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* Yellow asterisk: funny (maybe).
* White asterisk:
expanded format.
*
Blue asterisk: not mine.
No asterisk: it probably
sucks.
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OTHER CRAP:
Catch the deluxe
version of Other Crap in real time, with all the bells and whistles,
here.
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Excessive Force
Excessive Force is a by-the-numbers "tough cop vs. everyone" film, martial
arts variety. It takes place in Chicago, and the opening scene has three
undercover cops busting a three million dollar drug deal between some
distinguished and heavily armed Irish and Italian businessmen. It turns into a
shoot out, and almost everyone is killed, except the three cops, and two mob
guys. The head of the Italian group is upset because his money has vanished
mysteriously.
Cop one, Thomas Ian Griffith, is a jazz pianist and a martial arts expert,
recently separated from main squeeze Charlotte Lewis. Cop number two, his best
friend, is showering with his girlfriend, Susan Wood, when the Italians break
in, grab him, and shoot her. Then cop three, also a close friend, blows up in
his apartment. Griffith is not amused. Griffith gets Lewis safely out of town,
and then tries to figure out exactly what is going on.
The chief more or less tells him to get the Italians using whatever force
he deems necessary, but the next supposed surprise is that the chief is
crooked, and suddenly Griffith has no idea whom he can trust. So, will this
one man army do in an unending supply of bad guys and make Chi Town safe for
Democracy? As there is nothing original here, including the ending, I suspect
you already know the answer.
Griffith wrote and produced this film, evidently thinking it could make him
the next big action hero. Sorry, Thomas. Better luck next time. Griffith has
no charisma, and even making him a jazz pianist and cat lover didn't help sell
him as a lovable tough guy. And that's only the start of the film's problems.
The script is derivative; there are no characters to care about; and there are
no real surprises. Not only that, but two love scenes with naked women are not
nearly sexy enough.
This is a D+.
- IMDb readers say 4.3
- It was a major disappointment at the box office, where it only took in
$1.2M against an estimated budget of $13M.
- Berardinelli seemed even less impressed than I was, and awarded 1/2
star.
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Quand on sera grand
Simon, a 30 year old Jew of Algerian origin, is struggling to find
his feet as an adult. He and his partner Christine are unable to have a
child; his job as a journalist no longer satisfies him; the turbulent
lives of his friends provides an unwelcome distraction; and he is barely
on speaking terms with his father. Things start to get even more
complicated when his grandmother becomes deranged and he starts to take
an interest in the pregnant wife of an unsociable neighbor.
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Notes and collages
"Farscape" - Part 2
... lots of cleavage and beautiful women in this smart sensual sci-fi TV
series which got cancelled because the special effects cost more than the ad
revenue could cover
I highly recommend this series for rental or purchase based on the
obvious love put into this production. Some of the episodes are a bit odd in
terms of psychological focus, which I really could have done without, yet
the imagery is so lush I give it three thumbs up in an overview.
When the series got cancelled the fan-based impetus of a two-part
mini-series to wrap up the loose ends did exactly that in a spectacular
manner!
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Pat's comments in yellow...
A 530-mile trek to the North Pole by two women explorers to call attention to
global warming has been called off after one got frostbite from the extreme
cold. She said that going forward at all costs and losing toes was never part of
the plan.
* And in retrospect, it was pretty stupid to pack their
bikinis.
Israel has recalled longtime diplomat Tsuriel Raphael, its ambassador to El
Salvador, after he was found outside his home, tied up, gagged, drunk, naked and
wearing several S&M sex toys. After being untied, he told police he was the
ambassador of Israel. A government spokeswoman said Raphael did not break any
laws, but they consider it "behavior that is unbecoming of a diplomat."
* If he likes being treated like that, Israel should make
him their ambassador to Syria.
Some parents are threatening to remove their daughters from Oprah Winfrey's
school in South Africa because the rules are too strict, such as no cell phones
or e-mail, only calling parents on weekends, and a diet of sandwiches, fruit and
yogurt with no treats.
* They have to be kept in
isolation, to keep Angelina Jolie from swooping in and adopting them.
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