The Transformers (TV Series on DVD)

Running Time: 2549 minutes.
Media: DVD.

After having recently acquired two figurines from a friend of mine as a belated birthday gift, I've been inspired to review something now some 25 or so years since its initial release to TV, the Transformers cartoon series, and in this case, the original series from 1984 to 1988...

Sad, isn't it? Not really, considering the recent movie trilogy has raked in over $2.6 billion USD, I'd say it's done incredibly well, based off a very unique concept... Well, maybe not so unique. Anyone who tuned into Channel 7 down here in Australia back in 1984 to 1985 on an early Saturday morning, as I did would have seen similar antics from a race of transforming robots known as the Mighty GoBots, also marketed down here as Machine Men. Hasbro went a step further and came out with Transformers, of which Marvel, Sunbow Productions and IDW Publishing took it further, and released both the cartoon series on TV and the comic book series. Being young and not able to afford comic books back then, I was content enough to let 22 to 24 minutes of my life every week be devoted to watching these amazing robots battle against one another. Autobot against Decepticon. Decepticon against Autobot.

I took the opportunity earlier this year to sit through all 98 (yes, count them, 98!) episodes due to a relatively small investment at a local video and entertainment store, and purchasing the boxed set. It was always a passion of mine to own the series some day. The entire series is spaced out on 15 DVDs, which, including features is a whopping 2549 minutes... Which is a solid 42 hours and 29 minutes... And I spent the good part of three weekends going through all these...

The incredible thing about Transformers is that while the movie series of late may not appeal to the harshest of critics, the original series however, will always bring them back home. The series marks the struggle of the Autobots, in the brave command of Optimus Prime, in the battle against the evil Decepticons, headed by the maniacal and from recent reports, chronically emphysemic, Megatron.

The somewhat disappointing part of this, is that while the series portrays the Transformers from seasons 1 through to 4; the critical turning point post-season 2 to pre-season 3, has been left out. You actually are required to purchase "The Transformers", the animated movie, to see how things follow up from the end of season 2, to the start of season 3. The movie does not come bundled in with the series, which is a tad disappointing.

All in all, the Transformers cartoon series is great for any hard core fan such as myself. I'm giving this 4½ stars for bringing back childhood memories, having only deducted the ½ star for not having had the Animated movie to link the two middle series together.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2009)

Running Time: 152 minutes.
Media: DVD.

The book on which this movie is based, has but of course, become the next thing since the Harry Potter series and the Twilight Saga. Stieg Larsson brings his characters to life in the Millenium series, the first, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, is a best-seller. It seems every second person is reading this book... The Movie Madman has only just finished it last week, and is soon to follow it up with reading the sequel, The Girl Who Played with Fire.

But the real question is, how well does The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo translate onto the silver screen? I missed out on seeing this in the cinema and so I've had to resort to watching it on DVD. So I'll give you the best review I can.

One thing you'll come to notice is that this movie is in Swedish, and with English subtitles, so one thing I've come to learn is that you are continuously looking at the subtitles, as if watching a foreign movie on SBS. This can get annoying if, unlike myself, you are not used to having to read a movie. The title itself "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" isn't even the actual translation for the Swedish title "Män Som Hatar Kvinnor" which translates to "Men Who Hate Women"; which kinda gives you a bit of an idea of how dark this story can actually become, and considering the movie features much more graphic and somewhat violent scenarios, the book seems a little lean in comparison. Having read the book recently, I've always been curious to see how well the book translates into film. Accordingly, I tend to have somewhat high expectations of such book-to-movie transitions. I have to confess, even some fifty minutes in, the movie does adhere considerably to the storyline, with a few minor alterations to help speed the story along, but nothing that would detract from the original altogether.

Noomi Rapace stars as Lisbeth Salander, the enigmatic gothic computer security consultant; who is actually quite gorgeous, despite the black make-up and piercings. She'll actually be starring in the new Sherlock Holmes movie coming out in December alongside of Robert Downey, Jr. Mikael Blomkvist, played by Michael Nyqvist, who stars in the newest film in the Mission Impossible film franchise, Ghost Protocol, is also pretty much spot-on in his portrayal of the troubled journalist. If anything, he fits my expected interpretation of his description from the book.

This movie does come with a caveat from me, as it does contain scenes of violence and sex-related themes which may offend or upset some people. To be honest, I would highly recommend reading the book first before even considering watching the movie as I am doing now; kinda prepares you for what you end up seeing. Mind you, now having seen the movie, I now have a strange desire to eat meatballs and herring, and buy stuff from IKEA.

I personally would love to see how the American remake of this film, starring Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara, as Mikael and Lisbeth respectively, plays out in comparison. I'll be giving this movie 4½ stars for an excellent interpretation from print to screen.

K-19: The Widowmaker

Running Time: 138 minutes.
Media: DVD.

I'm always a little anxious when I come across a film whereby well-known actors are cast in roles where accents are generally required... Such is the quandy I find myself in now, whilst watching K-19: The Widowmaker, a war film that stars two legends (in my personal opinion), Liam Neeson, a seasoned Irish actor; and Harrison Ford, also a seasoned actor, hailing from Chicago, Illinois. To hear these two men converse with their Russian accents reminds me of a classic quote from Raphael from the 80's cartoon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles:

"He's not only from an alternate dimension, but also ancient Japan. So naturally, he speaks English." 

Don't get me wrong here, K-19 is an excellent movie, but the audience needs to look past the occasional accent-related glitch that may arise when you hear both Neeson and Ford talking. The accents slip in and out sporadically, but after a while you do become desensitized to it and you're able to focus more on the plot. I had a similar problem regarding accents in Valkyrie but not at the start of the film when I heard Tom Cruise deliver the prologue in flawless German; but when I heard many a British or American actor playing the role of a German speak in English accents... I guess I'm a stickler for the want of a bit of realism without requiring a leap of faith... or an atlas, to figure out where exactly I am.

The story unfolds in the early 1960's where the K-19, Russia's flagship nuclear submarine has been launched, headed by Captain Alexei Vostrikov, played by Ford. His XO, Mikhail Polenin, is played by none other than Neeson. Naturally these two come to blows about all sorts of crap, whilst still sharing unwavering patriotism for Mother Russia.

The s[CENSORED]t hits the proverbial fan when the submarine is reaching American waters only to find that the vessel's nuclear reactor system is leaking, which is a threat to not only those on board but also the missiles on board.

Harrison Ford provides some humorous food for thought around 13 minutes in, when he says:

"...No sailors have been given such a boat as K-19. It is the finest submarine in the world..."

Given the circumstances that follow makes me wonder, if the K-19 was the finest submarine in the world known in Russia, can you imagine what the worst Russian submarine would have been like? Probably would have been a dead-set lemon in comparison... Sailors would have to get out and push, brakes would have gotten stuck now and again and you'd probably would have to get in and out through the windows because the doors were stuck like it was some huge marine equivalent of the General Lee. But I digress...

The film plays well from start to finish, and as the casting of mainstream actors for the movie was limited mainly to the two opposing officers, the film was kept well grounded from the start. K-19: The Widowmaker receives four stars, given the intermittent accent issues from Neeson and Ford, but despite this I know I'll be enjoying this film now and again for years to come.

Fright Night (1985)

Running Time: 106 minutes.
Media: DVD.

Would you believe I picked up this little gem of a DVD for a mere dollar at a garage sale? I was blown away when I saw this and decided to go for it!

Fright Night is a 26 year old movie according to the timeline now, and stars William Ragsdale as the ever paranoid vampire-phobe Charley Brewster... For those playing at home, William Ragsdale played Herman Brooks in the 3-season sitcom series Herman's Head from 1991 to 1994. According to Wikipedia, Ragsdale would have been 24 when the film was made, so the older person playing a teenager idea is nothing new (consider nearly ever member of the cast of Glee). In fact if I recall correctly, Michael J. Fox was about the same age when he started work on Back to the Future; and surprisingly Ragsdale plays the part of a teen rather well, even though he does seem to bear a slight resemblance to Finn from Glee.

The one thing that surprised me is the starring of Amanda Bearse as Amy; and while the name didn't ring any bells that immediately, her face did... Amanda was known for her recurring role as Marcy in Married... With Children... And she's actually quite cute in this film... What the hell happened to her nowadays?

It all seems to go to pot for Charley, a fan of horror films, when he accidentally spies on his next door neighbor sucking neck on an unsuspecting victim. The neighbor, Jerry, is a vampire played by Susan Sarandon's ex-husband, Chris Sarandon, then gives Charley an ultimatum, leave him be, or he'll be killed... Charley, however, prefers to keep living... so he's in deep poop... Hijinks ensue when Charley recruits the services of supposed "vampire killer" Peter Vincent, played by Roddy McDowall, with the help of his girlfriend, Amy, and Charley's best friend, "Evil Ed", who seems to have been placed there for comic relief. At this point, the Movie Madman would like to state that the director failed miserably... It seems that although Stephen Geoffreys, who plays Evil Ed, seems to have a lot of experience in movies such as this, that the addition of him to this film, ironically subtracts more appeal from the film rather than adding to it.

The movie itself starts off with more oomph than you would expect of an 80's vampire flick, but it kinda starts to plateau after about halfway... and to be honest, the acting starts to get a bit lame after that point. Be on the watch for a scene between a recently sired "Evil Ed" and Peter Vincent, as well as a similar scene where these two characters meet again later on in the movie; and you'll see my point.

The back on the DVD boasted "If you love being scared, this will be the night of your life!"... To be honest, I didn't really find this movie as frightening as claimed. The film ends in the stereotypical fashion as most vampire movies did back then, but it's kinda left me kinda disappointed as the acting becomes quite schlocky and the special effects get progressively worse. I'd be more inclined to see how the movie's remake of Fright Night that was released in August earlier this year fares in comparison... I'm giving this movie two stars for the effort, even if it wasn't a decent effort...

Sherlock - Series One (TV Series on DVD)

Being a huge Sherlock Holmes fan and having seen my fair share of Sherlock Holmes movies, TV shows and whatnot; to hear that there would be a more up-to-date version coming to TV seemed a little bit of a stretch... I mean, how could you modernize a classic like the stories of Sherlock Holmes?

Amazingly enough, the series, created by the BBC, does it incredibly well. Co-written by Mark Gatiss, one of the co-stars of the series and also one of the writers of the Doctor Who series, the show incorporates very creative interpretations of the original Sherlockian canon of stories.

The first series involves only three episodes, A Study in Pink, The Blind Banker and also The Great Game. The first, revolves at first around how both Holmes and Watson meet and their familiarizing themselves with one another; whilst also solving a case involving the deaths of a number of supposed suicide victims. The other two episodes revolve around a smuggling ring and a race against time to save innocents from being blown up, leading to the final conclusion where we see the cliffhanger moment by which the series leaves us, baiting the audience to wanting more.

Benedict Cumberbatch seems quite young but holds his own as the self-titled lead, with an air that speaks volumes. Cumberbatch in his mannerisms and attitude cries out "Sherlock Holmes" in so many ways you literally get sucked into this world where the essence of Holmes actually resides in a thrity-something year-old man in the twenty-first century. Sherlock (it seems that both Holmes and Watson now refer to each other by their first names) displays a very Asperger-esque manner by which he works his way through one clue to the next. Martin Freeman, a seasoned actor, shows his strength as the war-ravaged and sometimes comical Doctor John Watson.

For a DVD series, I'm eagerly awaiting the release of the second series on TV and hoping the DVDs come out as quickly. By far, a brilliant piece of work, even though at times it does detract from the original stories. This series will be receiving 4½ stars, and I hope series two receives the same.