Battlestar Galactica - Season Three Review

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(More customer reviews)Battlestar Galactica's new incarnation is superb entertainment. The first two seasons were the best show on television, SciFi or otherwise. Huge themes, such as an apocalyptic vision of the end of the world born of the robot servant's revolt (the Cylons); or a theory of human genesis that posits sister worlds, is interwoven with minute intimate personal detail of fascinating charaters. Characters are explored - their pasts delved into to reveal their evolving natures. These individual threads are picked up and engage the main threads and build towards exciting conclusion after exciting conclusion. The central plot - humanity's struggle against the robot Cylons is nuanced as well. There are moments of savagery on the part of the humans, and moments of odd tenderness, vulnerability, and spirituality on the part of the Cylons. Like life, there is little black or white. Hated characters become humanized, then loved. Characters evolve and change. They are scarred by their experiences (physically and psychically) - and are never again the same. This all increases the sense of reality and our (the viewer's) sense of involvement. Many of the plots echo current events - New Caprica looks like Iraq, for example. The writing, on the whole, is exemplary.
Battlestar's staging succeeds as well. The special effects advance the state of the art for television. As others have noted, technology does not dominate. In fact, many key technologies are familiar - or even retro: they use telephone handsets with intermittent audio problems; guns shoot bullets; space fighters look like 1960s jet fighters; "Dradus" looks like contemporary radar; books are on paper (albeit with a trapezoid shape); their computers are not networked by design. Like the rest of the writing, even these small details are explained and woven into the plot - the anti technology slant is a reaction to the Cylon's revolt. This allows the plotting and writing to remain in the fore - transcending the SciFi genre. I didn't even mention the subtle and addictive language "Galactica speak" that you will soon be talking (if you don't already). This is some 'frackin' good stuff indeed.
Season 3 starts where season 2 left us - with the Cylons occupying the human settlement on New Caprica and oppressing the humans. The humans react with armed resistance and acts of insurrection including a suicide bombing. This depiction of armed insurrection as a basic human response to oppression is bold, and extremely brave considering the political environment at the time those episodes were written and filmed. These early episodes in Season 3 are controversial, thus, and as hard to watch emotionally as anything in the series. To folks who feel that this means the writers of this show have joined Al Qaeda, I'd refer them to read history, including the history of the American Revolutionary War. Americans have behaved this way before (not that the humans of Battlestar Galactica's world are Americans, of course, but they represent us - unavoidably. The 1984 film "Red Dawn" is all about American citizens engaging in insurrection to fight the Russians for example). The resolution of the New Caprica crisis involves a space battle that contains the most thrilling special effects sequence I have ever seen on the small screen. The finale is also extraordinary - involving a mind blowing confluence of events impossible to even remotely characterize without spoilers but involving brilliant plotting, emotional power, and fantastic special effects too.
So why not 5 stars? Season 3 has a tough time exceeding the high bar set by the first two seasons. Other than the New Caprica beginning and that crackling ending, the focus on Gallactica and the Colonial Fleet becomes absolute for much of the remainder of the season and the show loses sight of the Cylons. This is a shame. The battles with the Cylons - both physical and psychological, are the wellspring of the show's crackling tension. Without the Cylons in view, the show sags. We have an airlock crisis, a whole show about Admiral Adama's memories of his troubled marriage, a long show trial of Gaius Baltar - that while dealing with great issues and having great moments lacks the life or death slam of events in the first two seasons. Season 3 is more cerebral, and less action packed than the first two. Is it still worth watching? There are many great moments even in the slower episodes. If you've come this far you've probably fallen in love with the characters and will not mind some psychological background story. Plus, you're crazy if you don't watch the first two seasons and if you do you'll absolutely need to wait on tenterhooks for season 4 with the rest of us - and you'll need to have watched season 3 for continuity alone. Make no mistake, season 3 is still great television - just not quite up to the heart pounding level of the first two seasons, that's all. The finale to season 3 is incredible, and will leave you panting for more. So say we all!

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The adventure of one of television's finest dramas continues with the complete third season of the Peabody Award-winning Battlestar Galactica. The Colonies' survivors have found their hopes of eluding their Cylon pursuers dashed by an invasion and occupation of their new home. As the fate of all human life hangs in the balance, friends become enemies, enemies become unexpected allies, and decisions are made that will haunt some people for the rest of their lives. Relive all 20 episodes of the season that challenges everything you thought you knew about the Battlestar Galactica universe. Presented in Dolby 5.1 surround sound, the 6-disc set features over 15 hours of extensive special features, including the DVD exclusive version of the episode "Unfinished Business" containing 25 additional minutes of never-before-seen footage. You won't want to miss a minute of the series considered "one of the best dramas on TV" (Time Magazine).

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Battlestar Galactica: The Plan (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)I started watching The Plan really skeptical; I read all the reviews here, and thought it was going to be mediocre at best, as all the negative reviews seem to be saying that in unison.
However, I was really pleasantly surprised. I can understand how some people might be disappointed with The Plan, it doesn't, after all, answer some of the questions left hanging in the air after the series finale. It doesn't have the space battles or insane intensity of some of BSG's better episodes. It doesn't include some of the most important characters (Laura Roslin, Apollo, Starbuck).
But The Plan was never planned or written, I think, as a nostalgia film that is supposed to exploit our feelings for these characters to milk us for some cash. Instead, it has decided to do something bold: to tell an entirely new story that connects with what we already know, happening at the same time as what we've seen during the first two seasons of BSG.
It's the story of how the Cylons, each in different situations and living amongst different humans were in fact influenced by those humans. We see them developing genuine empathy, and utter hate. We see some renouncing their Cylon identity because of what they've done. We see them questioning their actions. We see them at their most brilliant, but also at their most incompetent. We see them for what they truly are: the imperfect creations of imperfect creations. In the end, the moral is simple: it's easy to kill someone from space with a nuke. It's hard to kill someone looking them in the eye.
If your going to watch The Plan expecting some grand revelations about the loose ends in the series finale, then you will come out disappointed. But if you watch The Plan looking for a really well written movie, with some terrific performances, some new insights into Cylon thinking, or just for a little nostalgia, you wont be disappointed.
So, if you choose to buy this DVD, judge it on it's own merits.

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The Cylons began as humanity's robot servants.They rebelled and evolved and now they look like us.Their plan is simple: destroy the race that enslaved them.But when their devastating attack leaves human survivors, the Cylons have to improvise.Battlestar Galactica: The Plan tells the story of two powerful Cylon leaders, working separately, and their determination to finish the task.

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Selena (1997) Review

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(More customer reviews)This 1997 film, well directed by Gregory Nava, was the film that propelled Jennifer Lopez on to stardom. She is nothing short of sensational in this film. She is Selena!
The film recounts the brief life of Selena Quintanilla Perez (Jennifer Lopez), a life that was built around her father's broken dreams. Her father (Edward James Olmos) had himself had a band in his youth called "Los Dinos". Now a married man with children, his dreams have stalled along the wayside. When he realizes, however, that his young daughter has some musical talent, he builds a band around her, "Selena and Los Dinos", and begins living vicariously through her.
Under the watchful eye of her martinet father, years of forced, musical practices and life on the road follow. Loving, possessive, and controlling, he succeeds in almost losing her, when she marries her guitarist without her father's permission. They reconcile, however, and he places Selena on the path to stardom, a tejano sensation on the cusp of becoming a crossover musical star. Unfortunately, her path crosses that of a fan, Yolanda Saldivar, whom Selena befriends, only to have her be the one who cuts her down in her prime.
Jennifer Lopez is sensational as Selena, big booty and all. She charms. She beguiles. She entertains. She is every inch the star. This has been her best role, and her performance is stellar. She should have won an award for her performance, because she most certainly deserved one for her portrayal of Selena. It is unfortunate that her acting career has been downhill ever since.
Edward James Olmos is perfect as Abraham Quintanilla, the father who pushed his daughter to heights that he had dreamed for himself but had been unable to reach. His performance is powerful and rich. He, too, should have had his award calibre performance acknowledged in some way, as it was close to perfect. Mr. Olmos is a wonderful actor who deserves more recognition than he has gotten, thus far.
All in all, this is an interesting, absorbing film with some great music. No wonder Selena was a hit!

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The nuts and bolts of the irresistibly danceable music called Tejano are pop, rock, polka, R&B and Latin influences. To millions of fans there's another vital ingredient: the dynamic singer Selena. Vibrant and tuneful, Selena is the story of the Grammy Award-winning South Texas singer whose life tragically ended just as she was taking Tejano where it had never gone-into mainstream America. Pulsating with Selena's voice on the soundtrack and made with the participation of her family, the film brims with authenticity. It excitingly recreates the early life of a little girl who dreamed big, hit the road in the band bus named Big Bertha and whose concerts became electrifying events. In the title rose, Jennifer Lopez is herself electrifying. Edward James Olmos, Jon Seda and others also shine in "a poignant, heartwarming movie that deserves a standing ovation" (Jules Peimer, WKDM-Radio/New York).

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