Forensic Science Movie Reviews

In this low-budget movie, there's a lot of high budget thinking. Sort of has a cult classic feeling to it. Great casting with some Hollywood faces; Andrew Divoff (Disney's A Low Down Dirty Shame, and Air Force One), William Richert (My Own Private Idaho, Client) he pulls off an amazing award -winning performance -- it's worth it just to watch him!, and Dan Aykroyd as the voice of the Deyoxir Chamber. If you're a Star Trek fan, then you'll definately want to go out and buy this for your collection. If you're not a Star Trek fan but are intrigued with the concept of parallel words and mortality, you'll want to see this. It's a fun watch, even though the budget is low and pushes the envelope in a few scenes where the production doesn't have the money to really pull it off. But the performances, concept and direction are good enough to make you forget the budget is a low one. I enjoyed this movie and plan on watching it again for all the little hidden things the director subtly put into the production. -- Manny ---

A decent show that show the science side of magic and how it all works together in a show. Hosted by the Night Court Magician, Harry Anderson.

this movie is actually a trilogy of three short stories, with creepy, yet sometimes predicatble twists at the end. The first story contained the best surprise, and the last story was the worst. the second story was the most atmospheric and also had a twisty ending. If you avoid the last segment and stick with the first two, this is a movie that will be enjoyed.

Unlike other "time travel" movies, this one takes you to the olden times instead of the future. Two women are involved, stars Amy Lindsay and Kim Yates. Together they show cowboys how to enjoy life . Get the uncut version.

As most of the world knows by now, X-Men is the live-action version of the of the Marvel comic strip, directed by Bryan Singer (of the Usual Suspects fame). Set in the not too distant future the X-Men are humans who thanks to genetic mutation have inherited special powers. On the surface, having special powers sounds great (you might think) but in X-Men the mutant race is an oppressed and persecuted minority, due to the bigotry, ignorance and fear of much of the non-mutant population. Furthermore an ambitious and influential Senator (Bruce Davison) wants to introduce a registration policy for mutants in an attempt to further restrict their civil rights. In response to this the mutant community is split into two camps led by Professor X, aka Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and Magneto, aka Erik Mangus Lensherr (Sir Ian McKellen). Magneto believes in the supremacy of the mutant population, which he is willing to use force to prove, whilst Professor X merely wants, equality, integration and peace. With fundamentally opposing views the two camps are set on a collision course with the future of the human race at stake.

X-Men is an entertaining action movie and it has some great fight scenes but it is pitched at its intended mass audience and carefully falls short explicit violence making it pretty much suitable for all but young children. However, although the X Men movie comes from a comic book background and is definitely aimed at a mass audience it also has a message and is a lot more highbrow than most super hero adaptations. X-Men for example opens with a scene in a Nazi concentration camp with a young Magneto witnessing his mother being shepherded off to the gas chamber and from this it is pretty clear that Director Bryan Singer is deliberately making a point and drawing a comparison. It is also worth noting that at the time of the X Men's creation, back in 1963, among the major political figures in pre civil rights America were Martin Luther King and Malcolm X and it is easy to draw comparisons with Professor X and Magneto. Comparisons can also be drawn between X-Men character Senator Robert Kelly and a certain Senator McCarthy. What is more, X-Men is particularly pertinent at a time when there is so much tabloid speculation and scare mongering with regard to genetic engineering.

With X-Men, Director Bryan Singer, a self-confessed fan, has stayed remarkably loyal to the comic books and has served up a commercial but extremely enjoyable film with impressive special effects, which has inevitably spawned a sequel and (in all likelihood) a franchise, which makes me for one very happy. Full of great characters and great performances from the likes of Hugh Jackman (as Wolverine), Anna Pacquin (as Rogue) and Famke Janssen (as Dr Jean Grey) and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos (as Mystique). However, it is the excellent pairing of the Royal Shakespeare company's McKellen and Stewart opposite each other that really adds gravitas to the proceedings and my only real dissapointments were seeing the excellent and beautiful Halle Berry (as Storm) being under-used and the relatively short running length of 97 minutes.

X-Men 2 hits our screens later this year and I for one am really looking forward to it! Four stars ****

This sequel really threw me for a proverbial loop. I was going into it expecting Bill, Ted; you know maybe a cameo by Napoleon... When I saw Keanu I figured, "Alright, so he's goth now, that's cool." Then out popped his NEW friend Trinity, and apparently this Morpheus character took over for Ruffius (Did the actor who played ruffius die?). Anyway, I did like the substitution of the "Hovership" for the phone booth, a little more time-travel realism (After all, I've been in phone booths, and I've never time-traveled). And that first Bill and Ted movie must have made some !CASH! because they pumped this new one full of special effects! All in all, I liked it, but I think that they could have done a better job of connecting the plots of the 2 movies.

This sequel is full of non-stop action that - as they claim - lifts the bar on what to expect in movies of this nature. The Wachowski brothers and their team have definitely outdone themselves on that score. The fight scene between Keanu Reaves and the hundreds of Smiths has to be one of the best martial arts sequences on film (OK, maybe not). The special effects are crazy, with Neo (Reaves) gaining superman like powers that enables him to fly, and bounce off walls like Spiderman. That isn't new but there are more such sequences in the sequel.

The emotional attachment between Keanu Reeves and Carrie Ann Moss gets stronger and we see more of the human-side of Neo than we did in the Matrix. (I thought the sexual scenes in the film were unnecessary) Lawrence Fishburne doesn't fail to disappoint as the general with a dream who inspires the resistance. More characters are introduced like the twins with their crazy hair and ability to become temporarily invisible, the Keymaker, Jada Pinkett Smith (Morpheus' love interest) and the Chief architect...

The extras on this DVD are excellent, check out the MTV spoof with Justin Timberlake and that dude from 'Dude where's my car'. It's funny, especially the Chief Architect part, a definite must-see.

All in all, a great sequel, don't believe everything you read though...Watch it and decide for yourself.

When I saw the original Matrix, I was not impressed. I never even bothered to see the Mmatrix Reloaded until recently. I was missing out.

The Matrix Trilogy has a wonderful storyline, and Reloaded is the most important of them. While the original sets up the storyline and the finale is all about the war and Neos battle with Smith, Reloaded answers a lot of questions and creates even more. I mean, the Wachowski brothers did make some good plot twists.

Each character seems unique, and every one is there to serve a purpose. I feel like the Keymaker could of been more developed, and his role should of been much more important. The Merovingian and his wife Persephone are examples of new characters that are fantastic.

I do not really care about special effects, but these were grand. The freeway chase was visually pleasing, especially sequences with the Twins. Also, Neos fight with the 100 Smiths was fun to watch. I love the song they play.

The DVD has some fairly good extras, if you are into documentaries on how the film is made. It also talks about the Animatrix, the Enter the Matrix video game, and includes the MTV Movie Awards parody of the Matrix Reloaded.

This sequel really threw me for a proverbial loop. I was going into it expecting Bill, Ted; you know maybe a cameo by Napoleon... When I saw Keanu I figured, "Alright, so he's goth now, that's cool." Then out popped his NEW friend Trinity, and apparently this Morpheus character took over for Ruffius (Did the actor who played ruffius die?). Anyway, I did like the substitution of the "Hovership" for the phone booth, a little more time-travel realism (After all, I've been in phone booths, and I've never time-traveled). And that first Bill and Ted movie must have made some !CASH! because they pumped this new one full of special effects! All in all, I liked it, but I think that they could have done a better job of connecting the plots of the 2 movies.

This sequel is full of non-stop action that - as they claim - lifts the bar on what to expect in movies of this nature. The Wachowski brothers and their team have definitely outdone themselves on that score. The fight scene between Keanu Reaves and the hundreds of Smiths has to be one of the best martial arts sequences on film (OK, maybe not). The special effects are crazy, with Neo (Reaves) gaining superman like powers that enables him to fly, and bounce off walls like Spiderman. That isn't new but there are more such sequences in the sequel.

The emotional attachment between Keanu Reeves and Carrie Ann Moss gets stronger and we see more of the human-side of Neo than we did in the Matrix. (I thought the sexual scenes in the film were unnecessary) Lawrence Fishburne doesn't fail to disappoint as the general with a dream who inspires the resistance. More characters are introduced like the twins with their crazy hair and ability to become temporarily invisible, the Keymaker, Jada Pinkett Smith (Morpheus' love interest) and the Chief architect...

The extras on this DVD are excellent, check out the MTV spoof with Justin Timberlake and that dude from 'Dude where's my car'. It's funny, especially the Chief Architect part, a definite must-see.

All in all, a great sequel, don't believe everything you read though...Watch it and decide for yourself.

When I saw the original Matrix, I was not impressed. I never even bothered to see the Mmatrix Reloaded until recently. I was missing out.

The Matrix Trilogy has a wonderful storyline, and Reloaded is the most important of them. While the original sets up the storyline and the finale is all about the war and Neos battle with Smith, Reloaded answers a lot of questions and creates even more. I mean, the Wachowski brothers did make some good plot twists.

Each character seems unique, and every one is there to serve a purpose. I feel like the Keymaker could of been more developed, and his role should of been much more important. The Merovingian and his wife Persephone are examples of new characters that are fantastic.

I do not really care about special effects, but these were grand. The freeway chase was visually pleasing, especially sequences with the Twins. Also, Neos fight with the 100 Smiths was fun to watch. I love the song they play.

The DVD has some fairly good extras, if you are into documentaries on how the film is made. It also talks about the Animatrix, the Enter the Matrix video game, and includes the MTV Movie Awards parody of the Matrix Reloaded.

Following a 16-year hiatus from the original "Star Wars" trilogy, writer/director/producer George Lucas returned with the beginning of a new "Star Wars" trilogy set years before the events that take place in the first trilogy. This set of "prequels" (as the term was coined) begins with the 1999 film "Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace". In this film, the Empire does not yet exist. Instead, the galaxy is governed by the Republic, whose main political body is a large, elected assembly of representatives known as the Senate. The chief executive, known as the Chancellor, has very limited powers and is elected by the Senate. Unfortunately, due in part to its size and countless political interests, the Senate operates extremely slowly and is incapable of making quick decisions when necessary.

Such is the case with the planet of Naboo, which is headed by an elected queen, Queen Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman). Naboo is under threat of invasion by a group calling itself the Trade Federation, which is headed by Viceroy Nute Gunray (Silas Carson), because Queen Amidala has refused to sign a peace treaty with it that would ultimately deprive Naboo of its sovereignty. Naboo's senatorial representative, Senator Palpatine (the returning Ian McDiarmid), is able to have Chancellor Finis Valorum (Terence Stamp, who played "Bernadette" in the 1994 Australian film "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert") send two Jedi to Naboo to broker a peace agreement. Upon the advice of a cloaked individual known as Darth Sidious (also Ian McDiarmid), the Viceroy orders that the two Jedi, a young Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and his teacher Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson), be ambushed upon their arrival to the Federation starship. However, they barely escape to Naboo's surface along with the Federation's invading droid army. On Naboo's surface, Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon meet an irritating, non-human Naboo native named Jar Jar Binks (voice done by Ahmed Best) who helps them obtain transportation to Queen Amidala's palace without being noticed by the invading droid army. Once there, they help the resistant Queen escape the planet's surface (along with Jar Jar), but damage to their ship forces them to travel to the desert planet of Tattooine instead of the Republic's primary planet known as Coruscant. On Tattooine, their search for replacement parts leads them to a winged individual known as Watto (voice done by Andrew Secombe), his very young slave, Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd) and Anakin's mother who is also enslaved, Shmi Skywalker (Pernilla August).

As with any previous "Star Wars" film, the cinematography and special effects used in "The Phantom Menace" are excellent; but sadly, the writing and dialog are pallid. The film's two biggest problems are the character Jar Jar Binks and Jake Lloyd's portrayal of Anakin. When George Lucas released the previous "Star Wars" film in 1983 ("Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi"), he introduced a bunch of furry little creatures known as Ewoks. Many people found them endearing, but some found them annoying. In similar fashion, Lucas created an underwater species on Naboo known as the Gungan, of which Jar Jar Binks is part. Unfortuneately, the Gungan's Jamaican accents and immature vocabulary made them (especially Jar Jar) far more annoying than endearing. As for Jake Lloyd, it is very strange that with so many fine, young talented actors, that Lucas would select a highly animated and unconvincing actor to portray one of the film's most important characters.

There are, however, many memorable scenes in the film that partially make up for the film's inadequacies including Obi-Wan & Qui-Gon on the Federation starship, views of Naboo, the pod race, Qui-Gon's first encounter with Darth Maul (played by Ray Park, voice by Peter Serafinowicz), Queen Amidala's address to the Senate, Anakin standing before the Jedi Council that is headed by Yoda (voice done by Frank Oz), the Gungan/droid battle, the Naboo castle invasion, and the final battle between Darth Maul and Qui-Gon with Obi-Wan. Other memorable characters include C-3PO (the returning Anthony Daniels), R2-D2 (the returning Kenny Baker), Sebulba (voice done by Lewis Macleod), Captain Panaka (Hugh Quarshie), Jabba the Hut and Boss Nass (Brian Blessed).

Overall, I rate the double-DVD version of "Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace" with 4 out of 5 stars. The additional DVD includes many fascinating clips of how the film was made, including the creation of Darth Maul and the choreography of his fights.

A good movie about the struggle of the Queen of Naboo (Natalie Portman) to maintain the freedom and way of life of her people, against the scheming Trade Federation.
Reminds me of the struggle of the State of Israel, and it's courageous people, to survive against the machinations of the United Nations, European Union, Non aligned Movement, International Media, World academia etc.
Portman is lovely and vivacious, with an unforgettable smile.
Queen Anakin refuses to abandon her people in their hour of need and stands against the powerful forces rather than yield. The two Jedi knights battle the forces of evil played by Liam Neeson and Ewan McGregor, and of then the over the top Jar Jar Binks.
But aside from Portman 's Queen Amadala, the other unforgettable character is the small boy Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd) , apparently the future Luke Skywalker.

I wass soooooo excited to hear that they were making 3 prequels. I went and bought the 1st 3 just to remeber. I had a blast watching the 1st second and 3rd. Then, I went in to the theater wioth my piopcorn and they turned down the lights and it wasn't half bad. If your comparing it to the other Stars Wars, Well, that's like comparing Wayne's World to National Lampoon's Vacation.

Oh yeah, dumb and dumber was supoosed to be funny. I'm a huge huge fan of Star Wars. But why I bought this after having already seen and hated it is quite beyond me. Probably for references, but boy oh, this movie sucked. No Jar Jar, no Luke, no effects (just love scene crap), so what is this movie good for?

The special effects and story line are so incredible. They're heading in the right direction for Episode III.

A lot of people, including myself feel that Episode I and II just didn't have that same flare or magic that Episode 4, 5 and 6 had. I couldn't place my finger on it until now. I realize there are two things wrong with the new movies. 1) Digital effect overkill. Example, in Episode II, when they were on the sand dunes or in the arena, you didn't get that "sandy, gritty" feel. It looked to "Perfect". In the original Star Wars episode, you got that sense that it was a desolate wasteland. At least they made you feel that. 2) Dialogue and acting. I don't believe in Hayden's performance. I'm sure he is a great actor, but in this movie I don't believe him as a jedi struggling within himself. And Ewan McGregor's portrayl of Obi Wan, doesn't really fit either. And there is the dialogue. With lines like "I have a bad feeling about this", or "She seems to be on top of things", and other one liners that seem to comedic. And of course there's Jar Jar Binks. Which, to be quite honest with you, I didn't mind him as a character it was his voice, or the talent. I think they sold out in coming up with his voice. If you notice, his voice is similar, if not, exactly like the alien in Lilo & Stitch. That voice is so easy to do and I've heard it on so many cartoons. Heck, I can even do the voice. So, they could've worked a little harder on him. Then he wouldn't been so annoying and everyone wouldn't want him to just die!!

So, with those 2 things said, I now understand how these two have fallen short of expectations. But, the main thing is the story. It's a great story. The story of how a young boy became one of the most powerful jedi/siths in the universe. That's why I gave it 4 stars. To be quite honest, though, I think what saved these two movies were the original 4, 5 and 6 episodes. Because withouth those, you wouldn't really care about Anakin Skywalker.

Oh yeah, dumb and dumber was supoosed to be funny. I'm a huge huge fan of Star Wars. But why I bought this after having already seen and hated it is quite beyond me. Probably for references, but boy oh, this movie sucked. No Jar Jar, no Luke, no effects (just love scene crap), so what is this movie good for?

The special effects and story line are so incredible. They're heading in the right direction for Episode III.

A lot of people, including myself feel that Episode I and II just didn't have that same flare or magic that Episode 4, 5 and 6 had. I couldn't place my finger on it until now. I realize there are two things wrong with the new movies. 1) Digital effect overkill. Example, in Episode II, when they were on the sand dunes or in the arena, you didn't get that "sandy, gritty" feel. It looked to "Perfect". In the original Star Wars episode, you got that sense that it was a desolate wasteland. At least they made you feel that. 2) Dialogue and acting. I don't believe in Hayden's performance. I'm sure he is a great actor, but in this movie I don't believe him as a jedi struggling within himself. And Ewan McGregor's portrayl of Obi Wan, doesn't really fit either. And there is the dialogue. With lines like "I have a bad feeling about this", or "She seems to be on top of things", and other one liners that seem to comedic. And of course there's Jar Jar Binks. Which, to be quite honest with you, I didn't mind him as a character it was his voice, or the talent. I think they sold out in coming up with his voice. If you notice, his voice is similar, if not, exactly like the alien in Lilo & Stitch. That voice is so easy to do and I've heard it on so many cartoons. Heck, I can even do the voice. So, they could've worked a little harder on him. Then he wouldn't been so annoying and everyone wouldn't want him to just die!!

So, with those 2 things said, I now understand how these two have fallen short of expectations. But, the main thing is the story. It's a great story. The story of how a young boy became one of the most powerful jedi/siths in the universe. That's why I gave it 4 stars. To be quite honest, though, I think what saved these two movies were the original 4, 5 and 6 episodes. Because withouth those, you wouldn't really care about Anakin Skywalker.