DVD Collectors Online

Mad Max, a review by Jon

MAD MAX (1979)
5 out of 5



Mel Gibson is Max Rockatansky, a cop in a world on the edge of the apocalypse. A brutal motorcycle gang is terrorising the roads and Max's family come under threat.

Mad Max is a low budget sci-fi classic that made a star out of Mel Gibson and deservedly so. His quiet performance of pent-up anger anchors a film that might have been a bit too off-centre to work, despite featuring some of the best chase scenes you can find. And they are brilliantly staged, the opening especially (see below. I thought it more fun than the trailer!). A chase with "I AM the Night Rider!" is already underway and Max hasn't even started his engine. His colleagues are doing their best, but get wiped out in stunt after stunt. About 10 minutes long and full of confident gags, it sets the stage for one of the best comic book heroes who was never in a comic. This is all before his family are attacked and he sets off on a revenge mission against a biker bunch that can only work in a 70s cult movie.

It's a perfect case of using what you have. The sequels would expand the story a little more, perhaps a bit too much as the apocalypse has definitely been and gone in Mad Max 2. Here, it's just a thinly veiled excuse for tearing up the road. It's fantastic!

The Car's the star: Ford Falcon


Trailer

(From Car Movie Marathon on August 17th, 2008)

The Hustler, a review by Antares

The Hustler





Year: 1961
Film Studio: Twentieth Century Fox, Rossen Films
Genre: Drama, Classic
Length: 135 Min.

Director
Robert Rossen (1908)

Writing
Sidney Carroll (1913)...Screenplay
Robert Rossen (1908)...Screenplay
Walter Tevis (1928)...Novel

Producer
Robert Rossen (1908)

CinematographerMusic
Kenyon Hopkins (1912)...Composer

Stars
Paul Newman (1925) as Eddie Felson
Jackie Gleason (1916) as Minnesota Fats
Piper Laurie (1932) as Sarah Packard
George C. Scott (1927) as Bert Gordon
Myron McCormick (1908) as Charlie Burns
Murray Hamilton (1923) as Findley
Michael Constantine (1927) as Big John
Stefan Gierasch (1926) as Preacher

Review
       Throughout the history of the Academy Awards, there have been moments of sheer stupidity on the part of the voting members. One such year was 1962. In what could be considered a rather weak field of nominated films, you would think that a strong character driven film such as The Hustler would have swept the honors. Looking at its competition that year, Fanny, Jugdment at Nuremburg, The Guns of Navarone and West Side StoryWest Side StoryThe HustlerCarrie, another film which earned her a nomination from the Academy.


Review Criterion
5 Stars - The pinnacle of film perfection and excellence.


(From The Hustler (1961) on June 23rd, 2010)

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

9. The Wish
Wanting to be rid of Xander for good, Cordelia comes to the conclusion that Buffy is the cause of all her problems and makes a wish that Buffy had never come to Sunnydale. A demon grants the wish and Cordelia's world suddenly changes.

My Thoughts:
This has always been one of my favorite episodes... I loved getting a peek at the alternate reality of what Sunnydale would have been like if Buffy never made it there. I really liked the vampire version of Willow and Xander. This is just one of those episodes that is just pure fun to watch.

10. Amends
While the gang prepares for their Christmas vacation, Angel is haunted by visions of his violent past. The ghost of Jenny Calendar appears to him and reminds him in great detail of the evil deeds he has performed. At first she almost seems to be taking pity on him, but gradually her counsel grows more sinister.

My Thoughts:
Another really good episode... and if I am not mistaken the only Christmas episode in the entire 7 year run of the series. Not to mention our first look at "The First Evil" which would later come back for the final season.

11. Gingerbread
Picking the wrong night for mother-daughter bonding, Joyce discovers the bodies of two children in the park, apparently sacrificed in an occult ritual. Deeply disturbed by what she has seen, Joyce rallies the adults of Sunnydale, convincing them to rid the town of all magical and occult influences. Soon, however, it becomes apparent that Buffy, Willow, and Amy are themselves considered a part of the occult threat to Sunnydale.

My Thoughts:
And this makes all 3 episodes on this disc good ones... Another episode I liked a lot. If I am not mistaken this episode also has another first... the first (and possibly only?) time we see Willow's mother. This is also the episode that Amy turns herself into a rat and stays that way for a very long time... till Willow can figure out how to change her back.

(From Buffy the Vampire Slayer Marathon on November 14th, 2007)