Movie: Battlestar Galactica: Razor (Sci Fi Channel)
Premiere Date: Saturday, November 24th, 2007
Rating: 3 out of 4 Stars

Quick Synopsis: A razor can do as much harm as it can do good.

Long Synopsis: The story of Lee Adama’s first mission as commander of Battlestar Pegasus and what happened to the previous commander, Admiral Helena Cain. It moves back and forth between the two stories. You see what happened to the Pegasus after the Cylons attack the 12 colonies, as they think they may be the only ones left. It also tells of Adama taking command after the death of Admiral Cain. The tie that binds the two is the story of Major Kendra Shaw, who was just assigned to Pegasus when the attack occurred and became the right-hand of Admiral Cain. She becomes a “Razor,” as she loses her fear and hesitation and her instincts are forged into a Cain’s ruthless protégé. She is promoted to be Adama’s XO when he assumes command. The main story is the partial redemption of Shaw and learning more about the humanoid Cylons.

Review: Battlestar Galactica: Razor is a stand-alone movie, but it is also technically the first two episodes of the fourth and final season of the show. Battlestar Galactica is one shows the TVaholic didn’t get into at the beginning. Tried to pick it up at the beginning of season three, but felt like too much had been missed to fully understand and enjoy. It is on the list of shows to catch up with on DVD at some point, but after watching the Razor screener, it has reminded me why it is on that list.

Razor is not a movie, nor is the show in general, that you can just veg out in front of the TV and enjoy. You need to pay attention, especially with the storytelling style of moving back and forth between time periods. Some characters are in both, so you really need to try and keep up. But, it isn’t that difficult, as the story is interesting and the actors are all really good.

Michelle Forbes (24: Day 2, Homicide: Life on the Streets) is great as Admiral Helena Cain. She is a hardnosed and brutal leader, as disagreeing with her is not a good idea. While the character is not a very good person, Forbes’ portrayal of her is excellent.

Razor is more than just filler between the end of season three and the real beginning of season four, it will give fans of the show some interesting information about the humanoid Cylons. Whether a big fan of the show or not, it is definitely the best you can do for TV watching on a Saturday night. But, if you can’t watch it tonight, Razor will be available on DVD, as of Tuesday, December 4th.

Check out a scene from the beginning of the movie:

What did you think of Battlestar Galactica: Razor?

Movie: Matters of Life & Dating (Lifetime)
Premiere Date: Monday, October 22nd, 2007
Rating: 1 out of 4 Stars

Quick Synopsis: Taking life on, “one breast at a time.”

Long Synopsis: A thirty-something woman breaks things off with her current boyfriend, because she wants to try being single for a while. Soon after, she learns that she has breast cancer. She has to have a mastectomy, but is spared having to deal with any chemo or other treatments. Losing a breast completely destroys her self-image and self-confidence, as she believes she will no longer be attractive to men.

She becomes angry and resentful and fear starts to rule her life. She tries attending a support group and finds a fellow member is an old childhood friend. With the help of her new “cancer friend” and her longtime best friend, she tries re-entering the dating world. She finds a whole lot of the wrong ones and then begins dating the guy she broke up before she found out about the surgery. He still isn’t right for her, but he is safe and steady. But, with the help of her friends, she comes to the conclusion that she shouldn’t settle and opens herself up to finding the real thing.

Review: Matters of Life & Dating stars Ricki Lake (The Ricki Lake Show), Holly Robinson Peete (Hangin With Mr. Cooper) and Rachel Harris (Notes from the Underbelly). It is based on the Linda Dackman book, Up Front: Sex and the Post-Mastectomy Woman.

Matters of Life & Dating is the centerpiece of Lifetime’s Stop Breast Cancer for Life campaign, which is in its 13th year. The story hits on elements of this year’s campaign, Be My Support, Be My Strength, Be My Bra. Topics like early detection, “drive-through” mastectomies, and women’s health care access for all are touched on.

The topic is an important one and with the tagline “The Irreverent and Poignant Story of Searching for Mr. Right While Living Beyond Breast Cancer,” you would expect a couple of laughs and a few tears. Unfortunately, it didn’t provide either.

Harris was good as Nicole, the best friend, but Lake, as Linda Dackman, wasn’t. You never really buy her in the role. What should be a depth of emotion, never really comes through on screen, as her portrayal is very stiff.

The movie as a whole is very uneven and doesn’t have a very good flow to it. Such an important topic deserves a better and more engaging TV treatment.

Matters of Life & Dating premieres tonight on Lifetime and again on Tuesday, October 30th.

What do you think of Lifetime’s Matters of Life & Dating?

Movie: The Murder of Princess Diana (Lifetime)
Premiere Date: Saturday, August 25th, 2007
Rating: 3 out of 4 Stars

Quick Synopsis: Fictionalized account of a supposed conspiracy behind the death of Princess Diana.

Long Synopsis: An American Reporter working for a British paper gets a tip that Diana and Dodi are going to be in Paris at the Ritz and that Diana has a big announcement she is going to make while there. So, she gets her editor to let her go to Paris, cause she just knows there is a story there. While there, she starts to see things happening that don’t seem right, as well as, the hotel overflowing with British, American, Italian and other secret service spy types. When the car of Diana and Dodi leaves on the fateful night, she jumps a back a paparazzo’s motorcycle and is there as the crash happens in the tunnel. She tells the police what she saw, but they don’t seem to listen to her, so she starts investigating it on her own. She starts to turn in stories and convinces her former lover, now a French cop, that there might be something to her conspiracy theory. Then her computer is stolen, her boyfriend is attacked and a witness disappears. The story takes on a thriller like atmosphere ending with her crashing in the same tunnel.

Review: At the end of my review of Mega Snake, another movie premiering August 25th, I posited that it “might be an option for you to check out. I mean, what else are you going to watch on a Saturday night?” Well, this is the answer to that question. The Murder of Princess Diana is a very well done made-for-TV movie. Whether you are one that is fascinated with Princess Diana or just love a good conspiracy theory, then this might be an option for you to check out this Saturday night.

In the mold of JFK, The Murder of Princess Diana takes a bunch of disparate conspiracy theories from Noel Botham’s book of the same name and sets out to prove it was murder and not just a horrible accident. The film takes these theories and installs a fictional reporter named Rachel Visco, played by Jennifer Morrison (House), as the person that sees them all take place.

Mixing fact and fiction can be a tough row to hoe. It is easily mangled, but this film’s actors and story are engaging. Yet, with all the blurring of the lines, they did capture the frenzy of the paparazzi quite accurately. The film’s pacing is brisk, as things keep moving right along. It comes off as a very polished piece from both a writing and acting perspective, compared with your average TV movie fare.

It does follow one of my favorite movie cliché’s though. That being, when shadowy characters trying to stop you from finding the truth are hunting you down, always make time for a little lovin’.

The Murder of Princess Diana premieres tomorrow night, Saturday, August 25th, on Lifetime. It replays on August 26th and 27th, as well as, the 10th anniversary of Princess Diana’s passing on August 31st.

What do you think of The Murder of Princess Diana movie?

Movie: Mega Snake (Sci Fi Channel)
Premiere Date: Saturday, August 25th, 2007
Rating: 1 out of 4 Stars

Quick Synopsis: Don’t let it out, don’t let it feed on anything living, but if you do, don’t fear the heart of the snake.

Long Synopsis: A boy loses his father to a deadly snakebite and grows up to fear snakes and, well, a whole lot of other things as well. Now, in present day, his moronic brother has stolen a dangerous snake from a Native American snake dealer. When he doesn’t heed the rules, the snake gets out, it feeds on live people and everyone is afraid of it, it starts to grow and grow and threatens the whole town. It is up to our young frightened boy, now a reluctant man to save the day when the giant snake starts to wreak havoc at the annual county fair. He will have to face his fear, to rescue the town and the woman he loves.

Review: Mega Snake is one of those cheesy Sci Fi Saturday Original Movies. It stars Michael Shanks (Stargate SG-1) as the hero of the story and features just about every cliché this type of movie can muster.

From dueling backwoods dwellers, to the stupidly cocky sheriff, the good girl ex-girlfriend, the hero that can’t get his life together, the town floozy, the mayor that won’t hear of canceling the fair, the snake bait deputies, and too many more to mention are all there for your viewing pleasure.

As well, the dialogue is lackluster and pedestrian. Even the heroes sound like idiots. The actors did what they could with the material given, but as the title implies, the movie is really about watching a giant and fast growing snake devour the town’s populace.

And, that is the saving grace for Mega Snake, the special effects. Well, I am partially guessing, as the review copy was an unfinished version. But, the pieces where the snake f/x were completed, looked pretty good.

The other good news is for fans of Who Wants to Be a Superhero? Feedback, the season one winner, makes an appearance at the county fair to talk to the children about electrical safety. He even gets a couple of whacks in on the giant snake and saves a few of the kids. Although, if you were hoping for a lot of Feedback, then you will be disappointed, as he only appears for about two minutes.

So, if you are home this Saturday night, August 25th, with nothing to do, but watch TV, then Mega Snake might be an option for you to check out. I mean, what else are you going to watch on a Saturday night? If you do, come back and let us know what you think of Sci Fi Channel’s latest original movie.