DVD Collectors Online

Cat People/Curse of the Cat People, a review by Jon

CAT PEOPLE
5 out of 5

Simon Simone is brilliant as Irena, a woman afraid to love in case it awakens a curse. Her fiance thinks this is rubbish and tries to help her so they can be married. But he's taken on more than he bargained for.

Horror classic that uses shadow and suggestion rather than effects, backed up by strong themes of real horror that most people can identify with; jealousy, self-doubt, loneliness. Is she a cat woman? Doesn't really matter when those themes are already causing enough trouble. This I've come to learn is typical Lewton. Add in a fiance that might not actually have the will power to stay the course and help his bonkers girlfriend and you have a complex hero unusual for the time this film was released.

The photography is incredible, using shadows to shred your nerves. I particularly enjoyed the swimming pool sequence which is just superb. It's all backed up by the cat people myth, which may be without foundation, but Irena believes it fully so it adds to the intrigue. As does the strange woman who may also be a feline herself.


CURSE OF THE CAT PEOPLE
5 out of 5

A wonderful story that like its predecessor uses suggestion and backs it up with childhood fears as a daydreaming girl loses her real friends and seeks refuge with an imaginary one... who turns out to be Irena. Or does it? Is she a ghost, or just a construct? Whichever, the film is visually very striking, creating a fairytale world by indulging in all sorts of tricks with light. Whereas the first film played with shadows, this plays with sunbeams. Some of it is genuinely scary because after all, the best fairytales have darkness.

This film caught me out though. It is not Cat People Part 2. It's very different and really it bears no relation to the first film. I think I will appreciate it much more the next time I see it. No mention of cat people and Irena is truly a guardian angel with no sign of the neuroses that haunted her. No mention of cats even! Confusingly, a character who it was suggested might be a cat person in the last film, is here too, playing the nearest thing to a villain, perhaps a witch in relation to the fairy tale setting, but only late in the story did I realise there was never going to be any sort of reference to her earlier appearance. Which is fine! But I wish I knew. I kept expecting her to claw up! Instead her story is only implied and beautifully subtle. Nevertheless, the memories of Cat People are important as they cause the parents (from the first film) to react badly to their daughters perfectly normal wish for an imaginary friend.

Quite brilliant and a move that would never work these days. Imagine if the next Batman film didn't feature Batman? Just a story about how the idea of Batman affects peoples lives without ever mentioning him. Nolan could pull it off and I bet it would be brilliant, but no way would anyone forgive him!

It's title is both brave and perfectly descriptive. The result, probably more feasible than the first. Even then the shift in style is huge and it truly feels like a new chapter in these characters lives without repeating anything. Eli Roth produces Hostel III... a musical comedy.

Nah, they couldn't get away with that either!

It helps that I've always been a sucker for Christmas stories and this has some really nice scenes. It centres on a child (wonderful performance) who's imagination is in overdrive anyway at such a magical time. All in all, this could be the most rewarding film in the set. I tell you, it's bloody hard to remember these are "just" b-movies!

(From Val Lewton Horror Marathon on October 4th, 2008)

Fanaa, a review by Tom

Fanaa (2006/India) IMDb | Wikipedia Alive, Rapid Eye Movies (Germany) Director: Kunal Kohli Writing: Shibani Bathija (Story By), Shibani Bathija (Screenwriter), Kunal Kohli (Screenwriter) Length: 168 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35 Audio: German: Dolby Digital 5.1, Hindi: Dolby Digital 5.1 Subtitles: German

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Stars:
Aamir Khan as Rehan Qadri
Kajol as Zoomi Ali Beg
Rishi Kapoor as Zulfikar Ali Beg
Tabu as Malini Tyagi
Kirron Kher as Nafisa Ali Beg

Plot:
Choices- to choose between right or wrong is simple, but what defines one's life is the decision between the greater of two goods or the lesser of two evils. This is the advice that Zooni Ali Beg (Kajol) receives from her father just as she is about to venture out into the world on her own for the very first time. Little does she know that these very words will shape her life.

Zooni, a blind Kashmiri girl meets Rehan Qadri (Aamir Khan), a local tour guide and an incorrigible flirt who goes from city to city exploring their architecture as also the women. Her friends warn her against this good-for-nothing roadside-romeo, but she chooses to ignore them. She is not one to be protected. It is now her time to discover life, and love. Is this really the right choice?

Rehan is fascinated by Zooni. He truly wants her to see life as it should be seen, in its many colours, and as he promises her, the time spent with him will be the most precious in all her life. Zooni sees Delhi, life and love like she never has before, because of Rehan.

What Zooni doesn't know is that Rehan has another side of his life that he has kept from her, something that can not only change her life but can also destroy it...

Awards:
Won:

Filmfare Awards (2007)		Best Actress Award (Kajol)
Filmfare Awards (2007)		Best Lyricist Award ("Chand Sifarish": Prasoon Joshi)
Filmfare Awards (2007)		Best Male Playback Award ("Chand Sifarish": Shaan, Kailash Kher)
IIFA Awards (2007)		Best Male Playback (Shaa)

Nominated:

Filmfare Awards (2007)

Best Music Director Award (Jatin-Lalit)

Extras:

• Music Videos
• Scene Access

This movie is Kajol's comeback movie after her baby break. I really enjoyed the first half of the movie, where Aamir Khan's character (Rehan) meets the blind Zoomi (Kajol) and they slowly fall in love.
Kajol and Aamir Khan had great chemistry, and I am happy that we get the chance to see further movies with her.

Rating:

(From Tom's Random Reviews on September 1st, 2009)

Tom's Random Star Trek Reviews, a review by Tom

I just noticed that I forgot to view the last Q episode ever: "Q2"
Probably the reason that I forgot to watch it is, that I have recently watched sfdebris' review of it, and I got the feeling that I watched the whole episode now.




(From Tom's Random Star Trek Reviews on December 3rd, 2009)