DVD Collectors Online

Astro Boy, a review by Silence_of_Lambs

Summary:
Set in futuristic Metro City, Astro Boy is about a young robot with incredible powers created by a brilliant scientist in the image of the son he has lost. Unable to fulfill the grieving man's expectations, our hero embarks on a journey in search of acceptance, experiencing betrayal and a netherworld of robot gladiators...

My thoughts:
This was recommended to me by a friend who wanted to show me how good Asian animated movies can be ... Well he achieved the direct opposite.
While from the technical POV this may be a great a movie, it lacks one thing I want to see in any movie I watch: A story worth telling!
The whole script seems to be a slightly changed remake of A.I. - Artificial Intelligence, without ever reaching it's depth.
It's the first time I noticed that a rating actually described the maximum age at which one should watch this movie (6 years)

The disappointment is even bigger when you realize that the (English) voice-over actors represent some of the creme de la creme of Hollywood (Charlize Theron, Donald Sutherland, Nicholas Cage, Alan Tudyk, etc), one would think that they normally wouldn't want their names attached to such a junk.

A note that every director (especially this one) should have attached to his bathroom mirror is: "If you don't have a story to tell: DON'T MAKE A MOVIE!"

My rating:

(From Michael's random reviews on October 20th, 2010)

The Dish, a review by Tom

The Dish (2000/Australia) IMDb | Wikipedia Icon Home Entertainment (United Kingdom) Director: Rob Sitch Writing: Santo Cilauro (Writer), Tom Gleisner (Writer), Jane Kennedy (Writer), Rob Sitch (Writer) Length: 97 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital 1, Commentary: Dolby Digital 1 Subtitles: English

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Stars:
Sam Neill as Cliff
Billy Mitchell as Cameron
Roz Hammond as Miss Nolan
Christopher-Robin Street as Damien
Luke Keltie as Graeme

Plot:
July 1969. Apollo 11's astronauts will walk on the moon - and a huge satellite dish outside a sheep-farming Australian town has been chosen to beam the live footage globally.

The whole world is depending on scientist Cliff Buxton (Sam Neill - 'Jurassic Park'), who must steer the eccentric crew who man the telescope through a sea of mishaps and disasters that threatens to spoil the small town's finest hour. Watching over them is a by-the-book NASA representative who can't quite understand their quirky working methods. A comical culture clash erupts in this effortlessly funny tale of how history's biggest televised event was almost cancelled.

'The Dish' is a warm-hearted and quick-witted comedy based on a true story of what we didn't see.

Extras:

• "The Hidden Dish"
• Commentary
• Featurettes
• Interviews
• NASA Archive Footage
• Photo Gallery
• Production Notes
• Radio Spot
• Scene Access
• Storyboard Comparisons
• Trailers

I enjoyed it. Though I have to admit, that I enjoyed watching the NASA archive footage (over an hour of it is available in the special features section) more
I thought that Patrick Warburton was a strange choice for his role here. I enjoyed watching him, but he comes across as one of his usual dimwitted characters even though his character here is actually rather smart. This contrast was quite funny.

Rating:

(From 2010 December Marathon - Discussion thread on December 5th, 2010)

Tom's TV Pilots marathon, a review by Tom

Parker Lewis Can't Lose: Season One (1990/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Shout! Factory (United States) Length: 598 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles:

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Plot:
For most teenagers, high school is filled with obstacles nearly impossible to traverse. But then there's Parker Lewis (Corin Nemec, Stargate SG-1), the one teenager able to overcome any barrier with the use of his wits and the help of his best buds, rock 'n' roller Mikey (William Jayne) and their quintessential nerd assistant Jerry (Troy Slaten). Of course, that doesn't mean Principal Grace Musso (Melanie Chartoff) will give up her attempts to foil the Buds' plans to maintain total coolness!

With smart writing, a unique style, an amazing supporting cast including Abraham Benrubi (ERParker Lewis Can't Lose
1.01 Pilot
Writer: Lon Diamond (Writer), Clyde Phillips (Created By), Clyde Phillips (Writer)
Director: Thom Eberhardt
Cast

(From Tom's TV Pilots marathon on June 24th, 2012)