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Dracula - Spanish Version (1931), a review by addicted2dvd

Dracula - Spanish Version (1931)
At midnight on Walpurgis Night, an English clerk, Renfield, arrives at Count Dracula's castle in the Carpathian Mountains. After signing papers to take over a ruined abbey near London, Dracula drives Renfield mad and commands obedience. Renfield escorts the boxed count on a death ship to London. From there, the Count is introduced into the society of his neighbor, Dr. Seward, who runs an asylum. Dracula makes short work of family friend, Lucia Weston, then begins his assault on Eva Seward, the doctor's daughter. A visiting expert in the occult, Van Helsing, recognizes Dracula for who he is, and there begins a battle for Eva's body and soul.

My Thoughts:
This Spanish-language version was filmed on the same sets and at the same time as the English-language, Bela Lugosi version. The English-language version was filmed during the day, and the Spanish-language version was filmed at night. In this version the role of Count Dracula was played by Carlos Villar. I liked him as Dracula... he did a good job... giving the same feel as Bela Lugosi did. This version is also quite a bit longer then the English version. I did have little trouble keeping up with the subtitles (I am a slow reader)... but I was able to manage enough for it to keep my interest. The quality was a little lower then the English version... but not enough to take away from the enjoyment of the movie.

(From Classic Monster Movie Marathon on May 15th, 2008)

Taken, a review by Jon

Taken ***
3 out of 5

Taken is a solid, unambitious thriller with plenty of bone-crunching action. If you love action movies, then this is for you. It's pacy and violent, with none of that pesky plot stuff to get in its way and if it did, Liam Neeson would just cut its balls off. That's the kind of straight-forward film this is.

Ok, if you want to get picky, then the script is lazy, convenient and predictable, almost insultingly so in the last act where it resembles a typical cathartic game plot, with a daft escape from certain death and a string of bad guys leading up to the "boss". It's got the style of The Bourne Identity, but filtered through black and white 80s brutality. Typically for that era, it's also reassuringly xenophobic. This is doing for France what Hostel did for Amsterdam and Slovakia; American kids are fair game, apparently!

I don't give a damn though. It steams through the plot holes with glorious, vicious momentum. It's great, nasty fun and if Parisian producer Luc Besson is happy to reduce his home town to a tourist hell-hole, then we shouldn't mind watching. The pedigree of the modern Euro-thriller can easily be traced back to Besson's Leon, but recently he seems content producing old-fashioned stuff like this and Transporter. Taken owes a lot more to Bourne than anything else, with good solid car chases and fist fights.  It takes itself very seriously, with no trace of irony and it works because of Liam Neeson. He is fantastic as a cold-hearted arse-kicker. In fact, get him in Bourne 4! He could take that wuss Matt Damon, no trouble!

(From Jon's Random Reviews on August 29th, 2009)

Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

20. Individual Responsibility (4/16/95)
Intergang kidnaps Perry White and is about to purchase the Daily Planet. But all Superman can manage is a bored ho-hum - newly discovered red kryptonite has sapped the Man of Steel's steely resolve.

My Thoughts:
This is a good episode... definitely enjoyed it. And finally got to see another type of Kryptonite! I also liked that they had Bruce Campbell in this one guest starring as the new head of Intergang.


21. Whine, Whine, Whine (5/14/95)
Being a superhero seems like a poor career choice when Superman is sued by a man he saved. Lois is drawn to Agent Scardino because Clark keeps disappearing on their dates.

My Thoughts:
Another good episode. And I believe the last episode that has Scardino in it. In this episode Lois makes her decision. And we also get to see Bruce Campbell once again.


22. And the Answer Is... (5/21/95)
A criminal kidnaps Jonathan and Martha and Lois risks her life to save them. In the aftermath of the ordeal, Clark realizes how much he loves Lois and finally asks "Will you marry me?"

My Thoughts:
This is a very good season ender. And it has a heck of a cliff hanger. In this episode Clark finds out just how important it is for him to have his secret identity. But it also shows him just how important Lois is to him as well.







(From Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Marathon on July 25th, 2009)