DVD Collectors Online

Zatoichi at Large, a review by Antares

Zatoichi at Large (1972) 60/100 - For all intensive purposes, this film is a dud. Little nibbles of the usual Zatoichi tropes, spliced together in a ho-hum, I've already seen all this, screenplay. As the film is playing out, I'm blurting out, He's the final duel, She's the forsaken female and The cowardly yakuza boss who'll wilt like a dead flower when Ichi finally gets around to killing him. The only saving grace for this entry is that it has some of the best camera work I've seen in this series. Kazuo Mori must have really been impressed with Sergio Leone's cinematography, because he uses a plethora of in your face close ups throughout the film. If you're a completest, then it's worth a watch. But if you're not, you can definitely skip this one. It's not the worst film in the series, but it really just a waste of time and energy.

Teal = Masterpiece
Dark Green = Classic or someday will be
Lime Green = A good, entertaining film
Orange = Average
Red = Cinemuck
Brown = The color of crap, which this film is

(From Antares' Short Summations on November 20th, 2014)

Near Dark, a review by KinkyCyborg

Near Dark



Title:Near Dark
Year: 1987
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Rating: NR
Length: 94 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, English: DTS: 5.1, English: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround, Commentary: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo
Subtitles:

Stars:
Adrian Pasdar
Jenny Wright
Lance Henriksen (1940)
Bill Paxton
Jenette Goldstein

Plot:
In the dusty heart of the American southwest, innocent country boy Caleb Colton (Adrian Pasdar of MYSTERIOUS WAYS) is seduced by a beautiful girl (Jenny Wright) into joining a roving pack of vicious drifters led by the enigmatic Jesse (Lance Henriksen of THE TERMINATOR and ALIENS). But this is no ordinary band of outlaws; Caleb is now trapped in a nightmare of soulless evil that waits in the shadows, hellish mayhem that thrives on blood and absolute horror that begins NEAR DARK.

Bill Paxton (TWISTER) and Jenette Goldstein (ALIENS) co-star in this extraordinary shocker co-written and directed by Kathryn Bigelow (STRANGE DAYS) that Entertainment Weekly calls "ultrastylish, ultraviolent and altogether brilliant." This is more than simply the most ferociously original vampire movie of our generation; NEAR DARK is one of the best horror movies of all time.

Extras:
Scene Access
Audio Commentary
Deleted Scenes
Closed Captioned
THX


My first time watching this... how embarrassing. 

Not my most favorite vampire movie but I think it cracks my top 5.

What makes this movie great is it's simplicity. There is no shape shifting, no elaborate coffins, no lengthy history about how they came to be. These are just bloodthirsty, marauding vampires who are flying by the seat of their pants and despite their obvious strengths & advantages they are very much living life (death!) on the edge.

Lance Henriksen has always been a favorite of mine and it's great to see him in a meaningful role of yesteryear as he has now pretty much evolved into a STV (Straight To Video) whore. He is the cynical leader of the pack. Bill Paxton was phenomenal as a monster among monsters, stylish with a sense of humor.

Loved the bar scene as you knew what was coming as soon as they walked in. Reminded me of the restaurant scene in Natural Born Killers where a collection of strangers, victims of wrong place wrong time, wait for their deaths in muted horror and myself as the viewer all pumped up to see how it will play out.  I also liked the means for a cure of vampirism, again for how simplistic it was.

Interesting film from Bigelow as this is about as different in content and direction from Hurt Locker as it can possibly be but it presents to us an insightful evolution of a director's work.

Great stuff!

Rating:

(From KinkyCyborg's Random Reviews 2011 on May 5th, 2011)

"Due South" marathon, a review by Rick

The Deal
A bit intense I thought. Off character for the series in general. I did enjoy it though. Very much.

Rating:

(From "Due South" marathon on July 27th, 2009)