Touches You

best movie i've ever seen.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

Disclaimer: The only reason I started watching this series was to stop my friend from constantly badgering me to watch it. Oh I wished I hadn't listened to her and instead listened to my gut.Like I said the miniseries and season 1 were pretty good (except for them dumping 2 characters on another planet as a sub plot (and those characters achieving nothing for 10 episodes or so) & developing other minor characters I didn't give a crap about).And then season 2 happened and I lost my patience. The cyclons having "a plan" but none of this plan being revealed in any form of a timely manner. Gius' continuing hallucination spouting nonsensical fluff about destiny which turned from intriguing to annoying. The unnecessary focus on politics and other random nonsense which in no way added to the plot. And I could just see that it was going to move more towards this whole spiritual-god- religious path storyline of which I have ZERO interest.The only storyline I actually cared about was the romance between Kara and Lee but sitting through all the other crap wasn't worth finding out what happened between these two.Bottom line, I was bored out of my mind. In fact I fell asleep multiple times watching this.It's not sci-fi. It's a dramatic, soap opera which happens to take place in space.Recommendation: Don't walk, run in other direction. Don't waste your time. Put in an episode of Star Trek and go to your sci fi happy place.

Yes, indeedy, this is one of those IMDb "re-reviews" written, as it were, "from the future" in that the reviewer already knows how the aforesaid mini-series begat a regular TV series; which begat several TV movies; which begat several webisodes; which begat great viewer joy. Did not mean to go all Biblical on you but, kindly note, (a) the storyline in BSG (both the original, and the reboot) is itself biblical, in that the characters follow an arc dictated by "prophecy"; and (b) this is generally believed to be the second-most addictive series in TV history, Joss Whedon's Buffy, of course, being the first. Other reviewers (100s here on the miniseries' page, 100s on the TV series' IMDb page) have already talked about the finer points, so let's get to the meat, the addiction. I have a theory. Buffy was addictive because somewhere in the early first season viewers went, OMG, this innocent teenage girl is hooking up with the hunky 1000 year old vampire and, OMG, they spent one night together and now he is trying to kill her. Literally. And over in BSG, aside from the super writing, the super acting, the wonderful blend of action and melodrama, you have (TA-DUH! ... my hypothesis) something just as visceral and unexpected happening; just as with Buffy, something that hooks you and keeps you hooked before you even realize you have been caught like a flounder. OMG, you say to yourself, that whiny, wingey, sciencey guy has hooked up with a babe who looks like she is "out of his league" by several big-city franchises at least; and, OMG, to stay hooked up with her it seems HE IS WILLING TO BETRAY THE ENTIRE HUMAN RACE. I mean, we have seen guys do foolish things to "get the girl" before, things they regret the next day, but we have never seen a guy betray HIS ENTIRE SPECIES ...? And (my favourite, the twist of the knife) just in case there were, maybe, 4 viewers left on the planet who did not "get" this -- in case it was just too subtle for them -- by the time the series cranks up, WE HAVE A REPEAT OF THE VERY SAME THEME ON THE BSG itself -- the Master Chief (the ship's mechanic) is having an affair with a junior officer who (once again!) is "out of his league," and EVEN THOUGH HE SUSPECTS THERE IS SOMETHING ODD ABOUT HER, that she may actually be a Cylon, he is generally willing to look the other way just to keep the relationship going. (Yes, yes, I know, the fact that these two key roles were portrayed by Tricia Helfer and Grace Park only makes these themes carry that much more impact). So there you have it. Two addictive shows. Two story arcs that, from the getgo, grab your attention with the issue of just how far we humans will go to pursue a relationship, whether it's healthy or not. Is that the real reason for the staying power of these shows? I really don't know, but I imagine this review will be here long after this reviewer has gone, so I will leave it to viewers of the "further future" to decide...

If you're like me, you think good sci-fi should be about more than merely bringing the old history or current politics to space, it should be in a more abstract sense about a world that extends from our own. And if you're like me, you never cared for Star Trek as sci-fi and you tend to avoid being drawn to as much TV as you can because even those with the best reputation are sooner or later mired by endless sidetracking and repetition for reasons that have nothing to do with the craft itself.So I'm glad to report this is for you. Oh it's a flawed piece for sure. It was meant to set up a subsequent TV series and it shows, we end this with a cliffhanger and all threads open. Trek influence is unavoidable it seems: the moral dilemmas about the many versus the few, human compassion versus rules, the weary captain and his brave crew. All through the thing questions are posed that the creators will most likely drag their feet through multiple seasons to try and answer: some mythology about the original exodus from Earth, a race of androids in communion with (some notion of) god. And the whole story hinges itself on the momentous writing gaffe of having the blonde girlfriend of a top scientist be allowed in top secret Defense area to tinker with things on a mainframe. But beneath that we have something worthwhile. It creates a sense of unfolding world. The passenger spaceship that returns to Caprica feels like what it would be for commercial spaceflight between planets to be a routine affair, we see people dozing off as out of the windows space rolls by, just as it will be one day. The top AI scientist, the one who triggers the apocalypse, lives in a house with a lakeview and trees surrounding it, a future scenery that is far more likely than the totalitarian dystopias of other scifi. We see him interviewed on TV. The old battleship is about to be turned in a museum. Life basically goes on.It's true, there are anachronistic guns and technology, and the SFX work in space leaves a lot to be desired by contemporary standards. And it was shot on video and they didn't make any effort to hide the artifact. Yet none of those things detract from the appeal, video in fact adds to it, because we're placed the right way: when later in the story Starbuck flies the mission to recon for nearby enemies, and just probes through the edges of the storm, the only view we get is from inside her cockpit at the fleet rolling past higher above, an anxious glimpse of higher machinery instead of the whole opera.And what great views and turbulent aerodynamics of space in the all- important ensuing fight. All in all this is great because we're grounded to have presence, and all the subsequent leaps are to equally grounded views, in both story (somewhat) and the spaces chosen it feels like this is a normal day in the future interrupted by the apocalypse. If they wished to be bolder, they would have made this a three-part miniseries, devoting one part each to the ordinary life, apocalypse and aftermath. But until someone else tries it again, this for the time being is some of the best work we have, just this miniseries.

I hate space. I've never longed to be an astronaut, I have absolutely no passion for solar systems and the sight of technologically advanced super spacecrafts does not give me a redwood in my khakis. So when a friend told me that I should really start watching BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, I was less than thrilled to do so. Sure, it's being lauded by critics and viewers worldwide - but so is Star Wars, and I never even made it through The Phantom Menace.Yet I have to come clean. While watching the miniseries I was thrilled, exhilarated, baffled and immensely satisfied. BATTLESTAR GALACTICA proved to be perhaps the most rewarding and instantly striking three hour television event I've seen in a while. Or... well... 'a while...' I can't remember the last time I have been sitting in complete concentration for three straight hours, with my heart skipping a few beats every five minutes. The show is pulsing with rich scenery, imaginative story twists and beautiful camera-work.The writing and acting are both superb. Within its three hour canvas, the show paints a striking setting with little gems of perfect craftsmanship. My favorite of these gems was the character of Laura Roslin, who is sworn into presidency when the real president is killed. There's so much you can read in her eyes, and feel in her dialogue. Throughout the show she struggles to find the perfect balance between selflessness, authority and courage of conviction. A lot of this should be credited to actress Mary McDonnell, who plays the character sublimely.And there is another gem I would like to single out, since it shows - in my opinion - that this show is more subtle and intelligent than the surrounding ethos would lend you to believe. When Captain Apollo visits his father (who he is having a difficult relationship with) to let him know he's still alive, there is a hug between the two which is so well acted and written that I was actually baffled by it's subtlety. The commander never even looks his son in the eye after the hug and their eyes tell the tales of a lifetime of heartache in a single moment.So why not a perfect ten? Well, 0,5 points are lost because sometimes BATTLESTAR GALACTICA seems to think it should dip into the space battle clichés to make its running time worth while. The other 0,5 points are lost because of the character of Gaius Baltar, who (although played beautifully by James Callis) manifested himself as the only character I wouldn't mind seeing killed off.BATTLESTAR GALACTICA Mini-Series (2003) Running Time: 175 minutesRating: 4,5 / 5