DVD Collectors Online

Nuovo Cinema Paradiso, a review by Achim

Title: Nuovo Cinema Paradiso
Year: 1989
Director: Giuseppe Tornatore
Rating: NR
Length: 168 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78:1
Audio: Italian: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo
Subtitles: Chinese, English

Stars:
Antonella Attili
Enzo Cannavale
Isa Danieli
Leo Gullotta
Marco Leonardi

Plot:
The story begins in the present as a Sicilian mother pines for her estranged son, who left many years ago and has since become a prominent Roman film director who has taken the advice of his mentor too literally. He finally returns to his home village to attend the funeral of the town's former film projectionist and, in so doing, embarks upon a journey into his boyhood just after WW II when he became the unofficial son of the town projectionist. In th dark confines of the Cinema Paradiso, the boy and the other townsfolk try to escape from the grim realities of post-war Italy. The town censor is also there to insure nothing untoward appears onscreen, invariably demanding that all kissing scenes be edited out. One day, Salvatore saves the projectionist's life agter a fire, and then befriends the new projectionist. A few years later, Salvatore falls in love with a beautiful girl who breaks his heart after he is inducted into the military. Thirty years later, Salvatore has come to say good-bye to his life-long friend, who has left him a little gift in a film can.

Extras:
Scene Access

The first hour was wonderful, as the lovely tribute to cinema unfolded with the little boy Toto being captivated by the moving pictures and as he befriends Alfredo the projectionist. Unfortunately, about 1 hour into the movie, Toto grows up into a teenager/young man and fall in love, which is where this film to a nose dive for me. He blindly runs after the girl who repeatedly rejects him Even worse is the third hour, when the middle-aged Toto returns to his hometown after 30 years to attend Alfredo's funeral (no spoiler, this is revealed during the opening minutes of the film). Nothing really happened anymore, other than Toto trying to find his lost love whom he could never forget. The film eventually ends on a lovely note, but that does not save it anymore for me.

Acting is fine, especially from Philippe Noiret (who appeared to have been dubbed) and the boy who plays Toto. Also several of the quirky side character were wonderfully portrayed.

I understand the disc I own is the Director's Cut, which at 168min is 13min longer than the original Italian Cut and even 44min longer than the International version. According to IMDb a good part of the 3rd hour is missing from the International Version.
I might want to find out that shorter version at some point, I might like it substantially more.


(first hour alone: )

(From Achim's entirely random reviews on July 17th, 2010)

The Tower, a review by GSyren

Title	The Tower (5-030305-516116)
Director	Kim Ji-hoon
Actors	Seol Kyeong-gu, Son Ye-jin, Kim Sang-kyeong, Kim In-kwon, Do Ji-han
Produced	2012 in South Korea
Runtime	117 minutes
Audio	Korean Dolby Digital 5.1, Korean Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo
Subtitles	English
Overview
My thoughts	What do you get if you take The Towering Inferno, add some World Trade Center, spice it up with lots of CGI, and move it all to Korea? You get The Tower. But is it any good? Well, some people think so. Personally I feel about the same as when I saw Peter Jackson's take on King Kong. Too much of everything. Why? Because they can. It's well done, though. So if you like lots of CGI and lots of mindless action, this is for you. Me, I would have prefered more originality and less of everything else. Not bad, but not quite my cup of tea.
My rating	3 out of 5

(From Reviews and ramblings by Gunnar on July 23rd, 2013)

Dark Angel Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

12. Borrowed Time
When Max and Logan finally find a cure for their genetically engineered virus, it turns out to be only temporary. Their time together is limited and to make matters worse they have to stop a strange Manticore creation that is on the loose in Seattle and preying on people.

My Thoughts:
This was a good episode... I enjoyed it... even though I did feel that the main creature thing that Max had to go against was a bit over the top.

13. Harbor Lights
When Max is accidentally shot during a botched robbery attempt and taken to a local hospital for emergency treatment, her true transgenic identity is threatened with exposure when abnormal qualities show up in her medical test results.

My Thoughts:
This is another episode that I enjoyed. Of course they had to also put her in mortal danger at the same time. I can't put my finger on it... but this episode did remind me of a movie.

14. Love in Vein
Max must take on a cult of superhuman-blood addicts when she learns they're being led by a Manticore mutant intent on rebuilding an X-5 army.

My Thoughts:
Once again... really enjoyed it. In this episode they played around with the Vampire legend a bit. Of course it is just barely recognizable.... but it is there.

15. Fuhgeddaboudit
A genetically enhanced hypnotist targets Logan and Max, who reveals her true identity and Logan's secret activities before realizing that she is being manipulated as part of a deadly plan - but luckily she doesn't remember doing it.

My Thoughts:
This is one of the episodes I would categorize as good... but far from great. I liked the basic idea... I loved the fight between Max and Alec... I hated the hypnotist. She was extremely annoying!

(From Dark Angel Marathon on September 12th, 2007)