. Moreover, it has a very slick and interesting tech-noir style and production design (overall, it's like a retro version of "Blade Runner").br /The story is interesting. It didn't make total sense when I first saw it years ago, but repeated viewings make things clearer.br /Characters are not bad. Has a good cast.br /Pretty good writing; some memorable lines.br /br /The Bad Thingsbr /As said above, storyline may be hard to get on first viewing.br /Kind of slow at parts (but if you like the style, it'll be interesting all the way through).br /br /The movie was a pleseant surprise when I saw its former DVD release years ago; it was stylish and had some great action and special effects (especially during the movie's finale). Repeated viewings have been even more interesting. The Blu-Ray is most worthwhile, for both its video quality and its array of special features. Definitely reccomended to sci-fi fans.
	Dark City
	""We use your dead as vessels!""	2008-09-17
The Good Things The Blu-Ray has excellent video quality; easily one of the best transfers ever. The movie is much more colorful than I remember. Very clear, crisp picture. No grain. Even though most of the movie is dark, it looks phenomenally great. The sound quality is great too. Includes both the theatrical cut and director's cut of the movie. Also has a bunch of special features, some of which came from the older DVD release (essays and notes), and others that are brand new (documentaries, new commentaries, and some other stuff). All of this is on disc one; disc two is a digital copy. The movie itself has some good action and special effects. Moreover, it has a very slick and interesting tech-noir style and production design (overall, it's like a retro version of "Blade Runner"). The story is interesting. It didn't make total sense when I first saw it years ago, but repeated viewings make things clearer. Characters are not bad. Has a good cast. Pretty good writing; some memorable lines. The Bad Things As said above, storyline may be hard to get on first viewing. Kind of slow at parts (but if you like the style, it'll be interesting all the way through). The movie was a pleseant surprise when I saw its former DVD release years ago; it was stylish and had some great action and special effects (especially during the movie's finale). Repeated viewings have been even more interesting. The Blu-Ray is most worthwhile, for both its video quality and its array of special features. Definitely reccomended to sci-fi fans.
	Kill Bill, Volume 2
	""You and I have unfinished business.""	2008-09-12
The Good Things Blu-Ray has excellent picture quality. I don't think there's any grainy parts at all; it's completely crisp and clear. Great sound quality. Sounds clearer and more balanced than previous DVD release. Includes a 26-minute making-of featurette, a deleted scene, and a musical performance. It's not a whole lot of features (in fact, the same as from the DVD), but at least it has something. Some good action and fighting. Some good visuals. Still a smooth and clear picture. Still a good story, with a very good conclusion. Also fills in lots of gaps from the first film. Still an excellent group of characters that you can relate to. It is especially interesting to see Bill for the first time, among other things. Dialogue is strong and interesting. More interesting music. Lots of homage to westerns, kung fu, and anime. These elements are blended together to make a very unique picture. The Bad Things It's not the "Wholy Bloody Affair" edition. It's longer and there's much less action. *Still has some absurd, unrealistic parts (but this can be a good thing, because it makes the film stylish and fun). This is a definite must-see for anybody who has seen the first film. All of the missing story elements are present, and brings everything into clarity. The conclusion is excellent (even if there is no fighting). I don't think this is as stylish or exciting as the first film, but it is definately worthwhile to see the complete story. Whether or not it is worthy of replacing the DVD is entirely up to you. I liked the movie enough to go for it, and at the very least, I am pleased with the picture/sound quality. I'll still want to grab the "Whole Bloody Affair" edition (you know, unrated director's cut with shedloads of special features and other crud) whenever it comes out, but considering that it never existed in the first place, I am not one to complain. Heck, I might even keep this copy, so I have the theatrical cut. Altogether, I don't agree with the others who complain. It's still a good movie, and it's of good quality.
	Once Upon a Time in Mexico
	""This is so good, I have to kill the cook.""	2008-08-29
The Good Things Very good video and sound quality. Includes a great deal of special features, such as commentaries, a bunch of featurettes, and trailers. Loads of great action scenes. These are probably the best shoot-outs in the entire Mexico trilogy. Still well-filmed and well-edited. Great writing. Good acting; interesting characters. Good music. The Bad Things Storyline is pretty convoluted, and can be hard to follow. There are so many characters in this movie that it can be hard to remember who's who and what they want and so on. The Other Things The film is mostly in English, with subtitles for Spanish-speaking parts. Although this doesn't quite outdo "Desperado" or even the original "El Mariachi," "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" is wildly entertaining. The action scenes are its greatest strength, for they are bigger (almost epic in scale) and great fun to watch. The characters are great, even if there are dozens of them. The only thing that really suffers is the story, which can be difficult to comprehend. Still, most action movie fans will like this.
	Once Upon a Time in Mexico PSP UMD Movie
	""This is so good, I have to kill the cook.""	2008-08-29
The Good Things Very good video and sound quality. Includes a great deal of special features, such as commentaries, a bunch of featurettes, and trailers. Loads of great action scenes. These are probably the best shoot-outs in the entire Mexico trilogy. Still well-filmed and well-edited. Great writing. Good acting; interesting characters. Good music. The Bad Things Storyline is pretty convoluted, and can be hard to follow. There are so many characters in this movie that it can be hard to remember who's who and what they want and so on. The Other Things The film is mostly in English, with subtitles for Spanish-speaking parts. Although this doesn't quite outdo "Desperado" or even the original "El Mariachi," "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" is wildly entertaining. The action scenes are its greatest strength, for they are bigger (almost epic in scale) and great fun to watch. The characters are great, even if there are dozens of them. The only thing that really suffers is the story, which can be difficult to comprehend. Still, most action movie fans will like this.
	Barbarella
	""What kind of girl are you? Have you no shame?!""	2008-08-29
The Good Things The film has good video quality. A few color shifts and particles on the print perhaps, but is mostly clear, sharp, and colorful. Some parts are actually pretty cool. The angelic alien and the Black Queen are great, and there are one or two neat fight scenes. Some symbolism (particuarly some phalyc symbols). Acting is not bad. A few good lines. The costumes are excellent (although some people may find them too outlandish). Some sets are great, with imaginative designs and props. As noted below, however, other sets are awful. It is presented in Widescreen. Includes English and French audio. The Bad Things Some sets are great. Other sets are just plain terrible. Barbarella's ship is made of ugly brown shag carpet and moves in pretty lame ways to unconvincingly simulate movement. Another set was made entirely out of bags of air. On the other hand, this may just be something else great to laugh at. Jane Fonda seems to act pretty well in this film, but her character is terrible. She acts stupidly and shows hardly any backbone. She's attacked by little dolls and birds, and she's so helpless! Maybe it's just the times, but I would have liked it much better if Barbarella was actually a strong and intelligent person instead of a ditz. The plot is unremarkable. Barbarella has a task to find a mad scientists. She winds up falling from one peril to another, almost always as a result of dumb luck more than anything. Not for kids. Contains some nudity, a bit of violence, and other parts of implied sexuality. No subtitles. No special features. The Questionable Things Some parts are completely laughable, usually unintentionally. This whole film must have been made by hippies. Aside from the outdated styles, there's also a lot of talk of peace ("Now why would anybody want to create a weapon?!" she asks...), love ("love" becoming a universal salutation apparently), and free love (which runs rampant throughout). The whole film is loaded with ideas like this; some people may enjoy them, others may hate them. I found it very laughable. Special effects may be slick for its time, but are notably outdated. It's similar to "Fantastic Voyage," only worse. Goofy sound effects. The music is very groovy and upbeat, adding to the psychadelic feel of the film. Some people seem to like it. I hate it. This film is so bad, you'll either love it or hate it. The whole thing plays out like a sci-fi/fantasy version of "Austin Powers." There is a whole world of better sci-fi and fantasy, but if you want extreme cheesiness, this is the best in that regard. I've seen a few scant bits of information, indicating that Robert Rodriguez is trying to remake the film. He can't do any worse than this, so I'll be looking forward to it...
	Once Upon a Time in Mexico (Superbit Collection)
	""This is so good, I have to kill the cook.""	2008-08-29
The Good Things Very good video and sound quality. Includes a great deal of special features, such as commentaries, a bunch of featurettes, and trailers. Loads of great action scenes. These are probably the best shoot-outs in the entire Mexico trilogy. Still well-filmed and well-edited. Great writing. Good acting; interesting characters. Good music. The Bad Things Storyline is pretty convoluted, and can be hard to follow. There are so many characters in this movie that it can be hard to remember who's who and what they want and so on. The Other Things The film is mostly in English, with subtitles for Spanish-speaking parts. Although this doesn't quite outdo "Desperado" or even the original "El Mariachi," "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" is wildly entertaining. The action scenes are its greatest strength, for they are bigger (almost epic in scale) and great fun to watch. The characters are great, even if there are dozens of them. The only thing that really suffers is the story, which can be difficult to comprehend. Still, most action movie fans will like this.
	Once Upon a Time in Mexico
	""This is so good, I have to kill the cook.""	2008-08-29
The Good Thingsbr /Very good video and sound quality.br /Includes a great deal of special features, such as commentaries, a bunch of featurettes, and trailers.br /Loads of great action scenes. These are probably the best shoot-outs in the entire Mexico trilogy.br /Still well-filmed and well-edited.br /Great writing.br /Good acting; interesting characters.br /Good music.br /br /The Bad Thingsbr /Storyline is pretty convoluted, and can be hard to follow.br /There are so many characters in this movie that it can be hard to remember who's who and what they want and so on.br /br /The Other Thingsbr /The film is mostly in English, with subtitles for Spanish-speaking parts.br /br /Although this doesn't quite outdo "Desperado" or even the original "El Mariachi," "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" is wildly entertaining. The action scenes are its greatest strength, for they are bigger (almost epic in scale) and great fun to watch. The characters are great, even if there are dozens of them. The only thing that really suffers is the story, which can be difficult to comprehend. Still, most action movie fans will like this.
	Desperado (Special Edition)
	"Mariachi Extremo"	2008-08-28
The Good Things Lots of good action scenes. Very excellent, solid filming style and quality. A vast improvement over its predecessor "El Mariachi." Not a bad story. It's well written. Not bad characters. Maybe not as good or memorable as "El Mariachi," but they are fun. Good music. The Bad Things Ummm... The Questionable Things A fair amount of absurdity. Some may like it, others won't. This sequel to is a tremendous improvement over "El Mariachi" in terms of style, action, cameramanship, and overall quality. Only the story and characters seem superior in the predecessor, but are still fun in "Desperado." Anybody who enjoys action films should enjoy this. The DVD has very good video and sound quality. It is mostly in English; parts in Spanish are subtitled. Includes a few good special features; commentary and making-of footage.
	Desperado
	"Mariachi Extremo"	2008-08-28
The Good Things Lots of good action scenes. Very excellent, solid filming style and quality. A vast improvement over its predecessor "El Mariachi." Not a bad story. It's well written. Not bad characters. Maybe not as good or memorable as "El Mariachi," but they are fun. Good music. The Bad Things Ummm... The Questionable Things A fair amount of absurdity. Some may like it, others won't. This sequel to is a tremendous improvement over "El Mariachi" in terms of style, action, cameramanship, and overall quality. Only the story and characters seem superior in the predecessor, but are still fun in "Desperado." Anybody who enjoys action films should enjoy this. The DVD has very good video and sound quality. It is mostly in English; parts in Spanish are subtitled. Includes a few good special features; commentary and making-of footage.
	Desperado
	"Mariachi Extremo"	2008-08-28
The Good Things Lots of good action scenes. Very excellent, solid filming style and quality. A vast improvement over its predecessor "El Mariachi." Not a bad story. It's well written. Not bad characters. Maybe not as good or memorable as "El Mariachi," but they are fun. Good music. The Bad Things Ummm... The Questionable Things A fair amount of absurdity. Some may like it, others won't. This sequel to is a tremendous improvement over "El Mariachi" in terms of style, action, cameramanship, and overall quality. Only the story and characters seem superior in the predecessor, but are still fun in "Desperado." Anybody who enjoys action films should enjoy this. The DVD has very good video and sound quality. It is mostly in English; parts in Spanish are subtitled. Includes a few good special features; commentary and making-of footage.
	Desperado
	"Mariachi Extremo"	2008-08-28
The Good Things Lots of good action scenes. Very excellent, solid filming style and quality. A vast improvement over its predecessor "El Mariachi." Not a bad story. It's well written. Not bad characters. Maybe not as good or memorable as "El Mariachi," but they are fun. Good music. The Bad Things Ummm... The Questionable Things A fair amount of absurdity. Some may like it, others won't. This sequel to is a tremendous improvement over "El Mariachi" in terms of style, action, cameramanship, and overall quality. Only the story and characters seem superior in the predecessor, but are still fun in "Desperado." Anybody who enjoys action films should enjoy this. The DVD has very good video and sound quality. It is mostly in English; parts in Spanish are subtitled. Includes a few good special features; commentary and making-of footage.
	El Mariachi (Special Edition)
	""All I Wanted Was to Be a Mariachi...""	2008-08-27
The Good Things Lots of exciting action scenes. Some bloody violence for those who enjoy it. Some funny parts too. Excellent filming style. Lots of unique camera angles. Camera shakes around a little, but not irritatingly so. It's a rough style reminiscent of older 70s films. Storyline is simple but engaging. Characters are excellent. Good acting and writing. Good music. The Bad Things Maybe a little too grainy and gritty. It could use some restoration (on the other hand, the grittiness accentuates the rough style). For such a low-budget movie, this is quite an excellent and exciting (and sometimes humorous) piece of work. It could have been total garbage, but the film's style, characters, action, and writing makes it great. Highly reccomended to anybody who likes action or crime films. As noted above, the DVD has very rough grainy video quality, which can be considered good or bad. At the very least, it is anamorphic widescreen. The sound is okay. It is in Spanish with English subtitles (and probably some other languages, but is not English dubbed). It includes a some good features; a commentary and some making-of footage.
	Stephen King's Rose Red
	""Emmers!!!""	2008-08-21
The Good Things A few neat, somewhat creepy special effects. It's pretty well-filmed. Some good lines. Some interesting ideas. Good usage of the setting. The Bad Things Some parts are totally ridiculous. Other parts are just plain weird or convoluted. I really couldn't care much for these characters. *This whole story reminds me too much of "The Shining." For Stephen King, "Rose Red" is one of the weaker titles in his repertoire. It's mildly entertaining, but mostly because of the absurdity (especially in the characters and dialogue) and quality of photography. But if you're looking for a good serious horror film, this would not be it. The DVD has okay video and sound quality. It's entirely in fullscreen. If I recall, it has one or two featurettes.
	Starship Troopers 2 - Hero of the Federation
	"More Meat for the Grinder..."	2008-08-13
My Rating: 1.5 out of 5 The Good Things One or two neat special effects and action scenes. Some blood and nudity for those who enjoy that sort of thing. Remains mostly true to the concepts of the first movie. The Bad Things Very low-value production. Many special effects, props, and sets look completely fake. Dull photography. The storyline is dull, uninteresting, and doesn't really continue with anything from the first film. For that matter, it plays out more like a horror flick than a military sci-fi war movie. The characters are dull and uninteresting. Acting and writing are dull. *Probably not for the squeamish. What can I say? This sequel is immensely unremarkable, forgettable, and dull. I doesn't even resemble a "Starship Troopers" movie; it's more like a really bad version of "Alien" or something. It's good for maybe one or two thrilling scenes of blood, nudity, or sub-standard special effects. But for the most part, this is a dud. The DVD has okay video and sound quality, and contains a few featurettes. The Blu-Ray version is a little better in quality, but has a lot of graininess in some parts.
	The Super Mario Bros.
	"Thank You, But Our Brains Are In Another Castle..."	2008-08-08
The Good Things Some very slick special effects. Some fun actions scenes (the police car chase was cool). Some funny moments too (although much of it is quite corny. I still think the elevator scene was great, though). Pretty good production design. Lots of scummy futuristic settings, props, and costumes (although nothing really resembles the original computer game). The story idea is not bad (especially since the computer game was so surreal to begin with). They did a good job incorporating modern ideas about alternate universes, explaining what may have happened to dinosaurs, and describing the evolution of life. Well, much of this is BS, but it's good enough. Good soundtrack (I still like the "Walk the Dinosaur" song). The Bad Things The production design resembles something out of "Blade Runner," so it lacks the bright and fantastic settings and atmosphere of the original computer games. I think it would have worked better as a "Narnia" sort of thing instead of this far-out sci-fi. All around, it resembles surprisingly little of the original game, except for all of the names. Also missing out on a whole bunch of the creatures from the original games (I guess they didn't have the time or money). Wow, the opening is pretty dumb. Some parts are just plain weird. Mario and Bowser appear in the middle of a huge crowd and throw some magic around, and nobody seems concerned. They even laugh when the mobster is turned into a monkey. This is kind of funny, but seriously, nobody cares that the world is coming to an end?! The Questionable Things Extremely corny and goofy. Great for kids or people who don't like seriousness. Bad for most others. Acting can be seen as terrible or acceptable. *Seriously, is this guy really named "Mario Mario?" As a movie, it stinks royally. But we got to consider that the original computer game was extremely strange and silly to begin with (what with a pair of plummers jumping on things, eating mushrooms to grow bigger, and eating flowers to spit fireballs; were they on drugs when they made these games?!), and translating it into a movie was bound to be disasterous. In that respect, the movie does okay. If you ignore the impossibilities and accept the goofiness, this is actually pretty fun and possibly nostalgic. Otherwise, it stinks royally. The DVD has okay video and sound quality. It's in widescreen, but is not anamorphic. Disc has no special features other than a trailer. If this review has not been helpful, feel free to leave a comment, telling me how I can improve.
	Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
	"Solid Gold Gaming"	2008-08-06
The Good Things Excellent gameplay. The controls are not too hard to master. The level designs are great. There are lots of weapons and items to use. Enemy AI seems pretty good and somewhat challenging. You can interact with the game in many ways; you can even do stuff during cutscenes. It's not all about shooting or killing. Much of the game involves sneaking and problem solving. Graphic and sound quality are awesome; probably the highest quality I know of. Lots of details, textures, reflections, lighting effects, etc, all in glorious HD quality! Storyline and characters are immersive, interesting, and told in a very cinematic way. Some scenes are visually striking. Some good inside jokes. The Bad Things The story may be confusing for those who are unfamiliar with the whole franchise (like me; I don't understand much of it). But it still makes some sense for the uninitiated, and is still worthwhile seeing. Fans of the series may pick up better on the history, characters, and homages throughout. Not for kids; contains bloody violence and swearing. You seem to spend a lot of time watching cutscenes (but in most cases, you are able to interact a little bit with them. Besides, some of them are totally awesome). This is the first game I've played on the PS3, and I can't seem to stop playing it. The gameplay is fantastic, the storyline is addictive, and the graphics are beautiful. Highly reccomended to any gamer.
	Star Trek VI - The Undiscovered Country
	"To Be...Or Not...To Be!"	2008-08-04
The Good Things Excellent action and special effects (especially the opening, which was probably the first really cool use of the shockwave effect that we now see everywhere else). Filming style is good. Storyline is smashing. Much darker, more dramatic than before. Lots of interesting political intruigue and mystery. Reveals a lot in the "Star Trek" universe. You finally get to see more of Klingon culture, and you get to see that they have pink blood, and so on. Characters are great; acting is good. Writing is good. A few memorable lines, and a few bits of dry humor that doesn't take away too much from the serious storyline. Strong themes about the uncertainty of the future (hence the Shakespearean motif). Excellent music; a different theme, but very dramatic. The Bad Things *Bloody violence and the dark atmosphere may be too inappropriate for young kids. For the longest time, this was my favorite "Star Trek" film (until I decided that the "Wrath of Kahn" was better). This still ranks highly with me, for it is very dark, dramatic, mysterious, and intense. At the same time, it does have a happy ending, and the film overall serves as a great final homage to the original "Star Trek" cast. The one-disc version had okay video and sound quality. The two-disc version has good quality and a number of featurettes and trailers.
	Star Trek V - The Final Frontier
	"Let's See What's Out There"	2008-08-04
The Good Things A lot of good special effects and action scenes (albiet the quality is noticably different). Filming style is good. Characters are good and deep. Good acting, once agian. Writing is not bad. Some good comedy, some good drama. Good music. The Bad Things Pretty iffy storyline. I liked the idea and the fact that it is so grand. But most people seem to have a problem with it and other aspects (such as Spock having a half-brother who is so compassionate). The Questionable Things It looks as though they tried to make it grittier, edgier, and more sleazy. It kind of works, but in a way, it may be too different. Despite the quality of the effects, some of them are totally weird at the end. Bigger is not always better. This film is a great departure from the previous ones, bumping up the scale of the story, adding even more to the characters, and making everything a little scummier. I think it's pretty fun, but it really is the weakest of the "Star Trek" films. The one-disc version had okay video and sound quality. The two-disc version has similarly okay quality and a number of featurettes and trailers.
	Star Trek - First Contact
	"The Beginning is a Means to the End"	2008-08-04
The Good Things Excellent action and special effects. The opening battle scene is probably the best of the series. Filming style is good. The storyline is good. Includes a great deal of excitement, comedy, and drama. Incorporates a good deal of stuff from the Star Trek universe. The Borg make for the best bad guys of the series. They are quite menacing (and it's about time they stopped bringing up the Klingons!). Also an original and refreshing look at the history of the saga, involving the guy who invented Warp Drive. Characters are good. Picard shows a great deal of pain and compassion. Writing is good. Music is good. The Bad Things Ummm... To start with, this film has some of the best action and battle scenes in the series. It also boasts some immersive drama, comedy, and suspense. And it ties in a lot of aspects from the TV shows to create a coherent plot. It's probably the best film done by the Next Generation crew, and is certainly worthwhile watching. The one-disc version had good video and sound quality. The two-disc version still has good quality, and has a number of featurettes and trailers.
	Star Trek VI - The Undiscovered Country
	"To Be...Or Not...To Be!"	2008-08-04
The Good Things Excellent action and special effects (especially the opening, which was probably the first really cool use of the shockwave effect that we now see everywhere else). Filming style is good. Storyline is smashing. Much darker, more dramatic than before. Lots of interesting political intruigue and mystery. Reveals a lot in the "Star Trek" universe. You finally get to see more of Klingon culture, and you get to see that they have pink blood, and so on. Characters are great; acting is good. Writing is good. A few memorable lines, and a few bits of dry humor that doesn't take away too much from the serious storyline. Strong themes about the uncertainty of the future (hence the Shakespearean motif). Excellent music; a different theme, but very dramatic. The Bad Things *Bloody violence and the dark atmosphere may be too inappropriate for young kids. For the longest time, this was my favorite "Star Trek" film (until I decided that the "Wrath of Kahn" was better). This still ranks highly with me, for it is very dark, dramatic, mysterious, and intense. At the same time, it does have a happy ending, and the film overall serves as a great final homage to the original "Star Trek" cast. The one-disc version had okay video and sound quality. The two-disc version has good quality and a number of featurettes and trailers.
	Star Trek - Nemesis (Widescreen Edition)
	"The Ultimate Enemy Is Oneself"	2008-08-04
The Good Things Lots of cool action and special effects. Very different filming style. Much more vivid and interesting use of colors and camera angles. Also a bit darker and more dramatic. Storyline is interesting. It's cool to finally see the Romulans in a film. Characters are smashing. There are lots of paralells involved; Picard vs his clone, Data vs B-4 (his clone), Troi vs that ugly alien, Riker vs the same ugly alien, and so on. Duality is the key point, and it makes for some very interesting interactions and dialogue. Writing is good. Not so much comedy, but definately lots of drama. As mentioned above, strong themes of duality. Okay music. The Bad Things The ending is a little dissapointing. Data is dead, the Enterprise is destroyed again, and everybody moves onto different paths. It almost warrents a whole new Star Trek TV series. The Questionable Things *It's almost too different. Definately a strange departure from previous films. I didn't really like this one at first, but I'll be darned if it didn't grow on me. The action and special effects are very slick and cool. Above all, there are a lot of interesting issues involving duality between the characters, with the Romulans, and overall light and dark. It's dark and deep, but also a little too dreary and different. Still, it's very interesting and entertaining. The one-disc version had good video and sound quality, and had some deleted scenes and featurettes. The two-disc version has good quality still, some of the same extras, plus additional featurettes.
	Star Trek V - The Final Frontier
	"Let's See What's Out There"	2008-08-04
The Good Things A lot of good special effects and action scenes (albiet the quality is noticably different). Filming style is good. Characters are good and deep. Good acting, once agian. Writing is not bad. Some good comedy, some good drama. Good music. The Bad Things Pretty iffy storyline. I liked the idea and the fact that it is so grand. But most people seem to have a problem with it and other aspects (such as Spock having a half-brother who is so compassionate). The Questionable Things It looks as though they tried to make it grittier, edgier, and more sleazy. It kind of works, but in a way, it may be too different. Despite the quality of the effects, some of them are totally weird at the end. Bigger is not always better. This film is a great departure from the previous ones, bumping up the scale of the story, adding even more to the characters, and making everything a little scummier. I think it's pretty fun, but it really is the weakest of the "Star Trek" films. The one-disc version had okay video and sound quality. The two-disc version has similarly okay quality and a number of featurettes and trailers.
	Star Trek - Insurrection
	"Insurrection Interlude"	2008-08-04
The Good Things Good action and special effects. Love the nebula battle scene. Good filming style. Generally more colorful and upbeat. Pretty good storyline. Good characters. Good writing. Contains some comedy and a nice love story. Also some interesting content concerning immortality and having two species of the same genetic root fighting each other. One or two interesting themes about youth. Pretty good music. The Bad Things Nothing particuarly special; the movie feels more like a two-hour long episode. The Questionable Things *This film is called "Insurrection," but it's not that big of an insurrection. I expected the Enterprise to oppose the entire Federation or something, but it's more like a small isolated incident. The Questionable Things This film is nothing too big, dramatic, or exceptional, and plays out more like another typical episode. Still, it is pretty fun, as it contains some good action, special effects, and comedy. It is also stylistically interesting, with some very slick ship designs and colorful settings. It's good fun for Star Trek fans, but most other people may be dissapointed. The one-disc version has good video and sound quality. The two-disc version also has good quality, and includes a number of featurettes and trailers.
	Star Trek IV - The Voyage Home (Special Edition)
	"Is This a Good Time for a Colorful Metaphor?"	2008-08-04
The Good Things Some good special effects. Some of it is quite memorable. Filming style is good. Storyline is great; an interesting departure from the story-arc of the last two films that ties everything together nicely. Characters are still good. You get to learn one or two more things about them all. Good acting. This is mostly a comedy, so there are loads of funny scenes. Lots of memorable dialogue. Good writing. Strong themes about the environment and saving the whales from extinction. Music is good (uses a different, more upbeat theme). The Bad Things Ummm... The Questionable Things *It almost seems too different in a way; can be good or bad. This is definately the funniest and most light-hearted of the bunch. Aside from the continuing "Star Trek" storyline and a number of great special effects, the story is dominated largely by hilarious dialogue and scenes as the crew travels back in time and tries to fit into an urban environment. On top of it all, it has some very strong messages about preserving our environment. Altogether, it'll leave you smiling. The one-disc version had okay video and sound quality. The two-disc version has good quality and a number of featurettes and trailers.
	Star Trek VI - The Undiscovered Country (Special Edition)
	"To Be...Or Not...To Be!"	2008-08-04
The Good Things Excellent action and special effects (especially the opening, which was probably the first really cool use of the shockwave effect that we now see everywhere else). Filming style is good. Storyline is smashing. Much darker, more dramatic than before. Lots of interesting political intruigue and mystery. Reveals a lot in the "Star Trek" universe. You finally get to see more of Klingon culture, and you get to see that they have pink blood, and so on. Characters are great; acting is good. Writing is good. A few memorable lines, and a few bits of dry humor that doesn't take away too much from the serious storyline. Strong themes about the uncertainty of the future (hence the Shakespearean motif). Excellent music; a different theme, but very dramatic. The Bad Things *Bloody violence and the dark atmosphere may be too inappropriate for young kids. For the longest time, this was my favorite "Star Trek" film (until I decided that the "Wrath of Kahn" was better). This still ranks highly with me, for it is very dark, dramatic, mysterious, and intense. At the same time, it does have a happy ending, and the film overall serves as a great final homage to the original "Star Trek" cast. The one-disc version had okay video and sound quality. The two-disc version has good quality and a number of featurettes and trailers.
	Star Trek III - The Search for Spock (Special Edition)
	"Spock Need Brain!"	2008-08-04
The Good Things Lots of good special effects and action . Includes some really big epic scenes, such as the Enterprise self-destructing, and planet Genesis exploding. Filming style is good. Storyline is not bad. Includes lots of dramatic scenes and some good funny comedy. Characters are not bad. They aren't as great as the last film, but they have their moments. Writing is not bad; lots of good lines. Music is good (practically the same themes as in the last film). The Bad Things Seems short, sweet, and simple. Oh, did Kirk's son really have to die? Although this film seems shorter and weaker, it is essential viewing for the series. It boasts some of the biggest action scenes, and has some very dramatic parts. Not to mention, a lot of funny parts too. It's definately a lot of fun. The one-disc version had okay video and sound quality. The two-disc version has good quality, and contains a number of featurettes and trailers.