Though this is a pretty grim movie at times, I can't hear the phrase "Spanish Inquisition" without going through the Monty Python routine. Once the movie starts, however, I am always so engrossed I forget about the sketch.

This movie had me hooked from the first scene the first time I saw it, but it has that rare quality of actually getting better with every viewing. As many have said, this is without a doubt Full Moon's all-time best. I'm a diehard Stuart Gordon fan, and if it wasn't for Re-Animator, I might say it was Gordon's best, too. By the way, the first scene is very grisly and cold-blooded, and you *know* it's gonna be a great movie when that happens even before the opening credits.

I'm really saddened that this movie didn't get more of a chance for wide release. I remember it being in the theater for maybe one week and then going to video, and the only reason I even knew it existed was from reading Fangoria. Look at the cast- while they aren't all considered "A-list", the ... Читать дальше »

Getting the introductions out of the way, it is 2054 in Washington D.C. and Tom Cruise plays, John Anderton, a Precrime enforcement detective who heads up a crack team specializing in preventing murders before they occur, also arresting criminals before they kill. Out of the loop, the cops come calling in the form of Colin Farrell's character, Detective Witwer who backs Anderton into a corner, seizing control of the experimental operation and taking control of Precrime's affairs. Through the minds of three precognitive and abnormally gifted youths who, when asleep, dream only of murder in technologically projected second sight, Anderton sees his own criminal fate and sets out to alter his unknown predestination.

Estranged from his wife and a father struggling to cope with the disappearance of his son, Anderton seeks a temporary high in the dark world of illegal street drugs but when his murderous number comes down the pipe, both the law and Precrime chart a course for his apprehension bef ... Читать дальше »

For the lack of having anything better to do, I decided to plow through all 3 hours of this sorry excuse for television (I know, it's supposed to be 4, but I discounted the ads). I bet I know why they put so much into marketing this so-called "Earthsea miniseries." Things that are great do not need to convince people that they are great. On the other hand, things that aren't do, because if everybody's first impression would be their most lasting, it would not be a good one. So the hype was there to provide this good first impression to buffer what was to come.

Allow me to start with the acting. I've watched student- and home-made movies that have more convincing acting than this. Let's start with the scene when Ged and his father spot this attack on their village. They shout loudly as these soldiers pass beneath them. Then, Ged's father notices the soldiers and says something like, "Go warn the others." Right, so Ged runs off, leaving the father standing there looking at his feet as his s ... Читать дальше »

С заходом солнца Екатсринодар погружался в непроглядную тьму. Дозорный на вышке без устали осматривал окрестность, не вспыхнет ли где на соседнем посту веха - знак боевой тревоги. В такую темень совсем рядом мог затаиться враг и в любую минуту бесшумно снять караул, оголить важный пост – и тогда горожанам не миновать беды.

Хотя формально город уже считался гражданским (1867 г.), однако главой администрации по-прежнему оставался начальник области, наказный атаман Кубанского казачьего войска. Ему, пользовавшемуся правами губернатора, принадлежала не только военная, но и гражданская власть.

Много было неотложных дел по благоустройству города: мощение улиц, их освещение.

В 1875 году на освещение было ассигновано 2472 рубля на улице Красной весело вспыхнули фонарные огоньки. Тогда же появилась должность фонарщика. Чуть только опускались сумерки, как с деревянной лесенкой в одной руке и с керосиновой банкой ” другой, он спешил зажечь уличные светильники. С целью экономии в полнолу ... Читать дальше »