The Curse Of Degrassi

This episode was a great idea for a Halloween episode but not a great cast. The episode focuses on Rick Murray returning to Degrassi to seek out a little revenge. He possesses Holly J and then begins stalking the newbies as they try to get the gym ready for a dance.

Rick returning and Spinner finally making amends, good television. Stocking the episodes with a cast who were not part of the show during that initial storyline, pointless. Where were Toby, Jimmy, Sean, Emma, and Terri? They actually had storylines with Rick and would've given the fans of the show a nice blast from the past. It just loses it's impact with the newbie cast.

This episode was at least longer than Degrassi Of The Dead with it's fifteen minutes of show and then a lame 15 minutes behind-the-scenes featurette. Ephraim Ellis who played Rick does not physically appear in this episode, you only hear his voice. I don't know if Ephraim simply could not participate in the episode or if Degrassi didn't want the ghost of Rick to look like he has been getting older in the afterlife. Remember it has been about 4 years since his character was killed off. Actors may age but ghosts cannot.

The show was stolen by actress, Charlotte Arnold, who plays Holly J. She is wonderful and totally owns her role as a girl possessed by a vengeful spirit. My favorite quote from her in this episode was "Why don't you shut your piehole, Mamma Mia. I've telekentically murdered a lot of people tonight. What one more?" And this was uttered when she wasn't possessed.

The episode can be seen on The N.com.

Starship Troopers 3: Marauder

Well my only excuse for watching was that it was on Pay Per View and there was nothing else better. It's been seven years since the events of the first film and things have gotten worse. The bugs have adapted and have since spawned new and different bugs for the Federation to fight.

There's no real plot to this film, just the typical bug deaths, obligatory group nude scene, and of course Casper Van Dien hamming it up for the camera. There's a subplot about how the government is executing war protesters and how religion is banned. Of course the underlying theme of this all is that religion is good.

The film also stars Enterprise's Jolene Blalock playing the latest eye candy and looking like she could be Angelina Jolie's long lost twin. The movie was worth it because I had never seen this actress out of her Vulcan make-up.

Former Charmed killer er I mean actress Marnie Patterson plays an irritatingly religious and hopeful flight attendant. (Yes for some reason flight attendants are allowed to go on dangerous missions with soldiers. Her character is one note and wooden and hardly worth the storyline that was written for. The film also wastes the talents of Boris Kidjoe and Danny Keough.

This film couldn't even hold up to the loose standards set up by Starship Troopers 1. While ST1 was not the best film at least it was a good guilty pleasure film. ST3 could've have gone that route and been okay but chose to litter the movie with deep and meaningful plots that made the movie basically a snore.

Simply put don't bother, rent the first one or the animated series on DVD if you want to get a Starship Troopers fix

Too Young To Marry

Too Young To Marry is a smart and honest view on the subject of teen marriage. The film centers around Max and Jessica who decide to get married before graduating high school. While Max's mother and Jessica's father disapprove, Jessica's mom is extremely supportive of the two.

Things begin to unravel as Jessica gets accepted into Harvard and Max doesn't. As Jessica becomes more immersed into her collegiate world, Max suffers through a construction job he hates and starts to grow bitter. The couple begin to wonder if they have made a mistake settling down so young.

I like the film because it isn't melodramatic and actually shows both character's flaws. They show how stereotypical some people's views on marriage are. There is no last minute perfectly gift wrapped ending for the couple. Also kudos for not going the obvious route and trying to toss in a teen pregnancy like a lot of teen marriage films do. It shows the girl maturely taking birth control and concentrating on her studies.

Nina Dobrev (who currently plays Mia on Degrassi) shines as Jessica. She brings warmth and believability to the role without turning her into a Mary Sue. The only thing in the film that really does not fit was the character of Jessica's younger sister. Her entire role consisted of showing up randomly, saying something snarky and then vanishing. That might be okay for a medicore sitcom but not a film like this.

Pulse 2: Afterlife

Americanizing a Japanese horror film can be a hit or miss situation. For every good film like The Ring you have to suffer through One Missed Call. Pulse in my humble opinion was a great film Kristen Bell and Ian Somerhelder were awesome and it was a nice way to pass time.

Pulse 2 however is an insult, a big middle finger pointed at the masses as they run off with your the money you squandered in order to watch it. The only word that can describe it would be unnecessary.

The plot basically centers around the restless spirit of a woman stalking her ex-husband and daughter. To punish the unfaithful ex, Mommy Deadest intends to take her daughter into the afterlife with her. The ex however plans to fight her at every turn.

Let's start with the "hero" of the film. He seems emotionally stunted at best. In one scene in a small cabin with his traumatized daughter in the next room, his current squeeze wants to fool around. Despite saying no, all it takes is five seconds of body heat before he's ready to toss her on a table and get busy. Let's further traumatize the already traumatized daughter.

Then there was the gore which was nauseating and had no place in the movie. Eye gouging, slain house pets, repulsive sex scenes, none of these enhanced the film and were obviously thrown in for shock value. And did I mention of the ghosts walks around nude, unnecessarily so.

There is some strange side character who swoops in, announces his plans to "end the madness" once and for all. Was he some forgotten character from the first film or a weak link to a Pulse 3 (please god no stop it). He has no point whatsoever which is sad because he was the only tolerable person in this mess.

The ending was abrupt, pointless, and confusing. Rather than defy the odds and create a sequel as good as it's predecessor. It was tossed together in a slapdash effort to score some quick cash. And with straight to DVD sequels becoming popular I see no end to inferior sequels in the near future.