DVD Collectors Online

The Human Contract, a review by KinkyCyborg

The Human Contract



Title:The Human Contract
Year: 2008
Director: Jada Pinkett Smith
Rating: R
Length: 107 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.40:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, French: Dolby Digital: 5.1
Subtitles: English, French

Stars:
Jada Pinkett Smith
Jason Clarke
Paz Vega
Idris Elba
Steven Brand

Plot:
Corporate player Julian Wright (Jason Clarke) stands on the verge of the deal of his career. But his life just crossed paths with a woman (Paz Vega) who will turn his world upside down, triggering emotions Julian never knew he had. As he pursues her in a dangerous game of seduction, he is forced to confront his past. Ultimately, Julian must face the dark family secrets that continue to haunt him and his troubled sister (Jada Pinkett Smith). Jada Pinkett Smith makes her directorial debut with this sophisticated, stylish and suspenseful film.

Extras:
Scene Access
Audio Commentary
Feature Trailers
Featurettes


Directorial debut of Jada Pinkett Smith which was much better than I was expecting. The ending left a boatload of unanswered questions but it was compelling to watch throughout.  

An arrogant, hotshot corporate prick named Julian, played by an ugly Jason Clarke (he's the spitting image of Quentin Tarantino) after meeting up with a beautiful free spirit named Michael, played by Paz Vega, has his wall of defenses, born of a troubled childhood, slowly begin to disintegrate.

Very slow pace to this film but not in a bad way as the time is used to deftly develop the interesting characters. Some intensely erotic scenes make things interesting as well.

Jason Clarke, despite a face that only a mother could love, is a very intense, good young actor whom I'd like to see more from. Paz Vega is a gorgeous woman but it's unfortunate she has to speak. I've always found her rapid, clipped dialogue rather exasperating and difficult to understand at times although here she does manage to convey a lot of emotion.

Good supporting roles from Idris Elba, Jada Pinkett Smith and Ted Danson along with an excellent musical score make this a surprising good pick up of a movie that I knew little to nothing about. I'd recommend this for a watch.

KC



Rating:

(From KinkyCyborg's Random Reviews 2011 on June 10th, 2011)

The Time Machine, a review by Tom

Title: The Time Machine
Year: 1960
Director: George Pal
Rating: FSK-12
Length: 98 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78
Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, German: Dolby Digital Mono, Spanish: Dolby Digital Mono
Subtitles: Croatian, Czech, Danish, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish

Stars:
Rod Taylor
Alan Young
Yvette Mimieux
Sebastian Cabot
Tom Helmore

Plot:
Here Today, Gone to tomorrow. When George (Rod Taylor) sits at the controls of his new creation, he has all the time in the world. He's invented a Time Machine that whisks him from 1899 to war ravaged moments of the 20th century and into 802701. In that far off era, passive eloi face a grim future as prey to the glow-eyed subterranean morlocks... unless the time-traveling stranger from the past intervenes.

Awards:

Academy Award	1960	Won	Best Special Effects	Gene Warren, Tim Baar (Visual Effects)
Hugo Award	1961	Nominated	Best Dramatic Presentation

Extras:
Featurettes
Scene Access
Trailers

A classic time-travel movie. I always have enjoyed this one. For its time it had great special effects for the scenes the time-travellor made his journeys.
The one thing I didn't like so much (which has been changed compared to the book) is the fact, that the Elois can talk. In this even in English.

Rating:

(From Tom's Time-Travel Movie Reviews on October 24th, 2009)

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

16. Storyteller
Andrew films the Scoobies for a documentary on Buffy, while Sunnydale High is rocked by a sudden outbreak of student violence.

My Thoughts:
This one I didn't care much for at all. You can see where they tried to lighten things up a little... and yes that was needed about now... so that is a good thing. But some of this episode was just little too silly for my taste.

17. Lies My Parents Told Me
When the Scoobies fail to nullify the First's hold on Spike, Principal Wood and Giles team up to kill him. Meanwhile, Spike relives the day he became a vampire.

My Thoughts:
This one was a fun and interesting episode. One I enjoyed quite a bit...I like how it goes into Spike's past... and the fight between Spike and Wood was a great one.

18. Dirty Girls
Faith returns to Sunnydale just in time to meet the First's evil agent, Caleb.

My Thoughts:
Faith returns... how could I not like that?...  and top that off with Caleb showing up... talk about a really good episode! I thought Caleb was one of the best bad guys in the series... and he was only in a small handful of episodes. Of course Caleb was played by Nathan Fillion... star of Firefly.

19. Empty Places
Buffy takes another beating from Caleb, then tries to lead the troops back to the wine cellar. Instead, she gets kicked out of her house as the gang decides Faith would make a better leader.

My Thoughts:
This was a good... but kind of slow episode for my taste. Kinda like a calm before the storm type thing.


20. Touched
A depressed Buffy gets comfort from Spike. Meanwhile, the Scoobies capture and interrogate Bringer, and Faith leads an attack on the Bringers' arsenal.

My Thoughts:
And this is where the real action going into the end of the series begins. This episode perks you right up (after the last episode slowing you down)... and primes you for the rest of the series.

21. End of Days
Faith and some of the Potentials are injured by a bomb. Buffy retrieves a mystic scythe and uses it against Caleb; Angel turns up to give her a hand.

My Thoughts:
Lots more fun and action in this one... First I loved the fight between Buffy and Caleb... it is one of those fights that when you think it is over you get plenty more. And I have to admit I couldn't help myself but to literally laugh out load over Angel's reaction to Buffy telling him that Spike has a soul now. It was so fun.

22. Chosen
Buffy comes up with a plan: The gang makes an attack on the First's army, aided by Willow, who performs a powerful spell to imbue all of the Potentials with Slayer powers.

My Thoughts:
Talk about going out with a bang!.... The final episode ever of Buffy! I really loved every minute of it... there is lots of action and lots of destruction. I have to admit... the first time I saw this episode (when it originally aired) I was a bit surprised with some of the ones that survived... as well as some of the ones that did not. This episode remains one of my favorite endings to a series.



(From Buffy the Vampire Slayer Marathon on November 28th, 2007)