DVD Collectors Online

Family Plot , a review by Dragonfire

Family Plot When a wealthy woman unwittingly hires a con man and a phony psychic to find her missing heir, the results are diabolically funny in Alfred Hitchcock's tongue-in-cheek mystery thriller. Bruce Dern and Barbara Harris star as a conniving couple plotting to bilk an old lady out of her fortune by pretending to find her long-lost nephew (William Devane). Meanwhile, Devane, a larcenous jeweler, and his beautiful girlfriend (Karen Black) have kidnapped a rich Greek shipping magnate for ransom. Together they're on a nonstop merry-go-round of mystery, murder and mayhem that combines suspense and comedy for unforgettable entertainment. My Thoughts This one is a bit different from the other Hitchcock movies that I've seen.  I know this one isn't one of his more popular movies, but I did like it.  There isn't as much suspense in general, though I do think a sequence late in the movie is very suspenseful.  There is a bit of mystery to what is going on, though it isn't as strong since the viewers are aware of certain things fairly early.  Things are slightly more complicated in since there are basically two stories being told that intersect.  Things jump back and forth between the two stories and characters.  I think the plot is very interesting and entertaining.  Some of what happens is a bit more light hearted, but there are also some serious things happening as well.  Characters are definitely in danger at different points, though even some humor is added to some of those scenes.  The way humor is blended into everything that make the story a little different.  Some people may not like that the movie is more lighthearted in general, but I think that works for the plot and what is going on. The characters are interesting, especially Blanche who pretends to be psychic.  Her boyfriend George gets pulled into what is going on as well.  He has a legitimate job as a cab driver, but he ends up acting like a private investigator, following people and trying to track down someone.  Arthur isn't in the same league as other Hitchcock villains, but he makes a decent villain.  These characters are fine, but they aren't as memorable as others. Overall, I did enjoy this movie and am glad I decided to pick it up.  It is different from other Hitchcock movies, but it is still entertaining.  I do think it is worth watching. I did get a review posted on Epinions. Family Plot

(From Alfred Hitchcock Marathon on August 22nd, 2010)

Bride & Prejudice, a review by Tom

Title: Bride & Prejudice
Year: 2004
Director: Gurinder Chadha
Rating: 12
Length: 106 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35
Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital Stereo
Subtitles: English

Stars:
Aishwarya Rai
Martin Henderson
Nadira Babbar
Anupam Kher
Naveen Andrews

Plot:Extras:
Commentary
Deleted Scenes
Featurettes
Interactive Game
Music Videos
Outtakes
Photo Gallery
Production Notes
Scene Access
Trailers

This movie is from the director of "Bend It Like Beckham". It is the Bollywood take on "Pride & Prejudice". If you want to get your feet wet with a Bollywood movie, but don't want the typical length and do not want to read subtitles, then this movie is a good way to start. It is an English production. In a way it pays homage to Bollywood movies, but at the same time it parodies them. The beginning for example it plays with the notion what would happen, if you take an American movie character and throw him into a Bollywood movie. The movie is also good introduction to the Indian way of life and customs, which you will encounter in a number of Bollywood movies.
This movie has typical Bollywood song and dance numbers, but also typical Hollywood musical numbers. The female star of this movie is a big Bollywood actress. Also the actor who plays her father I have seen in a number of Bollywood productions.

Rating:

(From Tom's Random Reviews on July 22nd, 2009)

Tom's TV Pilots marathon, a review by Tom

The IT Crowd: Version 1.0 (2006/United Kingdom) IMDb | Wikipedia 2 entertain Video (United Kingdom) Length: 144 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: English, Other

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Plot:
Roy and Moss toil in the squalid basement of a huge company, fielding IT help desk calls. Roy has a lousy attitude coupled with an eye for the ladies, while Moss is dressed by his mother and has an aerosol can of water clipped to his belt with which to spray his ear when it gets hot.

Into their life of 'users', pizza, science fiction and firewalls comes middle manager Jen, a punky can-do career gal who doesn't know one end of a laptop from the other. Can she introduce real life to men who email the fire brigade in an emergency, who invent a psycho for an internet dating site and display sympathetic PMT symptoms once a month?

'The IT Crowd'. It's more than a way of life, it's a sitcom.


IT Crowd
1.01 Yesterday's Jam
Writer: Graham Linehan (Writer)
Director: Graham Linehan
Cast: Chris O'Dowd (Roy), Richard Ayoade (Moss), Katherine Parkinson (Jen), Chris Morris (Denholm), John Willie Hopkins (Postman), Nancy Lodder (Office Girl), Laura Pyper (Laura), Pete Deagle (Office Worker)

A great geeky series. I watched it again with the l33t subtitles on. As a special feature, all episodes have l33t subtitles. But whereas most of the episodes simply replace normal lettering with l33t lettering in the subtitles, the pilot episode has special jokes thrown in here, like shell commands replacing dialog but actually meaning the same.
A simple example for this subitle track is the following exchange:
Jen listing her computer skill: Reading emails, sending emails, deleting emails.
Gets subtitled as: pop3, smtp, M$ Exchange


Rating:

(From Tom's TV Pilots marathon on June 3rd, 2012)