DVD Collectors Online

Sin City , a review by Dragonfire

Frank Miller's Sin City

My Thoughts

First of all, this isn't a movie for everyone.  It will be too violent and just plain too different for some people.  I do think it is entertaining and worth seeing.  I've never seen the original stories in the graphic novels, though from things I've read about the movie and seen in some of the extras, it does seem like the movie stays very true to the stories.  It definitely does have the look of a comic book with the unique coloring used.  Most of the movie is in black and white, with only selective use of colors in a piece of clothing or someone eyes..or blood.  The movie was filmed with green screens and just about all the locations were created digitally.  That does give the movie a very unique look that may turn off some viewers.

The movie is made up of four stories that slightly weave together with over lapping scenes.  I watched the extended version this time, which splits the stories into different parts, complete with their own credits.  Some things are shown in a slightly different order than they were in the theatrical version.  That could cause a little bit of confusion in a few spots since things are shown sort of out of order in a few cases.  The stories are mostly independent of each other with only a little overlap.  The stories are dark, disturbing, and twisted in some way, something else that may turn some viewers off.  A few things are a little harder to see.  The movie is entertaining overall even with the darker tone and subject matter.  Several scenes are very violent, though it does seem slightly less gory at times when the blood is a different color, like white. 

Pretty much all of the characters are twisted in some way and really none of them are purely good characters, though a few are presented as sort of hero characters.  Nancy is probably the only really good character, and she does seem a bit out of place.  She dances suggestively in some sort of club, but she doesn't strip.  That just seems a tad unbelievable.  From one of the extras, a panel from the graphic novel is shown and I think it is Nancy dancing topless, so that seems to have been changed for the movie..probably because of Jessica Alba being cast.

The Blu-ray has several extras that focus on some part of the making of the movie.  The extras that I've watched are interesting and worth checking out.

Overall the movie is entertaining and worth checking out, though it will turn some people off.



I did get a review posted on Epinions if anyone wants to take a look.

Sin City

(From Dragonfire88's Alphabet Marathon on August 1st, 2010)

Cars, a review by Dragonfire

Cars My Thoughts After getting the Blu-ray on Monday, I decided it was time to watch this one again.  I don't like any type of racing, though I have seen some at times.  I just don't care to watch cars driving around in a huge circle for hours, but I loved this movie. When I first saw the movie, I thought the animation was gorgeous, especially the landscapes.  Well, it looks even better on Blu.  The level of detail visible is freaking awesome, and I uttered more than one holy shit while watching this one.  The landscapes are so beautiful and detailed, showing the dust and rocks and the cracks in the road.  Dust, smoke, and mist looks amazing throughout the movie.  The cars, while clearing being cartoon characters since they have the giant eyes for windshields and mouths on the front bumpers, look wonderful.  The colors on them are gorgeous, especially in scenes when light hits them.  Reflections are visible in many scenes, especially on the chrome of many cars.  During the scene when the neon signs are on, the way those lights is reflected on the different cars is stunning.  I noticed all sorts of details that I didn't notice before, like some of the logos and stickers on the race cars.  The lighting in various scenes looks so realistic, like when Sally and Lightning go on their drive and the sun is filtered through the leaves of the trees along the side of the road.  Everything just looks so awesome..there are not enough words to describe how good everything looks.  The sounds of the cars, especially during the races is so realistic. The base story isn't the most original since it is a bit like Doc Hollywood ..and probably some other movies that I can't remember at the moment as well - but it ends up working so well.  Having all the living things be cars or some form of vehicle is really cool and I really liked it.  It could be too different for some people, but I think it makes for a fun movie.  The humor works really well.  There are silly moments - like just about everything with Mater...the tractor tipping - but it all works.  The movie also touches on more serious things as well in a way that works perfectly for the movie.  I do like the characters.  Every car has their own personality.  Mater is goofy and a bit of a hick, and sometimes he does act a bit like a puppy...he bounces around at times like a playing puppy and wags his tow cable like a tail.  Lightning has problems, but he ends up being likable overall.  There isn't exactly a villain in the movie...though Chick comes really close.  He is a huge jerk of character and Michael Keaton did a great job with the voice. During the credits, they do little scenes from some of the other movies with cars as characters..and they even got the original cast back to do the voices.  I loved those.  There is a nice dedication to Joe Ranft as well, showing the different characters he did voices for. The extras on the Blu-ray are wonderful.  There is footage from when Lasseter, Ranft, and some of the other animators working on the movie took a trip along Route 66 for research.  They found a truck that looks like Mater.  The different little short segments on the making of the movie show all the care and dedication that went into the making of the movie.  They made researched different car styles and made sure that the colors for the cars fit for the paint available for those models - like the color of Doc.   I think all the research helps to make the movie stronger overall. I love this movie and am very glad that I picked up the Blu-ray. I did post a review on Epinions after I first saw the movie. Cars

(From Cars on June 24th, 2010)

Smallville: The Complete Third Season, a review by addicted2dvd

Smallville: The Complete Third Season (2003/United States) Everyone has a future. Clark Kent has a destiny - if he's willing to accept and able to master all the awesome powers and responsibilities that come with it. The fascinating reinterpretation of Superman mythology and its classic characters continues in an event-packed 22-episode Season 3 that includes Clark's embracing of his dark side... and the devil's bargain Jonathan makes with Jor-El to rescue his son. Other highlights: Perry White and villainous Morgan Edge debut in the series. Clark hones a sensational new power. Chloe lets slip an intriguing reference to someone named Lois Lane. And the secret of Clark's true indentity burdens Pete, obsesses Lex and drives a wedge between Lana and Clark. The challenges of today shape tomorrow as never before in Smallville. Episodes 1. Exile 2. Phoenix 3. Extinction 4. Slumber 5. Perry 6. Relic 7. Magnetic 8. Shattered 9. Asylum 10. Whisper 11. Delete 12. Hereafter 13. Velocity 14. Obsession 15. Resurrection 16. Crisis 17. Legacy 18. Truth 19. Memoria 20. Talisman 21. Forsaken 22. Covenant

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Stars:
Tom Welling as Clark Kent
Kristin Kreuk as Lana Lang
Michael Rosenbaum as Lex Luthor
Sam Jones III as Pete Ross
Allison Mack as Chloe Sullivan
John Glover as Lionel Luthor
Annette O'Toole as Martha Kent
John Schneider as Jonathan Kent

Extras:

• Scene Access
• Audio Commentary
• Deleted Scenes
• Featurettes
• Outtakes/Bloopers
• DVD-ROM Content
• Closed Captioned
• The Chloe Chronicles Vol. II

Just finished season 3. Still very much enjoying watching this series again. We did indeed see Clark get his super hearing this season. We also got another episode with Christopher Reeve. I am now about to pop in the first disc of Season 4! I can't believe I am already up to the season that introduces Lois Lane.




(From Addicted2dvd's Random TV Series Watched on August 22nd, 2011)