DVD Collectors Online

The Witch's Mirror, a review by Danae Cassandra

The Witch's Mirror (El espejo de la bruja)
Year of Release: 1960
Directed By: Chano Urueta
Starring: Rosita Arenas, Armando Calvo, Isabela Corona, Dina De Marco
Genre: Horror

Overview:
A benevolent witch (Isabela Corona) enchants a magic mirror to protect her adopted daughter Elena (Dina de Marco) from her cruel husband (Armando Calvo). When the incantation fails and the girl is murdered, the witch vows revenge using every unholy principle of the supernatural that she can conjure. An unforgettable foray into black magic, high spookery and dazzling storytelling, CasaNegra is proud to present The Witch's Mirror restored and remastered for the first time on DVD in a brand new transfer - including the blasphemous resurrection of the slain Elena!

My Thoughts:
The first half of this seems like a low-budget but well-scripted gothic. At the midpoint it turns to gothic meets mad scientist horror. This is by no means bad, as the script holds together with the thread of supernatural vengeance running through all of it. It is a film of witchcraft, and the witch is a powerful force of evil. Nonetheless, she is not the villain of the film.

The budget is low, and the script derivative (Eyes Without a Face is an obvious influence) but the filmmakers create enough atmosphere and the performances are good enough to overlook that. If I've one major criticism, it's that the witch, Sara, targets the innocent second wife as much as the guilty husband. Too often women are pitted against each other by society, and Sara labels Deborah an 'evil woman' for actions outside her control. That aside, I enjoyed the film and would recommend it to fans of gothic horror.

Watched For: Scavenger Hunt 19, Hoop-tober 3.0, Horror/Halloween Challenge 2016

Bechdel Test: Pass
Mako Mori Test: Fail

Overall: 3/5

Horror/Halloween Challenge Films: 6/52

(From Horror/Halloween 2016 Challenge on October 6th, 2016)

Alien, a review by addicted2dvd

Title: Alien: 20th Anniversary Edition
Year: 1979
Director: Ridley Scott
Rating: R
Length: 117 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo, English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, French: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround, Commentary: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo, Music Only: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo, Other: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo
Subtitles: English, Spanish

Stars:
Bolaji Badejo
Helen Horton
Tom Skerritt
Sigourney Weaver
Veronica Cartwright
Harry Dean Stanton

Plot:
"Alien" is the first movie of one of the most popular sagas in science fiction history, and introduces Sigourney Weaver as Ripley, the iron-willed woman destined to battle the galaxy's ultimate creature.

The terror begins when the crew of the spaceship Nostromo investigates a transmission from a desolate planet and makes a horrifying discovery -- a life form that breeds within a human host. Now the crew must fight not only for its own survival, but for the survival of all mankind.

Extras:
Scene Access
Audio Commentary
Feature Trailers
Deleted Scenes
Gallery
Outtakes/Bloopers
DVD-ROM Content
Closed Captioned
THX
Isolated Production Track

My Thoughts:
Looking at my list of movies to watch I see that somehow I haven't watched this movie since 2004. Could that be right? Has it really been 7 years since I seen this movie? Well that is what DVD Profiler tells me so I guess so. Anyway... I thought I need to fix that problem here today. I am not sure what I can say about this movie that hasn't already been said... so I will keep this short and sweet. If you are a sci-fi fan... a horror fan... or both... in my opinion this movie is a must see. It is just a well done movie... it keeps you glued to your seat watching... even after multiple viewings. I couldn't recommend this movie high enough!



(From Weekend Movie Marathon: Celebrity Birthdays January 17-23 on January 23rd, 2011)

Tom's Random Reviews, a review by Tom

Title: Dawson's Creek: Season Five
Year: 2001
Director:
Rating: NR
Length: 987 Min.
Video: Full Frame 1.33:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital Surround
Subtitles: Portuguese, Spanish

Stars:


Plot:
They've gone from adolescence to adulthood and now it's time to make their way in the world. Joey, Jen and Jack head to college in Boston, Dawson makes his way to film school in Los Angeles, and Pacey chooses to explore other opportunities instead of going to college. Dawson also finds himself facing some major changes on the home-front. Even though they're starting a new chapter in their lives, there's nothing that can break the bond between these friends.

Awards:

Teen Choice Awards	2003	Nominated	Choice TV - Drama/Action Adventure
Teen Choice Awards	2003	Nominated	Choice TV Actor - Drama/Action Adventure	Joshua Jackson
Teen Choice Awards	2003	Nominated	Choice TV Actress - Drama/Action Adventure	Katie Holmes
Teen Choice Awards	2003	Nominated	Choice TV Sidekick	Mika Boorem
Teen Choice Awards	2000	Won	TV - Choice Actor	Joshua Jackson
Teen Choice Awards	2001	Won	TV - Choice Actor	Joshua Jackson
Teen Choice Awards	2002	Nominated	TV - Choice Actor, Drama	Joshua Jackson
Teen Choice Awards	2000	Nominated	TV - Choice Actress	Katie Holmes
Teen Choice Awards	2001	Nominated	TV - Choice Actress	Katie Holmes
Teen Choice Awards	2002	Nominated	TV - Choice Actress, Drama	Katie Holmes
Teen Choice Awards	2000	Won	TV - Choice Drama
Teen Choice Awards	2001	Nominated	TV - Choice Drama
Teen Choice Awards	2002	Nominated	TV - Choice Drama/Action Adventure
Teen Choice Awards	2002	Nominated	TV - Choice Sidekick	Busy Philipps

Extras:
Closed Captioned
Scene Access
Trailers

I am still enjoying this series. I think the transition from High School to University went well in this series. In the audio commentaries for season 4 they said they were trying not to pull the same stunt as a lot of other series were doing. I.e. that there is suddenly a university in town where all main characters are going to. Though they didn't exactly do this here, they still managed to put all main characters to the same city (Boston). This started with finding a way why Jack and Jen did not go to New York as originally planned. Then Pacey showing up in Boston and finally for Dawson to quit UCLA to also be in Boston.

Now a small review on the character developments this season (spoilers ahead):

Dawson:
The beginning of this season Dawson had to deal with the sudden death of his father. Mitch (played by "The Flash" actor John Wesley Shipp) was always one of my favorite TV dads so I was a little sad to see him go.
Later on Dawson had a small relationship with Jen. It was okay to get them together for a short while. It shows that they just do not click. Then Dawson pulled a miracle (or it is strange TV timelime): He made a great movie based on a phone book sized screenplay in just a few days. He even changed the main star half-way through without a problem.

Joey:
She seems to be in her element in college. Also her love interests were fun to watch. First she almost started a relationship with her professor. And later on she tamed a resident womanizer.

Jen:
Besides her relationship with Dawson and her starting hosting a radio show, nothing much happened.

Jack:
He joined a fraternity, became an asshole, started drinking and finally pulled himself together again.

Pacey:
Starts working at a noble restaurant and becomes quite a big shot there, until he looses his job at the end of the season. Towards the end he starts a relationship with Audrey.

Audrey:
Joey's new roommate. She is one of the reasons I finally went ahead to watch this series. Because I was curious about her. She is played by Busy Phillips who was part of the cast in Freaks & Geeks. It is a fun character to watch. The friendship which develops between her and Joey is nice. Also her relationship with Pacey seems right.

#	Episode	Rating
01	The Bostonians
02	The Lost Weekend
03	Capeside Revisited
04	The Long Goodbye
05	Use Your Disillusion
06	High Anxiety
07	Text, Lies and Videotape
08	Hotel New Hampshire
09	Four Scary Stories
10	Appetite for Destruction
11	Something Wild
12	Sleeping Arrangements
13	Something Wilder
14	Guerilla Filmmaking
15	Downtown Crossing
16	In a Lonely Place
17	Highway to Hell
18	Cigarette Burns
19	100 Light Years From Home
20	Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)
21	After Hours
22	The Abby
23	Swan Song

(From Tom's Random Reviews on December 19th, 2009)