Michael-Douglas Movie Reviews

Vol. 8 of the next thrilling adventures of Blake's 7 entitled
SHADOW and WEAPON

In the episode entitled Shadow
Blake and the others make way for Space city where every kind of vice is at anyone use...for a price including the most addictive drug in the known universe Shadow. Blake knows a crimnal group called the Terra Nostra operate out of space city and seeks thier help in stopping the Federation. What Blake doesn't know is that the Terra Nostra knows he is wanted by the Federation and are willing to give him over so space city doesn't come under control of the Federation. All the while ORAC seems to be controling Cally for its own agenda. Can Blake escape from the clutches of the Terra Nostra get ORAC under control and figure out why the planet Zonda seems to be the key to all these strange events?
In the next episode entitled Weapon
Travis has killed Blake..not really just a very well made clone created by the Clone Masters. Servalan has made a clone of Blake to meet with a weapons maker who has created a weapon called IMIPAK. From what Servalan has fopund out IMIPAK may just be the weapon needed to stop Blake in his tracks. Blake totally unaware that he has been cloned or for that matter what kind of power IMIPAk has that makes even the Federation puzzled. Can Blake find out before its to late?

Volume 8 of the "Blake's 7" video series contains two more episodes of this beloved British sci-fi series. The special effects are often primitive, but the snappy dialogue and memorable characters make B7 an engrossing epic.

In "Shadow," the first of the 2 episodes on the tape, Blake and the crew of the Liberator travel to Space City, a free space station known as the "Satellite of Sin." Blake attempts to make contact with the notorious interplanetary crime syndicate known as the "Terra Nostra." This episode reveals some more about Vila's backstory, and provides a great opportunity for Cally to show that, in a crisis, she is one tough rebel!

In "Weapon," Blake plans a raid on a Federation weapons development station. But things are complicated by the disappearance of a Federation weapons technician who has created an ingenious new weapon. This episode also introduces a powerful group of individuals known as the Clone Masters. "Weapon" is a bit over the top; the outrageously baroque costumes and weird, stagy sequence involving the Clone Masters seem a bit incongruous with the essential thrust of the plot. Best line: "...on Earth it is considered ill-mannered to kill your friends while committing suicide" (a typically sarcastic Avon to Cally).

Overall, "Shadow" and Weapon" are good installments in the series. If you have enjoyed such sci-fi series as "Babylon 5" and "Farscape" but have not yet seen "Blake's 7," give these, and other volumes in the series, a try.

The next vol. of Blake's 7 entitled SARCOPHAGUS and ULTRAWORLD

In the epsidoe entitled Sarcophagus
the Liberator has found some stragne craft floating in space. Zen does not register it as a space ship. Orac doesn't seem to have any answers. However Cally seems to be getting some kind of mental signal. Avon, Cally and Tarrant transport over to find out. What they find is a tomb. Avon decides this place has nothing and the tomb starts to collaspe. Cally grabs an artifact and they transport out. Soon the tomb explodes and the Liberator flies off. Orac tries to figure out what the artifact is but with no luck. Zen is baffled and can not come up with a clue. Cally wonders if the artifact is sending out the mental signal. Soon Cally begins to loose control of her mind and body. The others can do nothing but watch as Cally begins to hunt them down on the Liberator one at a time. But Avon intends to stop Cally at all costs.
In the epsidoe entitled ULTRAWORLD
The Liberator has found a planet out in the middle of nowehre. Zen reads that the planet is moving on it's own and does not find any life on the planet. Avon wonders why this planet is moving. Orac senses a vast computer on the planet but can't find out where. Avon and the others transport down to find out. Soon they meet the Ultra beings made by Ultraworld. The planet they thought and the computer Orac sneses are one in the same. The Ultra collect brain patterns and Avon and Cally are on the list. Now it is up to Dayna and Tarrant to save not only Avon and Cally but themselves as well.

Only the six regulars appear in Sarcophagus, which opened the door to some character development. Jan Chappell's Cally, however, is (once again) the weak link in the chain, her psi-powers the conduit for somebody to take over the Liberator. Paul Darrow's Avon may have feelings towards Cally, but this isn't developed in the series. Writer Tanith Lee developed a much more interesting relationship between Tarrant and the baddie, Servalan in "Sand." For a lighter and less emotional trip, I suggest Trevor Hoyle's "Ultraworld" which, complete with disco-ball alien world, Michael Keating's Vila making bad jokes, a lot of running through corridors, is a laugh riot.

The next thrilling vol. of Blake's 7 entitled GOLD and ORBIT

In the episode enetitled GOLD
Keiller the purser of the crusie ship Space Princess contacts Avon and the crew about a deal of a life time...17 billion in gold. Avon wonders why such a ship would be shipping so much. Keiller tells him it's a simple plan. Get in, get out and become richer then the Federation itself. What Keiller forgot to mention is that the gold belongs to an old freind. Avon soon wonders why such a job as this has come out of nowhere. He smells a trap even worse he smells a trap set up by Servalan. Avon soon wonders if Keiller can be trusted and if not can he figure a way out of the trap before anyone can spring it?
In the next epsidoe entitled ORBIT
Famed genius and sicentist Egrorian has not been seen by anyone for years until now. He has been on work on the most powerful weapon called the tachyon funnel. This weapon is so powerful it could blow away the Federation in a matter of seconds. Egrorian has now decided to sell his weapon. His first choice to sell the weapon? Avon himself. Avon wonders why him, he has nothing to offer. Egrorian makes the terms simple one powerful weapon for one powerful computer...Orac. Now Avon must choose to use the one tool to keep him one step ahead of the Federation or aquire the one single weapon that could destroy the Federation in a mere heartbeat.

This video show the British Star Trek at its finest. In these two episodes we see what has maade Blakes 7 a cult classic: strong writing and superior acting that rises far above the restrictions of tight budgets and notoriously cheesy sets. In Gold we have the classic "heist" plot played out aboard an interstellar liner, but what begins as a sort of Mission Impossible in Outer Space becomes an oddy moving mixture of pathos and irony. In Orbit we see Villa and Avon, the two most complex characters in the series, put into a situation which pits their peculiar drives of self perservation against each other with real suspense and superb performances; especially on the part of Paul Darrow as the complex anti-hero Avon who shows us just how far a Avon will go to survive. New viewers of Blakes 7 should be advised that these episodes are part of a single, long story, but this video can easily be enjoyed on its own. A real treat from the golden days of BBC science fiction.

A terrific killer bee nightmare, the best of its kind, a great killer bee movie that doesn't suck! A 3 star thrille with a terrific enemy! DEADLY INVASION will have you on the edge of your seat and bitting your nails till the very end!

I saw this when it came out and then again a few years ago and now I can't wait to see it again. So awesome.

A terrific killer bee nightmare, the best of its kind, a great killer bee movie that doesn't suck! A 3 star thrille with a terrific enemy! DEADLY INVASION will have you on the edge of your seat and bitting your nails till the very end!

I saw this when it came out and then again a few years ago and now I can't wait to see it again. So awesome.

I wasn't expecting much out of this movie but was pleasantly surprised with the plot and the acting. It certainly held my attention and I was surprised by the story went. It is also a great choice for anyone who wants to see more of Marg Helgenberger because you definately see more of her here!

It was an interesting movie with some interesting turn of events. I enjoyed it very much, and thought they made a pretty godd team.

I was amazed to find only one review of this movie. I first saw "Grief" on TV a few years back and I have a real fondness for it. Although I've heard it labelled a "post-AIDS gay flick", it is really so much more. Due to a tight script and some great performances (namely Jackie Beat and Illeana Douglas) you can't help but get sucked into the sleazy world of tabloid TV where the extremely likeable characters work on an early "Judge Judy" protoype. As the main character deals with the recent death of his boyfriend and the stresses of working in no-budget TV we gain insight into life and love in the 1990s. I don't want to give too much away about this movie as I feel if you watch it without any prior knowledge (like I did) you'll experience something quite wonderful. I liken the attitude and general feel of "Grief" to that of "the Opposite of Sex" and think they are both smart and excellent.

"Grief" is Richard Glatzer's ode to working for several years on the "Divorce Court" TV show. In this humorous and cock-eyed vision of tabloid television, the show is called "The Love Judge". Most of the action take place in the production office, showing the inter-relations between the staff and the underlying tensions of lust, sex and death which surrounds them. Craig Chester, Lucy Gutteridge, Illeana Douglas, the incredible Jackie Beat, Carlton Wilborn and Alexis Arquette form the nucleus of the story line.

Cleverly juxtaposing the action are clips from "The Love Judge" with character actor Mickey Cottrell sitting behind the gavel. These vignettes are not only camp classics in themselves (based on actual "Divorce Court" story lines) but they serve as counterpoint to the actions within the production office.

I know this because I appear in the first "Love Judge" vignette. I play schizophrenic opera diva Beverly Frattelli, who is being sued for gross infidelity by her gorgeous husband (unfortunately, cut from the final print.) However, Beverly has a slutty alter-ego named Ginger (who inexplicably has an Italian accent!) who emerges in court to defend herself!

Made on a shoestring budget, "Grief" is a low-impact look with sadness and wit at life, love, death and AIDS in the 1990's.

Adopted by a middle aged Jewish couple and doted on by her mother young Rebecca Hoffman leads a conventional life. Then her mother dies and her father remarries. In his new marriage there is no room for Rebecca. She is one to be tolerated. She no longer has a home. Years later Rebecca searches for her birth parents and comes to the realization that she is not white nor Jewish. Rebecca is Navajo.

Lost Child is a film based on the the autobiography, Looking For Lost Bird, by Yvette Melanson. In this picture we see the life of a child stolen from her birth parents and made to assume a new identity. Her adoptive father's reluctance to have her, her feeling of isolation and her quest to find her identity is both moving and tragic as we see a young woman so far from her home.

Mercedes Ruehl plays a sensitive and savy Rebecca who tries so hard to be accepted by her adoptive father. Her discovery of her Navajo roots gives her comfort and a sense of completion. Yet, she too and her family undergo some heartaches and challenges as she returns home. This movie shows the hope of a mother seeking a reunion of her children. We witness the reintergration of a woman back to her heritage. We also see the ugly side of cultural prejudice as her daughters attempt to fit in with their new family and culture.

This is an enjoyable film that is a sanitized version of the book. Everyone in the picture is so good, so noble to the point of being unbelievable. Of course everything works itself out and the family lives happily ever after. If only life could be that simple. Inspite of that Lost Child is well worth your seeing as you get a glimpse into another culture.

This is a very heart warming movie about coming home. It reinforces the strong family bonds even through years of separation. It explores the need to stand up against unhealthy traditions in a changing world, as well as, traditions which can help define who we are in an ever changing world.

This Canadian TVM directed by Douglas Jackson is beautifully lit and features an unusual idea for the serial killer genre. We are told that studies show that violent criminals who have been victims of child abuse are often adopted children, so this thriller takes a huge swipe at the adoption industry by making the protagonist an abused adopted child who wants to direct his violent energies towards his natural mother. Even though this premise indulges in the preposterous assumption that women who give up their babies for adoption do so as an act of selfishness, it still gives the material a queasy fascination, even in spite of a screenplay that's only freshness is in the perverse twists of fate that serial killers always seem to prosper from. Jackson's casting is mixed, with a bearded Donald Sutherland remarkably more animated than usual, but Lesley Ann Warren miscast. Her little girl voice and fine-boned neurosis are more suited to single women in distress or girlfriends at best. Jackson errs greatly in casting William McNamara, since we know him as the Copycat killer, and because McNamara isn't too subtle. Since he plays his murderous intention all the time, we're amazed that the others can possibly begin to trust him, though his obvious line readings actually score an unintentional laugh when he yells "Happy Mother's Day" in a non-celebratory moment.
The treatment has it's share of ridiculous touches. Someone speaks without being aware of a video camera on tripod filming them, a case history is confided to a person the speaker has never met before, there is a gay plot point which is inexplicable, an odd scene where Warren is enclosed in a curtained booth in a hospital room, and a song on the soundtrack "No one ever loved me like you". However Jackson delivers a verbal editing cut from Sutherland speaking to someone in one room then speaking to the same person in another, and we get a nice interior pan of windows leading to Warren in darkness knocking.

This Canadian thriller directed by Douglas Jackson is beautifully lit and features an unsual idea for the serial killer genre. We are told that studies show that violent criminals who have been victims of child abuse are often adopted children, so this thriller takes a huge swipe at the adoption industry by making the protagonist an abused adopted child who wants to direct his violent energies towards his natural mother. Even though this premise indulges in the preposterous assumption that women who give up their babies for adoption do so as an act of selfishness, it still gives the material a queasy fascination, even in spite of a screenplay that's only freshness is in the perverse twists of fate that serial killers always seem to prosper from. Jackson's casting is mixed, with a bearded Donald Sutherland remarkably more animated than usual, but Lesley Ann Warren miscast. Her little girl voice and fine-boned neurosis are more suited to single women in distress or girlfriends at best. Jackson errs greatly in casting William McNamara, since we know him as the Copycat killer, and because McNamara isn't too subtle. Since he plays his murderous intention all the time, we're amazed that the others can possibly begin to trust him...

"Headhunter" Tarrant and Vila are trap in space with somethings so dangerous, even the supercomputer orca is afraid and goes into hiding. Watch and wonder if Avon will leaves them in space to die.

"Assassin" learning, his love/hate archenemy Servalan is hiring a hitman to get him, Avon goes all-out to kill Servalan first.