DVD Collectors Online

Bonnie and Clyde, a review by Jon

Bonnie and Clyde ****
4 out of 5

Adrift in the Depression-era Southwest, Clyde Barrow (Warren Beatty) and Bonnie Parker (Faye Dunaway) embark on a life of crime. They mean no harm. They crave adventure - and each other.

This is a perversely affectionate portrait of the notorious Barrow gang from the days when bank robbers were folk heroes. The two stars are brilliant in the lead roles, as are the supporting gang members, Gene Hackman as Buck (Clyde's brother) and Best Supporting Actress winner Estelle Parson's as Buck's wife Blanche.

The story is told like a fantasy in some ways and so over-simplifies the events, but is a means to an end. That the pair don't mean to hurt anyone is explicitly put across and while you may not agree, you can't help but sympathise. Their violent end is seen as tragic, not justice. The Depression was a strange time and you can understand why the public needed their heroes and why Bonnie and Clyde were a modern day Robin Hood story. Can you imagine a notorious robber, wanted for murder of police officers, sending poetry into the newspapers? Bonnie did just that and "Trails End" (aka, "The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde") is a fascinating piece that helps understand their point of view. The film certainly does and is rather affectionate toward its heroes who have broken free of the Depression in some ways.

While the inaccuracies and simplified plot might frustrate, the power and importance of this film cannot be underestimated. It was one of the most important films made both commercially and artistically. It's methods, so influenced by European cinema, shocked critics and studios, and was the final nail in the coffin of the moral code filmmakers previously adhered to. Just look at the strange way the two's relationship is shown; the love scenes are awkward and Beatty (the leading man, the playboy movie star) plays Clyde as impotent.

It was inevitable as the boundaries were being pushed from at least 1960 (just look at Hitchcock's development), but Arthur Penn didn't so much push as smash through. It's success frightened Hollywood, but pulled it out of trouble and made it relevant again. It's influence can be felt throughout the Seventies at least. No Bonnie and Clyde, no Godfather, for instance. Penn helped a new generation of film-makers like Coppola and Scorcese be heard.

A key to that is the depiction of violence and not just the awful climax. Even now it can't be dismissed, especially as the film can move so effortlessly between fairy-tale and farce, via bloody gun battles. Penn, like Peckinpah would, understood the nature of violence and we sorely miss that style today. I think it would be very difficult to make another Bonnie and Clyde.

(From Stop Thief! The Robbing Bastard Marathon on August 16th, 2009)

The Skeleton Key, a review by addicted2dvd

The Skeleton Key
Kate Hudson stars in 'The Skeleton Key' - a supernatural thriller that weaves a tale of terror and suspense! When Caroline Ellis (Hudson) takes a job in Louisiana's bayous, she unlocks a deadly secret involving magic, conjure and sacrifice that pulls her into a terrifying world of strange, frightening and unexplained incidents. The key to escaping may lie in a decrepit attic, but if she dares to believe in what she discovers, everything she fears will become real! Filled with endless suspense and bone-chilling scares, hold on for this terrific ride with "one of the best twists since 'The Sixth Sense'" (Melanie Moon, 'WB-TV')!

My Thoughts:
This is one of the ones that I actually have seen before... just not on DVD. I watched this one on On-Demand a while hack.... and I enjoyed it so much then that on my very next DVD order I ordered myself a copy. I enjoyed it this time just as much as I did the first time I watched it. With it having to do with voodoo it is different then what I normally watch... and was good for a change. If you never seen this one I would recommend checking it out.

(From Weekend Movie Marathon: Unwatched DVDs on November 17th, 2007)

Tom's TV Pilots marathon, a review by Tom

Highlander: The Series: Season One (1992/Canada) IMDb | Wikipedia (United States) Length: 1070 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles:

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Plot:
"I am Duncan MacLeod, born 400 years ago in the Highlands of Scotland. I am Immortal, and I am not alone. For centuries we have waited for the time of the Gathering, when the stroke of a sword and the fall of a head will release the power of the Quickening. In the end, there can be only one."


Highlander
1.01 The Gathering
Writer: Dan Gordon (Writer)
Director: Thomas J. Wright
Cast: Adrian Paul (Duncan MacLeod), Alexandra Vandernoot (Tessa), Stan Kirsch (Richie), Christopher Lambert (Connor MacLeod), Richard Moll (Slan Quince), Amy Pietz (Reporter), Wendell Wright (Sgt. Powell)

Even though this series is far from perfect, I enjoyed watching it. I like it much more than the movies (even the good one). I think Adrian Paul is the better Highlander. It helps, that he is trained in sword-fighting.
The pilot did a good job introducing the characters and the premise. And it is nice to see Christopher Lambert as Connor MacLeod passing the torch.

Rating:

(From Tom's TV Pilots marathon on July 8th, 2011)