DVD Collectors Online

Dragon Fighter, a review by addicted2dvd

Title: Dragon Fighter
Year: 2002
Director: Phillip Roth
Rating: R
Length: 89 Min.
Video: Full Frame 1.33:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo, Spanish: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo
Subtitles: N/A

Stars:
Dean Cain
Kristine Byers
Robert Zachar
Marcus Aurelius
Robert Ditillio
Vessela Dimitrova

Plot:
We thought they were just a fairy tale. We were wrong. In an underground bunker, military scientists clone a deadly fire-breathing dragon. The beast rapidly grows to full size and escapes, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. For security chief David Carver (Dean Cain), the only goal is keeping the most fearsome predator to ever walk the Earth from destroying it. For the rest of mankind, the goal is survival.

Extras:
Scene Access
Feature Trailers

My Thoughts:
This is a direct to video release. I find the storyline interesting... but the movie itself is no more then an average sci-fi/horror fair. They keep using a split screen quite a bit... which takes away from the story for me. I do like Dean Cain... who I know of from Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. I got mixed reactions on how they did the dragon itself... in some scenes it looked really cool. But in other scenes it looked on the cheesy side. I did get a kick out of how they did away with the dragon. Not a bad way to waste an hour and a half... but not something I would go out of my way to watch.



(From Weekend Movie Marathon: Unwatched DVDs on December 31st, 2010)

The Fair Haired Child, a review by addicted2dvd

The Fair Haired Child
Deep within the desperate hearts of the bereaved, there is a pact with the forces of darkness that demands new blood to resurrect the souls of the dead. Lori Petty (A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN and TANK GIRL) stars as a grieving mother with a remote estate, a ghastly secret, and a locked basement where abducted teen outcasts await an evil that feasts upon their virgin flesh. But to satisfy a parent's depraved bargain, the beast must feed one final time. And tonight, the ultimate horror will begin for those who do not heed the hunger of THE FAIR HAIRED CHILD.

Lindsay Pulsipher and William Samples co-star in this relentlessly creepy saga scripted by Matt Greenberg (HALLOWEEN H2O, REIGN OF FIRE) and directed by William Malone that 'The Horror Channel' calls "a perfect dark fairy tale...one of the most solid and impressive episodes to date!"

My Thoughts:
This is another really good episode that I enjoyed a lot. Interesting story... good special effects... a nice amount of gore. Pretty much everything you can ask for in an episode. I also enjoyed the resolution at the end of this one. Even if it was somewhat predictable. Definitely worth the hour of your time that you need to put into it. Just like the several before it... this DVD has good quality and lots of extras to keep you busy.

For those of you that are interested... here is the trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLS1bcNSr8s

(From Masters of Horror Marathon on May 27th, 2008)

Tom's Random Reviews, a review by Tom

Title: To Heart: Complete Collection
Year: 2008
Rating: NR
Length: 325 Min.
Video: Full Frame 1.33:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital Stereo , Japanese: Dolby Digital Stereo
Subtitles: English

Plot:
For as long as Akari can remember, she and Hiroyuki have always been friends. But with time, everything changes, and her feelings have turned into something more. As a new semester of high school begins, will the two childhood friends come closer together or drift further apart? Join Hiroyuki, Akari and all their friends - the bubbly Shiho, the quiet Serika, the lovely Kotone, and more - in this heartwarming tale of love, relationships and friendship!

Extras:
Featurettes
Photo Gallery
Production Notes
Scene Access
Trailers

This is a nice slow-paced high school slice of live anime series about a girl and a boy who have known each other since kindergarten and are now entering high school together. Maybe a little too nice in terms of character interaction. Almost no conflict there.
But it provides some fun guest character appearances. For example the girl who talks to low that almost nobody understands her. Or the girl who can the tragic future events of people close to her. And of course the human-like robot maid, who is enrolled as a regular student as a test by her creators

Rating:


And now short reviews about the last two episodes of the series. Both are set during christmas time and thus qualify for the christmas marathon

12. The Season of Emotions (1999-06-17)
Writer: AQUAPLUS (Original Material By), Shinzo Hujita (Screenwriter)
Director: Naohito Takahashi
Cast: Ayako Kawasumi (Akari Kamigishi (voice)), Kazuya Ichijo (Hiroyuki Fujita (voice)), Chieko Higuchi (Shiho Nagaoka (voice)), Souichiro Hoshi (Masashi Sato (voice)), Rumi Kasahara (Lemmy Miyauchi (voice)), Eriko Fujimaki (Sayuri (voice)), Takayuki Arai (Imai (voice)), Masaya Takatsuka (Clerk (voice)), Akiko Kimura (Student (voice)), Yui Horie (Student (voice)), Mie Sonozaki (Student (voice)), Harunori Miyata (Student (voice))

This episode is on the same level as the rest of this series. Here the main characters start to organize a christmas party.
This episode takes focus on Shiho's interest in Hiroyuki. Probably to build up to a love triangle to resolve for the next episode which is the series finale. But I have the feeling, that not much will get resolved, as it would not match the slow pace of the rest of the series. Also there already exists a follow-up series, which probably needs the same starting ground. But I will see soon, if that is the case.


13. On a Day of Snow (1999-06-24)
Writer: AQUAPLUS (Original Material By), Hiroshi Yamaguchi (Screenwriter)
Director: Naohito Takahashi
Cast: Ayako Kawasumi (Akari Kamigishi (voice)), Kazuya Ichijo (Hiroyuki Fujita (voice)), Chieko Higuchi (Shiho Nagaoka (voice)), Souichiro Hoshi (Masashi Sato (voice)), Aya Hisakawa (Tomoko Hoshina (voice)), Mayumi Iizuka (Aoi Matsubara (voice)), Rumi Kasahara (Lemmy Miyauchi (voice)), Kyoko Hikami (Kotone Himekawa (voice)), Ikue Oya (Rio Hinayama (voice)), Yui Horie (Multi (voice)), Hironori Miyata (Principal (voice)), Chizuko Hoshino (Akari's Mom (voice)), Masaya Takatsuka (Clerk (voice)), Eriko Fujimaki (PE Teacher (voice)), Mie Sonozaki (Announcer (voice)), Harunori Miyata (Student (voice)), Takayuki Arai (Student (voice))

Nothing really gets resolved. Shiho takes a step back to let Akari have a go at Hiroyuki. Akari even gave Hiro a scarf which is almost bold in this series
But beside enjoying a snow fall together at the end of the series, it is not really clear if they end up together or not. But I expected this outcome already.

(From Tom's Random Reviews on December 2nd, 2008)