gconrad Reviews

Passions (1999–2008)

A Full Hour of Entertainment, what more can you ask?

[12 January 2004]

Passions is funny, satirical, original and entertaining, and when it all comes down to brass tax, isn't that what we watch TV for? To be entertained?

The rehashed plots with their comically twisted endings are so sophomoric, that everyone knows what's coming, until it actually gets there. Passions is a great show and showcases the talents of it's actors, knowing who to push and who not to. The only black mark against it would be wooden performances of some of the younger stars. However, while those preformances may leave a lot to desire along the lines of an Emmy nomination, what better way to overcome a case of stage fright than to learn from one of the best actresses of our era, Juliet Mills.

I do have one question that is driving me crazy.... Just what _IS_ Coach Russell keeping locked up in his outdoor shed?????

Dragon Fighter (2003 Video)

The hottest news topic of the most popular fantasy subject

[4 January 2003]

Cloning a Dragon. Why not? Of all the dragon slayers, someone had to have a vial or two of dragon's blood somewhere, didn't they? Well, when I first heard about this movie that's what I thought and that would have made sense. But, no, they found some "dinosaur" bones about 1000 years old and some how manage to use the dry, aged bones for the DNA.

Director Phillip J. Roth has an interesting way of filming the movie, with a lot of split shots, sometimes up to 5 different camera views at a time. Unfortunately I found this more distracting than enhancing.

Anyway, Dean Cain plays the part of Carver, the head of security for a top secret scientific research cloning facility, he is not your average muscle-head tough guy, he has a brain and great deductive reasoning. He uses them to figure out what is going-on and that what is going to be going-on might not be a good thing when it happens. The acting is good, the rest of the cast are basically unknowns, but are actually rather gifted. Kristine Byers, portraying Meredith, is very attractive and very believable despite that fact.

Not to spoil the film but the movie is a little slow to start, and it's about 45 minutes into the movie before anything really exciting happens. BUT once it does, you are on the edge of your seat!! The egg hatches in only 3 hours, and you don't see what it is for a while, the killing starts and the suspense builds.

It has all the required idiots a horror movie needs, even though these people are supposed to be geniuses in scientific cloning, so you feel smarter than most of the victims, and that makes the movie worth watching in it's self. The suspense lasts all the way until the end, and the end doesn't let you down. This movie is one of the best "B" movies I have seen in a long time.

Seeing it on DVD, VHS or a movie channel would definitely be worth the price of rental. I would recommend the movie for anyone who likes fantasy movies of horror movies, and it's not too bloody or scary for younger viewers, especially because everyone knows there is no such thing as dragons, right?