Reviews

This is a good movie, it's original, unpredictable, funny, it's just fun to watch. The cast is great, I thought everyone was really funny. The indy actors were all surprisingly good. I really appreciated the way the movie got resolved. There were some unanswered questions at the end but to be honest, there's been a lot of un-funny lately and this was a really good piece. I liked the set design, the acting, the play at the end was really fun. I can't think of a lot to criticize, some parts weren't super funny I guess, but overall the experience was very gratifying. People need to learn to not take themselves so seriously.

I think the movie deserves a 7 but since it's at 6.5 right now I voted 8 to push it up lol.

This series is much better than almost every American fantasy series that has ever been put on the air. It's done very well, the acting is excellent, the effects budget looks like its pretty good, even though the series doesn't rely entirely on effects. I love the actors so far, and the story is actually touching. Visually, I love the art direction and the cinematography. My best comparison would be a fantasy Battlestar Gallactica (the new series not the old one). They use a lot of hand-held cameras which gives it a realistic effect. The series also doesn't rely on it's effects budget.

I used to watch Hercules and Xena when I was a kid, those series were fun, but they were never meant to be taken too seriously. This series on the other hand actually manages to be a fantasy series without being a parody and it actually shows that this team can make a real fantasy drama (Which makes me wish they'd done a better job with Hercules and Xena to begin with).

As long as you are not a huge and obsessive fan of the book storyline this series will probably work pretty well. There's some not to great moments, the scenes were the main character becomes the seeker, the naked wizard and the overuse of the main villain on camera were particular peeves, but worth overlooking. The pacing seems very quick, but overall this is still 2-3 times better than most of the garbage fantasy that's been made for TV in the last 20 years(including Hercules and Xena). Detractors have mostly been people who've become too attached to the book, so that should give you a good indication that most of the negative reviews here are biased because it doesn't match up with the book exactly and it's not overly gruesome or sexualized. But if you're interested in a decent story, played seriously, presented in a polished package and actually shot pretty well, this could be the series for you. I especially love the costume design on the bad guys, it has a really contemporary artistic style to it, and I should know because as a former fantasy illustrator myself I appreciate good design on all the visual elements. I've had a blast with what I've been able to catch of it so far.

This was my favorite show of that years lineup for the WB. I don't understand why this show was axed. Don Johnson was great and the writing was excellent. Plus it was able to reach at different age groups with very young and more mature characters that seem relevant to almost anyone. I agree with much of the positive comments on this show and I just don't understand why WB (for whom I worked for at the time this show was about to come on) didn't decide to keep it. Don Johnson is almost always good and you should never drop good writing. I think this show could have been really great. "Doogie Howser" for lawyers. compared to some of the the things WB has put on the air it is still baffling that they couldn't see its potential.

Bad acting, Over-reliance on emotions that don't get expressed properly, Offers no interesting/original story or point of view. I agree with others that it has too much of the inaccurate documentary and very little of the Thai people's suffering and grief. This film was truly disappointing for such an earth shattering event. One of the greatest natural disasters in history affecting millions of people seems truly small and the main characters concerns and tragedies feel like petty whining. The Tsunami was a much larger and important event than what this film manages to convey. It truly does not live up to the challenges set out for something of this magnitude.

Any amount of taste garnered by the dignified responses of the main characters is undermined by the films total focus on tourists as the main sufferers of this tragedy, totally bypassing what this event meant for the millions of locals who were affected.

As a person who is very well acquainted with the toll a natural disaster can take I was extremely bored and disillusioned with this portrayal.

Well the first time I saw this my first thought was... "Oh god no...". But as I watched it, it slowly became quite enjoyable. Even though I do feel like Stan's philosophies are a tad outdated and his idea of what a superhero is can get a bit one-dimensional, his challenges on the show do seem to bring out the best and worst qualities in the contestants. I really liked a lot of the twists and elimination results as the show progressed. The challenges too were original and entertaining. I found Stan's performance as a paternalistic guiding host very enjoyable. The contestants too just seem like really nice and entertaining people (although some of them are a bit dorky, or obviously trying to score some acting points on their resumes, and half of them probably wouldn't make the cut for narcissistic reality shows like A. Idol or Real World). I think the only part I didn't like (aside from the corniness, bad music, "reality" acting, and weirdness of the cast.) about the show was the costume remake. Sci-fi should have spent a bit more money on those costumes. It really says something that some of the originals looked better than what was given to them on the show. It gives the production values a real blow when you can't even afford a decent costume designer.

Don't get me wrong though I liked the show, saw most of it in one night when Sci-Fi aired a bunch of episodes straight. (um... don't ask me why I was watching sci-fi... I um... was channel surfing)