Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (Moon Convicts Are Totally Rude) 『What were they thinking? I like Michael Pare, but I haven't seen him in awhile. Is this movie the reason? Okay I'm a big fan of SciFi, but something is missing here. The effects are pretty good in parts, and pretty bad in others. Some of the stuff looks like it could have been used in "Alien", and others look like plastic diorama models hung in a kids bedroom on a string. The acting is a bit disappointing but passable, but the dialogue is what hurts this movie the most. I think with a decent screenwriter this movie would have made a good showing despite the special effects and any other flaws in my humble opinion.
When Pare is sent to Moon 44 as an undercover agent, he is unaware the corporation he is working for doesn't care about the humans dying on the other moons that have been attacked and destroyed. They only care about their shuttles used for mining. They are so hard up for pilots they use convicts to pilot helicopter fighters to protect the moon. They are teamed with kids at the base in order to be guided through foggy ravines with rock columns. Kids are brutalized by convicts, shuttles are stolen by internal management, robot fighters kill all moons in their path, but Pare is there to save the day. Can he save this movie? No, but it isn't his fault.』
(Great back-story. So-so main story.) 『We have a very mixed bag here. On the one end you have a poorly executed plot rife with clichés and stereotypes. On the other hand you get an excellent back-story that far outshines the main one. Moon 44 is not your average B-movie fare. You get an interesting mix of good and bad that ultimately makes the movie worth watching… if you keep in mind certain things.
The first thing you need to keep in mind is the main plot can almost be completely discarded. It’s way too stereotypical and ultimately does nothing but give the good guys a reason to chase the bad guys and the bad guys a reason to be bad. This, more than anything else, makes Moon 44 no better than any other B-movie. Now that you have this in mind you can pave the way to see the excellent background story developing here. There are a couple of little sub-plots that really make the script shine. For instance there is a conflict between the pilot/convicts and their youthful navigators. This kind of storytelling makes for great drama and this is what’s pulled off perfectly. Other little things are going on in the back-story as well like the rivalry that turns into respect between Stone (Michael Pare) and one of the pilots Jake O’Neal (Brian Thompson) as well as several other tidbits. The great background characters and storylines are what save this movie from being just another clichéd B-Film.
The acting is also a mixed bag. Michael Pare doesn’t bring anything different to the table here with his tough-guy special operative role and Malcolm McDowell’s performance didn’t really give anything fresh to the movie either. I can’t really blame Pare and McDowell too much as their roles are a victim of a canned script. Dean Devlin however gives a brilliant performance as Tyler, the good-natured navigator who comes to terms with hard realities. I always enjoy seeing Brian Thompson in a film and I believe he is often an underrated talent. Other notable performances come from Leon Rippy and a quirky yet heartfelt performance by Stephen Geoffreys. As far as the rest of the supporting cast you do get some great performances. Overall the acting is quite good, save for a few standard performances
The sets look like this movie comes out of the Alien universe, which means they look cool and functional. You don’t get many dark and eerie Sci-Fi sets like that those anymore. The design for the gun ships is pretty cool even though they are still just helicopters. The robot attackers look cool, but you would think they would have had robot ships and not robots flying ships. I guess you can explain that away for various reasons, but it still sits odd with me. The special effects are serviceable considering this is a low budget movie. Probably the model work will be the thing that is most evident of a limited budget. Still I prefer to take all things into account and can easily forgive the limitations as the model work still looks reasonably realistic, and compared to other B-movies it’s downright excellent.
Moon 44 is a B-Movie. No doubt about it. However it’s one of the better B-Movies out there. If it wasn’t for the weak main plot and script that followed it you would have a truly great movie. As it stands the film is saved by very strong character development, great acting, well executed sub-plots, and better than average special effects. You will get a good movie if you can get past the main storyline, which isn’t too hard, as it seems to only be there to move events forward. If you’re just out for flashy effects and lots of action then I suppose you won’t find this movie as interesting as I did. For those of you driven by story and character development I say with Moon 44 you will find a diamond in the rough. 』
(I'll Take This "B" Movie Over A Coma Anyday) 『I've seen hundreds of Sci Fi movies over the years. This is one of those you'll wonder whether you've watched it or not a few years down the road. You just can't remember.
All in all, I figure it's still better to watch a so-so Sci Fi movie than "Dances With Wolves" or "Evita". This movie will end up being non-memorable, but it's preferable to being in a coma. 』
(moon 44"EXCELLENT"!!!!!!!!!) 『THIS IS MOVIE IS A MUST SEE FOR ANY SCI-FICTION FAN,THE STORY IS GOOD,THE SPECIAL EFFECTS ARE GREAT,THEY DID IT THE OLD FASHIONED WAY, WITH MODELS, REAL EXPLOSIONS,HAND BLUIT MINIATURE LANDSCAPES,AND IT ALL LOOKS GREAT!. THE CAST IS ALSO PRETTY GOOD, YOU HAVE MALCOLM MCDOWELL AND MICHAEL PARE, THEY BOTH GIVE A DECENT PREFORMANCE IN THIS MOVIE,BUT?, ANYONE WHO WENT TOO THIS MOVIE WAS THERE TO SEE THE VERY NEET ATTACK HELICOPTERS. THIS IS AN EXCELLENT LITTLE MOVIE,WHICH DID SHOW IN A LOT OF MAJOR THEATRES IN (1989),AT THE VERY LEAST, THIS MOVIE IS WAY,WAY BETTER THAN ROLAND EMMERICH'S"GODAWFUL GODZILLA"MOVIE ,WHICH WAS A VERY, VERY ,BAD MOVIE!,INDEED.』
(Early effort from director of ID4, Stargate, and others...) 『I first saw this film in 1991, after exhausting the sci-fi section at my local Blockbuster. A straight-to-video release (as I recall) I thought it a decent outer-space adventure. Grim, gritty, raw, it tries to be a combination of several genres: space opera, hardboiled detective novel, war movie. It succeeds at none of these, but taken as a whole is enjoyable weekend popcorn fare. Pare does a good job as our disaffected intellectual tough-guy hero, while other B and C list names show up for decent turns. Leon Rippy especially is fun as the failed, proud, bull-dogged Sergeant Sykes, while Malcom McDowell appears as the military commander whom you just know in your heart is up to no good, right from the start. Because, hey, it's Malcolm McDowell! Roscoe Lee Browne is also worth mentioning as the slick, coniving corporate boss. The special effects are of the limited-budget variety, and it's a shame Emmerich didn't have access to either CGI, or more money, as he has in later, better-known movies. But I think this movie is worth watching, and even owning, if you want to see solid early work from a director who has since tackled some of the highest-profile and biggest profit-reaping films in the industry.』
price：$4.50
New Concorde
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (Nice.) 『An evil spirit. Hot chicks in lingerie. And machine guns. What more could you ask for?』
(Is it inventory time already?) 『I have to say it doesn't get much better than this folks. A group of young women are stuck in a building doing inventory of lingerie when one by one they start to die. The cover has nothing to do with this movie which is actually the third installment in the brilliant Sorority House Massacre series. The back of the video box shows scenes that weren't in the movie at all and make it sound like the next"Die Hard". All the actresses have returned from the second movie but they all have different names and no connections to the murders that occured. Bizarre...yes, completely stupid...absolutely, the best movie of 1993...no contest. The director seems to have a certain skill with lengthy shower scenes. Using this technique he disguises the fact that this film seems to have no point. Hopefully"Orville"will return in another Sorority House movie but until then we still have this epic masterpiece.』
Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (Almost as good as a blu-ray movie) 『This movie has all the features you'd expect from a blu-ray movie, not to mention the audio and picture quality is amazing.』
(Pristine) 『Watching the Ultimate Edition is like watching this film for the first time. It is super awesome, super clear (in sound and picture quality). A great buy.』
(Terminator 2 - Judgment Day(The Ultimate Edition DVD)) 『The best edition, the best film about TERMINATOR. Magnificent filling DVD. Three versionsôèëüìà:147,152,(156 minutes)-these the version is activated by a special code (8-2-9-9-7) interval of a set of figures should not exceed 2 seconds. Simply magnificent edition with MULTISTORY. Thanks AMAZON that have helped to buy this DVD! Such things need to be seen in the original.』
(What happened to the HD Audio?) 『An average to poor release with only slightly better than DVD Picture Quality and just a standard definition Dolby Digital soundtrack (probably straight from the earlier DVD releases)... Where is the uncompressed LPCM, Dolby TrueHD, or DTS-HD MA audio track? The Terminator 2: Judgment Day (Skynet Edition) [Blu-ray] (or it's Steel Tin special edition version) is a much better release with better picture and a true HD soundtrack.』
(Interminable x2) 『This is by far the best film in the Terminator series, and one of my all-time favorite movies! Arnold played his role superbly, as did all of the actors. The effects were way beyond it's time and still look great! The story was more rich, yet just as dark as the first Terminator. The entire series could've ended here, and everyone would've been satisfied... Overall, a must-see for any sci-fi/action fan!』 『After he pushed the envelope of computer-generated special effects inThe Abyss, director James Cameron turned this hotly anticipated sequel toTerminatorinto a well-written, action-packed showcase for advanced special effects and for one of the most invincible villains ever imagined.Terminator 2: Judgment Dayis a legitimate sequel: there's more story to tell about a hulking, leather-clad android (Arnold Schwarzenegger) who arrives from the future to protect a rebellious teenager and future leader (Edward Furlong) from being killed by the tenacious T-1000 robot (Robert Patrick), whose liquid-metal construction makes him seemingly unstoppable. The fate of the future lies in the balance, with Linda Hamilton (who would later marry her director) reprising her role as the rugged woman whose son will change the course of history.--Jeff Shannon』 『After he pushed the envelope of computer-generated special effects inThe Abyss, director James Cameron turned this hotly anticipated sequel toTerminatorinto a well-written, action-packed showcase for advanced special effects and for one of the most invincible villains ever imagined.Terminator 2: Judgment Dayis a legitimate sequel: there's more story to tell about a hulking, leather-clad android (Arnold Schwarzenegger) who arrives from the future to protect a rebellious teenager and future leader (Edward Furlong) from being killed by the tenacious T-1000 robot (Robert Patrick), whose liquid-metal construction makes him seemingly unstoppable. The fate of the future lies in the balance, with Linda Hamilton (who would later marry her director) reprising her role as the rugged woman whose son will change the course of history.--Jeff Shannon』
price：$3.99
DVD)
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (Mac and Me is the best) 『I've seen this movie when I was a little boy and I like the ending too, but If your looking for a fun movie with the kids Mac and Me would make your heart glow.』
(Worse children's film EVER!!!!) 『People slag off "Howard the Duck" for various reasons, but if you loved that film as a kid like me, you'll still love it today, but as for this you'll soon grow out of it and look back thinking "I LIKED THIS!!?", as for me I thought from the start "I'd rather watch E.T.".
This is what this film is a bad E.T. clone/rip-off, whatever you like to call it. The title is even a reference to a working title for that film- "E.T. and Me". As for the film itself it's just plain bad, you get obvious filming mistakes all over the place like a visible track up the wall for the hoover when he is sucked up, the mother saying a different line in the Sears scene from what is heard in the film (obviously dubbed after), the aliens looking really, REALLY pathetic, a plot-hole with MAC up in a tree with no mention of how he came down with a crappy song playing, tons and tons of constant references to McDonald's (no wonder why the alien is called Mac), Skittles and Coca-Cola making this film also a blatant advert. When all put together alongside the most stupidest ending ever, creates the biggest ever horrific film to be recorded to tape in a very long time.
Somebody I knew back in 1989 called this "The best children's film I've seen". I only hope it was a joke.』
(Great Buy) 『I had rented this movie 17 years ago for my niece and nephew. I have a new set of niece and nephew (1 and 4 respectively). We had been talking about this movie and they wanted to see it. I found it on Amazon.com and they thoroughly enjoyed it. I recommend this movie for all ages.』
(Mac and Me) 『This is an excellent movie in the spirit of ET that encourages the audience to cheer for the underdog』
(Mac and Cheese is best with Coke) 『The movie Mac and Cheese portrays a druggie alien whose main goal in life was to kill The Wheelchair Boy and steal his Coke. The sex scene in the movie is great. Let's talk about Mac: He's a mutated meerkat, whose addiction for Coke made him leave his planet to come to earth...just to get one fix. While strung out on Coke, he was driving his Power Wheels down the street and had a fatal Power Wheels accident, giving him fatal head trauma...but luckily he survived. The coroner said that drinking and driving is bad for meerkats while operating Power Wheels. I believe him. He would never lie to me. Except for that one time when he lied about having a crush on me. But, anyways. Now let's talk about Cheese: aka The Wheelchair Boy who loves falling down cliffs. I learned one lesson from that scene: Wheelchairs are heavy and gravity doesn't like you. Too bad Mac was strung out on Coke when he tried to save him. He ended up killing Cheese. He was giving him CPR while still in the water. I cried for hours. God, I miss Cheese. I miss him so much!!!!Ok...that's better. Now Mac is upset at himself and he wants vengance...uh...against himself. So he has a mass Coke-spree, even drinking Sams Choice when he is low on cash. Wanting to waste away in this sad world of tasty carbonation addiction known as Coke. The last scene in Mac and Cheese, Mac is sitting in Ronnie McDonnie's, sobbing, drinking a Big Gulp. Thinking this "Oscar-worthy film"-(hulk hogan), is over, something unexpected happens. This is truly the climax!!! Cheese's rotted corpse, wheelchair and all rolls into Ronnie McDonnie's, and picks up Mac's lifeless body, and rolls out into the sunset...leaving you speechless...but understanding the best love story of all time.』 『Movie DVD』
Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (Wolfbane and silver) 『"Even a man who is pure in heart/And says his prayers by night/May become a wolf/When the wolfbane blooms/And the autumn moon is bright..."
Sure, Dracula gave a face and a mythology to the vampire in the 1800s, but the werewolf didn't get similar treatment for quite some time. It was only with "The Wolfman" that the werewolf got his due, creating the template for lycanthropes everywhere -- a haunting, atmospheric story about a mildly creepy man who (through no fault of his own) turns into an unholy mixture of man and beast.
Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr) returns to his ancestral Welsh home after many years away, to reconcile with his estranged dad who looks nothing like him (Claude Rains). He immediately starts acquainting himself with his old home, including being rather creepy towards a lovely woman named Gwen Conliffe (Evelyn Ankers), who is working at her dad's antique store. He even accompanies Gwen and her friend Jenny to a local gypsy camp to have their fortunes told.
But after having her fortune told, Jenny is horribly killed by a wolf; Larry beats it to death with his silver-topped cane, but not before being bitten. You can probably guess what happens next -- the wolf turns out to be the gypsy fortuneteller (Bela Lugosi), and Larry's bite mysteriously heals overnight. And after being warned by an aged gypsy woman (Maria Ouspenskaya) that he has now contracted the curse of the werewolf, Larry finds himself undergoing a terrible transformation at night... and killing.
It's a sign of how good "The Wolfman" is that its dated special effects (hello, lap dissolve!) and prosthetics don't hamper it as a story -- it's an intelligent, slowly-unfolding story about an ordinary man whose good deed backfires in a big way. It's also less "boo! Scary!" horror than psychological horror -- Larry is left wondering if the dead gypsy passed on his horrific curse, or if all the talk of werewolves has given him clinical lycanthropy. In other words -- is he cursed, or is he insane? Not a fun choice.
And George Waggner wraps the movie in suitable atmosphere -- lots of misty forests, quaint rural villages, shadowy chapels and the occasional outbursts of shrieking and offscreen violence. The beginning is a little awkward (enough canned father-son "reunion" conversations!) but kicks into gear when the characters go wandering off to see the gypsies -- and after that, it's a slow bloody build as all the scientifically impossible things come true, and Larry finds himself increasingly trapped.
And while some of the werewolf stuff (including the famous rhyme) was made up for the movie, it adds a note of mythological creepiness, as well as some lovely incantations ("The way you walked was thorny, through no fault of your own...").
And Lon Chaney Jr. did an excellent job bringing a sympathetic edge to the werewolf, turning convincingly from a jovial engineer/aristocrat to a man haunted by his horrific change. The one problem: he isn't very sympathetic at the beginning, since he basically stalks Gwen (looking in her window with a telescope?) and won't get lost when she tells him to. Ankers gives a good performance as a local love interest, and Ouspenskaya gives a spectacular performance as the old gypsy lady -- eerie, sympathetic to Larry's plight, and with a dry sense of humor.
Despite a slightly creepy lead character, "The Wolfman" is still an enduring classic -- it's no longer exactly scary, but it is deliciously spooky. Definitely a must-see.』
(Wrong Picture On DVD Cover!) 『The one star is strictly for the DVD cover that Universal produced for this Special Edition. The Wolfman on the cover is from ABBOTT&COSTELLO MEETS FRANKENSTEIN (1948) and not the original THE WOLFMAN (1941). In fact, Jack Pierce did not design this version of The Wolfman. Wish they would have gone with a correct photo. Still i plan to purchase this DVD, despite the cover.』
(Special Features) 『Here are the features for the Legacy Series 2 Disc DVD Special Edition:
- Commentary by film historian Tom Weaver
* Featurettes:
- The Wolf Man: From Ancient Curse to Modern Myth,
- Pure in Heart: The Life and Legacy of Lon Chaney Jr,
- He Who Made Monsters: The Life and Art of Jack Pierce,
- Monsters by Moonlight
- The Wolf Man Archives
- Universal Horror documentary narrated by Kenneth Branag
Larry Talbot comes back to the family estate after 18 years away in America. But his knowledge of electronics and telescopes does not prepare him for the horror of things beyond science.
Using his dad's telescope (Dad played by Claude Raines, whom Larry calls "sir" a bit too often for my taste) he starts peeping at the girls around town and focuses on Gwen, a blonde who works at the antique shop in town.
Mid his flirtation with her (that WOLF!) he buys a silver cane, which becomes vital to the story.
As the body count increases and Larry realizes he's the victim of the curse of the werewolf (also known as Lycanthropy, which the director kindly defined with a very large, screen-sized dictionary entry early in the film) and has a tough time convincing anyone of the truth.
Bela Lugosi plays a small yet important role as the gypsy who is cursed with the werewolf problem. I don't get though why didn't the gypsies lock him up if they knew he turned into a wolf? Hmmm?
Maleva is the mysterious and somewhat stoic gypsy woman who knows all about this curse and knows the right words and the right incantations but really just rides around in her buggy attempting to direct the cast of characters.
Things get a bit hectic as the Wolfman (who escaped from his chair in his locked room, which is not explained), his dad Sir John and Gwen, his love interest (but she's engaged, long story) all converge into the ultimate climax.
Universal Pictures did not do a bad job at all in expressing the horror of the wolf, nor had any problem expressing the curse and its mythology to the audience -- three times in the first 20 minutes of the movie.
For a 1940s audience who only a few short years before saw the exciting yet frightening Dracula and the Mummy rise again, this must have been quite the tour de force.
Good points, the imagery, the haunting illusions, flashbacks and styled make-up of the werewolf, and Lon Chaney Jr.'s frightening, melancholy acting. Bad points though include somewhat hectic music and a stiff Claude Raines who seemed to walk stiffly through his parts.
Highly recommended for film buffs and fans of the early horror classics. 』
price：$4.96
Rhino Theatrical
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (The Best Terrible movie ever!) 『This was made to be a very bad movie; there's a reason that it's a cult classic. You have to appreciate bad B movies to get this; if you do, you'll love it.』
(Attack of the Killer Tomatoes - 25th Anniversary Edition (Purchased on 08/17/2009)) 『It was hilarious. Even better than I expected. When the tomatoes started throwing themselves at the the "humans" I wanted to throw a few myself. It got a little slow at times and super fakey all over the place... but this is what I was looking for. Not as moving as the Blob.... but I'll be watching it again....once I can get it back from my friends who had never heard of this movie... So.. roll on little guys.. we'll see you soon I'm sure!!』
(When Ketchup Bites Back!) 『Attack of the Killer Tomatoes has to one of the oddest films to ever grace cable TV. I remember watching this cheese-flick on Monster Vision with Joe Bob Briggs and kind of freaking out that my favorite snack was attacking people. The whole plot is ridiculous and extremely corny in a funny way. Basically it's like GRINDHOUSE, except this one spoofs those horrible Sci-fi 50's films like "Earth vs. The Spider".
The whole point of Attack of the Killer Tomatoes is to be funny, which the 50's Scifi plots are trying to be so serious it was ridiculous decades later, but were laughed at years later. This cheesy film was popular enough that it spawned an animated series based on the film(s), which I watched almost religious as the Ghostbusters cartoon.
A great popcorn movie and still great for laughs at the ulimate cheese factor. Also check out the Animated series which expands upon the plot point of a mad scientist mutating tomatos into people to take over the world. Great for laughs and beware of the catchy theme song as well, you'll be singing about Killer Tomatoes for quite sometime.
Attack of the killer tomatoes... ATTACK of the Killer Tomatoes... I forget the rest, lol.』
(Vine-Ripened And Ready To Roll (Oh Yes, There Will Be Ketchup)!...) 『They roll! They swim! They even fly! Most disturbingly, these crimson marauders kill without mercy or remorse! There is no safety or escape, once they've marked you for termination! Yes, the KILLER TOMATOES are here! It's been 30 years since I first watched this accursed film, and it has lost none of it's power to transfix and / or assault the senses! I fear there's no going back now, as the flashbacks, nightmares, and heeby-jeebies have only increased over the years! Fool that I am, I figured I could face down and overcome my terror, so I bought the ATTACK OF THE KILLER TOMATOES: SPECIAL COLLECTOR'S EDITION! This was a gargantuan miscalculation on my part! This wretched collection is jam-packed w/ featurettes, 8mm footage, trailers, lobbycards, a putrid poster, the hideous soundtrack disc, and other not-so-gentle reminders of this malignant movie! Buy it ONLY if you can handle life-long trauma in its most intense form! As for me, I shall continue to strive for a somewhat normal existence. Pray for me...』
(Good Cornball) 『This classic movie was never meant to be taken seriously, but it is seriously funny and a great spoof on horror movies.』 『Studio: Wea-des Moines Video Release Date: 09/23/2003』 『Movies with "wacky" titles are almost never any good, andAttack of the Killer Tomatoes!was intentionally made to be an instant golden turkey. Despite that, and the grade-Z production values, this is a regularly funny film. You need to be a fan of the kind of low-budget horror movie it's spoofing, and you need to be very forgiving of the technical ineptness and frequent clunkers, but it works. The story? Well, tomatoes attack, basically. Jack Riley and the San Diego Chicken are in it, and that genuinely alarming helicopter crash you see in an early scene was a real accident. Seen now, the whole ratty affair brings back agreeable memories of the circa-1978 college-movie/midnight-cinema era, when seeing this film was virtually unavoidable. The sequel,Return of the Killer Tomatoes!(with a young George Clooney), is actually an even funnier film. Director John De Bello would continue to squeeze theTomatoesfranchise for years to come.--Robert Horton』
price：$6.95
Oxford University Press, USA
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (Base menials) 『Henry James is a prime aristocrat, a not always very subtle defender of the leisure class. Two short stories in this bundle show it profusely. In `The Turn of the Screw', two aristocratic children are haunted by two `base menials' (`You reminded him that Quint was only a base menial?'). Henry James fears really that the higher classes will be contaminated and corrupted by the lower classes: `I should continue to defer to the old tradition of the criminality of those caretakers of the young who minister to superstition and fears.' The evil comes out of the lower classes, `For the love of all the evil that the pair (of servants) put into them.' At the end, one of the children succumbs to the same fate as the child in `Erlkoenig' by Goethe, Erlkoenig being the quintessence of the evil force, the killer of innocence.
In `Owen Wingrave' (masterly transformed into an opera by Benjamin Britten), the main character refuses to step into the tradition of his ancestors and to become a soldier (and die on the battlefield). On the contrary, he calls war an overwhelming stupidity, the `crash barbarism'. He doesn't understand `why nations don't tear to pieces the governments, the rulers that go for them.' For Henry James, the ideas and the behavior of Owen Wingrave are like `falling in love with a low girl.' At the end, Owen is slain by the ghost of one of his ancestors, dying on his own battlefield (for his ideas). The last words of the story (`gained field') would mean that the aristocracy has adopted the `anti-war' policy.
These perfectly constructed and brilliantly written stories reveal Henry James's real obsession: preserve the `purity' of his kind. 』
(The Turn of the Screw: And Other Stories) 『You guys missed the most dramatic plot twist in history!
Think about it there was no gost it was all in Governess's head, and she is the true villain.
This is trully the best horror book I have ever read.』
(A Horror Story that falls a little short of a Classic) 『I didn't like the first person style in which most of this book is written. The times when someone else besides the governess is speaking it becomes hard to follow who is talking. However after completing this novella, I realize this style may have been needed to raise some questions in the reader's minds whether or not the governess is just imagining all that she sees, or whether there really are ghosts about the manor trying to corrupt these cherub like children to do unspeakable evil. At times I felt the suspense was forced. Too many pages were used to explain why she just didn't come out and confront the children in the first place, speak to their uncle, or speak to someone at the school. The introductory pages of people telling ghost stories seemed unnecessary as well since it is never tied back in to the story at the end. At times the story shows so much potential to build you up to a great surprise climax at the end, but then in my opinion, it falls short.』
(a bad writer's best book) 『A young governess is hired to look after two seemingly angelic orphans--Flora and Miles. Seemingly, but why was Miles dismissed from school? and who are the strangers who the governess sees at windows? As in most of James' work, these questions are raised but not answered. However, in this novella he is presenting a gothic mystery, so the open ended questions are appropriate.
Apparently Turn of the Screw was controversial when James wrote it, because of it's presentation of children as potentially wicked. In the era of Littleton, I don't think there's anyone left who will argue that children are incapable of evil.
It's just a good creepy little tale.
GRADE: B』
『Whether viewed as a subtle, self-conscious exploration of the haunted house of Victorian culture, filled with echoes of sexual and social unease, or simply as "the most hopelessly evil story we have ever read," The Turn of the Screw is probably the most famous of ghostly tales and certainly the most eerily equivocal. This new edition includes three rarely reprinted ghost stories from the 1890s, "Sir Edmund Orme," "Owen Wingrave," and "The Friends of the Friends," as well as relevant extracts from James's notebooks and journals.』
Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (Realms of the Underdark edited by J. Robert King) 『Realms of the Underdark is edited by J. Robert King was released in 1996. This anthology has five short stories by Mark Anthony, Ed Greenwood, Elaine Cunningham, Roger E. Moore, and Brian M. Thomsen. Thomsen also writes the preface and the postscript. As you can guess, the stories written in here have to do with the Underdark and those who live there.
Preface: At the Publishing House by Brian M. Thomsen- This little introduction is about the publisher of Tym Waterdeep Limited named Justin Tym as he worries over next years submissions and how his best author, Volo, and his relationship went downhill. I'm not going to comment on this seeing as it just introduces the story.
The Fires of Narbondel by Mark Anthony- This story follows Zaknafein Do'Urden, the father of the ever famous Drizzt Do'Urden, on his quest to find a dagger for Matron Malice Do'Urden to gain Lloth's, the Spider Queen's, favor. Negatives: I have no problems with the story. Positives: 1) Zaknafein. R. A. Salvatore may have created the weapon master, but Mark Anthony really brought him to life. I was excited to read and see how Zaknafein looked being written by someone else and I was not disappointed. There was an added depth into the character and you really see how Zak is Zak. 2) Drizzt. Everyone's favorite drow. This is pretty much the same case as above. I think that Mark Anthony really nailed Salvatore's character, albeit Drizzt is only 11 years old, but pretty much mimicked how Drizzt was in Salvatore's Homeland. At the same time, there was a new "twist" on to Drizzt character. I know this is blasphemy, but after reading this story... I really would have liked to see how Mark Anthony portrayed Drizzt in his never to be published book Shores of Dusk. 3) Mark Anthony. I just can't believe how well he took the characters that Salvatore created and pretty much made it feel like it was a Salvatore story. From Zak to Malice, Drizzt to Briza, he really did a wonderful job at creating these characters. 4) Jalynfein. Now I won't give up a lot of stuff on who this is, but I just WANT to read more about this character. He is very interesting and it's a shame that he only appears on a few pages. Overall: 5/5 *I'm not even going to comment about how impressed I am with this story.*
A Slow Day in Skullport by Ed Greenwood- The main story that is being told is about three people taking on a beholder in order to "save" a noblewomen. That's about as in depth as I can get when trying to summarize this story. Negatives: 1) Too much. The reason why I can't accurately summarize the story is because, well, there is just so much going on. I wasn't even sure everything that happened was supposed to be happening. It just was a mishmash of little pointless scenes and more headache driven pacing. I still don't know what actually happened. 2) Pointless scenes. There were a bunch of useless, meaningless scenes. The story probably could have just been 20 pages if you took away all the uselessness. The scenes with Elminster and Halaster served no real purpose. I'm still clueless as to why they were in here. I have no explanation at all. 3) Pacing. The scenes went by to fast to be able to make since out of anything. I wasn't even sure what was supposed to be happening. One minute your looking through the eyes of Asper, the next Durnan suddenly did something that we missed and then Mirt did something else that I have no idea how he did it. It just needed to slow down a little. Positives: 1) Dramatis Personae. At least you get to see who all played a part in this mess. It is nice to see who the characters are and everything. The only thing is, why list people that didn't contribute anything except a line or just a very brief appearance? Still, some of the things said in here about the characters are pretty funny. 2) Main story. Now, even though I still can't decipher what was going on, the main story was pretty interesting. The whole fight with the beholder was fun and exciting. Then the whole missing noblewomen was an interesting twist. 3) Asper, Durnan, and Mirt. The main characters were pretty interesting as well. Asper, in my opinion, was by fair the best of the trio with her acrobatics and agility. It was fun to read about all her "crazy" moves. Durnan was interesting in that he is a tavern keeper, yet adventurer and that in his "age" he can still put up a good fight. Mirt was interesting because even though he was "bigger," he was agile and "smooth" with the ladies for some odd reason. Overall: 2/5 *Too much going on to make any sense of it. My head is still trying to figure it all out. The only redeeming qualities were the character list at the end and the beholder fight.*
Rite of Blood by Elaine Cunningham- The story is about Liriel Baenre, the daughter of Gromph Baenre, who is the arch-mage of Menzoberranzan. Liriel is a up and coming mage, under the tutelage of Xandra Shobalar, the Mistress of Magic. During this time, Liriel is coming of age and is to undertake a ritual called "The Blooding" in which she would make her first kill and become a true drow. However, things don't go as Liriel thought they would. Negatives: I can't think of anything wrong about this story. Positives: 1) Liriel. She's a very interesting character and it's nice to see a little more into her background than what was written in Starlight and Shadows trilogy. You can see how innocent, yet at the same time, not she is. And I liked that we get to see how bright and cunning she really can be. 2) Story. The whole story was wonderful. From the start to the finish, everything was done beautifully and it really made you want to read and finish the story. 3) Looking into the drow's mind. This really did offer a good look into how cunning and devious drow's are. You can get a great sense of how cold and calculating they are. Also, you get a sense that not all drow's are born evil, but are twisted into being that way. Overall: 5/5 *Great look into a drow's mind and a great story revolving around Liriel Baenre.
Sea of Ghosts by Roger E. Moore- The story revolves around a deep gnome named Wykar and a derro named Geppo in search search of a treasure that they buried when enslaved by drow. Wykar is determined to destroy an egg, while promising that Geppo can have the gold. Along the way, peril and danger await them, along with betrayal. Negatives: 1) Raurogh's Hall. The scenes involving the little community of Raurogh's Hall, were quite honestly, boring. I didn't see the point to add them in there, sure it may have been interesting if more thought and relevance were put into this part. The main thing I got out of this is they have an earthquake, a fisher women counts till she hears a splash and becomes a hero. Exciting. 2) Plains of Eastern Shaar. Once again, the same exact reason as above. It was almost as pointless. It was boring and at times, made no real sense to the plot. However, it does get somewhat tied in at the end, and I may be stretching it. 3) Geppo's Speech. It did not seem like he was slow, in fact the reason why he talked like that was because of a metal wire their drow masters tied around his neck. But why does that make him talk so, for lack of a better term, stupid? Granted, he might not be able to pronounce certain words, but come on... Positives: 1) Wykar and Geppo. Both the characters were pretty thought out and very interesting. Wykar's paranoia about Geppo betraying him was done well. Throughout the story, he doesn't trust Geppo. Geppo on the other hand gets interesting towards the end, and because I don't want to give anything away, his back story was touching and sad. And it makes me think that he really is mentally challenged. Even the relationship between the characters was very interesting. Geppo seemed to wholly trust Wykar, while Wykar didn't seem to trust in Geppo at all. It made for an interesting story. 2) The End. The ending came unexpected and was very heart wrenching. It was one of those moments when I have to take a break, else I might lose it. It was that emotional and sad for me. Overall: 4/5 *Even though I had some major problems with some scenes, the ending is what really made this story wonderful. It really made me sorrowful for the two main characters.*
Volo Does Menzo by Brian M. Thomsen- The story is about a maître d'/waiter/cook named Percival Gallard Woodehous, commonly called Pig and the renowned traveling author Volo in their journey to Menzoberranzan, as prisoners. Negatives: 1) Courun and Haukun. These were pathetic excuses for drow. It was terrible seeing how inept they are. I thought that all drow were a certain way... Positives: 1) Percival. Every interesting character. He seemed like a maître d' and was a very well done character. 2) Volo. I haven't really read much about Volo, and it was interesting to see his personality and how complex he can be at times. You couldn't get very much information with the short stories that he was featured in. 3) Humor. An amazingly funny story. Mostly because of the ineptness of the drow duo. Overall: 4/5 *It seemed like this should have been a little shorter and it really did feel pretty fast and short.*
Postscript: Back at the Publishing House by Brian M. Thomsen- Just pretty much wraps up the previous story and wraps up the whole anthology. Once again, not really commenting on this.
OVERALL ANTHOLOGY: 4/5 *Good stories overall, except for the Ed Greenwood confusion laced story.*』
(You can almost hear the authors rolling the dice.) 『It's not that Realms of the Underdark is necessarily *bad*. Around the time that this stories were written, Drow elves (the evil dark-skinned elves that live deep underground and worship the dark spider-goddess Lloth) were all the rage in Forgotten Realms books. They must still be popular, as I never fail to see a new Drow book out there. It's only natural that TSR (before Wizards of the Coast bought them) would want to take advantage of such cool creatures. Drizzt Do'Urden was the coolest of the cool, an exiled Drow who is actually a hero. Of course, he features in one of the Realms of the Underdark novellas. Surprisingly he isn't really the star of it, but it does explain something of his past.
The problem is that there just isn't really anything exciting or original about any of the stories. Of the stories, one is very good, one is pretty bad, and the rest range from "bland" to "pretty good."
Getting the poor story out of the way first is "A Slow Day in Skullport," by Ed Greenwood. Greenwood is one of the masters of the Forgotten Realms setting, and he is determined to show it. Unfortunately, it's one of the more by-the-numbers entries in the book (and that's saying something!). Three of the Lords of Waterdeep, former adventurers who have retired to positions of wealth and power in the big city, find themselves on yet another adventure. Durnan, owner of the Yawning Portal and master of the entrance from Waterdeep into the Underdark, receives an image of a young noble girl in trouble, and is determined to rescue her. He sends a message to his friend, Mirt the Moneylender, who then alerts his friend Asper of the potential danger. He suspects a trap. Sure enough, it is, as Durnan is attacked by a Beholder, a floating creature with a huge eye in the center and a bunch of eyestalks, all of them able to shoot bolts of energy and other magical attacks. Durnan is the object of the Beholder's plan, and his friends have to come to his rescue. I'm not sure I can really say how bad this story is. I could almost hear the dice rolling during the battle scenes and there's no flow to them whatsoever. Greenwood also can't resist inserting Elminster into the story. Elminster is the greatest mage in the Realms and the character that Greenwood played when the Realms was a gaming world. He's in there for no apparent reason. Either that, or the story will be continued elsewhere, as other seemingly unrelated events happen as well. If true, that's a real minus for this story. What's even funnier is the sequence where Mirt is constantly attacked by various creatures of the Underdark and just swats everything away without raising a sweat. These characters don't feel like they're in any danger whatsoever, even when things start looking bleak at the end. Why should I care about these people? Ultimately, I didn't, and struggled to get through the story. Seemingly invincible characters are dull to read about. Next!
The final story, "Volo Does Menzo," is a wonderful conclusion written by Brian M. Thomsen. Percival Woodehous (or Pig, as he's known in Skullport) is a down-on-his-luck maitre'd who was the best in Waterdeep before being disgraced and forced to find what work he can in sinister Skullport. Volo, the infamous travel guide writer, was the cause of his distress, and Pig is surprised when he finds Volo in a tavern that Pig frequents. Determined to talk to him, he gets mixed up in an attack on Volo by two bumbling Drow disgraced warriors. It is said that Volo intends to write a guide to the Drow home city, Menzoberranzan, and they can't have that. Does Volo have something else up his sleeve? Or will both of them be put to death for the warriors' cleansed honour? This is a delightfully funny tale with the characterization of Volo being perfect. He loves the sound of his own voice and regales both tavern customers and his guards with tales of his travels all over the Realm. He's also devious, as his ultimate plan demonstrates. He has a terrific memory, as he ultimately does remember what happened to Percival (though it would have been nice if he had explained exactly what happened). Percival is also well done as the master chef, out of his element in a situation not of his making. I found the two bumbling Drow hard to get used to at first, because we've never seen one before. They are usually brutally efficient. However, their characterization grew on me, though Thomsen does go a little too far with their denseness. Still, the situations are hilarious, especially the confrontation with the two fish creatures, the Kuo-toa, that Volo and Percival witness when they're supposed to be asleep.
With one great story ("Volo Does Menzo), one good story ("Rites of Blood," by Elaine Cunningham), and three iffy ones ("Sea of Ghosts," by Roger E. Moore, "The Fires of Narbondel," by Mark Anthony, and "A Slow Day in Skullport"), this collection ultimately isn't that good. If you're a fan of the Forgotten Realms, you may enjoy these novellas. Otherwise, you should probably stay away.
David Roy』
(Bite sized stories for you to savor.) 『"Realms of the Underdark"is one of the"Realms"series of short story anthologies. This volume deals exclusively with the Underdark, the subterranean world of amongst things dark elves, Dwarfs and a unique ecology. The Underdark has been made famous by R.A. Salvatore's the hugely popular Dark elf series. Although R.A Salvatore doesn't actually contribute any stories in this anthology some of his characters do make appearances in several stories. Fans of R.A. Salvatore will enjoy this anthology since it fills in a lot of background details about the Underdark and how dangerous it really is. Fans might also notice the differing writing styles between R.A. Salvatore and the other authors but that shouldn't detract too much from the book. After finishing the book it leaves you wanting more... but in a good way.』
(Three Stars for three good stories.) 『I gave this book three stars, one for each good story in here. If you did not get enough of the Underdark from Salvatore's fantastic drow series, then this book is worth it for the three quality stories within. Though none of the stories are of the quality of Salvatories writings about the underdark, three out of five stories in here add nicely to the myth of the Underdark. The Liriel Baenre story is the best of them and even features a brief appearance by my favorite drow Jarlaxle. There is an excellent story about a deep gnome who was captured as a drow slave. And then there is the so-so Zaknefin story, which includes some more back story on Drizzt, and while this story is no where near the quality of Salvatories writing, it does provide some interesting insight into both Zaknefin and Drizzt. As for the other two stories in here, forget about them, I already did.』
(Not Bad.) 『Well.The book isn't bad. I've enjoyed reading most of the stories.But That's the bad part. They left you wanting more :)_ The stories are great, and, if you don't mind reading just short stories, buy it. I enjoyed the Liriel's story (Elaine Cunningham) the most of all.』 『The Underdark
Beneath the surface of Faerûn lies a whole different world.
A world of drow, deep gnomes, and other denizens of the dark.
A world of cities like Menzoberranzan and Skullport, of warriors and rogues like Drizzt Do'Urden and Liriel Baenre and numerous others.
Leave the security of the surface world and seek out the darkness that lies below.
The scallop of large satisfactory ! northern countries and - [ of how much ] botan shrimp are ! tightly.
getting to know the technique of motorbike expensive sale -- Ta -- if -- -
>,Michael Par,é,Lisa Eichhorn,Dean Devlin,Brian Thompson,Malcolm McDowell
