DVD Collectors Online

Porco Rosso, a review by dfmorgan

Title: Porco Rosso
Original Title: Kurenai no buta
Year: 1992
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Rating: PG
Length: 93 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo, Japanese: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo, French: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo
Subtitles: English

Stars:Plot:
Take flight with "Porco Rosso," a valiant World War I flying ace! From tropical Adriatic settings to dazzling aerial maneuvers, this action-adventure from world-renowned animator Hayao Miyazaki is full of humor, courage and chivalry.

When "Porco" - whose face has been transformed into that of a pig by a mysterious spell - infuriates a band of sky pirates with his aerial heroics, the pirates hire Curtis, a rival pilot, to "get rid" of him. On the ground, the two pilots compete for the affections of the beautiful Gina. But it is in the air where the true battles are waged. Will our hero be victorious?

Featuring extrordinary voice talents, this 2-Disc Set is a thrilling ride you'll never forget!

Extras:
Scene Access
Feature Trailers
Bonus Trailers
Featurettes
Production Notes
Closed Captioned
THX


The third film that in the late 1990's Sky's The Movie Channel showed in a short season of Studio Ghibli films, the other two were Totoro and Kiki, and thus the third film I saw from Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. To be honest this is my least favourite Miyazaki film. There is nothing wrong with it and it has the usual Miyazaki trademarks but it just doesn't grab me like his other titles. Set in a period between the two world wars and in and around the Adriatic Sea Porco Rosso tells the story of a man cursed into the form of a Crimson Pig. He flies a seaplane and helps to fight the local sky pirates. All hostilities are put aside though at the Hotel Adriano, run by his close friend Gina. The pirates employ the services of an American pilot, Curtis, to try to remove Porco. Curtis attacks Porco and damages his plane such that it needs major repairs. Porco takes it to Milan to be repaired by an old friend. There he meets Fio, Porco's friend's granddaughter, who redesigns and updates Porco's plane and returns to the Adriatic with him. The fight between Porco and Curtis recommences and now involves both Gina and Fio. There are lovely touches in this film like when we and Fio see the man behind the pig and then again towards the end when Curtis gets to see the man.

Still an excellent film though and a worthy 4

Dave

(From dfmorgan's Studio Ghibli Marathon on July 5th, 2010)

Critters 3: You Are What They Eat, a review by addicted2dvd

Title: Critters 3: You Are What They Eat: 4 Film Favorites Year: 1991 Director: Kristine Peterson Rating: PG-13 Length: 85 Min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1, Pan & Scan 1.33:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, English: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround Subtitles: English

Stars:
John Calvin
Aimee Brooks
JohnnyChristian Cousins
Joseph Cousins


Plot:
Titanic heartthrob Leonardo DiCaprio stars in the third and most outrageous installment of the classic cult tale of the infamous Critters. As the fanged, furious furballs viciously invade an L.A. apartment building and sink their teeth into the low-rent tenants, DiCaprio leads the battle to beat back the conniving critters and save the planet. It won't be an easy job, but he's the one person the human race must depend on to destroy these terrifying alien hedgehogs once and for all!

Extras:
Scene Access
Feature Trailers
Bonus Trailers
DVD-ROM Content
Closed Captioned

My Thoughts:
While the series is still enjoyable... for some mindless escapism... this one went a bit downhill for me. This time they are in an apartment complex in the city after stowing away in a camper of a vacationing family. This time around the characters wasn't as likable. Just an average fair this time around.




Count:
Movie Count: 32
TV Ep. Count: 14
Other Count: 2
Time Started: 8:45am

(From Month Long Horror/Halloween Marathon: 2010 on October 10th, 2010)

The One Where It All Began: The Pilot Marathon, a review by DJ Doena

What's the show about?
Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan is a forensic anthropologist and works in the Jeffersonian Institute in Washington, D.C.. On occasion she works together with FBI special agent Seeley Booth on cases where only a skeleton or parts of it were recovered from the crime scene. Bones's team consists of a number of specialists who all help to solve the current case.

"Pilot"
Dr. Brennan has just come back from Guatemala where she excavated mass graves from a genocide. Now she's back and she's asked again by the FBI to help in a case. She's worked with them before but was restricted to lab work. Now she wants to get in on the whole investigation. And while Special Agent Booth is not too thrilled about this, he agrees. They have found the remains of a young woman that has been missing for two years and back then it was Booth's task to find her.

My Opinion
Just like with House M.D. I am not overly interested in the actual cases because despite the show being created by an actual forensic anthropologist, in my opinion there's a lot of "Voodoo" involved when it comes to solving the crime. For example, Hodgins can take a sediment sample and his "dirt database" can tell him exactly where the sand is coming from - down to the square mile. Or the case where the bones were dissolved by a chemical reaction but the computer recreated an image of the bones and you could see where and how the knife was going through the ribs.
But I really like Bones and Booth and their development and I also like Booth's gut approach to the crime solving. And Hodgins and Zack are real fun when they try to experiment and fight for the "King of the Lab" trophy.

(From The One Where It All Began: The Pilot Marathon on September 22nd, 2009)