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Oxford DVD
Reviews
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2
disc DVD box set
released by 4DVD on
Monday 25 August
2008.
A review by
Nicholas Newman 4
August 2008
Richard Dawkins is
one of the worlds’
most controversial
and influential
intellectual
figures. He holds
the Chair for the
Public Understanding
of Science at Oxford
University. In his
book ‘The Selfish
Gene', published in
1976, in which he
argued that the “the
selfish gene was the
basic engine of
evolutionary
development.” Now
after this book
became one of the
most influential
scientific texts of
modern times, we
have the television
series.
His new Channel
Four DVD series
follows in the first
episode through the
footsteps that
enabled Dawkins
hero, Charles
Darwin, to make the
awe-inspiring
discoveries about
the theory of
evolution.
The second episode
‘The Root of All
Evil' is a companion
piece to his book
the God Delusion
published in 2006,
with a rational
analysis at the main
religions.
The third episode
‘The Enemies of
Reason', confronts
what Dawkins sees as
an epidemic of
superstitious
thinking in belief
systems.
My only criticism
was the series was
too short; it should
have been at least
ten episodes long.
It should be
essential viewing
for every theologian
and philosopher,
before they even
contemplate
confronting,
criticizing or
debating with
Professor Richard
Dawkins. Watching
this series, based
on hard reasoning
and evidence should
force many to
reconsider their
beliefs, perhaps
even change their
minds?
A
review by Nicholas
Newman
21 July 2008
DVD Release 18
August 2008, Runtime
95 minutes, MGM
Entertainment.
Stargate Continuum
is the second film
this year made for
DVD from the makers
of the highly
successful Stargate
SG1 television
series.
It has everything a
good science fiction
film of this genera
should have, from
action, adventure,
paradoxes, fantastic
looking space ships,
great fight scenes
and time travel.
However, the real
star of the show is
the scene extra,
HMS Tireless,
surfacing through
the Arctic Ocean
icecap. That's what
I call great
television.
As for Stargate
Continuum, the real
action starts when
the Stargate SG-1
team arrives on an
alien planet to
witness their long
time enemy Baal, an
alien super being,
who pretended to be
the god of the
planets he
conquered, being
prepared for
execution. As the
execution ceremony
begins, to the
accompaniment of
some glorious
Gregorian chant, one
of the Stargate SG1
team USAF General
Jack O'Neill
(Richard Dean
Anderson) is
tragically killed
and the film’s
‘baddie’, Baal
escapes. As O'Neill
dies, two of his
fellow SG-1 team
members, Vala Mal
Doran (Claudia
Black) and Teal'c
(Christopher Judge)
disappear
mysteriously into
thin air.
The remaining three
SG-1 team members,
USAF Lt. Colonel
Cameron Mitchell
(Ben Browder), USAF
Lt. Colonel Samantha
Carter (Amanda
Tapping) and Dr.
Daniel Jackson
(Michael Shanks)
make a dash back to
Earth through the
Stargate, an
interplanetary
teleport system.
They discover, on
arrival back on
Earth, that the
timeline has
changed. The Earth
does not have a
Stargate program,
nor dedicated teams
of Special Forces
like SG-1 who go out
to defend Earth and
explore the Galaxy
using the Stargate
system.
The writers,
Jonathan Glassner
and Brad Wright have
done a good job; the
plot focuses more on
the human interest
aspect of our
heroes. Some of the
interplay between
the characters is
magical. One feels
one is dropping into
private
conversations
between friends.
Throughout the
cinematography by
Martin Wood
(director) is
impressive,
including the very
realistic
bombardment of Earth
from Space, but my
favourite scene
takes place when our
heroes are in the
Arctic with the
submarine.
Overall
Stargate Continuum
proved to be very
entertaining, and
like every Stargate
episode, it left one
satisfied, but
wanting more
Stargate DVD films
to watch.
This DVD will
be available
for the
suggested
retail price
of £19.99.
Though it
will be
available on
many
websites for
less
including:
Amazon.co.uk
and
www.Play.com
.
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Water Lilies
(Naissance Des
Pieuvres)
Directed by Céline
Schiamma. (available
on DVD)
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Details:
2007,
France,
cert 15,
85 mins,
Dir:
Celine Sciamma
-
With:
Adele
Haenel,
Louise
Blachere,
Pauline
Acquart
A review by Julia
Gasper 14 July
If you enjoy
watching young
teenage girls
changing in and out
of their swimsuits,
then this film about
water-ballet teams
is for you. There
are plenty of
smooth, slim bare
limbs, taut young
breasts and
well-shaven armpits
on view, as the
teams splash and
stretch in flower
formation. They
practise wriggling
and plunging
underwater with
faces heavily
made-up, though the
effect is slightly
spoilt by
nose-clips. At one
point one of the
girls even strips to
her bra on a Metro
train, to change her
jumper.
The story concerns
Marie, a shy and
skinny 15-year-old,
who looks only 13,
and aspires to learn
the sport. She
becomes infatuated
with the beautiful
team leader,
15-year-old Floriane.
Floriane
compulsively gets
off with boys but is
secretly still a
virgin. Vain and
curious, she even
encourages the
advances of the
middle-aged swimming
coach, then
ridicules him to
Marie. Eventually
she confesses to
Marie that she is
scared to lose her
virginity to anyone,
in case he finds out
that he is the
first. Marie is
fascinated by
Floriane, longs to
be her, and suffers
a mixture of
adoration, jealousy
and disgust. She far
prefers Floriane to
her fat friend Anne,
who hangs around
naked in the
changing rooms in
the hope that some
boy will come by and
see her. Anne
shop-lifts a
necklace by stuffing
it in her mouth,
then gives it to the
object of her
affection, the
popular François,
who goes from girl
to girl and bed to
bed faster than a
pizza delivery man.
The story takes us
into a strange,
wistful adolescent
world where parents
do not exist and the
only real
relationships seem
to be friendships
between girls.
This is an original
film with moments of
grotesque comedy and
pathos, and a
sensitive
performance by the
starring actress
Pauline Acquart, but
I would not
recommend it for an
exciting evening or
for family viewing.
STARGATE ATLANTIS
SERIES FOUR REVIEW.
A REVIEW BY
NICHOLAS
NEWMAN 8
JULY 2008
DVD Disc Box Set
20 episodes, 900
minutes of action
packed drama and
adventure.
INTRO TO STARGATE
Ancient Greek story
tellers set the site
of the lost city of
Atlantis at the
bottom of the sea,
beyond the Straits
of Gibraltar.
Today's spinner of
tales suggests
another theory.
The makers behind
the fourth season of
popular Stargate
Atlantis, itself a
spin-off from a
previous series
Stargate-SG1,
propose the theory
that lost city of
Atlantis was a giant
space ship that left
the Earth in ancient
times, and flew
three million light
years to the Pegasus
Galaxy. This giant
city space ship was
found thousands of
years later by a
team from earth,
below the waters of
a planet.
WHAT STARGATE
ATLANTIS IS ABOUT
Like all good
science fiction,
the producers behind
this joint
American/Canadian
production of
Stargate Atlantis
provide good
all-round family
entertainment. The
latest series
involves interesting
characters, a sense
of action,
adventure, drama,
together with
quality plot lines,
with intelligent
dialogue. Unlike
other science
fiction television
series it does not
allow the computer
generated imagery to
get in the way of a
good story.
Even the actors
playing the enemy
get meaty rewarding
roles, so it's no
wonder many major
actors are eager to
make guest
appearances in the
series and the
television ratings
throughout the world
continues to remain
high. In fact these
stories could be
said to represent
what is best of
English literature
today, with its
pro-science rational
attitudes, rather
than the
anti-science culture
favoured by many of
the literati today.
OVERVIEW OF STARGATE
ATLANTIS SEASON FOUR
Season Four starts
off with a bang, in
‘Adrift' with our
heroes drifting in
deep space, seeking
desperately to fix
their interstellar
star drive before
the emergency power
runs out, with the
prospect that they
will all die a
horrible death. In
this episode, where
all the acting
skills of the main
characters including
Dr. McKay (played by
English actor
David Hewlett)
as the city's top
scientist and chief
doctor Dr. Keller
(portrayed by
Canadian actress
Jewel Staite)
forced to make some
tough decisions.
What will interest
the viewer is not
the final solution
they come to, but
how they work
together in coming
to that solution,
despite the other
problems the series
writers throw at
them.
Throughout season
four, which is best
watched
consecutively, our
team of heroes fight
local despots,
disease, tackle
local politics,
fight a few space
battles and meet new
alien races like the
Travellers who lived
for generations in
space to avoid
Atlantis main enemy,
the Wraith. Though
the series has a
large international
ensemble cast, most
of the series seemed
to be dominated by
the remarkable
exploits of Dr.
McKay and Lt. Col.
John Sheppard,
played by American
actor
Joe Flannigan,
though fascinating,
left many of the
other characters
with little to do.
Even in episodes not
focused on our
heroic duo, like the
search by Atlantis
team member, Tyler
Emmagan, (portrayed
by Tanzanian born
actress
Rachel Luttrel),
mysteriously absent
husband. The script
was not up to the
usual standards one
has grown to expect
from Stargate. It is
almost as if the
writing team was
distracted, perhaps
in preparation for
the making of two
excellent Stargate
films ‘Ark
of Truth’ and ‘Continuum’
that have been
premiered this year.
The fourth season
ends with a classic
episode called ‘The
Last Man'. Here, the
plot line revolves
around Lt. Col. John
Sheppard who returns
to Atlantis via an
interplanetary
teleport system
known as the ‘Gate
System' to find the
lost city of
Atlantis deserted
and instead of
floating on an
ocean, surrounded by
sand. Sheppard
discovers that he
has been transported
many centuries into
the future.
Eventually, he
activates the
Atlantis holographic
guide. The virtual
guide turns out to
be Dr. Rodney McKay,
who tells to him,
what terrible things
have s happened to
the city’s
inhabitants, since
John Sheppard
disappeared. With (a
virtual) McKay's
advice, John works
towards repairing
the time line, so
that Atlantis does
not suffer the
terrible fate that
Dr. McKay foretells.
For the viewer,
it is
fascinating how two
complete opposite
personalities manage
to work together,
with Sheppard as the
classic wise
cracking man of
action and McKay as
a shy deep thinking,
human version of
Star Trek’s Mr.
Spock. The dialogue
and interplay
between these two
characters in this
episode is magical.
BEST EPISODE
One of the best
episodes is ‘Midway'
is when the alien
soldier Ronan Dax
(portrayed by
Hawaiian giant
Jason Momoa),
who has joined the
Atlantis team has to
prepare for his
first annual
interview, back on
Earth. We see Ronan,
who is fearless in
battle get
increasingly nervous
in the days before
his interview, just
like an ordinary
human being.
To assist Ronan in
his interview
preparation, the
City's current
leader Col. Carter,
(played by charming
Amanda Tapping),
invites alien
soldier character
Teal'c, (portrayed
by
Christopher Judge),
to give him a few
pointers. Teal’c
brooding presence
made him one of the
most popular
personalities from
the original
television series
Stargate SG-1.
From the start these
warriors do not get
on with each other.
Later, on their way
to Earth, they are
attacked by the
Wraith, a vampire
like alien
civilization. In the
heat of battle the
two warriors work
together as a team
and their friendship
gels, as they defeat
the Wraith. The
action sequences in
this episode put the
fighting dance
sequences of many
Chinese epic films
to shame.
SUGGESTED
IMPROVEMENTS
Watching Stargate
Atlantis, one is
always amused that
the actors seem to
be wearing brand new
spotless costumes,
even though in the
story they may have
spent several wet
hours trekking
through dark, dirty
and muddy forbidding
forests or fighting
aliens. It is time
those responsible
for continuity
retained a sense of
reality even with
the clothing.
One is always
surprised that the
aliens our Atlantis
team encounter on
their journeys, all
seem to speak
English with a
Canadian accent. The
Atlantis team never
seem to have a
problem
understanding the
different languages
of the new races
they meet.
In future issues, we
will see more depth
to the characters;
it would be
fascinating to see
the interplay of
internal politics,
within Atlantis and
the races it comes
across.
In the next series,
due out this summer
in the States, fans
have much to look
forward to,
including tying up
some of the
storylines started
in this current
series, including a
new leader for
Atlantis and the
return of some
favourite
characters. What
would greatly
improve the series
would be to have a
much stronger
emphasis on the
sense of optimism
for the future for
mankind that was so
prevalent in the
earlier Stargate
SG-1 series.
Stargate:
Atlantis
Season Four
DVD Disc Box
Set Content
Specifics:
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Stargate:
Atlantis"
Season Four
includes 20
thrilling
episodes on
five discs
and features
cast and
crew
commentaries,
deleted
scenes,
photo
galleries,
the first
"Atlantis"
blooper reel
and more.
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Total
Running
Time: 900
minutes |
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Due for
release on
04/08/2008 |
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This DVD will
be available
for the
suggested
retail price
of £39.99.
Though it
will be
available on
many
websites for
less
including:
Amazon.co.uk
and
www.Play.com
. |
For more about
Stargate Atlantis
see
Stargate Home Page
For
more news about
television see
OXFORD
TELEVISION
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