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Brave, a review by Danae Cassandra

Film #6 of Scavenger Hunt #22
Task #14: Watch a film from any director (or Pixar) who has made exactly 17 films



Brave
Year of Release: 2012
Directed By: Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman
Starring: Kelly MacDonald, Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson, Julie Walters
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Animation

Overview:
Pixar Animation Studios, the creator of Toy Story 3, whisks you away on an astonishing adventure to an ancient land full of mystery and tradition. Bursting with heart, unforgettable characters and Pixar's signature humor, Brave is "a rousing, gorgeously animated good time," raves Peter Travers of Rolling StoneMy Thoughts:
This is one of the very best of Pixar's films. It's wonderfully animated, has great voice work, and is also a great fairy tale. Yes, it's a pretty simple story, but that's what a fairy tale is. It's been five years since it came out now, and it's still a very unique film - it's hard to find a female-centered children's film like this one. Brave isn't about romance and has a strong mother figure. Merida is a wonderful, strong character with plenty of flaws to make her believable. Her mother, Elinor, is the same - a strong, good role model in many ways, but with believable flaws. Great messages, marvelous animation, lots of fun. Recommended for everyone.

Bechdel Test: Pass
Mako Mori Test: Pass

Overall: 4/5

(From Scavenger Hunt #22 on January 7th, 2017)

The All-American Girl, a review by Jimmy

Title: The All-American Girl
Year: 1972
Genre: Drama
Director: Mark Haggard (The First Nudie Musical)         
Rating: Unrated
Length: 1h22
Video: Fullscreen
Audio: English
Subtitles: No Subtitle

Stars:
Peggy Church (A Touch of Sweden)
Alan Burton
Andy Mitchell (The Teaser)
Paul Berry
Tracy Rodgers (The Big Snatch)   

Plot:
Debbie's boyfriend Bobby has left for Guatemala for three months and Debbie is expecting a boring summer. But then she hasn't considered her neighbours and their 14-year old son Johnny...

The American exploitation films were about the familiarity of the woman, every fan have is favourite one. Many of those girls had a long career like Rene Bond, Marsha Jordan, Ushi Diggart, Maria Arnold, ... But some didn't made a lot of film. Peggy Church is one of them and it's very hard to find her films and to find them with good quality. She had done seven features in six years and her first two are considered lost. The All-American Girl is her last one and the only one where she is the star.

If I had to choose one movie in the Something Weird Video collection that I would like to have in a special edition, this is the one. But, their distributor (Image Entertainment) have always refuse it. So the only way to watch it is on DVD-R (note : SVW have all the rights of their movie, so no bootleg here) with no remastering job, so the image and sound are not really great.

The story is interesting, but it can be shocking for some viewer since Peggy Church plays an 16 years old (she had 18, but she was young looking), she have relation with an adult man, an adult woman and a 14 years old boy (who look much more like 30). Peggy Church performance is really good in this and she proove that she can be a star, it's surprising that she had stop her career with this one. The rest of the cast is OK, this only exeption is Paul Berry (the 14 years old) who is a real bad actor and never did anything else. Some scenes are pretty borderline for a soft X film : girl masturbation (no close up but it's clear that it's the real thing) and adult-teenager sexual relation. Now keep in mind that it's not a pornographic movie, but an exploitation picture who goes just a little bit farther than usual. Last thing the theme song is really catchy.

I like this one, but because of the poor quality of the print use it's hard to recommand it. unless you are a fan like me and you are satisfy to have one film and the quality doesn't matter.

Rating : 
Movie Trailer
Sorry it was a good one, but Youtube had deleted it because of some cry-baby.

(From The little known movie review depot on February 7th, 2008)

Twilight Zone, a review by addicted2dvd

NOTE: A while ago I bought the complete series of The Twilight Zone. When I bought it I had only seen a handful of episodes before. (which I saw on volume releases I was collecting before the series set came out) Since then on other sites I been giving my thoughts on all the episodes. Not really a marathon viewing as I only watch the episodes as I can and then post a disc worth at a time... but thought I should do the same here (I started this just before this site became to be) but thought if I start posting my thoughts here as well I should post all my previous posts here as well... so...



1. Where is Everybody? (10/2/59)
Earl Holliman stars as a man on the edge of hysteria in an oddly deserted town. Despite the emptiness, he has the strangest feeling that he's being watched.

My Thoughts:
This episode I have seen before... though I didn't remember it right away... not till the end twist. I really enjoyed the episode... was a good start to what seems to be a great series! This set even kept the commercial bumpers as well as a commercial for The United Way at the end.

As I type this I am watching this episode for the second time... this time with the commentary on. The commentary is done with the star of the episode... Earl Holliman. First off I was surprised that they would be able to have a commentary with a star that was an adult in 1959 when the episode aired. But even more so I was surprised at his memory about when he made the episode.He talked about such things as how he was sick when they taped this episode... that the town he was alone in for almost the entire episode was later used in the well known movie Back to the Future... and how when this episode originally aired he had a series he was the star of that aired later that night on the same channel. It was really interesting watching the episode again with the commentary on.

2. One of the Angels (10/9/59)
A salesman (Ed Wynn) cleverly eludes Death. But if he lives, a little girl must die in his place. Only the salesman's greatest pitch can save her!

My Thoughts:
Going into this one I couldn't remember if I seen this episode or not. But once I got into it I remember I did actually see it. This was a really good episode. The extra for this episode was a radio episode with Ed Begley, Jr. But I decided not to listen to it at this time. At the end of this episode it showed Rod Serling talk about the next episode and then a TV Spot for the series Wanted Dead or Alive.

3. Mr. Denton on Doomsday (10/16/59)
A has-been drunk of a gunslinger (Dan Duryea) finds that his fast-draw abilities can actually be restored by drinking a magic potion! Also features Martin Landau.

My Thoughts:
This one I know I have seen before... as I watching it only a few months back on one of the volume dvds.This is a very good episode.. I enjoyed every minute of it. At the end of the episode it showed a TV Spot for The Danny Thomas Show. This episode has a commentary track with Martin Landau... which I am listening to as I type this. This commentary seems like it is going to be really good too. really informative and interesting.

4. The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine (10/23/59)
An aging, former movie star (Ida Lupino) lives and dreams in the past. Despite the efforts of her agent (Martin Balsam) she refuses to leave her screening room - until she disappears!

My Thoughts:
This is another one that I seen months ago on one of the volume dvds I had. This one was never one of my favorite episodes... I mean it was a pretty good episode... but not compared to the others I have seen. The extra listed with this episode... and I am not even sure it is what I would consider an extra... but they have an isolated score for the episode... which is basically turning off the dialog and sound effects and using a music only score. I didn't bother watching this for more then a moment to see exactly what it was.

5. Walking Distance (10/30/59)
Martin Sloan (Gig Young) is a frazzled executive who learns that you can't go home again after he steps back in time and meets his mom, his dad - and himself!

My Thoughts:
This is a very good episode... another one I seen on one of the volume releases I had. In this episode you will see a very young (about 4?) Ron Howard. The extras for this episode are An isolated music score which again I didn't bother with. And A lecture with Rod Serling on the episode. This I did check out. Was interesting you heard a talk between Rod Serling and a small group of people talking about the episode while watching the episode... almost like an audio Commentary... but not scene specific... in other words they are not talking about each scene as it is shown on the screen. Towards the end of the lecture they did branch out and talk about some of the other episodes a little too... but mostly about this episode. This is a very interesting idea for an extra. I really enjoyed it. Rod Serling even goes through how even though he thought this episode worked beautifully originally.... since seeing the episode he felt the episode really didn't work. Very interesting.

6. Escape Clause (11/6/59)
A hypochondriac (David Wayne) exchanges his soul for immortality and indestructability. When life soon becomes very boring, his unsuccessful attempts to find new thrills bring unexpected results.

My Thoughts:
This is one that I originally saw on one of the Sci-Fi Channel marathons that they have of the show all the time. This one is a very good episode. One of my favorites so far. This is the first episode on the set not to have any extra what so ever accompanying it. Unless you want to consider the old commercial tacked on the end as an extra in which case on this episode was a public service announcement about worshiping together.

7. The Lonely (11/13/59)
A convicted murderer (Jack Warden) incarcerated on a distant asteroid is dying of lonelines. Then a supply ship captain leaves him a female robot - and a dilemma!

My Thoughts:
And once again... this is one that I have seen before... I can't remember for sure but thinking it is one that was on one of the volume discs I had. Another good episode. I definitely enjoyed it. The only extra for this episode was the Isolated Music Score... unless you count the classic commercial attached to the end... which in this case was a TV Spot for The Danny Thomas Show.

Over-all I am really pleased with this set at this point. The quality of the picture and sound is unbelievable... especially considering that these episodes are almost 50 years old! You can tell they put a lot of love and care into making the episodes look the best they possibly could... and the extras they have with the first disc alone... wow! I haven't been this impressed with a set since I started to buy The Dick Van Dyke Show. The only drawback I see with this set so far is the awful packaging... which is a real shame considering how much this set costs... you really shouldn't have to put up with shoddy packaging... at least in the long run I do realize that the packaging really is the least important thing about the set. But it is still a shame.

(From Twilight Zone on February 5th, 2008)