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Reviews
Spellbinder: Secrets of the Spellbinders (1995)
"Secrets of the Spellbinders"
The unlikely triumvirate of Correon, Paul (who thinks he has figured out what the Spellbinders mean when they speak of 'The Darkness' - nuclear winter!) and Riana keep working to scuttle Ashka's plans, with varying levels of success, however the final scenes of "Secrets of the Spellbinders" make it clear that they have a whole new problem to worry about where the evil Spellbinder is concerned. In our world, near the cave where Paul went missing, Alex and Katrina finally confirm the latter's suspicion that he is in a parallel universe, hearing Askha's broadcasts to other Spellbinders on the radio Alex had been using to listen to the footy. Though they can prove their friend is alive, they are caught by their teacher and are sent back to Sydney for sneaking into the literature camp using the names of the students whose positions they bought.
Spellbinder: The Gunpowder Plot (1995)
"The Gunpowder Plot"
Another fast-paced episode. Key events are happening thick and fast now.
Whilst Katrina and Alex do what they must to get on a literature camp that will take them back to where Paul disappeared, Paul is busy outwitting the scheming Ashka and Gryvon by ostensibly making them gunpowder. However he suspects that something isn't adding up and gives them a bogus recipe, and it turns out that his hunch was correct.
Meanwhile, Riana is in the Spellbinder palace trying to stay ahead of Ashka, who has framed her for helping Paul escape. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and Riana finds herself forming an alliance with Correon. A good episode with a cliffhanger ending.
Spellbinder: Show Me Your World (1995)
"Show Me Your World"
As far as pacing and developments go, "Show Me Your World" is probably the best Spellbinder episode so far, a welcome change of pace from the last episode, which was as slow as a wet week. Ashka's plot is further revealed, and she shows the duplicitous side that you knew was lurking there, just below the surface. Heather Mitchell plays a very convincing baddie, and I'm looking forward to seeing what other mischief the red-haired Spellbinder and her fairly-malleable assistant Gryvon get up to. We also learnt more about the Spellbinder world, which has been a long time coming. The episode was about a fifty-fifty split between the Spellbinder world and our world, where Katrina's theory that Paul disappeared to a parallel universe garners little support. That doesn't appear to be stopping her, though.
I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)
90's horror with an appealing cast.
The mid-90's cast of my dreams - Jennifer Love Hewitt and Sarah Michelle Gellar; plenty of eye candy - alongside 90's luminaries Ryan Phillipe and Freddie Prinze Junior in a slasher horror film. The four friends decide to cover up an accident that leaves someone dead and, one summer later, they are suddenly being stalked by a man in a fisherman's cape who wields a hook with violent aplomb. He knows what they did last summer and is out for revenge. Lots of tension, violence, paranoia and distrust. Written by Kevin Williamson, who was responsible for the "Scream" movies plus "The Faculty" and, oddly in light of his other work, "Dawson's Creek" as well. Jennifer Love Hewitt is pretty good in the main role, and the ending leaves things wide-open for a sequel. Of course, hindsight tells us there were plenty of sequels.
The Condemned (2007)
Bleak and violent
The premise of men and women fighting to the death on and island for internet viewers is bleak and cruel, even if said fighters are criminals on death row. Enter Stone Cold Steve Austin's character who, as you might expect, is not the hardened death row criminal that you are led to believe he is. Bad news for the bad guys. Vinnie Jones stars as a thoroughly unlikeable character. He plays a bad guy well. There are some incredibly violent scenes that get dragged out longer than they need to. Australia stands in for Papua New Guinea and Texas. Plenty of Australian actors, including Madeleine West of "Neighbours" fame. Bloody action almost from the word go. The concept just turned my stomach, I guess.
Spellbinder: Secrets (1995)
"Secrets"
Shhh, the secret in "Secrets" is that it's actually the least-interesting episode of Spellbinders so far. A much slower pace and nothing of real interest happens aside from Paul boasting about his knowledge and thus forming some sort of alliance with Ashka, which I can imagine is only going to end in tears for the former. At least having Ashka on his side - if even only temporarily - seems to have saved Paul from exile. Or maybe not? Either way, never trust anyone who tries to electrocute you on your first meeting. That's my motto in life. Back in our world, Katrina is convinced she's figured out what happened to Paul.
Spellbinder: It Isn't Magic, It's Science (1995)
"It Isn't Magic, It's Science"
By watching the Spellbinders, Paul has figured out that they aren't actually magicians of any sort, just using the kind of science that he understands to make themselves seem God-like, I guess. So he decides that getting to the Spellbinder castle is the best way to get home. Getting in the way of that is a marauder attack on the village where he is living with Riana's family. Using saltpetre, he makes bombs that turn the bad guys away...and earns him further enmity from Gryvon, a Spellbinder apprentice who seems to like Riana and has taken a serious dislike to Paul. But, arrested and facing exile, has Paul's plan to enlist the help of the Spellbinders backfired?
Spellbinder: Finding the Way Home (1995)
"Finding the Way Home"
Paul is starting to come around to the idea that he hasn't gone back in time, but is instead in some sort of parallel universe, thanks to seeing the Southern Cross in the night sky. He and Riana are on the run from the Spellbinder ship and their foot soldiers whilst he tries to find a way back to his own world. For a moment at the summoning tower, Paul gets a glimpse of his own world through the electricity-induced portal, but it closes again before he can get back, which means he's stuck for the time being. Riana takes him back to her village to introduce him to her family...but that doesn't go as planned.
Spellbinder: Where Am I? (1996)
"Where Am I?"
As the search for Paul around Camp Coutts continues - Katrina tells the police about the strange electricity event that took Paul - he is somewhere else entirely: a long way from camp. Somewhere in the past, he surmises, based on the very primitive nature of the people he runs into, including a girl named Riana (Gosia Piotrowska) whose life he saves. Riana thinks he is something called a marauder and gets very scared during a solar eclipse. It isn't until Paul stumbles upon a village and witnesses Ashka (played by Australian small screen veteran Heather Mitchell, with quite the Eastern European accent), a "Spellbinder" with the ability to conjure up balls of electricity as weapons, that he begins to realise he is somewhere else entirely. Curiously, he isn't affected by the energy blasts that Ashka hurls. The episode closes with Riana helping him.
Spellbinder: The Big Bang (1995)
"The Big Bang"
Fun rewatching one of my favourite programs from growing up - I was in primary school when the first Spellbinder series was released then high school for the second - as an adult, some thirty years later.
Cool to see Camp Coutts, south of Sydney and a place I spent a lot of time in as a kid when I was in Joeys, Cubs and Scouts, being the bush setting for the climactic parts of the premiere episode. Paul and his friend Alex, practical jokers (their plan to create gunpowder in the science lab at their school in the first scenes goes awry - remember the Bunsen burner?) both, plan a stunt to scare some girls. Of course, it backfires and Paul ends up transported through a sort of electric wormhole into a parallel universe. Stumbling through that world, and getting the idea that he is an impossibly long way from home thanks to a Walkman that doesn't pick up any radio stations, he is lassoed and the episode ends.
X-Men: The Final Decision (1993)
"The Final Decision"
A captured senator, Sentinels by the truck load, Magento, a marriage proposal from Cyclops to Jean Grey that will probably not help his relationship with Wolverine, a Magento/Professor Xavier alliance, a family reunion that I didn't see coming for Rogue and a hint of more crises to come for the X-Men in future seasons. There's even a quick vision of Ghost Rider! All of that packed into about twenty-one minutes of animated television. Quite a ride.
Maybe not the brilliant series I remember watching as a kid, but fun to go back through the first season nonetheless. I can see why my childhood self would have loved it. I remember thinking how cool Wolverine was, and how he got all the cool lines - well, that hasn't changed thirty-odd years later.
X-Men: Days Of Future Past Part II (1993)
"Days Of Future Past Part II"
Not quite as good as the first part, but still very solid. "Days Of Future Past Part II" picks up right where the first instalment ended, with Gambit being fingered by Bishop as the assassin he has been sent back in time, Terminator-style, to kill before his actions begin a dystopian world where humans and mutants alike are controlled by Sentinels.
The X-Men head off to Washington to try and ensure that the future Bishop comes from doesn't eventuate. Even Gambit, who discovers someone quite interesting there opposing him.
This two-part episode would stand up nicely as a season finale, but there is still one more episode to go in the season.
X-Men: Days Of Future Past Part I (1993)
"Days Of Future Past Part I"
In an episode eerily and perhaps deliberately reminiscent of The Terminator, Bishop, a battle-hardened and battle-scarred mutant from New York City in 2055 - which is not a good time to be a mutant - goes back to the 90's to stop an assassin from the X-Men and thus save the future.
The problem for Bishop is that, awkwardly, he can't remember who he has to kill to save humanity. At least, not until the final scene of the episode, anyway...
There's so much Terminator vibe that Wolverine even calls the time travelling Bishop "Terminator". There's also a live-action X-Men movie with the same name and a very similar plot.
X-Men: Come the Apocalypse (1993)
"Come the Apocalypse"
Following on from "The Cure," we finally learn what the supposed mutant cure actually does to the X-Men and their ilk: turns them into real, dispassionate, hate-all killing mutant machines, soulless soldiers for the hulking Apocalypse, who envisions a new sort of world, fashioned in his image.
Enter the four horsemen of the (mutant) apocalypse. Archangel and his group are a tough challenge for the X-Men.
However, we didn't get to learn a whole lot about Apocalypse's backstory. Would have been interesting to know why he is like he is, rather than him appearing as just another stereotypical bad mutant guy.
X-Men: The Cure (1993)
"The Cure"
An interesting conundrum for the X-Men and other mutants who may wish to be more human: Rogue is on the trail of a scientist who advertises that they are able to turn any mutant back to a normal human, calling it a cure, hence the title of the episode. Professor Xavier is also seeking informant from the scientist. Rogue, who can't get close to any human, is obviously at least a little bit interested for obvious reasons.
There are perhaps some real-world parallels to be found here when you think of various alleged treatments over the years for things like homosexuality that have been called cures.
Interesting episode.
X-Men: The Unstoppable Juggernaut (1993)
"The Unstoppable Juggernaut"
Following events of the last episode on Genosha, the X-Men return to their home base to find the school ruined and Professor Xavier missing. Tension between Wolverine - brilliantly and menacingly voiced by Irish-born Canadian Cal Dodd, who reprises his role in X-Men '97 - and Cyclops rears it's ugly head again. The undercurrent of dislike and distrust is well mapped out once again.
"The Unstoppable Juggernaut" is notable for being the episode where Juggernaut and the big Russian Colossus are first seen. For some reason, Gambit is missing and no one amongst the X-Men crew seems to notice or care.
X-Men: Slave Island (1993)
"Slave Island"
An episode almost exclusively featuring Gambit, Storm and Jubilee (with a Wolverine cameo), "Slave Island" deals with what the X-Men thought was a peaceful, safe haven of an island but Genosha is anything but that.
The mysterious American mercenary Cable makes an appearance. I guess he could be described as the X-Men universe's version of John Rambo?
There is a lot going on in this episode, with very few slow moments.
The cliffhanger scenes at the end gives you the impression - or, at least, it gave me the impression - that Gambit's allegiance isn't completely certain. Maybe I'm reading too much into it?
X-Men: Cold Vengeance (1993)
"Cold Vengeance"
The commencement of another multi-episode arc - complete with a 'To Be Continued' frame at the end - "Cold Vengeance" sees the emotional, hot-headed Wolverine leave the X-Men. Jean Grey thinks it's because of her.
Wolverine is after solitude in the Arctic, but instead gets the opposite, running into his old enemy Sabretooth. The two square off once more.
Elsewhere, Gambit, Jubilee and Storm do some investigation work. Whilst Storm has played a large part in a few episodes, Gambit and Jubilee have largely been on the periphery of events. It was good to see them front and centre in this episode.
X-Men: Captive Hearts (1993)
"Captive Hearts"
The duo of Magneto and Sabretooth take a bit of a back seat in "Captive Hearts", where the Morlocks, a zombie-style mutant race rear their ugly heads and cause trouble for the X-Men.
A large part of the episode takes place in the New York City sewers: a good atmospheric setting considering the deformed foe the X-Men face.
There is a rivalry bubbling between Cyclops and Wolverine. The former is dating Jean Grey and the latter wishes he was. That will be an interesting subplot to follow.
I could be wrong...but as far as I can recall, "Captive Hearts" is the first episode where Jean Grey appears in a major way/has a major impact.
X-Men: Deadly Reunions (1993)
"Deadly Reunions"
In "Deadly Reunions", we get - as you might imagine, given the name of the episode - the reunion that we have been building to over nearly two episodes: Magneto and Professor X. But it is far from a happy one. Same goes for the confrontation between Wolverine and Sabretooth, who is working with Magneto.
So far, season one has been two-episode arcs, which is a good way of telling an extended story rather than hurrying events to squeeze them into any given 20-minute episode.
Random/fun fact: this episode is written by Donald F. Glut, who wrote the novelisation of "Star Wars Episode IV: The Empire Strikes Back".
X-Men: Enter Magneto (1992)
"Enter Magneto"
The electric guitar in the X-Men theme is so iconic.
The third episode of season one of X-Men, ("Enter Magneto") deals with the mysterious Magento and his relationship to the X-Men and particularly Dr Xavier, dating back to when they were friends and wanting the same thing.
Magento tries to break Beast (who is reading George Orwell's Animal Farm when first seen this episode) out of jail, but he won't have any of it. An origins story episode. Wolverine and the mysterious Sabretooth get plenty of screen time.
Credit the series for developing the characters so thoroughly. No stone is left unturned.
D2: The Mighty Ducks (1994)
The Quack is back!
The Mighty Ducks return in Team USA guise for the Junior Goodwill Games. Gordon Bombay is back, as is most of the key players from the first movie, and some additional rather-stereotyped characters as well. The bad team are the Icelandic group this time, and they wear predominantly black jerseys like the Hawks did in the original. The plot is what it is. You don't watch Mighty Ducks movies for that. Cool to see some other NHLers of the day - including Chris Chelios - and other sports superstars appear at Bombay's Malibu apartment. USA Ducks vs. Iceland in the tournament final. I think we all know how it's going to end.
Fun movie, though. Over and over.
The Marine 5: Battleground (2017)
Die Hard in an amusement park?
Well, the titular Marine, played by WWE star Mike 'The Miz' Mizanin is back for more. This time, he is facing off against a bunch of bikies who are out for revenge after their president is gunned down - on his first day as a paramedic!
The action largely takes place in a theme park parking garage and then in the wider theme park. There are lots of bullets fired on both sides, and some of them actually even hit their intended targets! It's violent in the extreme, as bad guys are dispatched methodically and brutally.
Absolutely nothing groundbreaking, but if you've stuck with the series thus far, it's a better entry than the second one. Still enjoyed Mizanin in the previous instalment, and John Cena is still the best to play the main role.
The Mighty Ducks (1992)
Quack!
It's been at least a decade since I last revisited one of my favourite childhood movies, The Mighty Ducks and although it's predictable in basically every single facet of storytelling, it's hard not to just enjoy this piece of Disney brilliance featuring Emilio Esteves as lawyer turned reluctant hockey coach Gordon Bombay. The movie that spawned sequels, animated shows and even an NHL franchise is a great time capsule of Minnesota - and, indeed, Disney filmmaking - in the early 1990's, and benefits from the engaging Estevez and the fun cast of kids they put around him. Not to mention the appearance of NHLers Basil McCrae and Mike Modano. Just a fun show from start to finish. Great nostalgia.
Autumn in the Vineyard (2016)
Great Hallmark
When you set aside the predictability of certain sections of "Autumn in the Vineyard" (noting that predictability isn't exclusively reserved for Hallmark movies), you still have a really fun film with a good plot and two engaging leads in Chesapeake Shores alum Brendan Penney and Rachael Leigh Cook as rival winemakers from two warring families - the Capulets and Montagues of Wine Country? - who elevate the project with their acting ability.
Based on a novel by Marina Adair, this is top-notch Hallmark filmmaking, and it clearly resonated with audiences, because they made two sequels. Penney and Leigh Cook are a delight together.