dahstra Reviews

Moving McAllister (2007)

Fun, clean, romantic adventure.

[8/10 · 25 November 2007]

I was very happy about the choices for character casting. Everyone became their part, seeming very comfortable. Our two main characters had very good chemistry. The intermittent characters were given enough focus and detail so that you easily remember them.

It was amusing to follow the characters through all of their adventures. Most of the subplots were rooted in humor, but there were also some dramatic family elements that I felt were well balanced.

Some of the jokes were gross, but still funny. They easily avoided inappropriate language and situations leaving this film an easy pick for teens.

Can't wait for the DVD!

Road Rage (2000 TV Movie)

Exhausting chase story.

[13 August 2004]

I purchased this movie under the name "Road Rage." This movie jumps right into conflict, no wasting time. Van Dien's character breaks up a quarrel between Brett and Griffin's characters. Griffin is merely your stereotypical, obsessive, stalker boyfriend. Brett is the girl next door who was at first impressed with Griffin's dedication and attention to her, but now sees him for the freak that he is. Van Dien, an unknown classmate of Brett's, instantly makes an enemy of Griffin by heroicly (in blond hair I might ad) defending Brett and getting his forehead mashed in her name (sound effect: Tim Allen, "ArooooOOO!"). Van Dien romantically offers Brett a ride home in is "limousine." Griffin (Bo) glares at Van Dien from the distance as Van Dien drives Brett away. At this moment you see the transformation of Bo into Darth Bo, vengeful and unstoppable. While driving Brett home, Van Dien enjoys the bliss of his macho rescue. Not paying attention to the road, he cuts of a fancy truck in traffic, causing it to spin out (impressively not hitting anyone else). Though the windows of this truck are tinted, you can imagine, based on the scenes to come, that the driver's eyes turned white, his clothes splitting and anger RULING his actions (reference: David Banner [Hulk]). Here's where I must say the stunt drivers for this film did a pretty good job! The EVIL truck begins chasing our new favorite couple, for a VERY long time. I was exhausted by the time this show ended. I felt like I had just driven home in rush our at 60 MPH in stand still traffic. This is another good Saturday afternoon movie. Get some M&Ms and popcorn, kick those shoes off and GO.

Sanctimony (2000)

Cold blooded killer goes even MORE crazy.

[7 August 2004]

Although this wasn't a bad thriller, I felt there wasn't enough background for the characters to really get us in touch with them. Pare is a homicide detective on the trail of serial killer Van Dien. Pare seems to be in the middle of a mid life crises while tracking down Van Dien. Pare's wife, Oxenberg did a great job appearing genuine and vulnerable in her part. It takes a bit of concentration to figure out WHY Casper's character (the killer) would just snap completely and give up his killing spree, when he was no where near being caught. Without going into scene detail, here's my theory. Van Dien's character, already a vein and cruel individual who enjoys dominating, torturing and killing others, became even MORE disillusioned with American society. He encounters Pare as the witness who "found" a murdered girl. Obviousely Van Dien wanted to be found. Here is where you expect the killer to really start toying with the police for the fun of it. Instead, it's like he became bored with his own killing game and any statement or satisfaction that was to be gained by his killing. He just snaps and goes for broke in his killing. I got the feeling near the end that he entered an even darker place (if that's possible), hopelessness. There was gore and violence of course, but it was not over done. A bizarre thriller that is certainly worth a watch for lovers of the genre.

Cutaway (2000 TV Movie)

Nice thrill seeking cop show.

[6 August 2004]

I enjoyed this film. Baldwin is a cop investigating elusive drug traffickers. Berenger is the leader of a sky diving team that Baldwin suspects of being behind the trafficking. I picked this movie up because of Casper Van Dien's part. He appears at the beginning as a military trainer Baldwin hires to steady his skills. Van Dien later appears again at the end as a competitive adversary to Baldwin's team. Watching all of the sky diving and training was very interesting. Most of the suspense was during flight instead of during "law enforcement" confrontations as one might expect. The WIND tunnel where Van Dien trained Baldwin looked SO fun! Baldwin's turmoil is mostly trying to balance his loyalty to the sky diving team and the police force. The ending isn't really predictable, but it's not surprising either. Certainly worth a watch!

Tarzan and the Lost City (1998)

Fun action adventure with a dose of magic.

[8/10 · 4 August 2004]

I enjoyed this film. It was nice to jump PAST the point where Tarzan was discovered, to a point where he had left the jungle and returned to England for socialization. Casper is an intelligent, grunt-free version of Tarzan who returns to the jungle after getting a psychic call "home" from his shaman friend. The movie remained focused on the goal set at the beginning, to save the Lost City from a power hungry treasure hunter. I didn't feel lost or that any of the events were fluff. There is a nice display of magic which was presented well by the special effects team. All of the acting was well done and not overdramatized. I would very much like to see the story continued by this team of creators and actors.

Under Heavy Fire (II) (2001)

Story of several soldiers looking for the truth.

[5 July 2004]

To start off, I have to say that the European name, "Going Back" really suited this movie better than "Under Heavy Fire." I'm not much of a war movie fan, but as I'm trying to see more of Casper's stuff I took a chance.

As this is a story about the soldiers, and not the War, it was much easier for me to enjoy it. It takes place in the present day, and only shows the war when being remembered, or as footage taken on the scene. It's about a US troop during the Vietnam War who experienced a tragedy by friendly fire, and they blamed their captain (Casper). In the present day a reporter / historian wanted to help the remaining troop relive this tragedy, by revisiting Vietnam and reenacting the event to help them figure out what really happened, thus "Going Back."

Most of the present day scenes felt genuine, and the War memory scenes were used strictly to clarify or enhance emotion and not just to show the War. There was an especially touching present day scene where a Vietnamese woman Captain Ramsey went to visit sings him a BEAUTIFUL song to thank, "A soldier who has lost his way."

Certainly worth my time to see.

Python (2000 TV Movie)

Ohh, it's a Kill The Celebrities Movie!

[5 July 2004]

Anaconda turned me off of snake movies, but I decided to see this one because Casper's in it. My last impression of the movie during the credits was, "ohh, it's a Kill The Celebrities Movie!" It was fun to see so many celebrities, Van Dien, Englund, Wheaton, Zabka, but only ONE of them survives! The snake's special effects weren't bad as long as it wasn't a close up. Actually, I wish that the special effects for Mummy II (The Scorpion King) had been done as well as this snake (there was a joke). The gore (acid eaten bodies) actually looked cool and I was happy there weren't any close ups of those. The gore from the snake's death was less than I expected because of the scene's setup. It wasn't very climactic. But hey, maybe that's what REALLY would have happened. The very end shows all of the survivors six months later. There was NO point to that. I'd have expected to see some "hint" at another movie, but no. It was just, look how happy every one is after this and they've achieved all their dreams. Warm and fuzzy, but it didn't propel the storyline. Good Saturday afternoon movie to relax to after you finish mowing the lawn.

Thrill Seekers (1999 TV Movie)

Nicely done action movie with good characters and storyline.

[10/10 · 5 July 2004]

I'll watch any time travel movie once. This one I purchased and have watched several times and will again and again. If you've seen "Grand Tour, Disaster In Time" then you'll see the similarities of why people are traveling through time here. But that's where the similarities end. Almost a constant action movie. Good acting. Every actor gave their character a unique personality. There was also a fun interpretation of time changing in the future as it was being changed in the past. The goal of the FUTURE hunters conflicted with Casper's because they were trying to keep their future world intact. But you also feel for Casper's character trying to save lives in his world (the past). The pyrotechnics were VERY good, as were the time jumps. The story's ending wasn't ruined by being to perfect. Sure, Casper gets the girl, and we have to love that, but it left a realistic taste at the end.

The Omega Code (1999)

A US reporter needs to stop Evil itself after HE helped it.

[5 July 2004]

To start, I don't know anything about how this movie relates to stories in the Bible, only that it does. I enjoyed it just as is, without any preconceptions. The idea of a peaceful, unified planet isn't a bad one. Where is gets scary is when the Devil, or a demon takes the form of a European political leader, possessing enough intelligence and charisma to become the founder and leader of a "New World Order." Casper is a US reporter who at first supports this leader in Europe, but eventually sees through to the true nature of his Evil. Now begins the task of undermining Evil itself to save humanity from a very bleak future. An entertaining and thought provoking movie. This story is very similar to the "Left Behind" series.

Partners (2000 TV Movie)

Light hearted thriller/comedy with likable characters.

[5 July 2004]

The cover photo and back cover synopsis made this movie seem like just a drama/thriller, but I was pleasantly surprised that it was a fun comedy! All of the characters have their charming points, and you end up rooting for most of them, even though some are working against each other. There is violence, but it seems laughable because of the way it's treated by the characters. To sum it up, there's a briefcase to be sold, and the original thief of the item, unwillingly gets a partner (Casper), who then unwillingly gets TWO more partners without the FIRST partner's knowledge. This light hearted film is cute and you'll walk away from it with a bit of a grin. Nice work!

Kill Shot (1995 TV Movie)

Light thriller, mostly focusing on the lives of its characters.

[5 July 2004]

To me this movie actually seemed like a TV series pilot because of the abundance of characters, attention to the detail of their lives and the fact that the sub plots didn't always connect. Later I found out on Casper Van Dien's message board, it WAS a pilot later souped up to be a stand alone movie. The back cover synopsis talks about a stalker guy threatening a bunch of college kids. The ACTUAL plot felt a lot like "Freshman Dorm." The stalker was a very tiny part of the movie and was only directed at one of the characters. If you want a light thriller, mostly focusing on the lives of its characters, give it a look-see!

Starship Troopers (1997)

A new appreciation for this movie.

[5 July 2004]

To be fair, I haven't read the book, and have to admit, when I first saw this movie in the theater, I was really upset with the story. I didn't like the violence of the solders against each other in training (ie: beating Johnny Rico in public, knife through another soldier's hand) and the telepath (Neil Patrick Harris) seemed kind of Evil at the end. After buying the "Special Edition DVD" the other day and watching the special features, I realized that I wasn't SUPPOSE to be okay with what was going on! This movie was a commentary on human history and behavior and how Facism can really be strict and dark. I never picked up on that before. And according to the commentary A LOT of people didn't pick up on that. The author of the story was trying to make a point. I have seen this movie in a new and better light. The special features are very interesting, so take a peek at those as well.