Death Ship, it's no Ghost Ship

Advantages: Good idea
Disadvantages: Badly executed

...The Film Death Ship is a 1980 horror film that opens on the sea with an old ship storming across the waves. It?s seemingly controlled by ghosts and a German voice is heard over the intercom. At the same time on an apparently near by cruise liner a party is going on. The captain of the ship (George Kennedy) is just about to retire and hand over control to Marshall his second in command played by Richard Crenna. The two ships are apparently on a collision course but this is really badly created in the film as whenever you see the old haunted ship its daylight but whenever you see the cruise liner is in pitch darkness. The two ships have clearly been filmed at two different times of day and it?s such an obvious mistake that the audience can?t miss. Anyway, the ships crash and the cruise liner is seen to suffer a lot of damage...

Phelthew 04.06.2009 · Read review
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Review of Death Ship (DVD)

The Green Ship - A Real Gem

Advantages: Heart warming story, great illustrations, one to read and re-read
Disadvantages: None

...My 4 year old son received this book for Christmas and I have so enjoyed reading it to him that I'm sharing the experience with you all. The Green Ship is written and illustrated by Quentin Blake, who you will probably know from his illustrations for Roald Dahl. As well as providing illustrations for many other children's authors, he has also written his own books, some of the most well known are Mister Magnolia and Clown. He was Children's Laureate in 1999 and generally considered a national institution. The Green Ship takes you into the world of fantasy - two children, whilst staying with their aunt one summer, climb over a wall into the neighbouring garden of a large house. Here they discover a 'ship' made out of hedges trimmed to be a bow and stern, two trees clipped to look like funnels and two tall trees with a few branches...

sonic0209 01.01.2009 (03.01.2009) · Read review
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Review of The Green Ship - Quentin Blake

Ship Of Pools - OF BLOOD!

Advantages: Some interesting gore
Disadvantages: Not interesting enough!

...Titanic has a lot to answer for. Celine Dion?s heartless warbling. That much-aped ?flying? scene. Cameron?s Simpsons-rip-off Oscar speech. Most of all, it has assisted in the creation of many a water-based movie, thanks to the construction of its huge watery set. I?m unsure if Ghost Ship used this wet-o-rama, but if they did, I?m resting part of the blame firmly on the hairy shoulders of the aforementioned bearded one. Well, I can?t make a lot of unfair blame-stabs, so let me aim my dagger at the true culprits ? Dark Castle Entertainment. Yes folks, the people what brung you The House On Haunted Hill and Thirteen Ghosts just don?t learn. Or maybe it?s chumps like me who don?t learn ? seeing as I always think, ?well?it can?t be as bad as the last one?? Before you go any further, gentle reader, I must disclaim myself by stating that...

peppersinclaire 21.05.2004 · Read review
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Review of Ghost Ship (DVD)

Abandon Ship.

Advantages: The beginning.
Disadvantages: The rest.

...Hmm, well, the first five minutes are fairly interesting I suppose, but after that Ghost Ship just goes downhill. No, on second thought, going downhill doesn't quite do it justice. Sinks like a stone is better. On paper at least this 'haunted-house-at-sea' shocker could have been, should have been quite good. The basic premise - a haunted passenger liner - is reasonably intriguing (think Titanic meets The Shining) and it's produced by none other than Robert Zemeckis and Joel Silver under the banner of their 'Dark Castle' production company. It's also directed by Steve Beck who's last effort, 'Th13teen Ghosts' (also for Dark Castle) was actually pretty good and finally it's got Gabriel Byrne in it who usually turns in a respectable and very watchable performance. To be fair, everything starts out quite well. As is the norm...

Spike_ 05.07.2003 (06.07.2003) · Read review
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Review of Ghost Ship (DVD)

THE SHIPPING BLUES

Advantages: The scenery, the potential
Disadvantages: The pace and content

...home. Although initially captivated by the beauty of the landscape, Quoyle and his daughter find their new home cold and harsh. Their house is in a terrible state of disrepair and amidst the howling storms, they wonder whether they have done the right thing. In order to fund the necessary home repairs, Quoyle gets a job in the local newspaper office, where he writes articles about local sea craft. As he forges a new life for himself and his daughter, Quoyle must cope with not just his own inner demons, but those of a beautiful young woman (Wavey) and he must also uncover the terrible secrets of his own family’s past. The Shipping News is based on a novel of the same name, written by E. Annie Proulx, and although I haven’t read it myself, I suspect that the story worked rather better as a book than it does as a film. One...

LostWitness 01.10.2002 · Read review
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Review of The Shipping News (DVD)

It's The Good Ship Lollipop

Advantages: nice little kiddie drama with Shirley Temple and Jane Withers
Disadvantages: Its Shirley Temple , so maybe not for you but might be for your kid

...have to choose, while the Smythes hope Loop gets her so that their inheritance will be safe. Will Shirley, Loop, and Uncle Ned get a happily ever after, and will the Smythes get their comeuppance? Faster than you can reprise the film's flagship tune, The Good Ship Lollipop, all comes right in true sweet and sugar land style. While it all sounds rather saccharine, its not so sweet that your teeth hurt. It's just sweet enough that the subject matter is not too heavy for the younger crowd, and the musical numbers by Temple are done quite well. Quite stealing the show though is child star Jane Wither's whose turn as young Joy Smythe is absolutely delicious. Her knowingly sly portrayal absolutely robs Shirley Temple of her audience every time they are onscreen together. Unsurprisingly, this led to her landing her own long term studio contract...

Shroud 01.10.2008 · Read review
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Review of Bright Eyes (DVD)

Ship Sim 2006

Advantages: Easy to play and pick up with lots to do
Disadvantages: Doesn't feature enough unique play areas and poor AI and damage models

...and micromanaging the time between them. This does often lead to confusion as to what is going on in the game but does add an interesting element of play. The final complaint that must be made of the game is that the AI (artificial intelligence) used on the other ships is non existent. You can slow to a stop for a reversing manoeuvre into a side area of the main harbour and a ship not even visible on the map will still continue on its path unhindered through you causing anything up to and beyond ?2billion of damage. This is made even worse when ships don't sink when they should and that a slow bump into a pier causes more damage than a direct hit on a supertanker with a million pound yacht at 10knots. Worth every penny for anyone one nautical or like me who enjoys a new challenge provided by a uniquely new and novel approach to a sim title...

Astec123 11.05.2007 · Read review
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Review of Ship Simulator 2006 (PC)

Talking Ships

Advantages: Enjoyable, hard to put down, likeable characters
Disadvantages: None

..., much like a living being and each ship holds a special connection to his or her family. The main characters include Althea Vestrit, a rebellious younger daughter who was denied the inheritance to her family live ship and is on a quest to get it back; Wintrow Vestrit, a priest in training who has been forced to serve upon the Vivacia by his father and Kyle Haven, the captain of the Vivacia. The characters are all very well developed and likable and the plot is detailed and fast moving. Once this book is picked up it is very difficult to put down and shares the addictive qualities that so many of the true classics have. I highly recommend Ship of Magic to anyone who enjoys a good fantasy novel....

vampyremage 19.11.2008 · Read review
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Review of Ship of Magic (The Liveship Traders) - Robin Hobb

Should have been called 'Not Many Ghosts Ship'!

Advantages: Erm... the opening scene is excellent and so is the very end...
Disadvantages: ... it's the bit in the middle that's rubbish!

...separate and one man even reaches to pull his legs towards him as he falls. One little girl is spared, Katie. Fast forward 40 years and a team of professional maritime salvagers are approached by a pilot who has seen a mystery ship drifting in the Bering Sea. He wants to go along with the salvage crew and claim a percentage of whatever money is made from the ship. The deal is done and they set of in the salvagers (small) tug boat. They find the ship and *surprise, surprise* the ship the pilot happens to have seen is none other than the Antonia Graza, now deserted and in a terrible state of disrepair. In true horror film style, even when members of their crew start dying horribly and it's blinding obvious that something nasty is happening on board they stay and look around. They even split up and go off on their own. The deciding...

Fruity_Tart 17.11.2003 · Read review
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Review of Ghost Ship (DVD)

Hop Aboard The Death Ship

Advantages: see review
Disadvantages: see review

...I like horror movies, as anyone who has read a few of my opinions will have probably gathered. Generally, it doesn't really matter whether its a good horror movie or a bad one, there is usually some campy form of entertainment to be found therein somewhere. Not in Death Ship. This movie is dire from its rather poorly shot opening couple of sequences right through to its rather predictable end. It opens on a large luxury liner, where captain George Kennedy is training his uccessor Richard Crennar to take over his role after his upcoming retirement. Suddenly the liner is rammed by a another ship and sinks, only a handful of people surviving - Crenna's whole family(convenient) a young couple(conincidental) some bloke and some old lady. They drift around for a couple of days and suddenly the Captain pops up out of nowhere having...

wampyrii 04.10.2001 · Read review
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Review of Death Ship