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Coraline, a review by Dragonfire

From the director of The Nightmare Before Christmas comes a visually stunning stop-motion animated feature - the first to be filmed in 3-D! Discover how the filmmakers and artisans created the magical handmade world of Coraline, exclusively in this 2-Disc Collector's Edition!

Coraline Jones is bored in her new home until she finds a secret door that leads her into a world that's just like her own. . .but better! But when this fantastical adventure turns dangerous and her "other" Mother tries to keep her forever, Coraline must conunt on her resourcefulness and bravery to get home.

My Thoughts

I really enjoyed this movie, though it is rather twisted and dark, especially for an animated movie.  I don't consider this a good choice for younger children.  The plot is interesting and makes for an entertaining movie, but aspects of it may be too dark for some viewers.  There are some rather disturbing images that turn up every so often as well.  This movie isn't going to appeal to everyone.  The story does have a bit of mystery to it as well as some suspenseful moments.  The animation is very well done.

My biggest issue with the movie is the way some of the characters are depicted.  It is harder to like them, even Coraline, because of how they act at times.  I get that she isn't happy about the move, but she does come across as a brat at times.  I do think she gets more likable as the movie progresses.  Coraline's parents aren't much better, especially her mother.  She is just shown in a perpetual bad mood, always snapping about something and only caring about her work.  Coraline's dad is a little better, but he is very focused on his work too.  With the way they act, it is easy to see why Coraline is so tempted by the other parents.

I did not see this movie in the theater.  My DVD does have the 3D version too and even came with 4 pairs of the glasses.  I tried the 3D version, but it wasn't that great.  I only noticed a few images that really worked for the 3D.  The color change because of the glasses was very extreme and did get annoying.  After a while, my eyes started hurting and I just gave up on the 3D version, flipping back to the normal version instead.  I'm sure the 3D worked much better in the theater.  I have seen a few other movies in 3D in the theater, and they worked well without the color distortion because of the different glasses.  I also haven't had my eyes start hurting in the theater.  Unless technology gets better, home viewing of 3D is lousy.

Overall, this is a good movie for people who don't mind something that is a little twisted and dark.

 

I did get a review posted on Epinions if anyone wants to take a look.

Coraline

(From Dragonfire: What I've Been Watching on September 10th, 2009)

The Man with the Golden Gun, a review by Tom

Title: The Man with the Golden Gun
Year: 1974
Director: Guy Hamilton
Rating: FSK-16
Length: 120 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78
Audio: German: Dolby Digital Mono, Spanish: Dolby Digital Mono, English: Dolby Digital Mono, Commentary: Dolby Digital Stereo
Subtitles: Danish, English, Finnish, German, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish

Stars:
Roger Moore
Christopher Lee
Britt Ekland
Maud Adams
Hervé Villechaize

Extras:
Commentary
Featurettes
Photo Gallery
Scene Access
Trailers

Not as bad as it reputation is, but not good enough to keep my full attention. Everytime Nick Nack appeared on screen, I expected him to say "Ze plane! Ze plane!".
Even if it is only his second Bond, Moore already looks too old for the part. And to think, he will continue for another ten years!
And Bond was really inpolite in this one. First he doesn't take of his shoes, when taking part in the martial arts fight. Then he attacks without reciprocating the bow before the fight. And later he promised a kid money but then simply kicked him off the boat!

Rating:

(From James Bond Marathon on March 28th, 2009)

Xena: Warrior Princess Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

1. Orphan of War
When Xena tries to help the centaurs protect a sacred stone that contains their evil, she encounters someone from her past...her son.

My Thoughts:
A good episode. As the plot says in this episode we learn of Xena's son. I didn't remember this from when I watched this series on TV. So not sure if we ever hear from him again or not. In this episode Xena has to go against one of the men that used to be in her army. A man very greedy for power.

My Rating:

2. Remember Nothing
The Three Fates offer Xena the opportunity to erase her past - including her brother's untimely death - but only if she vows to never shed blood in anger again.

My Thoughts:
Wow... impressive. This is another episode I don't remember ever seeing before. It is nice knowing I have episodes in these sets that I never seen before to look forward to. This one is an alternate reality/What if episode that I thought was very well done. I enjoyed every minute of it.

My Rating:

3. Giant Killer
Xena is caught between a rock and a hard place when she's pitted against her friend Goliath in a battle between the Israelites and the Philistines.

My Thoughts:
Whatta ya know... Xena was there when David put down Goliath. Not a bad episode... though not the best I have seen. Entertaining anyway.

My Rating:

4. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
Xena is forced to take on the Bacchae - bloodthirsty minions of the wine god, Bacchus - to get to their power-hungry leader and foil his plan to take over the world.

My Thoughts:
Somehow I completely forgot about this episode till I got to it. I don't know how I could forget they did a take on the Vampire legend. And yes... I of course loved every minute of it. It is definitely a favorite.

My Rating:

(From Xena: Warrior Princess Marathon on December 30th, 2009)