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Reviews
Justice League of America (1997)
Good fun
I've finally been able to see this TV pilot, and I have mixed feelings about it. Sure, if you're a diehard JLA fan, you'll hate this film. It completely throws the comic continuity down the gurgler, and replaces it with... well, with inferior material. It's poorly written. And yet, I nevertheless thoroughly enjoyed it. I expected it to be bad, and therefore wasn't as disappointed as others may have been.
It isn't badly directed (by Lewis Teague), though I wouldn't say it's well directed either. Considering its shoestring budget, the FX and costumes aren't so bad (excluding the Atom's, which is God-awful). The cast is quite good. Michelle Hurd, Mathew Settle and Kimberley Oja acquit themselves quite well, considering the material. Ken Johnston is a so-so Flash (an awful Barry Allen though), but Jon Kassir is the film's real weak point. Miguel Ferrer does his best in an ill-conceived and underwritten part. And what of David Ogden-Stiers as Martian Manhunter? Acting wise, he's OK. But he does next to nothing (he does shape-shift a few times though), and his substantial girth is visible in several scenes, causing me to break out in laughter. Or was I crying?
All-in-all, I'd say this is a slight notch above THE PUNISHER, CAPTAIN AMERICA, the DR. STRANGE telemovie, those HULK telemovies from the late 80s and GENERATION X. I have seen worse. However, we'll still have to wait and see whether the JLA is brought to the screen properly. Let's hope if/when they do so, that they get it right next time.
Drums of Tahiti (1953)
OK B-movie potboiler
Another 3-D potboiler from producer Sam Katzman, this one quite good, as B-movie's go, with Dennis O'Keefe involved in smuggling guns into Tahiti to fight the French, and finding romance along the way. Some nice scenery.