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Reviews
Hook (1991)
A true gem and a modern classic
This film is a very creative interpretation of the character and world of Peter Pan, and all the other characters.
The casting of actors for the various characters is simply fabulous, especially Dustin Hoffman as the titular Captain Hook.
I have often found that especially one detail many people dislike is which hand is used for the hook. In the vast majority of films involving Captain Hook his hook is on his right arm, whereas here it is on his left arm; where the most common reason given is that Mr. Hoffman is right-handed (like most humans are) so having the hook on that hand would be impractical for him. Personally such a detail does not really bother me, as the character is the most iconic interpretation (at least in my mind) of the captain and this compansates aptly for such a minor detail.
The setting, the costumes and makeup is a feast for my eyes. Also the direction and story is really good.
It has been said that this film contain certain flaws, mostly minor, and even Steven Spielberg has said that he regrets some of the choices he made during the production. And yes, that this film contain some flaws is true; but those are only minor and dismissably. But then again, how many films has been made that does not contain any flaws? I would say very few, if any, so I am not really bothered.
Summing up: This film is a true gem and modern classic, which I would recommend for children as well as adults; and even now 31 years after its initial release, it is as good as ever and has stood the test of times.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Our Man Bashir (1995)
Quite simply brilliant
I have seen almost all Star Trek series, except Enterprise, Discovery and Picard, and loved most them; though such a series as ST: Voy had a lot of potential which was never realised. DS9 was almost as good, if not as good, as TNG.
As for the episodes in which some malfunction occur, be it the transporters, holo decks (or holo suits in DS9) or accidental time travel; this is by far the best of those, both in terms of spoofing more than one franchise (like TNG: Elementary dear Data, spoofs Sherlock Holmes), the episodes spoofs most if not all spy films and franchises of the 1960 in one way or another, but also the story.
If there is one thing I'm missing in this episode, it's some character (perhaps Bashir himself) pointing a major flaw in Dr. Noah's plan: Unless there are at the very least 50 people left to create a new population and each of the women has at least 2 children with different men, within a few generations inbreeding would most likely occur and the new population would eventually be unable to breed and therefore the population would cease to exist. But this is pretty much the only "flaw", if it should even be defined as such, in the episode; there are a few other "flaws" but those are so minor that I won't even bother mentioning them.
Stargate Universe (2009)
Somewhat disappointing, but not completely
I have always been a big fan of sci-fi in general, and the Stargate franchise especially for sci-fi set in our own time.
With that said: SG1 was mostly a great show with only a couple of problems that I won't even bother mentioning them.
Atlantis was not quite as great as SG1 and could probably been better; the main things bothering me was the constant lack power of in the city, and mostly a single enemy species (the wraith), though still with some variation.
I had fairly high expectations based on a few reviews and the fact that both its predecessors had been rather great. BUT it was not long before I realised that it was somewhat of a disappointment.
Why, I hear you ask?
1. The fact there is a set time for exploring the planets they visit before the Destiny jumps back to hyperspace.
2. Several of the planets they visit seems to have only few if any kinds of native inhabitants, so mostly they simply look for useful supplies and other stuff.
3. After awhile they encounter some motherships which would fire drones at the Destiny, and seems to be waiting at almost every place the Destiny pauses at, and this becomes somewhat tiresome in season 2.
4. An almost constant lack of power, spare parts for various systems, and limited to no control of some systems.
Those 4 points means that the series becomes somewhat "stale", for lack of a better term, and tiresome to watch.
With all that said, I WILL admit that it is not all bad. There seem to be some development of the various characters, something other shows really lacked (ST:Voy especially), and the relations between those are pretty varied in general.
So all in all, it is not great as its "siblings" (SG1 and Atlantis) in the franchise, and could probably been better. But especially character development and relations means that it is not all bad. Therefore, I give the show a rating of 4/10, and deem it well deserved.
Lightning Point (2012)
Only a few good things
To be said about this show:
The first is the possible existence of intelligent life other places than here on Earth; with the number of stars and planets in the universe it is arrogant to think that life (intelligent or otherwise) is only possible on our planet.
The second is the number of young, cute and attractive girls often clad in bikinis; although both pictures and films with such themes is availible elsewhere in various kinds og media.
Doc Martin: Movement (2007)
A rather rare episode
In most of the show's episodes, the doc acts rather rude and shows little to no sign of empathy or sympathy.
But in this episode, he seems to feel sympathy for a teenage girl who is harassed or bullied for her small breasts. Towards the end of the episode, the doc gives the girl a small container of vitamin pills. She asks if the pills will make her breasts grow, which the doc confirms if the cure is combined with exercise, healthy eating and no smoking or drinking alcohol.
This is a clear case of a somewhat rare kind of medical cure, called placebo, where the patient is led to believe a pill (or other kind of medication) has an effect, while in reality the only effect is stimulating the patient's body to heal itself.
Star Trek: Voyager (1995)
Not the best ST-show ever, but not the worst either
The very first time I watched anything Star Trek was Voyager, basically because I was unable to find anything else to watch on the telly. And now, this is my review:
I must admit, that I find both TNG and DS9 to be much better shows, but at least it is not as bad as Enterprise. The most annoying thing, for me, about Voyager is the continuity and consistency of the show. Or rather, the lack thereof. For example, the number of crew members seemed to vary greatly, from some 125 to 160 and sometimes almost from episode to episode. Another thing, how come Voyager only carried one of those torpedoes that destroyed the Caretaker's array? Was it some sort of prototype, or ..?
Despite the above, many of the stories are quite good, and most of the characters are also fairly well-written.
I clearly recall some people complaining about the Voyager using far more torpedoes that it was supposed to be carrying, and according to a quote from an early episode, officially being unable to replicate any more. Well, some of those torpedoes were used in alternate time lines, so if you count those used in the main story line, it is not as bad as it would appear. And, given the Starfleet engineers' ability to improvise and find solutions to almost any problem, I find it feasible that the Voyager crew found some way to circumvent whatever restrictions initially made them unable to replicate or build additional ones.
I have recently (June 2017) begun watching the show again, and I have noticed a couple of things: First and foremost is the power supply, as it is mentioned numerous times that they need to conserve energy because of a limited fuel supply; but still they continue using stuff like the holodecks. And then later, this problem seems to become less of an issue, but without explaining how.
Men Behaving Badly (1992)
Really funny show
A really funny show with great humor, actors and stories.
It is the first time I have seen Martin Clunes in any other show than "Doc Martin", and it is refreshing to see that he can play a character who is not as "dry" or "humorless" than his character in "doc Martin".
I especially like the story lines where Gary gets himself into trouble with Dorothy, and also the ones where Tony fails at "getting" Deborah.
I quite honestly can not find anything about this show to dislike; I find it flawless and much less irritating than some of the other stuff on the telly.
All in all, this is a great example of classic, wacky, British humor, which I personally find to be the best.
iCarly (2007)
One of the best teen-sitcoms out there
In general, it is my feeling that the quality of teen-sitcoms (which is how I would classify this) has been rapidly declining over the last 10 years.
The statement above is a "rule of thumb", and there is no rules without exceptions to confirm such rules. And this is, in my honest opinion, an exception which confirms that rule in the above statement.
Many of the newer (less than 5 years old at this time) teen-sitcoms seems to have only one purpose; to entertain and give people a cheap laugh. Such teen-sitcoms include 9 out-of 10 on the Disney Channel (Hannah Montana, Wizards of Waverly Place, Pair of Kings, and several others), 6 out-of 10 on Nick (Big Time Rush, Victorious, and few others), and similar numbers on other networks.
In that regard, I believe iCarly to be significantly different, judging from a) the general underlying feeling of the show, and b) the theme-songs lyrics. Both a) and b) seems to convey the message that "you should not be afraid of showing your talent, but just show it; that way you will earn other peoples' respect".
As for the stories and dialogue, it manages to uphold a decent standard. Granted, sometimes the dialogue over-uses puns, slapstick-humor and clichés, but generally it is varied enough to be entertaining and endurable. The only major things that bothers me is the sometimes rather heavy reliance of can-laughter, and that Spencer sometimes is more ir-responsible than you would believe. But that is my only complaints.
As for the characters, they are well-written and seems believable; though I fail to see how Sam manages to stay so slim/fit with the amount of meat she eats and how lazy she apparently is.
H.M.S. Pinafore (1997)
Great performance
I've rarely seen any kinds of theater-plays, operettas and the like, most because it doesn't really appeal to me. But I must say I truly enjoyed this one.
I became aware of this play (HMS Pinafore) while re-watching Star Trek: Insurrection, where an android goes crazy after been by a weapon and it's (his) captain tries to catch it (him). To do so, the captain distracts the android by singing "A British Tar" from HMS Pinafore, which the android has prepared a performance of. The song appealed to me, and I found a version on it on YouTube, from the Esgee production.
I have not seen any other performances of the play before or after, but I have done some research. This helped me notice, that there ARE minor differences between this version and the original, mostly in the music. And while some may call such changes "blasphemy" or close to it, it is my opinion that it have been integrated quite nice.
The actors for the different roles have been well-chosen, each giving a fine performance as their respective characters. Additionally, the different actors who perform the duets compliment each other perfectly; especially where the Captain and Little Buttercup sing "fair moon" and "things are seldom what they seem".
Other reviewers have stated that the Little Buttercup in this play, especially when played by Rima Te Wiata, is not the "plumb" type as she was supposed to be. Instead, she is rather slim and fit, and rather saucy/sexy at times. I'm especially impressed by how she manages to vary her tone of voice, from almost "squeaky" at times, to a more "normal" tone and at some points rather "deep"; and how she performs those changes quite nice. As I wrote above, she (Buttercup, that is) and the Captain really complement each other when performing "fair moon" and "things are seldom what they seem"; with Buttercup's varied tones of voice and the Captain's deep, dark voice, absolutely beautiful.
All in all a great performance, and well worth watching more than once.
Wizards of Waverly Place (2007)
A generally good show, but
Generally speaking, it's my honest opinion that this particular show is of much higher quality than most of the other DC (Disney Channel) shows, and I know for a fact that several other persons feel the same way.
The characters is generally well-written, but I honestly believe that the youngest of the Russo children, Max, is simply too stupid to be believable. I mean, many of the things he says and/or do, is so stupid/foolish that I don't think he would be allowed to walk around freely in the real world, but rather be in an institution for mentally challenged children. But otherwise, good characters.