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Wing Commander
Starring: Ken Bones , Saffron Burrows , Richard Dillane , David Fahm , and Ginny Holder Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox ProductGroup: DVD Binding: DVD Similar Items:
ASIN: 6305475822 Release Date: 1999-07-06 |
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Video games are interesting because they're interactive, and movies because they aren't. In a video game, you're the actor; moviegoing depends on your connecting with those people up on the screen;. There's really no easy crossover.That's the problem with Wing Commander, based on the bestselling computer game series created by Chris Roberts. Roberts helms the film, too, having previously directed "cinematic" sequences for the game, starring Mark Hamill from Star Wars, no less. But a feature-length story is something else again. Maybe gamers will find something to enjoy here, but that sets the rest of us adrift.
There's war between the Terran Confederation and the evil Kilrathi, who are so evil they want to destroy the whole universe. (They probably aren't thinking that through very clearly. But then they're evil.) They've stolen the Pegasus Navicom A.I. device that enables them to "jump" behind enemy lines and destroy the Earth part of the universe. Freddie Prinze Jr. stars as Blair, a Pilgrim, which means he's hated by everybody for having this film's answer to the Force. His pal Matthew Lillard plays Maniac (his usual role). So you've got two guys with a Top Gun complex, bent on preventing the Kilrathi from destroying Earth. You'd expect lots of action from these combat-ready flyboys. But there's scant little of that, and lots of static dialogue scenes, including one cinematic quote of Howard Hawks's classic Only Angels Have Wings to explain how pilots handle the death of one of their own. Presumptuous. All it would have taken to make this film a success is a series of action set pieces and a thin plot to hang them from. What director Roberts needed was a Navicom device to help him "jump" behind Hollywood lines. That and a decent script. --Jim Gay
Description
"Starship Troopers" meets "Top Gun" in this no-holds-battle for the future of mankind. A vicious alien race, the Kilrathi, has discover the coordinates to Earth and is heading our way with plans of the total destruction. Now it's up to two young hotshot fighter pilots to blast their way through the Kilrathi's defenses and save their planet from this new breed of enemy.Customer Reviews:
If you hear a box office flop in the middle of space..........2007-05-23
Wing Commander.......2007-04-12
First scene using Bullet- time .......2007-03-14
Wing Commander dvd.......2007-03-08
A Crusade of Good Taste. The Holy Grail of Science Fiction.......2007-02-19
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Gall Force: Eternal Story
Director: Katsuhito Akiyama Manufacturer: Us Manga Corps Video ProductGroup: DVD Binding: DVD ASIN: B000087EYU Release Date: 2003-03-11 |
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Gall Force: Eternal Story
Starring: Maria Kawamura , Naoko Matsui , Hiromi Tsuru , Michie Tomizawa , and Naoko Watanabe Director: Katsuhito Akiyama Manufacturer: Us Manga Corps Video ProductGroup: DVD Binding: DVD Similar Items:
ASIN: 156219724X Release Date: 2000-07-14 |
Customer Reviews:
A flawed film with an inspiring message buried in it somewhere.......2005-09-01
From the author of Tales of Ancient Xenar.......2004-05-14
Great movie.......2002-04-10
We Have Met the Extra-Terrestrials... and They are Us!.......2002-04-08
The story opens in the midst of a full-scale battle raging in the depths of outer space between two persistently warring races: the somewhat indescribable cyborg ''Paranoids'' and the all-female humanoid race called ''Solnoids'' (which raises the intriguing question of how they reproduce... but let's suspend logic for the moment).
The Paranoid/Solnoid wars have been waging for centuries, and diplomats on both sides have grown weary of the never-ending battle and have entered into a secret covenant where they have mutually devised a risky plan which they hope will act as a buffer between the two feuding races and hopefully bring both sides to the table to begin suing for peace. But in order for this mission to be successful, their joint activities must operate covertly and be kept a closely guarded secret from everyone on both sides -- especially from the military arms of the two warring factions, each of whom would stop at nothing and spare no effort to recover the ''experimental project'' for ''their'' side to exploit. The details of this ''Top Secret'' diplomatic gambit are entrusted to a single Solnoid who's been dispatched as a secret agent to infiltrate the ranks of a ship's crew to insure that the objective proceeds successfully without a hitch.
Forced to make the leap into lightspeed out of its surrounding blazing deathtrap, a sole Solnoid spaceship, the ''Star Leaf,'' has been targeted for the for the infiltration of both the Solnoid/Paranoid agent and the secret ''experiment.'' The Star Leaf's escape course is to a distant star system: Their destination is a 'new home world' -- a terra-formed planet moon the Solnoid have given the name ''Chaos.'' Chaos is the satellite companion to the planet ''Terra,'' which the Solnoid refer to as ''the planet that lives on its own'' (which raises another question of logic ... ''Why not just inhabit Terra from the very beginning?'' -- but again, let's try to overlook this notable flaw in the story).
In their hasty attempt at escape from all of the senseless slaughter taking place around them, the crew of the Star Leaf must constantly deal with numerous emerging deadly threats, from pursuing warships, equipment malfunctions, the real possibility of mutually assured destruction, and the presence of a sinister looking alien life form which stalks the remaining crew throughout their space vessel. The surviving members of the Star Leaf's crew must also try to understand the meaning and significance of a bizarre precognitive dream they all share involving a mysterious Solnoid-like alien creature which could either be a Paranoid brainwashing and mind-controlling ploy or the key to ending the hostilities between the Paranoid and Solnoid races.
The moon Chaos becomes the final battleground in the Paranoid/Solnoid war as deception, treachery, and the lust for power and military advantage overtake reason, diplomacy and visions of unconditional peace.
Much more enjoyable in the 'English dubbed' version (which is something of a rare experience in anime DVDs), ''Gall Force: Eternal Story'' often catches you off your guard with where you think the story is going to take you and, in a manner much like in the ''SCREAM'' movies, messes with your head as it relates to who lives, who dies, and who the ''bad guys'' are.
A bit more attention to detail could (should) have been paid to the animation itself, in my opinion, and a few things about the story could have been smoothed out as well (but hey... this IS ''Japanese Animation,'' after all), but apart from this feature film's only real problem of the 'fingernails-on-chalkboard' screeching of the original Japanese voice actors, this movie does not fail to deliver: It hooks you right away and reels you all the way in from the opening scene to the emotionally charged climatic ending. Don't push past this one.
* * *
Gall Force : Eternal Classic.......2002-03-08
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Action Man - Space Wars
Manufacturer: Sterling Entertainment ProductGroup: DVD Binding: DVD Similar Items:
ASIN: B0007TKP04 Release Date: 2005-03-01 |
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Action Man: Space Wars
Starring: Action Man Manufacturer: Dic Entertainment ProductGroup: DVD Binding: DVD ASIN: B000OY9VBQ Release Date: 2007-08-21 |
DVD:
DVD
Mission: Impossible - 2 Disc Box Set [1996]
DVD: Horror Classics Triple Feature, Vol. 1 (Metropolis (192