DVD Collectors Online

Silverado, a review by Rogmeister

Silverado: 2-Disc Gift Set
Directed by Lawrence Kasdan
Music by Bruce Broughton
Cast: Kevin Kline, Scott Glenn, Kevin Costner, Danny Glover, Brian Dennehy, Linda Hunt, John Cleese, Rosanna Arquette

This edition of Silverado is one I probably got a year or two ago...and was my third copy of the movie on DVD.  The first copy I got they goofed up on and put it out in the wrong aspect ratio...1.85:1 (or what I call moderate widescreen).  I got another copy of the movie later in it's proper 2.35:1 aspect ratio (a more pronounced widescreen).  Then, when this 2-disc gift set came out I picked it up.  It came with a Silverado deck of cards inserted into the center where "saloon doors" open up to reveal it.  It also came with a nice booklet with an article inside titled "Silverado and the American Western" by Frank Thompson and it also includes many nice color photos from the movie.  I think you can still get this as a 2-disc set but probably not in the gift set packaging anymore.  The 2-disc set alone was re-issued at the beginning of this year.

The movie itself is in a case holding two discs.  Disc 1, of course, holds the movie in "Superbit" presentation...this was a technique where they used all a disc's memory for the movie itself to give you the highest quality image and sound (this has now been pretty much replaced by the newer Blu-Ray systerm).  Along with the movie, Disc 1 also holds an audio commentary by 3 western writers and historians and this is an interesting discussion.  I'll have to watch the movie again soon so I can listen to this in it's entirety.  Disc 2 has some extras...not a lot...a couple items there are basically promos for other westerns from Columbia...The Quick and The Dead, Hangman's Knot and some others.  Then there is "A Return to Silverado with Kevin Costner" which is Costner sitting and discussing the film and his involvement with it.  There's also a nice piece on the making of the movie featuring interviews with the other stars and such filmmakers as director Lawrence Kasdan, his co-writer and brother Mark Kasdan and composer Bruce Broughton.  I liked Broughton's score to this movie a great deal and am surprised I haven't seen his name on more movies.

Regarding the movie itself, it deals with four men (two brothers, played by Scott Glenn and Kevin Costner, plus Kevin Kline and Danny Glover) who wind up working together to take on the criminal element in the town of Silverado.  There's lots of action, though I wonder if they couldn't have edited the film just a bit more...this is still one of my very favorite PJW westerns (Post John Wayne) but at 132 minutes, it is just a little long.  You have everything in here you could want in a western...jailbreaks, saloon brawls, showdowns, a cattle stampede...about the only thing missing are Indians.  This might be considered the last of the classic westerns in that while there's lots of action and shooting, you don't get people spurting blood in slow-motion as in The Wild Bunch or anything else too objectionable.  The film garnered an appropriate PG-13 rating.  As the movie ends and the two brothers ride off, Jake yells back "We'll be back!" which was a teaser that a sequel might happen but unfortunately the movie didn't make enough money to warrant one so this wound up the one and only Silverado adventure.  Dust off your chaps, strap on your gunbelt and enjoy this one, pards...it garners a full 5 yee-haws from this ol' westerner.

(From Roger's Ongoing Westerns Marathon on October 6th, 2009)

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, a review by Dragonfire

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey



I went to see The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey on opening day.  I fell in love with The Lord of the Rings trilogy by Peter Jackson when they came out.  I saw the first movie without knowing that much about the story.  After seeing the first movie, I got the books and read them.  I got the theatrical versions on DVD and the extended versions...and last year I did a rare triple dip and got the extended versions on Blu-ray.  I also read The Hobbit and I've wanted to see a movie version for years - since long before it was confirmed that the movie was being made.

It has been a long time since I read the book so I don't remember everything and don't know exactly what has been changed for the movie.  I know that some things have been added since there are going to be three movies.  I know that some people have had ...concerns about it being turned into 3 movies, but I have kept an open mind.  I think that Peter Jackson is off to a great start with this movie.  It is a bit long, but I was never bored by what was going on.  The longer length, along with the fact that the book is being turned into three movies allows for more background and details to be shared. 

The movie begins with the older Bilbo when he is starting to write about his adventures.  Frodo is also briefly seen.  This little bit ties back into the beginning of The Fellowship of the Ring.  I love that Ian Holm and Elijah Wood are back in the parts too.  After those first few minutes, the movie focuses on when Gandalf manages to get Bilbo to go with him on an adventure with thirteen dwarves who want to reclaim their home from a dragon, Smaug.  Things end in the middle of the journey,  like what happened with the original trilogy.

Middle Earth looks beautiful again, with some locations being visited again.  I loved seeing them again, along with the few returning characters.  The music fits perfectly with what is going on, and some of it uses bits from the first movies again.  The effects are very well done, especially for Gollum.  He looks a bit different, which makes sense since he is younger in this movie than he was the last time we saw him, though it is clear that his precious is corrupting him.  There is action in several scenes that is well done.  The action scenes help to keep things interesting. 

The characters are interesting, though most of the dwarves aren't that developed.  They do sort of blend in together at times.  Martin Freeman is wonderful as the younger Bilbo and it is believable that he is the younger version of Ian Holm's Bilbo.  I love Ian McKellen as Gandalf. 

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is wonderful and well worth checking out.  I've been ready to see the second movie since the credits for this one rolled.



I did post a longer review at Epinions after seeing the movie in the theater.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

(From The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey on June 25th, 2013)

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" Marathon, a review by DJ Doena

Synopsis: In a few days Buffy will turn 18 and she doesn't really want to celebrate it due to the fear that it will be a crap-fest again. And she's right. She has suddenly lost her Slayer powers and is a normal young woman again. The gang investigates in this - with the exception of Giles because it is he who must put her through an ancient and cruel Watcher's Council ritual.

My Opinion: Between this and the last episode of Buffy I've watched, I watched a lot of other stuff, including four seasons of Bones, in which David Boreanaz plays the male lead. So I needed a bit of time to get used to the brooding Angel again. I never really liked the plot of that episode because IMHO it doesn't make sense. The Slayer is always in constant danger of being killed and the more experienced she gets the better are her chances of survival. So why take the chances of her getting killed in this stupid test when the result would be that you end up with an inexperienced beginner Slayer again?
But I really liked the ending when Buffy wordlessly forgave Giles when Quentin fired him due to his fatherly love for Buffy.

Synopsis: After being pummelled by a demon again, Buffy and Giles seriously advise Xander to stay out of future fights. But without being in the midst of it he feels useless and decides to become the "wheel man". This doesn't really work out either and he suddenly finds himself being the driver for a bunch of dead-yet-not-in-the-ground former high school jocks who want to have some fun.

My Opinion: That was a great Xander episode. I really liked it that there was a big Hellmouth fight - but that it wasn't really the plot of the episode. I also liked how they pointed at the danger Angel had to face (and survived of course) without ever explaining or showing what he was up against - because that it wasn't really the plot of the episode. This way they could create a cool Xander-based story without making the others his sidekicks (which would never work) or make them disappear for the entire episode.

Synopsis: The new Watcher has arrived: Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, a young stiff Englishman on a high horse who isn't taken seriously by neither Buffy nor Faith. Because both have better things to do: Want. Take. Have. Faith shows Buffy her philosophy of what it means to be a Slayer and together they party and slay and party and break into a weapons store and party ... until Faith makes a horrible mistake.

My Opinion: When I saw him enter the library I had a hard time imagining that this man is the husband of Alyson Hannigan and father of her child. It's just a role, but still... But back to the episode: When I first watched this episode I didn't know what was going to happen in the end but I was quite certain that something would bring the party crashing down. It was inevitable from the moment they broke into that weapons store. But I didn't recognize who Faith had killed (Bad with faces, remember?) until it's explained in the next episode. Still, I liked this episode, Faith and Buffy partying and playing bad girls.

Synopsis: Faith has accidentally killed the Deputy Mayor but she has no intentions of facing the consequences and is trying to cover everything up. When that doesn't work she tries to blame Buffy who has already a hard time to cope with what had happened. When Wesley gets wind of this he tries to deport Faith back to England which makes matters only worse.

My Opinion: This episode I really, really liked. It was great to see Buffy struggle with her secret and how she tried to convince Faith to come clean and how she sobbed in Willow's arms. She is a warrior, but she still remains human. I also liked how Xander honestly tried to reconnect with Faith even though he failed. But this is his quality: He does not give up on his friends and one day it will save the world.
What I honestly didn't understand was Willow's breakdown in the bathroom. Granted, she had always feelings for Xander, but after Lovers Walk she wanted to get back with Oz and Xander was single again. What did she expect?

(From "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" Marathon on August 31st, 2009)