3Deep Movie Reviews

The second season of Deep Space Nine is where things start to get a little bit interesting. The focus of the stories appeared on first glance to be about the Bajoran/Cardassian situation (when they were about anything at all), but slight mentions of the Dominion also begin to crop up this season. The show still doesn't quite seem to know where it wants to go yet, although it has a lot of interesting directions it could turn.

We hear small hints during the course of this year that will eventually have great impact upon the development of the series. A number of the hints are subtle indeed: who would have guessed that the fearsome Dominion would have been first mentioned in an apparently throwaway and goofy Ferengi episode? I vaguely remember watching the series at the time of original broadcast and those hints went utterly over my head. I don't remember them at all. It's very interesting to go back now with the benefit of hindsight and see what the Creators were showing us. Some of the references and plot lines are so vague as to be almost non-existent. It would be fascinating to know which strands were placed in the story-arc with a definite plan in mind, and which ones were thrown in there just to see if the audience would react favorably.

Uber-story aside, how are the individual episodes themselves this season? Well, as with the first season it's a bit of a mixed bag. The characters are developing nicely (we see the O'Brien and Bashir working relationship moves towards a direction that would be described a season later as O'Brien "not hating" Bashir any more), but the stories that they're placed in do not always shine. There are some gems, of course, and some flops, but overall, I'd describe this season as solid. Not terrific or horrible, but good.

The DVD extras on this set are geared towards (surprise, surprise) the second season of Deep Space Nine. As with the previous season's DVD package, we get an in-depth look at the alien creatures' makeup and costuming. There is also a short feature focusing on the character of Jadzia Dax consisting of interviews with the actress, the writers and producers. As with the previous season, this DVD set features some "hidden" interviews that aren't very well hidden. The extras are decent, but not extraordinary; I can't imagine anyone buying the whole box-set just for the short documentaries included.

The season closer is particularly strong. It takes some of the seemingly minor threads that have been running through the course of the year and suddenly throws a curveball at the viewer in the form of the Jem'Hadar, the Dominion's stormtroopers. The season ends on a particularly chilling note. Bring on season three!

Although DS9 was still finding its legs, season two demonstrated that DS9 wasn't going to be a Trek knock off. The writing by co-creator Michael Pillar, Ira Behr and others developed a number of key conflicts that would continue to pay off until the series conclusion 5 years later. Conflict is the essence of drama and Ds9 makes the most of the conflict between the spiritual Bajorans, the secular Federation, the xenophobic Founders and the untrustworthy Cardassians.

Oscar Winner Louise Fletcher returns to the role of an evil Vedick and she makes the most of this role. During the second season her character develops more depth. Guest stars such as Frank Langella, Steve Weber, Stephen Macht and others bring considerable acting muscle to the series. Let's not overlook any of the regulars. DS9 had an acting ensemble comparable to TNG in depth and experience.

Politics plays a much larger role in DS9 than TNG. Part of that is the confined nature of a series set on a space station. But DS9 really was always meant to be Casablanca in space to some degree. The complex story arcs began their development here during the second season.

The boxed set (unlike the first season) contains 26 episodes and about an hour and a half of extras that are enlightening but hardly essential. Once again Paramount missed the boat with the DVD reissue of this series. Commentaries from actors, writers and directors would have been interesting and provided an extra dimension to the DVD. Additionally, Paramount has priced DS9 like Trek at a premium....

In the second season of DS9, we see the continuing development of a superior science-fiction series, based on excellent story-writing and character development.

The 3-part season-opening story arc (The Homecoming, The Circle, and The Siege) shows us the darker side of Bajoran politics.

Invasive Procedures gives us a deeper glimpse into Jadzia Dax.

Shadowplay teaches us about loss and the lengths someone will go to keep memory of loved ones intact, while at the same time giving us a cryptic preview of the Dominion.

Blood Oath gives us a glimpse of the past with Klingons being portrayed by legendary original Trek actors, such as Michael Ansara.

The Maquis two-parter kicks off the storyline regarding ex-Federation members having to go it alone against the Cardassians in the De-Militarized Zone.

Crossover shows us the consequences of James T. Kirk's actions from the original Trek episode "Mirror, Mirror."

The Jem'Hadar finally introduces us to the sinister Dominion, in what will turn out to be the dominating storyline for the rest of the series.

There is much more that can be said about this wonderful season but there is not enough time and space.

The best that can be done now is to purchase this season (and all the others) on DVD and see for yourself.

I come to this DVD as a long-time Purple fan who never had the opportunity to see the band live. I was and am very familiar with the various 1970s live albums and I can say that no matter what people say, Purple with Blackmore in the 1980s and after NEVER equaled Purple in the 70s.

Listen (really listen!) to Blackmore's solos for example. In they 70s had a very definite beginning, middle and end, in which the melody (where did the melody go?) told the story of the song. Listen again to "Child in Time" from Made in Japan. It takes you through a range of textures and emotions, the tension mounts, the playing gets more and more furious, until Blackmore signals the end of the solo and, finally, FINALLY, you can exhale.

Starting with the first Rainbow live record all the way through this DVD, all we hear are cascades of notes, starting nowhere, taking us nowhere, ad ending nowhere. Perhaps to the guitar afficionados there is some brilliant playing here, but to the music fan there's nothing but disappointment.

Buy the DVD if YOU want to see DP and taste what it was like. But never use it to introduce your friends to Purple. They'll ask what the fuss is all about.

If you ever wanted to see the inner-workings of a hard rock band, the DVD of Deep Purple's "Come Hell or High Water" is a great place to start. For anyone who's followed this band since their 70s hayday, this should be pretty fasinating viewing. The song selection is solid, and the sound and picture are what you would expect from a DVD. Ironically (and somewhat unfortunately), the most captivating aspect - for me anyway - is watching the interaction (or lack of it) between Ritchie Blackmore and his other Purple bandmates. Filmed on the 1993 tour, this is the DP line-up most fans consider to be the strongest of its many incarnations. It is evident from the start however, that Mr. Blackmore would rather be doing something else. As the concert begins with Highway Star, Blackmore is nowhere to be seen - at least on camera. About 2/3 of the way into the song, he appears with great fanfare (and a somewhat derisive bow from Ian Gillian), plays a short solo, hits a few bum notes and goes into a petulant frenzy - shoving crew members and throwing water on one of the cameras. And this is only a few minutes into the show! Off camera interviews with Jon Lord, Ian Paice and Roger Glover give the impression that Ritchie's little tantrums have more than worn out their welcome. Lord talks honestly about having to take up Blackmore's slack, and Glover sums it up nicely when he states he felt both furious and sad for Blackmore. All in all, this is really a decent concert video, with Lord, Paice and Glover more than making up for Blackmore's choice to just go through the motions. Gillian is in good form, hitting most of the notes he reached so easily 20 years earlier. At 120 minutes, any Purple fan will be pleased with the generosity of songs chosen. The tracks are split fairly evenly between 70s favorites and stronger cuts from the line-up's early 90s reunion. I still prefer this to the recent "Albert Hall/Concerto" DVD, but at least Steve Morse comes to play every night, and saves his tantrums for off camera. It's pretty obvious from watching this why Blackmore left soon after it was filmed. It's also pretty obvious that DP is better off without him.

This performance shows the Blackmore DP era in great form. I hadn't been a die-hard DP fan, at times I much preferred Rainbow, but this DVD has helped turn me around. Although Blackmore left the band shortly after this performance (we're "treated" to some of his antics) he and the rest of the players give a simply terrific performance. The material from "The Battle Rages On" comes to life, and now it's one of my favorites. I've been a big Steve Morse fan for a number of years, and I've seen the Morse Purple live twice, but in fairness Blackmore's interaction with Paice, Lord, and Glover (Gillian does a fine job too) helps spotlight the creativity and unsurpassed talent of this band. If your a rock fan you should love this DVD.

Some of what is on this DVD already existed via the "Video Singles" and "Heavy Metal Pioneers" VHS videos released many years back. However, a LOT of what is on *New, Live & Rare* I've never seen before. Deep Purple fans will rejoice in seeing some of the very first reunion concert footage from '84 & '85 (black night, gypsy's kiss) where the band is clearly enjoying being back together. One interesting note is the absence of the 'spoken tracks' in the music video for "Call of The Wild"...one reason I will hold onto the "Videosingles" VHS a bit longer. I wonder why this was not included in the DVD release? Even the *Slaves and Masters* period (1990) is included here with two videos from that album and some "making of" studio footage. *N,L & R* also provides an interesting contrast of the guitar playing styles of Ritchie Blackmore & Steve Morse...you be the judge! Overall, *New, Live and Rare* does a good job of capturing the evolution of Deep Purple right up until the Montreux Jazz festival last year. Ian Gillan said it best many years ago..."Deep Purple Forever!" DE

The DVD captures aturbulent period in Purple's history, and it's great to see it all collected onto one video at last. But is it all? I have no idea! All the essential stuff from the first two Mark II reunion albums are there, and it is fantastic that they did put in the Turner videos (main reason why I got it- there is just so little documentation of the JLT line up, and it probably wasn't as bad as some thought, in retrospect). Lots of Morse footage and loved "Blind Man..." and the Smoke on the Water thing in Australia. But is there anything from The Battle Rages On that should have been on this disc? Adequate sound, picture quality dodgy at times, and Gillan is starting to show the strain. Essential for the fans only.

This DVD release is a GODSEND!!! Like every Purple DVD release
is (maybe with the exception of Come Hell & High Water), the
video and sound quality are absolutely superb. Brushing with all their videos from the 80's including the cheesy Knocking at Your Back Door and Bad Attitude to smokin' live footage of Black Night (84) and Space truckin (85). While the DVD is mainly split evenly between the Blackmore years and Morse years, both are equally outstanding. the Blackmore era includes many videos, even 2 with Joe Lynn Turner on vocals (King of Dreams , Love Conquers All) The Morse era pretty much is all live footage of Purple running through many old numbers along with some excellent newer stuff. Morse is suitable and an excellent choice to fill Blackmore's whiny shoes, Richie's playing is fantastic when he enjoys playing with Purple, and you get to see that on quite a few tracks. Overall, another excellent DVD from Purple.

Any Purple-addict should buy this DVD, Good Quality, very interesting new footage of the legendary recording of the Machine Head album, although the story is told over and over again, it is very nice to hear and see what happened there in Montreux back in 1973 out of their own mouth. I hear people complaining over the fact that"lazy"is missing, this might be a pitty to some of us, even me, but as you probably know very little film is available of the mark II formation. (For Example Scandinavian Nights is the ONLY full concert of the Mark II ever put on film)That's why i think this is all they've had and it's worth the buy! Enjoy it as I did, over and over again! and add it to the rest of your Deep Purple collectors Items!
Thanks; Ritchie,Ian ,Roger, Jon and (little)Ian for the greatest Rock-music ever!!

Any Deep Purple fan out there will like this dvd. Machine Head is of course their best album and this Purple line-up was the best. It's great to hear how each individual song came to be. Plus, the Space Truckin' and Smoke on the Water footage is great. I just don't get where Lazy went? Still, each member of the group shares great info on their work and it is great to hear.

If your a DP fan like me, then this is a must DVD. A song by song analysis by each member of that classic Mark II lineup. A very insightful look as to how the process of putting together a classic studio masterpiece worked for one of Rock's best live acts of all-time. The footage of DP at Hofstra University provided the most powerful vocal live footage I've ever heard or seen of Ian Gillan. Just an awesome display by both Ian and Mr. Blackmore. It's a real bonus to get the reclusive man in black's comments on Machine Head for this DVD. Cudos to the producers. I was particularly interested in the cuts we don't hear enough about like "Pictures of Home" and the rare classic, "When a Blind Man Cries." Although I too was surprised and disapointed that "Lazy" was mysteriously omited. However, that was the only negative to this "superb" (as Ian would say) album documentary. Go get this DVD! You won't be sorry. Last thoughts; pay no attention to the half-wits that gave this effort any review less than excellent. To whomever contributed the rare Hofstra footage... How about a DVD of that entire concert???

The Deep grabs your attention in the first ten minutes, which shows Jacqueline Bisset and Nick Nolte scuba diving, and Bisset's wearing a.....well, you probably already know. The underwater photography throughout this movie is gorgeous, but the action that happens on land, I felt, was kind of fake and somewhat improbable. The story is interesting, though, but it could've been told in the film better. The book by Peter Benchley is good, though. The film's worth watching for the underwater photography.....and the first 10 minutes.

The Deep is a very interesting little yarn about deep sea treasure that Peter Benchley released hot off the success of "Jaws" So again we get a sea monster (moray eel) and a clean shaven, back from the dead Captain Quint, as Robert Shaw basically plays that character again with as much gusto as he did in Jaws. In the place of Dreyfuss and Scheider, we get a young looking Nolte, and an incredibly sexy Jacqueline Bisset...wet t-shirt notwithstanding, "Gail" just oozes sexuality/sensuality just standing around. Powerful supporting cast with crusty Eli Wallach, and an evil Louis Gosset Jr. I believe this film would have been better off with a hard "R" rating, as Bisset parades around showing off her best assets the entire film anyhow! There was also a sexy scene with her and Nolte that could have been made more elaborate, and would have only added to the film...but overall, it was very enjoyable to see Robert Shaw chew up the scenery one last time!

A pair of young vacationers (Romer Treece as Robert Shaw & Gail Berke As Jacqueline Bisset) are involved in a dangerous conflict with treasure hunters when they discover a way into a deadly Caribbean wreck ...

Very good underwater scenes if you think 70's ...

A must for Horror , Mystery , Adventure , Thriller lovers ...

Considering the high pitched voice of Kathy Ireland and a B-class plot line, this movie ranks amoung the top in my cheesey B-class movie collection. In another time, another place this was a great movie.

If you like B-Movies, like Kathy Ireland or both then you will like this movie. Except for Wanda's (Kathy Ireland) high pitched voice, I thought it was kind of cute. It is a funny, science fiction adventure with a little romance thrown in.

I really like Alien From L.A. Maybe It's because I like Kathy Ireland's sweet little voice? They used to show this often on HBO/Cinemax & Showtime in the early 1990's. It was a fun way to waste 90 minutes on a summer afternoon.

Sure, Alien From L.A. is a complete fantasy and way over the top but it has a certain charm to it that I really love. It often has that Roger Corman B-Movie "cult atmosphere" going for it. Personally I wouldn't change a thing about this movie. It is so much better than similar types of films released in the last few years.

Most people probably don't like this film because it seems so unrealistic and cheesy. I think that it was really meant to be satirical comedy, and only a limited percentage of viewers will actually "get" it. You don't have to really believe the things happening in the story could really happen...after all, it is only a fantasy movie!

As for the new DVD from MGM...They've done yet another admirable job on this release. It is in full-screen format, but that may possibly be it's original format. This is actually the way many movies are shot, some are later "matted" for theaters. The Picture quality and Dolby 2.0 Surround track are just about as good as could be hoped for on the DVD format. It is vastly superior to the old VHS video I used to have of Alien From L.A. THANK YOU MGM!!!!!!

Benji is the sweetest dog in the whole world! How can anyone say 'no' to Benji! Kids will LOVE Benji!

You have to remember that this film isn't competing with the latest John Woo or James Cameron big budget spectacular. It's competing with the loads of shoddy or indifferent direct-to-video movies that come out each year. Among this crowd, Operation Delta Force 4: Deep Fault stands far above them. There is one main reason for this: ENTHUSIASM. The director really seems to be enjoying himself. He keeps the pace up and puts together quite exciting action scenes with rather stylish and varied visuals (lots of low angles, slow mo, tracking shots, etc). And there are a LOT of action scenes in this movie. It runs 96 minutes or so and close to 60 minutes of it is action! One particular scene runs for close to 25 minutes, going from a chalet gunfight to a ski chase to a busy city street explosion and finally to a tank battle! As you might guess, the production values on this one seem a tad higher than most direct-to-video fare. Lots of location shooting, good lighting, and plenty of vehicles. It's not at the level of a big studio of course.

Cons are the uneven acting and the weak, illogical story. I consider the latter to be a bonus in this case, as it makes room for the extreme amount of well-executed action during the film. One final note: The action scenes here are not especially realistic and the tactics they use aren't made too obvious. Go see Proof of Life if you want a highly-convincing depiction of a military-style action. Operation Delta Force 5 actually shows the tactics better than 4, but the action scenes are less entertaining (different director).

Bottomline, if you like action and don't mind slightly lower-budget pictures, then you could do a lot worse than this film.

The DVD is full screen and Dolby 2.0. Picture is very clear and sharp. Colours are reasonably bright. Sound is very loud and active. Not bad at all for a budget disc.

This is a well put together DVD for the money. It contain 2 (probably) tv shows appx. 30 min apiece. First, is of the Emeral Sea off the coast of British Columbia, shows various cold water marine animals. Second, is of a ship beign prepared and then sunk to make an artificial reef.

HAVING BEEN A DEEP PURPLE FAN IN THE SEVENTIES,AND A STEVE MORSE FAN TODAY, I BOUGHT THIS DVD CONCERT. THE RECORDING IS VERY GOOD. THE BAND IS VERY TIGHT, AND ALTHOUGH STEVE MORSE SOUNDS NOTHING LIKE RITCHIE BLACKMORE, HE'S SUCH A GREAT MUSICIAN THAT HE FILLS THE GUITAR SLOT NICELY. IAN'S VOCALS SOUND VERY POWERFUL. THIS BAND STILL PLAYS WITH ALL THE POWER I REMEMBER, WITH NO SLACKING. THE ONLY PROBLEM I HAVE WITH THIS CONCERT IS THAT BEING A SEVENTIES BAND, THEY JUST HAD TO PUT IN A LONG DRUM SOLO. IAN PAICE IS A GREAT, TIGHT DRUMMER. NO NEED FOR A SOLO. ALL IN ALL, THIS IS A VERY GOOD CONCERT. GLAD I BOUGHT IT.

This last tour of Deep Purple will be remembered as organist Jon Lord's last. This DVD and tour was better than the one in 1998. Ian Gillan's voice seems well rested and less raspy than on the last concert release. The band plays a Greatest Hits set with a few fun things thrown in like "Mary Long" and "No One Came." What you see is a close knit group of friends making the music they love. Guitarist Steve Morse is a perfect fit and has been with the band almost 8 years. It is too bad nothing from the last studio album ABANDON was included, but all in all fine fare!

Jon Lord has left the band to be replaced by Don Airey. We shall miss the master of the Hammond. I saw this tour when it came to Minneapolis, and they were a very hot band. Excellent sound quality on this DVD and good video production. Buy it.

I never really much cared for Deep Purple, but I bought this disc purely because Steve Morse is in the band (hey, there's not much Morse available on vid, so whadda ya gonna do?). To me, Deep Purple falls into the same category of tired old has-been bands continuing to tour based solely on past successes (Foghat is another such sad example). Truly, I have a particular loathing for bands of this ilk, but oh well. Why in the world Steve Morse would ever decide to join this band just sort of defies all logic to me. He outclasses everyone in this band from a talent standpoint by MILES and MILES. It's analagous to a master's graduate swingin it with group of kindergartners. That said, I popped this disc in with fairly low expectations. But Morse really saves the day here. He makes this disc more than just watchable...he makes it highly enjoyable, and in my mind this disc is a must-have for any Morse fan. He takes those tired, old, "heard 'em a thousand times" tunes and makes them almost fresh again. The rest of the band does little that's worth mentioning. The bass player & drummer are merely adequate, run-of-the-mill rock musicians. The singer struggles to hit the screeches, screams, and high-notes of yore...but it must be said that his energy level is quite high for an old man, and he still has some undeniable charisma. The keyboardist is by far the class of the original remaining lineup from a talent standpoint. There's definitely some talent left in Lord's fingers, and there are some truly entertaining moments where Morse & Lord trade furious, almost Dregs-like licks. Some of the tunes on this disc must be from some recent DP releases with Steve Morse in the band. These tunes are not familiar to me as I've neither bought nor heard anything recent from DP, even knowing that Morse is now a member. Morse's imprint on these new tunes is unmistakable, and for me, these are among the most enjoyable tunes on this disc. Summary...If you're a Steve Morse fan, BUY THIS DISC! You won't be dissapointed. If you're a DP fan, BUY THIS DISC! Steve Morse by himself makes this the best DP lineup ever...and say whatever you want about Ritchie Blackmore or whoever. Steve Morse blows him (or anyone else who was ever the guitar player for DP) completely away from a talent/chops standpoint. Save your rebuttal and/or argument...you're wrong, I'm right, end of discussion. Without Steve Morse there would be absolutely no reason whatsoever to buy this disc.