DVD Collectors Online

The Spoilers, a review by Antares

The Spoilers (1942) 64/100 - John Wayne gets third billing in this middling western that takes place in Alaska during the Klondike gold rush of the late 19th century. Marlene Dietrich dusts off her clothes, dialog & character from Destry Rides Again and supplants it here, thankfully, without any of her horrible warbling of songs. Randolph Scott plays the slick villain and I've come to appreciate the post- Budd Boetticher version of him a lot more after seeing him in other films during his heyday. He's too much a poor imitation of Gary Cooper, not character wise, but looks wise. The film plods along, but never really gets going. It's only better moments come from the supporting cast of Harry Carey, Samuel S. Hinds and Richard Barthelemess, of which, this was his last picture. Too bad, I always liked him and he should have had a longer career. But I guess audiences still saw him as the heartthrob of the silent era, and not as a gifted actor who should have kept the flame of fame burning bright in his post-silent career. John Wayne does a decent job with the role he's given, but the film itself is just a factory assembled bit of western ho-hum.

Teal = Masterpiece
Dark Green = Classic or someday will be
Lime Green = A good, entertaining film
Orange = Average
Red = Cinemuck
Brown = The color of crap, which this film is

(From Antares' Short Summations on March 12th, 2015)

Snow White and the Huntsman, a review by Dragonfire

Snow White and the Huntsman



This is the second movie dealing with Snow White to come out this year.  The movies have a few similarities, but they are very different movies overall.  I wasn't sure about this one when I first heard about it.  After seeing some trailers, I decided I wanted to see the movie.

This is a darker version of the story of Snow White, and even the locations look darker.  In this version, Snow White has been locked away in a tower.  When she realizes that the Queen means to have her killed, she manages to escape.  The Queen forces a Huntsman who knows the dark forest to go after her.  The two of them have to work together to stay alive.

This Snow White doesn't wait around to be rescued.  She rides into battle to deal with the Queen.  It is a little difficult to buy how wonderful she is and that so many are willing to follow her, but I think that is mainly from the way Kristen Stewart plays the part.  She is a bit better here than she has been in the Twilight movies, but not enough.  She still uses some of the same expressions and mannerisms she uses as Bella.  I just don't think she was right for the part.  The Huntsman is an interesting character and he ends up with a lot to do.  The Prince is around, though he doesn't do as much and I'm still not even clear on if he is an actual Prince in this version.  Several basic things about the story are the same, though there are one or two interesting changes.  The pace is a little slower, but not too slow.  Unfortunately, there is some jerky camera work in a few places. 

Overall, this is an entertaining movie and an interesting version of the Snow White story.  I have read that a sequel is now in the works.  I'll probably see it, though with how this one ended, I'm not sure where the story will go next.



I did get a longer review posted on Epinions.com.

Snow White and the Huntsman


(From Snow White and the Huntsman on June 11th, 2012)

Pete's Pilots, a review by addicted2dvd

Earth 2


First Contact Part 1 and 2
Billionaire Devon Adair disregards government warnings when she hears of a new planet that offers hope for her Syndrome-stricken son, Ulysses. Together with a crew of hopeful "colonists," they embark on the journey to the Earth-like planet, G889, which is 22 light-years away.

My Thoughts:
I heard some good things about this series. So I blind bought it when I found the set on sale for about $15. After watching this double length pilot is that I hope it gets better. I mean it is not terrible... but it is far from what I would consider good. I just found the show slow... and found I wasn't caring about the characters. At least not up to this point.

My Rating:

(From Pete's Pilots on December 29th, 2009)