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Summer of Fear, a review by addicted2dvd

Title: Summer of Fear (AKA: Stranger in Our House) Year: 1978 Director: Wes Craven Rating: PG-13 Length: 98 Min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, English: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo, Commentary: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo Subtitles: English

Stars:
Linda Blair
Lee Purcell
Jeremy Slate
Jeff McCracken
Jeff East
Carol Lawrence

Plot:
From famed horror master Wes Craven comes a chilling thriller starring acclaimed actress Linda Blair!

When Rachel's cousin Julia comes to live with the family at the farm, unsettling things begin to occur. Casting an alluring spell over everyone she meets, Julia slowly lures everyone away from Rachel. Terrifying instances of the occult begin to take place, forcing Rachel to fight for survival against what is revealed to be a horrifying demonic presence!

Extras:
Scene Access
Audio Commentary
Bonus Trailers
Production Notes
Closed Captioned

My Thoughts:
This is actually an old TV Movie. Yes I realize there is an MPAA rating above for this movie... but it is one of those rare occasions where a TV Movie put through the MPAA for an official rating at the time of it's DVD release. Another familiar face in this movie is Fran Drescher (The Nanny) who has a small part as Rachel's friend. Surprisingly she don't have that nasally voice in this that she is now so famously known for. Which makes watching her in this a little more bearable. This is actually one of the few movies I have dealing with witchcraft... at least compared to other horror sub-genres. Being a '70s TV movie there is of course no type of gore and most of the bad things that happens occur off screen. But it is a good story with characters you care about. I enjoyed this one quite a bit... I would recommend checking it out.




Count:
Movie Count: 103 I Made It! (10/28)
TV Ep. Count: 55 I Made It! (10/20)
Other Count: 8 I Made It! (10/15)

(From Month Long Horror/Halloween Marathon: 2010 on October 31st, 2010)

The Life of David Gale, a review by Rich

The Life of David Gale





Having seen this in the cinema on release, it was a first viewing on DVD. It lost nothing for being on a smaller screen, and is a worthwhile addition to everyones collection.
The majority of main cast provide powerful performances, Spacey is at his absolute best and is at times warm and at others menacing, making you guess right through the film about his guilt or innocence. Winslet was weaker in this role, I wasn't totally convinced by her portrayal as a hard nosed investigative journalist.
The ending is predictable but nonetheless fitting, and it is one of those films that make you think long after the credits roll. The death penalty is always going to be subjective, but the question whether an innocent could be convicted and killed, whether by injustice or design, is admirably told by means of this thriller drama.
 

** Kate Winslet mini-marathon


(From Riches Random Reviews on August 2nd, 2009)

Tom's TV Pilots marathon, a review by Tom

Bottle Fairy: Volume 1: Spring and Summer (2003/Japan) IMDb | Wikipedia (United States) Length: 77 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, Japanese: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: English

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Plot:
"To make a wish come true, send your letter of wishes off in a bottle." So began the education of four young fairies wishing to become human. Join them in learning all about "Golden Week", school, love, and much more as they eagerly learn about humans in their quest to become human.

Binzume Yosei
1.01 April (2003-10-03)
Writer: Yuiko Tokumi (Original Material By), Hideki Shirane (Screenwriter)
Director: Yoshiaki Iwasaki
Cast: Japanese Cast), Nana Mizuki (Kururu (voice)), Kaori Nazuka (Chiriri (voice)), Yui Horie (Sarara (voice)), Ai Nonaka (Hororo (voice)), Kisyo Taniyama (Sensei San (voice)), Haruko Momoi (Tama Chan (voice)), English Cast), Mia Bradly (Chiriri (voice)), Jennifer Sekiguchi (Hororo (voice)), Mari Daniel (Kururu (voice)), Vicky Green (Sarara (voice)), Yuri Lowenthal (Sensei-san (voice)), Riva West (Tama-chan (voice))

For some reason I really enjoyed this strange series. The first episode is a weaker one though. Each episode is only about ten minutes long. There are thirteen episodes, one for each months plus an extra one. Each episode tells how the fairies learn about a Japanese custom associated with that months. Most of the episode is about the fairies imagining how they think the custom goes after first hearing about it.

Rating:

(From Tom's TV Pilots marathon on March 30th, 2011)