 --- Deep Rising --- When a band of ruthless hijackers invade the world's most luxurious cruise ship, they're shocked to discover the passengers have mysteriously vanished. But that doesn't mean they are alone. Something terrifying is lurking just out of sight... a deadly force from the unexplored depths of the ocean that begins to snatch the horrified intruders one by one! Storyline: When a band of ruthless hijackers invade the world's most luxurious cruise ship, they're shocked to discover the passengers have mysteriously vanished! But that doesn't mean they are alone! Something terrifying is lurking just out of sight: a deadly force from the unexplored depths of the ocean that begins to snatch the horrified intruders one by one! Written by Greg Kleiner Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Martin Liebman, October 21, 2012 -- Deep Rising Score: 2.5/5 A brand new luxury liner dubbed the Argonautica has just set sail. She's packed with wealthy guests and promises a fortune for her owner, Simon Canton (Anthony Heald). Unfortunately, disaster strikes: something hits the ship, sending people and material flying. A deep sea creature is to blame, and it's feasting on the liquids inside the guests' bodies, leaving only bone and sinew behind. Meanwhile, a small for-hire ship captain named John Finnegan (Treat Williams) is ferrying a group of mysterious individuals, led by the sinister Hanover (Wes Studi), to remote ocean coordinates. One of Finnegan's men (Kevin J. O'Connor) discovers weapons and torpedoes in the hold. Finnegan's not one to ask many questions, though, and he keeps his mouth shut until they approach the Argonautica. Hanover, his men, and Finnegan's crew board the vessel but find it devastated and deserted save for a few survivors, including Canton, Ship's Captain Atherton (Derrick O'Connor), and a sexy high-rolling thief named Trillian (Famke Janssen). As they piece together the mystery of the Argonautica, they find themselves fodder for a ravenous creature who will stop at nothing to consume its next meal. Deep Rising fails to capture the terror and suspense of the best of the Monster genre. The movie is halfway entertaining but populated by uninteresting and eccentric characters with bland dynamics and a boring range of attributes, from tough guy to comic relief, from femme fatale to levelheaded hero. The movie is fairly executed but hindered by its underpowered and phony computer graphics, a boring structure, an unimaginative plot, and mediocre direction. Deep Rising hedges its bets on its action scenes and moments of excess gore, both of which grow tired rather quickly. Unlike a movie such as Alien that captures a dark atmosphere, good characters, and a serious tone, Deep Rising strives to entertain as wide an audience as possible through the dumbing down of its elements rather than impress viewers with tighter features. This is a classic case of a movie that sets the bar too low but, really, when it's just a rehash of tired elements, the bar cannot get that high by definition, anyway. Deep Rising works well enough as mindless entertainment, but it'll definitely kill a few brain cells as payment for absorbing its drivel. I'm not good enough for my own Blu-ray? --- Puppet Masters --- Here's the edge-of-your-seat thriller that delivers unrelenting suspense and nonstop action! Donald Sutherland leads a team of top-level government agents who make a chilling discovery: extraterrestrial beings have landed and are quickly taking control of the residents of a small midwestern town - manipulating their bodies and minds like puppets! Faced with an escalating crisis as the creatures multiply and spread, the team must somehow eliminate the seemingly unstoppable aliens. With riveting special effects and heart-stopping action, "The Puppet Masters" is sure to thrill you! Storyline: Strange aliens land in the Midwest, taking over people's minds in order to spread their dominion. Sam Nivens and Andrew Nivens, aided by Mary Sefton, are part of a government agency who must stop the the aliens before the aliens get to them... Written by Steve Fenwick Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Martin Liebman, October 21, 2012 -- The Puppet Masters Score: 2.0/5 The small Iowa town of Ambrose is about to find itself on the map. Several teenagers discover an unusual object. Soon, a local attraction charges one dollar to all visitors to bear witness to an unidentified flying object that's obviously homemade. Three government agents investigate, anyway, using satellite intelligence to verify that something did in fact penetrate Earth's atmosphere and land in Ambrose. Andrew Nivens (Donald Sutherland), his son Sam (Eric Thal), and exobiologist Mary Sefton (Julie Warner) travel to the attraction. There, they find people behaving somewhat suspiciously, but only to very well-trained eyes. The people act a little robotic, the teenagers don't stare at Mary's cleavage, the ground reveals evidence of a burn, and Mary feels something dark and dangerous from within the vessel. They soon discover that they are up against alien beings that attach themselves to the host, take on the host's biological characteristics, and form a symbiotic relationship with the human victim. The human hosts do the aliens' bidding, and the team has only hours until what is still a localized problem spreads across the country and around the globe. The Puppet Masters may be named for a cherished Robert A. Heinlein novel, the main characters may share their names, and the stories may be about alien parasites, but the similarities largely end there. The Puppet Masters is an overlong, repetitive, and shallow picture that fails to capitalize on its gripping opening minutes, sinking rather quickly into absurdity and boredom as more and more characters predictably come under the control of the parasites. It's one "character A is infected, now character B" series of events after another. The story never really goes anywhere but through these same motions. It lacks chills and legitimate scares, coming across instead as goofy and, eventually, exhausting, leaving audiences rooting for the takeover of mankind just so the experience can be over all the faster. The cast is forgettable and only adequate in performing dual duties, one not-too-sharp government spooks and the other mind-controlled alien hosts. Mill Creek's double Blu-ray release of Deep Rising and The Puppet Masters brings a couple of midlevel Monster movies to high definition with very good results when matched with the very low price point. The movies are little more than throwaway time killers, though Deep Rising has found a small following as an ultra-violent and entertainingly brain-dead sort of roller coaster ride. The Puppet Masters lags far behind the source novel and the movie is far, far too long, but it might make a decent back end of a double feature with Deep Rising on a long sick day. Both movies offer good video. Deep Rising's soundtrack is aggressive and fun, while The Puppet Masters' is merely adequate. No extras are included. Recommended largely on the price. Cast Notes: Treat Williams (John Finnegan), Famke Janssen (Trillian St. James), Anthony Heald (Simon Canton), Kevin J. O'Connor (Joey "Tooch" Pantucci), Wes Studi (Hanover), Derrick O'Connor (Captain), Jason Flemyng (Mulligan), Cliff Curtis (Mamooli), Clifton Powell (Mason), Trevor Goddard (T-Ray Jones), Djimon Hounsou (Vivo), Una Damon (Leila), Clint Curtis (Billy), Warren Takeuchi (Radar Man), Linden Banks (Communications Officer). IMDb Rating (11/28/12): 5.8/10 from 17,896 users - Deep Rising IMDb Rating (01/14/10): 5.6/10 from 11,664 users - Deep Rising IMDb Rating (06/01/01): 5.3/10 from 1,956 users - Deep Rising IMDb Rating (11/28/12): 5.8/10 from 4,937 users - Puppet Masters
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