| SPECIAL
FEATURE |
| DVD
& VIDEO REVIEWS
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by Veronica Mixon
October 21, 2003
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Taken
Dreamworks
Home Entertainment
- This marvelous Sci-Fi mini-series
is a monumental achievement. Steven Spielberg presents
an epic story of alien intrusion on humans by featuring
three families and the effect over several generations.
The story begins during a WWII aerial dog fight when
a plight and his crew are taken after seeing bright
blue lights in the sky. Capt. Russell Keys ("General
Hospital's" Steve Burton) proves to be a strong,
stubborn fighter and the aliens chose him and his offspring
as subjects for experimentation. After a crash, an ambitious
Capt. Owen Crawford (Joel Gretsch) makes his career
by marrying his commander's daughter and pushing the
old man out of the way. Determined to succeed at any
cost, Crawford threatens and eliminates all competition.
He zeroes in on a Texas family when he believes that
Sally Clarke (Catherine Dent) is hiding a lone alien
survivor John ("TV's "Without a Trace"
star Eric Close) who has taken human form. Over the
next 40 old years, Crawford chases the offspring of
Sally's brief union; Russell Keys and his son and grandson,
Charlie (Adam Kaufman) try to convince their family
and friends that they aren't insane because of their
fear of numerous kidnappings and the Clarke's protect
the "special children" borne into their family.
- This is very compelling drama
with sterling performances by a mostly unknown cast.
Crawford's genes eventually spawns Mary played by "The
Blair Witch" star Heather Donahue. Ms. Donahue's
intense performance as an insanely obsessed power-hungry
scientist is magnificent. Furthermore, the story sucks
you in from the opening frame and captivates you with
its mix of history fact, fiction and unflappable imaginative.
The filmmakers not only explore alien lore but the feelings
of powerlessness, of being different from the large
group as well as murderous impulses.
- The 6 disc set of ten two-hour
episodes and bonus features include a behind-the scene
featurette and interview with Steven Spielberg, the
directors and writer, and the some of individual actors.
Also included is an informative feature about the visual
effects team, the history and lore of alien sightings
and much more. Fans of sci-fi will be delighted with
this wonderful series.
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Matrix
Reloaded
Warner
Video
- The eagerly awaited sequel
to the ground breaking film "The Matrix" is
an ambitious tale that raises more questions about the
society that's run by the energy of unknowing humans.
Neo (Keanu Reeves) is still a reluctant messiah figure
but he's more experienced as a warrior and now, deeply
in love with the beautiful Trinity (Carrie Anne Moss).
Together they both follow the charismatic Morpheus (Laurence
Fishburne) who believes that the Oracle's prophesy will
mean the triumph of the human race over the machines.
In the "Matrix Reloaded," the audience gets
to see Zion, the underground human city as well as a
host of characters who manipulate the matrix for their
own petty purposes. There are some more spectacular
battle scenes including Trinity's diving from a high-rise,
Neo battling Mr. Smith (Hugo Weaving), who is now a
rouge agent; Morpheus competing for a former lover (Jada
Pinkett Smith) and an edge-of-the-seat chase scene on
the freeway with a ghostly pair of twins. The film is
satisfying for most fans and of course, it sets things
up for the final film of the trilogy.
- The disc is stuffed with a
wonderful behind the scenes featurette; a look at the
Matrix phenomenon, the set up of the freeway chase,
background on "The Animatrix, an MTV Movie Awards
spoof and a great peek at the making of the Matrix game.
This is truly entertaining, informative material and
it will leave fans panting for much, much more!
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The
Adventures of Indiana Jones: The Complete DVD Movie
Collection
Paramount
Home Entertainment
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The eagerly awaited collection of the Indiana Jones
trilogy plus intimate behind the scenes material is
an awesome box set. The movies look incredible as a
young Harrison Ford roams the globe in the 1930s hunting
for rare artifacts and priceless treasures from ancient
societies. Along the way, he battles a variety of villains
whose greed reveals the seedy side of treasure hunting.
While the image of the Great White Hunter emerges on
the big screen, these films also pay homage to old-fashion
movie making with non-stop action in exotic locales
of Egypt, South America, India and Europe; dashing well-dressed
heroes and pretty but feisty heroines.
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Both Steven Spielberg and George Lucas satisfy audiences
lust for adventure and they were making movie history.
After being widely criticized for the gross out feast
an an Indian banquet that include monkey brains and
eye-ball soup and scenes of crazed cult leader wrenching
out a man's beating heart from his chest, Spielberg
and the MPAA created the PG-13 rating to protect kids
from scenes of shocking horror. This controversy may
also explain why Indiana Jones is up against Nazi villains
in both "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "The
Last Crusade." The third film while fresh, funny
and exciting also closely mirrors the first film. All
three films foster themes dear to Spielberg and Lucas's
heart -- the outsider who is fearless and has a lust
for exploring the past and women who are independent
and demand a piece of the treasure. In "The Temple
of Doom," children who are as heroic as adults
and share in the danger and the excitement of the journey.
This certainly is a recurring theme in Spielberg's work.
The
Bonus disc will delight fans because it provides an
inside look at the world of Spielberg and Lucas as young
creative men as they wrote, produced and directed one
of the most profitable and entertaining film series
of all time. They both knew that what they were doing
was important and there is a video record of on the
set work of stunts, the animal creatures included to
spike your fear level and interviews of everyone involved.
This is simply a marvelous entertaining DVD collection!
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Mimic
Sentinel
Dimension
Home Entertainment
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The eagerly awaited collection of the Indiana Jones
trilogy plus intimate behind
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James
Cameron's Dark Angel
Dimension
Home Entertainment
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The eagerly awaited collection of the Indiana Jones
trilogy plus intimate behind
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The
Mark of Zorro
Dimension
Home Entertainment
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The eagerly awaited collection of the Indiana Jones
trilogy plus intimate behind
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Blue
Car
Dimension
Home Entertainment
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The eagerly awaited collection of the Indiana Jones
trilogy plus intimate behind
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Naqoyqatsi:
Life as War
Miramax
Home Entertainment
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The eagerly awaited collection of the Indiana Jones
trilogy plus intimate behind
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Edited
by Veronica Mixon
images courtesy of Dreamworks, Paramount and Warner.
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