How was it?

I hated MI:2 as well. The first was entertaining, and the third was HIGHLY entertaining in my own opinion. I just thought the second one was a complete waste of time and laughably bad (but not in a way that you would actually, you know, laugh while watching it).

MI:2 and Face Off are the only John Woo films I've seen and I thought that both were absolutely atrocious examples of film-making. I'm hoping that I'll enjoy Red Cliff and some of his earlier films like The Killer once I get around to viewing them.

It's been a while since I've re-visited this series, but I always liked that M:I-2 was just shameless fun. "Vapid" is a fair term. For me, the third is actually the most disappointing. There were entirely too many major scenes that seemed to be lifted directly out of other recent action/spy movies; the whole film just felt like a Greatest Hits compilation and lacked originality.

The worst offense comes in the middle of the film, when the bad guy is rescued from an armed truck on a bridge (Licence to Kill, True Lies) and that's followed immediately by the hero racing to a hospital, stuck in traffic while something bad is happening to his wife (Patriot Games). M:I-2 has its flaws, yes, but I give it credit for at least seeming to tell its own story.

The Illusionist - PQ: 3/5, AQ: 2/5, OQ: 3.5/5

I was under the impression Mission Impossible 2 didn't have a story to tell. Did it even have a plot? I honestly cannot remember there being one. That's worse than a film that's essentially a good collection of impressive action sequences. And as a huge Alias fan, I can admit J.J. Abrams simply pulled a lot from his own prior material and other films (as you have keyed in on). But it was fun. And I can't say the same for John Woo's attempt.

They insanely tried to rehash the plot of Notorious of all things.

Marley and Me - PQ: 4/5, AQ: 3/5, OQ: 3.5/5 I had a boxer before but passed away.

I love Alias as well & you hit it right on the head. I can't stand when people dismiss directors saying they just copied or stole from other movies. It shows such a lack of understanding of film making. Look at Scorcese. We all admit he is one of the all-time greats, a true master, yet even his most critically acclaimed films nearly directly rip-off entire scenes from other movies. Done in the right manner there is nothing wrong with it.

The problem with MI2 is that it could actually use inspiration from other films, Woo only turns to Woo for the movie, which is why I call it self-indulgent crap. He uses every cliche, theme, & motif he used in every single one of his films.

And to stay on topic I watched Frantic last night. Horrible PQ but a really good long forgotten Ford/Polanski film.

Terminator Salvation tried watching this but the disc was glitchy and wouldn't play without stopping and skipping. Since I wasn't all that thrilled with the movie in the theaters this was an opportunity to give it another shot. Just wasn't meant to be. Disc was clean but didn't care enough to try again so I watched more Firefly instead

Drag Me To Hell - PQ: 5/5, AQ: 4/5, OQ: 4.5/5 - One of the most scariest flick ever seen to date.

Really? I found it to be a lot more entertaining in a fun, goofy way than downright scary, and yet I have heard some claim it as one of the scariest. I would have to say the original Evil Dead still takes the cake as scariest Sam Raimi film.

Keeping on topic, I'm three episodes in to Dexter: Season 2 and loving every minute of it. How this show is so good is almost beyond my own comprehension. The idea behind this show could have led to a series as mundane and unnecessary as any CSI spin-off series, only with an even more gimmicky plot that focused on a serial killer having a different victim every week. Instead, this show features some of the most intelligent writing on television today, excellent direction, and downright amazing performances (especially from Michael C. Hall). I've quickly turned into a devoted fan of this series. I can't wait to see what happens next and never know where the show will take me (besides someplace fascinating)!

A Nightmare on Elm Street

The Final Countdown. Quick review:

Video is generally soft and has a serious problem with being very blurry and out of focus on the top and/or bottom edges of the screen. The middle will look just fine, but the top inch or so of TV is completely out of focus. By and large it's good, nothing to write home about. 3/5.

Audio is very low and weak, lower than the regular DVD for some reason. I had to crank it up. All front-loaded, no real dynamics. Felt like I was listening to mono when it was the DTS track. 1.5/5.

Land of the Lost - PQ: 2/5, AQ: 2/5, OQ: 2/5 - Thats not even funny

I wonder if you got a defective disc. I'd rate the transfer and audio quality highly. It's an MPEG-4 transfer and looks like it has no DNR or the like, and the DTS-HD Master Audio was great for Michael Giacchino's score.

Yeah, most reviews have given it's video high marks.

A Nightmare on Elm St.
Bad Lieutenant:POCNO

Sherlock Holmes, Nicely done A/V and a very entertaining movie to boot!

Harry Potter Half Blood Prince The movie looked and sounded good enough however I'm too far removed from the franchise. I missed the last movie or two so a few of beckstory references were harder to follow than usual. As I get older I also have trouble understanding accents. There were several things I just plain didn't know what they said. Good for people really into the franchise however not a good choice for me.

The Slammin' Salmon - You know, I really liked Super Troopers, so I'm having a hard time figuring out how this piece of shit came from the same crew. I thought it might at least be amusing, but it's horrendous in every conceivable way. The only saving grace is Clarke Duncan, but he isn't the focus of the film, and it suffers. PQ was mediocre, at best. AQ was shit.

Zombieland. Awesome flick.

That was an Oscar night gag with Billy Crystal, where he was superimposed in movies. The superimposed him in "Jerry Maguire" where Cuba was making the demands and Tom yelled "fine!" Except it was Billy saying "And I want you to explain to me the plot to Mission: Impossible!" Tom: "FINE!"

My memory is fuzzy on details, but I do remember the gag.

The Unborn (Unrated Version) - PQ: 4/5, AQ: 5/5, OQ: 4.5/5 - Odette Yustman looks exactly like Megan Fox

The Bad Lieutenant - Port of Call: New Orleans - Incredibly bizarre mindfuck of a movie. It's much more tame than the original, but I'd hardly consider this a remake - it's more like a kindred spirit, or something. Cage is awesome in every sense of the word - the guy is a maniac. PQ was good, but never stunning. AQ was a bit weak.