DVD Collectors Online

Chisum, a review by Antares

Chisum (1970) 60/100 - Andrew McLaglen spent far too many summers on John Ford western film shoots in his youth, because he can't help trying to emulate him. He mimics the cinematography and has the same penchant for corny scenes that make me just cringe. There really isn't much going on in this film that's new, with the main plot centering on a land war between a righteous, pioneering cattle man and an evil land baron buying up as much property as he can. The twist is the insertion of Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett into the mix. Maybe McLagen thought it would add a bit of history to the mix and help fuel the action. But in McLaglen's hackneyed handling of the film, it just dawdles until the final climactic showdown. John Wayne does a serviceable job as the cattleman every has so much respect for, but he really isn't given much to do again in another of these late career films. The spotlight is really on Geoffrey Duel, a young actor who parleyed his effort in this film, into meteoric TV glory in the short lived, but successful Alias, Smith and Jones on ABC. Too much success, too soon in his young career would take a personal toll on him, and sadly, he would commit suicide just a few years after this film was made. I've always wondered what would have become of him, had he not made that fateful choice, because he was a gifted actor, with what seemed, a lot of untapped talent. On the other sided of the coin, you have a badly miscast Richard Jaeckel as a tough guy cattle rustler who hires his gun out to the land baron. I have never understood why Hollywood studios and directors would cast him as villains in a lot of the films he appeared in. Standing next to Forrest Tucker, he looks like a tater tot in chaps. And finally, there is one moment in this film that was not suppose to be funny, but I found myself laughing at it. During the final shootout, Jaeckel's character is told to build a barricade at the end of town to stop Chisum from coming to Billy's rescue. When Chisum stampedes a large herd of cattle through the barricade, Edward Faulkner, who must have played in every John Wayne western after 1960, utters one of the most ridiculous lines in a John Wayne western. As he witnesses the stampede coming at him, he stands up and yells It's Chisum!!!. Well no shit Sherlock, who the fucking hell did you think you were building the barricade for? Damn, that gave me a good chuckle.

Teal = Masterpiece
Dark Green = Classic or someday will be
Lime Green = A good, entertaining film
Orange = Average
Red = Cinemuck
Brown = The color of crap, which this film is

(From Antares' Short Summations on March 6th, 2015)

Catch Me If You Can, a review by addicted2dvd

Title: Catch Me If You Can: Widescreen
Year: 2002
Director: Steven Spielberg
Rating: PG-13
Length: 141 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1
Audio: English: DTS: 5.1, English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, English: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround, French: Dolby Digital: 5.1
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Stars:
Leonardo DiCaprio
Tom Hanks
Christopher Walken
Martin Sheen
Nathalie Baye
Amy Adams

Plot:Extras:
Scene Access
Featurettes
Gallery
Production Notes
Closed Captioned

My Thoughts:
Here we have another movie I enjoyed a lot. I liked all the characters... and the story was more then interesting. It surprises me that this is based on a true story.That kid definitely had some guts. I thought that both Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio did a fine job in this one. I also enjoyed Christopher Walken. If you ever find yourself looking for an entertaining true story... you could definitely do worse then this one. I would recommend checking it out.



(From Weekend Movie Marathon: Unwatched DVDs on August 7th, 2010)

My PILOT Marathon, a review by Rich

WITHOUT A TRACE - SEASON ONE - PILOT



First aired: 9/26/2002   
Missing Persons Squad have to solve the case of a 28-year-old female marketing executive who appears to have simply walked away from every thing in her life, having left everything of hers behind. She was last seen by her doorman on the night that she vanished, her apartment appears to be intact with even her purse and cell phone left behind in her apartment. Her parents and co-workers reveal that she is a hard worker, and that she is a loner and had just been dumped by a married co-worker with whom she had an affair. A security tape from her apartment building shows her walking away into the night. Jack fears that she is lost forever until a ransom note appears on her mother's email list demanding a million dollars for her safe return.

As a pilot it appeared somewhat like a grope in the dark as actors felt their way into unfamiliar character roles, but their were signs to show encouragement for future improvement & development. I had hoped for a better pilot considering this series ran for some time, I can only imagine it will improve. The characters were concise and showed initial signs of good chemistry together, although Poppy Montgomery is just not right for this show.
This initial episode lacked punch, the investigation was not particular 'huge' for a pilot, but their were encouraging signs in there for the series.




(From My PILOT Marathon on May 28th, 2008)