DVD Collectors Online

Closer, a review by Rich

Title: Closer

Runtime:104
Certificate:14A
Year:2004
Genres:Drama, Comedy, Romance

Plot:A Witty, romantic, and very dangerous love story about chance meetings, instant atttractions, and casual betrayels. CLOSER is director Mike Nichols' critically acclaimed look at four strangers - Julia Roberts, Jude Law, Natalie Portman and Clive Owen - with one thing in common: each other Adapted by Patrick Marber from his award-winning stage play.
My Review:
Oddball story about a quartet of individuals whose lives intertwine. Incredibly foul-mouthed and topic wise graphically sexual, all 4 character leads are totally messed up both sexually and relationship wise.
Amazing to see 4 such famous actors in this type of film, but there was something about it, like a trainwreck, where you couldn't stop watching. It jumps around timewise without notice, so at times it is difficult to follow, and by the end of the movie you are left feeling deflated emotionally.
Watched once, never again.


(From December Marathons - DISCUSSION AND REVIEW THREAD on December 18th, 2009)

The Cave, a review by Rich

Title: The Cave

Movie Count:7 
TV Ep. Count:6 

Runtime:97
Certificate:PG-13
Year:2005
Genres:Horror, Action, Science-Fiction

Plot:Deep in the Romanian forest, a team of scientists stumbles upon the ruins of a 13th-century abbey. On further inspection, they make a startling discovery - the abbey is built over the entrance to a giant underground cave system. Local biologists believe the cave could be home to an undiscovered ecosystem, so they hire a group of American cave explorers to help them investigate its depths.
Jack (Cole Hauser) and his brother Tyler (Eddie Cibrian) are thrill-seeking professional cave explorers who run a team of the top divers in the world. The crack unit, which also includes Charlie (Piper Perabo) and Buchanan (Morris Chestnut), immediately begin their exploration. But what they find deep inside the caves is not just a new eco-system, but an entirely new species altogether.

My Review:
More action than horror, a fast paced underground flick that tried it's best to beat a low budget, weak casting and B movie handicap.
At times it is hard to follow the shaky camera work and dimly lit scenes, and I had to rewind on several occasions. But you certainly do get the claustraphobic feeling, and I think the cave is actually more frightening than the strange creatures which liberally inhabit the screen. The booming sound was awesome and dragged you into the tension filled tunnels, but the huge let down was the lack of gore and violence (can't believe I said that!), clearly to hit a PG rating they cut out loads.
Fairly mindless entertainment but generally forgettable as the credits roll.




(From Rich's October Horror Fest on October 5th, 2009)

Tom's TV Pilots marathon, a review by Tom

Bottle Fairy: Volume 1: Spring and Summer (2003/Japan) IMDb | Wikipedia (United States) Length: 77 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, Japanese: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: English

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Plot:
"To make a wish come true, send your letter of wishes off in a bottle." So began the education of four young fairies wishing to become human. Join them in learning all about "Golden Week", school, love, and much more as they eagerly learn about humans in their quest to become human.

Binzume Yosei
1.01 April (2003-10-03)
Writer: Yuiko Tokumi (Original Material By), Hideki Shirane (Screenwriter)
Director: Yoshiaki Iwasaki
Cast: Japanese Cast), Nana Mizuki (Kururu (voice)), Kaori Nazuka (Chiriri (voice)), Yui Horie (Sarara (voice)), Ai Nonaka (Hororo (voice)), Kisyo Taniyama (Sensei San (voice)), Haruko Momoi (Tama Chan (voice)), English Cast), Mia Bradly (Chiriri (voice)), Jennifer Sekiguchi (Hororo (voice)), Mari Daniel (Kururu (voice)), Vicky Green (Sarara (voice)), Yuri Lowenthal (Sensei-san (voice)), Riva West (Tama-chan (voice))

For some reason I really enjoyed this strange series. The first episode is a weaker one though. Each episode is only about ten minutes long. There are thirteen episodes, one for each months plus an extra one. Each episode tells how the fairies learn about a Japanese custom associated with that months. Most of the episode is about the fairies imagining how they think the custom goes after first hearing about it.

Rating:

(From Tom's TV Pilots marathon on March 30th, 2011)