DVD Collectors Online

First Blood, a review by Jon

First Blood
4 out of 5

They don't make 'em like this anymore! A decent solid thriller, adult themed bone-crunching action. They try to make John Rambo a deep character, but it really boils down to a modern day Western where the line between good and bad is distinct. Therefore the only kill is accidental. But that doesn't stop it appearing brutal. Damn, I miss the days when action movies were for kids to try and watch secretly, not waltz in the cinema to see a 12a version. I know I'm sliding off-topic, but Rambo, Terminator, Commando, Robocop, Aliens, were all of a certain, gung-ho flavour. Now coming to a theatre near you in glorious PG crap.

Stallone is great as Rambo, before he let the cartoon action seep into the sequels. This Stallone, and the one in Rocky and Nighthawks, is far more interesting than the one he came to be. You forget he can be a decent writer and actor; check out the scene he calls in interviews an "emotional death". Powerful stuff considering this is a pretty basic setup. From the rest of the cast, Brian Dennehey stands out. He was once the go-to-guy for this sort of movie and frankly I miss him. He last turned up in 30 Rock and Stallone could have done worse than find him a slot in The Expendables.

It surprised me how pretty the film is. Gorgeous locations in the mountains really benefit from Blu-Ray. Some bits are grainy, but check out the cave sequence and the waterfalls. The explosion, courtesy of some "weekend warriors" works well too.

It's odd, but if you have a certain image of Rambo from the sequels, it's worth looking this up because you'll probably be surprised. It's an assured action flick which straddles the gritty 70s and the excessive 80s (pretty much all the Colonel's dialogue: "200? If you're sending that many, make sure you've got plenty of body bags!"). 

(From Jon's Random Reviews on June 15th, 2009)

Chandni Chowk to China, a review by Tom

Title: Chandni Chowk to China
Year: 2009
Director: Nikhil Advani
Rating: FSK-12
Length: 144 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35
Audio: German: Dolby Digital 5.1, Hindi: Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: German

Stars:
Mithun Chakraborty
Akshay Kumar
Deepika Padukone
Ranvir Shorey
Roger Yuan

Plot:
Have you ever dreamed of being more than your circumstances? Sidhu (Askay Kumar) longs to escape his dreary existence cutting vegetables at a road-side food stand in Chandni Chowk, one of the oldest and busiest markets in Delhi, India. When two strangers from China proclaim he is the reincarnation of a Chinese war hero, Sidhu envisions fame, fortune and adventure. Journeying with them back to China, Sidhu meets the alluring Sakhi (Deepika Padukone) and love blossoms. But can it survive the vicious smuggler, Hojo (Gordon Liu) and his cadre of kung-fu assassins?

Megalomaniacal villains, crazy inventors, Chinese mystics and outlandish kung-fu assassins all get thrown together in this joyful, uplifting adventure full of beautiful landscapes, attention-grabbing songs, and high energy dancing.

Awards:
Extras:
Bonus Trailers
Deleted Scenes
Poster
Scene Access
Trailers

A silly Bollywood kung fu movie with the familiar story of a nobody getting accidentally involved fighting a (Chinese) gangster gang and then starting to learn martial arts "Karate Kid"-style and defeating them. The star reminded me of Adam Sandler. So essentially this could be classified as a Bollywood Adam Sandler movie. The fights were okay, also the songs. Beautiful Deepika Padukone stars in a dual role as twin sisters who were separated as babies. One was raised by the gangsters, the other by the mother in India.



Rating:

(From Tom's Random Reviews on July 25th, 2010)

Angel Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

15. Orpheus
Original Air Date: 3/19/2003
While in their drug-induced comas, Angelus and Faith (guest star Eliza Dushku) experience flashbacks of Angel's good deeds over the centuries; Fred calls in Willow, the only person ever able to restore Angel's soul and asks her to help them do it again.

Guest Stars:
Alyson Hannigan
Eliza Dushku

My Thoughts:
Woohoo... now we have Willow in an episode! She was always one of my favorites on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She made a good vampire too in the alternate universe. With Willow here... this is obviously the last of the Angelus storyline. My favorite storyline for the entire series. I really liked everything about this episode... but I especially enjoyed the Angelus/Faith flashbacks.

My Rating:

(From Angel Marathon on March 18th, 2010)