DVD Collectors Online

A Woman is a Woman, a review by Danae Cassandra

Une femme est une femme (A Woman is a Woman)
Year of Release: 1961
Directed By: Jean-Luc Godard
Starring: Jean-Claude Brialy, Anna Karina, Jean-Paul Belmondo
Genre: Comedy, Romance, Musical

Overview:
With A Woman is a Woman (Une Femme est une femmeA Woman is a WomanA Woman is a Woman finds the young Godard at his warmest and most accessible, reveling in and scrutinizing the mechanics of his great obsession: the cinema.

My Thoughts:
This is a bright, playful, colorful film. It's a musical, too, sorta. Of course, it's also more than a bit absurd, but were we expecting anything else from Godard? I certainly wasn't. It's a film that knows it's a film, and breaks the fourth wall, with characters posing for and talking to the camera, with text on screen to describe emotions, the music cuts in and out seemingly on whim. Still, it's a fun film, more accessible than some of Godard's work that I've seen. The performances of the three main actors are quite good, especially Anna Karina's - she has to practically carry the film, and she does an excellent job at it. That said, it takes a bit to get into the film at first, and some bits can get irritating (why does Emile ride his bike around the dining room? and was there really a need to repeat the book title 'conversation' scene?).

I enjoyed it, but it will be a while before I would want to watch it again. Like any of Godard's work, this is recommended for the art film lover only.

Bechdel Test: Pass, barely

Overall: 3.5/5

(From Within My (Mom's) Lifetime Marathon on February 7th, 2015)

Santa Who?, a review by addicted2dvd

Santa Who? What would happen if Santa Claus forgot who he was? After a tumble from his sleigh one wintry night, Old Saint Nick (Leslie Nielsen) bumps his head and develops a case of amnesia. Now, it's up to the innocence of a young child and the know-how of a skeptical news reporter to help him find his identity and save Christmas Day. During their adventures, Santa isn't the only one who recalls the magical spirit of the holidays.

My Thoughts:
Another one I recorded off cable just this morning. This one I enjoyed quite a bit. I think Leslie Neilsen was a great choice for an amnesiac Santa. Another one I would like to add to my collection before next year.



(From Addicted2DVD's 25 Days of Christmas Marathon: 2010 on December 13th, 2010)

Death Note anime/manga/movies comparison, a review by Tom

10. Doubt

L and Light play tennis and try to size up each other. Light tries to find a way to get onto the investigation team without rising the suspicion that he might be Kira. But L beats him in this regard and plainly tells him that he suspects him, but wants him on the team nonetheless. If he isn't Kira, he would be a great help on the investigation. If he is Kira, he might trip up and reveal himself.
Light's father has a conversation with the chief of the police, where the chief wants to know the identity of L and Light's father refuses to tell him.
Light's father gets an heart attack but it turns out to be only fatigue.
At the end a television studio gets some tapes which are asked to be played on the air.

This episode covers the manga chapters 20-22. Essentially the same things happen except that the manga elaborates more.

In the movies, the tennis match was replaced by a chess game where both size up each other. The heart attack of the father probably inspired the ending of the second movie. The way that Light gets on the team is also much different. Essentially the whole ending of the first movie is an elaborate plan by Light to defuse the suspicion from him by letting his girlfriend be killed by Kira. He also uses it as reasoning to get on the team to "find" the killer of his girlfriend. L reveals to Light non-verbally that he suspects him being Kira by eating a special brand of chips in front of him. The same kind of chips Light used to hide the Death Note while writing down names while he was being survaillanced.
Also in the movies Light's father visits the chief of police and also a television studio gets tapes to play.

(From Death Note anime/manga/movies comparison on January 17th, 2012)